Bedtime Stories Online Reading

HANSEL AND GRETEL

 Long ago, there lived a boy named Hansel and his sister named Gretel They lived in a small cottage with their father and stepmother.

Their father was a poor woodcutter and their stepmother was a cruel woman. She didn’t like them at all  One night, the cruel woman said to the woodcutter, “We have so little to eat, we can’t feed these children any more. Why don’t you leave them in the deep forest?” The woodcutter was shocked to hear this. But he was compelled by his wicked wife.   By chance, Hansel overheard all this. So, the next morning he stuffed his pockets with pebbles. As the woodcutter led the children into the woods, Hansel kept dropping pebbles along the way. The woodcutter was unaware of it.

  As per the plan, the woodcutter left the children in the forest and returned home. Now Hansel and Gretel started following the pebbles until they reached home As soon as their stepmother saw them back, she was mad with anger.  But the next day, Hansel had no time to gather pebbles. So, he dropped some bread crumbs on the way as their stepmother led them into the forest. But later, they couldn’t locate those crumbs as the birds had already eaten them.  Feeling lost, the children started wandering in the forest. Suddenly, they saw a house made up of chocolate cake with windows of cream and cherries. Their eyes lit up in wonder.

 Hungry as they were, they started eating from it.   Just then there appeared an ugly old woman. Actually, she was a witch who used to trap children in her chocolate house to eat them up later. She locked Hansel in a cage, and fed him well, so that he would get fat to become her meal.   The clever children understood the evil intentions of the witch. They also knew that the witch was partly blind. So, whenever the witch would touch Hansel to see if he had grown fat, the intelligent boy would hold out a bone to her.  One day, the witch asked Gretel to put some fire wood in the fire place. “How do I do it?” asked the clever girl. The witch was angry. “Uh! Don’t you know that? Wait, let me show you how!” she growled, kneeling down before the fire place. You silly girl! You are no good!   Now clever Gretel had been waiting for this opportunity. She pushed the witch into the fire place.

“Aargghh!” cried out the ugly old witch, as she disappeared in the flames. Gretel quickly ran to Hansel’s cage and freed him. They ran away from there.   Luckily, they soon found their home. Their father was overjoyed to see them back. He had already driven out his evil wife. The children had brought some precious jewels from the witch’s house. So, they were poor no more. They lived happily for many years  

Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She lived with her parents in a small village near the forest. The little girl would always wear a red hood that her mother had made for her. So, everyone started calling her Red Riding Hood.   Red Riding Hood’s father was a woodcutter. One morning Red Riding Hood’s mother said,

“Your grandmother is not well, Red Riding Hood. I want you to go and see her.” “All right, mother!” said little Red Riding Hood.   Her mother packed some home made cookies and fruits in a basket, and little Red Riding Hood started for her grand – mother’s house deep inside the forest. On the way, a wicked wolf saw her. “Where are you going, Red Riding Hood?” he asked.   Red Riding Hood told him everything. The cunning wolf ran fast and reached the grand- mother’s place. He ate up the old woman and put on her gown, cap and spectacles. Pulling the covers over him, the wolf got into the grandmother’s bed. 

Then he waited silently. “The little girl must be coming,” thought the wicked wolf, looking at the door. “There in the forest it was difficult to eat her since the woodcutters were around. Here I can make a feast out of her Let her come.   After sometime, Red Riding Hood knocked at the door. “Who is it?” the wolf called out. “Your Red Riding Hood, Grandma! But what has happened to your voice?” asked the little girl. “Oh nothing, dear!” said the wolf. “I’m not well!”

  Red Riding Hood saw that the door was not locked. She slowly pushed it open and went in. The wolf pulled the covers over his nose and said softly, “Come to me, my child!” When Red Riding Hood went close, she couldn’t recognise her grandmother.  “Grandma! What big eyes you have!” Red Riding Hood exclaimed. “All the better to see you, my dear!” said the wolf. “What big ears you have!” said the little girl again. “All the better to hear you, my dear!” croaked the wolf.   What big teeth you have!” said Red Riding Hood. “All the better to eat you, my dear!” said the wolf, as he sprang out of the bed. The little girl screamed and ran out of the house. The wolf started chasing her. Red Riding Hood ran fast.

  Meanwhile, her father was coming that side, searching for her. As soon as he saw the wicked wolf chasing his little daughter, he caught hold of his sharp axe and flung it at the wolf, bringing the wicked fellow to an end. “Aaeeeee!” cried the wolf.  His big belly was cut open then… lo! The old grandmother of little Red Riding Hood popped out of the wolf’s belly. Red Riding Hood was overjoyed. The woodcutter was relieved to see both of them safe. They all walked home happily.  

