Category: Folktales Stories

  • How to Turn Dirt Into Gold

    Long ago in a country called Burma, in Asia, there lived a young wife.  She loved her husband very much, but one fear was heavy on her mind. “Husband,” said, “All day long you try to turn dirt into gold.  You do nothing else! Soon, I fear all of our money will be gone.” “I…

  • The Tale of El Capitan

    n California today in the valley of Yosemite many tourists come to marvel at a very tall and sheer rock called El Capitan. But those who lived centuries ago, the people of the Miwok tribe, had another name for this natural wonder. They told a story about how it came about. According to the Miwok,…

  • The Emperor’s New Clothes

    There once was an Emperor who loved nothing better than wearing fancy new clothes.  Three times a day he would change into a brand new royal outfit.  Many Emperors spend their days talking to advisers and fixing problems of the land.  Not this one!  He was too busy sending out his servants to find the…

  • The Sword in the Stone

    Long ago in England, a wise and just king ruled the land.  His name was King Uther. Times were good and the people lived well.  King Uther wanted a magician at court. And so he chose the famous Merlin the Magician.  Merlin could see into the future. And he knew those good days were not…

  • How to Cure a Changed Man

    ONCE UPON A TIME a young wife named Yun Ok was very sad. Her husband had always been a gentle and loving man.  But that was before the war. Ever since he had come back from the war, he was angry, even mean. Sometimes Yun Ok felt fear when she lived with her own husband.…

  • The Pocahontas and John Smith 

    In the spring of 1607, three ships landed on the shore of what is now America.  About 100 men – no women were asked to come – stepped onto the sand to start a new life.  The men built 20 cabins and a fort to go around them all.  They called their new town Jamestown.  …

  • A Surprise in the Oven 

    Once upon a time a plump old woman name Tante Adela lived in French Canada.  She lived all alone with her big grey cat and the cows in her barn. One morning she got up very early as it baking day and there was much to do.  She took a load of wood outside to…

  • The Bear Feast

    An old man living in Alaska was sad.  All of his friends and family were long gone.  He began to wonder if he should leave the village and start a new life somewhere else. “If I lived someplace new, at least I won’t be around all these memories anymore,” he thought.  But he also worried,…