I gave the princess the golden wreath on the condition that she would come away with me. And so, after three days, on a Thursday, I walked out of the forest to go and get her. The king had his whole army standing guard round the castle, but no soldier could stand...
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Wreath of the White Bear Princess
First, the princess found me in a dream. She picked me up and examined me. I am made of gold in a pattern that is exquisitely unique to the crown that the princess is meant to wear. She felt my weight, my leaves so finely wrought. When she woke, she wanted to wear me...
Atchuwitlas the Face-Changer
I had been expecting the young man who came to me with his ruined, scarred face. I knew he would want a face-change. I suspected that the freckled mask hanging on my wall would be the right fit for him, so I took it down and hid it. It wouldn't be an easy face to...
Bullied Brother
My mother told me and my sister that the river brought us to her when we were babies. We were lying in a crystal cradle. Father took us home and brought us up with eight other children. Our foster parents love us, but our brothers and sisters don’t. The boys are...
Owl’s Wife
My sister and I had gone seeking food because there was scarcely anything to eat in our town. After walking a long way, we made our beds and fell asleep. We slept a long time because we were tired and weak. When we looked up, we saw a great eagle and an owl watching...
Lion Mother
A man came along through the woods, and we sprang out of the bushes. I roared loudly and bounded toward him. I meant to eat him but he and stooped and spread a cloth on the ground. The cloth was woven by the little people, and it is revered by us all. My mate and I...
Old Man on His Deathbed
The beginning of my son's life was the end of mine. I had hardly anything to give to him. We lived in a small hut on the edge of a plain. I had worked hard all my life, and when I became deathly ill, I asked my wife to summon my son to my bedside. "Come hither," I...
Kind Sister
I have learned that no matter what world you find yourself in, whether you are on earth or in the underworld, you must be kind. Not for your own sake, but for the sake of other creatures. Oh, do not think for a moment that one creature is lower than another. A cat is...
Ugly Duckling
I had gone through many trials through the winter. I had suffered loneliness and the frigid cold, but nothing and no one was crueler to me than my own kind. It was very difficult for me to forget the old mother duck who said, "Have you ever seen anything quite as ugly...
White Sword of Light
The giants are always fighting over me, but once they have me in hand, they just put me away. I have grown somewhat lackluster. I am currently in the custody of the Seven Big Women of Dhiurradh. A handsome youth has come into the castle. I can hear him saying that he...
Long-Bearded Man
The witch who cast a spell on me turned me into an old man with a long white beard. The spell would not break unless I met a girl who loved animals as much as she loved human beings. The witch was certain that I would never meet such a person. But there you are, sweet...
Stupid Hans Who Finds the Griffin
All my life I've been told I'm stupid. Why? Because I'm honest and I trust people. My brothers don't believe you can trust anyone, but that has never been my experience. Everywhere I go, I tell the truth, and everywhere I go, I meet somebody who is kind, or requires...
Bloody Knife
My blade shines brightly as long as everything is going well for the ones who keep me. However, if something happens to any one of them, my blade will run with blood. I am not just made of steel, you see. If my relations suffer, I bleed. The Bloody Knife in The Water...
Old Toad Under the Castle
The king threw three feathers to the wind to determine which of his three sons will be king. The two older boys ran off to follow the feathers that flew to the east and the west. But the third son, the simpleton, went nowhere. His feather floated down to the ground in...
Snow-White Rose Tree
I bear white roses. My sister, who grows beside me, bears red ones. We stand in a garden before a poor cottage where a widow lives with her two daughters. They are as old as we are, and one is named Snow-White, the other, Rose-Red. They are the sweetest and best...
Wounded Giant
We come up to the surface of the earth for our wedding games and dances, but then we go down again for our feasts. How do we return to the world below? Well, at midnight, one of the giants will pull up a plant by its roots, and then all the giants and giantesses will...
White Dove on the Holy Man’s Shoulder
"That's him! That's him!" we cried when the young man stepped into the church. Me and my mate flew to him and sat on his shoulders. A great silence fell on the room, like the silence of snow. When the priests found their tongues, they asked the young man if he would...