Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Help Children Learn to Read

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Short Stories for Children

Please enjoy these great stories, fairy-tales, fables, and nursery rhymes for children. They help kids learn to read and make excellent bedtime stories! We have hundreds of great children's stories for you to share.

You may also enjoy Favorite Fairy Tales, Books for Young Readers, Children's Poems, Lullabies and Short Stories for Students


The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Peter Rabbit is a naughty bunny who eats the vegetables in Mr. McGregor's garden, loses his coat and shoes, narrowly escapes back home.
The Elves and the Shoemaker
The Elves and the Shoemaker is a wonderful story of giving to enjoy all year long!
The Bogey-Beast
The old women is happy no matter what her pot (or life) brings.
Winnie The Pooh
Winnie The Pooh
My Father's Dragon
Ruth Stiles Gannett's children's adventure about a baby dragon rescue, My Father's Dragon!
St. George and the Dragon
St. George and the Dragon
Snow White
Snow White
Cinderella
Cinderella
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Rikki Tikki Tavi
The Tortoise & the Hare
The Tortoise and the Hare
The Gingerbread Man
The Gingerbread Man
The Little Thief in the Pantry
The Little Thief in the Pantry
The Ugly Duckling
The Ugly Duckling
Thumbelina
Thumbelina
The Bremen Town Musicians
A band of outcast animals each out-wit bumbling robbers in a home near Bremen.
Alice in Wonderland abridged
Alice's Adventures Under Ground, with illustrations by Lewis Carroll
The Grasshopper and the Ant
Aesop's Fable The Ant and the Grasshopper
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's fables, 145 fables, many of them are illustrated!
The Reluctant Dragon
The Reluctant Dragon
The Emperor's New Clothes
Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes
The Princess and the Pea
The Princess and the Pea
Hans Christian Andersen
Fairy Tales from Hans Christian Andersen; The Ugly Duckling, The Little Match Girl, The Last Dream of Old Oak and more
Rapunzel
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!
The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe
The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe
Five Little Pigs
Five Little Pigs
Old Mother Goose & Her Son Jack
Mother Goose & Her Son Jack
Mother Goose Rhymes
Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose; Jack and Jill, Baa Baa Black Sheep and other favorites
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Fairy Tales from The Brothers Grimm; The Brave Little Tailor, Cinderella, Briar-Rose, and more ...
Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel
The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid
The Snow Image
The Snow Image: A Childish Miracle
Father Frost
Father Frost
The Snow Queen
The Snow Queen
How the Moon Became Beautiful
How the Moon Became Beautiful: A Chinese Fairy Tale
The Paradise of Children
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Paradise of Children
The Little Match Girl
The Little Match Girl, a beautiful, poignant, and sad Christmas Story worthy of your time and thoughtful consideration throughout the holiday season
Cousin Tribulation's Story
Cousin Tribulation's Story
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Huckleberry
Huckleberry, a fairy tale about two gnomes who tell riddles to humans
The Zigzag Railroad
Carl Sandburg, Rootabaga Stories
The Celebrated Jumping Frog
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
The Magic Pitcher
Hindu Tale: The Magic Pitcher
Just So Stories
Just So Stories from Rudyard Kipling; How the Leopard Got His Spots, How the Camel Got His Hump, and other great stories for kids
This Land Is Your Land
Woody Guthrie, This Land Is Your Land
The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse
Johnny Town-Mouse meets his friend from the country and they become lasting friends.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Goldilocks makes herself feel 'just right' in the bears' home, they discover she's still there!
Little Girl Afraid of a Dog
Dog Stories: Little-Girl-Afraid-of-a-Dog
The Little Red Hen
The Little Red Hen
Little Bo-Peep
Little Bo-Peep
The Wolf & Seven Little Kids
The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids
The Three Billy-Goats Gruff
The Three Billy-Goats Gruff
This Old Man
Children will enjoy reading and counting with this Old English nursery rhyme.
The Two Sisters
