List of Stories by the Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm collected and published some of the most popular stories in literature history. Generations of children are charmed and terrified by the adventurous and often dark tales. There are over 200 Brothers Grimm stories, some better known than others.

Popular Brothers Grimm Stories

Many of Grimm's fairy tales endured the test of time and became beloved favorites. Some even made it to the big screen. All stories in this article are summarized from full versions on Grimmstories.com, Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, and a compilation on the University of Pittsburgh's website.

Cinderella

The Cinderella story children know and love, that includes a fairy godmother and a glass slipper differs somewhat from the original Brothers Grimm version, but both teach that through kindness and perseverence, dreams come true. In the Brothers Grimm story, Cinderella lives with her wicked stepmother and step-sisters and wants to attend a three-day, royal festival. Cinderella's bird friends provide her with a dress to wear and she makes her way to the festival. She meets a prince, who is enchanted by Cinderella, but on each of the three festival nights, Cinderella escapes his grasp. On the third night, she leaves behind her shoe and the prince sets out to find the woman whose foot fits the shoe. One of Cinderella's step-sisters cuts off her toe and the other her heel to fit the shoe but their bloody feet make it obvious to the prince that they are not who he is searching for. Finally, Cinderella tries on the shoe, which fits, and she marries the prince.

Little Snow White

This story tells of an evil queen jealous of her step-daughter's (Snow White) beauty. To remain the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, the queen banishes Snow White to the woods and instructs a huntsman to kill her. However, the huntsman takes pity on Snow White and spares her life. Left alone in the woods, Snow White discovers a cottage where seven dwarfs live. They strike a bargain that Snow White can live with the dwarfs as long as she takes care of them.

The dwarfs and Snow White live in peace until the evil queen learns Snow White is still alive. She disguises herself as a peddler and offers Snow White laces made of poison. Snow White wears the laces and the poison takes effect. However, Snow White regains consciousness, so the queen tries again, this time with a poison comb. Snow White collapses, but regains consciousness again. The furious queen tries one more time with a poison apple. Snow White eats the apple and dies. A prince arrives and is so enamored by Snow White's beauty in death that he convinces the dwarfs to let him have her coffin. When they stumble over a tree stump, the piece of poison apple is dislodged from Snow White's throat and she comes back to life. She and the prince are married, and the enraged queen dies after putting on red-hot, iron shoes. The story teaches that inner beauty always triumphs over outward beauty.

Little Red-Cap (Little Red Riding Hood)

Little Red-Cap teaches that evil often takes the form of goodness and to be careful who you trust. When Little Red-Cap takes a trip through the woods to visit her sick grandmother, she encounters a wolf. Upon learning of her destination, the wolf runs ahead and eats Little Red-Cap's grandmother. Disguised as Little Red-Cap's grandmother, the wolf waits for Little Red-Cap's arrival. When she arrives, she notices her grandmother looks different -- her ears, eyes, hands and teeth are bigger. The wolf agrees and gobbles Little Red-Cap up. Shortly after, a huntsman hears loud snoring coming from Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother's house. He discovers the wolf and cuts open his stomach to free Little Red-Cap and her grandmother.

Little Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty)

A story of true love conquering all, a baby princess named Briar Rose is cursed by an angry witch and destined to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die at fifteen. Another 'Wise Woman' changes the curse so that the princess will not die, but fall into a deep sleep for 100 years. Despite attempts to prevent the curse from taking place, Briar Rose pricks her finger and she and the inhabitants of the castle fall asleep. The castle is overrun by a thorny hedge that many Kings attempt to get through to no avail. After 100 years, a prince makes his way through the hedge, which has turned into flowers, and kisses the sleeping Briar Rose. The curse is broken and Briar Rose and the people of the castle wake up.

Rapunzel

The story of Rapunzel is another tale about love conquering any obstacle. After a man is caught stealing an herb from a witch, he agrees to give her his firstborn. The child, Rapunzel, is born and the witch claims her. She holds Rapunzel captive in a tower with one window and no door. The only way for the witch to visit her is for Rapunzel to let her long hair out the window to be used as stairs. When a prince hears Rapunzel singing, he learns how to enter the tower by climbing Rapunzel's hair. He visits often and asks Rapunzel to marry him. She agrees and they plan her escape from the tower.

The witch learns of the escape plan, cuts off Rapunzel's hair and sends her into the wilderness so the prince cannot gain access. The witch tricks the prince by pretending to be Rapunzel and using the cut hair to help him climb the tower. When he sees the witch instead of Rapunzel, the prince jumps (or is pushed, depending on which version you read) from the tower and is blinded. He wanders the wilderness until one day he hears Rapunzel singing. They are reunited and her tears restore his sight. The prince takes them to his kingdom where they live in happiness.

