Stories read aloud
Classic fables and fairy tales, read aloud in glowing paper-cut lightbox scenes. Free on any screen, no app needed.
Every story is a handful of glowing paper-cut lightbox scenes with narration and subtitles. Press “Tell the story” to listen, or step through the scenes with the arrows, the ← → keys or a swipe.
Aesop's FablesFairy TalesFolk TalesJust So Stories
A Lion catches a little Mouse but laughs and lets her go when she promises to repay him. Days later he is trapped in a hunter's net — and the Mouse gnaws him free.
Moral: A kindness is never wasted. Little friends may prove great friends.
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A boastful Hare laughs at the slow Tortoise, so the Tortoise challenges him to a race. The Hare runs far ahead and takes a nap — and wakes up too late.
Moral: The race is not always to the swift. Slow but steady wins the race.
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The Mice hold a council and a young Mouse has a clever plan: hang a bell about the Cat’s neck. Everyone cheers, until an old Mouse asks, “Who will bell the Cat?”
Moral: It is one thing to say that something should be done, but quite a different matter to do it.
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Kind Cinderella works among the cinders for her proud stepmother and stepsisters, until her fairy godmother turns a pumpkin into a golden coach and sends her to the King’s son’s ball in glass slippers. She runs away at midnight and loses a slipper, but it fits only her, and she marries the Prince and forgives her sisters with all her heart.
Moral: A kind heart is worth more than a pretty face.
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A kind girl gives water to a poor old woman at the fountain, and the woman, who is really a fairy, makes roses, pearls and diamonds fall from her lips at every word. Her rude sister refuses a grand lady a drink and gets toads and little snakes instead, while the kind girl meets the King’s son and marries him.
Moral: Kind words are worth more than diamonds.
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While the Three Bears take a walk until their porridge cools, a little girl called Goldilocks walks into their house and tries their porridge, chairs and beds. The Bears come home, find her asleep in the Little Wee Bear’s bed, and she jumps out of the window and runs home.
Moral: Wait to be asked in, and never take what is not yours.
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Left in the forest, Hansel and Gretel find their way home by moonlit white pebbles, but the next time birds eat their breadcrumbs and they come to a house of bread and cake. The old woman inside is a wicked witch, until clever Gretel tricks her and the children return home to their father.
Moral: Brave and clever together, Hansel and Gretel found their way home.
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An acorn falls on Henny-penny's head, and she is sure the sky is falling, so she sets off to tell the king with Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey and Turkey-lurkey. Sly Foxy-woxy offers to show them the way, but at the dark hole of his cave they turn tail and run home just in time.
Moral: Don't believe everything you hear. Find out what is true before you run and tell.
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In the beginning of the world, a lazy Camel answers the Horse, the Dog and the Ox with nothing but “Humph!”, so they must do his work as well. The Djinn of All Deserts comes rolling in a cloud of dust, and when the Camel says “Humph!” once too often, his back puffs up into a great big hump.
Moral: The hump we get comes from having too little to do: idleness makes extra work for everyone, so do your share.
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A rude Rhinoceros upsets the Parsee's stove and eats his cake. Five weeks later the Parsee fills the Rhinoceros's skin with tickly cake-crumbs, and he scratches it into folds for ever.
Moral: Them that takes cakes which the Parsee-man bakes makes dreadful mistakes.
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A hungry Whale who has eaten every fish in the sea swallows a shipwrecked Mariner, his raft, his suspenders and his jack-knife. The Mariner dances until the Whale gets the hiccoughs and takes him home, and leaves a grating stuck in the Whale’s throat, so whales can only eat very, very small fish.
Moral: Keep your head in a tight spot: a person of infinite-resource-and-sagacity can find a way out of anything — and greed can land you in trouble.
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Jack swaps the family cow for a handful of magic beans, and overnight they grow into a beanstalk that reaches the sky. Up in the giant’s house he wins a bag of gold, a hen that lays golden eggs and a singing golden harp, then chops the beanstalk down just in time.
Moral: Be brave, and great things can grow from the smallest beans.
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A Johnny-cake pops out of the oven and rolls away, outrunning an old man, an old woman, a little boy, diggers, a bear and a wolf. Then a sly fox pretends he cannot hear, and asks him to come a little closer.
Moral: Boasting can lead you right into trouble.
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Lazy Jack brings home his pay the wrong way every day, and every day his mother tells him what he should have done. When he carries a donkey home on his shoulders, a rich man's daughter who has never laughed bursts out laughing, and they marry.
Moral: Keep on trying, and think for yourself.
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Little Red Riding Hood leaves the path to pick flowers, and the Wolf reaches Grandmother’s cottage first and gobbles her up, then the girl too. A passing huntsman snips them both free, safe and sound, and the Wolf runs off for good.
