12 h 4 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 12 h 4 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a boast, a clever plan, or a golden swan could turn the tables on the powerful?
In Ludwig Bechstein's Fairy Tales, small figures face proud rivals with wit and nerve. The Brave Little Tailor leaves his humble workshop with a startling boast. In The Race Between the Hare and the Hedgehog, a fleet runner mocks the wrong creature. Swan Stick Fast brings a kind youth a golden bird that holds anyone who touches it.
Bechstein gathers German folk tales rooted in places such as the villages and forests of Thuringia. These short stories move quickly, with simple sentences and a playful voice. Some share familiar ground with the Brothers Grimm; others lead down less familiar paths. Throughout the collection, cleverness, kindness and justice matter more than size or strength.
What you’ll discover
- A tailor with nerve Follow a quick-witted craftsman whose bold claim draws the attention of a king.
- Pride meets a plan Enjoy a comic contest where the hedgehog answers the hare's mockery with cunning.
- The swan's strange gift Meet a humble youth whose golden bird makes every touch a sticky predicament.
- Wit against brute strength Discover tales where the small and poor challenge those with power through cleverness.
- Stories to share aloud Let short sentences and swift action carry you from one playful scene to another.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy fairy tales, funny stories about clever and foolish people, animal fables, and old German legends told in a warm voice.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A tailor's bluff grows into a kingdom
- Boasters and fools find strange luck
- A master thief passes three tests
- Kindness is rewarded and greed is punished
- Devils, Death and clever bargains
- Hungry families and children in dark forests
- Wishes that never feel like enough
- Small animals outwit the strong
- Spells, loyalty, and love that outlasts trouble
- A storyteller's voice, songs, and morals
Who’s who
- The Brave Little TailorA tailor who kills seven flies, advertises it on his armor, and uses cunning to complete the tasks a king sets for him.
- Herr Schulz, the man from AllgäuThe leader of the seven Swabians, who marches at the front of their long spear and is brave only when no danger is near.
- The Master ThiefA clever son who returns in a splendid carriage and must pass three tests his godfather sets to prove he is a true master.
- Hansel and GretelTwo hungry children who are left in the forest and look for the way home, first by pebbles and then by bread crumbs.
- Hans and HelmerichTwo brothers who try to free an enchanted princess, one cruel to small creatures and the other kind to them.
- The HedgehogA humble hedgehog who races a hare and uses his look-alike wife at the other end of a field furrow to win.
- Little Mouse SambarA wise mouse who gnaws through nets, makes friends with a raven, a turtle and a deer, and tells tales of her own life.
- Hans, who cannot shudderA foolish younger brother who wants only to learn what fear feels like and tries a gallows, an inn and a haunted castle.
Formats and delivery
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- Large print hardcover
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Le fiabe di Ludwig Bechstein
A tailor kills seven flies, has his boast written in gold on his armor, and faces giants for a princess.
Medium level5–10 hours to readItaliano
Learn a language with medium classicsSpagnoloFranceseTedescoItalianoGiapponesePortogheseIngleseHow we measure levels
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In short
What happens when a tailor swats seven flies and has his boast written in gold on his armor? In Ludwig Bechstein's collection, that small boast carries a man from his workbench to a king's court, and from there to the hand of a princess.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A tailor's bluff grows into a kingdom
The collection opens with the Brave Little Tailor. He strikes a swarm of flies on an apple and counts seven dead. Pleased with himself, he has a shining suit of armor made, with the words Seven at one stroke written in gold on the breastplate.
The words do the rest. Everyone who reads them thinks he has felled seven men. The courtiers take him for a great lord, and soon he has fine rooms and a good salary for doing nothing. The king's knights grow sour and ask leave to resign. The frightened king cannot send the hero away, so he offers his daughter and half the kingdom to the man who kills two giants in the forest.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 7 h 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Bechstein, Ludwig. Ludwig Bechstein's Fairy Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/ludwig-bechsteins-fairy-tales.
Bechstein, L. (2026). Ludwig Bechstein's fairy tales. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ludwig-bechsteins-fairy-tales
Bechstein, Ludwig. Ludwig Bechstein's Fairy Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ludwig-bechsteins-fairy-tales.
@book{bechstein2026ludwig,
author = {Bechstein, Ludwig},
title = {Ludwig Bechstein's Fairy Tales},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ludwig-bechsteins-fairy-tales}
}
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What is Ludwig Bechstein's Fairy Tales about?
It is a collection of dozens of German folk tales, including the Brave Little Tailor, the Seven Swabians, the Master Thief, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and the race between the hare and the hedgehog.
Who was Ludwig Bechstein?
Bechstein was a German writer who died in 1860. He collected and retold folk tales, fables and legends in the nineteenth century, and he is known for giving them a warm, humorous voice.
What is the story of the Brave Little Tailor?
A tailor kills seven flies with one blow and has the boast written in gold on his breastplate. People believe he is a hero, and a king sends him against giants, a unicorn and a wild boar.
The author
Ludwig Bechstein
1801–1860 · German fairy tale collector
Ludwig Bechstein (1801–1860) was a German writer and collector of fairy tales. He was born in Weimar and lived in Meiningen, where he worked as a librarian and died. He wrote novels and poetry. His German fairy-tale collection appeared in 1845, followed by another collection in 1856.
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