Thirteen Chimes at Midnight

Story

A boy frees three golden birds he finds in a cage in the woods. Later he is himself captured by a witch and escapes with the help of the birds.

Why we chose it

Thirteen Chimes at Midnight was part of the original Story Museum audio stories collection. These stories are particularly suitable for learning to retell.

Where it came from

Adam Guillain, who recorded the story for our collection, feels that this is an Eastern European tale. He heard it told by a storyteller in south London.

Associated stories

Animal helpers are common in fairy tales, often in gratitude for help from the hero. In Aschenputtel the Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella, it is the birds, who help her to go to the ball. Horses are often helpers, as in The Firebird from Russia and The Glass Mountain from Poland. In The Golden Bird a poor boy is helped by a fox and in Puss in Boots a particularly intelligent cat is the helper.