Fairy tales for children by the Brothers Grimm. The most famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm

One evening a young drummer walked alone across a field. He approaches the lake and sees three pieces of white linen lying on the shore. “What a thin linen,” he said and put one piece in his pocket. He came home, forgot to think about his find and went to bed. But as soon as he fell asleep, it seemed to him as if someone was calling him by name. He began to listen and heard a quiet voice that said to him: “Drummer, wake up, drummer!” And the night was dark, he could not see anyone, but it seemed to him as if some figure was rushing in front of his bed, first rising up, then falling down.

What do you want? - he asked.

Once upon a time there lived a poor shepherd boy. His father and mother died, then his superiors sent him to the house of a rich man, so that he would feed and raise him. But the rich man and his wife had an evil heart, and with all their wealth they were very stingy and unkind to people and were always angry if anyone took advantage of even a piece of their bread. And no matter how hard the poor boy tried to work, they fed him little, but beat him a lot.

Once upon a time there lived an old miller at the mill; He had neither a wife nor children, and he had three servants. They stayed with him for several years, so he said to them one day:

I have already become old, I should now sit on the stove, and you go wander around the world; and whoever brings me home the best horse, I will give the mill to him, and he will feed me until I die.

The third worker was a filler at the mill, and they all considered him a fool and did not assign the mill to him; Yes, he himself didn’t want that at all. And all three of them left, and, approaching the village, they said to Hans the Fool:

In ancient times, when the Lord God was still walking the earth, it happened that one evening he was tired, night overtook him, and he had nowhere to spend the night. And there were two houses along the road, one opposite the other; There was one big and beautiful, and the other was small and unsightly in appearance. The big house belonged to the rich man, and the small one to the poor man. The Lord thought: “I won’t bother the rich man, I’ll spend the night with him.” The rich man heard them knocking on his door, opened the window and asked the stranger what he needed.

A long time ago there lived a king in the world, and he was famous throughout the entire earth for his wisdom. Everything was known to him, as if someone was sending him news about the most secret things through the air. But he had strange custom: every noon, when everything was cleared from the table and no one else remained, a reliable servant brought him another dish. But it was covered, and even the servant did not know what was on this dish; and not a single person knew about it, for the king opened the dish and began to eat only when he was completely alone.

This went on for a long time, but one day curiosity overcame the servant, he could not control himself and took the dish to his room. He closed the doors properly, lifted the lid from the dish, and saw a white snake lying there. He looked at her and could not resist trying her; he cut off a piece and put it in his mouth.

Once a woman with her daughter and stepdaughter went out into the field to cut grass, and the Lord God appeared to them in the form of a beggar and asked:

How can I get closer to the village?

“If you want to know the way,” the mother answered, “look for it yourself.”

And if you are worried that you won’t be able to find your way, then take a guide.

A poor widow lived alone in her hut, and in front of the hut she had a garden; There were two rose trees growing in that garden, and white roses were blooming on one, and scarlet ones on the other; and she had two children, similar to these pink trees, one was called Snow White, and the other was Scarlet Flower. They were so modest and kind, so hard-working and obedient, that there were never others like them in the world; only Snow White was even quieter and more gentle than Scarlet Flower. Alotsvetik jumped and ran more and more through the meadows and fields, picking flowers and catching butterflies; and Snow White - she mostly sat at home near her mother, helped her with the housework, and when there was no work, read something out loud to her. Both sisters loved each other so much that if they went somewhere, they always held hands, and if Snow White used to say: “We will always be together,” then Scarlet Flower would answer her: “Yes, while we are alive, we will never let’s part” - and the mother added: “Whatever one of you has, let him share it with the other.”

Once upon a time there lived a beautiful queen. One day she was sewing by the window, accidentally pricked her finger with a needle and a drop of blood fell on the snow lying on the windowsill.

The scarlet color of blood on the snow-white cover seemed so beautiful to her that the queen sighed and said:

Oh, how I would like to have a child with a face as white as snow, with lips as scarlet as blood and curls as black as pitch.

Surely everyone knows the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Perhaps, many in childhood were told by their parents fascinating stories about the beautiful Snow White, the good-natured and cheerful Cinderella, the capricious princess and others. The grown children then read the fascinating fairy tales of these authors themselves. And those who didn’t particularly like to spend time reading books were sure to watch cartoons based on the works of legendary creators.

Who are the Brothers Grimm?

Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are famous German linguists. Throughout their lives they worked to create German. Unfortunately, they never managed to finish it. However, this is not why they became so popular. They were glorified folk tales. The Brothers Grimm became famous during their lifetime. "Children's and Household Tales" were translated into English with extreme speed. different languages. The Russian version came out in the 60s of the 19th century. Today their tales are read in almost 100 languages. Many children were raised on the works of the Brothers Grimm. different countries. In our country, they gained wide popularity in the 30s of the last century thanks to the retellings and adaptations of Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak, and

What is the secret of the popularity of Brothers Grimm fairy tales?

All fairy tales have a unique and interesting plot, a happy ending, the victory of good over evil. Entertaining stories The stories that came from their pens are very instructive, and most of them are dedicated to kindness, courage, resourcefulness, bravery, and honor. In the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, the main characters are people. But there are also stories in which actors become birds, animals or insects. Usually in such stories they make fun of negative traits person: greed, laziness, cowardice, envy, etc.

There are also elements of cruelty in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. So, for example, the murder of robbers by a brave tailor, the demand of the stepmother to bring her internal organs(liver and lung) Snow White, the harsh re-education of his wife by King Thrushbeard. But do not confuse elements of cruelty with pronounced violence, which is not here. But the frightening and scary moments present in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm help children realize their existing fears and subsequently overcome them, which serves as a kind of psychotherapy for the child.

Fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm: list

• An extraordinary musician.
• Brave little tailor.
• About a fisherman and his wife.
• Mrs. Blizzard.
• Golden bird.
• The poor man and the rich man.
• Ungrateful son.
• Belyanochka and Rosette.
• Hare and Hedgehog.
• Golden Key.
• Queen of bees.
• Friendship between cat and mouse.
• Successful trading.
• Bell.
• Straw, coal and bean.
• White Snake.
• About a mouse, a bird and fried sausage.
• Singing bone.
• Louse and flea.
• A strange bird.
• Six swans.
• Knapsack, hat and horn.
• Golden goose.
• Wolf and fox.
• Gusyatnitsa.
• Kinglet and bear

The best fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm

These include:

• A wolf and seven little kids.
• Twelve brothers.
• Brother and sister.
• Hansel and Gretel.
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
• Bremen street musicians.
• Smart Elsa.
• Thumb Boy.
• King Thrushbeard.
• Hans is my hedgehog.
• One-eyed, two-eyed and three-eyed.
• Mermaid.

To be fair, it is worth noting that this list is far from the ultimate truth, since the preferences of different people can differ radically from each other.

Annotations to some fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm

1. "Hans is my hedgehog." The fairy tale was written in 1815. Talks about an extraordinary boy and him difficult fate. Outwardly, it resembled a hedgehog, but only with soft needles. He was not liked even by his own father.
2. "Rumpelstichtsen." It tells the story of a dwarf who has the ability to spin gold from straw.
3. "Rapunzel". A fairy tale about a beautiful girl with gorgeous long hair. She was imprisoned in a high tower by an evil witch.
4. “Seat the table yourself, golden donkey and club from a bag.” A tale of the mind-blowing adventures of three brothers, each of whom possessed a magical object.
5. "The Tale of the Frog King or Iron Henry." The story is about an ungrateful queen who did not appreciate the action of the frog who took out her favorite golden ball. The little frog turned into a beautiful prince.

Description of Jacob and Wilhelm

1. "Brother and sister." After the stepmother appears in the house, the children have a hard time. So they decide to leave. There are a lot of obstacles on their way that they need to overcome. Complicating everything is the witch-stepmother, who bewitches the springs. By drinking some water from them, you can turn into wild animals.
2. "The Brave Tailor" Fairy tale hero - brave tailor. Having had his fill of a calm and boring life, he sets off to perform heroic deeds. On the way, he encounters giants and a vile king.
3. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". It tells the story of the king’s delightful daughter, who was joyfully accepted by the seven dwarfs, saving her and protecting her in the future from evil stepmother who owns a magic mirror.

   

4. "King Thrushbeard." A fairy tale about a city and a beautiful princess who did not want to get married. She rejected all her potential suitors, mocking their real and imagined shortcomings. As a result, her father gives her away to the first person he meets.
5. "Mistress Blizzard." Can be categorized as " New Year's tales Brothers Grimm." It tells the story of a widow who had own daughter and reception. The stepdaughter had a hard time with her stepmother. But a sudden accident, in which the unfortunate girl dropped a spool of thread into the well, put everything in its place.



Categories of fairy tales

Conventionally, we can divide the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm into the following categories.

1. Fairy tales about beautiful girls whose lives are constantly ruined by evil sorceresses, witches and stepmothers. Similar storyline many of the brothers' works are imbued.
2. Fairy tales in which people turn into animals and vice versa.
3. Fairy tales in which various objects are animated.
4. which people and their actions become.
5. Fairy tales whose heroes are animals, birds or insects. They ridicule negative character traits and praise positive traits and inherent virtues.

The events of all fairy tales take place in different time years without focusing on it. Therefore, it is impossible to single out, for example, the spring fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Like, for example, A.N. Ostrovsky’s “The Snow Maiden”, which is accompanied by the title “ spring fairy tale in four acts."



"Witch Hunters" or "Hansel and Gretel"?

The latest film based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm is “Witch Hunters.” The film premiered on January 17, 2013.

The fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel” is presented in a condensed form at the beginning of the film. Natural father for unknown reasons leaves his son and daughter in the forest at night. In desperation, the children go where their eyes are looking and come across a bright and tasty house of sweets. The witch who lured them to this house wants to eat them, but the savvy Hansel and Gretel send her to the oven.

Further events unfold according to the director’s own plans. Many years later, Hansel and Gretel begin a witch hunt, which becomes the meaning of their lives and a way to make good money. By the will of fate, they end up in a small town infested with witches who steal children to perform their rituals. Heroically, they save the entire city.

As you can see, director Tommy Wirkola filmed the Brothers Grimm fairy tale in a laconic form, adding his own continuation to it in a new way.

Conclusion

All children, without exception, need fairy tales. They are able to expand their horizons, develop imagination and creative imagination, cultivate certain character traits. Be sure to read fairy tales by different authors to your children, including the Brothers Grimm.

Just when choosing works, do not forget to pay attention to their publication. After all, there are publications in which episodes are missing or added. This is often not mentioned in the notes. And this is not a small nuance, but a significant flaw that can distort the meaning of the fairy tale.

It will also be great if you find time to talk about the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm or play your favorite ones in your spare time.

In the first edition of 1812 - that is, in the bloodiest and most terrible. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, as well as Charles Perrault together with the Italian storyteller Giambattista Basile, they did not invent stories, but rewrote folk legends for subsequent generations. The primary sources make your blood run cold: graves, severed heels, sadistic punishments, rape and other “unfairytale” details. AiF.ru has collected original stories that should not be told to children at night.

Cinderella

It is believed that the earliest version of Cinderella was invented in Ancient Egypt: While the beautiful prostitute Phodoris was bathing in the river, an eagle stole her sandal and took it to the pharaoh, who admired the small size of the shoes and ended up marrying the harlot.

The Italian Giambattista Basile, who recorded a collection folk legends"Tale of Tales", everything is much worse. His Cinderella, or rather Zezolla, is not at all the unfortunate girl we know from Disney cartoons and children's plays. She didn’t want to endure humiliation from her stepmother, so she broke her stepmother’s neck with the lid of the chest, taking her nanny as an accomplice. The nanny immediately came to the rescue and became a second stepmother for the girl; in addition, she had six evil daughters; of course, the girl had no chance of killing them all. A chance saved the day: one day the king saw the girl and fell in love. Zezolla was quickly found by His Majesty's servants, but she managed to escape, dropping - no, not glass slipper! - a rough pianella with a cork sole, such as was worn by the women of Naples. The further scheme is clear: a nationwide search and a wedding. So the stepmother's killer became queen.

Actress Anna Levanova as Cinderella in the play “Cinderella” directed by Ekaterina Polovtseva at the Sovremennik Theater. Photo: RIA Novosti / Sergey Pyatakov

61 years after the Italian version, Charles Perrault released his tale. It was she who became the basis for all “vanilla” modern interpretations. True, in Perrault’s version, the girl is helped not by her godmother, but by her deceased mother: a white bird lives on her grave and grants wishes.

The Brothers Grimm also interpreted the plot of Cinderella in their own way: in their opinion, the poor orphan’s mischievous sisters should have gotten what they deserved. Trying to squeeze into the treasured shoe, one of the sisters cut off her toe, and the second cut off her heel. But the sacrifice was in vain - the prince was warned by the pigeons:

Look, look,
And the shoe is covered in blood...

These same flying warriors of justice eventually pecked out the sisters’ eyes—and that’s where the fairy tale ends.

Little Red Riding Hood

The story of a girl and a hungry wolf has been known in Europe since the 14th century. The contents of the basket varied depending on the location, but the story itself was much more unfortunate for Cinderella. Having killed the grandmother, the wolf not only eats her, but prepares a tasty treat from her body, and a certain drink from her blood. Hidden in bed, he watches as Little Red Riding Hood eagerly devolves her own grandmother. Grandma's cat tries to warn the girl, but she also dies terrible death(the wolf throws heavy wooden shoes at her). This apparently does not bother Little Red Riding Hood, and after a hearty dinner she obediently undresses and goes to bed, where the wolf is waiting for her. In most versions, this is where it all ends - they say, serves the stupid girl right!

Illustration in the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood”. Photo: Public Domain / Gustave Doré

Subsequently, Charles Perrault composed an optimistic ending for this story and added a moral for everyone whom strangers invite into their bed:

For small children, not without reason
(And especially for girls,
Beauties and pampered girls),
On the way, meeting all kinds of men,
You can’t listen to insidious speeches, -
Otherwise the wolf might eat them.
I said: wolf! There are countless wolves
But there are others between them
The rogues are so savvy
That, sweetly exuding flattery,
The maiden's honor is protected,
Accompany their walks home,
They are escorted bye-bye through dark corners...
But the wolf, alas, is more modest than it seems,
The more cunning and terrible he is!

Sleeping Beauty

The modern version of the kiss that woke up the beauty is just childish babble compared to the original story, which was recorded for posterity by the same Giambattista Basile. The beauty from his fairy tale, named Thalia, was also overtaken by a curse in the form of a spindle injection, after which the princess fell into a sound sleep. The inconsolable king-father left in small house in the forest, but could not imagine what would happen next. Years later, another king passed by, entered the house and saw Sleeping Beauty. Without thinking twice, he carried her to the bed and, so to speak, took advantage of the situation, and then left and forgot about everything for a long time. And the beauty, raped in a dream, nine months later gave birth to twins - a son named the Sun and a daughter named Moon. It was they who woke up Thalia: the boy, in search of his mother’s breast, began to suck her finger and accidentally sucked out a poisoned thorn. Further more. The lustful king again came to the abandoned house and found offspring there.

Illustration from the fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty”. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / AndreasPraefcke

He promised the girl mountains of gold and again left for his kingdom, where, by the way, his legal wife was waiting for him. The king's wife, having learned about the homewrecker, decided to exterminate her along with her entire brood and at the same time punish her unfaithful husband. She ordered the babies to be killed and made into meat pies for the king, and the princess to be burned. Just before the fire, the beauty’s screams were heard by the king, who came running and burned not her, but the annoying evil queen. And finally, good news: the twins were not eaten, because the cook turned out to be normal person and saved the children by replacing them with a lamb.

The defender of maiden honor, Charles Perrault, of course, greatly changed the fairy tale, but could not resist the “moral” at the end of the story. His parting words read:

Wait a little
So that my husband turns up,
Handsome and rich, too
Quite possible and understandable.
But a hundred long years,
Lying in bed, waiting
It's so unpleasant for ladies
That no one can sleep...

Snow White

The Brothers Grimm Flooded the Fairy Tale of Snow White interesting details, which in our humane times seem wild. The first version was published in 1812 and expanded in 1854. The beginning of the fairy tale does not bode well: “One snowy winter day, the queen sits and sews by a window with an ebony frame. By chance she pricks her finger with a needle, drops three drops of blood and thinks: “Oh, if only I had a baby, white as snow, red as blood and black as ebony.” But the truly creepy one here is the witch: she eats (as she thinks) the heart of the murdered Snow White, and then, realizing that she was mistaken, comes up with more and more sophisticated ways to kill her. These include a strangling dress string, a poisonous comb, and a poisoned apple that we know worked. The ending is also interesting: when everything goes well for Snow White, it’s the witch’s turn. As punishment for her sins, she dances in red-hot iron shoes until she falls dead.

