Short funny bedtime stories for kids

7 Funny Night Time Stories To Read To Kids

by Himanshu

Kids love stories. Period. I am yet to meet a kid who does not listen to stories with rapt attention, forgetting everything else. Every good story leaves the audience craving for more. And what better than those fun filled stories that make the kids burst into peals of laughter while giving them invaluable nuggets of wisdom. 

That’s the power of storytelling. Here’s a list of 7 funny night time stories that your kid will love and transform her into a cheerful little devil.

7 stories to tickle your funny bone

• Foolish Lion and the Clever Rabbit – A famous Panchatantra story of a fearsome, merciless lion and a clever rabbit. The lion who killed animals for no reason is approached by all the animals of the jungle. They promise to send one animal to the lion, daily, to become lion’s meal. When the clever rabbit is told to go to the lion, he is determined to end the lion’s tyranny. Did the rabbit succeed? Find out in this funny story.

• The Intelligent Merchant – Merchant’s are known to be intelligent and shrewd. And why shouldn’t they be when their livelihood depends on it. Sometimes literally. A short and witty tale about a merchant who was “punished” for speaking his mind when everyone else in the king’s court resorted to sycophancy. The king ordered the merchant to give up everything he owns except his weighing scale and prove that – A merchant can never go hungry at night as long as he possesses the weighing scale. Whether the merchant was able to prove it, remains to be seen.

• The Musical Donkey – In the animal world, a donkey is always portrayed as someone lacking brains. Despite its hardworking nature, a donkey is always shown as doing jobs that do not require much brains. Now whether a donkey actually lacks brain can be debated but the motive behind the entire portrayal is to demonstrate that raw strength alone does not make anyone valuable. To be respected, one needs to have brains and be able to apply it, when needed. The Musical Donkey teaches that a person should always consider the consequences of their actions.

• The Brahmin’s Dream – We are all dreamers in our unique ways. Dreaming is not bad. Infact, elders encourage us to dream because only when we dream, can we “act” towards achieving our dreams. Acting upon the dreams is very important. Day dreaming is never fruitful. Can the Brahmin, dreaming of becoming very rich in life, realize his dreams while sleeping? A fun-filled story that makes for a very interesting read to a group of children.

• The Mice That Ate Iron – It always amazes me how friendship can bring two people closer than the bond of blood. While we are related to scores of people by virtue of our birth, we are free to choose our friends. This freedom comes with a grave responsibility of choosing our friends carefully. It is said that a known enemy is less harmful than a false friend. This story teaches an important lesson in a funny tale.

• The King and The Drum – The King had a funny secret and he kept it from everyone in the Kingdom, even his Queen. But the barber had to be let in on the secret under oath of secrecy. However, secrets can’t be kept long, as the King discovered soon enough. And his secret came out in the most hilarious way imaginable. Read this story to find out!

• The Kettle Who Gave Birth – As kids we loved the antics of Nasreddin Hodja and his stories always brought us a hearty laugh. This is one of his best stories. We promise you will have the kids rolling on the floor in laughter as you tell them about the kettle who gave birth to a baby kettle.

Click on the link above and enjoy the stories.

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4 Short Funny Stories for Kids

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Searching for some funny stories for kids to read to your class or at bedtime? Your kids will love these!

There are two little bears who try to wake their mother at the end of winter, an elephant and a lion who have a battle of wills, five rats who try to sneak past a sleeping cat, and a brave kitten who gets lost.

These funny bedtime stories about animals are a great way to start building your child’s pre-reading and listening skills from a young age.

1.

Written by Christina Wither

Illustrated by Dannaria

Two little bears peeped out of their cave. Winter was over and they could smell the fresh spring air. It was time to get up and play after their long sleep.

“Let’s run under the trees,” said Ben.

“I want to roll in the grass,” said Bessie.

“We’d better ask mum,” said the bears together.

Ben and Bessie went into the cave where they had slept with their mum. There she was in the far corner. Mother bear was still fast asleep.

The two little bears tiptoed over to their mum and shook her gently.

“Wake up mum. The snow has melted and it is time to play,” said Ben.

