The Dead Sea Scrolls of Fairy Tales

“A whole new world of magic animals, brave young princes and evil witches has come to light with the discovery of 500 new fairytales …. For example, there is the tale of a maiden who escapes a witch by transforming herself into a pond. The witch then lies on her stomach and drinks all the water, swallowing the young girl, who uses a knife to cut her way out of the witch.”
 — What! An ancient book of fairy tales just cut itself out of a witch in Bavaria. [Thanks, Natalie!]

Elsewhere in books: The Morning News kicks off its annual Tournament of Books today, with a showdown between Julian Barnes and Donald Ray Pollock. (Here’s a primer.)