The 5 best children's bedtime stories

What child does not like to be told a bedtime story? The stories have always been an ideal resource to make the little ones fall asleep quickly while they are learning.

The stories are something that is present in all cultures, being a universal entertainment. In addition to entertaining, they serve to create a bond between parents and grandparents with their children and grandchildren, being story time that moment when the family gathers and creates memories together.

There are many children's bedtime stories, being longer and others shorter. Next we are going to see several children's stories ideal to go to sleep, suitable for any age, short but very interesting.

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5 children's bedtime stories

We present a compilation of children's stories ideal to calm the little ones in the house, in addition to serving them to learn and entertain themselves before having sweet dreams:

1. The Rams and the Rooster

Once upon a spring morning

all the farm animals woke up with a start because someone or something was making very loud and dry sounds, coming from outside the barn. The entire herd went out to find out what was going on, being shocked to see the fight between two rams facing each other, their huge horns clashing.

A funny, playful and gossipy little lamb was the first to find out what he had caused the two rams to fight, telling the whole farm. According to their sources, totally reliable, the two males were disputing the love of a beautiful sheep that had stolen their hearts.

-They told me that the sheep is in love with the two of them, but since she did not know which one to choose, last night she told them that she would marry the strongest. Just after dawn the two males have met to begin the fight for the love of their life and there you have them, who before were very good friends now find themselves competing for the love of a sheep.

The head of the flock of sheep and rams, the wise ram, the oldest and cleverest of all the farm animals due to his advanced age, all an eminence in the place exclaimed:

-Calm down! Nothing of the other world happens. This is just another typical romantic brawl of young people fighting for the love of a loved one. Yes, they are fighting, but they are not hurting each other and we know that whoever wins they will remain colleagues. This happens every year and every year it will. And now, let's enjoy the combat! Let's find out who is the winner!

At the wise words of the wise ram, everyone present was calm. It was just a couple of young men fighting for the love of a little sheep, the same as he was witnessing everything behind a fence, with his heart in his fist and holding his breath. Who will I stay with? Who will become the love of my life? " wondered the little white sheep.

Those present were so concentrated watching the revolt that they did not notice that a colored rooster sneaked among the attendees, sitting in the front row. The bird had never seen a fight between two animals with tremendous antlers, he had no idea of ​​this kind of fight. However, the bird believed himself to be the most intelligent type and loved being the center of attention, so he began to express his opinion out loud showing very rudeness.

–Oh mother, what a birria of battle!… How clumsy are these rams! A herd of elephants in a tent is much more elegant and stealthy ...

The public heard those comments and could not refrain from muttering in disgust, but the rooster turned a deaf ear and continued to belittle the fight.

–They say that it is a duel between gentlemen, but the truth is that I only see two clowns doing nonsense!… Don't you think that you are a little older to fight in this way? You are no longer old enough to make a fool of yourself like that!

The murmurs increased in volume and, even, some gave the bird a bad look to see if he took for granted and closed his beak. But the rooster went on and on, criticizing mercilessly.

-The ram on the right is a bit agile, but the one on the left has good horns... The sheep should marry him, so that her children are born strong and robust!

The flock was stunned by such comments. Who had asked for your opinion? How could he be so inconsiderate?

"Although to be honest, I don't understand why they fight for that little sheep." It seems to me that the sheep in question is not much of a thing either!

And this was when the ghostly silence fell. Rams, sheep, and lambs fell silent in unison and cast harsh glances at the brightly colored bird. The outrage was absolute, so much so that the clan chief had to say something on behalf of the community:

–A little respect, please!… Don't you know how to behave ?!

-Me? What if I know how to behave?… I'm just telling the truth! That little sheep is just like any other, neither uglier, nor prettier, nor whiter, nor more woolly... Why argue for someone who is no different from the others? They are all the same!

–Shut up rude, it's good to talk nonsense!