Moral: Stay on the path, and mind what your mother tells you.
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A miller’s youngest son gets nothing but a cat, but the cat asks for a bag and a pair of boots and makes his poor master into the Marquis of Carabas. With clever tricks he wins him fine clothes, the King’s favor, and an ogre’s castle, and the Marquis marries the Princess.
Moral: Cleverness and hard work can be worth more than a great fortune.
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A miller boasts that his daughter can spin straw into gold, and the King locks her in a room full of straw. A little man spins it for her, but his price is her first child, unless she can guess his name.
Moral: Never boast, and think carefully before you make a promise.
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Seven fairies bless a baby princess, but an old fairy who was not invited says a spindle will kill her, and a young fairy softens it into a hundred-year sleep. When the spindle pricks her, the whole castle falls asleep inside a wood of thorns, until a prince comes, the brambles part for him, and she wakes and marries him.
Moral: Good things are worth waiting for.
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A hungry traveler asks a stingy old woman for supper, and she says there is no food in the house. So he cooks soup from a stone, and one little thing after another goes into the pot until the two of them share a feast.
Moral: When everyone adds a little, there is plenty for all.
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A poor little girl is given a magic pot that cooks sweet porridge when she says “Cook, little pot, cook” and stops when she says “Stop, little pot.” One day her mother starts it but forgets the word, and golden porridge fills the house and the whole street until the girl comes home.
Moral: Before you start something, learn how to stop it.
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A Dove drops a leaf into the brook and saves a little Ant from the rushing water. Soon after, the Ant bites a bird-catcher on the heel, and the Dove flies safely away.
Moral: A kindness is never wasted.
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All summer the Grasshopper plays his fiddle while the busy Ants store up grain. When the snow comes he has nothing to eat, and the Ants tell him: now dance!
Moral: There's a time for work and a time for play.
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Two men are walking through a forest when a Bear comes crashing out of the bushes; one climbs a tree to save himself, and the other lies still as if dead while the Bear sniffs at his ear. When the Bear has gone, the man in the tree asks what it whispered, and his friend tells him.
Moral: Misfortune is the test of true friendship.
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A bored Shepherd Boy twice tricks the villagers by shouting “Wolf! Wolf!” and laughs when they come running. One evening a real Wolf comes, and nobody believes him.
Moral: Liars are not believed even when they speak the truth.
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An old Donkey, Hound, Cat and Rooster, no longer wanted at home, set off together to be town musicians in Bremen. In a dark forest they find a robbers’ house, scare the robbers away with their music, and make it their happy home.
Moral: Old friends, working together, can do what none of them could do alone.
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A father whose sons are always quarreling asks for a bundle of sticks tied with a cord, and none of them can break it. When he unties it and gives them the sticks one by one, each stick snaps easily, and he tells them that together no one can break them.
Moral: In unity is strength.
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When the Tame animals were wild, the Woman lit a fire in a Cave, and the Dog, the Horse and the Cow came in to be her friends and servants, but the Cat walked by himself. With a clever bargain and three words of praise, he won his way into the Cave, a seat by the fire and the warm white milk, yet he still walks by himself.
Moral: Kindness and cleverness can open every door, but some friends keep a little wildness of their own.
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In hot, dry weather a thirsty Crow finds a pitcher with a little water at the bottom, too deep for his beak. He drops in small pebbles one by one until the water rises high enough to drink.
Moral: In a pinch a good use of our wits may help us out. Necessity is the mother of invention.
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A Dog carrying a bone from the butcher crosses a footbridge and sees his reflection in the brook. Wanting the other dog's bigger bone too, he snaps at it and loses his own bone in the water.
Moral: It is very foolish to be greedy.
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A Dog asleep in a manger of hay will not let the tired, hungry Cattle eat, though he cannot eat the hay himself. When the farmer sees it, he picks up a stick and chases the selfish Dog out of the stable.
Moral: Do not grudge others what you cannot enjoy yourself.
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A Donkey finds a Lion’s skin, dresses up in it and frightens every animal that passes, until he is so pleased with himself that he lets out a loud bray. The Fox laughs at him, and his owner pulls off the skin and leads the silly Donkey home.
Moral: A fool may deceive by his dress and appearance, but his words will soon show what he really is.
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Long ago, elephants had only short, bulgy noses, and one curious Elephant’s Child wanted to know what the Crocodile has for dinner. At the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River the Crocodile caught him by the nose, and pulled and pulled until it stretched into the very first trunk.
Moral: Keep asking What and Where and When, and How and Why and Who: curiosity can lead to something wonderful.
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A poor shoemaker cuts out his last leather at night, and every morning the shoes are finished. At Christmas time he and his wife watch by candlelight, see two tiny elves at work, and thank them with little clothes.
