Fiction fairy tales

8 Books for Grownups Who Love Fairytales and Folklore

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It feels too simplistic to say that storytelling is an ancient art, but as long as people have been around, stories have been told—stories of good and evil, creation and destruction, and human struggles, passed down from generation to generation, existing for decades but often re-creating themselves over time to span eras and cultures. I’ve always been in love with folklore and dark, twisted fairy tales full of magic—so as an adult, I gravitate toward contemporary retellings. Below is a list of the best ones I’ve encountered in recent years.

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The Girls At the Kingfisher Club
Genevieve Valentine

This dazzling story of love, sisterhood, and freedom reimagines the fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses as Jazz Age flappers who escape their father’s Manhattan town house each night to dance in the city’s underground speakeasies. If you loved Rules of Civility or The Paris Wife, be sure to tuck this bewitching novel into your beach bag.

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House of Names
Colm Toibin

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The Winter Sister
Megan Collins

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Gods of Jade and Shadow
Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Baba Yaga Laid an Egg
Dubravka Ugresic & Ellen Elias-Bursac (translator)

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The Bear and the Nightingale
Katherine Arden

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Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights
Salman Rushdie

Every reader needs a little escapism, and the leader of the free world is likely no exception. Salman Rushdie’s fantastic (and fantastical) story centers on a storm in New York City that reawakens an ancient conflict between humans and the descendants of a mystical creature known as the Jinn.

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Gingerbread
Helen Oyeyemi

The best fairy tale books (picked by 7,000+ authors)

58 authors have picked their favorite books about fairy tales and why they recommend each book.

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By Bill Willingham,

Ever wonder what would happen if you mixed up traditional fairy tales with noir fiction? This graphic novel series answers that question, as it moves those familiar fairy tale characters from the storybook forest to a gritty urban landscape called Fabletown. Now, you’ll follow a reformed Big “Bad” Wolf as he tries to solve the murder of Snow White’s party girl sister, Rose Red. It’s a fun read with compelling illustrations and an unexpected twist on both the fairy tale and detective genres.

By Bill Willingham,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Fables as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When a savage creature, known only as the Adversary, conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales, the famous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile. Disguised among the normal citizens of a modern New York, these magical characters created their own peaceful and secret society, which they called Fabletown. But when Snow White's party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it's up to Fabletown's sheriff -- the reformed Big Bad Wolf, Bigby -- to find the killer. Meanwhile, trouble of a different sort brews at the Fables' upstate farm, where non-human inhabitants are preaching revolution. ..and threatening the carefully…

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Snow White
Fairy tales
Fairies

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By K.M. Shea,

I love when an author takes a character you think you know and adds layers of depth you never would have imagined. That’s what Shea does with Elle here. We all picture the Disney Belle--smart but with that feeling of needing to be rescued. This Elle is not that kind of beauty. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I really appreciated the heartbreaking strength this woman had. She literally gives everything for her family, and once she knows his heart, Prince Severin.

By K.M. Shea,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Beauty and the Beast (Timeless Fairy Tales) as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Once upon a time Elle made a mistake.

A small miscalculation sends her through the roof of an enchanted chateau. Stranded until her broken leg mends, Elle is unwillingly forced to rely on the good will of the sour chateau owner —the cursed Prince Severin.

Prince Severin—the commanding general and staunch supporter of his brother the crown prince—is cursed to look like a beast until a maiden falls in love with him. He has given up all hope of shattering the curse, and has only disdain for Elle.

Unfortunately, the pair can’t seem to avoid each other thanks to the…

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Beauty and the Beast
Fairy tales
The Walt Disney Company
Fairies

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By Donna Jo Napoli,

Napoli is a master at rewriting fairy tales and other classic stories, and Zel might just be my favorite of her works. A young adult retelling of Rapunzel from three perspectives, it sticks to the original tale’s basic plot points but deeply expands the reader’s understanding of each character, particularly Rapunzel’s mother, whose feelings and motivations are written with exquisite nuance. Though it’s written for a YA audience, I still enjoy this story as much now as I did when I first read it at age 13, and now that I’m a mother myself, I experience it on an entirely different level. This is a deceptively simple book that really has layers upon layers to unwrap.

By Donna Jo Napoli,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Zel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

High in the mountains, Zel lives with her mother, who insists they have all they need -- for they have each other. Zel's life is peaceful and protected -- until a chance encounter changes everything. When she meets a beautiful young prince at the market one day, she is profoundly moved by new emotions. But Zel's mother sees the future unfolding -- and she will do the unspeakable to prevent Zel from leaving her..."Will leave readers spellbound."-- Publishers Weekly, starred review

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Europe
Fairy tales

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By Emily Carroll,

This graphic novel collection of horror stories is the perfect companion to ease you through the final stages of autumn and into winter. I’ve been a huge fan of author/artist Emily Carroll since her earliest webcomics, and this book perfectly captures how her gorgeous art and inventive use of space combine with poetic prose to invoke the feeling of the creepiest fairytales and fables. Carroll has a real mastery of the horror of the unknown and unexplained, and her stories provide no easy answers or cheap twists but instead linger long after the end. Even years later, I still get a shiver from my favorite, “His Face All Red”! The settings and moods capture the slow creep of autumn into winter’s chill and the darkness beyond.

By Emily Carroll,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Through the Woods as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'It came from the woods. Most strange things do.'

Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss.

These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll.

Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there...

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Fairy tales
The supernatural

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By Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Richard Howard (translator),

One of my favourite of all time since first reading it in my French class at school. Le Petit Prince is such an enchanting story of innocence, beauty, and love that it touches me every time I read it. And I find new meaning every time. There are so many quotable lines and the illustrations are gorgeous enough to carry the story. It’s just one of those timeless treasures that stays with me forever.

By Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Richard Howard (translator),

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Little Prince as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as 'The Little Prince'. Richard Howard's new translation of the beloved classic-published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's birth-beautifully reflects Saint-Exupery's unique and gifted style. Howard, an acclaimed poet and one of the preeminent translators of our time, has excelled in bringing the English text as close as possible to the French, in language, style, and most important, spirit. The artwork in this new edition has been restored to match in detail and in colour Saint-Exupery's original artwork. By combining the new…

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The Spanish Civil War
World War 2
Fairy tales

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By Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (illustrator),

Bizarre, misshapen, and sweet, this is the Roald Dahl book I find most alluring. A much-beloved tale, the plot sounds phantasmagoric in distillation: a house-sized peach sprouts overnight from a tree outside the shack where young James is essentially kept imprisoned by two cruel aunts; the boy tunnels into the fruit’s pit, befriends the band of enormous talking insects within, and the whole gang embarks on an adventure where the peach bobs out to sea, is carried through the air by hundreds of seagulls, is attacked by creatures who live on clouds, and eventually comes to rest on the spire of the Empire State Building. Intrigue, humor, and rambunctious versifying abound—and the once-forlorn James is not only unvanquished but happy. Nice ending.

By Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked James and the Giant Peach as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl in magnificent full colour.

James Henry Trotter lives with two ghastly hags. Aunt Sponge is enormously fat with a face that looks boiled and Aunt Spiker is bony and screeching. He's very lonely until one day something peculiar happens. At the end of the garden a peach starts to grow and GROW AND GROW. Inside that peach are seven very unusual insects - all waiting to take James on a magical adventure. But where will they go in their GIANT PEACH and what will happen to the horrible aunts if they stand…

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Magical realism
Fairy tales

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By Dr. Seuss,

I was captivated by this picture book. The first two illustrations I have never forgotten: Bartholomew living at the bottom of a hill looks up at King Derwin's Castle at the top of the hill -- a mighty view, and it makes Bartholomew feel mighty small. King Derwin in his castle looks down at Bartholomew sees the houses down below: a mighty view, that makes King Derwin feel mighty important. Bartholomew is told to obey a stupid rule made by the King which leads to surprising consequences.

I learned from this story about the difference between riches and poverty, and the power that riches bring. Later I realised that King Derwin was a Dictator.

By Dr. Seuss,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What a lot of hats Bartholomew has in this imaginative and clever tale! Find out what happens when the king asks him to remove them. ..one by one.

Bartholomew Cubbins is in trouble, and all because he won't take his hat off for the king! But he has, hasn't he...? Find out what happens in this clever tale of magic and mayhem!

With his unique combination of hilarious stories, zany pictures and riotous rhymes, Dr. Seuss has been delighting young children and helping them learn to read for over fifty years. Creator of the wonderfully anarchic Cat in the Hat, and…

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Adolf Hitler
Cartoons
Fairy tales

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By Angela Carter,

Angela Carter’s collection of retold tales is considered a classic work of feminist fiction. The author disassembles well-known fairy tales, such as “Bluebeard,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” and churns them into subversive narratives that evoke an underlying current of female rage. In her titular story, “The Bloody Chamber," Carter brings the classic “Bluebeard” tale into the 1970s and expands the backstory of the main protagonist, giving her history and motivation for the choices she makes. The author doesn’t shy away from the violence of the original tale, wrapping it in the gothic style. While many retellings lose some of their original magic when they are modernized, Carter’s stories maintain an edge of the fantastical, while at the time making them gritty and discomfortingly real.

By Angela Carter,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked The Bloody Chamber as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With an introduction by Helen Simpson. From familiar fairy tales and legends - Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires and werewolves - Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories.

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Little Red Riding Hood
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Feminism

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By T. H. White,

My inner child is still captivated by the Lilliputian world of T.H. White's Mistress Masham's Repose every time I read it. I don't know why the idea of discovering a secret miniature kingdom is so alluring: I think it may have something to do with my love for dollhouses when I was a child. T.H. White was best known for The Once and Future King and The Sword in the Stone, based on the Arthurian legends; he was a master at taking an old story (Gulliver's Travels in the case of Mistress Masham's Repose) and making it truly his own.

By T. H. White,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mistress Masham's Repose as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'One of the finest, most magical and extraordinary children's books ever written.'
- Anne Fine, author and former Children's Laureate

Ten-year-old orphan Maria lives in her ancestors' crumbling mansion. Exploring the grounds one day, Maria discovers a wild, half-forgotten island in the middle of a neglected lake - and an extraordinary secret. For the island is home to a community of tiny people - the Lilliputians that Gulliver first met on his famous travels.
But as Maria grows closer to her new friends, her own life is in grave danger. Her wicked governess and the cruel vicar are plotting to…

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King Arthur
Fairy tales

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By George MacDonald,

The 19th-century Scottish writer George MacDonald is said to be the father of the modern fairy tale, inspiring C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and many others. I chose The Light Princess because I find it his most charming tale: it's about a princess under a wicked spell who has been made weightless, unable to obey the laws of gravity. As in all good fairy tales, a prince eventually comes along to drag her back down to earth. He must sacrifice himself for her, but in the end, it is she who rescues him – from a feminist perspective, a most gratifying conclusion.

By George MacDonald,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Light Princess as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

George MacDonald (1824-1905), the great nineteenth-century innovator of modern fantasy, influenced not only C. S. Lewis but also such literary masters as Charles Williams and J. R. R. Tolkien. Though his longer fairy tales Lilith and Phantastes are particularly famous, much of MacDonald’s best fantasy writing is found in his shorter stories. In this volume editor Glenn Sadler has compiled some of MacDonald’s finest short works―marvelous fairy tales and stories certain to delight readers familiar with MacDonald and those about to meet him for the first time.

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Victorian
Folklore
Fairy tales
Feminism

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Read online “Fantastic Tales for Kids”, Hamid Ef – Litres

Created in Ridero intellectual publishing system

1.

Marsik

The month of June was already ending, and the cucumbers in the garden were growing so slowly and were still as small as a pea pod.

Venus poured a couple of watering cans of water on green burdock leaves, sighed tiredly, just like a grandmother, and decided to look for a cucumber large enough to eat. She was not a glutton, but you really want to crunch on a green and juicy cucumber.

