Short Stories Fairy Tales

Whatever you do, do not listen. Ignore that pull, the need to escape from drudgeries of life and find peace and solitude within nature. It is not the cool breeze and the scent of pine that whispers your name. No, these things within the forest will rip out your heart and devour your soul. You will tremble as they revel in your madness, taking everything from you and leaving you with nothing. Delve inside this anthology of what truly lurks within the shadows of the trees. We dare you to take this journey with us and find out what horrors await you.

With these captivating initial glimpses into her storytelling psyche, Jo Walton shines through subtle myths and reinvented realities. Through eclectic stories, subtle vignettes, inspired poetry, and more, Walton soars with humans, machines, and magic-rising from the every day into the universe itself.

A series of linked tales about life, love and the meaning of the universe, it's actually 43. Meryl, Josh, and Jessie go on a quest to capture a white deer that's said to contain the truth in its hooves and antlers. As they search for the truth, they discover old stories made new, truths about themselves and the meaning of friendship. Dark, funny and smart.

With only weeks away from her 18th birthday and the fulfillment of her curse, Rose, the princess of Rhone, faces more obstacles than ever. The kingdom, anxious over her fate, is destabilizing under her father's rule; her mother is imprisoned, and her uncle is holding a silent coup against the crown. With Theo's absence, she is unable to do more than brood over her fate as she attempts to solve the problems around her. When Theo returns with surprising information, Rose knows the time has come to risk everything.

Rose, the princess of Rhone, doomed to fall into a sleeping death on her 18th birthday, has only ever wanted two things in all her life: to be free of her curse and to never fall in love. After securing the dragon's blood from the Serpent's Garden, Rose is confident she has all she needs to free herself from Magdalina's curse. But when Magdalina comes to offer Rose a new deal - one that would free her from her curse, while also eliminating future threats - Rose is forced to confront the truth of her feelings for Theo.

In order to defeat the sorceress Magdalina and free herself from her curse, Rose, the Princess of Rhone, has set out to find dragon’s blood. As she travels toward the Romani territory, where the Serpent’s Garden resides, she is accompanied by her faithful group of friends, including their newest member, Prince Philip of Einish. But when the group ends up shipwrecked on the small island of Maltia, they find themselves trapped without supplies and a way off the island.

Echo, violated by Zeus and banished by a jealous Hera, rediscovers love, only to have it cruelly snatched away. Scylla, whose great mistake was falling for the lover of her rival, Circe, faces an eternity trapped in the body of a monster. Psyche, raised up on a pedestal as the embodiment of Aphrodite, is married off to a monster whose face she shall never see. Three goddesses emerge from the sands of time to set the record straight.

A collection of folk stories about art, money, drugs, and love told firsthand by the songwriter and storyteller Beans on Toast.

In this mystical bedtime short story tale, Ceri, a courageous teal survivor ribbon, stands as the hero protecting her city from the chaos unleashed by Barker, a mischievous villain haunting the old clock tower. Through bravery and heart, Ceri faces shadows and dangers to restore peace, showing young listeners that true heroes shine even in the darkest moments. A soothing tale of courage, friendship, and the magic of nighttime adventures.

Fairy Story Shorts offer beautiful retellings of traditional tales, and are especially suitable for playing for children at bedtime! This tale is taken from the collection Fairy Stories & Fairy Stories: Traditional Tales for Children, Contemporary Tales for Adults by Clive Johnson.

A collection of fables in the literary tradition of Italo Calvino, Lost Cantos of the Ouroboros Caves brings together medicine men, monks, immortals, witches, seekers, souls in various stages of their cycles in and out of lived-life, and the occasional talking animal, all searching for the meaning of it all and each other. Each fable is a meditation on love, death, growth, pain, identity, self, spirit, and the natural world, as seen from the perspectives of the primal, the celestial, or the spiritual.

“In villages where women bore most of the weight of a constricted life, witches flew by night on broomsticks,” said Italo Calvino of the way imagination bridges the gap between everyday existence and an idealized alternative. The 15 stories of Animal Wife are each about girls and women who cross this threshold seeking liberation from family responsibilities, from societal expectations, from their own minds.

Cinderella retold: Fae, vampires, shifters, and a Godmother who’ll grant you any wish - if you pay the price. Armed with knowledge that could change everything for humankind, Elle must confront the king. But it's the Godmother who now poses the greatest threat. Can Elle and Dex stop her from taking control of the kingdom? This is episode six of six of a serialized Cinderella retelling.

Come in and sample an entirely different sort of fairy tale - coming to you from a faraway land and written by authors of whom you have never heard.

For four years, Princess Aurora of Rhone - Rose, to her friends - has searched the world for a way to break the curse placed on her by Magdalina, the wicked ruler of the fairies at war with her kingdom. Under the curse, Rose is doomed to die on her 18th birthday after pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. And time is running out.

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.

This collection of "sort-of" fairytales, written and narrated by Brad Grochowski, combines classic story-telling with imaginative wit to create four stories that may very well become classics in their own right: A young boy knows The Secret Weakness of Dragons. Before he can use this secret to banish the terrible dragon from his kingdom, however, he becomes best friends with the beast. He still has to get rid of it though, if he ever wants to move out of his mother's house!

The beasts Detective Loren and Soriya Greystone battled in Lou Paduano’s debut book Signs of Portents were just a hint of what lurks in the city. Tales from Portents explores the city’s immersive history, including stories of Loren’s descent after his wife’s death - and his opportunity to have her rise from the grave. Soriya battles gremlins, navigates lessons with Mentor, and meets the werewolf Luchik. Follow new characters with expansive histories as they come face to face with the horrors of Portents - both human and otherwise.

Award-winning author Ven Begamudré spins three stories in a masterful blend of myth and realism.

Children will love being the main character and hearing about the adventures they had earlier in the day. With a whopping 31 stories, this delightful collection is designed to last a whole month.