The Best German Folk Tales

For centuries they were only passed on orally, and it was not until the 19th century that they were collected and written down: the tales of the Lorelei, the giant Rübezahl, the beautiful Melusine or the cruel Pied Piper of Hamelin, the Tannhäuser in the Venusberg, or the Rider on the White Horse on the dyke. Marjana Gaponenko has retold them for this volume. This selection of fifty of the most beautiful German folk tales ranges from the Frisian »Klabautermann« to the Swiss »Tell«, from the Swabian »Weiber von Weinsberg« to the »Pumphut« from the Vogtland. They are about witches and dwarfs, hidden treasures and people’s desire to understand the reality of life, which often seems mysterious to them. All the tales are accompanied by colourful and expressive illustrations by Burkhard Neie.