Fairy Tales?

I was at the bookstore the other day, distracted by the collections of fairy tales. And I started wondering if I would tell my kids the Disney version or the European versions that I had grown up with.

On one hand, the Disney versions are clean cut, not too scary. The ones that my Austrian grandmother shared with me were sometimes terrifying. The german version of the Little Mermaid that I read when I was 8, Ariel commits suicide in the end. In Cinderella, the stepsisters cut their toes off.

It seems like an easy choice, why would I want to scare the crap out of my kids, right? But then, when I was exposed to the Disney versions (when I was about 9) I liked the scary german ones better. (Except for the Little Mermaid... omg, I was soooo relieved)

Anyone have any opinions/thoughts?

I have the same concerns. I'm still not sure what to do. A few years ago I picked up a collection of Grimm's fairy tales just to have in the house in case

....and I thought my kids are terrified of the disney movies! I couldn't imagine them hearing those versions! Then again, my kids are 4 and 2... but still. suicide? toes being cut off? I don't think that's really necessary to tell kids..