Fairy tale information

Long ago, a wicked wizard lived on the far side of the sunset. There he prepared spells to destroy happiness and laughter. One day he said to himself, "I must capture Santa Claus!" he crowed. "Then millions of people all over the world will be miserable!" Now, capturing Santa Claus was simple, for he was a trusting fellow. He was minding his own business, browsing through stores and market stalls, when, all of a sudden 一 WHOMP 一 he stepped into the wicked wizard's net trap. Up, up he went, whisked off the street, off the Earth, swept away to the far side of the sunset."Gotcha!" cried the wizard as he rubbed his hands together and danced up and down. Santa drew in a deep breath and stared at the wizard. "How could you do this?" he cried."It's wonderful, don't you think?" cackled the wizar ...

In ancient times, Frigga, goddess of beauty, love and marriage, sat working at her loom toward the end of the winter solstice. This particular solstice was special, for it was when she gave birth to her most beloved child, Baldur. Frigga's special talent was that she could divine the fates of men and gods. One day Frigga discovered her son was going to die young. Frantic, she made everyone and everything promise that they would not harm Baldur."We will spare him," they all promised. The gods sought amusement by hurling darts and stones and rocks at Baldur, but he always walked away unharmed. Now Loki, the mischievous god, began to tremble with jealousy. "Why should Baldur be so fortunate?" he asked. "Surely something can hurt him." Determined to find out, Loki disguised himself as a young ...

Once upon a time a poor old farmer and his wife worked diligently all year long to save some money to celebrate the New Year. Alas, the day approached, and the couple had saved nothing."I know," the old woman said. "We'll sell my kimono." "Impossible," the farmer said. "It's your wedding kimono.""Yes," said the woman, "but rice cakes will give us good fortune for the whole year. Sometimes we must make sacrifices."Reluctantly the farmer agreed, and the next day, despite the falling snow, he set off for the village.He soon passed by a woman walking in the other direction. She carried a basket of hats, and tears streamed down her cheeks. "Dear woman," the farmer asked, "what is wrong?""Oh," she wept, "I went to the market, but no one bought my hats. On New Year's Day I marry, and I hoped to b ...

Long ago, a poor couple, Amir and Anahita, lived with Amir's parents on a tiny plot of land in southern India. As time passed, life became harder. Amir's mother's sight was failing, so she was unable to help her daughter-in-law with the cooking, mending and washing. His aging father was too weak to work in the fields. Anahita was sad, for she and Amir had been married for many years, but they still had no children. One year the monsoons did not come, and so, after a while, nothing grew anywhere. The family worried that they would starve. One day, Amir walked past a wealthy lord's estate. There, above the protective walls, Amir could see bananas, mangoes and pomegranates growing in abundance. "I must climb the wall and bring back something for my family," Amir said to himself. So, Amir scra ...

Long ago, winter came just as it always had. The animals' coats grew thick, and they readied their nests and warrens and caves for the winter. But the humans were not so adaptable. Their hair did not grow thick. Their homes were not warm. They feared they would not survive."We must help the humans," the animals said, but they were afraid.In the mountains there lived three giant creatures known as the fire keepers. They had stolen a piece of the sun and guarded it fiercely. Even at night, one of the fire keepers kept watch."Who can help the humans?" Owl lamented."I will," said Coyote. So, Coyote explained a clever plan to the others. Chipmunk, Frog, and the tallest tree in the forest agreed to help Coyote. That night, the animals put their plan into action. "Let's go," Coyote said, and he, ...