ONCE UPON AN EVER AFTER

A book of classic fairy tales

"Fairy tales are more than true. Not because they tell us that dragons exist. But because they tell us that dragons can be defeated." Neal Gaiman

All the fairy tales have one thing in common: In all of the stories there is

H ope

. And we

need hope in our real world. Hope that things like love, faith and goodness still exist. Hope that we can do whatever we want to do. Hope that we can be whoever we want to be. And that that is pure magic.

Snow White
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm sat beside a window and she was sewing. While sewing, she pricked her finger with the needle, and her blood fell on the snow. She thought "I want a child with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony." After that, she had a daughter, who had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony. And she was named Snow White. When the child was born, the Queen died. A year passed. The King married again. The new Queen was a beautiful woman. But she was proud and arrogant and she thought she was the most beautiful woman in all the kingdom. She had a magic mirror, and when she stood in front of it, she asked: "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who is the fairest of all?" And the mirror answered: "You, O Queen, are the fairest of all." The mirror always spoke the truth, so the Queen was very happy. But Snow White grew. And she became more and more beautiful. When she was seven years old, she became more beautiful than the Queen. One day, the Queen went to the mirror and asked: "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who is the fairest of all?" And the mirror answered: "You, O Queen, are very very fair. But Snow White is fairer." The Queen was shocked. And she turned green with envy. Now she hated Snow White and

nce upon a time in the middle of winter, when snow fell from the sky, a Queen

she couldn't sleep at night. She called a huntsman and said: "Take the child to the forest. Kill her and bring back her heart as proof." The huntsman obeyed. But when he took his knife to kill the little girl, she began to cry and he felt pity. He told her to run away. To never come back home again. Then, he killed an animal and took its heart to the Queen. The Queen was happy and since she thought the heart was Snow White's, she ate it. Meanwhile, Snow White was alone in the forest. She was afraid, tired, thirsty and hungry. She ran until she found a little house in the middle of the forest. She wanted to rest, so she went into the house. Everything in it was very small. She saw a table with seven little plates and seven little mugs. She was very hungry and she ate food from the seven little plates. After that, she went into the bedroom and saw seven little beds. She prayed and slept in one of the beds. When it was very late, the owners of the house came back. They were seven dwarfs who worked on a mine. When they came into their house, they saw someone had been there. They thought "Who ate our food?" and "Who is sleeping in our beds?". But when they saw Snow White they thought "Oh my goodness, what a beautiful girl!". When Snow White woke up, she realized the dwarfs were friendly and she said: "My name is Snow White". She told about her evil stepmother and about the huntsman. The dwarfs heard everything and said: "If you take care of our house, clean, cook and sew, you can stay with us." But the dwarfs told her she should not open the door to anyone when she was alone. Snow White was very happy and she agreed. In the castle, the Queen believed Snow White was dead. She went to the mirror again and asked: "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who is the fairest of all?" And the mirror answered: "You, O Queen, are very very fair. But in the forest, Snow White is still alive and fairer. And no one is fairer than she." The Queen was surprised because she knew the mirror always spoke the truth. She knew the huntsman had betrayed her. She turned yellow with anger and envy and she could not sleep at night. In the morning, she decided to find Snow White and kill her. She dressed as an old beggar and went to the forest with a basket of poisoned apples. When she found the little house, she knocked on the door and said:

"Dear child, take one of these delicious apples." Snow White saw the succulent red fruit and took one. When she took one bite of the apple, she fell on the floor. The Queen looked at her with dark eyes and laughed: "White as snow, red as blood, black as ebony! Now you are dead and you will not wake up again!" When the Queen arrived in the castle, she went to the mirror and asked: "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who is the fairest of all?" And the mirror answered: "You, O Queen, are the fairest in the land." And now the Queen finally rested. When the dwarfs came home, they found little Snow White on the floor. They tried to wake her up, but she was dead. They were very sad and cried a lot. Since the girl was very beautiful they didn't have the courage to bury her, so they built a glass coffin. Outside the coffin, they wrote her name and that she was a King's daughter. For some time she was there in the coffin, and she did not change. She was still as white as snow, as red as blood and as black as ebony. One day, a young Prince went into the forest with his horse and he found Snow White's coffin. He was fascinated with her beauty. He asked the dwarfs to take the coffin with him because he could not live without looking at Snow White. The dwarfs felt pity and they let the Prince take the coffin and the girl. The Prince gave orders to his servants to carry the coffin in their shoulders. But one of the soldiers tumbled on a stick and with the shock, the poisoned piece of apple came out of Snow White's throat. Right after that, she started breathing again and she opened her eyes and sat up. She was surprised and asked: "Oh my goodness, what happened? Where am I?" The Prince, full of joy, said: "You are with me! And I love you more than everything in the world. Come with me to my father's castle and marry me!" Snow White accepted and went with the young Prince. They invited many people to their wedding. Including the evil Queen. But the Queen did not know the bride was Snow White, so she went to the mirror and asked:

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who is the fairest of all?" And the mirror answered: "You, O Queen, are very very fair. But the young Princess bride is by far the fairest." The Queen was very angry and decided to go to the wedding to see who was the bride. When she arrived she knew it was Snow White. But the Prince and Princess had prepared a trap for the evil Queen. And there she died.

Hansel & Grethel

by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

nce upon a time there lived a man, his wife and his two children. The boy's name

was Hansel and the girl's name was Grethel. They were very poor and didn't have much food to eat. The man was preoccupied and he said to his wife: "Wife, what will happen to us? We are very poor and we don't have enough food for us and the children." The wife answered: "That is true. If we don't find a solution, we will die. Let's take the children into the forest and leave them there. We will give two pieces of bread to them. When they go to sleep, we come back home." The man was very sad. He didn't want to abandon his children. But he knew his wife was right and he agreed. The two children heard the conversation between their father and stepmother, so Grethel began to cry. Hansel said to his sister: "Be calm, Grethel, don't cry. We will find a solution." When it was morning, the man and his wife gave one piece of bread to Hansel and another piece to Grethel, and they took the children into the forest. When they arrived, the stepmother said: "Stay here. We will go get some wood, and when we finish, we will come back to get you." But they left the children and went home. When it was dark, Grethel began to cry: "Oh, dear brother, we are alone! What will we do?" And Hansel answered:

"Be calm, Grethel, don't cry. When we were coming here I threw little pieces of bread on the earth. Now if we follow them, we will find our way home." Grethel stopped crying and she thought her brother was really smart. But when they looked down, they didn't see the little pieces of bread because the birds had eaten them. Grethel felt afraid and began to cry. But her brother said: "Be calm, Grethel, don't cry. Let's try to find the way home." They tried to find their home for many hours, but they were lost in the forest. They were alone, hungry and tired. A few days later, they were still trying to find their house. Suddenly, in the middle of the forest, they saw a big and strange house. The house was made of gingerbread, the roof of the house was made of cakes and the windows were made of transparent sugar. The children were very hungry, so they decided to eat just a little bit of the house. Everything was delicious! But they heard a voice saying: "Nibble, nibble, like a mouse, Who is nibbling at my house?" They thought it was the wind, so they started to eat again. But then the door opened, and they saw a very ugly old woman come out of the house. The children were very scared, but the woman said: "Ah, dear children, why are you here? The forest is very cold. Come in the house and eat with me." The children went into the house and they saw a big table with apples, pancakes, cookies, bread, cake and milk. After that, the woman took the children to two little beds. The woman was very ugly. She was old and blind. But the children thought she was very nice. They didn't know that she was really an evil witch who liked to give food to little children and then eat them. When the children woke up, she took Hansel and locked him in a little stable next to the house. Then, she looked at Grethel and said: "Go get some water and cook something for your brother. I want to give him a lot of food. When he is fat, I will eat him." Grethel was afraid and she began to cry. But she obeyed the evil witch. Everyday the witch went to the stable and screamed: "Hansel, give me your finger! I want to feel it to see if you are fat."

