Short Bedtime Stories for Kids

Stories are one of the most amazing ways to convey a message in a short and clear format. If you want to teach something to someone, you take the help of examples. Similarly, stories are examples of life lessons. So, if you are looking for some bedtime stories for kids, this article might help you.

Through this article, you will learn some short bedtime stories for kids that give them a moral value. The article also gives a list of bedtime stories for kids in Hindi, bedtime stories for kids in English, and bedtime stories for kids in Tamil that you can find on the internet.

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Short Bedtime Stories for Kids

Here are some short bedtime stories for kids with morals they give.

1. The Wicked Crocodile

It is one of the most popular bedtime stories for kids taken from the Book Panchtantra. It is about a Monkey, who lived on a berry tree across a river. He enjoyed the fresh and fruity berries regularly. Once he saw a crocodile in the river who was sad and hungry.

The monkey passed some berries to the croc. The croc ate it and became happy. Soon both the animals became best friends. Monkey regularly gave berries to the croc and the croc began to protect him from other predators.

Once the monkey gave berries to the crocodile’s wife. When the crocodile gave those berries to his wife, she said, “ These berries are sweet. I want to eat the heart of the monkey who eats these berries regularly. He would be sweeter.” The crocodile became sad but was left with no option.

He went to the Monkey and said, “ My wife has invited you for dinner.” The monkey sat on the back of the crocodile and became ready to go to their house. When they reached the middle of the river, the crocodile told everything to the monkey.

The monkey said, “ why are you worried? I do not have any problem in giving my heart but there is a problem. I have left my heart in the berry tree. Let us go back and take it to your wife.” The foolish crocodile did not understand his trick and took the monkey to the berry tree. The monkey immediately jumped to the highest branch and saved his life.

Moral: Make friends carefully.

2. A Lesson to Remember

Once there was a boy named Ian who was upset. He was sitting on the bench at a park near his house. His mother saw him and asked, “Son, why are you sad?” What is making you sad?” To this, Ian replied, “ Mom, my life is full of problems and I do not know what to do.”

His Mom smiled and asked him to bring a potato, some coffee beans, and an Egg. Then she asked Ian to pour water in three bowls and put them on the stove. When the water started boiling, she asked Ian to put coffee beans, potatoes, and eggs separately in those containers.

Once the water became cold, she asked Ian to observe the texture of the three things. The potato which was earlier hard became soft and easy to peel. The eggs have become tougher while the coffee beans have completely changed. It filled the bowl with a flavour and aroma.

Moral: The water in the bowls was like life problems. Everyone goes through them. However, it depends on the person how they react to it. Whether they become soft like potato, harder like egg, or change the problem by making a flavour out of it like coffee beans.

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3. The Frogs that Fell in a Pit

Once there was a group of frogs who were looking for food in the jungle. During their search, they were also playing. Suddenly, two frogs in that group fell into a pit. The rest of the frogs got worried for their friends. They tried to help them out. However, seeing the depth of the pit, they told the friends that it is impossible to get out of it.

Despite the discouraging words of the group, the frogs in the pit continuously tried to jump out of it. However, they failed several times. After some time, one of the two frogs was convinced that his friends were right. They cannot come out of it.

Soon the frog stopped trying and died in the pit. The second frog did not give up. He was continuously jumping high and high. He came out of the pit. The other frogs were shocked to see that he overcame such a bid pit. Then they realized that the frog was deaf and he thought the other frogs were cheering him up. So, he came out.

Moral: In your life, whenever you fall into a problem, people will discourage you. However, their discouragement can only affect you if you listen to them as the first frog did. If you ignore these comments and only focus on your performance, you can overcome any barrier like the second frog did.

4. The Milkman and the Pail

Once there was a Milkman. He milked the cows and sold the milk filled in the pails. He used to carry two pails on a stick. When he was wandering in the market to sell the milk, a thought came to his mind that what he will do with the money earned through selling milk.

He decided to buy a hen from that money. Then sell the eggs and earn more money. He started dreaming that by selling the eggs and milk regularly he will buy a house, a car, a basket of kiwi, a cake, dinner, and a dress. He became lost in the world of his dreams.

He did not realize that he was dancing on the roads with happiness and all the milk was spilling all over the road. When he came to consciousness, he saw that there was no more milk in the pail. He became upset and repented.

Moral: The moral of this short bedtime story for kids is never to count the chickens before they hatch. It is vital to focus on your hard work and wait for the results patiently.

5. The Tortoise and a Hare

It is about two animals, one known for its speed and energy ( The Hare ) while the other known for walking slowly ( The tortoise).

Once in a jungle, a hare named Mike was very proud of his speed. He had won many races that made him arrogant. To make fun of a tortoise named Gary, he asked, “ Dear Gary, let us race. Although you know who is going to win, still I want to give you a chance” The tortoise calmly said, “ Okay Mike, if you say I will race with you”.

The animals of the entire forest gathered together to see this unique race between the fastest and the slowest. Everyone was laughing at Gary because they knew that no one could defeat Mike in a race.

