The Golden Bird
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 1 of the Story Time series
The plot is set in motion when a king finds that golden apples that grow on a tree in his garden are going missing. It is found out that the apples are being taken by a golden bird. A single feather from the bird is worth a fortune. The kings three sons each go out in turn to search for the golden bird.
Hans in Luck
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 2 of the Story Time series
Hans has been working hard for seven years but wishes to return to see his poor mother. His master pays him his wages which amounts to a lump of gold the size of his head. Hans puts the gold in a handkerchief and starts out on his journey jogging but soon becomes tired. He spots a rider on horseback and seeing the ease at which the horse travels he offers to exchange his lump of gold for the horse. Happy with the exchange, the man gives him the horse and Hans rides off. The horse bolts and Hans gets bucked off, whereupon he meets a shepherd who convinces Hans to trade his horse for a cow. Telling Hans that a cow can provide milk, cheese and butter and is of more leisurely company. Hans takes up on the offer and continues his journey only to find that the cow is dry and not producing any milk as he had been told.
Jorinda and Jorindel
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 3 of the Story Time series
Jorinda and Joringel, two lovers engaged to be married, went for a walk in the forest. They came too near to the witch's lair. She turned Jorinda into a nightingale and petrified Joringel to the ground. Once she had carried away the bird, she freed Joringel, laughing that he would never see Jorinda again.
The Travelling Musicians
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 4 of the Story Time series
In a sometimes meandering, intermittently rhyming narrative, Page retells the Brothers Grimm tale about four animals who set out to make a new life for themselves after their masters reject them.
Old Sultan
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 5 of the Story Time series
The story of a faithful old dog told by the Brothers Grimm. One day Sultan's master decides that the dog has grown too old to be useful and decides to get rid of him. Fortunately, Sultan has a friend, the wolf, who has a plan to help him out.
The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 6 of the Story Time series
An old woman has some beans that she intends to cook over her fire. Being in a hurry, she grabs some straw to make the fire light faster. She pours the beans in the pot and, being in a hurry, she drops one on the floor which lands next to a piece of straw.
Briar Rose
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 7 of the Story Time series
Briar Rose, is a classic fairy tale about a princess who is cursed to sleep for a hundred years by an evil fairy, to be awakened by a handsome prince at the end of them. The good fairy, realizing that the princess would be frightened if alone when she awakens, uses her wand to put every living person and animal in the palace asleep, to awaken when the princess does.
The Dog and the Sparrow
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 8 of the Story Time series
A dog owner lets his shepherd dog starve from hunger, causing it to leave home. The dog meets a sparrow and accompanies it to the city. The bird captures meat and bread for the dog as a sign of gratitude. When they leave town, night falls, and they decide to go to sleep. During the night, a man in a horse carriage approaches the dog and sparrow. The sparrow alerts the man that he is going to run over the dog who is in the road, but he ignores the sparrow and runs over the dog nevertheless. The sparrow curses the man, announcing that he will turn into a poor man. It pecks the wine barrels the man was transporting open, so that the precious wine leaks out.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 9 of the Story Time series
The Twelve Dancing Princesses is a fairytale by the Brothers Grimm about some beautiful daughters that somehow manage to sneak out of their bedrooms every night to go dancing. Their father is desperate to find out what they are up to and enlists the help of potential suitors to find out.
The Fisherman and His Wife
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 10 of the Story Time series
The tale of the fisherman and his wife is a fairytale about a wife that asked the impossible from her husband. He caught a magical fish, and she asked him to let her live. He was kindhearted and pleased her demand, and she granted him three wishes. The fisherman had no desires, and he let her swim on.
The Willow-Wren and the Bear
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 11 of the Story Time series
A wolf and a bear walk together in the woods, discussing the beautiful singing of the willow-wren. After the bear offends some baby birds, there is a war called between the creatures of the air and the creatures of the land. The birds send in a gnat to spy on the creatures of the land and learn their battle secrets. The birds win the war. The bear apologizes to the baby birds.
The Frog-Prince
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 12 of the Story Time series
In the tale, a spoiled princess reluctantly befriends the Frog Prince, whom she met after dropping a golden ball into a pond under a linden tree, and he retrieves it for her in exchange for her friendship. The Frog Prince, who is under a wicked fairy's spell, magically transforms back into a handsome prince.
