Night time stories toddlers

Bedtime Stories | Free 5 Min Bedtime Stories for Kids Online Bedtime Stories

The Classic fairytale of Cinderella: a young girl, mistreated by her step-mother and step-sisters, who finds out that dreams really can come true.

The Classic Fairytale Story of Snow White with a Modern Twist: Who is the “fair”est of them all? Snow White of course!

A Bedtime Story of Honesty, Courage and Truth. If Pinocchio is to become a Real boy he needs to learn how to be honest, brave and true.

A Grimm’s Brother Tale: A miller tells a tale that his daughter can turn straw into gold. A strange little man is willing to help…for a price. Guess his name and he will be gone…but what is his name?

Goldilocks and the Three Bears ~ Bedtime Stories for Kids. Goldilocks finds the three bears cottage in the woods. Should she make herself comfortable?

Hansel and Gretel Bedtime Stories for Kids. When Hansel and Gretel go in search of food, they find a gingerbread house. But who is inside?

A Story of Friendship, Love and Courage. Rapunzel’s Story ~ A Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale. An evil witch has trapped Rapunzel in a tower. Can her long hair or love save her?

A Story of Courage, Justice and Self-Awareness. Merlin the Magician places a magic sword in a stone…whomever can pull it out is the rightful king.

A Bedtime Story of Acceptance and Self-Awareness. A Mama Duck is proud when her six ducklings hatch from their eggs. But one duckling does not look like the others? Is he truly an Ugly Duckling?

The classic Brother’s Grimm fairytale that sparked the Disney adaptation.

A Story of Courage, Learning and Love. The Classic fairy tale: The Little Mermaid falls in love with a prince on shore and she makes a deal with the Sea Witch to become human. But without her voice, how can the prince fall in love with her?

This Classic Folktale is adapted from the original story of “Aladdin” from The Arabian Nights. Aladdin, the Genie and the Magic Lamp work to impress the princess who wishes to be a commoner.

A Story of Courage, Kindness to Animals and Learning. The Classic Tale of a male deer, Bambi, his mother and his adventures learning in the woods.

A Story of Charity, Compassion and Justice, from England. Robin Hood takes part in an archery contest thrown by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Will he realize its a trap before it is too late? One of the many Tales of Robin Hood.

This is the Legend Tale of Maui the Demi-God from Moana. It is part of our Classic Bedtime Stories for Kids Collection. It has been adapted from the Tales of Maui as well as Disney’s version of Moana.

A Bedtime Story in Simple English for Kids. A toy rabbit learns that through a child’s love it can become real.

The Classic Tale of the Snow Queen: Gerda and Kai struggle to fight the Snow Queen and find the balance between Good and Evil.

The Classic Fairy Tale of Sleeping Beauty. Princess Aurora has been cursed by Maleficent. When she pricks herself on a spinning wheel on her 16th birthday, she is put into a deep sleep for 100 years. Who can save her?

Bedtime Story for Kids: The Gift of the Magi, A Christmas Story. Della and Jim wish to give each other the perfect Christmas present, but how will they come up with the money?

A Bedtime Story of Friendship, Courage and Acceptance. . The story tells of the time Pocahontas saved the life of settler John Smith from her father, Powhatan.

A Cinderella Story ~ Bedtime Stories for Kids

The Classic fairytale of Cinderella: a young girl, mistreated by her step-mother and step-sisters, who finds out that dreams really can come true.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Story ~ Bedtime Stories for Kids

The Classic Fairytale Story of Snow White with a Modern Twist: Who is the “fair”est of them all? Snow White of course!

Pinocchio Story ~ Fairy Tale Bedtime Stories in English for Kids

A Bedtime Story of Honesty, Courage and Truth. If Pinocchio is to become a Real boy he needs to learn how to be honest, brave and true.

Beauty and the Beast Classic Tale ~ Fairy Tale Stories for Kids

The classic fairy tale of a beautiful woman and the monstrous beast.

Rumpelstiltskin ~ A Fairy Tale Bedtime Story for Kids

Goldilocks and the Three Bears ~ Bedtime Stories for Kids

Goldilocks and the Three Bears ~ Bedtime Stories for Kids. Goldilocks finds the three bears cottage in the woods. Should she make herself comfortable?

