The Brothers Grimm are German writers who come from a family of officials; their father was a lawyer. They spent their childhood in the German town of Kassel, but they were born in Hanau. Jacob was the first to see the world, on January 4, 1785; the next year, on February 24, 1786, Wilhelm was born.
The brothers became one since childhood, their friendship lasted until the end of their days. They grew up to be strong and resilient boys. Ten years later, grief struck the family, the father died, and the family was left in a difficult financial situation. It was difficult for a single mother to teach two sons, but her aunt, who loved her nephews very much, came to the rescue and helped her sister learn the Brothers Grimm.
As students, the Brothers Grimm achieved great success, they were the best in the lyceum, and upon graduation, they entered the University of Marburg, where they studied jurisprudence. During their student years, the Brothers developed an interest in reading; they became engrossed in German and foreign literature.
Jacob and Wilhelm began their careers as storytellers in 1803; they gained fame in 1822, thanks to the famous collections of “Children's and family fairy tales.” The collection consisted of 200 fairy tales, which featured the popular ones - “The Town Musicians of Bremen”, “Snow White”, “Cinderella”.
Scientists have put forward versions that the Brothers Grimm built their fairy tales on the basis of heard folk tales, and did not compose them independently, but, despite this version, their collections were translated into different languages.
Jacob and Wilhelm devoted the last years of their lives to developing the first dictionary of the German language. Wilheim died first, but he managed to complete the letter D in the dictionary, and died in December 1859. Jacob managed to compile a dictionary for the letters A, B, C, E, and outlived his brother by 4 years. Jacob died in 1863 at his desk.
4th grade for children
Biography of the Brothers Grimm about the main thing
“The brotherly closeness of like-minded people is stronger than any walls” - a quote from one famous philosopher. It is perfectly suited to describe the mutual understanding and relationships that the Brothers Grimm maintained throughout their lives.
Jacob was born in 1785, and Wilhem Grimm a year later. They were the same age, and from childhood they believed that they were created for their friendship to be the strongest. In fact, this is what happened. They had 1 more brother and 3 sisters in their family. Life was settled and flowed as usual. My father worked as a lawyer in the town of Hanau, and a little later became the prince’s legal consultant. His mother was a kind, caring, gentle and wise woman. But one day a misfortune happened that affected the established life.
The father died when the boys were 10 and 11 years old. Jacob, as the eldest in the family, tried to earn money somehow, but without education, there is no decent income. Then their maternal aunt comes to the rescue. She helps the family with money and gives the children the opportunity to get an education. Since the boys showed talent, after graduating from the Kassel Lyceum they went to study at Macburgh University. Having decided to continue their education there, they wanted to continue the work of their father - jurisprudence.
The only reason they broke up one day was because Jacob enrolled six months early. But then they continued their studies together, and were never separated for a long time again.
At the university, the brothers met philologists who loved their work and passed on this passion to the brothers. They seriously began to study myths, children's fairy tales, and legendary stories. At the same time, they realized that deeply studying the history of words, legends and much more is just as exciting as understanding legal tricks.
In 1812 they published their first collection of Children's and Family Tales. Three years later, the second edition was published. Now all of Europe was reading them and European philologists were observing them. Thus began the path of the brothers - writers. The brothers, despite their love for philology and jurisprudence, went their own way, but still loved and helped each other.
Over the course of their entire lives, the Brothers Grimm wrote 210 fairy tales and legends; people can read their works in 160 languages around the world. They were also professional librarians (they spent a lot of time there, both working and studying).
Now some interesting facts
Illustrations on copper for their fairy tales were created by their brother Ludwig Emil Grimm
In 2006, their hometown acquired the official status of "City of the Brothers Grimm"
In 1896, a monument was erected in their city, on the town hall square. It was he who gave rise to the streets in fairy tales.
A. Pushnik’s work “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” originates from the fairy tale “The Fisherman and His Wife” by the Brothers Grimm.
Jacob Grimm developed a linguistic law that was named after him. Law on the movement of vowels in German.
The brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhem are rightfully the fathers of German philology, linguists, and those who began to compile the first etymological dictionary (according to the plan, it should have been very large. During their lifetime they reached D, the rest was finalized by philologists over the next 10 years) .
Grimm's fairy tales are written for children in a language that is understandable and at the same time instructive.
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Interesting Facts and dates from life
The Grimm brothers were born in Hanau, in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel - Jacob on January 4, 1785, and Wilhelm on February 24 of the following year. The boys' parents, Dorothea and Phillip Wilhelm Grimm, produced nine children in their marriage, three of whom died in infancy.
In addition to Jacob and Wilhelm, he achieved a certain fame younger brother Ludwig Emil, who became an artist.
Study in Kassel
In order to give her eldest sons an appropriate education for their subsequent careers as lawyers, their mother sent them in the fall of 1798 to Kassel to live with her aunt. The boys' father had died of pneumonia two years earlier. The brothers graduated from the Kassel Lyceum, after which, one year apart, they became students at the University of Marburg, where they began studying jurisprudence.
One of their teachers, Friedrich Karl von Savigny, allowed inquisitive young people to use his private library from time to time. The brothers, who had previously become acquainted with the works of Goethe and Schiller, found here an extensive source of works of Romanticism and Minnesang.
Johann Gottfried Herder, who had his own point of view on folk poetry, had a significant influence on the views of Jacob and Wilhelm. However, the brothers did not turn into romantics who raved about the “Gothic Middle Ages,” but became realists who saw the roots of modern events in the distant past. They studied the historical development of German literature (legends, documents, poetry) and laid the foundations for the scientific interpretation of this area. In the spirit of Herder, they did not limit themselves to documents in German, using English, Scottish and Irish sources.
The beginning of a creative journey
After graduating in 1806, the brothers continued to lead a modest, secluded life. Two years later, Jacob managed to get a position as personal librarian to the King of Westphalia, Jerome Bonaparte (Napoleon I's brother). Job responsibilities did not take up much time, which allowed the brothers to calmly concentrate on literary and scientific research. After the death of his mother in 1808, Jacob Grimm became the head of the family.
In 1807, Jacob and Wilhelm published an essay on the Minnesang. The brothers published their first independent works in 1811, and joint books followed in 1812, including the first volume of Children's and Family Tales. From 1813 to 1816, the brothers published three issues of the magazine Aldeutche Walder, where they published samples of old German literature.
Fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm
It was during this period that the work that made their name known to every educated person began - Jacob and Wilhelm began collecting folk tales and legends.
Dorothea Wiemann, whom they met by chance in 1813 in a small peasant village near Kassel, became a real treasure trove of information for the brothers. Dorothea's father kept an inn through which an endless stream of travelers flowed. The girl who helped her father with housework had to listen to a lot wonderful stories and fairy tales that passers-by shared with each other while passing the long evenings.
At the time of her acquaintance with the brothers, Mrs. Wiemann was already over fifty, but the fairy tales heard in her distant childhood were preserved in her memory unchanged, which, along with the talent of a natural storyteller, aroused the constant admiration of Jacob and Wilhelm. Of the two hundred fairy tales published in total by the Brothers Grimm, more than seventy were told by Dorothea Wiemann.
In the year the first volume of fairy tales was published, Napoleon Bonaparte suffered a crushing defeat in Russia, which redrew the map of Europe. In 1813, Allied forces expelled the French from Hesse, and Jacob was forced to break away from his literary pursuits, going to the Congress of Vienna as secretary of the Hessian delegation. While the elder brother worked in the field of diplomacy, the younger brother received a position as secretary of the library of the Elector of Hesse, who had returned from exile.
In 1815, the brothers published the second volume of fairy tales, and in 1819 they republished the first, significantly revised and expanded: new fairy tales were added, about a quarter of the stories were deleted.
Almost half of the remaining tales were revised to remove erotic allusions that were perceived as offensive in secular society.