Rumpelstiltskin

This is a cautionary tale to be careful what you say because you don't know who is listening. After a miller lies to a king, telling him that his beautiful daughter knows how to spin straw into gold, the king locks her in a room filled with straw and a spinning wheel and commands her to do just that or be killed. The daughter is distraught until a little man arrives in the room and tells her he will spin the straw into gold if she gives him her necklace. When the king demands she spin more straw into gold, a deal is struck again. The king then takes the girl to an even larger room filled with more straw and tells her if she spins it into gold, he will marry her. If she does not, he will kill her. The little man arrives, and the girl agrees to give him her firstborn son. The man spins the straw into gold and the girl marries the king, and of course, becomes queen.

When the queen's firstborn arrives, the little man comes to claim the child. The queen begs to make another deal. The man tells her that if she can guess his name within three days, she may keep her child. The first two days, her guesses are wrong. On the third day, she wanders through the woods and comes across the little man singing a song about taking her child. The song mentions his name -- Rumpelstiltskin. So when the little man arrives again, the queen guesses his name and gets to keep her child.

Snow White and Rose Red

This story teaches that those who do good deeds are rewarded. Two kind and compassionate, yet poor, sisters are obedient and helpful to their widowed mother and loved by all the animals in the forest. After befriending a bear, the girls encounter a dwarf in the woods on several occasions and help him out of precarious situations. One day, they come across the bear who is about to kill the dwarf. The dwarf tries to get the bear to eat Snow White and Rose Red instead but the bear kills the dwarf. He turns into a prince because the dwarf had put a curse on him which was lifted upon his death. Snow White marries the prince and Rose Red marries the prince's brother.

The Elves (The Elves and the Shoemaker)

This story shows that good things happen when people work hard. A poor, hard-working shoemaker who is down to his last bit of leather to make one more pair of shoes, awakens to find the shoes already made. He receives enough money for the shoes to make two more pairs, which are also mysteriously created while he sleeps. In no time, the shoemaker becomes a wealthy man but still does not understand who makes the shoes. One night, close to Christmas, the shoemaker and his wife stay awake to see who is making the shoes. Two, naked elves arrive and make the shoes. The shoemaker's wife stitches clothes for them. Thrilled with their new clothes, the elves put them on and never return.

The Golden Goose

This tale also shows that good deeds and kindness are rewarded. A son goes into the woods and shares his meal with an old man. The man rewards him with a golden goose, and the son takes the goose with him to an inn. When the innkeeper's greedy daughters try to take a golden feather from the goose, their hands stick to the goose. When the son leaves with the goose, the sisters are forced to leave with him. A parson, a sexton, and two laborers also become stuck.

A king decrees that whoever makes his daughter laugh will gain her hand in marriage. The son carrying the train of seven people stuck to his goose make the princess laugh. However, the king refuses to let him marry her unless he finds a man who can eat a mountain of bread. The son finds the hungry old man who gave him the golden goose, and the man eats the bread, thus allowing the son and the princess to get married.

Thumbling

This is a cautionary tale about pursuing wealth. A boy the size of a thumb is born to a peasant couple who wish for a boy, "no matter how small." As he grows, he becomes wise and clever. After leading a horse to his father by sitting in the horse's ear and telling it where to go, Thumbling encourages his father to sell him to two men who wish to "exhibit" him. Thumbling intends to make money and return home but things don't go as planned. After escaping the men he experiences a series of misadventures -- he interrupts a robbery; gets eaten by a cow which is killed and the stomach eaten by a wolf, and while in the wolf's stomach, tricks the wolf into taking him to his parent's home. His father kills the wolf and cuts Thumbling from its stomach. Thumbling's parents agree never to sell him again.

List of Brothers Grimm Stories

Following is a list of additional Brothers Grimm stories and a brief summary of each. The list is in alphabetical order for easy browsing.

