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 Snow Queen (3) - Parts 4 to 5	Stories from Hans Andersen	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Snow Queen (3) - Parts 4 to 5: trial, loyalty, captivity, endurance, hope	1911
The Snow Queen (3) - Parts 6 to 7	Stories from Hans Andersen	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Snow Queen (3) - Parts 6 to 7: redemption, love, innocence, thawing heart, reunion	1911
The Mermaid (1) - Part 1	Stories from Hans Andersen	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Mermaid (1) - Part 1: longing, transformation, sacrifice, desire, otherworld beauty	1911
Cenerentola	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Cenerentola: neglected heroine, stepmother, envy, magic aid, disguise, royal love, lost slipper, recognition, reward, social rise	1634
Goat-Face	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Goat-Face: hidden identity, monstrous appearance, patience, marriage, transformation, beauty concealed, testing love, fate, revelation, redemption	1634
The Merchant	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Merchant: trade, deceit, bargaining, fortune, travel, risk, trickery, clever speech, worldly experience, reversal	1634
The Myrtle	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Myrtle: enchanted plant, transformation, female voice, hidden bride, jealousy, recognition, rebirth, wonder, domestic magic, restoration	1634
The Three Sisters (2)	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Three Sisters: sisterly bonds, marriage, envy, fortune, rivalry, transformation, social ascent, desire, domestic intrigue, fate	1634
Violet	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Violet: hidden beauty, humble heroine, magical transformation, love, jealousy, recognition, patience, floral symbol, reward, gentle wonder	1634
Sun, Moon, And Talia	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Sun, Moon, And Talia: enchanted sleep, prophecy, spinning, hidden princess, violation, twins, awakening, jealousy, fate, miraculous rebirth	1634
The Booby	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Booby: simpleton, foolish luck, comic error, accidental success, mockery, naïvety, reversal, fortune, absurdity, social satire	1634
The Dove	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Dove: transformation, faithful love, enchantment, quest, feminine resilience, separation, recognition, magic, constancy, reunion	1634
The Three Citrons	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Three Citrons: quest, magical fruit, hidden brides, beauty, loss, false bride, perseverance, wonder, recognition, marriage	1634
The Seven Doves	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Seven Doves: sibling transformation, enchantment, quest, sister’s devotion, silence, endurance, reunion, sacrifice, redemption, family	1634
The Golden Root	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Golden Root: magical object, quest, fortune, wonder, transformation, greed, marvel, testing, adventure, reward	1634
The Flea	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Flea: grotesque challenge, monstrous suitor, paternal folly, princess in peril, ogre, riddle, fate, bizarre token, marriage, terror	1634
The Two Cakes	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Two Cakes: food magic, choice, consequence, greed, foolishness, comic reversal, deception, appetite, fortune, moral test	1634
The Enchanted Doe	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Enchanted Doe: metamorphosis, sibling bond, magic, exile, pursuit, innocence, suffering, enchantment, loyalty, restoration	1634
Pippo	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Pippo: foolishness, gullibility, comic misadventure, trickery, deception, social satire, greed, humiliation, cunning others, farce	1634
The Raven	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Raven: quest for bride, enchanted maiden, long journey, trials, failure, perseverance, magic objects, loss, redemption, destiny	1634
Parsley	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Parsley: stolen child, ogress, bargaining, forbidden theft, captivity, escape, disguise, youthful beauty, danger, cleverness	1634
Cannetella (1)	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Cannetella: enchantment, delayed marriage, false bride, deception, ogre, endurance, transformation, courtship, fate, wit	1634
The Months	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Months: generosity, seasonal powers, kindness rewarded, cruelty punished, old women, fate, magical helpers, humility, justice, transformation	1634
Vardiello	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Vardiello: fool, maternal indulgence, comic stupidity, blunder, farce, misinterpretation, bad luck, rustic humour, absurdity, simpleton	1634
The She-Bear	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The She-Bear: animal disguise, exile, hidden princess, suffering, recognition, transformation, maternal bond, courtly love, identity, restoration	1634
