Told Under the Green Umbrella

A Collection of Favorite Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, and Legends

“Told Under the Green Umbrella” was complied by the Association for Childhood Education International in 1930. It has been reprinted over thirty-one times and is filled with classic stories like “The Three Little Pigs” and “Cinderella”.

“Told Under the Green Umbrella” is a perfect collection of stories to be read aloud to younger children. The Association recommends ages six to twelve. I had forgotten how violent some of these stories actually are and would hesitate to read all of them to a younger child. The original “The Three Little Pigs” has a wolf falling into a pot, being boiled alive, and eaten. In “The Travels of a Fox”, the fox is killed by a dog at the end of the story. “The Lad Who Went to the North Wind” was filled with rhymes about beating people. Other stories had robbers, thieves, liars, and similar undesirable role models. I remember these stories from my childhood, but I do not remember the violence. Perhaps, adults in my home practiced censorship freely.

Most of the stories were about animals since most children normally love animals. I was surprised at how many stories had pigs in them. Pigs are not exactly attractive animals, and I do not understand the preoccupation with them. None of the pigs in this collection has the charm of Wilbur from “Charlotte’s Web”.

The title of the book was named for Ole Lukoie, a storyteller, who told his stories under a green umbrella