La Llorona
12 min read ages 10 and up
Fairy tales for ages 9–12
62 tales
The Fisherman and His Soul
15 min read ages 9 and up
Bluebeard
10 min read ages 8 and up
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
15 min read ages 8 and up
The Red Shoes
8 min read ages 8 and up
Bambi
15 min read ages 8 and up
The Juniper Tree
11 min read ages 8 and up
The Young King
14 min read ages 8 and up
Robin Hood
14 min read ages 7 and up
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
15 min read ages 7 and up
Snow White
11 min read ages 7 and up
The Story of Saint Nicholas
8 min read ages 7 and up
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
5 min read ages 7 and up
Sinbad the Sailor
11 min read ages 7 and up
Odysseus and the Cyclops
14 min read ages 7 and up
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
16 min read ages 7 and up
The Wild Swans
16 min read ages 7 and up
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
15 min read ages 7 and up
Vasilisa the Beautiful
10 min read ages 7 and up
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
15 min read ages 7 and up
The Nightingale and the Rose
8 min read ages 7 and up
The Devoted Friend
15 min read ages 7 and up
The Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was
12 min read ages 7 and up
Cinderella
9 min read ages 6 and up
Rapunzel
5 min read ages 6 and up
Rumpelstiltskin
4 min read ages 6 and up
Beauty and the Beast
16 min read ages 6 and up
Pinocchio
15 min read ages 6 and up
Rip Van Winkle
15 min read ages 6 and up
Alice in Wonderland
16 min read ages 6 and up
Baba Yaga
7 min read ages 6 and up
The Little Mermaid
16 min read ages 6 and up
The Snow Queen
16 min read ages 6 and up
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
15 min read ages 6 and up
Donkey Skin
12 min read ages 6 and up
The Golem of Prague
10 min read ages 6 and up
The Happy Prince
15 min read ages 6 and up
The Six Swans
6 min read ages 6 and up
The Nightingale
12 min read ages 6 and up
Urashima Taro
13 min read ages 6 and up
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
6 min read ages 6 and up
Brother and Sister
8 min read ages 6 and up
The White Cat
15 min read ages 6 and up
The Little Match Girl
3 min read ages 6 and up
Iron Hans
11 min read ages 6 and up
Hans My Hedgehog
7 min read ages 6 and up
Hop-o’-My-Thumb
12 min read ages 6 and up
The Seven Ravens
6 min read ages 6 and up
The Golden Bird
10 min read ages 6 and up
Momotaro, the Peach Boy
15 min read ages 6 and up
The Fir Tree
9 min read ages 6 and up
The Tinderbox
9 min read ages 6 and up
Cat and Mouse in Partnership
6 min read ages 6 and up
Jorinda and Joringel
6 min read ages 6 and up
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
15 min read ages 6 and up
The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs
9 min read ages 6 and up
The Fisherman and the Jinni
10 min read ages 6 and up
David and Goliath
8 min read ages 6 and up
Moses
15 min read ages 6 and up
Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors
15 min read ages 6 and up
The Boy Samuel
8 min read ages 6 and up
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
5 min read ages 6 and up
Longer tales for older readers
By nine or ten, most children read confidently on their own and are ready for longer, darker stories. Andersen does not always end happily, and a sad ending often gives an older reader more to think about than a cheerful one does.
The Snow Queen is one of the longest tales here: Gerda walks all the way to the far north to bring back her friend Kay, whose heart has turned to ice. On the way she is helped by a crow, a robber girl and a reindeer called Ba.
Some tales also have a version marked Original, our retelling that follows the old source more closely, hard scenes included. The Little Mermaid is one of them, and an older reader who knows our standard telling will see what that one leaves out.
Legends belong here too. In Robin Hood the outlaws of Sherwood take back from the rich what was squeezed out of the poor. The Normans call them robbers and the common people love them, and an older reader can decide which side the story takes.