All stories

Grandma’s Chest: The Didukh
On Christmas Eve Mirko finds an old didukh in Grandma’s chest, hears how it once danced and sneezed, and ties a new one with her.
Ages 6–87 min readWinter
Why the Spruce and the Pine Stay Green
A little bird with a hurt wing looks for a place to winter: the proud trees send her away, but the spruce, the pine and the juniper take her in.
Ages 2–54 min readWinter
The Little Fox and the Pushy Wolf
A clever little fox swapped an empty pie for a calf, but a pushy wolf broke her sleigh, ate the calf and paid for it with the tip of his tail.
Ages 2–55 min readAnimal stories
Perez the Mouse
Little King Bubi sets out at night with Perez the Mouse to visit a poor boy named Gilito, and learns what it truly means to be a king.
Ages 6–89 min readKindness
Rexik, Trika and the Meteor Shower
Trika wants to catch a shooting star, Rexik notices that the stars burn out high in the sky, and Dad’s “star” turns out not to be a star at all.
Ages 6–87 min readDinosaurs
A Christmas Carol
On one Christmas night the miser Scrooge meets three spirits and manages to change before it is too late.
Ages 9–1218 min readWinter
Sampo the Little Lapp
A little Sami boy, Sampo, sets off at night to the Mountain King’s mountain and boldly tells the giant that the sun will surely come back.
Ages 6–88 min readWinter
Timko and the Letter to Saint Nicholas
Before his winter sleep, Timko the hedgehog draws a letter to Saint Nicholas and asks for a gift not for himself but for his little sister Lily.
Ages 2–54 min readWinter
The Wawel Dragon
A Polish legend: a dragon under Wawel Hill terrifies all of Kraków, the knights run away, and humble shoemaker Skuba beats it with a needle and a clever idea.
Ages 6–88 min readCourage
The Little Fir Tree
A little fir tree is in such a hurry to grow up and wait for something better that she misses her own happiness until it is gone.
Ages 6–810 min readWinter
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Lazy young Aladdin finds a magic lamp underground, and when a cunning sorcerer steals it, he wins everything back with his own wits.
Ages 9–1215 min readMagic
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack swaps a cow for five magic beans, climbs a beanstalk above the clouds and escapes a giant with a little hen and a golden harp.
Ages 6–87 min readAdventure
The Cat That Walked by Himself
The Woman tamed the Dog, the Horse and the Cow, but the clever Cat struck a bargain: three praises, and he gets the fire, yet he still walks by himself.
Ages 6–810 min readAnimal stories
The Cat and the Rooster
Cat goes off for firewood and begs Rooster not to look out of the window, but the fox sings so sweetly that Rooster cannot help it.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
Little Muck
A boy who teased Little Muck hears his story: magic slippers, a jealous court, a false accusation, donkey ears, and learns that mockery is not funny.
Ages 9–1212 min readMagic
Pinocchio
The wooden puppet Pinocchio runs away, tells lies and lands in trouble, and to save his father he must learn to be honest and hardworking.
Ages 9–1213 min readMagic
Rumpelstiltskin
A miller boasts that his daughter can spin straw into gold, and now only one thing can save her: the strange name of a tiny little man.
Ages 6–86 min readMagic
The Straw Ox
An old man wove a straw ox for his wife and smeared its side with tar, and a bear, a wolf, a fox and a hare stuck to it one after another.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
The Swineherd
A princess scorned a real rose and a nightingale, yet kissed a swineherd for a magic toy, never guessing who he really was.
Ages 6–87 min readKindness
The Starry Boat
Olesya does not want to sleep, so a moon-boat takes her sailing across the night sky, where the clouds, the stars and the breeze are already dozing off.
Ages 2–53 min readBedtime
Snow White
A jealous stepmother tries three times to get rid of Snow White, but kind dwarfs and a lucky stumble save the girl.
Ages 6–89 min readMagic
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood left the path to pick flowers, and a sly wolf beat her to Grandma’s house. A Brothers Grimm tale about the price of not listening.
Ages 6–88 min readCourage
Thumbelina
A tiny girl born in a tulip escapes a toad, a beetle and a blind mole, and the swallow she saved carries her to a warm land of flowers.
Ages 6–89 min readMagic
Hansel and Gretel
Lost in the forest, a brother and sister find a witch’s gingerbread house, where clever Gretel saves Hansel, and white pebbles and a duck lead them home.
Ages 6–89 min readCourage
Ryaba the Hen
Ryaba the hen laid a golden egg. Grandpa and Grandma could not break it, but a mouse flicked her tail, and soon the whole village was sad.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
Cinderella
A fairy godmother whisks Cinderella to the ball in a pumpkin coach, but at midnight the magic ends and a glass slipper is left on the stairs.