The rooster was surprised at the call for attention, but instead of shutting up he decided to respond with arrogance:

–Shut up ?!… Who are you to tell me to shut up? I'm not going to shut up because you say so!

The wise ram tried not to lose his temper since he did not want to get into a fight.

-Let's both calm down, do you think? I don't think you're from around here, right? Do you come from far away?

-Yes, I'm a stranger. I'm on a trip. I have come along the dirt road that surrounds the wheat field and, hearing commotion, I went to browse.

-As you come from other lands, I understand that you have rarely been in company with members of our species, right?

The rooster, puzzled, replied:

"No, you're not wrong, but... what does that have to do with it?"

–Okay, I'll explain it to you in a simple way: you don't have the right to interfere in our community, making fun of our customs and rituals for the simple reason that you don't know us.

"But I like to say what I think!"

–This opinion is respectable, yes, but before saying what you think you should know how we are and how we relate to each other.

-Oh yeah? And what is it, if you can tell?

Well, an example is what you just saw. In the world of sheep it is normal for there to be fights between males during the mating season to choose their mate. Normally we are very peaceful animals, of good character, but the exception is this ritual that is part of our nature.

-But…

–There is no but that is worth! You must understand that this is our normal way of acting. We cannot change what thousands of years of evolution have wrought ...

After the words of the wise ram, the rooster began to feel uncomfortable, overwhelmed by the heat of someone who feels a deep shame after having screwed up. So that no one would notice the blush, the bird lowered its head and stared at the ground.

-You, as a member of your species, will know everything about roosters, hens, chicks, nests and eggs, but you have no idea about the rest. If you have come to comment on what you do not know, The best thing is that you go with yours and let us solve our things our way!

At these words, the rooster had to admit that he had been too clever and rude and, as he did not want to be humiliated anymore, he decided to leave as soon as possible so as not to return anymore.

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2. The monkey and the orange

Once upon a time there was a monkey that, more than a monkey, looked like a stubborn mule that could be. Surprising, what if? And if you don't believe it, now I'm going to tell you his story, the story to what extent his stubbornness could go ...

One good morning, the monkey in our story insisted on peeling an orange while he scratched his head because it itched a lot. As he had both hands busy with the task of calming the excruciating tickle from him, he caught the orange in his mouth and dropped it to the ground. Then he bent down and pulled the shell with his powerful teeth. The first bite tasted very bitter, and he had to spit out saliva to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth.

"Ecs, how disgusting!" The rind is sour and unpleasant… I can't bite it because my tongue stings as soon as I touch it. I think I'm going to throw up, yuck ...

After hesitating for a few seconds he came up with another idea, apparently sensational. He consisted of putting a foot on the fruit to hold it and peeling off pieces of bark with one of his hands.

-Hahaha! I think I've finally hit the mark!

Still scratching with his left hand, he released his right and began to peel the fruit as best he could. His strategy wasn't bad, but after a few seconds he had to abandon his plan because his posture was so awkward. Not that he was a circus contortionist ...

"Oh, I can't do it like that either, it's impossible!" I'll have to find another way if I don't want my kidneys to burst with pain.

He had to change his strategy. He decided to sit on the floor, took the orange with his right hand, placed it between his knees and continued to peel off the skin while he continued to scratch himself with his left. But for his bad luck this decision was not good either: the orange slipped between his legs and began to roll like a ball! This ended in disaster, since the visible part of the sweet pulp was filled with dirt and remains of dry leaves.

–Grrr!… Today I don't have any good luck, but I'm not going to give up. I'll eat this delicious orange at all costs!

The animal did not stop scratching at any time, not even in the face of so many failures. He wanted to keep doing two things at the same time. He grabbed the orange with one hand and dipped it into the river to remove the dirt. After he had washed it, he put his big ape lips on the edible chunk and tried to suck the juice out of it. But again things were bad: the orange was hard, so much so that no matter how hard he pressed he could not extract any juice from it.

"But what is this?! ... Only a few drops fall... I'm up to the crown!"

