Fairy tale information

Long ago, . Vietnam was ruled by generous kings. One of these, King Hung Vuong the Third, had only one daughter, and so he adopted a poor boy from a faraway island. He named the child An Tiem and cherished him as if he were his own. An Tiem grew to be intelligent, wise and skillful, and the king so loved him, he decided An Tiem must marry his daughter. Together they would rule the land after the king died. An Tiem and the king's daughter married, and they loved each other deeply. They had two children, and their lives appeared to be blessed by the heavens. But some in the king's court envied the young man, and soon their envy turned to hatred. They began to spread rumors of his pride and disrespect. These stories were untrue, but still the rumors spread. Before long they reache ...

Long ago, in a village in West Africa, there lived a chief who had a beautiful daughter he named Ife, for this means love, and she was, to the chief, the very essence of love. As she grew older, all the young men of the village began to court her. Ife was pleased by this attention, but she wanted very much to make a wise choice, and so one day she sought her father's wisdom. "Father," she asked, "how will I know the right man to marry?" The chief was pleased by his daughter's question. "Ife, you must marry a man who is generous and gentle, honest and kind." "Of course," Ife said, "but how will I know who has these qualities?" "Pay close attention," the chief told his daughter. And so, as each man came to court her, Ife watched and listened closely. Each suitor bowed before her ...

Once upon a time in Japan there lived two frogs. One frog lived in the city of Osaka in a quiet little ditch outside of town. The other frog lived in a clear, flowing stream near Kyoto. The frogs, of course, did not know each other. One day the frog who lived in the ditch in Osaka overheard a man talking as he passed by. "There over the mountain, is beautiful Kyoto," said the man. At once the frog in the ditch came up with a plan. "I too would love to see the city of Kyoto, she said. "I think I will climb the mountain and go there to see for myself." At the very same time, the frog who swam through the crystal waters of Kyoto thought, "My home is lovely, but surely there is more to see in the world." So, each frog set out to cross the tall mountain that separated the two cities ...

Once upon a time a king owned a magical drum. Some said this drum was the secret to the peace that filled his land, because whenever the king beat upon the drum, marvelous food and drink appeared. And so, whenever anyone declared war, he called his enemies to visit the palace. There he beat upon the drum, and before his guests' astonished gaze, a feast of delicacies appeared. Then the king shared the feast with his enemies, and when they had eaten their fill, they felt so contented, they no longer wanted to fight. There was one catch to this. The owner of the drum could never step upon a fallen branch, for if he did, the juju, the magic of the drum, would disappear, and in its place the owner would reap nothing but trouble. The king became a wealthy man, but some envied the king, and ev ...

Long ago there was a king in Italy who was known for his goodness and wisdom. King John of Atri believed in justice, and so one day he purchased a great bell.From the bell King John hung a long, thick rope that reached to the ground so that everyone - even the littlest child - could ring that bell.Then the king called all the villagers to the square to tell them the purpose of the bell of Atri."Listen closely," the king said. "You must ring this bell only when you have been wronged. When you ring it, our judges will gather in this square to hear your case."For many years King John's planned worked perfectly. Whenever the judges heard the bell, they gathered in the square to hear the case.After a while, whenever people thought to steal or lie, the memory of the sound of that bell and t ...