Once upon a time in a certain country there lived a
king whose palace was surrounded by a spacious garden.
But, though the gardeners were many and the soil was
good, this garden yielded neither flowers nor fruits, not
even grass or shady trees.
Once upon a time a great king of the East, named
Saman-lalposh, had three brave and clever sons--Tahmasp,
Qamas, and Almas-ruh-baksh. One day, when the king was
sitting in his hall of audience, his eldest son, Prince Tahmasp,
came before him, and after greeting his father with due respect,
said ...
This is the third, and probably the last, of the Fairy Books of
many colours. First there was the Blue Fairy Book; then,
children, you asked for more, and we made up the Red Fairy Book;
and, when you wanted more still, the Green Fairy Book was put
together. The stories in all the books ar ...
There was once upon a time a king who was so much beloved by his
subjects that he thought himself the happiest monarch in the
whole world, and he had everything his heart could desire. His
palace was filled with the rarest of curiosities, and his gardens
with the sweetest flowers, while i ...
In the land of Erin there dwelt long ago a widow who had an only
son. He was a clever boy, so she saved up enough money to send
him to school, and, as soon as he was old enough, to apprentice
him to any trade that he would choose. But when the time came, he
said he would not be bound to any tra ...
Many years ago my friend and publisher, Mr. Charles Longman,
presented me with Le Cabinet des Fées ('The Fairy Cabinet'). This
work almost requires a swinging bookcase for its accommodation,
like the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and in a revolving bookcase I
bestowed the volumes. Circumstan ...
Once upon a time, at the town of Senna on the banks of the Zambesi, was
born a child. He was not like other children, for he was very tall and
strong; over his shoulder he carried a big sack, and in his hand an
iron hammer. He could also speak like a grown man, but usually he was
very silent. ...
All people in the world tell nursery tales to their children. The
Japanese tell them, the Chinese, the Red Indians by their camp
fires, the Eskimo in their dark dirty winter huts. The Kaffirs of
South Africa tell them, and the modern Greeks, just as the old
Egyptians did, when Moses had n ...
Long, long ago there stood in the midst of a country covered with
lakes a vast stretch of moorland called the Tontlawald, on which
no man ever dared set foot. From time to time a few bold spirits
had been drawn by curiosity to its borders, and on their return
had reported that they had caught ...
A cat had made acquaintance with a mouse, and had spoken so much
of the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at last
the Mouse consented to live in the same house with her, and to go
shares in the housekeeping. 'But we must provide for the winter
or else we shall suffer hunger,' sa ...