Forest fairy tales

Goldilocks and the Three Bears takes place in a house deep in a wood, and the woods are also where it ends: she jumps from the window and runs off between the trees. It takes seven minutes and suits children from three.

In Jorinda and Joringel the forest itself is dangerous. Anyone who comes within a hundred paces of the old castle cannot move, and a girl who does is turned into a bird. Children like the moment the old woman tries to sneak one basket out.

Snow White runs into the wild forest after the huntsman lets her go, and the animals there do her no harm. She reaches the dwarfs’ cottage by evening. The stepmother tries three times to kill her, so it suits children of seven or older.

Robin Hood makes Sherwood Forest a home for outlaws who take from the rich and share with the poor, and the greenwood is where most of it happens. It is a legend of fourteen minutes, best for readers of seven and up who like a long story.