One day when my friend and I came into the castle, I smelled a man. It's a distinct odor that some giants find appetizing. We found him in the treasure room, filling his little coat with pieces of gold. "Let's cook him for supper," said my friend. But he was a scrawny...
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Witch in a Golden Cloak
I'm a famous witch. I live on an island in the center of a large lake. A golden lantern hangs outside my door, but no one comes here. I hear only the sweet tinkling bells on the golden horns of my goat who is feeding nearby. I am sitting by the fire, wrapped in a...
Poor Brother Who Finds Treasure
My brother is rich and, until just a little while ago, I was poor. What happened? Well, I was wheeling my barrow through the forest one day when I came upon a great, bare, naked-looking mountain. I had never seen it before, and I know that forest pretty well. I stood...
Landlord Who Steals from the Devil
I was standing on the porch when I saw the man approaching. What a horror! It looked as if the scare-crow who had been hanging in the fields for ten years had just pulled himself off the stake and stumbled down the road. I called to him. "Where do you you come from?"...
Giant Who Loses His Inheritance
I'll admit it. Little men have quick wits and giants aren't too swift. Me and my two brothers had inherited a sword that cuts off many heads at once, a cloak that makes a person invisible, and a pair of boots that will transport a person anywhere he wants to go. We...
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...
Bad-Mouthed Girl
When the creepy little man came up out of the heather and asked me what I was doing pulling the heather off his roof, I threatened him with my stick. He asked for some of my dinner. "I'll give you dinner!" I shouted. "I'll give you a whack with my stick. How about...
Robber Girl
My mother would take me with her to rob rich people on the road. One night, we waited in the dark like we usually did, and then a coach came along. It lit up the forest like a torch. The robbers set upon it and killed everyone, except for a little girl. My mother, the...
Trapper Lad
I have had to live by my wits. When I first left home, my older brother tried to trap me. He tied me to a tree and left me there to die. When a shepherd came along, I told him that I had been tied to the tree so that it would straighten my crooked back. He said he had...
Red the Robber
We hide in the trees along mountain paths and wait for rich travelers to pass. They think of us as savage beasts who live in mountain caves and holes in the ground. We go by the names of colors—Blue, Grey, Red and so on. There's twelve of us, including our chief, who...