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Magic stories

Wishes, spells, enchanted creatures and doors that should not open but do

Start reading Journeys Discovery Space
Magic stories

Magic runs to 146 stories on this site, from four-minute enchantments to eleven-minute quests. It is the broadest theme here, and it branches into three narrower ones: journeys, discovery and space.

Magic is the engine of most fairy tales, and it runs on rules. A wish comes with a condition; a spell can be broken by only one thing; a door must not be opened. Children love magic stories not just for the wonder but for the rules, because working out the rule is the game.

This is the largest theme in the library. It includes enchanted princes and princesses, talking animals, fairies and their bargains, and original stories where something ordinary, a fishbone or a snorkel, turns out to be a way in to somewhere extraordinary. For the youngest listeners, choose the gentle magic; for older ones, the spells with a price.

Where to start in magic

12 of the 146 stories in this theme, picked as good first choices: the shortest, the gentlest and the best loved.

6 min Ages 3–7 · Classic Tales The Princess and the Pea

A lonely Prince yearns for a true princess, but two grand ladies fail to impress him. Then, on a stormy night, a…
7 min Ages 3–7 · Classic Tales The Gingerbread Man

A kind old woman bakes a delicious gingerbread man who springs to life and dashes off to explore the world. He meets a…
9 min Ages 4–8 · Classic Tales The Velveteen Rabbit

Velveteen Rabbit, a well-loved toy, dreams of becoming real through a child's affection. Guided by the wise Skin Horse…
10 min Ages 3–7 · Classic Tales The Elves and the Shoemaker

A kind shoemaker and his wife struggle to make ends meet in their quaint village shop. One morning, they discover their…
15 min Ages 4–8 · Magic Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

Snow White, kind and gentle, lives in a magical forest, adored by all. Her wicked stepmother, the Queen, grows jealous…
4 min Ages 4–8 · Rhyming Stories & Poems A Christmas Star

Timmy, a curious boy, loves gazing at the stars. One snowy night, he spots a new, golden star shining brightly above…
4 min Ages 4–8 · Classic Tales Dapplegrim

Agnes and Elsa, two brave sisters, live in a village where a whispered legend tells of Dapplegrim, a mischievous forest…
4 min Ages 4–8 · Magic Prince Ariel

Prince Ariel is born with extraordinary magic, destined to bring peace to Eldoria. But a wicked sorcerer, Malachor…
4 min Ages 6–10 · Rhyming Stories & Poems The Raven

Young Edgar sits by the fire when a raven, Quasimodo, arrives with a mysterious message: "Nevermore." Quasimodo shares…
5 min Ages 3–7 · Classic Tales Jimmy Scarecrow’s Christmas

Jimmy the scarecrow diligently guards the farmer's crops, but as winter arrives, he feels lonely watching the family's…
5 min Ages 4–8 · Classic Tales Lily and the Lion

In a magical meadow, kind Lily encounters a mighty lion seeking water. Showing courage, she helps him, and he…
5 min Ages 3–7 · Magic The Anxious Leaf

Luna, a beautiful red leaf, is always anxious and fearful, longing to dance in the wind but held back by her worries. A…

Wishes, and the trouble that comes with them

The oldest engine in a magic story is a wish. Somebody is given more power than they can handle, and the tale is about what they do next. Children understand this long before they can explain it, which is why they will listen to Aladdin and the Magic Lamp for nine minutes without fidgeting.

Three that turn on a single decision

  • Pandora’s Box, six minutes, retold from the Greek myth: a lid that should stay shut, and hope left at the bottom. Written for ages six to ten.
  • Jack and the Beanstalk, six minutes, in which a bad bargain turns out to be a good one.
  • Rumpelstiltskin, six minutes, where the promise is the price and a name is the way out.

None of these need explaining afterwards. The consequence is built into the plot, and a child who wants to argue about whether Jack should have sold the cow is doing exactly the right thing.

Enchantment gentle enough for lights-out

Magic does not have to mean peril. Roughly a third of this theme is written in a soft register, where the strange thing that happens is lovely rather than dangerous.

