In one village there was a mill on the bank of a river where a clever donkey helped the miller with his hard work for many years. But as time went on, the donkey grew older and did a little less work each year. Eventually the miller decided that the old donkey was no longer of any use to him, and instead of thanking him for his years of help, he drove the donkey out, saying: “Get out of here, you’re no use to me anyway.”
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Beyond the seven mountains and seven rivers there was a land where it was a joy to live. The forests rustled, the meadows greened and the streams gurgled. The land was ruled by an old king who had three daughters. He knew that he would not have the strength to rule forever, so he decided early on to choose a successor from among his three daughters. And who should be the one to succeed him on the royal throne? He thought he’d pass the scepter to the daughter who loved him the most.
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Once there was a married couple who loved each other very much and got along well. Only one thing bothered them – they had no children yet, although they wanted one so much. One day, fortune finally smiled on them and a baby boy was born. He was as small as a thumb, so they named him Tom Thumb.
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Long ago, in a faraway kingdom, a king and his lady ruled. They ruled wisely, and the people loved them. However, the royal couple struggled to conceive a baby.
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Once upon a time there was a fox living in a forest. At the edge of the forest there was a pond and there lived a stork. One day the two became friends. And the fox invited the stork to dinner as his new friend.
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Once upon a time there were two brothers. They didn’t have much in common except their appearance. One was staggeringly rich and the other was as poor as a church mouse. The rich brother’s name was Vince. One day he asked his poor brother Jacob to look after his sheaves in the field. So Jacob came and kept watch.
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Once there was a rooster who lived in a little yard, with a little hen. The rooster spent most of the day just picking through the coloured feathers and the hen ran around the yard looking for something to eat for both of them. One day they decided to make life more interesting for themselves and go to the strawberry patch.
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Once upon a time, there lived an old man and a woman. They had a little house and a little field by the house. They grew all kinds of things in the little field and were very happy with every harvest. That year they had already harvested most of it, but there was still a bed of beets left. Grandfather went to harvest in the evening and put the beets in the wheelbarrow one by one.
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In a magical realm where everything comes to life and every living creature has a voice, a little girl was born from a petal. She was about the size of a finger on my hand. In the day she took care of the flowers and sang to them. At night, she slept in a walnut shell covered with a rose petal. Everybody called her Thumbelina.
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Long ago, there was a seamstress who was more skilled than any other with needle and thread. She even boasted that she could beat the devil himself in tailoring skills.
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