H U G H M . W I T H E R S J R . FORBIDDEN TALES W I T H E R S J R . The sun settles beyond the edge of the horizon; an old wooden door slowly creeks open. You can hear footsteps in the night...and see shadows slinking along the walls. You feel somehow as though youre not alone. An urge to glance over your shoulder permeates your being as you imagine what might lurk in the unknown darkness. The night holds all of our darkest fears, all of those things that chill our fl esh and haunt our dreams. Do any of the old tales or rituals weve heard of have a basis in reality? If you have the courage, you will fi nd these and many more answers in Forbidden Tales.

On the morning of Miu Miu's fifteenth birthday, her mother makes a startling revelation: Miu Miu's fate is to travel to the faraway city of Chang'an, avenge her father's death, and find her true love. But the evil emperor has other plans for her. Defeating him will take all of Miu Miu's courage, wit, and martial arts experience. Master storyteller Da Chen paints a vivid portrait of his native land in this classic tale of honor, adventure, and romance in ancient China.

Sex. Violence. Scandal. These are words we rarely associate with the sacred text of the Bible. Yet in this brilliant new book, Jonathan Kirsch shows that the Old Testament is filled with some of the most startling and explicit stories in all of Western literature. These tales of seduction and rape, voyeurism and exhibitionism, intermarriage and illegitimacy, assassination and murder have been suppressed by religious authorities throughout history precisely because they are so shocking. "You mean that's in the Bible?" is the common reaction of the contemporary reader to the stories that Kirsch retells and explores. In The Harlot by the Side of the Road, Kirsch recounts these suppressed and mistranslated tales in the grand storytelling tradition. Here is the tale of Dinah, the young Israelite daughter raped by a princely suitor. The price for her hand in marriage? The circumcision of every man in his kingdom. Here, too, is the story of Lot's daughters, who, when faced with the possibility that they are the last survivors on earth, must copulate with their drunken father to continue their race. And the story of Tamar, the harlot by the side of the road, who must disguise herself as a prostitute and seduce her father-in-law in order to bear the child who has been promised her. Kirsch places each story within the political and social context of its time, and delves into the latest biblical scholarship to explain why each story was originally censored. He also brings to light when and where each story was first written down, and how it found its way into the Bible. And he shows how these stories have something important to say to contemporary readers who might never pick up a Bible. Kirsch reveals that the Bible's real power lies in its unflinching lessons in human nature. And he illuminates the surprising modernity of the Bible's characters: these were, like us, people delicately balanced between their destructive and generous natures. Certain to excite controversy and ignite intellectual debate, The Harlot by the Side of the Road will undoubtedly be one of the year's most talked-about books.

IntroductionPart One: Refashioning Fairy TalesThe Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, Anne Thackeray RitchieBeauty and the Beast, Anne Thackeray RitchieThe Brown Bull of Norrowa, Maria Louisa MolesworthAmelia and the Dwarfs, Juliana Horathia EwingPart Two: SubversionsNick, Christina RossettiChristmas Crackers, Julian Horathia EwingBehind the White Brick, Frances Hodgson BurnettMelisande, or, Long and Short Division, E. NesbitFortunatus Rex amp Co., E. NesbitPart Three: A Fantasy NovelMopsa the Fairy, Jean IngelowPart Four: A Trio of AntifantasiesSpeaking Likenesses, Christina RossettiBiographical SketchesFurther Readings Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Marta Veneranda, a Latina neoyorkina, finds that she inspires the confessional in people. In fact, when people come to her, they feel the need to reveal their most embarrassing and shameful stories. And through these reluctantly told tales, where characters enter and leave each other's narrations, Rivera-Valdes revisits and questions our most basic behavioral assumptions. In "Little Poisons," the narrator shares with Marta the minutiae of her self-help book–assisted liberation from her philandering husband, whom she will eventually poison to death, and whose mistress she will befriend: "In the fifteen years of marriage he would tell me everything, even about his sexual escapades-if he couldn't share them with me, who would he share them with? Besides, that way no one could come running to me spreading rumors." Beneath the humor is a dead-serious scrutiny of the commingling of Anglo and Latino cultures. At heart, the stories are an exposé of the comforts and discomforts of that cohabitation.

Up to now, there has been no complete English-language version of the Russian folktales of A. N. Afanas’ev. This translation is based on L. G. Barag and N. V. Novikov’s edition, widely regarded as the authoritative Russian-language edition. The present edition includes commentaries to each tale as well as its international classification number. This third volume contains 305 tales, those numbered 319–579, as well as forty-five additional tales from among those denied publication by the Russian censors. The folktales of A. N. Afanas’ev represent the largest single collection of folktales in any European language and perhaps in the world. Widely regarded as the Russian Grimm, Afanas’ev collected folktales from throughout the Russian Empire in what are now regarded as the three East Slavic languages, Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian. In his lifetime, Afanas’ev published more than 575 tales in his most popular and best-known work, Narodnye russkie skazki. In addition to this basic collection, he prepared a volume of Russian legends, many on religious themes; a collection of mildly obscene tales, Russkie zavetnye skazki; and voluminous writings on Slavic folklife and mythology. His works were subject to the strict censorship of ecclesiastical and state authorities that lasted until the demise of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Overwhelmingly, his particular emendations were stylistic, while those of the censors mostly concerned content.

In the far-off realm of Gardoool lay the countries of Qire-Mersnal, Leyrsai, Derth and Gorneeth. Qire-Mersnal; the land of archers and grassy hills. Leyrsai: the land of priests and magic. Derth: the land of metallic craftsmanship and horses. Gorneeth: the wasteland of Raiders and war. A not very skilled Warrior of Capes, named Nedum, is banished from the city of Gliimie for telling tales of the rouge Captain Jarn the Second. He is banished to the Outcast headquarters in Gorneeth, where the legendary Captain Jarn is supreme. Jarn doesn’t believe that Nedum has the necessary potential to be an Outcast. But Jarn’s right hand man, Romat has faith in him and takes him under his wing. As soon as Romat has trained him a little, there are many trials he must surpass. To begin with, he is involved in an attempt to stop the most powerful Wizard in Gardoool from obtaining a very evil relic. Later he is involved in a siege against the powerful Gorneethan Prince Vaz. During the battle, Nedum faces one of the Twins of Terror and barely escapes with his life. Meanwhile, Romat is making his way back from the gladiator arena when he falls in love with a damsel in distress. He must protect her from a humiliated gladiator and his Sorcerer brother. During his travels, Romat meets Aush, a man that many men believe to be The One to Come, sent by The Great Ones. Romat marries the woman and runs to save Jarn from a retaliating Prince Vaz. In the dark shadows of Gorneeth there is a sinister man planning the downfall of the Warriors of Capes, Jarn’s old mentor...Sehym.