RAPUNZEL

 Many years ago, there lived a man and his wife. One day, the wife said, “Please get some lettuce for me from the neighbour’s garden.” “Oh no!

That house belongs to an evil witch,” said the man. But the wife insisted.  So, the man sneaked into the garden of the witch’s house. He plucked some lettuce and was just about to escape when the evil witch spotted him. “Stop there, you thief!” she ground her teeth. The man was terribly frightened.  The evil witch caught the man by his neck.

“Please let me go!” he begged. “On one condition…” said the witch, “That you will giver me your new born child.” Out of fear, the man agreed. And so when the couple had a child, he witch took the baby away.  The witch carried the baby to her tower castle, deep into a forest. She named her Rapunzel. As the years passed, Rapunzel grew up to be a beautiful young girl. She had soft golden hair that she never trimmed. So, it grew long, very long  Whenever the witch came to the castle, she would call out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” And Rapunzel would let her hair down from the window. The witch would hold Rapunzel’s long hair and climb up the tower in the castle.  One day, a prince saw Rapunzel and was attracted towards her.

 But he didn’t know the way into the castle. Just then he heard the witch calling out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” The prince saw the witch climbing up the castle.  The next day, he came to the castle and called out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” As soon as Rapunzel let her hair down, the prince climbed up. When they saw each other, they fell in love. They started meeting every day in the castle.  Some days passed.

One day, the evil witch caught them together. Getting angry, she chopped off Rapunzel’s long hair and drove her to a desert using her magic spell. Then she pushed the prince down out of the window of the castle.  The prince was sad and lonely. He searched high and low, but there was no trace of his beloved Without food, without rest, the heartbroken prince kept wandering for days and nights. “Where can I find you, my dear’ he thought. 

On the other hand, Rapunzel had been searching for the prince, too. She travelled many a miles, and asked at many a palaces, but her beloved prince was nowhere to be found. Days, months and years passed thus.  At last, luck shone upon them, and one day Rapunzel and the prince saw each other. Their eyes filled with tears of joy. The prince took Rapunzel to his kingdom and they were married. And together they lived happily ever after.

Snow White

 Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs Once upon a time, there lived a king and a queen. They had all the wealth in the world. But they were unhappy because they didn’t have a child. Often, the queen would become sad and sit near the window, looking at the snow.

  Soon, the queen’s wish came true, and she gave birth to a lovely baby girl. They named her Snow White. But tragedy struck, and the queen died. The king married again. The new queen was very beautiful, but she was envious of Snow White.   The queen had a magical mirror. She would often ask, “Mirror, mirror on the wall! Who’s the fairest of us all?” “You, my queen!” the mirror would say. But one day, the mirror reflected Snow White’s image. The queen was very angry. 

 The queen ordered a guard to take Snow White deep into the forest and kill her. But the guard was a kind man. He couldn’t kill someone as lovely as Snow White. Instead, he left her on the way and returned to the palace.   As Snow White wandered in the forest, she came upon a little cottage. There was nobody around. Inside, on a table were kept seven plates, a bowl of cookies and a glass of fresh juice. Snow White ate the cookies and drank the juice.

  Then Snow White felt sleepy. She jumped into a tiny bed and soon fell fast asleep. After some time, there came seven dwarfs. Actually, the cottage belonged to them. They instantly realised that somebody had entered their house.   When the dwarfs saw Snow White sleeping in their bed, they were angry. But as soon as they saw her sweet face, their hearts melted. They allowed her to stay there.

 Now Snow White began cooking and cleaning their cottage for them.   Far away in the palace, the queen was happy that there was no one more beautiful than her. Suddenly one day, in her magical mirror she saw Snow White living in the cottage of the dwarfs. The evil-hearted queen thought out a plan.  So, the queen transformed herself into an old woman. And carrying a basketful of apples she went into the forest.

“Apples! Sweet apples!” she called out. The dwarfs were away and Snow White was alone. The wicked queen gave Snow White an apple.  Actually, the apples had been poisoned. As soon as Snow White took a bite, she fell down dead. When the dwarfs returned, they were filled with sorrow to see Snow White dead. Just then a prince from the neighbouring kingdom was passing by.  The prince went up to Snow White and gently kissed her. And lo and behold! She at once came to life. The dwarfs were amazed. The prince fell in love with Snow White and took her away to his kingdom where they lived happily ever after.

