But the gentle and generous nature of the daughter brings good fortune. Six queens plot against the seventh, jealous that she is bearing the King's heir, and accuse her of witchcraft. A thoughtless queen decrees that anyone who cries in her kingdom will be thrown out, not foreseeing that one day she too might feel sorrow. India has a rich heritage of folktales, most of which are never written down, present only in a rapidly vanishing oral culture. Each region and language has its own particular set of stories – though many tales recur across different traditions. The stories here are taken from Bengal.

    In preparing the legends I sought especially for weird beauty; and I could not forget this striking observation in Sir Walter Scott's "Essay on Imitations of the Ancient Ballad" "The supernatural, though appealing to certain powerful emotions very widely and deeply sown amongst the human race, is, nevertheless, a spring which is peculiarly apt to lose its elasticity by being too much pressed upon." -- Lafcadio Hearn

    

    Notable for their magnificent, jewel-like color illustrations by Bilibin, these traditional tales include "The Frog Princess," "Vassilissa the Beautiful," and "The White Duck." Though Russian Fairy Tales in the Pantheon Folklore Library is a book for adults, it has sold over 30,000 copies.

    Full color.

    Like all humans, these Native Americans sought to understand their place in the universe, the nature of their relationship with the divine, and the origin of the world into which their ancestors had emerged. The answers lay in their sacred stories.This is a collection of stories from nations and cultures across two continents—the Sea-Ringed World, as the Aztecs called it—from the edge of Argentina all the way up to Alaska.

    

    When people told themselves their past with stories, explained their present with stories, foretold the future with stories...the best place by the fire was kept for...The Storyteller Archaia and The Jim Henson Company are proud to present all-new tales of fantastic wonder and extraordinary myth, as told from the tongue of The Storyteller and his loyal canine companion.

    Where did robin get his red breast? How did fire find its way into the wood? Why was Coyote more clever that the other animals? Iagoo would answer these questions with his stories. Adapted from legends collected by noted ethnologist Henry R. Schoolcraft in the Lake Superior region in 1839, this charming collection of seven stories will delight youngsters and lovers of Native American myth and legend.

    Meet the Snoligoster, who feeds on the shadows of its victims. The Hodag, like a spiny-backed bull-horned rhinoceros. The Hoop Snake, which can chase prey at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour and then, with one sting of its tail, cause it to turn purple, swell up, and die.Illustrated throughout, including eight drawings printed with glow-in-the-dark ink, Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods is for every young reader who loves a good scare. The book was originally published in 1910 by William Thomas Cox and is now inspiringly retold by Hal Johnson, author of Immortal Lycanthropes. The creatures are all scales and claws, razor-sharp teeth and stealth, camouflage and single-minded nastiness. Straight out of the era of Paul Bunyan, they speak to an earlier time in American history, when the woods were indeed dark and deep and filled with mystery. The tone is smart and quirky. The illustrations have a sinewy, retro field-guide look. Read them around a campfire, if you dare.Cover design by Colleen A.F. Venable

    Celebrations honoring the winter solstice as a moment of transition and renewal date back thousands of years and occur among many peoples on every continent. Now The Return of the Light makes an ideal companion for everyone who carries on this tradition, no matter what their faith. Storyteller Carolyn McVickar Edwards retells twelve traditional tales--from North America, China, Scandinavia, India, Africa, South America, Europe, and Polynesia--that honor this magical moment. These are stories that will renew our wonder of the miracle of rebirth and the power of transition from darkness into light.

    Curl up in front of a warm fire on a silent night and choose your poison.

      Filled with kings and peasants, saints and ogres—as well as some quite extraordinary plants and animals—these two hundred tales bring to life Italy’s folklore, sometimes with earthy humor, sometimes with noble mystery, and sometimes with the playfulness of sheer nonsense.   Selected and retold by one of the country’s greatest literary icons, “this collection stands with the finest folktale collections anywhere” (The New York Times Book Review).   “For readers of any age . . . A masterwork.” —The Wall Street Journal   “A magic book, and a classic to boot.” —Time