• The Aged Mother: Tells the story of a lonely old woman who visits a church and is allowed by God to see her dead children as they would be had they lived.
• Allerleirauh: A king is determined to marry off his beautiful daughter but she avoids the arranged marriage and marries a prince.
• A Riddling Tale: Three girls are turned into flowers and live in a field. One is allowed to go to home each night and tells her husband to pick her so she can remain with him.
• The Beam: A girl with the power of truth reveals the deception of a magician who later turns the tables and embarrasses her on her wedding day.
• Bearskin: After the devil promises him wealth for not cutting his hair or nails for seven years, a soldier clothed in bearskin roams the countryside and learns to care for others.
• The Bittern and the Hoopoe: An old man tells the tale of the bittern and the hoopoe, two birds who used to be shepherds who now spend their days calling "come, cows, come!" and "up, up, up!
• The Blue Light: After being discharged from a king's army with no money, a soldier takes lodging at the home of a witch and ends up at the bottom of a well with an ever-burning blue light. He then uses a powerful dwarf to seek revenge on the king.
• The Boots of Buffalo Leather: A soldier and a huntsman outwit a band of robbers. The soldier learns the huntsman is a king who promises to care for him.
• The Bremen Town Musicians: A donkey, dog, cat, and rooster set out to become musicians and find a place to live by thwarting a band of robbers.
• Brides on Their Trial: A shepherd who can't decide which of three sisters to marry, chooses his bride based on how they eat cheese.
• The Bright Sun Brings It to Light: A tailor murders a Jew who tells him the "bright sun brings it to light." Those words later haunt the tailor when he says them and confesses to his wife and is executed for his crime.
• Brother and Sister: A brother is turned into a deer and his sister cares for him in the woods. She marries a king and faces treachery from his family who is later executed and her brother becomes human again.
• Brother Lustig: Brother Lustig's compassion is tested by St. Peter, who appears to him in many forms of temptation. When Brother Lustig comes to the end of his life, he realizes that the road to heaven is the road paved with difficulty and the road to hell is paved with a life of ease and greed.
• Cat and Mouse in Partnership: A cat and mouse share a home and store fat. The cat gradually eats their stores until none is left and then eats the mouse.
• Clever Elsie: Hans learns his wife Elsie is lazy and not as clever as she once seemed. So he tricks her into believing she is someone else and she goes into the woods and does not return.
• Clever Grethel (Gretel): After eating the fowls intended for her master's guest, Grethel convinces the guest to leave and blames him for the meal's disappearance.
• Clever Hans: Hans ruins his engagement by mismanaging a series of gifts his fiance gives him.
• The Crumbs on the Table: A rooster convinces his hens to eat the crumbs from their mistress' table. They are beaten and forced to run away.
• The Crystal Ball: An enchantress who does not trust her three sons changes two of them into animals and the third runs away. The two changed sons help the third find a crystal ball that allows him to marry the king's daughter and return his brothers to human form.
• The Cunning Little Tailor: Three tailors set out to win the hand of a princess by solving a riddle. The third tailor solves the riddle and marries the princess.
• The Death of the Little Hen: A little hen tries to save a rooster who is choking but a series of events prevent him from getting to her in time. Along the way, the hen is helped by many but everyone dies.
• Death's Messengers: When a giant conquers "death," a passerby helps death and is promised to receive a series of messages before it's his time to die.
• The Devil and His Grandmother: The devil disguised as a dragon tricks three soldiers into serving him for seven years. At the end of seven years they have to solve a riddle to be free.
• The Devil's Sooty Brother: A soldier agrees to work for the devil for seven years but he must never look into the kettles. He does, and sees fellow soldiers, and must call himself, "the devil's sooty soldier."
• The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs: An angry king tries to kill a boy predicted to marry his daughter. Each death attempt is thwarted and the boy marries his daughter. The king orders the boy to bring him three golden hairs from the head of the devil.
• The Ditmarsch Tale of Wonders: A series of wonders seen including roasted flying fowls, a blind man seeing, a dumb man speaking, a lame man walking, and a crab chasing a hare.
• Doctor Knowall: Thieving servants are convinced "Dr. Knowall," knows about their crimes so they tell him where the stolen money is.
• The Dog and the Sparrow: A dog and a sparrow become friends and embark on a journey to find food. After the dog is ruthlessly killed, the sparrow gets revenge.
• Domestic Servants: A lyrical tale about a man's journey to Walpe.
• The Donkey: A mother gives birth to a donkey, and it learns to play the lute. The donkey marries the king's daughter, and it is revealed that he is not a donkey but a handsome man.
• Donkey Cabbages: After eating one type of cabbage, a huntsman is turned into a donkey; another type of cabbage turns him back into a man. He tricks a witch and her daughter into eating the cabbages and turns them into donkeys and sells them.
• The Drummer: A drummer takes a piece of linen which turns out to be the dress of a princess held captive in a glass mountain by a witch. With the help of a group of giants and a magical maiden, he saves the princess from the witch and they agree to marry.
