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Myths and Legends |
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By: A. J. Glinski (1817-1866) | |
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Polish Fairy Tales
These are selections from a large collection made by A. J. Glinski, printed at Wilna in 1862. These fairy tales come from a far past and may even date from primitive times. They represent the folklore current among the peasantry of the Eastern provinces of Poland, and also in those provinces usually known as White Russia. They were set down by Glinski just as they were related to him by the peasants. In the translation it was of course necessary to shorten them considerably; the continual repetition—however quaint and fascinating in the original—cannot easily be reproduced... |
By: Aeschylus (c. 525/524-456/455 BC) | |
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Prometheus Bound (Buckley Translation)
"Prometheus Bound" is the only complete tragedy of the Prometheia trilogy, traditionally assumed to be the work of Aeschylus. Jupiter has turned against Prometheus for protecting mankind and has ordered him to be chained to a rock. But Prometheus is comforted by his knowledge of a way to bring about the downfall of Jupiter. |
By: Anonymous | |
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Saga of Gunnlaug the Worm-Tongue and Raven the Skald | |
Picture Book Of Merry Tales
Forty European folk tales. Caveats: 1. Some of these stories are not suitable for young children. 2. In two stories (10 and 25) appear the nineteenth century’s almost-reflexive Jew-stereotype and anti-Semitism. |
By: Apollonius Rhodius (3rd Cent. -3rd Cent.) | |
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Argonautica
The story of how Jason and a group of famous heroes of Greece took to sea in the Argos has been told many times, before and after Apollonius of Rhodes, wrote his Argonautica, in the 3rd century b.C.. It is not only the oldest full version of the tale to arrive to our days, but also the only extant example of Hellenistic epic. This was already a popular myth by the times of Apollonius, who makes the story of how Jason and the Argonauts sail to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece, and have to go through a lot of adventures to fulfill their task, a mix of simple narrative and scholarly catalog. The Argonautica had a deep impact on European literature as a whole. |
By: Edric Vredenberg (1860-?) | |
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My Book Of Favourite Fairy Tales
This is a collection on well-known, favorite fairy stories, most of which we all grew up with. They were edited and retold in this volume. |
By: Euripides (484 BC - 406 BC) | |
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Alcestis
Alcestis is the earliest surviving play by Euripides. Alcestis, the devoted wife of King Admetus, has agreed to die in his place, and at the beginning of the play she is close to death. In the first scene, Apollo argues with Thanatos (Death), asking to prolong Alcestis' life, but Thanatos refuses. Apollo leaves, but suggests that a man will come to Pherae who will save Alcestis. Euripides' play is perhaps the most unusual Greek drama ever written: a tragedy that is not a tragedy. |
By: Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm (1785-1863) | |
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Grimm's Fairy Tales - Retold in One-Syllable Words
The stories we have read and loved but retold in words of one syllable to make it easier for young readers or those where English is a second language. Some you will know and love, others you may never have heard of but all are worth reading and listening to. Hansel and Grethel, The Wolf and the Six Little Kids; 3 tales about elves; Snow White and Rose Red; King Roughbeard; The Frog Prince; Cinderella; Little Red Cap (little Red Riding Hood) and The Goose Girl are only a few of these delightful tales. |
By: Laura Rountree Smith (1876-1924) | |
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Fifty Funny Animal Tales
"This book contains short stories of animals that will charm the children. Such characters as the Funny Fox, the Happy Hare, the Willful Wolf, the Careful Cat and many others appear. Useful proverbs are woven into these tales. The stories will be of special use to teachers and parents who want to teach as well as to have a story for entertainment. The verses heading the stories, the little jingles throughout the tales and the beautiful illustrations, add much to the attractiveness of the book. One cannot help but laugh at the tricks of the Funny Fox and the Fairy Tales he relates... |
By: Unknown | |
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National Nursery Book
"The Publishers offer in this little volume of well known and long loved stories to their young readers. The tales which have delighted the children of many generations will, they feel assured, be equally welcome in the nurseries of the present day, which, with the popularity and antiquity of the contents of the volume, justify them in styling it The National Nursery Book." Red Riding Hood, The Three Bears, Mother Hubbard, Cinderella and many other well known stories, poems, nursery rhymes and songs are included in this little book. Note that the Punch and Judy story does include a lot of gratuitous violence but then that is what Punch and Judy seem to be all about, eh? |
