My favorite story with fairies in it is "The Elves" by Ludwig Tieck. It tells a story of a young girl who crosses a bridge while playing in the forest and finds herself in the land of the fairies. It was published in French in 1812 and then in English translation in 1827.

The full text is available online: [http://bit.ly/o6jLE]. I was thrilled when it was published in Tales Before Tolkien because I think it conveys that sense of peril Tolkien often wrote about regarding Faerie.