The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm Read online

  THE ORIGINAL FOLK AND FAIRY TALES OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM

  THE COMPLETE FIRST EDITION

  The Original Folk & Fairy Tales OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM

  TRANSLATED & EDITED BY

  JACK ZIPES

  ILLUSTRATED BY

  ANDREA DEZSÖ

  JACOB AND WILHELM GRIMM

  PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

  Princeton and Oxford

  Copyright © 2014 by Princeton University Press

  Illustrations copyright © Andrea Dezsö 2014

  Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540

  In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TW

  press.princeton.edu

  Jacket illustration and design © Andrea Dezsö.

  All Rights Reserved

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Grimm, Jacob, 1785–1863.

  [Kinder- und Hausmärchen. English. 2015]

  The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm : the Complete First Edition / [Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm ; translated by] Jack Zipes ; [illustrated by Andrea Dezsö].

  pages cm

  Includes bibliographical references and index.

  ISBN 978-0-691-16059-7 (hardback : acid-free paper) 1. Fairy tales—Germany. 2. Tales—Germany. 3. Folklore—Germany. I. Grimm, Wilhelm, 1786–1859. II. Zipes, Jack, 1937–III. Dezsö, Andrea. IV. Title.

  GR166.G54313 2015

  398.20943—dc23

  2014004127

  British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available

  This book has been composed in Garamond Premier Pro

  Printed on acid-free paper. ∞

  Printed in Canada

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  For Bianca Lazzaro and Carmine Donzelli, whose friendship has sparked my life and my interest in folk and fairy tales

  CONTENTS

  List of Figures xv

  Acknowledgments xvii

  Introduction: Rediscovering the Original Tales of the Brothers Grimm xix

  Note on the Text and Translation xlv

  VOLUME I

  PREFACE TO VOLUME I 3

  1. The Frog King, or Iron Henry (Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich) 13

  2. The Companionship of the Cat and Mouse (Katz und Maus in Gesellschaft) 16

  3. The Virgin Mary’s Child (Marienkind) 17

  4. Good Bowling and Card Playing (Gut Kegel- und Kartenspiel) 21

  5. The Wolf and the Seven Kids (Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Geißlein) 23

  6. The Nightingale and the Blindworm (Von der Nachtigall und der Blindschleiche) 25

  7. The Stolen Pennies (Von dem gestohlenen Heller) 26

  8. The Hand with the Knife (Die Hand mit dem Messer) 26

  9. The Twelve Brothers (Die zwölf Brüder) 27

  10. Riffraff (Das Lumpengesindel) 32

  11. Little Brother and Little Sister (Brüderchen und Schwesterchen) 34

  12. Rapunzel (Rapunzel) 37

  13. The Three Little Men in the Forest (Die drei Männlein im Walde) 40

  14. Nasty Flax Spinning (Von dem bösen Flachsspinnen) 42

  15. Hansel and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel) 43

  16. Herr Fix-It-Up (Herr Fix und Fertig) 49

  17. The White Snake (Die weiße Schlange) 53

  18. The Journey of the Straw, the Coal, and the Bean (Strohhalm, Kohle und Bohne auf der Reise) 55

  19. The Fisherman and His Wife (Von den Fischer und siine Fru) 56

  20. A Story about a Brave Tailor (Von einem tapfern Schneider) 62

  21. Cinderella (Aschenputtel) 69

  22. How Some Children Played at Slaughtering (Wie Kinder Schlachtens mit einander gespielt haben) 77

  23. The Little Mouse, the Little Bird, and the Sausage (Von dem Mäuschen, Vögelchen und der Bratwurst) 79

  24. Mother Holle (Frau Holle) 81

  25. The Three Ravens (Die drei Raben) 83

  26. Little Red Cap (Rothkäppchen) 85

  27. Death and the Goose Boy (Der Tod und der Gänshirt) 88

  28. The Singing Bone (Der singende Knochen) 89

  29. The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs (Von dem Teufel mit drei goldenen Haaren) 92

  30. Little Louse and Little Flea (Läuschen und Flöhchen) 97

  31. Maiden without Hands (Mädchen ohne Hände) 99

  32. Clever Hans (Der gescheidte Hans) 103

  33. Puss in Boots (Der gestiefelte Kater) 110

  34. Hans’s Trina (Hansens Trine) 115

  35. The Sparrow and His Four Children (Der Sperling und seine vier Kinder) 116

  36. The Little Magic Table, the Golden Donkey, and the Club in the Sack (Von dem Tischgen deck dich, dem Goldesel und dem Knüppel in dem Sack) 119

  37. The Tablecloth, the Knapsack, the Cannon Hat, and the Horn (Von der Serviette, dem Tornister, dem Kanonenhütlein und dem Horn) 126