Cat and Mouse in Partnership
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 13 of the Story Time series
A cat and a mouse, contrary to the custom of their kinds, become friends, such good friends that they decide to share a home. That they might have something to fall back on in time of need, they buy a pot of fat and hide it away in a nook of a church for safekeeping. After a short time, the cat tells her housemate that one of her relations has given birth and that the mouse's friend has been asked to be godmother. Instead of going to a christening, though, the cat goes to the nook of the church and eats the top layer of the fat in the pot. When the cat returns home, the mouse asks the name of the kitten. The cat replies, "Top-off." The mouse remarks that she has never heard such a name.
The Goose-Girl
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 14 of the Story Time series
A widowed queen sends her daughter to a faraway land to marry. Accompanying the princess are her magical horse Falada, who can speak, and a waiting maid. The queen gives the princess a special charm that will protect her as long as she wears it.
The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 15 of the Story Time series
A rooster and hen go to eat nuts. They make a carriage of nutshells to come back in; the hen rides and the rooster draws it. The duck attacks them for eating nuts, but the rooster defeats him, and he lets himself be harnessed to the carriage instead. A pin and needle join them. They offer an innkeeper the hen's egg and the duck to let them stay, but in the morning, they eat the hen's egg, stick the needle in the innkeeper's chair and the pin in his towel. The duck also goes off. The innkeeper is pricked by both the needle and pin and the eggshell from the hen flies at his eyes. He resolves to never have such ragamuffins in his inn again.
Rapunzel
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 16 of the Story Time series
Rapunzel is a fairy tale about the love between a young prince and a girl with long, blond hair that conquered all of the Witch's evil intentions. They were persistent in their intentions on being happy together, and the Witch was their biggest obstacle. Years passed by, and their love grew stronger.
Fundevogel
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 17 of the Story Time series
"Fundevogel" a forester found a baby in a bird's nest and brought him back to be raised with his daughter Lenchen. They called the child Fundevogel or Foundling-Bird, and he and Lenchen loved each other. One day Lenchen saw the cook carrying many buckets of water to the house and asked what she was doing.
The Valiant Little Tailor
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 18 of the Story Time series
The Valiant Little Tailor, also known as the Brave Little Tailor is a well known tale of trickery and cunning in which the underdog comes out on top. The story tells the tale of a little tailor who is offered a reward from the king if he is able to complete several difficult tasks.
Hansel and Gretel
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 19 of the Story Time series
Hansel and Gretel are a brother and sister abandoned in a forest, where they fall into the hands of a witch who lives in a house made of gingerbread, cake, and candy. The cannibalistic witch intends to fatten the children before eventually eating them, but Gretel outwits the witch and kills her. The two children then escape with their lives and return home with the witch's treasure.
The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 20 of the Story Time series
The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage live happily together. The Bird brings home wood from the forest; the Mouse delivers water, makes the cooking fire, lays the table; and the Sausage cooks. One day, the Bird has a chat with some other birds. They make fun of the Bird, saying that it was doing all the work and that he was like a slave. The next day, the Bird suggests that they switch roles and refuses to go to the forest.
Mother Holle
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 21 of the Story Time series
A rich widow lived with her daughter and her stepdaughter. The widow favored her younger biological daughter, allowing her to become spoiled and idle while her older stepdaughter was left to do all the work. Every day the stepdaughter would sit outside the cottage and spin beside the well. One day, she pricked her finger on the point of the spindle. As she leaned over the well to wash the blood away, the spindle fell from her hand and sank out of sight. The stepdaughter feared that she would be punished for losing the spindle, and in panic she leapt into the well after it.
Little Red-cap
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 22 of the Story Time series
Little Red Cap captures a formative experience in the speaker's transition from childhood to adulthood: her first sexual relationship. The poem alludes to the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, in which a young girl is hoodwinked and eaten by a wolf.
The Robber Bridegroom
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 23 of the Story Time series
The Robber Bridegroom was adapted for the sixth issue of the comic series Grimm Fairy Tales. The story is retold as two sisters who are being courted by a mysterious count. When he chooses the younger of the two, the older sister murders her and becomes the Count's bride.