But Hansel didn't give his finger to the witch. He gave a little stick. The witch was blind and she could not see it was a stick. So she thought Hansel wasn't getting fat. Four weeks passed and she lost her patience. She screamed: "Grethel, go get water! Tomorrow I will kill your brother and cook him!" Grethel was desperate and thought: "Please, God, help us! Don't let that witch eat my dear brother." The next day, when the witch was preparing to cook the boy, she said to Grethel: "Grethel, come here! Go into the oven and tell me if it is hot enough." But Grethel said: "I don't know how to do it. Can you show me?" When the old witch went next to the hot oven, Grethel pushed her into the flames and closed the little iron door. The witch screamed and screamed but Grethel ran to her brother and opened the stable door. "Dear brother, now we are free! The old witch is dead!" The children went into the house and took the witch's jewels. After that, they said: "Let's try to find our home!" So they ran away from the gingerbread house. They walked for a few days until they found their home. When the father saw his children, he was very happy. He hugged and kissed them. The father said the stepmother had died. After that, the children showed the jewels they had brought. And because of that, they were not poor anymore.

The Emperor's New Suit

by Hans Christian Andersen

Once upon a time there was an Emperor who loved himself very much. He always
wanted to wear the most elegant and beautiful clothes. Every hour he went to his room and he changed his clothes. After some time, everybody in the land heard of this habit of the Emperor. Two charlatans heard about the Emperor's love for luxury and they decided to take advantage of that. They went to the castle and said: "Your Imperial Majesty, we are two very good tailors with a very good proposition for you." The Emperor was curious so he asked: "What is it?" And the charlatans said: "We did much research and we have invented and extraordinary method to create a very light cloth. The cloth even becomes invisible. In fact, the cloth is invisible only to people who are stupid to appreciate its quality" The Emperor was interested and said: "Tell me more." And the charlatans continued: "And we will make this cloth especially for you, your Majesty. You can choose the color and the size will be perfect." The Emperor was very excited. He loved clothes very much. And he also wanted to know who couldn't see the cloth, because he believed what the charlatans had said about those people being stupid. So he gave a lot of gold to the two charlatans and said: "Tell me what you need to start work." The charlatans were happy with the gold. But they wanted more, so they said: "We need some silk and gold threads."

The Emperor gave silk and gold threads to them, and waited until they finished the work. After some time, the two charlatans came to the Emperor and said: "You Majesty, here is your fabulous new suit. Look at the colors! Aren't they beautiful? And touch the silk! Isn't it soft?" Of course the Emperor didn't see anything. But he didn't want people to think he was stupid. So he said: "Yes, yes, it is very beautiful! Thank you for your work." But the charlatans said: "Your Majesty, please, take off your clothes. You have to wear your new suit." The Emperor was embarrassed, but he thought the suit really existed, so he took off his clothes, took the "invisible" suit and tried to wear it. The charlatans said: "Your Majesty, you are amazing! This suit fits your perfectly!" The Emperor didn't want to seem stupid, so he said: "Yes, yes, it is very beautiful! Thank you for your work." But the charlatans said: "Your Majesty, let's show your new suit to your subjects. They will love it!" Then the Emperor said: "Alright. I will give this privilege to the people." So the Emperor left the castle and walked in the city to show his new suit. People were shocked, because they saw the Emperor was naked. Then one child screamed: "Why is the Emperor naked?" When the Emperor realized he was naked, he understood the two charlatans had lied to him. But they ran away. The Emperor decided to go back to the castle, and he was very embarrassed.

Cinderella
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

nce upon a time there lived rich man with his wife and their only daughter. The

wife was in bed because she was very sick. She knew she was dying, so she called her daughter and said: "My dear child, be honest and good, and God will always take care of you. I will go to heaven but I will always be with you." And then she closed her eyes and died. The girl was very sad. She went to the cemetery everyday to visit her mother, and she always cried. But she was always honest and good like her mother asked. After a few months, the man married again. The new wife had two daughters. On the outside, they were very pretty and delicate. But on the inside, they were ugly, arrogant and evil. They were very mean to the man's daughter. They took her pretty dresses and gave an ugly dirty apron and wooden shoes to her. They laughed and said: "Look! She is so ugly and stupid!" The girl was obliged to cook, wash and do heavy work in the house. She always had ashes and dust in her face, so the evil sisters gave her a nickname: Cinderella. Because "cinder" means "ashes". Cinderella was very sad. She went to the cemetery to visit her mother and cried. There, she saw a little white bird. She didn't know the bird was magic. When she arrived home, her father told her something amazing: The King was having a party. He invited all the beautiful young women in the land, because he wanted to find a bride for his son. Cinderella saw her stepsisters getting dressed and she was happy because she wanted to go, too. She went to her stepmother and said: "Dear stepmother, I want to go to the party. I want to dance and meet the Prince. Please, can I go?"

The stepmother laughed and said: "You want to go to the party?! Look at you! You are dirty and you don't have a dress. You cannot meet the Prince!" But the girl cried and said: "Please, stepmother! I want to go very much!" The stepmother thought for a moment and said: "Alright. You can go to the party if you finish to clean the house." The house was very dirty and the stepmother thought Cinderella could never finish in time. But Cinderella was determined. She wanted to go to the party very much. She cleaned the entire house, went to the stepmother and said: "Stepmother, I've finished! Can I go to the party now?" The stepmother answered: "Of course not, you silly girl! You don't have a dress and you don't have shoes! If you go, people will look at you and laugh!" The stepmother left with her daughters and Cinderella was alone. She was very sad, went to the cemetery and cried a lot. The little magic bird heard Cinderella crying and said: "Don't cry, child. I am here to help you." Suddenly, Cinderella's apron became a beautiful dress, and her wooden shoes became little shoes made of crystal glass. Cinderella was very happy, and she went to the party. When she arrived, everybody looked at her because she was very beautiful. But the stepmother and the sisters didn't recognize her. The Prince saw that beautiful young woman and asked her to dance. They danced all night, and he didn't want to dance with anyone else. When the party was over, the Prince wanted to take Cinderella home. She didn't want that, because she didn't want the Prince to see her in that dirty apron. So she ran away. But when she was running, one of her shoes fell from her foot. The Prince picked up the shoe and said to his father: "Father, I have found my bride!"

The King was very happy and asked: "Great news, dear son! What is her name?" The Prince showed the little crystal glass shoe to his father and said: "I don't know. But I know this little shoe belongs to her." The Kind ordered his men to go to every house in the kingdom until they found the owner of that shoe. When the soldiers arrived in Cinderella's house, her stepsisters were very happy, because they had pretty feet. The older one wanted to try first, but her toe was very big to fit the shoe. Then her mother said: "Cut off your toe. When you are Queen you won't have to walk." And the first sister did what her mother said. She cut off her toe and tried on the shoe. But the soldiers saw there was blood in the shoe and they screamed: "There they go! There they go! There is blood on her shoe. The shoe is too small, Not the right bride at all!" Then it was time for the second sister to try on the shoe. But her heel was very large to fit the shoe. Then her mother said: "Cut off a piece of your heel. When you are Queen you won't have to walk." And the second sister did what her mother said. She cut off a piece of her heel and tried on the shoe. But the soldiers saw there was blood in the shoe and they screamed: "There they go! There they go! There is blood on her shoe. The shoe is too small, Not the right bride at all!" Then the soldiers asked: "Don't you have any more daughters?" And the stepmother answered: "My husband has a daughter. But she didn't go to the party. She is not the bride. It's impossible."

But the soldiers ordered Cinderella to come and try on the shoe. The girl washed her face and hands and went to the room where the soldiers were. When she put the shoe on her feet, it fitted perfectly and the soldiers screamed: "There they go! There they go! No blood on her shoe. The shoe is not too small, The right bride after all!" The Prince was very happy. He had found his bride. On the day of Cinderella's wedding, the stepsisters decided to go to the party. Now they wanted to be Cinderella's friends. But two birds flew over their heads and took out their eyes. The two sisters were forced to be blind for the rest of their lives, because they were very mean and arrogant. And Cinderella and the Prince lived happily ever after.

The Sleeping Beauty

by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

nce upon a time there lived a King and a Queen who wanted a child very much.

After a while, the Queen got pregnant and she gave birth to a little girl. They named her Rosamond. The King was very happy and he decided to have a great party in the castle. He invited a lot of people. Friends, family, relations, acquaintances and the fairies of the kingdom. He wanted the fairies to protect the child. There were thirteen fairies in the kingdom, but he forgot to invite one fairy. In anyway, the party was celebrated with splendor. Each fairy brought a gift to the girl. One gave virtue. Another fairy gave beauty. The third fairy gave riches. And there were many more gifts. When the twelfth fairy was saying what her gift was, the thirteenth fairy invaded the party. She was very angry because the King didn't invite her, so she said with a loud voice: "When the girl is fifteen years old, she will prick her finger in the needle of a spindle. And because of that, she will die!" After she said that, she left the castle. And everybody was afraid. The King and Queen were devastated, but the twelfth fairy, who hadn't finished to say what her gift was, said: "Beloved King and Queen, don't be afraid. The Princess will not die. She will just fall into a deep sleep for one hundred years." The King asked everybody in his kingdom to destroy all the spindles, because he didn't want to be without his daughter. Rosamond grew up. She was very beautiful and generous, kind and sweet. Everyone who knew her, loved her. When the girl was fifteen years old, the King and Queen travelled to a distant land. So Rosamond was alone in the castle. She was a little curious, so she decided to visit all the rooms in the castle until she found an old tower. When she opened the door, she saw an old woman with a spindle and she was very curious. So she asked:

"Good morning, madam. What are you doing? What is this thing in your hands?" The woman answered: "It's a spindle, child. Do you want to see it?" Rosamond came closer to the spindle and when she touched it, she pricked her finger in the needle and fell upon a bed in the room. And this happened to everyone in the castle. Everybody fell into a deep sleep. When the King and Queen returned to the castle, they fell asleep on the floor. The horses, the dogs, the sheep everything and everyone was asleep. Many years had passed and around the castle grew a lot of thorns. In other lands, people heard of this rumor: There is a beautiful Princess past the thorns. Only a kiss will wake her and break the curse. Many brave young men tried to pass the thorns. But they couldn't and died. One day, when the hundred years had passed, a young Prince found the castle and saw the thorns turn into flowers. He went into the castle and saw people and animals on the floor, sleeping. Then, he finally found the tower where Rosamond was. He opened the door and he saw the girl in the bed. He was very enchanted with her beauty and he decided to kiss her. When his lips touched hers, she woke up and opened her eyes. She was very happy and thankful to the young Prince. They went to the court and saw that everyone was awake too. The King, the Queen, the soldiers, the horses, dogs, sheep nobody was asleep anymore. The young Princess and Prince decided to get married. Their wedding was celebrated with splendor and they lived happily ever after.

The ugly Duckling

by Hans Christian Andersen

t was summer and the day was beautiful in the countryside. The cornfields were

yellow; the meadow was green; the water was blue. In the middle of the meadow there was a beautiful lake. There was a duck next to the lake, and she sat on top of her nest. She had to hatch her little ducklings. After some time, the eggs hatched and she was very happy. "My babies!", she said. And they answered "Quack! Quack!". They were beautiful little yellow ducks. The mother was very proud. But when she counted the little ducks, she saw that there was still one egg and she thought: "This is a very strange egg! It won't hatch! And I am very tired of sitting." But she decided to sit on the egg for a little longer. After a few days, the egg finally hatched. She saw a clumsy grey creature come out of it and thought: "This is a very big duckling. The others are very beautiful and little. And this one is very different. Maybe the egg wasn't mine. Maybe this clumsy creature is a turkey!" She decided to go into the water with her ducklings to see if this strange creature was, in fact, a turkey. Because turkeys can't swim. But when she went into the water with her ducklings, she saw the clumsy creature could swim very well. So she thought: "It's not a turkey. I think this is my duckling. He is just a little different from the others." So she decided to enjoy the swim on the lake with all of her ducklings. And then they saw another family of ducks on the lake.

