Short Story Appearances

Collections in which these works appear are listed below each title, here presented in alphabetical order. To learn more about George MacDonald’s short stories, see the links below “Collections Published Prior to 1925” on the Short Stories landing page.

The Bell

Appears in Adela Cathcart

Birth, Dreaming, Death (1864) (also known as The School Master’s Story)

Appears in Adela Cathcart, Gifts of the Child Christ, and The Gray Wolf and Other Stories

The Broken Swords (1854)

Appears in Adela Cathcart, The Portent and Other Stories, The Gifts of the Child Christ, and The Gray Wolf and Other Stories

The Butcher’s Bills (1882)

Appears in Stephen Archer and Other Tales, The Gifts of the Child Christ, The Gray Wolf and Other Stories

The Carasoyn (1871)

Appears in The Fairy Tales of George MacDonald, The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales, The Gifts of the Child Christ, and The Complete Fairy Tales

The Castle (1864)

Appears in Adela Cathcart, The Portent and Other Stories, The Gifts of the Child Christ

A Child’s Holiday

Appears in Adela Cathcart

The Christmas Dinner

Appears in Adela Cathcart

Cross Purposes (1862)

Appears in Dealings with the Fairies, The Fairy Tales of George MacDonald, The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales, The Gifts of the Child Christ, and The Complete Fairy Tales

The Cruel Painter (1864)

Appears in Adela Cathcart, The Portent and Other Stories, The Gifts of the Child Christ, and The Gray Wolf and Other Stories

The Curate and His Wife

Appears in Adela Cathcart

The Day Boy and the Night Girl (1879) (see The History of Photogen and Nycteris)

Appears in The Fairy Tales of George MacDonald, Stephen Archer and Other Tales, The Golden Key and Other Stories, The Gifts of the Child Christ, The Complete Fairy Tales

The Giant’s Heart (1863) (also known as Tell Us a Story)

Appears in Adela Cathcart, Dealings with the Fairies, The Fairy Tales of George MacDonald, The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales, The Gifts of the Child Christ, The Complete Fairy Tales

The Gifts of the Child Christ (1882)

Appears in Stephen Archer and Other Tales, The Golden Key and Other Stories, The Gifts of the Child Christ

The Gray Wolf (1864)

Appears in The Portent and Other Stories, The Gifts of the Child Christ, The Gray Wolf and Other Stories

The History of Photogen and Nycteris (1882) (also known as The Day Boy and the Night Girl)

Appears in The Fairy Tales of George MacDonald, Stephen Archer and Other Tales, The Golden Key and Other Stories, The Gifts of the Child Christ, The Complete Fairy Tales

If I Had a Father

Appears in Stephen Archer and Other Tales

Little Daylight (1871)

Appears in At the Back of the North Wind, The Fairy Tales of George MacDonald, The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales, The Gifts of the Child Christ, and The Complete Fairy Tales

The Little Girl That Had No Tongue

Unpublished in his lifetime, this story exists only as a rough draft manuscript owned by the Houghton Library at Harvard University

The Old Nurse’s Story

Papa’s Story: A Scots Christmas Story

Originally published in The Illustrated London News in 1865; subsequently reprinted in Wm. Eerdmans’ The Gifts of the Child Christ: Fairytales and Stories for the Childlike.

Port in a Storm (1866)

Appears in Stephen Archer and Other Tales and The Gifts of the Child Christ

The Shadows (1864)

Appears in Adela Cathcart, Dealings with the Fairies, The Fairy Tales of George MacDonald, The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales, The Golden Key and Other Stories, The Gifts of the Child Christ, and The Complete Fairy Tales

Stephen Archer

Appears in Stephen Archer and Other Tales

Tell Us a Story (also known as The Giant's Heart)

Appears in Adela Cathcart, Dealings with the Fairies, The Fairy Tales of George MacDonald, The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales, The Gifts of the Child Christ, The Complete Fairy Tales

Uncle Cornelius: His Story (1869)

Appears in The Portent and Other Stories, The Gifts of the Child Christ, The Gray Wolf and Other Stories

My Uncle Peter

Appears in Adela Cathcart

The Wow o' Rivven (1864)

Appears in The Portent and Other Stories, The Gifts of the Child Christ, The Gray Wolf and Other Stories