A good man had a beautiful wife, whom he loved passionately, and never left if possible. One day, when he was obliged by important business to go away from her, he went to a place where all kinds of birds are sold and bought a parrot. This parrot not only spoke well, but it had the gift of telling all that had been done before it. He brought it home in a cage, and asked his wife to put it in her room, and take great care of it while he was away. Then he departed. On his return he asked the parrot what had happened during his absence, and the parrot told him some things which made him scold his wife.
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Arabian Nights: The Story of the Greek King and the Physician Douban
In the country of Zouman, in Persia, there lived a Greek king. This king was a leper, and all his doctors had been unable to cure him, when a very clever physician came to his court.
He was very learned in all languages, and knew a great deal about herbs and medicines.
As soon as he was told of the king’s illness he put on his best robe and presented himself before the king. “Sire,” said he, “I know that no physician has been able to cure your majesty, but if you will follow my instructions, I will promise to cure you without any medicines or outward application.”
Arabian Nights: The Story of the Fisherman
Sire, there was once upon a time a fisherman so old and so poor that he could scarcely manage to support his wife and three children. He went every day to fish very early, and each day he made a rule not to throw his nets more than four times. He started out one morning by moonlight and came to the sea-shore. He undressed and threw his nets, and as he was drawing them towards the bank he felt a great weight. He though he had caught a large fish, and he felt very pleased. But a moment afterwards, seeing that instead of a fish he only had in his nets the carcase of an ass, he was much disappointed.
Arabian Nights: The Story of the Second Old Man and of the Two Black Dogs
Great prince of the genii, you must know that we are three brothers– these two black dogs and myself. Our father died, leaving us each a thousand sequins. With this sum we all three took up the same profession, and became merchants. A short time after we had opened our shops, my eldest brother, one of these two dogs, resolved to travel in foreign countries for the sake of merchandise. With this intention he sold all he had and bought merchandise suitable to the voyages he was about to make. He set out, and was away a whole year. At the end of this time a beggar came to my shop. “Good-day,” I said. “Good-day,” he answered; “is it possible that you do not recognise me?” Then I looked at him closely and saw he was my brother. I made him come into my house, and asked him how he had fared in his enterprise.
Arabian Nights: The Story of the First Old Man and of the Hind
I am now going to begin my story (said the old man), so please attend.
This hind that you see with me is my wife. We have no children of our own, therefore I adopted the son of a favorite slave, and determined to make him my heir.
My wife, however, took a great dislike to both mother and child, which she concealed from me till too late. When my adopted son was about ten years old I was obliged to go on a journey. Before I went I entrusted to my wife’s keeping both the mother and child, and begged her to take care of them during my absence, which lasted a whole year. During this time she studied magic in order to carry out her wicked scheme. When she had learnt enough she took my son into a distant place and changed him into a calf. Then she gave him to my steward, and told him to look after a calf she had bought. She also changed the slave into a cow, which she sent to my steward.
Arabian Nights: The Story of the Merchant and the Genie
Sire, there was once upon a time a merchant who possessed great wealth, in land and merchandise, as well as in ready money. He was obliged from time to time to take journeys to arrange his affairs. One day, having to go a long way from home, he mounted his horse, taking with him a small wallet in which he had put a few biscuits and dates, because he had to pass through the desert where no food was to be got. He arrived without any mishap, and, having finished his business, set out on his return. On the fourth day of his journey, the heat of the sun being very great, he turned out of his road to rest under some trees. He found at the foot of a large walnut-tree a fountain of clear and running water. He dismounted, fastened his horse to a branch of the tree, and sat by the fountain, after having taken from his wallet some of his dates and biscuits. When he had finished this frugal mean he washed his face and hands in the fountain.
Arabian Nights: Prologue
Illustration by Edmund Dulac (1907)
In the chronicles of the ancient dynasty of the Sassanidae, who reigned for about four hundred years, from Persia to the borders of China, beyond the great river Ganges itself, we read the praises of one of the kings of this race, who was said to be the best monarch of his time. His subjects loved him, and his neighbors feared him, and when he died he left his kingdom in a more prosperous and powerful condition than any king had done before him.
Arabian Nights: Introduction by Andrew Lang
The stories in the Fairy Books have generally been such as old women in country places tell to their grandchildren. Nobody knows how old they are, or who told them first. The children of Ham, Shem and Japhet may have listened to them in the Ark, on wet days. Hector’s little boy may have heard them in Troy Town, for it is certain that Homer knew them, and that some of them were written down in Egypt about the time of Moses.
