A king passing by a charcoal burner’s hut hears the man and his wife lamenting their lives; he invites the pair to live in the castle as his guests. At dinner, he gives them only one rule: they must never lift the lid on the soup tureen on the dining table. Will the pair live happily ever after?

A king seriously injures his foot and only one person is able to bring him relief. When his specially treated shoe is lost, so is all hope; the man responsible for his freedom from pain has died. Is there anyone living who may ease his pain?

After the birth of her greatly-anticipated child, a queen fails to show proper respect to the crab-fairy responsible; in retaliation, the crab-fairy curses the infant princess to never know sunlight until she reaches her fifteenth birthday. Years later, just before that all-important birthday, her

A young woman agrees to marry a hoodie-crow, and all is well until her three babies are stolen. When her crow husband also disappears, the young woman sets out on a quest to reunite her family.

Two wives try to convince their husbands of more and more outrageous things to prove which man is more foolish in this Icelandic tale!