A free booklet from TiLespri Bilingual. Each story is printed in Kreyòl with an English translation, ready for bedtime, the classroom, or a quiet afternoon with your child.
For parents and educators: each story is short enough for one bedtime, with simple sentences for ages 3 to 6. Read the Kreyòl line first, then the English. Repeat the story 2 or 3 times over a week. Kids love repetition.
A reading guide and conversation starters are at the end (page 8).
Istwa #1, Pasyans
Ti Pòl ak Kabrit Bèl
Little Paul and Bel the Goat
🐐 🌺 🌙
1
Ti Pòl rete ak gran manman li. Li gen yon kabrit. Kabrit la rele Bèl.
Little Paul lives with his grandmother. He has a goat. The goat is named Bel.
2
Chak swa, Bèl tounen lakay pou manje. Men jodi a, solèy ap kouche, Bèl pa la.
Every evening, Bel comes home for dinner. But today, the sun is setting and Bel is not there.
3
Ti Pòl kouri al chèche. "Granmèr! Bèl pèdi!"
Little Paul runs to look. "Grandma! Bel is lost!"
4
Gran manman li souri. "Tann ti cheri. Bèl ap vini."
His grandmother smiles. "Wait, little dear. Bel is coming."
5
Ti Pòl chita devan pòt la. Li tann. Li tann.
Little Paul sits in front of the door. He waits. He waits.
6
Solèy fè nwa. Etwal yo soti. Ti Pòl prèske kriye. Lè sa a:
The sun goes dark. The stars come out. Little Paul almost cries. Then:
7
"Mèèèèè!" Bèl antre nan lakou a. Yon flè wouj nan bouch li.
"Baaaaa!" Bel comes into the yard. A red flower in his mouth.
8
Ti Pòl ri. Li bo Bèl. "Ou chèche flè pou mwen?" Bèl manje flè a. Ti Pòl ri ankò.
Little Paul laughs. He kisses Bel. "You looked for a flower for me?" Bel eats the flower. Little Paul laughs again.
Istwa #2, Yon Ti Kado
Sourit la nan Mache a
The Mouse in the Market
🐭 🥭 🧺
1
Yon ti sourit ale nan mache a. Li wè mango, fig mi, pwason, lam.
A little mouse goes to the market. She sees mangoes, ripe bananas, fish, breadfruit.
2
"Sa bon!" li di. Li wè yon gwo mango wouj. Li vle yon ti moso.
"This is good!" she says. She sees a big red mango. She wants a small piece.
3
Madanm ki ap vann mango a wè li. Ti sourit la pè. Li kouri kache anba yon panye.
The lady selling mangoes sees her. The little mouse is afraid. She runs and hides under a basket.
4
Men madanm la pa kriye. Li pa fache.
But the lady does not yell. She is not angry.
5
"Vyen, ti zanmi," li di. "Mwen gen yon ti moso pou ou."
"Come, little friend," she says. "I have a small piece for you."
6
Li koupe yon ti moso mango. Li mete l atè.
She cuts a small piece of mango. She places it on the ground.
7
Ti sourit la soti dousman. Li manje mango a. "Mèsi madanm!" li di. Madanm la souri.
The little mouse comes out slowly. She eats the mango. "Thank you, ma'am!" she says. The lady smiles.
8
Lendi pwochen, ti sourit la retounen. Madanm la te kenbe yon lòt moso pou li.
The next Monday, the little mouse comes back. The lady had kept another piece for her.
Istwa #3, Zanmi ede zanmi
Ti Lespri Pèdi Yon Plim
Ti Lespri Loses a Feather
🐦 🌳 🔍
1
Ti Lespri se yon ti zwazo ble. Li renmen vole sou tout lakou a.
Ti Lespri is a little blue bird. He likes to fly all over the yard.
2
Yon jou, pandan li ap vole, yon plim ble tonbe. Ti Lespri pa wè li tonbe.
One day, while he is flying, a blue feather falls. Ti Lespri does not see it fall.
3
Apre yon ti tan, Ti Lespri gade kò li. Yon plim manke! "Wopa! Plim mwen!"
After a little while, Ti Lespri looks at his body. A feather is missing! "Whoa! My feather!"
4
Li mande Kabrit: "Èske ou wè plim mwen?" Kabrit reponn: "Non, men mwen wè yon flè bèl."
He asks the Goat: "Did you see my feather?" The Goat answers: "No, but I see a beautiful flower."
5
Li mande Chen: "Èske ou wè plim mwen?" Chen reponn: "Non, men mwen wè yon zo."
He asks the Dog: "Did you see my feather?" The Dog answers: "No, but I see a bone."
6
Li mande Ti Pwason: "Èske ou wè plim mwen?" Ti Pwason reponn: "Non, men mwen wè yon kòd."
He asks the Little Fish: "Did you see my feather?" The Little Fish answers: "No, but I see a string."
