The Olive Fairy Book

This collection of fairy tales is similar to the first that I read, The Yellow Fairy Book, in that it amasses a wide range of fairy and folk tales from various countries in Europe and Asia (with occasional forays into other continents). The two differences I noticed were 1) that a lot more of these tales came from countries not previously covered, like India, and 2) although the book is the same size as the Yellow Fairy Book, the print is much larger, so that the content is about half as much as the previous. It seems that Lang was ranging farther afield to find new stories for his series, and finding less material. I didn't mind, though, because the tales were just as much fun as before, and if you read the entire collection then you show more still have quite a treasure trove of fairy tale lore.

Actually, I really appreciated the fairy tales that came from India and Africa. You start to become accustomed to the tropes and themes of European fairy tales, and while I love them (that's why I read them!), it's nice to read stories from other cultures that have different emphasis, values, and stock characters. For a girl born and raised on fairy tales, it's funny how little of them I actually remember reading, and I enjoy adding to my knowledge by reading through this series. show less

As before with the Blue Book, many of these were long in length. I didn't recognize most of these, but my favorite new one is probably The Billy Goat and the King just because the characters amused me - the king with his giggles and the wife with her suspicious glares.

Want a perfect life and happiness? Apparently that's achievable only by falling in love with a beautiful prince or princess - the moral of most of these stories.

I may enjoy some of these more in print format since I listed to audio, and let's admit that audio and I are a bit out of sync.

To avoid overabundance of information re persons responsible for translations and/or adaptation, please refer to Lang's Preface. Color Plates in editions previous to 1995 reproduced as halftone plates. Unabridged Replication of Longman & Green's 1907 edition.

Contents: "Madschun", "The Blue Parrot", "Geirlug The King's Daughter", "The Story of Little King Loc", "A Long-Bow Story", "Jackal or Tiger?", "The Comb and the Collar", The Thanksgiving of the Wazir", "Samba the Coward", "Kupti and Imani", "The Strange Adventures of Little Maia",
"Diamond Cut Diamond", "The Green Knight", "The Five Wise Words of the Guru", "The Golden-Headed Fish", "Dorani", "The Satin Surgeon", "The Billy Goat and the King", "The Story of Zoulvisia", "Grasp All, show more Lose All", "The Fate of the Turtle", "The Snake Prince", "The Prince and the Princess in the Forest", "The Clever Weaver", "The Boy Who Found Fear At Last", "He Wins Who Waits", "The Steel Cane", "The Punishment of the Fairy Gangana", "The Silent Princess" show less

"Madschun" * This one was pretty stupid, the young man was lazy and did nothing to earn the hand of the princess.

"The Blue Parrot" * Another real stinker. It's obvious Lang was running out of stories, lol. This one was just pretty boring.

"Geirlug The King's Daughter"
"The Story of Little King Loc"
"A Long-Bow Story"
"Jackal or Tiger?"
"The Comb and the Collar"
"The Thanksgiving of the Wazir"
"Samba the Coward"
"Kupti and Imani"
"The Strange Adventures of Little Maia"
"Diamond Cut Diamond"
"The Green Knight"
"The Five Wise Words of the Guru"
"The Golden-Headed Fish"
"Dorani"
"The Satin Surgeon"
"The Billy Goat and the King"
"The Story of Zoulvisia"
"Grasp All, Lose All"
"The Fate of the Turtle"
"The Snake Prince"
"The Prince and the Princess in the show more Forest"
"The Clever Weaver"
"The Boy Who Found Fear At Last"
"He Wins Who Waits"
"The Steel Cane"
"The Punishment of the Fairy Gangana"
"The Silent Princess"

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"Madschun"
"The Blue Parrot"
"Geirlug The King's Daughter"
"The Story of Little King Loc"
"A Long-Bow Story"
"Jackal or Tiger?"
"The Comb and the Collar"
"The Thanksgiving of the Wazir"
"Samba the Coward"
"Kupti and Imani"
"The Strange Adventures of Little Maia"
"Diamond Cut Diamond"
"The Green Knight"
"The Five Wise Words of the Guru"
"The Golden-Headed Fish"
"Dorani"
"The Satin Surgeon"
"The Billy Goat and the King"
"The Story of Zoulvisia"
"Grasp All, Lose All"
"The Fate of the Turtle"
"The Snake Prince"
"The Prince and the Princess in the Forest"
"The Clever Weaver"
"The Boy Who Found Fear At Last"
"He Wins Who Waits"
"The Steel Cane"
"The Punishment of the Fairy Gangana"
"The Silent Princess" show less

The Olive Fairy Book includes unusual stories from Turkey, India, Denmark, Armenia, the Sudan, and the pen of Anatole France Source: LOC
The Olive Fairy Book includes unusual stories from Turkey, India, , the Sudan, and the pen of Anatole France Source: Wikipedia