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The Bear:
"A king loved his daughter so much that he kept her in her rooms for fear harm would come to her. She complained to her nurse; unbeknownst to her, the nurse was a witch. She told her to get a wheelbarrow and a bearskin from the king. The king gave them, the nurse enchanted them, and when the princess put on the skin, it disguised her, and when she got into the wheelbarrow, it took her wherever she wanted to go. She had it take her to a forest.

A prince hunted her, but when she called to him to call off his dogs, he was so astounded that he asked her to come home with him. She agreed and went in the wheelbarrow. His mother was surprised, and more when the bear began to do housework as well as any servant. One day, the prince had to go to a ball given by a neighboring prince. The bear wanted to go, and he kicked it. When he left, she implored his mother for leave to just go and watch. With it, she went to her wheelbarrow and used the wand to turn her bearskin into a ballgown of moon-beams. At the ball, the prince fell in love with her, but she fled, so she would be back in time to hide herself. She was pleased when he told his mother of her, because she had fooled him, and laughed under the table. The second ball, she went in a gown of sunlight, and his attempts to follow her carriage did not succeed.

The third time, the prince succeeded in getting a ring on her finger. When he went home, he declared he would search for her. First, he wanted some soup, and for the bear to have nothing to do with it, because every time he mentioned his love, the bear muttered and laughed. The bear put the ring in the soup. The prince asked her to take off the skin, and she became a beautiful young woman. She told the prince and his mother how her father had kept her imprisoned, and the prince married her."

Bearskin:
"A king and queen had lost all their children except a daughter, whom they were in no hurry to marry off. The king of the ogres, Rhinoceros, heard of her and decided to marry her; when he threatened the kingdom with his ogres, the king decided he had no choice. When she was told of the ogre's threat, the princess agreed and set out with a companion, Corianda, with whom she was close. Corianda had tried to get the princess' fairy godmother to help, but she had refused because the king had not consulted her. Rhinoceros met them in his rhinoceros form. The princess fainted. Rhinoceros carried them both to his castle, and turned to his own form, which was as ugly. The princess' distress annoyed him, and he left to hunt bears. Corianda suggested that the princess hide in a bearskin, and sewed her into one, but that act turned her into a she-bear. They thought her fairy godmother was responsible. In that form, Corianda let her out to run away and told the ogre that he had eaten her in his rage. The ogre set out to search, but her fairy godmother had led her to a boat in which she escaped to another kingdom.

The king of that kingdom found her (in her form as a she-bear) while hunting and her gentle behavior persuaded him to take her captive rather than kill her. She fell in love with him, but her ugliness made her despair. Her fairy godmother, in the form of a fish, bade her wait, and at midnight, turned her back into a princess. Then she warned her that she had to put back on the bearskin every morning, though she could take it off at night, which the princess obeyed. The king, meanwhile, had come to the conclusion that he had fallen in love with the bear, which shocked him. One day, he was in her presence when she turned back to a princess. Her fairy godmother told him to go and arrange a wedding. He did so. The bear came, and was turned into a princess before the court. They married and in two years had two young sons.

The ogre heard of their wedding and set out with his seven-league boots. In the kingdom, he disguised himself and offered to give golden distaffs and silver spindles to the nurses and governesses of the young princes if he could spend a night in the babies' chamber. When they agreed, he cut the babies' throats with the queen's knife and went off to disguise himself as an astrologer. In that form, he assured the king that the murderer lived in the castle. The bloody knife was found and the queen condemned to death. The queen lamented her fate but was glad to die having lost her husband's love. The king was moved by this and could not bring himself to have her die, but was unable to speak loudly enough to stop the servants. Her fairy godmother appeared by the stake with the two princes and Corianda to reveal the ogre as the killer and restore the princes to their parents."

Beauty and the Beast:
"A wealthy merchant lived in a mansion with his three daughters, all of whom were very beautiful, but only the youngest, at fourteen, is named Belle (a French name equivalent to "Beauty") for being lovely and pure of heart; her sisters, in contrast, are wicked and selfish. The merchant eventually loses all of his wealth in a tempest at sea, and he and his daughters must therefore live in a small farmhouse and work for their living. After some years of this, the merchant hears that one of the trade ships he had sent off has arrived back in port, having escaped the destruction of its compatriots; therefore, he returns to the city to discover whether it contains anything of monetary value. Before leaving, he asks his daughters whether they desire that he bring them any gift upon his return. His two elder daughters ask for jewels and fine dresses, thinking that his wealth has returned; Belle is satisfied with the promise of a rose, as none grow in their part of the country. The merchant, to his dismay, finds that his ship's cargo has been seized to pay his debts, leaving him without money to buy his daughters their presents.

