Fairy Tales | Grimm

Children's and Household Tales (German: Kinder- und Hausmärchen) is a collection of German fairy tales first published in 1812 by the Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm. The collection is commonly known in English as Grimm's Fairy Tales.

The first volume of the first edition was published in 1812, containing 86 stories; the second volume of 70 stories followed in 1815. For the second edition, two volumes were issued in 1819 and a third in 1822, totalling 170 tales. The third edition appeared in 1837; fourth edition, 1840; fifth edition, 1843; sixth edition, 1850; seventh edition, 1857. Stories were added, and also subtracted, from one edition to the next, until the seventh held 211 tales. All editions were extensively illustrated, first by Philipp Grot Johann and, after his death in 1892, by German illustrator Robert Leinweber.

The first volumes were much criticized because, although they were called "Children's Tales", they were not regarded as suitable for children, both for the scholarly information included and the subject matter. Many changes through the editions – such as turning the wicked mother of the first edition in Snow White and Hansel and Gretel (shown in original Grimm stories as Hänsel and Grethel) to a stepmother, were probably made with an eye to such suitability. They removed sexual references—such as Rapunzel's innocently asking why her dress was getting tight around her belly, and thus naively revealing to the fairy her pregnancy and the prince's visits—but, in many respects, violence, particularly when punishing villains, was increased.

The work of the Brothers Grimm influenced other collectors, both inspiring them to collect tales and leading them to similarly believe, in a spirit of romantic nationalism, that the fairy tales of a country were particularly representative of it, to the neglect of cross-cultural influence. Among those influenced were the Russian Alexander Afanasyev, the Norwegians Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, the English Joseph Jacobs, and Jeremiah Curtin, an American who collected Irish tales. There was not always a pleased reaction to their collection. Joseph Jacobs was in part inspired by his complaint that English children did not read English fairy tales; in his own words, "What Perrault began, the Grimms completed".

The Grimm anthology has been a source of inspiration for artists and composers. Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane and Rie Cramer are among the artists who have created illustrations based on the stories.

List of Contents:

THE GOLDEN BIRD

HANS IN LUCK

JORINDA AND JORINDEL

THE TRAVELLING MUSICIANS

OLD SULTAN

THE STRAW, THE COAL, AND THE BEAN

BRIAR ROSE

THE DOG AND THE SPARROW

THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES

THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE

THE WILLOW-WREN AND THE BEAR

THE FROG-PRINCE

CAT AND MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP

THE GOOSE-GIRL

THE ADVENTURES OF CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET

RAPUNZEL

FUNDEVOGEL

THE VALIANT LITTLE TAILOR

HANSEL AND GRETEL

THE MOUSE, THE BIRD, AND THE SAUSAGE

MOTHER HOLLE

LITTLE RED-CAP [LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]

THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM

TOM THUMB

RUMPELSTILTSKIN

CLEVER GRETEL

THE OLD MAN AND HIS GRANDSON

THE LITTLE PEASANT

FREDERICK AND CATHERINE

SWEETHEART ROLAND

SNOWDROP

THE PINK

CLEVER ELSIE

THE MISER IN THE BUSH

ASHPUTTEL

THE WHITE SNAKE

THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE KIDS

THE QUEEN BEE

THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER

THE JUNIPER-TREE

THE TURNIP

CLEVER HANS

THE THREE LANGUAGES

THE FOX AND THE CAT

THE FOUR CLEVER BROTHERS

LILY AND THE LION

THE FOX AND THE HORSE

THE BLUE LIGHT

THE RAVEN

THE GOLDEN GOOSE

THE WATER OF LIFE

THE TWELVE HUNTSMEN

THE KING OF THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN

DOCTOR KNOWALL

THE SEVEN RAVENS

THE WEDDING OF MRS FOX

THE SALAD

THE STORY OF THE YOUTH WHO WENT FORTH TO LEARN WHAT FEAR WAS

KING GRISLY-BEARD

IRON HANS

CAT-SKIN

SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED