Folktales are stories passed on from one person to another by word of mouth.  In the modern world, as the tradition of oral story-telling is giving way to books and television, that such tales are being collected and written down.

Sometimes folktales seek to explain the world around us. Sometimes they tell of real people and events, as in the story of Dick Whittington. Often, myth and folklore overlap, and gods and demons rub shoulders happily with ordinary men and women. Folktales may also centre around favourite character types – like the old woman who is usually clever, sometimes grumpy, sometimes with a wicked sense of humour. Be careful, lest she get the better of you! Another recurring character type is the village fool, or the idiot youngest son, who ultimately turns out to be the wisest. Sometimes a particular character or group of characters grab our imaginations, and dozens of tales may then be told about them. Such folk heroes are many and varied - like the trickster bunny, Br’er Rabbit from the southern United States, the spider Anansi from West Africa, and the wise and clever Birbal, minister to Akbar, emperor of India.

We present here folktales from all over the world. Some of these are oral tales that we have collected and retold; some have been collected by other folklorists around the world and already exist in written form in the public domain - these we have retold and reproduced. So read on and discover for yourself these delightful tales from around the world.