13 h 27 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 27 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A careless wish can change everything in a world of talking animals, enchanted princes, and dangerous bargains.
The Green Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, gathers separate tales from several storytelling traditions. In its opening story, The Blue Bird, a princess and a king face jealous family rivals and love obstructed by enchantment. Their enemies can change not only their fortunes but their physical forms.
Elsewhere, The Story of the Three Bears follows an intruder through a house whose owners are away, trying their food, chairs, and beds. Half-Chick sends an unusual animal traveller among others whose treatment matters. Nursery favourites sit beside stranger adventures, with comic mishaps giving way to threats, difficult journeys, and spells that keep people apart.
What you’ll discover
- Love under enchantment Enter The Blue Bird, where jealous rivals threaten a princess and a king.
- An unwelcome nursery visitor Follow the intruder in The Story of the Three Bears through food, chairs, and beds.
- An unlikely animal traveller Meet Half-Chick, whose encounters make the way it treats others matter.
- Wishes with a cost Explore tales where dangerous bargains and careless wishes can change everything.
- A change of mood Move between comic mishaps and perilous journeys, with unexpected helpers along the way.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy plainly told fairy tales with talking animals, magic rings and clever tailors will love this collection. It suits parents reading aloud and anyone curious about old stories.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A Jealous Queen Tricks King Charming
- Refusing Help and Breaking Rules Has a Cost
- Fairy Court Tales Teach Through Gentle Tests
- Long French Tales Make Vain Princes Earn Love
- Magic Objects Grant Wishes but Test Their Owners
- Kind Heroes Find Loyal Animal Helpers
- Hidden Goodness Outlasts Cruelty and Disguise
- Quick Wits Beat Brute Force in Comic Tales
- Greed and Impatience Cost More Than They Win
- Lang's Gathering Keeps the Old Voices Alive
Who’s who
- FiordelisaA kind princess shut in a tower by her stepmother, who searches the world for the man she loves.
- King CharmingA handsome king tricked into carrying off the wrong bride and turned into a Blue Bird for seven years.
- Medio PollitoA proud half-chick who walks off to see the King in Madrid and will not help anyone on the way.
- Caliph ChasidThe ruler of Bagdad, who buys a magic powder and turns into a stork with his Grand Vizier.
- JenikA lazy third son who saves three animals and wins a watch that grants every wish.
- Prince MannikinA tiny prince raised by a fairy, who sets out to win a princess whose heart is locked on the Ice Mountain.
- Princess SabellaA beautiful princess whose heart was stolen by a fairy, so that she cannot feel love.
- Little Two-EyesThe kind sister with two eyes, scorned by her family, who learns a rhyme that sets a table with food.
Formats and delivery
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Il libro verde delle fate
A snuffbox that grants wishes, a swan that glues hands fast and a king turned into a Blue Bird fill these tales.
Medium level10–20 hours to readItaliano
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In short
What would you say if a battered snuffbox opened its lid and asked what you want? What would you do if a king found himself turned into a Blue Bird for seven years?
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Jealous Queen Tricks King Charming
The book opens with The Blue Bird, a court tale by Madame d'Aulnoy. A king is so heartbroken by his wife's death that his courtiers hang feather beds along the walls. Before long he has married again.
The new queen brings her ugly, ill-tempered daughter Turritella. The king's own daughter, Fiordelisa, is cheerful and lovely. When King Charming arrives to find a bride, the queen locks Fiordelisa in a tower. Turritella answers him from a small window as she has been coached. He carries her off, sees the truth, and swears he will marry no one but Fiordelisa. The fairy Mazilla turns him into a Blue Bird for seven years.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
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Cite this edition
The Green Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-green-fairy-book.
The green fairy book. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-green-fairy-book
The Green Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-green-fairy-book.
@book{anonymous2026green,
title = {The Green Fairy Book},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-green-fairy-book}
}
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What is The Green Fairy Book about?
It is a collection of more than forty fairy tales from France, Germany, Spain, Russia, China and England. They feature fairies, enchanters, talking animals, magic rings and brave young heroes who face tests and win their happiness.
Who wrote The Green Fairy Book?
Andrew Lang edited the book, but did not write all the tales. He collected them from the Brothers Grimm, Madame d'Aulnoy, the Count de Caylus, Sébillot, Deulin, Kletke, Fénelon and others, and credits several translators.
Are these tales for children or adults?
They were gathered for children who asked for more tales, and are told in a clear, lively voice that is easy to read aloud. Adults enjoy the humor, the repeated rhymes and the old patterns behind them.
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.
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