Ludwig Bechstein

Once upon a time two sovereigns had a border dispute; on both sides their were witnesses who asserted their lord’s right, and among these were two who had learned the Black Arts from the Devil in exchange for signing away their souls. One night, each one of these two intended to place false boundary stones, […]

A man and a woman had two daughters, and there was a stepdaughter also, the man’s first, beloved child, who was very pious and good but was not regarded with favour by her stepmother and stepsisters; thence she was badly treated. She had to stay in the kitchen all day long, do all the kitchen-work, […]

there was a lake, into which flowed lively streams, in which lived shoals of fish, and which was located in a remote region never visited by men, nor grey herons, nor other fish-eating birds from the sea. A bird of advanced years called Holgott discovered this lake; he belonged to the osprey species, and he […]

Once upon a time there lived a merchant who had three daughters, of whom the two elder ones were proud and haughty, but the youngest, even though she far surpassed her sisters in beauty, was modest and demure. She dressed simply and so, unknowingly, accentuated her beauty more than they were able to do with […]

Once upon a time there was a farmer who had two sons, and he had each one learn a trade, “Because,” he said, “a trade in hand finds gold in every land.” One son became a shoemaker, the other a tailor, and when their apprenticeships were completed they set out to see the world. They […]

A mother had two daughters, her own daughter and a step-daughter. The latter was treated very badly by her stepmother until she could bear it no longer. One day, she put a little pan, some flour, and a spoon into her basket and left home. She came to a dark forest, where she ran hither […]

There were a brother and sister called Georgie and Lizzie, both kind-hearted children, who were left at home all alone; their parents had gone out over the fields carrying baskets they had woven from osiers to sell in the town. Now, the good parents had given each of their children, Georgie and Lizzie, a sizable […]

Once upon a time there lived an old man in a little house in the forest, and he had, apart from several children, a goldcrest, which is the smallest of European birds and belongs to the kinglet family. The old man was very fond of this dear bird, and the children were no less fond […]

Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters, her own daughter and a step-daughter; both were called Mary. Her own daughter was neither pious nor good, but the stepdaughter, conversely, was a modest, demure girl who nevertheless had to endure untold insults and slights from her mother and sister. Yet she […]

Once, many years ago, a poor herdsman lived in a dense forest. He had built himself a little wooden house in the heart of the forest, and he lived in it with his wife and six children, who were all boys. Beside the house was a well and a little garden, and when the father […]

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl called Helen. Her mother had died young and the stepmother she had received persecuted her in every possible way. Helen took the greatest pains to win her love, diligently and indefatigably performing the hard tasks that were imposed upon her, but the wicked stepmother’s hard heart […]

Once upon a time there was a husband and wife, and they had lived together for ages and ages in a vinegar jug. In the end they grew weary of it, and the husband said to the wife: “It’s your fault that we have to live in this sour vinegar jug, I wish to God […]

Once upon a time there was the cutest, dearest slip of a girl, and she had a mother and grandmother who were very kind and loved the little thing so much. The grandmother in particular simply could not do enough for her little grandchild, giving her now this, now that; she had also given her […]

Once upon a time there was a Queen who had no children, and she wished for one because she was so very lonely. Now one day when she was sitting at her embroidery and looking at the frame of dark ebony, while it snowed outside and snowflakes fell from the sky, she was so lost […]

Once upon a time there was a poor basket-maker, and he and his wife had seven boys, each one smaller than the last, until the youngest one was little more than the length of a finger at birth; for this reason he was called Thumbling. It is true that he grew somewhat afterwards, but not […]

In a town there lived a very rich merchant whose house had a large and splendid garden, a portion of which was sown with millet. Now one day, when the merchant was strolling around in his garden – it was springtime, and the seedlings were looking fresh and strong – he saw, to his great […]

Once upon a time there was a man who had three daughters and the youngest of them was called Oda. Now one day the father of these three was to go to the fair, and he asked his daughters what he should bring them back. The eldest asked for a golden spinning-wheel, the second daughter […]

When Johnny and Maggie were still little children, they went out together into the forest one day to look for red berries. Each of them had a little pot. Before they reached the forest they came upon a pond in which the loveliest little fish were swimming around and gleaming like silver. The children caught […]

Once upon a time there was a pullet and a cockerel who went up Nut Mountain together to search for nuts. The Cockerel said to the Pullet, “When you find a nut, make sure that you don’t eat it all yourself – give me half of it, or you’ll choke to death.” But the Pullet […]

Once upon a time there were two children and they had a wicked stepmother who grudged them the air they breathed. One day while the woman was sitting spinning the boy came in and said: “Mother, give me an apple.” Then the woman devised a malicious trick and said: “Go into the box room, you […]

