One of the best ways to connect with kids — be it your own, a child you teach, or you’re babysitting — is to make them laugh. Whether you’re already a comedic genius or you need some help in the humorous department, we can help.
We’ve compiled a collection of 12 funny stories for kids. They’re all short, silly, and in English, making them easy to memorize. We’ve also included a free printable version of the stories so you can print and keep them handy whenever needed.
Whether you’re looking for crazy stories for little kids or for middle school children, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s get cracking up!
12 Funny Stories For Kids
Some of these stories are classics, and some you’ve probably never heard before. We’ve got something on the list for everyone – for 7-year-olds and for 12-year-olds, those who just need a good laugh, and those who need a story with a moral.
The Ticklish Elephant
This cute and toddler-friendly story shares the importance of spreading joy and laughter, especially to those who need it most.
Once upon a time, in a land not too far, a ticklish elephant named Ella starred. With a trunk so long and a heart so kind, she traveled the world with giggles behind.
From mountains to oceans, she’d tickle with glee, bringing laughter to creatures, even a grizzly. Ella, the elephant, you see, had a special gift: she spread joy swiftly and gave folks lifts.
One sunny day, she met a grumpy old lion. With a roar like thunder, he scared everyone trying. Ella approached him with a tickle in her eye, saying, “Mr. Lion, let’s give laughter a try.”
The lion frowned and pouted, but Ella didn’t despair. She wiggled her trunk and whispered, “Tickle, tickle, tickle.”
The lion’s mighty roar turned into a chuckle. “That tickles,” he admitted with delight. And together they laughed. Oh, what a sight!
Their laughter spread wide, reaching a wise old owl. He hooted and laughed, feeling oh so droll. “Ella, my dear, you’ve taught us a lesson. Laughter can transform, even in the roughest session.”
So the trio ventured and tickled some more, making friends along the way, that’s for sure. From monkeys swinging in trees to dolphins in the sea, laughter united them, wild and free. The ticklish elephant taught us something grand. With giggles and chuckles, we can all lend a hand.
So, my little friends, remember this tale so true. Spread laughter and joy. It’s the best thing to do.
Now, close your eyes and dream with delight of tickles and laughter that shine so bright.
The Bear and the Bee
A silly and exciting story to tell children about a bear’s love for honey. Complete with a moral, it reminds children that a hot temper will get you into trouble. Oh, and don’t mess with bees!
Everyone knows that bears love honey. One day, Mr Bear looks in his cupboard, but he can’t find any honey. “Oh no! No honey!” he cries.
So he goes into the forest to find some. He sees a beehive in a tree and smells the delicious honey. “Mmmm! Honey!”
He sticks his paw into the beehive and ZZZZZZZ! A bee flies out. “Hey, bear! Go away!” says the bee. “This isn’t your honey.”
Mr Bear is annoyed. “I am bigger than you,” he says. “And I am stronger, too. I can do whatever I want! Now… buzz off.”
Mr. Bear sticks his paw into the beehive again, and ZZZZZZZ! A bee stings him right on the nose. “My nose, my nose! Oh… I’m so angry!” growls the bear.
He finds a big stick. He tries to hit the bee. He swings and swings, but the bee is too fast. Mr Bear gets angrier and angrier. “I will squash you! Come here!” he roars.
The bee flies back into the beehive. “Aha, now you’re trapped!” yells Mr Bear. He swings his stick at the beehive. Smash, smash, smash! He smashes it to pieces.
Then he hears a strange sound. It gets louder and louder. Zzzzzzz. Zzzzzz. Zzzzz. Zzzzzzz. Zzzz. Zzzzzzzzz!
Thousands of bees fly from the smashed beehive, flying around Mr Bear’s head. Zzzzz, zing! They sting him on the ear. Zing! Zing! They sting him on the elbow.
They chase Mr Bear through the forest, stinging him on his arms, legs, his hands, and especially on his nose. Zing. Zing. Zing!
Mr Bear runs all the way home and slams the door shut. BAM!
Then he hears a voice behind him. It’s Mrs Bear. “You did it again, didn’t you?” she asks. “You lost your temper.”
“Yes,” he cries as he counts his bee stings.
“Here’s the bee sting medicine,” says Mrs Bear. “Also, we have honey in the cupboard. It’s behind the flour.”
Too Much Noise
Sometimes loud noise is super overwhelming, even for kids! This humorous story follows a farmer who can’t bear the noise of his animals and goes to great lengths to block out the irritating sounds.
One day, a farmer named Sringeri Srinivas heads to the cattle fair with his best cows. He has to walk along the new national highway near his village. It was busy with cars and trunks. All the drivers were honking loudly!
The cows didn’t like the noise. They decided to go back home. Sringeri waved his hand at the drivers to stop the noise, but this didn’t help. Instead, they honked louder.
The noise of the horns went straight to his head, and it stayed there. It was a bad day. He went back home with his cows, who were happy to be back in the cowshed again.
But the noise would not leave his head. Beep! Beep! Beep! It played like a band of untrained musicians.
Other noises around him soon joined in. Even the sounds he was used to soon became too loud for Sringeri. The ribbet of the frogs was too noisy. The cicadas were too loud. Sringeri wanted the hooting owls to be sent away. He was angry at the koels for screeching loudly at 4 a.m. and the cows who mooed at 5 a.m. And who asked the roosters to act as alarm clocks? And that stupid tiger. Enough with his roaring!
Poor Sringeri Srinivas. His ears were raw, like a fresh wound. He tried hard to keep things quiet. He shouted at the children if they talked loudly. He glared at his wife when the pressure cooker whistled and whistled.
Sringeri only wanted silence. Everyone tried to help. His wife stopped scolding the children. The children played quietly with a very soft ball. The cows didn’t moo anymore, and the cicadas and owls moved to another village. Even the tiger stopped growling.
Yet Sringeri was not happy. He could hear the noise of everyone trying to be silent!
“I will go away from this place,” he declared one morning.
“Please don’t,” said his wife. “Where will you find silence?”
He frowned at her and started to walk away from the village. Soon, he came close to a new town. He watched the noisy people in the noisy town. A young man passed by. He had wires dangling from his ears. Sringeri could hear a ting dang ting dang sound. The man looked happy! He didn’t even notice the trucks blaring horns loudly.
“What is this?” Sringeri asked the man.
“These are my headphones. Here, try them on,” said the young man. He put them on Sringeri. Music! Ting dang ting dang. No horns.
“Aha! This is just what I need,” he said.
Sringeri entered the town, bought a pair of the best headphones, and put them on. At last… no more noise! He returned to his village with his big new headphones.
His wife was happy to see him. Sringeri gave her a big smile. His children helped him connect the new headphones to some good, happy music.
Now, when Sringeri gets angry at the cars or even the frogs, he puts on his headphones and listens to the silence. Or he listens to good music.
In the village, the cows are mooing again. The koels have come back. Ribbit ribbit, say the frogs. Kirkkk kirkkk, sing the cicadas.
But the cars on the highways are still making too much noise. Beep, beep, beep! It’s not a good sound.
Sringeri Srinivas has to take his cows to the fair soon. Will they want headphones, too?
Carrying Coconuts
A short but funny story about how going slow and steady can sometimes win you the race. This is great for 8-year-olds and older kids who understand irony and logical humor.
One day, a man selling coconuts had the good fortune of having many more coconuts to sell than usual. He loaded up his horse cart to the brim and headed to the nearest village to start selling.
As he was about to start his journey, he saw a young boy standing near his cart. He asked the boy, “Do you know how long it will take to reach the village?”
The boy looked at the horse cart full of coconuts and said, “If you go slowly, you will reach it very soon. If you go fast, you will only reach the village by sundown.”
“What?” exclaimed the coconut vendor, not understanding the boy’s strange logic. He smiled and went on his way. He climbed back into his horse cart and hurried out of the village. He whipped his horse again and again to make it trot faster.
However, since the cart was overflowing with coconuts, many of them fell off. The coconut seller stopped the horse, jumped out of the cart, and picked up the coconuts. Then he hurried back onto his horse, making him go even faster to make up for lost time. But the coconuts fell off again. The seller had to stop his horse and cart and collect the fallen coconuts again and again. By the time he reached the village, it was nighttime, and he had lost many coconuts on the way.
That’s when he realized what the young boy had meant. What a clever boy, indeed!
The Tortoise and the Hare
The Tortoise and the Hare is a classic funny story for kids — for a reason! Reminding kids that going slow and being sure of yourself is never a bad thing.
Once upon a time, there was a tortoise and a hare. The tortoise was friendly and quiet and did everything very slowly. The hare was a show-off and did everything very quickly. The hare liked to make fun of all the animals, especially the tortoise, for being so slow.
