Folk Tales from Around the World

Folk tales are old stories. They started as part of family life. No one knows who first made them up. Usually older people told them to younger people. The five stories in this book come from different parts of the world.

Heroes and Heroines

Heroes and heroines are people who do something brave or good. They do not run away from danger. They help people. In this book, we meet two heroes and three heroines.

The Monkey King

A magic stone cracks open like an egg. Monkey jumps out! In this book, you will read about Monkey's adventures.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice is sitting by the river when suddenly a white rabbit runs past her. Then the rabbit takes a watch out of its coat pocket, and says it is late! She runs after the rabbit, and follows it into a large rabbit hole. This is how Alice's adventures in Wonderland begin.

The Call of the Wild and Other Stories

In the North it is so cold in winter that everything is covered with ice and snow. If you want to travel, you must use a sledge pulled by dogs. If you walk around in the cold, you must take great care to keep warm and dry. Why do people want to go to the North? They want to find gold there and become rich. These short stories are about some of the people and animals who lived and worked in the North, and how they fought to stay alive.

Tales from the Arabian Nights

A cruel king marries beautiful young women, but always has their heads cut off in the morning. However, his new wife, Sheherezade, is clever. Every night, she starts to tell him a wonderful story. She tells him about a robbers' cave, full of treasure; she tells him the story of Sinbad the sailor, of a genie in a bottle, of Aladdin and his magic lamp, and many more.

Treasure Island

Jim Hawkins lives at an inn with his mother and father. One day an old sailor is killed there. In his bag, Jim finds a map of an island, with red crosses on it. Jim's friends, Squire Trelawney and Dr Livesey, say it is a treasure map. It shows where pirates have hidden their gold. Jim goes with his friends to find the gold, but they meet pirates on their journey.

The Wizard of Oz

Dorothy and her little dog, Toto, are carried by a cyclone from her aunt and uncle's house in Kansas. When they come down, they find themselves in the land of Oz. There Dorothy begins an exciting journey with her new friends. They want to go and see the wonderful Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City. Only he can give them what they want.

The Flying Heads and Other Strange Stories

A young man stays in a strange village for the night, and wakes to hear screams from the valley below. He looks out of the window, and sees terrible things flying through the air ... A baker wants to know what his beautiful wife does when she goes out at night. But when he stays up to watch her, he wishes he had never found out her dreadful secret ... Enjoy these strange and frightening stories from all over the world.

Gulliver's Travels — A Voyage to Lilliput

Gulliver's ship is lost in a storm, and he has to swim to save his life. After many hours, he reaches land. He lies down and falls asleep. When he wakes up, he can't get up. He is tied to the ground. His hair is tied down too, so he can't move his head. He feels something walking along his body. There, standing on his chest, is a man. He is no more than six inches tall!

Lord Jim

Jim works as a waterclerk in the East. Everyone likes him, but he never stays long in the same job. He always leaves suddenly, and never tells anyone why he is going. He is a man with a secret. Wherever he travels, it seems he cannot hide from his secret. What is Jim's secret? What will happen to Jim? Read on and find out.

Oliver Twist

Poor Oliver! He has no family, and no friends. Nobody cares for him. The only people he knows are thieves, and they want him to be a thief, too. Now the police have caught him for stealing. Oliver has done nothing wrong, but the judge does not believe him. He wants to send Oliver to prison. One kind old man thinks Oliver might be a good boy, and tries to help him. Find out how Oliver gets away from the thieves, and how, at last, he discovers the truth about his past.

The Prince and the Pauper

One day two young boys meet. They look exactly the same, but there is one big difference: Tom is a poor beggar and Edward is a prince, the son of the King of England. The boys swap clothes, and Edward, now dressed in beggar's rags, is mistaken for Tom and thrown from the palace by his own guards. Suddenly Prince Edward has to live as a pauper in the streets of London, while Tom rules the country, enjoying being a prince. What will happen when the king dies, and the real prince must take his place?

The Stone Junk and Other Stories

Most of the stories in this collection are about people, magic and gold. They also tell us what happens when people are too proud, too cruel, or too greedy.

Stories from Greek Tragedies

The greed, courage, love and jealousy of the characters make these stories as sad and moving today as they were to the ancient Greeks. Read on to discover the strengths and weaknesses of humankind.

Tales of King Arthur

Young Arthur needs a sword. He runs into a church and finds one stuck in a stone, so he takes it. Then he finds out that only one person in the land can take the sword from the stone, and that person is the true king of Britain. Arthur becomes King, marries a beautiful princess and receives the Round Table as a gift. The table has room for 150 good, brave knights. These tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table have been popular for over 700 years.

The Talking Tree and Other Stories

Two boys, walking through a forest, suddenly hear a voice coming from a tree. The Talking Tree tells them to bring it food and drink. Scared, the boys do as they are told. Then they notice some marks on the ground, close to the tree. Is the tree really magic, or is someone trying to trick them? There are plenty of surprises in this unusual collection of short stories.

