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a less whimsical illustration that encapsulates the fun of searching an archive of over 15

The Archive...

Have a wander through the Fireside folktale archive below, and see what you stumble into. Use the filters to narrow the world down, or fling the doors wide and browse by country, region, theme, collector, or whatever takes your fancy, then let the table do the rest. A few clicks can carry you from storm-tossed coasts to mountain villages, from clever tricksters to quiet miracles, and you will often find that the story you meant to read is not the one that chooses you.

Archive under construction, the aim being to have 14,000+ stories live by end 2026

Freeform Search

  • Use this input box to search for any word(s) in a story title to get a list of matching tales.

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Structured Filters

  • Use these drop down lists to choose one or more filters to select groups of tales to investigate in more detail

  • Structured Filters do not currently work with Freeform Search

Other than my own versions of tales (as indicated), the stories in this archive are in the public domain

Stories in this view:

3186

Title
Book
Author / Collector
Country
Subject
Year
Clytie (2)
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Clytie: unrequited love, longing, jealousy, transformation, sun, devotion, rejection, endurance, sorrow
1914
Freya, Queen Of The Northern Gods
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Norway
Freya, Queen Of The Northern Gods: love, beauty, power, magic, desire, sovereignty, loss, mythic femininity, divinity
1914
Arethusa
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Arethusa: pursuit, escape, metamorphosis, chastity, nature, divine aid, water, innocence, longing
1914
Phaeton (2)
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Phaeton: ambition, recklessness, identity, fatherhood, pride, catastrophe, fire, fall, divine order
1914
Pygmalion
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Pygmalion: art, desire, creation, ideal beauty, longing, transformation, love, devotion, animation
1914
Proserpine
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Proserpine: abduction, seasons, motherhood, loss, underworld, return, fertility, grief, cycle, fate
1914
The Death Of Baldur (3)
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Norway
The Death Of Baldur: innocence, prophecy, loss, betrayal, fate, mourning, gods, death, tragedy, doom
1914
Niobe (1)
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Niobe: pride, motherhood, loss, punishment, grief, boasting, divine vengeance, sorrow, stone, tragedy
1914
Prometheus And Pandora
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Prometheus And Pandora: creation, rebellion, gift, punishment, curiosity, suffering, hope, gods, humanity
1914
The Children Of Lîr (1)
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Ireland
The Children Of Lîr: exile, enchantment, sorrow, endurance, family, transformation, loss, faith, patience, release
1914
Idas And Marpessa
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Idas And Marpessa: choice, love, mortality, rivalry, desire, freedom, marriage, gods, destiny
1914
The Calydonian Hunt (3)
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
The Calydonian Hunt: heroism, vengeance, hunt, pride, rivalry, wrath, death, comradeship, glory, conflict
1914
Ceyx And Halcyone (1)
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Ceyx And Halcyone: love, grief, dream, shipwreck, fidelity, loss, transformation, mourning, devotion
1914
Syrinx
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Syrinx: pursuit, chastity, escape, transformation, reeds, music, desire, nature, loss
1914
Aristæus The Bee-Keeper
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Aristæus The Bee-Keeper: loss, love, nature, labour, grief, bees, divine counsel, sacrifice, renewal
1914
Perseus The Hero
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Perseus The Hero: courage, quest, monsters, divine aid, rescue, heroism, danger, destiny, triumph
1914
Lorelei
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Germany
Lorelei: enchantment, danger, river, beauty, song, longing, death, seduction, legend, fatality
1914
Echo And Narcissus (3)
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Echo And Narcissus: vanity, unrequited love, voice, reflection, rejection, longing, isolation, transformation, self-obsession
1914
Hyacinthus
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Hyacinthus: friendship, beauty, jealousy, death, grief, youth, transformation, remembrance, flower
1914
Roland The Paladin
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
France
Roland The Paladin: heroism, loyalty, war, honour, sacrifice, duty, betrayal, courage, legend, empire
1914
King Midas Of The Golden Touch
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
King Midas Of The Golden Touch: greed, wealth, folly, wish, consequence, hunger, transformation, regret, wisdom
