Short Fairy Tales For Adults

A toy giant and a clockwork unicorn star in this retelling of Aesop's fable "The Lion and the Mouse" in a steampunk fantasy setting.

Meet Syrenka, a little mermaid who must convince her father the Sea King, not to start a war against the humans. Except she had become the very thing he despised...she is secretly living on land as a human. A fairy tale fantasy adventure prequel! This short story takes place after the events in Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid and before Roy Mauritsen’s epic Shards of the Glass Slipper series.

Eleven-year-old Lady Wynn Hoppringle longs to be free from rules and duty of her family home at Smailholm Tower. Whilst out exploring on the wild moors, she comes across a big secret of the smallest kind, hidden beneath the prickly brambles. What will she find? And will she keep it a secret?

Jenny is the smallest of all the small girls in the world. She is afraid of foxes, the rabbits, the birds, and even the mice that roam the forbidden moor where she lives. When one day she falls down a mouse hole, she must find a way to be brave. Will she escape? Or remain the most afraid miniature girl there ever was?

What if you could get high on someone else's emotions? When Alice joins her boyfriend's university experiment in shared consciousness she discovers a world where thoughts are reality and concepts are smells. Her scientific brain, still trying to prove whether or not two people can exist in the same headspace, is soon overwhelmed by the presence of other people, some dreaming, others hunting.

At just 18 years old, Arthur is on the verge of being crushed under the weight of his great destiny. The mighty castle at Tintagel has fallen. King Uther Pendragon lies dead. The mad King Vortigern sits upon the throne with a dragon at his command. And Merlin, having turned traitor, stands at the new king's side. Now Arthur, with the help of the mysterious sword in the stone and his loyal mentors, Gawain and Percival, embarks on a daring mission to retake the crown.

Jason is born the son of King Aeson. His destiny is to rule Iolcus, the land that his father's brother, King Pelias, has taken from him. When Jason comes of age, he returns to Iolcus. But the king is not yet willing to give up his throne. So he cunningly persuades Jason to accept a dare to bring back the famous Golden Fleece of Colchis. Jason accepts the challenge, unaware that he is being conned into a dangerous and perhaps fatal journey far, far from the land he loves.

After being banished from her coven five years ago, Sarah vowed to stay away from black magic forever and instead tried to embrace the life of a white witch. However, now a family death has brought her back to her hometown of Raven's Cove, and the good little witch is in line to inherit a powerful gift.

A ship burns, sinking into the dark sea. There is only one survivor - a child hunted for the magic of her song. Hidden away on an isolated island, Lilette buries her magic deep, convinced it caused the deaths of those she loves. But she can’t run from who she is. And when her secret is revealed, the only thing that can save her is her song. It’s time to rise up and become what she was always meant to be. The most powerful witch ever born.

A collection of original Christmas short stories and three retellings.

Arriving in the rural Catskill Mountains (where legend has it there resides a spectral headless horseman who hunts the night on a black steed), the eccentric Ichabod Crane vies for the love of the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel. The bully, Brom Bones, also has his eyes on Katrina and devises a wicked plan to rid himself of his hated rival.

This is a selection from The Jungle Book, in which a mongoose saves the day.

This is a selection from Kipling's The Second Jungle Book.

When a young John Lambton skips church to go fishing, he catches something unnatural. Fearful of his father's reaction to both skipping church and bringing such a foul creature to the house - he it throws in the well. Years later, after fighting in the Crusades, John returns home to an unpleasant surprise.

This is the first story of The Jungle Book, in which the reader is introduced to Mowgli, the jungle boy, and his animal friends.

Jonathan ist 10 und ein Junge, der nicht weiter auffällt. Dennoch ist er voller Wissensdurst, da er glaubt, dass es da noch eine andere Wahrheit gibt, als die, die ihm seine Eltern nicht müde werden, aufs Brot zu schmieren. Und so macht sich Jordan auf die Suche nach Antworten... bis er eines Tages den Mut aufbringt, den Mann zu besuchen, der am Ende ihrer Straße wohnt; von dem aber so gut wie niemand etwas weiß. Und diese Begegnung ist es, die Jonathans Leben nachhaltig verändert.

In a kingdom long ago, a young handsome prince travels the countryside incognito taking the census. His travels are filled with adventure, colorful characters and mystery as he falls into a deceitful plot by a neighboring Lord. Deep within the dark woods he stumbles upon a country girl with deep secrets to hide. A beautiful lady trying to win his heart. A noble knight in search of dragons to slay and a Chinese tailor with a special talent that could change a kingdom and the prince's heart.

This story, one of Harte's most anthologized, first appeared in The Luck of Roading Camp and Other Stories.

Frank Stockton was an American writer and humorist, best known for a series of innovative children's fairy tales that were widely popular. His most famous fable is "The Lady or the Tiger?" (1882), about a man sentenced to an unusual punishment for having a romance with a king's beloved daughter. Other memorable tales are "The Griffin and the Minor Canon", "Old Pypes and the Dryad", and "Mr. Tolman".

Storyteller Cindy Killavey has entertained audiences from Hawaii to New England to Ireland with both traditional and modern stories. In this traditional tale, Jack may be lazy but he has some amazing adventures on his way to fame and fortune.