A farmer had a horse that had been an excellent faithful servant to him: but he was now grown too old to work; so the farmer would give him nothing more to eat, and said, “I want you no longer, so take yourself off out of my stable; I shall not take you back again until you are stronger than a lion.` Then he opened the door and turned him adrift.
The poor horse was very melancholy, and wandered up and down in the wood, seeking some little shelter from the cold wind and rain. Presently a fox met him: “What`s

“The nuts are quite ripe now,` said Chanticleer to his wife Partlet, “suppose we go together to the mountains, and eat as many as we can, before the squirrel takes them all away.` “With all my heart,` said Partlet, “let us go and make a holiday of it together.`
So they went to the mountains; and as it was a lovely day, they stayed there till the evening. Now, whether it was that they had eaten so many nuts that they could not walk, or whether they were lazy and would not, I do not know: however, they took it into

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. The frame of the window was made of fine black ebony, and as she sat looking out upon the snow, she pricked her finger, and three drops of blood fell upon it. Then she gazed thoughtfully upon the red drops that sprinkled the white snow, and said, “Would that my little daughter may be as white as that snow, as red as that blood, and as black as this ebony

There was once upon a time a soldier who for many years had served the king faithfully, but when the war came to an end could serve no longer because of the many wounds which he had received. The king said to him: “You may return to your home, I need you no longer, and you will not receive any more money, for he only receives wages who renders me service for them.` Then the soldier did not know how to earn a living, went away greatly troubled, and walked the whole day, until in the evening he entered a

There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a child. At length the woman hoped that God was about to grant her desire. These people had a little window at the back of their house from which a splendid garden could be seen, which was full of the most beautiful flowers and herbs. It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared to go into it because it belonged to an enchantress, who had great power and was dreaded by all the world. One day the woman was standing by

There was once upon a time a queen to whom God had given no children. Every morning she went into the garden and prayed to God in heaven to bestow on her a son or a daughter. Then an angel from heaven came to her and said: “Be at rest, you shall have a son with the power of wishing, so that whatsoever in the world he wishes for, that shall he have.` Then she went to the king, and told him the joyful tidings, and when the time was come she gave birth to a son, and the king

There was once a queen who had a little daughter, still too young to run alone. One day the child was very troublesome, and the mother could not quiet it, do what she would. She grew impatient, and seeing the ravens flying round the castle, she opened the window, and said: “I wish you were a raven and would fly away, then I should have a little peace.` Scarcely were the words out of her mouth, when the child in her arms was turned into a raven, and flew away from her through the open window. The bird took its

A certain king had a beautiful garden, and in the garden stood a tree which bore golden apples. These apples were always counted, and about the time when they began to grow ripe it was found that every night one of them was gone. The king became very angry at this, and ordered the gardener to keep watch all night under the tree. The gardener set his eldest son to watch; but about twelve o`clock he fell asleep, and in the morning another of the apples was missing. Then the second son was ordered to watch; and at midnight he

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. He followed the sound, and at last came to a high tree, and at the top of this a little child was sitting, for the mother had fallen asleep under the tree with the child, and a bird of prey had seen it in her arms, had flown down, snatched it away, and set it on the high tree.
The forester climbed up, brought the child down, and thought to himself:

There was once a man who had a daughter who was called Clever Elsie. And when she had grown up her father said: “We will get her married.` “Yes,` said the mother, “if only someone would come who would have her.` At length a man came from a distance and wooed her, who was called Hans; but he stipulated that Clever Elsie should be really smart. “Oh,` said the father, “she has plenty of good sense`; and the mother said: “Oh, she can see the wind coming up the street, and hear the flies coughing.` “Well,` said Hans, “if she