Traditional fairy tales, these are beautiful tales that have been loved by children and their parents for hundreds of years. Perhaps the language has been dusted off a little, but Hansel always steals the gingerbread and Snow White always gets a kiss from the prince. A good ending is also traditional in fairy tales!
Long ago there was a humble shepherd who had seven sheep. Every day he took them to graze on a high mountain. One day, as usual, he took the sheep out to graze. He leaned on his staff, looked around and began to dream about how wonderful it would be if everything was cheaper.
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Once upon a time, in the castle on a hill, there lived a princess so beautiful that people all over the kingdom talked about her beauty. Her chamber was strange – it had twelve windows, and the further the princess went from the first to the last, the farther she could see. From the twelfth she could see her entire realm – from the mountain tops to the most hidden corners of the earth.
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Once upon a time there was a poor woman who lived with her two daughters in a small house at the edge of the forest. Every day she would go into the forest to collect wood so that she could make a fire at home to keep her family warm.
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There was a rich merchant in one town who had a beautiful garden near his house where he grew millet. He checked it carefully every day, but one day he found that much of the crop had disappeared. The angry merchant decided to catch the thief and punish him. He entrusted this task to his three sons – Michael, George and John. The one who catches the thief will be rewarded.
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Once there was a rooster who lived in a little yard, with a little hen. The rooster spent most of the day just picking through the coloured feathers and the hen ran around the yard looking for something to eat for both of them. One day they decided to make life more interesting for themselves and go to the strawberry patch.
Continue reading →Once upon a time, there was a cook named Hannah. Hannah was cheerful, always in a good mood, and had a special fondness for her beautiful shoes with red roses. Every morning, she would lovingly put them on, stroll through the garden, and admire her reflection in the mirror that hung in the hallway of the house where she worked. In the evenings, when she returned to the kitchen, she enjoyed pouring herself a glass of wine, which always awakened her appetite.
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In a magical realm where everything comes to life and every living creature has a voice, a little girl was born from a petal. She was about the size of a finger on my hand. In the day she took care of the flowers and sang to them. At night, she slept in a walnut shell covered with a rose petal. Everybody called her Thumbelina.
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Once upon a time, there was a small, stubborn lamb in a large flock. It was always happy because it did what it wanted. It was small and cute, so any trouble was soon forgiven and no one was angry with it for a long time. Not even the mother sheep, the shepherd or the sheepdogs.
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There was once a woman who wished very much to have a little child, but she coul not obtain her wish. At last she went to a fairy, and said, “I should so very much like t have a little child; can you tell me where I can find one?
Continue reading →There was once a King’s son who went out into the world, and he was full of thought and sad. He looked at the sky, which was so beautifully pure and blue, then he sighed, and said, “How well must all be with one up there in heaven!” Then he saw a poor gray-haired man who was coming along the road towards him, and he spoke to him, and asked, “How can I get to heaven?” The man answered, “By poverty and humility. Put on my ragged clothes, wander about the world for seven years, and get to know what misery is, take no money, but if thou art hungry ask compassionate hearts for a bit of bread; in this way thou wilt reach heaven.”
Then the King’s son took off his magnificent coat, and wore in its place the beggar’s garment, went out into the wide world, and suffered great misery. He took nothing but a little food, said nothing, but prayed to the Lord to take him into his heaven. When the seven years were over, he returned to his father’s palace, but no one recognized him. He said to the servants, “Go and tell my parents that I have come back again.” But the servants did not believe it, and laughed and left him standing there. Then said he, “Go and tell it to my brothers that they may come down, for I should so like to see them again.” The servants would not do that either, but at last one of them went, and told it to the King’s children, but these did not believe it, and did not trouble themselves about it. Then he wrote a letter to his mother, and described to her all his misery, but he did not say that he was her son. So, out of pity, the Queen had a place under the stairs assigned to him, and food taken to him daily by two servants. But one of them was ill-natured and said, “Why should the beggar have the good food?” and kept it for himself, or gave it to the dogs, and took the weak, wasted-away beggar nothing but water; the other, however, was honest, and took the beggar what was sent to him. It was little, but he could live on it for a while, and all the time he was quite patient, but he grew continually weaker. As, however, his illness increased, he desired to receive the last sacrament. When the host was being elevated down below, all the bells in the town and neighbourhood began to ring. After mass the priest went to the poor man under the stairs, and there he lay dead. In one hand he had a rose, in the other a lily, and beside him was a paper in which was written his history.