Jack and the beanstalk

JACK SELLS THE COW

Once upon a time, there was a poor widow who lived in a little cottage with her only son Jack.

Jack was a giddy, thoughtless boy, but very kind-hearted and affectionate. There had been a hard winter, and after it, the poor woman had suffered from fever and ague. Jack did not work as yet, and by degrees, they grew dreadfully poor. The widow saw that there was no means of keeping Jack and herself from starvation but by selling her cow; so one morning she said to her son, ‘I am too weak to go myself, Jack, so you must take the cow to market for me, and sell her.’

The ugly duckling

It was so beautiful in the country. It was the summertime. The wheat fields were golden, the oats were green, and the hay stood in great stacks in the green meadows. The stork paraded about among them on his long red legs, chattering away in Egyptian, the language he had learned from his lady mother.

The brave little tailor

One summer's morning a little tailor was sitting on his table by the window, he was in good spirits, and sewed with all his might. Then came a peasant woman down the street crying, "Good jams, cheap. Good jams, cheap."

This rang pleasantly in the tailor's ears, he stretched his delicate head out of the window, and called, "Come up here, dear woman, here you will get rid of your goods."

The three little pigs

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs and the time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes. Before they left, their mother told them " Whatever you do, do it the best that you can because that's the way to get along in the world.

The Princess and the Pea

There was once a prince, and he wanted a princess, but then she must be a real Princess. He traveled right around the world to find one, but there was always something wrong. There were plenty of princesses, but whether they were real princesses he had great difficulty in discovering; there was always something which was not quite right about them. So, at last, he had come home again, and he was very sad because he wanted a real princess so badly.

The Happy Prince

            

HIGH above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince.  He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on his sword-hilt.

He was very much admired indeed.  “He is as beautiful as a weathercock,” remarked one of the Town Councillors who wished to gain a reputation for having artistic tastes; “only not quite so useful,” he added, fearing lest people should think him unpractical, which he really was not.

The Snow-Queen

There was once a dreadfully wicked hobgoblin. One day he was in capital spirits because he had made a looking-glass which reflected everything that was good and beautiful in such a way that it dwindled almost to nothing, but anything that was bad and ugly stood out very clearly and looked much worse. The most beautiful landscapes looked like boiled spinach, and the best people looked repulsive or seemed to stand on their heads with no bodies; their faces were so changed that they could not be recognised, and if anyone had a freckle you might be sure it would be spread over the nose and mouth. That was the best part of it, said the hobgoblin.

ALADDIN AND THE MAGIC LAMP

In a far city in China there once lived a lad named Aladdin. Aladdin’s mother was a widow, and the boy had never had a father’s care. He did as he pleased, and played in the streets all day, and was so idle that he was of no use to anyone.

One day, as Aladdin was playing with a band of companions, a tall man, richly dressed, stopped to watch them. Suddenly he called to Aladdin, “Come here, boy; I wish to speak to you.”

The lad came, wondering.

The White Duck

Once upon a time a great and powerful King married a lovely Princess. No couple were ever so happy; but before their honeymoon was over they wereforced to part, for the King had to go on a warlike expedition to a farcountry, and leave his young wife alone at home. Bitter were the tearsshe shed, while her husband sought in vain to soothe her with words ofcomfort and counsel, warning her, above all things, never to leavethe castle, to hold no intercourse with strangers, to beware of evilcounsellors, and especially to be on her guard against strange women.And the Queen promised faithfully to obey her royal lord and master inthese four matters.

THE FROG - PRINCE

One fine evening a young princess put on her bonnet and clogs, and went out to take a walk by herself in a wood; and when she came to a cool spring of water, that rose in the midst of it, 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 upon the ground, till 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. Then she began to bewail her loss, 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.’

THE BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS

There was a man who owned a donkey, which had carried his sacks to the mill industriously for many years, but whosestrength had come to an end, so that the poor beast grew more and more unfit for work. The master determined to stop his food, but the donkey, discovering that there was no good intended to him, ran away and took the road to Bremen: "There," thought he, "I can turn Town Musician."
When he had gone a little way, he found a hound lying on the road and panting, like one who was tired with running. 

"Hollo! what are youpanting so for, worthy Seize 'em?" asked the donkey.

HANSEL & GRETEL

Hard by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wife and his two children. The boy was called Hansel and the girl Gretel. He had little to bite and to break, and once when great dearth fell on the land, he could no longer procure even daily bread. Now when he thought over this by night in his bed, and tossed about in his anxiety, he groaned and said to his wife: ‘What is to become of us? How are we to feed our poor children, when we no longer have anything even for ourselves?’

Puss in boots

A miller bequeathed to his three sons



all he possessed of worldly goods,



which consisted only of his Mill, his




Ass, and his Cat. It did not take



long to divide the property, and




neither notary nor attorney was called



in; they would soon have eaten up the




poor little patrimony. The eldest



son had the Mill; the second son, the




Ass; and the youngest had nothing but the Cat.



The latter was very disconsolate at




having such a poor share of the



inheritance. "My brothers,"



said he, "may be able to earn an honest



livelihood by entering into




partnership; but, as for me, when I have



eaten my Cat and made a muff of his




skin, I must die of hunger."

Thumbelina

Once upon a time, a beggar woman went to the house of a poor peasant, and asked for something to eat. The peasant's wife gave her some bread and milk. When she had eaten it, she took a barley-corn out of her pocket, and said--"This will I give thee; set it in a flower-pot, and see what will come out of it."

The woman set the barley-corn in an old flower-pot, and the next day the most beautiful plant had shot up, which looked just like a tulip, but the leaves were shut close together as if it still were in bud.

The Little Mermaid

Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower and as clear as crystal, it is very, 
very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could sound it, 
and many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water above. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects.

We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand. No, indeed, for on this sea sand grow the strangest flowers and plants, 
the leaves and stems of which are so pliant that the

slightest agitation of the water causes them to stir as if they

had life. Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches as birds fly among the trees here upon land.

Rapunzel

There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a

child. At length, the woman hoped that God was about to grant her desire.

These people had a little window at the back of their house from which

a splendid garden could be seen, which was full of the most beautiful

flowers and herbs. It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and no

one dared to go into it because it belonged to an enchantress, who had

great power and was dreaded by all the world. One day the woman was

standing by this window and looking down into the garden, when she saw a

bed which was planted with the most beautiful rampion (rapunzel), and it

looked so fresh and green that she longed for it, she quite pined away,

and began to look pale and miserable. Then her husband was alarmed, and

asked: ‘What ails you, dear wife?’

SLEEPING BEAUTY

 

There were once a King and Queen, who were very unhappy at not having any children, unhappier than words can tell. Vows, pilgrimages, everything was tried, but nothing was of any avail; at length, however, a little daughter was born to them.

LITTLE SNOW WHITE

 It was in the middle of winter when the broad flakes of snow were

falling around, that a certain queen sat working at her window, the

frame of which was made of fine black ebony; and, as she was looking out

upon the snow, she pricked her finger, and three drops of blood fell

upon it. Then she gazed thoughtfully down on the red drops which

sprinkled the white snow and said, 

"Would that my little daughter may be

as white as that snow, as red as the blood, and as black as the ebony

window-frame!" 

Beauty & The Beast

There was once a merchant, who was very, very rich. He had six children, three boys and three girls, and as he was a man of good sense, he spared no expense in order that they might be well educated, and gave them masters of every kind. His daughters were all beautiful, but his youngest one was especially admired, and from the time she was a small child, had been only known and spoken of as "Beauty." The name remained with her as she grew older, which gave rise to a great deal of jealousy on the part of her sisters. The young girl was not only more beautiful than they were, but also kinder and more amiable. The elder daughters gave themselves great airs, for they were overweeningly proud of being so rich, and would not condescend to receive visits from the daughters of other merchants, as they only cared for the society of people in high position. Not a day passed that they did not go to a ball, or a theatre, or for a drive or walk in a fashionable part of the town, and they made fun of their sister, who spent a great part of her time in study. The girls received many offers of marriage from well-to-do merchants, as they were known to be rich, but the two elder ones replied, that they did not intend to marry anyone, unless a duke or an earl could be found for a husband.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

Once upon a time there was a little village girl,


the prettiest that had ever been seen. 


Her mother doted on her. Her grandmother was even 


fonder, and made her a little red hood, 


which became her so well that everywhere she went


by the name of Little Red Riding Hood.


One day her mother, who had just made and baked 


some cakes, said to her: