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.
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.
Arabian Nights
Ages 9-12
The Seven Voyages of Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage
Sinbad’s crew breaks a roc egg and pays with a wreck; washed ashore, he frees himself from the Old Man of the Sea, then harvests nuts via angry monkeys.
Hitopadesha
All Ages
The Doves and the Hunter’s Net
Caught together in a hunter’s net, a flock of doves follows their wise king’s plan to fly off with the net and seek help from a friendly mouse.
Jataka Tales
The Wise Hare
Four animal friends keep a fast day; when Sakka tests them, the hare offers himself to the fire and his image is painted on the moon.
The Holy Quail
Left behind in the nest by his frightened parents as a forest fire roars closer, a young quail who cannot yet fly turns the flames back with an Act of Truth.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
How the Monkey Saved His Troop
When a king’s archers surround a mango tree full of monkeys, their Chief stretches across the river and lets the whole troop run to safety over his back.
Southeast Asian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
The Mouse-Deer and the Crocodiles
Mouse-deer needs to cross a flooded river, so he tells the crocodiles that the king wants them counted, and they line up across the water for him.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 9-12
The Potter Who Became a Warrior
A potter’s scar from a drunken fall is taken for a battle wound, until he honestly tells the king the truth and loses his place at court.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
Rapunzel
Given away through her father's bargain, Rapunzel grows up in a locked tower, plans an escape and later reunites with the prince through her familiar voice.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 6-8
The Bremen Town Musicians
An old donkey, dog, cat, and rooster set out to be town musicians; their midnight “concert” scares robbers from a cottage for good.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 6-8
Rumpelstiltskin
A miller’s boast traps his daughter in a room of straw; a strange little man spins gold—then claims her first child unless she learns his name.
European Fairy Tales
The Glass Mountain
Where knights on fine horses have failed, a cheerful schoolboy with lynx claws on his hands and feet sets out to climb the slippery Glass Mountain.