"Die Wichtelmänner" ("The Elves and the Shoemaker") is a classic fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm about a poor cobbler who gets a much-needed economic boost from a most unexpected source. Voodoo economics indeed! Viel Spaß beim Deutschlernen!

The story of Sleeping Beauty is called "Dornröschen" [literally "Little Thorn-Rose"] in German. As with most fairy tales, this one too has a happy ending, unless you happen to be a wicked fairy!

This is the very nicely told and animated Irish folk tale of poor Niall O'Leary and the leprechaun's pot of gold. Just when you think it's all up with Niall, he manages to... well, see for yourself! Viel Spaß beim Deutschlernen!

The classic tale "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is presented with style in animated form and narrated by Bastian Pastewka. Viel Spaß beim Deutschlernen!

Another twisted tale in the canon of the Brothers Grimm. This time, the "wicked stepmother" (in the original, it was their real mother) convinces the "loving father" to abandon their children in the winter woods. And the moral of the tale: "Abandon your children to starve and they will return with treasures"? Enjoy the wonderful animation and narration by actor Bastian Pastewka.

Hans, half hedgehog and half boy, is searching for his place in the world. After a chance encounter with the king, he finds himself in a predicament that leads to a very surprising ending!

This is the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm of the young couple who take a walk into the woods, and the young woman winds up being transformed into a bird by a witch and abandoned by her lover. Another classic tale of fear, abandonment and redemption...

"King Thrushbeard," one of the Grimm brothers' fairytales, tells the story a haughty princess who mistreats her subjects. But in the end - at the hand of a wise and forgiving suitor - she learns an important lesson in life. Viel Spaß!

Another curious tale from the Brothers Grimm about a young couple who steal food from an elderly widow and as punishment lose custody of their daughter, who later becomes royalty by marriage. Good luck figuring out the moral of this story!

Another grim fairy tale from the twisted minds of a 17th century European. Not satisfied with merely cutting the wolf open, they fill him with stones so that he can drag himself to a horrible death. (No endangered species were harmed in the making of this cartoon!)

This wonderful animated version of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Rumpelstiltskin" features the many guises of narrator Bastian Pastewka. "Rumpelstiltskin" seems to have some very ambiguous morals: Lying to the powerful about your daughter is good? Marrying a powerful man is good, even if he is a swine? Never give a rich woman with a baby a second chance? See if you can figure it out!

Another psychological marvel from the Brothers Grimm, in which (spoiler alert!) two sisters cuddle up to a bear, who, instead of eating them, turns into a prince and marries one of them, kindly matching up the other with his brother. Viel Spaß beim Deutschlernen!

Sagenhaft reinterprets the classic tale of Snow White from the Brothers Grimm.

On one of his ocean adventures, Sinbad the Sailor learns what true riches are. A tale from One Thousand and One Nights, the definitive collection of stories from the Islamic Golden Age.

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!