Notes on fairy tales were published in 1822 as the third volume. In 1825, an illustrated small edition of “Children's and Household Tales” was published, which became widely known. Jacob and Wilhelm brought in their brother Ludwig Emil as an artist. An illustrated English edition of the tales was published in 1823. During the brothers’ lifetime, the large German edition of fairy tales was reprinted 7 times, and the small one 10 times.
German grammar
During this creative time, Jacob Grimm's attention focused on "German Grammar". The extensive work concerns all Germanic languages, their connections with other languages and historical development. In this seminal work, Jacob explored the development of the laws of sound change, laying the foundations of modern etymology.
Jacob Grimm had predecessors in this matter: in 1787, William Jones in Bengal compared Sanskrit with ancient Persian, Greek, Latin, Gothic and Celtic languages on the basis of the structure and roots of words, but did not do so systematically. The young Dane Rasmus Christian Rask did the same.
Jacob Grimm began to compare word formation and sound development in Old Norse with Slavic or Greek. In the "German Grammar" the stages of development of the languages in question were compared for the first time. In the second edition, he was able to explain that Rask's identified sound correspondences were not (random) isolated phenomena, but followed a certain regularity. This rule is still called Grimm's law to this day.
Fame in scientific circles
In 1816 and 1818, two volumes of a collection of sagas (German legends) appeared, which, however, did not have widespread success. At the age of 30, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm had already achieved outstanding fame thanks to numerous publications. In addition to official work as a librarian (Jacob) or library secretary (Wilhelm), they were able to carry out their own research locally, which was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Marburg in 1819.
The brothers were helped to run the household by their sister Charlotte, who, however, married a family friend, lawyer, and later minister of Hesse Ludwig Hassenpflug in 1822. His sisters Maria, Jeannette and Amalia contributed to the future literary legacy of the Brothers Grimm by sharing what they knew folk tales. After her marriage, Charlotte moved into her husband's house, and the brothers had to manage their bachelor household on their own, until in 1825 Wilhelm tied the knot with Dorothea Wild. Wilhelm was very lucky - Dorothea became not only a wife and mistress, but also the brothers’ personal secretary, enthusiastically helping their work.
Moving to Göttingen
In 1829, the brothers, who by that time had a reputation as prominent scientists, received a financially lucrative offer from the University of Göttingen in neighboring Hanover and left their native Hesse. In 1830, Jacob received a position as a professor and librarian, and William, after working for a year in the university library, began teaching. In 1835, like his older brother, he received the position of full professor. It was in Göttingen that Jacob prepared several significant works, including German Mythology.
The political crisis that erupted in the Kingdom of Hanover in 1837 led to the abolition of the liberal constitution. Seven professors at the University of Hanover, including the Brothers Grimm, sent a letter of protest to the king. The result was the dismissal of all seven from the university, and the expulsion of three, including Jacob, from the country.
Return to Kassel
The brothers, who lost their jobs, were forced to return to Kassel to their younger brother Ludwig. The story received wide resonance in Europe, and
A special committee was created at the University of Leipzig to collect donations for the Göttingen Seven.
Soon the brothers were asked to begin work on the “German Dictionary,” which gave them some means of livelihood. Jacob and Wilhelm decide to move to Berlin, and in 1840 they realize this intention. In the spring of 1842 they began teaching at the University of Berlin.
The improved financial situation allowed Jacob Grim to make several trips to European countries, in which Wilhelm could not accompany him due to poor health. The 68-year-old Grimm Sr. visited Italy, Denmark, Sweden (where he stayed with Hans Christian Andersen), France, Austria and Bohemia.
Our page contains all the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm list is a complete collection of all works. This list also includes fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, fairy tales about animals, and new fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm. The world of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm is amazing and magical, filled with a plot of good and evil. The best fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm can be read on the pages of our website. Reading fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm online is very exciting and comfortable.
Fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm list
- (Der Froschk?nig oder der eiserne Heinrich)
- (Katze und Maus in Gesellschaft)
- Child of Mary (Marienkind)
- The Tale of the One Who Went to Learn from Fear (M?rchen von einem, der auszog das F?rchten zu lernen)
- The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats (Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Gei?lein)
- Faithful Johannes (Der treue Johannes)
- Successful trade / Profitable business (Der gute Handel)
- The Extraordinary Musician / The Eccentric Musician (Der wunderliche Spielmann)
- Twelve Brothers (Die zw?lf Br?der)
- The Ragged Rabble (Das Lumpengesindel)
- Brother and Sister (Br?derchen und Schwesterchen)
- Rapunzel (Bell)
- Three men in the forest / Three little forest men (Die drei M?nnlein im Walde)
- Three spinners (Die drei Spinnerinnen)
- Hansel and Gretel
- Three snake leaves (Die drei Schlangenbl?tter)
- White snake (Die weisse Schlange)
- Straw, coal and bean (Strohhalm, Kohle und Bohne)
- About a fisherman and his wife (Vom Fischer und seiner Frau)
- The Brave Little Tailor (Das tapfere Schneiderlein)
- Cinderella (Aschenputtel)
- Riddle (Das R?tsel)
- About the mouse, the bird and the fried sausage (Von dem M?uschen, V?gelchen und der Bratwurst)
- Mrs. Blizzard (Frau Holle)
- The Seven Ravens (Die sieben Raben)
- Little Red Riding Hood (Rotk?ppchen)
- Bremen Town Musicians (Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten)
- The Singing Bone (Der singende Knochen)
- The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs (Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren)
- Louse and flea beetle (L?uschen und Fl?hchen)
- The Girl Without Arms (Das M?dchen ohne H?nde)
- Intelligent Hans / Clever Hans (Der gescheite Hans)
- Three languages (Die drei Sprachen)
- Smart Elsa (Die kluge Else)
- The Tailor in Paradise (Der Schneider im Himmel)
- Set yourself a table, a golden donkey and a club from a sack (Tischchen deck dich, Goldesel und Kn?ppel aus dem Sack)
- Thumb Boy (Daumesdick)
- The Wedding of the Lady Fox (Die Hochzeit der Frau F?chsin)
- Brownies (Die Wichtelm?nner)
- The Robber Groom (Der Rüberbrüutigam)
- Mr. Korbes
- Mr Godfather (Der Herr Gevatter)
- Mrs. Trude / Frau Trude
- Death of the godfather / Death in the godfathers (Der Gevatter Tod)
- Thumb Boy's Journey (Daumerlings Wanderschaft)
- Strange Bird (Fitchers Vogel)
- About the Enchanted Tree (Von dem Machandelboom)
- Old Sultan (Der alte Sultan)
- Six swans (Die sechs Schw?ne)
- Briar Rose / Sleeping Beauty (Dornr?schen)
- Foundling / Foundbird (Fundevogel)
- King Thrushbeard (K?nig Drosselbart)
- Snow Maiden / Snow White (Schneewittchen)
- Knapsack, hat and horn (Der Ranzen, das H?tlein und das H?rnlein)
- Junk (Rumpelstilzchen)
- Dear Roland (Der liebste Roland)
- Golden Bird (Der goldene Vogel)
- The Dog and the Sparrow / The Dog and the Sparrow (Der Hund und der Sperling)
- Frieder and Katherlieschen
- Two Brothers (Die zwei Br?der)
- Little Man (Das B?rle)
