The most beautiful stories of Grimm
Brothers Grimm (Page 2)
26The three brothers
There was once a man who had three sons, and nothing else in the world but the house in which he lived. Now each of the sons wished to have the house after his father's death; but the father loved them all alike, and did not know what to do; he did not wish to sell the house, because it had belonged to his forefathers, else he might have divided the money amongst them. At last a plan came into his head, and he said to his sons, Go into the world, and try each of you to learn a trade, and, when you all come back, he who makes the best masterpiece shall have the house. The sons were well contentRead the story → 27The white snake
A long time ago there lived a king who was famed for his wisdom through all the land. Nothing was hidden from him, and it seemed as if news of the most secret things was brought to him through the air. But he had a strange custom; every day after dinner, when the table was cleared, and no one else was present, a trusty servant had to bring him one more dish. It was covered, however, and even the servant did not know what was in it, neither did anyone know, for the King never took off the cover to eat of it until he was quite alone. This had gone on for a long time, when one day the servant, whRead the story → 28The wolf and the fox
The wolf had the fox with him, and whatsoever the wolf wished, that the fox was compelled to do, for he was the weaker, and he would gladly have been rid of his master. It chanced that once as they were going through the forest, the wolf said, Red-fox, get me something to eat, or else I will eat thee thyself. Then the fox answered, I know a farm-yard where there are two young lambs; if thou art inclined, we will fetch one of them. That suited the wolf, and they went thither, and the fox stole the little lamb, took it to the wolf, and went away. The wolf devoured it, but was not satisfied withRead the story → 30The six swans
Once on a time a king was hunting in a great wood, and he pursued a wild animal so eagerly that none of his people could follow him. When evening came he stood still, and looking round him he found that he had lost his way; and seeking a path, he found none. Then all at once he saw an old woman with a nodding head coming up to him; and it was a witch. My good woman, said he, can you show me the way out of the wood? Oh yes, my lord king, answered she, certainly I can; but I must make a condition, and if you do not fulfil it, you will never get out of the wood again, but die there of hunger. WhaRead the story →
31The valiant little tailor
One summer morning a little tailor was sitting on his board near the window, and working cheerfully with all his might, when an old woman came down the street crying, Good jelly to sell! good jelly to sell! The cry sounded pleasant in the little tailor's ears, so he put his head out of the window, and called out, Here, my good woman, come here, if you want a customer. So the poor woman climbed the steps with her heavy basket, and was obliged to unpack and display all her pots to the tailor. He looked at every one of them, and lifting all the lids, applied his nose to each, and said at last, ThRead the story → 32The queen bee
Two king's sons once started to seek adventures, and fell into a wild, reckless way of living, and gave up all thoughts of going home again. Their third and youngest brother, who was called Witling, and had remained behind, started off to seek them; and when at last he found them, they jeered at his simplicity in thinking that he could make his way in the world, while they who were so much cleverer were unsuccessful. But they all three went on together until they came to an ant-hill, which the two eldest brothers wished to stir up, that they might see the little ants hurry about in their frighRead the story → 36The girl without hands
A certain miller had little by little fallen into poverty, and had nothing left but his mill and a large apple-tree behind it. Once when he had gone into the forest to fetch wood, an old man stepped up to him whom he had never seen before, and said, Why dost thou plague thyself with cutting wood, I will make thee rich, if thou wilt promise me what is standing behind thy mill? What can that be but my apple-tree? thought the miller, and said, Yes, and gave a written promise to the stranger. He, however, laughed mockingly and said, When three years have passed, I will come and carry away what belRead the story → 37Iron John
There was once on a time a King who had a great forest near his palace, full of all kinds of wild animals. One day he sent out a huntsman to shoot him a roe, but he did not come back. Perhaps some accident has befallen him, said the King, and the next day he sent out two more huntsmen who were to search for him, but they too stayed away. Then on the third day, he sent for all his huntsmen, and said, Scour the whole forest through, and do not give up until ye have found all three. But of these also, none came home again, and of the pack of hounds which they had taken with them, none were seen mRead the story → 38The story of the youth who went forth to learn what fear was
