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.
Russian Folk Tales
Koschei the Deathless
Prince Ivan frees a chained prisoner and loses his warrior wife to him, then must win a horse from Baba Yaga before he can defeat Koschei the Deathless.
Arabian Nights
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Ali Baba overhears Open, Sesame, loads his donkeys with gold—and Morgiana outwits chalk marks, oil-jar assassins, and a guest who will eat no salt.
Arabian Nights
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
A false uncle sends Aladdin into a treasure cave for a lamp; genies raise a palace—until "New lamps for old!" carries it to Africa.
Norse Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
On a stormy autumn night, a great white bear taps on a poor farmer’s window and offers to make the family rich if the youngest daughter will go with him.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
Tokgabi and His Pranks
Deep in the warm, sooty flues beneath the floor lives a black goblin who hates anything white, hides the laundry sticks and makes the rice-pot lid dance.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Literary Man of Imsil
An Imsil scholar uses invisible guards to force payment of a wine bet, then uses the same strange authority to protect a town and rescue a girl's soul.
Korean Folk Tales
All Ages
The Fortunes of Yoo
Locked in the palace overnight, a forgotten country scholar climbs a broken wall into a moonlit garden and meets a stranger who asks about the Book of Changes.
Korean Folk Tales
Hyung-bo and Nahl-bo
A poor, kind brother mends a swallow’s broken legs and is rewarded with magic gourds, so his greedy elder brother breaks a bird’s legs on purpose.
Celtic Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Story-Teller at Fault
A king’s story-teller who cannot think of a tale loses everything at dice to a lame beggar, and is whisked off to watch the stranger’s wildest tricks.
Celtic Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Golden Spears
Connla and Nora save a thrush from a hawk, and in thanks it leads them after nine fairy pipers into a crystal hall, across the sunset and under the sea.
Celtic Folk Tales
Jack the Cunning Thief
Jack's career of deception leads to four challenges from a squire: a goose, guarded horses, a ridden horse and a bed sheet.
Celtic Folk Tales
Jack and His Master
Jack confronts the master who injured his brothers, exploiting the wording of their bargain and finally demanding money for their support.