Tales From The Enchanted Forest

Join Fox's solo episode on an Afghan Fairy-tale featuring a Poor Prince and his two idle brothers. After their father's death, the youngest brother must face a giant, a tower, and magical spells in order to win the hand of a beautiful princess. Originally published in Kabul, Afghanistan's bimonthly Folklore Journal.  Enjoying the Podcast? We want to hear from you! Leave us a review on Podchaser or...

Our tale today is “Baingan Bádsháhzádi” meaning the Aubergine Princess or Princess Aubergine. It is a Punjabi tale but variants can be found all over India! Join Fox & Sparrow as we explore this enchanting tale of a beautiful princess who doesn't need Sima Aunty to find her a match! The Evil Queen unwittingly does it for her!  Enjoying the Podcast? We want to hear from you! Leave us a review o...

A beautiful princess, golden apples, dragons, golden knights and more make up this stunning tale from Poland: Join Fox & Sparrow as they explore the origins, symbols, and stock characters that make up this fantastical story!  Cover art features "The Glass Hill" artwork by George W. Dasent. Enjoying the Podcast? We want to hear from you! Leave us a review on Podchaser or follow us on Goodpods and t...

Enjoy this solo episode with your host, Fox, as I bring you a tale from the Blackfoot Native Americans of the Canadian Plains. Feather Woman, Morning Star and Star Boy centre in this story around forbidden turnips, fantastical lands, and the Spider Man. Snuggle in close for a bittersweet story of family. Enjoying the Podcast? We want to hear from you! Leave us a review on Podchaser or follow us on...

The Northern African tale of Aicha, the demon slayer, comes from modern-day Algeria and Morocco. Aicha is brave, beautiful, smart, capable and sometimes magical- literally. She rejects a lazy prince, tricks a cannibal and is cursed to wander the earth restlessly. Will she break her curse? Come find out more about this fascinating heroine to close off Women's History Month!  Enjoying the Podcast? W...

St. Patrick's Day is full of revelry fun and gathering around to hear silly stories so we have the perfect one for you! It's time to dance with the Devil! The Irish tale from Emerson's Welsh collection called, "Billy Duffy and the Devil" features a smart-lazy blacksmith tricking the devil, magic-granting three wishes, and at the end of the day- an explanatory folktale.    Enjoying the Podcast? We...

Once upon a time, there were two people in love named Siya and Maadi. But tragedy strikes when Siya is chosen to be a sacrifice to a seven-headed serpent named Bida to save the empire. Will Maadi slay the monster and doom the Empire of Wagadou? Or will he step aside so others may live? Join Fox & Sparrow as they explore this love story for a Valentine's Day special first brought to us by Bolu...

Has anything ever been over-promised to you? Only to find yourself thoroughly disappointed when it falls short? The Daughter of the Sword does, and she will not be happy until she gets all the cows she has promised. Join Fox & Sparrow as they explore this South African tale about a princess of swords and the Lord of the Cattle.   Enjoying the Podcast? We want to hear from you! Leave us a revie...

Welcome to a Footnotes with Fox solo episode! To celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year, we are heading to Korea for the tale of the 'Story Bag!' What happens when you keep your tales under lock and key? Well, they'll try to kill you and your new wife of course!  Wishing healthy and happiness to all those celebrating Chinese New Year, Seollal, Tết Nguyên Đán, and all the other lunar celebrations on...

Happy New Year Travellers! Sparrow starts off the year with the purr-fect fairy tale featuring a classic nameless protagonist as he runs away from his problems. Only for him to find a feline-tastic companion along the way!   Enjoying the Podcast? We want to hear from you! Leave us a review on Podchaser or follow us on Goodpods and tell us what story you would like us to cover next!   Show notes ca...

The Oak King will rise again. During Midwinter, he will emerge to fight his brother, the Holly King, and the cycle of the seasons will resume. Join us as we explore this legend and piece together the story of the twins and examining all the sources including Celtic, Wiccan, Pagan and Modern! The eternal battle for love, light and dark will continue. Happy Winter Solstice!  For another Christmas-fo...

Asbjörnsen and Moe give us an unusual holiday story this year with the story of "The Quern that Stands and Grinds at the Bottom of the Sea" translated by Sir George Webbe Dasent. Two brothers, a journey to Hel, a Christmas Eve miracle and the devil in the outhouse make up this fun story! Happy Holidays from the Enchanted Forest!  For a more Christmas-focused story, check out last year's holiday sp...

