Old Myths

In a house, with a large courtyard, in a provincial town, at that time of the year in which people say the evenings are growing longer, a family circle were gathered together at their old home. A lamp burned on the table, although the weather was mild and warm, and the long curtains hung down before the open windows, and without the moon shone brightly in the dark-blue sky.

Somewhere in the street stood an old old house; it was almost three hundred years old, as you could tell from the date cut into the great beam. Tulips and hopbines and also whole verses of poetry were carved into the wood as people used to do in those days, and over every window a mocking face was cut into the beam. The second story hung way out over the ground floor, and right under the eaves was a leaden spout with a dragon's head. Rain water was supposed to run out of the dragon's mouth, but it came from his belly instead, for there was a hole in it.

In the German country of Württemberg, where the beautiful acacia trees bloom beside the highways, and the apple and pear trees bend down in autumn under the weight of their ripe blessings, there lies the little town of Marbach. It belongs to the class of quite unimportant towns, but it is located in a beautiful spot near the Neckar, the river that flows swiftly past towns and green vineyards and old knights' castles, to join its waters with those of the proud Rhine.

There is a street in Copenhagen with a very strange name. It is called "Hysken" street. Where the name came from, and what it means is very uncertain. It is said to be German, but this is unjust to the Germans, for it would then be called "Hauschen," and not "Hysken." "Hauschen," means a little house; and for many years it consisted only of a few small houses, which were scarcely larger than the wooden booths we see in the market places at a fair time.

Have you ever heard the story of the old Street Lamp? It's really not very amusing, but you might listen to it for once. - It was such an honest lamp, which had done its duty for many, many years and which was now going to be discarded. It was the last evening it hung on its post and gave light to the street beneath it. The Lamp felt like an old ballet dancer who is performing for the last time and who knows that tomorrow she will be in a cold garret.

A man whose hands shook with the tremors of old age could not eat neatly and often spilled his soup, so his son and daughter-in-law barred him from their table and made him eat by the stove. When he broke the fine stoneware bowl from which he had been eating, they bought him a wooden bowl that could not break.

The story of a faithful old dog told by the Brothers Grimm. One day Sultan's master decides that the dog has grown too old to be useful and decides to get rid of him. Fortunately, Sultan has a friend, the wolf, who has a plan to help him out.

The three companion books to the Wrath of the Old Gods series (Pagan Apocalypse, The Fomorians, Eye of Balor), now available in one volume! The Fomorians are a mythical race of giants and monsters. Long thought to be merely legends, the modern day British Isles falls to the might of their supernatural magic in a matter of days. In this maelstrom of chaos and destruction, a hero rises: his name is Steve, and he is thirteen years old. Can he overcome tremendous odds and save the world? Join Steve in his adventures across multiple worlds as he battles forgotten gods and monsters in this ...

Now I'm going to tell you a story that I heard when I was a little fellow and that I like better and better the more I think of it. For it's the same with stories as with many people; the older they grow, the nicer they grow, and that is delightful.

In the woods, on a high bank near the open seashore, there stood such a very old oak tree. It was exactly three hundred and sixty-five years old, but this long span of years seemed to the tree scarcely longer than as many days do to people like us. A tree's life is not the same as a man's. We are awake during the day, and sleep at night, and we have our dreams.

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.

Los antiguos griegos explicaban los fenómenos de la naturaleza a partir de una mitología poblada de dioses, semidioses y hombres extraordinarios. Del mismo modo, estos seres eran los protagonistas de su vida cotidiana y, por supuesto, quienes les daban cuerpo y forma a los hechos más importantes de su rica historia. Diego Remussi, el autor de Leyendas latinoamericanas contadas para niños, vuelve a deleitarnos con estos Mitos griegos contados para niños, un libro para aprender y divertirse.

The stories told, the mother fell to musing, and the result is the little book here presented to the judgment of children other than her own - a few new fairy tales, on the old, old pattern!

In legends from China, Finland, India, Canada, and more, brave heroines encounter monstrous rivers and ogres' nests while outsmarting desperate sharks and hungry tigers. They courageously save families and villages - and, most importantly, they always choose their own fate.

The little old woman who lives in a book has lost her children! But instead of sitting around and waiting for them to show up, in a refreshingly empowering, feminist take on the classic tale, she departs on a mission to find her kids herself - even if it means popping into every other fairy tale and nursery rhyme in town!

Embark on a magical journey in "Uncle Rico's Rhyming Fables," where 160 enchanting stories await, skillfully written in rhyme to resonate with the rhythms of our modern era. These fables mark a departure from the past, where strength dictated right and instead focus on the beauty of cooperation and partnership that defines our interconnected world.

One husband. One wife. One trusting relationship. A fable from master storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. Did they participate in a con, or is it possible that these two old folks simply came to the place where love and trust could help her say, "What the old man does is always right"?

The tale of the legendary golden flower is widely known. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the flower is coveted by an old witch to keep herself young and beautiful. And always the flower is used to save a dying queen, who then gives birth to a princess with magical hair. Not willing to lose the flower, the old witch steals the princess and locks her away in a high tower, raising her as her own. But the princess always finds out who she truly is and manages to defeat the old witch. And yet this is only half the story. What of the old witch, Mother Gothel?

This story is excerpted from The Emperor's New Clothes: And Other Stories by Geoffrey Thomas. These short stories are brimming with the big-heartedness, warmth, and homespun humor that the author is known for.

Once again, the Old Gray Goose delivers a collection of funny, heartwarming tales perfected over six decades of campfires and thousands of enthusiastic young campers as part of his amazing lifelong work with the YMCA. Here is the definitive collection of down-home songs and stories for children of all ages, affectionately told by a compassionate man who genuinely cares about young people.