Information sheet:
The exciting fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm stand apart in the world of fairy tales. Their content is so fascinating that it will not leave any child indifferent.
Where did your favorite fairy tales come from?
They came from German lands. Folk tales collected and processed by language and folklore experts - siblings. After several years of recording the best oral tales, the authors were able to improve them so interestingly and beautifully that today we perceive these tales as written directly by them.
The heroes of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are kinder and better than they were in oral folk art, and this is the wonderful meaning of the work that learned linguists have done. In each work they put the idea of the unconditional victory of good over evil, the superiority of courage and love of life, which is what all stories teach.
How they were published
A man whom the brothers considered a friend tried to steal the fairy tales, but did not have time. In 1812, collectors were able to carry out their first publication. The works were not immediately recognized as children's works. But after professional editing, they were distributed throughout the country in large numbers. Over 20 years, it was reprinted 7 times. The list of works increased. Fairy tales from the simple category folk art turned into a new literary genre.
The Brothers Grimm made a genuine breakthrough, which was appreciated throughout the world. Today their work is included in the international list of the great heritage of the past created by UNESCO.
What is modern about the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm?
Adults remember the names of many fairy tales from childhood. Because the works of the Brothers Grimm, with their magical storytelling style, variety of plots, preaching love of life and perseverance in any life situations delight and attract extraordinarily.
And today we read them with pleasure with our children, remembering which fairy tales we liked best, comparing with interest with those that are popular today.
In 1812, a collection of fairy tales entitled “Children's and Family Tales” was published.
These were fairy tales collected in German lands and literary processed by the brothers Jacob And Wilhelm Grimms. Later the collection was renamed, and to this day it is known as “Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.”
Authors
Jacob Grimm (1785-1863)
Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859)
The Brothers Grimm were men of rich erudition who had wide circle interests. It is enough just to list the types of their activities to be convinced of this. They studied jurisprudence, lexicography, anthropology, linguistics, philology, mythology; worked as librarians, taught at the university, and also wrote poetry and works for children.
Wilhelm Grimm's office
The brothers were born into the family of the famous lawyer Philipp Grimm in Hanau (Hesse). Wilhelm was 13 months younger than Jacob and in poor health. When the eldest of the brothers was 11 years old, their father died, leaving almost no funds. Their mother's sister took the boys into her care and promoted their education. In total, Philip Grimm’s family had 5 sons and a daughter, of which Ludwig Emil Grimm (1790-1863) – German artist and engraver.
Ludwig Emil Grimm. Self-portrait
The brothers were members of the circle of Heidelberg romantics, whose goal was to revive interest in folk culture Germany and its folklore. Heidelberg School of Romanticism oriented artists towards the national past, mythology, and deep religious feeling. Representatives of the school turned to folklore as the “true language” of the people, contributing to their unification.
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm left a famous collection of German fairy tales. Main work the lives of the Brothers Grimm - “German Dictionary”. In fact, this is a comparative historical dictionary of all Germanic languages. But the authors managed to bring it only to the letter “F”, and the dictionary was completed only in the 1970s.
Jacob Grimm gives a lecture in Göttingham (1830). Sketch of Ludwig Emil Grimm
In total, during the writers’ lifetime, the collection of fairy tales went through 7 editions (the last one in 1857). This edition contained 210 fairy tales and legends. All issues were illustrated first by Philipp Grote-Johann and, after his death, by Robert Leinweber.
But the first editions of fairy tales were subject to strong criticism. They were judged to be unsuitable for children's reading both in content and because of academic information inserts.
Then, in 1825, the Brothers Grimm published the collection Kleine Ausgabe, which included 50 fairy tales that were carefully edited for young readers. The illustrations (7 copper engravings) were created by brother-painter Ludwig Emil Grimm. This children's version of the book went through ten editions between 1825 and 1858.
Preparatory work
Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm began collecting fairy tales in 1807. In search of fairy tales, they traveled through Hesse (in the center of Germany) and then through Westphalia (a historical region in northwestern Germany). The storytellers of fairy tales were the most different people: shepherds, peasants, artisans, innkeepers, etc.
