Spellbound: Fantasy Stories [Paperback]

Diana Wynne Jones (Compiler)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

This collection of eighteen stories introduces young readers to the
best in both classic and contemporary fantasy. Featuring extracts
from enduring classics such as Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling,
C. S. Lewis's The Silver Chair, and Five Children and It by E. Nesbit, this
anthology provides the perfect sample of a very popular genre. Carefully
selected by Diana Wynne Jones, each story is sure to delight, enchant,
and entice youngsters into the imaginative world of fantasy fiction.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Diana Wynne Jones is a distinguished writer of fantasy. Critics and fantasy fans alike warmly receive her inventive novels. She won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award in 1978.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

THE PEASANT AND THE DEVIL

THE BROTHERS GRIMM

THERE WAS ONCE upon a time a peasant who had been working in his
field, and as twilight had set in, he was getting ready for the journey home,
when he saw a heap of burning coals in the middle of his field, and when, full
of astonishment, he went up to it, a little black devil was sitting on the live
coals.

"Do you sit upon a treasure?" inquired the peasant.

"Yes, in trust," replied the Devil, "on a treasure that contains more gold and
silver than you have ever seen in your life!"

"The treasure lies in my field and belongs to me," said the peasant.
"It is yours," answered the Devil, "if you will for two years give me half of
everything that your field produces. Money I have enough of, but I have a
desire for the fruit of the earth."

The peasant agreed to the bargain.

"In order, however, that no dispute may arise about the division," said
he, "everything that is below ground shall belong to you and what is above the
earth to me."

The Devil was quite satisfied with that, but the cunning peasant had sowed
turnips. Now when the time for the harvest came, the Devil appeared and
wanted to take away his crop; but he found nothing but the yellow withered
leaves, while the peasant, quite pleased, was digging up his turnips.
"You have had the best of it for once," said the Devil, "but the next time that
won't do. What grows aboveground shall be yours, and what is under it,
mine."

"I am willing," replied the peasant.

When, however, the time came to sow, the peasant did not again sow
turnips, but wheat.

The grain became ripe, and the peasant went into the field and cut the full
stalks down to the ground. When the Devil came, he found nothing but the
stubble,and went away in a fury down into a cleft in the rocks.

"That is the way to cheat the Devil," said the peasant, and he went and
fetched away the treasure.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Kingfisher; 1 edition (November 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753461447
• ISBN-13: 978-0753461440
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #699,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great collection!, July 28, 2011

By 

Snapcat (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spellbound: Fantasy Stories (Paperback)

I had this same collection when I was in elementary school. It was called 'Fantasy Stories: A spellbinding collection' but I like the new name 'Spellbound' better. Anyway, I still have my old copy on the shelf and have fond enough memories of reading it that I just looked up again on Amazon. A great introduction to many classic novels in fantasy literature, with selections well chosen to whet the appetite of a younger reader. Also some good short stories that are not excerpted from larger works. A great mix! I think I'll read it again.