16 h 1 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 16 h 1 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A boy longs for school, a little dog faces a lion, and small acts reveal what kindness means.
In Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Natural Science Stories, Leo Tolstoy brings together brief tales and plain explanations of the living world. The three parts move from fables with a clear point to stories of village life and pieces about nature. Written for children, they give adults something to enjoy and think about too.
Meet Filipok, who sets out in his father's hat because he wants to join the older children at school. Watch a little dog enter a powerful lion's cage. In another household, an old grandfather's treatment tests his family's kindness. Across these small scenes, courage, loyalty and care become questions the reader can feel.
What you’ll discover
- Fables with a point Discover how a few sentences and one clear act can carry a moral.
- Filipok heads for school Follow a small boy whose wish to learn sends him out in his father's hat.
- Animals beyond the cute Encounter animal stories that test loyalty and courage, with close attention to their subjects.
- Kindness close to home Consider how a family's treatment of an old grandfather brings everyday care into focus.
- Nature in plain words Explore pieces that encourage close observation and explain how the living world works.
Who will love it
This book is for readers who enjoy animal fables, plain tales of kindness, adventures in the Caucasus, folk stories with devils, and parents or teachers curious how Tolstoy taught village children.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Short fables teach one lesson in a minute
- Tales from India show how people misjudge
- Small stories teach pity through a child's eyes
- A bulldog and a setter bring the Caucasus alive
- A captive officer holds on through skill and courage
- Two unfinished tales look back at Russian history
- Science stories explain nature with plain examples
- Tolstoy argues that teaching should follow freedom
- Tales of faith ask how people should live
- Ivan the Fool and the devils tell it straight
Who’s who
- BulkaA black bulldog with a jutting jaw, gentle but stubborn, who follows his master across twenty versts of heat and into the thickets.
- ZhilinA brave, resourceful officer taken captive by Tartars, who passes the time making toys and plans his escape.
- DinaThe thirteen-year-old daughter of Zhilin's captor, who feels pity for the prisoner and brings him food in secret.
- SeménA poor shoemaker who takes in a naked stranger on a cold evening and must face his angry wife.
- MikháylaA silent stranger who learns the shoemaker's trade in a few days and smiles only at certain moments.
- Martýn AvdyéichAn old shoemaker who reads the Gospel at night and waits at his window for a promised guest.
- Iván the FoolA peasant who readily shares with his brothers but refuses more soldiers and gold after learning the harm they cause.
- Ermák TimoféichA Cossack chief who leads six hundred men across the Urals and rallies them when they lose heart.
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- 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 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Favole per bambini, racconti per bambini, racconti di scienze naturali
by Lev Tolstoj
A captive officer, a hunting dog and a straw army fill Tolstoy's tales for young readers.
Medium level10–20 hours to readItaliano
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
A bear charges through the snow at a hunter. A shoemaker brings home a naked stranger he found freezing by a chapel.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Short fables teach one lesson in a minute
Tolstoy opens with fables in the Aesop tradition, each only a few lines long. They name an animal, set up one situation, and let the result speak for itself.
Many warn about greed and vanity. In The Hen and the Golden Eggs, a man kills his hen to get all the gold at once and finds an ordinary bird inside.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
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Cite this edition
Tolstoy, Leo. Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Natural Science Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/fables-for-children-stories-for-children-natural-science-stories.
Tolstoy, L. (2026). Fables for children, stories for children, natural science stories. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fables-for-children-stories-for-children-natural-science-stories
Tolstoy, Leo. Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Natural Science Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fables-for-children-stories-for-children-natural-science-stories.
@book{tolstoy2026fables,
author = {Tolstoy, Leo},
title = {Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Natural Science Stories},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fables-for-children-stories-for-children-natural-science-stories}
}
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What is Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Natural Science Stories about?
It gathers Tolstoy's writing for young readers: Aesop-style and Indian fables, short stories about animals and country life, an adventure in the Caucasus, lessons in science, moral tales from the 1880s, and an essay on teaching.
Who wrote these stories and why?
Leo Tolstoy wrote them, mostly for the peasant children at his village school at Yasnaya Polyana. He wanted clear stories and facts that pupils would take up willingly, in plain language they could follow at once.
Who is Iván the Fool?
Iván is the youngest of three brothers in a folk tale. He readily gives his brothers what they want, but refuses further soldiers and gold when he learns that they have caused suffering. The old devil cannot get the better of him.
The author
Leo Tolstoy
1828–1910 · Russian novelist and moral philosopher
Leo Tolstoy was a Russian author born in 1828 at Yasnaya Polyana, where he lived for much of his life. He wrote novels, stories, and essays. War and Peace appeared in 1865–1869 and Anna Karenina in 1875–1877. He died in 1910 at Astapovo, Russia.
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