Classic Tales

An extremely vain Emperor loved nothing more than seeing himself dressed in very beautiful clothes. So when two crafty Swindlers arrive and tell him they can give him the finest clothes ever made, the Emperor is naturally delighted. The swindlers then produce a 'cloth' that they say is totally invisible to people who are stupid. Not wanting to be seen as anything less than intelligent, the Emperor praises the cloth - even though he can't see it (because in truth, there is nothing to see). What's good enough for the Emperor quickly becomes good enough for his subjects and soon everyone in the Kingdom is praising the non existent clothes in rapturous terms. The result of all this is that an Emperor makes an embarrassment of himself and a lot of people who should know better behave very stupidly indeed.

A young Japanese boy named Taro leads a hard life - working day in and day out to support his sick mother. Things become so grim that he is forced to seek help from his rich uncle Gonzo whom he asks for a loan so he can buy his mother's medicine. The miserly uncle however won't lend Taro a penny and the boy is in despair. As luck would have it, Taro meets an old man who gives him a pair of clogs that create gold coins for whoever wears them. Taro's money problems are suddenly over and he and his mother can live comfortably at last. But the mean Gonzo hears about the clogs and bullies Taro into giving them to him. Soon Gonzo is creating more gold than he can possibly spend in ten lifetimes and is deliriously rich. But as soon as he discovers - it's very easy to have too much of a good thing.

The youngest son of a poor miller finds his total inheritance will be nothing more than the family cat. But this cat soon proves himself to be extremely courageous and very, very smart. Within days he has taken himself to court and introduced himself to the King. Not only that, but the cat also tells the King stories about how wonderful his young master is and the great deeds he has done. The King is intrigued to discover the identity of the cat's master and the clever cat makes this happen but only after he also ensures the rosiest of futures for his master - and himself of course.

Tiddalik the frog woke one morning feeling thirsty - so thirsty that he drank the local stream completely dry. And the river! And the billabongs! In fact he drank all the water in the entire world! Naturally, all the other animals were horrified because there was no water anywhere left for them to drink. A terrible drought then broke out and it seemed that the world would soon die unless something could be done. But what? A wise wombat suggested that they should make Tiddalik laugh and then the water would flow out of his mouth and back into the streams. The other animals all agreed that this was an excellent suggestion. But how would they make a frog laugh?

A King had twelve beautiful daughters who were all charming and polite but who caused him great puzzlement. Even though he locked their door at night when they went to bed, every morning he discovered that their shoes were worn through - as if they'd been out dancing all night. Determined to get to the bottom of things, the King announced that any man who could solve this mystery could choose one of his daughters as a wife. But there was a downside - anyone who tried and failed would lose his head! It would require courage, brains and luck to achieve such a task. Would any young man be up to it?

Niall O'Leary was the poorest, unluckiest young man in all of Ireland. Nothing ever seemed to go right for him. Then one day Niall was out walking in the country when - lo and behold! - he stumbled across a tiny leprechaun. Like all Irishmen, Niall knew that leprechauns always had a pot of gold hidden close by. If he could find where this one's was then all his problems would be over. As luck would have it, Niall gets the leprechaun to tell him precisely where his pot of gold is buried. But finding something and keeping it are two very different things - as Niall quickly finds out.

Desperately keen for his daughter to become a servant at the palace, a very poor miller tells the King that she can spin straw into gold. Astonished, the King demands the daughter do just that and the girl is swiftly locked in a room and given one night to prove she can achieve her father's claim - or she will die! The girl of course has no idea how to spin straw into gold and bursts into tears as she contemplates her fate. At that moment, a strange little man appears from nowhere and tells her that he can make gold from straw. The girl begs him to help her and he's only too happy to do so. But in return, the girl must promise him something. She does so - but it's a promise she soon lives to regret.

In Spain, three brothers and their sister build a beautiful palace in which to live. Everyone admires it but an old man tells them that for the palace to be a truly happy one they must collect certain things from the remote mountains. One by one the brothers attempt the task but none can overcome the spell of the mountain and are quickly turned into stone. Then it is the sister's turn. Showing great courage and strength of mind the young girl scales the mountains and finds the tokens. But can she return safely? And will she ever be able to rescue her brothers?

Once there was a grand castle with a beautiful garden and - because the owner had been absent for a very long time - the children used the garden as their playground. But one day the owner came back. He was a mean, grumpy giant who immediately kicked the children off his property and put up a large fence to stop them ever returning. Naturally, the children were very sad to lose their playground. As well, the garden itself became cold, dark and wintry without the children. Instead of delighting in having his palace all to himself, the giant suddenly discovered he was feeling quite lonely and miserable. What could he do to bring the sunshine back to his castle? Or was it already too late?

A poor woodcutter and his wife live a hard life with barely enough food to keep them going. One day, as the woodcutter is about to chop down a tree, a small elf appears and begs him to stop. In return for sparing the tree, the elf promises to give him three wishes - all of which will come true! Overjoyed, the woodcutter and his wife imagine what they'll wish for: - fine clothes, money, a grand house. But as they make their plans, they discover that a slip of the tongue can quickly destroy all their hopes.