  38. Mrs. Fox (Von der Frau Füchsin) 129

  39. The Elves (Von den Wichtelmännern) 132

  About the Shoemaker for Whom They Did the Work (Von dem Schuster, dem sie die Arbeit gemacht) 132

  About a Servant Girl Who Acted as Godmother (Von einem Dienstmädchen, das Gevatter bei ihnen gestanden) 133

  About a Woman Whose Child They Had Exchanged (Von einer Frau, der sie das Kind vertauscht haben) 133

  40. The Robber Bridegroom (Der Räuberbräutigam) 135

  41. Herr Korbes (Herr Korbes) 137

  42. The Godfather (Der Herr Gevatter) 138

  43. The Strange Feast (Die wunderliche Gasterei) 141

  44. Godfather Death (Der Gevatter Tod) 142

  45. The Wandering of Thumbling, the Tailor’s Son (Des Schneiders Daumerling Wanderschaft) 143

  46. Fitcher’s Bird (Fitchers Vogel) 146

  47. The Juniper Tree (Van den Machandel-Boom) 148

  48. Old Sultan (Der alte Sultan) 158

  49. The Six Swans (Die sechs Schwäne) 159

  50. Briar Rose (Dornröschen) 162

  51. The Foundling (Vom Fundevogel) 165

  52. King Thrushbeard (König Droßelbart) 167

  53. Little Snow White (Sneewittchen [Schneeweißchen]) 170

  54. Simple Hans (Hans Dumm) 178

  55. Rumpelstiltskin (Rumpelstilzchen) 181

  56. Sweetheart Roland (Der liebste Roland) 182

  57. The Golden Bird (Vom goldenen Vogel) 185

  58. Loyal Godfather Sparrow (Vom treuen Gevatter Sperling) 191

  59. Prince Swan (Prinz Schwan) 194

  60. The Golden Egg (Das Goldei) 197

  61. The Tailor Who Soon Became Rich (Von dem Schneider, der bald reich wurde) 199

  62. Bluebeard (Blaubart) 202

  63. The Golden Children (Goldkinder) 205

  64. The Simpleton (Von dem Dummling) 207

  The White Dove (Die weiße Taube) 207

  The Queen Bee (Die Bienenkönigin) 208

  The Three Feathers (Die drei Federn) 210

  The Golden Goose (Die goldene Gans) 212

  65. All Fur (Allerleirauh) 216

  66. Hurleburlebutz (Hurleburlebutz) 220

  67. The King with the Lion (Der Konig mit dem Löwen) 223

  68. The Summer and the Winter Garden (Von dem Sommer- und Wintergarten) 225

  69. Jorinda and Joringel (Jorinde und Joringel) 227

  70. Okerlo (Der Okerlo) 230

  71. Princess Mouseskin (Prinzessin Mäusehaut) 233

  72. The Pear Refused to Fall (Das Birnli will nit fallen) 234

  73. The Castle of Murder (Das Mordschloß) 236

  74. Johannes Wat
erspring and Caspar Waterspring (Von Johannes-Wassersprung und Caspar-Wassersprung) 238

  75. The Bird Phoenix (Vogel Phönix) 241

  76. The Carnation (Die Nelke) 242

  77. The Carpenter and the Turner (Vom Schreiner und Drechsler) 244

  78. The Old Grandfather and the Grandson (Der alte Großvater und der Enkel) 245

  79. The Water Nixie (Die Wassernix) 246

  80. The Death of Little Hen (Von dem Tod des Hühnchens) 246

  81. The Blacksmith and the Devil (Der Schmidt und der Teufel) 248

  82. The Three Sisters (Die drei Schwestem) 251

  83. The Poor Maiden (Das arme Mädchen) 262

  84. The Mother-in-Law (Die Schwiegermutter) 263

  85. Fragments (Fragmente) 264

  Snowflower (Schneeblume) 264

  The Princess with the Louse (Prinzessin mit der Laus) 264

  Prince Johannes (Vom Prinz Johannes) 265

  The Good Cloth (Der gute Lappen) 265

  86. The Fox and the Geese (Der Fuchs und die Gänse) 265

  VOLUME II

  PREFACE TO VOLUME II 269

  1. The Poor Man and the Rich Man (Der Arme und der Reiche) 274

  2. The Singing, Springing Lark (Das singende, springende Löweneckerchen) 277

  3. The Goose Girl (Die Gänsemagd) 283

  4. The Young Giant (Von einem jungen Riesen) 289

  5. The Gnome (Dat Erdmänneken) 297

  6. The King of the Golden Mountain (Der König vom goldenen Berg) 301

  7. The Raven (Die Rabe) 307

  8. The Clever Farmer’s Daughter (Die kluge Bauemtochter) 313

  9. The Genie in the Glass (Der Geist im Glas) 316

  10. The Three Little Birds (De drei Vügelkens) 319

  11. The Water of Life (Das Wasser des Lebens) 324

  12. Doctor Know-It-All (Doctor Allwissend) 329

  13. The Frog Prince (Der Froschprinz) 331

  14. The Devil’s Sooty Brother (Des Teufels rußiger Bruder) 333

  15. The Devil in the Green Coat (Der Teufel Grünrock) 337

  16. The Wren and the Bear (Der Zaunkönig und der Bär) 340

  17. The Sweet Porridge (Vom süßen Brei) 343

  18. The Faithful Animals (Die treuen Thiere) 343

  19. Tales about Toads (Mährchen von der Unke) 347

