This book contains the following stories:
Jack and the Beanstalk
˜Fee fie fo fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread'. Lazy Jack lives with his poor mother in a little shack. They are so poor that one day she sends Jack off to market to sell their cow so they can buy food. On the way to market Jack meets a stranger who persuades him to part with the cow for some magic beans. When Jack returns home with no cow and no money his mother is furious and throws the beans out of the window. The next morning the two awake to find that a huge beanstalk has gronw from the beans. Jack climbs the beanstalk and finds a new land at the top complete with a castle and a very grumpy giant. Whilst the giant is asleep Jack steals a hen that lays golden eggs. On a second trip he steals bags of money. On the third trip he tries to steal a golden harp, but the harp calls for its master and the giant wakes up and follows Jack down the beanstalk. As soon as Jack reaches the ground, he sets to work to chop
Cinderella
Cinderella REALLY wants to go to the ball but her wicked stepmother and ugly sisters think she's better off at home doing the chores. Along comes the fairy godmother, waves her magic wand and Cinders's clothes are transformed into a gorgeous ball gown. Off she goes to the palace ball in a pumpkin coach and horses transformed from mice. But when the clock strikes midnight Cinders reverts to her tattered old self, and the prince has only a glass slipper to find his gorgeous girly.
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Three hungry billy goats spot a meadow full of yummy grass across a river. The only way to reach the meadow is across a wooden bridge, but the bridge is guarded by an ungly troll who eats anyone who crosses without his permission. The billy goats decide to try their luck, and the smallest goes first. When the troll threatens to gobble him up he persuades him to wait for a bigger meal in the form of the second billy goat, and is allowed to cross. The middle billy goat promises his bigger brother as a meal and he too is allowed to cross. When the third billy goat tries to cross the bridge the troll is determined to eat him, but the third billy goat is the biggest billy goat and he uses his large horns to toss the troll into the river. Then he crosses in safety and is able to join his brothers to fill their tummies with grass from the lovely meadow.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Father Bear, Mother Bear and Baby Bear live in cottage in the woods. One morning Mother Bear makes porridge for breakfast but it is so hot that the bears decide to go for a pre-breakfast walk. Whilst they are out a little girl with golden hair goes into their cottage. Goldilocks sees the three bowls of porridge and eats up the small one. Then she tries the three chairs in turn, but is too big for Baby Bear's chair and smashes it. Feeling like a nap she looks for a nice bed to sleep in and finds that Baby Bear's bed is just right. When the bears return Goldilocks is fast asleep. What will the bears do to their burglar?
Hansel and Gretel
Two children are sent into the woods. The first time, they follow a trail of stones back to the house, but the second time they use breadcrumbs, which are eaten by the birds. Lost and alone, they come upon a tempting gingerbread house, they can't resist entering. Little do they realise that inside lives a witch... and she thinks they'd make a delicious dinner.
The Emperor's New Clothes
Once upon a time there lived an emperor who loved clothes and was extremely vain. ‘I must have a new outfit for the royal procession and I need it to be designed by someone totally splendid’, he demanded of his butler. The emperor was warned that a new outfit would be very expensive and there wasn’t really much money to spare for new togs, but he was adamant. The palace put out a proclamation asking that splendid fashion designers put themselves forth for interview to design a royal outfit for the royal procession. A pair of chancers thought they would give it a go. They flattered the emperor to such an extent they managed to convince him that no clothes at all were ‘an outfit fit for a king that and visible only to clever people’. On the day of the royal procession no-one dared tell the emperor that he was starkers for fear of being accused that they were stupid. But the truth was in any case revealed when a little boy shouted ‘Oh my, the emperor has no clothes on!’.
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood as told by Charles Perrault tells of the good little girl who divulges to the Big Bad Wolf the location of her grandmother's house in the forest. Wolf eats grandma then lies in wait for Little Red. She arrives and is eaten by the wolf. In later versions of the story Red and her Grandma are saved by the Huntsman who cuts open the wolf and pulls the living, breathing Red and Granny from the wolf's belly.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
There was a shepherd boy who liked to tease his fellow farmers by crying wolf when no wolf was there. The farmers would come running to help rescue the sheep, but when they arrived they would be met by the chuckling boy. But once a wolf did come to worry the sheep, and the boy cried out for help. But this time no-one came as the farmers no longer believed him, and the wolf killed all the boy's sheep. The moral of the story is that lying has consequences, and that people who repeatedly tell lies will eventually lose the trust of others. Through the story, readers are meant to learn the importance of honesty and the consequences of deceitful behavior.
