Europe
Explore European fairy tales and folk narratives, from household tales and fairy realms to enchanted castles and difficult quests. The collection filters help distinguish Grimm, Celtic, Norse and other sources; their individual tellings can have very different audiences and endings.
150 stories are in this region right now.
See also: Turkey, Russia, Ancient Greece.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 3-5
The Elves and the Shoemaker
A poor shoemaker finds shoes finished overnight by two naked elves—then thanks them with tiny clothes, and they dance away forever.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Dog and the Sparrow
A sparrow feeds a starving dog, then ruins the carter who ran him over—wine, horses, corn—until a hatchet meant for the bird kills the man.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Blue Light
A cast-off soldier steals a witch's never-dying blue light, summons a manikin with his pipe, and forces a hard king to yield kingdom and daughter.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Snowdrop
A jealous queen hunts Snowdrop with lace, comb, and apple; seven dwarfs guard her glass coffin until a stumble frees the poisoned bite.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Sweetheart Roland
A witch kills her own child by mistake; the stepdaughter flees with Roland, outwits pursuit by shape-shifting—and a wedding song restores his memory.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
Snow-White and Rose-Red
Two kind sisters share their cottage with a winter bear, thrice rescue a spiteful dwarf—and learn their guest was a prince under a spell.
The Wedding of Mrs Fox: Second Story
After Mr Fox dies, his widow rejects a series of animal suitors until a young fox has the red stockings and pointed mouth she wants.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Mother Holle
A hardworking girl follows her spindle into Mother Holle's realm, earns a shower of gold—and her lazy sister comes home coated in pitch.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
Old Sultan
Toothless Sultan fakes a rescue with a wolf's help, then stays loyal—winning a duel when a three-legged cat looks like a swordsman.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
Lily and the Lion
Lily asks only for a rose in winter; her father steals one from a lion's garden—and she must follow her enchanted husband through seven years of wandering.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
King Grisly-Beard
A proud princess who mocks King Grisly-beard is forced to marry a fiddler—then learns, through poverty and smashed pots, who he really is.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
Jorinda and Jorindel
Jorinda becomes a caged nightingale in a fairy's castle; Jorindel frees her—and seven hundred others—with a purple flower from a dream.