For ages, we’ve heard laughter is the best medicine. Keeping the spirits of good humor in mind, we’ve collected a series of funny short stories for kids. So, read through for a great belly laugh at the end of the day and just unwind and relax with your kid and your favorite funny short stories.
There’s no wrong or right way to read a story, be it, reading aloud or letting your child try to construct the sentences, bedtime should allow you and your kids to share a special bond. So, spend five, ten, or fifteen minutes on our funny short stories for kids, with a wide range of characters ranging from ghosts to animals and what not. So have a hearty laugh, while you enjoy these moments.
Find the list of short funny stories to tell:
There is no better way to make bedtime more interesting than to read a good story and live in the world of your favorite characters for just a few moments. Children are the most receptive to learning right before bed and that’s when you should make the most of the situation and dive right into a fun-filled world of imagination and tales.
Two Cats And The Monkey Story:
One day two cats were arguing over a piece of bread. They kept fighting over how much each of them should get. A monkey was perched on a tree nearby and was watching the argument happen. He called out to the cats and said he was willing to help them split their bread. He told them he would split it in half and each cat would get one half. The cats handed their bread over to the monkey. He split it in two pieces, but one of the pieces ended up larger than the other.
Now the monkey nibbled on the larger piece and tried to make it equal but it ended on smaller than the other. He kept nibbling on the bread, in attempts to make the equal, but he ended up eating all the bread!
He had tricked the cats and when they asked him what he’d done. He said that if they had split the bread themselves this wouldn’t have happened. Laughing, the monkey swung away from the tree to tree.
This is one of the famous short bedtime stories told to kids most of the time.
The Clever Rooster Story
One day, on a fine evening, a hungry fox was trotting around the street when he saw a rooster sitting on the roof of a house. The fox thought that maybe, if he could eat up the rooster somehow, it would make such a wonderful fulfilling meal.
“Oh dear rooster! You look like you have a terrible fever. Why don’t you come down so I can check” said the fox, looking up at the rooster.
But the rooster was clever enough to know what the fox was up to. “Oh my dear fox” he said and began to laugh. The fox became embarrassed that the rooster had figured out his plan and ran away on the street.
The Forgetful Elephant Story
There once lived an elephant named Peter, who was the most forgetful elephant ever. It was almost as if he could never remember anything when the need be. He would often forget where he had kept his things. Or, he would forget if he had breakfast or not and end up having it twice. Sometimes he would even forget what he said to his friends and even the favorite character in his favorite movie.
But the worst part of it all was that, Peter would often forget the plans he had made with people. He was notorious for always being late, that was in the case he remembered to actually show up at plan. But most of his friends had accepted Peter the way he was; except Suzy.
Suzy was Peter’s wife, and she was growing tired of Peter ditching plans all the time. Of course, Peter never intended to miss their hangouts, but somehow he would always end up forgetting. This made Suzy feel less important in his life day by day. One day Suzy met Peter and said:
“It is our anniversary tomorrow and we will go out for dinner, if you’re not on time, we’re done for good.”
Peter was worried that he would upset Suzy this time. There had to be a way for him to remember. He took out a red ribbon from his drawer and tied it around his trunk. He thought that next morning when he would look at the ribbon it would remind him of the dinner and he would not miss it. That night Peter went to sleep thinking he was on to something.
But, the next morning when Peter woke up and looked at himself in the mirror, he saw the red ribbon.
But he had forgotten what it was for.
He knew it had to remind him of something, but he no longer knew what. Peter panicked and panicked, he paced all around his house trying to figure out what it was that he was forgetting but to no avail. He called all his friends and all the places he usually went to asking if he had a commitment with anyone, yet there were none. Soon night took over the sky and Peter decided that he would ask Suzy what the ribbon was for. She must remember.
Peter rushed to Suzy and expected her to remember but even before Peter had the chance to ask her, she embraced him and gave him the biggest smooch he had ever gotten in all his elephant years. He had arrived in time for the dinner and they ended up going out and having a lovely night, full of love, laughter and fun.
