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Rumpelstiltskin

There was once a miller who was poor, but he had one beautiful daughter. It happened one day that he came to speak with the king, and, to give himself consequence, he told him that he had a daughter who could spin gold out of straw. The king said to the miller: That is an art that pleases me well; if thy daughter is as clever as you say, bring her to my castle to-morrow, that I may put her to the proof. When the girl was brought to him, he led her into a ...

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The 40 best fairy tales

List of Grimms' fairy tales

The complete fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm

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The ugly duckling
H.C. Andersen →

Clumsy Hans
H.C. Andersen →

The brave tin soldier
H.C. Andersen →

The best fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm

Cinderella There was once a rich man whose wife lay sick, and when she felt her end drawing near she called to her only daughter to come near her bed, and said, Dear child, be pious and good, and God will always take care of you, and I will look down upon you from heaven, and will be with you. And then she closed her eyes and expired. The maiden went every day to her mother's grave and wept, and was always pious and good.
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Hansel and Gretel Near a great forest there lived a poor woodcutter and his wife, and his two children; the boy's name was Hansel and the girl's Grethel. They had very little to bite or to sup, and once, when there was great dearth in the land, the man could not even gain the daily bread. As he lay in bed one night thinking of this, and turning and tossing, he sighed heavily, and said to his wife, What will become of us? we cannot even feed our children; there is nothing left for ourselves.
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Rapunzel There once lived a man and his wife, who had long wished for a child, but in vain. Now there was at the back of their house a little window which overlooked a beautiful garden full of the finest vegetables and flowers; but there was a high wall all round it, and no one ventured into it, for it belonged to a witch of great might, and of whom all the world was afraid.
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Little Red Riding Hood Once upon a time there was a sweet little girl. Everyone who saw her liked her, but most of all her grandmother, who did not know what to give the child next. Once she gave her a little cap made of red velvet. Because it suited her so well, and she wanted to wear it all the time, she came to be known as Little Red Riding Hood. One day her mother said to her: Come Little Red Riding Hood. Here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine. Take them to your grandmother.
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Sleeping Beauty (Little Briar Rose) In times past there lived a king and queen, who said to each other every day of their lives, Would that we had a child! and yet they had none. But it happened once that when the queen was bathing, there came a frog out of the water, and he squatted on the ground, and said to her: Thy wish shall be fulfilled; before a year has gone by, thou shalt bring a daughter into the world.
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Snow-white It was the middle of winter, and the snow-flakes were falling like feathers from the sky, and a queen sat at her window working, and her embroidery-frame was of ebony. And as she worked, gazing at times out on the snow, she pricked her finger, and there fell from it three drops of blood on the snow.
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The shepherd boy There was once on a time a shepherd boy whose fame spread far and wide because of the wise answers which he gave to every question. The King of the country heard of it likewise, but did not believe it, and sent for the boy. Then he said to him: If thou canst give me an answer to three questions which I will ask thee, I will look on thee as my own child, and thou shall dwell with me in my royal palace.
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The fisherman and his wife There was once a fisherman and his wife who lived together in a hovel by the sea-shore, and the fisherman went out every day with his hook and line to catch fish, and he angled and angled. One day he was sitting with his rod and looking into the clear water, and he sat and sat. At last down went the line to the bottom of the water, and when he drew it up he found a great flounder on the hook.
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The frog king or Iron Henry In the old times, when it was still of some use to wish for the thing one wanted, there lived a King whose daughters were all handsome, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun himself, who has seen so much, wondered each time he shone over her because of her beauty.
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Godfather Death A poor man had twelve children and had to work day and night in order just to feed them. Thus when the thirteenth came into the world, not knowing what to do in his need, he ran out into the highway, intending to ask the first person whom he met to be the godfather. The first person who came his way was our dear God, who already knew what was in his heart, and God said to him, Poor man, I pity you. I will hold your child at his baptism, and care for him, and make him happy on earth.
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The wolf and the seven young kids There was once an old goat who had seven little ones, and was as fond of them as ever mother was of her children. One day she had to go into the wood to fetch food for them, so she called them all round her. Dear children, said she, I am going out into the wood; and while I am gone, be on your guard against the wolf, for if he were once to get inside he would eat you up, skin, bones, and all. The wretch often disguises himself, but he may always be known by his hoarse voice and black paws.
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Puss in Boots A miller had three sons, his mill, a donkey and a tom cat; the sons had to grind, the donkey had to get grain and carry flour away and the cat had to catch the mice away. When the miller died, the three brothers divided their inheritance, the oldest received the mill, the second the donkey and the third the tom cat, further was nothing left for him.
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The Bremen town musicians There was once an ass whose master had made him carry sacks to the mill for many a long year, but whose strength began at last to fail, so that each day as it came found him less capable of work. Then his master began to think of turning him out, but the ass, guessing that something was in the wind that boded him no good, ran away, taking the road to Bremen; for there he thought he might get an engagement as town musician.
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Mother Hulda A widow had two daughters; one was pretty and industrious, the other was ugly and lazy. And as the ugly one was her own daughter, she loved her much the best, and the pretty one was made to do all the work, and be the drudge of the house. Every day the poor girl had to sit by a well on the high road and spin until her fingers bled. Now it happened once that as the spindle was bloody, she dipped it into the well to wash it; but it slipped out of her hand and fell in.
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Snow-White and Rose-Red
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The 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.
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The three snake-leaves There was once on a time a poor man, who could no longer support his only son. Then said the son, Dear father, things go so badly with us that I am a burden to you. I would rather go away and see how I can earn my bread. So the father gave him his blessing, and with great sorrow took leave of him. At this time the King of a mighty empire was at war, and the youth took service with him, and with him went out to fight.
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Cat 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.
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The devil with the three golden hairs There was once a poor woman who gave birth to a little son; and as he came into the world with a caul on, it was predicted that in his fourteenth year he would have the King's daughter for his wife. It happened that soon afterwards the King came into the village, and no one knew that he was the King, and when he asked the people what news there was, they answered, A child has just been born with a caul on; whatever any one so born undertakes turns out well.
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The poor boy in the grave There was once a poor shepherd-boy whose father and mother were dead, and he was placed by the authorities in the house of a rich man, who was to feed him and bring him up. The man and his wife, had however, bad hearts, and were greedy and anxious about their riches, and vexed whenever any one put a morsel of their bread in his mouth. The poor young fellow might do what he liked, he got little to eat, but only so many blows the more.
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Tom Thumb There was once a poor countryman who used to sit in the chimney-corner all evening and poke the fire, while his wife sat at her spinning-wheel. And he used to say, How dull it is without any children about us; our house is so quiet, and other people's houses so noisy and merry! Yes, answered his wife, and sighed, if we could only have one, and that one ever so little, no bigger than my thumb, how happy I should be! It would, indeed, be having our heart's desire.
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The little match-seller
A fairytale by H.C. Andersen →

The complete fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm
Complete list →