Showing results by author "Andrew Lang" in All Categories

Martin entered town and saw a man dragging a cat by a string heading off to drown the creature. Martin offered to purchase the cat instead and spent the rest of the family's money on the cat. Outraged, his mother kicked him out of the house and off he went with the dog and cat. Martin worked honest labor for the next year, and then finds himself on quite an adventure after he rescues a burning damsel and takes her back to her father. From him, he receives a magical ring that seems to get him into more trouble.

During the 19th century, brothers Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm traveled across Germany to write down the folk tales that had been told at kitchen tables, hearths, and bedsides for centuries. In doing so, they preserved a rich heritage of storytelling that connects us to the past. These favorite Grimm fairy tales showcase the evils of greed and jealousy and the redeeming power of love.

Ferko, a handsome young man, was born into a very poor family with very wicked brothers. Because the family is so poor, the parents have to send the three brothers away, with only a loaf of bread each. The brothers gang up on Ferko while he is sleeping, stealing his bread and convincing him he consumed it in his sleep. Taking advantage of his starvation, they trick him into allowing them to blind him and break his legs.

A young princess, Fairer-Than-a-Fairy, is kidnapped by a jealous, mean, old fairy named Lagree, who locks her away because none of the fairies can stand to have a mortal girl said to be more beautiful than them. Lagree locks her away in a palace, with her dog and cat, and tells her to tend to a fire and to never let it burn out. In her solitude, she one day meets a prince whom Lagree has captured and changed into the form of a rainbow that she discovers in a fountain.

A widowed peasant man was left to raise his two twin children, a boy and a girl. He tried his best but nothing seemed to go right without a woman's touch. And so, he remarried and had more children but things were still not right - the stepmother was very mean to the twins, beating and starving them. This wasn't enough for the wicked stepmother and she decided to send them off into the woods where an evil witch lived. She tells the twins they are to go off and serve her sweet granny.

The miller had always led a very prosperous life, but one day found himself down on his luck and without any money. While he is fretting, a nixy (a sirenlike being) emerges from the millpond and strikes a deal with him - he can become prosperous once more, but he must give to her the youngest thing in his house.

A village was being plagued by a witch in the form of a hawk and three brothers tried to stop her. The older two failed, but the youngest was able to shoot down the hawk and he found a strange abyss where the hawk was shot down. With the help of his brothers, he descends into the abyss and finds a palace full of beautiful princesses and boundless treasure. He discovers that the witch is their mother and she must be killed in order for the princesses to be freed from the underground prison they are being held in.

There was a family of three brothers. The older two were very intelligent and much beloved by their parents; the youngest however was considered to be a dunce and a pest and was always getting in his mother's way. One day, the king announced that he was offering his daughter's hand in marriage to whoever could build a flying ship. The older two brothers were immediately sent on their way to try to construct the flying ship, while the youngest was left behind.

Shortly after the queen and her new husband are married, he is forced to leave to fight in a war. He advises her that she must always remain inside and never to trust any visiting women. She listens at first, but when an old woman appears at her window and entices her to sit in her garden, she gives in and goes outside.

The King and Queen, getting older in years, found it important that their son, Prince Sigurd, find a lady to marry. His father had a certain princess in mind and Sigurd set off to find her. This king eagerly granted his daughter's hand to Sigurd, but he made the condition that Sigurd must stay to help him govern his kingdom, as he was failing in health. Sigurd agreed, but said that he must return home when he received news of his father's death.

When he undertakes the daunting task of saving his father’s ailing fruit trees, the young Prince Iwanich becomes enamored by a dream lady, Militza, who he cannot speak of, for he is bound to secrecy. Praised as a hero for saving his father’s trees, the prince flees in search of the woman and her palace. They become betrothed, but one day, Militza is called away on duty, and leaves the prince with one request: there is one room in the house forbidden to him. But burning with curiosity, the prince opens the door....

Alphege was born the son of a King, whose mother died in childbirth. His father remarried a new queen who also bore him a child. The queen desired for her son to be the rightful heir, so from the very beginning she looked for ways to rid the kingdom of Alphege. One day, Alphege went on a journey to visit his aunt in a far-off land and an evil fairy cast a spell on him that turned him into a green monkey. His father soon died and the queen's son became the new king. Years passed by until the kingdom discovered the truth of the green monkey that appeared in the kingdom.

He had likewise, by another wife, a young daughter, but of unparalleled goodness and sweetness of temper, which she took from her mother, who was the best creature in the world. No sooner were the ceremonies of the wedding over than the mother-in-law began to show herself in her true colors. She could not bear the good qualities of this pretty girl, and the less because they made her own daughters appear the more odious. She employed her in the meanest work of the house.

The Dragon of the North is an Estonian fairy tale of a terrible dragon who devoured all in his path on his way from the north. One brave man sets out to find a way to conquer him and protect the people of his home. The man consults a magician, who tells him to seek the aid of birds. With the help of the birds, he discovers a witch-maiden who can help him, but whom he mistakenly crosses. The young man must then deal with the consequences of his actions.

Big Klaus and Little Klaus lived in the same village, but while Little Klaus only had one horse, Big Klaus had four. Big Klaus eventually strikes Little Klaus' one horse over the head with a blow that kills him. Upset and needing money, Little Klaus sets off to sell the horse skin in town. Cleverly, Little Klaus finds a way to make a lot of money from a farmer and a sexton, and then tricks Big Klaus into making a fool of himself. Big Klaus then tries to kill Little Klaus. Shame for Big Klaus - he should have learned by now that while Little Klaus might be little, he's also very clever.

Imagine a time of fairies and giants, when good always triumphed over evil, and bravery and cunning saveed the day. That's the world inhabited by this collection of favorite fairy tales, retold in charming prose by Andrew Lang. Children will love hearing how Jack made his fortune; how a quick-thinking queen saved her baby from Rumpelstiltskin; how a clever cat turned his master into a marquis; and how even a spiteful fairy couldn't stop true love from waking a sleeping princess.

There once was a fisherman who sold all his catches to the king. One day, the fisherman caught a golden crab, which he set aside instead of selling it to the king. Much to the surprise of the fisherman and his wife, the golden crab could talk! He requested that the fisherman go to the king and tell him that he wished to marry his youngest daughter.

A king who was a fantastic hunter one day got himself lost in the forest. Unable to find his way back home, an old woman appeared and said she would help him get home, provided that he married her daughter. Although her daughter was beautiful and the king agreed, he did not trust his new wife. And so he hid away in a palace in the woods his seven children, six sons and a daughter, from his previous wife. The new queen began to suspect something was amiss, so she bribed the servants to reveal the truth to her.

The Prince of Air was raised to fear love and distrust women. This all changes the moment he sees Princess Rosalie, and he kidnaps her and hides her away, much to the dismay of her father. When the Invisible Prince comes to visit Rosalie’s father, it seems he might be able to rescue Rosalie after all, thanks to a magical gift from a fairy that granted him invisibility.

Hermod and Havdor were foster brother and sister, raised by a King and Queen, and very close. They long had plans to wed each other when they were old enough. When the Queen fell ill, she made her husband promise that if he remarried, it must be to the Queen of Hetland. After his wife died, the King traveled to find this Queen of Hetland and ask for her hand in marriage. She quickly agreed and returned home with him.