'The Bucket' is a story that should feel terribly familiar. However, unlike other versions, a lesson is learned where is wasn't before. From: Italian Popular Tales Author: Thomas Frederick Crane Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

Not a single character in 'The King Who Wanted a Beautiful Wife' could even remotely be considered a "good" person. Which is, honestly, a first for The Folktale Project. From: Italian Popular Tales Author: Thomas Frederick Crane Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject. 

'The Table, The Sifter and The Pinchers' is my favorite version of the story of three gifts given by a King and stolen by an innkeeper. Seriously, what was wrong with innkeepers? From: The Islands of Magic: Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales from the Azores Author: Elsie Spicer Eells Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject. 

Sometimes you want a story to make you think about race, gender or power. And sometimes you want an explanation for why dogs sniff each other. Today, 'Why Dogs Sniff' answers that pressing question. Title: The Islands of Magic: Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales from the Azores Author: Elsie Spicer Eells Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject. 

You know that I can't pass up a good origin story, right? 'The Islands of Flowers' is a very, very good one about the origin of the Azores. Title: The Islands of Magic: Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales from the Azores Author: Elsie Spicer Eells Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject. 

'Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse' is an English folktale that is profoundly sad, beginning with two lovely mice and a countryside tableau and ending with none of this. From: English Fairy Tales Author: Flora Annie Steel Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

Take one part "The Goosegirl", one part "Cinderella", and mix it with a little 'Pied Piper' and you'll get the English folktale of 'Tattercoats'. From: English Fairy Tales Author: Flora Annie Steel Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

If you think you have family issues may I refer you to the English folktale of 'The Golden Ball'. Now this poor girl has family issues. Luckily she also has a true love, which is almost always better in folklore. From: English Fairy Tales Author: Flora Annie Steel Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

The Armenian folktale of 'The Sparrow and The Two Children' is much, much more than another story about a wicked stepmother trying to kill off her stepchildren. It's all about showing kindness, especially to animals. From: English Fairy Tales Author: Flora Annie Steel Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

The Armenian folktale of 'Mind or Luck, Which?' has some strong thematic ties to the story of Job in the Old Testament. Two sides arguing with a man caught in the middle and in the end, nobody actually wins. From: The Golden Maiden and other folk tales and fairy stories told in Armenia Author: A. G. Seklemian Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

In the Armenian tale of 'A Wise Weaver' we have a rather ingenious man save his kingdom from invasion and then politely decline the King's job offer. From: The Golden Maiden and other folk tales and fairy stories told in Armenia Author: A. G. Seklemian Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

In 'A Story About Three Youths All Skilled in Certain Things and How They Used That Skill to Circumvent a Difficulty' we see the familiar trope of threes played out in a unique manner. Instead of three challenges to overcome we see three different ways to overcome a single challenge. From: Hausa Folk-Lore Author: Maalam Shaihua, tr. by R. Sutherland Rattray Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.  Img Credit: Leigh g bowden

In the Nigerian tale of 'The Story of The Boy and The Old Woman and How the Wasp Got His Small Waist' we learn not why the wasp is, but rather why he's shaped the way he is. And the reason, according to the Hausa, is quite a tale. From: Hausa Folk-Lore Author: Maalam Shaihua, tr. by R. Sutherland Rattray Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

In 'The Story of a Slave, By Name 'The World'' we meet an adulterous woman and her lovers, including a slave who cannot hold his tongue. From: Hausa Folk-Lore Author: Maalam Shaihua, tr. by R. Sutherland Rattray Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

In the last of Aunt Naomi's tales of King Alexander, 'The Wonders of The World', we get to see the world through the eyes of Alexander the Great. And Alexander makes a great discovery in the process. From: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends Author: Aunt Naomi (pseud. Gertrude Landa) Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

In 'The Land of Darkness and The Gate of Paradise', King Alexander learns the wisdom of the Queen of The Amazons and discovers the River of Life and The Garden of Eden. From: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends Author: Aunt Naomi (pseud. Gertrude Landa) Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

This week the podcast is bringing you the three tales of King Alexander's Adventures from "Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends". This first story, 'The Vision of Victory' introduces us to King Alexander and introduces King Alexander to the Jews. From: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends Author: Aunt Naomi (pseud. Gertrude Landa) Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

If you've every wondered "who was the first person to try to eat corn" the Arikara tribe has the answer in 'The Legend of The Corn'. From: Myths and Legends of the Great Plains Author: Unknown Editor: Katharine Berry Judson   Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

I'm a sucker for creation tales, but the Cherokee tale of 'How The World Was Made' is now my absolute favorite. It is the very first creation story I've found that fully accepts that there are unknowns in the story and I love that about it. From: Myths and Legends of the Great Plains Author: Unknown Editor: Katharine Berry Judson Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.