Little Ida’s Flowers is seven quiet minutes in which flowers dance at night while the household sleeps. Moonlit Secrets of the Celestial Forest runs nine minutes and is all moonlight and treasure that turns out not to be treasure. Bushy Bride, nine minutes, is an old Norwegian shape told kindly.

Keep East of the Sun and West of the Moon, eleven minutes and written for ages five to twelve, for a night when nobody is in a hurry. It is the most demanding story in the theme and the most rewarding.

Three directions the magic goes

This theme is a junction rather than a destination. Three narrower pages take the same enchantment somewhere specific, and if you know what your child is in the mood for, start there instead.

Journeys holds 58 stories about leaving home and coming back changed. Discovery is the largest at 118 and is about finding out rather than setting off. Space is the smallest at 19, and swaps forests and castles for planets and ships without changing the shape of the story at all.

For the witches, wizards and spell-casters specifically, the witches and wizards collection gathers them across every theme.

Why magic is worth the screen-free half hour

A magic story asks a child to hold something that is not there. That is a real mental act, and it is the same one they use later for maths, for reading a map and for imagining how somebody else feels.

It is also the reason a magic story cannot be rushed. Give a description a second to land before you carry on, particularly the first time you read Puss in Boots or Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, where the picture is doing as much work as the plot. Our guide on bedtime stories and imagination sets out what that actually builds.

Princesses who do the rescuing

A fair share of this theme is about princesses, and almost none of them wait to be saved. It is worth knowing that before you decide the shelf is not for your child.

Three who take charge

Princess Rosetta, six minutes for ages four to eight, is the shortest way in. Princess Rose and the Golden Bird runs nine minutes and makes kindness the source of the courage rather than a decoration on it. Princess Susie is eleven minutes for six- to ten-year-olds and the most substantial of the three.

If that is the whole of what your child wants at the moment, the princess stories collection gathers them from every theme, including the ones where the crown is beside the point.

Where the Magic theme branches
ThemeStoriesThe magic in itReach for it when
Journeys58Roads, rivers, doors homeThey want to go somewhere
Discovery118Secrets, finds, things uncoveredThey want to know something
Space19Planets, comets, star-shipsCastles have worn thin

