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Sixty Fairy Tales of The Brothers Grimm
First published January 1, 1979
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About the author
Jacob Grimm
5,762 books2,269 followersGerman philologist and folklorist Jakob Ludwig Karl Grimm in 1822 formulated Grimm's Law, the basis for much of modern comparative linguistics. With his brother Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1786-1859), he collected Germanic folk tales and published them as
Grimm's Fairy Tales
(1812-1815).
Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.
This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .
Adapted from Wikipedia.
Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.
This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .
Adapted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 27, 2009
The Brothers Grimm get a bad rap, their stories are anything but grim. And to make matters worse, their name in German means, "fury, rage, wrath"!
The truth about these stories, however, is they are about justice. In story after story, the kind and/or good guy (or girl) is given, or shown, a way to overcome the evil which has befallen him/her. This is why the stories have endured for as long as they have and why they are so beloved by our children. Our children don't know yet or understand silly words like 'politically correct'. They haven't been contaminated--in the same way adults have--unless their precious childhood itself has already been corrupted. But instinctively they know what is just and what isn't. Although little children have much to learn from adults; we adults have much to learn from them.
These are just some of the popular, recurring themes I've noticed:
1.) the bad/good sister; Of course the bad sister is ugly and the good sister beautiful. Also, the mother usually likes the bad sister who is her own child, but not the pretty, good sister who is most-likely a step-daughter.
2.) stories with three brothers or three sisters; When this happens, two are bad and one is good. Again, usually the parent doesn't recognize and/or love the one child who is good, at least not at first.
3.) metamorphosis for protection; When the hero/heroine is escaping evil, they are often allowed or given the magic ability to change their shape or identity thus affording them a degree of invisibility.
4.) mercy to small creatures is rewarded at times of greatest need.
5.) violence occurs but not randomly or wantonly; It always seems to be brought on by the evil intent and/or actions of the recipient.
A fairy tale a day keeps old age away! ☺
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Update: (3 March 2009) Ha! Have gotten to some of the violent stories! ☺ And yet most, so far seem to be violence with a point. In "Fundevogel" the old Cook seems to get her due for her unfair persecution of poor Fundevogel. In "The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership" while it does seem very unfair what happens to the poor mouse one does wonder at the stupidity of the mouse for ever trusting a cat, his natural enemy. What happens to the false bride in "The Goosegirl" is also very grizzly but on the whole justified.
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So far I've read twelve of the sixty and only one ended on a down note; the rest have been pretty fun. I've recognized quite a few of the tales but didn't know their origin or they'd been significantly altered. 'Briar Rose', so I've learned, is Sleeping Beauty's real name; I've always wondered . . . haven't you?
The truth about these stories, however, is they are about justice. In story after story, the kind and/or good guy (or girl) is given, or shown, a way to overcome the evil which has befallen him/her. This is why the stories have endured for as long as they have and why they are so beloved by our children. Our children don't know yet or understand silly words like 'politically correct'. They haven't been contaminated--in the same way adults have--unless their precious childhood itself has already been corrupted. But instinctively they know what is just and what isn't. Although little children have much to learn from adults; we adults have much to learn from them.
These are just some of the popular, recurring themes I've noticed:
1.) the bad/good sister; Of course the bad sister is ugly and the good sister beautiful. Also, the mother usually likes the bad sister who is her own child, but not the pretty, good sister who is most-likely a step-daughter.
2.) stories with three brothers or three sisters; When this happens, two are bad and one is good. Again, usually the parent doesn't recognize and/or love the one child who is good, at least not at first.
3.) metamorphosis for protection; When the hero/heroine is escaping evil, they are often allowed or given the magic ability to change their shape or identity thus affording them a degree of invisibility.
4.) mercy to small creatures is rewarded at times of greatest need.
5.) violence occurs but not randomly or wantonly; It always seems to be brought on by the evil intent and/or actions of the recipient.
A fairy tale a day keeps old age away! ☺
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
Update: (3 March 2009) Ha! Have gotten to some of the violent stories! ☺ And yet most, so far seem to be violence with a point. In "Fundevogel" the old Cook seems to get her due for her unfair persecution of poor Fundevogel. In "The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership" while it does seem very unfair what happens to the poor mouse one does wonder at the stupidity of the mouse for ever trusting a cat, his natural enemy. What happens to the false bride in "The Goosegirl" is also very grizzly but on the whole justified.
><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
So far I've read twelve of the sixty and only one ended on a down note; the rest have been pretty fun. I've recognized quite a few of the tales but didn't know their origin or they'd been significantly altered. 'Briar Rose', so I've learned, is Sleeping Beauty's real name; I've always wondered . . . haven't you?
February 27, 2019
The Brothers Grimm version of Red Riding Hood is a more violent and graphic rendition than the traditional and more innocent story that we are used to. While the story has the same plot, the details are described differently. In this story, Red Riding Hood is sent to visit her sick grandmother to bring her cake and a bottle of wine. I believe this version was written in the 1800s, which would better explain how Red Riding Hood was sent with a bottle of wine. While she is on her way, she meets Wolf, who is scheming a way to go to her grandmother’s house to eat her up. Wolf tricked her grandmother, ate her, and then tried to trick Red Riding Hood to do the same.
The story uses the well known lines of, “What big teeth you have got”... “The better to eat you up with, my dear.” The next line says the Wolf, “sprang out of bed and devoured the poor little Red Riding Hood.” Using the verb “devoured” left me cringing!
After the Wolf ate both Red Riding Hood and her grandmother, the Huntsman checked to see why there was such loud snoring. He realized the Wolf may have eaten them so he “took a knife and began cutting open the sleeping Wolf.” It goes on to say that he “skinned the wolf.” These details were shocking, but made me think how different fairy tales were written during this time. While looking through the rest of the book, it seems the Grimm brothers wrote other fairy tales in the same sort of violent, gruesome manner.
The story uses the well known lines of, “What big teeth you have got”... “The better to eat you up with, my dear.” The next line says the Wolf, “sprang out of bed and devoured the poor little Red Riding Hood.” Using the verb “devoured” left me cringing!
After the Wolf ate both Red Riding Hood and her grandmother, the Huntsman checked to see why there was such loud snoring. He realized the Wolf may have eaten them so he “took a knife and began cutting open the sleeping Wolf.” It goes on to say that he “skinned the wolf.” These details were shocking, but made me think how different fairy tales were written during this time. While looking through the rest of the book, it seems the Grimm brothers wrote other fairy tales in the same sort of violent, gruesome manner.
Read
October 3, 2011Scary, crude and gross. I continued to read to the end because I wanted to encounter Cinderella (Ashenputtel) Snow White (Snowdrop), Sleeping Beauty (Briar Rose), Rapenzel, Red Riding Hood and Tom Thumb, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and Rumpelstilskin. I was surprised to find The Fisherman and his Wife. All the others weren't familiar (because Disney didn't do them?) but there were elements throughout that mirrored mythology of the world: golden balls/apples, the clever fox, the crafty wolf.
July 24, 2016
I really enjoyed my return to childhood with the Sixty Fairy Tales of The Brothers Grimm. I loved the repeating themes in all the old folklore. And, it was very interesting to see the changes between the actual stories and the Disney versions. I also look forward even more to the interpretations of the stories in the shows Once Upon a Time and Grimm. And, also the two upcoming Snow White movies.
August 6, 2014
Finished the tales yesterday. I loved them. I can't wait to read the rest of them.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews