All Stories – Page 55 – Indian Folk Tales

Arabian Nights

Scheherazade and the Sultan

To end the Sultan's deadly weddings, the vizier's daughter Scheherazade volunteers as his bride, with a plan that depends on one story.

Arabian Nights Ages 9-12

The Barber’s Tale of His Sixth Brother

Schacabac plays along with a Barmecide's invisible feast, earns a real one and twenty years' favour—then loses all when his patron dies.

Russian Folk Tales Ages 9-12

The Tsarevna Frog

Forced to marry the frog who caught his arrow, Ivan finds she is the wise Vassilissa, but burning her skin too soon sends him on a quest against Kostshei.

Russian Folk Tales

Seven Simeons

A lonely tsar recruits seven peasant brothers with odd talents, from building a sky-high pillar to stealing, to carry off a proud island king's daughter.

Russian Folk Tales Ages 9-12

The Language of the Birds

When a nightingale foretells that his father will serve him, a merchant's son is cast adrift, and his gift for bird talk saves a ship and wins a princess.

Russian Folk Tales

Ivanoushka the Simpleton

Mocked as a fool, Ivanoushka rides his father's magic horse to win a princess, then sells his treasures to his boastful brothers for toes, fingers and ears.

Russian Folk Tales Ages 9-12

Woe Bogotir

A poor man picks up a ragged spirit called Bitter Woe who rides on his shoulders and drinks away his goods, until he tricks Woe into a pit full of gold.

Russian Folk Tales Ages 9-12

Baba Yaga

Sent to a witch by their stepmother, orphan twins remember their grandmother's advice, share food with every creature, and escape with a towel and comb.

Russian Folk Tales Ages 6-8

Dimian the Peasant

Bossy Dimian forces gifts on his guests to make them refuse, until a sly visitor accepts his supper, his best coat and finally his finest horse.

Russian Folk Tales

The Golden Mountain

Tricked into digging gold on a mountaintop and left there to die, a ruined merchant's son escapes with a girl's gift and turns the trick on his master.

Russian Folk Tales

Father Frost

Father Frost showers a patient stepdaughter with furs and a silver-trimmed sarafan for her gentle words, while her rude stepsister's temper costs her dearly.

Russian Folk Tales

Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf

Carried by a gray wolf, Ivan Tsarevich twice gives in to temptation on the Firebird quest, then wins a horse, a bird and a princess before his brothers strike.