Free folk tales, tall tales and legends for kids
Peabody has 22 free folk tales, tall tales and legends for kids from 12 countries, retold short at a reading level, from Johnny Appleseed at level 1 to Sundiata, Lion King at level 12. Each opens at once with no sign-up. Free through the end of 2026.
| Story | Level | From | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Appleseed | Level 1 | United States | Johnny has a pot for a hat, no shoes and a bag of seeds. |
| Paul Bunyan and Babe | Level 2 | United States | Paul Bunyan is so big that his boat-cradle makes the tides and one sneeze launches ten trees. |
| Momotaro, the Peach Boy | Level 3 | Japan | An old woman finds a giant peach floating down the river, and out jumps a baby boy. |
| Pecos Bill | Level 3 | United States | Pecos Bill falls out of a wagon as a baby and grows up thinking he is a coyote, because only coyotes have fleas. |
| John Henry | Level 4 | United States | John Henry is the strongest steel driver on the railroad, and he challenges a squeaky-clean salesman and his shiny steam drill to a race through the mountain. |
| The Magic Paintbrush | Level 4 | China | Ma Liang is too poor to buy a brush, so he draws with sticks and charcoal until a magic brush comes to him in a dream. |
| Anansi and the Sky God | Level 5 | Ghana | Anansi the spider wants every story in the world, and the Sky God sets a price that is impossible: a python, a leopard, and a swarm of hornets. |
| William Tell | Level 5 | Switzerland | In the mountains of Switzerland, a cruel governor orders everyone to bow to his hat on a pole. |
| Yeh-Shen | Level 5 | China | Yeh-Shen's only friend is a fish with golden eyes, until her stepmother takes it away. |
| Aladdin | Level 6 | Syria | A lazy tailor's son is tricked into a cave of jewel trees by a magician pretending to be his uncle, and comes out with an old lamp and a ring. |
| Hua Mulan | Level 6 | China | When the emperor calls for one man from every family, Mulan buys a horse, cuts her hair, and marches off in her father's place with the worst fake gruff voice in the army. |
| Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves | Level 7 | Syria | A poor woodcutter hiding in a tree hears forty thieves open a rock with two magic words. |
| The Monkey King | Level 7 | China | A monkey hatched from a stone learns seventy-two magic changes, steals the peaches of heaven and declares himself the greatest being in the universe. |
| Robin Hood | Level 7 | England | Robin Hood and his Merry Men live in Sherwood Forest, and the Sheriff sets a perfect trap at an archery contest. |
| Sinbad and the Roc | Level 8 | Iraq | Left behind on a lonely island, the sailor Sinbad finds an egg as big as a palace dome, and then its mother arrives. |
| The Pied Piper of Hamelin | Level 8 | Germany | The town of Hamelin is overrun with rats until a stranger in a coat of red and yellow pipes them all away, for a thousand guilders. |
| The Sword in the Stone | Level 8 | England | Arthur is a clumsy squire who just wants to find his brother a sword, so he politely borrows the one stuck in a stone. |
| Vasilisa the Brave | Level 9 | Russia | Sent into the dark forest to fetch fire from Baba Yaga, the witch whose hut walks on chicken legs, Vasilisa has nothing but her mother's tiny doll in her pocket. |
| Rama and Sita | Level 9 | India | Prince Rama keeps his father's promise and goes to live in the forest for fourteen years, with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana. |
| Beowulf and Grendel | Level 11 | England | For twelve years a monster has been stealing the sleepers from the great hall of Heorot, and nobody dares even to hum. |
| Sir Gawain and the Green Knight | Level 12 | England | On New Year's Day a gigantic knight, green from his hair to his horse, rides into King Arthur's hall and proposes a terrible game: strike me once with my own axe. |
| Sundiata, Lion King | Level 12 | Mali | A prince of old Mali cannot walk until the day he bends an iron bar, pulls up a tree, and is driven into exile by a jealous queen. |
Where they come from
- China: The Magic Paintbrush, Yeh-Shen, Hua Mulan and The Monkey King.
- England: Robin Hood, The Sword in the Stone, Beowulf and Grendel and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
- United States: Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan and Babe, Pecos Bill and John Henry.
- Syria: Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
- Germany: The Pied Piper of Hamelin.
- Ghana: Anansi and the Sky God.
- India: Rama and Sita.
- Iraq: Sinbad and the Roc.
- Japan: Momotaro, the Peach Boy.
- Mali: Sundiata, Lion King.
- Russia: Vasilisa the Brave.
- Switzerland: William Tell.
Folk tales, tall tales and legends
A folk tale is told by many people over many years, so no one owns it. A tall tale is a funny story about a larger-than-life hero, and Peabody has the American ones: Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, John Henry and Johnny Appleseed. A legend grows around a person who may have lived, such as Robin Hood. Each story's page says who told it and where it comes from.
Gentle and spooky
Most are gentle. 5 carry the spooky mark: Vasilisa the Brave, Rama and Sita, Beowulf and Grendel, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Sundiata, Lion King.
More free stories
- The whole library: free stories by reading level, no account needed.
- Classic stories retold short: fables, fairy tales, myths and legends.
- Free Aesop's fables for kids, with the lesson of each
- Free classic fairy tales for kids
- Free Greek myths for kids
- Free moral stories for kids
- By level: Level 1 · Level 2 · Level 3 · Level 4 · Level 5 · Level 6 · Level 7 · Level 8 · Level 9 · Level 11 · Level 12
Questions parents ask
What is the difference between a folk tale, a tall tale and a legend?
A folk tale is told by many people over many years and has no single author. A tall tale is a funny story about a hero far bigger than life, like Paul Bunyan. A legend is about a person who may have lived, like Robin Hood, and grows with each telling.
Which of these are easiest to start with?
Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan and Babe, Momotaro, the Peach Boy and Pecos Bill are at levels 1 to 3.
Do the stories cost anything?
No. Every story on this page is free to read through the end of 2026, with no account and no card.
Checked against how Peabody works on 19 October 2026. Written with help from AI, from Peabody's own code and library. Peabody is a learning app, not an assessment: if you're worried about your child's learning, talk to their teacher.