A farmer had a faithful and diligent servant, who had worked hard for him three years, without having been paid any wages.
A poor woodman sat in his cottage one night, smoking his pipe by the fireside, while his wife sat by his side spinning.
In a village dwelt a poor old woman, who had gathered together a dish of beans and wanted to cook them.
There was a certain village wherein no one lived but really rich peasants, and just one poor one, whom they called the little peasant.
There was once upon a time a queen to whom God had given no children.
There was once a miller who had one beautiful daughter, and as she was grown up, he was anxious that she should be well married and provided for.
There was once a forester who went into the forest to hunt, and as he entered it he heard a sound of screaming as if a little child were there.
A shepherd’s dog had a master who took no care of him, but often let him suffer the greatest hunger.
There was once upon a time a woman who was a real witch and had two daughters, one ugly and wicked, and this one she loved because she was her own daughter, and one beautiful and good, and this one she hated, because she was her stepdaughter.
Long, long ago, some two thousand years or so, there lived a rich man with a good and beautiful wife.