When I came into my palace with my retinue, we were shocked to find a man lying on my bed. He had fallen fast asleep. My soldiers were ready to kill him right away, but he was hardly older than a boy. "Leave him alone," I told my men, and I slid onto my seat. "Wake...
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Boy Who Offends a Customer
When I was twelve, I would sit with my mother in her market stall where we sold herbs, vegetables, and baskets of fruit. I would cry, "This way, gentlemen! See these lovely cabbages and these fresh herbs! Early apples, ladies! Early pears and apricots, and all cheap....
Children of the Foam
We were playing with the Moon Fairy and laughing in the surf when a fisherman came walking along the beach. He appeared lost. We quieted, but the Moon Fairy hadn't seen him and she was still playing with us when the man approached her feather robe. It hung on the...
Poor Fisherman Who Becomes Mayor
I was fishing with my son at sea when the enemy of our country sailed by and ordered that we come aboard. They took my son prisoner and gave me 600 golden coins in exchange for him. When I returned to the city, I heard that our enemy would not withdraw until they had...
Fruit of the Fairy Trees
We belong to the fairy world, and no mortal has ever tasted our flesh. Now a queen has come along and she is determined to get at us. She tried to climb the garden wall, and when her ladders didn't reach, she went to see our mistress, the Old Fairy. Heaven knows what...
Dying Indian Father
Before I die, I can see everything as clearly as if my wife and children were all lit up by the full moon. I tell my wife that after eight moons have passed, she will die and follow me to the Isle of the Blessed. I tell my two older children to look after their little...
Brass Princess
A prophet told my father the king that I would have a son who would kill him. My father would not allow that prophecy to come true, and so he locked me in a deep brass prison, sunk into the earth. No one could see me there. Only the sun could see me, passing by the...
Martin’s Wooing Mother
Martin, my son, well, he can do just about anythin', except when it comes to woo-in'. He wanted his old mother to go an' do it fer him. So I went to the king, oh yes I did. I marched right up them steps, and ain't nobody could stop me, though I won't say they didn't...
Ali Baba’s Trapped Brother
I can't believe how much treasure there is in the cave! Bales of silk, stuff-brocades, all piled together, gold and silver in heaps, and loads of money in leather purses. There is more here than my ten mules can carry! I gather up as much as I can take, and then I go...
Mother of the Hazelnut Child
Oh, we tried so hard to have children! Every day I was down on my knees, begging Heaven to hear my prayer. "Please give me a child to care for, even a tiny child. I would be happy with a child the size of a hazelnut!" Heaven granted my wish. My little son slept in the...
Edible Rose Stalk
I've grown up overnight in the north-west corner of the queen's garden. I'm standing under a two-handled goblet that the queen placed here, upside down, when she came last night at sunset. Now, in the palest gleam of the dawn, two roses are bursting from my stalk. One...
Benjamin
Being the youngest, my brothers elected me to keep house while they went out to hunt. They shot hares, wild deer, pigeons, and whatever else they found to eat. It was my job to dress the game and serve it up for dinner. Ten years passed, and then one evening, before...
Beast’s Rose
I grow on a hedge that lines the path to the stable of the Beast. We are releasing an exquisite fragrance here where the sun shines and the birds sing and the howling winter cannot reach us. The merchant who has spent the night in the castle has experienced the...
Hansel Lost in the Forest
I wasn't worried about being abandoned in the forest by our parents. I said to Gretel, "Just wait until the moon rises, and then we will see the crumbs of bread I've strewn about, all along the path. They will show us our way home." When the moon came out, we went...
Faithful John
I promised the dying king that I would instruct his little son in all that he should know. I would be a father to him, serve him faithfully, and never desert him. Those were easy promises to make, but there was one more. The king said: “After my death you must show my...
Pristine Egg
I am perfectly smooth, white, and pristine, and when the evil wizard Fitcher puts me into the girl's hands, he tells her not to drop me or stain me in any way. She must carry me at all times while she goes about the house. But I will go the way of all the other eggs...
Fairy Paribanou
My compassionate husband has brought a sick woman into the house. I know she is an imposter who will be nothing but trouble, but he doesn't see it. He says, "My princess. as I do not remember that I ever contrived to injure anybody, I cannot believe that anybody would...
