The Folktale Project

Not a single character in 'The King Who Wanted a Beautiful Wife' could even remotely be considered a "good" person. Which is, honestly, a first for The Folktale Project.

From: Italian Popular Tales

A…

'The Table, The Sifter and The Pinchers' is my favorite version of the story of three gifts given by a King and stolen by an innkeeper. Seriously, what was wrong with innkeepers?

From: The Islands of…

Sometimes you want a story to make you think about race, gender or power. And sometimes you want an explanation for why dogs sniff each other. Today, 'Why Dogs Sniff' answers that pressing question.

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You know that I can't pass up a good origin story, right? 'The Islands of Flowers' is a very, very good one about the origin of the Azores.

Title: The Islands of Magic: Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales …

'Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse' is an English folktale that is profoundly sad, beginning with two lovely mice and a countryside tableau and ending with none of this.

From: English Fairy Tales

Author: F…

Take one part "The Goosegirl", one part "Cinderella", and mix it with a little 'Pied Piper' and you'll get the English folktale of 'Tattercoats'.

From: English Fairy Tales

Author: Flora Annie Steel

H…

If you think you have family issues may I refer you to the English folktale of 'The Golden Ball'. Now this poor girl has family issues. Luckily she also has a true love, which is almost always better…

The Armenian folktale of 'The Sparrow and The Two Children' is much, much more than another story about a wicked stepmother trying to kill off her stepchildren. It's all about showing kindness, espec…

The Armenian folktale of 'Mind or Luck, Which?' has some strong thematic ties to the story of Job in the Old Testament. Two sides arguing with a man caught in the middle and in the end, nobody actual…

In the Armenian tale of 'A Wise Weaver' we have a rather ingenious man save his kingdom from invasion and then politely decline the King's job offer.

From: The Golden Maiden and other folk tales and …

In 'A Story About Three Youths All Skilled in Certain Things and How They Used That Skill to Circumvent a Difficulty' we see the familiar trope of threes played out in a unique manner. Instead of thr…

In the Nigerian tale of 'The Story of The Boy and The Old Woman and How the Wasp Got His Small Waist' we learn not why the wasp is, but rather why he's shaped the way he is. And the reason, according…

In 'The Story of a Slave, By Name 'The World'' we meet an adulterous woman and her lovers, including a slave who cannot hold his tongue.

From: Hausa Folk-Lore

Author: Maalam Shaihua, tr. by R. Suther…

In the last of Aunt Naomi's tales of King Alexander, 'The Wonders of The World', we get to see the world through the eyes of Alexander the Great. And Alexander makes a great discovery in the process.

In 'The Land of Darkness and The Gate of Paradise', King Alexander learns the wisdom of the Queen of The Amazons and discovers the River of Life and The Garden of Eden.

From: Jewish Fairy Tales and L…

This week the podcast is bringing you the three tales of King Alexander's Adventures from "Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends". This first story, 'The Vision of Victory' introduces us to King Alexander a…

If you've every wondered "who was the first person to try to eat corn" the Arikara tribe has the answer in 'The Legend of The Corn'.

From: Myths and Legends of the Great Plains

Author: Unknown

Edito…

I'm a sucker for creation tales, but the Cherokee tale of 'How The World Was Made' is now my absolute favorite. It is the very first creation story I've found that fully accepts that there are unknow…

Sometimes folklore can help to answer a question that you've held since childhood, like why is a baker's dozen thirteen? In 'The Baker's Dozen' Charles Skinner gives us a reason filled with saints, c…

'The Idiot' is an Armenian travel tale all about a real doozy of an idiot, even if his idiocy isn't fully apparent from the start.

From: The Golden Maiden and Other Folk Tales and Fairy Stories To…