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
The Turnip
A poor gardener’s giant turnip wins the king’s favor; his rich brother’s envy ends with a “sack of wisdom” swinging in a tree.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
A king’s twelve daughters wear out their shoes each night; a soldier with an invisible cloak follows them to an underground ball and wins the eldest.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 6-8
The Travelling Musicians
An old donkey, dog, cat, and cock set out for Bremen as town musicians—and their midnight concert drives robbers from a forest house.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
A straw, a coal, and a bean flee an old woman's hearth, try to cross a brook on a straw bridge—and only the bean lives to tell why beans have a seam.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Three Languages
A count's son learns only what dogs, birds, and frogs say—then those "useless" languages save a tower, a country, and make him pope.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was
A youth who cannot shudder survives frightening encounters and a haunted castle, then finally trembles when cold fish are poured over him.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Salad
A huntsman loses a wishing-cloak and a magical bird heart, then uses two kinds of salad to transform those who took them.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Seven Ravens
A father's angry wish turns seven sons into ravens; their sister walks to the world's end and opens a glass-mountain with her own finger.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 9-12
The Raven
A mother's impatient wish turns her daughter into a raven; a traveller must stay awake three days—or climb the glass mountain of Stromberg.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Robber Bridegroom
A miller's daughter follows ashes into the forest to her betrothed's house—where a caged bird warns her it is a murderers' den.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Ages 6-8
The Queen Bee
A kind dwarf stops his brothers from harming ants, ducks, and bees—then those creatures help him free an enchanted castle and win a princess.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage
A mouse, a bird, and a sausage keep house in comfort—until jealousy makes them swap jobs, and none of them can do the work.