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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of bedtime short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ Bedtime Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Everybody loves a story before bed, and our collection of bedtime short stories has got you covered.

Bedtime Short Stories – Page 2 of 10

Why Go Home When the Unicorn Isn't Ready?

Weekly Contest #353

She babysits her grandchildren on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Her daughter works third shift and when she leaves at eleven, someone needs to watch the three girls until their father gets home from his job at the supermarket around eleven thirty. Her son-in-law is up for a promotion, and nobody wants him to jeopardize that, because it’ll mean that they can finally move into that house in Port Ryan with the in-law apartment that she can move into. Her neighborhood, and the street where she raised her daughter and two sons, has rapidly be...

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His color is Vermilion RED

Weekly Contest #352

Owen W SullivanLife and Style At twenty-six years old, Owen W Sullivan works as a health receptionist in Baltimore. However, he is more into fashion, building his clothes around a single theme, one color, it seems.Changes his body functions, it energizes his emotions, empowering his thinking, and it catches the eye as no other color commands. Invigorating, sometimes intimidating, never dull. Life of a party, center of attention, gains respect. For some reason, the women in the office just do not understand why they give this to him. It is a...

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The Abyss

Weekly Contest #352

It was getting late in the evening, so Scooter began getting ready for bed. He was already dreading it. A nights slumber was seldom restful and was definitely not something to look forward to. He climbed into bed, and found himself feeling as he often did. Restless and afraid. He felt that way these days whenever he watched the never ending parade of unhealthy and unwanted stories on both television and social media. One side always right, one side always wrong. All sides corrupted. No one willing to compromise, no one willing to work togeth...

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Sapphire Blue Dragon

Weekly Contest #352

Old book paper crinkled and cracked, soft boyish hands turned the pages of old legendary stories. His young mind wondered over the fields of boyhood adventures. The sheets shift beside his leg and a little blue nose creeps, tiny nostrils testing the air. The boy reaches forward and pulls the blankets away from the little form. “Come Tav, look at these stories with me!” The Sapphire blue dragon, no larger than a mouse runs up the boys shoulder and curls against his neck, wide eyes staring down in wonder at the bright pictures and curly script...

7 likes 2 comments 2
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The Frozen Time

Weekly Contest #351

Ring ring...my mobile phone goes off and stops. And, again, it rings, stops, rings, stops, and finally gives in, and the immediate silence takes over. It must have been my father phoning me about my hospital appointment yesterday. He has been so worried about my pregnancy. Since I got pregnant, he has been asking about every movement I make. It is rather annoying. “Sorry, Dad,” I mutter to myself, “I don't feel like talking to you now.” My voice reverberates, hitting the white wall opposite my bed, quite eerie. I am so tired. Last night I co...

6 likes 2 comments 2
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From Dust to Ashes.

Weekly Contest #351

From Dust to Ashes. An Adam and Eve Short Story. Trigger Warning- this short story contains some suicide, and some strong language. Part One- Bullshit. As Adam woke up, he ordered Eve to sweep up the tent he had made out of a bull’s hide. He named the bull, “Bull,” once he stepped right all up in the bull’s shit. He came up with the word, “shit,” and he called it a swear, though it was a word that sounded cleaner than the rest he had come up with. “Are you okay?!” Asked Eve. “Don’t order me around like that. Remember- I’m a person. The secon...

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Toby's Day Fishing

Weekly Contest #350

It was a beautiful April day. Toby was tasked with finding fishing worms so Toby and Daddy could go fishing while Mommy and Auntie Harper spent the day in the kitchen. Mommy said she was going to have plenty of yummy food ready to eat when the boys got back from their adventure. “Mommy, look!” Toby said fervently trying to get the attention of his mom. “What did you find?” Mommy asked “Mommy, look! I got a worm! It’s a BIIIIG one!” Toby said as he ran carrying his prized find to Mommy. “This is a good fishing one!” “Ooh that is a big one! Y...

