The Folktale Project

The Folktale Project

Every week The Folktale Project brings you new folklore, fairytales, myths and legends from around the world. Some tales you've heard before and some brand new.

Episodes

May 23, 2025 12 mins

I apologize in advance that this is perhaps the saddest story that I've ever told on The Folktale Project. Han Christian Andersen's 'The Story of a Mother' begins sadly and ends sadly with a bit of melancholy in the middle. Trigger warning - the story begins with the death of a child.

Host Dan Scholz

Find out where to subscribe to The Folktale Project at http://folktaleproject.com/subscribe

Help keep The Folktale Project going by b...

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This week's new story is a bit of an Italian mashup. A little Rapunzel, a bit of Beauty and the Beast, and a dash of Baba Yaga. I do hope you enjoy it!

Host Dan Scholz

Find out where to subscribe to The Folktale Project at http://folktaleproject.com/subscribe

Help keep The Folktale Project going by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject

 

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This week brings the revisiting of a classic tale by Louisa May Alcott - 'Queen Aster'.

Host Dan Scholz

Find out where to subscribe to The Folktale Project at http://folktaleproject.com/subscribe

Help keep The Folktale Project going by becoming a supporter on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/folktaleproject

 

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A new tale this week from the Brothers Grimm, and it's about as wholesome as they get!

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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The tale of The Wise Men of Gotham goes far beyond the stories you'll hear today, but that doesn't make these stories any less fun!

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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This week's new story comes to us from Canada and Professor Cyrus Macmillan and his 'Canadian Fairy Tales'.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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Apologies for the last few missed episodes, adjusting to new schedules is always a bear. But we're back today with a new story from Japan! 'The Wind in the Pine Tree' is a perfect little love story in honor of my wife and the large pine at our new home.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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Fresh from the archives - one of my favorite English folktales - Take one part "The Goosegirl", one part "Cinderella", and mix it with a little 'Pied Piper' and you'll get the English folktale of 'Tattercoats'.

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Today's story is a tribute to my wife's discovery of a turkey buzzard near our house last week. It's the Iroquois tale of 'How the Turkey Buzzard Got His Suit'.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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A classic from 2017's season - the German tale of 'Dr. Know-All' as brought to us by The Brothers Grimm.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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Our newest tale comes to us from Wales and features a wise and brave traveller named Hugh.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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This week we go all the way back to Episode 100 of the podcast. 'Finist the Bright Falcon' is a Russian tale that certainly deserves to be replayed.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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This week on for our new tales we have two stories from the Ainu people of Japan - 'The Kind Giver and the Grudging Giver.' and 'The Man who was changed into a Fox.'

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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This week on Folktale Project Classics we dive into the archives for 'The Glass Dog' from "American Fairy Tales" by L. Frank Baum.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

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March 7, 2025 7 mins

A new story this Friday from Tibet! The Wise Bat tells the story of an easily conviced King and a rather smart subject.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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This week we have a new tale from Georgia read in honor of my wordplay and riddle loving wife and father. I do hope you all enjoy 'The King and The Apple'.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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February 21, 2025 9 mins

This week we celebrate a move to Fridays with a Slavic tale of resistance to tyranny. 'The Good Children' comes to us from "Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources", by A.H. Wratislaw.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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One of my favorite tales from "Legends of the Rhine" tells the story of the heroic Roland, a knight and nephew of Charlemagne.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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January 29, 2025 13 mins

We're back with a new story from Turkey this week. 'The Crow-Peri' from "Turkish Fairy Tales and Folk Tales" is a really wonderful way to jump back into things, happy ending and all.

To get more full stories and early access to all of the Folktale Project subscribe on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/folktaleproject!

 

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This week we have a story from the archives and one of my favorite collections of tales - American Fairy Tales. 'The Box of Robbers" is a hilarious story of a curious child and a hidden crate's contents.

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