Fables

A fable is a story where animals behave like people, and by the end it becomes clear what it is trying to teach. Here you will find Ivan Franko’s animal tales from his collection When the Animals Still Talked, a tale from the ancient Indian Panchatantra and an Ashanti tale from Ghana about Anansi the spider. Try not to spell out the moral for your child: it is better to ask what they made of it themselves.

The Little Fox and the Pushy Wolf
A clever little fox swapped an empty pie for a calf, but a pushy wolf broke her sleigh, ate the calf and paid for it with the tip of his tail.
Ages 2–55 min readAnimal stories
The Cat That Walked by Himself
The Woman tamed the Dog, the Horse and the Cow, but the clever Cat struck a bargain: three praises, and he gets the fire, yet he still walks by himself.
Ages 6–810 min readAnimal stories
The Cat and the Rooster
Cat goes off for firewood and begs Rooster not to look out of the window, but the fox sings so sweetly that Rooster cannot help it.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
Rumpelstiltskin
A miller boasts that his daughter can spin straw into gold, and now only one thing can save her: the strange name of a tiny little man.
Ages 6–86 min readMagic
The Straw Ox
An old man wove a straw ox for his wife and smeared its side with tar, and a bear, a wolf, a fox and a hare stuck to it one after another.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
The Swineherd
A princess scorned a real rose and a nightingale, yet kissed a swineherd for a magic toy, never guessing who he really was.
Ages 6–87 min readKindness
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood left the path to pick flowers, and a sly wolf beat her to Grandma’s house. A Brothers Grimm tale about the price of not listening.
Ages 6–88 min readCourage
Ryaba the Hen
Ryaba the hen laid a golden egg. Grandpa and Grandma could not break it, but a mouse flicked her tail, and soon the whole village was sad.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
The Princess and the Pea
A prince searched the whole world for a real princess, and it was the old queen who recognised her, with the help of one tiny pea.
Ages 2–53 min readMagic
The Turnip
Grandad Andrushka grows a turnip as big as his head but can’t pull it up alone, so he calls Granny, Minka, Finka, Varvarka and a mouse. Who won’t tumble?
Ages 2–53 min readFamily
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Twice a shepherd boy calls the villagers to save his sheep from a wolf just for a joke, and when the wolf really comes, nobody believes him.
Ages 2–53 min readFables
Kolobok, the Runaway Bun
Rosy Kolobok rolls away from Grandpa and Granny, the Bunny, the Wolf and the Bear, but the sly Fox catches him with sweet praise.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
The Ants and the Grasshopper
All summer the ants carry grain, while the Grasshopper just plays his little fiddle. Then winter comes, and the hungry Grasshopper knocks at the anthill.
Ages 2–53 min readFables
The Fisherman and His Wife
A poor fisherman lets a magic flounder go, and his wife Ilsebill keeps asking for more, until she wants to give orders to the sun itself.
Ages 6–88 min readMagic
Happy Hans
For seven years of work Hans earns a lump of gold, then on the way home he swaps his goods for worse and worse ones, and each time he is delighted.
Ages 6–87 min readFables
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Three goats called Gruff cross a bridge to a green mountain, while a hungry troll under the bridge waits for the biggest one.
Ages 2–53 min readAnimal stories
The Bramble Goat
A fibbing goat takes over a hare’s little house, and no wolf, bear or ox can drive her out, until a tiny crayfish comes along.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
The Lion and the Mouse
A Lion laughs at a tiny Mouse and lets her go, but later she chews through the ropes of a net and saves him.
Ages 2–52 min readAnimal stories
The Little Elephant
A curious Little Elephant goes to the Limpopo River to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner, and comes home with a wonderful long trunk.
Ages 6–88 min readAnimal stories
The Three Little Pigs
Three little pigs build houses of straw, sticks and bricks. When the wolf comes, only the brick one stands, so two brothers must build again.
Ages 2–54 min readAnimal stories
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
A little girl named Goldilocks wanders into a cottage in the woods, tastes the bears' porridge, breaks a little chair and falls asleep in someone else’s bed.
Ages 2–53 min readAnimal stories
Why the Bear Has a Short Tail
A sly fox teaches a bear to fish with his tail through a hole in the ice, and ever since, all bears have had stubby little tails.
Ages 2–53 min readAnimal stories
Why Possum’s Tail Is Bare
Possum bragged so much about his fluffy tail that Rabbit and Cricket taught him a lesson, and that’s why possums still have bare tails.
Ages 6–86 min readAnimal stories
The Hare and the Hedgehog
A boastful Hare laughs at the Hedgehog’s short legs, but the clever Hedgehog and his wife beat him in a race.
Ages 2–53 min readFables
How Anansi the Spider Got All the Stories
Tiny Anansi the spider outwits a python, a leopard, hornets and a forest fairy to buy all the world’s stories from the Sky God for people.
Ages 9–1212 min readAdventure
The Painted Fox
Mykyta the Fox falls into a barrel of blue paint and becomes the mighty King Hostromysl, until one moonlit night his own yapping gives him away.
Ages 6–86 min readFables
The Fox and the Crane
The Fox serves the Crane porridge on a flat plate, the Crane serves her fish soup in a narrow jug, and each goes home hungry.
Ages 2–53 min readFables
The Monkey and the Crocodile
A Monkey treats her friend the Crocodile to sweet pink apples, but when he carries her out to sea for his sly wife, only her quick wits save her.
Ages 6–86 min readFables