Public Domain

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.

This story is called The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. This is a LibraryCall adaptation and recording. Once upon a time there were four little rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter. They lived with their mother in a sand-bank, underneath the root of a very big fir-tree. “Now, my dears,” said Mrs. Rabbit one morning, “you may go into the fields or down the lane, but don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden. Your father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor.” “Now run along, and don't get into mischief.

This story is called The Elves and the Shoemaker written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and read by Madeline Walton-Hadlock. This is a LibraryCall adaptation and recording. Once upon a time, there was a man who owned a small shoe shop in a village in Germany. His job was to make shoes out of leather and sell them to the villagers. Although the shoemaker was talented and hard-working, it took him many hours to make each pair of shoes, so he never had many shoes ready to sell. For this reason, he was quite poor.

This story is called The Goblins' Christmas by Elizabeth Anderson, adapted and recorded by LibraryCall. The Goblins' Christmas Once upon a time I visited Fairy-land and spent a day in Goblin-town. The people there are much like ourselves, only they are very, very small and mischievous. They play pranks on one another and have great fun. They are good natured and jolly, and rarely get angry. But if one does get angry, he quickly recovers his good nature and joins again in the sport. If a Goblin should continue angry, he would take on some visible form.

There once lived a woman who had one great desire. She longed to have a daughter—but alas! she was childless. She could never feel happy, because of this unfulfilled wish. Even in the midst of a feast the thought would be in her mind—"Ah! if only I had a daughter to share this with me!" One day she was gathering yams in the field, and it chanced that she pulled out one which was very straight and well shaped.

Once upon a time in a village, lived a country girl, she was the cleverest girl anyone has ever seen. Her mother loved her deeply; and her grandmother adored her.

Once upon a time there were Three Bears, who lived together in a house of their own, in a wood. One of them was a Little, Small, Wee Bear; and one was a Middle-sized Bear, and the other was a Great, Huge Bear. They had each a pot for their porridge; a little pot for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a middle-sized pot for the Middle Bear, and a great pot for the Great, Huge Bear. And they had each a chair to sit in; a little chair for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a middle-sized chair for the Middle Bear, and a great chair for the Great, Huge Bear.

Long, long ago, there lived an old woman in a little cottage by the forest. She was not a poor old woman. She had plenty of wood to burn in winter, and plenty of meal to bake into bread all the year round. Her clothes were old-fashioned but warm. She always wore a grey dress and a little red cap. Late one summer afternoon, the cottage door was open. The old woman stood by her fire, baking cakes for her evening meal. How good they smelled! A tall old man who was passing by the cottage stopped a moment.

THERE had been a long and severe famine in the land where Anansi lived. He had been quite unable to obtain food for his poor wife and family. One day, gazing desperately out to sea, he saw rising from the midst of the water, a tiny island with a tall palm-tree upon it. He determined to reach this tree—if any means proved possible—and climb it, in the hope of finding a few nuts to reward him. How to get there was the difficulty. This, however, solved itself when he reached the beach, for there lay the means to his hand, in the shape of an old broken boat.

This story is called The Three Little Pigs by Katharine Pyle, read by Ryan Aoto. This is a LibraryCall adaptation and recording. [chime] Once upon a time, there were three little pigs who lived with their mama in a shady forest. They were happy together, searching the woods for roots, mushrooms, and bugs to eat. But as the winter approached, food became more scarce. One day, Mama Pig gathered her children and said, “My sweet little pigs, you have learned how to forage for food and build a safe home. Now it’s time for you to go out into the world and use the skills I taught you.