The Serpent	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Serpent: animal bridegroom, hidden nobility, fear, marriage, transformation, taboo, patience, revelation, acceptance, reward	1634
The Stone In The Cock's Head	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Stone In The Cock’s Head: rare marvel, greed, exploitation, bargaining, wit, fortune, envy, reversal, comic justice, value	1634
The Dragon	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Dragon: monster slaying, heroism, peril, rescue, courage, quest, royal reward, combat, fear, triumph	1634
The Three Enchanted Princes	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	The Three Enchanted Princes: transformation, beast princes, rescue, sisterly devotion, trials, disenchantment, loyalty, wonder, restoration, kinship	1634
Corvetto	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Corvetto: trickster hero, ambition, royal service, impossible tasks, cunning, adventure, deception, fortune, comic ingenuity, advancement	1634
Pintosmalto	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Pintosmalto: tiny hero, vulnerability, adventure, mockery, resourcefulness, strange birth, resilience, quest, comic trials, survival	1634
Peruonto	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Peruonto: fool hero, accidental magic, idleness, wish fulfilment, mockery, hidden worth, royal marriage, absurdity, transformation, fortune	1634
Nennillo And Nennella	Stories from Pentamerone	Giambattista Basile	Italy	Nennillo And Nennella: abandoned children, sibling loyalty, exile, survival, wicked parent, wandering, reunion, misfortune, resilience, family restoration	1634
Pastorella	Stories from the Faerie Queen, Told to the Children	Jean Lang	England	Pastorella: innocence, pastoral life, hidden nobility, resilience, love	1908
The Quest Of Sir Guyon	Stories from the Faerie Queen, Told to the Children	Jean Lang	England	The Quest Of Sir Guyon: temperance, discipline, temptation, moral trial, virtue	1908
St George And The Dragon	Stories from the Faerie Queen, Told to the Children	Jean Lang	England	St George And The Dragon: holiness, courage, deliverance, faith, heroic sacrifice	1908
Britomart And The Magic Mirror	Stories from the Faerie Queen, Told to the Children	Jean Lang	England	Britomart And The Magic Mirror: chastity, prophecy, self-mastery, destined love, knightly virtue	1908
Florimell And The Witch	Stories from the Faerie Queen, Told to the Children	Jean Lang	England	Florimell And The Witch: purity, peril, deception, endurance, desire, constancy	1908
Marinell The Sea-Nymph's Son	Stories from the Faerie Queen, Told to the Children	Jean Lang	England	Marinell The Sea-Nymph’s Son: pride, love, fate, vulnerability, transformation	1908
Una And The Lion (1)	Stories from the Faerie Queen, Told to the Children	Jean Lang	England	Una And The Lion: truth, holiness, innocence, protection, faithful companionship	1908
Cambell And Triamond	Stories from the Faerie Queen, Told to the Children	Jean Lang	England	Cambell And Triamond: friendship, honour, rivalry, reconciliation, loyalty, noble love	1908
Echo And Narcissus (2)	Stories of Old Greece and Rome	Emilie Kip Baker	Greece	Echo And Narcissus: unrequited love, vanity, reflection, longing, self-absorption, voice, rejection, beauty, loss, transformation	1913
Hercules Part I	Stories of Old Greece and Rome	Emilie Kip Baker	Greece	Hercules Part I: strength, labours, monsters, endurance, courage, punishment, heroism, service, struggle, fame	1913
The Story Of Endymion	Stories of Old Greece and Rome	Emilie Kip Baker	Greece	The Story Of Endymion: sleep, moonlight, eternal youth, longing, stillness, beauty, Selene, dream, desire, timelessness	1913
The Calydonian Hunt (2)	Stories of Old Greece and Rome	Emilie Kip Baker	Greece	The Calydonian Hunt: boar, hunt, heroes, wrath, teamwork, rivalry, courage, Atalanta, honour, conflict	1913
Pan And The Nymphs	Stories of Old Greece and Rome	Emilie Kip Baker	Greece	Pan And The Nymphs: woodland, desire, music, pipes, pursuit, rustic life, nature, wildness, seduction, pastoral	1913
Æolus	Stories of Old Greece and Rome	Emilie Kip Baker	Greece	Æolus: winds, storms, control, release, sky, sailors, power, tempests, restraint, divine command	1913
Hero And Leander (3)	Stories of Old Greece and Rome	Emilie Kip Baker	Greece	Hero And Leander: love, separation, sea, devotion, nightly journey, beacon, tragedy, longing, drowning, fidelity	1913
The Story Of Proserpina	Stories of Old Greece and Rome	Emilie Kip Baker	Greece	The Story Of Proserpina: abduction, seasons, mother and daughter, underworld, return, fertility, grief, compromise, cycle, renewal	1913
The Story Of Orpheus And Eurydice	Stories of Old Greece and Rome	Emilie Kip Baker	Greece	The Story Of Orpheus And Eurydice: music, loss, descent, underworld, love, grief, looking back, hope, failure, mourning	1913

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