Night-time reads
Free bedtime stories from around the world
Bard's Bield is a free library of folk and fairy tales for winding down at night: short stories to read aloud to children, and quiet tales for grown-ups who like to end the day with a story.
Why folk tales make good bedtime stories
Folk tales were made to be told out loud, often by the fire at the end of the day. They are short, they follow a clear rhythm, and they end with a resolution, which makes them easy to settle into.
A calm place to read
Every tale opens in a quiet, painted night scene with optional soft music and nature sounds. A natural storyteller voice can read the tale aloud, and you can turn every moving or sounding element off. Text size and a reading-friendly font can be adjusted.
Free, with nothing in the way
There is no sign-up, no advertising and no tracking of what you read. The tales come from public-domain collections, so they can be shared freely.