Family Folktales

Tired of being blamed for everything by his older brothers, a young man takes the advice of an old woman and steals a magic swan. Will this bird lead to his fortune, or lead him to ruin?

A brave and bold young fisherman spares the life of a small turtle. In return, years later the turtle saves the fisherman and brings him to a castle beneath the sea – but what will happen when the fisherman wants to return to his home and parents?

A man finds a buried pot of gold and silver, but is hesitant to tell his over-sharing wife. How can he share the good fortune with his wife, while protecting them both from unwanted questions? A man finds a buried pot of gold and silver, but is hesitant to tell his over-sharing wife. How can he share the good fortune with his wife, while protecting them both from unwanted questions?

The perils of insisting on following an agreement exactly are detailed in this retelling of the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Three little pigs are very happy in their homes of mud, cabbage, and brick. How happy will they be when the fox comes to visit?

Years after his father goes to war, a prince marries against the king’s stated wishes. When the prince’s loyal servant foils the king’s murderous plans, the king insists on his death. It’s up to the prince to restore his servant to life, but first he must find Lucky Luck.

An unthinking fairy gives a devastating “gift” to the inhabitants of an island, and hundreds of years later the repercussions continue. Will she be able to rectify her mistake, or will she just make matters worse?

Faced with a drought, two ducks decide to leave their shrinking lake in hopes of finding a more hospitable home. But when they go to bid farewell to their friend, and old turtle, he begs them to take him with them. Will the ducks come up with a plan that will bring all three to a new and more comfortable home?

A soldier agrees to help a witch recover a family heirloom of sorts – a tinder-box that had belonged to her grandmother. It’s in an underground chamber, accessed through a hollow tree, and guarded by three mystical dogs. In return, the soldier can take all the money he can carry from the chamber. But what is so special about the tinder-box, and who will get the best of this bargain?

A ruler, growing old and tired of battle, wants to align his kingdom with a neighboring one – but there is a problem. The neighboring ruler will require ten years of service from the aging ruler’s son, and he has three daughters. What solution will they find?

Three brothers each set out to find the rarest of items, knowing that the winner of the challenge will marry a princess, their father’s ward. When his brother wins her hand, Prince Ahmed sets out on an adventure of his own!

Three brothers take turns trying to kill a witch who takes the shape of a hawk; the first two fail because they fall asleep, but the youngest has a way to stay awake, no matter what. Can you guess what adventures await him?

When a boy is rude to an old woman, she bewitches him, allowing seven years to pass as quick as thought for the lad, and transforming him into an ugly dwarf. Will he ever find a way to return him to his original appearance?

A king asks his three sons in turn to defeat a creature who persists in destroying the animals in the forest. Will any of them succeed?

A poor woodcutter and his wife are unable to feed their children and decide to abandon them deep in the forest. Little do they know how clever their youngest child will prove to be!

An old woman adopts a boy whose parents have died, but he is rude and lazy rather than industrious and helpful. Unable to get him to change his ways, she turns him into an ass. Will he finally become the good worker she hoped him to be?

Two quarrelling rulers with a shared border agree that anyone crossing from one country to the other should be subject to punishment. After one of these rulers imprisons his own wazir for a perceived slight, he rides off alone and accidentally crosses the border into the neighboring country, where he is taken into custody and sentenced to die. Will he or the wazir ever walk free again?

Two young royals are raised without any attempt to stretch them beyond their natural inclinations, so that neither one would be a suitable ruler. With the help of a little magic, might one – or both! – of them develop into a suitable ruler?

A vain and boastful shirt collar tells tales of his romances.

An emperor with three sons has one laughing eye and one weeping eye. After telling one of his three sons that only water from the well of the Fairy of the Dawn will heal his eyes, the sons set off, one at a time, on their quest. Will any of them return home?

After a jackal outsmarts a dove and eats one of her fledglings, the jackal attacks the heron who helped the dove. Hoping to save his own life, the heron shows the jackal where to find the panther’s lair. Will the jackal outsmart the panther too, or be punished for his evil ways?

A prince is taken by a witch to settle a debt and given impossible tasks to complete; only with the assistance of a white dove (actually an enchanted princess) can he complete them. Will the pair find a way to escape the witch?

While serving a troll for tree years a young man meets and falls in love with the troll’s daughter, who lives in a glass palace under the sea. Can the two devise a successful plan to outwit the troll and live happily ever after?

Shipwrecked sailors are forced to promise yearly human sacrifices to appease a terrible serpent with seven heads. How will the childless king and queen bring an end to the deaths?

A boy boasts of how he will kill a wolf; how will he react when he thinks a wolf is near?