A certain father had two sons, the elder of whom was smart and sensible, and could do everything, but the younger was stupid and could neither learn nor understand anything, and when people saw him they said, There's a fellow who will give his father some trouble! When anything had to be done, it was always the elder who was forced to do it; but if his father bade him fetch anything when it was late, or in the night-time, and the way led through the churchyard, or any other dismal place, he answered Oh, no, father, I'll not go there, it makes me shudder! for he was afraid. Or when stories wereRead the story → 39The old man and his grandson
There was once a very old man, whose eyes had become dim, his ears dull of hearing, his knees trembled, and when he sat at table he could hardly hold the spoon, and spilt the broth upon the table-cloth or let it run out of his mouth. His son and his son's wife were disgusted at this, so the old grandfather at last had to sit in the corner behind the stove, and they gave him his food in an earthenware bowl, and not even enough of it. And he used to look towards the table with his eyes full of tears. Once, too, his trembling hands could not hold the bowl, and it fell to the ground and broke. TheRead the story → 42The Wishing-Table, the Gold-Ass, and the Cudgel in the Sack
There was once upon a time a tailor who had three sons, and only one goat. But as the goat supported the whole of them with her milk, she was obliged to have good food, and to be taken every day to pasture. The sons, therefore, did this, in turn. Once the eldest took her to the churchyard, where the finest herbs were to be found, and let her eat and run about there. At night when it was time to go home he asked, Goat, hast thou had enough? The goat answered, I have eaten so much, Not a leaf more I'll touch, meh! meh! Come home, then, said the youth, and took hold of the cord round her neck, leRead the story → 43The fox and the horse
A peasant had a faithful horse which had grown old and could do no more work, so his master would no longer give him anything to eat and said, I can certainly make no more use of thee, but still I mean well by thee; if thou provest thyself still strong enough to bring me a lion here, I will maintain thee, but now take thyself away out of my stable, and with that he chased him into the open country. The horse was sad, and went to the forest to seek a little protection there from the weather. Then the fox met him and said, Why dost thou hang thy head so, and go about all alone? Alas, replied theRead the story → 44The twelve brothers
There were once on a time a king and a queen who lived happily together and had twelve children, but they were all boys. Then said the King to his wife, If the thirteenth child which thou art about to bring into the world, is a girl, the twelve boys shall die, in order that her possessions may be great, and that the kingdom may fall to her alone. He caused likewise twelve coffins to be made, which were already filled with shavings, and in each lay the little pillow for the dead, and he had them taken into a locked-up room, and then he gave the Queen the key of it, and bade her not to speak ofRead the story → 45The old woman in the wood
A poor servant-girl was once travelling with the family with which she was in service, through a great forest, and when they were in the midst of it, robbers came out of the thicket, and murdered all they found. All perished together except the girl, who had jumped out of the carriage in a fright, and hidden herself behind a tree. When the robbers had gone away with their booty, she came out and beheld the great disaster. Then she began to weep bitterly, and said, What can a poor girl like me do now? I do not know how to get out of the forest, no human being lives in it, so I must certainly stRead the story → 46Our Lady's Child
Hard by a great forest dwelt a wood-cutter with his wife, who had an only child, a little girl three years old. They were so poor, however, that they no longer had daily bread, and did not know how to get food for her. One morning the wood-cutter went out sorrowfully to his work in the forest, and while he was cutting wood, suddenly there stood before him a tall and beautiful woman with a crown of shining stars on her head, who said to him: I am the Virgin Mary, mother of the child Jesus. Thou art poor and needy, bring thy child to me, I will take her with me and be her mother, and care for heRead the story → 49Cat and mouse in partnership
A cat had made the acquaintance of a mouse, and had said so much to her about the great love and friendship that he felt for her, that at last the mouse agreed that they should live and keep house together. But we must make preparations for winter, or else we shall suffer from hunger, said the cat, and you, little mouse, cannot venture out everywhere, or in the end you will be caught in a trap. This good advice was followed, and they bought a pot of fat, but they did not know where to store it. Finally, after much consideration, the cat said, I know of no place where it will be better stored uRead the story → 50The three spinners
There was once a girl who was lazy and would not spin, and her mother could not persuade her to it, do what she would. At last the mother became angry and out of patience, and gave her a good beating, so that she cried out loudly. At that moment the Queen was going by; as she heard the crying, she stopped; and, going into the house, she asked the mother why she was beating her daughter, so that every one outside in the street could hear her cries. The woman was ashamed to tell of her daughter's laziness, so she said, I cannot stop her from spinning; she is for ever at it, and I am poor and canRead the story →