By: Various | |
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King's Daughter and Other Stories for Girls
A charming collection of short stories for young girls, including The King's Daughter, The Old Brown House, A Story for School Girls, What One Lie Did, Two Ways of Reading the Bible, Courtesy to Strangers, Live for Something, and Jennie Browning. Each story subtly teaches an important lesson. | |
Up One Pair of Stairs of My Bookhouse
Full of delightful fairy tales, charming poems and engaging stories, this is the second volume of the "My Bookhouse" series for little ones. Originally published in the 1920's as a six volume set, these books, edited by Olive Beaupre Miller, contained the best in children's literature, stories, poems and nursery rhymes. They progressed in difficulty through the different volumes. | |
From the Tower Window of My Bookhouse
Full of delightful fairy tales, charming poems and engaging stories, this is the fifth volume of the "My Bookhouse" series for little ones. Originally published in the 1920's as a six volume set, these books, edited by Olive Beaupre Miller, contained the best in children's literature, stories, poems and nursery rhymes. They progressed in difficulty through the different volumes. Note: Due to a numbering error, the audio introductions do not say "Section 6" but jump from 5 to 7. There is no text missing. | |
Children's Short Works, Vol. 020
Librivox's Children's Short Works Collection 020: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of Librivox members. | |
Children's Short Works, Vol. 021
Librivox's Children's Short Works Collection 021: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of LibriVox members. |
By: Virgil (70 BC - 19 BC) | |
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Aeneid, prose translation
The Aeneid is the most famous Latin epic poem, written by Virgil in the 1st century BC. The story revolves around the legendary hero Aeneas, a Trojan prince who left behind the ruins of his city and led his fellow citizens to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The first six of the poem’s twelve books tell the story of Aeneas’ wanderings from Troy to Italy, while the poem’s second half treats the Trojans’ victorious war upon the Latins. This is the recording of J.W.MacKail's prose translation. |
By: A. A. Milne (1882-1956) | |
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Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie the Pooh, the loveable little bear with a great big heart , has fun and adventures in this book. All of the other residents of the 100 acre wood join in to help this happen. Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga and Roo and of course the every depressed Eeyore who manages to lose his tail somehow. But what more needs to be said except that it Christopher Robin and Pooh are here? Listen and enjoy. - Summary by phil chenevert |
By: Abbie Farwell Brown (1871-1927) | |
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In The Days of Giants
This book is made of the stories told by the Northern folk,—the people who live in the land of the midnight sun, where summer is green and pleasant, but winter is a terrible time of cold and gloom; where rocky mountains tower like huge giants, over whose heads the thunder rolls and crashes, and under whose feet are mines of precious metals. Therefore you will find the tales full of giants and dwarfs,—spirits of the cold mountains and dark caverns. You will find the hero to be Thor, with his thunderbolt hammer, who dwells in the happy heaven of Asgard, where All-Father Odin is king, and where Balder the beautiful makes springtime with his smile... |
By: Abbie Phillips Walker (1867-1951) | |
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Sandman's Rainy Day Stories
A book of sleepy bed time stories for children read for you, no matter what age you are, read to you by talented and wonderful volunteers. - Summary by phil chenevert |
By: Abby Morton Diaz (1821-1904) | |
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Entertaining Story of King Brondé, his Lily and his Rosebud
A lavish palace, a giant, a poor boy seeking his fortune, a beautiful girl in danger... these are all the elements of a charming tale. Spoiled princesses, a robbers' cave and fairies round out this story for children. - Summary by Lynne T |
By: Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (724-759) | |
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Fables of Pilpay
