The Little Purse with two Half-pennies << back to story pages

There was once an old man and an old woman. The old woman had a hen and the

old man had a rooster; the old woman's hen laid two eggs a day, but she would not

give the old man a single one. One day the old man lost patience and said: "Listen,

old crony, you live as if you were in clover, give me a couple of eggs so that I can at

least have a taste of them."

"No indeed!" replied the old woman, who was very avaricious. "If you want eggs, beat

your rooster that he may lay eggs for you, and then eat them; I flogged my hen, and

just see how she lays now."

The old man listened to the old woman's talk, angrily seized his rooster, gave him a

sound thrashing and said:

"There, now, lay some eggs for me or else go out of the house, I won't feed you for

nothing any longer."

As soon as the rooster escaped from the old man's hands it ran off down the high-road. While thus pursuing its way, lo and behold! it found a little

purse with two half-pennies. Taking it in its beak, the bird turned and went back toward the old man's house. On the road it met a carriage containing a gentleman. The gentleman looked at the rooster, saw a

purse in its bill, and said to the driver: "Get down and see what this rooster has in its beak."

The driver hastily jumped from his box, took the little purse from the rooster's bill, and gave it to his master. The gentleman put it in his pocket and drove on. The rooster was

very angry and ran after the carriage, repeating continually: "Kikeriki, sir, Kikerikak,

To me the little purse give back." The enraged gentleman said to the coachman as they passed a well:

"Take that impudent rooster and throw it into the well." The driver got down from his box again, seized the rooster,

and flung it down the well. When the rooster saw that its life was in such great danger, what was it to do? It began to swallow the water, and drank and drank till it had

swallowed all the water in the well. Then it flew out and again ran after the carriage, calling:

"Kikeriki, sir, Kikerikak, To me the little purse give back."

When the gentleman saw this, he was perfectly amazed and said: "Hoho! This rooster is a perfect imp of Satan! Never mind! I'll wring

your neck, you saucy cockerel!" When he reached home he told the cook to take the rooster and throw it on the coals burning upon the

hearth. The woman did what her master bade her.

When the rooster saw this new injustice, it began to spit out the water it had swallowed till it had poured all the water from the well upon the burning coals. This put out the fire and cooled the hearth. Then the rooster came out safe and

sound, ran to the gentleman's window, and began to knock on the panes with its bill, screaming:

"Kikeriki, sir, Kikerikak, To me the little purse give back." "Heaven knows that I've got a torment in this monster of a rooster," said the

gentleman. "Driver, rid me of it, toss it into the middle of the herds of cows and oxen; perhaps some bull will stick its horns through it and relieve us." The

coachman seized the rooster and flung it among the herds.

You ought to have seen the rooster's delight. It swallowed bulls, oxen, cows,

and calves, till it had devoured the whole herd and its stomach had grown as big as a mountain. Then it went to the window again, spread out its wings before the sun so that it darkened the gentleman's room, and once more

began: "Kikeriki, sir, Kikerikak,

To me the little purse give back." When the gentleman saw this he was ready to burst with rage and did not know what to do to get rid of the rooster. He stood thinking till at last an idea

entered his head: "I'll lock it up in the treasure-chamber. Perhaps if it tries to swallow the ducats

one will stick in its throat, and I shall get rid of the bird." No sooner said than done. He grasped the rooster and flung it into the treasure-chamber.

The rooster swallowed all the money and left the chests empty. Then it escaped from the room, went to the gentleman's window, and again began:

"Kikeriki, sir, Kikerikak, To me the little purse give back."

As the gentleman saw that there was nothing else to be done he tossed the purse out. The rooster picked it up, went about its own business, and

left the gentleman in peace. All the poultry ran after the rooster so that it really looked like a wedding; but the gentleman turned green with rage as

he watched, and said sighing: "Let them all run off to the last chick, I'm glad to be rid of the torment; there was witchcraft in that rooster!"

But the puffed-up rooster stalked proudly along, followed by all the fowls, and went merrily on and on till he reached the old man's house and began

to crow: "Kikeriki!" When the old man heard the rooster's voice he ran out joyfully to meet the bird, but looking through the door what did he see? His rooster had

become a terrible object. An elephant beside it would have seemed like a flea; and following behind came countless flocks of birds, each one more

beautiful and brilliant than the other. When the old man saw the rooster so huge and fat, he opened the gate for it. "Master," said the bird, "spread a sheet here in the middle of the yard."

The old man, as nimble as a top, laid down the sheet. The rooster took its stand upon it, spread its wings, and instantly the whole yard was filled with

birds and herds of cattle, but it shook out on the sheet a pile of ducats that flashed in the sun till they dazzled the eyes. When the old man beheld this

vast treasure he did not know what to do in his delight, and hugged and kissed the rooster. The old man was very rich; he built great houses, laid out beautiful

gardens, and lived luxuriously. He made the old woman his poultry-maid, the rooster he took about with him everywhere, dressed in a gold collar,

yellow boots, and spurs on its heels, so that one might have thought it was one of the Three Kings from the Christmas play instead of a mere ordinary rooster.

The Sleeping Beauty

Once upon a time there lived a King and Queen who had a little baby-daughter.

They asked all the fairies in the kingdom to the christening, but unfortunately forgot to invite one of them, because it happened that unfortunately there were thirteen

fairies, and the King had only twelve gold plates for the feast. So he was obliged to pretend he had forgotten the thirteenth fairy.The twelve fairies came to the christening and they each brought a magic gift to the infant Princess.One gave her

beauty, another health and happiness, another cleverness, another sweet temper and a kind heart, and so on until it came to the twelfth fairy.

But before she could speak the door flew open and in there swept the thirteenth fairy, who had not been invited. She had an ugly frown on her face, and looked so angry that every one drew back to let her pass. Straight up to the baby she went,

and she looked crossly at the little beautiful face. ‘You shall have my gift, though I was not invited to the christening,’ she said with a

spiteful smile. ‘When you are fifteen years old, you shall prick your finger with a spindle and fall down dead.’ Then she cast an evil look all round, and flew out of the window.

Every one stood quite silent with grief and horror, until the twelfth fairy stepped

forward and waved her wand. ‘I have still a gift to bestow,’ she said, ‘and though I may not change the wicked

fairy’s prophecy, I can at least make it less evil. The Princess shall not die when she pricks her finger with the spindle, but she shall fall into a deep sleep, which will last a hundred years.'

Then all the fairies left the palace, and the King and Queen began to think that perhaps the

wicked fairy had been only a bad dream. But in case any harm should really come to the little

Princess Briar-Rose, it was ordered that every spinning-wheel in the kingdom should be destroyed. And very soon not a spindle was to

be found throughout all the length and breadth of the land.

Now the fairy gifts which had been given to the Princess were seen more and

more clearly by mortal eyes as she grew older. She was as beautiful as a flower, and as clever as she was good, and as happy as the day was long.

The King and Queen thought no more of the evil prophecy, and so the years slipped by until Briar-Rose was fifteen.

It happened that on her fifteenth birthday the King and Queen went out together,

and the Princess was left all alone in the palace and began to feel very dull, so she thought she would go through all the rooms in the palace and look for adventures.

After a while she came to a little turret-stair which she never remembered having seen before, and when she climbed to the top she came to a curious little door. The Princess knocked and an old cracked voice cried out ‘Come in.’

And when Briar-Rose opened the door she saw a little old woman sitting there with a spinning-wheel.

‘Oh, what a funny thing that is!’ said Briar-Rose, looking at the spinning-wheel, for she had never seen such a thing before. ‘How I should love to make it go whirling round and round!’

And she put out her hand to touch it, but the spindle pricked her finger and a tiny drop of blood sprang out. Before she had even time to cry out, part of the fairy’s evil prophecy came true, for she sank down on the stone bench and fell fast asleep.

At that very moment everybody and everything in the palace stopped what they were

doing, and fell fast asleep too. The King and Queen sank down in two royal chairs; the cook in the kitchen, who was

just going to box the scullion’s ears, went fast asleep with her hand still in the air. The scullion, with his mouth wide open, ready to roar with the pain, left it open and went fast asleep too. The horses in the stable went to sleep in the middle of eating their

corn; the pigeons on the stable roof hadn’t even time to tuck their heads under their wings, but fell asleep as they were strutting around with their tails still spread out. The

flies slept on the ceiling; the canary did not want to have the green cover put over its cage, but slept in broad daylight. The fire stopped crackling and burning, the pots stopped boiling, nothing stirred, nothing moved, not a sound was heard. Only round

the palace there sprung up a hedge of briar-roses which grew taller and taller, as time went on, until the palace was quite hidden, and not even the top of the flagstaff could be seen.

And as the years went by people began to forget about the palace. Only the old people would tell the children sometimes

about the beautiful Princess who once lived in a palace where the briar-roses grew. But the children thought it was a make-believe

story, for the hedge was so thick and so high that no one could see what was inside. Sometimes a Prince would come riding by and listen to the tale,

and then try and cut his way through the thick hedge, to see if there was really a beautiful Princess on the other side. But the

thorns tore every one who tried to force his way through, and sometimes put out his eyes, so the Princes grew tired of trying, and each year the hedge grew taller and thicker.

Now it happened that on the very day when the Princess had been asleep for a hundred years, there chanced to come to that country a Prince who was braver and handsomer than any of the Princes who had come before. He had

never known what it meant to be beaten or to give in, and when he heard the story of the Princess Briar-Rose he made

up his mind to find her. But when he got to the great hedge, he found it covered with

pale pink roses, and the branches parted in front of him to make a passage, and all the thorns looked the other way. On he walked through the cool, green path, while the roses

nodded and smiled on him all the way. And when he came to the other side he saw a stately palace, just as the old people

had described it. Not a sound broke the solemn stillness, not a leaf whispered in the breeze. Then, when he entered the great hall, he saw the King and

Queen fast asleep on their royal chairs, and everything and everybody were exactly the same as when they had fallen

asleep a hundred years ago.

