Stories worth reading twice
Panchatantra, Aesop, Alif Laila and more, retold in clear English. Every story comes with its moral, five questions to check understanding, and the harder words explained.
Start here
The Blue JackalA starving jackal falls into a vat of dye, comes out blue, and decides to tell the forest he was sent by the gods. It works until the moon comes up.
Where would you like to start?
- Panchatantra StoriesTwo thousand years old, and the animals in them lie, scheme and outwit each other.30 stories
- Aesop's FablesOne action, one consequence. Short enough for a five-minute bedtime read.40 fables
- Alif Laila StoriesJinn in bottles, flying horses, thieves in oil jars, a sailor who camps on a whale.18 stories
- Jataka TalesTwo thousand years old and among the kindest stories ever written.35 tales
- Moral StoriesStories that turn on a single choice, and end with something worth arguing about.25 stories
- Bedtime StoriesWritten for the end of the day. No twists, no chases, no unhappy endings.30 stories
- Horror Stories for KidsSpooky rather than gruesome. The fear is in the last line. Ages 9 and up.20 stories
- RiddlesTap to reveal each answer, with a short explanation of why it works.300 riddles
A good place to begin
8 places to start, one from each section of the site.
- The Blue JackalPanchatantra Stories
- The Lion and the MouseAesop's Fables
- Aladdin and the Magic LampAlif Laila Stories
- The Monkey KingJataka Tales
- The Honest WoodcutterMoral Stories
- The Boy Who Counted StarsBedtime Stories
- The Old Banyan TreeHorror Stories for Kids
- Riddles for Kids with AnswersRiddles
Made for reading together
Every story on Kahniyan is written to be read aloud in under ten minutes, then talked about. The questions after each one are the sort a teacher would ask: not trick questions, just enough to check that the story landed. Teachers are welcome to use anything here in class.
Sources are public-domain folk collections, retold rather than copied, plus original writing for the spooky stories and riddles.