Grimm's Fairy Tales

by Jacob Grimm, Ludwig Richter (Illustrator), Wilhelm Grimm

The Grimm brothers were early 19th-century writers best known for their fairy tales coming from Scandinavian, Icelandic and Germanic origins. By 1807 there was a growing interest in German folk tales. The Grimm brothers were academics who invited friends to their home and asked them to relate stories they had heard. They soon published their first collection of tales and from there several more volumes followed.

This compilation of fairy tales which includes the complete canon of over 200 tales has become a beloved set of classical stories the world over. Included in this collection are Hansel and Gretel, Briar Rose, The Fisherman and His Wife, Rapunzel, The Frog Prince, Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, Tom Thumb, and many more. These stories are a delight to read and will rekindle up many childhood memories as they are reread. Presented here in this edition is the faithful translation of Margaret Hunt.

Genres: Classics, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Literature

518 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1812

About the author

German philologist and folklorist Jakob Ludwig Karl Grimm in 1822 formulated Grimm's Law, the basis for much of modern comparative linguistics. With his brother Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1786-1859), he collected Germanic folk tales and published them as Grimm's Fairy Tales (1812-1815).

Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.

This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .

Adapted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm thrilled that this book contains the nasty version of Cinderella, where the stepsisters not only cut off parts of their feet in an attempt to wear the slipper, but also get their eyes pecked out by birds during the royal wedding.

That'll learn 'em.

These "children's classics" are fairly dripping with blood - particularly the evil blood of those who seek to keep true love from running its natural, ho-hum course.

These were dark and scary times to be a stepmother.
Even though Snow White is stupid enough to fall for the wicked queen dressed as a peddler woman bearing poisoned goodies on THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS, it's the queen who's forced to don "red-hot iron shoes" and dance until she drops dead. Then there is the wicked stepmother in The Twelve Brothers. She is put to death in a barrel filled with boiling oil and venomous snakes - (boiling-oil-resistant serpents, one must presume), where she died "an evil death."

Reading more than 50 of these stories in a row tends to get a bit monotonous. In fact, many seem to be the SAME story re-told with only slight changes.

Here are the fairy tale rules:

1) Share your food and drink with tiny forest folk. Kindness to animals is always rewarded.
2) Teeny tiny men seem to have trouble staying out of cows' stomachs.
3) A multitude of tasks must be completed before one is allowed to marry royalty.
4) When three siblings set out on quests, it's always the youngest, weakest, most childlike and kindhearted who succeeds. That one also always goes last, does not make the same mistakes as his or her predecessors, and wins the heart of the prince or princess who is cleverly disguised as an old man or woman.
5) For some reason, tailors see a lot of action.

If you haven't read these, you really should...though I recommend sampling one every now and then, rather than all in one fell swoop.

Too many happily ever afters can leave a sour taste in your mouth. Not to mention a disturbing amount of sympathy for stepmothers.

[Vit Babenco · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book isn’t just a collection of picturesque fairy tales… The Book is a set of immemorial and immortal archetypes…
Hero is always on a quest… Hero always wins… Ugliness turns into beauty…

But when she was in bed he crept to her and said: “I am tired, I want to sleep as well as you, lift me up or I will tell your father.” At this she was terribly angry, and took him up and threw him with all her might against the wall. “Now, will you be quiet, odious frog,” said she. But when he fell down he was no frog but a king’s son with kind and beautiful eyes. He by her father’s will was now her dear companion and husband. Then he told her how he had been bewitched by a wicked witch, and how no one could have delivered him from the well but herself, and that to-morrow they would go together into his kingdom.

Wisdom defeats stupidity… Villainy is punished… Kindness triumphs… Good destroys evil…
And those ancient archetypes are never out of date – they repeat again and again…

The old woman had only pretended to be so kind; she was in reality a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had only built the little house of bread in order to entice them there. When a child fell into her power, she killed it, cooked and ate it, and that was a feast day with her. Witches have red eyes, and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware when human beings draw near. When Hänsel and Gretel came into her neighborhood, she laughed with malice, and said mockingly: “I have them, they shall not escape me again!

The fairy tale goes on…
“How seriously is she playing? In a conquered country, one’s own occupied country, it’s better, she believes, to enter into some formal, rationalized version of what, outside, proceeds without form or decent limit day and night, the summary executions, the roustings, beatings, subterfuge, paranoia, shame… though it is never discussed among them openly, it would seem Katje, Gottfried, and Captain Blicero have agreed that this Northern and ancient form, one they all know and are comfortable with – the strayed children, the wood-wife in the edible house, the captivity, the fattening, the Oven – shall be their preserving routine, their shelter, against what outside none of them can bear – the War, the absolute rule of chance, their own pitiable contingency here, in its midst…” Thomas Pynchon – Gravity’s Rainbow
The fairy tale is retold…
“The screaming continued. Henry yelled and released her, and she slid to the floor. Flames and thick, black smoke shot from the microwave.
She wanted to laugh. So Hansel, so little Gretel, cooking a witch is not quite so easy as you thought, nicht wahr? Henry jerked a cord from the wall. Tina noted with amusement that it was the cord of the electric can-opener.” Gene Wolfe – In the House of Gingerbread
There is nothing new under the sun but everything keeps renewing, constantly and incessantly.

[⊱ Sonja ⊰ ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die Advents- und Weihnachtszeit ist für mich auch eine Zeit der Märchen. Ich liebe Märchen, manche natürlich mehr, manche auch weniger. Aber die meisten Märchen der Gebrüder Grimm gefallen mir eigentlich, und vor allen Dingen sind sie auch immer wie eine kleine Reise zurück in die Kindheit. Ich weiß noch, dass meine Oma mir früher immer viel aus dicken Märchenbüchern vorgelesen hat. Das war einfach schön.
Und so habe ich es genossen, mir mit diesem dicken Märchenbuch noch einmal ein paar alte Geschichten zurück ins Gedächtnis zu rufen!

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was originally was going to give this a 3 because it is uneven strange, and sometimes surprisingly amoral, but then i realized how much I acutally had to say about it, and just how much I enjoyed reading these goofy stories. So bear with me while i recount some of the best and worst stories and some of the strange themes of grimm's fairy tales. (I have to admit, I write these reviews almost entirely for myself)

Some themes/things you should know:
-If you are an evil stepmother or witch, and you are looking for a brother and sister or pair of lovers, they've probably turned themselves into a duck and a lake, respectively.
-people or animals geting released from wolf's stomaches and then placing stones in their place.
-if you kill a dragon, giant or other fearsome creature, always cut out the tongue and hang onto in case you are betrayed by someone who claims to have killed the beast himself (when confronted, the deceiver will always claim that the beast had no tongue, but no one will believe him)
-if you rescue someone (a fair maden, of course) from the bottom of the well while your companions are above ground, always put something else in the basket to replace your weight, because they will drop you and try to kill you.
-Never bet against:
-A tailor
-Anyone named Dummling, or Thumbling
-The youngest of 3 brothers
-Anyone that can talk to, or is kind to animals, or who is kind to old women
-basically anyone young, pretty, and poor.
-Always bet against:
-ugly people

Best stories.
Two Brothers-two brothers wander the world with a shitload of animals at their beck and call, so many in fact, that they decide to split up. they stab some knife or something into a tree that they can look at to see if the other is ok. One becomes a king (after killing a dragon), the other wanders the world. the king goes hunting, gets turned into stone by a witch. the other brother her saves him. lots of other things happen. it's one of the longest and strangest stories and it's just great.
Rumpelstiltskin-One of the classics that the one I knew was actually very similar to the original. NOthing quite as funny as how upset the little guy gets when she figures out his name.
Brother Lustig-Another long and weird story, this is different in that Brother Lustig first appears to be a good guy, then he is kind of a jerk, but he sort of gets picked on by a priest and then he tricks his way into heaven. it's weird.
The Man of Iron-Robert Bly wrote a whole book on manliness based upon this fairy tale, and I can see why. It just a really good story, and very rich with male stereotypes. Not that stereotypes are necessarily good, but it just really well written and interesting.
The Straw, The Coal and The Bean-my favorite. So funny. Contains this passage, as the coal tries to cross the river by walking on the straw: "The straw, however, beginning to burn, and the Coal slipping after, hissed as it reached the water, and gave up the ghost. The Bean, which had prudently remaned up the shore, was forced to laugh at this accident, and the joke being so good, it laughed so immoderately that it burst itself." Fortunately a wandering tailor is able to stitch the bean back up.

3 disturbing stories:
The Frog Prince: Did you know that in the original, the frog is turned into a prince after being thrown against the wall?! She gets pissed at him because she is supposed to be his companion (because he retrieved her ball), but then he turns into a prince and they marry. what kind of lesson does that teach?? Actually the story is really more about the last paragraph, about the prince's loyal servant, Henry, who had tied bands around his heart which broke of happiness upont the prince's return.
Cinderella: one stepsisters tries to get into the shoe by cutting off a toe, the other by cutting off a heel. Their punishment for failure? They get their eyes pecked out by birds.
The Poor Boy in his Grave
An orphaned boy is adopted by a cruel farmer and wife. The farmer beats for his honest or endearing mistakes, like eating a bundle of grapes because he was a hungry. While baling hay while they are out, his sweater gets caught in the hay. Knowing he will be beaten, his despair leads him to drink what the the farmer's wife said was poison, but is actually honey. At this point you still think things are going to end up well. And it's kind of funny, he says "I thought death would be bitter, but it is so sweet!" He then moves onto to the fly-poison, about which he was also lied to, because it turns out to be wine. Still funny. But then his drukeness makes him feel a bit woozy, so he thinks he might be dying so, he goes and lays in an open grave, and the cold and the wine kill him! He lays in the grave forever. The farmer's house burns down later on and he and his wife live in poverty and misery, but come on!!

That's all. See, I told you I had a lot to say.

[Теодор Панов · Rating 5 out of 5]

May 11, 2021

Новото издание на класическите приказки на Братя Грим от издателство Колибри е наистина разкошно. С възможно най-добрия превод на Димитър Стоевски, като е допълнено от нови, прекрасни илюстрации. Беше страхотно да си поприпомня част от тези приказки, в същия им вид, който ми е познат от детството. Всички истории ми харесаха, но най-отличителни си останаха:

Снежанка
Хензел и Гретел
Храбрият млад шивач
Белоснежка и Червенорозка
Братче и сестриче
Духът в бутилката
Трите пера
Котаракът в чизми
Вълкът и седемте козлета
Баба Хола

А сред най-забавните ми бяха:

Умницата Грета
Златната гъска

Има и още много други, разбира се 🤗

May 04, 2021
music for reading
➡ Peder B. Helland - Spring (3 hours)
➡ Peder B. Helland - Peaceful music mix • Relax in a field of flowers (1 hour)

Apr 27-29, 2021
Малко ъпдейт на информацията от днес, че вчера нещо не ми се пишеше. Та получих книгата вчера (заедно с „Къщата в лазурното море“) и изглежда повече от страхотно. С красиви твърди корици и не по-малко красиви цветни илюстрации отвътре. Прехвърлих я набързо. Съдържа 85 приказки в превод на Димитър Стоевски, та тук е излишно да казвам, че като качество на текста нещата са изпипани до съвършенство. Като цяло книгата е 600 страници чиста радост 🤗 Започвам я моментално, щом приключа със сегашните си.

Ето ги и обещаните ми снимки:
➡ Най-новите ми книжни попълнения

Книгата отвътре:
➡ Снежанка
➡ Марулка (Рапунцел)
➡ Котаракът в чизми

Apr 10, 2021
Очаквам с горещо нетърпение новото издание на приказките на Братя Грим. Последната ми тяхна книга беше „Детски и домашни приказки“ от 2017 и тя наистина беше с отлично качество – корици, хартия и т.н. Сега в новото издание на Колибри, освен твърдите корици, ще има и много красиви цветни илюстрации. Така че очакванията ми определено са завишени. 😊

[Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

حين درست اللغة الألمانية في الثانوية العامة
درسنا مدينة Hessen وكان من أهم أسئلة الحضارة Landskunde
أين يقع منزل الأخوين جريم ؟
أو ما أهم المعالم السياحية في مدينة "هيسين" ؟
لم أكن أهتم بمن هم الأخوين جريم ولا ما الداعى لجعل منزلهم من معالم المدينة السياحية
لكن حينما قرأت هذة المجموعة الرائعة اكتشفت كم الجهد المبذول في وصول هذا التراث الرائع إلينا والذي جمعه الأخوان في 51 عاما !
أعجبتنى العديد من القصص
و اكتشفت أن قصصا عالمية ك"سنووايت" و "رابونزل" ألمانية الأصل حتى سندريلا لها نسخة ألمانية (أشن بوتيل)
قصة ذات المنديل الأحمر(الفتاة والذئب)
التأثيرالدينى المسيحي واضح جدا على بعض القصص مثل :-
قصة الثعبان الأبيض : مستوحاة من قصة سيدنا سليمان
وردة الشوك : مستوحاة من قصة عزير
قصة الدعبوب اللعوب : ظهر فيها القديس بطرس
قصة ابنه مريم : ظهرت فيها مريم العذراء
قصة اثنا عشر اخا: مستوحاة من قصة سيدنا يوسف حتى أن الأخ الأصغر اسمه بنيامين

أكثر القصص التى أضحكتني بشدة
حكاية الذي ارتحل لتعلم الخوف
قصة الصياد وزوجته (مثل نكتة السيدات ومول الرجال)
قصة القشة والجمرة وحبة اللوبيا

الترجمة أكثر من رائعة
فيكفي جدا أنها ترجمت الأبيات الشعرية بقافية وهذا ما أراه من ضروب المستحيل

وتبدأ دائما ب
كان ياما كان في بلاد الألمان
وتنتهي أبدا ب

كان يا مكان.. حدوتة الزمان
حكاية يرويها.. الدهر والمكان
وأخرى يطويها.. العمر والنسيان
وهذه يحكيها.. جريم الأخوان
لكَ هُنا، والآن

[Bionic Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Kinder-und Hausmärchen” is a key German contribution to world literature. It comprises about 250 traditional tales, which were collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and first published in 1812, with a second volume dated 1815. Although the most accurate translation of this title would be “Children’s and Household Tales”, most English readers know these stories as Grimms’ Fairy Tales, sadly often with the apostrophe misplaced, as “Grimm’s Fairy Tales”.

Between 1824 and 1839, Edgar Taylor had translated these tales into English, again in two volumes. In 1870, Wilhelm’s eldest son, Hermann, edited what has come to be known as the definitive edition of “Kinder- und Hausmärchen”. In 1901, Marian Edwardes made a selection of these tales, and it is on her selection which most modern collections are now based. There is a typical “English Grimm”, which always comprises around fifty stories; not always the same fifty, but all chosen from a list of around half of the original number of 250 in the 1870 edition.



Charles Folkard - “Hansel and Gretel”

The list is short, because these were tales for children, and some were little more than riddles or anecdotes. Some were merely variations on the same theme. And in addition to those banned by the Victorians for their impropriety, the 20th century rejected some for their brutality, horror and anti-Semitism. It is easy enough to find a list of all 250 online, and some of the little known ones are indeed hair-raising to read.

