Bedtime Stories for Kids: A Journey into Dreamland

Rumble Tumble Hill

On a fine Sunday morning in a land far away lived two children, Max and Tammy. The boy and girl were playing on a swing in the garden outside their house. They were both waiting for their favorite Aunt Mary. They had made this plan of going for a picnic with her almost a month back, and now finally the day had arrived. They were so engrossed in their play that when they heard a loud beep, they got startled.

It was Aunt Mary in her flashy yellow car. “Aunt Mary!” they shouted in excitement. “Can we go for the picnic now?”

“Yes, let’s go for a picnic, children!”

“Yeah, we’re going to have so much fun!” Jumping up with joy, “But where are we going?”

“You know, when I was about the same age as yours, I used to go to Rumble Tumble Hill for a picnic.”

“Rumble Tumble Hill? Where is it, and why do they call it Rumble Tumble Hill? Does it rumble like Max’s stomach?”

“Oh no, come, let’s find it for ourselves.”

Both Max and Tammy were overjoyed as they zoomed off in their aunt’s car all the way to Rumble Tumble Hill.

They soon reached the foot of the hill. Then they climbed up the lush green hill until they reached the top. There were bushes everywhere. Aunt Mary walked to a clearing. “Look here, children, a perfect spot for keeping our goodies.” Spotting a place where there was a bench.

“Goodies? Oh no, we forgot to carry the picnic goodies!”

“Don’t you worry, children, here it is. Tada!” Showing the backpack as if by magic, she carried the backpack all the way to the top of the hill.

“Oh, Aunt Mary, you think of everything!” Aunt Mary opened the backpack and gave the children sandwiches.

“Hey, this is our favorite sandwich!”

“Not just that, I have a surprise for you guys as well.”

Both the children looked on curiously as Aunt Mary took out a huge dark chocolate cake from her bag.

“This is the biggest chocolate cake I’ve ever seen!”

Aunt Mary was very happy that they liked the goodies. “Great! Now all we need is a cup of hot tea,” she said, digging into her bag for a matchbox.

“Where could the matchbox have gone? I’m sure I put it in my bag.”

Max and Tammy tried being helpful. “Don’t worry, Aunt Mary, we know how to light a fire. We just need a few sticks.”

The children gathered a few sticks on the ground. Max rubbed the sticks against each other. He blew so hard that it made Tammy cough.

Then suddenly, the sticks shook.

“Tammy, Tammy, did you see that? The sticks—they shook!”

“Of course, they will shake if you blow so hard.”

Then the ground below their feet shook. “Tammy, did you hear that rumble? And it’s surely not my stomach.”

The rumbling grew louder, and out of the bushes jumped a fierce-looking dragon. Max and Tammy held on tightly to Aunt Mary’s hands. She was not surprised at all. In fact, she was happy to see the dragon. She consoled the children.

“Don’t be afraid. He is a friendly dragon. He won’t harm you.” The dragon roared loudly and with its fire lit the sticks on the ground. Then Aunt Mary kept the pot of water on the burning sticks.

The dragon purred as he drank tea with them. Max and Tammy looked on in surprise. They could not believe that a dragon would be so friendly. He even burped loudly when he finished.

Then, seeing the cake in Aunt Mary’s hand, he came closer, shaking his tail in happiness.

“Would you like to have cake?”

The dragon’s mouth started watering. He came to sniff Tammy’s plate.

“Oh no, you are not eating my cake!”

Max gave his cake to the dragon. The dragon swallowed it in one gulp and disappeared into the bushes. He came back again with some shiny stones and gave them to the children.

“It looks like the dragon likes you too.” The children returned home happily, admiring their gifts given by their new friend.

Big Lion and the Little Rabbit

Once upon a time, there lived a big lion in the jungle. Every day he used to kill the animals to satisfy his hunger. One day, all the animals went to the lion to find a solution to this problem.

When the lion saw all the animals together, he was very happy. “Today, I don’t have to take the trouble to hunt.”

One of the animals explained to the lion, “Sir, you are the king of the jungle, and all the other animals are your subjects. If you keep killing all of them, there will be no one to rule over. If you stay at home, each day an animal would surrender itself as food for you.”

The lion happily agreed to this offer and warned, “If you fail to send me an animal, I will kill all of you.”

Each day, an animal was sent to the lion. One day, it was the turn of a little rabbit. He thought of a plan to save himself and all the other animals.

The rabbit slowly went to the lion. The lion was furious when he saw a little rabbit. He roared, “Hmm, such a small animal for my food? I will kill all of them at once.”