Still from the cartoon "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

The beauty and the Beast

The original source of the tale is neither more nor less ancient greek myth about the beautiful Psyche, whose beauty was envied by everyone, from her older sisters to the goddess Aphrodite. The girl was chained to a rock in the hope of being fed to the monster, but she was miraculously saved by an “invisible creature.” It, of course, was male, because it made Psyche its wife on the condition that she would not torment him with questions. But, of course, female curiosity prevailed, and Psyche learned that her husband was not a monster at all, but a beautiful Cupid. Psyche's husband was offended and flew away, not promising to return. Meanwhile, Psyche's mother-in-law Aphrodite, who was against this marriage from the very beginning, decided to completely harass her daughter-in-law, forcing her to perform various complex tasks: for example, bring golden fleece from mad sheep and some water from the river dead Styx. But Psyche did everything, and there Cupid returned to the family, and they lived happily ever after. And the stupid, envious sisters rushed off the cliff, vainly hoping that the “invisible spirit” would be found on them too.

Closer to modern history version was writtenGabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuvein 1740. Everything about it is complicated: the Beast is essentially an unfortunate orphan. His father died, and his mother was forced to defend her kingdom from enemies, so she entrusted the upbringing of her son to someone else’s aunt. She turned out to be an evil witch, in addition, she wanted to seduce the boy, and having received a refusal, she turned him into a terrible beast. Beauty also has her own skeletons in her closet: she is not really her own, but stepdaughter merchant Her real father- a king who sinned with a stray good fairy. But an evil witch also lays claim to the king, so it was decided to give her rival’s daughter to the merchant, whose youngest daughter had just died. Well, a curious fact about Beauty’s sisters: when the beast lets her go to stay with her relatives, the “good” girls deliberately force her to stay in the hope that the monster will go wild and eat her. By the way, this subtle relatable moment is shown in the latest film version of “Beauty and the Beast” withVincent Cassel And Léaille Seydoux.

Still from the movie "Beauty and the Beast"

In 1812, a collection of fairy tales entitled “Children's and Family Tales” was published.

These were fairy tales collected in German lands and literary processed by the brothers Jacob And Wilhelm Grimms. Later the collection was renamed, and to this day it is known as “Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.”

Authors

Jacob Grimm (1785-1863)

Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859)

The Brothers Grimm were men of rich erudition who had a wide range of interests. It is enough just to list the types of their activities to be convinced of this. They studied jurisprudence, lexicography, anthropology, linguistics, philology, mythology; worked as librarians, taught at the university, and also wrote poetry and works for children.

Wilhelm Grimm's office

The brothers were born into the family of the famous lawyer Philipp Grimm in Hanau (Hesse). Wilhelm was 13 months younger than Jacob and in poor health. When the eldest of the brothers was 11 years old, their father died, leaving almost no funds. Their mother's sister took the boys into her care and promoted their education. In total, Philip Grimm’s family had 5 sons and a daughter, of which Ludwig Emil Grimm (1790-1863) – German artist and engraver.

Ludwig Emil Grimm. Self-portrait

The brothers were members of the circle of Heidelberg romantics, whose goal was to revive interest in folk culture Germany and its folklore. Heidelberg School of Romanticism oriented artists towards the national past, mythology, and deep religious feeling. Representatives of the school turned to folklore as the “true language” of the people, contributing to their unification.
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm left the famous meeting German fairy tales. Main work the lives of the Brothers Grimm - “German Dictionary”. In fact, this is a comparative historical dictionary of all Germanic languages. But the authors managed to bring it only to the letter “F”, and the dictionary was completed only in the 1970s.

Jacob Grimm gives a lecture in Göttingham (1830). Sketch of Ludwig Emil Grimm

In total, during the writers’ lifetime, the collection of fairy tales went through 7 editions (the last one in 1857). This edition contained 210 fairy tales and legends. All issues were illustrated first by Philipp Grote-Johann and, after his death, by Robert Leinweber.
But the first editions of fairy tales were subject to strong criticism. They were judged to be unsuitable for children's reading both in content and because of academic information inserts.
Then, in 1825, the Brothers Grimm published a collection of Kleine Ausgabe, which included 50 fairy tales, which were carefully edited for young readers. The illustrations (7 copper engravings) were created by brother-painter Ludwig Emil Grimm. This children's version of the book went through ten editions between 1825 and 1858.