- Queen Bee / Queen Bee (Die Bienenk?nigin)
- Three feathers (Die drei Federn)
- Golden Goose (Die goldene Gans)
- Variegated Pelt (Allerleirauh)
- Bunny's Bride/Hare's Bride (H?sichenbraut)
- Twelve Hunters (Die zw?lf J?ger)
- The Thief and His Teacher (De Gaudeif un sien Meester)
- Jorinda and Joringel
- Three lucky ones / Three lucky ones
- Six of us will go around the whole world / Six of us, we will go around the whole world (Sechse kommen durch die ganze Welt)
- The Wolf and the Man (Der Wolf und der Mensch)
- The Wolf and the Fox (Der Wolf und der Fuchs)
- The Fox and the Lady Godmother (Der Fuchs und die Frau Gevatterin)
- The Fox and the Cat (Der Fuchs und die Katze)
- Carnation (Die Nelke)
- Resourceful Gretel (Die kluge Gretel)
- Old grandfather and granddaughter (Der alte Gro?vater und der Enkel)
- The Little Mermaid / Ondine (Die Wassernixe)
- About the death of a chicken (Von dem Tode des H?hnchens)
- Brother Veselchak (Bruder Lustig)
- Hansl the Player (De Spielhansl)
- Lucky Hans (Hans im Gl?ck)
- Hans gets married (Hans heiratet)
- Golden Children (Die Goldkinder)
- The Fox and the Geese (Der Fuchs und die G?nse)
- The poor man and the rich man (Der Arme und der Reiche)
- The whining and leaping lion lark (Das singende springende L?weneckerchen)
- Goose house (Die G?nsemagd)
- The Young Giant (Der junge Riese)
- Underground Man (Dat Erdm?nneken)
- The King from the Golden Mountain (Der K?nig vom goldenen Berg)
- Crow (Die Rabe)
- The Clever Daughter of a Peasant (Die kluge Bauerntochter)
- Three birds (De drei V?gelkens)
- Living Water (Das Wasser des Lebens)
- Doctor Allwissend
- The Spirit in a Bottle (Der Geist im Glas)
- The devil's grimy brother (Des Teufels ru?iger Bruder)
- The Bugbear (Der B?renh?uter)
- The Kinglet and the Bear (Der Zaunk?nig und der B?r)
- Smart people (Die klugen Leute)
- Tales of already / M?rchen von der Unke (M?rchen von der Unke)
- The poor farmhand at the mill and the cat (Der arme M?llersbursch und das K?tzchen)
- Two Wanderers (Die beiden Wanderer)
- Hans is my hedgehog (Hans mein Igel)
- Small Shroud (Das Totenhemdchen)
- The Jew in the Thorn Bush (Der Jude im Dorn)
- The learned huntsman (Der gelernte J?ger)
- The Flail from Heaven / The Flail from Heaven (Der Dreschflegel vom Himmel)
- Two Royal Children (De beiden K?nigeskinner)
- About the resourceful little tailor (Vom klugen Schneiderlein)
- The clear sun will reveal the whole truth (Die klare Sonne bringt’s an den Tag)
- Blue candle (Das blaue Licht)
- Three paramedics (Die drei Feldscherer)
- The Seven Brave Men (Die sieben Schwaben)
- Three apprentices (Die drei Handwerksburschen)
- The king's son, who was not afraid of anything (Der K?nigssohn, der sich vor nichts f?rchtete)
- Were-Donkey (Der Krautesel)
- The Old Lady in the Forest (Die Alte im Wald)
- Three Brothers (Die drei Br?der)
- The Devil and His Grandmother (Der Teufel und seine Gro?mutter)
- Ferenand the Faithful and Ferenand the Unfaithful (Ferenand getr? und Ferenand ungetr?)
