12 h 31 minAudiobook14 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
This book is for readers who love fairy tales from many countries, with kings, witches, and talking animals, and for parents and teachers who like to read aloud.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Many lands offer different kinds of wonder
- Speech and silence carry real risks
- Magic cannot choose for the hero
- Pride makes appearances seem more valuable
- Small heroes have feelings that matter
- Quick thinking gives helpers their power
- Kindness creates help for later trials
- Warnings reveal what characters cannot resist
- Good judgment matters more than enchantment
Who’s who
- Little KlausA poor villager with one horse who uses quick wits and a dry horsehide to get the better of his bossy neighbor, Big Klaus.
- IwanichThe youngest prince, who loves Militza and follows her ring across a wild forest, helping every creature he meets.
- Fairer-than-a-FairyA princess carried off by a spiteful old fairy, who longs to find the rainbow prince she loves.
- FerkoA handsome youngest brother, harmed by his jealous brothers, who heals suffering animals and hopes to win a princess.
- MartinA widow's son who spends his money on a dog and a cat and later wants to marry a king's daughter.
- ThumbelinaA girl no bigger than a thumb, who longs for sunshine while others try to marry her to a toad or a mole.
- Prince RingA prince, not known for fighting, who is lost at sea and later serves a king with the help of a talking dog.
- The Tin SoldierA one-legged toy soldier who loves a paper dancer and stands firm through every danger.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- 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
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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The Yellow 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 Yellow Fairy Book
by Andrew Lang
A cat names three imaginary godchildren to cover her theft of a pot of fat, and the mouse starts to wonder.
Medium level5–10 hours to read16 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
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In short
What would you do if your best friend kept leaving the house to be a godmother, and came back each time with a stranger name for the baby? That is the opening scene of The Yellow Fairy Book, and the mouse in it is slowly working out what the names mean.
The Yellow Fairy Book at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 5 min5 h 40 min fast, 8 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 101,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
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
Early tales teach what silence and greed cost
The book opens with The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership. A cat talks so warmly of friendship that a mouse agrees to share her house. They hide a pot of fat in a church and agree not to touch it until winter.
The cat cannot wait. She invents a cousin with a new baby who needs a godmother, goes to the church, and licks off the top of the fat. She names the child Top Off. Two more visits follow, with the names Half Gone and Cleangone, while the mouse tidies the house.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 10 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Lang, Andrew. The Yellow Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-yellow-fairy-book.
Lang, A. (2026). The yellow fairy book. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-yellow-fairy-book
Lang, Andrew. The Yellow Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-yellow-fairy-book.
@book{lang2026yellow,
author = {Lang, Andrew},
title = {The Yellow Fairy Book},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-yellow-fairy-book}
}
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What is The Yellow Fairy Book about?
It is a collection of fairy tales and folk tales from Germany, Russia, France, Iceland, Hungary, Poland, Denmark, and North America. The stories feature kings, witches, talking animals, magic rings, and ordinary people who win through wit or kindness.
Who wrote The Yellow Fairy Book and where do the stories come from?
Andrew Lang edited the collection. The tales come from folk traditions and from authors such as the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Madame D'Aulnoy, and several translators helped turn them into English.
Which well-known tales are in The Yellow Fairy Book?
You find The Emperor's New Clothes, Thumbelina, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Tinderbox, The Nightingale, The Six Swans, and How to Tell a True Princess, along with many tales from Russia, Iceland, and North America.
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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