Carefully parting the fragile leaves so as not to inadvertently break, she peered into the twilight of this green kingdom and suddenly noticed a large cucumber. With a joyful cry, Venus grabbed him and immediately pulled her hand away.

- Oh! What prickly!

Cucumber stirred, and she finally saw that it was a green creature with a large round head and red eyes, a narrow slit-mouth. Its body was pear-shaped, and instead of arms and legs, four flexible tentacles snaked like an octopus. Apparently, the girl hurt him, because it turned blue, trembled. Her eyes opened wide and multi-colored rays reached out from them.

Everything around suddenly increased in size, and Venus found herself next to the green being. The leaves of the cucumbers have become huge, the stems are like the trunks of large trees. The creature also grew and became the same height as the girl.

Venus looked around in fear and suddenly realized that it was not the leaves that had grown, but she herself had become small, small, and began to cry. The creature spoke in a human voice: “Don’t cry, girl. Do not be afraid of me.

- Who are you?!

- I am a Martian. Came to visit you. You almost crushed me and I, angry, made you small. But if you want, then you will become big again.

The girl calmed down and wiped away her tears.

- Okay, not yet. It's so interesting here! What is your name?

– Marsik.

- And me - Venus. Mom said that they gave me a name in honor of a small star in the sky - the planet Venus. And you, it turns out, in honor of the planet Mars.

- You are good at astronomy.

- Dad has a lot of books about the stars, and sometimes in the evenings he shows them to me in the sky. Let's play forest men.

- How is it?

- Very simple. We will assume that we are in the jungle of the planet Venus.

- But there are no plants and it's very hot.

- Phi! It's not interesting with you. It's make-believe. So so. You will be a great hunter, Indian Joe Deadeye. And I will be an Amazon.

- What should I do?

- You and I will hunt wild animals.

- But they are not here!

- How not! Look, what a green, furry monster with a thousand legs. Make a spear and pierce it.

A huge green caterpillar, shimmering like a wave, crawled up the stem.

- You can't kill anyone!

- This is a caterpillar. She will eat the leaves and the cucumbers will wither.

- But if she does not eat, she will die of hunger!

Venus wrinkled her forehead for a long time, trying to find a way out, and finally said: – All right, let him live. The starling will eat it anyway.

Then she suddenly saw a very large cucumber.

“Listen,” she shouted delightedly. - When I was big, this cucumber was very small, and when I became small, the cucumber became large and you can eat it. Rip it off for me, please.

Marsik grabbed the cucumber with his tentacles and pulled it off the stem with difficulty.

- You can't keep him.

- Yes, it's huge. Mom says not to eat unwashed fruits and vegetables. Let's go to our house. But how do we take it away? And then, I don't know the way in this forest. Hooray! Invented! Make me big.

– Now.

Marsik turned blue again, trembled, multicolored rays flashed from his eyes, and Venus became big, as before.

- Oh! How small are you! Sit Marsik on my palm. I will take you and the cucumber to our home.

In the kitchen, she thoroughly washed the cucumber, cut it into tiny pieces and put it on a saucer.

- Now make me small again.

Climbing onto a saucer, they ate a cucumber with appetite.

- Tasty?

- Very! We don't grow cucumbers on Mars.

- And what is growing with you?

- We live underground, so our gardens and orchards are underground. There are many delicious vegetables and sweet fruits. But there are no cucumbers.

- Then take the seeds.

- Thank you. Only I will ask permission from dad first, because we are forbidden to bring anything from other planets.

– Why!?

- So as not to harm our plants.

– How can they harm?!

At that time, something clapped in another room, and heavy footsteps were heard.

– Who goes there?! Venus shouted, but since she was very small at that time, her voice sounded very thin and very quiet.

- Marsik! Marsik! Let's run over there, see who's here.

- Let's fly better.

- And on what?

- On a plate. Hold on tight.

Marsik changed its color again, only now it turned red, like the setting sun, and the saucer on which they were sitting lit up with a crimson halo and . .. they flew away.

In the bedroom, a strange uncle was rummaging through things in the chiffonier.

- Oh! Marsik! This is a thief!

- Now we will make it small.

The little man looked around in bewilderment, not understanding what had happened. At this time, the cat Vaska came out of the living room, yawning lazily. Noticing a little man on the floor in the middle of the room, Vaska fluffed out his mustache, his eyes lit up with an emerald flame. He tensed up and began to creep.

- Marsik! Marsik! He's going to eat it right now! He thinks it's a mouse! We must save him!

- But he is a thief!

- Yes, but don't eat him for it!

The cat jumped at that time, but the little man managed to dodge and ran under the bed. Vaska follows him.

The little man, running from the cat, was already exhausted from fatigue and horror, and only then Marsik took pity and made him big again.

As soon as the thief felt as big as before, he immediately jumped out the window.

"Now he won't steal," said Marsik.

- Great, we taught him a lesson. But Vaska turns out to be as bloodthirsty as a tiger. Woo! Aren `t you ashamed! I wanted to eat a person.

Having lost his prey and seeing a big stranger, the cat was initially frightened, and when the thief ran away, he calmed down and, noticing two more creatures similar to mice hanging low above the floor, began to creep up on them. However, Marsik was on the alert and in time took the saucer away from Vaska, who jumped on them.

- Venus was very offended by him.

- I don't play with you anymore. You wanted to eat me too. I could make you very small so that a mouse can eat you, but I'm not that cruel. Marsik. Make me big. I'll put it in a corner.

The cat, shamed by the girl, obediently stood in a corner, then lay down there, covered his roguish muzzle with his tail and purred.

- Besides, you are also sleepy. - Venera looked at him contemptuously, proudly turned up her nose and went to the kitchen. Marsik flew after her on a silver platter.

- Sorry, Venus. I must go home. And then dad and mom will also put me in a corner.

- And how will you fly to Mars?

- Very simple.

He began to blush...

– Wait! Wait! And when will you fly again?!

- Coming soon. Our school holidays have begun. And in summer it is very beautiful. Goodbye.

The girl waved her hand after him for a long time. Soon my mother returned and, seeing the mess in the bedroom, began to shame her.

- Oh, Mommy! It's not me. A thief got in to us, and Marsik made him small and Vaska almost ate this little man.

– What Marsik?! How did you make it small?

- Well, Marsik. From the planet Mars.

Mom laughed: - Well, you are my dreamer. Let's go clean up.

2. Watermelon

On a sunny August morning, a little girl was sitting on the floor of the veranda and carved a door and windows in a striped watermelon with a knife. When she finished, she began to scoop out the watermelon pulp with a tablespoon, sending it to her mouth. The girl worked and ate very carefully, trying not to stain her blue dress.

The watermelon was almost completely eaten when there was a whip-like sound and a small green creature appeared right in front of her. Venus joyfully exclaimed: “Marsik! I've been waiting for you, I've been waiting! Why didn't you fly for so long?!

- Please excuse me. Parents did not let me go to Earth.

- Did you arrive for a long time?

- See you in the evening. And what are you doing?

- I am eating a house out of a watermelon. Make me small and we'll go inside.

- Good.

Bright rays flashed from the Martian's eyes, and the girl shrunk to his size.

- Oh, oh! Look how big and beautiful the house turned out! You just need to remove those pieces. Yes, you eat. You know how sweet! Try.

- Indeed. I have never eaten anything like this in my life!

- So, on Mars, don't watermelons grow?

- No.

- Then take watermelon seeds with you and plant them in your garden. But that's later. Let's eat it until then.

Chattering, Marsik and the girl were breaking off large pieces of watermelon pulp and spruce. Suddenly there was a loud buzzing, and a huge wasp flew up to them.

– Oi! Venus screamed. - Marsik! Now she will eat us! Make her small!

The Martian managed to slash the wasp with a beam, and she became small, small, and, frightened of this, flew away. However, the guys did not manage to calmly enjoy the watermelon, as they saw a whole swarm of wasps through the window.