So fed up was the monkey of the story with the orange that he threw it far away and he lay on his back on the grass totally depressed, staring at the sky while still scratching himself. At that moment he thought:

–It cannot be that I, such an intelligent animal, cannot peel a simple orange.

When he was giving it up for lost, something clicked in his head.

–Of course, I already have it! How have I not thought about it before? If he stops scratching my head for a while I will be able to peel the orange with both hands… I will have to endure the itch for a couple of minutes, but I will have to make the effort. I'll try!

By reasoning sensibly, the monkey finally succeeded. He took the orange with his right hand, soaked it in the river to make it glistening, and with his left he removed the pieces of skin with great ease.

"I have done it!" I have done it! Yipijey!

In a few seconds he had all the segments in sight. He picked one up and savored it with pleasure.

–Oh, how delicious, how delicious it is!… The truth is that it was not so difficult to peel the orange… I was the one who made it difficult!

The monkey eagerly ate the orange, enjoying every slice of the fruit. When he finished he wiped his hands, climbed up the branch of his favorite tree, and right away, do you know what he did? He continued to scratch his head, but not with just one hand, but with both. Each of his ten monkey fingers to scratch his scalp.

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3. Jaguar spots

An ancient Mayan legend tells that thousands of years ago, when there were still no human beings on earth, there were a jaguar to which something very special happened.

The animal was totally happy, since it was in very good physical shape, it never lacked food and it got along very well with the other animals. In addition, he was grateful to be able to wake up every morning in one of the most beautiful places in the world: the Yucatan Peninsula.

His feline nature motivated him to walk through the woods shrouded in the darkness of the night and climb the monaña during the day, but his favorite hobby was, without a doubt, licking his own fur, yellow and shiny, as much as the sun himself. The jaguar wanted to keep him as clean as possible, not only to make him feel more handsome and dressed, but also because he knew that others admired him for how he looked.

One summer afternoon he was half asleep under an avocado tree when, suddenly, he heard some very strange noises above his head.

- What was that?... Who is there disturbing my rest?

He looked up and saw strangely that the branches were shaking, seeming as if they were screeching. He opened his large eyes to focus, discovering that it was not one, not two, but three. monkeys who, to entertain themselves, were competing to see who would pluck the most ripe fruit in less weather.

Surprised and angry at the same time, the jaguar yelled at them:

-Please respect my rest! Can't you see I'm napping down here? Enough with your stupid game!

The monkeys were having so much fun at the time that they ignored him. In fact, they started with a new game: throwing avocados into the air to see how they shattered and splattered everything when they hit the ground.

The jaguar was too old to put up with this kind of nonsense, so he lost his patience. Very serious, he got down on all fours, He raised his head and roared, showing his fangs to the primates to see if they were taken for granted, but it did not help. Nothing, as if it were transparent ...

"I'm sick of hearing your commotion and seeing how you waste your food!" Stop for once or you'll have to face me!

But the threat did not work and the monkeys continued their games. But for a short time, well bad luck wanted one of the avocados to fall on the jaguar's back. The blow was so strong that it made the big cat squirm in pain.

"Oh, oh, what a blow you have hit me with one of those damn avocados!"

The area where they had hit him began to swell, while he saw how the avocado pulp spilled through his hair like butter, forming a disgusting green glob. His beauty had been hidden under a green goo, which made him look like a beast.

-My beautiful and silky golden fur! How dare you Who has been the culprit?

The monkey with the pointy ears made such an expressive panicky face that he gave himself away. The jaguar, with his nerves on the surface, reacted as nature told him he should react: hitting a large He jumped up and, when he caught up with the monkey that threw the avocado at him, he raised his right leg and struck him hard on the belly. A victim of intense pain, the ape screamed, though fortunately his wound was shallow and he survived.

In order not to earn more claws, the three monkeys took an immediate flight.

–Guys, quick, we must go!… We must escape before it finishes with us!