• The Duration of Life: When God decides how long animals shall live, they request less time. When it's time for God to decide how long man will live, he gets greedy and requests more time and is burdened with caring for the animals.
• The Ear of Grain (Corn): When a woman uses an ear of grain to wash her child's clothes, it angers God and he decides not to allow the stalk to bear any more ears. After people begged him to let the stalk produce, he allows it to produce one ear at its top.
• Eve's Various Children: When God visits the home of Adam and Eve, Eve presents just her beautiful children to Him. After God blesses the children to be kings, knights, and nobles, Eve brings out her ugly children.
• Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie: Pif-Paf-Poltrie must seek permission from Fair Katrinelje's "mother Milk Cow," "brother High Pride," and sister "Cheese Love" to marry him.
• Faithful John: When a king falls in love with the portrait of a princess, Faithful John tells him how to find her. He helps the king along the way but is turned to stone for his trouble.
• Ferdinand the Faithful: A boy named Ferdinand sets out in the world and becomes servant to a king. The king sends him on a mission to find his bride, and the bride tricks the king, cuts off his head and marries Ferdinand the Faithful.
• The Fisherman and His Wife: After catching a magical fish who is actually a prince, a fisherman is offered a wish. The fisherman refuses but his wife gets greedy and continues making wishes until she loses everything.
• Fitcher's Bird: A sorcerer kidnaps sisters and kills them. The younger sister puts their bodies back together and tricks the sorcerer into carrying them home where she dresses as a bird and burns the house down.
• The Flail From Heaven: After a peasant barters his oxen for seed, one of the seeds grows into a tall tree that reaches heaven. He climbs the tree but it is cut down beneath him.
• The Four Skillful Brothers: Four brothers learn vastly different skills and use those skills to rescue a princess in distress.
• The Fox and the Cat: An arrogant fox mocks a cat for his limited abilities but the cat's one skill keeps him alive.
• The Fox and the Geese: When a fox informs geese he intends to eat them, they request they be allowed to pray before being eaten. The fox agrees and the geese still pray to this day.
• The Fox and the Horse: After a peasant turns out an old horse, a fox intervenes and helps the horse outwit a lion to earn the peasant's approval so the horse can return home.
• Frau Trude: A disobedient girl visits Frau Trude despite her parents warnings. Frau Trude believes her to be a witch, turns her into a block of wood and throws her in the fire.
• Frederick and Catherine: Frederick's wife Catherine ruins his meal, drains his beer cask and loses his gold. Frederick and Catherine hide in a tree to avoid robbers.
• The Frog King: A princess strikes a bargain with a frog for him to retrieve her golden ball from the water in exchange for spending time with her. When the princess throws the frog against the wall in disgust, it turns into a handsome prince.
• Fundevogel: A forester adopts a foundling to raise with his daughter and names him Fundevogel. The children discover their cook is a witch who plans to eat Fundevogel, so they turn themselves into various objects to avoid capture.
• Gambling Hansel: Gambling Hansel is obsessed with gambling so St. Peter and the Lord decide he needs to die. After death, heaven and purgatory refuse to let Hansel in, he goes to hell but continues gambling. St. Peter and the Lord decide he needs to come to heaven, but he gambles there too. Finally, Hansel's soul is broken into fragments and put into people who are still gambling today.
• The Giant and the Tailor: A tailor working for a giant exaggerates the results of his chores until the giant is convinced the tailor is a sorcerer.
• The Girl Without Hands: The devil tricks a miller into giving him his daughter but cannot take her because she is too clean and pure. The devil convinces the miller to cut off his daughter's hands but still cannot take her because her stumps are too clean.
• The Glass Coffin: After witnessing a fight between a stag and a bull, an apprentice is carried off by the stag to a cabin where he finds a glass chest containing a beautiful maiden. He rescues the maiden, and she informs him that the stag is her brother.
• The Godfather: A man asks the first person he sees, Death, to be godfather of his child. On a visit to his godfather, the child -- who is now a man -- discovers his godfather is the devil.
• Godfather Death: A man chooses Death as the godfather of his thirteenth child. The child becomes a famous physician who tricks Death and saves a king and a princess.
• God's Food: A rich woman refuses to feed a poor widow and her children. After her husband comes home and realizes her selfishness, he visits the widow and finds her praying. He offers to help her but God hears her prayers and takes her five children.
• Going A-Traveling: A traveling man is told to use different phrases along the way that cause people to get angry with him. He decides to never go traveling again.
• The Gold-Children: A man is rewarded by a fish with two golden stags, two golden children and two golden lilies. He relies on the golden lilies to let him know if his children are safe in the world.
• The Golden Bird: Three sons seek a bird with gold feathers and are offered advice by a fox. The third brother marries a beautiful princess and makes his fortune.
• The Golden Key: A freezing boy in the woods comes across a golden, tiny key buried in the snow. He finds a box with a tiny keyhole and opens the box and readers must wait to see what's in the box.
• The Good Bargain: After being robbed of his money and belongings by eight frogs and some dogs, a peasant bargains with a king and a Jew.
