Classic Fairy

First published in 1908, The Wind in the Willows belongs to a golden age of children’s book. These charming tales of the riverbank, describing the adventures of Ratty, Mole, Badger, and their irrepressible but conceited friend, Toad of Toad Hall, have become classics loved as much, perhaps, by adults as by children.

"What is your favorite story?" is the question children across the country often ask professional storyteller Pleasant DeSpain. As he attempts to answer, his list grows longer and longer, until he confesses he likes them all. An untiring researcher of oral traditions, DeSpain is known for his concise versions of world folktales specifically crafted for retelling.

One of America's most beloved storytellers tells of spirits that have nurtured her in these four tales: "The Accidental Angel", "Wilbur Martin: God's Maintenance Man", "The Water Lilies", and "Angels in Disguise". Jackie Torrence, a frequent headliner at the National Storytelling Festival, is known to audiences nationwide as The Story Lady. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, Wolftrap, the International Children's Festival, and Lincoln Center.

Some folk stories endure generation after generation because, although they are not literal, they resound in truths on a human scale. Folktales remind us of wisdom so elemental it is often lost in the rush of everyday life, so that "sometimes common sense makes no sense at all." The six wonder tales on this audiobook are gems of the genre. They have a "long ago and far away" quality.

The magic of ballet is evoked in these enchanting stories presented with many musical excerpts from the works themselves. Jenny Agutter, who before turning to acting was a dancer, presents the stories of two French ballets - Giselle and Coppelia - and the three great ballets by Tchaikovsky, in engaging style. A perfect introduction to the ballet.

The young boy Peter, together with his friend the bird, manages to catch a hungry wolf who has come to his garden, looking for food and chasing all the animals, including a duck whom he manages to swallow. After the wolf has been caught with a lasso, hunters arrive, intending to shoot him. Instead, Peter proposes to bring him to the zoo, and the hunters, Peter, his grandfather, and the animals form a procession to deliver the wolf.

Published in English for the first time, and the only Arabic epic named for a woman, The Tale of Princess Fatima recounts the thrilling adventures of a legendary medieval warrior universally known throughout the Middle East and long overdue to join world literature's pantheon of female heroes.

One of the supreme masterpieces of world literature, the Homeric saga of the shipwrecks, wanderings, and homecoming of the master tactician Odysseus encompasses a virtual inventory of the themes and attitudes that have shaped Western culture. The tale of Odysseus' encounters with such obstacles as Calypso, Circe, Scylla and Charybdis, the Sirens, and the lotus-eaters, and his dramatic return to Ithaca and his patient wife, Penelope, forms a prototype for all subsequent Western epics.

Collected and published by the Brothers Grimm in the early 1800s, "Snow White" is a classic and timeless tale. The jealous queen's multiple attempts to take the beautiful Snow White's life are foiled by the sympathetic dwarfs. Eventually, Snow White gets her happily ever after with the prince, while the queen receives her comeuppance. Included in this book are this and 20 more tales from the Grimm Brothers' collection and by Charles Perrault.

Young children can spy familiar nursery characters hiding in this tale. There's Tom Thumb, Jack and Jill, and the Three Bears as well as Baby Bunting and a host of others.

These are the adventures of a naughty wooden puppet who, through many misadventures, learns what it takes to become a real boy.

Veelsydige skrywer Marita van der Vyver maak hierin ’n keur van haar mooiste Grimm sprokies – self uit Duits vertaal. Bekende sprokies is Rooikappie, Die wolf en sewe bokkies, Die musikante van Bremen, Klein Duimpie, die Paddaprins, Hansie en Grietjie, Raponsie, Sneeuwitjie, en vele bekende en minder bekende sprokies. Daar is veertig sprokies in die bundel opgeneem. Dit word voorgelees deur drie uitmuntende stemkunstenaars: Susanne Beyers, Roeline Daneel en Deirdre Wolhuter.

Dracula is the seminal gothic horror novel of its time as Bram Stoker introduced the world to the legendary vampire Count Dracula. Published in 1897 and told through a series of diary entries and letters, the story journeys into the dark world of Count Dracula through the eyes of several different narrators. The novel explores many themes, the role of women in Victorian culture, conventional and conservative sexuality, immigration, colonialism, post colonialism and folklore.

"The Twelve Labours of Hercules" are a series of feats ordered by the gods carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as Hercules. The legend was first written whole, as a fixed cycle of twelve labours, in an epic Greek poem now lost, in about 600BC; as they survive in the original source, the labours are not all recounted in a single place, but must be reassembled from many sources. This short story is a retelling of Hercules' legend with an elegant style that will edify children and adults alike.

For most people, the story of their lives is just that: the accumulation of time, encounters, and actions into a cohesive whole. But for an unfortunate few, that day-to-day existence is affected - perhaps infected is a better word - by memetic incursion: where fairy tale narratives become reality, often with disastrous results.

The tiny kingdom of Yurt is the perfect place - or so it seems - for someone who barely managed to graduate from the wizards' school, especially after all that embarrassment with the frogs. But Daimbert, newly hired Royal Wizard of Yurt, senses an evil spell at work. But who could be responsible? The beautiful young queen? Her flighty aunt? The dour chaplain? The old, retired Royal Wizard, who seems to know more than he's saying? Or someone from out of the castle's past?

Settle down to a collection of classic magical fairy tales from the likes of the Brothers Grimm, Andrew Lang, Abbie Phillips Walker and many other famous fairy tale authors. These tales will have your little ones dreaming of giants, magical kingdoms and fairies.

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.

Había una vez una madre pato sentada en sus huevos. Los patitos fueron rompiendo los cascarones y saliendo a jugar con los otros animales. Cuando ya habían salido todos los patitos, quedaba nada más un huevo, más grande que el resto, y de él salió un patito mucho más grande que sus hermanos. Sus plumas eran oscuras y feas, y los otros animales lo maltrataron, golpeándolo y empujándolo hasta que tuvo que irse, volando hacia tierras lejanas.

When hard-working animals complain to "the magic desert watcher" about camel's laziness, the watcher agrees to make things more fair.