The rabbit said in a trembling voice, “Sir, six of us were sent to you, but alas, five were killed and eaten by another big lion.”

The lion roared in anger and said, “What? Another big lion?”

“Sir, the other lion has called Your Majesty a cheat. He challenged you to prove your strength,” said the scared rabbit.

“Take me to him immediately!” shouted the lion.

The rabbit led the lion to a well and told him that his enemy was in there. The lion looked into the well and saw his own reflection.

He roared and jumped into the well to attack his enemy. The foolish lion met with his tragic end. Wisdom wins where mind fails.

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful parrot on top of a tall tree. She had two little babies that looked exactly similar. Once, when the mother parrot went out looking for food, a hunter climbed up the parrot’s nest and seized the chicks. While putting them into his bag, one of them managed to escape, and the hunter took the other home.

A hermit, who was walking by, saw the parrot that managed to fly away and carried him to his ashram. Thus grew up the little chicks—one with the hunter and the other with the holy hermit.

One day, a great king was riding through the forest, and he happened to see the hunter’s house. Suddenly, he heard someone screaming, “Here is the man coming to our house, master. Catch your bow and arrow and kill him quick!” Soon, he realized that it was a parrot in the cage. “What a nasty bird!” he said as he rode away without looking back and came across a hermitage.

He stopped there for a drink of water. There, he also saw a parrot in the cage. He thought, “Not another rude and mean parrot,” but to his great surprise, the bird began to sing, “Welcome, welcome, oh mighty king!” The king was astonished to find a parrot looking similar to the one he saw at the hunter’s house but gentle and kind.

He went to the cage and said, “I just saw a parrot looking like you but mean and nasty. Was he living with the hunter?” “Yes, yes, he was,” replied the parrot. With tears dripping down, the parrot said, “He is my beloved brother. Once, when our mother was away, a hunter seized us. I managed to escape, but the hunter took my brother. His master is mean, and his company would have shaped his nature, but my master is different. Being in good company makes all the difference.”

The Wicked Crane

The next day, he went to the pond as usual. This time, instead of trying to catch the fish, he stood there with a very sad face. A crab, who lived near the pond, asked, “Sir, you look very sad today. What happened?” The crane replied, “I heard the villagers are planning to fill the pond. I am worried that all the fishes in this lake would die, and I may have to look for another place for food.”

The crab immediately told his fish friends about the news. The fish, on hearing the news, got scared and requested the crane to help them. The crane was happy to see his idea worked. He told the fish, “Okay, the only way I can help you is by carrying some of you each day to a nearby pond.” The fish were overjoyed to hear this. So, every day, the crane came to the pond, picked up some fish in his beak, and flew off.

Then came the turn of the crab. As usual, the crane picked up the crab in his beak and flew off. After flying for some distance, the crab asked, “Sir, how far is the new pond?” The crane laughed and said, “I’m not a fool to help you.” He pointed to a rock covered with fish bones and said, “See, this is where your friends have met their end, and now it’s your turn.”

The crab got very angry. He decided to teach the crane a lesson. He pierced the neck of the crane with his sharp arms. The helpless crane, unable to fly, fell to the ground and met his end. The crab returned to the pond. He told the other fish about how the crane cheated them and how he managed to kill the wicked crane. We reap only what we sow.

On the Banks of River Yamuna

“Now listen to me carefully, for I have a plan.” After the plan was discussed, the crocodile went to the monkey and said, “Hello there! Can you throw me some of those juicy fruits?” “Here, take these,” the monkey threw some fruits. The crocodile ate the fruits and said, “These are not as sweet as the ones on the other side of the river. I think they are the sweetest.” “Is it so?” the monkey asked, looking at the other side of the river. “I would like to go there, but I can neither jump nor swim.”

To this, the cunning crocodile replied, “Don’t worry about it. I can help you cross the river. Hop onto my back.” The monkey was all excited and jumped onto the crocodile’s back. When they reached the middle of the river, the crocodile began to swim lower and lower into the water. The worried monkey screamed, “Why are you swimming so low?” “My dear friend, I am taking you to my wife. She would like to taste your heart.”

Immediately, the monkey laughed out loud, “I have left my heart back home on the tree. If you had told me earlier, I would have gladly given it to you.” The crocodile was confused and agreed to take the monkey back to the tree. As soon as the crocodile came close to the bank, the monkey jumped off the crocodile’s back and ran up the tree to safety. Presence of mind pays well.