Great Story Reading Project
A curated collection of story suggestions and adapted texts for Story Listening.
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BROWSE STORIES
Story Suggestions
Below, browse story suggestions from Dr. Beniko Mason and Stories First editors. Please only choose stories that inspire you and tailor each story to your students’ needs.
English-First Stories
The 100 First Stories Cat and Mouse in Parnership – Beginner Our Lady’s Child The Wolf and the Seven Kids The Twelve Brothers – Intermediate The Brother and Sister – Intermediate Rapunzel – Beginner – Intermediate The Three Spinners The Three Snake-Leaves – Intermediate The White Snake – Intermediate The Riddle Mother Hulda – Intermediate The Seven Ravens Little Red Riding Hood – Intermediate The Bremen town Musicians – Beginner The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs The Girl Without Hands The Three Languages The Elves / The Elves and the Shoemaker The Robber Bridegroom – Beginner Godfather Death Fitcher’s Bird The Almond Tree Old Sultan The Six Swans – Intermediate Sleeping Beauty – Intermediate Fundevogel (Bird-foundling) King Thrushbeard – Beginner Snow-white – Intermediate Rumpelstiltskin – Intermediate Roland – Beginner The Golden Bird Frederick and Catherine The Queen Bee – Intermediate The Golden Goose –Beginner All-kinds-of-fur (Allerleirauh) The Twelve Huntsmen Jorinda and Joringel –Intermediate Clever Gretel – Intermediate The Old Grandfather and His Grandson – Intermediate The Death of the Little Hen – Intermediate Gambling Hansel The Gold-Children The Gnome The King of the Golden Mountain The Raven The Peasant’s Wise Daughter – Intermediate The Spirit in the Glass Bottle – Intermediate The Devil’s Sooty Brother Bearskin – Intermediate Sweet Porridge – Beginner Wise Folks Stories about Snakes The Shroud The Cunning Little Taylor The Blue Light The Willful Child The Three Apprentices Donkey Cabbages The Old Woman in the Woods – Intermediate The Three Brothers The Devil and His Grandmother The Four Skillful Brothers – Intermediate The White Bride and the Black One Simeli Mountain – Intermediate Going A-traveling The Donkey The Ungrateful Son – Beginner The Old Man Made Young Again The Beam The Old Beggar-Woman The Shepherd Boy The Star-Money – Beginner The Stolen Farthings – Beginner Brides on Their Trial – Intermediate Odds and Ends – Intermediate A Riddling Tale Snow-White and Rose-Red The Peasant in Heaven The Hut in the Forest Sharing Joy and Sorrow The Owl Death’s Messengers The Poor Boy in the Grave The True Bride – Intermediate High/Advanced The Peasant and the Devil The Crumbs on the Table The Master-thief The Drummer The Grave-Mound Old Rinkrank The Crystal Ball – Beginning – Intermediate Maid Maleen –Beginning The Boots of Buffalo-Leather The Golden Key – Intermediate St. Joseph in the Forest God’s food The Aged Mother The Heavenly Wedding |
English- Editor's Picks
Editor’s Picks
Stories from around the world recommended by our editors.
All Ages
Stone Soup – a simple story for beginners
The Snake Prince – a story from India – A princess must face the Snake Queen to save her new husband.
Lorelei – a German tale – A mermaid’s voice is distractingly beautiful.
Selekana and the River God – traditional story from Botswana – The River Goddess rewards a generous girl.
The Courageous Lady – a tale from Algeria – Only a wise old lady is courageous enough to defend a town under siege.
Jack and the Beanstalk – a British tale – A boy climbs a magic beanstalk and steals an ogre’s treasure.
Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow – a British tale – Robin Hood is on the run, so the Sheriff of Nottingham organizes a contest.
The Empty Pot – a tale from China – An honest boy impresses the Emperor and wins the throne.
The Enchanted Bird – a tale from Iraq – A good king cursed by his brother, until he meets his true love.
