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Rapunzel There once was a man and a woman who were very in love with each other. One day the woman looked in the neighbors garden and saw a beautiful rampion flower. The woman turned and looked to her husband and said, "look at me husband, I long for that flower and if I don't get it soon I will surely die." The husband without thinking twice went down into the neighbor's garden to pick a flower. When he reached the garden he was met by the enchantress, an evil witch. She stopped him and asked what he was doing in her garden. The husband explained that his wife would die if she didn't get this flower. He was very afraid and the enchantress noticed this. She said you can take all of the rampion flowers you'd like under one condition, you give me your firstborn child so that I may take care of her and act as her mother. The husband blindly agreed so that his wife may live. So when the day came and the wife had her firstborn child she had to give it up t...

The Emperors New Suit There once was an emperor who believed that the clothes that he wore were the greatest source of popularity. He held his fashion in the highest regard. This leader didn't care about what he ate, or how he ruled, or anything that didn't pertain to his clothing. This emperor had a different outfit for each hour of the day. Everyone in his kingdom knew that this emperor always wore the most expensive threads. One day two swindlers came into town. They heard all of the townsfolk talk about the emperor and his beautiful clothes so they developed an idea to swindle the emperor out of his fortune. These two swindlers took two looms and started to tell the townsfolk that they were the weavers of the greatest garbs in all of the land. They have sewn for kings and queens all across the land and now they have come to this kingdom to sew for the emperor. The emperor caught wind of this and demanded that they come to sew him the finest clothes at once. These s...

Deaths Messengers One day a giant was walking along a highway when a man jumped out at him and told him to stop. The man said, "I am death, you have to listen to me." The giant denied him and told death to move out of the way. They disagreed and began to wrestle. It was a long and tough battle but the giant gained the upper hand. He defeated death and left him on the side of the road. Death laid on the road concerned with what the world would look like without him. He was concerned for the people who wouldn't die in his absence. The world would be full of people and nobody would be able to move. Then a young man walked up out of nowhere and started to assist death without knowing who he was. He let death drink from his canteen and he nursed him back to health. Death finally was able to speak to him when he said," I am death and I am extremely grateful for your help. Because of this, I promise to not kill you without warning. When your time comes I will send ...

The Singing Bone There once was a wild boar that terrorized an entire country. This beast was so massive and awful that it would kill entire flocks of animals, and dig up farmland with its tusks. Everyone in the kingdom was so terrified of the beast to the point that nobody would do anything about it. Then the king of the land made an announcement saying "Whoever shall kill the beast will have my daughter's hand in marriage."  There was a pair of brothers in the land, and when they heard this message they decided to take the challenge and kill the boar. The brothers were different from one another in many different ways. One brother was driven by pride and glory, the other brother was driven by his good heart.  They went to the king for the challenge and he instructed them to start at opposite sides of the forest where the beast lives so he could not evade them. The brothers went off to the forest to kill the boar. The good-hearted brother went to the far s...

A Mad Tea Party There was a small table sitting out in front of a small house. At the table, there were a few figures sitting down, some of which Alice knew and some of which she did not. There were three in total, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Dormouse. The Dormouse sat between the two fast asleep. Alice thought to herself, "Those two are using the Dormouse as a cushion, he must be very uncomfortable." Then she realized he was sleeping so he must not be bothered much by it at all. The Hare and the Hatter were arguing with each other, they kept exclaiming that there was no room. Then when they saw Alice coming they started to exclaim that there was plenty of room. Alice sat down in a chair at the head of the table when the Hare asked her "Would you like some wine?" Alice looked around the table and saw nothing but tea. She told the Hare that it was quite rude for someone to offer wine when there was none there. He retaliated by saying that it was qui...

Alice in Wonderland Alice had grown tired of sitting with her sister. All they would do was sit while she read her book. Alice thought to herself, "What good is that book she's reading if it has no pictures or conversations in it?" Alice had grown so bored and tired she was waiting to jump at any opportunity to leave her sister. Just at that moment, a little white rabbit came by. This was no ordinary rabbit, this rabbit had a coat and a monocle. This rabbit was running along saying "I'm gonna be late, oh I'm gonna be late." Alice thought this was as good of an excuse she'd ever see so she hopped up and followed the rabbit wherever it went. Soon after she hopped up she saw the rabbit jump down a rabbit hole so without thinking about it she followed him down. The rabbit hole looked like a regular hole from the outside but once she fell in she could tell that this was no regular rabbit hole. Alice kept falling and falling and she noticed she co...

