Aesop's Fables are the most popular of allegories and remain part of everyday speech as well as providing eternal tales of caution veiled in the actions of animals and other character types.

The tales from the Brothers Grimm both included in this volume have preserved the folklore of the German people and formed an inspiration to generations of storytellers who would create new prose versions as well as adaptations in song, dance and film.

Written for children in the local Danish idiom, Hans Christian Andersen’s entertaining and complex tales have become themselves part of the folklore of cultures across the globe.