Arthur
Slow and gentle · British
The slowest of the six, and the one most parents pick first. Arthur leaves room between sentences, which is what you want when the point of the story is that somebody falls asleep before the end of it.
Choose your child's narrator
Six voices read Fablebee stories — five British and one Irish. Hear every one of them here, before you sign up for anything.
Three stories free. No card needed. After that, from £3.99 — what it costs.
The narrator changes a bedtime story more than most parents expect. The same words at 125 words a minute and at 150 are two different experiences: one settles a child and the other keeps them awake. So the six below are ordered slowest first, and the samples are cut through exactly the same chain a real story goes through — same model, same mastering, same loudness. What you hear is what you get.
Ted
Soft and steady · British
Even and unhurried, with a northern warmth to it. Ted reads at a steady pace that does not rise and fall much, which suits a story meant to settle a child rather than excite one.
Nora
Warm and unhurried · British
Warm, clear and measured — the closest of the six to being read to by someone sitting on the edge of the bed. Nora is a good default if you are not sure which to choose.
Ronan
Lively and lilting · Irish
The only Irish voice in the set, and the most musical. Ronan carries a lift at the end of a line that makes an adventure sound like an adventure.
Wilf
Full of mischief · British
Playful, with a glint in it. Wilf is the one to choose for pirates and dinosaurs, and the one to avoid at ten past seven when everyone is already overtired.
Elsie
Bright and quick · British
Bright and brisk, and the quickest reader of the six. Elsie suits an older child who wants the story to get on with it, and a shorter length that still covers some ground.
About these voices
Are these real people?
No. Every Fablebee story is read by a synthetic voice, and we would rather say so on the page than let you work it out. The six were built from public-domain recordings made by volunteers for LibriVox, and each one was listened to properly before it was offered to anybody.
Why British voices?
Because Fablebee is a British bedtime product and most children's audio available here is not. A story about starting school reads differently in the accent your child hears at the school gate.
Can I change narrator between stories?
Yes, every time. The narrator is chosen per story, not per account, and it costs nothing to switch — one voice for bedtime and another for the car, if that suits you.