The monkeys came down fast from the tree, fleeing across fields. Away from the jaguar, the wounded monkey said:

-I know that the jaguar did not deserve to receive a hit and that I dirtied his beautiful fur... but there was no bad intention. I accidentally hit him and look how he hurt me! It hurts much! This cannot be left like that, we have to go see Yum Kaax. He will advise us!

Yum Kaax was the protector god of flora and fauna who lived in the mountains. He was a very beloved deidar for her goodness, wisdom and kindness and, for this reason, animals came to him. He greeted the three monkeys with a smile, arms outstretched, and wearing a corncob-shaped headdress on his head.

-Welcome to my home. What is offered to you?

One of the three monkeys told the divinity the whole story, how unpleasant it had been and how badly one of them had gotten hurt. As soon as he finished, the young god, no longer smiling on his mouth, resolved:

-I have to tell you that your behavior was very childish. You must not disturb anyone when they are trying to sleep! And much less can you waste the fruits that the earth gives us! It is wrong to waste food, but very bad.

Embarrassed, the monkeys bowed their heads as Yum Kaax continued the reprimand.

-To learn your lesson, the next two months you will work for me cleaning the fields and harvesting the cereal crop. This year there is a labor shortage and all help is little!

The three friends opened their mouths with the intention of protesting, but the god did not allow it.

–I do not admit complaints! This will be a good way to make you ripen... like avocados do! Muahahajah!

The monkeys were not in on the fun, it was only the god Yum Kaax who laughed at his own joke. When he got tired of laughing he continued with the topic that occupied them, staying a few seconds thoughtful and decided what punishment to apply to the feline.

"I'll let you go back up the tree and throw a few avocados at the jaguar." This time, with my divine powers, it will do him no good to cleanse himself and he will be marked forever. This will help you learn to be less conceited.

The god took a breath and continued:

-But you must do it respecting two rules: the first, throw the avocados carefully so as not to harm it.

The three little monkeys nodded yes.

-And the second is that the avocados must be very ripe, so much so that they cannot even be eaten because they are very soft and dark, about to rot. That way you won't hurt him, but his hair will be stained for life because I decide so.

The primates accepted the conditions imposed by the god Yum Kaax and, after thanking him for having an audience with him, they went straight to the avocado tree. When they got there, they found that the jaguar had gone to bathe in the river, so they took advantage of the fact that it did not realize it to hide among the branches. From there they saw him return again with shining hair, lying down to continue his placid nap.

The pointy-eared monkey, who had been injured in the first encounter with the feline, was directing the operation and whispered to his colleagues.

–Here it comes… Let's prepare the material!

The jaguar, who could not even imagine what was about to happen to him, lay down on the grass and fell into a deep sleep. When he made his first snorts and something like a snore, the three monkeys grabbed several squishy, ​​stinky avocados and tossed them unceremoniously at the cat. The jaguar awoke instantly, horrified, noting that a heap of black and slimy pulp stained its fine and precious fur.

–But what is happening?!… Who is attacking me?… What is this dirty thing ?!

The pointy-eared monkey, satisfied with the result, leaned out of the leaves and snapped at the feline:

"We carry out the orders of the god Yum Kaax." From now on, you and your descendants will sport dark spots until the end of time. No more showing off your shiny, pure, golden fur for you.

The jaguar ran to wash in the river, but no matter how much it got wet and soaked, the stains did not go away. When she came out of the water, she began to cry with real sadness and she had no choice but to accept the punishment that the god Yum Kaax had imposed on her.

Monkeys have since been banned from playing avocado wars, and all jaguars have spots on what was once clean, golden fur.

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4. The oak and the reed

In a large meadow grew one on top that, every day, thanked Mother Nature for the many gifts she had given him. There were so many that the above considered itself the perfect tree.