Sometimes folklore can help to answer a question that you've held since childhood, like why is a baker's dozen thirteen? In 'The Baker's Dozen' Charles Skinner gives us a reason filled with saints, cakes and a Dutch baker in Albany, NY.   From: Myths And Legends Of Our Own Land Author: Charles M. Skinner    Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject.    

'The Idiot' is an Armenian travel tale all about a real doozy of an idiot, even if his idiocy isn't fully apparent from the start.   From: The Golden Maiden and Other Folk Tales and Fairy Stories Told in Armenia Author: A. G. Seklemian Illustrators: Ella Dolbear and Elizabeth Geary     Help keep The Folktale Project ad-free by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject. 

With 'The Tricks of a Woman' it's surely all about historical perspective. You can see this as a tale to warn men of the cunning nature of women, but I like to see it as a woman putting a cocky man in his place.

In 'The Maiden of The Sea' (our first tale ever from Armenia) we meet "the baby" my very favorite character ever. And I can almost guarantee that you'll love him too!

Our final French story of the week, 'Blondine' is part one of a Patreon supporter special, the complete story of 'The Story of Blondine, Bonne-Biche, and Beau-Minon'.

In Mme. De Beaumont's 'The Widow and Her Two Daughters' we have a story where both daughters give of themselves. They each get a gift from a fairy, but are both truly rewarded?

The Russian tale of 'The Judgement of Shemyaka' is a cautionary tale on the ability of some people to seemingly get away with anything. The entire story is mind boggling.

'Who Lived in The Skull' is the perfect story to learn to perform for small children, especially if you learn Arthur Ransome's recommended hand movements.

In 'Story of The Duck with Golden Eggs' we have a duck who lays golden eggs if cared for, but can make you a Tsar if you eat it. I'll let you guess what happens to the duck.

Another story from the Chinese Fairy Book starring an Ogre, but in the case of 'The Flying Ogre' we also see a heavenly hunter of said ogre.

The Chinese folktale of 'How The Five Ancients Became Men' explains the creation of the Gods from nature. It's a beautiful mixture of folklore, history and mythology.  

'The Maiden Who Was Stolen Away' features a young maiden, a brave brother and an ogre in love that just doesn't take no for an answer, but still respects the no that's given.

In the German folktale of 'The Cellar of the Old Knights in the Kyffhauser' we get a terrific moral lesson about trying to profit from that which is given to us. Because folklore morality it best morality.

There was once a young fellow who enlisted as a soldier, conducted himself bravely, and was always the foremost when it rained bullets. So long as the war lasted, all went well, but when peace was made, he received his dismissal, and the captain said he might go where he liked. His parents were dead, and he had no longer a home, so he went to his brothers and begged them to take him in, and keep him until war broke out again. The brothers, however, were hard-hearted and said, “What can we do with thee? thou art of no use to us; go and make a living for thyself.” The soldier had nothing left but his gun; he took that on his shoulder, and went forth into the world. He came to a wide heath, on which nothing was to be seen but a circle of trees; under these he sat sorrowfully down, and began to think over his fate.

Once upon a time a mouse, a bird, and a sausage became companions, kept house together, lived well and happily with each other, and wonderfully increased their possessions. The bird’s work was to fly every day into the forest and bring back wood. The mouse had to carry water, light the fire, and lay the table, but the sausage had to cook. He who is too well off is always longing for something new. One day, therefore, the bird met with another bird, on the way, to whom it related its excellent circumstances and boasted of them. The other bird, however, called it a poor simpleton for its hard work, but said that the two at home had good times. For when the mouse had made her fire and carried her water, she went into her little room to rest until they called her to lay the cloth. The sausage stayed by the pot, saw that the food was cooking well, and, when it was nearly time for dinner, it rolled itself once or twice through the broth or vegetables and then they were buttered, salted, and ready. When the bird came home and laid his burden down, they sat down to dinner, and after they had had their meal, they slept their fill till next morning, and that was a splendid life.