The Ass, the Table and the Stick There once was a lad named Jack who hated his father. He decided that he would run away to find fortune elsewhere. He ran and ran until he came upon a woman who said if he would work for her for a year she would grant him riches beyond belief. Jack agreed and worked for the woman for a year. After the year was over the woman came to Jack and said, "Come here to receive payment." She then presented Jack an ass, this ass was a special ass. For when Jack pulled on this ass's ear money fell from his mouth. Jack then took the ass on his journey home when he stopped at an Inn. He asked the innkeeper for a room and he refused as Jack had no money. Jack then took the ass around the back and pulled on its ear to get money, the innkeeper saw this and in the night he switched Jack's ass with another identical one. Jack then went home and presented the ass to his father. He asked if he could marry the poor girl next door. His father then...

Three Little Pigs There once were three little pigs who were sent out by their mom to make their own fortune. So the first pig went out on his journey to find materials to build a home with. He stumbled upon a man who was selling bundles of straw. The pig thought to himself, what a great material to build a home with! So he took the straw and began construction on his new home. He had finished building his house and he was content with what he made when a big bad wolf came by. He saw the pig inside of his home and he told the pig to let him in his house, the pig denied him access so the wolf huffed and he puffed and he blew the pigs house down. He then devoured the poor little pig. The next pig went on his journey to build his home when he came to a man selling bundles of sticks. He thought to himself, what great materials to build my home with! So he took the bundle of sticks and began construction on his house. He had finished building his house and he was content with w...

The Coyote and the Snake One day the coyote was walking along the trail when he heard a voice say Stop! The coyote looked around and he couldn't see anything. He disregarded the warning and kept moving. Once again he heard someone yell stop. He looked around again and he saw nothing until he heard a voice say "Walk over me, or move out of the way." The coyote looked down and found a snake in the path right below him. The snake said that he has been traveling this trail for years and he would simply not move. The coyote said the same thing and that he would simply not move. The coyote said he would have to keep going if the snake moved or not. The snake made the threat that if the coyote stepped over him the snake would have no choice but to kill him. The coyote didn't believe him and called his bluff. He walked over him and the snake bit the coyote. The coyote didn't feel anything and then mocked the snake. The coyote kept walking on and when he got to the...

Ponca Tribe The Ponca tribe was traveling along a river one day. They came to a point in the river where they could cross, so they decided to do so. They had never come to this point before so when they crossed it they had no clue what they would see on the other side. Ther crossed the river and saw this new creature that they had never seen before. We know that this was a Comanche Indian on a horse but the Ponca tribe mistook them for one animal. Then the Ponca realized that they had encountered the Comanche tribe. They had had many battles with the Comanche tribe before so this was no different than the previous meets before so they had a great battle then and there. After the battle, the Ponca had won because they were much more advanced in battle techniques than the Comanche. There was one injured Comanche Indian on the ground and before the Ponca tribe killed him he said: "You speak our language, are you a part of our tribe?" The Ponca's responded and said n...

Possum Once there was a possum with an extremely beautiful tail. His tail was full of beautiful fur that glistened whenever the light would hit it. This tail was full of different colors of fur which were patterned in the most eye-pleasing way. The possum knew he had a beautiful tail so every chance he had to flaunt it he took. When he was out in public he would make sure to walk in a way that showcased his tail and when he sat down he always made sure to sit in a way so his tail could be seen by all. The pride that the possum had for his tail annoyed the rabbit. The rabbit had his tail torn off by the bear so he held resentment towards the possum. A party with all of the animals was coming up and it was the rabbit's job to spread the news. The rabbit devised a plan to finally put the possum in its place so when the time came the rabbit told the grasshopper who was very good at cutting hair to take care of the possums tail. So when the time came the grasshopper went to th...

