All Stories
Browse our complete collection of folk tales, Panchatantra stories, and moral stories from around the world.
Norse Folk Tales
The Widow’s Son
A poor widow’s son goes to work for a stranger who forbids him four rooms, and behind the last door he finds a black horse fed on burning coals.
Norse Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Thor and the Giant’s Kettle
Thor and Tyr travel to the giant Hymir’s hall to bring back a kettle a mile deep, and on the way Thor goes fishing for the Midgard serpent.
Norse Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Freya’s Necklace: The Brisingamen
Freyja longs for a jewel to wear to the great feast, but the shining necklace she wins from four laughing dwarfs costs her far more than she expects.
Norse Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Death of Baldur
When everything in the world swears never to harm Baldur, jealous Loki goes hunting for the one small plant that was never asked to make that promise.
Norse Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Odin’s Quest for Wisdom
Father Odin longs to be the wisest being in the world, but the old giant who guards the well of wisdom asks for a terrible price in return for one drink.
Norse Folk Tales
The Mead of Poetry
Two jealous dwarfs brew a magic mead that turns anyone who drinks it into a poet, and Father Odin sets out in disguise to win it from the giants.
Norse Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Creation of the World from Ymir’s Body
In the beginning there was only fire, ice and a great yawning gap, until a giant grew out of the melting frost and the gods shaped the world from his body.
Norse Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Theft of Thor’s Hammer (Thrymskvida)
When the giant Thrym steals Thor’s hammer and demands Freyja as his bride, the gods come up with a plan that leaves Thor dressed in a wedding veil.
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.
Norse Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Sigurd and the Dragon Fafnir
When the dwarf Andvari curses his stolen ring, the gold passes from the gods to a greedy family, until young Sigurd faces the dragon Fafnir on Gnita Heath.
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
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.