Fairy Tales #11

A farmer's barn draws mice from across the county, but a prowling cat turns their feast into a dangerous game of survival. When the mice hatch a clever plan to bell the cat so they'll hear him coming, they discover that brilliant ideas are far easier to dream up than to execute.

A merchant's daughter named Beauty sacrifices her own happiness to save her father's life by staying with the mysterious Beast, a fearsome creature who guards an enchanted palace. As Beauty grows to know her captor, she discovers there's far more to him than his terrible appearance suggests—and a cryptic dream hints at a deeper truth waiting to be uncovered. This classic fairy tale unfolds across seven pages of wonder and unexpected tenderness.

When Martha decides to bake a gingerbread boy to ease the loneliness she and John feel in their little house, the treat comes to life and springs from the oven with a mind of his own. What begins as a joyful surprise turns into a wild chase as the Gingerbread Boy flees from his makers and encounters various creatures determined to catch him, leading him to a river where he must trust an unexpected helper. Leon Winik brings this timeless tale to life with spirited pencils and inks in this 1951 adaptation from Fairy Tales #11.

When Anders's mother gives him a handsome cap, the young boy treasures it so dearly that he refuses to trade it for a puppy—and later, his newfound confidence in wearing it leads him straight to the royal ball. There, the Princess and even the King himself become enchanted by the cap and offer him increasingly tempting rewards, but Anders must decide what truly matters to him most.

A proud princess loses her golden ball down an old well and makes a bargain with a talking frog to retrieve it—but when the amphibian comes calling to claim his reward as her companion, she's horrified and tries to send him away. As the king insists she honor her promise, the princess and the frog must spend time together, and through their reluctant companionship, something unexpected begins to shift between them.

A young boy schemes to win the admiration of the townspeople by falsely crying wolf, but his repeated hoaxes teach him a harsh lesson when a real wolf finally appears and no one believes his desperate pleas for help. This timeless cautionary tale from Fairy Tales #11 shows how the habit of dishonesty can destroy trust—and the dangerous consequences that follow.