Short Stories Fairy Tales

It's been years since Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith introduced the world to the Cinderumpelstiltskin, Little Red Running Shorts, Chicken Licken, and the rest of the hilarious cast of characters in The Stinky Cheese Man. In this audio edition, listen to some really off-the-wall fairy tales, including "The Princess and the Bowling Ball", "The Really Ugly Duckling", and "Jack's Bean Problem".

This enchanting collection of stories gathers together legends from across Scotland in one special volume. Drawn from The History Press' popular Folk Tales series, herein lies a treasure trove of tales from a wealth of talented storytellers. From the Spaeman's peculiar advice and a laird who is transformed into a frog, to a fugitive hiding in a dark cave and the stoor worm battling with Assipattle, this book celebrates the distinct character of Scotland's different customs, beliefs, and dialects, and is a treat for all who enjoy a well-told story.

There was a time when the woods near Duva ate girls - or so the story goes. But it's just possible that the danger may be a little bit closer to home. This story is a companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo's debut novel, Shadow and Bone.

A terrifying, thrilling collection of must-listen horror stories chock-full of nightmarish supernatural beings and the murderously disturbed that are sure to keep you up all night long.

This reissue of the 1919 classic combines the immortal stories from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey into one glorious saga of heroism and magical adventure. Beloved by generations, Padraic Colum's masterful retelling of these epic adventures is remarkably fresh, consistently spellbinding, and unmatched for its richness and poetry.

In this trilogy of witty and beguiling tales, you'll meet a shy and scholarly prince, a salon storyteller with a secret, and a modern-day woman who has lost her faith in magic...be transported to a different world, full of wonder and enchantment (that perhaps isn't so very different from our own world, after all).

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths - for good and evil - of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies.

On the shores of Lake Erie sits the enchanted little town of Chancellor where fairy tales live, dreams come true, and happily ever afters always reign supreme. In this three book boxed set, you'll find a heart-warming collection of sweet romance fractured fairy tales. From mermaids to witches to faeries, the residents of Chancellor are far from ordinary. Enjoy these twisted fairy tales loosely based on The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and classic witch tales.

Andrew Lang (1844-1912) was a poet, novelist, and literary critic. He created the enchanting world of fairyland inhabited by characters like the snow-queen, the mermaid's son, ogres, dwarfs, monsters, magicians, and giants. The Pink Fairy Book contains 41 tales from Africa, Japan, Scandinavia, and Europe. They range from familiar stories like "The Snow-Queen" and "The Fir-Tree" to the obscure tales of the Tanuki. This collection contains stories like "The Cats' Elopement", The "Princess in the Chest", "Snowflake", and more....

A young woman hunts for her wayward shadow at the school where she first learned magic - while another faces a test she never studied for as ice envelopes the world. The tasks assigned a bookish boy lead him to fateful encounters with lizards, owls, trolls, and a feisty, sarcastic cat. A bear wedding is cause for celebration, the spinning wheel and the tower in the briar hedge get to tell their own stories, and a kitchen maid finds out that a lost princess is more than she seems. The sea witch reveals what she hoped to gain when she took the mermaid's voice.

In this original collection from Skyboat Media and Blackstone Publishing, Elizabeth Gaskell showcases the height of gothic fiction's ability to delight in the otherworldly and to dig deep into what truly haunts us. Set against the backdrop of the Salem witch trials, "Lois the Witch" reveals much about the complicity of mankind. Recently orphaned, Lois is forced to leave the English parsonage that had been her home and sail to America.

Once upon a time, a princess was born with hair as black as ebony, lips as red as blood, and skin as white as snow. After the huntsman and before the dwarfs—while she was all alone in that great forest—the princess met a demon. He was hunting unicorns. And what bait could better snare his prey than the fairest of them all?

Mimei Ogawa, a prolific author of short stories nearly 100 years ago, is considered to be one of the founding figures of modern Japanese children’s literature. He has also been called the Hans Christian Andersen of Japan because of how his works were influenced by Andersen. This collection contains a fresh, modern translation of one of Mimei Ogawa’s most famous works, "The Mermaid and the Red Candles", as well as several other stories that have never been translated and published in English before.

Dragonrider Academy is a secret society I’m not even supposed to know exists. It has knights with talking swords, professors who breathe fire, and a hot guy named Killian who seriously gets on my nerves. It’s his fault I’m stuck here in the first place. He wants me to be his partner and face all the challenges Dragonrider Academy has to offer. He says we’re fated to be together, that I was the one who called him! Crazy talk. Or is it?

Jason is born the son of King Aeson. His destiny is to rule Iolcus, the land that his father's brother, King Pelias, has taken from him. When Jason comes of age, he returns to Iolcus. But the king is not yet willing to give up his throne. So he cunningly persuades Jason to accept a dare to bring back the famous Golden Fleece of Colchis. Jason accepts the challenge, unaware that he is being conned into a dangerous and perhaps fatal journey far, far from the land he loves.

Stheno is on the warpath after Perseus killed her sister, Medusa.

A young school teacher learns about strange lights in a foreboding marsh; a nurse in a remote outport visits the baby she delivered weeks before to find a devastating change; a woman meets a mysterious funeral procession late one evening; a musician falls thrall to a group of strange little people and can’t stop playing. The stories in Spirited Away are populated by the fairy-led, by changelings, by people who stray onto fairy turf and experience unnerving events.

Featuring sword-happy heroes, badly-behaved Gods, a monstrous minotaur, a narcoleptic dragon and more nymphs than you can poke a stick at! Master storyteller R.A. Spratt (bestselling author of Friday Barnes and the Bedtime Stories with R.A. Spratt podcast) weaves her comedic magic through this captivating collection of epic tales, perfect for fans of Roald Dahl, David Walliams and Paul Jennings.

It's 2020, and children are stuck indoors as the novel coronavirus finds its way into India. A nationwide lockdown is announced, and amidst the growing crisis, Ajja and Ajji welcome their grandchildren and Kamlu Ajji into their house in Shiggaon. From stitching masks, sharing household chores, preparing food for workers to losing themselves in timeless tales, the lockdown turns into a memorable time for the children as they enter the enchanting world of goddesses, kings, princesses, serpents, magical beanstalks, thieves, kingdoms, and palaces, among others.

Penguin presents the audio download edition of The Puffin Book of Five-minute Stories, read by Sophie Aldred and Christopher Timothy. A lively collection of nineteen short, snappy stories, some old, some new, to make you gasp, laugh, frown or giggle.