All Stories
Total 92 stories, Page 1/4
Bearskin
Long ago, a poor soldier with nowhere to go made a seven-year pact with the Devil: no washing, no combing, no cutting, no prayer, in exchange for endless gold. Wrapped in a bearskin, he wandered the world — feared by all, yet kind at heart, giving to the poor wherever he went. On the seventh year he found his faithful bride with a broken ring, while her two vain sisters were undone by their own envy.
A Riddling Tale
Three women are turned into flowers that look exactly alike. How does a husband pick out his own wife? The answer hides in a single drop of dew.
The Rabbit and the Maiden
For three days a hare steals the cabbages, then tricks the maiden onto its tail and carries her home to be its bride. The maiden turns the trick around, leaves a straw double in her place, and slips home unnoticed.
Allerleirauh
A golden-haired princess flees her father's wrong plan in a cloak of a thousand furs and hides as a kitchen girl in another land; three secret feasts and three golden treasures finally give her away, for gold buried in ashes cannot stay hidden.
The Golden Goose
A boy called the Simpleton shares his plain food with a little grey man and is given a golden goose. Greedy people stick to it one by one and form a funny line that makes the sad princess laugh. Thanks to his kind heart, he passes the king's three tasks, marries the princess, and good deeds are rewarded with good luck.
The Two Brothers
Long ago twin brothers ate the heart and liver of a golden bird, and gold began to appear under their pillows every morning — until a wicked uncle drove them from home; a kindly huntsman raised them as skilled hunters, and grateful animals repaid their kindness, so the younger brother slew the dragon and saved the princess, and when a lying marshal stole the deed, the animals brought him back to life, and he returned with the dragon's tongues as proof and won back everything that was his.
Frederick and Catherine
Frederick has a kind but simple-minded wife, Catherine, who means well yet turns every little task into a big mess — until she carries their door into the forest and wins everything back by pure luck.
The Golden Bird
Golden apples keep vanishing from the king's tree, so his three sons set out to catch the thief. Guided by a faithful fox, the youngest son stumbles more than once, yet in the end he wins the golden bird, the golden horse and the princess — and uncovers his brothers' cruel hearts.
The Sparrow and the Dog
A starving dog is fed by a kind sparrow, only to be crushed to death by a cruel carter while he sleeps; the sparrow vows to see justice done, and in the end the carter reaps what he has sown — for good and evil each bring their own reward.
Sweetheart Roland
A witch's cruel plan costs her own daughter's life; the girl flees with Roland and the magic wand, endures flight, waiting, and forgetfulness, and at last wins back her love with a single song.
Rumpelstiltskin
A miller's daughter must spin straw into gold or die, so she strikes a desperate deal with a magic little man who later returns to claim her firstborn child.
The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn
Three poor brothers go out to seek their fortune; the two eldest go home content with silver and gold, while the youngest walks on, wins a knapsack, a hat, and a horn, and fights his way at last to the throne.
Snow White
Envied by her wicked stepmother, lovely Snow White is sheltered by seven dwarfs and woken by a prince, while envy at last destroys the one who holds it.
King Thrushbeard
A proud princess mocks every suitor, so her angry father gives her to the first beggar at the door; only after great hardship does she learn that the beggar is the very king she once laughed at.
Fundevogel
A foundling boy and the forester's daughter vow never to part, escape a cruel cook by changing shape again and again, and finally come home safe.
Little Briar Rose
A slighted wise woman casts a hundred-year curse, and only when the time is ripe does a kind-hearted prince find the path through the thorns and wake the sleeping princess.
Old Sultan
Old Sultan the dog has grown old and useless, and his master plans to get rid of him. A wolf's clever trick saves his life, but when the wolf wants to steal a sheep, loyal Sultan refuses — and the wolf's revenge ends in a comic duel that brings them peace.
The Almond Tree
A wicked stepmother kills her stepson, and his father eats him without knowing; but his sister Marjory buries his bones under the almond tree, and the boy returns as a magical bird to set things right and bring the family together again.
Fitcher's Bird
When a wizard traps three sisters one by one, the youngest keeps her head, restores her sisters to life, and outwits the wicked man to the very end.
Thumbling's Travels
The thumb-sized son of a tailor sets out to see the world, rides steam up a chimney, robs a treasure chamber for thieves, is swallowed by a cow and stuffed into a sausage — until a promise to a fox buys his freedom and brings him home.
Godfather Death
A poor farmer makes Death the godfather of his thirteenth child, who grows into a physician that can read life and death — but after breaking the godfather's rules twice, his own life-light goes out.
Frau Trude
A headstrong little girl ignores her parents' warnings, visits the strange Frau Trude, sees wonders along the way, and pays a terrible price.
The Godfather
A poor man gains a cup of magic water from a mysterious godfather and becomes a famous doctor — until a visit to that strange house reveals a secret too terrible to stay for.
Herr Korbes
A strange crowd rides to the house of Herr Korbes, hides while he is away, and turns on him when he returns — though the tale never once says what made the master so wicked.