Preparatory work

Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm began collecting fairy tales in 1807. In search of fairy tales, they traveled through Hesse (in the center of Germany) and then through Westphalia (a historical region in northwestern Germany). The storytellers of fairy tales were the most different people: shepherds, peasants, artisans, innkeepers, etc.

Ludwig Emil Grimm. Portrait of Dorothea Fiemann, folk storyteller, from whose stories the Brothers Grimm wrote down more than 70 fairy tales
According to the words of the peasant woman Dorothea Fimann (1755-1815), the daughter of an innkeeper from the village of Zweren (near Kassel), 21 tales were recorded for the second volume and numerous additions. She was the mother of six children. She owns the fairy tales “The Goose Girl”, “The Lazy Spinner”, “The Devil and His Grandmother”, “Doctor Know-It-All”.

Fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood"

Many of the tales in the collection are general stories European folklore and are therefore included in collections different writers. For example, the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood”. It was literary adapted by Charles Perrault and later recorded by the Brothers Grimm. The story of a girl deceived by a wolf has been common in France and Italy since the Middle Ages. In the Alpine foothills and Tyrol, the fairy tale has been known since the 14th century. and was especially popular.
In fairy tales of different countries and localities, the contents of the basket varied: in northern Italy the granddaughter brought fresh fish to her grandmother, in Switzerland - a head of young cheese, in the south of France - a pie and a pot of butter, etc. In Charles Perrault's work, the wolf eats Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. The tale concludes with a moral instructing girls to be wary of seducers.

Illustration for the German version of the fairy tale

Among the Brothers Grimm, woodcutters passing by, hearing the noise, kill the wolf, cut its belly and save the grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood. The Brothers Grimm also has a moral to the tale, but it is of a different kind: it is a warning to naughty children: “Well, now I will never run away from the forest in the forest.” high road“I won’t disobey my mother’s orders anymore.”
In Russia, there is a version by P. N. Polevoy - a complete translation of the version of the brothers Grimm, but the retelling of I. S. Turgenev (1866), in which the motive of violating the ban and some details of the descriptions, is more widespread.

The meaning of "Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm"

Ludwig Emil Grimm. Portrait of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (1843)

The influence of the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales was enormous; from the very first edition they won the love of readers, despite criticism. Their work inspired them to collect fairy tales and writers from other countries: in Russia it was Alexander Nikolaevich Afanasyev, in Norway - Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jorgen Moo, in England - Joseph Jacobs.
V. A. Zhukovsky in 1826 he translated two fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm into Russian for the magazine “Children's Interlocutor” (“Dear Roland and the Clear Flower Maiden” and “The Briar Princess”).
The influence of the plots of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales can be traced in three fairy tales A. S. Pushkin: “The Tale of dead princess and about the seven heroes" ("Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm), "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" (the tale "About the Fisherman and His Wife" by the Brothers Grimm) and "The Groom" (the tale of the Brothers Grimm "The Robber Bridegroom").

Franz Hüttner. Illustration “The Stepmother and the Poisoned Apple” (from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “Snow White”)

Brothers Grimm's fairy tale "About a Fisherman and His Wife"

One fisherman lives with his wife Ilsebil in a poor shack. One day he catches a flounder in the sea, which turns out to be enchanted prince, she asks to let her go to sea, which the fisherman does.
Ilzebil asks her husband if he asked for anything in exchange for the fish's freedom, and makes him summon the flounder again to wish for a better home. The magic fish grants this wish.
Soon Ilsebil again sends her husband to demand a stone castle from the flounder, then wants to become a queen, a kaiser (emperor) and a pope. With each fisherman's request for flounder, the sea becomes increasingly gloomy and stormy.
The fish fulfills all her wishes, but when Ilsebil wants to become the Lord God, the flounder returns everything to its previous state - to a miserable shack.
The tale was written down by the Brothers Grimm in the dialect of Vorpommern (a historical region in the south of the Baltic Sea, located in different eras as part of various states) based on the tale of Philip Otto Runge (German romantic artist).
Apparently, in ancient times, the flounder had the functions of a sea deity in Pomerania, so the fairy tale is an echo of mythology. The moral of the tale is presented in the form of a parable: gluttony and excessive demands are punished by the loss of everything.

