Myth-Folklore Unit: Brothers Grimm (Ashliman)

Overview. There are four different Grimm units to choose from, each taken a different English-language version. This selection (from Dan Ashliman's Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales) features both familiar and unfamiliar stories, although I am guessing these are mostly less familiar stories. If you want to read the Grimm versions of Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, or The Elves and the Shoemaker, you will find those stories here, and you will also find some other fabulous stories: there is the mysterious murder mystery in The Singing Bone, along with lots of animal stories, including some great animal tricksters (Cat and Mouse in Partnership, The Hare and the Hedgehog), plus a classic fairy-tale story, The Seven Ravens. Finally, there is some Bible-based folklore here, with the story of Eve's Unequal Children, which is about the life of Adam and Eve after they are expelled from Paradise.

Language. This is a contemporary English prose translation of the Brothers Grimm, so it should not pose any real difficulties.

Story Length. The stories in this unit are all single-page stories.

Choosing Between Units. There are four different Grimm units: the Ashliman and LibriVox units contain shorter, less familiar stories (and the LibriVox one has audio recordings), while the Crane and Hunt units contain longer, more familiar stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Grimm (Ashliman). Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Additional Resources. There is a Grimm Index page for all the fables in the four Grimm units in this course, and you can use this link to see the four different Grimm units listed on a single page.

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READING A:

1. Cat and Mouse in Partnership
2. The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids
3. The Seven Ravens
4. Little Red Cap
5. The Singing Bone
6. The Elves
7. Herr Korbes
8. Old Sultan
9. Rumpelstiltskin

READING B:

1. The Fox and the Cat
2. The Little Lamb and the Little Fish
3. Simeli Mountain
4. Lazy Heinz
5. The Duration of Life
6. Death's Messengers
7. Eve's Unequal Children
8. The Gifts of the Little People
9. The Hare and the Hedgehog
10. The Peasant and the Devil

(The Seven Ravens, by H. Vogel)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Brothers Grimm (Crane)

Overview. There are four different Grimm units taken from four different English-language sources. This selection (from Lucy and Walter Crane's Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm) features longer stories, like the famous tales of Cinderella (called Aschenputtel in German) and Snow-White and the Seven Dwarves. There are also two other classic fairy-tale type stories: The Six Swans, the tale of a woman who is on a quest to free her brothers who have been turned into swans, and King Thrushbeard, the story of a proud princess who thinks she is too good for all the men who are seeking her hand in marriage. In the "not safe for children" category is the horrifying tale of The Robber Bridegroom, and also for grown-up audiences is the hilarious story The Fisherman and His Wife, along with the humorous tale of The Three Spinsters.

Language. This is a contemporary English prose translation of the Brothers Grimm, so it should not pose any real difficulties.

Story Length. This unit contains longer stories that are either two, three or four pages in length.

Choosing Between Units. There are four different Grimm units: the Ashliman and LibriVox units contain shorter, less familiar stories (and the LibriVox one has audio recordings), while the Crane and Hunt units contain longer, more familiar stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Brothers Grimm (Crane). Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Additional Resources. There is a Grimm Index page for all the fables in the four Grimm units in this course, and you can use this link to see the four different Grimm units listed on a single page.

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READING A:

1. The Fisherman and His Wife
2. The Fisherman and His Wife (cont.)
3. The Fisherman and His Wife (cont. again)
4. The Fisherman and His Wife (end)
5. Aschenputtel
6. Aschenputtel (cont.)
7. Aschenputtel (end)
8. The Robber Bridegroom
9. The Robber Bridegroom (cont.)

READING B:

1. The Six Swans
2. The Six Swans (cont.)
3. The Six Swans (end)
4. King Thrushbeard
5. King Thrushbeard (cont.)
6. The Three Spinsters
7. Snow-White
8. Snow-White (cont.)
9. Snow-White (cont. again)
10. Snow-White (end)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Brothers Grimm (Hunt)

Overview. There are four different Grimm units taken from four different English-language sources. This selection (from Margaret Hunt's Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm) features some longer stories, including some very famous ones, such as Hansel and Grethel and the story of the two sisters Snow-White and Rose-Red. There are also other classic fairy tales like Allerleirauh, which is about a Cinderella-like heroine, and Bearskin, the marvelous tale of a man who makes a bizarre bargain with the Devil involving a bearskin and fabulous wealth. You will also find stories here about unusual heroes, like little Thumbling who, true to his name, is no bigger than your thumb, or Hans the Hedgehog, one of my favorite Grimm characters of all time: Hans is half-hedgehog and half-boy, plays the bagpipes, and is a seriously dangerous character!

Language. This is a contemporary English prose translation of the Brothers Grimm, so it should not pose any real difficulties.