- Iron stove (Der Eisenofen)
- The lazy spinner (Die faule spinnerin)
- The Four Skillful Brothers (Die vier kunstreichen Br?der)
- One-Eyed, Two-Eyed and Three-Eyed (Ein?uglein, Zwei?uglein und Drei?uglein)
- Beautiful Katrinel and Nif-Nasr-Podtri (Die sch?ne Katrinelje und Pif Paf Poltrie)
- The Fox and the Horse (Der Fuchs und das Pferd)
- Shoes trampled in dancing (Die zertanzten Schuhe)
- Six Servants (Die sechs Diener)
- White and black brides (Die wei?e und die schwarze Braut)
- Iron Hans (Der Eisenhans)
- Three Black Princesses (De drei schwatten Prinzessinnen)
- Lamb and Fish (Das L?mmchen und Fischchen)
- Mount Simeliberg
- On the way (Up Reisen gohn)
- Donkey (Das Eselein)
- The Ungrateful Son (Der undankbare Sohn)
- Turnip (Die R?be)
- The Newly Forged Man (Das junggegl?hte M?nnlein)
- Cock's Log (Der Hahnenbalken)
- The Old Beggar Woman
- Three Lazy Men (Die drei Faulen)
- The Twelve Lazy Servants (Die zw?lf faulen Knechte)
- The Shepherd Boy (Das Hirtenb?blein)
- Thaler stars (Die Sterntaler)
- The Hidden Heller (Der gestohlene Heller)
- Bride (Die Brautschau)
- Waste (Die Schlickerlinge)
- Sparrow and his four children (Der Sperling und seine vier Kinder)
- The Tale of an Unprecedented Land (Das M?rchen vom Schlaraffenland)
- Dietmar's fairy tale (Das dietmarsische L?genm?rchen)
- Tale-riddle (R?tselm?rchen)
- Snow White and Little Red (Schneewei?chen und Rosenrot)
- The Clever Servant (Der kluge Knecht)
- Glass coffin (Der gl?serne Sarg)
- Lazy Heinz (Der faule Heinz)
- Bird vulture (Der Vogel Greif)
- Mighty Hans (Der starke Hans)
- Skinny Lisa (Die hagere Liese)
- Forest House (Das Waldhaus)
- Joy and sorrow in half (Lieb und Leid teilen)
- Kinglet (Der Zaunk?nig)
- Flounder (Die Scholle)
- Bittern and Hoopoe (Rohrdommel und Wiedehopf)
- Owl (Die Eule)
- Lifetime (Die Lebenszeit)
- Harbingers of Death (Die Boten des Todes)
- Goose house at the well (Die G?nsehirtin am Brunnen)
- The Unequal Children of Eve (Die ungleichen Kinder Evas)
- The Mermaid in the Pond (Die Nixe im Teich)
- Gifts from Little People (Die Geschenke des kleinen Volkes)
- The Giant and the Tailor (Der Riese und der Schneider)
- Nail (Der Nagel)
- The poor boy in the grave (Der arme Junge im Grab)
- The Real Bride (Die wahre Braut)
- The Hare and the Hedgehog (Der Hase und der Igel)
- Spindle, weaving shuttle and needle (Spindel, Weberschiffchen und Nadel)
- The Man and the Devil (Der Bauer und der Teufel)
- Guinea pig (Das Meerh?schen)
- The Master Thief (Der Meisterdieb)
- Drummer (Der Trommler)
- Ear of bread (Die Korn?hre)
- Grave Hill (Der Grabh?gel)
- Old Rinkrank
- Crystal ball (Die Kristallkugel)
- Maid Maleen (Jungfrau Maleen)
- Buffalo Boot (Der Stiefel von B?ffelleder)
- The Golden Key (Der goldene Schl?ssel)
The Brothers Grimm were born into the family of an official in the city of Hanau (Hanau). Their father was first a lawyer in Hanau, and then dealt with legal issues for the Prince of Hanau. The elder brother, Jacob Grimm (01/04/1785 - 09/20/1863), was born on January 4, 1785, and the younger brother - Wilhelm Grimm (02/24/1786 - 12/16/1859) - on February 24, 1786. As linguists, they were one of the founders of scientific German studies and compiled the etymological “German Dictionary” (in fact, all-German). The publication of the German Dictionary, which began in 1852, was completed only in 1961, but has since been regularly revised.
From early childhood, the Brothers Grimm were united by a friendship that lasted until their death. After the death of their father, in 1796, they had to go into the care of their aunt on their mother’s side and only thanks to her, they graduated from the educational institution. Perhaps it was precisely being left without parents early that rallied them into fraternal bonds for the rest of their lives.
