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.

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

Stories in this view:

3570

Title	Book	Author / Collector	Country	Subject	Year
The Story Of The Four Thieves	A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes	J. D. Anderson	India	The Story Of The Four Thieves: cunning defence, deception, and survival against robbers.	1895
The Seven Champions	A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes	J. D. Anderson	India	The Seven Champions: bravery, strength, monster-slaying, and reward.	1895
The Tortoise And Monkey	A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes	J. D. Anderson	India	The Tortoise And The Monkey: trickery, greed, betrayal, and crafty revenge	1895
The Story Of The Merchant's Son	A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes	J. D. Anderson	India	The Story Of The Merchant’s Son: youthful ambition, peril, enchantment, and marriage.	1895
The Story Of The Blind Man And The Hunchback	A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes	J. D. Anderson	India	The Story Of The Blind Man And The Hunchback: friendship, shared cunning, hardship, and unexpected transformation.	1895
The Story Of A Silly Old Man	A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes	J. D. Anderson	India	The Story Of A Silly Old Man: foolishness, misjudgement, delay, and domestic practicality.	1895
The Story Of The Simpleton	A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes	J. D. Anderson	India	The Story Of The Simpleton: foolish bargains, gullibility, and comic loss.	1895
The Story Of The Seven Simpletons	A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes	J. D. Anderson	India	The Story Of The Seven Simpletons: foolishness, misunderstanding, exploitation, and fatal obedience.	1895
The Story Of The Lazy Boy	A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes	J. D. Anderson	India	The Story Of The Lazy Boy: idleness, missed opportunity, and belated regret.	1895
The Old Man And The Tiger	A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes	J. D. Anderson	India	The Old Man And The Tiger: wit defeating brute strength through trickery.	1895
The Story Of The Doe And The Raven	A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes	J. D. Anderson	India	The Story Of The Doe And The Raven: loyal friendship, false friendship, warning, and rescue.	1895
Drimial Agus Thorial	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Drimial Agus Thorial: heroism, adventure, conflict, kinship, wonder, trial, destiny, oral tradition	1919
The Grilled Trout	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Grilled Trout: hospitality, marvel, saintly power, fish lore, miracle, simplicity, sacred legend, wonder	1919
The Poet’s Malediction	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Poet’s Malediction: satire, curse, poetic power, honour, vengeance, spoken magic, reputation, fear	1919
The Doctor And the Fairy Princess	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Doctor And the Fairy Princess: healing, fairy world, love, enchantment, danger, liminal knowledge, rescue, wonder	1919
The Farmer’s Fate	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Farmer’s Fate: fortune, labour, hardship, destiny, rural life, providence, moral reckoning, endurance	1919
The Demon Cat (1)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Demon Cat: monstrous cat, terror, folklore, supernatural beast, night, danger, eerie legend, animal fear	1919
A Wolf Story	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	A Wolf Story: wilderness, danger, fear, survival, animal lore, omen, pursuit, night	1919
The Strange Guests (1)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Strange Guests: uncanny visitors, hospitality, test, hidden identity, supernatural encounter, household tension, wonder, moral lesson	1919
A Woman's Curse	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	A Woman’s Curse: curse, grief, injustice, female power, fate, sorrow, punishment, spoken doom	1919
The Evil Eye (1)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Evil Eye: envy, harm, gaze, protection, superstition, curse, folk magic, vulnerability	1919
Sheela-Na-Skean	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Sheela-Na-Skean: female figure, mystery, folk memory, local legend, sacred-profane tension, symbolism, place, antiquity	1919
The Fairy Changeling (1)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Fairy Changeling: stolen infant, fairy substitution, motherhood, fear, household lore, anxiety, protection, deception	1919
Rathlin Island	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Rathlin Island: island lore, remoteness, sea, memory, place legend, hardship, wonder, ancestry	1919
Shaun-Mor	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Shaun-Mor: strength, heroism, challenge, reputation, rural legend, prowess, endurance, conflict	1919
A Peasant's Tale	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	A Peasant’s Tale: rural life, hardship, wit, folk belief, class, resilience, custom, fate	1919
St Kieran	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	St Kieran: saint, monastery, miracles, devotion, piety, pastoral holiness, church tradition, Ireland	1919
St Bridget	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	St Bridget: sanctity, miracles, charity, protection, healing, sacred wells, Ireland, devotion	1919
St Patrick And The Serpent	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	St Patrick And The Serpent: banishment, miracle, serpent lore, sanctity, Ireland, purification, legend, faith	1919
The Wicked Widow	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Wicked Widow: malice, greed, deceit, power, social tension, punishment, moral warning, intrigue	1919
The Banshee (1)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Banshee: death omen, keening, family fate, supernatural woman, mourning, warning, Irish belief, dread	1919
St Martin	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	St Martin: charity, holiness, miracle, generosity, piety, Christian example, legend, protection	1919
The Lady Witch	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Lady Witch: witchcraft, female power, fear, curse, suspicion, folk belief, magic, danger	1919
The Dance Of The Dead	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Dance Of The Dead: mortality, ghostly revelry, warning, night, afterlife, terror, spectacle, memento mori	1919
The Three Gifts (1)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Three Gifts: generosity, blessing, choice, wisdom, reward, magic objects, fortune, gratitude	1919
The Changeling (3)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Changeling: stolen child, fairies, motherhood, fear, replacement, anxiety, folklore, household dread	1919
The Dead Hand (1)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Dead Hand: death, curse, relic, haunting, revenge, dread, contact with the dead, omen	1919
The Death Sign	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Death Sign: omen, forewarning, mortality, superstition, symbol, fate, dread, prophecy	1919
The Fairy Race	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Fairy Race: otherworld people, hidden nation, beauty, danger, antiquity, parallel world, belief, myth	1919
The May Festival	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The May Festival: Beltane, fertility, seasonal ritual, fire, community, renewal, threshold, folk custom	1919
The Horned Women (1)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Horned Women: uncanny visitors, domestic terror, female supernatural power, night, omen, folklore, strangeness, warning	1919
The Poet And The King	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Poet And The King: truth and power, patronage, honour, satire, counsel, authority, court culture, wit	1919
The Sidhe Race	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Sidhe Race: fairy people, ancestry, hidden world, beauty, danger, mythic nation, ancient Ireland, otherworld	1919
Queen Maeve	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Queen Maeve: sovereignty, pride, war, desire, power, myth, ambition, queenship	1919
The Whitsun Legend Of The Fairy Horses	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Whitsun Legend Of The Fairy Horses: fairy horses, festival time, enchantment, danger, liminal season, speed, wonder, folk belief	1919
The Child’s Dream	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Child’s Dream: innocence, vision, omen, wonder, sleep, revelation, childhood, spiritual insight	1919
The Story Of Breccan	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Story Of Breccan: voyage, sea peril, saintly memory, place legend, courage, loss, sacred geography, Ireland	1919
Eodain, The Poetess	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Eodain, The Poetess: female voice, poetry, wisdom, honour, memory, inspiration, cultural authority, legend	1919
The Evil Stroke	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Evil Stroke: sudden affliction, fairy harm, paralysis, fear, folk cure, unseen attack, superstition, vulnerability	1919
An Irish Adept Of The Islands	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	An Irish Adept Of The Islands: mysticism, isolation, spiritual knowledge, islands, folklore, asceticism, hidden wisdom, wonder	1919

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