Story Length. This unit consists of longer stories that are two, three or four pages in length.

Choosing Between Units. There are four different Grimm units: the Ashliman and LibriVox units contain shorter, less familiar stories (and the LibriVox one has audio recordings), while the Crane and Hunt units contain longer, more familiar stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Brothers Grimm (Hunt). Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Additional Resources. There is a Grimm Index page for all the fables in the four Grimm units in this course, and you can use this link to see the four different Grimm units listed on a single page.

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READING A:

1. Hansel and Grethel
2. Hansel and Grethel (cont.)
3. Hansel and Grethel (cont. again)
4. Hansel and Grethel (end)
5. Thumbling
6. Thumbling (cont.)
7. Thumbling (end)
8. Allerleirauh
9. Allerleirauh (cont.)
10. Allerleirauh (end)

READING B:

1. Bearskin
2. Bearskin (cont.)
3. Hans the Hedgehog
4. Hans the Hedgehog (cont.)
5. Hans the Hedgehog (end)
6. Snow-White and Rose-Red
7. Snow-White and Rose-Red (cont.)
8. Snow-White and Rose-Red (end)

(Hansel and Grethel)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Grimm (LibriVox)

Overview. There are four different Grimm units taken from four different English-language sources. This selection is the one that has free audio recordings from LibriVox (Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm) for all of the stories. You will find some familiar stories here such as The Frog Prince and Rapunzel, along with Sleeping Beauty (called "Briar Rose" in this version), plus the marvelous Musicians of Bremen. There some classic fairy tales here too, such as the story of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, plus several comical tales, like the story of The Straw, The Coal, and the Bean who set out on a journey together, or The Mouse, The Bird and The Sausage who decide to set up house together as roommates. There are also animal tales featuring the trickster fox, as well as the story of the valiant willow-wrens and their tiny insect allies who fight a war against the bear and his animal army. The fox plays a role in that story too, but he is "outfoxed" by the birds and insects this time!

Language. This is a contemporary English prose translation of the Brothers Grimm, so it should not pose any real difficulties.

Story Length. This unit consists of single-page stories.

Choosing Between Units. There are four different Grimm units: the Ashliman and LibriVox units contain shorter, less familiar stories (and the LibriVox one has audio recordings), while the Crane and Hunt units contain longer, more familiar stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Grimm (Librivox). Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Additional Resources. There is a Grimm Index page for all the fables in the four Grimm units in this course, and you can use this link to see the four different Grimm units listed on a single page.

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Free audiobook available!

READING A:

1. The Frog Prince
2. Rapunzel
3. The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
4. The Mouse, The Bird, and The Sausage
5. The Travelling Musicians
6. Clever Elsie
7. Briar Rose

READING B:

1. The Queen Bee
2. The Twelve Huntsmen
3. Jorinda and Jorindel
4. The Fox and the Horse
5. The Twelve Dancing Princesses
6. The Turnip
7. The Willow-Wren and the Bear

(illustration by R. Anning Bell)

Index of Grimm Stories

There are four different Brothers Grimm units, each with different stories: Ashliman, Crane, Hunt, and LibriVox. The list below is an index of all the Brothers Grimm stories, alphabetical by title, with a link to the story page for each one. You can also see the four Brothers Grimm units listed on a single page.

1. Allerleirauh
2. Aschenputtel (Cinderella)
3. Bearskin
4. Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty)
5. Cat and Mouse in Partnership
6. Clever Elsie
7. Death's Messengers
8. The Duration of Life
9. Elves (The Elves and the Shoemaker)
10. Eve's Unequal Children
11. The Fisherman and His Wife
12. The Fox and the Cat
13. The Fox and the Horse
14. The Frog Prince
15. The Gifts of the Little People
16. Hans the Hedgehog
17. Hansel and Grethel
18. The Hare and the Hedgehog
19. Herr Korbes
20. Jorinda and Jorindel
21. King Thrushbeard
22. Lazy Heinz
23. The Little Lamb and the Little Fish
24. Little Red Cap
25. The Mouse, The Bird, and The Sausage
26. Old Sultan
27. The Peasant and the Devil
28. Queen Bee
29. Rapunzel
30. The Robber Bridegroom
31. Rumpelstiltskin
32. The Seven Ravens
33. Simeli Mountain
34. The Singing Bone
35. The Six Swans
36. Snow-White (and the Dwarves)
37. Snow-White and Rose-Red
38. The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
39. The Three Spinsters
40. Thumbling
41. The Travelling Musicians (Musicians of Bremen)
42. The Turnip
43. The Twelve Dancing Princesses
44. The Twelve Huntsmen
45. The Willow-Wren and the Bear
46. The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids

(Portrait of the Brothers Grimm
by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann)