I was just discussing Tales of Grimm and Andersen over at Identity Theory and felt it deserved a quick mention here, too.

Specifically, I urge you all to read the tale of "The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage." Weighing in at a scant six paragraphs, it tells the story of a stay-at-home mouse, grudging bird, and sometimes-sentient sausage who keep house together until indolence and class envy tear them apart. Quite literally.

Best line: "[After the dog ate the sausage] the bird then lodged a complaint against the dog . . . but it was all no good, as the dog declared that he had found forged letters upon the sausage, so that he deserved to lose his life."

Forged letters.

And while on the subject of fairy tales, allow me to recommend Bruno Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales.