Seven Hidden Gem Fairytales

Thanks to The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday series (TTT) for this great post idea: Top Ten Hidden Gems in Historical Fiction. However, as I have always loved fairytales (especially the morbid and particularly dark ones...but I won't include many), I've decided that that will be my take on this Tuesday's topic! So, here's 7 I think you should check out if you haven't before.

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1. The Goose Girl - Probably my favourite fairytale of all time, this is one about a princess who gets tricked and bullied by her maidservant to swap places with her so that she can marry the prince in her stead.
2. Rumpelstiltskin - A father's boast that his daughter can spin straw into gold leads to her being forced to make good on this lie, or be imprisoned forever. But when an impish man appears, he agrees to turn the straw to gold...for a price.
3. The Nightingale - The Emperor's favourite sound is the singing of the nightingale. But then he receives a gift of a beautiful jewel-encrusted, mechanical bird whose singing is not quite as sweet,. It enchants the Emperor nonetheless, and the nightingale is all but forgotten.
4. The Blue Coat - Adapted into the book Something From Nothing by Phoebe Gilman, The Blue Coat tells the tale of a grandfather who makes a beautiful blue blanket for his grandson, who loves it and carries it everywhere. But when the blanket becomes worn and tattered, his grandfather takes all the pieces he can save to make a coat. But when that too becomes worn out, he makes the next thing, and the next.
5. The Selfish Giant - A beautiful tale about a giant who refuses to allow children to play in his garden until he takes pity on a little boy who is too small to climb the wall to play like the other children.
6. Stone Soup - A good-natured trick, Stone Soup tells the story of two people who boil a stone in a pot of water, and say they are making a delicious stone soup. When villagers ask about it, they say it is simply missing something to make it perfect. So each in their turn contribute something to make it better.
7. The Brave Little Tailor - If there is an adaptation with Mickey Mouse, you know it is sure to be good! A tailor kills seven flies with a single sweep of his hand and boasts he has killed "seven at one blow". But when this deed gets blown out of proportion, thought to be men instead of flies, he is ordered to do numerous heroic deeds to prove his worth.

Bonus: The Red Shoes - If you're looking for something morbid, this is a great one. A girl gets a new pair of beautiful red shoes, and vainly wears them all the time. She is cursed that the shoes will not come off if she dances. And yet, she can't seem to resist a step or two...

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What are some of your favourite fairytales? Have you read any of these ones before?