Illustration by Anna Anderson “Fisherman Talks to Flounder”

The collection “Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm” also includes legends.
Legend- written legend about any historical events or personalities. Legends explain the origins of natural and cultural phenomena and give them a moral assessment. IN in a broad sense A legend is an unreliable narrative about facts of reality.
For example, the legend “Glass of the Mother of God” is the only work from the collection that has never been published in Russian.

Legend “The Glasses of Our Lady”

This legend is included in the second German edition of the book of fairy tales from 1819 as a children's legend. According to a note by the Brothers Grimm, it is recorded from the Westphalian family of Haxthausen from Paderborn (a city in Germany located in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia).
Contents of the legend. One day the cab driver got stuck on the road. There was wine in his cart. Despite all his efforts, he could not move the cart.
At this time, the Mother of God passed by. Seeing the poor man’s futile attempts, she turned to him with the words: “I’m tired and thirsty, pour me a glass of wine, and then I’ll help free your cart.” The driver readily agreed, but he did not have a glass to pour wine into. Then the Mother of God picked a white flower with pink stripes (field bindweed), which looked a little like a glass, and gave it to the cab driver. He filled the flower with wine. The Mother of God took a sip - and at that same moment the cart was freed. The poor man moved on.

Convolvulus flower

Since then, these flowers have been called “the glasses of the Mother of God.”

Even those who do not like fairy tales are familiar with the plots of Cinderella, Rapunzel and Thumb. All these and hundreds more fairy tales were recorded and revised by two linguist brothers. They are known to the whole world under the names Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

Family Affair

The sons of lawyer Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, were born a year apart. Jacob was born in early January 1785. The second son in the Grimm family, Wilhelm, appeared a year later, on February 24, 1786.

The young men were orphaned early. Already in 1796, they came under the care of their aunt, who did her best to support their desire to study and new knowledge.

The university for lawyers where they entered did not captivate their inquisitive minds. The Brothers Grimm became interested in linguistics, composing German dictionary, and also from 1807 they began to record tales heard during their travels in Hesse and Westphalia. There was so much “fairytale” material that the Brothers Grimm decided to publish the stories they had recorded and revised.

Fairy tales not only made the brothers famous, but also gave one of the linguists family happiness. Thus, Dorothea Wild, from whose words the stories about Hansel and Gretel, Lady Snowstorm and the story about the magic table were written, later became Wilhelm’s wife.

The tales turned out to be interesting to a wide circle readers. During the brothers’ lifetime alone, their collections of fairy tales were translated into more than a hundred languages. The success kept Jacob and Wilhelm interested in their work, and they enthusiastically looked for new storytellers.

How many fairy tales did the Brothers Grimm collect?

The initial publication of the collected material by the Brothers Grimm included 49 fairy tales. In the second edition, which consisted of two volumes, there were already 170 of them. Another Grimm brother, Ludwig, participated in the printing of the second part. However, he was not a collector of fairy tales, but skillfully illustrated what Jacob and Wilhelm revised.

After the first two editions of collections of fairy tales, 5 more editions followed. In the final, 7th edition, the Brothers Grimm chose 210 fairy tales and legends. Today they are called “Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.”

The abundance of illustrations and closeness to the original source made fairy tales a subject for discussion and even debate. Some critics accused linguists of being too “childish” in the details of the published fairy tales.

To satisfy young readers' interest in their work, the Brothers Grimm published 50 edited fairy tales for children in 1825. TO mid-19th centuries, this collection of fairy tales was reprinted 10 times.

Recognition of posterity and modern criticism

The legacy of the Grimm linguists was not forgotten even years later. They are read to children by parents all over the world, and performances are staged based on them. young viewers. The popularity of fairy tales has grown so much over the past century and a half that in 2005, UNESCO included the work of the Brothers Grimm in the Memory of the World list.

Screenwriters are playing with the plots of Grimm's fairy tales for new cartoons, films and even TV series.

However, like any grandiose work, the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are still subject to criticism and various interpretations. Thus, some religions call only a few fairy tales from the brothers’ heritage “useful for children’s souls,” and the Nazis at one time used their stories to promote their inhumane ideas.

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