  20. The Poor Miller’s Apprentice and the Cat (Der arme Müllerbursch und das Katzchen) 348

  21. The Crows (Die Krähen) 351

  22. Hans My Hedgehog (Hans mein Igel) 354

  23. The Little Shroud (Das Todtenhemdchen) 360

  24. The Jew in the Thornbush (Der Jud’ im Dorn) 360

  25. The Expert Huntsman (Der gelernte Jäger) 363

  26. The Fleshing Flail from Heaven (Der Dresschpflegel vom Himmel) 368

  27. The Children of the Two Kings (De beiden Künnigeskinner) 369

  28. The Clever Little Tailor (Vom klugen Schneiderlein) 377

  29. The Bright Sun Will Bring It to Light (Die klare Sonne bringt’s an den Tag) 380

  30. The Blue Light (Das blaue Licht) 383

  31. The Stubborn Child (Von einem eigensinnigen Kinde) 386

  32. The Three Army Surgeons (Die drei Feldscherer) 386

  33. The Lazy One and the Industrious One (Der Faule und der Fleißige) 389

  34. The Three Journeymen (Die drei Handwerksburschen) 390

  35. The Heavenly Wedding (Die himmlische Hochzeit) 394

  36. The Long Nose (Die lange Nase) 395

  37. The Old Woman in the Forest (Die Alte im Wald) 401

  38. The Three Brothers (Die drei Brüder) 403

  39. The Devil and His Grandmother (Der Teufel und seine Großmutter) 405

  40. Faithful Ferdinand and Unfaithful Ferdinand (Ferenand getrü und Ferenand ungetrü) 408

  41. The Iron Stove (Der Eisen-Ofen) 413

  42. The Lazy Spinner (Die faule Spinnerin) 418

  43. The Lion and the Frog (Der Löwe und der Frosch) 420

  44. The Soldier and the Carpenter (Der Soldat und der Schreiner) 422

  45. Pretty Katrinelya and Pif-Paf-Poltree (Die schöne Katrinelje und Pif, Paf, Poltrie) 428

  46. The Fox and the Horse (Der Fuchs und das Pferd) 430

  47. The Worn-out Dancing Shoes (Die zertanzten Schuhe) 431

  48. The Six Servants (Die sechs Diener) 435

  49. The White Bride and the Black Bride (Die weiße und schwarze Braut) 440

  50. The Wild Man (De wilde Mann) 444

  51. The Three Black Princesses (De drei schwatten Princessinnen) 448

  52. Knoist and His Three Sons (Knoist un sine dre Sühne) 450

  53. The Maiden from Brakel (Dat Mäken von Brakel) 450

  54. The Domestic Servants (Das Hausgesinde) 451

  55. Little Lamb and Little Fish (Das Lämmchen und Fischchen) 452

  56. Sesame Mountain (Simeliberg) 454

  57. The Children of Famine (Die Kinder in Hungersnoth) 456

  58. The Little Donkey (Das Eselein) 456

  59. The Ungrateful Son (Der undankbare Sohn) 461

  60. The Turnip (Die Rube) 461

  61. The Rejuvenated Little Old Man (Das junggeglühte Männlein) 464

  62. The Animals of the Lord and the Devil (Des Herrn und des Teufels Gethier) 466

  63. The Beam (Der Hahnenbalken) 467

  64. The Old Beggar Woman (Die alte Bettelfrau) 467

  65. The Three Lazy Sons (Die drei Faulen) 468

  66. Saint Solicitous (Die heilige Frau Kummerniß) 469

  67. The Tale about the Land of Cockaigne (Das Märchen vom Schlauaffenland) 469

  68. The Tall Tale from Ditmarsh (Das Dietmarsische Lügen-Märchen) 470

  69. A Tale with a Riddle (Räthsel-Märchen) 471

  70. The Golden Key (Der goldene Schlüssel) 471

  List of Contributors and Informants 475

  Notes to Volumes I and II 479

  Index of Tales 517

  FIGURES

  FIGURE 1. The Frog King

  12

  FIGURE 2. The Twelve Brothers

  28

  FIGURE 3. Herr Fix-It-Up

  52

  FIGURE 4. How Some Children Played at Slaughtering

  78

  FIGURE 5. The Singing Bone

  90

  FIGURE 6. The Elves—About a Woman Whose Child They Had Exchanged

  134

  FIGURE 7. The Godfather

  140

  FIGURE 8. Simple Hans

  179

  FIGURE 9. Loyal Godfather Sparrow

  192

  FIGURE 10. Okerlo

  232

  FIGURE 11. The Three Sisters

  255

  FIGURE 12. The Young Giant

  290

  FIGURE 13. The Devil in the Green Coat

  338

  FIGURE 14. Hans My Hedgehog

  356

  FIGURE 15. The Blue Light

  382

  FIGURE 16. The Long Nose

  398

  FIGURE 17. The Soldier and the Carpenter

  425

  FIGURE 18. The Wild Man

  446

  FIGURE 19. The Little Donkey

  458

  FIGURE 20. The Golden Key

  472