The themes inside magic

Journeys 58 stories

Leaving home, the road, and the coming back changed

All journeys stories

Discovery 118 stories

Stories about finding something: a secret, a talent, a friend, a way home

All discovery stories

Space 19 stories

Rockets, planets, and the moon seen from a bedroom window

All space stories

Every magic story, A to Z

  1. A Christmas Star4 min · Ages 4–8
  2. A Little Princess13 min · Ages 6–10
  3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream11 min · Ages 4–8
  4. Aladdin and the Magic Lamp16 min · Ages 5–8
  5. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves19 min · Ages 6–10
  6. Babiole8 min · Ages 5–8
  7. Beauty and the Beast14 min · Ages 4–8
  8. Bushy Bride9 min · Ages 4–8
  9. Cinderella11 min · Ages 4–8
  10. Dapplegrim4 min · Ages 4–8
  11. East of the Sun and West of the Moon11 min · Ages 5–12
  12. Gubbon Seer7 min · Ages 5–8
  13. Hansel and Gretel21 min · Ages 6–10
  14. How Molo Stole the Lovely Rose-Red9 min · Ages 6–10
  15. Jack and the Beanstalk14 min · Ages 4–8
  16. Jimmy Scarecrow’s Christmas5 min · Ages 3–7
  17. Lily and the Lion5 min · Ages 4–8
  18. Little Girl’s Christmas6 min · Ages 3–7
  19. Little Gretchen and the Wooden Shoe7 min · Ages 4–8
  20. Little Ida’s Flowers8 min · Ages 4–8
  21. Moonlit Secrets of the Celestial Forest9 min · Ages 4–8
  22. Mudjee Monedo10 min · Ages 6–10
  23. My Own Self9 min · Ages 4–8
  24. One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes7 min · Ages 6–10
  25. Pandora’s Box6 min · Ages 6–10
  26. Prince Ariel4 min · Ages 4–8
  27. Prince Darling13 min · Ages 4–8
  28. Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess14 min · Ages 4–8
  29. Prince Yamato Take9 min · Ages 5–8
  30. Princess Belle-Etoile9 min · Ages 4–8
  31. Princess Hase, a Story of Old Japan8 min · Ages 4–8
  32. Princess Kwan-Yin10 min · Ages 6–10
  33. Princess Pink Knickers11 min · Ages 5–8
  34. Princess Rose and the Golden Bird9 min · Ages 5–8
  35. Princess Rosetta7 min · Ages 4–8
  36. Princess Susie11 min · Ages 6–10
  37. Puss in Boots14 min · Ages 4–8
  38. Rapunzel21 min · Ages 5–12
  39. Riquet With The Tuft9 min · Ages 4–8
  40. Rose of Evening9 min · Ages 5–8
  41. Rumpelstiltskin18 min · Ages 6–10
  42. Santa Never Forgets!7 min · Ages 3–7
  43. Snow White and Rose Red7 min · Ages 4–8
  44. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs20 min · Ages 5–8
  45. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves15 min · Ages 4–8
  46. Son of the Island and the Turtle7 min · Ages 4–8
  47. Starlit Quest for the Cosmic Petal8 min · Ages 3–7
  48. Sunshine Stories10 min · Ages 3–7
  49. Tamlane10 min · Ages 5–8
  50. The Amber Amulet of the Dragon Star8 min · Ages 5–8
  51. The Anxious Leaf5 min · Ages 3–7
  52. The Baba Yaga9 min · Ages 5–8
  53. The Bird with Nine Heads7 min · Ages 6–10
  54. The Blue Bird20 min · Ages 6–10
  55. The Butterfly5 min · Ages 3–7
  56. The Chronicle of the Pancake8 min · Ages 4–8
  57. The Coral Queen and the Space Pirate’s Curse7 min · Ages 6–10
  58. The Crow Peri10 min · Ages 4–8
  59. The Daughter of the Mother in the Corner10 min · Ages 4–8
  60. The Dragon of the North8 min · Ages 5–8
  61. The Dragon Tamers7 min · Ages 4–8
  62. The Dwarf With The Golden Beard5 min · Ages 4–8
  63. The Elder Tree Mother6 min · Ages 4–8
  64. The Elfin Knight8 min · Ages 5–8
  65. The Elves and the Shoemaker10 min · Ages 3–7
  66. The Enchanted Pig8 min · Ages 4–8
  67. The Fair With Golden Hair10 min · Ages 3–7
  68. The Fairy9 min · Ages 4–8
  69. The Farmer and the Pixie9 min · Ages 4–8
  70. The Fiery Dragon11 min · Ages 5–8
  71. The Fir Tree5 min · Ages 3–7
  72. The Firefly Code and the Starlit Path10 min · Ages 5–8
  73. The Fisherman and His Wife9 min · Ages 6–10
  74. The Forgotten Tales of the Meteor Witch11 min · Ages 5–8
  75. The Four Wishes9 min · Ages 5–8
  76. The Friendly Frog5 min · Ages 3–7
  77. The Frog Prince9 min · Ages 4–8
  78. The Giant Who Had No Heart In His Body8 min · Ages 4–8
  79. The Gingerbread Man7 min · Ages 3–7