During his return, he becomes lost in a forest. Seeking shelter, he enters a dazzling palace. He finds inside tables laden with food and drink, which have apparently been left for him by the palace's unseen owner. The merchant accepts this gift and spends the night. The next morning as the merchant is about to leave, he sees a rose garden and recalls that Belle had desired a rose. Upon picking the loveliest rose he finds, the merchant is confronted by a hideous 'Beast', which tells him that for taking his (the Beast's) most precious possession after accepting his hospitality, the merchant must die. The merchant begs to be set free, arguing that he had only picked the rose as a gift for his youngest daughter. The Beast agrees to let him give the rose to Belle, only if the merchant will return, or his daughter goes to the castle in his place.

The merchant is upset, but accepts this condition. The Beast sends him on his way, with jewels and fine clothes for his daughters, and stresses that Belle must come to the castle of her own accord. The merchant, upon arriving home, tries to hide the secret from Belle, but she pries it from him and willingly goes to the Beast's castle. The Beast receives her graciously and informs her that she is mistress of the castle, and he is her servant. He gives her lavish clothing and food and carries on lengthy conversations with her. Each night, the Beast asks Belle to marry him, only to be refused each time. After each refusal, Belle dreams of a handsome prince who pleads with her to answer why she keeps refusing him, and she replies that she cannot marry the Beast because she loves him only as a friend. Belle does not make the connection between the handsome prince and the Beast and becomes convinced that the Beast is holding the prince captive somewhere in the castle. She searches for him and discovers multiple enchanted rooms, but never the prince from her dreams.

For several months, Belle lives a life of luxury at the Beast's palace, being waited on hand and foot by invisible servants, having no end of riches to amuse her and an endless supply of exquisite finery to wear. Eventually she becomes homesick and begs the Beast to allow her to go to see her family. He allows it, if she will return exactly a week later. Belle agrees to this and sets off for home with an enchanted mirror and ring. The mirror allows her to see what is going on back at the Beast's castle, and the ring allows her to return to the castle in an instant when turned three times around her finger. Her older sisters are surprised to find her well fed and dressed in finery. They grow jealous of her happy life at the castle, and, hearing that she must return to the Beast on a certain day, beg her to stay another day, even putting onion in their eyes to make it appear as though they are weeping. It is their wish that the Beast will grow angry with Belle for breaking her promise and will eat her alive. Belle's heart is moved by her sisters' false show of love, and she agrees to stay.

Belle begins to feel guilty about breaking her promise to the Beast and uses the mirror to see him back at the castle. She is horrified to discover that the Beast is lying half-dead of heartbreak near the rose bushes her father had stolen from and she immediately uses the ring to return to the Beast.

Upon returning, Belle finds the Beast almost dead, and she weeps over him, saying that she loves him. When her tears strike him, the Beast is transformed into a handsome prince. The Prince informs Belle that long ago a fairy turned him into a hideous beast after he refused to let her in from the rain, and that only by finding true love, despite his ugliness, could the curse be broken. He and Belle are married and they lived happily ever after together."

Bella Venezia:
"An innkeeper named Bella Venezia asked her customers whether they had ever seen a more beautiful woman than herself. When they said they had not, she cut the price for their stay in half, but one day, a traveller said that he had seen such a woman: her own daughter. Bella Venezia doubled the price of his stay instead of halving it, and had her daughter shut up in a tower with a single window. Then one day Bella asked again whether her customers had seen a woman more beautiful than herself, and a traveller said that he had seen a more beautiful woman, looking from a tower. Bella Venezia asked the kitchen boy if he would marry her, and promised to do so if he killed her daughter. The kitchen boy led her daughter into the forest and killed a lamb in her place.

The daughter wandered until she saw twelve robbers order a cave open and shut: "Open up, desert!" and "Close up, desert!" She snuck inside and cleaned up the place, and then stole some of their food before hiding. The robbers set watch, but each robber waited outside, for the person to sneak in, and so did not catch her, until the chief robber waited inside and saw her. He told her not to be afraid: she could stay and be their little sister. But one day a robber went to Bella Venezia's inn, and told her that a girl they had with them was more beautiful than Bella.

A witch begged every day from the inn, and Bella Venezia promised her half her fortune if she could put an end to the daughter. The witch went into the forest as a pedlar, persuaded the girl to let her in, and while showing her a hair pin, thrust it into the girl's head. The robbers found her body, wept, and buried her in a hollow tree.

One day, a prince went hunting, and his dogs sniffed out the tree where the girl was buried. He took her body back to the castle and could not bear to be away from her. His mother was angry and said that he could at least fix her hair. This revealed the pin. When it was pulled out, the girl awoke, and the prince married her."

