The Essentials

“The Piper must be paid.” “They were star crossed lovers.” "Let down your hair." All of these common idioms are from famous literature and to understand what they mean, it is necessary to know the original context. Although there are many more stories out there, the following list is what I would consider essential stories for life. Please understand that just watching the Disney movie is not the same thing as reading the original story.

• The Pied Piper of Hamlin by Robert Browning
• The Nativity of Christ from the Bible  (Luke 2:1-19)  (see footnote)  
• Noah’s Ark from the Bible   (Genesis 6:5-9:17)
• Twenty-third Psalm from the Bible  
• Hamlet by Shakespeare
• Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare
• Jack and the Beanstalk (from the Jack in the Beanstalk /Jack the giant killer project of the Univ of So. Mississippi)
• The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson
• Aesop’s Fables
• Little Red Riding Hood
• Hansel and Gretel collected by the Grimm Brothers
• Rapunzel collected by the Grimm Brothers
• Rumpelstiltskin collected by the Grimm Brothers
• Snow White collected by the Grimm Brothers
• Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Goethe
• Blind Man and the Elephant by John G. Saxe
• Cinderella by Perault
• Wonderful Tar-Baby by Joel Chandler Harris
• Pandora’s Box a Greek Myth
• Judgment of Midas a Greek Myth
• The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Cremation of Sam Magee by Robert William Service
• Three Billy Goats Gruff
• Odyssey by Homer

Linking to Bible Stories is not  an endorsement for any one Religion.