An old hag lived in a house with her grandson. She was a very bad woman who thought of nothing but playing mischief. She was a witch and tried to harm everybody with witchcraft. One time a stranger came to visit some friends who lived in a house near the old woman. The visitor was a fine hunter and went out with his host every morning and they brought home a great deal of game. It made the old woman envious to see her neighbor have so much to eat, while she had little, and she determined to kill the visitor.

The peace of Newbury is deemed to be permanently secured by the prophecy of Samuel Sewall, the young man who married the buxom daughter of Mint-Master John Hull, and received, as wedding portion, her weight in fresh-coined pine-tree shillings. He afterward became notorious as one of the witchcraft judges. The prophecy has not been countervailed, nor is it likely to be, whether the conditions are kept or not. 

In the middle of the last century a large body of Saranac Indians occupied the forests of the Upper Saranac through which ran the Indian carrying-place, called by them the Eagle Nest Trail. Whenever they raided the Tahawi on the slopes of Mount Tahawus (Sky-splitter), there was a pleasing rivalry between two young athletes, called the Wolf and the Eagle, as to which would carry off the more scalps, and the tribe was divided in admiration of them. There was one who did not share this liking: an old sachem, one of the wizards who had escaped when the Great Spirit locked these workers of evil in the hollow trees that stood beside the trail. In their struggles to escape the less fortunate ones thrust their arms through the closing bark, and they are seen there, as withered trunks and branches, to this day. Oquarah had not been softened by this exhibition of danger nor the qualification of mercy that allowed him still to exist. Rather he was more bitter when he saw, as he fancied, that the tribe thought more of the daring and powerful warriors than it did of the bent and malignant-minded counsellor. It was in the moon of green leaves that the two young men set off to hunt the moose, and on the next day the Wolf returned alone. He explained that in the hunt they had been separated; he had called for hours for his friend, and had searched so long that he concluded he must have returned ahead of him. But he was not at the camp. Up rose the sachem with visage dark. “I hear a forked tongue,” he cried. “The Wolf was jealous of the Eagle and his teeth have cut into his heart.”

There was once a husband and a wife who had two children, a son and a daughter. The wife died, and the husband married a woman who had a daughter blind of one eye. The husband was a farmer, and went to work in a field. The stepmother hated her husband’s children, and to get rid of them she baked some bread, and sent it by them to her husband, but directed them to the wrong field, so that they might get lost. When the children reached a mountain they began to call their father, but no one answered. Now the girl was enchanted; and when they came to a spring and the brother wanted to drink, she said to him: “Do not drink of this fountain, or you will become an ass.”

There was once a baker who every morning loaded an ounceworth of bread on a horse that came to his shop. One day he said: “I give this ounceworth of bread to this horse and he renders me no account of it.” Then he said to his apprentice: “Vincenzo, the horse will come to-morrow and I will give him the bread, but you must follow him and see where he goes.” The next day the horse came and the baker loaded him, and gave the apprentice a piece of bread for himself. Vincenzo followed the horse, and after a while came to a river of milk, and began to eat bread and milk, and could not overtake the horse again. He then returned to his master, who, seeing him return to no purpose, said: “To-morrow the horse will come again; if you cannot tell me where he goes I will no longer have you for my apprentice.”

Once upon a time there was a cock and a mouse. One day the mouse said to the cock: "Friend Cock, shall we go and eat some nuts on yonder tree?" "As you like." So they both went under the tree and the mouse climbed up at once and began to eat. The poor cock began to fly, and flew and flew, but could not come where the mouse was.  When it saw that there was no hope of getting there, it said: "Friend Mouse, do you know what I want you to do? Throw me a nut." The mouse went and threw one and hit the cock on the head.  The poor cock, with its head broken and all covered with blood, went away to an old woman. "Old aunt, give me some rags to cure my head." "If you will give me two hairs, I will give you the rags." 

Once upon a time there was a young king who went into the deep forest on a hunting expedition. He and his favorite page became separated from the rest of the party and soon they realized that they were lost. As night approached they found the rude hut of a charcoal burner and begged for permission to pass the night there. They were received most hospitably. Just at the hour of midnight the king was awakened from his sleep by a voice. This is what it said: "Here in this hut is born to-night     The maiden of your fate: You can't escape your lot, young king;     Your fate for you will wait. 'Tis fate—'tis fate—'tis fate."