But Peter never found out what the ribbon was for.
The Monkey’s Heart Story
Upon the river bank there was crocodile who was about to lay eggs. Like any other lady about to pop out a baby, the crocodile had an odd situation of cravings going on. One day, proving to be the loving husband he was, her husband made the mistake of asking her what she would like to eat.
“A monkey’s heart” was her reply.
Her husband was confused, and lost. How on earth was he to get a monkey’s heart? But being the great spouse he was, he came up with a plan. First, he destroyed the bridge the monkey usually used to cross the river.
When the monkey arrived at the bank, he stood confused. “Oh banana skins! Where on earth is the bridge?”
That’s exactly the kind of question the crocodile had been waiting for. “Hey monkey! I’ll help you cross the river!”
The monkey was surprised at the kind request and so he agreed. He climbed onto the crocodile’s back and they began to swim across the river but as they reached the middle, the crocodile confessed to the monkey.
“I’m not really helping your cross the river. In reality my wife wants to eat a monkey’s heart and I will give you over to her.”
The monkey was shocked, but he was a clever man. He knew what to do.
“I am so grateful for your honesty, but even if you give me over to your wife, she still won’t get my heart, because we don’t keep it in our chest.” smiled the monkey.
“What? Then where is your heart?” asked the crocodile confused.
“We keep our hearts on the highest tops of the fig trees, safe and sound. Since you have been so honest, if you agree to not hurt me, I will quickly go and fetch my heart and toss it to you” said the monkey. The poor crocodile who was a gullible creature, agreed. “Sounds good” he said and they began to swim back to the bank.
When they reached the bank, the monkey quickly climbed onto a tree and began to laugh. He had fooled the poor crocodile and had escaped.
“Darn it!” snapped the crocodile, and began to swim back to his home, ready to face the wrath of his hungry wife.
The Mouse Ghost Story
There was once a tiny little mouse who was so terrified of being trampled and squished by all the other animals in the forest that he always hid in the bushes. It was almost as if they enjoyed scaring him or threatening him.
One day as the mouse was wandering around during the night, a strong wind began to blow. Suddenly, a white cloth came flying with the wind and landed over the mouse. As he began to shuffle around, an idea came to his mind.
He should pretend to be a vicious ghost. And that is what he did. During the night he would keep on the white cloth over his body and loom around the forest till some animals spotted him. They were instantly petrified. Soon word began to spread and all the animals found out that there was a ghost which lived on the dark path in the forest.
The mouse was pretty happy. Now he did not have to fear being trampled by the animals and could live in peace, since none of them were brave enough to cross the path where a ghost had been spotted, and if they did, the mouse would chase them away.
One day, as seasons changed, a lot of animals had to migrate and had to go down the path where the ghost lived.
“Oh boy, oh boy, I hope the ghost isn’t around today” whispered one of them.
But as soon as they began to walk down that path, the mouse appeared and began to chase them out. But suddenly a gush of wind blew and the white cloth flew off the teeny tiny mouse and he was exposed.
The animals were so angry that they chased him out of the forest and he was never allowed to come back.
Followed Me Home
I told her that she couldn’t stay,
Not today, not any day.
But she wouldn’t listen.
My mummy was angry, and so was my daddy,
They said they were certainly not happy,
But there was nothing I could do,
About the elephant who just wouldn’t shoo!
I said it once,
I said it twice,
And I definitely would have said it thrice.
But I swear it wasn’t a fault of mine,
That an elephant had just followed me home.
The Foolish Boy Story
Once upon a time there was a foolish boy named Danny. He was careless and never paid attention to his work.
One day Mr. Tim was getting his house painted. When Danny arrived at their house, he was intrigued. “Why are you getting your house painted Mr. Tim?” asked Danny as he watched.
