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 Royal Steed	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Royal Steed: noble horse, loyalty, kingship, speed, heroism, companionship, quest, splendour	1919
Kathleen	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Kathleen: womanhood, sorrow, love, fate, endurance, loss, beauty, memory	1919
The Ride With The Fairies	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Ride With The Fairies: abduction, enchantment, night journey, peril, music, otherworld, altered time, awe	1919
A Terrible Revenge	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	A Terrible Revenge: vengeance, betrayal, wrath, justice, feud, consequence, violence, retribution	1919
The Clearing From Guilt	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Clearing From Guilt: innocence, ordeal, justice, accusation, proof, honour, ritual, release	1919
The Hurling Match	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Hurling Match: sport, rivalry, community, prowess, tradition, energy, honour, festive contest	1919
The Fatal Love-Charm	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Fatal Love-Charm: desire, magic, obsession, unintended consequence, passion, folk spell, tragedy, warning	1919
The Fairies’ Revenge	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Fairies’ Revenge: retaliation, offence, fairies, punishment, supernatural justice, warning, pride, consequence	1919
St Kevin	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	St Kevin: solitude, holiness, miracles, nature, monastery, prayer, compassion, devotion	1919
The Fir Tree (1)	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Fir Tree (1): longing, impatience, regret, innocence, vanity, lost happiness	1836
The Bell (1)	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Bell (1): spiritual seeking, wonder, nature, innocence, transcendence, perseverance	1836
The Naughty Boy	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Naughty Boy: playful love, mischief, desire, vulnerability, Cupid, surprise	1836
The Little Match Girl (1)	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Little Match Girl (1): poverty, neglect, suffering, hope, death, compassion	1836
The Red Shoes (1)	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Red Shoes (1): vanity, temptation, punishment, repentance, suffering, redemption	1836
The Emperor's New Clothes (1)	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Emperor’s New Clothes (1): vanity, deception, conformity, power, truth, innocence	1836
The Dream Of Little Tuk	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Dream Of Little Tuk: imagination, folklore, place, childhood, memory, belonging	1836
The False Collar	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The False Collar: vanity, pretension, self-delusion, status, ridicule, satire	1836
The Old House (1)	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Old House (1): memory, ageing, loneliness, friendship, continuity, nostalgia	1836
The Real Princess (1)	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Real Princess (1): sensitivity, authenticity, refinement, identity, testing, perception	1836
The Elderbush	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Elderbush: childhood, storytelling, domestic wonder, memory, tenderness, imagination	1836
The Happy Family (1)	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Happy Family (1): contentment, family pride, small worlds, satire, complacency	1836
The Story Of A Mother (1)	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Story Of A Mother (1): maternal love, sacrifice, grief, death, faith, endurance	1836
The Swineherd (1)	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Swineherd (1): pride, love tested, vanity, folly, rejection	1836
The Leap-Frog	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Leap-Frog: rivalry, ambition, chance, pride, competition, irony	1836
The Shadow (1)	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Shadow (1): identity, corruption, power, doubles, self-loss, menace	1836
The Shoes Of Fortune - Part 1	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Shoes Of Fortune - Part 1: wish fulfilment, dissatisfaction, satire, mistaken desire, fate	1836
The Shoes Of Fortune - Part 2	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Shoes Of Fortune - Part 2: social satire, restlessness, illusion, escape, consequence	1836
The Shoes Of Fortune - Part 3	Andersen's Fairy Tales	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Shoes Of Fortune - Part 3: longing, transformation, irony, human folly, contentment	1836
Legends Of Artasches And Artavasd	Armenian Legends and Festivals	Louis A. Boettiger	Armenia	heroic kingship, diplomacy and marriage, national conflict, grief and ritual sacrifice, ancestral curse	1920
The Legend Of Vahakn	Armenian Legends and Festivals	Louis A. Boettiger	Armenia	divine birth, fire and solar power, dragon-slaying, heroic valor, celestial creation	1920
Legends Of Abgar, Thaddeus, And St Bartholomew	Armenian Legends and Festivals	Louis A. Boettiger	Armenia	faith and conversion, royal healing, apostolic mission, miraculous image, foundations of the Armenian Church	1920
Ararat	Armenian Legends and Festivals	Louis A. Boettiger	Armenia	Noah and the flood, sacred mountain, survival and renewal, pilgrimage and relics, celestial signs	1920
Khor-Virap And Erzerum	Armenian Legends and Festivals	Louis A. Boettiger	Armenia	Christian endurance, imprisonment and persecution, miraculous healing, sacred geography, loss of paradise	1920
The Legend, Of Haic	Armenian Legends and Festivals	Louis A. Boettiger	Armenia	national origins, heroic ancestry, resistance to tyranny, territorial foundation, Armenian identity	1920
Legends Of Rhipsime And Gregory	Armenian Legends and Festivals	Louis A. Boettiger	Armenia	religious steadfastness, persecution, martyrdom, repentance and conversion, birth of the Armenian Church	1920
The Legend Of Ara And Semiramis	Armenian Legends and Festivals	Louis A. Boettiger	Armenia	desire and obsession, war and conquest, royal beauty, death and attempted resurrection, political deception	1920
In The Clouds	Australian Fairy Tales	Atha Westbury	Australia	Carelessness, Responsibility, Childhood discipline, Fear and consequences, Talking toys	1897
The Bank Cat	Australian Fairy Tales	Atha Westbury	Australia	Honesty, Poverty, Thrift, Work and ambition, Moral redemption	1897
The Wishing-Cap	Australian Fairy Tales	Atha Westbury	Australia	Enchantment, Music, Courage, Friendship, Reward for kindness	1897
The Raindrop’s Story	Australian Fairy Tales	James Hume-Cook	Australia	The Raindrop’s Story: transformation, journey, renewal, and nature’s quiet interdependence.	1925
Baby's Visitors	Australian Fairy Tales	Atha Westbury	Australia	Infancy, Fairy protection, Family affection, Innocence, Domestic magic	1897
Music’s Story	Australian Fairy Tales	James Hume-Cook	Australia	Music’s Story: harmony, imagination, emotion, and the binding power of art.	1925
Gumtree Hollow	Australian Fairy Tales	Atha Westbury	Australia	Courage, Loyalty, Friendship, Transformation, Australian bush folklore	1897
Life And Death	Australian Fairy Tales	Atha Westbury	Australia	Music, Imagination, Fairy encounters, Obedience, Spiritual wonder	1897
The Ball In The Dell	Australian Fairy Tales	Atha Westbury	Australia	Giants, Fear, Bravery, Moral testing, Childhood imagination	1897
Nellie	Australian Fairy Tales	Atha Westbury	Australia	Poverty, Family hardship, Perseverance, Australian rural life, Hidden treasure	1897
“I Don't Know”	Australian Fairy Tales	Atha Westbury	Australia	Ingenuity, Smallness versus strength, Adventure, Escape, Resourcefulness	1897
Clover Perfume’s Story	Australian Fairy Tales	James Hume-Cook	Australia	Clover Perfume’s Story: innocence, sweetness, memory, and the magic of small things.	1925
The Prince’s Palace	Australian Fairy Tales	James Hume-Cook	Australia	The Prince’s Palace: splendour, aspiration, discovery, and the allure of fairy grandeur.	1925
The Fairy City	Australian Fairy Tales	James Hume-Cook	Australia	The Fairy City: wonder, hidden realms, beauty, and longing for enchantment.	1925

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