Jack the Giant-Killer
I've had it with giants. There was one who lived on St. Michael's Mount, off Cornwall, who was eighteen feet high and nine feet round. He would come over to the mainland and help himself to people's farm animals whenever he wished. I set out to destroy him, and I did....
Mirror of the Evil Queen
I scan the whole country for the queen's rivals, but no one has surpassed her beauty. Not yet, but the time is coming when none of her magic potions will suffice to keep her on top. Her daughter Snow-White will upstage her. She will ask me who is the fairest of them...
Lion Under a Tree
We lions each have our own tree on the island. It is our place. On this island, the serpent is king, and all the plants of the world grow and flourish together. Now, however, men are coming, and everything is about to change. Lion Under a Tree, The Seven-Headed...
Seventh Dwarf
She came to rest in my bed. My bed! The most beautiful princess in the world! I would not wake her, oh no, not for anything. Now, every night, I sleep with the other dwarves, one hour with each, so that no one's rest is disturbed. Only my rest is disturbed. It is...
Concerned Mother
Thank heaven our sons are old enough to look out for themselves, because we haven't got a loaf of bread left in the house! It is time they set off on their own. I am concerned about my youngest, though, because he has such a tender heart. How will such a dear,...
Princess in the Great Forest Castle
When men come to my castle, I offer them food, drink, and rest. When they go to sleep, they do not wake. Sixteen years have passed and my castle is overflowing with sleeping men. I wonder what would happen if a man came in and refused my offer to eat and drink? What...
Sick-At-Heart Girl
A few years ago, my mother took me and my brother to live in a town where there is no death. We lived well for some time, but then my mother began getting terrible headaches. When I came home today, I was told that that my mother had been killed by the town butcher!...
Helpful Fox
The youngest son of the king has a good heart, and I am helping him, but he is so annoying! He won't follow my instructions. He would not put the golden bird in a common cage. He would not put a common saddle on a golden horse, and he completely ignored my warning not...
Mohammed with the Magic Finger
Ever since I was born, I have had this magic finger. Whenever I stick it into the air, I can see everything that is happening, as far as two days away. I think I must have had the gift from my father. He's a very rich man who keeps large herds of camels, goats, sheep,...
Chess Player
While we were playing chess at Court, we heard the queen talking to herself from behind a wall. We got up and put our ears to a crack in the wood. Then we heard her say, quite plainly: "When I yawn a little, then I am a nice little maiden; when I yawn half-way, then I...
King with a Wild Daughter
My daughters asked me if I would bring them gifts when I returned from my tour of the country. I was only too happy to oblige, of course. My youngest daughter asked for a wreath of wildflowers, which seemed simple enough to find. However, neither the markets nor the...
Daughter in Iron Rings
My father and mother told my brother and me not to drink the milk of the sacred tree, but my brother insisted that I bring him some. If I refused to do it, he would not drive the cattle to the grass. What was I to do? I could not allow the cattle to starve! So I went...
Lamp
Woe to me if I am found in my secret niche in the underworld! If my oil is poured out, I will be inhabited by a genie who will be forced to grant every worldly whim of the one who possesses the lamp! Needless to say, the evil magicians are looking for me. They have...
Abandoned Youth
I have been surviving alone on this island for months. Winter has come, and I've collected all the driftwood I can. I'm standing on the shore and looking out towards the mainland, thinking of Christmas Eve last year and the fun I had celebrating with my friends....
Fatima the Holy Woman
God told me that I would die today, and so I will. I am not afraid. While I am still in prayer, a wicked man enters my cell. He claps a dagger to my breast and orders me to rise. On pain of death he tells me to undress and give him my clothes. He colors his face to...
Old Veil-Maker
My two daughters and I are very poor. We live in a small village near the sea, and we seldom leave the house. We work all day long making veils for ladies. Every morning, I take the veils over the bridge and sell them in the city. I buy our food for the day and then I...
Old Man on the Road
From the time I was a lad, my grandfather has been telling me stories about the princess who sleeps in the enchanted castle. Many men have lost their lives trying to break through the thorn forest to reach her. They have all died trying. The castle is under a curse,...