Grimms' Fairy Tales

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, or the Brothers Grimm, were born in Hanau Germany in the late 1700s. They were well known scholars who made popular a multitude of European folk and fairy tales that had until then remained mostly an oral tradition. Most of these stories are well known, such as "Rumpelstiltskin", "Snow White", "Rapunzel", "Cinderella", "Hansel and Gretel", and "The Frog Prince."

But these aren't the sweet and happy tales made popular by Disney: they are often way more gory and brutal and awesome. That said this might not be the best collection to read to little kids before bedtime, unless you're raising some child goths or something. For example in Cinderella the stepsisters get their eyes picked out by birds, and have their feet all cut up. Either way, this is a collection that is timeless, and can be enjoyed by young and old alike.