Ludwig Emil Grimm. Portrait of Dorothea Fiemann, folk storyteller, from whose stories the Brothers Grimm wrote down more than 70 fairy tales
According to the words of the peasant woman Dorothea Fimann (1755-1815), the daughter of an innkeeper from the village of Zweren (near Kassel), 21 tales were recorded for the second volume and numerous additions. She was the mother of six children. She owns the fairy tales “The Goose Girl”, “The Lazy Spinner”, “The Devil and His Grandmother”, “Doctor Know-It-All”.
Fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood"
Many tales in the collection are common themes from European folklore and are therefore included in the collections of various writers. For example, the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood”. It was literary adapted by Charles Perrault and later recorded by the Brothers Grimm. The story of a girl deceived by a wolf has been common in France and Italy since the Middle Ages. In the Alpine foothills and Tyrol, the fairy tale has been known since the 14th century. and was especially popular.
In fairy tales various countries and localities, the contents of the basket varied: in northern Italy, a granddaughter brought fresh fish to her grandmother, in Switzerland - a head of young cheese, in the south of France - a pie and a pot of butter, etc. In Charles Perrault's work, the wolf eats Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. The tale concludes with a moral instructing girls to be wary of seducers.
Illustration for the German version of the fairy tale
Among the Brothers Grimm, woodcutters passing by, hearing the noise, kill the wolf, cut its belly and save the grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood. The Brothers Grimm also has a moral to the tale, but it is of a different kind: it is a warning to naughty children: “Well, now I will never run away from the main road in the forest, I will no longer disobey my mother’s orders.”
In Russia there is a version of P. N. Polevoy - full translation version of the Brothers Grimm, but the retelling by I. S. Turgenev (1866), in which the motive of violating the ban and some details of the descriptions, was removed, became more widespread.
The meaning of "Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm"
Ludwig Emil Grimm. Portrait of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (1843)
The influence of the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales was enormous; from the very first edition they won the love of readers, despite criticism. Their work inspired them to collect fairy tales and writers from other countries: in Russia it was Alexander Nikolaevich Afanasyev, in Norway - Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jorgen Moo, in England - Joseph Jacobs.
V. A. Zhukovsky in 1826 he translated two fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm into Russian for the magazine “Children's Interlocutor” (“Dear Roland and the Clear Flower Maiden” and “The Briar Princess”).
The influence of the plots of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales can be traced in three fairy tales by A. S. Pushkin: “The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights” (“Snow White” by the Brothers Grimm), “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” (the tale “About the Fisherman and His Wife” by the brothers Grimm) and “The Groom” (the fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm “The Robber Bridegroom”).
Franz Hüttner. Illustration “The Stepmother and the Poisoned Apple” (from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “Snow White”)
Brothers Grimm's fairy tale "About a Fisherman and His Wife"
One fisherman lives with his wife Ilsebil in a poor shack. One day he catches a flounder in the sea, which turns out to be an enchanted prince; she asks to be released into the sea, which the fisherman does.
Ilzebil asks her husband if he asked for anything in exchange for the fish's freedom, and makes him summon the flounder again to wish for a better home. The magic fish grants this wish.
Soon Ilsebil again sends her husband to demand a stone castle from the flounder, then wants to become a queen, a kaiser (emperor) and a pope. With each fisherman's request for flounder, the sea becomes increasingly gloomy and stormy.
The fish fulfills all her wishes, but when Ilsebil wants to become the Lord God, the flounder returns everything to its previous state - to a miserable shack.
The tale was written down by the Brothers Grimm in the dialect of Vorpommern (a historical region in the south of the Baltic Sea, located in different eras as part of various states) based on the tale of Philip Otto Runge (German romantic artist).
Apparently, in ancient times, the flounder had the functions of a sea deity in Pomerania, so the fairy tale is an echo of mythology. The moral of the tale is presented in the form of a parable: gluttony and excessive demands are punished by the loss of everything.
Illustration by Anna Anderson “Fisherman Talks to Flounder”
The collection “Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm” also includes legends.
Legend- a written legend about any historical events or personalities. Legends explain the origin of natural and cultural phenomena and give their moral assessment. In a broad sense, a legend is an unreliable narrative about the facts of reality.
For example, the legend “Glass of the Mother of God” is the only work from the collection that has never been published in Russian.
Legend “The Glasses of Our Lady”
This legend is included in the second German edition of the book of fairy tales from 1819 as a children's legend. According to a note by the Brothers Grimm, it is recorded from the Westphalian family of Haxthausen from Paderborn (a city in Germany located in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia).
Contents of the legend. One day the cab driver got stuck on the road. There was wine in his cart. Despite all his efforts, he could not move the cart.
At this time, the Mother of God passed by. Seeing the poor man’s futile attempts, she turned to him with the words: “I’m tired and thirsty, pour me a glass of wine, and then I’ll help free your cart.” The driver readily agreed, but he did not have a glass to pour wine into. Then the Mother of God picked a white flower with pink stripes (field bindweed), which looked a little like a glass, and gave it to the cab driver. He filled the flower with wine. The Mother of God took a sip - and at that same moment the cart was freed. The poor man moved on.
Convolvulus flower
Since then, these flowers have been called “the glasses of the Mother of God.”
Our page contains all the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm list - This full meeting all works. This list included fairy tales Brothers Grimm, fairy tales about animals, new fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm. The world of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm is amazing and magical, filled with a plot of good and evil. The best fairy tales The Brothers Grimm can be read on the pages of our website. Reading fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm online is very exciting and comfortable.
Fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm list
- (Der Froschk?nig oder der eiserne Heinrich)
- (Katze und Maus in Gesellschaft)
- Child of Mary (Marienkind)
- The Tale of the One Who Went to Learn from Fear (M?rchen von einem, der auszog das F?rchten zu lernen)
- The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats (Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Gei?lein)
- Faithful Johannes (Der treue Johannes)
- Successful trade / Profitable business (Der gute Handel)
- The Extraordinary Musician / The Eccentric Musician (Der wunderliche Spielmann)
- Twelve Brothers (Die zw?lf Br?der)
- The Ragged Rabble (Das Lumpengesindel)
- Brother and Sister (Br?derchen und Schwesterchen)
- Rapunzel (Bell)
- Three men in the forest / Three little forest men (Die drei M?nnlein im Walde)
- Three spinners (Die drei Spinnerinnen)
- Hansel and Gretel
- Three snake leaves (Die drei Schlangenbl?tter)
- White snake (Die weisse Schlange)
- Straw, coal and bean (Strohhalm, Kohle und Bohne)
- About a fisherman and his wife (Vom Fischer und seiner Frau)
- The Brave Little Tailor (Das tapfere Schneiderlein)
- Cinderella (Aschenputtel)
- Riddle (Das R?tsel)
- About the mouse, the bird and the fried sausage (Von dem M?uschen, V?gelchen und der Bratwurst)
- Mrs. Blizzard (Frau Holle)
- The Seven Ravens (Die sieben Raben)
- Little Red Riding Hood (Rotk?ppchen)
- The Bremen Town Musicians(Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten)
- The Singing Bone (Der singende Knochen)
- The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs (Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren)
- Louse and flea beetle (L?uschen und Fl?hchen)
- The Girl Without Arms (Das M?dchen ohne H?nde)
- Intelligent Hans / Clever Hans (Der gescheite Hans)
- Three languages (Die drei Sprachen)
- Smart Elsa (Die kluge Else)
- The Tailor in Paradise (Der Schneider im Himmel)
- Set yourself a table, a golden donkey and a club from a sack (Tischchen deck dich, Goldesel und Kn?ppel aus dem Sack)
- Thumb Boy (Daumesdick)
- The Wedding of the Lady Fox (Die Hochzeit der Frau F?chsin)
- Brownies (Die Wichtelm?nner)
- The Robber Groom (Der Rüberbrüutigam)
- Mr. Korbes
- Mr Godfather (Der Herr Gevatter)
- Mrs. Trude / Frau Trude
- Death of the godfather / Death in the godfathers (Der Gevatter Tod)
- Thumb Boy's Journey (Daumerlings Wanderschaft)
- Strange Bird (Fitchers Vogel)
- About the Enchanted Tree (Von dem Machandelboom)
- Old Sultan (Der alte Sultan)
- Six swans (Die sechs Schw?ne)
- Briar Rose / Sleeping Beauty (Dornr?schen)
- Foundling / Foundbird (Fundevogel)
- King Thrushbeard (K?nig Drosselbart)
- Snow Maiden / Snow White (Schneewittchen)
- Knapsack, hat and horn (Der Ranzen, das H?tlein und das H?rnlein)
- Junk (Rumpelstilzchen)
- Dear Roland (Der liebste Roland)
- Golden Bird (Der goldene Vogel)
- The Dog and the Sparrow / The Dog and the Sparrow (Der Hund und der Sperling)
- Frieder and Katherlieschen
- Two Brothers (Die zwei Br?der)
- Little Man (Das B?rle)
- Queen Bee / Queen Bee (Die Bienenk?nigin)
- Three feathers (Die drei Federn)
- Golden Goose (Die goldene Gans)
- Speckled Pelt (Allerleirauh)
- The Bunny's Bride / The Hare's Bride (H?sichenbraut)
- Twelve Hunters (Die zw?lf J?ger)
- The Thief and His Teacher (De Gaudeif un sien Meester)
- Jorinde and Joringel
- Three lucky ones / Three lucky ones
- Six of us will go around the whole world / Six of us, we will go around the whole world (Sechse kommen durch die ganze Welt)
- The Wolf and the Man (Der Wolf und der Mensch)
- The Wolf and the Fox (Der Wolf und der Fuchs)
- The Fox and the Lady Godmother (Der Fuchs und die Frau Gevatterin)
- The Fox and the Cat (Der Fuchs und die Katze)
- Carnation (Die Nelke)
- Resourceful Gretel (Die kluge Gretel)
- Old grandfather and granddaughter (Der alte Gro?vater und der Enkel)
- The Little Mermaid / Ondine (Die Wassernixe)
- About the death of a chicken (Von dem Tode des H?hnchens)
- Brother Veselchak (Bruder Lustig)
- Hansl the Player (De Spielhansl)
- Lucky Hans (Hans im Gl?ck)
- Hans gets married (Hans heiratet)
- Golden Children (Die Goldkinder)
- The Fox and the Geese (Der Fuchs und die G?nse)
- The poor man and the rich man (Der Arme und der Reiche)
- The whining and leaping lion lark (Das singende springende L?weneckerchen)
- Goose house (Die G?nsemagd)
- The Young Giant (Der junge Riese)
- Underground Man (Dat Erdm?nneken)
- The King from the Golden Mountain (Der K?nig vom goldenen Berg)
- Crow (Die Rabe)
- The Clever Daughter of a Peasant (Die kluge Bauerntochter)
- Three birds (De drei V?gelkens)
- Living Water (Das Wasser des Lebens)
- Doctor Allwissend
- The Spirit in a Bottle (Der Geist im Glas)
- The devil's grimy brother (Des Teufels ru?iger Bruder)
- The Bugbear (Der B?renh?uter)
- The Kinglet and the Bear (Der Zaunk?nig und der B?r)
- Smart people (Die klugen Leute)
- Tales of already / M?rchen von der Unke (M?rchen von der Unke)
- The poor farmhand at the mill and the cat (Der arme M?llersbursch und das K?tzchen)
- Two Wanderers (Die beiden Wanderer)
- Hans is my hedgehog (Hans mein Igel)
- Small Shroud (Das Totenhemdchen)
- The Jew in the Thorn Bush (Der Jude im Dorn)
- The learned huntsman (Der gelernte J?ger)
- The Flail from Heaven / The Flail from Heaven (Der Dreschflegel vom Himmel)
- Two Royal Children (De beiden K?nigeskinner)
- About the resourceful little tailor (Vom klugen Schneiderlein)
- The clear sun will reveal the whole truth (Die klare Sonne bringt’s an den Tag)
- Blue candle (Das blaue Licht)
- Three paramedics (Die drei Feldscherer)
- The Seven Brave Men (Die sieben Schwaben)
- Three apprentices (Die drei Handwerksburschen)
- The king's son, who was not afraid of anything (Der K?nigssohn, der sich vor nichts f?rchtete)
- Were-Donkey (Der Krautesel)
- The Old Lady in the Forest (Die Alte im Wald)
- Three Brothers (Die drei Br?der)
- The Devil and His Grandmother (Der Teufel und seine Gro?mutter)
- Ferenand the Faithful and Ferenand the Unfaithful (Ferenand getr? und Ferenand ungetr?)