• The Goose Girl: A princess on her way to marry a prince is forced to switch places with her maid. The prince marries the maid, and the princess must guard geese until the ruse is exposed.
• The Goose Girl at the Well: A banished ugly princess becomes beautiful each night when she washes at a well.
• Gossip Wolf and the Fox: A wolf names a fox as her cub's godfather, but she is tricked by the fox and horribly burned while the fox laughs.
• The Grave Mound: A poor man and a soldier stand guard at the grave of a rich miser to save his soul from the devil.
• The Griffin: A man brings a princess apples that will make her well but the king refuses to let him marry her until the man has obtained a feather from a griffin's tail.
• Hans in Luck: Hans trades his gold wages for one thing after another until ends up with nothing but considers himself lucky to be rid of his troubles.
• Hans Married: An uncle sets out to see his nephew well married by convincing a rich peasant's daughter he has the means to care for her.
• Hans the Hedgehog: Hans looks like a hedgehog from the waist up but ends up shedding his hedgehog skin and marrying a princess.
• The Hare and the Hedgehog: A hare bets he can beat a crooked-legged hedgehog in a race, but the hedgehog enlists the help of his wife to win.
• The Hare's Bride: A hare tricks a maiden into marrying him but the girl is sad because the only ones around were other hares and animals. She makes a straw doll to trick the hare into thinking it is her and runs away.
• The Hazel Branch: After the Christ child falls asleep, his mother picks strawberries and is startled by an adder (snake). She is protected by a hazel bush.
• Herr Korbes: A rooster and a hen take a trip to Herr Korbe's house and are joined by a cat, a millstone, an egg, a duck, a pin and a needle. When Herr Korbe arrives home, he is attacked and killed by them all.
• How Six Men Got On in the World: An underpaid soldier joins forces with five men to win the kingdom's fortune.
• The Hut in the Forest: A woodcutter's daughter breaks a spell cast on a prince because her heart is good toward mankind and animals.
• Iron John: A man with iron skin helps a prince conquer his enemies and expand his kingdom. As a result, the man becomes free of his iron skin.
• The Iron Stove: A princess uses a needle, a plough-wheel and nuts to find and free a prince imprisoned in an iron stove.
• The Jew Among Thorns: A servant is given an enchanted fiddle and uses it to trick a Jew into giving him a purse of gold. After the Jew demands justice, the servant uses the fiddle to escape a death sentence.
• Jorinda and Joringel: After his betrothed, Jorinda, is turned into a raven by a witch and held in a cage, Joringel uses a blood-red flower to make her human again and help her escape.
• The Juniper Tree: A woman has a son, dies, and is buried under a juniper tree. The son's stepmother kills him and after trying to cover it up by cooking the boy in a stew, is killed by a bird.
• The Knapsack, The Hat, and The Horn: On a journey to find wealth, a brother returns home with three magical items and marries a princess. The princess steals two of the items to use against him but the brother uses the third to save himself and become King.
• Knoist and His Three Sons: Three sons -- one blind, one lame and one naked -- kill a hare and travel in a boat to a chapel in a forest.
• Lazy Harry: A lazy goatherder and his wife trade their goats for a beehive and do as little work as possible.
• The Lazy Spinner: A lazy wife who hates to spin and wind her yarn, tricks her husband into thinking he will die if he makes her a winding reel.
• Lean Lisa: A hard-working woman fights with her husband who threatens to beat her because she will not let him drink milk from their calf.
• The Little Folks' Presents: A goldsmith and a tailor are given coal by a group of little folks which turns into gold. When the greedy goldsmith goes back for more, he loses everything but the tailor shares his wealth with him.
• The Little Peasant: After a series of misadventures, a peasant escapes death by tricking a shepherd and becoming rich.
• The Lord's Animals and the Devil's: The Lord creates wolves but when the devil creates goats, he is forced to bite off their tails and poke their eyes out and replace them with his own.
• The Louse and the Flea: After a louse burns herself, her husband's (the flea) mourning causes a series of events which lead to a spring overflowing and they drown.
• The King of the Golden Mountain: Through a series of grim adventures, a merchant's son marries a princess and becomes king of a Gold Mountain.
• King Thrushbeard: After scorning a king with thick beard, a princess' pride is tested by being married to a poor minstrel and caring for his household.
• The King's Son Who Feared Nothing: A brave King's son with superhuman strength is harassed by a giant and devils.
• Knoist and His Three Sons: Knoist and his three sons shoot a hare and travel across a lake to a forest in a boat with no bottom.
• The Lambkin and the Little Fish: A boy is turned into a fish and his sister a lamb by their stepmother.
• Maid Maleen: A princess is held captive to prevent her from marrying her lover. After being forced to work as a maid, she marries him anyway.
• The Maid of Brakel: A child prays for a husband but thinks she is denied her wish by the Virgin Mary.
• Master Pfriem: A cobbler who criticizes everything is instructed by St. Peter in a dream that he must not criticize anything in heaven.
• The Master Thief: A man must perform three difficult tasks for his godfather to prove he is a master thief.
• The Moon: Four men steal the moon from a village and divide it into four quarters to be buried with them.
• Mother Holle: After being forced to jump in a well, a girl is rewarded by an old woman named Mother Holle.
• The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage: A mouse, bird, and a sausage live together with each one doing jobs they are fit to do. When their way of life is questioned, they try to switch roles with disastrous results.
