Greed & Consequences
Stories in which the desire for wealth, status or more than a fair share changes what characters do. Follow the moment when a wish becomes harmful, and examine the consequences for bystanders as well as the person seeking the reward. A spectacular punishment can itself raise questions about fairness.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats
A mother goat warns her seven kids of the wolf; he softens his voice and whitens his paws—yet the youngest, hidden in the clock, helps undo him.
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.
Aesop's Fables
Ages 6-8
The Goose That Laid Golden Eggs
A couple's goose lays one golden egg each day. They kill it hoping to find gold inside, but find ordinary flesh and lose the daily eggs.
Aesop's Fables
Ages 3-5
The Dog and His Reflection
A dog carrying meat across a stream snaps at his water-reflection and loses the piece he was already holding in his jaws.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Golden Goose: A Jataka Tale
A golden goose gives a poor family one feather at a time, until the greedy mother plucks him bare and finds that stolen feathers turn plain white.
Aesop's Fables
Ages 3-5
The Ant and the Grasshopper
On a winter day a hungry grasshopper asks ants for grain. Their question about her summer singing leads to a sharp answer about winter dancing.
Aesop's Fables
Ages 3-5
The Fox and the Grapes
A hungry fox jumps again and again for a bunch of grapes hanging out of reach, then strolls off insisting they were sour all along.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
Pied Piper of Hamelin | German Legend of Promises Broken (9-12+)
A piper in a red and yellow coat rids Hamelin of its rats, but when the mayor breaks his promise to pay, the piper plays a different tune.
African Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky
The sun builds a huge compound so his friend the water can visit, but the water and all his creatures keep pouring in until there is no room left on earth.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Grateful Crane
A young farmer frees a wounded crane, marries a gentle stranger whose secret weaving saves his family, and loses her when he peeks through the wall.
Russian Folk Tales
Sadko
A poor Novgorod dulcimer player is paid in jewels by the Tzar of the Sea, grows rich, and twelve years later must leap overboard to keep his promise.
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.