There was once a poor Miller who had a beautiful daughter, and one day, having to go to speak with the King, he said, in order to make himself appear of consequence, that he had a daughter who could spin straw into gold. The King was very fond of gold, and thought to himself, “That… Read More »Rumpelstiltskin
Once there lived a family in ancient China that had two sons. The elder son, who was to inherit the family fortune, was given a very-long and very-impressive name, as befitted an elder son. He was called Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarembo Hari Kari Pi Chi Pip Peri Pembo. The second son, who would have to make his… Read More »Tikki Tikki Tembo
There was once upon a time a poor widow who had an only son named Jack, and a cow named Milky. And all they had to live on was the milk the cow gave every morning which they carried to the market and sold. But one morning Milky gave no milk and they didn’t know… Read More »Jack and the Beanstalk
There was once a man who traveled the land all over in search of a wife. He saw young and old, rich and poor, pretty and plain, and could not meet with one to his mind. At last he found a woman, young, fair, and rich, who possessed a right arm of solid gold.
Now there once was a man named Jean Dubroise who never did a lick of work, but his house and his barn and his crops were still the best in the whole land. This puzzled people, since Jean had no family and no hired men to help him. No one could figure out how he… Read More »The Devil and the Werewolves
The Fox, though in general more inclined to roguery than wit, had once a strong inclination to play a joke on his neighbor the Stork. He accordingly invited her to dinner in great form. When dinner appeared, the meal consisted entirely of different soups that were served up in broad shallow dishes. Because of her… Read More »The Fox and the Stork
The Sun and the Wind once had an argument about which of them could persuade a certain traveler to part with his cloak. Wind began the attack and assaulted him with great violence. But the man, wrapping his cloak still closer about him, doubled his efforts to keep it, and went on his way. Next,… Read More »The Sun and the Wind
“Go away, contemptible insect!” said a proud Lion one day to a Gnat that was frisking about in the air near his den. The Gnat, enraged at this unprovoked insult, vowed revenge, and immediately darted into the Lion’s ear. After having sufficiently teased him in that quarter, she quitted her station and retired under his… Read More »The Lion and the Gnat
A Norse lad plays a joke on a blacksmith…and the Devil.
A poor man visits the devil and trades a slab of bacon for a magic hand-mill that can grind anything.