The Brothers Grimm were always distinguished by their desire to study, they even entered the University of Marburg to study law, following the example of their father. But fate decreed otherwise and she truly found her calling in the study of literature.
The most famous fairy tales Brothers Grimm's "The Town Musicians of Bremen", "Tom Thumb", "The Brave Tailor", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm list will provide you with a complete collection of all fairy tales. Each of us worried about the difficult fate of the boys, left alone in the forest, looking for their way home. And “smart Elsa” - all the girls wanted to be like her.
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 a strange custom: every noon, when everything was cleared from the table and there was no one else left, a reliable servant would bring 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.
The Brothers Grimm are German storytellers, linguists, and founding fathers of German philology. It will probably be difficult to find a person who has never heard the tales of these great writers. But if you haven’t heard it, you’ve certainly seen it. Dozens of films and cartoons have been made based on the plots of the Brothers Grimm's works, and many performances have been staged. And some of the characters in their fairy tales have even become household names - , .
Childhood and youth
Jacob Grimm was born on January 4, 1785, and a year later - on February 24, 1786 - Wilhelm Grimm was born. Their father Philipp Wilhelm Grimm worked as a lawyer at the Court of Justice of the city of Hanau. In 1791, he was appointed to the position of head of the Steinau district, where his entire family had to move. The man worked day and night, and as a result of fatigue and overwork, a common cold developed into pneumonia. He died in 1796, he was 44 years old.
Of course, this was a tragedy for the Grimm family. Dorothea Grimm, the brothers' mother, was left alone with six children. At this time, their father’s sister, Charlotte Schlemmer, moved in with them; it was she who provided financial assistance to the family and saved them from eviction from the house.
But trouble came to Grimm again - Aunt Schlemmer suddenly fell ill and died suddenly. Jacob and Wilhelm were the eldest children, and they had to take on some of their mother's responsibilities. But Dorothea understood that the boys were smart and talented, and the only thing she could give them was an education.
Her sister, Henriette Zimmer, lived in Kassel; the woman agreed to host her beloved nephews so that they could continue their studies at the highest level lyceum. Students studied at the gymnasium for 7-8 years. But the brothers were so hardworking and diligent that they managed to master the material many times faster than others. Therefore, they graduated from the lyceum after four years.
At school, boys studied natural science, geography, ethics, physics and philosophy, but the basis of teaching was philological and historical disciplines. Jacob still found school easier than his brother. It is possible that the reason for this was his good health. Wilhelm was diagnosed with asthma.
In 1802, Jacob entered the University of Marburg to become a lawyer, but Wilhelm had to stay behind to undergo treatment. On next year Jacob moved his brother to Marburg, and he also entered the university. True, he required regular medical supervision.
In their free time, the brothers loved to draw; one day their younger brother Ludwig Emil saw the paintings, and was so inspired by this work that he connected his future with the artistic craft, becoming a popular engraver and artist in Germany.
Literature
The Brothers Grimm have always been interested in literature. Despite the fact that they graduated from the Faculty of Law, they were attracted by German poetry, which Professor Savigny discovered to them. Jacob and Wilhelm spent hours studying old tomes in his home library.
All further activities of the Grimm brothers were directly related to German literature, philological problems, and research work. Fairy tales are only part of the incredible amount of work that the brothers have done in the fields of literature and linguistics.
In 1808, Jacob went to Paris to help Professor Savigny collect materials for scientific work. Wilhelm remained to finish his studies at the university. Since childhood, they were so close to each other that even at this age they experienced unprecedented melancholy in separation, as evidenced by their correspondence.
In 1808, their mother died, and all worries about the Grimm family fell on Jacob's shoulders. Returning from France, he spent a long time looking for a job with decent pay and eventually got a job at Kassel Castle, managing the royal personal library. Wilhelm's health deteriorated again, and his brother sent him to a resort. At that time he did not have a permanent job.
Upon Wilhelm's return from treatment, the brothers got to work - they began to research ancient Germanic literature. They managed to collect, process and record dozens of folk legends that had been passed on from mouth to mouth for hundreds of years.