Moral: One good turn deserves another. Be thankful to those who help you.
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Two tricksters promise a vain Emperor clothes that foolish people cannot see, and weave nothing at empty looms. Everyone pretends to admire them, until a little child in the procession says, “But the Emperor has nothing at all on!”
Moral: Tell the truth, even when everyone else is pretending. Be brave enough to say what you see.
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Grandfather plants a turnip seed and it grows enormous, so big that he cannot pull it up. Grandmother, the Granddaughter, the Dog and the Cat join him one by one, but only when the little Mouse helps too does the turnip come up.
Moral: Even the smallest helper can make a big difference.
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A poor fisherman catches a flounder who is really an enchanted prince, and lets him go. His wife sends him back again and again to wish for a cottage, a castle and a crown, until she wants to rule the sun and the moon, and finds herself back in her old hovel.
Moral: Be content with what you have; greed can leave you with nothing at all.
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A Crow sits in a tree with a bit of cheese, and a sly Fox below wants it for his breakfast. He praises her shining feathers and begs for one song, and when she opens her beak to caw, the cheese falls straight into his mouth.
Moral: The flatterer lives at the expense of those who will listen to him.
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On a hot summer's day a thirsty Fox finds a bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine on a high branch. He jumps again and again but cannot reach them, so he walks away with his nose in the air, saying they must be sour.
Moral: It is easy to despise what you cannot get.
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The Fox invites the Stork to dinner and serves soup in a dish so shallow that she can only wet the tip of her bill. The calm Stork invites him back and serves a fish dinner in a tall jar with a narrow neck, which the Fox can only lick from the outside.
Moral: Do not play tricks on your neighbors unless you can stand the same treatment yourself.
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A Fox gets free of a trap but has to leave his beautiful bushy tail behind, and for a long time he keeps away from the other foxes. Then he calls a meeting and tells them all to cut off their tails, until a wise old fox points out why he gives that advice.
Moral: Do not listen to the advice of him who seeks to lower you to his own level.
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A princess drops her golden ball into a deep well and promises a frog anything if he will bring it back, never meaning to keep her word. The King makes her keep it, and after the frog sleeps on her pillow for three nights he turns into a prince.
Moral: What you promise, you must keep.
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The Frogs grow bored and beg Jupiter for a king, so he throws down a quiet log, and soon they are dancing on it. When they complain again, he sends a Stork, a very different king, and the Frogs learn they have only themselves to blame.
Moral: Be sure you can better your condition before you seek to change. Better no rule than cruel rule.
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A little old woman bakes a boy of gingerbread, and he jumps out of the oven and runs away from everyone he meets. Nobody can catch him, until a sly fox offers to carry him across the river.
Moral: Being quick is not enough. Be careful whom you trust.
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Dummling shares his poor dry cake with a little grey man and is rewarded with a goose with feathers of pure gold. Everyone who grabs at it sticks fast, and the long, silly procession makes a sad princess laugh at last.
Moral: Share what you have, with a good heart.
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Every morning a Man finds a golden egg in his Goose's nest, and he and his Wife grow rich. But they grow greedy too, cut the Goose open to get all the gold at once, and find nothing inside.
Moral: Those who have plenty want more, and so lose all they have. Much wants more and loses all.
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A Lark's nest sits in the Farmer's wheat field, and she stays calm while he waits for neighbors and relatives to help. When he says he will reap it himself, she flies away with her young ones at sunrise.
Moral: Self-help is the best help.
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The little Red Hen finds a grain of wheat, but the Goose, the Cat and the Dog will not help her plant it, cut it, take it to the mill or bake the bread. When the bread is baked they all want to eat it, so she shares it with her chicks instead.
Moral: Those who will not help should not expect to share.
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A farmer's daughter walks home with a pail of milk on her head, dreaming of cream, butter, eggs, chickens and a new gown. She tosses her head with pride, the pail falls, and all her dreams vanish in a moment.
Moral: Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.
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The Emperor of China forgets the little gray nightingale for a glittering jeweled bird, and she flies back to her green wood. When the Emperor lies cold and ill, with Death at his bedside, the real nightingale returns and sings Death away.
Moral: A true song from the heart is worth more than all the jewels in the world.
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The North Wind and the Sun argue about which of them is stronger, and agree that whoever can get a Traveler's cloak off wins. The Wind blows and blows, but the Traveler only wraps his cloak tighter; then the Sun shines warmly, and soon the Traveler takes the cloak off himself.
Moral: Gentleness and kind persuasion win where force and bluster fail.
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A giant Oak by a river boasts that it stands firm in any wind, while the slender Reeds bow low. A great storm tears the proud Oak up by its roots, but the Reeds bend and then stand up straight again.