1914
The Cranes Of Ibycus
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
The Cranes Of Ibycus: murder, justice, guilt, fate, witness, conscience, exposure, retribution, crime
1914
Arachne (3)
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Arachne: pride, skill, rivalry, hubris, punishment, weaving, defiance, transformation, art, gods
1914
The Death Of Adonis
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
The Death Of Adonis: beauty, desire, mortality, grief, love, loss, youth, nature, mourning, rebirth
1914
Pan (1)
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Pan: wildness, music, desire, nature, rustic life, fear, pursuit, untamed spirit, transformation
1914
Orpheus
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Orpheus: love, music, death, descent, loss, longing, art, hope, failure, mourning
1914
Latona And The Rustics
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Latona And The Rustics: pride, cruelty, punishment, motherhood, divine wrath, transformation, disrespect, water, justice
1914
Icarus
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Icarus: ambition, warning, flight, pride, disobedience, freedom, fall, tragedy, recklessness, youth
1914
Atalanta
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Atalanta: speed, independence, marriage, competition, desire, trickery, fate, transformation, pride
1914
Endymion
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Endymion: beauty, sleep, moon, eternal youth, desire, stillness, divine love, dreaming, distance
1914
Apollo And Daphne (2)
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang
Greece
Apollo And Daphne: pursuit, chastity, transformation, desire, refusal, divine power, escape, laurel, loss
1914
The Great Bell
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Great Bell: filial sacrifice, devotion, and creation through suffering. 
1919
The Phantom Vessel
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Phantom Vessel: greed, illusion, danger, and the lure of uncanny riches. 
1919
The Two Jugglers
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Two Jugglers: rivalry, skill, deception, and the cost of pride. 
1919
The Golden Beetle Or Why The Dog Hates The Cat
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Golden Beetle Or Why The Dog Hates The Cat: poverty, luck, betrayal, and lasting animal enmity. 
1919
The Strange Tale Of Doctor Dog
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Strange Tale Of Doctor Dog: loyalty, healing, ingratitude, and animal wisdom surpassing humans. 
1919
The Nodding Tiger
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Nodding Tiger: courage, wit, enchantment, and the taming of fear. 
1919
Bamboo And The Turtle
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
Bamboo And The Turtle: curiosity, wonder, friendship, and a dreamlike journey.
1919
The Talking Fish
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Talking Fish: wonder, gratitude, supernatural aid, and unexpected reward. 
1919
How Footbinding Started
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
How Footbinding Started: beauty, custom, imitation, and the origins of harmful tradition. 
1919
The Mad Goose And The Tiger Forest
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Mad Goose And The Tiger Forest: escape from cruelty, friendship, magic, and hidden identity. 
1919
The Golden Nugget
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Golden Nugget: honesty, temptation, fortune, and deserving reward. 
1919
The Wooden Tablet
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Wooden Tablet: memory, filial duty, reverence, and spiritual presence. 
1919
Lu-San, Daughter Of Heaven
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
Lu-San, Daughter Of Heaven: heavenly birth, humility, love, and transformation through virtue. 
1919
The Man Who Would Not Scold
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Man Who Would Not Scold: patience, kindness, self-mastery, and quiet moral strength. 
1919
The Princess Kwan-Yin
A Chinese Wonder Book
Norman Hinsdale Pitman
China
The Princess Kwan-Yin: compassion, sacrifice, holiness, and mercy triumphant over cruelty. 
1919
The Tale Of The Monkey And The Hare
A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes
J. D. Anderson
India
The Tale Of The Monkey And The Hare: warning ignored, trickery, and self-inflicted suffering.
1895
How The Rivers Were Made
A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes
J. D. Anderson
India
How The Rivers Were Made: origin myth, divine aid, and natural creation.
1895
Brother And Sister (1)
A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes
J. D. Anderson
India
Brother And Sister: sibling loyalty, betrayal, quest, and hard-won justice.
1895
The Story Of The Toad
A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes
J. D. Anderson
India
The Story Of The Toad: poverty, comic pride, persistence, and comeuppance.
1895
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