Tom Thumb
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 24 of the Story Time series
Parents are poor and want to leave Tom Thumb in forest. But Tom Thumb is clever and marks his way by stones. Second time he is unsuccessful - he has only bread-crumbs and birds eat them. Tom Thumb finds a Giant and a beautiful princess in his entrapment, and is determined to free the princess.
Rumpelstiltskin
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 25 of the Story Time series
The Brothers Grimm retold the story Rumpelstiltskin from folktales that they were told. This is the story of a miller who gets his daughter in hot water by falsely telling the King she can spin straw into gold. The king locks her in a room and forces her to prove her abilities or die.
Clever Gretel
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 26 of the Story Time series
Clever Gretel is a tale where a greedy but crafty servant outwits her master. It was first published in the second edition of Grimms' Fairy Tales in 1819.
The Old Man and His Grandson
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 27 of the Story Time series
A man whose hands shook with the tremors of old age could not eat neatly and often spilled his soup, so his son and daughter-in-law barred him from their table and made him eat by the stove. When he broke the fine stoneware bowl from which he had been eating, they bought him a wooden bowl that could not break.
The Little Peasant
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 28 of the Story Time series
A poor peasant and his wife did not even have a cow. They had a woodworker make them a calf of wood and brought it to the pasture. When the cowherd returned without it, they found it had been stolen and took him to court for his carelessness, and the judge made him give them a cow.
Frederick and Catherine
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 29 of the Story Time series
Frederick and Catherine were husband and wife. He left to do his work. She started to fry a sausage and thought she could get a beer while it cooked. In the cellar, drawing it, she realized the dog was loose and might eat the sausage, but the dog had already done so, and she chased it but could not catch it. Meanwhile, the keg of beer emptied itself into the cellar. To hide this, she used flour she bought at a fair to dry it. Frederick was furious hearing this.
Sweetheart Roland
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 30 of the Story Time series
Sweetheart Roland is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm .A wicked witch had an evil daughter, whom she loved, and a good stepdaughter, whom she hated. One day, the witch decided she would kill the stepdaughter at night, and the daughter was told to make sure she lay by the wall, and her stepsister in the front of the bed. The stepdaughter overheard this and, after her stepsister slept, she shifted their places. The witch instead killed her own daughter, and the stepdaughter rose and went to her sweetheart Roland, telling what had happened, and that they had to flee.
Snowdrop
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 31 of the Story Time series
At the beginning of the story, a queen sits sewing at an open window during a winter snowfall when she pricks her finger with her needle, causing three drops of red blood to drip onto the freshly fallen white snow on the black windowsill. Then, she says to herself, "How I wish that I had a daughter that had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as ebony." Sometime later, the queen gives birth to a baby daughter whom she names Snow White, but the queen dies in childbirth.
The Pink
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 32 of the Story Time series
A childless queen prayed for a child. An angel told her she would have a son with the power of wishing. She had such a son, and every day went with the child to a park where wild beasts were kept.
Clever Elsie
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 33 of the Story Time series
Clever Elsie, my favorite Grimms' fairy tale, is about a silly, slothful woman who won't change her ways. Her husband, Hans, catches her asleep near the field where he has sent her to work, so he throws a net woven with little bells over her head, goes home and locks the door.
The Miser in the Bush
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 34 of the Story Time series
A farmer had a faithful and diligent servant, who had worked hard for him three years, without having been paid any wages. At last it came into the man's head that he would not go on thus without pay any longer; so he went to his master, and said, 'I have worked hard for you a long time, I will trust to you to give me what I deserve to have for my trouble.' The farmer was a sad miser, and knew that his man was very simple-hearted; so he took out threepence, and gave him for every year's service a penny. The poor fellow thought it was a great deal of money to have, and said to himself, 'Why should I work hard, and live here on bad fare any longer? I can now travel into the wide world, and make myself merry.' With that he put his money into his purse, and set out, roaming over hill and valley.
Ashputtel
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 35 of the Story Time series
Ashputtel is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world. The protagonist is a young woman living in forsaken circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune, with her ascension to the throne via marriage. The story of Rhodopis, recounted by the Greek geographer Strabo sometime between around 7 BC and AD 23, about a Greek slave girl who marries the king of Egypt, is usually considered to be the earliest known variant of the Cinderella story.