The Story of Bensurdatu:
"A king and queen had three daughters, and did everything to make them happy. One day, the princesses asked to go on a picnic, and so they did. When they were done eating, the princesses wandered about the garden, but when they stepped across a fence, a dark cloud enveloped them. After a time, the King and Queen called for them, and then searched for them when the girls did not answer their calls. The king proclaimed that whoever brought the princesses back could marry one, and would become the next king. Two generals set out in search, but having spent all their money without finding the princesses, were forced to work as servants to repay an innkeeper for the food and drink he had given them.

A royal servant, Bensurdatu, set out, despite the king's unwillingness to lose a faithful servant as well as his daughters and his generals. He found the inn with the generals and paid their debt. The three of them traveled together. In the wilderness, they found a house and begged for a place to stay for the night. The old woman there told them that the king's daughters were taken by a thick cloud, and that two were the prisoners of giants and the third of a serpent with seven heads, all at the bottom of a river. The generals wanted to return home to the King, but Bensurdatu was firm.

They went on until they reached the river. The older general insisted on going first, because he was the oldest. They lowered him on a rope, and gave him a bell to ring when he wanted to be pulled back up; he quickly lost his courage and rang it. The second general fared the same. Then they lowered Bensurdatu. He came to a hall where a giant slept, and the princess stood before him. The princess had him hide, and told the giant that he did not smell a man when he stirred from his sleep. She then had Bensurdatu cut off the giant's head. The princess gave Bensurdatu a golden crown. She showed him the door to the next giant, where he killed him as he had killed the first, and the second princess also gave him a golden crown. He went on to the seven-headed serpent; he had to kill it while it was awake, but he took off its heads.

Had them lifted up. The youngest wanted Bensurdatu to go before her, fearing the generals' treachery, but he refused; she pledged that she would marry no one else. Then the generals did not lower the rope for him and threatened the princesses, to make them say that they had rescued them. Believing the lie, the king agreed to marry the two oldest to the generals.

One morning, Bensurdatu noticed a purse. When he took it down, it asked him what demands he had for his rescue. He had it bring him to the surface and give him a ship. He sailed to the king's city. The king wanted to marry him to his youngest daughter, but she refused. He asked if she would say the same if he were Bensurdatu. She said nothing, and he told his story. The king exiled the generals and married Bensurdatu to his youngest daughter."

The Bird 'Grip':
"A king lost his sight. An old woman said that the song of the bird, 'Grip', would restore it. The king's eldest son offered to fetch the bird, from where it was kept in a cage by another king; but on his way to fetch the bird, he stayed at a merry inn, where he enjoyed himself so much that he forgot about his journey. His two brothers followed; the second also stayed at the inn, but the youngest said that he had to fetch the bird 'Grip', and continued on instead of remaining at the inn.

He stayed at a house in the woods where he heard shrieks in the night. In the morning, he asked about the shrieks. A girl told him that they came from a dead man, whom the innkeeper had beat and killed for not being able to pay the bill, and whom he refused to bury without the money for the funeral. The prince paid his bill, but was afraid to stay longer, so he asked the girl to help him escape in the night. She told him the host kept the key to the stables under his pillow, but she would help him if he would take her with him. He did so, and got her a place at a good inn before he went on.

The youngest son then met a fox, which told him it could help him. When they got to the castle where the bird was, the fox gave him three grains: one for the guardroom, one for the room with the cage, one for the cage itself. Then he could take the bird, but he must not stroke it. He obeyed with the grains, but when he decided to stroke the bird, it woke and screamed. He was captured. In prison, the fox appeared and told him to answer "Yes" to everything at the trial. He was asked whether he was a master thief and he answered yes. The king offered to pardon him if he carried off the world's most beautiful princess, from the next kingdom.

The fox gave him three grains again: for the guardroom, the princess's chamber, and her bed, and warned him not to kiss the princess, but he failed again at the kiss. Again at the trial, he was asked whether he was a master thief and he answered yes. The king offered to pardon him if he carried off the horse with the four golden shoes, from the next kingdom.

The fox gave him three grains again, for the guardroom, the stable, and the horse's stall, and warned him against the golden saddle, and that this time, the fox would not be able to help him if the boy failed in his task. When the boy saw the saddle, he reached for it, but something struck his arm, and he led out the horse without it. He confessed to the fox, who said that it had been he who had struck his arm. Returning to the princess's castle, he confessed that he would gladly take her to his father's castle on the horse, and so the fox gave him the grains again, and this time he carried the princess off. He asked the fox if he could try the bird again, and this time, he succeeded in catching the bird.

