“The Icelanders, in their long winter, had a great habit of writing; and were, and still are, excellent in penmanship. It is to this fact, that any little history there is of the Norse Kings and their old tragedies, crimes and heroisms, is almost all due. The Icelanders, it seems, not only made beautiful letters on their paper or parchment, but were laudably observant and desirous of accuracy; and have left us such a collection of narratives (Sagas, literally “Says”) as, for quantity and quality, is unexampled among rude nations...

All Doctor Rabbit and his friends want is peace in the Big Green Woods. But peace alludes them as long as Tom Wildcat is around because T. Wildcat is bound and determined to have rabbit, woodchuck, squirrel, or any of the other little creatures in the woods for a meal! Doctor Rabbit must think of a scheme to make all the little wood's creatures safe, but it won't be easy!

Tuktu and her brother, Aklak, are Eskimo children who live happily with their beloved reindeer in the Northland. When Tuktu is lost in a fog, she meets Santa Claus or the Good Spirit as she knows him. This generous little girl wants to share her reindeer with the children of the world and so works to help Santa on his annual Christmas journey. - Summary by Jude Somers

Stories of King Arthur and His Knights. Retold from Malory’s “Morte dArthur”.

A collection of folklore stories accumulated during the Islamic Golden Age, The Arabian Nights Entertainments has entertained and fascinated readers for centuries. The book centers on a frame story concerning the sultan Shahrayah and his wife Scheherazade, who cleverly narrates captivating stories to her husband each night in order to save herself from his retribution and live another day. As a result the book encourages the literary technique of a story within a story. The frame story begins when the sultan Shahrayar learns of his brother’s adulterous wife and subsequently discovers his own wife is guilty of infidelity...

Published in 1910, The Lilac Fairy Book is the last book in the series of fairytale collections known as Andrew Lang's “Coloured” Fairy Books and features stories from various folklores and cultures including Welsh, Portuguese, Scottish, Italian, and many other foreign literary branches. Moreover, the collection is a gem in the short story genre due to the fact that Lang collected some of the featured stories from foreign languages and made them available to English audiences. Featuring 33 stories, The Lilac Fairy Book offers a different perspective to the happy-ever-after fairytales most people are accustomed to and expect...

Sample a moment of magic realism from the Red Book of Hergest: On one side of the river he saw a flock of white sheep, and on the other a flock of black sheep. And whenever one of the white sheep bleated, one of the black sheep would cross over, and become white; and when one of the black sheep bleated, one of the white sheep would cross over, and become black. Before passing on to the Mabinogion proper, Lady Charlotte Guest devotes Volume I of her compilation of medieval Welsh tales to three brief romances of Arthur’s Court...

Collection of traditional Serbian fairy tales as translated by Elodie Mijatovich, a British author living in Belgrade. Although different, parallels can be drawn with more well-known fairy stories. - Summary by LynneT

Legend Land is a collection of some of the OLD TALES told in those Western Parts of Britain served by the GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY, now retold by LYONESSE

This is a collection of French fairy tales by different famous authors. Included in this collection are such famous tales as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, but also tales which are now not as well-known but closely connected and certainly of interest to anyone enjoying fairy tales of that description. The translation is well made by James Planché , a connoisseur of historical costume, which to this day plays a big role in fairy tales. - Summary by Carolin

The purpose of The Junior Classics is to provide, in ten volumes containing about five thousand pages, a classified collection of tales, stories, and poems, both ancient and modern, suitable for boys and girls of from six to sixteen years of age. This collection consists of Volume 3, including many tales from Homer and Virgil among others. - Summary by William Patten

There is no richer theme for children’s stories than the miracle of Spring. The selections in “The Emerald Story Book” aim to serve the young reader’s interest in three ways. Some of the myths and legends are interesting or amusing because flowers, insects, or birds are presented as personalities and emphasise human qualities or feelings. Some of the stories and poems contribute to the child’s store of knowledge by attracting his attention to some fact, beauty, or blessing in nature which may have escaped his notice...

Brief, and in some cases incomplete, stories of magic from ancient Egypt.