12 h 31 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 12 h 31 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if silence is your only hope of saving those you love—and leaves you unable to defend yourself?
The Yellow Fairy Book, compiled by Andrew Lang, gathers folk and fairy tales from different traditions. Enchanted animals, dangerous bargains, and brave children share its pages with rulers who mistake flattery for truth. Each story opens another door: from a royal court to a woodland household, from enchantment to a sharp lesson in greed.
In The Six Swans, a sister must rescue her enchanted brothers through silence and endurance, even as others judge her. The Emperor's New Clothes follows a ruler tempted by promises of extraordinary fabric. In Cat and Mouse in Partnership, plans for a shared household put trust beside appetite, with food stored for later.
What you’ll discover
- Courage without a sword Discover a sister whose struggle to save her brothers demands patience rather than battle.
- An emperor's costly vanity Watch a love of fine clothes leave a ruler open to deception and sly humour.
- Trust meets hungry appetites Enter a household where two animals' shared plans bring trust and appetite into conflict.
- Help from unexpected places Explore tales where kindness and loyalty can matter as much as facing a monster.
- A world beyond appearances Find stories that look past impressive surfaces to expose stupidity, cruelty, selfishness, and pretence.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy witches, talking animals and enchanted princes, if you like tales that sound good read aloud, or if you wish to share bedtime stories with a child.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Lang gathers tales from many lands
- Greed and broken promises bring trouble
- Quick wits defeat bigger and stronger foes
- Magic objects give power and temptation
- Kindness to animals is repaid
- Enchanted princes wait for a faithful heart
- Andersen adds gentle, witty stories
- Northern and Native American tales add chill
- How to read the tales aloud
Who’s who
- Little KlausA poor farmer with one horse who outwits his wealthy neighbor Big Klaus with a dry horsehide and a quick tongue.
- The SoldierA discharged soldier who finds a magic tinderbox in a hollow tree and wants to meet the Princess locked in a copper castle.
- ThumbelinaA girl no bigger than a thumb, born from a barleycorn, who wants to live in the sun and escape unwanted marriages.
- FerkoThe youngest of three brothers, he heals injured animals with magic water and later needs their help against a king.
- Prince IwanichA youngest prince who follows a diamond ring in search of the girl Militza and serves the witch Corva.
- MartinA poor widow's son who saves a dog and a cat, then gains a ring that can raise a palace overnight.
- Prince RingA gentle prince lost at sea who chooses a dog from a giant's parlor and takes it to a king's court.
- The Steadfast Tin SoldierA toy soldier made last from the old spoon, with one leg, who loves a paper dancer in a cardboard castle.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 12 h 31 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- 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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The Yellow Fairy Book
by Andrew Lang
A magic tinderbox, a girl as small as a thumb and a tin soldier on one leg wait in these fairy tales.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What would you do if a soldier's tinderbox could call a dog with eyes as big as a tower? The Yellow Fairy Book, gathered by Andrew Lang, holds tales from Germany, Russia, Greece, Iceland, Hungary, Poland and North America, with stories by Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm among them.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Lang gathers tales from many lands
Andrew Lang edited the Yellow Fairy Book as one more in his series of colored fairy books. He argues in his preface that any story pleasant to read is true enough for children. He gathers tales from Russia, Germany, France, Iceland, Hungary, Poland and Greece, adds stories from the Iroquois and other Native American peoples, and includes literary tales by Hans Christian Andersen and Madame D'Aulnoy.
The preface is playful. Lang teases the president of the Folk Lore Society, who thinks too many fairy books appear, and he says he knows people who have heard fairy music in the Scottish Highlands. He adds that in England the fairies have been frightened away by smoke and schoolmasters.
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What is The Yellow Fairy Book about?
It is a collection of fairy tales from many countries, edited by Andrew Lang. It includes stories by Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, Russian and Icelandic folk tales, and Native American stories, full of witches, magic and talking animals.
Which Hans Christian Andersen stories are in the Yellow Fairy Book?
Andersen's tales here include The Emperor's New Clothes, Thumbelina, The Nightingale, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Swineherd, The Tinderbox, Big Klaus and Little Klaus, How to Tell a True Princess and A Story About a Darning Needle.
Are the stories in The Yellow Fairy Book true?
They are fairy tales, so they are not true accounts. In the preface, Lang says they are printed for entertainment. Some come from old folk traditions, others from writers such as Andersen, and they were gathered in the 1890s.
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
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