These moralistic stories within stories date back to the Sanskrit text Panchatantra . They were first translated into Arabic by a Persian named Ruzbeh who named it Book of Kalilah and Dimna and then by Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa and later Joseph Harris in 1679 and then remodeled in 1818. Max Mueller noted that La Fontaine was indebted to the work and other scholars have noted that Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont and John Fletcher were both familiar with the fables. The Fables of Pilpay are a series of inter-woven fables, many of which deploy metaphors of anthropomorphized animals with human virtues and vices. |
By: Abraham Merritt | |
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The Moon Pool
Dr. David Throckmartin’s scientific expedition to the South Sea Islands discovers among ancient ruins a portal into Muria, an unknown underground world. After the disappearance of Throckmartin, his wife and two companions, his old friend Dr. Walter Goodwin enters Muria with a rescue party, only to confront an fantastic world filled with incredible beings, astounding scientific advances, and the worship of the most evil of all creatures, The Dweller. (Introduction by Mark Nelson) |
By: Ada Langworthy Collier (1843-) | |
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Lilith The Legend of the First Woman |
By: Adah Louise Sutton (1860-1935) | |
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Teddy Bears
Set in the early 1900's, this is a delightful story of a tribe of Teddy Bears arrival in the department store and the adventures some of them have when they are brought into a family's home. - Summary by Linda Andrus |
By: Aeschylus (525/524 BC - c. 455/456 BC) | |
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The Oresteia
The Oresteia is a trilogy by Aeschylus, one of the foremost playwrights of ancient Greece. It encompasses three plays: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Furies. It tells the tragic tale of the House of Atreus, whose inhabitants have been cursed and are doomed to play out their bloody, vengeful destinies. At the beginning of the first part, the Trojan War has ended and the Greek general, Agamemnon, is returning victorious to his wife Clytemnestra. Yet she finds it difficult to forgive his sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia, who was killed to ensure the Greek fleet fair winds in their voyage to Troy... |
By: Aesop | |
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The Aesop for Children
THE AESOP FOR CHILDRENTHE WOLF AND THE KIDThere was once a little Kid whose growing horns made him think he was a grown-up Billy Goat and able to take care of himself. So one evening when the flock started home from the pasture and his mother called, the Kid paid no heed and kept right on nibbling the tender grass. A little later when he lifted his head, the flock was gone. He was all alone. The sun was sinking. Long shadows came creeping over the ground. A chilly little wind came creeping with them making scary noises in the grass... | |
Fables of Aesop and Others
The origins of these fables are perhaps lost in obscurity, but they are so closely identified with the Greek writer Aesop, that we may regard them as such. Most of these tales involve interactions among animals, and to each is appended a moral. This edition was edited and illustrated by Thomas Bewick a well-known British engraver and illustrator. The book begins with an excellent introduction - Larry Wilson |
By: Albert Bigelow Paine (1861-1937) | |
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Hollow Tree Snowed In Book
Once upon a time, in the Big Deep Woods, there was a big hollow tree with three hollow branches. The tree animals living in each of these hollow branches have many stories and they are told by the Story Teller to the Little Lady. Lots of good fun and adventures here. This book follows the first that explains how this marvelous Deep Woods, when it snows heavily, harbors so many quirky and interesting characters. - Summary by Phil Chenevert |
By: Alfred Carmichael (1874-1963) | |
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Indian Legends of Vancouver Island |
By: Alfred John Church (1829-1912) | |
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The Story of the Odyssey | |
Odyssey for Boys and Girls
A retelling of the adventures of Ulysses, including his adventures both the Cyclops and Circe, as he journeys home to his home of Ithaca. The story then continues to include his quest to rejoin his wife and family of whom he has been separated from for twenty years. This is Homer's Odyssey for the younger set. |
By: Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) | |
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Idylls of the King
Idylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, and the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom. The whole work recounts Arthur's attempt and failure to lift up mankind and create a perfect kingdom, from his coming to power to his death at the hands of the traitor Mordred. Individual poems detail the deeds of various knights, including Lancelot, Geraint, Galahad, and Balin and Balan, and also Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. |
By: Alice Gerstenberg (1885-1972) | |
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Alice in Wonderland (Drama)
