An Arab prince had heard that in a certain town there was a judge who was very clever in discovering the truth. The prince wished to test the ability of the judge personally, and so he disguised himself as a…
The Lady or the Tiger?
Many centuries ago, in a far off country, there lived a king who had some rather strange ideas. At least, these ideas seem strange to us today although, in the period of history in which this king lived, they were,…
King Alfred and the Cakes
Alfred was a very famous English King who was born in 849 and who died in 899. He is usually referred to as “Alfred the Great” because of all the wonderful things he did while he was King. He started…
The Pot of Gold
Once a farmer was put in prison. Even though this farmer was in prison, he wasn’t a bad man. He hadn’t done anything wrong. At this time the King’s men were collecting money. The king needed money so that he…
The Three Little Pigs
One day a mother pig said to her three little pigs, “Now you are big, so big that you cannot all get in my house. You must each make a house. But you must not let the big wolf catch…
Hansel and Gretel
Once upon a time there lived a woodcutter and his wife. They had two children: a boy called Hansel and a girl whose name was Gretel.The woodcutter and his family lived in a cottage on the outskirts of a forest.…
The Young King
The young king was sitting alone in his beautiful room in the palace. He was only sixteen years old; he was wild-eyed like some animal of the forest. The servants of the old king had found him in the forest.…
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Mary had a little lamb. She loved it very much. In the day time she kept it tied to a tree in the fields and in the evening she went to lead it back home. One evening, however, she found…
Noah’s Ark
From the years far back, before the Bible was written, there had been handed down the tale that one time the earth had grown so wicked that there seemed nothing for God to do but to wash it clean and…
The Story of Tom Thumb
In the days of King Arthur there lived a famous magician called Merlin. One day, when he was travelling the country disguised as a beggar, he stopped at the cottage of a poor ploughman to ask for food. The ploughman…