Fat Pig Bibliography: This story is part of the Nigeria unit. Story source: Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910). There once was a very fat woman. She was very beautiful as well and all of the men wanted her. Men from all around would come and ask the fat woman's mother for her daughter's hand in marriage, but every time, she refused. You see, the mother always refused because she was afraid for her daughter. You see this women's This very fat daughter was special, she had a very unfortunate condition. The very fat woman was made of olive oil and any time she was in the sun she would start to melt. The mother was afraid that if she were to give her daughter away, she would work in the field and start to melt. One day a man came to the mother and asked for her fat daughter's hand in marriage, and he promised to always keep her in the shade. The mother agreed and the man took his new fat wife home. While at the new house the fat wi...

The Bush Rat Bibliography: This story is part of the Nigeria unit. Story source: Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910). One day the Bush Rat and the Bat and the bat were feeding together. They always fed together, just like they did everything else together. But, one day the bat decided to turn on the Bush Rat. They were both eating soup when the Bush Rat asked the Bat why his soup was always so good. The bat usually prepared his soup beforehand and just took some extra care while making it, but he decided to tell a lie. The bat told the Rat that before he starts cooking the soup he boils himself in the broth. The Bat said that his flesh is so sweet that it flavors the broth. The Rat was convinced that that is how the soup was so good so later that night he went home and told his wife that he would make soup for the family that night. He started making the soup and as soon as his wife turned away he jumped into the pot of boiling water to "fl...

The Garden for the Elk and the Ass Bibliography:  This story is part of the Tales of a Parrot unit. Story source: The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot, by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi (1801). Once there was an elk and an ass eating in a garden together. The ass suddenly felt the urge to sing. He exclaimed to the elk, I want to sing, this garden is giving us its great fruit and it is a beautiful night. I have a wonderful feeling and due to the circumstances we are in, I feel like it would be pleasant to sing! The elk replied to him and said, "No. I understand you feel good and I share those feelings as well. I agree that is is a beautiful night and I too am joyous for the food we have eaten. But If you were to sing now it would awaken the gardener and we would be captured and made prisoners like if a man were to steal fruit from a garden. Your voice is loud and unsettling and if you were to sing our night would absolutely be ruined, you have to be aware of your situation....

The Parrot There once was a couple named Miemun and Khojisteh, they were virtually inseparable. They loved each other very very much. They ate together, went everywhere together, they sat together, they were attached at the hip. This couple owned two birds, both birds were wise and could communicate with the couple. One was a parrot and the other a Sharuk. One day Miemun had to go off on a great journey of which he would not return for many days. When he left he left Khojisteh and the two birds behind. When Miemun was gone a prince came to town and started to fall in love with Khojisteh. Even though she knew it would be wrong to show interest to this man she couldn't help but fall for him as well. The prince asked her out and she accepted. She was torn between going or not, she knew it was wrong but she also wanted to go very bad, she decided she would ask Sharuk. She asked the bird if it would be ok for her to leave and go on a date with the prince and Sharuk said absol...

The Genie This story is part of the Arabian Nights unit. Story source: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898). There was once a boy named Aladdin whose father was a famed tailor. His father just passed away and Aladdin did not take up that practice. Aladdin spent his days roaming the streets and causing mischief. One day a man came to him claiming that he was Aladdin's uncle. Aladdin took him home and his "uncle" ate at the table with Aladdin and his mother. Then he took Aladdin out on the town and bought him nice clothes and showed him a great time. This man claimed to love his deceased father, but he had been out of the country for 40+ years. Aladdin believed him and decided that his story heald validity. Aladins uncle then took him on a journey up the mountain. Aladdin grew tired of the journey and asked to stop and turn back, his uncle grew angry and forced him to push forward. Aladdin wanted to stop but th...

Scheherazade This story is part of the Arabian Nights unit. Story source: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898). Scheherazade - A sultan had a wife whom he loved more than anything in the world, but she betrayed him to the highest degree so he had her killed by the grand-vizir. So from that day forth, the sultan swore women were the root of all evil. He would then marry one every day and have her slain by the grand-vizir the next day, he would repeat this practice every day.  One day the grand-vizir's daughter came to him and requested to be the next girl to marry the sultan. The grand-vizir wept and asked her why she would wish death upon herself, she promised him that she had developed a plan to stop the sultan's madness. Scheherazade asked her sister to sleep in her chamber with the sultan that night. She asked her sister to ask herself to tell a story that night before sleep, apparently, it was all part of th...