People say I am the most beautiful dancer in Yedo. My father was a samurai, but after he died, my mother and I had no food to eat, so I sold myself into bondage. The money that bought me is called Namida no Kané, which means “the money of tears.” I dwell in the narrow...
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Grandmother Wolf
Where had my grandson gone? I searched for him everywhere. While I was searching, I went to Mink’s cottage to buy some sea urchins’ eggs. As soon as I got inside, I saw the wolf skin which I guessed belonged to my grandson. “I knew he was dead – I knew it! I knew it!”...
Queen Who Goes to Fairyland
I loved my husband but I couldn't conceive a child. We never talked about it, but when we watched other people play with their children, we couldn't hide our sadness. Then one day I went into the park near the castle, and sat alone by a waterfall. I didn't want my...
Ian the Privileged Prince
I was much loved by my mother and father, and I grew up tall and strong and handsome. I learned to run and shoot, and I could swim and dive better than any lad my age in the isles of the west. I knew how to sail, I sang with the harp, and I liked nothing better than...
Knight of Grianaig
My three daughters were as beautiful as they were kind, and much loved by people throughout the isles of the West. Then one day, as they sat on the rocks on the edge of the sea, dipping their feet in the water, a great beast arose from under the waves and swept them...
Maleen
After a desperate search for work, my maid and I were given positions as scullery maids. We worked in the kitchen of a castle where a wedding was taking place. The bride ate her meals in her room, and I brought them to her, so I knew what she looked like. The poor...
Lover of the Lost Princess
There was a great crevasse in the king's glass mountain, and he declared that anyone who could cross it without falling into the void would be able to marry his daughter. Well, I loved his daughter already, and I was prepared to do anything for her. When the time came...
Queen Who Loses Her Child
We tried to have a child for years, and at last we were blessed with a little boy. One day, at the height of a most intoxicating summer, when my son was sleeping in the garden in his golden cradle, and the king and I were absorbed in planning his future, a dark shadow...
Listening Moon
When she came to my door, I said the same thing to her as the Sun had said. "I have seen you in your cottage, and I have seen you in your palace. I have seen you everywhere you are." Then I asked her, "Do you, rich as you are, need help?" Weeping, she told me her...
Snowflake
My mother and father wanted a child so much that they made me out of snow, and I came to life. They called me Snowflake. Spring has arrived. The fields are full of flowers. Nightingales sing in the trees, and my friends are playing outside and shouting with glee. The...
Axe
Some axes have duties they absolutely abhor, and I'm one of them. The miller used me to chop wood, which is what I was made for, but when times got tough, he swung me with increasing desperation. Then he used me to sever the hands from the body of his innocent...
Grieving Shepherdess
I watch my sheep in the meadow. I try not to remember the old days when I was blissfully married to the best of all men. I try not to remember the siren's grip on him and the flood that divided us. Tonight, another shepherd has taken out his flute. He is playing the...
Bereft Chief
I followed the path that the old ones spoke about, and it led me to the Land of Souls. I came to the hut of an old man clothed in skins. He told me to rest. How could I rest? I had to find the soul of my wife. Why did she die just before our wedding feast? Where did...
Youngest Kid
When the wolf came in through the door, all seven of us kids scattered. We hid everywhere we could find. I got into the clock-case, and it was the one place the wolf didn't look. By the time my mother came home, the wolf had eaten everyone but me. I whimpered from the...
Handless Maiden’s Mother
"Why does she have to leave, husband? We have the money to support her for the rest of her life. She doesn't need to go off into the wild forest! How well will she fare, with no hands? You brought this evil upon her, you must fix it!" My husband sits at the table,...
Abandoned Sweetheart
Roland went away to see his father and make arrangements for our wedding. I had nowhere to go, and so I decided to stay in the field. I used the magic wand to turn myself into a red stone land-mark. I waited and I waited for Roland to return. He never came back. At...
Moon Over the Spring
I watch from the sky as the old night-owl flies to the window of the mountain hut. He cries, "Uhu!" three times to summon the old woman's daughter. She steps out into the night air and walks over the meadows and into the valley. She comes to a spring with three old...
Vasilisa the Girl
I lead an idle life, thanks to my doll. My mother gave her to me before she died. She told me to give the doll something to eat. Then I could tell her all my troubles, and she would give me advice. I have had many troubles because my stepsisters hate me and put me to...
Sun Ball
I have seen many things, and some of them are very dark, but the little princess was my joy. Her beauty astonished me every time I shone on her. She had a favorite toy, a golden ball, the spitting image of me. But then one day, her golden ball disappeared. It was...
Cinderwench
My stepsisters have taken my room and now I live in a drafty garret, and I sleep on a straw bed. My stepmother calls me Cinderwench and so do her daughters, although the youngest, who is not quite as mean, calls me Cinderella. I haven’t eaten much for days. I’m not...
Man of Her Dreams
It's no use appearing to Beauty in her dreams. The more she loves the handsome man in her dreams, the less she loves me. And why should she love me? I'm a beast. Why can’t she see underneath the surface? Why do I love such a superficial girl? Why can’t she see who I...
Wind Wizard of Finland
Only a good wind can heal the heart that a bad wind has broken. That's what I told the king's messenger. A week later I flew on the winds to speak directly to the king. Respectfully, I told him that his son's illness was caused by an evil wind. A magic ball had...
Magpie
The Water Lily has been singing her sad song endlessly. Alas! bewitched and all forsaken, ‘Tis I must lie for ever here! My beloved no thought has taken To free his bride, that was so dear. The Thrush sang: "How stupid men are! For a whole year we've been listening to...
King Sheep
I waited and waited in the forest for Miranda to return to me. But she did not come. At last I set off to the palace. At the door, I asked for Miranda. The people who came out said they had heard about the King of Sheep, and Miranda did not want to come back to me. I...
Crab Prince
I meet my twelve friends in an underground palace, and we dine together at a long table. Then we raise a glass, and we each make a toast to the health of our mothers and fathers. When I raise my glass, I make a different kind of toast. A health to my dearest lady....
Prunella’s Mother
I had a daughter, but she disappeared. She was only seven! I was waiting for her to come back from school, and she never came home. My sweet little girl, Prunella, that's what I called her because she always came home with a plum she had picked from a tree.... She'll...
Prince in the Tower
The king is ailing, and he wants me to marry before he dies. I have not met a woman I could imagine as my wife. He tells me to go up the staircase to the top of the tower and look carefully at what I find there. I haven't been up here before. I unlock an iron door...