Skip to main content

Family Folktales

Susan headshot thumbnail

Susan

Susan is a cataloging librarian and recovering children’s librarian. She learned to read on her grandmother’s steps before she started school, and hasn’t stopped. She has a lifelong love of yarns, both the kind she knits with and the kind she is able to share through Family Folk Tales.

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A Clever duckling loans money to the King, who refuses to repay the loan. When Drakestail and his unusual friends seek repayment, how far will the king go to avoid paying what he owes?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A soldier is foiled in his attempt to marry a princess; as a result, he spends years searching for her. Will he find her before she marries another?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Three women challenge each other to see whose husband is the stupidest; the winner will drink free on their weekly outings!

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Three sisters are left at home when their father goes on a journey for the king; despite his clear instructions, he finds that two of them disobeyed him while he was away, and the third has incurred the wrath of the king. Will Maria be able to aid her father in the impossible task set by the king and save her own life?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A family’s daughter has disappeared while tending the flocks, and two of her brothers have never returned from their searches for her. Will the youngest son find them, or meet the fate of the others?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A wicked stepmother sends her stepdaughter out into the snow, expecting her to die. But the Frost King is pleased with her answers to his questions and rewards the kind girl generously. When the woman sends her brat of a daughter out to seek the Frost King’s riches, what do you think will happen?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

An owl and an eagle, best friends, decide they must find wives to tend their home and care for them. When the pair disappear for days, their wives set out with their children to find them. What challenges will the women face?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A princess is determined to marry the Green Knight, whom she met in her dreams. Will her wicked stepmother find a way to keep the lovers apart forever?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A wicked count requires a young woman to spin her wedding shift and his burial shroud out of nettles from the cemetery before he will allow her to marry her beloved. No one has spun nettles before; is she up for the task?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A couple is thrilled when they have a child the size of a hazel-nut, but they find it difficult to be supportive when he announces his plan to become a messenger. When he goes out to seek his fortune, will his small size be a help or a hindrance?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Two young men fall in love with the same woman, and one conspires to abandon his friend on an island. But what will happen when he draws blood from a lovely young elf maiden?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A poor woman on her way to market is accosted by a head with no body, which then follows her home! Might there be a way for the two to help each other?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A prince’s three sisters have all married wizards who can transform into birds, while the prince marries a warrior princess. Will his sisters’ husbands be able to help him when he inadvertently releases his bride’s arch-enemy?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Two cats fall in love and leave their homes to find happiness together. When one is taken in by a princess, what will become of the other?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A tailor kills seven flies in a single blow! But when his bragging is a bit unclear, who knows what adventures await?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Cinderlad proves to be braver than his older brothers and is generously rewarded, but will he find a way to win the hand of the princess?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A woman is heartbroken when her only son declares that, rather than learn an honest trade, he will become a thief. The lad apprentices with a successful thief, but will he still meet the dire end predicted by his mother?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A man dies, leaving to his son all his property, but gives his daughter a blessing. Later, the brother cuts his sister’s hand off in anger. Will either of them live happily ever after?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A young man does a kindness for an old woman, but the reward he gets is stolen by a witch! Will he be able to outsmart her and regain his treasures?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A kind and clever young man named Jesper sets off to marry the princess. Will the tasks the king sets prove too much for him?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Three brothers set out on a quest to recover their father’s greatest treasure. Will any of them share their food with a limping fox, or take his help in finding their father’s treasure?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

What would you do if an old woman broke into your house, ate your food, broke your furniture, and fell asleep in your bed? There’s no Goldilocks in this version of the classic story! 

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A young woman is convinced to marry a turtle, but when he goes off to war, she marries someone else. Will she be able to outsmart the turtle and free herself?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Janni and his sister are alone in the world. What will happen when she falls in love with a dragon who wants Janni dead – and then marries the dragon?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A fairy helps a girl with the impossible tasks set by the girl’s stepmother; later she is wooed by a prince! When he forgets all about her, what will she do? 

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A girl takes plums from a witch’s tree, and the witch takes her prisoner in return. Will the witch’s son help the girl, or stay loyal to his mother?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A lazy lad takes an easy position but is too lazy to even do that properly. While snooping in a room he was not supposed to enter, he finds a book of magic – and everything changes.

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Did you know that there is a type of large wooden hammer called a beetle? That may help this Cinderella-like story make a little more sense!

