Public Domain

This story is called Jack and the Beanstalk, a traditional tale adapted and recorded by LibraryCall. Once upon a time, there was a poor boy named Jack who lived with his mother and their cow named Milky-white. Jack and his mother relied completely on the cow’s milk as their only source of food and income. But one morning Milky-white gave no milk, and they didn't know what to do. “Don’t worry, mother, I'll go and find work somewhere,” said Jack. “There are no jobs to be found,” said his mother. “I’m afraid we must sell Milky-white.” “Okay,” said Jack sadly.

Maui's home was for a long time enveloped by darkness. The heavens had fallen down, or, rather, had not been separated from the earth. According to some legends, the skies pressed so closely and so heavily upon the earth that when the plants began to grow, all the leaves were necessarily flat. According to other legends, the plants had to push up the clouds a little, and thus caused the leaves to flatten out into larger surface, so that they could better drive the skies back and hold them in place.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!” He took his vorpal sword in hand; Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree And stood awhile in thought. And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!

This story is called Goldilocks and the Three Bears, written by Leslie Brooke. This is a LibraryCall adaptation and recording. Once upon a time, there were three bears who lived together in a cozy house in the woods. One of them was a teeny-tiny bear, the second one was a medium-sized bear, and the third was a great big bear. They ate oatmeal for breakfast every morning, and each bear had a special bowl for this purpose. The teeny-tiny bear had a teeny-tiny bowl, the medium-sized bear had a medium-sized bowl, and the great big bear had a great big bowl.

This story is called Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen. This is a LibraryCall adaptation and recording. Many years ago, there was an Emperor who loved clothes so much that he spent all his money on being well dressed. He had a different suit for each hour of the day. He didn’t think much about his soldiers or his subjects. He did not care about going to the theater or having dinner with his advisors; he only saw these things as opportunities to show off his new clothes. One day, two men wearing very fine suits arrived at the Emperor’s kingdom.

This story is called The Crow and the Pitcher, a fable by Aesop, read by Molly. This is a LibraryCall adaptation and recording. One summer day, a relentless heat beat down upon the earth. High up in the sky, a thirsty Crow had been flying for hours in search of water. Her beak and feathers were bone dry, and she knew she needed to find water soon. Just when the Crow was about to lose hope, she spotted something shiny on a picnic table in the distance. It was a pitcher! The Crow was filled with relief as she flew towards it. She landed on the picnic table and took a closer look.

This story is called The Frog Prince by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. This is a LibraryCall adaptation and recording. One fine morning, a young princess named Luisa put on her coat and shoes and went outside to play in the woods. After walking for a while, she came to a cool pond and decided to sit down for a rest. She had brought her favorite golden ball with her, and as she sat, she mindlessly tossed it up into the air and caught it again. Eventually, she threw the ball so high that it bounced off the branch of a tree and went crashing down into the water.

THERE had been another great famine throughout the land. The villagers looked thin and pale for lack of food. Only one family appeared healthy and well. This was the household of Anansi's cousin. Anansi was unable to understand this, and felt sure his cousin was getting food in some way. The greedy fellow determined to find out the secret. What had happened was this: Spider's cousin, while hunting one morning, had discovered a wonderful stone. The stone lay on the grass in the forest and ground flour of its own accord. Near by ran a stream of honey. Kofi was delighted.

There was a miller, who left no more estate to the three sons he had, than his Mill, his Ass, and his Cat. The partition was soon made. Neither the scrivener nor attorney were sent for. They would soon have eaten up all the poor patrimony.