Here I have listed all the ones in this volume, along with alternative names I have discovered they are also known by. I have added the number according to the original classication and order in which they were published. These are based on Marian Edwarde’s selection, and checked against Edgar Taylor’s for authenticity. The text therefore cannot be bettered, in English.



Charles Folkard - “The Three Dwarfs in the Wood”

It has to be said though, that the presentation of the volume is a disappointment. The illustrations are by Charles Folkard, whose watercolours are very much in the tradition of the golden age children’s illustrators, Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac and Kay Nielsen. They match the style of tales perfectly, but there are only eight colour plates in the entire book, two of which I have included here. The volume is roughly the size of a hardback novel, and there are line drawings at the beginning of each story, plus occasional ones in between. The less said about the cover illustration the better. It is not credited, but clearly drawn by a staff artist of the time, who created a contemporary feel. I prefer to do away with this cover, as underneath the cloth-bound book is printed with a silhouette repeated design of the girl and the deer, but this is a personal preference.

Because of my disappointment with the reproductions of the art work, I am keeping this review at my default rating of 3 stars.


1. The Dancing Shoes - “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, “The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes” or “The Shoes that were Danced to Pieces” - 133
2. The House in the Wood - “The Hut in the Forest” - 169
3. The Golden Bird - 57
4. The Twelve Huntsmen - 67
5. The White Snake - 17
6. Little Red Riding Hood - “Little Red Cap” - 26
7. The Singing Lark - “The Singing, Springing Lark”, “The Singing, Soaring Lark”, “The Lady and the Lion” or “Lily and the Lion” - 88
8. The Brave Little Tailor - “The Valiant Little Tailor” or “The Gallant Tailor” - 20
9. Rapunzel - 12
10. The Iron Stove - 127
11. Jorinda and Joringel - 69
12. Hansel and Gretel - “Hansel and Grettel”, “Hansel and Grethel”, or “Little Brother and Little Sister” - 15
13. The Boy Who Set Out to Learn what Fear Was - “The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was” or “The Story of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear” - 4
14. Donkey-Wort - “The Donkey” - 144
15. Old Sultan - 48
16. The Fox and the Horse - 132
17. The Travelling Musicians - “Town Musicians of Bremen”, “The Bremen Town Musicians” - 27
18. The Golden Goose - 64
19. The Wishing Table - “The Magic Table, the Gold-Donkey, and the Club in the Sack”, “The Wishing-Table, the Gold-Ass, and the Cudgel in the Sack” - 36
20. Tom Thumb - “Thumbling” and “Thumbling’s Travels” (also known as “Thumbling as Journeyman” - 37 and 45 *
21. Snow White - “Little Snow White” - 53
22. The Three Dwarfs in the Wood - “The Three Little Men in the Wood” or “The Three Little Gnomes in the Forest” -13
23. The Four Craftsmen - “The Four Skilful Brothers” - 129
24. Snow-White and Rose-Red - “The Ungrateful Dwarf” - 161
25. The Twelve Brothers - 9
26. Jack My Hedgehog - Hans My Hedgehog - 108
27. The Sleeping Beauty - “Little Briar Rose”, “The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods” - 50
28. The Raven - 93
29. Bearskin -101
30. Cinderella - “The Little Glass Slipper” - 21
31. Three Spinning Fairies - “The Three Spinning Women”, “The Three Spinners” - 14
32. Rumpel-Stilts-Ken - “Rumpelstiltskin”, “Tom Tit Tot” - 55
33. Mistress Holle - “Mother Holle”, or “Mother Hulda”, or “Old Mother Frost” - 24
34. King Thrush-beard 52
35. Thumbling the Dwarf and Thumbling the Giant - *
36. The Water of Life - 97
37. The Blue Light - 116
38. The Fisherman and his Wife - 19
39. The Goose Girl - 89
40. The Water Fairy - “The Water Nixie” or “The Water-Nix” - 79
41. The Frog Prince - “The Frog King”, or “Iron Henry” - 1
42. The Elves and the Cobbler - “The Elves”, or “The Elves and the Shoemaker”, - 39
43. Giant Golden Beard - “The Giant and the Three Golden Hairs”, or “The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs” - 29
44. King of the Golden Mountain - 92
45. The Two Brothers - 60
46. Hans in Luck - 83
47. The Turnip - 146

[Steven Walle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read. Reminds me of my childhood days when my Grandma used to read these fairy tales to me. They are pretty graphic however. I recommend this book to all. Read to your children folks. It will create a love of reading and a thirst for knowledge. Enjoy and Be Blessed.
Diamond

[Aref فكري · Rating 4 out of 5]

الغابة شاسعة حقا.. الجو هناك يختلف عن أي جو آخر.. ذلك المكان خاص بالأساطير، بالأشياء التي يصعب أن تواجهها بنفسك، لأنك في عالم واقعي قاسٍ، لكن في ذلك العالم الذي أفرزته المخيلة الإنسانية الخصبة كل شيء ممكن، يمكنك لو أغمضت عينيك وركزت قليلا أن تشاهد أشياء مثيرة:
في هذا الركن مثلا نرى فتاة صغيرة تتدثر بثوب أحمر مميز وهي تحمل سلة متجهة إلى جدتها.. من سوء الحظ أنها كانت تمر بالغابة، وهناك تقابل الذئب الشرير الذي صارت قضية حياته الهامة أن يلتهمها، لذا فهو يتحايل ويغرر بالفتاة البريئة من أجل أن يلتهمها هي وجدتها.
دع الذئب وحديثه المعسول وانتقل إلى مكان آخر بذات الغابة الشاسعة:
نحن الآن بالقرب من قصر فخم، حيث نجد هناك أميرة فاتنة (وكل الأميرات هنا فاتنات بالمناسبة) تلعب بكرتها، والتي تسقط في بئر عميقة مما يجعلها تنتحب، لولا أن يبرز ضفدع يساعدها مقابل خدمة تقدمها له.. توافق حتى تأخذ غرضها منه -مع الأسف- ثم تولي وجهها عنه. حسنًا.. القصة لم تنتهِ بعد بهذه الصورة، فما زالت هناك نهاية قادمة مختلفة.
وماذا عن يوهانس المخلص؟
الرجل الذي يُوصى من قِبل ملكه أن يرعى ابنه، لكن بسبب حماقات هذا الأخير يضطر أن يضحي بأشياء كثيرة، حتى حياته.
أما عن الخياط الشجاع فهو ليس شجاعا على الإطلاق، بل هو يستخدم عقله بشكل مختلف عن الآخرين، مما جعل الآخرين ينبهرون به.
أما عن الفتي الذي لا يخاف مثل بقية البشر فحكايته غريبة ومشوقة، هل رأيت أحدهم يسافر من قبل لكي يعرف معنى الخوف؟!
أما هينزل وجريتل فينتظرهما مصير مفزع في بيت الساحرة الشريرة، والتي تتسلي بشيّ ضحاياها والتهامهم.
أما عن سندريلا وبنات زوجة أبيها ومأساتها فمعروفة.
الغابة مليئة بالحكايات والقصص العجيبة والمدهشة.. كل ما عليك فقط أن تخطو إليها واضعا يدك على قلبك، فلا تصدق أن هذه الحواديت للأطفال فقط، بل يمكن القول إنها مرعبة بشكل كافٍ.
فهناك حكاية الموت الذي يتفق مع رجل فقير على أن يرعى أحد أبنائه، وبالفعل حدث هذا، لكن الولد التعس تحدى الموت ذاته.
والمرأة الفقيرة التي تستغل وجود قوى تحقق الأمنيات وطمعها الذي يتزايد، وأمنياتها التي تصل إلى حد الجنون لدرجة أن تطلب أن تملك قوى إلهية.
ما نتحدث عنه هو التراث الألماني المليء بالزخم، والمعنون ب" حواديت الأخوين جريم"، والذي صدر جزؤه الأول عن المركز القومي للترجمة، ومن المفترض أن يصدر جزءان آخران�� لكن هذا لم يتحقق حتى الآن.
المتعة تتضاعف بقراءة الحواديت التي راح الأخوان يجمعانها من ربوع ألمانيا بقصد الحفاظ على التراث الألماني، ووصلت أمانتهما في سرد قصص متشابهة تختلف في بعض التفاصيل الصغيرة، دون أن يدسا أنفيهما في التعديل والتنقيح والتغيير، إذن فمهمتهما كانت جمع ذلك التراث دون تغيير، وعلى كلٍ فوظيفة "جامع التراث"- إن جاز التعبير- في العالم الغربي لها احترامها وقدسيتها، وهناك أمثلة عديدة ليس المجال متاحا لذكرها الآن.
الشر في تلك الحكايات مرعب حقا والجزاء يكون مأساويا، ويكفيك أن ترى كيف يُعاقب الأشرار بطرق لا تخطر على بال خبراء التعذيب أنفسهم.
فعلى سبيل المثال نجد امرأة وابنتها تعاقبان بأن توضعا في برميل يُثقب بالمسامير، ثم يُلقى وهما بداخله من أعلى جبل إلى تيار جارف لأحد الأنهار.
كتاب ممتع حقا، والترجمة الأولي الكاملة -حسبما أعلم- للتراث الذي جمعه الأخوين جريم، وانتشرت ترجماته وحكاياته وشخصياته في ربوع العالم.