• The Nail: A merchant, who is anxious to get home, ignores pleas that his horse is missing a nail in its shoe. However, his haste makes the horse unable to continue.
• The Nix of the Mill Pond: A nix abducts a hunter and submerges him with her in a mill pond. The hunter's wife seeks the help of an old woman to find her husband and plays on the nix's greed to help him escape.
• Odds and Ends: When a productive girl makes a beautiful dress out of scrap pieces of flax left behind by a lazy girl about to be married, she charms the lazy girl's bridegroom with her efficiency and marries him.
• The Old Beggar Woman: An old beggar woman's clothes burn while she is warming herself by a fire. Instead of helping her, a boy watches her burn.
• Old Hildebrand: When a peasant's wife and a priest scheme to spend time alone together, the peasant finds out and forces the priest out of his house.
• The Old Man and His Grandson: After an old man loses the ability to feed himself without making a mess, he is banished from the family table. But his young grandson reminds his parents they will become old one day too, and the old man is allowed back at the table.
• The Old Man Made Young Again: A smith witnesses the Lord make an old, withered man young again by immersing him in a red-hot forge. A man attempts to do the same to his sick mother-in-law, but she is horribly burned.
• Old Rinkrank: An old man named Rinkrank holds a princess captive after she falls into his mountain.
• Old Sultan: An old dog named Sultan comes up with a plan to prevent being killed.
• The Old Woman in the Wood: After being robbed, a beautiful maiden is cared for by a tree who turns out to be an enchanted prince.
• One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes: A girl with two eyes is treated cruelly by her two sisters, one of which has one eye, while the other sister has three eyes.
• Our Lady's Child: A girl being cared for by the Virgin Mary in heaven is sent back to earth when she is disobedient.
• The Owl: An owl takes up residence in a barn and scares the townspeople until they burn the barn down.
• The Pack of Ragamuffins: A cock, hen, duck, pin and needle stay the night at an inn and wreak havoc.
• The Peasant and the Devil: A peasant tricks the devil into giving him his treasure.
• The Peasant in Heaven: A rich man and a peasant go to heaven but receive different receptions.
• The Peasant's Wise Daughter: A peasant is imprisoned by the king and his daughter must solve a riddle to free him.
• The Pink: A boy with wishing powers is kidnapped by a cook and turns his companion into a pink carnation.
• The Poor Boy in the Grave: A horribly mistreated orphan boy takes his own life by lying in a newly dug grave.
• The Poor Man and the Rich Man: After being turned away by a rich man, the Lord stays with a poor man and grants him three wishes.
• The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat: A childless miller decides that the apprentice who brings him the most beautiful horse will receive his inheritance.
• Poverty and Humility Lead to Heaven: A prince pretends to be a beggar to learn what it means to live in poverty and humility.
• The Queen Bee: A man prevents his brothers from harming ants, ducks and bees. The creatures later help him complete three tasks to awaken a sleeping castle.
• The Raven: A girl is turned into a raven by a queen and enlists the help of a sleepy man to set her free.
• The Riddle: After a witch tries to kill him with poison, a prince comes across a beautiful maiden who promises to marry the man who stumps her with a riddle.
• The Robber Bridegroom: A girl is betrothed and led through the woods to her suitor's house, leaving a trail of peas and lentils along the way. The house is full of robbers who plan to eat her, but she makes her escape by following the pea and lentil seedlings.
• The Rose: A young child encounters another child while gathering wood in the woods but the child disappears. During a second encounter, the child that disappeared gives the other child a rose, which blooms when the child dies.
• The Sea Hare: A princess living in a tower with twelve windows that enable her to see everywhere, announces she will marry the man who can hide from her. With the help of a fish, a fox and a sea hare, a handsome man accomplishes the task.
• The Seven Ravens: A father's wish turns his seven sons into ravens. Their sister sets out to set them free.
• The Seven Swabians: Armed with one giant spear, seven swabians set out on a journey and face unimagined, larger-than-life enemies until they are inadvertently killed by a frog.
• Sharing Joy and Sorrow: A grumpy tailor abuses his wife stating that it brings him joy and her sorrow.
• The Shepherd Boy: A wise shepherd boy is challenged by a king to answer three questions and become his son.
• The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces: Twelve princesses secretly dress in their finest clothes and spend each night dancing with twelve princes until their shoes are worn to pieces.
• The Shroud: A grieving mother prevents her son's burial shroud from drying because of her tears.
• Simeli Mountain: A mountain filled with riches enables a poor brother to become wealthy.
• The Singing, Soaring Lark: After trying to steal a lark from a lion, a farmer marries his daughter to a lion to keep a bargain.
• The Six Servants: A prince enlists the help of six servants to complete the tasks necessary to win the hand of an evil sorcerer's daughter.
• The Six Swans: Six brothers are turned into swans by their evil stepmother. To return them to human form, their sister must make six shirts out of nettles and not speak or laugh for seven years.
• The Singing Bone: Two brothers kill a boar but the older brother stays behind. He tells the king he killed the boar, kills his younger brother and marries the king's daughter.
