Folk Myths

Arion is a famous musician in ancient Greek mythology. He loves to travel across Rome and Greece to play his music. While trying to sail home, he is robbed by a group of pirates! Fearing death, he escapes by jumping into the ocean.

Mike Purcell is poor. He has no money for food or rent, but he does have a cow to sell. On his way to the fair to sell her, he meets a strange man who offers him an equally strange trade—his cow for an empty bottle, with the promise that the bottle will make him rich. What happens when Mike takes the bottle home to his family? Will their fortune turn around?

King Vikram loves his subjects and will do anything to make them happy—even if it means trying to convince a mute queen to speak and marry one of his men! Despite the danger of the challenge, he gladly takes it on behalf of his subject. Will he be able to win her over? Or will he be doomed to join the caged men who tried—and failed—to make the queen speak?

In this Chinese myth, Nu Wa and her husband, Fu Xi were the gods that created life on Earth. After visiting Earth for the first time, Nu Wa discovered yellow clay. With this clay, she began to create different creatures with the hope to one day bring them to life. From her clay creations, Nu Wa made humans, animals, and all other forms of life. Explore this fascinating myth of the goddess Nu Wa, who has been worshipped for centuries in China.

Hoping to avoid war, the Vietnamese king must build an extravagant gate to please the Chinese ambassador. The king’s advisor, Quynh, knows the gate will never please the ambassador, so he must come up with another plan. Will he be able to use the ambassador’s greed and pride against him to save his people?

Peder works hard every day, taking care of his family’s farm with no help from his lazy brothers. He doesn’t mind, though—he gets to play his flute while he works. After his playing attracts the attention of a wealthy troll king, his brothers become jealous of the rewards the king offers to him. They hatch a plan to collect Peder’s reward for themselves. Will the king see through their ploy?

Savitri, a beloved princess in India, is searching for a husband. While on a journey to meet the princes in the region, she meets Satyavan, a former prince. They soon marry, but Satyavan is cursed to die in one year. Instead of letting her husband go, Savitri challenges Yuma, the god of death. Will she be able to save her husband?

Ling Li loves to listen to the songbirds that live in part of the Great Wall near her village. After a soldier kills them, she travels to see the Jade Emperor with hope that he will bring them back to life. Can Ling Li meet the emperor’s challenge and save the birds’ song?

Magotu is the most beautiful girl in her village. She will not settle for just any husband—he must be as beautiful as she is. When she finally comes across a man who meets all of her standards, she immediately agrees to marry him. To her chagrin, she finds that her vanity has put her in a bad situation—her new husband is nothing like she thought. Can Magotu find a way to escape?

Potano, the chief of the Timucua people, must save his daughter from a demon. Together with his strongest warriors, he must overcome the demon's challenges. Will he be able to rescue his daughter? Or will they fail after they fall into the Devil’s Millhopper?

After Jaidutt’s father squanders his inheritance, he must find a way to take care of his family. Hoping to start a business, he asks a merchant for a loan. Instead of giving Jaidutt money, however, the merchant challenges him to turn a dead rat into gold. How will Jaidutt complete this impossible task?

In this reimagined Japanese folktale, Binbou is a poor, kind man. One night, he rescues a raven from the snow and takes care of it. The next day, he meets a beautiful woman who wants to marry him. To help Binbou, she weaves a brocade cloth to sell but he is still unhappy. Will Binbou’s greed drive his new wife away?

The princess wishes for a new topping on her toast. After years of eating marmalade, she realizes that she does not like it and wants something new! A sea captain is sent on a quest to find the new topping. All hope seems lost until the captain meets an old woman with a strange new ingredient. Will this new ingredient make the princess happy?

When Sekka was a little girl, her mother disappeared into the snow. For years, she asked her father why her mother left. As her father is dying, she learns her mother’s secrets and who she really is. As her mother returns, Sekka learns the secrets of the Snow Spirit and their terrible price she must pay to be with her mother. What fate will Sekka choose— love or immortality?

In this Japanese tale, two sets of fox parents arrange for their children to marry. Everything seems to go as planned, but there’s a problem—in order to secure the marriage, each set of parents lied to the other about their child’s beauty! What happens when their dishonesty comes to light? Will the fox-bride and her husband still love each other?

In this Japanese folktale, Farmer Shiba’s crops are being destroyed by Kappa Dai, a mischievous water creature that lives in the nearby river. As his crops continue to disappear, Shiba must find a way to trick this creature.

In this Persian folktale, Hassan is in love with Neeloufar, a beggar who sits outside his shop. He wishes to marry her, but she has a secret—her family is royalty! Will her father, the King of Beggars, allow Hassan to marry his daughter? Will Hassan be able to accept her family’s business?

In this Indian folktale, Savitri is a beautiful princess of India who is struggling to find a man who is worthy of her. When she finally falls in love, she is warned that the man she wants to marry only has a year to live. Savitri decides she would rather have one year with this man than many years with any other. But when death comes to take her husband, will Savitri be able to let him go?

Lancelot is a very handsome prince, known throughout the kingdom for his beauty! When he happens upon an old witch and her toad after getting lost in the woods, though, he finds that he can’t always rely on his looks to get him out of his problems.

A clever giant's wife helps him scare away a bully of a giant in this old Irish tale. When the meanest, toughest giant of them all comes to bully her husband, his wife needs to get creative and fast. Will they work together to trick the other giant into leaving them alone for good?