  80. The Golden Beetle8 min · Ages 4–8
  81. The Golden Goose13 min · Ages 4–8
  82. The Golden Nugget8 min · Ages 6–10
  83. The Golden Thread of the Interstellar Loom12 min · Ages 6–10
  84. The Golden Touch of King Midas9 min · Ages 6–10
  85. The Goose Girl19 min · Ages 6–10
  86. The Great White Bear and the Trolls6 min · Ages 4–8
  87. The Happy Prince16 min · Ages 6–10
  88. The Ice Mirror of the Frost Galaxy7 min · Ages 4–8
  89. The Kingdom of the Ogres8 min · Ages 4–8
  90. The Light Princess7 min · Ages 5–8
  91. The Little Mermaid16 min · Ages 6–10
  92. The Mad Goose and the Tiger Forest8 min · Ages 4–8
  93. The Magic Fishbone6 min · Ages 5–8
  94. The Magical Tale of Cinderella21 min · Ages 4–8
  95. The Man Who Made The Trees Blossom5 min · Ages 4–8
  96. The Master Maid9 min · Ages 4–8
  97. The Midnight Dance of the Shadow Comet7 min · Ages 4–8
  98. The Miraculous Pitcher7 min · Ages 4–8
  99. The Missing Unicorn7 min · Ages 5–8
  100. The Moon-Cake6 min · Ages 3–7
  101. The Nightingale11 min · Ages 8–12
  102. The Nodding Tiger5 min · Ages 3–7
  103. The Old Witch7 min · Ages 4–8
  104. The Orchard Sprite of the Forbidden Planet6 min · Ages 4–8
  105. The Pea Blossom6 min · Ages 4–8
  106. The Photon Harp of the Storm Nebula7 min · Ages 5–8
  107. The Prince and the Goblin7 min · Ages 6–10
  108. The Princess and the Pea6 min · Ages 3–7
  109. The Princess Mayblossom9 min · Ages 3–7
  110. The Pumpkin Giant9 min · Ages 4–8
  111. The Queen Bee8 min · Ages 4–8
  112. The Raven4 min · Ages 6–10
  113. The Ridiculous Wishes7 min · Ages 4–8
  114. The Rose and the Butterfly7 min · Ages 4–8
  115. The Sapphire Crown of the Desert Moon8 min · Ages 5–8
  116. The Seven Foals6 min · Ages 5–8
  117. The Silent Flight of the Lunar Owl7 min · Ages 4–8
  118. The Sleeping Beauty In The Wood14 min · Ages 4–8
  119. The Snow Man5 min · Ages 3–7
  120. The Snow Queen8 min · Ages 4–8
  121. The Star Wife7 min · Ages 6–10
  122. The Stars in the Sky8 min · Ages 3–7
  123. The Stones of Five Colours and the Empress Jokwa8 min · Ages 5–8
  124. The Story of the Old Man Who Made Withered Trees to Flower9 min · Ages 4–8
  125. The Tale of Tom Thumb11 min · Ages 6–10
  126. The Three Dwarfs5 min · Ages 3–7
  127. The Three Golden Apples5 min · Ages 4–8
  128. The Three Princesses in the Blue Mountain9 min · Ages 4–8
  129. The Tinderbox15 min · Ages 6–10
  130. The Troll Wedding7 min · Ages 4–8
  131. The Twelve Dancing Princesses14 min · Ages 4–8
  132. The Twelve Wild Ducks7 min · Ages 4–8
  133. The Velvet Paw and the Throne of Stars5 min · Ages 5–8
  134. The Velveteen Rabbit9 min · Ages 4–8
  135. The Water Lily and The Gold-Spinners5 min · Ages 3–7
  136. The White Doe6 min · Ages 4–8
  137. The White Duck5 min · Ages 4–8
  138. The Wild Swans10 min · Ages 6–10
  139. The Wonderful Sheep7 min · Ages 4–8
  140. The Yellow Dwarf8 min · Ages 5–8
  141. Three Feathers10 min · Ages 6–10
  142. Thumbelina7 min · Ages 4–8
  143. Tom Tit Tot11 min · Ages 4–8
  144. Twinkling Feet’s Halloween7 min · Ages 3–7
  145. Why The Autumn Leaves Are Red8 min · Ages 4–8
  146. Why the Sea is Salt6 min · Ages 4–8

Questions parents ask about magic stories

What are the best magic bedtime stories for a five-year-old?

Little Ida's Flowers, Puss in Boots and Jack and the Beanstalk all suit five-year-olds and run six to seven minutes. Each has magic in it without a villain who frightens.

Do magical stories make it harder for children to sleep?

Usually not, as long as the tale resolves before the end. Excitement that is closed off settles a child; excitement left hanging does not, so avoid stopping a magic story halfway.

Is there a difference between a magic story and a fairy tale?

A fairy tale is a traditional story, usually old and often collected from folklore. A magic story is any story with enchantment in it, including modern ones set in space.

Which magic story here is longest?

East of the Sun and West of the Moon, a retold Norwegian folk tale, takes about eleven minutes and is written for ages five to twelve.