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This is KidsGen's collection of 157 general stories for kids, all free to read online. It brings together classic short stories by Charles Dickens and Nathaniel Hawthorne, folk tales and legends from around the world, and short animal fables that end with a moral. Nothing needs to be downloaded and no sign-up is required.
A general story is simply a short story that does not sit inside one fixed genre. Some of the tales below explain how something in nature came to be, some are quiet classics written more than 150 years ago, and a great many are brisk animal fables in the tradition of Aesop, where a fox, a wolf or a jackdaw learns a lesson the hard way. Together they make an easy place to start when a child says "read me a story" and nobody minds which kind.
Pick a story from any group below and it opens on its own page. If you are reading with a young child, the fables are the shortest; if you want something longer for an independent reader of eight or above, start with the classic tales. For more collections, see KidsGen's moral stories, fables and fairy tales and main stories section.
Three well-known tales from the great age of the short story. They are longer and slower than the fables, and they read beautifully aloud.
Tales of enchanters, spirits, clever farmers and the origins of everyday things — why dogs wag their tails, how the stars began, why the sky moved out of reach.
Short fables in the Aesop tradition. Each one runs to a page or so and ends with a lesson about greed, pride, kindness, courage or thinking before you act — handy for a bedtime read or a five-minute classroom discussion.
A small series about Denzil, who means well and gets things wrong, and slowly learns better. Read them in any order.
General stories are short stories that do not belong to one single genre. This KidsGen section mixes classic short stories by well-known authors, folk tales and legends from around the world, and animal fables that end with a moral, so a child can move from a short fable to a longer classic tale on the same page.
There are 157 general stories on this page. They are arranged in four groups: classic short stories by famous authors, folk tales and legends, animal fables with a moral, and the Denzil stories.
Yes. Every story on this page opens straight in your browser and is free to read. There is nothing to download, no app to install and no registration or login.
Most of the stories suit children between about 5 and 12. Younger children enjoy the short animal fables when an adult reads aloud, while confident readers of 8 and above can manage the longer classic tales on their own.
Most of the fables end with a clear lesson about honesty, greed, kindness, patience or thinking before acting, which makes them useful for classroom discussion. The classic stories and folk tales are less direct and work better as reading for pleasure.
Yes. The stories can be read aloud at home, at school or at library story time. If you would like to share them, please link to this page rather than copying the text.
KidsGen also publishes moral stories, fables and fairy tales, classic stories, Indian mythological stories, Betal Pachisi and Singhasan Battisi. Links to each of those collections are given at the foot of this page.
Published by KidsGen. Last updated: 2 September 2026.
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