The Grey Fairy Book

It is almost impossible to envision what childhood would be like without the enchanting world of fairyland.

The goat-faced girl, Prunella, the three sons of Hali, giants and dwarfs, monsters and magicians, fairies and ogres-these are the companions who thrill boys and girls of all lands and all times, as Andrew Lang's phenomenally successful collections of stories have proved.

From the day that they were first printed, Lang's fairy tale books of many colors have entertained thousands of youngsters, as they have also brought pleasure to the parents who have read these classics to their children.The Grey Fairy Book includes many strange, exotic stories from Lithuania, Africa, Germany, Greece and France.

But they are all told in the common language of the fairy tale, and their events will be familiar to children and grown-ups alike.

The donkey who turns into a price, a spinning wheel that turns moss into silk, revengeful fairies, and ogre-like fathers of lovely daughters strike responsive chords in readers, even when they appear in new circumstances.