When the tortoise ate breakfast, the hare would say, “By the time you’ve finished eating your food, it will be time for dinner!”
When he watched the tortoise working in his garden, he would laugh and say, “By the time you’ve finished picking up all those weeds, new ones will have grown in their place.”
The animals in the forest were tired of hearing the hare brag about his speed, especially the tortoise. One day, just as the hare was laughing at his slow speed again, the tortoise answered him back for the first time ever.
“Hare, I challenge you to a race,” he said in his slow and steady voice. All the animals in the forest were astonished. They knew the tortoise was the slowest! The hare immediately burst out laughing, crying out, “What a joke! That slow coach thinks he can beat me. Come on, tortoise, you’ll see what my feet are made of. I could beat you before you’ve even started.”
“We’ll see,” said the tortoise as the hare rolled about on the floor laughing.
The challenge was set, and a route was planned. Early in the morning, when the sun rose, the tortoise and the hare stood at the starting line. All the animals gathered around to watch the race. The tortoise and the hare were ready to start as the crowd began to count down. Three, two, one… Go!
With speed, the hare leaped forward in leaps and bounds. In no time at all, he had left the plodding tortoise far behind. After a little while, the hare stopped and looked behind him. He couldn’t see the tortoise anymore. “I’ve as good as won this race,” thought the hare. “There’s no reason to hurry.”
So, as the sun was very warm, he decided to rest under a shady tree. “I’ll finish the race way ahead of that tortoise,” he told himself. Soon enough, the hare was sound asleep, and his snooze stretched into a good long nap.
Meanwhile, the tortoise jogged steadily along the hot and dusty road. Slowly but surely, until soon, he passed the hare, who was peacefully sleeping. Quietly, the tortoise plodded on towards the finish line. As he reached the end of the race, all the animals started cheering for him. At that moment, the hare woke from his deep sleep with a jolt!
He could see the tortoise in front of him, but only as a small speck in the distance. Quickly, the hare jumped to his feet, and he leaped and bounded quickly, gasping for breath, as he raced to catch up. Just a little more, and he’d be the first to finish!
But the hare’s last leap was too late. The tortoise had beaten him to the winning post! Tired and embarrassed, the hare slumped down beside the tortoise. “How did you beat me?”
“Slow and steady wins the race,” said the tortoise, smiling. “Slow and steady.”
From that day on, the hare never laughed at the tortoise again.
One Chicken Nugget
Inspired by the classic mathematical folktale, One Grain of Rice, this book is a great one to read aloud to kids. Print it out here, memorize it, or buy the book with images.
There once was a monster, Frank, who loved chicken nuggets! It was his favorite food.
Really, he loved Celeste’s nuggets. He could smell those nuggets from miles away. Celeste’s chicken nuggets were tender, juicy, and crispy crunchy. The dipping sauces were sensational and the seasoning? Celestial! He couldn’t get enough.
But Celeste had enough of Frank. He wasn’t the ideal customer… he had no concept of personal space, and he didn’t pay! He behaved, frankly, like a monster.
Celeste tried everything to get rid of Frank… running away, bad smells, building a fence, and a moat. Finally, Celeste threw her hands up and said, “Just how many chicken nuggets can you eat?”
“A million,” Frank laughed. “No, double a million! Double that!”
Celeste headed down to the library and consulted cookbooks and business books. She read about marketing and math. She read folklore and literature. Soon, she cooked up a new idea.
The next morning, Celeste announced a month-long contest of monstrous proportions. “The first day, everyone gets one chicken nugget. Each day after that, you have to eat twice as many nuggets as the day before.”
“Easy peasy!” said Frank.
“If you can do this for 30 days, you’ll win free chicken nuggets for life,” said Celeste.
So, the contest began with a single nugget. Frank dipped it in his barbecue sauce, savoring each bite, before winking at Celeste and sauntering off.
The next day, the number doubled to two nuggets. The third day meant four nuggets. Some kids dropped out of the contest after day five (six nuggets). But not Frank.
Some teenagers managed over five hundred nuggets on day 10. A professional hot dog eater ate more than 1,000 nuggets on day 11! A very hungry grandmother ate 2,048 on day 12.
By day 12, Frank was the only contestant left. He licked his fingers, winked at Celeste, and swaggered off. Each day, the crowd grew. Just how many chicken nuggets could one monster eat?