“Because I want to make my house look beautiful.” Replied Mr. Tim and Danny continued with his day.
A few days went by and Mr. Tim had to attend an important event. As Danny was around, he asked him to dress up his youngest son. “I want him to look prim, proper and beautiful” Mr. Tim smiled.
Now Danny was such a foolish boy, he did not consider his actions carefully. He just went and put paint all over the little boy, because Mr. Tim had said paint was making the house beautiful. This made Mr. Tim very angry.
Another day came when Mr. Steve asked Danny to run an errand for him and drop off some letters into the mail box. Danny went off early during the day, but returned in the evening with the letters still in his hand. Mr. Steve was very confused, and asked Danny why he still had the letters.
“When I went to the letter box, it was locked. I kept trying and trying to open it but I could not.”
How foolish, thought Mr. Steve. Now both Tim and Steve were cross with him.
A few days went by again, and Mr. Tim gave Danny a bottle of shampoo. Danny left it on his study table, but when he was about to go into the shower, he accidentally grabbed a bottle of glue and went in, without paying any attention.
When he came out of the shower and looked at himself in the mirror and he was shocked. Danny began to cry seeing his hair all messed up.
When Mr. Tim came to see why Danny was crying, he began to laugh hard. Danny’s foolishness had cost him heavy this time, and he had to get his head shaved.
He was so devastated that he promised himself to be more careful.
The Man and His Cat Story
Once upon a time, there lived a couple, who was happily married and had a pet cat. For some odd reason, the man absolutely hated the cat. There was no day he did not wish to get rid of the cat.
One day he finally made a plan to get rid of it. He snuck the cat into a sack and drove far away from their house. “I will drop him twenty blocks away, and he will never come back” laughed the man and stopped twenty blocks away from their home.
He left the cat there and as he was making his way back, he noticed that the cat was roaming around outside their house. He was so shocked and angry. “How can he be back here!?” he exclaimed.
A couple of days went by and he came up with another plan. “This time I will drop him forty blocks away, and he will never return” he thought to himself. He put the cat in a sack and dropped it off forty blocks away from their house. When he returned, the cat was already in its spot. The man was raging now. He stomped his feet and grew red with anger. How was this possible?
He came up with one last plan to get rid of the cat. He put her in a sack and drove as far as he could. He took lefts and rights and turns as we went on and on. When he finally arrived as far as he could from their home, he reached for the sack, but it was empty!
He dialed his wife’s number and as she picked up, he asked, “Hey honey, is the cat home?”.
“Yes, it is” she replied.
“Can you give it the phone; I need to ask it for directions to get back home” replied the man.
The Coconut Vendor Story
One day a coconut vendor was at a garden, collecting some coconuts. He had come on his horse and had brought a big basket along to fill it up. As he went on collecting and collecting, soon he had a massive quantity of coconuts. He was very pleased and delighted. “Wow, I ended up with a lot more than I had expected.”
The man put his basket onto his horse and continued his way home. The journey was very long, as the garden was far outside the city. Soon, the sun began to set. As the man was traveling, he saw a young boy nearby.
“How long do you think it will take me to get to the city?” he asked.
“If you go slowly, you will reach faster. If you faster, you will reach slowly.” the boy replied and ran off
“What sort of logic is that?” thought the man.
He continued his journey and made his horse run faster. But as soon as they picked up speed some coconuts would fall off his basket. The man would have to get off and put them back in. As they sped up again, some coconuts fell off again and they had to stop.
This went on and on and finally by night time, the vendor reached his house, later than he had expected. That is when he realized what the young boy had meant.
The Elf’s Ant Story
There was once an Elf who had a pet ant. He loved his little ant so much that he would try his level best to feed him all that he could.
He would give it leftover food, crumbs, nits of candy, and everything he could not eat himself. The ant always happily gobbled up everything he was fed.
This went on for years and years, and the ant kept gobbling up all the food he got, snacking and munching all the time. As the ant did so, it got bigger, and bigger, and bigger, till it could no longer fit into the room.