The fox then warned the boy against ransoming anyone with the money. The prince rode on and discovered that his brothers had gone into debt at the inn and were to be hanged. He paid off the debt. His brothers, jealous, threw him into a den of lions and took the bird, the horse, and the princess, threatening to kill her if she did not say they had won them. They told their father that their youngest had been hanged for debt. But the bird did not sing, the horse would let no one in the stall, and the princess wept unceasingly.

In the lions' den, the prince found the fox; the lions did not harm him, and the fox led him out, saying only that sons that would forget their father would also betray their brother. The fox asked him to cut off his head. The prince tried to refuse, but the fox insisted that he would kill the prince if he did not. The prince did, and the fox told him that he was the dead man whose debts he had paid.

The prince disguised himself as a horse-shoer and went to the castle. He put shoes on the horse with four golden shoes, and hearing the bird Grip would not sing, declared that it lacked something and if he could see it, he could learn what it was. He called the bird by name. It began to sing, and caused the princess to smile. The king's sight recovered, and he recognized the horse-shoer as his youngest son. He banished the older sons, but the youngest married the princess and lived happily ever after."

Black Bull of Norroway:
"A washerwoman's three daughters each in succession ask her to cook them some food to take with them on a journey to seek their fortune. Along their way, they consult a witch woman on how to seek the fortune. The woman advised them to look out her back door. On the third day, the eldest sees a coach-and-six come for her and leaves with it, delighted; the second daughter finds a coach-and-four and leaves; but the third and youngest finds only a black bull, which the witch tells her she must accompany.

The daughter is terrified but goes off with the bull, who surprises her by being kind and gentle. When she grows hungry, he tells her to eat out of his right ear, and drink out of his left. The first night of their journey, they arrive at a castle, which, the bull tells the girl, belongs to his eldest brother. The daughter is welcomed and treated lavishly. As a parting gift, she is given a beautiful apple and told to never use it until she comes to the first great need of her life, and then it would help her. The second night of the journey, they once more stay at a castle, this one belonging to the bull's second brother. Once more the daughter receives a parting gift: a beautiful pear which she is not to use until the second great need of her life; the third night, they are hosted at the youngest brother's castle, and the daughter is given a final gift of a beautiful plum, not to be used until the third great need of her life. At last, the girl and the bull arrive at a valley of glass.

"You must wait here," the bull tells the girl, "and whatever you do, do not move, even an inch, or I will not be able to find you." He goes on to explain that he is to fight the devil who rules the valley so that they may exit. If the sky turns blue, then she will know that the bull has won; but if the sky turns red, then he has lost. The black bull leaves the girl there, and after some time she sees the sky turn blue. Overjoyed, the girl shifts her position slightly... and so the black bull does not return for her.

Unable to climb out of the valley on her own, the girl wanders alone until she finds a blacksmith. He tells her that if she serves him for seven years, he will repay her by making her a pair of shoes. When seven years have gone by, the blacksmith, true to his word, makes the girl - now a young woman - a pair of iron shoes, and nails them to her feet. With the shoes, the young woman is able to climb out of the glass valley.

The young woman eventually wanders back to the home of the witch, who offers her shelter if she will wash some bloody shirts that both she and her daughter have been unable to clean. Whoever could clean the shirts would marry the gallant young knight staying at the witch's home, whom the shirts belong to. Despite the failure of those before her, no sooner has the young woman touched the soap to the shirts than the bloodstains vanish, and the young woman's feet heal perfectly, as if they had never been bloodied or injured. Delighted, the witch brings the knight his shirts and convinces him that it was her daughter who cleaned them. Thus, the knight and the daughter are to be married.

Desperate, the young woman realizes that she is in the first great need of her life. She breaks open the apple, and finds it full of rich jewelry. She offers the jewelry to the witch's daughter, in exchange for being allowed to sing outside the knight's room at night. But the witch gives her daughter a sleeping-drink to offer the knight, so the young woman cannot wake him, though she sobs and sings:

"Seven long years I served for thee,
The glassy hill I clamb for thee,
Thy bloody clothes I wrang for thee;
And wilt thou not waken and turn to me?"

She is in the second great need of her life, so she tries the pear, and finds it full of jewelry richer than that of the apple, but the second night goes as before.

Finally, the young woman is in the third great need of her life, and breaks the plum to find the richest jewelry yet. This time, though the sleeping-drink is brought again, the knight accidentally knocks it over, so, when the young woman buys her third and final chance, the knight is awake to hear her song. In this way he learns the truth.

The young woman marries the knight, who had been her black bull all along. He has the witch and her daughter burned, and the knight and the washerwoman's youngest daughter live happily ever after."