Ludwig Bechstein

Once upon a time there was a Prince who was a great lover of the chase, and although his parents had strictly forbidden him to go hunting, he went into the forest one day all the same. There he doggedly pursued a deer until it took refuge in a large and beautiful house which was […]

Once upon a time there was great astonishment in Hell because only men – no women – came to Hell, and they wished with all their hearts for women to be there too. Then a very young devil rose up and said, “What do you bet that I’ll bring one here?” While the other devils […]

Once upon a time there were three watch-dogs in a village who were good neighbours to one another. A big farmer’s wedding was to be held there, to which both young and old were invited, and there was so much cooking and baking, boiling and roasting, that the smell wafted through the entire village. The […]

Once upon a time there was a miller who was by nature very strong and fat, but because he wished to be secure against cut and stab, against bolt and arrow, he put himself into an extraordinary outfit. In the first place, he had a doublet made for himself, which he lined with chalk and […]

A King rode out to hunt in a large forest and lost his way, and he wandered many days and many nights but still he could not find the right path, and he suffered hunger and thirst. Finally he met a little black mannikin, and the King asked him about the right way. “I will […]

In the depths of a forest an evil old witch lived quite alone with her daughter, which latter was a good, gentle child to whom the proverb, ‘The apple does not fall far from the tree’ did not apply. The tree in question was inordinately gnarled, thorny, and ugly; whoever saw the old woman took […]