Peter Rühmkorf's fairy tales are among the most ambitious experiments with this genre in modern times. Nevertheless, they have long been neglected and underestimated compared to his lyrical and essayistic oeuvre, viewed as a playful sideline. The fourth volume of the collected works now provides an opportunity to make up for this oversight. In addition to the small fairy tale novel "Goodbye in Kenilworth" and the thirteen stories from the cycle "The Keeper of the Manure Heap," Rühmkorf's unfinished drafts, notes, moments of inspiration, and shooting star ideas are presented here for the first time in a commented edition. Here, one can experience the romantic-ironic charm of these "enlightened fairy tales" in all its facets – a delight for readers and a literary journey of discovery not only for Rühmkorf fans.