My stepson had all the capacity. He just didn't have the will. One day he came home after hunting, and I said, "Have you brought me much game today?" Nothing. He had nothing but the feather of a blue falcon. I held it by the feather tip. What was the feather worth to...
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Apprentice to Fault-Finding Shoemaker
I didn't last a month when I apprenticed with Master Pfriem. My advice is: stay away from that shoemaker! He's that short, grey-haired fellow you see moving through the crowd with his arms wheeling round as if he were rowing a boat. You know the man. The one with the...
Fault-Finding Shoemaker
No, that's not right. You don't do it that way! Are you going to tell me those stitches are EVEN? Oh, and I suppose the cow flies over the moon. Did you measure that heel? No, you didn't. Look, it's higher than the other. And the shoe's too long. You dolt! You want to...
Distrustful Mother
When my son told me that he had been staying in an enchanted castle, I wanted to know all the details, of course! The castle was inside a mountain, and everything in the castle had been covered in black. The chairs, tables, benches, and also the three princesses who...
Hard, Judgmental Person
Little brat! How dare she wear RED shoes to her mother’s funeral! What insolence! And they’re not even properly made. I never liked her mother, either. She let that child run around the streets with practically nothing on. Who knows what her mother did to get so sick,...
Ashamed Father
I have two sons, and one is very clever. I'd rather not talk about the other. Why? Because he shames me, if you must know. He has no fear and his only wish is to know what fear is! What sort of fool goes looking for fear? Besides, how will that make him a living? How...
Gallery of Mirrors
Make no mistake about it—we mirrors have one duty, and one duty only. We are here to ensure that there is nothing amiss in the appearance of the princess. No stain on her satin dress, no golden hair out of place, and not one petal withered on her garland of flowers....
Masella the Disgusted Mother
I have six pretty daughters, all upright as fir trees, and one son who is a complete idiot. Not a day goes by when I don't have to say, "Antonio, what are you doing, you useless creature?" He's the stupidest kid you can imagine. Yesterday, I broke down and gave him...
Arbitrating Fairy Queen
When the good fairy Placida turned herself into an old woman to greet the queen on the roadside, the queen scolded the old woman because she didn't curtsey deeply enough! I was compelled to intervene. I rode in on my chariot, escorted by my fairy companions on their...
Cinderella’s Eldest Step-sister
We decided to shove her out right away. We weren't going to be pushed around by our new stepsister. I began the conversation after our first meal in the parlor. Mother had gone out. "Is this stupid goose going to sit in the parlor with us?" I asked, turning to my...
Red, the Jealous Counselor
So this fellow comes into the castle with his massive, slobbering dog. They pass the guards and march straight into the hall to speak to the king. The fellow demands that the king give him a room for the winter, where he and his dog can stay. For some unknown reason,...
Vasilisa’s Envious Eldest Stepsister
People in the village say Vasilisa is the most beautiful girl in town, so we put her to work. Let her grow thin with toil! Let the red sun burn her and the black soil chafe her pretty white hands! Then we'll see who is more beautiful. What irks me more than anything...
Lady Cockchafer
I brushed my pretty feelers and looked at the creature my brother had caught. Yuk. He wanted to marry her, the idiot! How could he possibly be attracted to her? She had no feelers at all! And only two legs! She looked like a human—the worst! Horrible! All the lady...