This book contains the following stories:
Jack and the Beanstalk
˜Fee fie fo fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread'. Lazy Jack lives with his poor mother in a little shack. They are so poor that one day she sends Jack off to market to sell their cow so they can buy food. On the way to market Jack meets a stranger who persuades him to part with the cow for some magic beans. When Jack returns home with no cow and no money his mother is furious and throws the beans out of the window. The next morning the two awake to find that a huge beanstalk has gronw from the beans. Jack climbs the beanstalk and finds a new land at the top complete with a castle and a very grumpy giant. Whilst the giant is asleep Jack steals a hen that lays golden eggs. On a second trip he steals bags of money. On the third trip he tries to steal a golden harp, but the harp calls for its master and the giant wakes up and follows Jack down the beanstalk. As soon as Jack reaches the ground, he sets to work to chop
Cinderella
Cinderella REALLY wants to go to the ball but her wicked stepmother and ugly sisters think she's better off at home doing the chores. Along comes the fairy godmother, waves her magic wand and Cinders's clothes are transformed into a gorgeous ball gown. Off she goes to the palace ball in a pumpkin coach and horses transformed from mice. But when the clock strikes midnight Cinders reverts to her tattered old self, and the prince has only a glass slipper to find his gorgeous girly.
Puss in Boots
Puss in Boots is a clever cat who won't settle for his master being poor. He gives gifts to the king on behalf of his master then creates an illusion that his master is actually the rich Marquis de Carabas. His master deception is enhanced when he manages to dupe a wicked giant out of his grand castle and claim the surrounding land as his master's. The king is so impressed with the riches of the young man that he allows Carabas to marry his daughter. And Puss in Boots lives happily ever after with his master in the lap of luxury!
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Father Bear, Mother Bear and Baby Bear live in cottage in the woods. One morning Mother Bear makes porridge for breakfast but it is so hot that the bears decide to go for a pre-breakfast walk. Whilst they are out a little girl with golden hair goes into their cottage. Goldilocks sees the three bowls of porridge and eats up the small one. Then she tries the three chairs in turn, but is too big for Baby Bear's chair and smashes it. Feeling like a nap she looks for a nice bed to sleep in and finds that Baby Bear's bed is just right. When the bears return Goldilocks is fast asleep. What will the bears do to their burglar?
Thumbelina
Thumbelina is so small she sleeps in a walnut shell bed with a rose petal sheet. One day, a toad steals her away from her home to marry his son and keeps her captive on a lilypad, until she is rescued by a beetle who takes her back to his family. She runs away into the forest only to be met by a mole who thinks she is so lovely he must marry her. Eventually Thumbalina escapes on the back of a swallow.
Hansel and Gretel
Two children are sent into the woods. The first time, they follow a trail of stones back to the house, but the second time they use breadcrumbs, which are eaten by the birds. Lost and alone, they come upon a tempting gingerbread house, they can't resist entering. Little do they realise that inside lives a witch... and she thinks they'd make a delicious dinner.
Beauty and the Beast
The Beast lives alone in his castle, enchanted by a wicked fairy and waiting for true love to break the spell. Could Beauty be the one to see through his ugly exterior? Or is he destined to remain a beast forever?
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood as told by Charles Perrault tells of the good little girl who divulges to the Big Bad Wolf the location of her grandmother's house in the forest. Wolf eats grandma then lies in wait for Little Red. She arrives and is eaten by the wolf. In later versions of the story Red and her Grandma are saved by the Huntsman who cuts open the wolf and pulls the living, breathing Red and Granny from the wolf's belly.