7
Anfen, Ti Pòl wè plim ble a anba pye mango a. "Ti Lespri! Men plim ou!"
Finally, Little Paul sees the blue feather under the mango tree. "Ti Lespri! Here is your feather!"
8
Ti Lespri kontan anpil. Li bo Ti Pòl ak bèk li.
Ti Lespri is very happy. He kisses Little Paul with his beak.
Istwa #4, Ede manman
Manman ak Ji Zoranj
Mama and the Orange Juice
🍊 👩🍳 💛
1
Solèy fèk leve. Ti Lina sòti nan kabann li.
The sun has just risen. Little Lina gets out of her bed.
2
Manman l ap travay nan kwizin. Li ap fè ji zoranj.
Her mother is working in the kitchen. She is making orange juice.
3
"Manman, mwen vle ede w." Manman souri. "Vyen pitit mwen. Pran yon zoranj."
"Mama, I want to help you." Mama smiles. "Come, my child. Take an orange."
4
Lina pran yon zoranj. Li peze.
Lina takes an orange. She squeezes.
5
Ji a tout kote! Sou tab la. Sou plansè a. Sou jip Lina.
The juice goes everywhere! On the table. On the floor. On Lina's skirt.
6
Manman ri. Lina ri tou. "Sa pa anyen, cheri. Ji bon menm si li gaye."
Mama laughs. Lina laughs too. "It's nothing, dear. The juice is good even if it spills."
7
Yo netwaye ansanm. Apre, yo bwè ji zoranj.
They clean up together. After, they drink the orange juice.
8
"Lina, sa se pi bon ji nan tout monn nan!" manman di. Lina kontan. Li bo manman l.
"Lina, this is the best juice in the whole world!" Mama says. Lina is happy. She kisses her mama.
Istwa #5, Bèlte ak granpapa
Lakansyèl Apre Lapli
Rainbow After the Rain
🌈 ☀️ 👴
1
Ti Mak gade pa fenèt la. Lapli ap tonbe.
Little Mac looks through the window. The rain is falling.
2
"Lapli, lapli, lapli," li chante.
"Rain, rain, rain," he sings.
3
Apre yon ti tan, lapli a sispann. Solèy soti.
After a little while, the rain stops. The sun comes out.
4
Mak kouri deyò. Li gade syèl la. "Wooooooh!"
Mac runs outside. He looks at the sky. "Whoooooa!"
Mac counts: "Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Purple." Six colors!
7
Li kouri al chèche granpè li. "Granpè! Granpè! Vyen wè!"
He runs to find his grandfather. "Grandpa! Grandpa! Come see!"
8
Granpè soti. Li gade lakansyèl la. Li souri. "Sa se yon kado, ti mwen. Yon kado ki gratis."
Grandpa comes out. He looks at the rainbow. He smiles. "That is a gift, my little one. A gift that is free."
9
Mak ak granpè li gade ansanm jiskaske lakansyèl la disparèt. Mak pa pral bliye jou sa a.
Mac and his grandfather look together until the rainbow disappears. Mac will not forget this day.
Reading guide for parents
These five stories are short on purpose. Each one fits in one bedtime. The point is not to finish quickly, the point is to repeat them often.
5 ways to use this booklet
Read the Kreyòl line first, then the English. Always lead with the target language. This is how a child's brain encodes Kreyòl as "the real text" and English as "the translation."
Repeat each story 3 times in the same week. By the third reading, your child will say the next word before you do. That is real acquisition, not memorization.
Pause for the sound effects. "Mèèèèè!" "Wooooh!" "Lapli, lapli, lapli." Hold the sounds. Let your child join in.
Ask one open question after each story. "What did Bèl bring back?" "Why did Mak call grandpa?" One question is enough. You are not testing, you are connecting.
Tell your own version next time. Use the same characters (Ti Pòl, Ti Lina, Ti Mak, Bèl, Ti Lespri) in a new situation. Now you are co-creating with your child.
Conversation starters in Kreyòl
After a story, try one of these:
"Èske ou ka fè bri kabrit la?" (Can you make the goat sound?)
"Ki koulè plim Ti Lespri?" (What color is Ti Lespri's feather?)
"Konte koulè lakansyèl la avè m." (Count the rainbow colors with me.)
"Ki sa ou ta fè si ou pèdi yon plim?" (What would you do if you lost a feather?)
Remember: imperfect Kreyòl from you is 100 times better than no Kreyòl. Your accent, your hesitation, your mixed sentences, all of it is the gift.
🐦
Mèsi pou pataje liv sa a ak yon timoun.
Thank you for sharing this booklet with a child.
These five stories were written for TiLespri Bilingual, the first premium app teaching English and Haitian Creole side by side for kids ages 3 to 6. The full app launches summer 2026 on iOS and Android.
If you want to keep reading and listening with audio in real human voices, plus 26 letters, 100 numbers, math, colors, and more stories on the way, we built the rest of the app for you.