Europe

Materials from Europe

Stretch, Swallow & Stare

Stretch was not like other people. She could stretch her body taller than the tallest tree. People didn’t trust her because she was different. That’s why she lived in the forest. Swallow could eat more food than anyone. The villagers made fun of her because she was short and fat. That’s why she left town. Stare’s eyes were so strong they could burn through anything she looked at. Everyone was afraid of her. That’s why she stayed alone. And then there was Ira – small, skinny, and short-sighted – with nobody in the world to help him search for his missing sister. Somehow these four unlikely characters come together and overcome all obstacles – even the most evil magic in the land.

The King Who Tried to Fry an Egg on His Head

A poor and foolish king marries off his three daughters to the Sun, the Moon, and the Raven and then tries to copy their special talents.

Nabeel’s New Pants: An Eid Tale

Ramadan has come to an end. the fast is over, and tomorrow the celebration of Eid will begin. Nabeel decides to buy each of his family members something special to wear for the holiday. But while he’s choosing, the shopkeeper persuades him also to buy a gift for himself–a pair of new pants that are too long! Nabeel asks his wife to help hem them, but she’s too busy cooking biryana. He asks his mother and his daughter, too, but no one has the time; everyone is too busy preparing for the festivities.

The Hungry Coat

After being forced to change to a fancy new coat to attend a party, Nasrettin Hoca tries to feed his dinner to the coat, reasoning that it was the coat that was the invited guest.

Paper Bird

A drawing of a bird tries without success to learn to fly, until the artist completes his original design and makes flight possible for it.

Peter the Great

A biography of the tsar who began the transformation of Russia into a modern state in the late seventeenth-early eighteenth centuries.