I came across this tale in my research about fairytale shoes. The story is called The Magic Shoes and Staff. It begins with three nobel brothers living with their wives in luxury until a drought came. The brothers, in a fit of selfishness, ditched their wives to find a better place. They disregarded their wives and left. Once the brothers went away, one of the wives found out she was pregnant. The three women were delighted and raised him together -- the aunts doted on the ba

The story of Tom Thumb shares some details with Little Red Ridinghood. Tom’s family is very poor. There are seven children and two parents in a little home trying to survive on next to no income. Tom’s parents decide they can no longer support their children and determine to take them to the woods and leave them, so they won’t have to watch their children die. Tom hears his parents plotting. He grabs white stones from the garden. The next morning, when his parents feed them a