Fairy Tales & Fables
A fairy tale is a short story primarily for children that often features magical beings and creatures. These characters may give aid to the main characters or be the primary adversaries. A fable is a very short narrative that usually includes animals with human qualities and abilities. Fables will usually teach an important truth, called a moral.
Crocodile was the biggest animal in the swamp. He spent most of his time in the cool, shady parts of a green pool. When he was hungry, he slithered into the sunshine towards the drinking hole where all the animals gathered to sip the clear water on hot days. Crocodile was…
One April day, after a long, soaking rain, Cardinal poked his head out from under the evergreen branches to see if he would get wet or stay dry. When he didn’t feel any drips, he hopped down to the ground, using the tree branches like a spiral staircase. Cardinal ordinarily…
One day, Ella opened her back door and looked out. She wanted to go to play outside, but there was a large bumblebee flying around. He was bigger than her thumb, and very fuzzy. She could hear the humming of his wings as he made large figure-eights across the patio. Carefully,…
“Oh, no. Oh, no,” cried Thumbelina. “I don’t want to marry Mr. Mole.” Chipper the field mouse shook his head. “But, it’s your wedding day! There’s no way of getting out of it now.” SWWOOOOOCCCCHH. Bluebird swooped down. “Thumbelina, my dear friend. It’s been a long time. How have you…
This young mermaid is the youngest of five sisters. She has never seen the world above the sea, but she has heard many stories about the land of humans. ————————- Nothing gave her so much pleasure as to hear about the world above the sea. She made her old grandmother…
A man who lived a long time ago believed that he could read the future in the stars. He called himself an Astrologer, and spent his time at night gazing at the sky. One evening he was walking along the open road outside the village. His eyes were fixed on…
Once upon a time there were Three Bears, who lived together in a house of their own, in a wood. One of them was a Little, Small, Wee Bear; and one was a Middle-sized Bear, and the other was a Great, Huge Bear. They had each a pot for their…
A Shepherd Boy tended his master’s Sheep near a dark forest not far from the village. Soon he found life in the pasture very dull. All he could do to amuse himself was to talk to his dog or play on his shepherd’s pipe. One day as he sat watching…