Pick a Tale, Any Tale Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aesop

Normally, a mole is blind from the time of his birth. One mole believed that he could see as well as smell. The mole's mother laid some incense in front of him. Not only could the mole not see the incense, but he also couldn't smell it.

In 1867, this version of Aesop's fable was translated to English by British translator George Fyler Townsend. The moral of "The Mole and His Mother" is that no one would notice imperfections if people did not try to conceal them.

Answer: Grimm

A queen was having trouble with her daughter and wished the daughter would just fly away so the queen could have some peace. One day the daughter turned into a raven and flew away. While hanging out in the forest, the raven told a man she was a princess and he could release her of the curse by a few things. The first thing the man had to do was stay awake for three days and go to an old woman's house and refuse food. If he stayed awake and didn't eat or drink for three days, the raven curse would be lifted and the princess would be freed. Every day for the three days, the old woman got the man to sip a drink and then sleep.

Each day the princess would go by to see how the man was doing and each day the princess found the man asleep. On the third day, the princess (as a raven) left the man a bottle of wine, a piece of meat, and a loaf of bread. On his finger, the princess put a gold ring with her name on it. Since the man was still asleep, the princess left him a note telling him he could come to her golden castle in Stromberg to release her of the curse.

Searching for the castle, the man came across a giant who he fed with the provisions left by the princess. The giant didn't know where the Stromberg castle was located, but the giant's brother did. The giant's brother took the man as close to Stromberg castle as he could get. The mountain leading up to the castle was made of glass and too slippery to be climbed.

The man built a hut at the base of the glass mountain and waited. One year had passed and the man ran into three robbers. The robbers were fighting over three things: a stick, an invisible cloak, and a horse that could ride up a glass mountain.

The man offered them an unknown reward for the three items, but wanted to try them out before he would give them the reward. Once the man was on the horse, he struck the three riders with the stick, put on the invisible cloak, and rode up the glass mountain on the horse. Once the man got to Stromberg castle, he tossed the gold ring in the princess's cup. The princess saw the ring in the cup, but not the man she gave it to. Once the man took off the invisible cloak, the princess embraced him.

The curse was lifted and the two were married.

Answer: Hans Christian Andersen

Karen had a pair of red shoes made for her and the first time she wore them was at her mother's funeral. After the funeral, Karen went to live with an older woman who destroyed Karen's red shoes.

Karen got herself a new pair of red shoes and wore them for her confirmation. During her confirmation, Karen felt obliged to dance with a soldier who mentioned her red shoes. Once Karen started dancing the red shoes wouldn't let her stop. It wasn't until the shoes were taken off of Karen that she stopped dancing.

Karen wore the red shoes to a dance, but once she started dancing Karen couldn't stop. She danced out of the hall and into a field. Karen became so tired of dancing that she had her feet cut off with the shoes on them. A pair of feet were crafted for her and Karen took a job working for the pastor and his wife. When Karen died and went to Heaven, she was relieved that Heaven had no red shoes.

Answer: Aesop

A thirsty pigeon sees a glass of water on a billboard and flies into it. Not realizing it was a billboard and not a real glass of water, the pigeon breaks his wings and falls to the ground.

In 1867, this version of Aesop's fable was translated to English by British translator George Fyler Townsend. The moral of "The Thirsty Pigeon" is that zeal should not outrun discretion.

Answer: Grimm

In the story of "Snow White and Rose Red", two sisters loved each other very much and did everything together. During the winter, they took care of a bear and helped an ungrateful dwarf during the summer. One day, the sisters came upon the bear ready to kill the ungrateful dwarf.

When the dwarf saw the girls, he begged the bear to kill them instead. The bear killed the ungrateful dwarf, ending a spell the ungrateful dwarf had put on the bear. Ending the spell returned the bear back to being a prince. Snow White married the prince while Rose Red married the prince's brother.

Answer: Grimm

When God walked the earth, crops were plentiful. Cornstalks were high and yielded massive amounts of corn. There was so much corn that people were getting used to having corn around.

One day a woman was walking by a cornfield with her son when her son fell into a mud puddle. The woman had nothing to clean her son off with so she tore an ear of corn from a stalk as a way to clean the mud off her son. By chance, God had been walking by that day and saw what the mother had done. God cursed the corn so it would not reproduce because he said man was not worthy of the corn after the woman used it to clean the mud off of her son.

People were terrified of what God had said and begged Him to leave some corn on the stalk. If he took away the corn, the chickens would starve and people would go hungry. God saw how repentant the people were and decided to remove the curse on the corn. That is why corn now grows in abundance.

Answer: Hans Christian Andersen

In the room of a poet an inkstand and pen had a conversation. The inkstand took credit for what the poet would write because he held the ink which the poet used to write. Upset, the pen told the inkstand that he should get the credit because he is what the poet uses to write.

