Short bedtime stories
78 stories under eight minutes
Some nights there is time for one story and not a minute more. Every tale here takes about five to seven minutes to read aloud, with a proper beginning, a problem and a settled ending.
In The Night the Tide Came Up the Lane, the tide wanders up the lane and sits down on Grandma’s doorstep, and Bo has to whistle it home before bedtime. How to Put Grandpa to Bed follows Nell through Grandma’s letter of instructions for a grandpa who says he is not tired. In Ned Jumps for the Sheep, the sheep are too sleepy to jump, so Ned has to jump the little fence himself.
Many of these are narrated too, so you can press play and listen together. The minutes on each card are the narration’s, where there is one.
Pim Puts the Sea to BedNobody on Button Island has slept for a week because the sea is overtired and too cross to admit it, so a small boy in one boot goes down to the harbour to put it to bed.
Toes In, Big NedWhenever the kindly giant on the hill gets cold toes, he sneezes, and all the washing in the kingdom goes flying, so the quietest girl in town sets out to tuck him in.
Little Grumble Will Not SettleEvery night Wren helps her mom tie the clouds up in the barn on the hill, but the smallest thundercloud has the hiccups and keeps waking everyone up.
How to Put Grandpa to BedGrandma is away for the night, so Nell has to put Grandpa to bed by following Grandma’s letter, even though Grandpa says he is not tired and keeps yawning.
The Little Storm in the AtticNia is eight and an expert at putting her baby brother to bed, and tonight she has to do the same for a lost little storm cloud hiccuping in her attic.
Ned Jumps for the SheepNed can’t fall asleep without his sheep, but tonight the sheep are too tired to jump, so he will have to jump the little fence himself.
Mo Rows the Moon AcrossEvery night Mo rows the moon’s reflection across the river in a tin bath, until a big, loud goose who always lands in the wrong place comes down right in it.
As Far as the StoveOn pancake night, a small girl in a harbor village asks the fog to move so her dad can get home, and the fog asks for something back.
Mr. Plump Warms the SlippersEvery morning Sam’s rabbit slippers are waiting side by side and toasty warm, and three nights in a row he tries to stay awake long enough to see who does it.
The Moon’s Quiet BucketOn the giggliest night of his life, Moss and his mom sneak out to the square in slippers to ask the moon for a place to put his giggles.
Slow Feet, Flat WaterNell has never done anything slowly in her life, but tonight she has to carry the moon up a hundred steps in a bucket.
Up You Come, MoonEvery evening Rosa winds the Moon up out of the castle well in a silver bucket, but tonight the Moon is too full to fit.
The Night the Tide Came Up the LaneOne evening the tide forgets to stop at the beach and sits down on Grandma’s doorstep, and Bo, who can’t sing a note but can whistle anything, has to get it home before bedtime.
A Warm Cup for the RiverPim carries everything on his head, and to cross the cold, splashy River to his best friend Dot, he has to bring it one thing it has never felt before.
Mo and the Very Long StairsMo gets out of bed after lights-out to deliver Dad’s birthday card, and in her house that means going as small as a thimble, with three twisty flights of stairs between her and the kitchen.
The Bear Who Counted SheepA very sleepy bear promises to count an old shepherd’s twelve sheep into the barn, but one of them, Lumpy, walks backwards.
Too Much Kettle for Little CloudMo has promised to keep Aunt Tilda’s pet cloud the same size all day, but one more puff of kettle steam keeps turning into another.
Snow by Parcel PostIn Rosie’s valley the first snow comes by post in brown paper parcels, and the very last one has lost its label to the drips except for one big smudgy R.
Dot and the Full StopIn Comma-on-Sea a day only ends when someone puts a full stop at the end of it, and tonight little Dot has lost hers.
A Song the Size of a CrumbBaby Badger is wide awake, and every lullaby in the burrow is too big for him, so the smallest mouse at the table wonders whether a tiny voice might be just right.