A dramatization of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass for the stage. In this version, Alice goes through the looking glass and encounters a variety of strange and wonderful creatures from favorite scenes of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland the Through the Looking Glass. Including a conversation with the Red and White Queens, encounters with Humpty Dumpty, the Mock Turtle, the Cheshire Cat, and the Caterpillar, and of course everyone's favorite Mad Tea Party. |
By: Andre de Ridder (1888-1961) | |
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Christmas Tales Of Flanders
“The Christmas Tales Of Flanders presented in this volume are popular fables and legends current in Flanders and Brabant, which have for centuries been told to children throughout Belgium. Their origin is doubtful, as all literature handed down by oral tradition must be. A good many of these stories are found in a different guise in the legends of other nations…. These tales occupy for the Flemish the place nursery rhymes take in England…” The book title may be a bit misleading as the stories, with two exceptions, do not concern themselves with Christmas... |
By: Andrew Jackson Howell (1869-1947) | |
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Money Island |
By: Andrew Lang (1844-1912) | |
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Myth, Ritual and Religion — Volume 1 | |
Violet Fairy Book
Andrew Lang’s Violet Fairy Book (1901) was a beautifully produced and illustrated edition of fairy tales that has become a classic. This was one of many other collections of fairy tales, collectively known as Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books. | |
Helen of Troy | |
Tales of Troy: Ulysses the Sacker of Cities
These are short stories about the life of Ulysses, the stealing of Helen, Paris, battles, Trojan horses, and more! | |
Custom and Myth
CUSTOM AND MYTHINTRODUCTION.Though some of the essays in this volume have appeared in various serials, the majority of them were written expressly for their present purpose, and they are now arranged in a designed order. During some years of study of Greek, Indian, and savage mythologies, I have become more and more impressed with a sense of the inadequacy of the prevalent method of comparative mythology. That method is based on the belief that myths are the result of a disease of language, as the pearl is the result of a disease of the oyster... | |
Tales Of King Arthur And The Round Table
The tales of King Arthur and his Knights are of Celtic origin. The Celts were the people who occupied Britain at the time when the history of the country opens… It is believed that King Arthur lived in the sixth century, just after the Romans withdrew from Britain… the stories came to be handed down from father to son, in Brittany (whose people are of the same family as the Welsh) as well as in Wales and England… [story-tellers altered the stories to suit their times down through the centuries] …and so in their altered and historically inaccurate form they have reached us at the present day... |
By: Anna Jameson (1794-1860) | |
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Legends of the Madonna as Represented in the Fine Arts |
By: Anna Matlack Richards (1835-1900) | |
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New Alice in the Old Wonderland
In this unofficial sequel to Alice in Wonderland, a different Alice, a young American girl named Alice Lee , stumbles upon a magical door that leads to Wonderland. There, she meets familiar faces, like the Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, Red Queen, among others, as well as some new ones. However, unlike our beloved English Alice who just tries to make sense of a senseless world, Alice Lee maintains power over her own fantasy, rather than let herself become the victim. Though a loving tribute to the original novels, Lewis Carroll absolutely disapproved of this novel, nearly seeking legal action against the British publication of it, but decided against it in favor of his reputation and privacy... |
By: Anne Parrish (1888-1957) | |
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Dream Coach
The Dream Coach was named a Newbery Honor Book in 1925. Anne Parrish's original stories of dream adventures hold fairy-tale charm that is sure to delight young children, perfect for bedtime reading one chapter at a time. Her tales capture the surreal silliness and strangeness of the dream state and the way our minds slip into that realm without our awareness. There are a couple of phrases early on that betray the cultural insensitivity that used to be acceptable in children's literature in the U.S. |
By: Annie Fellows Johnston (1863-1931) | |
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Miss Santa Claus of the Pullman
We all know that Santa Claus has a large family in which to help him in the delivery of presents, peace, and good cheer. So what would you do if you were Miss Santa Claus and met two children on Christmas Eve traveling to a strange town to be reunited with their father and new stepmother? Why, naturally you would tell them the story of Princess Ina and a powerful charm they could use to turn their feared stepmother into a real mother. Follow the children as they learn to pick starflowers of obedience and kindness to make a mantle of love and become a real family. |