While the pen and inkstand are debating who should get the credit for the poet's words, the poet is at a concert. At the concert, the poet realizes that a person is only able to do what they are doing because of God. When the poet returns home from the concert he dips his pen in his inkstand and writes, "The Master and the Instruments".

Answer: Aesop

In "The Camel and Jupiter", a camel wants horns like a bull that he knew. When he asked Jupiter for them, Jupiter told the camel that he should be happy with what God gave him and not envy what over have. To teach the camel a lesson, instead of giving the camel the horns of a bull, Jupiter took a small amount of the camel's ears.

In 1867, this version of Aesop's fable was translated to English by British translator George Fyler Townsend. The moral of "The Camel and Jupiter" is that you should appreciate what you have instead of wanting what someone else has.

Answer: Grimm

When God went for a walk in His garden, everyone went with him but St. Peter.

A tailor arrived at the pearly gates and wanted admittance. St. Peter told the tailor there could be no admittance because the tailor had committed theft and God told St. Peter not to admit anyone until He returned from the garden.

As the tailor waited for God to return he wandered around and found God's throne. While the tailor sat in it, he looked down and saw a woman steal two veils while at a laundry. The tailor picked up a golden stool and threw it down at the woman. When God saw what he did, God told the tailor that he was merciless and God threw the tailor out of Heaven.

Answer: Hans Christian Andersen

The story of "The Windmill" is told from the perspective of the windmill. He describes himself and the family that lives inside of him. The windmill knows that he will be torn down and rebuilt again, but hopes that he can keep his memories of the people that lived inside and worked on him. When the windmill unexpectedly burns down, the family rebuilds him and makes him better.

Answer: Aesop

After seeing a honey pot, the flies greedily consume the honey. As they desperately eat the food they wanted so badly, the flies don't realize the honey pot is going to be the death of them until it is too late.

In 1867, this version of Aesop's fable was translated to English by British translator George Fyler Townsend. The moral of "The Flies and the Honey Pot" is that pleasure bought with pain, hurts. Alternatively, too much of a good thing can be bad.

Answer: Grimm

A wolf works for a fox doing all the manual work. One day when the wolf is hungry, the fox tells him about the whereabouts of a lamb. The wolf eats the lamb and greedily wants more. The wolf goes to get another lamb, but is beaten by the farmer and thrown out of the farm. The fox tells the wolf of a farmhouse where the farmer's wife makes pancakes. The wolf goes to retrieve the pancakes but is beaten by the farmer's wife.

Still hungry, the wolf tells the fox to find him more food. The fox takes the wolf to a cellar where a farmer keeps his meat. The wolf gulps down the meat while the fox takes small bites of the meat. When the farmer find the wolf and the fox, the fox is able to escape because he didn't eat much, but the wolf is too full to run away. The farmer kills the wolf.

The fox is now free of the wolf.

Answer: Hans Christian Andersen

Helga was the daughter of the Marsh King and an Egyptian princess held captive by the Marsh King. Helga was taken by a stork to live with a Viking and his wife. The Viking's wife was overjoyed, but the child was always angry. The Viking's wife also learned that at night her daughter turned into a pleasant natured, but ugly, frog. The Viking's wife made sure no one saw her daughter at night, but in doing that she enjoyed being with the pleasant frog that her daughter became at night.

In Helga's late teens a Christian priest was abducted by the Vikings to be used as a sacrifice. Helga asked to be the executioner. Helga, in her frog from, rescued the Christian priest, but the next morning Helga tried to kill him. The priest told Helga he could help her by taking her to an enchanted castle. Before they could leave, the priest and his horse were killed. After making a burial mound for the priest at night, Helga is transformed from a toad into her human form.

Years later, Helga is to marry an Arabian prince. The Christian prince visits with her and takes her to Heaven to visit. When Helga returns everyone is gone and there is a memorial to Helga in the castle garden. As Helga sits in front of her memorial, the morning sun hits her and she is transformed into a lotus flower.

Answer: Hans Christian Andersen

A queen loved roses and kept them around her castle in all varieties. When a doctor told the queen she was dying, he said the most beautiful rose in the world would save her life. The kingdom was searched, but the most beautiful rose could not be found.

A woman brought her child to the castle and told the queen that the most beautiful rose was the color of her child's cheeks when he woke first thing in the morning. The queen believed that to be the most beautiful rose until her son brought his Bible into her sick room.

The queen's son read her the story of Jesus and his crucifixion. When the queen looked down at the Bible her son was reading from, she saw a rose bloom from pages of the Bible. The queen then realized that the rose blooming in the Bible was the rose that would ensure she never died.

Answer: Aesop

While at a marketplace, a fortune teller tells the fortunes of people that are passing by. While he's there, a friend runs up to him and tells the fortune teller that his belongings are being stolen. While the fortune teller is running out of the marketplace, he hears someone ask him how he can tell the fortune of others, but didn't know his house was going to be robbed.

In 1867, this version of Aesop's fable was translated to English by British translator George Fyler Townsend. The moral of "The Prophet" is trust your friends over your enemies.