On day 21, Frank ate his one-millionth nugget.
The next day, Frank ate two million nuggets. The day after that, he ate four million nuggets. By day 25, Celeste’s fryer was creaking, and her batteries were running low. Would she be feeding Frank forever?
But all the doubling was beginning to be troubling for Frank. After swallowing over 33 million nuggets on day 26, he licked his fingers, winked at Celeste, and tried to swagger off. But frankly, it was more of a swagger. By day 29, Frank had to admit he was starting to feel a bit full… but he still ate every nugget. All 200 million of them. With barbecue sauce.
Finally, it was day 30. Five hundred and thirty-six million, eight hundred and seventy thousand, nine hundred and twelve chicken nuggets… that’s a lot. Even for Frank.
Celeste cooked and Frank ate. They cooked and ate. The crowd was transfixed. After 300 million movements, Frank felt a bit of movement in his tummy. After five hundred million nuggets, Frank’s tummy was tumbling. Finally, he was just one nugget away from a lifetime of nuggets.
He lifted the last morsel of nugget to his mouth and then… BURP!
Frank felt better after that. Celeste was stunned. The monster dipped his final nugget in barbecue sauce, gave one last wink to Celeste, and handed it to her. Even for a monster like Frank, more than a trillion chicken nuggets, was enough for a lifetime.
He never wanted to see another nugget again.
Though, hot dogs were a different story.
The Dog and His Bone
A hilarious story about learning to be happy with what you have, as greed can cause you to lose everything. Plus, it features a cute dog, which is great for animal lovers.
A dog is walking down the street when he spots a bone in a trash can. “A bone! Yay! Lucky me,” he thinks. He grabs the bone and runs home happily. He runs past the train station, the school, the park, and onto a bridge. On the bridge, the dog looks down into the deep water below. There, he sees another dog with a bone in his mouth.
“Who is that dog?” he wonders. “What is he doing down there?” The dog stares at the other dog. The other dog stares back.
“Where did that dog get such a big bone?” he wonders. “Why is his bone bigger than mine?”
The dog growls at the other dog. The other dog growls back. “I want that big bone,” he thinks.
The greedy dog decides to steal the other dog’s bone. He leaps off the bridge and into the water. Splash!
As soon as he hits the water, the other dog disappears. There was never any other dog… It was just his own reflection.
The water is deep and the dog is very surprised. “Woof, woof, help!” he barks. When he barks, his bone falls from his mouth and sinks to the bottom of the water. The dog swims to shore. He is wet and cold, and now he has no bone at all!
The Magic Sneezing Frog
A cute and silly story about a magical sneezing frog. For lovers of fantasy, it will enchant your little one enough to laugh, settle, or fall asleep to the wonders of Felix. This is one of our favorite funny bedtime stories.
Once upon a time, a frog named Felix lived in a lovely pond. Felix was special because he had a magical sneeze. Whenever he sneezed, a burst of colorful sparks filled the air, and something unexpected would happen!
One day, Felix was sitting at the pond’s edge when he felt a tickle in his nose. He let out an enormous sneeze! The water rippled, and a shower of glittering stars appeared overhead. A tiny rainbow bridge emerged, connecting two lily pads.
Soon enough, all the other animals heard about Felix’s magical sneeze. They gathered around the pond to witness the magic he created. The forest animals were delighted when Felix would sneeze, creating soapy bubbles, each filled with amazing surprises.
Felix’s magical sneezes made everyone happy! He sneezed flowers that danced into the air and, once, a chorus of singing frogs. The pond became lively, filled with the whimsical magic of Felix’s sneezing. From that day on, Felix’s pond was known far and wide as the most enchanting place in the forest.
The Lion and the Rabbit
A classic story about how sometimes being wise is better than being strong. This story is for older kids, as young ones might find it a bit scary, so we recommend it for 9-year-olds and up.
There once was a proud, evil lion. He was the king of the jungle. He spent his days hunting and killing animals to eat. All the other animals were very worried that if they came across the lion, they might not survive.
Together, they approached the lion and made a plan. “Every day, we will send one animal to the lion’s den.” This way, the other animals would be safe for the day, and the lion wouldn’t need to hunt.
The lion liked this plan. Each day, the lion would wait in his den while the other animals picked his meal. After a few days, an old but wise rabbit was sent to the den. But he had other plans.