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Over the past forty years or so I had often wondered why nobody had ever translated the first edition of the Grimms’ Kinder- und Hausmärchen (1812/15) into English, and it was not until 2012, the bicentenary of these two volumes, that I decided, if nobody was going to undertake this “task,” I would do it—and do it out of pleasure and to share the unusual tales the Grimms collected as young men when they had not fully realized what a treasure they had uncovered. Their tales are, in fact, a treasure that belongs not only to Germany but also to many other countries in the world.

  In sharing this treasure I have been most fortunate to have the understanding of the editorial staff at Princeton University Press, wonderful editors, who have supported my work in the fields of folklore and
fairy-tale studies during the past ten years. So, I want to take this opportunity to thank them all for their assistance. In particular, I want to express my gratitude to the two editors in charge of The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, namely, Alison MacKeen and Anne Savarese, who shepherded the manuscript through the first stages of approval. Their advice has been invaluable. In addition, there are not words enough to thank Sara Lerner, with whom I have worked on a few occasions. She is one of the most thorough, attentive, and keen production editors I have ever encountered. Jennifer Harris, who copyedited the entire book, improved the manuscript immensely, and I relied greatly on her advice. Maria Lindenfeldar and Jason Alejandro have played key roles in creating the art design for the book and have guided me wisely in selecting the images for the tales. Last but not least, I want to thank Andrea Dezsö for contributing her extraordinary illustrations that reveal many of the hidden meanings of the tales.

  INTRODUCTION: REDISCOVERING THE ORIGINAL TALES OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM

  JACK ZIPES

  Just a little over two hundred years ago, in December of 1812, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of their Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales), followed by a second volume in 1815. Little did the Grimms realize at that time that their tales would become the most famous “fairy tales” in the world and that the bicentennial of these two extraordinary books would be celebrated in conferences and ceremonies worldwide between 2012 and 2015. Ironically, few people today are familiar with the original tales of the first edition, for the Grimms went on to publish six more editions and made immense changes in them so that the final 1857 edition has relatively little in common with the first edition. From 1812 to 1857 the Brothers deleted numerous tales from the first edition, replaced them with new or different versions, added over fifty tales, withdrew the footnotes and published them in a separate volume, revised the prefaces and introductions, added illustrations in a separate small edition directed more at children and families, and embellished the tales so that they became polished artistic “gems.”

  All these editorial changes to the tales in the first edition of 1812/15 should not lead us to believe that the tales were crude, needed improvement, and do not deserve our attention. On the contrary. I would argue that the first edition is just as important, if not more important than the final seventh edition of 1857, especially if one wants to grasp the original intentions of the Grimms and the overall significance of their accomplishments. In fact, many of the tales in the first edition are more fabulous and baffling than those refined versions in the final edition, for they retain the pungent and naïve flavor of the oral tradition. They are stunning narratives precisely because they are so blunt and unpretentious. Moreover, the Grimms had not yet “vaccinated” or censored them with their sentimental Christianity and puritanical ideology. In fact, the Brothers endeavored to keep their hands off the tales, so to speak, and reproduce them more or less as they heard them or received them. That is, the tales were not their own in the first place. Though they gradually made them their own, these stories retained other voices and still do. They originated through the storytelling of various friends and anonymous sources and were often taken from print materials. Then they were edited for publication by the Grimms, who wanted to retain their ancient and contemporary voices as much as possible.