Today we are covering the Chinese story of Chang'e, the Lady on the Moon, and her husband, Hou Yi, the famed archer! This legend is also one of the origins of the Autumn Festivals and has many regional and time-related derivations so we try to cover as many as possible!  For another classic moon fairy tale, check our previous episode, Kaguya: The Suitor Games on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Podbean...

The Selkie is a magical creature that can shed its seal skin to become human! The downside is that human men have a habit of blackmailing Selkie women and human women keep having affairs with Selkie men. There is a lot of Stockholm syndrome to unpack here, so join us as we unravel this wonderful tale and its migratory roots!   For a more classic mermaid tale, check our previous episode, The Little...

Join Fox and Sparrow for a spooky breakdown of some of the best non-horror villains out there! Get in the Halloween spirit with Azula, Morgoth, Darth Vader and Regina George!   You can find our detailed show notes, on our fantastic website ! Or chat with us on Twitter @FromEnchanted You can also find us on: Instagram   TikTok

To close off our series on ancient heroes, we present a glimpse at some modern ones! From Frodo, Jon Snow, Spiderman, Luke Skywalker, Aang and Katniss, we touch upon some modern heroes and rank them according to, well whatever we want!   You can find our detailed show notes, on our fantastic website ! Or chat with us on Twitter @FromEnchanted You can also find us on: Instagram   TikTok

Sparrow flies solo in a special mini-episode! Join her as she explores three of Aesop's Fables and tries her absolute best to discern the real lesson in these tales: The Sparrow and the Hare, The Olive Tree and the Fig Tree & The Gnat and the Bull.    You can find our detailed show notes, on our fantastic website ! Or chat with us on Twitter @FromEnchanted You can also find us on: Instagram  ...

The story of Beowulf and his monsters is one of the most popular topics from early European literature! Vikings, monsters, angry mothers and dragons round off this epic poem that influenced one of the greatest fantasy writers - J.R.R Tolkien. Stay tuned after the retelling to hear our five fantastic finds on Anglo-Saxon swords, Tolkien's essay on Monsters, destiny, the great bardic tradition and R...

"By George! I think they've got it!" The famous legend of "Saint George and the Dragon" is as iconic to the English as Jack and the Beanstalk and a Christmas Carol. The original story was a lot more intense than the abridged version we all know. For our 'Five Fantastic Finds' hear about Religious myths and canon, Damsels in distress, the origins of slaying dragons, the etymology of George and the...

After listening to the Shahnameh trilogy, make sure to drop in and listen to our Five Fantastic Finds! Today we cover Zal's "protagonist" hair, Daddy (and monarch) issues, the cool horse trope, literary psychoanalysis of Rostam's dreamlike state and the overconfident sidekick trope! 

In our final episode on the Shahnameh, we dive into the tragedy of Rostam and his son, Sohrab. Family, loyalty, and death highlight the main themes of our Shahnameh special trilogy. The fall of the Epic hero begins and ends with Rostam!    You can find our detailed show notes, on our fantastic website ! Or chat with us on Twitter @FromEnchanted You can also find us on: Instagram   TikTok

Often likened to the great Greek Heroes, Rostam quickly turns from a mammoth baby to a warrior and hero. To prove himself as the child of prophecy, he adventures out to save a king-in-distress and overcome his seven labours. Special shoutout to his saviour, steed, and sidekick: Rakhsh! For being the true hero during Rostam's power naps. Episode Image: "Rustam and Rakhsh in the Third Trial" 891/148...

The Shahnameh is an epic chronology of Kings and Heroes, none greater than the line of Nariman which descends through the generations. Join us as we explore this generation of heroes starting with Sam and Zal, a story featuring the mythical Simurgh, letting down your hair, lots of passive-aggressive letter writing, and daddy issues. We retell the story using a variety of both Farsi and English sou...

Fox & Sparrow celebrate the podcast's first Anniversary in this special bonus episode! Join your animal companions as they reflect on the past year and give some insight into their journey in making this podcast.   Also, Tales From The Enchanted Forest will be going on a brief break! But we will be returning in July with more magical stories! In the meantime, stay in touch with us on Twitter @From...

A Long Time Ago, in an Enchanted Forest Far Far Away, Sparrow uses her Jedi mind trick to hijack this episode! In honour of Star Wars Day, she will make her case to the Jedi council (Fox), as to why she believes Star Wars is a modern fairy tale. We discuss everything from the greater Star Wars canon and wonder when will Hollywood make more space pirate movies? Hear the arguments and let us know wh...