Everyone has their favorite fairy tale from when they were younger whether it's "Cinderella," "Hansel and Gretel," or even "Rumpelstiltskin." The Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm, are known for their different take on our beloved stories. Many of their stories do not end "happily ever after." In fact they are slightly gruesome some may even be disturbing. Generally they are not the stories you would tell the children at bedtime for the nightmares they may have.
The most popular fairy tale is that of Cinderella. We know how the story ends; she finds her prince, he falls madly in love with her, and they get married. The Disney-like version ends with just that, but the Brothers Grimm's version ends in a more different way. Their's includes limbs being cut off and eyes being gouged out. Image that being in your child's head just before bed.
Did you know that Rumpelstiltskin grew so mad that he split in two? Or that the princess threw the frog prince against the wall before her kiss transformed him? How about that Rapunzel's prince got his eyes poked out by thorns? One of their biggest themes is people losing their eyesight in one way or another.
These are the kind of stories told to children since the beginning of time. Parents would tell their kids these stories and they enjoyed them. If I had heard them, I would have had nightmares instead of pleasant dreams. Over the centuries the stories have been re-told and made more pleasant for children to accept. The stories we remember from childhood aren't the originals. The stories of the Grimm brothers are the originals. There are also several lesser known stories in their collection such as "Strong Hans" and "The Beam" among many others.
Some of the stories couldn't be retold in a happy manner like Hansel and Gretel. In the story we all remember the kids push the old witch into the stove and that's what they do in Grimm's fairy tales. In the story that was the only way of getting free. Some of their stories include riddles that make the story fun to read to find out the answer at the end of the story.
Jacob and Wilhelm's stories are not all gruesome and slightly disturbing. They also have stories that do end happily ever after or sad, but not where someone dies a horrible death. All together their collections include 211 stories ranging from half a page to 7 pages. If you're interested in the Brother's Grimm fairy tales check out amazon.com for the collection published by Doubleday press.