Presently the Prince noticed the turret steps that led to the tower, and

he climbed them, just as the Princess had done. And when he opened the door and stepped in, he stood still in wonder and delight.

The Princess lay there fast asleep, her fair face turned towards him, just as she had sunk down to rest a hundred years ago. Everything was unchanged except that now around the bed was a canopy of briar-roses protecting her as she slept. The

flowers breathed their beauty around her, and the sharp thorns guarded her from all harm. So beautiful did the Princess look lying there, like a pale rose herself, that the Prince was drawn to her side, and bending over

her he kissed her cheek. The Princess’s eyelids quivered, and the next moment her eyes opened. She looked up and saw the Prince bending over her, and when their eyes met she gave a little cry of joy.

‘Oh,’ she cried, ‘you have come at last. I have been dreaming and dreaming of you, and I thought you were never coming to wake me.’

Now the moment the Princess opened her eyes every one and everything in the palace began to awake too. The King and Queen walked with stately tread

through the hail, the cook gave the scullion a sounding box on his ear. The scullion roared with his mouth wide open, the horses went on eating their corn, the

pigeons strutted about on the roof, the flies walked busily up and down the ceiling.

And the great hedge of briar-roses sank down and down till it vanished in the earth, and not even a bud was left.

‘But what does it matter if the roses are gone ?’ said the Prince, ‘since I have got my own Briar-Rose, who is fairest of them all.’

And so they were married and lived happily ever after.

The Frog Prince << back to story pages

One beautiful day, a young princess went out to take a walk by herself in a wood; and when

she came to a cool spring of water, she sat herself down to rest a while. Now she had a

golden ball in her hand, which was her favourite plaything; and she was always tossing it up

into the air, and catching it again as it fell.

After a time she threw it up so high that she missed catching it as it fell; and the ball

bounded away, and rolled along on the ground, until at last it fell down into the spring. The

princess looked into the spring after her ball, but it was very deep, so deep that she could

not see the bottom of it. She began to cry, and said, 'Alas! if I could only get my ball again, I

would give all my fine clothes and jewels, and everything that I have in the world.'

Whilst she was speaking, a frog put its head out of the water, and said, 'Princess,

why do you weep so bitterly?' 'Alas!' said she, 'what can you do for me, you nasty frog? My golden ball has fallen into the spring.'

The frog said, 'I do not want your pearls, and jewels, and fine clothes; but if you will love me, and let me live with you and eat from off your golden plate, and

sleep on your bed, I will bring you your ball again.' 'What nonsense,' thought the princess, 'this silly frog is talking! He can never even get out of the spring to visit me, though he may be able to get my ball for

me, and therefore I will tell him he shall have what he asks.' So she said to the frog, 'Well, if you will bring me my ball, I will do all you ask.'

Then the frog put his head down, and dived deep under the water; and after a little while he came up again, with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the edge of the spring.

As soon as the young princess saw her ball, she ran to pick it up; and she was

so overjoyed to have it in her hand again, that she never thought of the frog, but ran home with it as fast as she could.

The frog called after her, 'Stay, princess, and take me with you as you said,' But she did not stop to hear a word. The next day, just as the princess had sat down to dinner, she heard a strange

noise - tap, tap - plash, plash - as if something was coming up the marble staircase, and soon afterwards there was a gentle knock at the door, and a

little voice cried out and said: 'Open the door, my princess dear,

Open the door to thy true love here! And mind the words that thou and I said

By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog, whom she had quite forgotten. At this

sight she was sadly frightened, and shutting the door as fast as she could came back to

The king, her father, seeing that something had frightened her, asked her what was the matter. 'There is a nasty frog,' said she, 'at the door, that lifted my ball for me

out of the spring this morning. I told him that he should live with me here, thinking that he could never get out of the spring; but there he is

at the door, and he wants to come in.' While she was speaking the frog knocked again at the door, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear, Open the door to thy true love here!

And mind the words that thou and I said By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

Then the king said to the young princess, 'As you have given your word you must keep it; so go and let him in.'

She did so, and the frog hopped into the room, and then straight on - tap, tap -

plash, plash - from the bottom of the room to the top, till he came up close to the table where the princess sat. 'Pray lift me upon chair,' said he to the princess, 'and let me sit next to you.'

As soon as she had done this, the frog said, 'Put your plate nearer to me, that I may eat out of it.'

This she did, and when he had eaten as much as he could, he said, 'Now I am tired; carry me upstairs, and put me into your bed.' And the princess, though very unwilling, took him up in her hand, and put him upon the pillow of her own bed,

where he slept all night long. As soon as it was light the frog jumped up, hopped downstairs, and went out of the

house. 'Now, then,' thought the princess, 'at last he is gone, and I shall be troubled with him no more.'

But she was mistaken; for when night came again she heard the same tapping at the door; and the frog came

once more, and said: 'Open the door, my princess dear,

Open the door to thy true love here! And mind the words that thou and I said By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

And when the princess opened the door the frog came in,

and slept upon her pillow as before, till the morning broke.

And the third night he did the same. But when the princess awoke on

the following morning she was astonished to see, instead of the frog, a handsome prince, gazing on her with the most beautiful eyes she had

ever seen and standing at the head of her bed. He told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy, who had changed him into a frog; and that he had been fated so to abide till

some princess should take him out of the spring, and let him eat from her plate, and sleep upon her bed for three nights.

'You,' said the prince, 'have broken this cruel charm, and now I have nothing to wish for but that you should go with me into my father's kingdom, where I will marry you, and love you as long as you live.'

The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in saying 'Yes' to all this; and as they spoke a brightly coloured coach

drove up and behind the coach rode the prince's servant, faithful Heinrich, who had bewailed the misfortunes of his dear master during his enchantment so long and so bitterly, that his heart had well-nigh burst. They then took leave of the king, and got into the coach, and all set out, full of joy and merriment, for the prince's kingdom,

which they reached safely; and there they lived happily a great many years.

Hansel and Gretel << back to story pages

Next to a great forest there lived a poor woodcutter with his wife and his two children. The boy's name was Hansel and the girl's name

was Gretel. He had but little to eat, and once, when a great famine came to the land, he could no longer provide even their daily bread.

One evening, he sighed and said to his wife, "What is to become of us? How can we feed our

children when we have nothing for ourselves?"

"Man, do you know what?" answered the woman. "Early tomorrow morning you will take the

two children out into the thickest part of the woods, make a fire for them, and give each of

them a little piece of bread, then leave them by themselves and go off to your work. They will

not find their way back home, and we will be rid of them."

"No, woman," said the man. "I will not do that. How could I bring myself to abandon my own

children alone in the woods?

"Oh, you fool," she said, "then all four of us will starve. All you can do is to plane the boards

for our coffins." And she gave him no peace until he agreed.

The two children had not been able to fall asleep because of their hunger, and they heard

what the stepmother had said to the father.

At daybreak, even before sunrise, the woman came and woke the two children. "Get

up, you lazybones. You are going into the woods to fetch wood." Then she gave each one a little piece of bread, saying, "Here is something for midday. Don't eat it any

sooner, for you'll not get any more." On the way to the woods, Hansel crumbled his piece in his pocket, then often stood still, and threw crumbs onto the ground.

When they were deep into the woods, a large fire was made, and the father said, "Sit here, children. If you get tired you can sleep a little. I am going into the woods to cut

wood. I will come and get you in the evening when I am finished." When it was midday Gretel shared her bread with Hansel, who had scattered his piece along the path.

Then they fell asleep, and evening passed, but no one came to get the poor children. When the moon appeared they got up, but they could not find any crumbs,

for the many thousands of birds that fly about in the woods and in the fields had pecked them up. They walked through the entire night and the

next day from morning until evening, but they did not find their way out of the woods.

They went on, until they came to a little house. When they came closer, they saw that the little house was built entirely from bread with a roof made of cake, and the windows were made of clear sugar.

"Let's help ourselves to a good meal," said Hansel very happy.

Suddenly the door opened, and a woman, as old as the hills and leaning on a

crutch, came creeping out. Hansel and Gretel were so frightened that they dropped what they were holding in their hands. But the old woman shook her head and said, "Oh, you dear children, who brought

you here? Just come in and stay with me. No harm will come to you." She took them by the hand and led them into her house.

Then she served them a good meal: milk and pancakes with sugar, apples, and nuts. Afterward she made two nice beds for them, decked in white. Hansel and Gretel went to bed, thinking they were in heaven.

But the old woman had only pretended to be friendly. She was a wicked witch who was lying in wait there for children. She had built her house of bread only in order to

lure them to her, and if she captured one, she would kill him, cook him, and eat him; and for her that was a day to celebrate.

Early the next morning, before they awoke, she got up, went to their beds, and

looked at the two of them lying there so peacefully, with their full red cheeks. Then she grabbed Hansel with her withered hand and carried him to a little stall, where she locked him behind a cage door. Cry as he might, there was

no help for him. Then she shook Gretel and cried, "Get up, lazybones! Fetch water and cook

something good for your brother. He is locked outside in the stall and is to be fattened up. When he is fat I am going to eat him." Gretel began to cry, but it was all for nothing. She had to do what the witch

demanded. Now Hansel was given the best things to eat every day, but Gretel received

nothing but crayfish shells. After 4 weeks, she shouted to the girl:"Hey, Gretel! Hurry up and fetch some water. Whether Hansel is fat or thin, tomorrow I am going to slaughter him and

boil him."

The next morning Gretel had to get up early, hang up the kettle with water, and

make a fire. Then the old woman called, "Gretel, come here right now to the oven."

