Public Domain V: Folktales, Fairytales, Myths and Legends

The Blue Bird
by Edmund Dulac, 1916

We are so lucky to be living in a time when the antique folk and fairytale books of old are available with a few clicks of the keys. This post is the fifth in a series of public domain offerings; you will find the links to those previous blog posts at the end of this page.

If you own a Kindle, many of the downloadable books may be saved either directly to the Kindle or to your computer, and then transferred over. Currently, I have approximately 175 folktales books, easily available on my Kindle so a fairytale/folktale is just a power button away! Happy reading!

If you find these posts useful please take a moment to leave a note in the “Comment” section below. I love hearing from you!

The Children of Odin by Padraic Column, 1920. Retellings of the Norse Eddas and the Volsung Saga for young adults. http://tinyurl.com/6rmc8tc

A Collection of Kachari Folktales and Rhymes by J.D. Anderson, 1895.

http://www.archive.org/stream/kacharis00endliala/kacharis00endliala_djvu.txt

Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Natural Science Stories by Leo Tolstoy, 1904.

http://www.archive.org/details/fablesforchildre00tols

Folk Tales of Breffny by Bampton Hunt, 1912; The Voice at the Door, The Basket of Eggs, and many more tales await to enchant and delight.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029911264

Folk Tales of Kashmir by James Hinton Knowles, 1888 - “Many of these tales are, probably, purely Kashmiri in origin, while others are undoubtedly variants of popular tales current in India and other parts, which have been adapted and modified to suit the language, style of thought, and social usages of the country.”

http://www.archive.org/details/folktalesofkashm00knowuoft

Gypsy Folk-Tales by Francis Hindes Groome, 1899 - Welsh, English, Slovak, Bohemia Gypsy Stories and more. “…fascinating reading for everyone interested in the Roma people. These are not watered down 'fairy tales,' but sophisticated and often earthy stories, with 'Adult situations.'”

http://tinyurl.com/74gufue

Indian Fairy Tales - Twenty-nine tales from Joseph Jacobs, 1912.

http://tinyurl.com/6l3956

Italian Folktales - Twenty-one folktales, adapted from Starparola, Basile, Calvino and others.

http://tinyurl.com/9x77zv

Korean Tales: Being a Collection of Stories Translated from Korean Folk Lore, 1889. Legends of Rabbit and Other Animals, The Faithful Dancing Girl-Wife, The Enchanted Wine Jug and other lesser known tales can be found her. http://tinyurl.com/7oogx3a

The Legends and Myths of Hawaii - Learn about Hina, the Helen of Hawaii, Kaala, The Flower of Lanai, and many more in this 1887 book by David Kalakaua.  http://tinyurl.com/d3r6wo

Old English Fairy Tales by Sabine Baring-Gould, 1906; Robert the Evil, The Badger in the Bag, The Undutiful Daughter and others await. http://tinyurl.com/89j85d3

Polish Legends, Folktales and Myths – “Many of these legends have been around for a thousand years or more. These legends, myths and stories recount the meaning behind Poland's national symbol and flag, about several of its early rulers and first king, and the dragon of Krakow.” http://tinyurl.com/7v2p3mq

Portuguese folk-tales by Consiglieri Pedroso, 1882. Meet The Enchanted Maiden, The Vain Queen,The Spell-bound Giant and more interesting characters among these thirty folktales. http://tinyurl.com/77ydwss

South-African Folk-Tales by James A. Honey, M.D., 1910. “This is a collection of South African folklore collected during the 19th century. It includes many great animal tales with classic African wisdom.” The Judgment of Baboon, The Lost Message, and The Monkey’s Fiddle are just a few of the tales waiting to tickle your imagination!

http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/saft/index.htm

And if you missed the previous blog posts of public domain story collections go to:

• http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2011/05/public-domain-folktales-myths-legends.html
• http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2011/06/public-domain-ii-folktales-myths-and.html
• http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2011/09/public-domain-iii-folktales-fairy-tales.html
• http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2011/10/public-domain-iv-folktales-fairytales.html

Karen Chace 2012 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.