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A young king is returning home after his father’s death, accompanied by his wife and their infant son. While everyone on the ship is napping, a witch transfigures the queen and takes her place, sending the queen off in a stone boat. Will the king discover the witch’s deception? Is there any hope of returning the queen to her rightful position? Listen and find out!

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

This is the story of three sisters – one with just one eye, one with two eyes, and one with three eyes. Do you think they all treat each other with kindness and generosity, as sisters ought? Listen and find out! 

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

After rescuing a dog, a cat, and a serpent, a not-too-clever young fellow is rewarded with a watch that will grant him anything he wants, including the hand of a princess. But when she absconds with his treasure, how will he get it back?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Three traveling companions encounter, and eventually overcome, an odd little man who attacks them. After tracking the man to his lair, what rewards will await the trio?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A tailor witnesses a battle between a magical stag and a bull. When the stag wins, the tailor is carried to a cavern where he finds a beautiful maiden in a crystal coffin. And oh, the tale she has to tell!

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A shiftless young fellow falls in love with the daughter of a sultan and is determined to marry her. When the sultan sets an impossible task as proof of the fellow’s devotion, will he find a way to complete the task?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Two brothers, princes, have disappeared while hunting. Can their younger brother find the truth behind their disappearances and somehow bring them home?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A king plans for his daughter to marry one of his councillors. When she flees the country to avoid the marriage, she hides her identity and finds work in a kitchen. Will she find true happiness?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A king has heard of a princess who might be a suitable match for one as magnificent as himself. So he enlists the aid of seven brothers, all named Simon, and all with – shall we say, unusual? – skills.

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A king vowed to have someone stand sentry over his daughter’s body every might for a year – but the sentries are always gone in the morning. Is there anyone who will last the whole night?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

This abridged version of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic inspired the popular movie, Frozen – but you won’t find Anna and Elsa here!

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Three brothers set out on a quest to find three sisters who have vanished. Will any of them live happily ever after?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A prince falls in love with a girl who lives in an eagle’s nest on top of a tree. Will she ever fulfill his heart’s desire and marry him? 

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

The Sultan and Sultana have arranged for Abu Nowas to marry! What will happen when the bride and groom spend all their money?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A fisherman catches a golden crab, who turns out to be an enchanted prince. After his princess bride betrays him, is there any hope of breaking the enchantment?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A young man goes off to seek his fortune and falls in love with a woman who restores him to life three times after he is killed. When he is unable to meet with her as they had planned, his real quest begins.

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

After she is forgotten by the love of her life, a princess devises a plan to win him back. First, she needs eleven girls who look just like her …

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Two brothers, identical twins, have grown tired of being mistaken for each other, so they set off in different directions to seek their fortunes. But there comes a time in their journeys when the brothers find their similar appearance to be helpful. Wondering how? Listen and find out!

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A love triangle, broken hearts, magic, transformations – this story has it all, including a most unexpected change of heart!

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Hok Lee’s neighbors think he’s just a very industrious young man; in fact, he’s made his fortune by stealing from them at night. When the doctor tells Hok Lee that his swollen face must be a punishment from the spirits for some wrongdoing, Hok Lee sets out to find a cure.

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A king’s second wife becomes jealous that the throne will be inherited by the sone of the king’s first wife rather than her own son, and uses magic to turn Prince Alphege into a green monkey. Will he ever regain his human form again?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

When a mother sends her three sons off with tasks for their intended brides to perform, the youngest doesn’t know where to turn – until he finds help from an unusual source.

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A prince keeps the unusual circumstances of his birth a secret from his bride; when he finally acquiesces, they both regret it. Can anyone make things right again?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

When a widowed king remarries, his daughter finds herself abused and starved by her new stepmother. After running away, she offers herself as the lowest kitchen servant in a castle. The prince of the castle wants nothing to do with her; can the two find true love?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A king names his long-awaited child Fairer-than-a-Fairy, never stopping to think this might upset the fairies. One of the fairies abducts her, taking her to a castle where the princess learns there is another captive: a prince imprisoned in a rainbow. When the prince is moved to another prison, Fairer-than-a-Fairy sets out to find him and set him free.

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A king receives an envoy from a mighty emperor, but the envoy says not a word; he only traces a circle around the king’s throne. How are the king and his advisers supposed to interpret this message? 

