Don't Let the Fairies Eat You

Within, you won't find fairy tales meant for children at bedtime.

Collecting thirty stories of wonder and mischief, Don't Let the Fairies Eat You is inspired by a time when misbegotten pregnancies and meat pies made of men were as expected in fairy tales as magic spells and happy endings. At times amusing, at others unnerving, Don't Let the Fairies Eat You revels in the primal nature fairy tales once had, and invites you to enjoy the wildness of every story.

The following is a list of the stories you'll find inside the book.

Sacrifice of the Cats - A feral cat leads a child through a labyrinth on the Sacrifice Day.

Calling the Ladies - With his magic pipe, a young man can get any girl, even ones he doesn't want.

Hunting Grounds - Hannah can't escape her pursuers, whose shapes change with the land itself.

In Her Service - One girl cannot disobey, no matter who or what instructs her.

Dansi and Lyri - In the time of giants, humans are prey, but two sisters conspire to outlast them.

Elephant Funerals - The dry season has come and an elephant herd begins a perilous search for water.

The Fairy-Blood Curse - A young page is fed up with one knight's abuse and a fairy offers her assistance in revenge.

Boy-Hunt - Baelin only wanted a bite to eat while the lord was out hunting--now he's the prey.

Broken Horse - A man catches a wild horse to be sold for racing, but the horse has other intentions.

No Shelter - Three battered soldiers trek through a wintry wasteland while something hunts them from the battlefield.

Krampus the Generous - The good children get presents in the winter. The bad children get Krampus.

Delicacy for a Giant - A hungry giant traps a woman and her sickly newborn.

Legs - A witch's brew gives a legless knight the chance to grow back his lost limbs, but they aren't what he expects.

Briar Thorns - A dutiful boy is caught in a witch's deadly game.

Half-Heart - A man loses half his heart, leaving a gap in his chest that twisted creatures wish to fill with evil.

Ica and the Troll - A troll forces a traveler to help him find a princess.

The House of Dreams and Promises - A tale of a warlord's lonely wife and the fool who loved her.

The Shadows are Coming - When bandits raid her village, all one little girl can do is hide.

The Cold Thing - Winter may bring snow, and leave blood in its wake.

Serpent's Tongue - A witch's curse turns a woman's tongue as venomous as her words.

The Horn of Plenty - In a plague-blasted land, one starving family finds a magic basket of everlasting food.

Old Wolf and the Gremian - By sparing a fairy, a wolf expects to get food, but the fairy instead plans to get even.

A Night Without Souls - Two makers of magic dolls want a night of peace in their noisy village, no matter the cost.

Wedding the White Death - In the land of a thousand demons, Anzi fears only one.

Melemity, Esty, and Lality - Three brothers desire a beautiful fairy bride, but other creatures have their sights set on the foolish men.

The Fevering Child - No one wants Elise to be pregnant, not her father, not the priest, and not the three strange men who want her baby out.

The Graveyard Agreement - Two impoverished boys stumble upon a deal that could make them more money than they ever dreamed.

Thunder Horn and Fire Box - The demons Io and Nao have decided to steal the land's fire and thunder.

Art of Begging - The secret to getting anything from anyone passes to a destitute woman before her journey through a nightmarish wilderness.

Death Dance - A dying man's wager with Death leaves most of his children deformed, except two who inherit Death's power.