There was once a little boy called Sigli, who, I am sorry to say, took great pleasure in catching and killing little birds. His father was a notorious robber, so it was not surprising that Sigli gave way to acts of cruelty. His mother died when he was little more than a year old, and he did not know any other relation. In the north of Portugal, bands of robbers used to frequent the roads, and some of them lived in strong castles, and had a large retinue of followers. In time of war these robber-chiefs would side with the king’s party, because after the war was over they received large grants of land for the assistance they had rendered the sovereign. Sometimes when the neighbouring kings of Spain invaded Portugal, these robbers proved of great advantage in repelling the invaders; but in following up their victories they would despoil all the churches in the enemy’s country of the gold and silver idols, which the priests had caused to be made in order to get the ignorant peasantry to make offerings of money, corn, and oil, in exchange for which the priests, in the name of the idols, offered all those who gave, pardon of their sins.

Once upon a time there was a woman who lived a most unhappy life. She and her husband were always quarreling. Every day when he came home from work he was cross, and said harsh words to her. She would respond with bitter words, and things would go from bad to worse until at last he would beat her. One day the woman took her water jar and went to the fountain to fill it as usual. She was so unhappy that great tears were rolling down her cheeks. There was a little old woman standing by the fountain. "What is the matter, my daughter?" she asked as she saw the tears upon the poor woman's cheeks.

There was once a very learned man in the north country who knew all the languages under the sun, and who was acquainted with all the mysteries of creation. He had one big book bound in black calf and clasped with iron, and with iron corners, and chained to a table which was made fast to the floor; and when he read out of this book, he unlocked it with an iron key, and none but he read from it, for it contained all the secrets of the spiritual world. It told how many angels there were in heaven: and how they marched in their ranks, and sang in their quires, and what were their several functions, and what was the name of each great angel of might. And it told of the demons, how many of them there were, and what were their several powers, and their labours, and their names, and how they might be summoned, and how tasks might be imposed on them, and how they might be chained to be as slaves to man.

One day Henny-penny was picking up corn in the cornyard when--whack!--something hit her upon the head. 'Goodness gracious me!' said Henny-penny; 'the sky's a-going to fall; I must go and tell the king.' So she went along and she went along and she went along till she met Cocky-locky. 'Where are you going, Henny-penny?' says Cocky-locky. 'Oh! I'm going to tell the king the sky's a-falling,' says Henny-penny. 'May I come with you?' says Cocky-locky. 'Certainly,' says Henny-penny. So Henny-penny and Cocky-locky went to tell the king the sky was falling.

IN the days of the great King Arthur there lived a mighty magician, called Merlin, the most learned and skilful enchanter the world has ever seen. This famous magician, who could take any form he pleased, was travelling about as a poor beggar, and being very tired he stopped at the cottage of a ploughman to rest himself, and asked for some food. The countryman bade him welcome, and his wife, who was a very good-hearted woman, soon brought him some milk in a wooden bowl, and some coarse brown bread on a platter. Merlin was much pleased with the kindness of the ploughman and his wife; but he could not help noticing that though everything was neat and comfortable in the cottage they both seemed to be very unhappy. He therefore asked them why they were so melancholy, and learned that they were miserable because they had no children. The poor woman said, with tears in her eyes: 'I should be the happiest creature in the world if I had a son; although he was no bigger than my husband's thumb, I would be satisfied.' Merlin was so much amused with the idea of a boy no bigger than a man's thumb that he determined to grant the poor woman's wish. Accordingly, in a short time after, the ploughman's wife had a son, who, wonderful to relate! was not a bit bigger than his father's thumb.

In the wood the Leaf Fairies were busy making their leaves. They made them of every shape and size, for each fairy had her own idea of what looked prettiest. Some made them long and narrow, like tall and graceful ladies; some made them round and dumpy, like fat little men; some made them heart-shaped, and some cut up the edges till they were all dainty points and curves. Some placed them sitting down on the branches, while others set them on slender stalks. There was no set rule for anything. Each fairy followed her own pretty fancy.

There was once a wise old king in a far-off land who said to himself, "I have a daughter as well as a son; why should she not have a kingdom too? I will see to it at once." He called the chief map-maker to him, and said: "Make a map of my kingdom and divide it by a line so evenly that each part shall be exactly half. There must not be one hair's breadth more on the east of the line than on the west." The chief map-maker worked hard, and soon had the map ready, and it was divided so evenly that there was not a hair's breadth more on the east of the line than on the west. Then the king made a law that when he died the Prince should rule over all the country on one side of the line, and the Princess should rule over all the country on the other side. The Prince's land he called Eastroyal, and the Princess's land he called Westroyal, and from that day to this there have always been kings over Eastroyal and queens over Westroyal.