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.
Chinese Folk Tales
The Night on the Battlefield
A merchant caught in a storm shelters at a roadside inn full of soldiers, and through a crack in the door watches their general take himself apart.
Chinese Folk Tales
The God of War
Guan Yu swears brotherhood in a peach orchard, fights with unbeatable courage, dies a loyal captive, and as a spirit learns a lesson about fate from a monk.
Chinese Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
The Dragon after His Winter Sleep
On a rainy day a scholar finds a glowing little creature scorching his book, bows to it in his ceremonial robes, and watches it fly off as a dragon.
Chinese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Old Dragonbeard
A runaway fan-bearer and the hero Li Dsing befriend curly-bearded Dragonbeard, who sees the Prince of Tang will rule and gives them his fortune.
Chinese Folk Tales
How Three Heroes Came by Their Deaths Because of Two Peaches
A chancellor offers two peaches to three warriors; the contest for honor ends in their deaths rather than a shared reward.
Chinese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
How Molo Stole the Lovely Rose-Red
A young man cannot read a palace girl’s secret finger signs, but his old servant Molo, a flying sword hero, can, and rescues her over ten walls.
Chinese Folk Tales
Help in Need
A Tang magistrate dreams that a widowed Dragon Princess begs for soldiers against a bullying dragon, and his best general goes to fight for her.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Ogre of Rashomon
A knight rides out on a stormy night to prove an ogre story false, cuts off the monster’s arm, and must guard it when a strange old visitor comes calling.
Japanese Folk Tales
The Story of Prince Yamato Take
A prince survives disguises, outlaws and a burning plain, but his sea voyage brings the loss of his wife.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The “Shinansha,” or the South Pointing Carriage
In this legend, Emperor Kotei counters a fog-making enemy with a south-pointing chariot, and the storyteller also credits him with inventing a boat.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
My Lord Bag of Rice
The warrior Hidesato steps over a dragon, kills a giant centipede for the Dragon King of Lake Biwa, and is rewarded with a rice bag that never empties.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
The Wrestlers: A Story of Heroes
A giant wrestler sets out to fight India's strongest man, but meets a girl who sweeps away an elephant and an old woman who lets them wrestle on her palm.