Family Folktales

A king has heard of a princess who might be a suitable match for one as magnificent as himself. So he enlists the aid of seven brothers, all named Simon, and all with – shall we say, unusual? – skills.

A king vowed to have someone stand sentry over his daughter’s body every might for a year – but the sentries are always gone in the morning. Is there anyone who will last the whole night?

This abridged version of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic inspired the popular movie, Frozen – but you won’t find Anna and Elsa here!

Three brothers set out on a quest to find three sisters who have vanished. Will any of them live happily ever after?

A prince falls in love with a girl who lives in an eagle’s nest on top of a tree. Will she ever fulfill his heart’s desire and marry him?

The Sultan and Sultana have arranged for Abu Nowas to marry! What will happen when the bride and groom spend all their money?

A fisherman catches a golden crab, who turns out to be an enchanted prince. After his princess bride betrays him, is there any hope of breaking the enchantment?

A young man goes off to seek his fortune and falls in love with a woman who restores him to life three times after he is killed. When he is unable to meet with her as they had planned, his real quest begins.

After she is forgotten by the love of her life, a princess devises a plan to win him back. First, she needs eleven girls who look just like her.

Two brothers, identical twins, have grown tired of being mistaken for each other, so they set off in different directions to seek their fortunes. But there comes a time in their journeys when the brothers find their similar appearance to be helpful. Wondering how? Listen and find out!

A love triangle, broken hearts, magic, transformations – this story has it all, including a most unexpected change of heart!

Hok Lee’s neighbors think he’s just a very industrious young man; in fact, he’s made his fortune by stealing from them at night. When the doctor tells Hok Lee that his swollen face must be a punishment from the spirits for some wrongdoing, Hok Lee sets out to find a cure.

A king’s second wife becomes jealous that the throne will be inherited by the sone of the king’s first wife rather than her own son, and uses magic to turn Prince Alphege into a green monkey. Will he ever regain his human form again?

When a mother sends her three sons off with tasks for their intended brides to perform, the youngest doesn’t know where to turn – until he finds help from an unusual source.

A prince keeps the unusual circumstances of his birth a secret from his bride; when he finally acquiesces, they both regret it. Can anyone make things right again?

When a widowed king remarries, his daughter finds herself abused and starved by her new stepmother. After running away, she offers herself as the lowest kitchen servant in a castle. The prince of the castle wants nothing to do with her; can the two find true love?

A king names his long-awaited child Fairer-than-a-Fairy, never stopping to think this might upset the fairies. One of the fairies abducts her, taking her to a castle where the princess learns there is another captive: a prince imprisoned in a rainbow. When the prince is moved to another prison, Fairer-than-a-Fairy sets out to find him and set him free.

A king receives an envoy from a mighty emperor, but the envoy says not a word; he only traces a circle around the king’s throne. How are the king and his advisers supposed to interpret this message?

An emperor marries a girl who promises him twin boys with stars on their foreheads. When the boys are born, the emperor’s stepmother buries them and replaces them with puppies! Once her own daughter becomes empress, will there ever be justice for the first empress and her sons?

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the sixteenth and final part of Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories. This is the final installment of The Arabian Nights Entertainments! We close out by finishing The Story of Two Sisters Who Were Jealous of Their Younger Sister. Th...

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the fifteenth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories. Today we begin The Story of Two Sisters Who Were Jealous of Their Younger Sister. Three sisters jokingly express the desire to marry the Sultan’s baker, coo...

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the fourteenth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories. Today’s story is The Enchanted Horse. A king is determined to possess a mechanical horse that can easily travel vast distances when his headstrong son leap...

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the thirteenth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories. Our story today is The Story of Ali Cogia, Merchant of Bagdad. A man is declared innocent of theft. Will the Caliph overturn a judgement after watching chi...

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the twelfth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories. Today we have two stories nested inside a third: The Adventures of Haroun-al-Raschid, Caliph of Bagdad, The Story of the Blind Baba-Abdalla, and The Story of...

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the eleventh of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories. This is a story you’ve heard before – Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. But there’s more to it than you may have heard!