• The Skillful Huntsman: A huntsman kills three giants who want to harm a princess.
• The Sole: When a sole loses a race to a herring, its jealousy causes its mouth to be on the side of its face forever.
• The Sparrow and His Four Children: A sparrow's four children leave their home without proper instruction on the dangers of the world. After being reunited, the children tell their father about how they spent the summer.
• The Spindle, The Shuttle, and The Needle: A poor girl is left a spindle, shuttle, and needle to make a living after her godmother dies. The girl uses the items to prove she is worthy of marrying a prince.
• The Spirit in the Bottle: A woodcutter's son lets a demon out of a bottle and then tricks him into going back in. The spirit promises the boy riches by giving him a piece of cloth that turns objects into silver and has healing abilities.
• St. Joseph in the Forest: A child in a forest encounters St. Joseph who rewards her with a large bag of money for her kindness. Her greedy sisters attempt to earn money from St. Joseph, but do not fare well.
• The Star-Money: An orphan girl gives her few possessions away and her kindness is richly rewarded.
• The Stolen Farthings: The ghost of a child searches for two farthings she hid under the floorboards while alive. Her parents give the farthings away and the ghost is not seen again.
• Stories About Snakes: Three stories about girls who encounter snakes. One befriends the snake; one girl receives a crown from a snake, and the other inquires about the whereabouts of her sister.
• The Story of Schlauraffen Land: A story of tall tales during the time of Schlauraffen.
• The Story of a Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was: A boy believes that learning how to shudder will teach him what fear is. He encounters a series of horrific events but does not learn to shudder until his wife douses him with cold water.
• The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean: A piece or straw, a hot coal and a bean escape a burning fire and flee to a brook. The straw and coal fall in and are carried away; the bean laughs at their misfortune and splits his side.
• Strong Hans: After being kidnapped with his mother, Hans grows strong and enables their escape. He sets out in the world, lives with two other strong men and rescues a princess.
• Sweet Porridge: A poor girl is given a magic pot that cooks porridge on demand and stops cooking on command. When the girl's mother uses the pot, she does not know the command to make the pot stop cooking so the pot cooks porridge until it covers the entire town.
• Sweetheart Roland: A witch cuts off her daughter's head instead of her stepdaughter's by mistake. The stepdaughter flees to her sweetheart, Roland.
• The Tailor in Heaven: A tailor sits on God's chair in Heaven and throws a footstool at a thieving laundrywoman. God reprimands him for judging others and banishes him from Heaven.
• The Thief and His Master: A father apprentices his son to a thief. The son changes himself into a bird, a dog and a horse to earn a fortune and the apprentice outwits his master.
• The Three Apprentices: Three apprentices traveling together strike a bargain with the devil -- money for a man's soul.
• The Three Army Surgeons: Three army surgeons perform surgery on themselves intending to reattach their organs the next day, but the organs are stolen.
• The Three Black Princesses: A fisherman's son encounters three black princesses living in an enchanted castle. After visiting his parents, he returns to the castle, pours boiling holy water on the three princesses faces, and condemns them to live in captivity forever.
• The Three Brothers: A father sends his three sons to learn trades. The son who comes home and creates the best masterpiece will inherit the father's house upon his death.
• The Three Feathers: A king sends his three sons, one a simpleton, into the world to follow three feathers. When the simpleton returns with the best carpet, the other sons refuse to accept him as king and challenge him for the kingdom.
• The Three Green Twigs: After angering God by judging another, a pious man is told by an angel he must do penance by carrying a stick until three green twigs sprouted from it.
• The Three Languages: A stupid young boy learns the languages of dogs, birds and frogs. He uses the languages to communicate with animals, receive wealth and become pope.
• The Three Little Birds: Two sisters conspire against the queen and throw her children into the water. The children are rescued and the sisters' evil deed is discovered.
• The Three Little Men in the Woods: Two sisters encounter three little men in the woods. One treats the men with kindness and is rewarded with beauty and gold; the other treats the men selfishly and is punished with ugliness.
• The Three Snake Leaves: A man who is buried alive with his wife upon her death, finds three leaves that bring his wife back to life.
• The Three Sluggards: A dying king decides that his kingdom will pass to the laziest son. Each son comes up with a reason he is the most idle.
• The Three Sons of Fortune: A man gives each of his sons one item -- a cock, a scythe or a cat -- to seek their fortunes.
• The Three Spinners: A lazy girl enlists the help of a woman with a flat foot and another with a hanging lip to help her spin flax for the queen and earn a prince as her bridegroom.
• Thumbling as Journeyman: The thumb-sized son of a tailor sets out to find his fortune and has a series of life-threatening adventures.
• The True Sweetheart: An old woman helps a maiden build a castle. After the maiden's stepmother is killed in the castle, she lives there and enchants a prince.
• The Turnip: A poor farmer grows an enormous turnip and gives it to the king who rewards him with riches. His rich brother gives the king gifts and riches and is rewarded with a turnip.