Through the Looking Glass

A little girl called Alice suddenly finds herself in the dreamlike Looking-Glass world, where she seems to be a pawn in a chess game. If, as the Red Queen tells her, she can get as far as the eighth square, then she too can become a Queen.
Find out how Alice gets into this strange world, and what happens when she arrives at the eighth square.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Huck is only fourteen when he escapes from his bad-tempered and no-good father. Soon he reaches Jackson's Island, and finds himself sharing the island with Jim, a runaway slave. Together they put all their things on a raft and set off on what becomes a great adventure down the Mississippi River.
Will Huck be caught by his father? Will Jim ever be a slave again? Read on to enjoy the exciting and amusing story of Huck Finn and his friends.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Running away from home; hiding in a dark graveyard at midnight; camping out as pirates on an island in the Mississippi; going to their own funeral; looking for treasure; and getting lost in a deep, dark cave, are all part of the exciting and amusing story of Tom Sawyer and his friends.

Around the World in Eighty Days

Phileas Fogg is a gentleman who always does exactly the same thing every day. His life changes one day, when he bets twenty thousand pounds that he can make a tour of the world in eighty days! This bet takes him and his servant, Passepartout, to many countries, and leads to many exciting adventures. However, someone is following them, and trying to stop them from winning the bet.

Gulliver's Travels — Further Voyages

Gulliver is abandoned in a land of giants. His life is not always easy. Once he is mistaken for a baby monkey and a monkey tries to feed him! His next voyage is even stranger: he visits an island that floats in the sky.
Read about Gulliver's last voyages and all the amazing adventures he has.

The Missing Scientist

Professor Nicol, one of the most important atomic scientists in Britain, has just been kidnapped. Detective Superintendent Roberts is called in to lead the search for the Professor.
With atomic secrets, a collection of valuable diamonds and a man's life at stake, the pressure is on for Roberts to find the missing scientist — but will he succeed?

The Red Badge of Courage

When Henry Fleming heard there was a war, he did not really believe it. He did not think there could be a war in his own country. However, he wanted to be part of it.
Later Henry finds out that war is not what he imagined. Would he run away, when the fighting got too fierce? Or would he stand up bravely and lead his companions in acts of great heroism?

Robinson Crusoe

When Robinson Crusoe's ship is wrecked, he swims to a desert island. At first he is afraid that he might be eaten by wild animals. He knows that some people in that part of the world are cannibals, and they might eat him too! Soon, he realizes that he is all alone. He brings as much as he can from the wrecked ship, and over his long years on the island, he learns how to make himself safe and comfortable.

Stories from Shakespeare's Histories

Henry the Fourth, King of England, has a son called Harry, who prefers to drink than win honour on the batterfield. Can the king persuade Harry to help him defend the crown against a rebellion?
Later, Henry the Fourth is dead and Harry is crowned Henry the Fifth. Does Henry the Fifth continue a life of playing and drinking, or does he become a king that England can be proud of?

A Tale of Two Cities

Lucie thinks that her father, Dr Manette, is dead. Then she finds out that he is alive - he has just been released from prison in Paris. Lucie finds her father there, and goes back to England with him. When Dr Manette and Lucie return to Paris some years later, everything has changed. The French Revolution has begun, and the poor people are killing the noblemen. Lucie's husband, the kind Charles Darnay, is the heir of some of the cruellest noblemen, and he is in great danger. Only love and courage can save him ...

Tales of Crime and Detection

A rich young man is gambling in Paris. He wins a lot of money, but then becomes ill. He is put into a large, old-fashioned bed with a heavy cloth cover, like a roof. As he is lying there, the cover seems to come down towards him. Is he dreaming, or is he in serious danger? Find out if the police and private detectives solve this, and other mysteries, in this exciting collection of short stories.

Two Boxes of Gold and Other Stories

A young man who works for a bank is taking two boxes of gold from London to Italy. On the way, everything begins to go wrong. His travelling companions seem friendly, but are they all trying to help him? Or is one of them trying to steal the gold? Read this and six other stories by Charles Dickens. Some are amusing, some strange and frightening - all are full of surprises.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories

Everyone who sees the face of Mr Hyde hates him. He is as evil as the Devil himself. So why is he the friend of the respectable Dr Jekyll? Does Hyde know something about Dr Jekyll's past? What is Dr Jekyll's terrifying secret?

Far From the Madding Crowd

Not all men are blind to the faults of the beautiful Bathsheba Everdene. 'She's vain,' thinks a sheep farmer, Gabriel Oak, soon after meeting her. Although he loves her, and asks her to marry him, his direct, honest manner often causes trouble between them.

From Russia, With Love

James Bond must get a code-breaking machine from Tatiana, a beautiful Russian spy. She says she is in love with him. However, Tatiana is hiding something: she is working for SMERSH, the most feared organization in Russia. Even she does not know the danger Bond faces as he is followed across Europe by Russia's most cold-hearted killer

The Good Earth

When Wang Lung goes to collect his new wife, a slave from the great House of Hwang, the gatekeeper laughs at him. However, it will not be long before even the gatekeeper treats Wang Lung with respect. One day, Wang Lung himself will be master of the House of Hwang.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

When Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew, Axel, find a secret paper telling them the way to the centre of the earth, the adventure of a lifetime begins. With a guide called Hans, they discover the mysteries and wonders of the world below the earth's surface.