One day while taking his nap in the jungle, the mighty lion was woken by a mouse scurrying across his nose. The angry lion grabbed the mouse and was just about to eat him when the mouse offered him a deal - if the lion would spare his life, the mouse promised to pay back the favour someday. The lion was hugely amused by the mouse's ridiculous suggestion. He laughed so hard that he opened his claws and let the mouse go free. Then he went back to sleep - never for an instant believing that a tiny mouse could ever help so grand a creature as himself. A few days later though, when the lion was caught inside a trappers' net, he suddenly found himself changing his tune.

When fate decrees that a young man must marry a frog he is naturally downcast by the prospect. To his surprise, the frog turns out to be marvellously talented and able to weave silken rugs and bake delicious bread among her many accomplishments. Surprise turns to amazement when he then discovers that his wife is able to throw off the frogskin and reveal herself to be the most beautiful young woman imaginable. Determined never to lose her, he finds the frogskin and throws it onto the fire. Disaster immediately follows and it will take all the young man's love and determination to set things right again. That - and the help of the old witch Baba Yaga.

A weary little swallow flying south for the winter lands to rest at the foot of a golden statue in the middle of a town square. To the swallow's surprise, it discovers that the statue is crying because of all the misery and suffering he can see in the town around him. The swallow then agrees to help the statue bring kindness and hope to these poor people. Each night it flies with a precious stone - plucked from the statue - and delivers it to those most needy. After several such nights the statue is bereft of jewels and the swallow exhausted by its efforts. With nothing more to give, the swallow and the statue are then left to face their fate together.

When the world was young, humans were entirely happy and none more so than Pandora - a lovely girl who spent her days laughing, dancing and singing. All this happiness enraged a grumpy, old God named Zeus - who couldn't bear to see others having a good time. As a result, he decided to send Pandora a gift in the form of a large box. With the box came a warning - on no account should Pandora ever open it. Alas, Pandora couldn't resist and soon found herself lifting up the lid to see what lay inside. She quickly realized she'd made a grave mistake - and humans have been living with the consequences ever since.

An elderly couple take pity on a lost and hungry sparrow and go out of their way to feed and look after it. In return, the sparrow rewards them with a beautiful song each morning. Unfortunately, the birds singing irritates the cranky, old woman who lives next door and she cruelly cuts the sparrow's tongue so it can't sing anymore. The shocked bird flies away and the old couple worry about what might become of it. They set off to find it and to their joy, they discover it's alive and well and with a fine family of its own. The bird then handsomely rewards the old couple for their kindness. The cranky old woman spies the reward and asks the sparrow for something too. Alas, the woman's greed gains her more than she's bargained for.

A woman longs to have a little girl of her own and one day, an old witch grants her what she's wished for. A magic flower opens to reveal a tiny child - no bigger than a thumb - and so Thumbelina is born. The girl's life is one of happiness and she spends her days playing and singing in the woman's garden. But as the years roll by, Thumbelina never grows and while this doesn't worry her in the slightest, it makes her easy prey for some of the bigger creatures in the garden. And so it is that one night, a large toad steals Thumbelina away to become the wife of his ugly son. Adventure then follows adventure as Thumbelina faces danger and hardship on a quest to find her perfect match.

In the Indian jungle all the animals live in peace and harmony until one day, a huge lion arrives and begins hunting them. Terrified, the animals strike a bargain with the lion. Each day, one of them will agree to be his dinner if he leaves the others alone. This suits the lion well and so from then on, the animals draw straws to see which one will become the lion's meal that day. When a hare is chosen to become the lion's dinner however, he decides to challenge the lion. The other animals think he has no chance even though they know that the hare is very smart. But whether he'll be smart enough to outwit the king of the jungle is another matter entirely.

A pair of rats have the most beautiful daughter in all the rat world and are keen to find a husband who is worthy of her. A handsome young rat is very eager to be chosen but the girl's mother will have none of him. The mother believes that only the greatest creature in the world is suitable for their daughter and nothing less will do. The family then set off to find such a being. Their journey takes them from one encounter to another - all of which prove futile. Then they return home and find that their daughter's perfect match has been there all along.

Once, in a small, Russian Village, a young girl names Sashenka lived in a cottage with her mother. Life was hard and the villagers were thin from hunger. One day, while out in the woods searching for food, Sashenka came across a poor, old woman. Even though Sashenka was weak and tired, she offered to help the woman by carrying her heavy load. In return for her kindness the old lady gave the girl a large iron pot. When Sashenka arrived home her mother scolded her for bringing such a useless item into the house. Little did they know that the pot would soon change not just their lives, but the lives of everyone in the village.

Abraham is married to a beautiful young woman called Sarah. She is so beautiful that people would fall silent and even faint away at the sight of her. One day, when they approach the city of an Egyptian Pharaoh, Abraham tries to hide Sarah because he knows that the Pharaoh will try and steal her for himself. And in spite of Abraham's best efforts, the Pharaoh does just that. Abraham is in despair, thinking he's lost his wife forever. But Sarah has brains as well as beauty - and the Pharaoh is about to meet more than his match.

When a poor farmer in ancient China came across a wounded bird, he took it home, made a splint for its broken wing and nursed it back to health. A rich merchant who lived nearby laughed at the farmer for wasting his time helping such a useless creature. But when the bird was better, it gave the farmer a gift of a seed that grew into a vine bearing huge pumpkins filled with gold. When the merchant saw this he shook with envy and decided he should have a golden pumpkin too. He then found and deliberately hurt a bird so he could nurse it back to health in return for a magical seed. Eventually, the merchant got what he wanted- and a whole lot more besides!