How to Look After CustardNine-year-old Bea has one night to look after her grandma’s house-sized, hiccuping dragon, and all she has to go on is a letter of very strange instructions.
The Stairs That CountIn a tall thin house where all thirteen stairs say their numbers out loud, stair seven has suddenly gone quiet, and Molly’s baby brother won’t go to bed until it counts again.
Hattie Calls the Geese HomeSpring only comes when the geese fly home, so with Grandad’s knee too stiff for the hill, Hattie and his snow-loving old dog have to climb Top Hill and light the welcome lantern on their own.
Nib and Mrs. Plank Go Down the RiverThe smallest mouse on the riverbank fetches a beaver’s lost spectacles, and in return she promises to carry him down the river to see the rainbow.
The Tide in Ollie’s ShellEvery night Ollie listens to the sea inside his big pink shell, until one bedtime the shell goes quiet and the whole family goes looking for it.
Mabel and the Slow OakA squirrel who can never remember where she buried her acorns strikes a bargain with an old oak that knows every hole, but speaks only one word an hour.
Ninety-Nine Steps for BertBert the tortoise is very slow, and the castle tower has ninety-nine steps, but he has a plan, a list and a strawberry cut into ninety-nine slices.
Nell and the Moon-Flour LoafNell wants to bake a birthday loaf for the sleepless old king, but all the flour in the mill is moon-flour, and moon-flour bread floats away.
The Pillow Cloud and the Rain CloudToby rushes to send off all the clouds by himself, and now Nan’s pillow has the hiccups and her best soft cloud is drifting down to a farmyard.
Nell Spins a Puddle CloudNell is learning to spin clouds on her Granny’s wheel, and her little brother Bo needs just one puddle for his brand-new red boots.
Pip and the Hatbox of YawnsA young hedgehog is left in charge of the meadow’s bedtime yawns for one night, and gives every last one of them to a very loud goose.
The Smallest Blows the Candle OutKit has the best job in the castle: the smallest person blows out the bedtime candle and sends everyone off to dream. Then a new baby prince arrives who is even smaller.
Cold Toes for Mrs. HuffOn the first cold night of autumn, a small boy with very fluffy socks has to get his toes cold enough to wake up the sleepy old kitchen stove.
Seven Rungs to the Top BunkLou finally gets her big brother’s top bunk for one night, along with a letter of captain’s orders, and the fourth rung of the ladder squeaks like a parrot.
Ivy’s First FootprintsIn a valley where footprints in the snow glow gold after dark, Ivy has waited all autumn to make the very first footprints down her lane.
The Dot on Bear’s StoneThe first snow is falling and Big Bear has to get to bed, but there’s one small dot on his list of winter jobs and he can’t remember what it means.
Why the Swans Fly Low Over the MillMara has practised all week to stay awake for swan night, but just as the swans are due, a tired little swan lands in the millpond below.
Princess Nell and the Bedtime BellNobody in the kingdom can go to sleep until the Bedtime Bell is rung, and on the very night Princess Nell gets to ring it, the bell is missing.
The Foal Who Set the Last LanternFen the foal has legs that are always in a hurry, and tonight he wants to hang the very last lantern, filled with pink sunset from a jam jar that smells of plum.
Rooster Puts the Foal to BedThe rooster with the loudest voice on the farm promises a tired mother horse that he’ll get her wide-awake foal to sleep, but every loud idea he has just makes the foal want more.
Pip Goes After His BrothersWhen his two big brothers go off to seek their fortunes and don’t come home for supper, the youngest brother packs a basket with one extra of everything and goes to fetch them.
One for Me, One for YouA small hare with a frying pan for a shovel digs one extra scoop of snow for his sleepy badger neighbour, and something starts to spread across the hill.
Milk Lends Her PurrAn old farm cat wakes up to find her famous purr missing (on her farm, a purr is a warm thing you can pick up and carry), so she asks every animal in the yard to help her look.
The Loaf Tin BoatWren’s boat is a dented old loaf tin with a sock for a sail, and it is up against the grandest boats on the river.