United States

Tale Summary There once, a very long time ago, a man who lived in Matsuyama and had a lovely family with his wife and little daughter. One day, the emperor ordered the man to take a very long journey to far-off Tokio, and because it was so long ago that...

Tale Summary For five days, the god Susano walked by the river Hi. When he went to sleep he had an unusual dream of a beautiful maiden floating down the river whom he saved from a monster. The next day, he was exploring the area and found a chop-stick floating...

Tale Summary There was once a little old woman who found a poor little sparrow on her doorstep and took good care of him. Instead of flying home, he stayed to thank her with his songs, but a cross old woman who lived nearby did not appreciate being awakened so...

Tale Summary There was once a bird, a mouse, and a sausage who all lived together happily, as they all had their designated chores. Everyday the bird flew out into the woods to gather sticks for a fire, the mouse fetched water from the brook, lit the fire, and set...

Tale Summary Once upon a time, a brother and sister fell down a well, where they met a Water Nixie who lived at the bottom. She put the two to work for her, and the work was very hard and the food was terrible. The brother was made to cut...

Tale Summary Once there was a widow with two daughters, who were both named Marie. One of them was lazy, but because she was her own daughter she loved her more than the other girl, who was beautiful and industrious, and who was always forced to do all the chores...

Tale Summary There was once a greedy wolf who always made a fox do his bidding. One day, the wolf demanded that the fox find him something to eat or he would eat him up, and so he brought the wolf to a farmyard where there were two lambs. After...

Tale Summary Once there was a poor girl who lived with her mother, and they had hardly enough to eat. After they completely ran out of food, the girl went searching in the woods for nuts and berries, but came across an old woman. She handed the girl a kettle...

Tale Summary There once was a mother whose child had been stolen by goblins and replaced by a changeling. Her neighbor advised her to boil water in two eggshells while he was watching, because it would make him laugh, and laughter meant the end for a changeling. She did this...

Tale Summary Once upon a time there was a fisherman who lived with his wife in a pot. While he was out fishing one day, he caught a big flounder who begged for his life, explaining that he was an enchanted prince, and the fisherman let him back into the...