MarytaleClassic fairy tales
Classic fairy tales for kids — Grimm, Andersen and Aesop in one list, retold in our own words and illustrated page by page.
49 stories
This page is the whole classic shelf in one place: the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen and Aesop, thirty-one stories between them. If you know which you are looking for, the three separate pages are quicker; if you want to see what there is, this is the list.
All of them are out of copyright, which is why they can be read here in full detail without anybody's permission. None of them is a reprint: the wording is ours, written for reading out loud, with short sentences and a picture for every part of the story.
🔑 Where the famous version and the written-down version disagree, we have gone with the written-down one. That means a few surprises — and those surprises are usually the best part of the evening.
Alice in Wonderland10-12 min read · 20 pagesAlice in Wonderland, retold for reading aloud. A girl follows a rabbit with a pocket watch and lands somewhere the rules keep changing.
Beauty and the Beast8-10 min read · 16 pagesBeauty and the Beast, retold for reading aloud. A rose picked in the wrong garden, a bargain kept, and a question asked every single evening.
Cinderella8-10 min read · 16 pagesCinderella, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. No fairy godmother here — what helps her grows on her mother's grave.
Frau Holle7-9 min read · 16 pagesFrau Holle, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. A girl falls down a well into another country, where shaking the beds makes it snow.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears6-8 min read · 12 pagesGoldilocks and the three bears, the folk tale to read aloud. She tries all three of everything, and the third one is always just right.
Hansel and Gretel8-10 min read · 16 pagesHansel and Gretel, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. The breadcrumbs do not work, and the house in the clearing is made of sugar.
Jack and the Beanstalk7-9 min read · 16 pagesJack and the beanstalk, the English folk tale to read aloud. He sells the cow for five beans, and by morning one of them has gone up.
Little Red Riding Hood7-9 min read · 16 pagesLittle Red Riding Hood, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. She is told to keep to the path, and the wolf asks where she is going.
Pinocchio6-8 min read · 16 pagesPinocchio, the tale by Carlo Collodi to read aloud. A puppet who runs off on the first day, and a nose that gives him away every time.
Puss in Boots7-9 min read · 16 pagesPuss in boots, the folk tale to read aloud. A miller's son inherits a cat, and the cat asks him for a pair of boots and a sack.
Rapunzel6-8 min read · 16 pagesRapunzel, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. A tower with no stairs and no door, and a plait of hair long enough to climb.
Rumpelstiltskin7-9 min read · 16 pagesRumpelstiltskin, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. He spins straw into gold three nights running, and the third time he names his price.
Sleeping Beauty7-9 min read · 16 pagesSleeping Beauty, or Briar Rose, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. Every spindle in the kingdom is burned, and one is missed.
Snow White8-10 min read · 16 pagesSnow White and the seven dwarfs, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. A mirror gives the same answer every day, until one day it does not.
Snow White and Rose Red7-9 min read · 15 pagesSnow White and Rose Red, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. A bear knocks at the door in winter and asks to sleep by the fire.
The Ant and the Grasshopper2-3 min read · 7 pagesThe ant and the grasshopper, Aesop's fable to read aloud. All summer he plays and she carries — and then the first cold morning comes.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf5-7 min read · 13 pagesThe boy who cried wolf, Aesop's fable to read aloud. Twice he shouts for fun and the village comes running. The third time is not for fun.
The Bremen Town Musicians7-9 min read · 16 pagesThe Bremen town musicians, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. Four animals too old to be useful set off to become a band, and never arrive.
The City Mouse and the Country Mouse5-7 min read · 13 pagesThe city mouse and the country mouse, Aesop's fable to read aloud. One has plain food and quiet; the other has cake and footsteps in the dark.
The Elves and the Shoemaker5-7 min read · 12 pagesThe elves and the shoemaker, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. The shoes are finished every morning, and nobody has seen who does it.
The Emperor's New Clothes7-9 min read · 16 pagesThe emperor's new clothes by Hans Christian Andersen, to read aloud. Two weavers sell him a cloth that only clever people can see.
