5 h 32 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 32 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a land wrested from the sea, giants, mermaids, and tiny earth spirits live close to ordinary people.
In Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks, William Elliot Griffis gathers stories shaped by the Netherlands: its water, wind, and flat green fields. Giants, sea maidens, and kabouters—small spirits something like gnomes—stand between everyday life and the unseen world. These are tales with the warmth of a fireside evening and the wonder of strange neighbours.
The land matters here. Dikes and drained waters speak of a people who respect the sea and fear its power. Griffis brings his knowledge of Dutch history to stories retold for children, where diligence, honesty, kindness, and courage matter. Their simple conflicts offer a way into a country's imagination, where pride, laziness, and cruelty carry a cost.
What you’ll discover
- A land shaped by water Discover how low fields, dikes, and the sea give these tales their roots.
- Strange neighbours close at hand Meet giants, sea maidens, and kabouters at the edge of the ordinary world.
- Courage and kindness matter Follow simple tales that value honest work, brave hearts, and care for others.
- The warmth of fireside stories Enter the kind of tales once shared by the fire on long evenings.
- Folklore with deep roots Explore Dutch imagination with a storyteller whose interests reach into the country's history.
Who will love it
For parents who read aloud, teachers, and anyone who enjoys folklore and seeing how a place shapes its stories. These Dutch tales offer giants, sea folk and kabouters, with lessons about kindness, work and honesty.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The land shapes the stories
- Strange creatures live beside ordinary folk
- Simple tales carry plain lessons
- Why a historian gathered these tales
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Fiabe olandesi per i giovani
by William Elliot Griffis · 1918
In a Dutch land of water and wind, giants, sea folk and kabouters test the people they meet.
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In short
Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks is a book of folk tales from the Netherlands, retold for children by William Elliot Griffis. Griffis was an American minister and writer who knew Dutch history well and wrote several books about the Dutch people and their past.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The land shapes the stories
Much of the Netherlands lies low, and a large part of it was won from the sea by building dikes and draining the water. A people who live like this learn to respect water and to fear it. It is no surprise that folk tales from such a place often turn on the sea, the rivers, the canals and the weather.
In a tale from this setting, a flood is never only a flood. It can be a danger sent by a spirit, a test of a family, or a lesson about care and work. Windmills, dikes, farms and little towns give the stories their scenery, and children who hear them learn how Dutch people lived beside the water.
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What is Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks about?
It is a collection of folk tales from the Netherlands, retold for children by William Elliot Griffis. The stories draw on Dutch life by the sea and feature giants, water folk and small spirits called kabouters.
What is a kabouter?
A kabouter is a small earth spirit in Dutch folklore, much like a gnome or a brownie. Kabouters are usually pictured as little bearded folk who live underground or near homes and may help or tease people.
Who was William Elliot Griffis?
Griffis was an American minister and author who died in 1928. He wrote about Japan, Dutch history and the Pilgrims, and he also wrote books for young readers, including this collection of Dutch tales.
The author
William Elliot Griffis
1843–1928 · American minister and Japan scholar
William Elliot Griffis (1843–1928) was an American Protestant minister and writer on Japan. He was born in Philadelphia and lived in Japan from 1870 to 1874, working as a teacher. He wrote The Mikado’s Empire (1876) and The Religions of Japan (1895), as well as collections of fairy tales.
More by William Elliot Griffis
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