- Iron stove (Der Eisenofen)
- The lazy spinner (Die faule spinnerin)
- The Four Skillful Brothers (Die vier kunstreichen Br?der)
- One-Eyed, Two-Eyed and Three-Eyed (Ein?uglein, Zwei?uglein und Drei?uglein)
- Beautiful Katrinel and Nif-Nasr-Podtri (Die sch?ne Katrinelje und Pif Paf Poltrie)
- The Fox and the Horse (Der Fuchs und das Pferd)
- Shoes trampled in dancing (Die zertanzten Schuhe)
- Six Servants (Die sechs Diener)
- White and black brides (Die wei?e und die schwarze Braut)
- Iron Hans (Der Eisenhans)
- Three Black Princesses (De drei schwatten Prinzessinnen)
- Lamb and Fish (Das L?mmchen und Fischchen)
- Mount Simeliberg
- On the way (Up Reisen gohn)
- Donkey (Das Eselein)
- The Ungrateful Son (Der undankbare Sohn)
- Turnip (Die R?be)
- The Newly Forged Man (Das junggegl?hte M?nnlein)
- The Rooster Log (Der Hahnenbalken)
- The Old Beggar Woman
- Three Lazy Men (Die drei Faulen)
- The Twelve Lazy Servants (Die zw?lf faulen Knechte)
- The Shepherd Boy (Das Hirtenb?blein)
- Thaler stars (Die Sterntaler)
- The Hidden Heller (Der gestohlene Heller)
- Bride (Die Brautschau)
- Garbage (Die Schlickerlinge)
- Sparrow and his four children (Der Sperling und seine vier Kinder)
- The Tale of an Unprecedented Land (Das M?rchen vom Schlaraffenland)
- Dietmar's fairy tale (Das dietmarsische L?genm?rchen)
- Tale-riddle (R?tselm?rchen)
- Snow White and Little Red (Schneewei?chen und Rosenrot)
- The Clever Servant (Der kluge Knecht)
- Glass coffin (Der gl?serne Sarg)
- Lazy Heinz (Der faule Heinz)
- Bird vulture (Der Vogel Greif)
- Mighty Hans (Der starke Hans)
- Skinny Lisa (Die hagere Liese)
- Forest House (Das Waldhaus)
- Joy and sorrow in half (Lieb und Leid teilen)
- Kinglet (Der Zaunk?nig)
- Flounder (Die Scholle)
- Bittern and Hoopoe (Rohrdommel und Wiedehopf)
- Owl (Die Eule)
- Lifetime (Die Lebenszeit)
- Harbingers of Death (Die Boten des Todes)
- Goose house at the well (Die G?nsehirtin am Brunnen)
- The Unequal Children of Eve (Die ungleichen Kinder Evas)
- The Mermaid in the Pond (Die Nixe im Teich)
- Gifts from Little People (Die Geschenke des kleinen Volkes)
- The Giant and the Tailor (Der Riese und der Schneider)
- Nail (Der Nagel)
- The poor boy in the grave (Der arme Junge im Grab)
- The Real Bride (Die wahre Braut)
- The Hare and the Hedgehog (Der Hase und der Igel)
- Spindle, weaving shuttle and needle (Spindel, Weberschiffchen und Nadel)
- The Man and the Devil (Der Bauer und der Teufel)
- Guinea pig (Das Meerh?schen)
- The Master Thief (Der Meisterdieb)
- Drummer (Der Trommler)
- Ear of bread (Die Korn?hre)
- Grave Hill (Der Grabh?gel)
- Old Rinkrank
- Crystal ball (Die Kristallkugel)
- Maid Maleen (Jungfrau Maleen)
- Buffalo Boot (Der Stiefel von B?ffelleder)
- The Golden Key (Der goldene Schl?ssel)
The Brothers Grimm were born into the family of an official in the city of Hanau (Hanau). Their father was first a lawyer in Hanau, and then dealt with legal issues for the Prince of Hanau. The elder brother, Jacob Grimm (01/04/1785 - 09/20/1863), was born on January 4, 1785, and the younger brother - Wilhelm Grimm (02/24/1786 - 12/16/1859) - on February 24, 1786. As linguists, they were one of the founders of scientific German studies and compiled the etymological “German Dictionary” (in fact, all-German). The publication of the German Dictionary, which began in 1852, was completed only in 1961, but has since been regularly revised.
From the early childhood The Brothers Grimm were united by a friendship that lasted to the grave. After the death of their father, in 1796, they had to go into the care of their maternal aunt and only thanks to her, they graduated educational institution. Perhaps it was precisely being left without parents early that rallied them into fraternal bonds for the rest of their lives.