[Bionic Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grimm’s Fairy Tales, (the apostrophe is as it is printed on the book’s title page and cover) is Richard Adams’s personal selection of nineteen tales, which he made in 1981. This is a large format book with illustrations by Pauline Ellison. Pauline Ellison is a prolific illustrator of books, producing meticulous detailed watercolour images with use of natural colour tones. These paintings are quite busy, and the characters and interiors have a Germanic or East European feel. They are very attractive, and the book displays this art well using glossy paper and printing to a high standard.

As I have often found with illustrated books of folk and fairy tales, the actual text is very much the poor relation. Here at least there is one illustration per story, inserted in the story itself, rather than randomly. Yet the size of the book, and the cramped feel of the text does not invite one to read each story. The font size is very small, and the translators are not credited. It seems as if this is a book produced primarily for the artworks.

Richard Adams has written a brief essay as an introduction. Presumably he was asked to make this selection because he was at the peak of his popularity in 1981. I was struck by the synchronicity of an editor who originally conceived his most famous book “Watership Down” as a story to tell his daughters on long car journeys, just as the stories here were an oral tradition, which were passed down and developed through many generations, before being collected and fixed in a written form by the brothers Grimm. However, most of his essay was rather dry and academic, which disappointed me, as I do like Richard Adams’s writing style.

There is nothing to say what determined his choice of stories; some of which are familiar and others not. It would be interesting to know what drew him to these, when he had over two hundred tales by the brothers Grimm to choose from. Here is the complete list of titles:

The Frog King or Iron Henry
Hansel and Gretel
The Fisherman and his Wife
Cinderella
Thumbling
Mother Holle
The Seven Ravens
Fitcher’s Bird
The Juniper Tre
The Six Swans
Little Snow-White
Little Briar-Rose
Rumpelstiltskin
The Golden Bird
The Golden Goose
Bearskin
The Blue Light
The Moon
Little Red-Cap

All in all, this is not my preferred book of tales by the Brothers Grimm. I would like to be able to read them without navigating a bulky book and poring over the words. But the illustrations are careful, quality work, so I would rate this book at less than the default average, hence 2 stars.

[ندىٰ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"كان يا ما كان، يا سعد يا كرام، ولا يحلو الكلام إلا بذكر النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام..."

عنصرا الخير والشر: موجودان بوضوح. عنصر العقل: غير موجود غالبًا وكذلك المنطق. عنصر الخيال: جامح. العناصر البشرية والحيوانية: موجودة، لكن افتقد معظم البشريون إلى "البشرية" الطبيعية، بعضهم سحرة وساحرات أو أقزام والبعض الآخر طيبيون وديعون وقع عليهم سحرٌ ما أو شر. هناك أيضًا بعض الخُرْقِ الذين يحالفهم الحظ فيصيرون خارقين. عنصر الدين موجود متمثلًا في الديانة المسيحية بأيقوناتها الواضحة، وبعض القصص مقتبسة من قصص أنبياء بني إسرائيل وقصص صالحيهم. ثلاثة من بين كل خمسة قصص بها مشهد فتاة (جميلة جدا، بارعة الجمال، ساحرة فتَّانة) وملك أو أمير (وسيم، شجاع، قوي) يقول في تيه حين يراها مأخوذًا بجمالها الأسطوري: هل تقبلين أن تتزوجي بي أيتها الجميلة، أو نفس القضية مع عكس الشخصيات فيكون الفوز بيد الأميرة الجميلة سببًا لإقدام أحد الرعية على المخاطرة بحياته.

السمت العام للحكايات التي انطلقت من عقول البشر القديمين، أجداد أجداد أجداد (...) أجداد أجدادنا هو البساطة الشديدة والخيال وعدم التعقيد. فنادرًا ما يكون هناك داعٍ لاختلاط الخير والشر في شخص واحد، يكفي وجود واحد منهما في كل شخص -أو على الأقل هذا ما يُعرض-. بمعنى آخر: "القداسة والشيطنة"، وليس هناك داعٍ لوجود دوافع للشر، ويكفي للوقوع في الحب نظرة. والخيال الذي لا يحتاج أي شيء، الخيال الذي لا يتكبّر على فقير أو محروم أو مجروح، ولا يعرف حد مكان أو زمان، الخيال الذي يعيد الجدَّات العجائز إلى صبيَّات مليحات، والشيوخ الهَرِمين إلى فرسان باسلين، ويجعل الصغيرات آنسات جميلات والصبيان الأشقياء رجالًا نبلاء.

معظم الحكايات يمرُّ معها طيف "حكايات ما أحلاها" أو "في جعبتي حكايا" أو صوت جدتي "تيتا" -حفظها الله- في ليالي الصيف الطويلة.. ��عتقد أنني لن أعرف كيف وصلت معظم هذه الحكايات إلى جدتي، توجد بعض التحريفات بالتأكيد لكنها مألوفة وتذكرتها بسهولة شديدة.

الحكايات نظيفة -إلا من إيحاءات قليلة جدًا- ومناسبة للأطفال الصغار (أقل من ١٠) الذين لن يفكروا في طرح أسئلة تُحرج الحبكة اللامنطقية أو تنقد وتنقض الحكاية برمتها. وهي مع مناسبتها تحتاج بعض التوجيه والتعليق والتصحيح، لذا فالأفضل للأطفال أن تُسمع مُقوَّمَة.

تأسرني فكرة أن معظم هذه الحكايات التي تحولت لـ"فولكلور" عالمي، خرجت إلينا من أشخاص متواضعين جدًا درجة أن لا أحد يعرفهم، ربما إسكافي فقير يسلي أبناءه الجائعين، ربما متشرد يسترزق من أخذ أموال الأطفال بالحكاية، ربما أم ثكلى قليلة الحيلة تحاول إنساء حفدتها أمهم الشابة المتوفاة، ربما فتاة صغيرة اختلقتها لأنها وحيدة، واحتفظت بهم أصدقاءً لها حتى أورثتها أولادها حين كبرت..

