When my son started asking me to make up bedtime stories I was thrilled. I’m a creative person. This would be fun. I told him bedtime stories with original characters, complete plots, and practical morals. These are the best bedtime stories for kids which are incredibly short and creative.

It’s late. You’re tired. Your Netflix queue is overflowing. These stories can wrap up the bedtime routine in 15 seconds or less.

It’s the end of the day. You’re tired and trying to wrestle your child into bed so you can go watch a marathon of “Chopped” reruns. But then it happens: your child requests a story.

You know that studies have shown that oral storytelling is good for kids, so you probably should tell one. But it’s been a long day, and you really want to know how the chefs will manage to make a dessert out of Oreos, emu eggs, and tiny pickles. You need to make it quick.

Here are some bedtime stories you should be able to tell in 15 seconds or less.

1 | GIVE A TWIST ON A CLASSIC

Hansel and Gretel went into the woods and saw a house made of candy and ate some of it. Then they got thrown in a cage and were almost eaten by a witch. Moral of the story: If you ever happen on a house in the woods with a roof made of gumdrops, do not eat the gumdrops because you might get eaten by a witch. Also, gumdrops aren’t even that good. Sweet Dreams.

2 | LOOSELY DESCRIBE YOUR CHILD’S DAY

One day a little boy got up and ate breakfast. Then he went to school, did some learning and stuff, and came home. For dinner, he ate a complete meal of Borscht and Brussels sprouts because he was never cooked a separate kid’s meal growing up and thus developed into a magical, fictional good eater. After dinner, he was so full that he put himself to bed. The end.

3 | DESCRIBE A TV SHOW

A little girl wanted to go visit a mountain with her friend monkey who happened to wear boots, but she had to make three stops. The most direct route was to just go straight to the mountain, but a talking map told her to stop by a pumpkin patch and a waterfall so that’s what she did. Then she got to the mountain and it wasn’t that great (a fox kept jumping out and trying to swipe stuff) so she went back home. She was so worn out from her journey that she went straight to bed. Sleep tight!

4 | DRAW ON OBJECTS IN THE ROOM

Once there was a very soft pillow and a very comfortable mattress and they just wanted someone to go to sleep on them. So they didn’t go anywhere or do anything. They just lay there waiting for their owner to fall asleep on them. They also got very sad if their owner got in and out of bed too much or asked for a glass of water when the owner wasn’t even thirsty. If these objects sound familiar, it is because they are the ones you are reclining on now and the story has ended. It’s time to go to sleep.

5 | CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE STORY

Child: Tell me a story.

Parent: What do you want it to be about?

Child: Um, my stuffed armadillo.

Parent: Okay. What does it do?

Child: Well, she goes on an adventure.

Parent: To look for the Alamo?

Child: What is that?

Parent: Never mind. Keep going.

Child: So she walks carefully along the road and makes sure to look out for cars…

Parent: That’s good. Tell me more.

Here are another 20 Bedtime stories for children.

1. Once there was a squid who wanted to be purple, so he colored himself purple. His mom got mad and made him take a bath.
2. Once a squirrel invited his friends to a party. It was a squirrel party. They ran around and ate nuts until everyone had to go home.
3. Once there was a bunny who loved candy. He ate too much and got a stomachache. That’s why most bunnies eat carrots.
4. Once a bunch of goats went to the beach. They splashed and played. When it got too hot they went to a restaurant for lunch.
5. Once there was a spider who was afraid a bird was going to eat him, so he snuck into a people’s house to hide. A little girl found him and squished him.
6. Once there was a bear who liked to climb trees. One day he climbed a tree so tall that he was able to jump on an airplane that was flying by. It flew him to his grandma’s house. She made a sandwich for him.
7. Once there was a snake who liked to scare people. That was mean, so no one liked him. He was sad. He ate a watermelon.
8. Once there was a robot who liked to dance. He danced and danced and danced until he ran out of battery.
9. Once there was an elephant who didn’t like ice cream because it was too cold. He put it in the microwave and ate it like soup. It spilled down his chin and made a mess. No more ice cream for that elephant, I guess.
10. Once there was a 3-toed sloth who wished he had more toes, so he made some out of Play-Doh. They were yellow. He confused them for bananas and ate them. He got sick and threw up. The sloth decided 3 toes were plenty.
11. Once there was a big horse who didn’t like water. He drank chocolate milk instead.
12. There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. It was a gummy candy fly leftover from Halloween. She had run out of chocolate.
13. This little piggy went to Target. He needed paper towels.
14. Once there was a mommy who was sooooooooooo tired that she couldn’t think of any more bedtime stories.
15. Once there was a little boy who wouldn’t go to sleep. Then he did.
16.  Once there was a pickle named Fred. Then someone ate him.
17. Once a little boy built a rocket ship. He flew to Jupiter because he felt gassy.
18. Once there were two dogs named Lucy and Daisy. They jumped so high that they landed on the moon. They played there for a while, then they got hungry and went home.
19. Once there was a dinosaur named Beauregard. I’m sorry you never met him. He exploded.
20. Once there was a beautiful butterfly who was too tired to fly. She learned to drive a car and became the fastest race car driver in the world.

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