The White Snake
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 36 of the Story Time series
A wise King receives a covered dish every evening. A young servant is intrigued one night when he retrieves the King's dish and discovers a coiled white snake under the cover. The servant takes a small bite and discovers that he can now understand and communicate with animals.
The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 37 of the Story Time series
A mother goat leaves her seven children at home while she ventures into the forest to find food. Before she leaves, she warns her young about the Big Bad Wolf who will try to sneak into the house and gobble them up. The wolf will pretend to be their mother and convince the kids to open the door. The young children will be able to recognize their true mother by her white feet and sweet voice.
The Queen Bee
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 38 of the Story Time series
Two sons of a king went out to seek their fortunes, but fell into disorderly ways. The third and youngest son, Simpleton, went out to find them, but they mocked him. They traveled on, and Simpleton prevented his brothers from destroying an ant hill, killing some ducks, and suffocating a bee hive with smoke.
The Elves and the Shoemaker
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 39 of the Story Time series
The story is a simple one, of a poor shoemaker and his wife who suddenly find they are getting help from a mysterious source. They discover their helpers are little elves, whom are working long and hard to finish making shoes.
The Juniper-tree
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 40 of the Story Time series
A wealthy and pious couple pray every day for God to grant them a child. One winter, under the juniper tree in the courtyard, the wife peels an apple. She cuts her finger and drops of blood fall onto the snow. This leads her to wish for a child to be as white as snow and as red as blood. Six months later, the wife becomes gravely ill from eating juniper berries and asks her husband to bury her beneath the juniper tree if she dies. A month later, she gives birth to a baby boy as white as snow and as red as blood.
The Turnip
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 41 of the Story Time series
Two brothers, one rich, one poor, served as soldiers, but the poor one had to become a farmer to escape his poverty. One of his turnips grew to an enormous size, and he gave it to the king. The king gave him rich presents in return.
Clever Hans
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 42 of the Story Time series
Clever Hans is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm about a boy who ruins his engagement with a girl through a variety of comedic events. The title is claimed by most people to be ironic. It is Aarne-Thompson type 1685 and 1696.
The Three Languages
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 43 of the Story Time series
A count's only son could learn nothing. Three times the count sent him for a year to famous masters. Each time, the son came back: saying first that he knew what dogs said when they barked; the next time, what birds said; and finally, what frogs said. Infuriated by his uselessness, his father ordered his people to take him to the woods and kill him, but they sympathised with him, and instead brought the count the eyes and tongue of a deer as proof of his death.
The Fox and the Cat
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 44 of the Story Time series
The German tale of four brothers who set out to learn their crafts in the big wide world. When they return home as skilled men; a thief, an astronomer, a hunter, and a tailor their skills are challenged by their father 'I should like to try what each of you can do in this way.
The Four Clever Brothers
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 45 of the Story Time series
The German tale of four brothers who set out to learn their crafts in the big wide world. When they return home as skilled men; a thief, an astronomer, a hunter, and a tailor their skills are challenged by their father 'I should like to try what each of you can do in this way.
Lily and the Lion
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 46 of the Story Time series
"Lily and the Lion" There is a man with three daughters. One day, he must leave on a journey and asks each of his daughters what they would like him to bring back. The oldest wants diamonds, the second pearls, and the youngest a singing, springing lark. The man is able to find diamonds and pearls, but he fails to find a lark. On his journey home, the man sees a lark in a tall tree, and orders his servant to catch it.
The Fox and the Horse
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 47 of the Story Time series
The Brothers Grimm, or Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, knew how to spin a good fairy tale. In this story, a fox and a horse team up to convince a farmer that the horse still had a lot of strength left in him. Students will read the story and answer questions on the theme, the language, and the plot.
The Blue Light
by The Brothers Grimm
read by Sam Kusi
Part 48 of the Story Time series
The Blue Light is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale about a soldier who finds a magical object that provides him a supernatural helper. Many of the features from Hans Christian Andersen's later work The Tinderbox and from the story of Aladdin and his magic lamp originate with this version.