تجربة جميلة مليئة بالذكريات وضحكات العجب من الطفلة الحالمة التي كانت تُحلِّق مع هذه الحكايات..

[Lauren Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm glad to have read this, simply because fairy tale plots and themes are used so often in modern literature that it felt good to become acquainted with old versions of the tales and get closer to the original folklore. I also enjoyed picking up on some of the values of the time that come across in the stories.

That said, most of them are terribly boring. The method of storytelling is something I just could not get comfortable with - rapid, perfunctory, repetitive, bizarrely irrational. It was often disturbingly amoral as well, even more so than stories that try to be realistic about how life goes. There are plenty of the happy endings that have come to characterise fairy tales today, but happy endings were certainly not the standard for these tales - some are incredibly violent and/or downright depressing.

I'm not criticising the book or fairy tales in general for this; they're rich cultural texts that still influence literature today. But I decided to go with a subjective rating, which is to say, I did not really enjoy reading this, however valuable the experience.

[Yousra · Rating 4 out of 5]

تعودت أن أسمع ومن بعد ذلك أن استخدم تلك النهاية لكل حدوتة تم حكيها لي او حكيتها

توتة ... توتة ... خلصت الحدوتة ... حلوة ولا ملتوتة؟؟

هنا لا أستطيع أن أحدد كم عدد الحكايات التي كانت حلوة ولا الملتوتة

في الحقيقة، لقد شاهدت منذ فترة طويلة فيلما مفزعا عن الأخوين جريم وكأنهما يعيشا حكاياتهما المفزعة، واختلط علي الأمر وظننتهما شخصيتين وهميتين، إلى أن أتى على ذكرهما الجميل د. أحمد خالد توفيق وقد ترجم أحد أعمالهما المفزعة

وقبل موعد معرض الكتاب بقليل أمسك ابني الأصغر بكتاب ملون بالإنجليزية وصادر عن دار نشر هندية وأبى إلا أن أشتريه له وكان يحمل عنوان هانسل وجريتل وسحب اخاه كتاب أليس في بلاد العجائب لـ لويس كارول

قلت لنفسي لن اقرأ أليس للولدين فهي مفزعة وبها تفاصيل غير مفهومة لمن في سنهما فلأحاول مع الأخرى وكانت عن اخوين يتركهما والدهما وزوجة ابيهما في الغابة لعجزهما عن اطعامهما ... ففزعت ولم اكمل انا شخصيا قرائتها

وفي المعرض وجدت نفسي وجها لوجه أمام ترجمة صادرة عن دار تتميز بالرصانة والاختيارات الجيدة فاشتريت نسخة من حكايات هذين الأخوين

الحكايات اغلبها مفزع في التفاصيل ... وهناك ما نسميه بالمرة الثالثة أو "التالتة تابتة" وقد تأتي بالخير أو الشر ... وللمخطئ عقاب صارم وينفذ وإن كان إبنا أو إبنة أو زوجة وإن عشقها زوجها أو حتى الأم ... الأم تموت غالبا وزوجة الأب كائن شرير بلا قلب دائما ... والأب قاسي القلب يوقع اغلظ العقاب بدون تحقق من خطأ الأبناء او يتخلى عن بنته - دائما هي ابنته - لصالح زوجته الجديدة لتعذبها دون تدخل منه لصالحها ... فك السحر دائما يستلزم الصمت ويجلب سخط المحيطين بهذا الصموت ... وأخيرا قصص الحب تنتهي نهايات سعيدة كما نقول مثلا: عاشوا في تبات ونبات

ميزت قصة ذات الرداء الأحمر أو ليلى والذئب، وكذلك عقلة الإصبع المختلفة تماما عن الكارتون، وقصص أخرى اقل إفزاعا حكتها أمي لي في طفولتي قبل النوم وقد ظننتها عربية الأصل

وجدير بالذكر أن هناك قصة شبيهة لهذا الجو، عن زوجة تتمنى الذرية حتى وإن كانت حمامة، وترزق بالفعل بما تتمنى وتقوم الحمامة بمغامرات إلا أنني وقت حملي في ابني الأكبر حلمت بأنني واختي أنجبنا حمامتين واكلناهما بالخطأ واستمر الأمر يتكرر ككابوس بشع حتى انجبت وكان سؤالي لزوجي وقت الإفاقة من العملية ... سليم؟؟ عديت صوابعه وشفت إيديه ورجليه ودخلت في نوبة من هستريا ضحك مؤلم لنجاة ابني من مصير الحمامة بطلة كابوسي فهو طفل ذكر سليم وأطرافه آدمية ... لا أجنحة ولا عدد أقل من الأصابع المعقوفة ولها مخالب

ملاحظات عن الكتاب

الترجمة أكثر من رائعة ومناسبة لجو حكاياتنا العربية

هناك اخطاء طباعية قلبت الـ ز إلى ذ في أكثر من موضع والعكس

الكتاب من البلاستيك وحجمه ثقيل وانعكاس الضوء على الورق ناصع البياض يجعل القراءة عسيرة

كنت أود أن تذكر المترجمة أي شيئ عن رسومات ال��تاب، فملامح الأشخاص بها غير أوروبية وغير ألمانية بالمرة وبخاصة الأنوف، والنساء أشبه ما يكن لصور ريا وسكينة في قصر محمد علي

كتاب ممتع رغم تكرارالعديد من التيمات فيه وقد أدهشتني معلومة انها حكايات شعبية تم جمعها ولا ينسب هذا القدر من الافزاع والدموية للأخوين وحدهما بل يبدو انها كانت ثقافة شعب في زمن معين

[Lamaleluna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tengo este libro de los hermanos Grimm desde hace varios años pero no lo había marcado en Goodreads. Fui leyendo los cuentos de forma salteada así que ni idea si los leí todos. El libro es muy completo y está bueno pero justo el que yo compré fue parte de una camada de libros todos fallados y cuando lo fui a reclamar todos los que estaban disponibles también estaban fallados. Una lastima para tan linda edición. (Cada vez que quiere poner una tilde saltan un millón de caracteres aleatorios)

[Nhi Nguyễn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look what the lockdown due to the surges in COVID-19 cases where I live has brought me to :)) This week, I treated myself to a trip down memory lane with this “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” collection. I grew up being exposed to books from an early age, and fairy tales were my first experience with stories. So reading this collection was like returning to a period of my life that I always cherish.

There were a lot of stories in this book that I had not known before, but I also got to read the original versions of a lot of Grimm’s fairy tales that were later popularized across multiple media, with different adjustments. “The Fisherman and his Wife”, “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, “Rose-Bud” (which is the original version of “Sleeping Beauty”), “Snow-Drop” (which is the original version of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”), “The Lady and the Lion” (which is a variation of “Beauty and the Beast”), “Hansel and Grettel”, “The Frog-Prince”, “Rumpel-Stilts-Kin”, “The Goose Girl”, and “Ashputtel” (which is the original version of “Cinderella”) were among the familiar stories that I had known before.

For “The Lady and Lion”, the first part resembled what I had read and watched when it comes to the “Beauty and the Beast” story, but the later part was heading in a totally different direction, which was so cool. For “Hansel and Grettel”, I felt like the story “Roland and May-Bird” may better resemble the popular version of “Hansel and Grettel” that we all know (two kids got abandoned in the woods by their parents, they later found a house made of sweets that belonged to a witch).

