10 h 32 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 32 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a poor person can outwit a ruler, and the smallest creature can beat the largest?
The Olive Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, brings together folk and fairy tales from many lands. Kings, poor families and clever animals share a world of difficult tests and magic that rewards or punishes. Each separate story offers a fresh encounter, without asking you to follow one long plot.
These tales open a world where strength and rank do not always decide who succeeds. Here, the pleasure lies in moving from one story to another: a contest of wits, a test to pass, a small creature facing a larger one. No knowledge of folklore is needed.
What you’ll discover
- Cleverness against power Meet poor people whose wits can matter more than a ruler's power.
- Small creatures, large challenges Discover tales where a small animal can overcome a much larger opponent.
- Magic with consequences Enter a world where magic can bring rewards or punishments, and tests demand an answer.
- Stories from many lands Explore folk traditions gathered together, with a different tale waiting at each turn.
- One tale at a time Enjoy stories short enough for one sitting, or share their pleasures by reading aloud.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love traditional fairy tales, clever tricksters, enchanted animals and proverbs, and stories from many lands gathered side by side, ready to be read aloud.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A single magic word beats a sultan's broken promise
- Enchanted kings, gnomes and a girl who wants home
- Cruel stepmothers and quarrels send children on the road
- Good sense and courage come from unlikely places
- Small hands and clever friends outwit the powerful
- Good advice carries a young traveler through danger
- Secrets tested love and tempted kings and queens
- Greed, loyalty and curiosity change fortunes quickly
- Waiting, fear and patience shape the closing tales
- Each tale carries its source and a short moral
Who’s who
- The bald youth in MadschunA lazy young man who falls in love with a sultan's daughter and learns a magic word that holds everyone still.
- King LinoA courteous young king of Arabia who loves Princess Hermosa from her portrait and is cruelly tricked by the magician Ismenor.
- AbeilleA duchess's daughter carried off by gnomes who longs for her mother, the sky and Youri.
- King LocThe small, kindly king of the gnomes who loves Abeille and must decide whether to keep her.
- Ameer AliA farmer's foster son and a king's heir who seeks his fortune and aids the Fairy of the Forest.
- SambaA tall, gentle prince afraid of everything, who marries a clever princess and needs her courage.
- ImaniA spirited princess who says she will make her own fortune and does so with one penny and a loom.
- DoraniA perfume seller's daughter with golden hair who dances every night in fairyland and stays silent by day.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 15 minutes, to read today.
- 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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Le Livre des fées olive
by Andrew Lang (éditeur) · 1907
One whispered word freezes a palace wedding when a bald young man claims the sultan's daughter.
Medium level10–20 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
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Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
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In short
What happens when a bald, penniless young man falls in love with a sultan's daughter and learns one magic word? He gathers every bird in the world, then freezes a palace wedding in place.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A single magic word beats a sultan's broken promise
The book opens with Madschun, a tale from the Turks. A woman lives with her bald, lazy son in a cottage in the hills. The sultan's daughter rides by, and that single glance changes the young man completely. He sends his mother to ask for the princess, and the sultan does not punish her.
The sultan sets a test he thinks is impossible. The suitor must bring every bird in the world into the palace gardens. In the desert a dervish tells the youth to sit beneath a giant cypress, wait for the birds to settle, and say one word, Madschun, so that none can leave its perch.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1907
- Language
- français
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
The Olive Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-olive-fairy-book.
The olive fairy book. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-olive-fairy-book (Original work published 1907)
The Olive Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-olive-fairy-book.
@book{anonymous2026olive,
title = {The Olive Fairy Book},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-olive-fairy-book},
note = {First published 1907}
}
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What is The Olive Fairy Book about?
It is a collection of about thirty folk and fairy tales from Turkey, India, Armenia, Denmark, Iceland, Africa and the French fairy court, with kings, witches, gnomes, clever girls and talking animals.
Who collected The Olive Fairy Book?
Andrew Lang edited it as one of his fairy books. His preface thanks Dr. Ignaz Künos, Frédéric Macler, Major Campbell and others whose collections supplied many tales.
Where do the stories in The Olive Fairy Book come from?
Most tales end with their sources. They come from Turkish, Punjabi, Armenian, Danish and Icelandic collections, from the French Fairy Cabinet of 1786, and from Count Hamilton and Galland.
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 (éditeur)
Voir tous ses livresMore like this
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