The first story in this unit is called The Fisherman and His Wife. It is a classic tale of avarice and the dangers of greed. It is interesting to know that these stories are mainly for children, due to the infamous nature of the book, but luckily, despite the "Not Safe for Children" tag, this story was really not too bad. A fisherman finds a magical flounder which starts to grant his wishes, but as a lowly fisherman, he is content with the first small cottage that is given to him. His wife, however, is not happy with what she has and asks for progressively bigger things, becoming a noble, then a king, then emperor, then the Pope. Finally, she asks for the power over the sun and the moon, and her sorrowful husband goes to the fish and asks him one last time. The fish, now very tired of this little game decides to undo all of the wishes that he had granted before. Thus the couple ends up in a hovel again.
The next story is about a little girl named Aschenputtel ((aschen-ash, puttel-angel) ie. Cinderella). Pretty standard Cinderella story, except for the graphic violence in which the evil stepsisters cut off their own toes and heel to fit into the shoe. Reading that made my stomach churn as it detailed them cutting off body parts. Truly horrific and definitely not safe for children. Moral of the story is to find shoes that fit you well.
Next we have the story of "the Robber Bridegroom" which is a grisly tale of cannibalism and trust. A poor young woman is betrothed to a mysterious man, who insists that she visit him before their wedding. When she does, however, she finds a scary, dismal looking house with only an old woman in the basement. The old woman warns her that it is actually a group of murderous cannibals who live their and they are resolved to eat her. When they arrive, they bring another poor girl with them, who they inebriate and then stew up after cutting her into little pieces. After the two women escape, the bride-to-be is able to warn the village and they arrest the evil man.
Story Source: Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Lucy Crane with illustrations by Walter Crane
The next story is about a little girl named Aschenputtel ((aschen-ash, puttel-angel) ie. Cinderella). Pretty standard Cinderella story, except for the graphic violence in which the evil stepsisters cut off their own toes and heel to fit into the shoe. Reading that made my stomach churn as it detailed them cutting off body parts. Truly horrific and definitely not safe for children. Moral of the story is to find shoes that fit you well.
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| The path led her to an old and dismal looking home (Source) |
Story Source: Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Lucy Crane with illustrations by Walter Crane
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