Once upon a time there was a young man named Farquhar MacNeill. He had just gone to a new situation, and the very first night after he went to it his mistress asked him if he would...
Once upon a time there was a poor, poor boy. He went to the king and begged to be taken into service as a shepherd, and all called him "Sheep-Peter." While he was herding his sheep...
By Charles Smith Cheltnam. THERE was once a King and Queen who, having everything a King and Queen could reasonably desire, might have been as happy as the day was long--if they ha...
In the Kingdom of Fife, in the days of long ago, there lived an old man and his wife. The old man was a douce, quiet body, but the old woman was lightsome and flighty, and some of...
At the court of great King Arthur, who lived, as all know, when knights were bold, and ladies were fair indeed, one of the most renowned of men was the wizard Merlin. Never before...
In a great Palace by the sea there once dwelt a very rich old lord, who had neither wife nor children living, only one little granddaughter, whose face he had never seen in all her...
Once upon a time a famine broke out among the tribe of the Tlingits, and one of their girls, who was an orphan and had to look after herself, would have fared very badly had she no...
Once upon a time there was a little girl who was called little Red Riding-Hood, because she was quite small and because she always wore a red cloak with a big red hood to it, which...
There have been many Brownies known in Scotland; and stories have been written about the Brownie o' Bodsbeck and the Brownie o' Blednock, but about neither of them has a prettier s...
Translated from the German of Hans Christian Andersen. There was once a pretty little fir-tree in a wood. It was in a capital position, for it could get sun, and there was enough a...
Once upon a time a man had a shepherd who served him many years faithfully and honestly. One day, whilst herding his flock, this shepherd heard a hissing sound, coming out of the f...
There was once a Fox and a Wolf, who set up house together in a cave near the sea-shore. Although you may not think so, they got on very well for a time, for they went out hunting...
Once upon a time there were two neighbors: one of them rich and the other poor. They owned a great meadow in common, which they were supposed to mow together and then divide the ha...
A Nightingale her voice one day was tuning In notes to match an organ's sonorous swell; When by her cage a chattering Sparrow roaming Stopped--his surprise at her attempt to tell....
FROM THE FRENCH of GEORGES MITCHELL. VAINLY I try to recall from my recollections of yesterday, still vividly remembered, and from those of the long past, grown tenderly dim in the...
Jack and Evelyn had been to see a friend of theirs who owned a parrot. The parrot, whose name, of course, was Polly, had completely fascinated them. She could dance when a tune was...
Once upon a time there lived a girl who was wooed and married by a man she never saw; for he came a-courting her after nightfall, and when they were married he never came home till...
I will tell you a story about the wren. There was once a farmer who was seeking a servant, and the wren met him and said: "What are you seeking?" "I am seeking a servant," said the...
A king once died, as kings are apt to do, being as liable to shortness of breath as other mortals. It was high time this king abandoned his earth life, for he had lived in a sadly...
Story-teller--MICHAEL HART Recorder--W. B. YEATS In the times when we used to travel by canal I was coming down from Dublin. When we came to Mullingar the canal ended, and I began...
Children are often inclined to think that the nations who ruled the world long, long ago, were quite unlike ourselves, and always busy with very serious things, such as the passing...
The hunters had hunted the wood for so many years that no wild animal was any more to be found in it. You might walk from one end to the other without ever seeing a hare, or a deer...
It was a fine summer morning, and the Laird o' Co' was having a dander on the green turf outside the Castle walls. His real name was the Laird o' Colzean, and his descendants to-da...
In the very beginning of all things, when the gods were creating the world, at last the time came to separate the earth from the heavens. This was hard work, and if it had not been...
From the Danish. There once lived in Denmark a peasant and his wife who owned a very good farm, but had no children. They often lamented to each other that they had no one of their...
The Steel the Flint abused Most bitterly one day, For the unfeeling way, In which his sides he bruised, To chip out the brilliant sparks. After some sharp remarks They parted compa...
A spreading contagion, defacing our tongue With phrases outlandish, our critics bemoan. But some fools have their notions of purity hung Upon obsolete terms superseding our own. Li...
Long ago, in a village near the sea, many Indian people were living. Among them was a very nice old warrior who had been given great power at his birth, and who, therefore, could d...
This is a tale beloved by the children of Japan, and by the old folk--a tale of magical jewels and a visit to the Sea King's palace. Prince Rice-Ear-Ruddy-Plenty loved a beautiful...
Would you like to hear some more of Blind Jack? This story tells how he joined the army of the Duke of Cumberland, which was sent to fight Prince Charlie and the Highlanders in 174...