Many women from Kassel participated in the creation of the first volume of fairy tales. For example, next door to Grimm lived a wealthy pharmacist, Mr. Wild, with his wife and children. Frau Wild knew countless stories, which she gladly told Wilhelm. Sometimes her daughters, Gretchen and Dortchen, joined them. Many years will pass before Dortchen becomes Wilhelm's wife.
A housekeeper, Maria Muller, lived in their house. The elderly woman had a phenomenal memory, and she knew thousands of fairy tales. Maria told her brothers the story of the beautiful Sleeping Beauty and the brave one. But, remembering these fairy tales, it immediately comes to mind. As it turned out, it is extremely difficult to find the true author of the fairy tale. In essence, these are European folk tales.
Each compiler, including Grimm, interpreted these stories in his own way. Here, for example, is the fairy tale about Cinderella. In Perrault's version, her fairy godmother performs miracles for the girl. And for the Brothers Grimm, it’s a hazel tree on her mother’s grave. Later, based on this story, the movie “Three Nuts for Cinderella” will be made.
In 1812, the first success happened in the lives of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm - they published the collection “Children’s and family tales", which included 100 works. The writers immediately began preparing material for the second book. It included many fairy tales heard not by the brothers Grimm themselves, but by their friends. As before, writers reserved the right to give fairy tales their own language edition. Their second book was published in 1815. True, the books have been reprinted.
The fact is that some fairy tales were considered inappropriate for children. For example, a fragment was removed where Rapunzel innocently asks her godmother why her dress was so tight to her rounded belly. It was about her pregnancy, which occurred after secret meetings with the prince.
He became the first translator of the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales for the Russian reader.
In 1819, the brothers published a volume of "German Grammar". This work became a sensation in the scientific community; it took about 20 years to write - it became the basis for all subsequent studies of Germanic languages.
But still, the brothers’ main work was the “German Dictionary”. They began working on it in 1838. It was hard and long work. 100 years later he called the Dictionary a “heroic deed,” a “philological monument.” Contrary to the name, it was essentially a comparative historical dictionary of Germanic languages. Since the writers did not have time to finish work on the dictionary, their work was continued by subsequent generations of philologists. Thus, the work was completed by 1960 - 120 years after it began.
Personal life
Wilhelm Grimm met his daughter Dortchen in the house of the pharmacist Wild. At that time she was still quite a baby. The difference between them is 10 years. But, having matured, the young people immediately found a common language. The girl supported him in all his endeavors, becoming first and foremost a friend to him. In 1825 the couple got married.
Soon the girl became pregnant. In 1826, Dortchen gave birth to a boy, who was named Jacob, and Jacob Sr. became his godfather. But six months later the baby died of jaundice. In January 1828, the couple had a second son, Herman. Later he chose the profession of art critic.
But Jacob Grimm remained a bachelor; the man devoted his life to his brother’s work and family.
Death
Wilhelm Grimm died on December 16, 1859. Fatal disease was caused by a boil on the back. He was no different before good health, but no one expected such a sad outcome this time. Every day Wilhelm became worse. The operation didn't help. The man had a fever. His suffering ceased from pulmonary paralysis after two weeks. Jacob continued to live with Wilhelm's widow and nephews.
Until the end of his life, the writer worked on the dictionary. The last word The word he wrote down was "Frucht" (fruit). The man felt bad for desk. Jacob died of a stroke on September 20, 1863.
The world-famous storytellers were buried in St. Matthew's Cemetery in Berlin.
Bibliography
- "The wolf and the seven Young goats"
- "Hansel and Gretel"
- "Little Red Riding Hood"
- "Cinderella"
- "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
- "Mistress Blizzard"
- "Smart Elsa"
- "Rapunzel"
- "King Thrushbeard"
- "Sweet porridge"
- "The Bremen Town Musicians"
- "The Brave Little Tailor"
- "The Hare and the Hedgehog"
- "Golden Goose"
- "Sleeping Beauty"