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Dog Night Out

Weekly Contest #350

When I was 19 my mother bought me that book Smart Women, Foolish Choices after I broke up with my first really serious boyfriend. I think it was her subtle way of saying she thought I could do better. That book, followed by another subtle gift called Men are Just Desserts, started my life-long, journey in the world of romantic relationship self-help. If you need great relationship advice by the way, I'm happy to provide. Just don’t expect me to be a shining example of wedded bliss. I'm single. Always have been. My Rat Terrier, Spike, has bee...

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Monstrous

Weekly Contest #349

I’m a monster. You’ll never know me. I’m not one of those cute, movie monsters. I’m not celebrated like the classics – King Kong, or Godzilla. You’ll never catch me driving a monster truck. Not a collectible, or cuddly, you’ll never see plush toys of me resting on a child’s pillow. I’m not one you’d find lurking under children’s beds or haunting their nightmares. That’s for rookies. I like a challenge I can sink my teeth into. Many adults have awakened screaming after my visit. Comes with the territory. Nothing like it.Forget Manga. No one w...

12 likes 6 comments 6
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I am a gay Italian real vampire, I drink blood , nice to meet you what do you drink?

Weekly Contest #349

This is a true story that appeared in some small Italian newspapers, in a village called Meldola. The protagonist is Horus, born Jacob Dimitri, an Italian gay vampire, head of the Real Vampire association he has been a vampire for several generations.-Welcome to program La Zanzara, mr Dimitri, imagine is it true that you are a real vampire gay?--Yes I am, I have done a lot of things in life including getting married to a man, having a son and founding the Italian Real Vampire league and... go to court with the mayor of the small town of Penn...

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b to b

Weekly Contest #349

“Today is April 31st.”“I need laundry detergent, food, and how about a… you’ve been so good to me. I’ve been so sick. I’m sorry.”“Then why are you sorry?”“Cause of what I’m putting you through.”“You’re sick. You don’t need to apologize. I can leave if I want to.”“Do you want to?”“No, I want to be right here.”Her hair is blonde with a tint of strawberry, her eyes are crescents of clear ocean, and the rest is Texas prairie on the most beautiful day, when there’s money in your pocket, no one is after you, and the sky is a canvas that cannot be ...

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Monster

Weekly Contest #349

Monster Once upon a time, there was a girl named Sylvia Snyde. Sylvia was very beautiful. Every morning, she looked into the mirror that she had bought at a local antique shop. The mirror was enchanted; it could speak, and daily, it told her how glorious she was. “No one is your equal in beauty," it would say. So Sylvia knew she was beautiful, and that knowledge affected her. At school, Sylvia had a group of friends that she called her court. This group would sit on the tables near the front of the school before school, during lunch, and af...

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The Lordal

Weekly Contest #348

The Thing at the Edge of the Yard. The car accident happened on a rainy Tuesday in October. Milo was eight years old. One moment, his parents were singing along to the radio; the next, red lights and sirens and a world that suddenly had too many sharp edges. After the funeral, social workers and distant relatives decided it would be best if he went to live with his grandmother in the old wooden house at the very end of Mill Road, where the...

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The Stranded Honker

Weekly Contest #348

I was a fool among fools in my later teenage years. Maybe everyone can look back and relate, or maybe I only hope that's the case. Regardless, I feel the need to wonder: Is the most foolish in a gander of fools the one who leads or follows? Halloween wasn't a special occasion in my family. Sure, we'd trick-or-treat, but it was out and home again before ten. When I became what I called "independent," freedom allowed for excess tricks, and my gander supplied the wild things that my fancies yearned for. "We have all these forks," one honker sai...

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Wandering Through A Forest

Weekly Contest #348

Wandering through a forest in order to pass the time, here goes Moss Murray and his raggly clothes and neatly packed sack of superfluous items tacked nicely to the edge of a winding stick. In his ill-fitted, six-toed shoes he climbs and with his oversized leather mittens he dives through the miles of brobdingnagian herbage and patchy underbrush. He passes a wooden sign on his way, warning off any stray rover. “Ignore This Grove. Leave the Wizard Be,” it announces, but Moss Murray does not notice. Crowned with verdant canopies he asks himself...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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