Mother bear did not even move. She grunted and rolled over to carry on sleeping.

“What can we do?” asked Bessie. “We need our mother to wake up and take us into the forest to have some fun. ”

The two little bears sat outside the cave and tried to think of a way to wake up their mum.

“I know, let’s get some tickly spiders and see if they will wake up our mother,” said Ben.

The two bears went to find some tickly spiders. Bessie was feeling a bit scared of the spiders but Ben collected them on a big leaf. He took them to where his mum was lying.

The spiders walked off the leaf and across Mother bear’s back. Mother bear giggled in her sleep, but she did not wake up.

“I think we should ask a noisy cuckoo,” said Bessie.

The bears went out to the trees near the cave. Sitting in the tree was a cuckoo.

“Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo,” sang the bird.

The two bears asked the cuckoo to follow them back to the cave and call out to their mom.

“Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo,” sang the bird but mom just rolled over and carried on sleeping.

The two little bears did not know what to do. They had tried tickling, making a loud noise and calling out to mum.

“I know,” said Ben. “What about something she likes to eat?”

“Honey!” said the bears together.

Off they ran to a beehive. They talked politely to the bees and the bees gave them some honey. They ran back to the cave and tiptoed in to see if their mum would smell the honey.

Mum’s big brown bear nose began to twitch. Then her nose began to wiggle and she opened one eye. The baby bears took a few steps backwards.

Mother bear opened both her eyes and blinked. The baby bears took a few more steps back. Now they were up at the opening of the cave. Mother bear sat up and gave a big sniff.

“I smell honey,” she said.

Mother bear was awake at last. Ben and Bessie were so happy.

The little bears took a few more steps out of the cave and happily mother bear followed them. At last, they had found the best way to wake up mum!

Three happy bears skipped into the forest to enjoy the spring and have fun together.

2.

Written by Christina Wither

Illustrated by Dannaria

It was a hot, sunny day in Africa.   Elephant was walking down the path on his way to his favourite water hole. He was looking forward to the cool water and a mud bath.

Lion was also walking along the path. Lion was on his way to the grassy plains. He was going to lie down and wait for his lunch.

Elephant turned the corner and lifted his trunk in the air. He smelt the water at the water hole. Lion turned into the same corner. He was getting closer to his favourite hunting spot.

Suddenly the two animals met in the middle of the path.

“Out of my way,” roared the lion.

“Out of my way,” trumpeted the elephant.

“Make way for the king of the jungle,” growled the lion.

“Certainly not! Where shall I go?” answered the elephant.

The path was blocked. The two strong animals stood facing each other.

The elephant would not move. The lion would not move.

Other animals began to walk along the path. Some were standing behind the elephant and others behind the lion.

Lion and elephant just stared at each other and refused to move.

A monkey came running past. He greeted the other animals. Then he reached the lion and the elephant. He looked at the fierce lion. He looked at the enormous elephant.

The monkey started to chuckle. He ran off into the jungle to get some ‘monkey vine’ that hung from the trees. He rushed back to the lion and the elephant.

“I know how to solve your problem,” said the monkey.

All the animals behind the elephant and the lion wanted to get a look at what was going on. They saw the monkey arrive with a long piece of monkey vine.

He tied one end around the elephant and the other around the lion. He stood on an anthill nearby and shouted!

“Friends, we are going to have a tug of war. When I say ‘heave’ then it is time for the lion and the elephant to pull the monkey vine!”

“May the best animal win,” shouted the monkey.

Elephant was very strong and pulled hard at the rope. Lion dug his extra sharp claws into the path and pulled hard too.

Suddenly there was a clap of thunder! The animals looked up into the sky. They saw huge dark rain clouds. A storm was on its way.

Then Lion felt the first drops of rain. He let go of the monkey vine and ran off into the bushes.

“My mane, my beautiful mane. I combed it as smooth as silk this morning!” he cried.

Lion ran to hide under an Acacia Tortillas, the umbrella thorn tree.

“I win,” cried Elephant, as he stood in the rain. Elephant’s thick skin was like a raincoat. He was not worried about getting wet.

