Courage & Bravery
Stories in which characters face fear, danger or pressure. Their choices invite discussion of preparation, help and responsibility as well as bold action. Ask what each character risks, who else bears the consequences, and whether a dramatic victory resolves the original problem. Consult the story’s audience guidance before choosing.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
The Blind Men and the Elephant
A king gathers all the blind men of his city to feel an elephant, and each of them is certain that he alone knows what an elephant is really like.
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.
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.
Aesop's Fables
Ages 3-5
The Crow and the Pitcher
A thirsty crow finds a pitcher with water too low to reach, so she drops in pebble after pebble until the water rises to her beak.
Southeast Asian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
Sang Nila Utama and the Lion of Singapura
A prince from Bintan sails toward the white sands of Temasek, throws his crown into a storm to save his ship, and meets a strange beast said to be a lion.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Savitri and the Lord of Death
When a wise man warns that her chosen husband will die within a year, Princess Savitri marries him anyway, and when Death comes for him, she follows.
Korean Folk Tales
The Story of Chunhyang
A governor’s son climbs a mountain to admire the spring view and glimpses a girl flying up on a swing among the peach blossoms in a garden below.
The Story of Princess Hase
A gifted young princess survives her jealous stepmother’s poisoned wine and secret order to kill her, until her father finds her hidden in the mountains.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Issun-boshi, the One-Inch Boy
A boy no bigger than a finger paddles to Kyoto in a soup bowl, fights off two oni with his needle sword, and uses their lucky mallet to grow tall.
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 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.