Free Short Stories to Read Online

Short, complete stories you can finish in one sitting, from gentle bedtime stories to westerns, horror and mysteries. Free to read, no sign-up, new stories every day.

Latest Short Stories

New
Love
Six Quarters and a Tooth for Grandpa’s Overdue Book
- 4 min read
- Audio
A stranded librarian finds more than an overdue book at a drought-stricken Kansas farm.
New
Funny
A Gray Cat in a Former Swindler’s Toolbox
- 4 min read
A would-be honest repairman gains a supposedly lucky cat—and a tempting new business opportunity.
New
Detective Fiction
A Gold Flake on a Ginger Cat’s Nose
- 6 min read
With his son accused of murder, a carpenter follows a nursing cat toward stolen gold.
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Kids
Ben’s Pumpkin Seed Vanishes Beyond the Porch Light
- 3 min read
- Read aloud
- Ages 6–8
A runaway pumpkin seed sends two siblings into a garden full of suspicious shadows.
New
Science Fiction
The Cat in His Mailbag Refuses a Police Inspection
- 7 min read
A postman shields a talking stray from police, unaware of what sleeps beneath the circus.
New
Bedtime
Pip Finds a Rabbit in His Apple Sauce
- 3 min read
- Read aloud
- Ages 5–8
A lonely hedgehog keeps a misplaced rabbit, until one snagged thread makes staying quiet harder.
New
Western
A Land Thief Drinks From a Widow’s Horse Trough
- 7 min read
- Audio
A widow must trust her husband's swindler to reclaim her spring before hired guns prevail.
New
Western
One Broken Violin String Against the Rio Grande
- 7 min read
- Audio
An aging fisherman must deliver three hundred sheep and honor a dying friend’s impossible promise.

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Bedtime Stories Read Aloud

Press play and listen together: gentle stories for children, read aloud. Also as a podcast: Spotify Apple Podcasts Amazon Music

All bedtime stories

Western Short Stories

Outlaws, lawmen, cattle drives and dusty frontier towns.

All western stories

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