The Emperor’s New Clothes

Long ago, there lived an emperor. He had a huge empire and loyal courtiers. But his people were not happy because the emperor didn’t take interest in the affairs of the state. Instead, he was always busy buying and wearing new clothes. 

 Everyday, the emperor would ask his courtiers to bring new garments for him. “Wonderful!” he would look into the mirror and admire. Then the vain emperor would order, “Get a red robe stitched for me tomorrow!” The courtiers had toobey. 

 All the courtiers were fed up with the emperor’s whimsical orders. “The emperor is so foolish and vain, no one can advise him,” said one of them. “We have to teach him a good lesson!” said another courtier, getting annoyed.   So, they went to the wise old courtier. After listening to their complaints, the wise old courtier said, “I know a young man who has travelled to far away lands and gathered good experience. In my opinion, he can teach a lesson to the emperor.   The next day, the wise old courtier brought the young man to the court.

 “I am a trader in garments, My Lord!” said the young man. “I’ve come to see the great emperor who is famous for his fine clothes!” The emperor felt flattered   Then the young man said, “So far I’ve met only one king who dresses up better than you!” “What?” the emperor interrupted, getting angry. “But don’t worry! I’ve an amazing garment never worn before and not to be worn evermore!” said the man.   The emperor was excited. “Here it is…” said the young man, opening a box, “The finest garment in the world.” He pretended as if holding a garment carefully in his hands. But to the emperor’s surprise, there was nothing in the box or in his hands.

   “See its colour and style!” said the young man. “Only truly refined and clever people can see this garment.” Instantly, the emperor said, “Ah! I can see it, beautiful indeed.” He then lifted his hands as if holding the garment and showed it to others.  The courtiers wanted to teach the emperor a lesson. So, they all nodded at him and praised the new garment. “Let me wear it and see!” thought the emperor, as he went into the dressing room.

 And when he came out, there was a burst of laughter.   The foolish emperor walked out of the palace, wearing nothing. The people bit their fingers with shock and surprise. When the emperor heard peels of laughter all around him, he realised his foolishness. He then felt embarrassed.   From that day, the emperor gave up his craze for new clothes. Instead, he started taking interest in the affairs of the state. His courtiers also felt relieved. The kingdom prospered and the people became happy and content.  

THE FROG PRINCE

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom. In the kingdom, there lived a king with his queen and three daughters. All the princesses were lovely and beautiful. But the youngest princess was the most charming of them all.  The youngest princess had a golden ball. She was fond of playing with her ball. One day as she was playing in the royal garden, the golden ball slipped out of her hands. The princess ran after the ball but it rolled into the pond. 

The princess was sad. “If my father comes to know that I have lost the precious ball, he will be very angry!” she sobbed, leaning against a tree. Suddenly, a frog hopped out of the pond. “What’s the matter, O young princess?” he asked.  When the princess told him about her golden ball, the frog said, “Don’t worry, O princess. I will dive into the pond and get your precious ball back. But what will you give me in return?” “All my wealth, even this crown,” said the princess. 

In her hurry to get the ball, the princess promised the frog that she would love him and let him sleep in her cosy bed. In an instant, the frog jumped into the pond and came out with the golden ball. “Here is your ball, O princess!” he said.  But as soon as the frog brought the ball, the princess snatched it from his mouth and ran away from there. “Wait, wait! Don’t you remember your promise?” the frog cried out. But the princess didn’t stop. The frog then went to the palace.  The guard tried to stop the frog but he hopped all the way to the king and told him about the princess promise. Hearing this, the king was very angry. “You can’t be unjust to this frog,” he said.

 The youngest princess was shocked.  The princess disliked the ugly frog but she didn’t have any other option. She had to allow the frog to live with her. When the princess sat down for food, the frog settled right in front of her. “Slurp! Slurp!” he sipped from the plate.  In the night when the princess went to sleep, the frog followed her into her chamber and crawled into her cosy bed. Much against her wishes, the princess had to lie down beside the frog. Suddenly, the frog said, “Won’t you kiss me to say good night?”  Hearing this, the princess felt disgusted.

But she was helpless. She picked up the frog and kissed his slimy head. Then all at once she threw him away. And there! The ugly frog transformed into a handsome young prince. The princess was Surprised  “I was under the evil spell of a witch and was destined to get back my human form only when beautiful princess would kiss me! said the prince. The princess and the prince instantly fell in love with each other. They married and lived happily ever after.  

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