Der Struwwelpeter, known famously in English as Shockheaded Peter, is a brutal set of stories from the 19th century intended to terrify children into behaving.

In 1891, Mark Twain wrote Slovenly Peter, his own translation of the book.

This video selection, made in the 1950s, adds a fantastic, surreal element to what is already a bizarre selection of tales. Copyright: RheinMainTV.

The Star Thalers, one of the Grimm brothers' fairytales, tells the story of an orphan girl, who, despite her abject poverty, one by one, unselfishly gives away her very last possessions. Viel Spaß!