Arcadia Public Library

Elephant was shouting and stomping. But could he stomp a hole deep enough to reach water for the thirsty animals? Maybe...maybe not. All the animals tried until tiny Gecko took a turn. He was small...but he was determined. And he was not going to give up!.

Presents five folktales for young children, including Snow Bunting's Lullaby from Siberia, Chin Chin Kobokama from Japan, Kanji-jo, the Nestlings from Liberia, The Playground of the Sun and Moon from Argentina, and Counting Sheep from the British Isles. Around the world each night, parents tell stories to children as they put them to bed. Margaret Read MacDonald-a folklorist, storyteller, and children's librarian-uses bedtime tales in the daytime...

A magical boy grants a poor flower-seller's every wish until the greedy and ungrateful man grows tired of the boy's unpleasant behavior and sends him away.

In this Appalachian version of The Kind and the Unkind Girls, two sisters--Bess and Tess--are sent by their mother to draw water from the Well-at-the-End-of-the-World. Along the way they meet a bear, a mountain lion, a wild boar, and three little foxes. When Bess greets them with courtesy and respect, the foxes reward her kindness. Tess, greedy for her own bounty, can't be bothered with manners; she bonks the animals with her bucket, kicks them with...

Worried that Little Boy will be frightened if she fails to return home before dark, an old woman enlists the aid of some passing animals to coax her new pig across the bridge.

A greedy cat grows enormous as he eats everything in sight, including his friends and neighbors who call him fat.

A childless woman's prayers are answered by the arrival of a talking pot, but the new mother knows that Little Pot must learn right from wrong just like any child.

An African folktale about a mouse who pays close attention to her surroundings and avoids being tricked by the cat.