The most beautiful stories of Grimm
Brothers Grimm (Page 2)
26The 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 → 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 →
31The 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 → 34The 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 → 35The elves
FIRST STORY A shoemaker, by no fault of his own, had become so poor that at last he had nothing left but leather for one pair of shoes. So in the evening, he cut out the shoes which he wished to begin to make the next morning, and as he had a good conscience, he lay down quietly in his bed, commended himself to God, and fell asleep. In the morning, after he had said his prayers, and was just going to sit down to work, the two shoes stood quite finished on his table. He was astounded, and knew not what to say to it. He took the shoes in his hands to observe them closer, and they were so neatlyRead the story → 36The 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 → 37The star-money
There was once on a time a little girl whose father and mother were dead, and she was so poor that she no longer had any little room to live in, or bed to sleep in, and at last she had nothing else but the clothes she was wearing and a little bit of bread in her hand which some charitable soul had given her. She was, however, good and pious. And as she was thus forsaken by all the world, she went forth into the open country, trusting in the good God. Then a poor man met her, who said: Ah, give me something to eat, I am so hungry! She reached him the whole of her piece of bread, and said: May GRead the story → 38The 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 → 39Cat 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 → 40Our 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 → 41The rabbit's bride
There was once a woman who lived with her daughter in a beautiful cabbage-garden; and there came a rabbit and ate up all the cabbages. At last said the woman to her daughter, Go into the garden, and drive out the rabbit. Shoo! shoo! said the maiden; don't eat up all our cabbages, little rabbit! Come, maiden, said the rabbit, sit on my tail and go with me to my rabbit-hutch. But the maiden would not. Another day, back came the rabbit, and ate away at the cabbages, until the woman said to her daughter, Go into the garden, and drive away the rabbit. Shoo! shoo! said the maiden; don't eat up all oRead the story → 42Bearskin
There was once a young fellow who enlisted as a soldier, conducted himself bravely, and was always the foremost when it rained bullets. So long as the war lasted, all went well, but when peace was made, he received his dismissal, and the captain said he might go where he liked. His parents were dead, and he had no longer a home, so he went to his brothers and begged them to take him in, and keep him until war broke out again. The brothers, however, were hard-hearted and said, What can we do with thee? thou art of no use to us; go and make a living for thyself. The soldier had nothing left butRead the story → 43Sweet porridge
There was a poor but good little girl who lived alone with her mother, and they no longer had anything to eat. So the child went into the forest, and there an aged woman met her who was aware of her sorrow, and presented her with a little pot, which when she said, Cook, little pot, cook, would cook good, sweet porridge, and when she said, Stop, little pot, it ceased to cook. The girl took the pot home to her mother, and now they were freed from their poverty and hunger, and ate sweet porridge as often as they chose. Once on a time when the girl had gone out, her mother said, Cook, little pot,Read the story → 44The 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 → 45Iron 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 → 46The 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 → 47The 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 → 48The hare and the hedgehog
This story, my dear young folks, seems to be false, but it really is true, for my grandfather, from whom I have it, used always, when relating it, to say complacently, It must be true, my son, or else no one could tell it to you. The story is as follows. One Sunday morning about harvest time, just as the buckwheat was in bloom, the sun was shining brightly in heaven, the east wind was blowing warmly over the stubble-fields, the larks were singing in the air, the bees buzzing among the buckwheat, the people were all going in their Sunday clothes to church, and all creatures were happy, and theRead the story →
