1, Cinderella

A story by the Grimm brothers

There was a woman, married to a very rich man, who became ill, and, sensing her next
end, she called her only daughter and said: "My daughter, she is always good and pious,
and the good Lord will not abandon you. I will watch over you from heaven, and you will
always have me by your side. " And, closing his eyes, he died. The little girl went every
day to her mother's grave to mourn, and she remained good and pious. When winter came,
the snow covered the grave with a white mantle, and when the spring sun had melted it, the
father of the girl contracted a new marriage.

The second woman brought home two daughters, beautiful face and white complexion, but
black and evil hearted. Then came very hard days for the poor little orphan. "Is she stupid
to be in the room with us?" said the new arrivals. "If he wants to eat bread, let him win it,
go out to the kitchen!" They took off her beautiful dresses, put on an old blouse and gave
her a pair of shoe clogs: "Look at the proud princess, what a composite!" And, mocking
her, they took her to the kitchen. There I had to spend the whole day engaged in hard work.
He got up at dawn, went for water, lit the fire, prepared the food, washed the clothes. And,
in addition, her stepsisters submitted her to every conceivable mortification; they made fun
of her, scattered her, among the ashes, the peas and the lentils, so that she had to spend
hours picking them up. At night, exhausted as she was from so much work, instead of lying
in a bed she had to do it in the ashes of the home. And because it was always dusty and
dirty, they called her Cinderella.

One day when the father was about to go to the fair, he asked his two stepdaughters what
they wanted him to bring them. "Beautiful dresses," one of them answered. "Pearls and
precious stones," said the other. "And you, Cinderella," he asked, "what do you want?" -
"Father, cut the first twig that touches the hat, when you return, and bring it to me." He
bought the man for his gorgeous stepdaughters dressed in pearls and precious stones; back,
when crossing a copse, a sprout of hazel made him drop his hat, and he cut it and took it
with him. When he got home, he gave his stepdaughters what they had asked for, and
Cinderella, the sprout of hazel. The girl thanked him, and went with the branch to her
mother's grave, there planted it, watering it with her tears, and the bud grew, becoming a
beautiful tree. Cinderella went there three times a day, to mourn and pray, and always
found a little white bird perched on a branch; a little bird that, when the girl asked for
something, she threw it from above.