The Princess and the Pea – a fussy prince looks for love
The Spider and the Honey Tree – a tale of greed from Sudan
Babouschka – A Russian Christmas Story
The Ant and the Grasshopper – Two versions of this story, with very different endings
The Twelve Dancing Princesses – a simplified version of the Grimm’s classic
The Flute Player of Hamelin – a simplified version of the Grimm’s classic
The Forbidden Chamber – an evil wizard kidnaps young women
The Lion and the Hare – animals live in fear of the king of beasts
The Donkey Prince – a tale of triumph over suffering
Especially for younger students
Uncle Rabbit and Uncle Tiger – a fable from Venezuela – A rabbit outsmarts a hungry tiger.
The Little Frog – a tale from the United States – A little frog with a big mouth learns an important lesson.
The Gingerbread Man – a fun, cautionary tale
The Turtle and the Hare – the most famous race ever?
The Billy Goat’s Gruff – a fun tale for kids
Middle grades and up
Bisclavret – traditional story from France – A man is betrayed, but his loyal friend helps free him from a terrible curse.
The Crystal Heart – a Vietnamese legend – A princess rejects a poor fisherman but soon regrets being so haughty.
The Moon Maiden – a Japanese tale – A couple is thrilled to adopt a magical moonchild, but one day they must give her up.
The Little Mermaid – a Danish tale – A mermaid wishes to go live amongst humans but ends up watching over them instead.
The Most Dangerous Game– a story about a very dangerous hunter.
Hansel and Gretel – a timeless classic
The Crystal Ball – an action-packed adventure story
Bluebeard – a tale of survival
The Stolen Pennies – a short ghost story
The Buried Treasure – a story from Syria
The Magic Pot – a humorous fairy tale
The Man With Two Wives – a humorous Aesop’s fable
The Tongue-Cut Sparrow – a Japanese folk tale about greed
Turandot – a love story with riddles
Madonna Zilla – the power and cruelty of love
The Woman and the Evil Spirit – a spooky morality tale
The Genie in the Bottle – a young man encounters a frightening genie
Roland – a tale of unrequited love
French- Premières histoires
Les 100 premières histoires Le Roi-grenouille — Intermediate Légendes de l’enfance |
French- Les choix de l'éditeur
Les choix de l’éditeur
Stories from around the world recommended by our editors.
All Ages
Sélékana et les bijoux – a tale from Botswana – A generous girl is rewarded for her selflessness.
La Femme Courageuse – a tale from Algeria – Only a wise old lady is courageous enough to defend a town under siege.
Especially for lower grades
Les vaches de Monsieur Lapin – a fable from Venezuela – A rabbit outsmarts a hungry tiger.
Intermediate grades and up
Bisclavret – tradtional story from France – A man is betrayed, but his loyal friend helps free him from a terrible curse.
Spanish- Primeras historias
Les 100 primeras historias para Story Listening Dr. Mason has had success with these tried-and-true folk stories with her intermediate/advanced teens and adults. Read more about the 100 First Stories. Or find other recommended story collections here. El Rey Rana o Enrique el Férreo – Principiante |
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where are the other teacher-adapted texts?
In June 2021, our collection out-grew this space, and many stories moved to Wikiversity. Our new wikis have more powerful tools, like advanced tracking and monitoring, and easier editing and search tools. For more adapted texts, please visit:
French: Histoires pour apprendre le francais
What if I don’t see my language represented?
We are always looking to grow our collection. Please contact us to learn how you can help share resources in your language, on this site or on Wikiversity.
Can I share a story?
Please visit the Wikiversity links above to help share a story. Contact us if you would like to help using the wikis.
Where can I find more stories?
Many more stories suitable for Story Listening are freely available in print or online. Visit these sites for more traditional folk stories.
1) https://www.bartleby.com/1012/
3) http://kudos910.web.fc2.com/
4) https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/lfb/bl/index.htm
5) https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1430/1430-h/1430-h.htm#rj
6) https://www.grimmstories.com
7) https://www.worldoftales.com/European_folktales.html#gsc.tab=0
8) http://www.authorama.com/english-fairy-tales-38.html
9) https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/