King Solomon's Mines

Quatermain is returning home from a bad hunting trip, and he does not want any more adventures. But then he meets Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good, and soon the three of them are on a dangerous journey into the heart of Africa, in search of King Solomon's Mines.

The Moonstone

Long ago, in India, three priests were commanded to look after a yellow diamond called the Moonstone. Terrible misfortune would come to anyone else who touched it, and to their family.Hundreds of years later, the young and beautiful Rachel Verinder is given the Moonstone as a birthday present. That night the Moonstone is stolen, and the thief is someone in the house ...

Seven Stories

Clayton meets a ghost, and Fotheringay has lots of fun when he discovers that he can work miracles. There are also exciting stories in this collection about a boy who seems to have found heaven; a liquid which makes people move much faster than normal; and an apple which will give anyone who eats it endless knowledge.

The Thirty-nine Steps

Back in Britain, Richard Hannay is bored to death after spending years in Africa. He begins to think otherwise when a corpse is found in his London flat and he becomes a murder suspect. Soon he is running for his life across the hills of Scotland.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea

A strange monster has attacked several ships at sea. Professor Arronax, the famous French scientist, his servant Conseil, and Ned Land, who catches whales, join an expedition to search for the monster. What they find, however, is not a living creature at all, but an enormous submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo.

The War of the Worlds

The world has suddenly changed. The small towns and villages of southern England are lying burned and ruined. The grass on the commons, and the trees in the woods have been blackened by fire. There are no people to be seen.
This is the story of the strange and terrible things that happened to ordinary people when the Martians went to war against the Earth.

The Woman in White

Walter Hartright meets a mysterious woman dressed completely in white, who curiously knows the family he is going to work for as a drawing teacher. Walter soon discovers that the mysterious woman looks very like the woman he has fallen in love with, the beautiful Laura Fairlie. Why is the woman in white so concerned about Laura Fairlie, and why do they look so similar? Can Walter help her before it is too late?

You Only Live Twice

James Bond is sent to Japan on an impossible mission. In return for a new code-breaking machine, Bond must go into the Castle of Death and kill the mad genius within. But what is this strange place? Who is its owner?

In this exciting adventure, Bond, helped by the beautiful Kissy Suzuki, enters the most dangerous garden on earth, and comes face to face with two of his deadliest enemies.

The Diamond As Big As The Ritz & Other Stories

John Unger's friend, Percy, says his family is the richest family in the world. When John is invited to Percy's home, he discovers that his friend is telling the truth. However, he soon discovers that there is a dark side to this life of great wealth.

In other tales, a man tries to escape his past and get his daughter back, but his plans are spoiled by friends from his drinking days. A girl who teaches her cousin to be 'popular' with boys discovers that her pupil has stolen her young man, and so she takes her revenge.

Dracula

Jonathan Harker, a young solicitor, goes to see Count Dracula in his castle in Transylvania. He discovers that the Count is a vampire—a terrible Un-Dead creature who lives on human blood. And now the Count is going to London ...

Dragon Seed

How could Ling Tan, a simple Chinese farmer who paid little attention to the world outside his own valley, be prepared for what was about to happen? He thinks only of his land and his large family, and with them, he is content. His life changes suddenly and cruelly when the armed forces of the East Ocean enemy attack.

Frankenstein

On the way to the North Pole, Robert Walton meets Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who seems exhausted and near death. 'Let me tell you my tale,' says Frankenstein.
There follows the extraordinary story of how Frankenstein discovered how to make a giant man from parts of dead bodies. However, the man turned against him, and became a monster ...

Kidnapped

David is a prisoner on a ship going to America. Then the famous Jacobite, Alan Breck Stewart, comes on board, and the ship's crew plan to murder him. Together, Alan and David escape to the west coast of Scotland. Here, David begins his long and dangerous journey home.

Lorna Doone

Lorna Doone, a beautiful girl with soft white skin, grows up amongst a group of outlaws in the wild marshes of Exmoor in England. Her only friends are her faithful maid and her grandfather, Sir Ensor Doone. Sir Ensor is the leader of the outlaws and Lorna loves and fears him equally. John Ridd, a brave and honest young man, is determined to avenge the death of his father. His father was murdered by the outlaws.

The Old Wives' Tale

Constance and Sophia are the two beautiful daughters of a draper. When she grows up, Constance marries the manager of her father's shop and works in the family business. Sophia, on the other hand, elopes to Paris with the dangerous Gerald Scales.

Three Men in a Boat

Three young men—George, Harris and J—and Montmorency (the dog) set off on a boating holiday up the River Thames. Their plan is to row, or tow, their boat from London to Oxford and back. All kinds of funny things happen as they travel from place to place.

Vanity Fair

Rebecca Sharp, although charming and witty, is not born into the nobility of England. But she is determined that she will become part of it before she dies.Her best friend, Amelia Sedley, has a sweet and gentle nature. Her only ambition is to be married to a handsome army officer called George Osborne. However, Rebecca flirts with George even when he is married to Amelia.