One of the ducks from the other family said: "Look at that strange family! All of the ducklings are cute, except the last one. He is very ugly!" This happened everyday for some time. The clumsy grey creature was tired of being called "ugly" and "different" and "strange". So he tried to run away and fly with the birds in the sky. But the birds were afraid of him, because he was very big. So he decided to fly to a mountain. There, he found wild ducks. But the wild ducks also said he was very "ugly" and "different" and "strange". One day, the clumsy grey creature saw beautiful birds with long necks flying on the sky. They were swans. And he thought: "I wish I could be one of those beautiful happy swans." But he only met more ducks and more birds, and everyone said he was very "ugly" and "different" and "strange". So the clumsy grey creature decided to go back to the lake and swim alone for the rest of his life. It became autumn. And then winter. It was very cold and the clumsy grey creature was feeling sad, cold and alone. When it was spring, he realized he didn't want to be alone anymore. He wanted to look for the beautiful swans he saw on that summer day. He swam, swam and swam, but didn't find the swans. He was tired and disappointed, so he looked down. And then he saw a beautiful swan. With a long neck and gorgeous feathers. After a moment he realized he was looking at the water. He was looking at his reflection. He was not that clumsy grey bird anymore. So he said: "That's it! I am a swan! I was not ugly, I was not strange. I was just different, because I wasn't a duck. I am not an ugly duckling! I am a swan!" And he was very happy. He found his swan brothers and they were also happy. And now, everybody saw that beautiful creature and said: "He is the most beautiful swan I have ever seen."

RaPUnZEl
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

nce upon a time there lived a man and his wife. They wanted a child very much, but

they didn't have one. Next to their house there was a beautiful garden, full of flowers and vegetables. But there was a big wall around it, and nobody went to the garden because it belonged to an old evil witch. One day, the wife sat next to the window and saw some fresh and succulent radishes. And she began to wish for one. She said to her husband: "Dear husband, I am very sad. For days I have been wishing one of those delicious radishes. I will die if I don't eat one." The husband loved his wife very much, so he decided to go to the garden and take a radish for her. He climbed the wall and got one for his wife. She ate it and it was delicious. On the next day, she wanted another radish. When it was dark, the husband went to the garden again. But this time, the witch caught him. With angry eyes, she asked: "What are you doing in my garden, thief?" And he said: "Please, have mercy! My wife saw your beautiful vegetables and she wanted to eat one very much. I didn't want to see my wife suffering." "Alright." said the witch. "If your story is true, you can have more vegetables. But I have one condition: When you and your wife have a child, you will give the baby to me." The husband was very anxious. He wanted to go home to his wife, so he said: "Alright, I will give you the baby." When the child was born, the witch appeared. She took the little girl and named her Rapunzel. Rapunzel grew and she became the most beautiful girl in the land. She had beautiful long blond

hair. When she was twelve years old, the witch put her in a tower in the middle of the forest. The tower didn't have a door. It only had a window. When the witch wanted to come into the tower, she screamed: "Rapunzel, throw down your hair!" When the girl heard the voice of the witch, she threw down her hair and the witch climbed up. They lived like this for some years. But one day, a Prince went into the forest and saw the big tower. He heard a lovely voice singing. It was Rapunzel. The Prince was enchanted with that voice and he tried to find a door in the tower. But there wasn't any door, so he went home. But everyday he went into the forest to listen to that voice. One day, he saw the witch come to the tower and scream: "Rapunzel, throw down your hair!" Then he saw Rapunzel throw down her gorgeous golden hair. He saw the witch grab the hair and climb the tower. On the next day, he decided to go to the tower to meet Rapunzel. When he arrived, he screamed: "Rapunzel, throw down your hair!" The girl threw down her hair and the Prince climbed the tower. When Rapunzel saw the young Prince, she was afraid because she had never seen a man before. But the Prince told her he had heard her singing and that her voice was beautiful. Then Rapunzel forgot her terror. They talked and the Prince asked her to be his wife. She was very happy, but she said: "I want to marry you, but I don't know how to leave this place." They thought for a moment and she said: "I know! Every night when you come to see me, bring a piece of rope. I will make one big rope and then we can leave together." But when the Prince left, the witch found out about him and about his plan to take Rapunzel with him. She was very angry. In her anger, she climbed the tower and cut Rapunzel's hair. And she did more. She took Rapunzel and put her in a desert place. She didn't want anyone to find the girl. On that same day, the Prince came and screamed:

"Rapunzel, throw down your hair!" The witch threw down Rapunzel's hair and the Prince climbed up the tower. When he saw the witch, he was afraid. The witch laughed and said: "The girl is not here and you will never see her again!" After she said that, she pushed the Prince from the tower. When he fell, some thorns pierced his eyes and he became blind. He couldn't find his way home so he walked in the forest for many years until he found the desert place where Rapunzel was. When Rapunzel saw the Prince, she ran to him, hugged him, kissed him and began to cry. When her tears touched his eyes, he was able to see again. Then Rapunzel said she had had his twins a few years ago. The Prince was very happy and he met his children: a boy and a girl. Then the Prince took Rapunzel and their children to his castle and they lived happily ever after.

Rumpelstiltskin
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

nce upon a time there was a very poor miller. He had a very beautiful daughter

and he wanted to find a rich husband for her. One day, he deiced to go to the Palace to talk to the King. When he arrived, he said: "Your Majesty, I have a very beautiful and talented daughter. If you give her straw, she will spin it and it will become gold." The King was very interested, so he said: "Bring your daughter to the Palace. I want to see if she can do what you said." The miller took his daughter to the Palace and when they arrived, the soldiers took the girl to a room. In the room there was a spindle and a lot of straw. The King said: "Finish your work until it is morning. If you can't do this, you will be killed." After saying that, the King left. And the girl was alone in the room with a lot of straw. She didn't know how to turn straw into gold. She didn't want to die and she was desperate, so she began to cry. Suddenly, the door of the room opened and she saw a strange little man smiling at her. He said: "Good evening, miller's daughter. Why are you crying?" And she answered: "Oh! I have to spin this straw and it has to become gold. I don't know how to do that. And the King said that I will die if I don't do this until tomorrow morning." The strange little man smiled and said: "What will you give me if I do the work for you?" And the girl said: "I will give you my necklace!" The little man accepted the necklace and started to spin the straw. Before it was morning, all the

straw had become gold. In the middle of the morning, the King went to the room and when he saw all the gold, he was very happy and impressed. He decided to take the girl to another room with a lot of straw. And before he left, he said: "Finish your work until it is morning. If you can't do this, you will be killed." The girl was desperate again. There was more straw now. So she began to cry. But the strange little man appeared again and asked: "What will you give me if I do the work for you?" The girl said: "The ring in my finger!" The little man accepted the ring and started to spin the straw. Before it was morning, all the straw had become gold. In the middle of the morning, the King went to the room and when he saw all the gold, he was very happy and impressed. But the King was a very ambitious man and he wanted more gold. So he decided to take the girl to another room with a lot of straw. Before he left, he said: "Finish your work until it is morning. If you can do this, you will become my wife." After the King left, the strange little man appeared again and asked: "What will you give me if I do the work for you?" But the girl said: "I have nothing more to give." The little man thought for a moment and said: "So you will give me your first child." The girl was confused and said: "But I don't have any children." And the man smiled and said: "But you will have. When you are Queen, you will have a child. If you promise to give the child to me, I will do the work for you. If you don't accept my offer, the King will kill you."

The girl thought she had no more options, so she promised to give her first child to the strange little man. The little man started to spin the straw and before it was morning, all the straw had become gold. In the middle of the morning, the King went to the room. He saw all the gold and was very happy. He and the girl got married and after a year, she found out she was pregnant. When the child was born, the strange little man appeared and said: "Remember your promise? Give the child to me!" The Queen loved her child very much, so she offered many riches and treasures to the strange little man. But he didn't accept. He wanted the child. The Queen began to cry and the man felt pity, so he said: "Alright. I will give you three days. If you find out my name until the end of the third day, I will let you keep the child. But if you don't find out my name, you will give the child to me." The Queen was awake all night. She tried to think of all the names she had heard in her life. At the end of the first day, the strange little man appeared and asked: "Did you find out my name?" She said a million of names, but the little man said: "None of those is my name." At the end of the second day, the little man appeared again. And the Queen asked: "Is your name Roast-ribs? Or Sheepshanks? Or Spindleshanks?" But he answered: "None of those is my name." The Queen called all the wise men in the Kingdom and none of them could think of a new name. But one of them said: "This morning, I saw a strange little man dancing in front of a house. He was singing: 'Today I'm alone, but tomorrow comes soon!

I was able to trick the Queen in the room. Tonight the Queen's child is going to come in, Because she will never guess my name: Rumpelstiltskin!' " The Queen was very happy to hear that. When it was night, the strange little man appeared and asked: "Did you find out my name?" And the Queen said: "Is your name Jack? Or Harry?" The little man smiled and said: "No." But the Queen finally said: "Then I think your name is Rumpelstiltskin!" The strange little man was very surprised and he became very angry. He started to scream: "The devil told you that! The devil told you that!" He was very angry, so he jumped very hard on the floor. The floor broke and the little strange man died.

