Loyalty & Devotion
Promises, family duties, love and commitment place characters under pressure in these stories. Their decisions can reveal care, conflicting responsibilities or demands that ask too much. Examine who makes each promise and whether it was freely chosen; suffering by itself does not prove devotion or create a duty to remain in danger.
Celtic Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Selkie Wife
A Shetland man hides the sealskin of a sea-maiden so she must stay and marry him, until one of their children finds the skin hidden behind a corn stack.
Arabian Nights
The Enchanted Horse
A flying wooden horse carries a Persian prince to the Princess of Bengal, and when its vengeful owner steals her away, a clever trick wins her back.
Chinese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Mulan, the Maiden Chief
Mulan rides her father's horse to the northern wars, wins glory and refuses a reward, then returns home, where removing her helmet reveals her identity.
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.
The Firebird, the Horse of Power, and Princess Vasilisa
A young archer ignores his wise horse and picks up a firebird's feather, and his greedy Tzar sends him on ever deadlier errands to the edge of the world.
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
Odin’s Quest for Wisdom
Father Odin longs to be the wisest being in the world, but the old giant who guards the well of wisdom asks for a terrible price in return for one drink.
Russian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Snow Maiden (Snegurochka)
A childless old couple build a snow girl who comes to life, but when they cheat the fox who saved her, she hears that a hen matters more and melts away.
Russian Folk Tales
Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf
Carried by a gray wolf, Ivan Tsarevich twice gives in to temptation on the Firebird quest, then wins a horse, a bird and a princess before his brothers strike.
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.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Soldier of Kang-wha
To cheer up his sulking wife, a plain village soldier tosses scraps of silk into the air, and the room fills with butterflies of every color.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Old White Whiskers and Mr. Bunny
Caught on the frozen river by the proudest tiger in Korea, a hungry rabbit promises him a royal dinner if he will just lie still with his eyes shut.