HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics.

'The wolf thought to himself, "What a tender young creature! what a nice plump mouthful - she will be better to eat than the old woman. I must act craftily, so as to catch both."'

This collection of much-loved folk tales features such familiar characters as daring Little Red Riding Hood, crafty Rumpelstiltskin and the ill-fated infants Hansel and Gretel. They are as magical and fascinating today as when they were first told, despite - or because of - the underlying darkness at their heart.

Collected in a single volume by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and first published in 1812, these stories are known and loved by adults and children alike, and have grown to be an invaluable part of our collective imagination.