And when Gretel came, she said, "Look inside and see if the bread is nicely brown and done, for my eyes are weak, and I can't see that far. If you can't see that far either, then sit on the board, and I'll push you inside, then you can walk

around inside and take a look." But Gretel said, "I don't know how to do that. How can I get inside?"

"The opening is big enough. See, I myself could get in." And she crawled up stuck her head into the oven. Then Gretel gave her a shove, causing her to fall in. Then she closed the iron door and secured it with a bar.

The old woman began to howl frightfully. But Gretel ran away, and the godless witch burned up miserably.

Gretel ran straight to Hansel, unlocked his stall, and cried, "Hansel, we are saved. The old witch is dead." Then Hansel jumped out, like a bird from its cage when someone opens its door. How happy they were! They threw their arms around each other's necks, jumped with joy, and kissed one another.

Because they now had nothing to fear, they went into the witch's house. In every corner were chests of pearls and precious stones.

They filled their pockets, then ran away and found their way back home.

When they saw the father's house in the distance, they began to run, rushed inside, and threw their arms around the father's neck.

The man had not had even one happy hour since he had left the children in the

woods. However, the woman had died. Gretel shook out her basket, scattering pearls and precious stones around the room, and Hansel added to them by

throwing one handful after the other from his pockets. "Look, Father! We're rich now . . . You'll never have to chop wood again."

And they all lived happily together ever after.

The Golden Goose << back to story pages

There was once a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was called the

Simpleton, and was despised, laughed at, and neglected, on every occasion, by his

brothers.

It happened one day that the eldest son wished to go into the forest to cut wood,

and before he went his mother gave him a delicious cake and a flask of wine. When he came into the forest a little old grey man met him, who wished him good day, and said,

"Give me a bit of your cake, and let me have a drink of your wine; I am so hungry and thirsty." But the youth answered,

"Give you my cake and my wine? I haven't got any; be off with you." And leaving the little man standing there, he went off. Then he began to fell a tree,

but he had not been at it long before he made a wrong stroke, and the hatchet hit him in the arm, so that he was obliged to go home and get it bound up. That was what came of the little grey man.

Afterwards the second son went into the wood, and the mother gave to him, as

to the eldest, a cake and a flask of wine. The little old grey man met him also, and begged for a little bit of cake and a drink of wine. But the second son

spoke out plainly, saying, "What I give you I lose myself, so be off with you." And leaving the little man standing there, he went off. The punishment

followed; as he was chopping away at the tree, he hit himself in the leg so severely that he had to be carried home.

Then said the Simpleton, "Father, let me go for once into the forest to cut wood;" and the father

answered, "Your brothers have hurt themselves by so doing; give it up, you understand nothing about it." But the Simpleton went on begging so long, that the father said at last,

"Well, be off with you; you will only learn by experience." The mother gave him a cake and with it a flask of sour beer. When he came

into the forest the little old grey man met him, and greeted him, saying, "Give me a bit of your cake, and a drink from your flask; I am so hungry and thirsty."

And the Simpleton answered, "I have only a flour and water cake and sour beer; but if that is good enough for you, let us sit down together and eat."

Then they sat down, and as the Simpleton took out his flour and water cake it became a rich cake, and his sour beer became good wine; then they ate and drank, and afterwards the little man said, "As you have such a kind heart, and share what you have so willingly, I will bestow good luck upon you. Yonder stands an

old tree; cut it down, and at its roots you will find something," and thereupon the little man took his departure.

The Simpleton went there, and hewed away at the tree, and when it fell he

saw, sitting among the roots, a goose with feathers of pure gold. He was very happy to see that and he lifted it out and took it with him to an inn where he

intended to stay the night.

The landlord had three daughters who, when they saw the goose, were curious to know what wonderful kind of bird it was, and ended by longing for one of its golden feathers. The eldest

thought, "I will wait for a good opportunity, and then I will pull out one of its feathers for myself;" and so, when the Simpleton

was gone out, she seized the goose by its wing—but there her finger and hand had to stay, held fast. Soon after came the second sister with the same idea of plucking out one of the

golden feathers for herself; but scarcely had she touched her sister, than she also was obliged to stay, held fast. Lastly came

the third with the same intentions; but the others screamed out, "Stay away! for heaven's sake stay away!" But she did not see why she should stay away, and thought, "If

they do so, why should not I?" and went towards them. But when she reached her sisters there she stopped, hanging on

with them. And so they had to stay, all night.

The next morning the Simpleton took the goose under his arm and

went away, unmindful of the three girls that hung on to it. The three had always to run after him, left and right, wherever his legs carried

him. In the midst of the fields they met the parson, who, when he saw the procession, said, "Shame on you, girls, running after a young fellow through the fields

like this," and forthwith he seized hold of the youngest by the hand to drag her away, but hardly had he touched her when he too was

obliged to run after them himself.

