'There once was a beautiful and peaceful country. It was high in the mountains on the roof of the world, and a land of steep green valleys and swift flowing rivers. Every day the sun climbed above the snowy peaks and shone upon the land. People said that if trouble ever did come it would last only as long as the shadow of a flying bird . . .'

Michael Foreman's rich collection of fairy tales from around the world will excite, surprise, amuse and enthrall readers. These twenty-two familiar and lesser known tales – from Russia, China, India, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, England, Ireland and Mexico – come from storytellers as well-loved and diverse as Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, Arthur Ransome, Terry Jones and Edna O'Brien.