The rest of the stories were funny, silly, goofy, and a little bit stupid, to put it frankly :D But I enjoyed them anyway :)) I was particularly impressed with the last one, “The Juniper Tree”, because of not only its brutal and gory aspect (and I don’t know if it is suitable to be read by kids :D), but also its first notable detail of the story, which was that a woman wishing she could have a child as red as blood and as white as snow. That sounded a lot like what happened in “Snow-Drop” or “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. I guess this is what people at that time considered beauty.

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured fairy tales when I was a child. I used to read them under the covers with a flashlight. The cover of my book and the illustrations by Fritz Kredel were exactly the same as this edition (originally published in 1945, reprinted in 1977) that I happily found as an adult. It will always be the best Grimms' version for me because of those childhood memories and the wonderful illustrations.

Many of these tales are indeed "grim," definitely not the sanitized Disney versions. I don't remember any of them bothering me as a child, but today many of them have been challenged. I worked in a school where a parent pulled her child from a class because the teacher read the "original" version of Cinderella to the class. She also demanded that the Cinderella books be pulled from the library. Thankfully, the principal stood up for the teacher and the library, and the books remained on the library shelves. A well-known child psychologist, Bruno Bettelheim, contended in his book, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, that fairy tales empower children, showing them that the youngest and the innocent always prevail against evil and adversity. Children are tougher than we think, but parents will probably want to screen this version for children up to age eight or nine.

[¸¸.•*¨*•♫ Mrs. Buttercup •*¨*•♫♪ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually rate the books I read based on how much I enjoyed them. However, in this case my level of enjoyment was so low that I should have rated this book one star, and I didn't feel like doing it because of the great historical value of this complete collection of fairytales. I used to love reading fairytales when I was a kid, and now I don't understand if they lost all their appeal to me as a genre or if it's because this edition/collection doesn't meet my taste. Anyway, I just read them as a document and really couldn't see any other reason to go on with the book than to understand the roots of many of our folk tales and appreciate the value of the linguists' work. This edition, however, is stunning: I love the illustrations and the fact that it is a complete collection. I will always be a proud owner of this volume, regardless of how much (or how little) fun I had reading it!

[*❆ Kαɾҽɳ ❆*]

I shall be updating this as I read each story. I’ll give their individual star rating and a small review.

Last Updated 03/02/2021
The Story of the Youth who went forth to Learn what Fear was - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hmm this was not a great story and yet I really liked it? Like it was weird and the ending of how he learnt what fear was, was really ridiculous and yet I liked it? I guess since it was so unusual, it worked.

The Wonderful Musician - ⭐️
Was not a fan of this one, didn't like how the musician was unnecessary cruel to the animals who followed him because of his music.

Jorinda and Joringel - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was a better story, about a man who loves his betrothed so much he will find a way to save her no matter how long it takes. I only wish that the story continued on and see if he saved the rest of the seven thousand.

The Fox and the Horse - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Okay this was a good story, I liked how the clever fox knew how to help the Horse to get to his master using his words to convince others.

The Elves - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
First Story - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This story has three mini stories within. I really liked the first story, unlike some retellings that I have read where the Elves stopped helping when they were given clothes and their curse was broken and the shoemaker no longer prospered Instead, here we see them all have a very happy ending.
Second Story - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well, this took an unexpected twist, not the same as the first story, but about a servant who has been asked to be the godmother of a baby elf. I really enjoyed this.
Third Story - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was an okay story, nothing really special. Just a helping her in how in to get rid of a changeling who has replaced her baby for themselves, and the elves returning the baby to its mother.

The Robber Bridegroom - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was a horrible story however it was well written and the ending really made me happy that those awful rubbers got what they deserved!

The Six Swans - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really liked this story, its about family love and sacrifices made for the ones we love. Very moving and touching tale.

Old Sultan - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I am glad that this story was not unhappy for anyone but they all were friends in the end, despite some mistrust between friends.

17/05/2020
The Three Snake-Leaves - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow, a really good story. Didn’t like how awful the princess was and how selfish, she deserved her fate. But a very nice story with an honourable peasant farmer

The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oh wow! What a gruesome tale! I guess it’s trying to say work together but don’t be selfish and ask for change if something is working well? Wow just wow

Little Red-Cap - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good tale, nothing I didn’t expect, but was surprised a little by the ending and how the wolf was killed.

The Straw, the Coal and the Bean - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow what a weird but funny tale! It reminded a lot of The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage but at less this one was a lot more funnier to read!

The Bremen Town-Musician - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Aww I liked this tale about animals who find companion in each other and he’ll each other to feel safe, secured and well feed.

Cat and Mouse in Partnership - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Aww poor mouse. That’s all I will say. What a strange tale indeed

Faithful John - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oh wow that was quite the ordeal. But it was a good story and I liked how the King. Alude his faithful servant’s sacrifice and would do anything to get him back.

16/05/2020
Rumpelstiltskin - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well that was one gruesome ending! Pretty horrible what Rumpelstiltkin did to himself at the end!

The Goose-Girl - ⭐️⭐️
Ah why does every princess have to be beautiful and that is the only reason why a prince marries her? It is no wonder now we live in the same world, where all the girls want to be as beautiful as the girls on the cover magazines and not appreciate their own true self and natural beauty.

The Frog-King, or Iron Henry - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hmm not much of say about this one. Other than the princess was a little bit ungrateful and mean

The Golden Goose - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Okay, this was a very different tale but I love it. It was funny and so weird but so good. Really enjoyed it

The Twelve Brothers - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another favourite, this was a good tale about family and going to all lengths to protect each other. Loved it

The Three Spinners - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This reminds me so much of Sleeping Beauty and yet it is not the same as well. Good tale overall.

Our Lady’s Child - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This tale had a very unique twist to it. It has religious beliefs and values which I really liked and I love the moral at the end.

The Valient Little Tailor - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well, not entirely a romantic tale or about a princess but a tailor. A tailor who thinks he is invincible because he killed seven flies by one struck of his towel Hence he calls himself the warriors who killed seven in one stroke. While I don’t agree that children should learn about how to lie their way in the world, I did find the talior’s ways very clever and quite funny as well.

09/05/2020
Cinderella - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cinderella has always been one of my favourite fairytales. I also knew of it grim and dark fate of the stepsisters but what I hadn’t realised was Cinderella’s father was alive and he witnessed how his wife and stepdaughters mistreated her so poorly! I am now glad that when they tell this story, the father is absent, because I do not want to read a story where the father does nothing
Still love how special this tale is

Little Snow White - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow! Snow White is 7 years old! I never thought she was a child! Can you imagine a child with 7 grown men 😱
This was definitely a lot similar and yet so different to what I imagined Snow White to be, but really enjoyed it too.

Snow White and Rose Red - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I very much enjoyed this tale. It’s the same as the Snow White that we know but this talks about the tale of two sisters who are very close and did everything together. I liked how the story focuses on their character and personalities rather than their beauty or about the “bad guys’ motives”. One of my favourites so far.

Hansel and Grethel - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was also a very good story, I liked how the father still cared for his children even though the stepmother didn’t. Unlike Cinderella’s father
Interesting throughout and a satisfying ending

06/05/2020
Rapunzel - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Interesting the ending of this story, very different but still a happy ending.

Briar-Rose - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Similar story to what we know, very fairytale like with a happy ending. Quite enjoyed it.

Sweetheart Roland - ⭐️⭐️
Hmm, don't really like this one much, it's like cheating and betrayal. Not my thing.

[آية · Rating 3 out of 5]

نوستالجيا الطفولة متمثلة في هذا الكتاب الجميل.