• The Twelve Apostles: This tale tells the story of twelve poor brothers who leave home to find bread. One by one, they are taken to a cavern where they sleep in cradles of gold until the birth of Christ.
• The Twelve Brothers: Twelve doomed brothers live in the wilderness until their sister finds them. She accidentally turns them into ravens and must be silent for seven years for them to become human again.
• The Twelve Huntsmen: A prince marries a princess instead of the maiden he loves. The maiden enlists the help of 11 maidens who look like her and are dressed as huntsmen to win him back.
• The Two Brothers: After a poor broom-maker's twin sons eat parts of a golden bird and produce gold coins, he thinks they are in league with the devil and leaves them in the woods.
• The Two Kings' Children: A king gives a prince a series of impossible tasks to complete to marry his daughter. The princess gets earth-men to help the prince complete the tasks, but the king refuses to allow his daughter to marry him.
• The Two Travelers: A grumpy shoemaker and a merry tailor travel together. The tailor is generous with the shoemaker but the shoemaker cuts the tailor's eyes out for food. The tailor continues to trust God despite his troubles and marries a princess while the shoemaker is forced to leave the kingdom and his eyes are pecked out by a crow.
• The Ungrateful Son: A greedy man refuses to share his roast chicken with his father. The chicken turns into a toad and forces the man to feed it every day.
• The Valiant Little Tailor: After killing seven flies, a tailor makes a belt that says "Seven With One Blow" and sets out to find his way in the world. A giant mistakes the belt to mean the tailor killed seven men and challenges the tailor to prove his strength.
• The Water of Life: Three brothers set out separately to find the "water of life" to save their ailing father.
• The Water-Nix: A nix traps a brother and sister in a well but they escape. She tries to re-capture them but the children throw a series of obstacles her way.
• The Wedding of Mrs. Fox: When Mr. Fox doubts his wife's fidelity, he fakes death. Suitors arrive and are rejected until his wife finds a fox worthy of marrying. But Mr. Fox reveals he is not dead and sends Mrs. Fox and her suitor away.
• The White Bride and the Black One: After a stepmother and her daughter refuse to help God, he turns them black and makes them ugly. The step-mother outwits her step-daughter who had helped God and was made beautiful, and tricks the king into marrying the black daughter.
• The Willful Child: After God becomes upset with a disobedient child, the child dies and is buried. However, death does not stop the child from being willful and she continues to reach an arm through the earth until her mother visits the grave and strikes her arm.
• The Willow-Wren: A bird without a name beats other birds in contests to decide who will be king, but he is mocked and held captive until he escapes and flies away.
• The Willow-Wren and the Bear: After a bear insults a king and queen willow-wren and their children, the birds and a group of insects declare war against him.
• The Wise Servant: A servant follows his inclinations instead of his master's orders.
• The Wishing-Table, The Gold-Ass, and The Cudgel in the Sack: A goat who is a family's single source of food is cared for by three sons. The goat lies to the father about getting enough to eat and causes the sons to be beaten and leave home.
• The White Snake: A servant takes a bite of a white snake which gives him power to communicate with animals. After helping several animals in distress, they return the favor.
• Wise Folks: After his wife makes an unwise deal with a cattle dealer, a man seeks to find someone stupider than her.
• The Wolf and the Fox: A fox forced to find food for the wolf he lives with, outwits him until the wolf is killed.
• The Wolf and the Man: A bragging wolf gets his wish to fight a man but gets more than he bargained for.
• The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids: A wolf tricks seven young goats into opening the door to him and eats them. When their mother arrives home, she cuts open the sleeping wolf's belly and her kids come out unharmed.
• The Wonderful Musician: Woodland animals befriend a lonely fiddler but the fiddler soon tires of their company. He tricks them into becoming ensnared and continues his journey alone.
• The Young Giant: A tiny child is kidnapped by a giant who cares for him and returns him home strong and tall. After being rejected by his parents who no longer recognize him, he takes a series of jobs.

Where to Buy

Individual Brothers Grimm stories can be hard to find in bookstores unless it is one of the more popular tales such as Cinderella or Rapunzel. However, you can find many stories online or purchase Brothers Grimm stories in collections.

• Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales: Barnes and Noble offers this hardback book that features over 200 Grimm's tales. It also features full-color artwork and bonded leather binding. The cost is $18.00 plus shipping.
• Target offers a hardback version of Grimm's Fairy Tales that includes illustrations by Arthur Rackham. Cost is $14.02.
• If you have a Nook, you can download the Grimm's Fairy Tales Complete Collection for $2.99. Kindle users can download Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales for $6.21.
• Project Gutenberg has several complete collections available for download, including the original, translated Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm.

Timeless Treasures

Grimm's Fairy Tales have stood the test of time. The stories continue to spark the imaginations of anyone who reads them -- children, parents, actors and writers. There is a Grimm's tale for everyone, and they will no doubt continue to entertain millions for years to come.