J.K. Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard was published in 2008. The book is a collection of five wizarding fairy tales presented as a storybook from the Harry Potter universe.
The tales include “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot,” “The Fountain of Fair Fortune,” “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump,” and “The Tale of the Three Brothers.” The last story is especially important in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Rowling wrote the collection as a companion to the Harry Potter novels. In the fictional world, Albus Dumbledore leaves Hermione Granger his copy, and Dumbledore’s notes appear alongside the tales in the published edition.
The 2008 release followed the completion of the main Harry Potter novel series in 2007. Proceeds from the original edition supported the Children’s High Level Group, later renamed Lumos.