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 Child Without A Name	Manx Fairy Tales	Sophia Morrison	Isle Of Man	The Child Without A Name: naming, identity, vulnerability, fairy menace, belonging.	1911
Claiming And Naming Land	Maori Religion and Mythology	Edward Shortland	New Zealand		1882
The Children of Rangi-potiki	Maori Religion and Mythology	Edward Shortland	New Zealand		1882
Tale Of Te Atarahi	Maori Religion and Mythology	Edward Shortland	New Zealand		1882
Nga Patupaiarehe Or Fairies	Maori Religion and Mythology	Edward Shortland	New Zealand		1882
The Maori Chief Of Olden Time	Maori Religion and Mythology	Edward Shortland	New Zealand		1882
Ngati-Hanui	Maori Religion and Mythology	Edward Shortland	New Zealand		1882
The Little Sister	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Little Sister: witchcraft, sibling loyalty, child peril, endurance, family bond, enchantment, rescue, survival	1922
II Jane, Jane, Don't Complain!	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	II Jane, Jane, Don’t Complain!: endurance, contentment, humour, domestic life, patience, social satire, resilience	1922
The Enchanted Grouse	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Enchanted Grouse: locked secret, magic object, curiosity, quest, transformation, perseverance, wonder, release	1922
The Mysterious Servant	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Mysterious Servant: reverence for the dead, hidden helper, gratitude, duty, loyalty, reward, mystery, justice	1922
Mighty Mikko	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	Mighty Mikko: poverty, gratitude, animal helper, cunning, social rise, transformation, fortune, loyalty	1922
The Forest Bride	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Forest Bride: transformation, hidden identity, animal bride, patience, love, recognition, humility, enchantment	1922
The Three Chests (2)	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Three Chests: forbidden chamber, female peril, deception, captivity, sisterhood, courage, rescue, vengeance	1922
The True Bride	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The True Bride: orphanhood, sibling devotion, false bride, recognition, fidelity, enchantment, perseverance, rightful union	1922
The Devil's Hide	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Devil’s Hide: temptation, patience, self-mastery, bargains, devil, endurance, cleverness, moral testing	1922
The Terrible Olli	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Terrible Olli: honesty, troll encounter, rustic wit, courage, endurance, justice, trickery, survival	1922
III Susan Walker, What A Talker!	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	III Susan Walker, What A Talker!: gossip, talkativeness, mischief, social comedy, reputation, satire, consequences	1922
I Mary, Mary, So Contrary!	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	I Mary, Mary, So Contrary!: stubbornness, vanity, domestic comedy, courtship, character satire, pride, correction	1922
Log	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	Log: heroic quest, monstrous adversaries, cosmic restoration, sacrifice, strength, comradeship, rescue, kingship	1922
The Animals Take A Bite	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Animals Take A Bite: appetite, animal rivalry, trickery, opportunism, peasant humour, competition, mischief	1922
The Partners	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Partners: unequal partnership, cunning, exploitation, quarrel, bargaining, comic justice, survival	1922
The Fox And the Crow	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Fox And the Crow: flattery, vanity, deception, theft, wit, hunger, animal fable, gullibility	1922
The Chief Mourner	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Chief Mourner: mock grief, hypocrisy, satire, social ritual, cunning, animal comedy, pretence	1922
Mirri, The Cat	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	Mirri, The Cat: rivalry, stealth, household cunning, appetite, trickery, animal conflict, pride	1922
The Fox's Servant	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Fox’s Servant: masters and servants, deceit, obedience, exploitation, wit, reversal, comic survival	1922
The Wolf Sings	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Wolf Sings: vanity, performance, foolishness, exposure, mockery, animal humour, self-deception	1922
The Clever Goat	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Clever Goat: resourcefulness, defiance, trickery, survival, animal wit, reversal, comic triumph	1922
The Harvest (2)	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Harvest: labour, greed, sharing, rural life, cunning bargain, peasant comedy, reward	1922
The Porridge	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Porridge: hunger, scarcity, theft, domestic comedy, trickery, appetite, peasant life	1922
Nurse Mikko	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	Nurse Mikko: care, pretence, trickery, role reversal, comic deception, household humour	1922
The Bear Says North	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Bear Says North: authority, foolish leadership, argument, animal hierarchy, satire, stubbornness, humour	1922
Osmo's Share	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	Osmo’s Share: division, fairness, greed, bargaining, dispute, comic justice, survival	1922
The Reward Of Kindness	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Reward Of Kindness: generosity, reciprocity, gratitude, moral reward, compassion, aid, justice	1922
The Bear And the Mouse	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Bear And the Mouse: strength and smallness, mercy, reversal, dependence, animal fable, humility	1922
The Last of Osmo	Mighty Mikko	Parker Fillmore	Finland	The Last of Osmo: loss, final reckoning, animal conflict, mortality, irony, closure, decline	1922
The False Vezir	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	The False Vezir: deception, court intrigue, false counsel, suspicion, injustice, family loyalty, exposure, punishment	1901
The Child	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	The Child: childhood, vulnerability, family, hardship, innocence, everyday life, survival, dependence	1901
The Wren (3)	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	The Wren: pride, self-importance, perspective, humility, comic fable, animal world, comparison, resilience	1901
The Mule, The Jackal, And The Lion	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	The Mule, The Jackal, And The Lion: mixed birth, identity, animal cunning, survival, trickery, pride, fable, escape	1901
The City Girl And The Country Girl	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	The City Girl And The Country Girl: rivalry, beauty, jealousy, urban and rural contrast, wit, feminine pride, comparison, satire	1901
The Apple Of Youth	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	The Apple Of Youth: marriage choice, desire, kingship, youth, beauty, courtship, tests, destiny	1901
The Little Child	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	The Little Child: cumulative tale, obedience, cause and effect, persistence, domestic comedy, chain action, oral play, repetition	1901
The Crow And The Child	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	The Crow And The Child: jealousy, motherhood, exchange, deception, domestic rivalry, misfortune, bargaining, desire	1901
In Honor Of Lalla	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	In Honor Of Lalla: love, praise, longing, devotion, beauty, yearning, offering, reverence	1901
Ali's Answer	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	Ali’s Answer: filial conflict, wounded pride, love, exile, defiance, honour, inheritance, estrangement	1901
The Soufi And The Targui	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	The Soufi And The Targui: desire, beauty, seduction, honour, marriage, rivalry, desert travel, social code	1901
Ali And Ou Ali	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	Ali And Ou Ali: trickery, friendship, theft, rivalry, deceit, comic cunning, revenge, betrayal	1901
The Woman And The Fairy	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	The Woman And The Fairy: supernatural bargain, wealth, secrecy, slander, fairy aid, prosperity, suspicion, wonder	1901
The Child And The King Of The Genii	Moorish Literature	René Basset, PH.D.	Arabic	The Child And The King Of The Genii: abduction, supernatural realm, wonder, return, riddles, spiritual knowledge, fate, marvels	1901

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