It happened that the King organized a party, which was to last three days, and to which all
the pretty maidens of the country were invited, so that the crown prince would choose
among them a wife. When the two stepsisters learned that they were also on the list, they
were very happy. They called Cinderella, and said, "Peine us, brush our shoes well and
buckle our buckles, let's go to the palace party." Cinderella obeyed, although crying,
because she, too, had wanted to go to the dance, and so she begged her stepmother to let
her. "You, Cinderella, covered in dust and dirt, do you intend to go to the party? You have
no dress or shoes, and you want to dance?" But when the girl insisted on her supplications,
the woman finally told him: "I have thrown a plate of lentils in the ash, if you pick them up
in two hours, I'll let you go." The little girl, going out the back door, went to the garden and
exclaimed: "Popcorn meek, tortolillas and little birds all of heaven, come and help me pick
up lentils !:
The good ones, in the pucherito;
the bad, in the little buchecito. "
And two white popcorn came to the kitchen window, then the tortolillas, and finally, all the
little birds of the sky appeared and bustled and hurried to the ash. And the popcorn,
lowering the heads, began: pic, pic, pic, pic; and then all the others imitated them: pic, pic,
pic, pic, and in a jiffy all the good grains were in the source. Not even an hour had elapsed
when, when the work was finished, they flew away and disappeared. The girl brought the
fountain to her stepmother, happy because she thought she would be allowed to go to the
party, but the old woman told her: "No, Cinderella, you do not have clothes and you can
not dance, everyone would make fun of you." And as the poor woman would burst into
tears: "If in one hour you are able to clean two fountains full of lentils that I will throw in
the ashes, I will let you go." And he thought: "He will never be able to do it." But when the
lentils were in the ashes, the maid went to the garden through the back door and shouted:
"Popcorn meek, tortolillas and little birds all of heaven, come and help me clean lentils !:
The good ones, in the pucherito;
the bad, in the little buchecito. "
Immediately, two white popcorn and then the turtledoves came to the kitchen window, and
finally, all the little birds of the sky appeared and bustled and hurried to the ash. And the
popcorn, lowering the heads, began: pic, pic, pic, pic; and then all the others imitated them:
pic, pic, pic, pic, throwing all the good grains in the sources. Half an hour had not elapsed
when, when their task was finished, they took flight. The girl brought the supplies to her
stepmother, thinking that this time she would allow him to go to the party. But the woman
said to him: "Everything is useless, you will not come, because you do not have clothes or
you know how to dance, you would be our shame." And, turning his back on him, he left
hurriedly with his two proud daughters. When no one was home, Cinderella went to her
mother's grave, under the hazel, and begged: "Little tree, shake your leafy branches, and
throw me gold and silver and more!" And here the bird put a dress embroidered in silver
and gold, and a slipper with silk and silver ornaments. She dressed in a hurry and ran to the
palace, where her stepmother and stepsisters did not recognize her, and, seeing her so
richly dressed, they took her for a foreign princess. Not for a moment did they think of
Cinderella, who they believed in their kitchen, dirty and looking for lentils in the ash. The
prince went out to meet her, and, taking her by the hand, danced with her. And it is the
case that he did not want to dance with any other or let go of his hand, and every time
another girl approached him to invite him, he refused saying: "This is my partner." At
nightfall, Cinderella wanted to go back to her house, and the prince said to her: "I will
accompany you," eager to know where the beautiful girl was from. But she got away, and
climbed up to the loft. The prince waited for his father to arrive, and told him that the
foreign maid had hidden in the loft. Then the old man thought: Is it Cinderella? And,
asking for an ax and a pickaxe, he began to tear down the loft. But there was no one inside.
And when they all came home, they found Cinderella among the ashes, covered with their
dirty clothes, while a lamp of oil burned in the fireplace; for the girl had taken good skill in
jumping behind the loft and running to the hazel; there he took off his beautiful clothes,
and deposited them on the grave, where the bird took charge of collecting them. And then
she turned back to the kitchen, dressed in her dirty little bat. The next day, when the party
started again, when the parents and the stepsisters left, the girl went to the hazel tree and
said: "Little tree, shake your leafy branches, and throw me gold and silver and, more
things!" The bird sent him a dress much more splendid than that of the previous day; and
when she appeared in a palace so magnificently dressed, all present were amazed at her
beauty. The King's son, who had been waiting for her, immediately took her by the hand
and only danced with her. To the others who went to request it, he answered them: "This is
my partner." At nightfall, when the girl wanted to retire, the prince followed her, to see
which house she was going to; but she disappeared in a jump in the garden behind his. A
large and beautiful pear tree grew on it, from which hung magnificent pears. She climbed
into the cup with the lightness of a squirrel, leaping through the branches, and the prince
lost sight of her. The young man awaited the arrival of the father, and said: "The young
stranger has escaped me, I think she climbed the pear tree." The father thought: Will it be
Cinderella? And, taking an ax, he knocked down the tree, but no one appeared in the cup.
And when they entered the kitchen, there was Cinderella in the ashes, as was her habit, for
she had jumped to the ground on the opposite side of the tree, and, after returning the
beautiful dresses to the hazel bird, she put on her gray baton again. . On the third day, as
soon as the others had left, Cinderella returned to her mother's grave and pleaded with the
tree: "Little tree, shake your leafy branches, and give me gold and silver and more!" And
the bird threw a superb dress and bright as never seen another in the world, with little shoes
of pure gold. When he showed up at the party, all the people were amazed by their
admiration. The son of the King danced exclusively with her, and to all those who were
going to request him he answered: "This is my partner." At nightfall, Cinderella said
goodbye. The king's son wanted to accompany her; but she escaped so quickly that her
admirer could not reach her. But this time he resorted to a trap: he ordered the palace stairs
to be smeared with fish, so that when the girl jumped the steps, her left sneaker stuck to
one of them. The prince picked up the slipper, and observed that it was tiny, graceful, and
all of it golden. The next morning it was presented in He said to the man: "My wife will be
the one whose foot fits this shoe." The two stepsisters were happy, because both had very
nice feet. The oldest went to her room to try on the shoe, accompanied by her mother. But
there was no way to introduce the big toe; and seeing that the shoe was too small, the
mother, holding out a knife, said: "Cut off your finger! When you are queen, you will not
need to walk." The girl did it like that; he forced his foot in his shoe and, repressing the
pain, presented himself to the prince. He made her ride her horse and left with her. But
they had to pass in front of the tomb, and two popcorn that were perched in the hazel tree
shouted: "Ruke di guk, ruke di guk, blood is in the shoe, the shoe is not going, The real
girlfriend is home." The prince looked at the foot and saw that blood flowed from it. He
turned the horse around and returned the girl to her mother, saying it was not the one she
was looking for, and that the other sister had to try on her shoe. He climbed this one to his
room and, although his fingers entered him comfortably, on the other hand there was no
way to put the heel. The mother said to him, holding out a knife: "Cut off a piece of the
heel, when you are queen you will not need to walk." The girl cut a piece of the heel,
forced her foot into the shoe and, repressing the pain, presented herself to the King's son.
He mounted this on his horse and left with her. But when passing in front of the hazel, the
two popcorn perched on one of its branches shouted: "Ruke di guk, ruke di guk, blood is in
the shoe, the shoe is not going, The real girlfriend is home." The prince looked at the foot
of the girl and saw that the blood was flowing from the shoe and the white stocking had
reddened. He turned his rumps and took the false girlfriend home. "Neither is this the real
one," he said. "Do not they have another daughter?" - "No," replied the man. Only from my
deceased wife is a prickly Cinderella; but it is impossible for her to be the bride. "The
prince ordered that they call her, but the stepmother replied:" Oh, no! It's too dirty! I dare
not present it. "But as the king's son insisted, there was no choice but to call Cinderella, she
washed her hands and face first, and, entering the room, greeted the prince with a bow, and
he extended the The golden girl sat on a step, took off her heavy clog and put on her
slipper: it came to her as if it had been painted, and when, when she got up, the prince
looked at her face, immediately recognized the beautiful maid who she had danced with
him, and exclaimed: "This one is my true girlfriend!" The stepmother and her two
daughters paled with rage, but the prince helped Cinderella to ride and rode with her. hazel,
the two white popcorn shouted: "Ruke di guk, ruke di guk; The shoe has no blood. And
small is not there; She is the real girlfriend she goes with. "And, having said that, the two
popcorn flew down and landed on Cinderella's shoulder, and on the day of the wedding,
the treacherous sisters, very flattering, wishing to ingratiate themselves, came forward.
with Cinderella and participate in his happiness, but as the procession went to the church,
with the largest to the right of the bride and the youngest to his left, the pigeons, each of
pecks, took out one eye each. as they left, the largest left and the youngest left, the same
birds took out their other eye, and in this way they were punished for their wickedness,
condemned to blindness for all the days of their lives.)

2, Hansel and Gretel

A story by the Grimm brothers

Next to a very large forest there lived a poor woodcutter with his wife and two children;
the boy was named Hänsel, and the girl, Gretel. They hardly had anything to eat, and in a
time of famine suffered by the country, there came a time when the man could not even
earn his daily bread. The lumberjack was in the bed one night, brooding and twisting,
without worry letting him eye; finally, he said, sighing, to his wife: - What will become of
us? How to feed the poor little ones, since we have nothing left? - I can think of one thing,
"she answered. Tomorrow, at dawn, we will take the children to the thickest of the woods.
We will light a fire, we will give them a piece of bread and then we will leave them alone
to go to our work. As they will not know how to find the way back, we will get rid of them.
- God, woman! replied the man. I do not do that. How am I going to burden myself with
abandoning my children in the forest! Soon they would be destroyed by the beasts. - Do
not be a fool! she exclaimed. Do you want, then, that we four starve to death? Now you
can start sawing the tables of the coffins! -. And he did not stop pestering him until the
man agreed. But I feel very sorry, "he said.

The two little brothers, whom hunger always kept awake, heard what his stepmother
advised his father. Gretel, between bitter tears, said to Hänsel: - Now we are lost! - Do not
cry, Gretel, the child consoled her, and do not worry, I'll manage to get out of the way. And
when the old men were asleep, he got up, put on his jacket and went out the back door. A
shining moon shone and the white pebbles that lay on the floor in front of the house
gleamed like pure silver. Hänsel picked them up until they were no longer fit in his
pockets. On his way back to his room, he said to Gretel, "Do not be afraid, little sister, and
sleep peacefully: God will not abandon us," and he went to bed again.

At the first light of day, before the sun came up, the woman went to call the children: -
Come on, you loafers, get up! We have to go to the forest for firewood. And giving each
one a piece of bread, he warned them: "There you have this for noon, but do not eat it
before, for I will not give you more. Gretel put the bread under her apron, because Hänsel
had his pockets full of stones, and the four of them went the forest path. After a little while,
Hänsel paused from time to time to look back at the house. Said the father: - Hänsel, do not
stay behind looking back, attention and legs alive! - Is that I look at the white kitten, who
from the roof is saying goodbye to me - answered the boy. And the woman replied: - Silly,
it is not the cat, but the morning sun, which is reflected in the chimney. But what Hänsel
was doing was not looking at the cat, but throwing white pebbles out of his pocket along
the way.
When they were in the middle of the forest, the father said: - Pick up firewood now, little
ones, I will light a fire so you will not be cold. Hänsel and Gretel gathered a lot of small
wood. They prepared a bonfire, and when it burned with a lively flame, the woman said: -
Put yourselves next to the fire, kids, and rest, while we go through the woods to cut wood.
When we finish, we'll come pick you up.

The two little brothers sat by the fire, and at noon each ate his piece of bread. And as they
heard the sound of the ax, they believed that their father was nearby. But, in reality, it was
not the ax, but a branch that he had tied to a dry tree, and that the wind was striking the
trunk. After a long time of sitting there, the tiredness closed their eyes, and they fell sound
asleep. They woke up, when it was dark night. Gretel burst into tears, saying: - How will
we get out of the forest? But Hänsel consoled her: - Wait a little bit for the moon to shine,
we'll find the way. And when the moon was high in the sky, the child, holding his little
sister by the hand, guided by the pebbles, which, shining like beaten silver, indicated the
route. They walked all night, and arrived at the house at dawn. They knocked on the door
and the stepmother opened them, who, seeing them, exclaimed: - Devil of children! What
is it about staying in the forest for so many hours? We thought you did not want to come
back! The father, on the other hand, was glad that they had returned, because his
conscience regretted having abandoned them. Some time later there was another time of
misery in the country, and the children heard one night how the stepmother, while in bed,
said to her husband: - Once again everything has been finished; We only have half a loaf of
bread left, and it was finished. We have to get rid of the children. We will take you deeper
into the forest so that you can not find the path; otherwise, there is no salvation for us. It
was very painful for the father to leave the children, and he thought: "You'd better start
with your children the last bit." But the woman did not want to hear his reasons, and filled
it with reproaches and expletives. Who gives the first time, also has to yield the second;
and, thus, man had no courage to refuse.

But the children were still awake and they heard the conversation. When the old men had
fallen asleep, Hänsel got up with the intention of going out to get himself pebbles, like the
previous time; but he could not do it, because the woman had closed the door. He said,
however, to his little sister, to comfort her: - Do not cry, Gretel, and sleep peacefully, that
God Our Lord will help us.

The next morning the woman came to get them out of bed and gave them her piece of
bread, even smaller than the previous time. On the way to the forest, Hänsel was crumbling
the bread in his pocket and, stopping at intervals, dropped crumbs on the ground. - Hänsel,
why do you stop to look back? asked the father. Come on, do not be entertained! - I'm
looking at my little dove, which from the roof says goodbye. - Bobo! -the woman
intervened-, it is not your little dove, but the morning sun, which shines in the fireplace.
But Hänsel was sowing crumbs all the way. The stepmother led the children further into
the forest, to a place she had never been. They lit a large fire, and the woman said to them:
- Stay here, little ones, and if you get tired, take a nap. We go for firewood; At sunset,
when we are finished, we will collect again. At noon, Gretel broke her bread with Hänsel,
since he had scattered hers along the way. Then they fell asleep, without anyone coming to
look for the poor things; They woke up when it was already dark night. Hänsel consoled
Gretel by telling him: - Wait a little, little sister, for the moon to come; then we will see the
crumbs of bread that I have scattered, and that will show us the way back. When the moon
came out, they prepared to return; but they did not find a single crumb; they had eaten the
thousand birds that flew in the forest. Hänsel said to Gretel: - We'll hit the road - but they
did not find it. They walked all night and all the next day, from dawn to dusk, unable to get
out of the forest; they also suffered from hunger, having eaten only a few wild fruits,
picked up from the ground. And because they felt so tired that their legs refused to hold
them anymore, they threw themselves at the foot of a tree and fell asleep.

And the third day dawned since they left home. They resumed their march, but each time
they lost more in the forest. If someone did not come early to help, they were condemned
to starve. But behold, towards noon they saw a beautiful bird, white as snow, perched on
the branch of a tree; and he sang so sweetly, that they stopped to listen to him. When he
had finished, he spread his wings and took flight, and they followed him, until they came
to a small house, on whose roof he landed; and as they approached they saw that the little
house was made of bread and covered with sponge cake, and the windows were of pure
sugar. - Look how good! "Hänsel exclaimed," here we can take out the belly of bad year. I
will eat a bit of the roof; you, Gretel, you can try the window, you'll see how sweet it is. He
climbed the child to the roof and broke a piece to prove what he knew, while his little sister
nibbled on the glass. Then they heard a soft voice that came from inside: "Will it be the
little rat?
the one that gnaws my little house? "
But the children responded:
"It's the wind, it's the wind
that blows violently. "
And they continued to eat without being disconcerted. Hänsel, who found the roof very
tasty, broke a good piece, and Gretel took out a round glass and sat on the floor, eating two
cheeks. Then the door opened abruptly, and a very old woman came out, leaning on a
crutch. The children were frightened in such a way that they released what they had in their
hands; but the old woman, shaking her head, said: - Hello, little ones, who brought you?
Come in and stay with me, I will not harm you. And, taking them by the hand, he
introduced them to the little house, where he had served an appetizing meal: milk with
sugary buns, apples and nuts. Then he took them to two little beds with white clothes, and
Hänsel and Gretel lay down on them, believing themselves in heaven.