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

An emperor marries a girl who promises him twin boys with stars on their foreheads. When the boys are born, the emperor’s stepmother buries them and replaces them with puppies! Once her own daughter becomes empress, will there ever be justice for the first empress and her sons?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the sixteenth and final part of Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

This is the final installment of The Arabian Nights Entertainments! We close out by finishing The Story of Two Sisters Who Were Jealous of Their Younger Sister. Three siblings, all young adults, have been orphaned without learning anything of their unusual origins. As a strange quest continues, their lives move closer to that of the Sultan; whose secrets will be revealed by the end of the story?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the fifteenth part of Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Today we begin The Story of Two Sisters Who Were Jealous of Their Younger Sister. Three sisters jokingly express the desire to marry the Sultan’s baker, cook, and even the Sultan himself! When the Sultan grants their wishes, the older two grow jealous of the young Sultana. What awful revenge will they take on their own sister?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the fourteenth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Today’s story is The Enchanted Horse. A king is determined to possess  a mechanical horse that can easily travel vast distances when his headstrong son leaps on without learning how to return home. After meeting (and falling in love with) a princess, the prince learns how to return home, and brings her home with him. After she is abducted and feigns mental illness, will the two young lovebirds ever find happiness?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the thirteenth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Our story today is The Story of Ali Cogia, Merchant of Bagdad. A man is declared innocent of theft. Will the Caliph overturn a judgement after watching children play?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the twelfth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Today we have two stories nested inside a third: The Adventures of Haroun-al-Raschid, Caliph of Bagdad, The Story of the Blind Baba-Abdalla, and  The Story of Sidi-Nouman.  

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the eleventh of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

This is a story you’ve heard before – Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. But there’s more to it than you may have heard!

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the tenth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Today’s story is Noureddin and the Fair Persian. In this story the King of Balsora sends one of his vizirs to buy a beautiful, accomplished slave for him; unfortunately, the vizir’s son and the slave fall in love with each other! Is there any hope for the young couple?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the ninth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Today we hear the conclusion of The Adventures of Prince Camaralzaman and the Princess Badoura. After dreaming of his father’s death, Prince Camaralzaman looks for his wife, Princess Badoura, and loses a precious talisman. He immediately sets off to recover it, telling no one. The Princess, meanwhile, assumes his identity for a year and more, and finds herself married – to another princess! Will Prince Camaralzaman and Princess Badoura find each other again?

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the eighth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Today we begin The Adventures of Prince Camaralzaman and the Princess Badoura. The Sultan wants his son, Prince Camaralzaman, to marry so the Sultan can begin turning some of his responsibilities over to him. But the Prince refuses! Will locking him in a tower help? (Does it ever?) And what will happen when fairies begin meddling?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the seventh of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Today’s stories are The Little Hunchback, The Story of the Barber’s Fifth Brother, and The Story of the Barber’s Sixth Brother. The three stories are really two stories wrapped in a third. What do you think you would you do to try and get out of serious trouble? 
 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the sixth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

What would compel someone to go to sea again after such adventures as Sindbad has had? Find out in the stories of his last four voyages!
 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the fifth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Here we will learn about the first three voyages of Sindbad, as he goes off to make his fortune. 
 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the fourth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Today we will hear the rest of the Second Dervish’s Story, including a story he told; we will also hear the Story of the Third Dervish, and the mistakes he made.
 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the third of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Today we will begin to hear about an unusual dinner party in The Story of the Three Dervishes, Sons of Kings, and of Five Ladies of Bagdad. We’ll also hear The Story of the First Dervish, Son of a King, and the beginning of The Story of the Second Dervish, Son of a King; the third dervish’s story will be part of our next episode.
 

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the second of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Everyone has a story to tell. In today’s stories we have four different characters telling stories, in addition to our main narrator! Our stories are  The Story of the Fisherman, The Story of the Greek King and the Physician Douban, The Story of the Husband and the Parrot, The Story of the Vizir Who Was Punished, and The Story of the Young King of the Black Isles.
 

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the first of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories. 

Our stories today are The Arabian Nights, The Story of the Merchant and the Genie, The Story of the First Old Man and the Hind, and The Story of the Second Old Man, and of the Two Dogs. Here we begin with Scheherazade and  stories within a story. You’ll soon discover that genies are not always kind and helpful!
 

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

A young prince is left in charge of his step-father’s prize prisoner and decides to release him. Deciding not to wait for his inevitably painful death, the prince runs away. As he travels, he spares the lives of a wood-pigeon, a duck, and a stork, then meets up and travels with two former soldiers. Their ultimate betrayal leaves the prince fearing for his life; will his earlier kindness save his own life? 

