Section 1
The Golden Bird
A certain king had a beautiful garden, and in the garden stood a tree which bore golden apples.
Read sectionHome
Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm
Grimms' Fairy Tales explained simply
A public-domain collection of Grimm fairy tales with simple story explanations, characters, and clean original text.
5-minute overview
Main ideas before you read
Grimms' Fairy Tales collects folk stories about wishes, danger, bargains, clever helpers, tests of character, enchanted places, and sudden reversals. This Simple Classics edition starts with 50 selected tales from a public-domain English edition and pairs each original tale with a short plain-English reading aid.
Key ideas
- Fairy tales use repeated patterns to make danger and choice easy to remember.
- Kindness, patience, courage, cleverness, and broken promises often decide the ending.
- Many tales use magic to expose ordinary human desires such as greed, fear, pride, or loyalty.
- The best reading approach is to follow the test each character faces, not every old-fashioned detail.
Why it matters: Grimms' Fairy Tales matters because it shaped how English-speaking readers understand fairy tales, folklore, childhood stories, and modern fantasy.
Modern relevance: The tales still connect to movies, children’s literature, fantasy plots, moral lessons, and classroom discussions about story structure.
Section list
Read every section
Story pages focus on what happens, why each scene matters, characters, and a simple story version.
Section 2
Hans in Luck
Hans in Luck follows Hans in Luck through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 3
Jorinda and Jorindel
There was once an old castle, that stood in the middle of a deep gloomy wood, and in the castle lived an old fairy.
Read sectionSection 4
The Travelling Musicians
An honest farmer had once an ass that had been a faithful servant to him a great many years, but was now growing old and every day more and more unfit for work.
Read sectionSection 5
Old Sultan
A shepherd had a faithful dog, called Sultan, who was grown very old, and had lost all his teeth.
Read sectionSection 6
The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
In a village dwelt a poor old woman, who had gathered together a dish of beans and wanted to cook them.
Read sectionSection 7
Briar Rose
A king and queen once upon a time reigned in a country a great way off, where there were in those days fairies.
Read sectionSection 8
The Dog and the Sparrow
A shepherd’s dog had a master who took no care of him, but often let him suffer the greatest hunger.
Read sectionSection 9
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
There was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters.
Read sectionSection 10
The Fisherman and his Wife
There was once a fisherman who lived with his wife in a pigsty, close by the seaside.
Read sectionSection 11
The Willow-Wren and the Bear
The Willow-Wren and the Bear follows The Willow-Wren and The Bear through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 12
The Frog-Prince
The Frog-Prince follows The Frog-Prince through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 13
Cat and Mouse in Partnership
Cat and Mouse in Partnership follows Cat and Mouse in Partnership through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 14
The Goose-Girl
The king of a great land died, and left his queen to take care of their only child.
Read sectionSection 15
The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet
1.
Read sectionSection 16
Rapunzel
There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a child.
Read sectionSection 17
Fundevogel
There was once a forester who went into the forest to hunt, and as he entered it he heard a sound of screaming as if a little child were there.
Read sectionSection 18
The Valiant Little Tailor
One summer’s morning a little tailor was sitting on his table by the window; he was in good spirits, and sewed with all his might.
Read sectionSection 19
Hansel and Gretel
Hard by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wife and his two children.
Read sectionSection 20
The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage
Once upon a time, a mouse, a bird, and a sausage, entered into partnership and set up house together.
Read sectionSection 21
Mother Holle
Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters; one of them was beautiful and industrious, the other ugly and lazy.
Read sectionSection 22
Little Red-Cap
Little Red-Cap follows Little Red-Cap through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 23
Tom Thumb
A poor woodman sat in his cottage one night, smoking his pipe by the fireside, while his wife sat by his side spinning.
Read sectionSection 24
Rumpelstiltskin
By the side of a wood, in a country a long way off, ran a fine stream of water; and upon the stream there stood a mill.
Read sectionSection 25
Clever Gretel
Clever Gretel follows Clever Gretel through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 26
The Old Man and his Grandson
The Old Man and his Grandson follows The Old Man and his Grandson through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 27
The Little Peasant
There was a certain village wherein no one lived but really rich peasants, and just one poor one, whom they called the little peasant.
Read sectionSection 28
Frederick and Catherine
There was once a man called Frederick: he had a wife whose name was Catherine, and they had not long been married.
Read sectionSection 29
Sweetheart Roland
Sweetheart Roland follows Sweetheart Roland through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 30
Snowdrop
It was the middle of winter, when the broad flakes of snow were falling around, that the queen of a country many thousand miles off sat working at her window.
Read sectionSection 31
The Pink
There was once upon a time a queen to whom God had given no children.
Read sectionSection 32
Clever Elsie
There was once a man who had a daughter who was called Clever Elsie.
Read sectionSection 33
The Miser in the Bush
A farmer had a faithful and diligent servant, who had worked hard for him three years, without having been paid any wages.
Read sectionSection 34
Ashputtel
Ashputtel follows Ashputtel through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 35
The White Snake
A long time ago there lived a king who was famed for his wisdom through all the land.
Read sectionSection 36
The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids
There was once upon a time an old goat who had seven little kids, and loved them with all the love of a mother for her children.
Read sectionSection 37
The Queen Bee
Two kings’ sons once upon a time went into the world to seek their fortunes; but they soon fell into a wasteful foolish way of living, so that they could not return home again.
Read sectionSection 38
The Elves and the Shoemaker
The Elves and the Shoemaker follows The Elves and The Shoemaker through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 39
The Turnip
There were two brothers who were both soldiers; the one was rich and the other poor.
Read sectionSection 40
Clever Hans
The mother of Hans said: ‘Whither away, Hans?’ Hans answered: ‘To Gretel.’ ‘Behave well, Hans.’ ‘Oh, I’ll behave well.
Read sectionSection 41
The Three Languages
An aged count once lived in Switzerland, who had an only son, but he was stupid, and could learn nothing.
Read sectionSection 42
The Fox and the Cat
The Fox and the Cat follows The Fox and The Cat through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 43
The Four Clever Brothers
‘Dear children,’ said a poor man to his four sons, ‘I have nothing to give you; you must go out into the wide world and try your luck.
Read sectionSection 44
Lily and the Lion
A merchant, who had three daughters, was once setting out upon a journey; but before he went he asked each daughter what gift he should bring back for her.
Read sectionSection 45
The Fox and the Horse
The Fox and the Horse follows The Fox and The Horse through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 46
The Blue Light
The Blue Light follows The Blue Light through a fairy-tale test involving luck, danger, promise, kindness, or cleverness.
Read sectionSection 47
The Raven
There was once a queen who had a little daughter, still too young to run alone.
Read sectionSection 48
The Water of Life
Long before you or I were born, there reigned, in a country a great way off, a king who had three sons.
Read sectionSection 49
The Twelve Huntsmen
There was once a king’s son who had a bride whom he loved very much.
Read sectionSection 50
The King of the Golden Mountain
There was once a merchant who had only one child, a son, that was very young, and barely able to run alone.
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