Short Stories Fairy Tales

A song half-heard. The murmur of a voice singing in the dark. There it is again...a few words set to an old melody filled with mystery, heartbreak and horror. Out of Tune gathers a collection of original dark fantasy tales inspired by folk ballads. Here you'll find stories of strange creatures and strangers humans, treachery and love, murder and monsters.

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.

Humble Heron flapped his big, blue wings as fast as he could. He knew he shouldn't have flown so far away from Fala Forest on Gathering Day. Especially not the day before the festival. But he really, really wanted to see the sparkly white beach his good friend, Jolly Blue Jay, told him about. The sand sparkled like diamonds and the waves crashed to the shore with loads of bubbly bubbles. But now he needed to hurry home. He didn't want his family to worry. His wings began to tire out. But he didn't want to be late. So he beat them faster, again, and again, and again.

Historias cortas para tardes de lluvia es, como su nombre indica, una coleccion de historias cortas recopiladas de la tradicion y folklore popular. Cuentos con moraleja y enseñanzas para todas las edades, desde niños, hasta los adultos.

The thrill of fairytales mixes with the deeper story-lines that appeal to adults and gives the listener of Fairytales and Shorts for Grownups a different experience than when reading stories written for children. Some are fairy tales without magic, and others are the retelling of old and loved fairy tales, but with an unexpected twist. Some of the stories are simply short stories or novelettes, allowing for those who have only a little time for books to enjoy stories like everyone else.

Una preciosa colección de cuentos de realismo mágico venidos del Japón tradicional, zen e intimista. Cuentos de tradición oral que han pasado a lo largo de los siglos de la boca de las abuelas a los sueños de sus nietos y nietas, siempre de corte fantástico, siempre con enseñanzas profundas y siempre portando la esencia de la identidad japonesa a través de su tradición.

Venti regioni, venti racconti che ripercorrono tra leggenda e realtà le radici del nuovo fantasy italiano. Un tempo i vecchi raccontavano storie ai nipoti davanti al fuoco. Ma folklore non è un libro per bambini: è un grimorio maledetto, che ci piace immaginare riscoperto dopo tanti anni magari proprio sotto qualche brace. Un'impresa di folli che hanno scovato resoconti di diavoli e streghe e sortilegi infami. Di assassini e orrori sconcertanti. Venti fiabe dannate intorno alle quali, forse, persino il buio un poco indietreggia.

Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales is an audiobook benefiting children orphaned and impacted by HIV/AIDS in South Africa, featuring Gillian Anderson, Benjamin Bratt, LeVar Burton, Ricardo Chavira, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Whoopi Goldberg, Sean Hayes, Hugh Jackman, Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Scarlett Johansson,

Debra Messing, Helen Mirren, Parminder Nagra, Sophie Okonedo, CCH Pounder, Alan Rickman, Jurnee Smollett, Charlize Theron, and Blair Underwood.

From Daniel Mallory Ortberg comes a collection of darkly mischievous stories based on classic fairy tales. Adapted from his beloved Children's Stories Made Horrific series, The Merry Spinster takes up the trademark wit that endeared Ortberg to listeners of both The Toast and his best-selling debut Texts from Jane Eyre. Sinister and inviting, familiar and alien all at the same time, The Merry Spinster updates traditional children's stories and fairy tales with elements of psychological horror, emotional clarity, and a keen sense of feminist mischief.

Is your child wild about dinosaurs? No one quite understands why so many kids go through a “dinosaur phase.” It may be because they are extinct and although they may have been huge and hungry, they are harmless to a child since they no longer exist. These mysterious and powerful creatures interest many children and are a fun and exciting way to introduce relaxation, mindfulness and meditation. There is nothing as powerful as this to help refocus, regulate and relax the human brain.

The Legends of King Arthur & His Knights is an enthralling audio book read in an easily digestible format. Bringing together the many tales of the legend of King Arthur into one audio book, Sir James Knowles' descriptive narrative will transport you to times gone by.

From the vast lore surrounding King Arthur, Camelot, and the Knights of the Round Table comes an anthology of gender-bent, race-bent, LGBTQIA+ inclusive retellings.

"The Woodsman": What if the Big Bad Wolf was the good guy? "How the Alien Stole Christmas": In deep space, a mysterious cyber lover wants to steal Capt. Christmas Trent for his own. "Valentime": A secret Valentine brings a woman back in time to its author in 1865 Civil War America. "How the Alien Stole Christmas": A billionaire vampire on the hunt for his blood mate falls for a pretty human blackmailer who knows all his secrets.

In this long-awaited collection, Hopkinson continues to expand the boundaries of culture and imagination. Whether she is retelling The Tempest as a new Caribbean myth, filling a shopping mall with unfulfilled ghosts, or herding chickens that occasionally breathe fire, Hopkinson continues to create bold fiction that transcends boundaries and borders.

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.

Fear is primal. Instinctive. Unavoidable. And right now, there is something you fear - and you can feel it. Creeping up behind you. Lurking in the darkness that lives under your bed, or in your closet. A nameless dread. In Undercurrents: An Anthology of What Lies Beneath, 23 talented authors, including New York Times best sellers Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, and Jody Lynn Nye, have stood on the shores of their psyches and looked out over the ocean of possibility and wondered "What lies beneath?"

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.

In this debut collection from C. S. E. Cooney, a swan princess hunted for her bones, a broken musician and his silver pipe, and a rat named Maurice bring justice to a town under fell enchantment. A gang of courageous kids confront both a plague-destroyed world and an afterlife infested with clowns but robbed of laughter. In an island city, the murder of a child unites two lovers, but vengeance will part them. Only human sacrifice will save a city trapped in ice and darkness.

What happens when Cinderella is so painfully shy that she cannot bear the idea of attending the royal ball? Or when the slipper fits . . . but on the wrong girl? What happens when Cinderella is determined to oust an imposter prince from her rightful throne? Or when she is a cendrillon miner working from a space station orbiting a cthonian planet? What happens when Cinderella, a humble housemaid, is sent with a message for a prisoner trapped in a frightening fairy circus?

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.