The old woman appeared to be very good and kind, but in reality, she was an evil witch
who stalked the children to hunt them, and she had built the little house of bread with the
sole purpose of attracting them. When one fell into his power, he killed it, cooked it and ate
it; this was a great banquet for her. Witches have reddish eyes and are very short of sight;
but, on the other hand, their sense of smell is very fine, like that of animals, so from far
away they ventean the presence of people. When he felt that Hänsel and Gretel were
approaching, he said to himself, with a malignant laugh: "Mine are, they do not escape
me!" He got up early in the morning, before the children woke up, and, seeing them rest so
placidly, with those little cheeks so rosy and colored, he muttered between his teeth: "They
will be a good mouthful!" And, grabbing Hänsel with his dry hand, he took him to a small
barn and locked him behind a fence. The child screamed and protested with all his
strength, but everything was useless. He then went to Gretel's bed and woke up the little
girl, shaking her roughly and shouting: - Get up, lazy, go get water and cook something
good for your brother; I have it in the barn and I want it to grow fat. When it's well primed,
I'll eat it. Gretel burst into tears bitterly, but in vain; He had to fulfill the witch's
commands. Since then Hänsel was served exquisite meals, while Gretel received nothing
but crab shells. Every morning the old woman went down to the barn and said: - Hänsel,
take out your finger, I want to know if you are fat. But Hänsel, instead of the finger, took
out a small bone, and the old woman, who had a very bad view, thought that it was really
the child's finger, and it was all strange to not get fat. When, after four weeks, he saw that
Hänsel was still so weak, he lost patience and did not want to wait any longer: - Go, Gretel,
he said to the girl, to look for water, light! Be fat or skinny your brother, tomorrow I will
eat it. What a dismay the little sister, when she came with the water, and how the tears ran
down her cheeks! "My God, help us!" He prayed, "I wish we had been devoured by the
beasts of the forest, at least we would have died together!" - Stop whining! the old woman
shouted; They will not help you.

At dawn, Gretel had to go out to fill the cauldron with water and light a fire. - First let's
bake bread, said the witch. I have already heated the oven and prepared the dough -. And
with a push he took the poor girl to the oven, from whose mouth came great flames. Come
in and see if it's hot enough to put the bread in, "the old woman said. His intention was to
close the oven door when the child was inside, roast and eat it too. But Gretel guessed the
thought and said: - I do not know how to do it; How will I do it to enter? - You will have
seen more stupid creature! the witch replied. The opening is quite large; I could go through
it myself -and, to prove it to him, he went forward and stuck his head in the mouth of the
oven. Then Gretel, with a shove, rushed her inside and, closing the iron door, ran the bolt.
There it was to hear the shriek the witch gave! What terrifying screams! But the girl ran
away, and the evil sorceress had to die scorched miserably. Gretel ran to the barn where
Hänsel was locked and opened the door, exclaiming: Hänsel, we are saved; The witch is
already dead! The child jumped out, like a bird that opens its cage. What a joy they both
felt, and how they threw each other's necks, and what hugs and kisses! And since they had
nothing to fear, they went through the house of the witch, and in every corner they found
boxes full of pearls and precious stones. - More worth these than the pebbles! Hänsel
exclaimed, filling his pockets with them. And Gretel said: - I also want to take something
home - and, in turn, filled the rhinestone apron. - Let's go now, said the boy; we must leave
this haunted forest -. After about two hours of walking, they came to a large river. - We
can not pass it, Hänsel observed, I do not see a bridge or a walkway. "Nor is there any
boat," Gretel added; but there is nothing a white duck, and if I ask him he will help us to
cross the river.

And he shouted:
"Duckling, good duckling
My Hänsel and Gretel have reached the river.
There is no bridge to go through;
You want to take us on your white back ?. "
The duckling approached, and the boy climbed on it, inviting his sister to do the same.
"No," said Gretel, "it would be very heavy for the duckling; It is better that he take us one
after the other. So did the good duck, and when they were on the opposite shore and had
walked another stretch, the forest was becoming more and more familiar, until, finally,
discovered in the distance his father's house. Then they began to run, they entered like a
waterspout and hung around their father's neck. The poor man had not had a single hour of
rest since the day he left his children in the forest; and as for the stepmother, he had died.
Gretel overturned her apron, and all the pearls and precious stones jumped on the floor,
while Hänsel also emptied his pockets in handfuls. The sorrows were over, and the three
happily lived on. And colorin colorado this story is over.

3, The Dwarf Jumping (Rumpelstiltskin)

A story by the Grimm brothers

They say that at a very distant time the king decided to walk through his domains, which
included a small village where a miller lived with his beautiful daughter. When the king
was interested in her, the miller lied to be important: "Besides being beautiful, she is able
to turn straw into gold by spinning it with a spinning wheel." The king, frankly happy with
this quality of the girl, did not hesitate a moment and took her with him to the palace.

Once in the castle, the king ordered that they lead the miller's daughter to a room full of
straw, where there was also a spinning wheel: "You have until dawn to show me that your
father was telling the truth and turning this straw into gold. otherwise, you will be
banished. "

The poor girl wept disconsolately, but behold, a bizarre dwarf appeared who offered to
spin the straw in gold in exchange for her necklace. The miller's daughter handed him the
jewel and ... zis-zas, zis-zas, the dwarf spun the straw that was turning into gold in the
quills, until there was not even a blade of straw and the room shone from the gold. When
the king saw the feat, guided by greed, he snapped: "We'll see if you can do the same in
this room." And he pointed out a larger room and more full of straw than the previous day.

The girl was desperate, believing that it was impossible to complete the task but, as on the
previous day, the jumping dwarf appeared: "What do you give me if I thread the straw to
turn it into gold?" he asked when he became visible. "I only have this ring." The maid said,
handing him the ring. "Let's start then," the dwarf replied. And zis-zas, zis-zas, all the
straw turned into spun gold. But the king's greed had no end, and when he found that his
orders had been fulfilled, he announced: "You will repeat the feat once more, if you
succeed, I will make you my wife." Well, I thought that, despite being the daughter of a
miller, I would never find a woman with a better dowry. One more night the girl cried, and
again the grotesque dwarf appeared: "What will you give me in exchange for solving your
problem?" He asked, jumping, to the girl. "I have no more jewels to offer you," and
thinking that this time she was lost, she moaned in dismay. "Well, in that case, you will
give me your first child," demanded the enanillo. The girl accepted: "Who knows how
things will go in the future." - "He said to himself." And as it had happened before, the
straw was turning into gold as the strange being spun it. When the king entered the room,
his eyes shone even more than the gold he was contemplating, and summoned his subjects
for the celebration of the betrothal. They both lived happily and after a year, they had a
beautiful offspring. The now queen had forgotten the incident with the distaff, the straw,
the gold and the dwarf, and that is why she was terrified when one night the jumping sprite
appeared claiming her reward.

"Please, dwarf, please, now I have wealth, I will give you everything you want." How can
you compare the value of a life with something material? I love your son, "demanded the
disheveled dwarf, but the woman begged and begged so much that she shook the dwarf:"
You have three days to find out what my name is, if you get it right, I'll let you keep the
child. As much as the millinerita thought and racked her brains to find the name of the
dwarf, she never guessed the correct answer.

On the third day, he sent his scouts to seek different names from all corners of the world.
Back, one of them told the story of a goblin who had seen jumping at the door of a small
cabin singing:

"Today I drink wine,

and tomorrow beer,
then the child will without fail bring.
Never, break your head or not,
the name Rumpelstiltskin will guess! " When the dwarf returned the third night, and asked
his own name to the queen, she answered: "Your name is Rumpelstiltskin!"

"Can not be!" he shouted, "you can not know! The devil told you!" And so great and so
great was his anger that he kicked the ground that left his leg half buried, and when he tried
to pull it out, the dwarf split in half.

4, Rapunzel
A story by the Grimm brothers
There was once a man and a woman who lived alone and disconsolate because they had no
children, until, at last, the woman conceived the hope that God Our Lord was preparing to
satisfy her longing. The house they lived in had a little window on the back wall that
looked out onto a magnificent garden, in which splendid flowers and plants grew; but he
was surrounded by a high wall and nobody dared to enter it, since it belonged to a very
powerful and feared witch of the whole world. One day the woman appeared to that
window to contemplate the garden, and saw a terrace planted with beautiful green plants,
so fresh and green, that they awoke in her a violent craving to eat them. The craving was
increasing every day that passed, and as the woman thought it was impossible, she was
losing color and swooning, in plain sight. Seeing her so unhappy, her husband asked her,
"What's the matter, woman?" - "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I will die if I can not eat the green
grass in the garden behind our house." The man, who loved his wife very much, thought:
"Before I let her die, I'll get the greens, at all costs." And, at nightfall, he jumped over the
wall of the witch's garden, hastily plucked a handful of green greens and took them to his
wife. This one was prepared immediately a salad and ate it very comfortable; and both he
and he liked it so much that, the next day, his eagerness was three times more intense. If he
wanted to enjoy peace, the husband had to jump into the garden again. And so he did, at
nightfall. But as soon as he had put his feet on the ground, he had a terrible shock, for he
saw the witch appear before him. "How dare you," said this one with an angry look, "to
enter like a thief in my garden and steal my greens, you will pay dearly for it." - "Oh!"
replied the man, "have compassion on me, if I have done so, it has been of great need: my
wife saw from the window your green plants and felt such a great desire to eat them, that if
she did not have them she would die." The sorceress allowed herself to be softened and
told him: "If it is as you say, I will let you pick up as many greens as you want, with only
one condition: you have to give me the son you are born in. It will be fine and I will take
care of it like a mother." The man was in such a hurry that he agreed to everything, and
when the son was born, that it was a girl, the witch presented herself and, after calling it
Verdezuela; He took her Verdezuela was the most beautiful girl who saw the sun. When
she turned twelve, the sorceress locked her in a tower that stood in the middle of a forest
and had no doors or stairs; only on top was a tiny window. When the witch wanted to
enter, she stood on her feet and shouted:
"Verdezuela, Verdezuela,
Let go of your hair! "
Verdezuela had magnificent and long hair, fine as gold threads. When he heard the
sorceress's voice, he would loosen his braids, wrap them around a hook in the window, and
leave them hanging: and since they were twenty yards long, the witch climbed up them.

After some years, it happened that the King's son, finding himself in the forest, happened
to pass by the tower and heard a song so melodious, that he had to stop and listen to it. It
was Verdezuela, who entertained her loneliness by throwing her sweet voice into the air.
The prince wanted to go up to her and looked for the door of the tower, but, finding none,
he went back to the palace. However, that song had enraptured him in such a way that
every day he went to the woods to listen to him. Once he was hidden behind a tree, he saw
the sorceress approaching, and he heard her shouting, going to or to stop:
"Verdezuela, Verdezuela,
Let go of your hair! " Verdezuela loosened her braids, and the witch climbed to the top of
the tower. "If this is the ladder to go up there," the prince told himself, "I'll try fortune too."
And the next day, when it was getting dark, he went to the foot of the tower and said:
"Verdezuela, Verdezuela,
Let go of your hair! "
Then the braid came down, and the prince went up.

In the first moment, Verdezuela was frightened Verdezuela was very scared to see a man,
because his eyes had never seen any. But the prince spoke to him with great affability and
explained that his song had so impressed his heart, that he had not enjoyed a moment of
peace until he found a way to go up to see her. Upon hearing it, Verdezuela lost her fear,
and when he asked her if she wanted him for a husband, seeing the girl who was young and
handsome, she thought, "She will love me more than the old woman," and she answered
him, putting her hand in his: " Yes, I very much want to go with you, but I do not know
how to get out of here.Every time you come, bring a skein of silk, with them I will braid a
ladder and, when it is finished, I will go down and you will take me on your horse. " They
agreed that until then the prince would come every night, as the old woman went by day.
The sorceress did not suspect anything, until one day Verdezuela asked her: "Tell me, Aunt
Gothel, how is it that it costs me much more to come up to you than to the prince, who is
up in a heartbeat?" - "Ah, evil!" exclaimed the witch, "what do I hear? I thought I had
isolated you from the whole world, and yet you have cheated me." And, furious, she took
Verdezuela's beautiful braids, circled them around her left hand and, pushing a pair of
scissors with her right, zis, zas, in the blink of an eye, she closed her eyes, and threw them
away. I plant the splendid hair. And it was so ruthless, that it led poor Verdezuela to a
desert place, condemning her to a life of desolation and misery. The same day he had taken
the girl away, the witch tied the cut braids to the window hook, and when the prince
presented himself and said:
"Verdezuela, Verdezuela,
Let go of your hair! "
the witch let go of them, and the king's son came up through them. But instead of finding
his beloved Verdezuela, he found himself face to face with the sorceress, who looked at
him with malignant and perverse eyes: "Aha!" he exclaimed mockingly, "you wanted to
take the pretty girl, but the little bird is no longer in the nest or will sing again, the cat has
hunted it, and also you will take your eyes out." Verdezuela is lost to you; you will see her
again. " The prince, beside himself with pain and despair, threw himself from the top of the
tower. He saved his life, but the thorns on which he fell fell into his eyes, and the unhappy
man wandered wandering through the forest, blind, feeding on roots and berries and crying
incessantly about the loss of his beloved little woman. And so he walked aimlessly for
several years, miserable and sad, until, finally, he came to the desert where Verdezuela
lived with the two little children the two twin children, a boy and a girl, who had given
birth . The prince heard a voice that seemed familiar to him and, as he approached, he
recognized Verdezuela and threw it around his neck crying. Two of his tears moistened his
eyes, and at the same time they cleared, returning to see as before. He took her to his
kingdom, where he was received with great joy, and they lived many happy and happy
years.
5, Sleeping Beauty
A story by the Grimm brothers

Many years ago there lived a king and queen who said every day: "Oh, if only we had a
son!" But the son did not arrive. However, once the queen took a bath, a frog jumped out
of the water to land, and told her: "Your wish will be fulfilled and before one year, you
will have a daughter."

What the frog said came true, and the queen had a child so precious that the king could not
hide her great happiness, and ordered a party. He not only invited his relatives, friends and
acquaintances, but also a group of fairies, so that they would be kind and generous with the
girl. There were thirteen these fairies in his kingdom, but he only had twelve gold plates to
serve at dinner, so he had to do without one of them.

The party was held with the maximum splendor, and when it came to an end, the fairies
were giving the girl with the best and most wonderful gifts they could: one gave her the
Virtue, another the Beauty, the next Riches, and so all the others, with everything that
anyone could want in the world. When the eleventh of them had given their gifts, suddenly
entered the thirteenth. She wanted to take revenge for not having been invited, and without
any warning, and without looking at anyone, she shouted in a loud voice: "The king's
daughter, when she turns fifteen, will pierce herself with a spindle and fall dead
immediately!" And without saying another word, he turned around and left the room.