Of all his virtues, one of the ones he most valued was that of being tall, since it allowed him not to miss a single detail of what was happening around him. In addition, she was very pleased to have been born beautiful and, whenever she could, she flaunted her trimmed crown made up of many bright green leaves. She was tall, handsome, and in enviable health that allowed her to produce hundreds of succulent acorns by fall. But, given the choice, what she liked most about herself was her huge and thick trunk that made her feel strong, secure and unbeatable.

But of so many good things that the tree had, with the passage of time a bad one ended up appearing: the top began to be believed superior to the rest of the vegetables and she began to behave insolently, especially with the plants that she considered more weak.

A few meters below the meadow there was a wetland where a young and delicate reed lived. Unlike her neighbor, this one was very fine, without leaves or flowers, going completely unnoticed by the eyes of others.

One day the above realized the existence of the reed and began to harass him, picking on him.

"Hey, junco! What does it feel like to be so fragile and insignificant?"

The reed was perplexed by a question asked with such malicious intent.

Well, I don't have much to say except that I live calm and content.

Hearing the answer, the oak began to laugh contemptuously.

-LOL! You settle for very little. I do not understand how you can be happy being so little, besides being surrounded by humidity and planted in a black and sticky mud. Yuck, yuck!

The reed responded humbly.

-I am not going to deceive you, I would have liked to be born in the meadow like you, but as you well know I am an aquatic plant and I need to be permanently in the water to be able to live and grow.

The oak, at such a comment, laughed even louder and continued to mock.

-LOL! Grow?… But if you are barely five feet tall! Not like me: I am a stylized, beautiful tree, and… look what a piece of trunk! Shocking! truth? You, on the other hand, are an insignificant stick. Oh, what a miserable life you have lived!

The junco was very clear that he was not the strongest in the placeBut that didn't make him worse than anyone else.

–I will be short and thin, but I have dignity and a virtue that you do not have.

The oak asked in a sly tone.

–Don't tell me!… And what is it, log?

–Well, I am very flexible!

The oak gave the loudest laugh.

- Oh, what a laugh, that one is good!... That you are flexible!... And is that for, if you can tell? Sorry, but being this soft is horrible, all day moving from side to side and bending over every time a little air blows... What dizziness and what torture!

-Well, but in some situations it can be very beneficial

–Beneficial ?!… Mine is beneficial, I have a very large and planted trunk!

Just drop these words the holm oak the sky darkened, being covered with clouds and breaking out a storm of the strong ones, of which nobody is expected. All the animals in the field ran for cover to protect themselves from the rain, the wind and the dangerous lightning bolts, while the plants could only stand still waiting for the storm to subside.

But unfortunately the worst thing that could happen happened. The air began to rage, transforming into a hurricane that ripped the oak from the prairie by the roots and threw it mercilessly to the bottom of a cliff. Its beauty, its height and its enormous trunk did nothing to avoid being swept away by the fearsome stormy winds.

The reed also suffered a lot from the wind, and withstood it as best it could. He twisted, rocked from side to side, and was badly damaged but, thanks to his great flexibility, he survived.

When the storm ended, the first thing the reed did was look at its battered stem up and down, complaining of pain:

"Oh, I'm full of bruises!" I think I have some broken roots ...

But immediately He looked up and saw that there was a hole where for years the imposing oak had stood, which made him reflect.

-What others consider a defect makes me feel proud. And not only that, but it has been what has saved my life.

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5. The Salt Merchant and the Donkey

Once upon a time there was a merchant who earned his wages by buying sacks of salt at a good price to later sell them to different towns in his province.. The business was not going badly for him and he used to earn some money, but from so much burden with the weight of the bags he began to suffer pain in his back and legs.

One good morning he woke up so hurt that he decided to put an end to this situation. After washing up and drinking his glass of milk for breakfast, he rushed to the market and bought a young and robust donkey. As he left the store he stroked his gray head and spoke to him as if he could understand him.

Asnito, from today on I will be the thinking head of the business and you will be the one who transports the merchandise. I am seventy years old and my body aches with minimal effort. If we divide the work, things will go very well for us and we will have higher profits.