One sister is sympathetic and helpful, the other is mean and selfish. One good turn deserves another.
A Little Tiny Thing
A Little Tiny Thing
The Cunning Little Tailor
The Brothers Grimm's Cunning Little Tailor is a bear of a story!
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat
Perfect for young children, the unlikely pair of an owl and a pussy-cat set out for adventures over the sea.
Androclus and the Lion
Androclus and the Lion
Night Moth With Crooked Feeler
A young moth learned to care more for a warm heart and courage than for whole wings and straight feelers.
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
East of the Sun & West of the Moon
Norwegian Tale: East of the Sun and West of the Moon
Bruce and the Spider
Bruce and the Spider
How Jack Sought His Fortune
Find out how Jack sought his fortune on his adventure with a cat, rooster, cow, goat and dog.
The Adventures of Aladdin
The Adventures of Aladdin
The Sky is Falling!
Celtic Fairy Tale about a Sea-Maiden who grants a poor fisherman plenty of fish for a promise; there is a three-headed beast to fight.
The Fisherman and his Wife
The Fisherman and his Wife
Sleeping Beauty (Briar-Rose)
Sleeping Beauty, also known as Briar-Rose
Haiku Poetry - Basho
Basho's poetry is short and beautiful, with wonderful pictures too.
The Forest Bride
The Forest Bride: The Story of a Little Mouse Who Was a Princess
The Selfish Giant
The Selfish Giant
The Happy Prince
The Happy Prince
The Blind Men and the Elephant
The Blind Men and the Elephant
The Wise Monkey & the Boar
The Sagacious Monkey and the Boar: A Japanese Fairy Tale
The Farmer and the Badger
The Farmer and the Badger: A Japanese Fairy Tale
Hinky Pinkie Riddles
Hinky Pinkie answers are two rhyming words, two syllables each
Mother Bear's Call
Children's Stories: Mother Bear's Call
The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows featuring Mr. Toad, Badger and friends
The Last Dream of Old Oak
The Last Dream of Old Oak, a wonderful Christmas story that can be enjoyed any time of the year.
Soup on a Sausage Peg
Soup On a Sausage Peg, Andersen's version of 'Stone Soup'
Fun on the Ice
Winter Sports Stories: The Rover Boys: Fun on the Ice
How They Ran Away
Two boys set out along on a hunt adventure that doesn't turn out quite as they thought it would.
The Golden Touch
The Golden Touch
Pegasus, The Winged Horse
Pegasus, The Winged Horse
Theseus Slays the Minotaur
How Theseus Slays the Minotaur
The Great Stone Face
The Great Stone Face
The Golden Windows
An allegory about a boy who admires who his friend has, and doesn't realize he has it too, just depends on where you're standing
The Dragon's Teeth
Join Queen Telphassa and her son-princess on their quest in search of Europea, carried off by a snow-white bull
The Coming of the King
An allegory about working together to improve our environment, king or no king
The Great Feast
An allegory about making the best out of what you have
The Marsh King's Daughter
Two storks migrate in Spring to a Viking warrior's rooftop and tell the story of the wicked Marsh King's daughter.
The Sea-Maiden
Celtic Fairy Tale about a Sea-Maiden who grants a poor fisherman plenty of fish for a promise; there is a three-headed beast to fight.
The Story of Little Boy Blue
L. Frank Baum tells familiar Mother Goose nursery rhymes in prose.
Mother Earth's Children
Mother Earth's Children, Fruit and Vegetables Rhymes
Little Benjamin
What a surprise, left on their door-step ten years ago. What will they decide?
Puss in Boots
The Master Cat; or, Puss in Boots tells the story of a cat from humble beginnings who becomes a great lord.
Goody Two Shoes
Goody Two Shoes
Paul Bunyan & the Big Blue Ox
Folk Hero Paul Bunyan and Babe the Big Blue Ox
Fun Halloween Stories
Kids Halloween Stories: A magical collection, featured story is about two deserving children who dance with witches, pumpkins and vegetables on Halloween night for good luck!
The Pumpkin Glory
The Pumpkin Glory is about two seeds who want to be the best pumpkin pies ever!
Thankful
Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Thankful, the Thanksgiving turkey story
Christmas Stories
Favorite Christmas Stories for Children
Twas The Night Before Christmas
Twas The Night Before Christmas


Looking for chapter books like The Wizard of Oz and Treasure Island? Enjoy our collection of chapter Books for Young Readers

You might also like our whimsical Children's Poems, Yummy Stories and for learn-to-read fun, Pre-K Wordplay!

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