• My Friend Luke
    • uke Fernando Sorrentino Translated by Gustavo Artiles and Alex Patterson   I have a friend who must be the sweetest, shyest person in the world. His name is brittle and ancient (Luke), his age modestly int...
    • GRANDMOTHER
    • HER     GRANDMOTHER is very old, her face is wrinkled, and her hair is quite white; but her eyes are like two stars, and they have a mild, gentle expression in them when they look at you, which does yo...
    • The Royal Elephant
    • ant When Brahmadatta reigned in Varanasi, there lived a colony of carpenters near the city. Every day the carpenters would sail down the river to cut trees and would bring the timber from the forest to the village. T...
    • The Mean Master and the Clever Servant
    • ant An Iranian Tale Once upon a time a wealthy landowner received a roasted chicken and a bottle of fruit juice from one of his farmers. He called his servant boy and told him to take the gift to his house. Knowing how clev...
    • Mashkussuts: Bear cubs
    • bs An INNU story When spring finally came to the country, the bear woke from hibernation. She got out of her den and said "The spring has arrived again." She went for a walk to the place where most of the snow ...
    • The Town without Death
    • ath One day, Sam fought his way through the thick brush and found himself standing on a ledge overlooking a beautiful valley. And nestled in that valley was a pretty mountain village, with its freshly painted houses, ...
    • A Rose for Emily
    • ily William Faulkner I WHEN Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of h...
    • Little Girls Wiser than Men
    • Men Leo Tolstoy It was an early Easter. Sledging was only just over; snow still lay in the yards; and water ran in streams down the village street. Two little girls from different houses happened to meet in a lane ...
    • The Beetle Who Went on His Travels
    • els Hans Christian Andersen There was once an Emperor who had a horse shod with gold. He had a golden shoe on each foot, and why was this? He was a beautiful creature, with slender legs, bright, intelligent eyes, an...
    • The Heart of a Monkey
    • nkey from: Africa, Swahili A long time ago a little town made up of a collection of low huts stood in a tiny green valley at the foot of a cliff. Of course the people had taken great care to build their houses out of r...
    • Home Sweet Home
    • Home Margo Wayman   TheNile River flowed silently past the pyramid, which stood majestically against the reddening sky of morning. The sun cast its rays down on the desert sands, awakening the peaceful land. The...
    • Midas
    • idas from Greece Bacchus, on a certain occasion, found his old schoolmaster and foster-father, Silenus, missing. The old man had been drinking, and in that state wandered away, and was found by some peasants, who ...
    • Man and His Years
    • Years Romania When God had created the world, he called all his creatures together to grant them their span of life, and to tell them how long they would live and what manner of life they would lead. The first to appe...
    • The Reward of Good Deeds
    • Deeds Denmark There was once a man who went into the woods to cut some firewood. He went from one tree to another, but they were all too good for his purpose, as they would make good timber if allowed to stand. At last...
    • The Daydreamer
    • eamer From: India Once an oil man was going to market with his pots of oil arranged on a flat basket, and he engaged a Santal for two annas to carry the basket. And as he went along, the Santal thought: With one a...
    • THE BEAR-HUNT
    • UNT Tolstoy [The adventure here narrated is one that happened to Tolstoy himself in 1858. More than twenty years later he gave up hunting, on humanitarian grounds.] WE were out on a bear-hunting expedition. My comrad...
    • THE PIECE OF STRING [1]
    • G [1] Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) On all the roads about Goderville the peasants and their wives were coming toward the town, for it was market day. The men walked at an easy gait, the whole body thrown forward w...
    • THE COFFEE-HOUSE OF SURAT
    • T Tolstoy (AFTER BERNARDIN DE SENT-PIERRE) IN the town of Surat, in India, was a coffee-house where many travelers and foreigners from all parts of the world met and conversed. One day a learned Persian theologian v...
    • Invitation
    • ion A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and hav...
    • THREE QUESTIONS
    • ONS Tolstoy ITonce occurredtoacertainking,thatifhealwaysknewtherighttimetobegineverything;ifheknewwhotherightpeopletolistentowere,andwhomtoavoid,and,aboveall,ifhealwaysknewwhatwasthemostimportantthingtodo,hewouldnev...
    • EVIL ALLURES, BUT GOOD ENDURES
    • D ENDURES Tolstoy, Leo THERE lived in olden times a good and kindly man. He had this world's goods in abundance, and many slaves to serve him. And the slaves prided themselves on their master, saying: 'There is no be...
    • Mark the Boat for a Dropped Sword
    • An old man was employed in cutting wood in the forest, and, in carrying the faggots to the city for sale one day, became very wearied with his long journey. He sat down by the wayside, and throwing down his load, besough...
    • Mark the Boat for a Dropped Sword
    • ord Chinese fable Long, long ago, in Chunqu Dynasty of ancient China, a man from Chu state dropped his beautiful well-set sword into the water because of the shake from the boat while he was in the middle of the rive...
    • The Country Mouse and the Town Mouse
    • Once upon a time a Country Mouse who had a friend in town invited him, for old acquaintance’ sake, to pay him a visit in the country. The invitation being accepted in due form, the Country Mouse, though...
    • The Fox and the Goat
    • oat A FOX having fallen into a deep well, was detained a prisoner there, as he could find no means of escape. A Goat, overcome with thirst, came to the same well, and, seeing the Fox, inquired if the water was good. Th...
