My wife and I were unable to have children, and it made life very difficult for us. One day I was standing in front of my house, lost in thought, when an old man passed by. "What is the matter, sir?" he asked. "You look troubled." I said, "Oh, leave me alone, my good...
Story Themes Results
Your Search Results
Flute of O’Yoné
Themes: Hope | Longing | Salvation
One night the sweet child O’Yoné stole into the bamboo grove behind the garden. Weeping, she told her story to the forest. Her mother had died and her father had remarried a beautiful woman with a cruel, jealous heart. O’Yoné knew she would to kill her at her first...
Queen Riding through a Winter Wonderland
Themes: Enchantment | Longing | Regret
On the happiest day of my life, I was riding through the falling snow on a sleigh that was lit by the setting sun. Rushing along through the fir trees in the steaming breath of the horses, I felt like a great white swan, feather-light and wing-borne. “Oh joy and...
Flying Horse
Themes: Freedom | Longing | Possession
I would like to return home to my stable in the heavens. It's on top of a high mountain, and twelve flying horses live there, including my twin brother. They are guarded and cared for by an old woman. The horses are sleek and majestic, except for my twin. At first...
Queen Who Goes to Fairyland
Themes: Fertility | Friendship | Grief | Longing
I loved my husband but I couldn't conceive a child. We never talked about it, but when we watched other people play with their children, we couldn't hide our sadness. Then one day I went into the park near the castle, and sat alone by a waterfall. I didn't want my...
Seeker of the Silent Princess
Themes: Curiosity | Departure | Longing | Punishment
I was the son of a pasha in Turkey, and an only child. I played with a golden ball that I would throw against the walls of the summer house and catch when it dropped. One day, I saw an old woman coming to draw water from the well, and I threw my ball at her pitcher....
Dorani’s Invisible Husband
Themes: Departure | Invisibility | Longing | Loss
The gardener asked me why I was looking so sad, and I told him the reason. "My wife Dorani is as lovely as the stars, but she won't speak to me. Every night she leaves me, and goes back to her father's house." The old gardener gave me six small packets of powder and...
Fish Man
Themes: Attraction | Longing | Transformation
The troll turned me into a fish and I sprang into the river. No use fighting against the stream. I let it carry me out to sea. At the end of the current, I found myself at the bottom of the ocean, outside a palace made of glass. I peered into the rooms and halls. The...
Snowflake
Themes: Grief | Isolation | Longing
My mother and father wanted a child so much that they made me out of snow, and I came to life. They called me Snowflake. Spring has arrived. The fields are full of flowers. Nightingales sing in the trees, and my friends are playing outside and shouting with glee. The...
Snow Man
Themes: Attraction | Longing
I take pride in being cool and collected. I'm a Snow Man, after all. But something at the very core of me cracks. It's always cracking, and I find myself longing for something that is not at all becoming of a Snow Man—the hot stove! I look through the window of the...
Water Lily
Themes: Exile | Longing | Recognition | Transformation
My sisters and I spun gold flax for an old woman who made us work from dawn to dusk. We had never seen a man. The old woman warned us that the sheen would go out of our flax and terrible things would happen if we ever laid eyes on a man. Well, I did lay eyes on a man....
Tempted Queen
Themes: Consumption | Hunger | Longing | Temptation
I had a passion for traveling and exploring, so when my daughter was only a few weeks old I went to visit a certain mountain about which I had heard many marvelous tales. I set out with a number of attendants, and on the way we passed by an old castle. It was said to...
Prince with a Mirror
Themes: Attraction | Longing | Recognition | Wonder
When I was fifteen, I woke up one day and found a mirror had been placed in my room. It was not large, and it had a black frame. When I looked into it, I did not see my own reflection. Instead, I saw the face of a girl as lovely as the dawn. She, like me, was coming...
Hopeful Ferryman
Themes: Bondage | Longing | Underworld
When did I begin to ferry the dead over the wide river? I cannot remember. It was such a long time ago. Back and forth, back and forth.... It is all I know, except for a growing longing to be free, which is making my job a hellish suffering. Today, I ferried a young...