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Three brothers have acquired amazing skills; who will most impress their father, and earn the inheritance? 

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

Three sisters, each lost in the woods, find themselves in the same humble home for the night. Who will know the importance of kindness, and who will receive an unpleasant surprise? 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

You’re probably familiar with this story, but there’s a lot more to it than you may know! 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Three princes are sent on an impossible quest by their stepmother. They join forces with a notorious thief, but can they talk their way out of death when they’re caught? 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

An exceptionally strong youth named Paul goes out to seek his fortune and is joined by three companions almost as strong. When he is betrayed by those friends, how will Paul find his way? 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

After his father’s death, a young man squanders his inheritance and is left penniless. When a friend sends him a trunk that can fly, he ends up in Turkey and charms a princess. Will they get their happily ever after? 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

The movie adaptation you probably know is much gentler than this story by Hans Christian Andersen really is; grown-ups may want to listen alone before listening with little ones! 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A happy youth, or a happy old age – which would you choose? Catherine is given that very choice by her Destiny; let’s see if she chooses wisely!  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

 A king asks his two daughters if they are they satisfied to leave their life and fortune in his hands. The elder daughter, Kupti, agrees, but the younger daughter, Imani, would like a chance to make her own future. The displeased king calls for an old fakir, and sends Imani to live with him and try to make a life for herself. Which princess will have a happier ending?  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

You may already know this story! A woodcutter and his wife have no more food for their family, and so decide to take their 2 children into the forest and abandon them to their fates. They are taken in by an old woman living in a fantastical house, but all is not as it seems.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

This Icelandic tale features a clever princess, an evil witch-queen, and a prince taken by a dragon. What will happen when the prince returns to his parents years later?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

In this French tale, an impish little rogue who can transform himself into anything but a sewing needle seeks new victims for his tricks.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

After being conned by three rogues, how far will a man go to get his revenge? 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

An aging king wants his son to marry before he dies, so the young man sets off to find the princess he has vowed to wed; the problem is, she’s a prisoner of an evil wizard. As he travels, the prince is joined by 3 companions with unusual skills that may help free the princess.  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A man provides costly aid but later receives help from an unlikely source in this Spanish tale.  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Kindness to a crane leads to a wonderful gift – but watch out for greedy relatives!  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Unable to find an appropriate master for his son to apprentice with, a man is thrilled to find someone willing to take him on – until the stranger flies off with the lad. Now the father must begin a quest to locate and try to rescue his son.  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A weaver needing work takes a job as a shepherd – but wait until you hear how foolish he and some other weavers are!  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

An old peasant is tricked by a wicked tanuki into doing something terrible. Now the peasant and his friend, a hare, must work together to bring about the tanuki’s demise.  
 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

The filmed versions of this story that you’ve seen stay pretty close to this version of this tale. If you enjoyed the versions by Disney or Cocteau, you’ll like this too!  
 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A young man called Dullhead by his family is kind to a stranger and is rewarded with a golden goose. When a young woman finds the goose irresistible, she also finds herself stuck to it, along with a flock of others! Dullhead decides to use these silly people to try and win the hand of a princess – but what will the king say to that?
 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A poor man with too many mouths to feed agrees to give his youngest daughter to a giant lizard to raise. The girl is raised like a princess, with lovely manners – and a bad attitude. That attitude may lead her into a difficult situation when she marries the king!  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

After being disowned by his father for marrying without his knowledge, a once-wealthy young man descends into poverty. Although his brother shows him some kindness and he has some small success, his greedy sister-in-law plunges him into legal turmoil. Can he refute the charges against him, or will he lose his life?  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A princess has spent her entire life in an underground palace, and now that she is of marriageable age, the king has set a challenge: find the princess, and you shall marry her. Try and fail, and you lose your life. Is this clever young man clever enough to outwit the king?  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

In this Icelandic tale, a princess must avoid a forced marriage to a giant, and outwit a witch and that giant’s ghost so she can save her beloved foster brother from living half his life as a lion! 
 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A young emperor falls in love with a neighboring princess, only to find that his ambassadors are arranging a marriage to her less-desirable older sister, who is outraged at the emperor’s choice of her younger sister. She convinces her father to exile the younger princess in a tower in the desert with the older sister’s nurse as a companion and guard, but the emperor finds her, though he is seriously injured when he tries to see her. Will the two lovers thwart the older sister’s evil plan and find happiness?
 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When a maiden decides she must have a sprig of rosemary, she ends up finding her true love. But when her actions cause him to vanish, she begins a quest that will take her farther than she ever imagined in order to find him again.  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When Lizina is rejected by her mother (who much prefers Lizina’s older sister, Peppina), she goes to work in a house filled with cats. She finds great success there, so much so that her greedy sister decides to try her own luck with the cats. But which sister will live happily ever after?  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When a man’s dead wife is restored to him, can he obey the one rule that will return her to him forever? Find out in this tale from the Iroquois.  