Ages 6–88 min readMagic
The Princess and the Pea
A prince searched the whole world for a real princess, and it was the old queen who recognised her, with the help of one tiny pea.
Ages 2–53 min readMagic
The Turnip
Grandad Andrushka grows a turnip as big as his head but can’t pull it up alone, so he calls Granny, Minka, Finka, Varvarka and a mouse. Who won’t tumble?
Ages 2–53 min readFamily
Sirko
The farmer sent old dog Sirko away, and a wolf helped him get home. Now Sirko must thank his friend, right in the middle of a wedding.
Ages 6–87 min readAnimal stories
The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats
The Wolf ate chalk and dusted his paw with flour so the kids would open the door, but the smallest hid in a clock, and Mother Goat saved them all.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
The New Girl
Hoopoe Dana arrives from the far south as the new girl at the forest school, but autumn will call her away. Will her friendship with Timko wait for spring?
Ages 9–1214 min readBig moments
Timko and the Wobbly Tooth
Timko’s first baby tooth falls out right in the middle of a laugh, then vanishes, and all of Oak Grove searches for it until evening.
Ages 6–87 min readBig moments
Timko and the Littlest One
Timko’s baby sister Lily is born, and he wishes Mom were only his. Then it turns out that Lily already knows her big brother.
Ages 2–53 min readBig moments
Timko and the Friends Who Fell Out
Rusty visits Timko, and the friends compete over who is his best friend, until Timko says words to Splash that he can never take back.
Ages 6–87 min readBig moments
Timko and the Big Potty
Timko the hedgehog can use his small potty, but the big one, like Mom’s and Dad’s, scares him, until Dad takes out a piece of string.
Ages 2–54 min readBig moments
Timko Goes to Kindergarten
Little hedgehog Timko goes to Acorn Kindergarten for the first time: he is sad in the morning, but Mom promises to come after lunch and nap.
Ages 2–54 min readBig moments
Timko Moves House
Timko’s family moves to a new house in Ash Tree Glade: there are goodbyes to say to Rusty, Pip and the old house, and a new friend to find.
Ages 6–88 min readBig moments
Timko at the Doctor’s
Timko the hedgehog scares his little sister Lily with spooky tales about the doctor, then goes for a check-up and a vaccine with Doctor Beaver himself.
Ages 2–54 min readBig moments
Grandma’s Button
In Grandma’s box Mirko finds an old blue button with a chip in it, and with it the stories of his great-grandfather, his mum and one old secret.
Ages 2–53 min readFamily
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Twice a shepherd boy calls the villagers to save his sheep from a wolf just for a joke, and when the wolf really comes, nobody believes him.
Ages 2–53 min readFables
Puss in Boots
The youngest miller’s son inherited only a cat, but that cat in boots outwitted the king, the mowers and even a man-eating giant.
Ages 6–87 min readAnimal stories
Kolobok, the Runaway Bun
Rosy Kolobok rolls away from Grandpa and Granny, the Bunny, the Wolf and the Bear, but the sly Fox catches him with sweet praise.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
King Thrushbeard
A proud princess mocks every suitor, then spends a month with a wandering fiddler and learns for herself how much someone else’s laughter stings.
Ages 6–87 min readFeelings
The Ants and the Grasshopper
All summer the ants carry grain, while the Grasshopper just plays his little fiddle. Then winter comes, and the hungry Grasshopper knocks at the anthill.
Ages 2–53 min readFables
The Emperor’s New Clothes
Two swindlers weave the emperor cloth that fools cannot see. Everyone pretends to see it, until a little girl speaks up at the parade.
Ages 6–87 min readCourage
Rexik and the Bully Pachycephalosaurus
A newcomer pachycephalosaurus shoves everyone in the valley, but Rexik notices that the bully is always alone, and trust can’t be shoved into place with a head.
Ages 9–1212 min readDinosaurs
Rexik and the Lost Egg
Rexik finds a lonely egg by the river and guards it with Trika for many days, until he learns who is living inside.
Ages 2–54 min readDinosaurs
Rexik, Trika and the Dads' Contest
Rexik’s Dad and Uncle Horn compete to see who is stronger, while the moms quietly save the nests full of eggs from a flood.
Ages 6–88 min readDinosaurs
The Little Mermaid
The youngest sea princess gives up her voice for legs to be near the prince, and on her last night she makes the hardest and bravest choice of all.
Ages 9–1216 min readMagic
The Fisherman and His Wife
A poor fisherman lets a magic flounder go, and his wife Ilsebill keeps asking for more, until she wants to give orders to the sun itself.
Ages 6–88 min readMagic
Happy Hans
For seven years of work Hans earns a lump of gold, then on the way home he swaps his goods for worse and worse ones, and each time he is delighted.
Ages 6–87 min readFables
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
A one-legged tin soldier falls in love with a paper dancer, sails in a paper boat, ends up inside a fish, and stays true to the very end.