الحواديت هنا لم يؤلفها الأخوان جريم، بل جابا ألمانيا لجمع القصص الشعبية، كثير من القصص اللي جمعوها تحولت فيما بعد لأفلام لديزني، أو قصص مصورة للأطفال سواء مطبوعة أو كرتون.

بعضهم مألوف جدا وكلنا على الأغلب يعرفه، سندريلا، سنووايت، ذات الرداء الأحمر، هانسل وجريتل ..

في قناة على اليوتيوب اسمها Hungarian folk tales بتحكي قصص شعبية من المجر على هيئة رسوم متحركة، لسبب ما تذكرتها وأنا بقرأ.

تعليقات:

أخوات سندريلا بيقطعوا صوابعهم، وجزء من كعبهم عشان يعرفوا يدخلوا جوا الجزمة!!
أنا سعيدة إن ديزني اقتطعت الجزء دا واستبدلته بمحاولتهم لحشر رجلهم بالعافية وإلا كان طاردني طول طفولتي.

في قصص دموية أكثر من اللازم، بالذات في نقطة كيف يلقى الأشرار جزاءهم، ودائما وأبدا ما يلقى الأشرار جزاءهم.

بعض القصص بدت متشابهة جدا لدرجة انك تحس انها نفس القصة بس محكية من شخصين مختلفين.

في كذا ثيم بيتكرر بشكل غريب:
كذا قصة فيها مرات أب، ودايما مرات الأب شريرة
مرات الأب الشررة عندها بنت قبيحة وشريرة بردو هي كمان.
ودايما البنت الأصلية مش بس جميلة هي كمان طيبة القلب وبتحب الخير للناس، وكأن مش ممكن تبقى مش جميلة بس طيبة أو العكس 😀

القصص نفسها ممتعة، وكثير منها أجبرني على الابتسام وربما الضحك أحيانا، رغم إني كنت بقرأها في وقت أنا متضايقة فيه جدا.

وإن كانت لا تخلو من حكم الأطفال حيث "خيرا تفعل خيرا تلقى، شرا تفعل شرا تلقى" بس هي بالأخير قصص أطفال يعني، واحنا بنقبل العالم بقواعده.

أخيرا، ترجمة منى الخميسي، نسخة مكتبة الأسرة أكثر من عظيمة. 😀

[aljouharah altheeyb · Rating 3 out of 5]

قصص شعبية من الأخوان قريم عبارة عن مجموعة من القصص حوالي 62 قصة شعبيه تتحدث عن الأمراء والأميرات والصيادين والحطابين والفقراء ومغامرات الحيوانات المتكلمة والأقزام والعمالقة.
معظم هذه القصص تم تجسيدها في المسلسل الكرتوني "حكايات عالمية".
من خلال هذه القصص بإمكانك ان تغهم نفسية الإنسان في تلك الحقبة الزمنية، كيف كانو يعيشون وماهية الأخلاق والقيم التي تٌنشر بشكل واع و غير واع من خلال هذه القصص المتداولة شفهياً من قاص لآخر وأم لأبنائها.
فنتعلم دوماً ان بالتواضع ربح عظيم حتى بعد مرور عشرات السنوات، وكيف أن المسامحة وتقبل ظلم الغير بلا تأفف وتجهم يثمر بسعادة عظيمة وغالبا زواج ناجح!
كما أن قبول أوامر الآباء بلا نقاش جيدة كانت أو حتى قاسيه تقود دوما إلى ثروات عظيمة وسعادة عجيبه.
أيضا هنالك درس يتكرر دوما، وهو أن الإنسان مربوط بدرجته الإجتماعية مهما حدث وحاول الهرب منها أو حتى تغييرها للأفضل أو للأسوأ. ما يذكرني بمقولة لسقراط تقول فيما معناها أن البشر ولدو بمنازلهم الإجتماعية ومن غير الطبيعي تغييرها، فالعبد عبد ولا ينجب إلا عبيد، والملك سلالته تحمل الملوك أبدا وهلم جرا.
بالمجمل هذه القصص تعيد للأذهان الكثير كن سعادة الطفولة وذكرياتها، وهي كتاب خفيف أوقات الأنتظار أو أثناء العمل!

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

En general he disfrutado de leer esta recopilación de cuentos, muchos de los más conocidos, mucho más bizarros que la versión que yo había leído de pequeña. Lo que menos me ha gustado ha sido la moralina y religión que hay en muchos de los cuentos , en algunos dudaba si leía un cuento infantil o el catecismo pero supongo que es por la época en que fueron escritos.

[Haven Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the stories are a bit grim (pun lol)...I'm looking at you, "The Robbers Daughter."
But a lot of them have good "moral of the story" moments at the end. And it was cool to see a lot of the original stories behind classic Disnesque tales we have today, like "Ashputtel," the Cinderella story (again, more grim than its Disney movie - namely the modern retelling leaves out the part where the one of the stepsisters cuts of her toe to try to fit in the slipper), or Snow White.

[Rubí Santander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Son cuentos lindos, que obviamente traen una enseñanza, pero algunos temas son repetitivos, hermanos malos vs hermanos buenos, etc. Aún así disfrutas de la lectura de estos cuentos clásicos que han inspirado muchas adaptaciones. ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

[tiago. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of us know many of the fairy tales that make up this book - Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty), Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel or Rapunzel are just a few that can be named. What nobody tells you is how repetitive these get: there are two tales of Snow White, a neverending amount of tales about three brothers (of which the youngest always fares best), a vast array of evil stepmothers and enchanted princes/princesses, among many other storylines that have been turned into clichés by the Grimms.

Although it does get a little bit repetitive by the end of the book, fairy tales like these have infiltrated our common imaginary to such an extent that you can't help but be charmed by these little folk tales, despite the violence and bloodiness and the questionable morals they transmit (please remember: if you are ugly and/or a stepmother, you are necessarily EVIL, PERIOD). My favorite tales, however, are the really absurd ones about dumb people, like Clever Gretel, Clever Hans or The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was.

A nice way to pass the time, but PLEASE, DO NOT read it to children. The real world is traumatizing enough as it is.

[سارة سمير · Rating 4 out of 5]

“He who helped you when you were in trouble ought not afterwards be despised by you”

كتاب الطفوله .. الذكريات الجميله .. وحواديت قبل النوم
من ريبانزيل لسنو وايت لسندريلا الالمانيه وهانزل وجريتل وحتي عقلة الاصبع

كتاب يحتوي علي 38 قصه قصيرة للأطفال
يبدأ بمقدمة صغيره لكل قصه علي هيئة ابيات صغيره جدا بها قافيه تشبه قافية جداتنا في الحواديت الشعبيه

وتنتهي بنفس النهايه من ابيات صغيره ايضا تقول :
كان ياما كان .... حدوتة زمان
حكاية يرويها .... الدهر والمكان
وأخرى يطويها .... العمر والنسيان
وهذه يحكيها .... جريم الأخوان
لك هنا والآن

تجربه جميلة طفولية خفيفة انتهت مع الاسف بمغامراتها البسيطه التي تحمل دروس مفيدة في كل قصه

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't find the edition I had so I went with one that was closest in date.

Why only 4 stars for the tails we all remember "fondly" from childhood? Think about it. These are "Grimm's" fairy tales and they certainly are "grim". Still there are tales we remember and love so...4. Their at least not as "grim" as Andersen's fairy tales!

[Obsidian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since Marisa Meyers bases her Lunar Chronicles books on the tale of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White I thought that I re-read these classic fairy tales so I am not in the dark so much about who some of the characters are supposed to be in the books.