The Brothers Grimm were always distinguished by their desire to study, they even entered the University of Marburg to study law, following the example of their father. But fate decreed otherwise and she truly found her calling in the study of literature.
The most famous fairy tales Brothers Grimm's "The Town Musicians of Bremen", "The Little Thumb", "The Brave Tailor", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm list will provide you with a complete collection of all fairy tales. Each of us worried about the difficult fate of the boys, left alone in the forest, looking for their way home. And “smart Elsa” - all the girls wanted to be like her.
One evening a young drummer walked alone across a field. He approaches the lake and sees three pieces of white linen lying on the shore. “What a thin linen,” he said and put one piece in his pocket. He came home, forgot to think about his find and went to bed. But as soon as he fell asleep, it seemed to him as if someone was calling him by name. He began to listen and heard a quiet voice that said to him: “Drummer, wake up, drummer!” And the night was dark, he could not see anyone, but it seemed to him as if some figure was rushing in front of his bed, first rising up, then falling down.
What do you want? - he asked.
Once upon a time there lived a poor shepherd boy. His father and mother died, then his superiors sent him to the house of a rich man, so that he would feed and raise him. But the rich man and his wife had an evil heart, and with all their wealth they were very stingy and unkind to people and were always angry if anyone took advantage of even a piece of their bread. And no matter how hard the poor boy tried to work, they fed him little, but beat him a lot.
Once upon a time there lived an old miller at the mill; He had neither a wife nor children, and he had three servants. They stayed with him for several years, so he said to them one day:
I have already become old, I should now sit on the stove, and you go wander around the world; and whoever brings me home the best horse, I will give the mill to him, and he will feed me until I die.
The third worker was a filler at the mill, and they all considered him a fool and did not assign the mill to him; Yes, he himself didn’t want that at all. And all three of them left, and, approaching the village, they said to Hans the Fool:
In ancient times, when the Lord God was still walking the earth, it happened that one evening he was tired, night overtook him, and he had nowhere to spend the night. And there were two houses along the road, one opposite the other; There was one big and beautiful, and the other was small and unsightly in appearance. The big house belonged to the rich man, and the small one to the poor man. The Lord thought: “I won’t bother the rich man, I’ll spend the night with him.” The rich man heard them knocking on his door, opened the window and asked the stranger what he needed.
A long time ago there lived a king in the world, and he was famous throughout the entire earth for his wisdom. Everything was known to him, as if someone was sending him news about the most secret things through the air. But he had strange custom: every noon, when everything was cleared from the table and no one else remained, a reliable servant brought him another dish. But it was covered, and even the servant did not know what was on this dish; and not a single person knew about it, for the king opened the dish and began to eat only when he was completely alone.
It went on like this for a long time, but one day curiosity overcame the servant, he could not control himself and took the dish to his room. He closed the doors properly, lifted the lid from the dish, and saw a white snake lying there. He looked at her and could not resist trying her; he cut off a piece and put it in his mouth.
Once a woman with her daughter and stepdaughter went out into the field to cut grass, and the Lord God appeared to them in the form of a beggar and asked:
How can I get closer to the village?
“If you want to know the way,” the mother answered, “look for it yourself.”
And if you are worried that you won’t be able to find your way, then take a guide.
A poor widow lived alone in her hut, and in front of the hut she had a garden; There were two rose trees growing in that garden, and white roses were blooming on one, and scarlet ones on the other; and she had two children, similar to these pink trees, one was called Snow White, and the other was Scarlet Flower. They were so modest and kind, so hard-working and obedient, that there were never others like them in the world; only Snow White was even quieter and more gentle than Scarlet Flower. Alotsvetik jumped and ran more and more through the meadows and fields, picking flowers and catching butterflies; and Snow White - she mostly sat at home near her mother, helped her with the housework, and when there was no work, read something out loud to her. Both sisters loved each other so much that if they went somewhere, they always held hands, and if Snow White used to say: “We will always be together,” then Scarlet Flower would answer her: “Yes, while we are alive, we will never let’s part” - and the mother added: “Whatever one of you has, let him share it with the other.”
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful queen. One day she was sewing by the window, accidentally pricked her finger with a needle and a drop of blood fell on the snow lying on the windowsill.
The scarlet color of blood on the snow-white cover seemed so beautiful to her that the queen sighed and said:
Oh, how I would like to have a child with a face as white as snow, with lips as scarlet as blood and curls as black as pitch.