Ages 6–87 min readCourage
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Three goats called Gruff cross a bridge to a green mountain, while a hungry troll under the bridge waits for the biggest one.
Ages 2–53 min readAnimal stories
Urashima Taro and the Sea Princess’s Box
The fisherman Urashima saves a turtle and visits a palace under the sea, but at home a strange secret of time and a box that must never be opened await him.
Ages 9–1213 min readMagic
The Cartographer of Unspoken Words
Granny gives Yaryna a magic map, and she sails to the island where her family keeps the words they never dared to say.
Ages 9–1212 min readAdventure
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
An old soldier in an invisibility cloak follows twelve princesses through magic groves and finds out where they wear out their shoes every night.
Ages 6–87 min readMagic
The Wild Swans
A wicked stepmother turns eleven princes into swans, and their sister Eliza silently knits them nettle shirts to break the spell.
Ages 9–1212 min readCourage
The Ugly Duckling
A gray duckling chased out of the farmyard survives autumn and a harsh winter, and in spring sees in the water that he has become a swan.
Ages 6–88 min readFeelings
Kotyhoroshko, the Boy from a Pea
A boy born from a little pea grows into a mighty hero, defeats a dragon, frees his sister and brothers, then sets off into the world with loyal friends.
Ages 9–1213 min readCourage
The Bramble Goat
A fibbing goat takes over a hare’s little house, and no wolf, bear or ox can drive her out, until a tiny crayfish comes along.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
Kyrylo Kozhumiaka
A fierce Dragon has stolen the princess of Kyiv, and only Kyrylo Kozhumiaka, who kneads twelve hides at once with his bare hands, can save her.
Ages 9–1213 min readCourage
The Lion and the Mouse
A Lion laughs at a tiny Mouse and lets her go, but later she chews through the ropes of a net and saves him.
Ages 2–52 min readAnimal stories
The Nightingale
An emperor trades a living nightingale for a glittering mechanical bird, but when Death comes, only a real song can save him.
Ages 9–1214 min readNature
A Pillow for the Moon
The Moon just can’t fall asleep, so little Sonya and the animals sew him a soft pillow out of a little cloud.
Ages 2–53 min readBedtime
Rexik and Quetza the Postwoman
Quetza the postwoman brings Rexik a mysterious three-word letter, so he and Trika set off across the valley to see if something is wrong.
Ages 6–86 min readDinosaurs
Rexik and Trika
Noisy Trika asks Rexik to play hide-and-seek, but she just can’t find him, even though he’s standing right beside her the whole time.
Ages 2–53 min readDinosaurs
Rexik, Trika and the Longest Neck
Trika bets tall Alya that she can find Quetza’s lost pouch first. But the pouch was somewhere Alya could never look herself.
Ages 6–87 min readDinosaurs
Rexik, Trika and the Big Rain
Rexik’s and Trika’s dads compete to build the best rain shelter, but the best one turns out to be a bumpy rock that wasn’t there yesterday.
Ages 2–53 min readDinosaurs
Rexik, Trika and the Mystery of the Giant Footprints
Giant three-toed footprints appear by the swamp, and Rexik, like a real detective, works out who has really been walking there.
Ages 9–1211 min readDinosaurs
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
A brave little mongoose protects a boy named Teddy and his family from two sly cobras who live in a big garden in India.
Ages 9–1213 min readCourage
The Happy Prince
The golden statue of the Prince asks a little Swallow to give his jewels to the poor, and the Swallow stays with him all winter long.
Ages 9–1214 min readKindness
The Little Elephant
A curious Little Elephant goes to the Limpopo River to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner, and comes home with a wonderful long trunk.
Ages 6–88 min readAnimal stories
The Snail Who Carried the Moon Home
A little snail finds the Moon in a puddle and carries it through the night garden back to the sky, helped by a firefly, a cricket and a moth.
Ages 2–53 min readBedtime
The Keeper of the Faded Stars
Myroslava is afraid of the dark, but she walks the night rooftops with a tired old keeper to light the stars above the old town again.
Ages 9–1213 min readCourage
The Three Little Pigs
Three little pigs build houses of straw, sticks and bricks. When the wolf comes, only the brick one stands, so two brothers must build again.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
The Umbrella Who Was Afraid of the Rain
A new yellow umbrella hides from the rain in a cupboard, until a lost little girl called Solomiyka is caught in a downpour outside.
Ages 6–87 min readCourage
The Selfish Giant
A Giant shuts the children out of his garden and winter moves in for good, until one little boy melts the Giant’s heart.
Ages 6–88 min readKindness
Why Sun and Moon Live in the Sky
Welcoming Sun and Moon invite their friend Water and all her creatures to visit, but Water just keeps on coming and coming.
Ages 6–86 min readNature
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
A little girl named Goldilocks wanders into a cottage in the woods, tastes the bears' porridge, breaks a little chair and falls asleep in someone else’s bed.