Monkey hopped about with delight. He wanted Elephant to win.

Suddenly all the animals heard a mighty roar! “No, rain stopped play, there is no contest.”

Lion did not want the animals to think he had lost. No contest meant there was no winner.

Elephant nodded his head and walked down the path. He did not care if he got wet and he was looking forward to getting muddy too.

3.

Written by Christina Wither

Illustrated by Dannaria

Samson, the big black cat, lay across the mat fast asleep. He was a very big, fat cat. Samson looked as if he was asleep, but he really had one eye open all the time.

Samson’s one eye was looking right at the hole in the wall where a family of rats lived. One, two, three, four and five little rats.

Five little frightened rats were peeping out from behind the hole in the wall. The five rats wanted to get away from the big, black cat.

Samson yawned and stretched and turned over to sleep a bit longer. The rats were quivering with excitement.  Now was their chance to escape. One rat tiptoed out to cross the room. He started to run towards the door.

Suddenly the door opened! In walked a tall man wearing a top hat. The man threw the top hat onto a chair but it missed the chair and fell on the floor.

Samson jumped up and hissed. The rat ran back to his hole with the other rats. The chance to escape had gone.

Slowly Samson went back to sleep. The rats looked at the cat and then they noticed the top hat lying on the floor and it gave them an idea.

The rats nodded to each other as they made a plan. They would hide under the hat and see if they could sneak past the big, black cat. Carefully, one by one, they wriggled under the hat and waited.

The rats heard Samson snoring. They thought they would start to walk towards the door under the shelter of the hat. Slowly the hat slid across the floor. The cat did not wake up.

The rats reached the door. It was open just enough for them to slip out and go on down the road. The hat, with the rats, went out of the door.

At the same time Samson woke up. His greedy eyes saw the hat moving across the steps and out of the door. 

He jumped up and started to walk towards the door. The rats knew they would have to start to run.

The cat was getting closer and the rats could see no escape. Behind them was the cat and in front of them was the road and it led to a duck pond. Oh, what should they do?

Whoosh, a sudden gust of wind blew down the road. It tipped the hat over and the rats fell inside. They hung on tightly.  What would happen now?

The hat blew down the road and into the pond. The rats peeped over the edge. They saw that they were floating on the pond. Now the hat was a boat!

Samson looked at the rats floating on the pond. He was very angry. He could not swim. The rats had escaped in their funny top hat. The little rats laughed at the cat. Samson hissed and went home.

4.

Written by Christina Wither

Illustrated by Dannaria

Grady was a little, grey kitten. He had a white spot on his back and a black spot on his nose. Grady lived with his mum and two sisters on a farm.

Grady’s sisters were white with black spots. Both of his sisters were very good. Grady was the naughty one. He was always getting into trouble.

Grady was very adventurous. He wanted to explore the farm. One day he went out into the farmyard to see what was in the big wide world.

Grady said to himself, “I am not afraid of anything!”

Suddenly a big monster roared out of the garage and sent Grady spinning into the bushes. He did not know what had roared past. He picked himself up and decided it was time to go home.

Grady looked left and he looked right, but there was nowhere that looked like home. He was lost.

‘Oh dear,’ Grady thought. ‘Now what shall I do?’ He walked across a field and suddenly he stopped!

There in front of him was a furry, white animal with spots on its back. Grady thought it must be one of his sisters.

Grady ran up to the furry, spotted animal.

“Can you take me home?” asked Grady.

“No,” said the furry animal. “You do not belong in my home.

“Look at you, you do not have big ears and you do not hop like me,” said the furry animal.

Grady realized he did not belong with this animal. Grady ran to the farmyard where he saw another spotty animal. It was a bit bigger than Grady, but it had spots on its back.

Grady ran up to the spotty animal.

“Can I come home with you? You look just like me with all those spots,” said Grady.

The big animal grunted and jumped into a mud puddle.

“I have mud spots on my back. Come and roll in the mud if you want mud spots,” said the muddy spotty animal.

“No thanks,” said Grady. He did not want to get muddy. Grady ran away again.