Even though the Elf loved his ant so dearly, he had no choice but to give him up to the zoo.
Everyone at the zoo knew that this was the Elf’s ant, and so it became known as the “Elephant” over time.
Years and years went by, and to this day people go to see the Elephant, but they just don’t know the story behind its odd name.
I don’t use glue
I wish I could somehow knot my shoelaces, without having to use glue. It is sticky and it’s icky and leaves my socks all gooey. My toes get stuck together and I can’t even walk properly. Every time I try to pull it off, it just ends up leaving another spot.
I have a glue gun in my car and my friends always start to laugh, because I end up getting it on my shirt. My gluey shirt will now get a dusty mark. Now I am starting to realize, that maybe glue isn’t the best way to tie my shoe.
Neither Here Nor There Story
A small little doggy was trotting around, when he came across a froggy who walking up right. He wagged his tail and followed the frog, asking him why he’s choosing to walk. “Why don’t you jump” asked the doggy.
The frog was clearly annoyed. “Why don’t you leap across the ground doggy” said the frog, as he continued walking away. But the little doggy could not read his annoyance. “I have heard you can jump as high as a mountain and cross this entire space in one go!” gushed the dog excitedly.
But the frog rolled his eyes. “Listen up champ, if I do jump, the farthest I will land is on that stump. So if you could stop talking, I will continue to keep walking” said the frog as he went on. The little doggy sighed disappointingly and went his own way, wishing he could jump as high himself.
How can you get the most out of the funny short bedtime stories for kids?
Read aloud:
If you really want to encapsulate the true comical essence of the stories, we suggest you read out loud to your children. Put up a funny voice and impersonate all your favorite characters to keep the suspense and drama alive in the hilarious tales.
Re-imagine alternative endings
A great way to spark a discussion with kids is to reimagine alternative endings. What could the character have done differently to have a better outcome. You can always also add to the humor and laughs by coming up with what your kids think would be funnier endings.
Focus on timing
Build up some suspense to make your child crave figuring out the core of the plot. Focus on timing when reading out the story and you’ll surely give your kid a good case of giggles.
Short Stories For Kids with morals
Read up on your favorite characters while making sure your child takes away some valuable lessons. Browse through our range of short stories for kids, with great moral-some endings yet engaging storylines, bound to keep you and your child hooked for hours.
Funny Bedtime Stories for Your Kids
Fun filled tales to get a quick read before bed. Pack on a hearty laugh before bed to trigger some sweet dreams with our collection of funny bedtime stories for kids. There’s no better therapy than a healthy dose of shared laughter. While you enjoy together, you’ll be making memories you cherish forever.
FAQs for short funny stories for kids
Question 1: What are some of the best funny stories to tell your kids?
While we truly believe there is no such thing as a good or bad story, some great funny stories to tell your kids are:
- The forgetful elephant.
- Two cats and a monkey
- The mouse ghosts.
Question 2: Can funny stories have some morals too?
Of course! Funny stories might be providing you with your fix of comedy, but at the same time they can produce fruitful in teaching your kids some valuable lessons. There’s no doubt that content which appeals to a child’s humor might actually end up sticking with them longer than a plain boring story.
Question 3: Is there any way through which you can convert a normal story to a funny one?
The easiest way to make a simple story funny is by putting on an impression of the characters. Try reading out the story in a funny voice, be a squeaky tone or a rumbling roar, its sure to give your kids the giggles.
Question 4: Can funny stories be told at the bedtime?
There is no better way to relax than to read out a funny story to your child. While they laugh and giggle all their worries away, they’ll surely get a better sleep after all that healthy humor.
Question 5: What makes a funny story really funny for kids?
For kids it’s all about timing, rhythm and rhyme. If you can build up the story till the comical climax, and keep the kids on their toes till the oh-so-hilarious plot twist, you’re all good to go.