Audio Story: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ is possibly the greatest fairy tale of them all from the Brothers Grimm. In this full 30-minute production you will hear a cast of characters, completely original orchestral music, songs, and fantastic sound effects. We tell the story in a way that is unlike any you have heard before. When we made this audio story we worked very hard for months to get it right. We made it as carefully as we would make a film. The entire production is cinematic in its scope and we think it is the most exciting story we have ever done. So turn off every distraction, dim the lights, and enjoy thirty minutes of incredible adventure.
We’d love to hear your comments and reviews of this production. Feel free to send your feedback.
In addition to listening, you can also read our complete original script for the production.
Audio Story: A Chinese Fairy Tale
This story is read by Alessandro Cima
This story was written in 1904, by Laurence Housman. He was from England and wrote many stories, novels and plays. This story first appeared in a book of stories called The Blue Moon.
A Chinese Fairytale tells of the young Tiki-pu who wants desperately to learn how to paint. But he is only a servant and must resort to trickery in order to learn his craft.
Duration: 00:18:33
Audio Story: Peach Boy
This story is read by Laral Andrews.
This is the story of young Momotaro, whose name literally means Peach Boy. The story is one of the most popular from Japanese folklore. Its theme of the unification of a people separated by hostility into an effective force for change resonates throughout history and applies to many different cultures.
More of our larger audio productions with music and sound effects can be purchased by joining our Sound Story Club for just $9.95 a year.
Duration: 00:05:57
All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute copies of our MP3 audio or video stories. They are for your personal use. If you choose to burn our MP3 stories onto a personal CD, do not make copies of the CD or distribute them to other people. Also, do not sell CDs containing our audio stories. All audio stories are copyrighted by Candlelight Stories, Inc.
Audio Story: The Golden Goose
This story is read by Alessandro Cima.
This is a story from the collection of the Brothers Grimm. It concerns three brothers, one of whom is a simpleton. When this simpleton finds a golden goose opportunities and complications seem to meet him at every turn.
The illustration is by Leslie Brooke and is from a 1905 book entitled, ‘The Golden Goose Book.’
More of our larger audio productions with music and sound effects can be purchased by joining our Sound Story Club for just $9.95 a year.
Duration: 00:09:58
All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute copies of our MP3 audio or video stories. They are for your personal use. If you choose to burn our MP3 stories onto a personal CD, do not make copies of the CD or distribute them to other people. Also, do not sell CDs containing our audio stories. All audio stories are copyrighted by Candlelight Stories, Inc.
Audio Story: The Three Little Pigs
Welcome to our first free audio podcast of great fairy tales and children’s stories. Each week, you’ll find fantastic bedtime stories that you can listen to right here on our blog or download to play later. Feel free to burn personal CDs of your stories for home use or on those long car trips that require lots of entertainment!
We begin with a children’s favorite, The Three Little Pigs. It’s a tale that thrills almost all young children and you can’t go wrong with this one. We’ve created an easy-to-understand version of the story that’s both exciting and amusing.
We’ll continue to post stories often so that you always have a great source of bedtime stories or tales to take with you on an iPod or a car trip.
More of our larger productions like Snow White can be purchased by joining our Sound Story Club for just $9.95 a year.
Duration: 00:03:39
All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute copies of our MP3 audio or video stories. They are for your personal use. If you choose to burn our MP3 stories onto a personal CD, do not make copies of the CD or distribute them to other people. Also, do not sell CDs containing our audio stories. All audio stories are copyrighted by Candlelight Stories, Inc.
Audio Story: Tom Thumb
Tom Thumb is a tale by the Brothers Grimm who, in the 1800s, collected tales that were popular in Europe as part of their study of the German language. Their collection became world-famous and has influenced children’s literature ever since. Little Tom is one of the most famous characters in fairy tales. Enjoy his adventures. We’ll post another story about this clever little person soon.
Duration: 00:12:06
Grimms’ Fairy Tales: The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was
A certain father had two sons, the elder of whom was smart and sensible, and could do everything, but the younger was stupid and could neither learn nor understand anything, and when people saw him they said, “There’s a fellow who will give his father some trouble!” When anything had to be done, it was always the elder who was forced to do it; but if his father bade him fetch anything when it was late, or in the night-time, and the way led through the churchyard, or any other dismal place, he answered “Oh, no, father, I’ll not go there, it makes me shudder!” for he was afraid.