All You've Ever Wanted — Joan Aiken

Joan Aiken's first published book, All You've Ever Wanted is a collection of nineteen short stories. What use is an iron that turns everything to gold? How can you get rid of a ghostly governess who makes you do homework all night? What would happen if you got everything you wanted? These are some of the questions answered in these tales.
Contents include: All You've Ever Wanted / Yes, But Today Is Tuesday / The Ghostly Governess / Sweet Singeing In the Choir / Harriet's Birthday Present / Dragon Monday / The Frozen Cuckoo / The Parrot Pirate Princess / John Sculpin and the Witches / The Magic Iron / Cooks and Prophecies / The Gardener and the Fork / Musicians Out of Work / The King Who Stood All Night / The Brat Who Knew Too Much / The True History of Good King Wenceslas / The Rocking Donkey / The Lobster's Birthday / The Wolves and the Mermaids.