Asian Fairy Tales

“Look into the tiger’s eyes. I wish to show you lives different from your own,” Soma-Nandi tells the boy-king Tamar. When you join Tamar on his enchanted journey, you too can look into the tiger’s eyes. But beware, for along the way, nothing is as it appears to be: Forest creatures speak and populate hidden kingdoms, hacked-down vines regenerate before your very eyes, and holy men spring up from ant hills.

All light in Chattana is created by one man - the Governor, who appeared after the Great Fire to bring peace and order to the city. For Pong, who was born in Namwon Prison, the magical lights represent freedom, and he dreams of the day he will be able to walk among them. But when Pong escapes from prison, he realizes that the world outside is no fairer than the one behind bars. The wealthy dine and dance under bright orb light, while the poor toil away in darkness. Worst of all, Pong’s prison tattoo marks him as a fugitive who can never be truly free.

When a nonbinary tiger spirit named Sebin finally gets their chance to follow in their Uncle Hwan's footsteps in the Thousand World Space Forces, it's more of a nightmare than a dream come true.

Mei and Yun Wu have always been different from the other kids in the village. They’ve learned not to talk about why. But now, as this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the twelve-year-olds find that they are exactly like everyone else: bursting with excitement. That’s because word of their grandfather’s incredible mooncakes has reached the Emperor of China himself. And on festival night, the emperor’s son will arrive to sample Grandpa’s mooncakes and report back to His Majesty.

Nura longs for the simple pleasure of many things—to wear a beautiful red dupatta or to bite into a sweet gulab. But with her mom hard at work in a run-down sweatshop and three younger siblings to feed, Nura must spend her days earning money by mica mining. But it’s not just the extra rupees in her pocket Nura is after. Local rumor says there’s buried treasure in the mine, and Nura knows that finding it could change the course of her family’s life forever. Her plan backfires when the mines collapse and four kids, including her best friend, Faisal, are claimed dead.

In Ghostly Japan collects 12 ghostly stories from Lafcadio Hearn, deathless images of ghosts and goblins, touches of folklore and superstition, salted with traditions of the nation. While some of these stories contain nightmare imagery worthy of a midnight creature feature, others are not ghostly or ghastly at all. "Bits of Poetry" offers an engaging study on verse, and "Japanese Buddhist Proverbs" explains the meaning of several aphorisms based on Japanese cultural references.

In this Indian folktale, a young turtle shares a shallow lake with unlikely friends—two geese. But when the lake starts drying up, the stubborn turtle must follow his winged friends’ advice, or he’ll be left out to dry.

All Momo wants for her twelfth birthday is an ordinary life—like everyone else's. At home, she has to take care of her absentminded widowed mother. At school, kids ridicule her for mixing up reality with the magical stories her mother used to tell her. But then Momo’s mother falls gravely ill, and a death hag straight out of those childhood stories attacks Momo at the mall, where she’s rescued by a talking fox . . . and “ordinary” goes out the window. It turns out that Momo's mother is a banished Shinto goddess who used to protect a passageway to the land of the dead.

Warrior-prince Rama is about to be crowned Young King, when he hears the devastating news that his father, king of Ayodhya, has been tricked into banishing him to the forest. His devoted wife, Sita, insists on accompanying him in exile, but the evil 10-headed Lord Ravana has fallen deeply in love with the beautiful princess and steals her away. Aided by Hanuman, mighty captain of the monkeys, Rama sets out across the world to find her and destroy Ravana in a deadly battle.

Twelve-year-old Winston Chu is supposed to learn impulse control at the cooking academy his mom enrolled him in. But learning to think before he acts won't happen overnight. While skateboarding home with a pie in hand, Winston inadvertently stops a robbery at Mr. Pang's Whimsies, an oddities shop in Chinatown. As a reward, Mr. Pang invites Winston to choose any item in the store. But the strange old man warns Winston to browse carefully, for the first thing Winston touches will be the thing he gets.

When her sister is bitten by a poisonous spider, Mulan does everything she can to help, including seeking out a renowned healer. However, it quickly becomes apparent that there is more to both the mysterious spider bite and the healer than meets the eye. On a quest with the Jade Rabbit of legend, Mulan visits extraordinary places, meets Immortals, and faces incredible obstacles while searching for an antidote for her sister.

This is the tale of an exciting journey along the Silk Road with a young Monk and his newfound guardian, Samir, a larger than life character and the so-called "Seller of Dreams". The man is a scammer; his biggest skill being the ability to talk his way into getting what he wants. While that talking did save Monkey's life, it has left a lot of people furious with Samir— furious enough to hire assassins. Monkey decides to try and save Samir from the attempts on his life—as a way to pay off his debt! If he can save Samir six times, he'll be a free man...but will they all survive that long?

Originating long ago in Japan, this fable invites listeners to evaluate the importance and value of being honest.

The ancient Chinese philosopher and military general Sun Tzu believed that being able to outsmart enemies is far better than being able to outfight them. Decide whether you agree with Sun Tzu after you listen to this story.

Kitsune are fox spirits that take on human form and play tricks on people. One such man fell in love with a kitsune disguised as a beautiful woman.

When twelve-year-old Billy Chan finds out his parents are sending him to a summer camp in middle-of-nowhere China, he doesn't know what to expect. There he meets fellow campers Dylan, Charlotte, and Ling-Fei, and together they stumble upon an age-old secret: there are four powerful warrior dragons hidden deep within the mountain behind the camp! They need the children's help to set them free before evil in the guise of the Dragon of Death is unleashed upon the earth. Billy and his friends must set off on a dangerous adventure that will take them to the heart of the Dragon Realm.

In this Korean folktale, a greedy merchant sells the shade from his tree to a passing traveler. What he doesn’t realize, however, is just how clever this traveler is! What happens when the merchant’s ploy backfires and the traveler decides to stay in the shade?

In this Chinese myth, Nu Wa and her husband, Fu Xi were the gods that created life on Earth. After visiting Earth for the first time, Nu Wa discovered yellow clay. With this clay, she began to create different creatures with the hope to one day bring them to life. From her clay creations, Nu Wa made humans, animals, and all other forms of life. Explore this fascinating myth of the goddess Nu Wa, who has been worshipped for centuries in China.

Hoping to avoid war, the Vietnamese king must build an extravagant gate to please the Chinese ambassador. The king’s advisor, Quynh, knows the gate will never please the ambassador, so he must come up with another plan. Will he be able to use the ambassador’s greed and pride against him to save his people?

Savitri, a beloved princess in India, is searching for a husband. While on a journey to meet the princes in the region, she meets Satyavan, a former prince. They soon marry, but Satyavan is cursed to die in one year. Instead of letting her husband go, Savitri challenges Yuma, the god of death. Will she be able to save her husband?