Charming stories for drifting off to sleep

When a lion roars, the earth quakes and the animals begin to tremble. If a herd of springboks tussle around at dusk by a watering hole, it is not unusual that they become surrounded by their greedy predators

Little John said 'ME' to everything. Regardless of whether his mother placed a slice of cake or some pudding on the table, John always said 'ME'. However, when it was time for him to go to bed, he ...

Once upon a time there was a nanny goat who lived with her three children in a small house in the forest. Each morning she would go out in search of grass and herbs for her little goats. She closed the door and warned ...

'Now tell me, Emma,' said Mr Finn to Emma Rees when he met her on the street one day, 'have you ever heard of a nimble shoemaker?'

Once upon a time, a group of gypsies set up camp on a vast, uninhabited plain. After everyone had had their fill of food and drink, they lay down in their tents and could soon be heard snoring, fast asleep. Only Taru, ...

A long time ago, before there were any rivers and the only water that humans knew fell from the sky, a little boy set out on a quest to find the source of all water. Somewhere in the world, the rainwater must seep down ...

A well to-do businessman lived alone in an enormous house near a big city. He owned a successful business that traded in rose water, saffron, figs, almonds and pistachios. He could have been happy with his lot but he ...

In a royal castle there lived a very pretty and kind-hearted princess. Not far away stood the ruins of a second castle with a beautiful garden. The princess enjoyed walking to it. One day, she was meandering up and down ...

Once upon a time there was a fisherman who went to catch fish along a big river with his son. With a single cast, they caught so many fish that they could barely pull the net back to the riverbank. Along with lots of ...

Benni the bear awoke one morning to find himself squashed between a doll and a clown. 'Go away!' called Benni to the other toys. 'There's not enough room for all of us!'

After a long exciting day with a lovely walk and all kinds of fun with Mummy, it's now time to go to bed. It has already been dark outside for hours. Daddy arrived back from work a good hour ago. The stars, moon ...

Splish, the little raindrop, lived in a cotton-white cloud. He really liked living there. He often looked at the colourful world below and noticed something down there that looked like snaking blue lines. In a strange ...

Little Pascal ran with abandon through the garden. He had been outside the whole day. He had played hide-and-seek, watched the fish in the pond, observed the bees and the birds, and generally waited for summer

Long ago, the Moon held a merry celebration with his stars. They giggled, laughed and sang loudly with delight. People could even hear them from Earth. Things didn't settle down even in the middle of the night.

Paul is lying in bed and should be asleep. But it is still very light outside. Furthermore, he would much rather have another ride on his tricycle.

A long, long time ago, during the Stone Age when the mammoths existed, the Moon already shone in the sky. He slept during the day, hidden by the clouds, and then shone down on Earth at night — exactly as he does today. ...

The sandman is a little man who wears a big sack on his back. In the evening, at dusk, he prepares to leave and then travels across the land. He is so tiny and tiptoes forth so quietly that no one sees him or is aware ...

Jonas cried. Time and again. He cried constantly. This time, his sister had taken his car away from him because she wanted to annoy him. He threw himself on the ground, hammered on the stones with both hands and ...

Tarik, the little tiger, stalked up to his sleeping brother on quiet paws. When he reached him, he lifted his little tiger paw and cheekily slapped him in the face. Balan woke up.

'Look, Mum, isn't it beautiful here? These lush meadows and everywhere you look there are piles of brushwood just inviting you to hide in them!'

One day, a child said to his mother, 'I want to go far away, out into the big wide world!'

It was Katharina's birthday. Lots of visitors came and pressed packages of all sizes into her hands. Birthday presents! Katharina unwrapped picture books, colourful toy blocks, a baby doll, a stuffed polar bear and ...