Not long after the Bishop came that way, and seeing the respected parson

following at the heels of the three girls, he called out, "Ho, your reverence, whither away so quickly? You forget that we have another

christening to-day;" and he seized hold of him by his hand; but no sooner had he touched him than he was obliged to follow on too. As the five tramped on, one after another, two peasants came up from the fields, and the parson cried out to

them, and begged them to come and set him and the Bishop free, but no sooner had they touched the Bishop than they had to follow on too; and now there were

seven following the Simpleton and the goose. By and by they came to a town where a king reigned, who had an only daughter who was so serious that no one could make her laugh; therefore the king had

given out that whoever should make her laugh should have her in marriage.

The Simpleton, when he heard this, went with his goose and his hangers-on

into the presence of the king's daughter, and as soon as she saw the seven people following always one after the other, she found that so funny that she

burst out laughing, and seemed as if she could never stop.

And so the Simpleton earned a right to her as his bride. The marriage

took place immediately, and at the death of the king the Simpleton possessed the kingdom, and lived long and happily with his wife.

The Selfish Giant << back to story pages

Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the

Giant's garden.

It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood

beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke

out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat

on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to

listen to them. "How happy we are here!" they cried to each other.

One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to

return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.

"What are you doing here?" he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away. "My own garden is my own garden," said the Giant; "any one can understand that, and I

will allow nobody to play in it but myself."

So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board. TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED He was a very selfish Giant.

The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to

wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. "How happy we were there," they said to each other. Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little

birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a

beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep.

"I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming," said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather."

But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. "He is too selfish," she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.

One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It

sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since

he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. "I

believe the Spring has come at last," said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out.

What did he see? He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see

there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads. The birds

were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing.

It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach

up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. "Climb up! little boy," said the Tree, and it bent its branches down

as low as it could; but the boy was too tiny. And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. "How selfish I have been!" he said;

"now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever." He was really very sorry for what he had

done. So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the

garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree

broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him.

And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer,

came running back, and with them came the Spring. "It is your garden now, little children," said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant

playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.

The Three Little Pigs << back to story pages

Once upon a time there was and old pig with three little pigs, and one day she

said to them: “My children, it is time for you to go out in the world and seek your

fortunes”.

So, bidding their mother good-bye, the three little pigs set out to earn their

living.

The first little pig, whose name was Whitey, met a man with a bundle of straw and said to him: “Please, mister, will you give me that straw to

build a house with?” The man gave Whitey the straw, and he built himself a house with it.

Presently a wolf came along and knocked at the door of Whitey’s house.

“Little pig, little pig,” he said. “Let me come in.” But of course Whitey didn’t want the wolf to come in, so he said: “No, no, by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!”

This made the wolf angry, and he said: Then I’ll puff and I’ll huff, and I’ll blow your house in”.

So he puffed and he huffed and he blew the house in. And he carried poor little Whitey away to his home in the forest.

The second little pig, whose name was

Blackey, met a man carrying some wood, and he said to him: “Please, mister, will you give me that wood to build a house

with?” The man gave Blackey the wood and he

built himself a house with it. But along came the wolf and knocked at the door of Blackey’s house.

“Little pig, little pig,” he said. “Let me come in.”

“No, no,” replied Blackey in great fright. “Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!” “Then I’ll puff and I’ll huff and I’ll blow

your house in.” So the wolf puffed and he huffed and at

last he blew the house in. And away he went with Blackey to his home in the forest.

Now the third little pig, whose name was Brownie, met a man with a load of bricks and he said to him: “Please, mister, will you give me those bricks to build a house with?”

The man gave him the bricks, and Brownie built himself a very snug little house with them.

He had just finished his house when the wolf came along. “Little pig, little pig,” he said. “Let me come in!” “No, no, by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!”

“Then I’ll puff and I’ll huff and I’ll blow your house in.” But though the wolf puffed and he huffed, and he huffed and he

puffed, he could not blow down Brownie’s house made of bricks. So he said: “Little pig, I know where there is a nice field of turnips.” “Where?” asked Brownie.

“Over in Mr. Smith’s field. If you will be ready tomorrow morning, I will call for you and we will go together and get some for dinner.”

“Very well,” answered Brownie. “I will be ready. What time do you want to go?” “Around six o’clock,” answered the wolf.

Well, do you know, that smart little pig got up at five o’clock and went out and got the turnips and was back home before the wolf

came at six o’clock. When the wolf found that Brownie had been to Mr. Smith’s field

before him, he was very angry, and wondered how he could catch him. So he said: “Little pig, I know where there is a nice apple orchard.”

“Where?” asked Brownie. “Down at Merry Garden,” replied the wolf. “I will go with you

tomorrow morning at five o’clock and we will get some apples.”

But Brownie hustled and bustled around, and went the next morning at four o’clock to the apple orchard. This time he had farther to go and had to climb the tree, so that just as he

was getting down with the apples in a basket, he saw the wolf coming. Of course he was frightened.

