The Yellow Fairy Book

The fourth of Lang’s colored anthologies casts a wider net than its predecessors, gathering tales from Russia, Iceland, Hungary, Germany, and even Native American tradition. Several of Hans Christian Andersen’s stories appear here, including the emperor fooled by his invisible clothes and the nightingale whose song outshines a mechanical bird. Alongside them stand Norse legends, the tinderbox soldier, and Thumbelina no bigger than a thumb. As with the rest of the series, Lang selected and framed the stories while his wife Leonora and their collaborators handled much of the translation. First published in 1894, it shows the series reaching well beyond Europe. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available to download.