Moral: Better to yield when it is folly to resist, than to resist stubbornly and be destroyed.
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A prince searches the whole world for a real princess, and one stormy night a soaking-wet girl knocks at the city gate and says she is one. The old queen hides a single pea under twenty mattresses and twenty eider-down beds, and in the morning the princess has not slept a wink.
Moral: You cannot always tell who someone really is from how they look at the door.
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Long ago the proud Kangaroo had four short legs, and he begged the gods to make him different by five o’clock. Big God Nqong sent Yellow-Dog Dingo to chase him all day across Australia, until he stood up and hopped on long, strong hind legs.
Moral: Be careful what you wish for: you may get it in a way you never expected.
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A poor prince sends a princess a real rose and a nightingale, but she wants only clever toys. Disguised as the emperor's swineherd, he makes a magic pot with bells and a rattle, and she pays for them in kisses until the emperor finds out.
Moral: A real rose is worth more than any clever toy.
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Three billy goats named Gruff must cross a bridge to reach the green hillside, but a great ugly Troll lives underneath and wants to gobble them up. The two smaller goats send him waiting for a bigger brother, and the big Billy Goat Gruff butts the Troll right off the bridge into the river.
Moral: Small ones can be clever, and big ones can be brave — together they get where they are going.
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Three little pigs build houses of straw, sticks and bricks, and a hungry Wolf blows the first two down. Only the strong brick house stands, and when the Wolf comes down the chimney, he lands in a pot of water and runs away for good.
Moral: Work hard and build well, and you will be safe and sound.
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A Town Mouse visits her cousin in the country and invites her to a grand city feast. But a mewing Cat, the servants and the House Dog send the Country Mouse hurrying home to her simple, peaceful life.
Moral: Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.
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Two proud Goats meet on a fallen tree that is the only way across a deep chasm, and neither will stand aside for the other. They push horn to horn in the middle until they both tumble into the roaring torrent and scramble out far downstream, soaked to the skin.
Moral: It is better to yield than to come to misfortune through stubbornness.
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The last egg in the mother duck's nest hatches into a big gray duckling, and everyone in the farmyard teases him until he runs away. After a long, lonely winter he flies to a garden in spring, bends to the water, and sees that he has grown into a beautiful white swan.
Moral: Don't judge anyone by how they look. A good heart is never proud.
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A hungry Wolf finds a sheepskin, puts it on and slips in among the Shepherd’s flock. But that night the Shepherd comes to the fold with his lantern, the disguise slips off, and the Wolf is chased away for good.
Moral: The evil doer often comes to harm through his own deceit.
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A girl no bigger than a thumb is born in a tulip, then carried off by a toad, a cockchafer and a long, cold winter. She saves a frozen swallow, and in the end he flies her to the warm countries, where the king of the flowers names her Maia.
Moral: Kindness is never wasted.
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Merlin grants a farmer’s wife her wish for a son no bigger than a thumb, and tiny Tom tumbles into a pudding, a cow’s mouth and a fish. He ends up at King Arthur’s court, where he is made a knight with a needle for a sword and a mouse to ride.
Moral: Big hearts come in small sizes.
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Being cut, layered and narrated right now. Check back soon!
Being cut, layered and narrated right now. Check back soon!
Being cut, layered and narrated right now. Check back soon!
Glow Fables retells classic fables and fairy tales as glowing paper-cut lightboxes. Each scene is a little theatre of cut-paper layers — sky, hills, trees, characters — that shift gently as you move the mouse or tilt your phone.
The look follows paper-cut shadow-box lamps: layers of cut card lit from behind, so the far hills glow like warm light and the characters stand out as dark silhouettes. Narration, music and sound are made for each story.
A warm narrator reads every scene, with subtitles for children who are learning to read.
Scenes are re-composed for phones, tablets, laptops and classroom projectors.
Just open the browser. No account, no download.
Stories take 2 to 4 minutes and end with a one-line moral to talk about together.
Yes. Press “Tell the story” and each scene is narrated, with subtitles under the picture, then the story moves on to the next scene by itself. You can also step through the scenes with the arrows, the ← → keys or by swiping on a phone.
Yes. Every story is free to watch, with no account and no app to install.
Yes. Each scene is re-arranged for portrait or landscape screens, so it works on phones, tablets, laptops and classroom projectors.
Most stories suit children from 3 to 8, watching with a parent or teacher. Each story shows a suggested age and takes about 2 to 4 minutes.
Every scene is a little box of cut-paper layers — sky, hills, trees and characters — lit from behind. The light glows through the paper, so far layers look bright and the characters stand out as dark silhouettes, like a shadow-box lamp that tells a story.
We retell public-domain classics — Aesop's fables, English folk tales, the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen — checked against well-known printed editions, in simple English for young listeners.
Glow Fables