Grady was getting worried. He was hungry too.

Then Grady saw another spotted animal. This animal had a loud voice.

“Ruff, ruff,” said the voice. “Can I help you?”

Grady just nodded. He felt himself being lifted up and carried away. A spotty dog had found Grady. He scratched at the front door. A little girl opened the door. She jumped up and down.

She was so happy to see the spotty dog and the kitten. She took Grady right back to his mother. She was lying in a basket in the kitchen.

Grady saw his mum and his two sisters. Grady listened to their soft purring.

“Purr, purr,” said the other kittens. They were happy too.

Grady was put back in his basket. He felt happy as he snuggled up with his family. He was safe now and he was going to get some milk for his supper.

Purr, purr, purr!

I hope you liked these stories. For a printable version of these stories, scroll to the FREE downloads at the end of the post.

Here are more short, bedtime stories for kids and here is some info on the importance of listening skills in early childhood.

These stories are written by Christina Wither and illustrated by Dannaria.

About the Author:

Christina Wither lives in the Natal Midlands of South Africa. She loves writing stories for children. She believes stories are a great way of empowering parents to connect with their children.

‘A story a day will bring happiness your way,’ says Christina, who especially enjoys writing quirky stories for the very young.

Christina is a co-writer for Empowered Parents and is also the creator of the awesome children’s brand Wart and Fish – Play and Learn.

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Funny Tales - read free online

Funny Tales - works of peoples of the world and writers that will entertain your children. In them, adults and peers of the young reader, animals and birds get into ridiculous situations. However, even household items and things from the wardrobe of a child or his parents can be in a funny environment. Read funny stories to the guys in the evening, or when they are clearly bored. In addition to laughter, these works will evoke other emotions and thoughts in the young listener. They will gently teach children the ability to dream, empathize, notice and use puns in their speech.

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Funny fairy tales - read online for children!

Home » Funny Tales

Every child should be cheerful and cheerful. And in order for a smile to appear more often on the face of a little “miracle”, this section with funny tales was created. Here are collected the funniest fairy tale stories that will cheer you up and cheer you up. If your child wants to laugh and have fun, then read him the fairy tales presented here. Reading these fairy tales, the child develops positive thinking and a positive attitude in life.

Vladimir Odoevsky

About four deaf people

025110 min

5

Pisakhov

If you don’t like it, don’t listen

01644 min

5

Stepan Pisakhov’s playful fairy tale “Don’t listen to it if you like it” tells about the Arkhangelsk Territory

Alexander Afanasiev

Beasts in the pit

02432 min

5

In his fairy tale "Beasts in the pit" Alexander Afanasyev tells his readers about how the pig in St. Petersburg

about animals

Aleksey Tolstoy

9000

0169

1

Pig decided to become an artist. She rolled in the mud, leaned against the fence - and the picture is ready!

about animals

Leo Tolstoy

A peasant and cucumbers

0239

A story about a man who went to steal cucumbers in someone else's garden. He dreamed about how he would sell these cucumbers

Instructive tales

Stepan Pisakhov

Catfish pie

01063 min Pisakhov

Wedding

0684 min

A fairy tale about a wedding, but only an unusual one. The bride is the cathedral bell tower. Her matchmaker is a flour store.

Stepan Piskakhov

Like a lot of

0353 min

The comic fairy tale "How a lot lined up" Pisakhova Stepan tells how the author walked in the forest

Russian folk tales

0742 min

day to go to the priest's yard. The priest asks the deacon for advice, what to do with the cow?

Short fairy tales for children 5-6 years old about animals about a cow

Russian folk tales

Ax porridge

44032 min

4.6

The tale of a serviceman who was returning home. When he stopped for the night with a miserly old woman, she refused

Short fairy tales for grade 3 for children 7-11 years old for the night

Russian folk tales

Fear has big eyes

03262 min

5

the eyes of fear are large ”the heroes were afraid of the imaginary danger that they saw.

Short bedtime stories for babies about a hare with pictures

Russian folk audio tales

Ivan the Fool

01265 min

3

An old man lived with an old woman.

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