10 h 55 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 55 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if your next meeting with a dwarf, a dragon, or a talking animal puts your character to the test?
In The Grey Fairy Book, editor Andrew Lang brings together short, separate tales from many cultures. Chinese and Japanese stories sit beside Irish, Scottish, African and Australian tales. Hok Lee meets dwarfs who test his luck and character, while Makoma travels far and faces huge rivals through strength and daring. Each story opens a different door into folklore.
The collection includes The Story of the Hero Makoma, The Story of Bensurdatu and Little Wildrose. Princes face hard quests, ordinary people encounter strange beings, and small creatures challenge stronger rivals. Kindness, greed, patience and quick thinking shape what happens next. Read these tales side by side to explore their shared patterns and the different worlds they bring to life.
What you’ll discover
- Encounters with little folk Follow Hok Lee into a meeting where luck and character both matter.
- Strength against huge rivals Travel with Makoma as his daring carries him toward challenges on a grand scale.
- Small creatures, sharp minds Meet the Cunning Hare, whose quick thinking matters more than size or strength.
- Hard roads through enchantment Discover Little Wildrose's hardship and Bensurdatu's difficult tests, where patience and resolve come into focus.
- Dark water and wonder Encounter the Bunyip, a water monster of Australian Aboriginal lore, among swamps and dark water.
Who will love it
Readers who love fairy tales from many countries, families who share stories aloud at bedtime, and anyone curious about ogres, clever fools and brave girls.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A disguise offers a way out
- Kindness finds a gap in cruelty
- Grief gives way to a search
- Tricks and wishes carry consequences
- Hidden strength unsettles outward appearances
- Help creates bonds that matter
- Cleverness alone is not enough
- Familiar pieces form fresh patterns
- Choices matter beneath the magic
Who’s who
- The Donkey Skin princessA king's adopted daughter who asks for impossible dresses to avoid marriage, then hides in a donkey's skin and works on a farm.
- DschemilaA girl who will not leave an iron mortar behind and is carried off by an ogre, but keeps her wits in his castle.
- FortunatusA boy from Cyprus who chooses riches from Dame Fortune and receives a purse that never empties.
- BensurdatuA faithful servant who goes to the bottom of a river to rescue three lost princesses from giants and a serpent.
- UdeaA girl who goes searching for seven brothers she has never met, and meets a man-eater after forgetting to share a bean.
- MoscioneA young simpleton who gathers a band of men with odd gifts, such as speed, hearing, aim, wind and strength.
- Mohammed with the Magic FingerA boy whose little finger sees far away, and who uses it to protect his uncle from a plotting mother.
- PrunellaA girl held by a witch who must perform impossible tasks and is helped by the witch's son, Bensiabel.
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- 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
- 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 Grey Fairy Book in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Grey Fairy Book
by Andrew Lang (editor) · 1900
A princess hides in a donkey's skin while a magician's horse helps a prince escape his cruel master's pursuit.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
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In short
Who would hide inside a dead donkey's skin on purpose? In the first tale of this book, a princess does exactly that to escape a father who wants to marry her.
The Grey Fairy Book at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 15 min4 h 55 min fast, 7 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 88,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1900by Andrew Lang (editor)
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A princess flees her father inside a donkey skin
The book opens with Donkey Skin, taken from the old French collection called Le Cabinet des Fées. A king grieves for his wife, who made him promise to marry only a woman lovelier than herself. The only one he can find is his own daughter.
Horrified, the princess goes to her fairy godmother. The fairy tells her to ask for gifts that cannot be made, a dress the color of the sky, then one of moonbeams, then one of sunshine. The king's weavers deliver each on time. The last demand is the skin of the golden donkey that makes his fortune, and the king gives it up without a pause.
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Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1900
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 5 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
The Grey Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-grey-fairy-book.
The grey fairy book. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-grey-fairy-book (Original work published 1900)
The Grey Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-grey-fairy-book.
@book{anonymous2026grey,
title = {The Grey Fairy Book},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-grey-fairy-book},
note = {First published 1900}
}
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What is The Grey Fairy Book about?
It is a collection of folk and fairy tales from many countries, retold for children. The stories feature ogres, fairies, talking animals, clever fools and brave girls, and each stands alone.
Who wrote The Grey Fairy Book?
Andrew Lang edited it. He did not invent the stories. They come from older collections in French, Italian, German, Greek, Slavic and African traditions, translated and adapted by Mrs Dent, Mrs Lang and other helpers.
Which stories are in The Grey Fairy Book?
They include Donkey Skin, Fortunatus and His Purse, The Goat-Faced Girl, The Magician's Horse, Udea and Her Seven Brothers, The Street Musicians, Long, Broad and Quickeye, The Ogre, and Prunella.
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 (editor)
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