Story summary
Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore summary
- 8 min read
- 8 parts
- Audio soon
A stone-cutter wishes his way up to sun and cloud, and a girl called Yellow Lily outwits a giant.
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Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 1 h 50 min1 h 25 min fast, 2 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 25,700 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore in short
This collection gathers tales from many lands. It begins with a stone-cutter whose wishes climb and climb, and it moves through trickery, fear, kindness and clever helpers. Each tale is short, and each rests on a repeated pattern that the ear can follow.
What Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore is about
Would you wish for more if a voice answered every wish? In the first tale of this book, a stone-cutter gets exactly that. Each wish lifts him higher, and each one leaves him wanting something else.
Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore is gathered by Laure Claire Foucher. Her preface says the book is for children who love to listen, and for mothers and teachers who want less familiar tales. The tales come from Japan, Ireland, Russia, Germany and beyond, and each one is short and easy to follow by ear.
Who it’s for. You will love this book if you enjoy reading aloud, telling stories at bedtime or in a classroom, or meeting wolves, giants and clever princesses in quick tales.
The story in 8 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
Wishing for more can leave you with less
The editor's preface is simple. Children need stories before they need facts, and tell me a story comes before the ability to read.
The first tale carries a large idea in a small space. A stone-cutter cuts slabs from a great rock on a mountainside. He is careful, he has plenty of customers, and he asks for nothing more. Then he delivers a gravestone to a rich man's house. The fine things there make his own work feel heavy. He sighs a wish, and a voice answers that it is heard. His hut becomes a palace.
A passing prince under a golden umbrella makes him wish to be a prince. The hot sun scorches his grass, so he wishes to be the sun. A cloud hides his rays, so he wishes to be the cloud. Then a great rock stands unmoved by the rain, so he wishes to be the rock. Each form brings pride for a short time and then a new complaint.
The repetition works well aloud. His discontent is not about the sun or the cloud. It lives in the way he looks at whatever he has.
Contentment grows from noticing what you already have, not from climbing higher.
- 2Start free to read
A prince's kindness meets a servant's greed
Prince Kindhearted is a Russian story about trust and betrayal.
- 3Start free to read
Jack trades his cows for dancing animals
The Irish tale of Jack is built on three trips to the fair.
- 4Start free to read
Animal tales warn how fear and gossip spread
Four short tales show how quickly a small fear grows.
- 5Start free to read
Tall tales and a jump that wins a princess
Three short pieces are told by a traveling baron who stretches the truth with a straight face.
- 6Start free to read
Kindness to others pays off on the road
Two tales send a hero or heroine on a journey where the choices made along the way matter most.
- 7Start free to read
Clever women and impossible tasks for princes
Two longer tales, one Russian and one Irish, share a pattern.
- 8Start free to read
Common threads and how these tales are told
Step back from the tales and a few themes return.
Read all 8 key ideas now
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Check yourself
Why does Prince Kindhearted's servant refuse to pull him out of the well?
Right. “The servant refuses and demands that they trade places, or the prince will drown.”Not quite. “The servant refuses and demands that they trade places, or the prince will drown.”
What lesson connects the tales about spreading fear and gossip?
Right. “Before you pass a story on, ask who actually saw it.”Not quite. “Before you pass a story on, ask who actually saw it.”
What role do the clever young women play in the princes' adventures?
Right. “A prince is caught in a bargain he cannot keep, and a clever young woman saves him.”Not quite. “A prince is caught in a bargain he cannot keep, and a clever young woman saves him.”
Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- The stone-cutter A careful worker on a mountainside who grows discontent after seeing a rich man's house, and keeps wishing to be something greater.
- Prince Kindhearted A king's only son who travels to see the world and trusts the servant who goes with him.
- Jack A cheerful, ragged boy who trades his mother's cows for dancing animals and tries to win a king's daughter.
- The Bodhisatta lion A young lion who stops a stampede of frightened animals by asking who really saw the earth break.
- Princess Mary Daughter of the immortal King Koshchey, who helps Prince Ivan through her father's impossible tasks.
- Prince Ivan The son of King Longbeard, who must pay a debt his father made at a well and visit Koshchey's underground kingdom.
- Yellow Lily The wisest daughter of the Giant of Loch Lein, who helps a rash prince survive her father's tasks.
- The Prince of Erin A boy who loves games and bets, and wagers his head against a giant.
How it ends (spoiler)
The tales end in different ways. The stone-cutter becomes a man again and is content with his hard bed and plain food. The false prince is exposed and punished, and Prince Kindhearted marries the princess. Jack wins the princess and his mother joins the wedding. The wolf drowns, the youngest sister frees her sisters, and Prince Ivan and Mary return home. The Prince of Erin chooses Yellow Lily.
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Questions about Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore
What is Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore about?
It is a collection of short tales from Japan, Ireland, Russia, Germany and beyond. They include fairy tales, animal fables and tall tales, chosen so they can be read aloud or told by heart.
Who is the book written for?
It is for children who enjoy listening to stories, and for parents, teachers and storytellers who want tales not quite so well known as those in many other collections.
Which stories are in the collection?
They include The Stone-Cutter, Prince Kindhearted, Jack and his animals, The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats, King Longbeard, The Enchanted Princess, Yellow Lily, The Toy Goose, and several tall tales told by a baron.
Are these tales easy to read aloud?
Yes, they are well suited to reading aloud. The sentences are short, the language is plain, and many tales use repeated lines and rhymes that a listener can follow and enjoy.
What is the main message of the collection?
The preface says stories feed a child's imagination and lead naturally to reading. The tales add small lessons about contentment, kindness, honesty, and not believing every rumor.
Cite this edition
Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/stories-to-read-or-tell-from-fairy-tales-and-folklore.
Stories to read or tell from fairy tales and folklore. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/stories-to-read-or-tell-from-fairy-tales-and-folklore
Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/stories-to-read-or-tell-from-fairy-tales-and-folklore.
@book{anonymous2026stories,
title = {Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/stories-to-read-or-tell-from-fairy-tales-and-folklore}
}
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