Tales of the oral tradition written down to last The famous collection of the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm The first edition of 86 tales collected by the Grimm brothers was published 200 years ago It contained many of the tales that are still among the most popular Little Red Cap The Frog King Briar Rose and others Several more editions followed Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were linguistic scholars who also wrote a work on German Grammar and began to compile a German Dictionary Both brothers supported the unification of the many separate German states and were dismissed from their posts at the university of Göttingen because of their political opinions They found a new place to live and work in Berlin and their collections of fairy tales became the most popular of all their books Since their own time much light has been cast on the way they collected the tales Readers imagined them travelling from place to place writing down stories told by old peasant women However the two scholars intention was rather to trace the course taken by the wisdom of the people back to its mythological sources In this they were continuing the work of the Romantic poets Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim in their famous folk song collection The Boy's Magic Horn Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm set about collecting fairy tales in a very practical way One of their most important informants was Dorothea Viehmann not an old peasant but an educated woman of French descent Her knowledge laid the foundations for their collection of Children's and Household Tales Other collectors contributed to the two brothers activities for instance the poet Annette von Droste Hülshoff and her sister Jacob and Wilhelm also took many stories from the French collection of Charles Perrault 1628 1703 Briar Rose and Little Red Cap for instance are of French origin Jacob and Wilhelm also wrote tales themselves They extended their collection in later editions and revised the texts extensively several times often because readers had objected that the fairy tales were too cruel and might encourage brutality The Grimm brothers collected leg ends as well as fairy tales The volume containing the German Legends of the Brothers Grimm lists 585 titles One example The Children of Hamelin also known as The Pied Piper of Hamelin is included in this book The illustrator Lisbeth Zwerger who has won the highest international distinctions devoted herself very early to the fairy tale genre and attracted attention with her surprisingly new vision of the old material The course of her wide ranging artistic development can be traced through her work on the tales of the brothers Grimm that are included in this book Werner Thusnelder
THE FROG KING OR IRON HENRY
Once upon a time when wishes could still come true there was a king whose daughters were all beautiful but the youngest was so lovely that the sun itself although it had seen so much marvelled at her beauty whenever it shone on her face Close to the king's castle there was a great dark forest and in the forest under an old linden tree there was a well If the weather was very hot the king's daughter used to go out into the forest and sit on the rim of the well and if she was bored she took a golden ball that was her favorite plaything with her threw it up in the air and caught it again One day it so happened that after she had thrown the golden ball up it did not fall back into her little hands again but came down on the ground and rolled straight into the water The king's daughter followed it with her eyes but the ball disappeared and the well was deep so deep that you couldn't see to the bottom of it Then she began to weep and wail inconsolably louder and louder And as she was weeping like that a voice spoke to her What's the matter king's daughter Why are you crying so pitifully that it would melt a heart of stone She looked around to find out where the voice came from and then she saw a frog putting his fat ugly head up above the water Oh it's you is it old squelchy splasher she said I'm crying because my golden ball has fallen into the well and now I've lost it Hush don't cry replied the frog I can help you there but what will you give me if I bring your plaything up out of the water again Anything you like dear frog she said My fine dresses my pearls and jewels even the golden crown that I wear I don't want your dresses your pearls and jewels or your golden crown said the frog but if you will be kind to me and take me as your friend and playmate let me sit at your little table beside you eat from your little golden plate drink from your little golden goblet and sleep in your little bed if you will promise me all that I will climb down the well and bring your golden ball up again Oh yes she said I promise anything you like if you will only bring me back my golden ball But she was thinking what nonsense that silly frog talks There he sits in the water with the other frogs so how can he be friends with any human being Once she had promised the frog dipped his head down under the water sank to the bottom of the well and a little later he came swimming up again with the ball in his mouth and dropped it on the grass The king's daughter was delighted to see her pretty toy again She picked it up and ran away with it Wait for me the frog called after her Take me with you I can't run as fast as you