When the wolf came up to the tree, he said to Brownie: “Ah, I see you are here before me. Are they very nice apples?” “Yes, indeed,” replied Brownie. “Here, I will throw one down to you.” And he

threw the apple so far that while the wolf was running to pick it up, the little pig jumped down from the tree and ran home.

Now the wolf was very, very angry, and he thought and thought and finally

thought of a plan to catch the little pig. Coming to his house the next morning, he said, “Little pig, there is a fair in town this afternoon. Will you go?”

“Oh, yes,” replied Brownie. “I will be very glad to go. What time will you want me to be ready?”

“At three o’clock,” said the wolf. But Brownie went off to the fair at one o’clock and bought a great big copper kettle. Alas! On the way home with the kettle, he saw the wolf coming up the

hill. Poor little Brownie. He didn’t know what to do. And then suddenly he jumped

into the copper kettle and gave himself a push. And the kettle went rolling over and over, with the little pig in it. When the wolf saw the kettle coming rolling toward him, he was so frightened that he turned and ran back home

without going to the fair.

The next day he stopped at the little pig’s house and told him how

frightened he had been by a great, shining thing that had rolled down the hill toward him.

Then Brownie laughed and laughed, and said to the wolf: “Ha! I frightened you, Mister Wolf. I had been to the fair and bought a copper kettle, and when I saw you coming I got into it and rolled

down the hill.” This made the wolf so very angry that he jumped up on to the roof

of the little pig’s house and started to climb down the chimney. When Brownie saw this he made a blazing fire in the fireplace and hung the copper kettle over it full of scalding water. And just

as the wolf came down the chimney, the little pig pulled off the cover of the kettle and plop! Into the scalding water fell the wolf.

So Brownie boiled the wolf, and then went out and rescued his two brothers, Whitey and Blackey, from the forest where the wolf had been

keeping them. And they all lived happily together in the little brick house forever

afterwards.

Little Red Riding Hood << back to story pages

Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who was loved by every one who looked at

her, but most of all by her grandmother, and there was nothing that she would not have

given to the child. Once she gave her a little hood of red velvet, which suited her so well

that she would never wear anything else. So she was always called 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, she is ill and weak, and they will do her good. Set out before it gets hot, and when you are going, walk nicely and quietly and do not run off the path, or you may fall and break the bottle, and then your grandmother will

get nothing. And when you go into her room, don't forget to say good-morning, and don't peep into every corner before you do it”.

“I will take great care, said Little Red Riding Hood to her mother”, and gave her hand on it.

The grandmother lived out in the wood, half a league from the village, and just as Little Red Riding Hood entered the wood, a wolf met her. She did

not know what a wicked creature he was, and was not at all afraid of him.

"Good-day, Little Red Riding Hood," said he. "Thank you kindly, wolf."

"Whither away so early, Little Red Riding Hood?"

"To my grandmother's."

"What have you got in your apron?"

"Cake and wine. Yesterday was baking-day, so poor sick grandmother is to have something good, to make her stronger."

"Where does your grandmother live, Little Red Riding Hood?"

"A good quarter of a league farther on in the wood. Her house stands under the three large oak-trees, the nut-trees are just below. You surely must know it," replied Little Red Riding Hood.

The wolf thought to himself, what a tender young creature. What a nice plump mouthful, she will be better to eat than the old woman. I must act craftily, so as to

catch both. So he walked for a short time by the side of Little Red Riding Hood, and then he said, "see Little Red Riding Hood, how pretty the flowers are about

here. Why do you not look round. I believe, too, that you do not hear how sweetly the little birds are singing. You walk gravely along as if you were going to school, while everything else out here in the wood is merry."

Little Red Riding Hood raised her eyes, and when she saw the sunbeams dancing

here and there through the trees, and pretty flowers growing everywhere, she thought: “Suppose I take grandmother a fresh nosegay. That would please her

too. It is so early in the day that I shall still get there in good time.” And so she ran from the path into the wood to look for

flowers. And whenever she had picked one, she fancied that she saw a still prettier one farther on, and ran after it, and so got deeper and deeper into the wood.

Meanwhile the wolf ran straight to the grandmother's house and knocked at the door.

"Who is there?"

"Little Red Riding Hood," replied the wolf. "She is bringing cake and wine. Open the door."

"Lift the latch," called out the grandmother, "I am too weak, and cannot get up."

The wolf lifted the latch, the door sprang open, and without saying a word he

went straight to the grandmother's bed, and ate her. Then he put on her clothes, dressed himself in her cap, laid himself in bed and drew the curtains.

Little Red Riding Hood, however, had been running about picking flowers, and when she had gathered so many that she could carry no more, she remembered her grandmother, and set out on the way to her.

She was surprised to find the cottage-door standing open, and when she

went into the room, she had such a strange feeling that she said to herself: “oh dear, how uneasy I feel today, and at other times I like being with grandmother so much”. She called out, "good morning," but received no

answer. So she went to the bed and drew back the curtains. There lay her grandmother with her cap pulled far over her face, and looking very

strange.