After saying this to the donkey, man and animal approached the port to buy several bags of salt. The merchant tied them to the back of his new business partner.

They left town and they took the path that surrounded a forest, where they found that they had to cross a river that had a cobbled bottom. The donkey, a clumsy animal by nature, stepped badly and slipped. The poor little donkey couldn't help falling on his belly and got soaked all over, getting so wet that the water got through the fabric of the sacks and the salt that was inside dissolved.

The merchant put his hands on his head and said.

Oh no, what bad luck! I have lost all the salt I just bought! What will I do now?! ...

Unlike the merchant, the donkey was happy to be freed from the heavy burden of the salt in the sacks. He felt his muscles relax and he came out of the river feeling very light.

'This is great! … I can't stand cold water, but at least I don't have to carry those horrible sacks of salt that weigh more than a meteorite! '

After a few minutes, the merchant reflected on what to do and finally decided to return to the city.

"Come on, donkey, we have to go back for more salt!" I live on this and if I don't get good sales before dark I will have wasted the day foolishly.

They both turned and walked briskly until they returned to the port. There the merchant repeated the operation, buying several sacks of salt and placing them on the donkey's back and, without wasting another moment, they resumed their route.

There was only one possible path so they had to go through the same river. The donkey, tired of bearing the weight of so many kilograms of salt, deduced that a good opportunity presented itself again. If slipping the first time had served to lighten up, what could possibly go wrong this time, doing it on purpose?

And so, doing a bit of drama, the donkey pretended to trip over a rock at the bottom again, letting himself fall making all kinds of fuss. He breathed a sigh of relief again in a matter of seconds, as the salt was diluted back into the water.

Once he got up and left the river he looked at the merchant and made him look sad, as if making him feel it. It was all a lie because, far from feeling sad, the donkey was happier than a few Easter. However, the donkey did not count on the fact that the merchant was not a fool and had realized that the donkey was pretending.

The merchant thought:

“This donkey thinks he sneaked it up on me, but luckily I'm a lot smarter than he is and I'm going to give him a lesson that he won't forget! It will be ungrateful!... "

Without saying a word, the merchant pulled the rope and led the donkey into town. Unlike the other two times, He did not go to the salt stand, but to a shop where they sold sponges and, without thinking twice, he bought them all and he put them in sacks that he carried on the back of the donkey.

Sponges weren't as heavy as salt, but the animal didn't like having to carry them. For this reason, when he went through the same river again, he felt the urge to cheat again, convinced that he was capable of deceiving his owner. Thus, like the other time, the donkey bathed in the river, pretending that he was stumbling again. But unfortunately for him, the sponges did not dissolve. No, what they did was fill with water, multiplying its weight by twenty and causing the donkey to begin to sink without remedy.

-Help! Please help! Help!

Believing that he was about to die, he began to flail his paws madly in one last attempt to get afloat. They were moments of great anguish but, fortunately, he managed to reach the shore and survive. Sitting on the grass, he began to shiver and spit water between his teeth while his owner, with her arms crossed, looked at him impassively. When the donkey calmed down he began to complain bitterly.

-These bags weigh much more than the salt ones!... I've been about to drown!

The master exploded in anger.

-That's what you get for trying to deceive me! I hope you have learned your lesson and from now on you fulfill your obligation just like I fulfill mine. I've been working my whole life to be able to live and I don't want lazy asses by my side! Is it clear to you ?!

The ass lowered his head in shame, admitting that he had played dirty.

-Okay master. Okay… I will not fool you again but please try to make the bags lighter or I will also end up with a sore body despite being young.

The merchant reflected and realized that the donkey's request was fair enough.

-Agree. I promise to be a little more generous and compassionate, loading you with lighter bags, but in return you must be loyal and hard-working. Is that okay?

-Yes. I promise that I will not betray you again and I will carry what you entrust me with.

They both made amends, smiled, and went about business while respecting each other.