Europe
Explore European fairy tales and folk narratives, from household tales and fairy realms to enchanted castles and difficult quests. The collection filters help distinguish Grimm, Celtic, Norse and other sources; their individual tellings can have very different audiences and endings.
150 stories are in this region right now.
See also: Turkey, Russia, Ancient Greece.
Norse Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Tyr and the Binding of Fenrir
The gods of Asgard fear the growing wolf Fenrir, and when he will only wear their magic ribbon if one god puts a hand in his mouth, brave Tyr steps forward.
Norse Folk Tales
How Sif Lost Her Hair
Loki cuts off all of Sif's golden hair as a prank, and to escape Thor's anger he must get the dwarfs to make her new hair out of real gold.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats
A mother goat warns her seven kids of the wolf; he softens his voice and whitens his paws—yet the youngest, hidden in the clock, helps undo him.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
The Six Swans
A witch-queen turns six brothers into swans; their sister must sew starwort shirts in silence for six years—even when fire waits at the stake.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
Little Red Riding Hood
A wolf swallows Red-Cap and her grandmother before a hunter rescues them; later, grandmother and child work together to outwit a second wolf.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Cinderella (Aschenputtel)
Ashputtel’s hazel tree and bird allies dress her for three balls; a golden slipper fits only her—while false sisters pay a bitter price.
Celtic Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Salmon of Knowledge
Young Finn is told to cook the magic Salmon of Knowledge for his teacher and not taste a bite, but a burnt thumb changes everything for him.
Celtic Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Cuchulain and the Hound of Culain
Late for a feast at the smith Culain’s house, the boy Setanta must face a savage watchdog armed only with a hurley stick and a ball.
Celtic Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Voyage of Bran
A silver branch and a stranger’s song call Bran across the sea to the Land of Women, but the journey home holds a terrible surprise for his crew.
Celtic Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Children of Lir
Their jealous stepmother turns Lir’s four children into swans, doomed to wander the lakes and seas of Ireland for nine hundred years.
Norse Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Apples of Idun
When a giant in eagle form traps Loki, the price of his freedom is Idun and her golden apples, and without them the gods of Asgard start to grow old.
Norse Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Ragnarok: The Twilight of the Gods
Wars and a winter without summers precede Ragnarok; the gods face their last battle, and afterward a green earth rises with survivors and memories of the old world.