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The golden heart, and other fairy stories

by Violet Jacob (1863–1946)

  • Free to read
  • 3 hours to read
  • 6 chapters
  • Reading level: 6th grade

"The Golden Heart and Other Fairy Stories" by Violet Jacob is a collection of enchanting fairy tales likely written in the early 20th century. The stories within are filled with magic and adventure, exploring themes of bravery, sacrifice, and the pursuit of love, often featuring noble characters such as a little boy, a mysterious fish, and an Ugly Prince on a quest to rescue a captive Princess. At the start of "The Golden Heart," we meet a curious little boy aboard a fishing boat who engages in a magical conversation with a friendly fish. The fish leads him underwater to the sight of a beautiful captive Princess who possesses the titular Golden Heart, which has the power to grant answers to life's challenges but comes with great personal costs. The boy becomes emotionally invested in her plight, feeling a deep sorrow for the loneliness and despair she faces on her rocky perch, setting the stage for an intertwined fate involving the fish, the boy, and a Prince who must confront many trials to rescue the Princess.

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  • Fantasy literature
  • Fairy tales
  • Children's stories

Read the opening

The Golden Heart

LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN

The night lay clear upon the North Sea, but now and then a soft wind came floating by; it whistled through the rigging of a fishing smack in which a little boy lay under a tarpaulin, peeping over the side of the boat down into the water below.

His father had told him to be still and to go to sleep, so he lay looking up at the spangled sky above, and the masts rocking to and fro against the stars as the boat swayed about. Sometimes he thought the tall, dark forms looked like black arms trying to reach the bright lamps and put them out. He did not feel sleepy as he lay by himself and he began to wonder, as he gazed into the water, how deep it was down there, and whether the little fishes among the shells and seaweeds were ever told by their fish-fathers to go to sleep, and, if so, whether they found it as hard to do as he did.

Presently he saw the eyes of a great shining fish staring up at him. It opened its mouth as if it wished to be friendly, but hardly knew how to begin, so the little boy plucked up courage, though he had never met a fish before and was not quite sure how to address one.

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Contents

  1. The Golden Heart
  2. The Dovecote
  3. The Peacock’s Tail
  4. The Pelican
  5. The Cherry Trees
  6. Transcriber Notes

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About this edition

This free edition of The golden heart, and other fairy stories by Violet Jacob comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #73964, released 2024-07-04. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Children & Young Adult Reading, Mythology, Legends & Folklore.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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