Grimms' Fairy Tales

Before the animated adaptations sanded off the edges, these were the stories German villagers actually told: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, and dozens of stranger tales alongside them. The brothers Grimm collected them in the early 1800s, and their versions keep the old machinery running at full power, impossible tasks, talking animals, forests that swallow children, and justice that arrives suddenly and without mercy.

Because these tales lived for centuries as spoken stories before anyone wrote them down, listening is arguably the truest way to meet them. Each one runs a few minutes, which makes the collection perfect for commutes and short breaks: one complete story, beginning to end, every time. Some are funny, some are eerie, and a surprising number are darker than you remember.

At roughly 93,400 words, Grimms' Fairy Tales runs about 10½ hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

The edition linked here is available from Project Gutenberg under its US public-domain listing. Check the edition, translation, completeness and copyright rules where you live. LoudReader lets you browse and download Gutenberg books; they are not all stored on installation. To listen:

1. Install LoudReader on iPhone or iPad, or its iPad app on a compatible Apple Silicon Mac.
2. Search for “Grimms' Fairy Tales” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

Speech is generated locally without uploading the book for narration. Download the book and check your chosen voice before travelling offline. Available voices depend on your device; check the in-app voice list. Try every available voice for your first 8 hours of listening. Afterwards, keep a free English voice selection and unlimited book listening. No LoudReader account or word quota.