Once upon a time . . .
These words are a magic incantation that opens doors to a fantastic realm that is home to fairy godmothers, wicked witches, beautiful princesses, princes charming (and not so charming), sleeping beauties, fearsome ogres, fearless giant-killers, beasts with love in their hearts, and ordinary young men with heroic spirits. These are the characters who bring fairy tales to life and who for centuries have made the stories told about them some of the best-known and most-loved tales told around the world.
A Treasury of Best-Loved Fairy Tales brings together in one volume 101 of the most popular fairy and folk tales ever told. Drawn from the work of Hans Christian Anderson, the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, and from such classic compilations as Tales of the Arabian Nights and the fairy books of Andrew Lang, these stories feature characters whose adventures are the most enchanting and entertaining to be immortalized in fairy tale form: The Little Mermaid, Sinbad the Sailor, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Aladdin, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Hansel and Gretel, Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Ugly Duckling, Rumpelstiltskin, and Ali Baba.
Although these stories span the globe and evoke the many cultures and eras that gave rise to them they are universal in their appeal and timeless in their charm. For any one who has ever wanted to fight a dragon, woo a handsome prince or beautiful princess maiden, befriend wish-granting genies, discover treasures of incalculable value, or rise by one’s wits to become the ruler of a kingdom, these stories are your passport to a world where a simple exercise of imagination can make them all happen.