After some time, the race began. Mike, with his speed, crossed half of the distance in a few minutes only. Gary was still in the beginning. Mike thought Gary would take a long to cover the gap. At that time, I can take a power nap. So he slept beneath a tree.

Meanwhile, Gary slowly crossed the entire distance and won the race. When Mike woke up, he saw that Gary was standing on the finish line. Seeing this, Mike became upset and realized his mistake. The entire forest became shocked and cheered for Gary.

Moral: More than your skills, your determination and patience matter. If you stay focused on work with dedication, you will win every race of life like the tortoise.

6. The Little Pigs

It is a story of three little pigs named Frank, Pumba, and Timon. Their mother sent them to face the challenges of the real world. Three of them decided to build their house.

Frank was lazy and did not want to put in a lot of effort. So he made a house with the straws. Pumba was not as lazy as Frank but he also did not give much effort and built a house of sticks. Timon was the most hardworking among them. He formed a house of stones and bricks.

Both of the other pigs made fun of Timon and said, “ You are only wasting your time and energy. You can live in a house of straw and stick also.” However, Timon did not listen to them and completed the house.

The three were happily living in their houses. But one day, a wolf came to eat the three pigs. He searched and found the pigs hiding in their places. He immediately broke the house made of straws and sticks with his claws and ate the two pigs. However, even after several tries, he failed to break the home of Timon. He became tired and left. The house saved Timon’s life.

Moral: The moral of the story is never to look for shortcuts. Hard work pays off.

So, these are some stories that you can read to your kids.

Also Read: Story Reading for Kids: A fun Activity that Give Life Values

Bedtime Stories for Kids in Hindi

If your kids lag in the Hindi language, you can enhance their command over it by reciting stories before they sleep. Here is a list of famous bedtime stories:

• सबसे बड़ी दौलत ( The Most Valuable Thing )

• चंपक की बैलगाड़ी ( The Bullock Cart and a Man )

• बुरी संगत का नतीजा ( A Bad Company )

• शातिर चोर ( A Clever Thief )

• दिल की सुने या दिमाग की ( Whom to Follow: Heart Or Mind? )

• अशिक्षित राजा ( The Illiterate King )

• जीवन की सिख दर्जी से ( A Lesson from a Tailor )

• कॉलेज की दोस्ती ( The College Friendship )

• जादुई पत्थर की सिख ( The Magical Gem )

• लकड़हारे का सबक ( Hyena Got a Lesson )

• असली चोर कौन ( Who is the Thief? )

These stories give kids moral values that they need in their life. You can also make it a fun learning activity by making questions out of the stories and asking them from kids. It will improve your kid’s command of the language.

Bedtime Stories for Kids in Tamil

The people of South India, especially Tamil Nadu, are Tamil speakers. If you are one of them, you might look for short bedtime stories for kids in Tamil. Do not worry. Here is a list of some popular tales to recite for your kids.

• ஓநாயும் ஆடு மேய்க்கும் இடையனும்! ( A Boy Who Lied)

• ஒரு மனிதனும் பூனையும்! ( A Man And a Cat)

• தீய பழக்கங்கள்! ( Bad Habits )

• நனைந்த கால்சட்டைகள் ( Wet Trousers )

• கோபத்தை கட்டுப்படுத்துதல்.! (Controlling Anger)

• மூத்தோர் சொல் கேள்! ( Listen to Your Elders)

• சுவரின் மறுபக்கம்! ( The Other Side )

• தாய் நண்டும் குழந்தை நண்டும்! ( The Crab Family )

• ஓநாயும் ஆட்டுமந்தையும்! ( The Wolf and the Flock)

• விவசாயியும் கிணறும்! ( Farmer and the Well )

• ஒட்டகமும் அதன் குழந்தையும்! ( Story of a Camel and Its baby)

• ஒரு பெருமிதமுள்ள பயணி! ( A Proud Traveler )

• நான்கு மாடுகளும் புலியும்! ( A Tiger and Four Cattles )

• பறவையும் ஆமையும்! ( Birds and Turtle )

• தங்க முட்டை! ( Golden Egg )

The English language usually dominates the regional ones. However, reciting stories in a regional language will help your kids to understand the value of their native language. It will improve their command of them.

Also Read: Best Indian Story Books for Children: From Mythological to Contemporary Stories

Bedtime Stories for Kids in English

English is an international language. It will give you access to people from various parts of the world. Thus, your kids should have a good command of it. Here are some famous bedtime stories in English that you can recite:

• The Ugly Duckling
• Midas and the Golden touch
• The Boy Who Cried, Wolf
• The Ant and the Grasshopper
• Beauty and the Beast
• Cinderella
• The Hungry Mouse
• I’m Bored
• The Emperor’s New Clothes

Some of these stories are fairy tales, while others are the ones that introduce kids to the real world. These stories will benefit kids in two ways. Firstly, they do not get bored hearing stories. Secondly, these stories give them life lessons.

Conclusion

The language you choose to recite stories does not matter. What matters is the quality of the story and the things your kid learns from it. Stories are from a long time a part of the Indian tradition. Your kids will also stay connected to the grounds through these stories.