When our Dear Lord and Saviour yet walked the earth from one town to another, preaching the Gospel and performing many miracles, a good, simple-minded Swabian came to him one day and asked: “My fellow traveller, where are you going?” “Our Lord replied to him: “I am travelling around and saving people.” Then the Swabian […]

Once upon a time there was a little tailor who lived in a town called Romadia, and one day, while he was working, he had an apple on the bench beside him, and as often happens in summertime, many flies had settled on it, attracted by the apple’s sweet scent. Incensed at this, the little […]

‘On the sea-strand there was a pack of wolves, one of whom was particularly bloodthirsty, and there came a time when he wished to win especial fame for himself among his companions, so he went into the mountains, where many animals of sundry kinds had their habitation, to hunt. But these mountains were enclosed, so […]

Puss in Boots Receive, good children, from the writer’s hand A Fairy-Tale from your dear Fatherland, In which, and in a manner quite it’s own, The soul of German Fairy-Tale is shown. Hidden within dwells serious intent, A teasing, quizzical, and flippant bent; Inside, both rose and thorn have been concealed, With other drolleries to […]

Once upon a time there was a poor day-labourer who had two children, a son by the name of Abraham and a daughter called Christiania. Both children were yet very young when their father died and benevolent souls had to take care of them to save them from perishing, so poor were they. The girl […]

Once upon a time there was a King who lived very happily with his beautiful, virtuous wife; Heaven had gifted them a single son, and he was the delight of his parents. Yet peace reigned not only in the King’s noble family, but in his whole realm; everywhere, even in the tiniest hamlet, there was […]

Once upon a time there was a King and a Queen who had no children and wished for a child every single day. At one time it happened that the Queen was bathing and, being all alone, she sighed, “Oh, if only I had a child!” Then a frog hopped out of the water and […]

Once upon a time there was a lad of stocky build who looked at the world with defiant eyes and was of a temper to start an argument with all and sundry; and so he became a soldier and battled bravely and valiantly with the enemy until peace was concluded and the soldiers were discharged, […]

Once upon a time a poor couple lived in a village, and they had a little house and only the one daughter, who was wondrously fair and good beyond measure. She did the work, the sweeping, the washing, the spinning, and the sewing of seven people, and was as pretty as seven girls put together, […]

A handsome young horseman halted in front of a forest inn, and a pretty maid stepped out the door, greeted him demurely, and asked him what he desired. He called for a goblet of chilled wine, which the maiden brought him. But the horseman would not drink until the maid had sipped the wine with […]

Once upon a time there were three brothers, the eldest of whom was called Jacob, the second Friedrich, and the third and youngest Gottfried. The youngest one was the butt of his brothers’ teasing and the usual deflector of their ill-humour. Whenever anything crossed their wishes, Gottfried had to pay for it, and he had […]

Once upon a time, there was no such thing as a fairy-tale, and it was a grievous time for children, for their youthful paradise was bereft of its fairest butterfly. And in this time, there were two royal children who played together in their father’s magnificent garden. This garden was full of gorgeous flowers, and […]

Once upon a time there was a young Count who did not yet know love, handsome though he was, and so had still not yielded to the remonstrances of his mother and his friends that he should take a wife. But he took pleasure in sneaking around the village at night and spying on the […]

On a cold winter’s night a hunger-starved fox crept out of its den to go hunting. Then he heard a cock at a farm crowing without cease; it was sitting up in a cherry-tree and had been crowing the whole night long. The fox now skulked over to the tree and asked, “Mr. Cock, why […]

Once upon a time there was a merry musician who played the flute like a maestro, and so he travelled around the world, playing his flute in villages and towns and thereby earning his keep. Now one evening, he came to a tenant-farm and overnighted there, for he could not reach the next village before […]

Not far from a little town there lived in a wretched hut a poor but honest fisherman, who barely managed to feed himself and his family, a wife and nine children. It was the first of May, a lovely sunny day, when the fisherman went out on the shining lake; no cloud disturbed the bright […]

There was once a dog who lay hungry and woebegone in a field, and above him a lark sang her delightful song in sweet strains. When the dog heard this, he said: “O you fortunate bird, how happy you are, how sweetly you sing, how high into the heavens you soar! But I – what […]

There was once a time – but it was inconceivably long ago – when all stalks of corn, and those of other cereals too, bore full golden-yellow ears that hung right down to the ground; at that time there was no poverty and no famine, not ever, and that was the Golden Age. At that […]

Once upon a time there was a poor craftsman who had two sons, a good one called Hans and a bad one called Helmerich. However, as seems to be the way of the world, the father was fonder of the bad one than the good one. Now it came to pass that one year was […]

Once upon a time a pretty country lass went into the forest to fetch fodder for her cow, and as she was cutting the grass in God’s name, suspecting no manner of evil, four robbers suddenly appeared, surrounded her, and carried her off with them, without mercy or compassion, no matter how much she screamed […]