Everyone was stunned, but the twelfth, who had not yet announced her gift, took the lead,
and although she could not avoid the evil sentence, she could diminish it, and said: "She
will not die, but she will go into a deep sleep over a hundred years!"

The king tried by all means to avoid that misfortune for the young woman. He gave orders
so that every spinning machine or spindle in the kingdom would be destroyed. Meanwhile,
the gifts of the other twelve fairies were fully fulfilled in that young woman. So she was
beautiful, modest, of good nature and wise, and how many people knew her, came to love
deeply.

It happened that on the same day he turned fifteen, the king and queen were not at home,
and the maid was alone in the palace. So she went everywhere she could, looked at the
rooms and bedrooms as she wanted, and finally came to an old tower. She climbed the
narrow spiral stairs until she came to a small door. An old key was in the lock, and when
he turned it, the door suddenly opened. In the room was an old woman sitting in front of a
spindle, very busy spinning her linen. "Good morning, ma'am," said the king's daughter,
"what are you doing with that?" - "I'm spinning," said the old woman, and shook her head.

"What is that spinning thing sounding so cute?" said the young woman.

And she took the spindle and wanted to spin too. But nothing else had touched the spindle,
when the magical decree was fulfilled, and she pricked her finger with it.

As soon as he felt the sting, he fell on a bed that was there, and he went into a deep sleep.
And that dream was extended to the entire territory of the palace. The king and queen who
were just arriving home, and had entered the great hall, fell asleep, and the whole court
with them. The horses also fell asleep in the barn, the dogs on the grass, the pigeons on the
eaves of the roof, the flies on the walls, even the fire of the hearth, which was well flaming,
it was without heat, the meat that was roasting stopped. roast, and the cook who at that
moment was going to pull the young assistant's hair for having forgotten something, left
him and fell asleep. The wind stopped, and in the trees near the castle, not a leaf moved.

But around the castle began to grow a network of thorns, which grew larger and larger
each year, so much that they surrounded and covered it completely, so that nothing of it
could be seen, not even a flag that was on the roof. But the story of the sleeping beauty
"Precious Rose," who had called her so, ran throughout the region, so that from time to
time the children of kings came and tried to cross the wall of thorns wanting to reach the
castle. But it was impossible, because the thorns united so strongly as if they had hands,
and the young people were trapped by them, and without being able to free themselves,
they obtained a miserable death. And one hundred years later, another prince came to the
place, and he heard an old man talking about the curtain of thorns, and that it was said that
behind the thorns was hidden a beautiful princess, called Preciosa Rosa, who has been
asleep for a hundred years , and that also the king, the queen and the whole court fell
asleep. And he had also heard from his grandfather, that many sons of kings had come and
tried to cross the thorn wall, but they were stuck in them and had a death without mercy.
Then the young prince said:

- "I'm not afraid, I'll go and see the beautiful Preciosa Rosa." -

The good old man tried to dissuade him as much as he could, but the young man ignored
his warnings.

But on that date the hundred years had already been fulfilled, and the day when Preciosa
Rosa had to wake up had arrived. When the prince approached where the wall of thorns
was, there was nothing but beautiful flowers, which moved away from one another in
common agreement, and let the prince pass without hurting him, and then they gathered
again behind him as forming a fence.

In the stable of the castle he saw the horses and in the lawns the hunting dogs with pints
lying asleep, in the eaves of the roof were the pigeons with their heads under their wings.
And when he entered the palace, the flies were asleep on the walls, the cook in the kitchen
was still holding out his hand to scold the assistant, and the maid was sitting with the black
hen she had ready to pluck.

He kept advancing, and in the great hall he saw the whole court lying asleep, and the king
and queen were on the throne.

Then he moved further, and everything was so quiet that a breath could be heard, and
finally reached the tower and opened the door of the small room where Precious Rose was
asleep. There she lay, so beautiful that he could not look away, then stopped and kissed
her. But as soon as he kissed her, Preciosa Rosa opened her eyes and woke up, and looked
at him very sweetly.

Then they both went down together, and the king and queen awoke, and the whole court,
and they looked at each other with great astonishment. And the horses in the barn got up
and shook. The hunting dogs jumped and wagged their tails, the pigeons on the roof eaves
pulled their heads out from under the wings, looked around and flew into the open sky. The
flies on the wall fluttered again. The fire of the hearth raised its flames and cooked the
meat, and the cook pulled the hairs to the assistant in such a way that he even shouted, and
the maid collapsed the hen leaving her ready for the stew.

Days later the wedding of the prince and Preciosa Rosa was celebrated with all splendor,
and they lived happily until the end of their lives.