The Princess and the Pea

by Hans Christian Andersen

nce upon a time there was a Prince. He wanted to marry a Princess. But he wanted

a real Princess. He travelled to many lands and tried to find a bride. But it was difficult to know if the Princesses were real or not. There was always something he didn't like about the Princesses he met. So he decided to go back home. And he was very sad, because he wanted a bride very much. His parents, the old King and Queen, were disappointed, too. Because they wanted to find a bride for their son. One day, there was a big storm in all the Kingdom. There was thunder and lightning, and there was a lot of rain. While it was raining, they heard a knock on the doors of the Palace. When they opened, they saw a young woman. She was very beautiful, but the storm had made her ugly. Her hair was disorganized and she was all wet. The Prince asked: "Who are you?" And she answered: "I am a Princess." The King and Queen asked: "A real Princess?" And she said: "Yes." The Queen wanted to find out if the girl was telling the truth. So she got a little pea and put it under 20 beds and 20 mattresses. And the Princess had to sleep on top of the 20 beds and 20 mattresses.

When it was morning, the Queen asked: "How did you sleep, my dear?" And the Princess answered: "I could not sleep well. There was something hard under my beds and mattresses. But I don't know what it was." And so they knew she was a real Princess. Because only a real Princess is sensible like that. The Prince asked the Princess to marry him, she accepted and they lived happily ever after. This is a true story.

Little Red Riding Hood

by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

nce upon a time there was a lovely girl. She was very sweet and nice, and

everybody loved her. Her grandmother had given a little red cap to her, and it had a hood. So everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood. One day, Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother was sick. So her mother called her and said: "Com here, dear. Take this cake and this bottle of wine to your grandmother. She is sick and she needs good food. But do not go into the forest, because you can fall and break the bottle of wine. And your grandmother will get nothing." Little Red Riding Hood took her little basket with food and left the house. But she decided to go into the forest, because the forest is closer to her grandmother's house. When she entered the forest, a wolf appeared. The wolf was very bad, but the girl did not know that. So the wolf said: "Good morning, little girl." And she said: "Good morning, kind wolf." The wolf smiled and said: "Where are you going so early in the morning?" The girl answered: "To my grandmother's house." And the wolf asked: "Where does your grandmother live?" Innocently, the girl said: "She lives across the forest." After she said that, the wolf thought:

"I will go to her grandmother's house, eat the grandmother and then eat this delicious little girl." So the wolf said goodbye to Little Red Riding Hood and went to her grandmother's house. When he arrived, he knocked on the door. The grandmother asked: "Who is there?" And the wolf answered: "It's me, your granddaughter!" The old grandmother said: "Little Red Rising Hood?" And the wolf answered: "Yes, grandmother. Let me in!" When the grandmother opened the door, the wolf opened his big mouth and ate her. The he put on the grandmother's clothes and laid on the bed. After some minutes, the girl arrived and knocked on the door. The wolf, pretending to be the grandmother, said: "Come in, my angel!" The girl came in and went to her grandmother's room. Then she said: "Grandmother, you look very different! What big ears you have!" The wolf said: "They are to hear you better, my child." But the girl said: "What big eyes you have!" And the wolf answered: "They are to see you better, my dear." The girl continued:

"What big arms you have!" And the wolf answered: "They are to hug you better, my darling." And then the girl said: "Oh! But what a terrible big mouth you have!" And the wolf finally answered: "It is to eat you!" After he said that, he opened his big mouth and ate the little girl. After eating the grandmother and the girl, he was tired, so he decided to sleep in the grandmother's bed. While he was sleeping, a huntsman was walking close to the grandmother's house. When he saw the door opened, he decided to come in. He saw the wolf and he knew the creature had eaten the grandmother and the girl. The huntsman took his knife and very carefully cut the wolf's stomach. He rescued the grandmother and the girl, and they were very happy. The huntsman took some rocks and put them on the wolf's stomach. When the wolf woke up, he decided to go for a walk. But the rocks were very heavy in his stomach, so he fell on the river and died.