10 h 55 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if your next meeting with a dwarf, a dragon, or a talking animal puts your character to the test?
In The Grey Fairy Book, editor Andrew Lang brings together short, separate tales from many cultures. Chinese and Japanese stories sit beside Irish, Scottish, African and Australian tales. Hok Lee meets dwarfs who test his luck and character, while Makoma travels far and faces huge rivals through strength and daring. Each story opens a different door into folklore.
The collection includes The Story of the Hero Makoma, The Story of Bensurdatu and Little Wildrose. Princes face hard quests, ordinary people encounter strange beings, and small creatures challenge stronger rivals. Kindness, greed, patience and quick thinking shape what happens next. Read these tales side by side to explore their shared patterns and the different worlds they bring to life.
What you’ll discover
- Encounters with little folk Follow Hok Lee into a meeting where luck and character both matter.
- Strength against huge rivals Travel with Makoma as his daring carries him toward challenges on a grand scale.
- Small creatures, sharp minds Meet the Cunning Hare, whose quick thinking matters more than size or strength.
- Hard roads through enchantment Discover Little Wildrose's hardship and Bensurdatu's difficult tests, where patience and resolve come into focus.
- Dark water and wonder Encounter the Bunyip, a water monster of Australian Aboriginal lore, among swamps and dark water.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy fairy tales, folklore from many countries, talking animals, magic gifts, and short stories you can finish in one sitting.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- One book gathers tales from many lands
- Princesses hide inside strange disguises
- Promises made in haste carry a heavy price
- Magic gifts open roads but need careful hands
- Simple heroes win by wit and luck
- Animals help those who treat them kindly
- Enchantments change bodies and test love
- Ogres and witches set tests with clear rules
- The tales are made for telling aloud
Who’s who
- Donkey SkinA princess who flees her father in a donkey's hide, works on a farm and waits for a chance to be herself.
- FortunatusA young man who chooses riches from Dame Fortune and receives a purse that never runs empty.
- BensurdatuA faithful king's servant who goes to the bottom of a river to bring home three lost princesses.
- Mohammed with the Magic FingerA boy who can see events two days' journey away and uses his gift to protect his uncle.
- UdeaA girl who sets out to find her seven brothers and must learn to share with the cat.
- PrunellaA girl named for the plums she picks, who must pass the cruel tests set by a witch.
- BensiabelThe witch's son who loves Prunella and helps her in secret, though she refuses his kiss.
- MoscioneA simple young man who gathers companions with astonishing talents and sets out to make his fortune.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 10 h 55 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear El libro gris de las hadas in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
El libro gris de las hadas
by Andrew Lang (editor) · 1900
A princess wraps herself in a donkey skin, and a sparrow takes on a cruel carter in this tale collection.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What happens when a princess hides inside a donkey's skin, or a small sparrow declares war on a cruel carter? You meet ogres, fairies, clever fools and brave girls, each in a short story built for the ear.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
One book gathers tales from many lands
The Grey Fairy Book is a collection, not a single story. Andrew Lang, the editor, brings together tales from Lithuania, Africa, Germany, France, Italy, Greece and the Slavic countries.
In his short preface, Lang compares popular stories to a kaleidoscope. A fixed number of incidents, like bits of coloured glass, are shaken into new patterns again and again. That is why you will meet a stolen purse, a promise made in haste, or a hero helped by an animal in tale after tale, yet each one feels fresh.
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What is The Grey Fairy Book about?
It is a collection of fairy tales from many countries. The stories include Donkey Skin, Fortunatus and His Purse, Bensurdatu, Udea and Her Seven Brothers, Prunella and many more, with magic, ogres, fairies and clever heroes.
Who wrote The Grey Fairy Book?
Andrew Lang edited it. The tales range across Lithuania, Africa, Germany, France, Italy and other lands. The stories themselves come from folk and literary traditions rather than from one author.
Is The Grey Fairy Book a children's book?
It suits children and adults alike. The stories are short and have clear plots, simple language and familiar patterns, so they read well aloud. Some tales include dark episodes, as old folk tales often do.
The author
Andrew Lang
1844–1912 · Scottish poet and folklorist
Andrew Lang was a Scottish writer born in Selkirk in 1844. He lived in London and died in Banchory in 1912. He wrote poetry, novels, literary criticism, and works on folklore. He edited The Blue Fairy Book, published in 1889, and other fairy-book collections, including The Violet Fairy Book in 1901.
More by Andrew Lang (editor)
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