"Oh, grandmother," she said, "what big ears you have."

"The better to hear you with, my child," was the reply.

"But, grandmother, what big eyes you have," she said.

"The better to see you with," my dear.

"But, grandmother, what large hands you have."

"The better to hug you with."

"Oh, but, grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have."

"The better to eat you with."

And scarcely had the wolf said this, than with one bound he was out of bed and swallowed up Red Riding Hood.

When the wolf had appeased his appetite, he lay down again in the bed, fell asleep and began to snore very loud. The

huntsman was just passing the house, and thought to himself, how the old woman is snoring. I must just see if she wants anything.

So he went into the room, and when he came to the bed, he saw that the wolf was lying in it. “Do I find you here, you old sinner,” said he. “I have long sought you.” Then just as he was going to fire at him, it occurred to him that the wolf might

have devoured the grandmother, and that she might still be saved, so he did not fire, but took a pair of scissors, and began to cut open the stomach of the sleeping wolf. When he had made two snips, he saw Little Red Riding Hood shining,

and then he made two snips more, and the little girl sprang out, crying: "Ah, how frightened I have been. How dark it was

inside the wolf." And after that the grandmother came out alive also, but scarcely able to breathe. Red Riding Hood, however, quickly fetched great

stones with which they filled the wolf's belly, and when he awoke, he wanted to run away, but the stones were so heavy that he collapsed at

once, and fell dead.

Then all three were delighted. The huntsman drew off the wolf's skin

and went home with it. The grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine which Red Riding Hood had brought, and revived, but Red Riding Hood thought to herself: "as long as I live, I will never by

myself leave the path, to run into the wood, when my mother has forbidden me to do so."

The Woodpecker, The Turtle, and The Deer << back to story pages

Once upon a time a Deer lived in a forest near

a lake. Not far from the same lake, a

Woodpecker had a nest in the top of a tree;

and in the lake lived a Turtle. The three were

friends, and lived together happily.

A hunter, wandering about in the wood, saw the footprints of the

Deer near the edge of the lake. "I must trap the Deer, going down into the water," he said, and setting a strong trap of leather, he

went his way.

Early that night when the Deer went down to drink, he was

caught in the trap, and he cried the cry of capture. At once the Woodpecker flew down from her tree-top, and the

Turtle came out of the water to see what could be done.

Said the Woodpecker to the Turtle: "Friend, you have teeth; you gnaw through the leather trap. I will go and see to it that the hunter keeps away. If we both do our best our friend will not

lose his life."

So the Turtle began to gnaw the leather, and the Woodpecker flew to the hunter's house.

At dawn the hunter came, knife in hand, to the front door of his house. The Woodpecker, flapping her wings, flew at the hunter and struck him in

the face. The hunter turned back into the house and lay down for a little while.

Then he rose up again, and took his knife. He said to himself: "When I went out by the front door, a Bird flew in my face; now I will go out by the back door." So he did.

The Woodpecker thought: "The hunter went out by the front door before,

so now he will leave by the back door." So the Woodpecker sat in a tree near the back door.

When the hunter came out the bird flew at him again, flapping her wings in the hunter's face.

Then the hunter turned back and lay down again. When the sun arose, he took his knife, and started out once more.

This time the Woodpecker flew back as fast as she could fly to her friends, crying, "Here comes the hunter!"

By this time the Turtle had gnawed through all the pieces of the trap but

one. The leather was so hard that it made his teeth feel as if they would fall out. His mouth was all covered with blood. The Deer heard the Woodpecker, and saw the hunter, knife in hand, coming on.

With a strong pull the Deer broke this last piece of the trap, and ran into the woods.

The Woodpecker flew up to her nest in the tree-top.

But the Turtle was so weak he could not get away. He lay where he was. The hunter picked him up and threw him into a bag, tying it to a tree.

The Deer saw that the Turtle was taken, and made up his mind to save his

friend's life. So the Deer let the hunter see him.

The hunter seized his knife and started after the Deer. The Deer, keeping just out of his reach, led the hunter into the forest.

When the Deer saw that they had gone far into the forest he slipped away from the hunter, and swift as the wind, he went by another way to where he

had left the Turtle. But the Turtle was not there. The Deer called, "Turtle, Turtle!"; and the

Turtle called out, "Here I am in a bag hanging on this tree."

Then the Deer lifted the bag and throwing it upon the ground, he tore the bag open, and let the Turtle out.

The Woodpecker flew down from her nest, and the Deer said to them: "You two friends saved my life, but if we stay here talking, the hunter

will find us, and we may not get away. So do you, Friend Woodpecker, fly away. And you, Friend Turtle, dive into the water. I will hide in the

forest." The hunter did come back, but neither the Deer, nor the Turtle, nor the

Woodpecker was to be seen. He found his torn bag, and picking that up he went back to his home.

The three friends lived together all the rest of their lives.