Classic Bedtime Stories: Hans Christian Andersen

Bedtime stories don’t just have to be for kids. Adults can also find plenty of use with them, especially if they struggle to get a good night’s sleep. Luckily, BetterSleep offers a variety of bedtime stories in our app to help you do that. Even a whispered ASMR retelling of Sleeping Beauty can send adults on their way to dreamland (which the BetterSleep app can also provide!)

Today, we’ll be highlighting the works of legendary Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. You might know him for writing The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Emperor’s New Clothes, but his bibliography is far greater than those. The sleep stories section of our app can help adults drift away into a peaceful slumber, even if they haven’t read a fairy tale since they were children themselves!

Here are two of Andersen’s classic bedtime stories on the BetterSleep app and what they’re all about.

The Wild Swans

At 49 minutes in length, you’ll have plenty of time to fall into a deep sleep while you listen to this fairy tale about a princess named Elisa, tasked with breaking a spell cast by her stepmother that would turn her 11 brothers into swans. Having been kicked out of her father’s castle and now living among peasants, Elisa must find a way to locate her brothers and reverse the spell. Her brothers can also only briefly revert to their human form at nighttime. Though it’s perhaps not one of Andersen’s most iconic works, it’s one of his more complex and gripping stories. In it, Elisa understands the importance of love for her family, it’s this love for her 11 brothers that keep her motivated throughout.

Thumbelina

For 200 years, this classic tale brought joy to the lives of children and helped get them to sleep. Thumbelina is a classic tale about perseverance, self-love, rising above adversity, and being true to your authentic self. Over 35 minutes, you can fall asleep listening to this story about how our pint-sized heroine suddenly gets lifted from her walnut shell home by a toad, who leads her to the first of several possible husbands to choose from—even if she’s not particularly thrilled about her options. Along the way, Thumbelina discovers what she wants out of life, learns to make decisions for herself rather than based on peer pressure, gains wisdom and life experience, and finds out what true happiness means to her.