Librivox: Key of Gold: 23 Czech Folk Tales, The by Baudis, Joseph

Summary: Not your common fairy tales, this collection is a mixture of morals, quirkiness, and sarcasm. In it one finds ironic derivatives (if not roots) of well known fairy tales such as “The Brave Little Taylor” and “Beauty and the Beast,” as well as some more unusual settings to impart the popular fairy tale themes of justice and happily ever after. Most stories are told with wry humor and often shocking irreverence for the expected fairy tale turn out. This is NOT a book for children, but one for adults who love fairy tales, and enjoy making fun of them. DISCLAIMER: Story 09 contains some racially offensive material in its ending. Due to the LibriVox mission of reading, rather than rewriting, literature in the public domain, it has not been omitted from this anthology. (Summary by MariaSC)