Great Stories Well Told

Send us Fan Mail An old soldier returns from India carrying an unusual souvenir - a small monkey's paw said to grant three wishes.   At first the tale seems impossible, even amusing. But as one family discovers, some gifts are better left untouched.   "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs was first published in book form in the short story collection, The Lady of the Barge release...

Send us Fan Mail Beauty and the Beast is one of the world's most beloved fairy tales, but long before it became a movie, it was told in the literary salons of France. 'Beauty and the Beast,' by Mme Leprince de Beaumont (1711-1781), In this classic version, Beauty chooses kindness over comfort and discovers that appearances can hide unexpected truths.  Set in a world of enchanted cas...

Send us Fan Mail Today's story is "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" Part 2 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" by F. Scott Fitzgerald was first published on May 1, 1920  in The Saturday Evening Post .  In 1920, well to do women were still growing their hair very long.  As F. Scott Fitzgerald describes Bernice's feelings about her hair.  "she would never again f...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Great Stories Well Told, we turn from Kate Chopin's quiet examination of personal freedom to F. Scott Fitzgerald's sharp and often humorous portrait of youth in the Jazz Age. When shy and awkward Bernice visits her glamorous cousin Marjorie, she quickly learns that popularity has its own rules. Determined to transform herself, Bernice follows Marjorie&...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the first episode in Season 2 of Great Stories Well Told:  “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. This is a remarkable and quietly powerful short story about marriage, identity, freedom, and the hidden emotions that can live beneath ordinary life. First published in 1894, Chopin’s story unfolds over the course of a single hour, revealing the inner thoughts of a woman co...

Send us Fan Mail This story contains scenes of violence, as some classic stories do. Listener discretion is advised In this episode of Great Stories Well Told, we present "Why the Sea is Salt", a traditional tale told in many places and in a number of different versions.    It is a story of a poor man, a magical gift, and what can happen when more is taken than is needed. And it offers a...

Send us Fan Mail      A statue covered in gold. A small bird with nowhere to go.  In Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince , a quiet story unfolds — one of compassion, sacrifice, and the unexpected beauty of giving.   The Happy Prince and Other Tales is an 1888 collection of short stories by Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish author, poet and playwright. He was born on October 16, 18...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Great Stories Well Told, we present The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells. A father and his young son visit a curious little shop on a London street, filled with tricks, toys, and strange wonders. But as they explore, the line between illusion and reality begins to blur. A small shop on a city street. A window filled with curious things. In H. G. Wells’ The Magic Shop,...

Send us Fan Mail In Frank R. Stockton’s "The Lady, or the Tiger?", a young man stands before a decision that will determine his fate —  Two doors. One choice. No second chances. but the greatest mystery lies not behind the doors, but in the heart of the one who knows what waits beyond them. " The Lady, or the Tiger?" is a short story by American author Frank R. Stockton, first...

Send us Fan Mail "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) is the star of this episode.   I hope that you enjoy it. As a deadly plague spreads across the land, Prince Prospero retreats with his court into a castellated abbey , determined to outlast the danger in comfort and celebration. But some things cannot be shut out. The Masque of the Red Death" was first pub...

Send us Fan Mail "Princess on the Glass Hill" is a classic Norwegian folktale first published in Norwegian in in the 1840s. It was first translated into English in 1859 by Sir George Webbe Dasent in Popular Tales from the Norse . This version is taken from that 1859 book.    In this traditional Norse tale, a princess sits atop a glass hill that no one can climb—until an unlikely hero fin...

Send us Fan Mail From Greek mythology, this is the powerful story of Prometheus—the titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity.  In doing so, he changed the course of human life… and sealed his own fate.  Prometheus stands as an example of courage, consequence, and the enduring cost of standing against power.  The tale of Prometheus appears in early Greek poetry as far back as Hesi...

Send us Fan Mail “The Elephant’s Child” by Rudyard Kipling. The Just So Stories were first published in 1902.  This story is from the 1912 edition. In this classic tale from Rudyard Kipling, a relentlessly curious young elephant sets out to discover what the crocodile has for dinner—and finds himself changed forever.  The Elephant’s Child is a story full of rhythm, humor, and heart, exploring how...

Send us Fan Mail Leo Tolstoy's short story “Three Questions” was first published in 1885 as part of the collection What Men Live By, and Other Tales.     "The Three Questions" is a story about a king who seeks answers three  questions:  What is the best time to begin something?  Who are the most important people to listen to?  What is the most important thing to do?  After receiving...

Send us Fan Mail Aesop's Fables, are very old stories that are credited to a 6th-century BCE Greek slave named Aesop.   In the beginning these were oral tales; early written versions appeared around the 4th century BC or BCE and in Latin by the 1st centuryAD or CE.  These tales were originally for adults, using animals and people to teach ethical, social, and political lessons; during the Ren...

Send us Fan Mail "The Skylight Room" from O. Henry's story collection The Four Million was published in 1906.  In these stories, O. Henry introduces us to a variety of ordinary people living and working in New York City in the early part of the 20th Century.   He is known as one of the great American storytellers and his stories often have unexpected endings as this one does.   In t...

Send us Fan Mail The Cat That Walked by Himself” by Rudyard Kipling This is one of Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories , a story of the “High and Far-Off Times"— when the wild creatures of the forest were beginning, one by one, to come and live beside humans. The dog, the horse, and the cow all made their bargains. But one creature had other ideas. This is the story of the Cat that walked by hi...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Great Stories Well Told — a storytelling podcast for listeners who love timeless tales. In this ad-free podcast, I share fairy tales, fables, folk tales, myths, and classic short fiction — stories that have endured because they speak to something in us that does not change. Each episode, released on Wednesdays, will run between 15 and 40 minutes and is created for anyon...