akorn - Mighty Old Tales Retold

The Shroud

There was once a mother who had a little boy of seven years old, who was so handsome and lovable that no one could look at him without liking him, and she herself worshipped him above everything in the world.

Hans the Hedgehog

There was once a countryman who had money and land in plenty, but no matter how rich he was, one thing was still wanting in his happiness -- he had no children. 

The Two Travelers

Hill and vale do not come together, but the children of men do, good and bad. In this way a shoemaker and a  tailor met with each other in their travels.

The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat

In a certain mill lived an old miller who had neither wife nor child, and three apprentices served under him. As they had been with him several years, he one day said to them, "I am old and want to sit in the chimney corner, go out, and whoever brings me the best horse home, to him I will give the mill..."

Stories About Snakes

There was once a little child whose mother gave her every afternoon a small bowl of milk and bread, and the child seated herself in the yard with it. When she began to eat however, a snake came creeping out of a crevice in the wall...

Wise Folks

One day a peasant took his good hazel stick out of the corner and said to his wife, "Trina, I am going across country, and shall not return for three days. If during that time the cattle dealer should happen to call, and want to buy our three cows, you may strike a bargain at once, but not unless you can get two hundred talers for them; nothing less, do you hear?"

Sweet Porridge

There was a poor but good little girl who lived alone with her mother, and they no longer had anything to eat.

The Willow Wren and the Bear

Once in summertime the bear and the wolf were walking together in the forest, and the bear heard a bird singing so beautifully that he said, "Brother wolf, what bird is it that sings so well?"

Bearskin

There was once a young fellow who enlisted as a soldier, conducted himself bravely, and was always the foremost when it rained bullets. So long as the war lasted, all went well, but when peace was made, he received his dismissal, and the captain said he might go where he liked. His parents were dead, and he no longer had a home, so he went to his brothers and begged them to take him in...

The Devil's Sooty Brother

A disbanded soldier had nothing to live on, and did not know how to get on. So he went out into the forest and when he had walked for a short time, he met a little man who was, the Devil.