Audiobook · read by volunteers
Folk Tales from Many Lands
Lilian Gask (1865–1942)
Read by Kalynda · 23 chapters · 4 h 39
About the book
The Bell of Atri, Snow-White, Prince Ivan and the Grey Wolf, Saint Christopher, a monk and a bird of paradise, a shepherd and a dragon: this book gathers twenty-three tales from many parts of the world and retells them in a graceful, lyrical style. Some are legends of saints and kings, some are fairy tales that may be familiar from childhood, and others have the shape of old folk stories, with journeys, trials and surprising turns. The language is polished and musical, written to be read aloud, and the whole is a pleasant mix for listening in short sittings. It suits families who like stories read aloud. Each tale is brief, so you can pick any one and begin, or follow the whole sequence from the first, “The Story of the Ten Sources”, to the last, “The Bar of Gold”.
Introduction
Lilian Gask, born in 1865 and died in 1942, was an English author who wrote children’s books and retold traditional stories for young readers. Her collections of tales drew on myths, legends and folk narratives from different countries, and she wrote them in a flowing, poetic style meant to be read aloud. The present volume was published in 1910 and belongs to a period when such anthologies were popular in the nursery and the classroom.
Folk tales travel from one culture to another and often turn up in several forms. A collection like this is a reminder that people everywhere have used stories to explain the world, to teach their children and to entertain one another. The titles alone promise saints and shepherds, princes and monks, talking animals and dragons. Gask does not claim to give scholarly versions of each tale; instead, she shapes them as short, polished pieces, and she lets the rhythm of the language carry the moral.
This audiobook has twenty-three sections and lasts nearly five hours. It is read by a single LibriVox volunteer. It is a good choice for bedtime, for car journeys or for any moment when you want something gentle and imaginative. Children will enjoy the adventures, and adults may smile at the old-fashioned charm of these tales.
The stories vary in length and mood, so there is something for each occasion. A few are only a page or two long and can be heard in a few minutes, while others take a little longer to unfold. Together they make up a small treasury, suitable for a bedtime ritual or a quiet afternoon.
Public domain
Lilian Gask died in 1942: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text