The Fisherman and His Wife6-8 min read · 16 pagesThe fisherman and his wife, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. The flounder grants what she asks for, and she keeps finding something else.
The Fox and the Crow4-6 min read · 13 pagesThe fox and the crow, Aesop's fable to read aloud. She has the cheese and he has nothing — so he starts telling her how well she sings.
The Fox and the Grapes2-3 min read · 8 pagesThe fox and the grapes, Aesop's fable to read aloud. He jumps until he cannot jump any more, and then decides he never wanted them at all.
The Frog King7-9 min read · 16 pagesThe frog king, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. He fetches her gold ball out of the well, and she promised him rather a lot for it.
The Gingerbread Man5-7 min read · 12 pagesThe gingerbread man, the folk tale to read aloud. He comes out of the oven running, and everybody on the road wants to eat him.
The Golden Goose7-9 min read · 16 pagesThe golden goose, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. Everyone who grabs at it sticks fast, and the line behind it gets longer.
The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs2-3 min read · 9 pagesThe goose that laid the golden eggs, Aesop's fable to read aloud. One gold egg a day is not fast enough for the man who owns her.
The Hare and the Tortoise4-6 min read · 13 pagesThe hare and the tortoise, Aesop's fable to read aloud. He is faster and he knows it — and that turns out to be the whole problem.
The Jungle Book10-12 min read · 17 pagesThe Jungle Book, retold for reading aloud. A boy raised by wolves, taught by a bear and a black panther, and hunted by a tiger who never forgot him.
The Lion and the Mouse5-7 min read · 13 pagesThe lion and the mouse, Aesop's fable to read aloud. He lets her go because she is too small to bother with — and then the ropes come.
The Little Match Girl5-7 min read · 14 pagesThe little match girl by Hans Christian Andersen, to read aloud. New Year's Eve, no shoes, and a box of matches nobody will buy.
The Little Mermaid8-10 min read · 16 pagesThe little mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, to read aloud. She trades her voice for legs, and Andersen never gives her a name.
The North Wind and the Sun4-6 min read · 13 pagesThe north wind and the sun, Aesop's fable to read aloud. They argue about who is stronger, and a man in a coat has to settle it.
The Nutcracker10-12 min read · 16 pagesThe nutcracker and the mouse king by E. T. A. Hoffmann, to read aloud. A Christmas present that fights a battle on the parlour floor.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin8-10 min read · 18 pagesThe pied piper of Hamelin, the folk tale to read aloud. He clears the rats for an agreed price, and then the town decides not to pay it.
The Snow Queen8-10 min read · 16 pagesThe snow queen by Hans Christian Andersen, to read aloud. A splinter of mirror gets into Kai's eye, and Gerda walks a very long way for him.
The Star Money6-8 min read · 16 pagesThe star money, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. A girl with nothing left but her shirt gives that away too, and then the sky opens.
The Three Little Pigs7-9 min read · 16 pagesThe three little pigs, the folk tale to read aloud. Straw, sticks and bricks — and only one of the three took his time over it.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses7-9 min read · 16 pagesThe twelve dancing princesses, the Brothers Grimm tale to read aloud. Their shoes are worn through every morning, and the doors were locked.
Frequently asked
- Why do some of these differ from the versions I know?
- Because the versions most people know came through films and picture books that smoothed them out. We went back to what the Grimms and Andersen actually wrote down.
- Are they free to read?
- Half of each story is free to read here, and the whole of it is in the Marytale app. The fables are short enough that half is still a whole scene.
- Who wrote these texts?
- We did. The plots are public domain; the sentences are Marytale's, and every story names its source at the foot of the page.
What is a fairy tale? Features and structure
By topic
- Bedtime stories about animals
- Short bedtime stories
- Long bedtime stories
- 5 minute bedtime stories
- Nursery rhymes
- Calming bedtime stories
- Moral stories
- Brothers Grimm fairy tales
- Princess bedtime stories
- Aesop's fables
- Bear bedtime stories
- Hans Christian Andersen
- Bedtime stories about cats
- Christmas bedtime stories
- Panchatantra stories
- Jataka tales
- Akbar and Birbal stories
- Dinosaur bedtime stories