Folk Myths

From the mid-1980s into the early 1990s, the greatest athlete of all time streaked across American sports and popular culture. Stadiums struggled to contain him. Clocks failed to capture his speed. His strength was legendary. His power unmatched. Video game makers turned him into an invincible character—and they were dead-on. He climbed (and walked across) walls, splintered baseball bats over his knee, turned oncoming tacklers into ground meat.

Listen and relive exciting tales from Highlights, now on audio! Learn about a boy at a Spanish market who knocks over a stand of avocados down a hill and makes guacamole and about a jungle that is full of terror at the thought that a monster could be lurking in the shadows, along with other stories.

Magical retellings of three classic fairy tales, read by Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan. In "Aladdin", Aladdin is a tailor's son who dreams of making his fortune and marrying the Sultan's daughter, but is tricked into becoming apprentice to a cunning magician. He needs Aladdin to do a very special job - climb down into a deep, dark cave and fetch an oil lamp...

Booted from one exclusive school to the next since his foster mom's death three years ago, 16-year-old Seph McCauley knows he's different. But he doesn't understand why he can summon menacing ravens, freeze summer ponds, and torch all he touches. And then Seph makes the mistake of trusting his new headmaster. If you like Harry Potter, you'll love Seph McCauley.

"Jack and the Beanstalk", read by Lenny Henry
"Goldilocks and the Three Bears", read by Sheridan Smith
"Puss in Boots", read by Lenny Henry
"Snow White", read by Sheridan Smith. Here are four fantastic stories, full of magic and fun, that young children are sure to love!

I knew being the only Norm at Gifted Academy would be hard and dangerous, but I didn't expect to be tossed out of a window. Also didn't expect to be saved by one of the Magnificent Four. Bryce brought me back from the brink of death, but he did more than heal my broken bones. He weakened my defenses and carved a place in my heart. He's not the only one vying for my attention. Rufio, Phoenix, and Morpheus have all changed their attitudes toward me, and recklessly, I want to know where it will lead.

The Boy lives in a cottage with his mother and father, and the Dragon lives in a cave on the Downs. The Boy is his only friend. The Dragon is not at all the sort of Dragon one might expect to meet, however: he's polite and friendly.

This classic tale is a fantastical fable of two dear friends - one of whom goes astray and is literally lost to the north woods, while the other undertakes an epic journey to rescue him. This charming, strange, and wonderful story is a timeless allegory about growing up and the challenges of staying true to one's self, and it served as the wintry inspiration for the blockbuster hit Frozen.

"If you step through after Harkat, you might never comeback. Is your friend worth such an enormous risk?" Darren and Harkat face monstrous obstacles on their desperate quest to the Lake of Souls. Will they survive the savage journey full of killer animals, monstrous mutants, and fiery winged beasts? And what awaits them in the murky waters of the dead? The two companions must unravel the riddle of Harkat's identity before they are destroyed. Be careful what you fish for.

When 16-year-old Jack forgets to take his medicine one morning, he soon learns what the medicine is really for. It's a suppressant for his magical powers....He's a Warrior Heir.

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself.

Magical retellings of four classic fairy tales. In "Rapunzel" read by Tamsin Greig, beautiful Rapunzel has been imprisoned by an evil enchantress. Every day, she sits at the window of her high tower, and sings as she lets down her long hair. Then one day, a prince comes riding by.... In "The Tinder Box" read by Stephen Mangan, a wizened old woman promises a soldier riches beyond his wildest dreams. All she wants in return is a small tinderbox - but is there more to the tinderbox than meets the eye?

Deep beneath the ocean, there is a shimmering palace. Built of coral walls and windows of clearest amber, it is the kingdom of the merpeople. And one of these mermaids you might know well: she is the youngest, and is gifted with the most beautiful voice. Unhappy with her life as a mermaid, she dreams of living on dry land. One day, on her birthday, she ascends to the surface to find a magnificent three-masted ship drifting in calm waters. There, amongst the passengers, she meets the brown-eyed prince.

A classic fable from Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories, read by Johnny Morris. Have you ever wondered how and why the animals came to be as they are? In these magical tales, drawn from stories he heard as a child in India as well as on folk traditions he later collected all over the world, Rudyard Kipling gives some wonderfully imaginative explanations.

Magical retellings of four classic fairy tales.

"The Little Mermaid", read by Tamsin Greig: The youngest child of the Mer King lives in a beautiful underwater city. "Rumpelstiltskin", read by Stephen Mangan: A beautiful miller's daughter is locked away by the King and told she will never see her family again unless she spins straw into gold. "The Snow Queen", read by Stephen Mangan: Sebastian and Anna are best friends who do everything together. "The Little Match Girl", read by Tamsin Greig: It is bitterly cold, and the Little Match Girl is walking the icy streets in bare feet, trying to sell just one box of matches.

Audible are delighted to present Sleeping Beauty, a unique listening experience for all the family to enjoy over the Christmas season. This exclusive new audio drama has been created in collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra and is inspired by Tchaikovsky's beloved ballet music. Marty Ross’s reimagining of the famous fairy story draws on the worlds of folktale and the Brothers Grimm, while the LSO's specially-commissioned new recording, conducted by Gavin Sutherland, weaves through the drama like a rich and majestic film score.

The classic story of Beauty and the Beast....

With the Godmother Guild destroyed by Teague's army, Mina finds herself without the guidance of her Fae godmother. Alone and confused, she must lean on her friends for support. The dark prince threatens their very existence with a show of power on the human plane that has everyone running for their lives. To save them, Mina must make a deal with the prince to become his prisoner or lose her friends forever.

This volume contains a collection of fairy tales from a wide array of classical works. These immortal tales include "The Enchanted Stag", "Twelve Brothers", "Puss in Boots", "Jack and the Beanstalk", "The Princess and the Pea", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Light Princess", "Beauty and the Beast", "Hansel and Gretel", "Jack the Giant Killer", "The Second Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor", and "The Story of Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp".

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson finds his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any "normal" friends.