Surely everyone knows the tales of the Brothers Grimm. Perhaps, many in their childhood parents told fascinating stories about the beautiful Snow White, the good-natured and cheerful Cinderella, the capricious princess and others. The grown children then themselves read fascinating tales of these authors. And those who didn’t really like spending time behind the book, necessarily watched animated films based on the works of legendary creators.
Who are the Brothers Grimm?
Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are famous German linguists. Throughout their lives, they worked on the creation of a German etymological dictionary. Unfortunately, they never had time to finish it. However, not because of this, they became so popular. Popular fairy tales glorified them. The Grimm brothers became famous during their lifetime. "Children's and home tales" with extreme speed were translated into different languages. The Russian version came out in the 60s of the 19th century. Today, their tales are read in almost 100 languages. The works of the Grimm brothers brought up many children from different countries. In our country, they gained wide popularity in the 30s of the last century due to retelling and processing of Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak, Evgeny Schwartz and Alexander Vvedensky.
What is the secret to the popularity of the Grimm brothers?
All tales have a unique and interesting plot, a happy ending, the victory of good over evil. Entertaining stories that have come out of their pen are very instructive, and most of them are devoted to kindness, courage, resourcefulness, courage, honor. In the tales of the Brothers Grimm, the main characters are people. But there are also stories in which the characters, birds, animals or insects become. Usually in such stories the negative traits of a person are ridiculed: greed, laziness, cowardice, envy, etc.
In the tales of the Brothers Grimm there are also elements of cruelty. So, for example, the murder by a brave tailor of robbers, the requirement of the stepmother to bring her the internal organs (liver and lung) of Snow White, the severe re-education of his wife by King Drozdoborod. But do not confuse elements of cruelty with pronounced violence, which is not here. But the frightening and terrible moments that are present in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm help children to realize the fears and subsequently overcome them, which serves as a kind of psychotherapy for the child.
Tales of the Brothers Grimm: List
The works of these authors are read not only by children. In many countries of the world fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are very popular. Their list is huge. We list only a few of them:
- Extraordinary musician.
- The brave tailor.
- About the fisherman and his wife.
- Madam Blizzard.
- Golden bird.
- Poor man and rich man.
- Ungrateful son.
- Belyanochka and Rosette.
- Hare and hedgehog.
- Golden Key.
- Queen of the bees.
- Friendship cats and mice.
- Good trade.
- Bell.
- Straw, charcoal and bean.
- White Snake.
- About the mouse, bird and grilled sausage.
- The singing bone.
- Louse and flea.
- Outlandish bird.
- Six swans.
- Cat, hat and horn.
- Golden goose.
- Wolf and fox.
- Gosyatnitsa.
- Korolek and the bear
The best tales of the Brothers Grimm
These include:
- Wolf and seven little kids.
- Twelve brothers.
- Brother and sister.
- Hansel and Gretel.
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- Bremen street musicians.
- Clever Elsa.
- Finger boy.
- King Thrushbeard.
- Sweet porridge.
- Hans is my hedgehog.
- One-eyed, two-eyed and three-eyed.
- Mermaid.
In fairness, it is worth noting that this list is far from the last resort, since the preferences of different people can radically differ from each other.
Annotations to some tales of the Brothers Grimm
- "Hans is my hedgehog." A fairy tale was written in 1815. Tells about an extraordinary boy and his difficult fate. Outwardly, he resembled a hedgehog, but only with soft needles. He was not like even his own father.
- Rumpelshtichtsen. It tells about a dwarf with the ability to spin gold from straw.
- "Rapunzel". The tale of a beautiful girl with chic long hair. She was imprisoned in a tall tower by an evil sorceress.
- "A table - yourself - cover yourself, a golden donkey and a baton from a bag." A tale of the breathtaking adventures of three brothers, each of whom possessed a magical item.
- "The Tale of the Tsar the Frog or Iron Heinrich." The story of the ungrateful queen, who did not appreciate the act of the frog, who pulled out her beloved golden ball. The little frog turned into a beautiful prince.
Description of the best tales of Jacob and William
- "Brother and sister." After the stepmother appears in the house, children have a hard time. Therefore, they decide to leave. On their way there are a lot of obstacles that they need to overcome. Complicates all the witch-stepmother, who bewitches the sources. Having drunk water from them, you can turn into wild animals.
- "The Brave Tailor." The hero of the tale is a brave tailor. Saturated with a calm and boring life, he goes to perform feats. On the way, he encounters giants and a vile king.
- "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". It tells about the delightful daughter of the king, who was gladly received by the seven dwarfs, saving and protecting her from the evil stepmother, who owns a magic mirror.
- "King Thrushbeard." The tale of a city and a beautiful princess who did not want to get married. She rejected all her potential suitors, taunting their real and invented flaws. As a result, her father gives her away as the first person she meets.
- "Madame Blizzard." It can be attributed to the category "New Year's tales of the Brothers Grimm." It tells about a widow who had a daughter and a foster. The stepdaughter had a tight fit with her stepmother. But the sudden accident, in which the unfortunate girl dropped a spool of thread into the well, put everything in its place.
Fairy Tale Categories
It is conditionally possible to distribute the tales of the Brothers Grimm into the following categories.
- Tales of beautiful girls who are constantly spoiled by the life of evil sorceresses, witches and stepmothers. A similar storyline is imbued with many works of brothers.
- Tales in which people turn into animals, and vice versa.
- Tales in which various objects are animated.
- Tales whose heroes are people and their actions.
- Tales whose characters become animals, birds or insects. They make fun of negative traits and praise the positive traits and inherent virtues.
The events of all fairy tales occur at different times of the year without focusing on it. Therefore, it is impossible to distinguish, for example, the spring tales of the Brothers Grimm. Like, say, A.N. Ostrovsky’s “Snow Maiden”, which is accompanied by the name “spring tale in four acts”.
Witch Hunters or Hansel and Gretel?
The last movie based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale is Witch Hunters. The film premiered on January 17, 2013.
In a concise form, the tale "Hansel and Gretel" is set out at the beginning of the film. For unknown reasons, the father leaves his son and daughter at night in the forest. In desperation, the children go where their eyes look, and come across a bright and tasty house made of sweets. The witch who lured them into this house wants to eat them, but the savvy Hansel and Gretel send her to the oven.
Further events unfold according to the plan of the director himself. Many years later, Hansel and Gretel begin to hunt for witches, which becomes the meaning of their life and a way to make good money. By fate, they find themselves in a small town teeming with sorcerers who steal children to perform their rituals. Heroically they save the whole city.
As you can see, the director Tommy Virkola shot in a laconic form the tale of the Brothers Grimm, adding to it his own continuation in a new way.
Conclusion
Tales are necessary for all children, without exception. They are able to expand their horizons, develop imagination and creative imagination, educate certain character traits. Be sure to read to your children the tales of various authors, including the Grimm brothers.
Only when choosing works do not forget to pay attention to their publication. After all, there are such publications in which episodes are missing or added. This is often ignored in the notes. And this is not a small nuance, but a significant flaw that can distort the meaning of a fairy tale.
It will also be excellent if you find time to talk about the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm or, in your free time, play the most beloved of them.