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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...

Structured Filters

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

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

Stories in this view:

3988

Title
Book
Author / Collector
Country
Subject
Year
The Nightingale (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Nightingale (1): true art, authenticity, mortality, power, nature, healing
1914
The Old House (2)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Old House (2): memory, ageing, loneliness, friendship, continuity, nostalgia
1914
The Darning-Needle (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Darning-Needle (1): vanity, fragility, self-importance, satire, survival, delusion
1914
The Brave Tin Soldier
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Brave Tin Soldier: steadfast love, endurance, fate, sacrifice, fragility, constancy
1914
Holger Danske
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
Holger Danske: national identity, legend, heroic sleep, protection, memory
1914
The Pea Blossom (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Pea Blossom (1): small lives, beauty, domestic wonder, growth, innocence
1914
The Old Church Bell
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Old Church Bell: faith, memory, continuity, sacred sound, community, history
1914
The Snowdrop (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Snowdrop (1): hope, renewal, resilience, innocence, spring, purity
1914
The Elf Of The Rose
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Elf Of The Rose: love, death, revenge, secrecy, sorrow, flowers
1914
The Last Dream Of The Old Oak (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Last Dream Of The Old Oak (1): nature, time, mortality, renewal, dreams, freedom
1914
In A Thousand Years (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
In A Thousand Years (1): progress, time, modernity, national identity, wonder, futurity
1914
The Flax (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Flax (1): suffering, transformation, usefulness, destruction, renewal, life cycle
1914
The Jewish Maiden
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Jewish Maiden: faith, persecution, love, martyrdom, devotion, suffering
1914
The Little Match-Seller
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Little Match-Seller: poverty, neglect, suffering, hope, death, compassion
1914
Children's Prattle
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
Children’s Prattle: innocence, misunderstanding, humour, family, childhood, observation
1914
Jack The Dullard
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
Jack The Dullard: simplicity, wit, authenticity, class satire, success, anti-pretension
1914
The Happy Family (2)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Happy Family (2): contentment, family pride, small worlds, satire, complacency
1914
The Races
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Races: competition, boasting, perspective, humour, irony, status
1914
The Flying Trunk (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Flying Trunk (1): fantasy, storytelling, ambition, romance, folly, adventure
1914
The Psyche
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Psyche: soul, beauty, suffering, transcendence, love, spiritual ascent
1914
A Leaf From Heaven
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
A Leaf From Heaven: grace, innocence, divine consolation, death, purity, hope
1914
The Little Elder-Tree Mother
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Little Elder-Tree Mother: childhood, memory, storytelling, domestic wonder, tenderness
1914
The Farm-Yard Cock And The Weather-Cock
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Farm-Yard Cock And The Weather-Cock: pride, appearance, rivalry, vanity, satire
1914
The Fir Tree (2)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Fir Tree (2): longing, impatience, regret, innocence, vanity, lost happiness
1914
What The Old Man Does Is Always Right (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
What The Old Man Does Is Always Right (1): trust, marital faith, simplicity, contentment, wisdom
1914
The Princess And The Pea
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Princess And The Pea: sensitivity, authenticity, refinement, identity, testing, perception
1914
Little Ida's Flowers (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
Little Ida’s Flowers (1): childhood, imagination, flowers, tenderness, dreamlike wonder
1914
The Golden Treasure
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Golden Treasure: greed, hidden wealth, moral testing, fortune, consequence
1914
The Sunbeam And The Captive
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Sunbeam And The Captive: hope, freedom, consolation, light, endurance, transcendence
1914
Ole The Tower-Keeper (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
Ole The Tower-Keeper (1): duty, observation, memory, ageing, city life, loneliness
1914
The Storm Shakes The Shield
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Storm Shakes The Shield: history, national fate, upheaval, endurance, warning
1914
The Shepherd's Story Of The Bond Of Friendship
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Shepherd’s Story Of The Bond Of Friendship: friendship, loyalty, sacrifice, fidelity, pastoral virtue
1914
The Bell (2)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Bell (2): spiritual seeking, wonder, nature, innocence, transcendence, perseverance
1914
The Puppet-Show Man
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Puppet-Show Man: art, performance, ambition, self-knowledge, imagination, humility
1914
Little Tuk (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
Little Tuk (1): imagination, folklore, place, childhood, memory, belonging
1914
The Saucy Boy
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Saucy Boy: mischief, childhood, teasing, impulsiveness, humour, family
1914
The Drop Of Water (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Drop Of Water (1): hidden worlds, observation, science, wonder, microscopy, satire
1914
The Bottle Neck
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Bottle Neck: utility, memory, decline, loss, endurance, discarded life
1914
The Child In The Grave (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Child In The Grave (1): grief, maternal love, memory, death, consolation, faith
1914
The Tinder-Box (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Tinder-Box (1): luck, greed, power, violence, magic, social rise
1914
Little Claus And Big Claus
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
Little Claus And Big Claus: cunning, injustice, trickery, revenge, peasant wit, dark humour
1914
Everything In The Right Place
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
Everything In The Right Place: order, perspective, social harmony, irony, arrangement
1914
Soup From A Sausage Skewer (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
Soup From A Sausage Skewer (1): storytelling, scarcity, imagination, humour, absurdity
1914
Ib And Little Christina
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
Ib And Little Christina: childhood love, class, loss, resignation, memory, longing
1914
A Story
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
A Story: storytelling, imagination, perspective, narrative play, irony
1914
Two Brothers
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
Two Brothers: fraternal love, memory, death, divergence, mourning, tenderness
1914
The Daisy (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Daisy (1): innocence, suffering, neglect, empathy, fragility, humility
1914
The Mail-Coach Passengers
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Mail-Coach Passengers: social types, travel, satire, observation, human variety
1914
A Cheerful Temper
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
A Cheerful Temper: optimism, resilience, perspective, humour, domestic life
1914
The Shirt-Collar (1)
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Denmark
The Shirt-Collar (1): vanity, pretension, self-delusion, status, ridicule, satire
1914
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