Hansel and Gretel ~ Bedtime Stories for Kids

Hansel and Gretel Bedtime Stories for Kids. When Hansel and Gretel go in search of food, they find a gingerbread house. But who is inside?

Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm ~ Bedtime Stories

A Story of Friendship, Love and Courage. Rapunzel’s Story ~ A Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale. An evil witch has trapped Rapunzel in a tower. Can her long hair or love save her?

The Sword in the Stone: a King Arthur Legend of the Sword Story

A Story of Courage, Justice and Self-Awareness. Merlin the Magician places a magic sword in a stone…whomever can pull it out is the rightful king.

The Ugly Duckling Story ~ Fairy Tale Story for Kids in English

A Bedtime Story of Acceptance and Self-Awareness. A Mama Duck is proud when her six ducklings hatch from their eggs. But one duckling does not look like the others? Is he truly an Ugly Duckling?

The Frog Prince: The Story of the Princess and the Frog ~ Bedtime Stories

The classic Brother’s Grimm fairytale that sparked the Disney adaptation.

The Little Mermaid Story ~ Bedtime Stories for Kids in English

Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from The Arabian Nights ~ Bedtime Stories

This Classic Folktale is adapted from the original story of “Aladdin” from The Arabian Nights. Aladdin, the Genie and the Magic Lamp work to impress the princess who wishes to be a commoner.

Bambi Story: A Life in the Woods ~ Bedtime Stories for Kids in English

A Story of Courage, Kindness to Animals and Learning. The Classic Tale of a male deer, Bambi, his mother and his adventures learning in the woods.

Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow Story ~ Legend Stories for Kids

Maui from Moana: Tales of the Demi-God ~ Legend Stories for Kids

The Velveteen Rabbit Story ~ Bedtime English Story for Kids

A Bedtime Story in Simple English for Kids. A toy rabbit learns that through a child’s love it can become real.

The Snow Queen Fairy Tale Story ~Bedtime Story for Kids

The Classic Tale of the Snow Queen: Gerda and Kai struggle to fight the Snow Queen and find the balance between Good and Evil.

Sleeping Beauty Fairy Tale Story ~ Bedtime Stories for Kids

The Gift of the Magi Story ~ A Holiday Story for Kids

Bedtime Story for Kids: The Gift of the Magi, A Christmas Story. Della and Jim wish to give each other the perfect Christmas present, but how will they come up with the money?

Pocahontas and John Smith Story ~ Folktales Stories for Kids

A Bedtime Story of Friendship, Courage and Acceptance. . The story tells of the time Pocahontas saved the life of settler John Smith from her father, Powhatan.

The Emperor’s New Clothes Story ~ Bedtime Stories

A Bedtime Story in Simple English for Kids. The Emperor is fooled into believing he is wearing magic clothes which can’t be “seen”.

Mulan Story ~ Tale of Hua Mulan Bedtime Stories | English Story for Kids

A Bedtime Story in Simple English for Kids. Based on the “Ballad of Mulan” and Disney’s Mulan, this is a legend tale about a girl who goes in disguise as a boy and joins the army in her brother’s place.

Short Stories for Kids ~ Folk tales, Fairy Tales, Riddles, Legends, Poems

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Teaching Resources from Stories to Grow By

In addition to our bedtime stories, we also offer a multitude teaching resources! This includes over 100 free bedtime stories, fairy tales, folk tales, readers theater play scripts, and performance notes!

You will find the bedtime stories and the materials you need for your classroom with Stories to Grow By.

8 New Bedtime Stories to Read to 2-5 Year Old Children

Looking for bedtime stories to read to your child is a tough task. Where do you find a new story every night? Kids between 2-5 years are the trickiest, since you cannot pick up chapter books, they have short attention spans, and you need stories that can tickle their imagination sufficiently. If they learn a thing or two in the process, then that’s the cherry on the icing.

Here are 8 stories that can be read to toddlers at bedtime, each of which is under 10 minutes read-time.

1. A Pair of Binoculars

Mr. Grasshopper discovers the joys of using a pair of binoculars with the help of Mr. Beaver. And boy! Isn’t he thrilled!

Read the complete story here.

2. The Tale of Two Frogs – A Japanese Folktale

This is the story of two frogs from Japan. One day a thought struck both of them – they desired to see something outside of their own world. The frog from Osaka wanted to see how Kyoto looked like and the Kyoto frog was excited to visit Osaka. One fine day, the two frogs set off on their respective journeys.

