Short Fairy Tales For Adults

The best writers of our generation retell the classics. Literature is filled with sexy, deadly, and downright twisted tales. In this collection, award-winning and best-selling authors reimagine their favorite classic stories, ones that have inspired, awed, and enraged them; ones that have become ingrained in modern culture; and ones that have been too long overlooked. They take these stories and boil them down to their bones, and then reassemble them for a new generation of listeners.

Testi originali, insieme a testi rielaborati, ossia variazioni sul tema (spesso come adattamenti ai tempi moderni) dei motivi classici che hanno riempito la nostra infanzia e popolato la nostra fantasia di bambini. Perché non è mai troppo tardi per sentirsi bambini.

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 golden statue comes to life and, with the help of a reluctant swallow, gives away everything he has. A fierce giant forbids children to play in his garden -- then realizes that only through sharing will spring ever come again. In these rich fables by Oscar Wilde, author of The Importance of Being Earnest, characters learn that kindness and giving are the greatest powers of all.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ku-aya led a joyful life with her parents and her three younger brothers. Her days were spent tending to the fields of wheat, watching over the herd of sheep, and dancing along the banks of the salt river that ran through the center of her beautiful, sprawling village. Every dawn brought new blessings from the Sky Father above.

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.

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.

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.

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".