The beast always ate him. George would stumble through the nighttime woods, thorns ripping at his skin, and without looking back would dream-see it bounding toward him. It was unlike any animal George knew—four legged, with clawed fingers rather than paws, a short, sharp-toothed snout, and a gray-black pelt. Twice his size. And somehow handsome.… Read more The Nature of the Beast
In the old days in Novgorod there was a boy named Sadko, strong, blue eyed and curly haired. Sadko was so poor that he had not a kopek except for what people gave him to play on his dulcimer for their dancing. He was not always happy, for it is dull work to always play… Read more Sadko
The stand went up the afternoon of Halloween. It perched next to the street in front of an old house. There were two painted signs on the front of the stand. The one higher up read: There’s a Trick to Our Treats The one lower down read: Take one and begone in fun Take more… Read more Tricky Treats
Das Wasser des Lebens, Grimm # 97 Jacob Konig owned a business as big as a kingdom. But he was so sick that his expensive doctors thought he was going to die. They cautioned him to make preparations. So Jacob called his three sons together and told them that he wouldn’t be living much longer,… Read more The Water of Life
“Yeah, they seemed okay. They paid well, which I guess is the important thing. They worked at being friendly, but something was always straining at them. It’s a small house they’ve got, but then they’re really little people. No complaints, little made it easier for me to clean.” I shifted my backside. As I got… Read more Little People
A long time ago the capital of Japan was Kyoto, the city of blossoms. The Mikado and his court lived in Kyoto, a place of beautiful shrines and temples. But the capital was troubled with many thieves and murderers who snuck through the city gates at night. Even worse were the evil imps, called onis,… Read more Raikou and the Shi-Ten Doji
The craggy back acre was unusable. But I would often climb the rocky slope and step into its tree-lined grotto. From the central hollow a little spring swelled out and meandered down to my back lawn, seeping into the grass. In the shaded dim, the rough-barked trees seemed to echo my thoughts back toward me,… Read more The Spring