My version has twenty-five fairy tales which are
The Goose-Girl
The Little Brother and Sister
Hansel and Gretel
Oh, If I Could But Shiver!
Dummling and the Three Feathers
Little Snow White
Catherine and Frederick
The Valiant Little Taylor
Little Red-Cap
The Golden Goose
Bearskin
Cinderella
Faithful John
The Water of Life
Thumbling
Briar Rose
The Six Swans
Rapunzel
Mother Holle
The Frog Prince
The Travels of Tom Thumb
Snow-White and Rose-Red
The Three Little Men in the Wood
Rumpelstilskin, and
Little-One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes

I recall watching most of these stories as a kid on Nickelodeon's Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics.

Opening Theme to Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics, my link text

They actually for the most part kept pretty faithful to the majority of the stories. My favorite of these cartoons was definitely "Bearskin" though, my link text

So I read all of these stories and for the purposes of this post I plan on just focusing on Little Snow White, Little Red-Cap, Cinderella, and Rapunzel.

Characters
I think my main comment for each of these stories are that many of these young women (except for Cinderella) do not seem that intelligent.

Snow White does not seem that bright. After being told repeatedly by the seven dwarfs to not open the door to anyone. There are two incidents that happen until The Queen finally in her mind does away with Snow White.

Little Red-Cap gets eaten up by the Wolf even though one wonders how great her eyesight was that she totally did not realize a Wolf was sitting in her Grandmother's bed.

Cinderella I was happy to see that actually is more close to the live-action Disney movie more than I thought since we get her mother telling her to be good and kind.

Rapunzel chose to marry a guy after he climbs her hair and she realizes he is handsome.....yeah.

Plot
The plot for Snow White is a young Princess trying to escape a Queen who is fixated on being the most beautiful in the land. One wonders why it is so important for the Queen to be deemed the fairest. Snow White escaping and living with the seven dwarfs does make one wonder how her taking care of seven dwarfs was better than going someplace else to hide away from the Queen. Snow White hides away from the Queen and is cautioned against going out and talking to anyone in case it is the Queen looking to harm her.

Little Red-Cap in the first half of the story is just on her way to her Grandmother's house and comes across the Wolf who decides to make a meal of her and her Grandmother. There really is not a lot of meat to this story at all. There is one version that is told and another shorter version that we hear about after the unhappy ending to the first version.

Cinderella is told by her dying mother to be a good girl and that she will watch her from heaven and watch over her. Unlike with the Disney version Cinderella's father does not die. Instead the guy lives and watches how his new wife and two stepdaughters treat his daughter. In my head that is actually worse, so at least if her father was not around you would hope that he would actually step in and stop having people treat his only daughter like a servant. Cinderella is so good and kind she plans a hazel tree and due to her tears it grows and a little bird comes and lives in it.

Rapunzel is taken away as a baby to live with an Enchantress after her father was caught stealing rampion from the Enchantress's garden to feed his pregnant wife. Apparently her father deemed it okay to give away his child to someone who was quite willing to murder him for stealing some herbs. In case you didn't notice it, I am not that fond of the parents in any of these fairy tales. Rapunzel grows up and is locked away in a tower when she is 12 years old. Two years later a passing Prince (why are Princes always passing through?) comes through and sees the Enchantress calling up to Rapunzel so he lies in wait and does the same thing.

Writing and Pacing
The writing for all of these stories is pretty simplistic. They are children's stories so it is written for them to read and understand. The pacing for all of them were pretty much straightforward since all of the stories, except for Cinderella were very short.

Setting
Honestly there is not much details to any of the settings. The stories are pretty short so you don't get a lot of detail about that.

Endings
I think you have to decide for yourself what constitutes a happy ending.

For Snow White she wakes up and finds out that a Prince has carried her off who tells her that he loves her more than anything in the world. She consents to be his wife. The Queen after hearing about a new-made Queen that is more beautiful goes to see her becomes ill with passion and becomes choked and dies afterwards. Could this be a potential spoiler to the Lunar Chronicles?

Little Red-Cap was quite grim actually. In version one she and her Grandmother are eaten and a passing huntsman shoots the wolf in the head and both Little Red-Cap and the Grandmother presumably die. I think that the Brothers Grimm realized that was not really a happy ending and had another version where the Wolf falls off the wolf into a trough and drowns.

Cinderella really does have the best ending. She has a magical tree that provides her with gowns and shoes for a ball and eventually after her stepsisters disfigure their feet goes off and lives with the Prince. You don't really hear about Cinderella's father or the stepmother so one imagines they did not live happily ever after.

Rapunzel also had a bleak story-line until the happily ever after. Rapunzel "marries" the Prince when according to the story-line she had to be about 14 years old. Rapunzel makes a not intelligent comment about how heavy the Enchantress is compared to the Prince's son. Due to that the Enchantress flies into a rage, cuts her hair, and leaves her in the desert. The Prince is blinded by thorns when he throws himself out of a tower window. After wandering the desert for years he finds Rapunzel again who heals his eyes with her tears. I I totally prefer Disney's Tangled.

All in all these were fast paced stories that I do have to wonder how appropriate some of them were for children. Most of them had stories about children being treated horribly by their parents or just ignored. Heck Hansel and Gretel had a father who didn't want to leave his kids to starve to death in the woods, but does so since he is henpecked by his second wife. He does feel bad though (eyeroll).

A lot of the stories barely resemble the Disney counterparts. For example, Briar Rose made me laugh since there is no dragon in this story. Instead the thirteenth fairy is just angry she was not invited and throws a curse that Briar Rose would die upon her fifteenth birthday. A twelfth fairy changes it so that everyone will fall asleep for 100 years. So a Prince passing through on the day of the 100th year is there at the right place and time for Briar Rose to wake up and they marry. That's it. No epic fight with a dragon.

[Samidha; समिधा · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today’s review is going to be a bit different, it is a review of a particular Publisher for the Grimm’s Fairy Tales, folklore and tales compiled by the Brothers Grimm in Germany around the 1800s. Having read the Pantheon version of the Grimm stories, I was already familiar that what Disney turned them into, was not the reality.
Maple Press was kind enough to send me a copy of the book, in exchange of an honest review. Last year, I wrote a huge research paper on Grimm’s Snow White, and Red Riding Hood explaining the latent meaning in both the “cautionary tales”. For that, I used the Pantheon edition which was more detailed and had a variety of foot notes and references. However, not everyone would want to review the stories one by one, or really get to the bottom of all the tales. For general reading I would highly suggest the Maple Press publication. It is not dense, and is very fluid in terms of translation and writing. I read sixteen stories out of the sixty two. They have the entire important, well know stories and then a few others . I chose the sixteen from across the index.

Briar Rose, Rapunzel, Snow White and Red Rose, are more known and hence not many pages have been devoted to introduce characters. They keep it precise, and easily readable so that the known stories don’t bore you.
There were rare punctuation errors, and the pages were light. The entire book is three hundred and fifty two pages long. The original compilation was much larger, however Maple Press has selected stories from the second edition as the stories are a bit happier, less sensual and more fantastical. The stories are handpicked, to fit this anthology, and not all of them are included, I believe.

This is perfect to gift young children, or even for teenagers to read because it really isn’t that hard to grasp. Plus the language and syntax is very direct, there are no fancy words, or dialogues like the middle ages. Would highly recommend to keep in your collection.

[Violet ✿]

I'm familiar with the Brothers Grimm, but this is the first time I've read their tales. And I am kind of shocked by the gravity of some of the stories in the audiobook.😳



Well, the kind received what was best for them: happy endings. The evil ones got very severe ones, which were very twisted. 

Most of it is all about royals. My favorite is A Riddling Tale. The observation skill came as a surprise to me.



The audiobook is so good, yet short. It has multiple amazing narrators! 😎

[Maya Yankulova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Тези приказки много ми харесаха!