Ages 2–53 min readAnimal stories
The Shoemaker and the Elves
Someone secretly makes boots for a poor shoemaker at night; before Christmas he and his wife discover who, and make the tiny helpers warm gifts.
Ages 2–54 min readWinter
Why the Bear Has a Short Tail
A sly fox teaches a bear to fish with his tail through a hole in the ice, and ever since, all bears have had stubby little tails.
Ages 2–53 min readAnimal stories
The Twelve Months
A stepmother sends Marushka out in winter for violets, strawberries and apples, and the twelve months by a magic fire help the kind girl.
Ages 6–87 min readWinter
The Cat of the Dovre Mountains
A hunter taking a white bear to the king spends Christmas Eve in a cottage that trolls invade, and they mistake the bear for a giant kitty!
Ages 6–87 min readWinter
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
On Christmas night, Marie saves a wooden Nutcracker from the seven-headed Mouse King, and he leads her to the magical Kingdom of Dolls.
Ages 9–1212 min readMagic
Mother Holle
Hardworking Olenka jumps into a well after her spindle, meets Mother Holle, whose featherbed makes it snow, and comes home covered in gold.
Ages 6–87 min readWinter
The Snowman
A snowman asks an old dog about the world and dreams of a warm stove; with the thaw he melts, and only then is it clear why he longed for it.
Ages 6–87 min readWinter
Timko and the First Snow
Timko the hedgehog has never seen snow, so Granny Owl promises to call him the moment the very first snowflake falls.
Ages 2–53 min readWinter
The Sparrow and the Two Chests
Grandpa searches for the sparrow Granny chased away and gets a box of treasure, but spooks climb out of greedy Granny’s big chest.
Ages 6–88 min readKindness
Why Possum’s Tail Is Bare
Possum bragged so much about his fluffy tail that Rabbit and Cricket taught him a lesson, and that’s why possums still have bare tails.
Ages 6–86 min readAnimal stories
The Hare and the Hedgehog
A boastful Hare laughs at the Hedgehog’s short legs, but the clever Hedgehog and his wife beat him in a race.
Ages 2–53 min readFables
How Anansi the Spider Got All the Stories
Tiny Anansi the spider outwits a python, a leopard, hornets and a forest fairy to buy all the world’s stories from the Sky God for people.
Ages 9–1212 min readAdventure
The Painted Fox
Mykyta the Fox falls into a barrel of blue paint and becomes the mighty King Hostromysl, until one moonlit night his own yapping gives him away.
Ages 6–86 min readFables
The Clockmaker of Shadow Street
A clockmaker’s apprentice finds a magic clock that brings back lost minutes and must choose: undo his mistake, or bravely own up to it.
Ages 9–1213 min readCourage
The Little Cloud Who Lost Her Rain
A little cloud searches for her lost rain, and a breeze, a sunflower and a frog help her give a thirsty garden a drink.
Ages 2–53 min readBedtime
The Fox and the Crane
The Fox serves the Crane porridge on a flat plate, the Crane serves her fish soup in a narrow jug, and each goes home hungry.
Ages 2–53 min readFables
A Lighthouse for a Forgetful Whale
A lighthouse keeper’s daughter makes up a song of light so that Bloop, a forgetful young whale, can find his way home even in thick fog.
Ages 6–89 min readFriendship
The Monkey and the Crocodile
A Monkey treats her friend the Crocodile to sweet pink apples, but when he carries her out to sea for his sly wife, only her quick wits save her.
Ages 6–86 min readFables
Momotaro, the Peach Boy
A boy who came out of a giant peach sails with a dog, a monkey and a pheasant to the demons' island to win back the people’s treasures.
Ages 6–88 min readCourage
The Snow Queen
Gerda travels to the far north to melt the splinter of ice in her friend Kai’s heart with the warmth of her own.
Ages 9–1216 min readCourage
Sweet Porridge
A kind old woman gives a girl a magic pot, but her mother forgets the word that stops it, and porridge floods the whole town.
Ages 2–54 min readMagic
The Bremen Town Musicians
Four old animals set off for Bremen to become musicians, but along the way they find something even better: a home and friends.
Ages 6–87 min readFriendship
The Mitten
Grandpa drops a mitten in the forest, and the animals move in one by one, until a big bear comes along.
Ages 2–53 min readAnimal stories
The Hedgehog and the Little Lantern
Little Timko the hedgehog is afraid of the dark, but one evening he has to walk home by himself with a little lantern.
Ages 2–53 min readBedtime

Here is every story on the site, from short ones that take a few minutes to long adventures for older children. We retell folk tales and classics in our own words and always name the source, and we write our own stories from scratch. Each card shows the age and how many minutes it takes to read aloud, so it is easy to pick the right story for tonight.

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