The Golden Goose and Other Stories

By Maxine Barry

From The Twelve Dancing Princesses to The Lion and the Mouse, this selection of 5 classic fables and fairy tales showcases the best-loved stories for children. Accompanied by beautiful illustrations by up-and-coming artists from around the world, this enchanting collection is the perfect introduction to these timeless tales for readers aged 4 and up.

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10 minutes of reading a day can...

Boost Vocabulary
Reading for a short period every day exposes your child to almost 1 million words per year, which helps to foster communication and understanding.

Encourage Learning
Reading at home is linked to better performance in spelling, comprehension and general knowledge, helping to develop important learning skills.

Promote Relaxation
Reading a book gives your child the quiet time they need each day to relax, and is a great way for you to spend quality time together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcturus Publishing
• Release date: Jan 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781788883559

Maxine Barry

After many years of working in publishing, keen to encourage even more children to fall in love with reading, Maxine Barry was one of the founders of Storytime - a magazine which celebrates all kinds of stories from all around the world. Maxine has a real talent for making traditional tales relevant to today's children. She lives on an island in the River Thames in a small house with a lot of bookshelves, where she spends her days collecting, reading and writing short stories.

Book preview

The Golden Goose

Once upon a time, there were three brothers. Jacob was the eldest brother, Rolf was the middle brother, and Fritz was the youngest brother, but everybody called him Simpleton.

It was such a mean nickname for such a nice young man! But his older brothers were bullies, and poor Fritz had to put up with their teasing every day.

One morning, the three brothers set out to the forest to chop some wood.

Let’s split up and see who can get the most timber, said Jacob. Not that you’ll be much competition, Simpleton!

Jacob and Rolf laughed at their younger brother and went their separate ways, but Fritz decided to stay put, right next to a big old oak tree.

As the morning wore on, the eldest brother Jacob was about to eat his lunch when a little old man appeared at his side.

Afternoon, lad, he said. Can you spare me any food or drink, please?

No way! said Jacob. If I give you my lunch, I’ll have nothing for myself.

The little old man vanished as quickly as he had appeared but, when Jacob continued chopping, he got a terrible splinter in his finger. It was so painful that he had to give up and go home.

Next, the old man appeared by Rolf just as he was about to bite into his sandwich.

Afternoon, lad, he said. Can you spare any food or drink for me, please?