When I wanted something, I had to have it, and if I couldn't have it, I became very upset. When I first saw the portrait of the princess Desiree, I wanted her to be my wife and no other wife would do. I refused to go through with my father's arrangements to marry...
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Horse Who Flies Over the Sea
A giant kept me in me in his stable until a fellow named Ian came along and led me out. He rode me over the sea to the island of Big Women, where we were met by sixteen lads. They were all eager to take me to the stable, but Ian said, "I myself will put her in and see...
False Bride Maleen
It was arranged that I should marry the king's son, and he was truly handsome. But I was no match for him. I felt so ugly and wretched, I hid in my room. Then I had an idea. I would get Maleen, the scullery maid, to dress up in my wedding gown. She could go to the...
Stone Witch
Oh, that pair! How furious they made me! I couldn't grab them. They ran from me. They tangled me up in a forest. Then they threw a lake between us. They slowed me down, sure, but they didn't stop me! I reached the castle, climbed up over the garden wall, and got to...
Woman Who Wanted Something for Herself
My father made me work hard, and the one thing I wanted for myself—a sprig of rosemary—would not be pulled out of the ground. The harder I pulled, the more the plant resisted, but I was not about to be beaten. I tore it out of the ground, and then a lot of things...
Swallow Freezing to Death
Winter has come and I've stayed too long. I'm freezing to death in the cornfield, but I can't leave the tiny maiden. I'm pleading with her. "Don't stay underground with the mice and the moles. Fly with me to the flowers and the sun. That's where you belong. Come on,...
Turkish Princess
I'm waiting on the roof. Where is he? I've been waiting here for hours. He first appeared to me in my bedroom. I was sleeping. He kissed me and I woke. He told me that he was a Turkish god. He certainly looked the part! He told wonderful stories. He told me that my...
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...
Old Jam Seller
Good jam to sell! Good jam to sell! To hell with the jam. I'm too old for this. My knees hurt and my back hurts, and besides that, I'm furious. I just climbed three flights of stairs with my heavy basket to reach a tailor who called me from his window. Once I got up...
Little Green Frog
He is SO irritating! I tell him what to do and he does more than he is instructed. I tell him, go to the stable, get the horse, and lead him out of there. What does he do? He goes to the stable, gets the horse, and decides to put on a saddle. Not what I said! He's...
Lamia
Argggh! I want that child. Oh, I want her so bad. "Letiko, come down from the tree and see what beautiful shoes I'm wearing!" Ah, she's not even curious. "Come down, I'm in a hurry! I have to go and sweep my house." "Go and sweep it then." She makes me so mad! "I'll...
Weary Old Fairy Selnozoura
Everything is messed up, absolutely everything. I never should have taken those young lovers to the island. I'd forgotten that the waters had been poisoned by that silly, blundering fairy Dindonette. I wasn't thinking when I took them in my vessel. We just zipped off...
Nixy in the Mill Pond
I help mortal men. I save them from misfortune. I come to them when they're desperate. I only ask to have something for myself. It's not enough to have a woman's comb, or her flute, or even her golden spinning wheel. I want her man. I had him for a little while. And...
Devil Rebuffed
I waited three years for the fruit to ripen. Now I've come to pluck my little apple. The girl stands in the barn, in the center of a chalk circle. I can't get at her. She's too clean. "Don't let her wash," I tell her father. "I have no power over her if she's washed....