Halfway between Osaka and Kyoto was a tall mountain that had to be crossed to reach the other city. The frogs met each other on the top of this mountain.

Click here to read what happened next.

3. The Smoke Seller – A Turkish Folktale

A poor man had no money to afford the grilled meat that smelt delicious. So, instead, taking a few pieces of bread from his pocket, he held them to the smoke emanating from the grill, and then ate them. The vendor demanded that the poor man pay up for the smoke that helped him eat his bread.

The two quarreling men decided to see the judge – Nasreddin Hodja – and settle the matter.

Click here to find out the hilarious manner in which Hodja settled the dispute.

4. Snow White and The Good Witch

A present-day retelling of the classic fairy tale, where the dwarfs rescue Snow White from her eternal sleep with the help of the Good Witch. Read how Snow White goes back to reclaim her kingdom from the evil step-mother with the help of the dwarfs and the Good Witch.

Read the complete story here.

5. The Starfish

An old man on a beach, finds a young boy throwing starfish into the sea after a storm. He asks the boy why he is doing so. The boy replied, “I am throwing the starfish back into the ocean. The storm washed them up on to the beach last night. Now the tide is far out, and the starfish cannot return to the sea by themselves. When the sun gets too high, they will die because of the heat. So I am throwing them back into the water before that happens.”

The old man was bewildered and wondered if the boy was simply stupid. “But there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. It is impossible to save all of them. I’m afraid you won’t be able to make much of a difference”, he said.

Click here to read what the boy said in this short story with an important moral value.

6. The Lonely Snowman

A lonely snowman goes in search of some company. He meets many people on the way. Finally he finds friends.

Read this story to know about his adventures.

7. Hari and The Cloud

The farmers in a village are told by an Oracle that there will be no rains for a long time. Everybody is depressed and put away their ploughs and tools, and sit down to wait for the rains to return. One farmer – Hari – continues to plough his fields daily and sow seeds at the beginning of every season. Everybody in the village makes fun of him.

One day a small cloud passes over Hari’s field and sees him hard at work. ‘Don’t you know there are going to be no rains for a long time? Why are you working in your fields?’ he asked.

Find out what Hari answered in this story.

8. The Undersea Adventure of the Blue Diamond

Once upon a time, there was a mermaid, a crab, a sea-lion, a sea-horse and a sea turtle. They all lived together in the Great Pacific Ocean. They all set out on a treasure hunt to find the Great Castle of Gold. On the way, they meet Tory – a fish who has lost her way, and claims to have seen the Castle of Gold.

Read about their adventures here.

Also read Top 20 Bedtime Stories from Panchatantra, Aesop’s Fables and Folklore

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Read more bedtime stories here.

Bedtime stories for children. ⭐😴Read online with pictures.

In this section we have collected interesting fairy tales from all over the world that are suitable for reading before bed. You can read them online and completely free. These small instructive and kind stories will help children calm down after a stormy day and tune in to rest.
In bedtime stories you will not find cruelty and frightening characters. Only light plots and pleasant characters.
At the bottom of each fairy tale there is a hint for which age it is intended.

An interesting fairy tale is that part of childhood that stays with us forever, even when childhood is gone. This is a magical world that is wide open in front of the baby, and acquaintance with it begins with a short and sweet bedtime story.

At what age to read fairy tales to a child

There is no strict age limit in reading fairy tales to a child. Reading for a child is primarily an opportunity for emotional intimacy with an adult. Even if not a word is clear yet, the familiar timbre of the voice, the measured rhythm soothe the baby and stimulate its development. That is why psychologists recommend reading fairy tales even to babies. The main condition: the process should bring pleasure to both the adult and the baby.

The benefits of reading fairy tales

A bedtime story read by a parent is a powerful stimulus for the child's development, the child's wide opportunities in the following areas: imagination; fantasy; creative thinking; speech skills; emotional development; the ability to find a way out of problem situations.

Unlike cartoons, a fairy tale does not present the child with ready-made images and the world invented by the artist, but invites him to think, think out and imagine what is not in the illustrations.

Simply put, we read to children at night and at the same time unleash their creativity. The next step is the first children's tests of themselves as an author and artist, but that will come later. And now such familiar and at the same time amazing short bedtime stories come to the aid of parents.

Bedtime stories - what should they be?

It often happens that every day a baby asks for the hundredth time to read a familiar fairy tale to him, not wanting to listen to any others.

It's not worth arguing and trying to read something new - a bedtime story exists just to lull and give pleasant dreams. So, it should be: short; calm; kind; without dynamic details in the plot, but with a happy ending.

Repeated repetition of the same situation (a familiar room, a favorite blanket and a soft toy, next to it is a mother reading a familiar fairy tale) turns into a kind of ritual for the baby, which has a calming effect. It helps relieve the emotional stress that has accumulated over a long day.

Short stories on our website

The Short Bedtime Stories section presents famous works by Russian and foreign authors that have become favorites for children all over the world.

Magic little men created by Astrid Lindgren, Donald Bisset's kind tigers, Sergei Kozlov's inseparable Hedgehog and Bear cub - these and other characters are looking forward to meeting young readers.

Here you will also find folk tales and illustrated works by Vladimir Suteev. Kids will be delighted with simple instructive stories and colorful pictures created by a real Master.

Hints on the site

The free bedtime stories presented on our site are so diverse that sometimes it can be difficult to find the right one. To help parents, we have developed a convenient search engine that allows you to view the parameters of a fairy tale without opening it: age of readers; reading time; short description; popularity indicator; illustration.

Bedtime stories

Bedtime stories come to us along with golden stars, night coolness, peace and quiet. Bedtime stories have a special role - to call for a sweet dream, to catch up with slumber, to calm down.

People are always waiting for spring, thinking about warm, bright days with a smile, preparing new outfits. And not only people are waiting for spring, but also animals and birds too. They like the transformation of nature. In spring, everything in nature is more colorful, louder, more fun. And even fairy tales.

Read and listen to a fairy tale (4 min 59 sec)

Heading: Bedtime stories | Tags: bedtime story, Tales about hares

Tales about mother - the kindest, sweetest, most sensitive. Often children make drawings for such fairy tales. Mom they draw big and beautiful. Because mom is a noticeable and important person. Next to the mother, the child draws himself. This is a good bunch - mother and child!

Read and listen to a fairy tale (5 min 34 sec)

Heading: Bedtime stories | Tags: about mom, bedtime story, Tales about mom

A fairy tale about a Christmas tree from the category of fairy tales in which good miracles happen. Good miracles must definitely happen - and then life will become brighter, richer. On New Year's holidays, the Christmas tree is always in the spotlight. If other trees are fast asleep, covered with snow capes, then the Christmas tree has no time to doze off. She needs to get ready for Christmas. The Christmas tree bedtime story ends happily.

Read and listen to a fairy tale (4 min 58 sec)

Heading: Bedtime stories | Tags: New Year's stories, bedtime story, Tales about the wolf, Tales about the hares

One must be able to find the good in everything that happens around. So thought a fish named Vita. And Vita's fish also had a secret that other fish really wanted to reveal. What was this secret? A fairy tale will tell about this ...

Read and listen to a fairy tale (4 min 9 sec)

Heading: Bedtime stories | Tags: bedtime story, poems by Iris Revue

We all know the woodpecker bird. The woodpecker is not huge, has a strong, strong nose. Woodpecker's favorite tree is pine. The pine tree feeds the woodpecker almost all year round. She does not have bad harvest periods and she does not take days off. The tale about the woodpecker will tell us about a rather reasonable, understanding woodpecker.

Read and listen to a fairy tale (5 min 58 sec)

Heading: Bedtime stories | Tags: bedtime story, listen

Meet the main character of today's fairy tale - a cat named Skomoroshka. Skomoroshka loved to dream. Not only do humans have dreams, but cats do too.

Read and listen to a fairy tale (3 min 55 sec)

Heading: Bedtime stories | Tags: bedtime story, Color Tales

The inhabitants of the forest, which was called Eniki-Beniks, lived - did not grieve. But circumstances developed in such a way that their calm life went wrong. And what was the problem?

Read and listen to a fairy tale (3 min 17 sec)

Heading: Bedtime stories | Tags: bedtime story, Tales about the wolf

It is good when colorful hedgehogs appear from time to time.