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A man dies while trying to keep wild animals from stealing his chickens, and the animals band together to take his body for their dinner. But what will the six hungry beasts do when their food starts to run out?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A man discovers that the kettle he’s found is really a tanuki! What will happen when he sells it to a tradesman without telling the secret?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A stone-cutter is content with his life until he is exposed to the life of a rich man. When his wish for such a life is granted, he wishes to be greater and stronger until the mountain spirit grants one last wish.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A widowed man with a son and a daughter (she is known as Maiden Bright-Eye) marries a cruel woman with a daughter of her own who cannot equal Maiden Bright-Eye in any way. After Maiden Bright-Eye is rewarded for her kindness and her stepsister punished for her cruelty, the king decides to marry Maiden Bright-Eye. Will Maiden Bright-Eye get her happily ever after, or will her cruel stepsister?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Three princes go hunting with their stepsister, agreeing along the way to spare the lives of several animals in exchange for the young of those animals. When the oldest is betrayed by the stepsister – well, dragons, death, and peril ensue.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

For almost seven years, people have tried to reach the golden castle on top of the Glass Mountain; will anyone ever reach the princess who lives there?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

The suitor of a very silly young woman sets off to find three people sillier than the young woman and her parents.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Brothers in search of wives are turned to stone by an old man whose heart is hidden in a distant bird. Their brother heads off to find the heart, but he may need the help of some unusual friends if he is to succeed.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A witch-maiden, a magician, a broken heart, and magic – all may play a part in helping a young man defeat a dragon with “a body like an ox, and legs like a frog, two short fore-legs, and two long ones behind, and a tail like a serpent, ten fathoms in length.” Yikes!

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When a princess inadvertently curses her twelve brothers, she learns the only way to return them to their natural form is to remain utterly silent for 7 years. A single giggle or spoken word will cause their immediate deaths; can she do it, even after catching the eye of the king?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Two step-children of a witch run away, but the witch’s enchantments follow them, turning the boy into a small roe buck. When the girl marries a king and takes her brother to live in the castle, the evil witch hatches a plot to put her ugly daughter in the queen’s place, and get rid of the rightful queen entirely.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

An old enchantress turns pretty girls into birds when they stray too close to her castle, and turns their suitors to stone. Once he is freed from his enchantment, how far will he to return his beloved to his arms?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When a cruel widow’s kind daughter returns from serving a fairy, the widow sends her spiteful daughter to perform the same tasks. But will she earn the same reward? 

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A poor man agrees to do something for his wealthy brother in exchange for meat for his family. A stranger helps him to exchange that meat for something far more valuable – in the right hands, that is.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A princess journeying to her wedding is betrayed by her waiting-maid, who takes her place, while the real princess is given the task of looking after the geese. Will the king be able to help her regain her rightful place?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

An orphaned girl with a cruel brother, a pot of flowers, a fairy queen, and an enchanted hen and cabbages: can all these parts work together to earn the girl a “happily ever after” with a prince?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Three princesses are left at home while their father goes to war, and their disobedience shows them who they will marry. When the youngest betrays her pig husband, how far will she go to find him and save their marriage?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A man is determined that he and his family will avoid death forever. What will happen when they reach a country where the people do not even know what death means?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A man has everything but a wife, it seems; but all the eligible young ladies are put off by his odd blue beard. When he finally marries, he tells his wife there is only one room she is not to enter – but sometimes, curiosity is too strong.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A king’s son goes off to see the world; what will he learn to help him win the hand of a lovely (though arrogant) princess?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When a cruel widow’s kind daughter returns from serving a fairy, she sends her spiteful daughter to perform the same tasks. But will she earn the same reward?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A little chick with only half a body goes off to see the world. How will his unwillingness to help others change his journey?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A queen is forced to promise her daughter to an unkind and unworthy man. When the princess learns her fate, she is determined to marry another. Will anyone live happily ever after?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When three brothers set off to find a cure for their father’s illness, it’s the youngest who discovers it. How will his brothers react?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A shark deceives his monkey friend in an attempt to feed his heart to his sultan. Will the monkey be clever enough to save his heart – and the rest of him as well?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A young man goes adventuring, and saves three princesses. When he forgets their careful advice, how will he win their favor back?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A princess whose life is threatened takes shelter with an enormous sheep. Will she get the “happily ever after” that she hopes for?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