    • Two Seas
    • as There are two seas in Palestine. One is fresh, and fish are in it. Splashes of green adorn its banks. Trees spread their branches over it and stretch out their thirsty roots to sip of its healing waters. Along its s...
    • What Language Does God Speak?
    • k? Once upon a time there was a man in the Serengeti District of westernTanzania called Marwa. In the sixth grade he studied the Christian religion. At Baptism he chose the name Emmanuel which means "God is with us...
    • The Making of a Mother
    • ther By the time the Lord made mothers, He was into the sixth day working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one?" And the Lord answered and said, "Have yo...
    • THE DONKEY AND HIS PURCHASER
    • SER Aesop A man who wanted to buy a Donkey went to market, and, coming across a likely-looking beast, arranged with the owner that he should be allowed to take him home on trial to see what he was like. When he reached...
    • David's Haircut
    • By: Ken Elkes When David steps out of the front door he is blinded for a moment by the white, fizzing sunlight and reaches instinctively for his dad's hand.      It's the first really warm day of ...
    • THE TOYS OF PEACE
    • EACE H.H.Munro (Saki) "Harvey," said Eleanor Bope, handing her brother a cutting from a London morning paper of the 19th of March, "just read this about children's toys, please; it exactly carries ou...
    • THE ROSE OF DIXIE
    • OFDIXIE" By: O'Henry When The Rose of Dixie magazine was started by a stock company in Toombs City, Georgia, there was never but one candidate for its chief editorial position in the minds of its owners. Col. ...
    • THE REPENTANT SINNER
    • ER Leo Tolstoy 'And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.' -- Luke xxiii. 42, 43 . There was onc...
    • The Philosopher’s Stone
    • one Hans Christian Andersen Far away towards the east, in India, which seemed in those days the world’s end, stood the Tree of the Sun; a noble tree, such as we have never seen, and perhaps never may see. The summit of t...
    • WHERE LOVE IS, GOD IS
    • IS IN a certain town there lived a cobbler, Martin Avdéiteh by name. He had a tiny room in a basement, the one window of which looked out on to the street. Through it one could only see the feet of those who passed by,...
    • A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing
    • hing African Cultural Stories During the colonial period in Kenya there were three Kikuyu men Kioi, Githogori and Kaminju who thought that they knew everything. They decided to go to adult education classes to learn...
    • The Wild Swans
    • ns Hans Christian Andersen FAR away in the land to which the swallows fly when it is winter, dwelt a king who had eleven sons, and one daughter, named Eliza. The eleven brothers were princes, and each went to school with a...
    • The Tongue-Cut Sparrow
    • rrow Folktales from Japan Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman. The old man, who had a kind heart, kept a young sparrow, which he tenderly nurtured. But the dame was a cross-grained old thing; ...
    • The Tiger Kings Skin Cloak
    • Cloak A Mongolian Story Long, long ago there lived in the Land of the Khans a poor Alad [a serf or a herdsman in the days of feudalism]. His wife bore three children, but unfortunately they all died. No further chi...
    • The Curious Monkey
    • nkey African Folktales Ituri retold and illustrated by Timothy Bush Ah, but a good long time ago, deep in the dark shady middle of the forest, there sleeps a Dog. He's all curled up in the ashes from a fire, c...
    • Gods Creation
    • tion In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth had no form. It was empty, covered with darkness and water. Then the Spirit of God hovered over the water, and God said, "Let there be lig...
    • THE BRAHMAN, THE TIGER, AND THE SIX JUDGES
    • GES ONCE upon a time a Brahman, who was walking along the road, came upon an iron cage, in which a great Tiger had been shut up by the villagers who caught him. As the Brahman passed by, the Tiger called out and said...
    • The Real Story of Christmas
    • mas An ancient history The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days ...
    • THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST
    • ST The Birth of a Savior At the time that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary she was engaged to marry a man named Joseph. Joseph was a good man who loved God and tired to obey all His laws. When Joseph learned that M...
    • A Tale from Persia
    • a man of Persia hosted a Bedouin from the desert, sitting him at table with his wife, two sons and two daughters; the wife had roasted one chicken, and the host told his guest...
    • ANANSI AND TURTLE Author
    • Author: unknown Nigerian Tale One day Anansi the spider picked some very fat and tasty yams from his garden. He baked them with much care and they came out smelling quite delicious. He could not wait to sit down an...
    • The Lion and The cougar
    • gar A pointed fable is told about a young lion and a cougar. Both thirsty, the animals arrived at their usual water hole at the same time. They immediately began to argue about who should satisfy their thirst first. ...
    • The Prayer That Was Answered
    • red The little room glittered with light from the butter lamps, arranged neatly on a low table in front of the shrine. In the light from the lamps one could pick out holy objects arranged on the shrine - the sacred ...
    • The Kind Man
    • Man Tibetan Folk Tales Once there lived a very kind, generous man. He was loved and admired by many for his good works and kindly deeds. One day, a very famous lama came to his village. The man wished to speak with the...
    • The Monkeys
    • ys & the Moon Once, in the distant past, there was a band of monkeys. They lived in a forest, and in the forest was a well. One night, the leader of the band of monkeys peered into the well, and seeing the reflecti...