He didn’t want to be the lion’s meal. He took a longer route and arrived at the lion’s den very late. The lion was starving by this point. Angry and hungry, he asked, “Why are you so late?”
The rabbit told him he was late because another stronger lion had been chasing him! The rabbit told the lion that the other lion was claiming to be the king of the jungle. When the lion heard this news, he was furious! “Where is this other lion?” he asked.
The rabbit took the lion to a well. He pointed inside and said, “He’s in there.”
When the lion looked in, he saw his own reflection and thought it was the other lion. He roared angrily, and the reflection did the same thing. Furious, he jumped into the well to fight the other lion…
He fell. And fell. And fell.
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Available as a book, this one is great to memorize, too. Whenever your child is feeling a little low, this hilarious story will surely cheer them up! Warning: it’s a bit dark, so maybe save this one for older kids!
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. I don’t know why she swallowed a fly. Perhaps she’ll die.
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider That wiggled and giggled and jiggled inside her. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly, but I don’t know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps she’ll die.
There was an old woman who swallowed a bird. How absurd, to swallow a bird! She swallowed the bird to catch the spider. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly. But I don’t know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps she’ll die.
There was an old woman who swallowed a cat. Imagine that, she swallowed a cat. She swallowed the cat to catch the bird. She swallowed the bird to catch the spider. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly. But I don’t know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps she’ll die.
There was an old woman who swallowed a dog. What a hog to swallow a dog. She swallowed the dog to catch the cat. She swallowed the cat to catch the bird. She swallowed the bird to catch the spider. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly. But I don’t know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps she’ll die.
There was an old woman who swallowed a cow. I don’t know how she swallowed a cow. She swallowed the cow to catch the dog. She swallowed the dog to catch the cat. She swallowed the cat to catch the bird. She swallowed the bird to catch the spider. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly. But I don’t know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps she’ll die.
There was an old woman who swallowed a horse. And she’s dead, of course.
The Girl and the Ice Cream Truck
For children who tend to jump to conclusions, this humorous story teaches an important lesson about not making assumptions based on one observation.
One day, a girl is sitting at her bedroom window looking outside. It’s cold and snowing. She is waiting for summer. She wants to eat ice cream, go swimming, and have picnics and strawberries. She is tired of winter jackets, gloves, gray skies, and snow.
Her mother says that summer is far away. Her father says that more snow is coming. Still, she sits at her bedroom window, waiting for a sign of summer.
Just then, an ice cream truck drives down the street! “An ice cream truck,” she says. “That must mean it’s summer now!”
She runs to her closet, puts on her bathing suit and summer hat, runs down the stairs and out the door, and…
Crunch! She looks down and sees her bare feet in the icy grass. “But… I saw an ice cream truck!” she says, confused. She looks up just in time to see the ice cream truck turn the corner and pull into the auto repair shop.
The Elephant and the Ant
Last on our list of funny stories for children, here’s one for younger children. It’s a sweet and funny story about an ant and an elephant, two unlikely friends. You can even add your own extra scenes to make the story funnier.
Once upon a time, in a forest, there lived an ant and an elephant. They were unlikely friends, but they shared a strong bond. One sunny day, the ant found a juicy apple that had fallen from a tree. It was too big for him to carry.
Worried, he called out to the elephant for help. “I can’t move the apple. Please help me!” The elephant, with her kind heart, rushed to help the ant. She gently picked up the apple with her trunk and placed it before the ant.
The ant’s eyes lit up! He thanked the elephant for her help and offered to share the apple. They sat together, munching and crunching on the yummy fruit and talking about their adventures.
Their friendship inspired the other animals in the forest. They realized that size and appearance didn’t matter when it came to true friendship. From that day forward, everyone learned to appreciate and respect each other’s unique qualities. The ant and the elephant remained best friends forever.
Funny Bedtime Stories: The Importance of Reading and Laughter
With these 12 funny stories for kids, we hope you have found a laugh-out-loud message to share with your little ones. Reading, telling oral stories, and laughing with your child are fantastic ways to build your bond and reconnect after busy days.
These 12 stories are available as a free print-out, so you can always keep them with you. You never know when you will need to have comedic stories up your sleeve, whether for 10-year-olds or 1-year-olds!
All around the 5-minute mark, these stories are great for preschoolers and tweens. No matter your age, a good laugh is always welcome.
