The Three Wishes Bedtime Story

There is something about a warm kitchen, the smell of breakfast still hanging in the air, that makes kids feel safe enough to laugh at something truly silly. This gentle tale follows Harold and Petunia Peabody, a bickering couple who stumble onto a magic lamp and burn through their wishes in the most ridiculous way imaginable. It is the kind of the three wishes bedtime story that winds down with giggles instead of drama, leaving everyone calm and smiling. If you would like to shape your own version with different characters or funnier wishes, you can build one inside Sleepytale.

Why Three Wishes Stories Work So Well at Bedtime

Three wishes stories have a built-in countdown that gives young listeners something to follow without any confusion. Kids know the shape of the tale almost instinctively: one wish, two wishes, three, done. That natural structure feels like a gentle clock ticking toward the end, and the predictability is comforting when a child is settling in for sleep. There is no sprawling adventure to keep the brain buzzing, just a tidy little arc that closes itself.

What makes a bedtime story about three wishes especially effective is how it invites kids to think without overstimulating them. They get to wonder, "What would I wish for?" in that drowsy, half-dreaming way. The stakes stay playful rather than frightening, and the humor of a wasted wish feels safe, proof that mistakes can be funny instead of scary. That mix of imagination and reassurance is exactly the right temperature for the end of a long day.

The Sausage Surprise

4 min 42 sec

Harold and Petunia Peabody argued about everything. Which way the spoons should face in the drawer. Whether the margarine belonged on the top shelf or the middle shelf. Whether "medium toast" was even a real setting on the toaster. They had been married for thirty-seven years, and they had loved every single argument.

One Tuesday morning, while Harold was insisting that the butter knife should rest at a forty-five degree angle, Petunia reached behind the cereal boxes for the sugar and pulled out something cold and heavy instead. A silver lamp, tarnished around the handle, with a smudge of what looked like marmalade on the spout.

"That's not the sugar," Harold said.

"Obviously." Petunia set it on the table. Harold picked up a dish towel and rubbed the marmalade off, because he could not stand a mess.

The kitchen filled with a smell like burnt cinnamon. Out of the lamp floated a genie in polka dot pajamas, yawning so wide they could see his back teeth. He carried a tiny notepad and a pencil that was almost too small for his fingers.

"Three wishes," the genie said, not looking up. "One per customer. No exchanges, no rain checks."

Harold and Petunia stared at each other. Then at the genie. Then at each other again.

Petunia spoke first. She did not even hesitate. "I wish for the tastiest sausage that has ever existed in the entire history of sausages."

A sausage appeared on the table. It was golden brown, plump, glistening, and it smelled like maple and woodsmoke and something else, something you could not name but that made your mouth water anyway. A curl of steam rose off it and drifted toward the ceiling.

They cut it in half. They each took a bite.

For about four seconds, nobody said a word. The kitchen clock ticked. The fridge hummed. Harold closed his eyes. Petunia closed hers.

"That," Harold whispered, "is extraordinary."

They ate the rest in silence, which was the first time they had been silent at the breakfast table in possibly a decade. And then they looked down at the empty plate and realized what they had done.

"There's none left," Petunia said.

"We ate our wish."

"We ate our wish!"

Petunia panicked. She did not mean to say what she said next, it just tumbled out the way words do when your brain is not keeping up with your mouth. "I wish the sausage would stick to your nose so we can save some for later!"

There was a wet slap.

The sausage, whole again and steaming, was attached to the end of Harold's nose. Firmly. Completely. Like it had always been there.

Harold crossed his eyes trying to look at it. He could see the curve of it, golden and absurd, hanging just past the tip of his nose. He could smell maple. He tried to pull it off with both hands. It did not move. Not even a little. Petunia grabbed it and tugged gently, then less gently, then with her foot braced against the table leg.

Nothing.

The genie, who had been writing something on his notepad, looked up. "One wish left, folks." He said it the way a waiter says "last call," matter-of-fact and slightly bored.

Harold and Petunia looked at each other. The sausage drooped slightly between them.

They both knew. There was no debate about this one, no argument about angles or shelves or toast settings. Harold spoke through the sausage, his voice muffled and a little greasy.

"We wish everything back to normal. Please."

Pop. The sausage vanished. The genie vanished. The lamp crumbled into a fine, harmless glitter that settled on the tablecloth and then, slowly, disappeared too. The kitchen was just a kitchen again, with the fridge humming and the clock ticking and a smear of marmalade on the counter that nobody had cleaned up.

The Peabodys looked at their empty table. Harold touched his nose, just to be sure.

Then Petunia snorted. Harold tried not to laugh, which made it worse. In about three seconds they were both doubled over, tears running down their cheeks, the kind of laughing where you cannot breathe and you keep trying to stop but then you look at each other and it starts again.

They spent the rest of the afternoon making peanut butter sandwiches and inventing jokes about sausages wearing sunglasses. Harold said one about a sausage applying for a passport that was genuinely terrible, and Petunia laughed anyway.

From that day on, whenever one of them opened the spoon drawer, they would glance over at the other and smile, just a little, remembering their magical breakfast disaster.

And they never argued about spoons again. They saved all their energy for the much more important question of what to have for dessert.

The Quiet Lessons in This Three Wishes Bedtime Story

This story is really about what happens when we act before we think, and how quickly things can be set right when two people work together instead of blaming each other. When Petunia blurts out her second wish in a panic, kids see that impulsive mistakes are not the end of the world, just a funny detour. And when Harold does not get angry about the sausage on his nose but instead works with Petunia to use their last wish wisely, children absorb the idea that patience and forgiveness feel better than frustration. The fact that the couple ends up laughing about the whole mess is the most reassuring thing a child can hear before sleep: even when things go sideways, you can always find your way back to something warm and ordinary.

Tips for Reading This Story

Give Harold a low, slightly stuffy voice, especially once the sausage is stuck to his nose, and let Petunia sound a little breathless and fast when she accidentally blurts out the second wish. When you reach the four seconds of silence after they taste the sausage, actually pause and let the quiet sit there; your child will lean in wondering what happens next. For the genie, try a flat, sleepy tone, like someone who has done this a thousand times and just wants to go back to bed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What age is this story best for? This story works best for children ages 3 to 7. The physical comedy of a sausage stuck to Harold's nose is easy for younger kids to picture and laugh at, while the simple countdown of three wishes gives older preschoolers a satisfying structure to follow. There is nothing frightening here, just gentle silliness that lands well right before sleep.

Is this story available as audio? Yes, you can press play at the top of the story to listen. The audio version is especially fun for this one because the contrast between the genie's bored, sleepy delivery and Petunia's panicked outburst really comes alive when you hear it narrated. The moment of silence after they taste the sausage also hits differently in audio, with just a beat of quiet before the chaos starts.

Why does the couple waste their wishes on a sausage? That is the whole joke, and kids love it. Harold and Petunia are so caught up in the moment that they do not stop to plan, which is something children completely understand from their own experience. The story uses that silliness to show, without lecturing, that thinking before you act saves a lot of trouble. It also makes the point that even a "wasted" adventure can leave you with a great memory and a good laugh.

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Create Your Own Version

Sleepytale lets you take this classic wish tale and reshape it however your family likes. You can swap Harold and Petunia for siblings, best friends, or a pair of talking animals. Trade the sausage for a pancake, a pizza, or something completely unexpected, and move the story from a kitchen to a treehouse, a bakery, or a cozy tent in the backyard. In just a moment you will have a personalized tale gentle enough to replay every night.