selected tales

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two

three

four

five

six

The Owl

King Thrushbeard

Little Red Riding Hood

Iron John

Rapunzel

The Griffin

one

two

three

four

five

six

Table of Contents

there lived in a certain village a little country girl, the prettiest creature who was ever seen. Her mother was excessively fond of her; and her grandmother doted on her still more. This good woman had a little red riding hood made for her. It suited the girl so extremely well that everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood.

HERE WAS ONCE UPON A TIME a king who had a great forest near his palace, full of all kinds of wild animals. One day he sent out a huntsman to shoot him a roe, but he did not come back. ‘Perhaps some accident has befallen him,’ said the king, and the next day he sent out two more huntsmen who were to search for him, but they too stayed away. Then on the third day, he sent for all his huntsmen, and said: ‘Scour the whole forest through, and do not give up until you have found all three.’ But of these also, none came home again, none were seen again.

RAPUN ZEL

there was a man and a woman who had long, but to no avail, wished for a child. Finally the woman came to believe that the good Lord would ful-fill her wish. Through the small rear window of these people’s house they could see into a splen-did garden that was filled with the most beautiful flowers and herbs.