14 questions · Literature
In 1812 a book appeared in Berlin that would enchant the world: the “Children’s and Household Tales” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. The two philologists from Hanau actually wanted to rescue old folk tradition before it vanished, and they wrote down stories told to them by storytellers in Hesse and Westphalia. Their scholarly project became one of the most translated books in the world, and since 2005 it has been part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World. Many of the tales are known to almost every child: Hansel and Gretel stray to the witch’s house, Little Red Riding Hood meets the wolf in the forest, Snow White lives with the seven dwarfs, Cinderella loses her shoe, Rapunzel lets down her hair and Sleeping Beauty sleeps for a hundred years. Rumpelstiltskin spins straw into gold, the Frog Prince fetches the ball from the well, and the Town Musicians of Bremen chase off the robbers. The originals are often harsher than the famous films: Cinderella’s stepsisters cut off toe and heel, the frog is thrown against the wall, and the Grimms kept revising their collection until 1857. Some stories were even dropped, like Puss in Boots, because it was too French. Then there are the Valiant Little Tailor, the Fisherman and His Wife, the Six Swans and the Golden Goose. Can you recognise the tales from a single scene?
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Hansel and Gretel
First the children leave a trail of pebbles, the second time breadcrumbs, which the birds eat.
💡 Did you know? Engelbert Humperdinck turned it into an opera in 1893 that is still often performed.
Little Red Riding Hood
In the Grimms’ version a huntsman rescues girl and grandmother from the animal’s belly; Perrault’s version has no happy ending.
💡 Did you know? The Brothers Grimm had heard the story from storytellers of Huguenot descent.
Snow White
The heroine lives with seven dwarfs and falls into a death-like sleep after a poisoned apple.
💡 Did you know? Disney’s 1937 version was the studio’s first feature-length animated film.
Cinderella
In the Grimms’ version the ball gowns come from a little tree on the mother’s grave, not from a fairy.
💡 Did you know? In the Grimms’ version she wears a golden slipper instead of a glass one.
Rapunzel
The name comes from a salad plant that the pregnant mother stole from the sorceress’s garden.
💡 Did you know? Disney retold the story in the 2010 film “Tangled”.
Rumpelstiltskin
He spins straw into gold and demands the miller’s daughter’s first child in return.
💡 Did you know? When the queen guesses his name, he tears himself in two in rage.
Sleeping Beauty
An impenetrable hedge grows around the castle until a prince gets through after a hundred years.
💡 Did you know? The curse comes from the thirteenth wise woman, who was not invited because there were only twelve golden plates.
The Frog Prince
It is the very first tale in the Brothers Grimm’s collection.
💡 Did you know? In the Grimms’ version the enchanted prince is not kissed but thrown against the wall.
Town Musicians of Bremen
The animals are too old for their owners and want to become musicians, but they never reach the city of their dreams.
💡 Did you know? A bronze statue of the four animals stands by the city hall; touching the donkey’s legs is said to bring luck.
The Valiant Little Tailor
Everyone thinks he has killed men, and he then outwits two giants.
💡 Did you know? The belt reads “Seven at one blow”.
The Six Swans
Because one sleeve is not finished, the youngest brother keeps a wing instead of an arm.
💡 Did you know? Hans Christian Andersen told a similar story as “The Wild Swans”.
The Golden Goose
The hero gets the bird from a little grey man with whom he shared his meagre meal.
💡 Did you know? By the end a whole chain of people is stuck to it, including a parson and a sexton.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
The princesses climb down through a trapdoor and are rowed across a lake to a castle to celebrate.
💡 Did you know? As proof the soldier brings back twigs of silver, gold and diamond.
Puss in Boots
A cunning animal wins the miller’s youngest son a castle and a princess.
💡 Did you know? The hero tricks an ogre by asking him to turn himself into a mouse.
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