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
Mahistruba, The Master Mariner	Basque Legends	Wentworth Webster	Spain - Basque	Mahistruba, The Master Mariner: mariner hero, serpent encounter, sea voyage, gratitude, enchanted bride, loyalty, peril, return, recognition, maritime wonder	1879
Malbrouk	Basque Legends	Wentworth Webster	Spain - Basque	Malbrouk: poverty, bargain, forest encounter, supernatural helper, rise in fortune, trials, family distress, wonder tale, reversal, reward	1879
The Devil's Age	Basque Legends	Wentworth Webster	Spain - Basque	The Devil’s Age: bargain with the devil, time, cunning escape, supernatural contract, mortality, wit, moral warning, infernal trickery, peasant tale, reversal	1879
The Lady-Pigeon And Her Comb	Basque Legends	Wentworth Webster	Spain - Basque	The Lady-Pigeon And Her Comb: enchanted maiden, bird transformation, token object, loss and recovery, beauty, courtship, metamorphosis, wonder tale, fidelity, recognition	1879
Basa-Jaun, Basa-Andre, And Lamiñak	Basque Legends	Wentworth Webster	Spain - Basque	Basa-Jaun, Basa-Andre, And Lamiñak: wild beings, fairy lore, mountain spirits, household magic, supernatural neighbours, Basque mythology, otherworld customs, rural belief, uncanny aid, taboo	1879
The Story Of The Hair-Cloth Shirt (La Cilice)	Basque Legends	Wentworth Webster	Spain - Basque	The Story Of The Hair-Cloth Shirt (La Cilice): penance, vow, pilgrimage, bodily suffering, devotion, Christian asceticism, family trial, holiness, discipline, redemption	1879
The Fairy In The House	Basque Legends	Wentworth Webster	Spain - Basque	The Fairy In The House: domestic fairy, household blessing, hidden presence, rural belief, reciprocity, luck, taboo, small-scale wonder, home life, supernatural aid	1879
The Fisherman And His Sons	Basque Legends	Wentworth Webster	Spain - Basque	The Fisherman And His Sons: speaking fish, boon granted, family advancement, quests, brother rivalry, marvels, tests, fortune, kingship, wonder tale	1879
Morena-Y-A-Letsatsi, Or The Sun Chief	Basutoland	Minnie Martin	Basutoland	Morena-Y-A-Letsatsi, Or The Sun Chief: famine, refuge, power, sisterhood, providence.	1903
How Ra-Molo Became A Snake	Basutoland	Minnie Martin	Basutoland	How Ra-Molo Became A Snake: tyranny, cruelty, punishment, transformation, moral retribution.	1903
The Village Maidens And The Cannibal	Basutoland	Minnie Martin	Basutoland	The Village Maidens And The Cannibal: maidens, menace, wit, communal danger, escape.	1903
The Famine	Basutoland	Minnie Martin	Basutoland	The Famine: hunger, endurance, hidden abundance, wonder, survival.	1903
The Chief And The Tigers	Basutoland	Minnie Martin	Basutoland	The Chief And The Tigers: devotion, danger, healing quest, courage, wild power.	1903
The Story Of Takane	Basutoland	Minnie Martin	Basutoland	The Story Of Takane: courtship, rejection, kinship, pride, consequence.	1903
Morongoe, The Snake	Basutoland	Minnie Martin	Basutoland	Morongoe, The Snake: rivalry, marriage, beauty, danger, serpent suitor.	1903
The Maid And The Snake Lover	Basutoland	Minnie Martin	Basutoland	The Maid And The Snake Lover: love, enchantment, peril, loyalty, animal bridegroom.	1903
How Khosi Chose A Wife	Basutoland	Minnie Martin	Basutoland	How Khosi Chose A Wife: marriage, fidelity, lineage, patience, domestic virtue.	1903
Lelimo And The Magic Cap	Basutoland	Minnie Martin	Basutoland	Lelimo And The Magic Cap: magic, disguise, quest, cunning, supernatural aid.	1903
The Court Of Crinnawn	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	The Court Of Crinnawn: haunting, revenge, healing vessel, supernatural court, death, smoke and thunder, forbidden place, terror, justice, destruction.	1910
The Alp-Luachra	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	The Alp-Luachra: swallowed creature, wasting illness, folk healing, bodily horror, superstition, diagnosis, endurance, rural medicine, uncanny affliction, release	1910
Paudyeen O’Kelly And The Weasel	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	Paudyeen O’Kelly And The Weasel: trickery, animal encounter, country wit, mischief, survival, slyness, rural humour, reversal, sharp practice, fortune.	1910
The Well Of D’Yerree-In-Dowan	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	The Well Of D’Yerree-In-Dowan: perilous quest, crossroads, monstrous guardians, inexhaustible vessel, enchanted well, kingship, perseverance, wonder, return, destiny.	1910
Bran	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	Bran: enchantment, loyal hound, transformation, fate, otherworld trial, courage, kinship, wonder, loss, return.	1910
Leeam O’Rooney's Burial	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	Leeam O’Rooney's Burial: death customs, wake lore, burial fear, uncanny disturbance, ghostliness, community anxiety, superstition, dread, rural belief, mortality.	1910
The Tailor And The Three Beasts	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	The Tailor And The Three Beasts: boast and fear, magical beasts, comic courage, wit, survival, testing, trickery, escalation, rural humour, unexpected victory	1910
The King Of Ireland's Son	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	The King Of Ireland's Son: quest, kingship, adventure, trials, magical aid, perseverance, romance, wonder, danger, triumph.	1910
Trunk-Without-Head	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	Trunk-Without-Head: decapitation, uncanny healing, body horror, danger, folk magic, suspense, mortality, grotesque marvel, restoration, fear.	1910
Neil O’Carree	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	Neil O’Carree: cunning servant, grotesque healing, peril, loyalty, mistaken guilt, narrow escape, reward, folk medicine, comic horror, reversal.	1910
William Of The Tree	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	William Of The Tree: cruel stepmother, false accusation, mutilation, miraculous restoration, oath, prophetic children, justice, family betrayal, healing, retribution.	1910
The Hags Of The Long Teeth	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	The Hags Of The Long Teeth: monstrous women, black dog, persecution, sanctity, judgement, transformation, violence, deliverance, supernatural evil, spiritual triumph.	1910
The Old Crow And The Young Crow	Beside The Fire: A Collection Of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories	Douglas Hyde	Ireland	The Old Crow And The Young Crow: wisdom, age and youth, animal speech, teaching tale, cunning, experience, survival, irony, observation, moral insight.	1910
The Fate Of Keris	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The Fate Of Keris: pride, corruption, and a city swallowed by doom.	1845
The Legend Of St Galonnek	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The Legend Of St Galonnek: saintly humility, charity, and miraculous protection.	1845
Teuz-À-Pouliet; Or, The Dwarf	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	Teuz-À-Pouliet; Or, The Dwarf: cunning against enchantment, danger, and supernatural bargains.	1845
The Blessed Mao	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The Blessed Mao: holiness, innocence, and miraculous grace.	1845
Comorre	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	Comorre: tyranny, prophecy, murder, and inevitable downfall.	1845
The Four Gifts (3)	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The Four Gifts: magical helpers, gratitude, and fortune wisely used.	1845
Peronnik The Idiot	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	Peronnik The Idiot: humble cunning triumphing over power, magic, and danger.	1845
The Piper	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The Piper: music, enchantment, and fatal following.	1845
The Three Wayfarers	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The Three Wayfarers: hospitality, hidden holiness, and moral testing.	1845
The Groac'H Of The Isle Of Lok (1)	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The Groac’H Of The Isle Of Lok: enchantment, captivity, trickery, and escape.	1845
Robin Redbreast	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	Robin Redbreast: pity, transformation, and the sacredness of small lives.	1845
The Stones Of Plouhinec	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The Stones Of Plouhinec: greed, envy, magic wealth, and poetic justice.	1845
The Korils Of Plauden	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The Korils Of Plauden: fairy revels, temptation, and perilous otherworldly contact.	1845
The Palace Of The Proud King	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The Palace Of The Proud King: pride humbled by divine or magical retribution.	1845
The White Inn	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The White Inn: spectral warning, guilt, and punishment after murder.	1845
The Spectre Laundresses	Breton Legends	Théodore Claude Henri Hersart de la Villemarqué	France	The Spectre Laundresses: death omens, supernatural punishment, and terror.	1845
The Story Of Deirdre	Celtic Fairy Tales	Joseph Jacobs	Ireland	The Story Of Deirdre: tragic love, prophecy, exile, beauty, fate, jealousy, sorrow	1892
Andrew Coffey	Celtic Fairy Tales	Joseph Jacobs	Ireland	Andrew Coffey: greed, deception, ghostly justice, rural humour, drinking, comeuppance, cunning	1892
The Sprightly Tailor	Celtic Fairy Tales	Joseph Jacobs	Scotland	The Sprightly Tailor: cleverness, social rise, wit, comic hero, dexterity, audacity, success	1892

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