By: Anonymous (1821-1890) | |
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The Book of A Thousand Nights and a Night
This is a collection of stories collected over thousands of years by various authors, translators and scholars. The are an amalgam of mythology and folk tales from the Indian sub-continent, Persia, and Arabia. No original manuscript has ever been found for the collection, but several versions date the collection’s genesis to somewhere between AD 800-900. The stories are wound together under the device of a long series of cliff-hangers told by Shahrazad to her husband Shahryar, to prevent him from executing her... | |
The Song of Roland
The Song of Roland is an epic poem, originally sung in Old French. It tells the story of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778. This is an English translation. Translated by Charles Kenneth Scott-Moncrieff. | |
Folk-Lore and Legends Scotland | |
The Twelve Labours of Hercules, Son of Jupiter & Alcmena | |
The Story Of Frithiof The Bold 1875 | |
Folk-lore and Legends: German | |
The High History of the Holy Graal |
By: Arthur Bowie Chrisman (1889-1953) | |
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Shen of the Sea: A Book for Children
This book was awarded the John Newbery Medal by the Children’s Librarians’ Section of the American Library Association, for the most distinguished contribution to American Children’s literature during the year 1925. it is a collection of stories from China for children. - Summary by phil chenevert |
By: Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) | |
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The Coming of the Fairies
After a number of deaths in his close family, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle turned to spiritualism in hope of finding proof of the afterlife. Being open in this way, he wanted to believe that spirits and other supernatural being including fairies were real. Because of this he believed the photographs of fairies taken by the Cottingley girls were proof of the existence of such beings. In this book he presents his stance on the issue. Eventually it was proven that the photographs were indeed a hoax. |
By: Arthur Machen (1863-1947) | |
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The Angels of Mons
The Angels of Mons is a popular legend about a group of angels who supposedly protected members of the British army in the Battle of Mons at the outset of World War I. The story is fictitious, developed through a combination of a patriotic short story by Arthur Machen, rumours, mass hysteria and urban legend, claimed visions after the battle and also possibly deliberately seeded propaganda. |
By: Asa Don Dickinson (1876-1960) | |
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The Children's Book of Christmas Stories
Many librarians have felt the need and expressed the desire for a select collection of children's Christmas stories in one volume. This book claims to be just that and nothing more. Each of the stories has already won the approval of thousands of children, and each is fraught with the true Christmas spirit. It is hoped that the collection will prove equally acceptable to parents, teachers, and librarians. |
By: Aubrey De Vere (1814-1902) | |
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Legends of the Saxon Saints |
By: Augusta Stevenson (1869-1976) | |
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Children's Classics in Dramatic Form |
By: Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) | |
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Collection of Beatrix Potter Stories
What can we say about the delightful Beatrix Potter stories? Starting with the naughty Peter Rabbit and his mis-adventures, progressing through The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle whose funny name is just the start of the interesting things about her, then expounding on the Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, and many many more, these stories are all gems of the art of story telling. This is your chance to enjoy reading them aloud and recording them for children to enjoy listening to in the years and decades to come. Aren't you curious to learn more about the Fierce Bad Rabbit? Or the Tale of the Two Bad Mice? This is your chance to read aloud. And remember to have fun !! | |
The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Others
These are some of the wonderful little stories about animals written by Beatrix Potter. The disobedient little Peter who sneaks where he should not go and gets into a scary situation is just one of her nifty tales. This is storytelling at its best: warm and fuzzy and sometimes with a moral for little ears, but not too often. Welcome to the hippity-hoppity world of bunnies and other little creatures who have difficulties but always find a way out. - Summary by Phil Chenevert |