To help him choose the heir to his crown, a king sends his three sons on three quests. But how helpful can a toad be?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

The son of a good king and an evil queen marries a fairy and becomes a goose-boy. Where will magic and his wiles take him next?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A young woman finds herself about to marry an old peasant she’s never seen before. Is there magic at play in this odd match?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When a king seeks to marry his adopted daughter, she makes her escape cloaked in a donkey skin. What will her future hold?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When a young man is given an enchanted ring, it leads to prosperity. When the same ring is given to his wicked brother, what do you think will happen?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A king’s son becomes servant to a giant, and narrowly escapes with his life. But what will be his fate if he forgets the maid who helped him?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

From Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book, "The Bronze Ring" is a story of the forbidden love between a princess and the gardener's son.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

From Andrew Lang's The Crimson Fairy Book, "The Hairy Man" is a story of a prince who escapes from his father and proves himself in battle with the help of three magical apples.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Listen to "The Bunyip." In this Australian tale, a mother beast takes revenge on the hunters who take her child.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Listen to "The Ogre." A lad takes a job working for an ogre. How long will it take him to learn to mind his tongue?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

The Glass Axe – A prince is taken by an evil fairy. After facing impossible tasks, will he be able to escape?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Listen to "Puss In Boots." When a youth inherits nothing but a cat, how can he use it to make his fortune?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When a man’s wife and her parents collapse in tears over what might have been, he sets off to find three people as silly as they; but will he succeed?

Podcast

Listen to “The Terrible Head.” In this retelling of the myth of Perseus, a young man goes adventuring before fulfilling a prophesy.

Podcast
family folk tales logo
The Bear – An overprotected princess finds a way to see the world. But will her true love find a way to see her?
Podcast
family folk tales logo

The Language of Beasts – When a shepherd saves a snake, he is rewarded with the ability to understand what animals say. But is this a gift or a curse?

Podcast
family folk tales logo
 

Princess Sylvia may choose any gift from the Flower Fairy. But after visiting others so honored, will she choose beauty, eloquence, or something far more rare?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When a man receives special gifts to help his family, but doesn’t follow the rules, something unusual happens.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

An old woman curses a young prince, setting off a chain of events. Will the price be able to win the heart of the Silent Princess?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A young man’s father is more than a little disappointed in his son’s education; can the lad make something of himself in spite of this?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

When the children of a king decide to take refuge in some hollowed-out trees, will a witch be able to deceive a prince?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

The sister of the sun – in a classic tale of a quest, a young man must first steal from the sister of the sun; then, he must win her heart.

Podcast
family folk tales logo
An abused stepdaughter finds riches and happiness when she is pushed into a well. What awaits her spoiled stepsister on the same journey?
Podcast
family folk tales logo

A young prince on a quest and finds an unusual friend and true love — but will his brothers be happy for him? Read at Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books: The Golden Mermaid.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

After a king’s new queen changes her six stepsons into swans, their sister must endure arduous trials to restore them to their human forms. But when her own life is at risk due to the workings of her evil mother-in-law, will she be able to complete her quest?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

In this classic tale from the Arabian Nights, a poor woodcutter discovers the hidden treasures of a band of robbers, survives great danger, and brings riches to his whole family — with some help from a clever servant.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

The Crow, an old tale from Poland, is quite similar to the French classic, Beauty and the Beast. This heroine, though, faces fear and isolation that her French counterpart never imagined!

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A prince finds his princess by mystical means in The Lovely Ilonka — but how will Ilonka clear up a case of mistaken identity?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

A king loves his daughters too much in The Whirlwind, and it is up to three brothers to do what the king’s armies cannot.

Podcast
family folk tales logo

The Sunchild is based on a Greek tale about a woman who longs for a child. The Sun sends her a child, but what will happen when it is time for the girl to return to the Sun?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

The Cunning Hare is a Native American story. A young hare surprises his grandmother by catching fish, but how can grandmother cook the fish with no fire?

Podcast
family folk tales logo

Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle is much like Cinderella – minus the evil stepmother and stepsisters! In this story collected by the Brothers Grimm, magic helps a girl win the love of a prince.