- Marsik! We must be saved!

- Hold on! Now we will fly away from them!

Watermelon shuddered and rushed up, leaving wasps below, buzzing with displeasure because of the missing delicacy.

- One watermelon, two watermelons... We ate the watermelon and flew away... - the guys sang cheerfully.

Marsik and Venus are flying, they eat the pulp, and the watermelon seeds, heavy and slippery, are thrown down.

Beneath them, the river turned into a big river, small, grassy shoals into dense, like on the island of Borneo, forests, and sandy shores into rocky mountains. And on these rocks, every folk wanders, moves its mustaches and pincers, glares with huge eyes. Here is some ant-hero dragged a whole log. Marsik and the girl look at everything, are surprised and even horrified. The chips float on the water like big ships. And the funnels are spinning in the water, everything that gets in, they try to drag into the depths.

“There is such a mountainous country,” says the girl, “Pamir. It is also called the Roof of the World. So, a long time ago, after the Civil War, there were many, many weapons left. And so that people could no longer take it and fight with each other, the mountains rose to the very sky. So that only small children could pass there, and only bent over.

- But there is no hard sky!

- Fu! How uninteresting you are! After all, this is fake. And there are actually a lot of weapons there. Let's fly off, collect sabers and revolvers...

The girl did not finish, because at that time a huge kite swooped down on them. Marsik miraculously took the watermelon aside and the bird, having missed, fell into the water, then, flapping its wings noisily, got out onto the shallows and embarrassedly began to put its feathers in order.

- What a bad one. Woo! - Venus threatened the bird with her finger in farewell. - Serves you right. You won't rush at us.

Fry were visible in the dark lines of their backs near the sandbar. A little further to the middle of the river, through the transparent waters, algae moved like monstrous snakes.

- Marsik! Marsik! Let's fish!

– What kind of fish?!

- Here you go, fish. Look, they are swimming. They are fried in a frying pan, they are boiled in fish soup. What do you have, and there is no fish?!

- Found. But, we have very few of them. And how do you catch fish?

- With a fishing rod, net.

- But we don't have a fishing rod or a net!

A large white-winged bird rushed past them, barely touched the water and took off, holding a fish in its beak.

- Marsik! Look, seagull! How cleverly she catches fish! Let's try it too. Go down lower, to the very water, and I will try to grab her by the tail.

- But the fish is big! How will you keep her?!

- Then make a harpoon.

- What is it?

- Well, a spear like that, with notches so that the prey does not escape.

Suddenly, a mischievous whirlwind ran over the river, flew into the watermelon openings and grabbed the girl leaning out the window into her arms. She, like a feather in the wind, flew over the water, to the reeds. Everything happened so quickly that Venus did not have time to be frightened, to scream. Yes, and Marsik, unfortunately, turned away at that time. And when I turned around, the girl was no longer in the watermelon.

In the meantime, a naughty wind carefully placed Venus on a long ribbon of reed leaf and carried on further, pleased with its leprosy.

The frog went hunting. The frog was in the reeds. And the girl, very small and defenseless, like Thumbelina, trembled with horror when she saw a terrible and huge monster in front of her. The frog looked towards the girl, but did not pay any attention to her. She was the size of a cow. Her skin from such a close distance turned out to be quite disgusting in appearance.

A shadow flickered. The frog "shot" with its long tongue and licked some kind of insect. Venus did not have time to see, everything happened so quickly. Having calmed down at first, she was again terribly frightened and slid off the leaf straight to the ground, since the reeds grew very close to the shore, and rushed to run.

Bang-tara-rah-balls! The girl stumbled upon a cobweb and got stuck in it. She jerked her arms and legs, trying to tear the sticky web away from her. A huge spider with a light cross on its back jumped out from somewhere. In horror, Venus thrashed her hands in the air with all her might and freed them from the cobwebs. Meanwhile, the spider was approaching her. The girl wanted to cry and then she saw a dry blade of grass near her. She grabbed it and began to poke at the spider like a spear.