More accurately, this book should carry the subtitle, "The Parallel Tales," for its true purpose lies in providing parallel stories.

The Loose-Leaf Fairy Tale Book II: Original (1812/1815) Stories Collected by the Brothers Grimm in Parallel Translation

Foreword

More accurately, this book should carry the subtitle, "The Parallel Tales," for its true purpose lies in providing parallel stories. When working with unknown or enigmatical images, C. G. Jung suggested collecting as many comparable contexts as possible in which a particular motif occurs. This approach—one he called amplification—provides a wider basis for appreciating the motif or image in question. Jung further likened amplification to a cryptographer's deciphering of hieroglyphic inscriptions by comparing them to other steles and tablets. Indeed, fairy tales and their elusive imagery often approximate hieroglyphics for our twenty-first century comprehension. The more tales with parallel themes from which we can draw, therefore, the greater the likelihood of our fully relating to any given story.

The Grimm Brothers, themselves, are the most immediate source of parallel stories for their tales. Rather, other versions of their stories are the most direct parallels. Here I mean the six editions of Kinder- und Hausmärchen, Gesammelt durch die Brüder Grimm (Children's and Household Tales, Collected by the Brothers Grimm) that preceded the brothers' final edition in 1857. The Grimms' most useful edition in this regard, however, the original Kinder- und Hausmärchen (KHM) from 1812/1815, had been unavailable to all except scholars until 1986 when Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht (Göttingen) published an enlarged, facsimile edition of those two volumes. Yet, even that edition is only in German. To the best of my knowledge, no systematic translation into English exists of the original one hundred and fifty-six tales, let alone of the even earlier (1810) forty-nine stories from the handwritten Ölenburg Manuscript. The present volume not only provides English translations of selected 1812/1815 stories, but provides them in side-by-side translations with their counterparts from the seventh and final (1857) edition.

Aside from different versions of the same tales, the Grimms furnish further parallels with stories from the 1812/1815 edition that they subsequently eliminated from the later editions. Of the eighteen stories in this volume, five of them were not carried over into the second edition (1819) and, therefore, do not appear here with parallel translations. With the exception of 33. "The Booted Tomcat"—best known under the title of "Puss in Boots"—these stories are all, themselves, parallels to other stories in this volume. The parallels are as follows:

62. "Bluebeard" — 46. "Fitcher's Bird;
71. "Princess Mouse-Hide" — 65. "All Kinds of Hide" (Allerlei-rauh);
75. "Bird Phoenix" — 29. "Concerning the Devil with Three Golden Hairs;"
82. "The Three Sisters" — 50. "Little Thornrose" (at least, according to the Grimms).

These omitted tales have been translated into English—with the exception of 75. "Bird Phoenix"—in Jack Zipes, The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, New York, 1987. As is the case with all translators, I must suppose, I prefer my renditions.

Finally, the Grimms furnish yet another source of parallel fairy tales by way of the appendix notes they included in the 1812/1815 edition for each story. Admittedly, many of their references are unobtainable for contemporary readers, consisting of collections that were contemporary—and earlier—when the Grimms were writing two hundred years ago. Parallel tales that are obtainable, like those by Charles Perrault or Ludwig Tieck's dramatic adaptations, are generally indicated. Nevertheless, the Grimms' notes frequently include useful parallel material such as summarized beginnings or endings or, even, complete stories. The appendix commentary for 24. "Frau Holla," for example, offers lengthy summaries of two other versions of that story. The same holds true for 53. "Little Snowwhite:" the Grimms' commentary and margin notes cover four, full pages.

Additionally, the Grimms' appendix and margin notes include their commentary on particular aspects of the stories. The appendix commentaries mention the lore surrounding the understanding of animal speech, for instance, for 17. "The White Snake" and the folk tradition concerning the "sleeping thorn" for 50. "Little Thornrose." The Grimms' margin notes to 62. "Bluebeard," offer some understanding of his bloodlust as well as of the origins of the name, itself. Again, to the best of my knowledge, these appendix and margin notes have never been systematically translated into English.

Where relevant, I include translated references from Ulrike Marquardt and Heinz Rölleke's, Kinder- und Hausmärchen, Gesammelt durch die Brüder Grimm, Transkriptionen und Kommentare (Göttingen, 1986/1996), the signal resource for the 1812/1815 edition.

Since so much has been made of the alterations the Grimms made to their tales, I must utter a word of warning. The changes from one version to another of these tales are anything but the stuff of sensationalism, despite all the ink that has been spilled on the subject. The few occasional and glaring examples of bowdlerizing have already been documented. Rapunzel's comment to Frau Gothel that her clothes have become too tight as a result of the king's son's visits, comes to mind. Those interested in "Grimm bashing," in other words, will find little or no material here for their misbegotten crusade. They would do better to question entitling perfectly fine German fairy tales such as "Ashpuddle" or "Thornrose" with the titles of equally fine French tales, "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty," respectively.

Actually, the changes the Grimms did make were frequently minimal and of little significance, consisting solely of, perhaps, an increase in dialogue or a shift from indirect to direct speech. The two versions of 26. "Little Red Cap" ("Little Red Ridinghood") are practically identical, as are those of 24. "Frau Holla." Many tales have been further elaborated, with motivation and detail added to create a more rounded narrative. 75. "Bird Phoenix" stands as an example of a fairy tale for which the Grimms made no such changes and leaves the reader rather scratching his or her head in consequence. The differences between the two versions of 55. "Rumplestiltskin," on the other hand, reveal the Grimms' storytelling abilities at their finest. At times, the brothers shortened and tightened the tales. Personally, however, I much prefer the more rambling and less structured original version of 21. "Ashpuddle" to its later revision. Occasionally, the alterations are stunning as in 64/III. "The Three Feathers." In the 1812/1815 version, Dumbling encounters a beautiful young woman spinning flax beneath the earth instead of the big itchy (toad). Yet, the basic tale remains constant, and the stories in this category comprise the exception, not the rule.

Finally, on a personal note, a subtle hope lies concealed under the guise and purpose of these parallel translations. The hope is for a wider, deeper, and fuller appreciation of fairy tales in general and the tales of the Brothers Grimm in particular. Should the reader discover one piece of new information, identify a single, unfamiliar parallel tale, or recognize an imaginal or psychological reality heretofore unknown, that hope will be fulfilled. Too, as I continue to read and translate parallel fairy tales, this collection will grow, much as the Grimm Brothers' collection grew over the almost fifty years of their work. In myself, at least, the fundamental hope and purpose behind these translations has already been realized and will continue to flower.

Guten Appetit!

Gary V. Hartman
Mission, Kansas, May 2002
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Table of Contents

Fairy tales are numbered according to the 1812/1815 edition's numbering. Tales with an (*) are not in parallel translations.

		Foreword	iv
1.		The Frog King, or Iron Henry	1
12.		Rapunzel	8
17.		The White Snake	14
21.		Ashpuddle (Cinderella)	21
24.		Frau Holla	37
26.		Little Red Cap (Little Red Ridinghood)	44
29.		Concerning the Devil with Three Golden Hairs	51
31.		Girl Without Hands	63
33.	*	The Booted Tomcat (Puss in Boots)	73
46.		Fitcher's Bird	80
50.		Little Thornrose (Sleeping Beauty)	86
53.		Little Snowwhite	92
55.		Rumplestiltskin	108
62	*	Bluebeard	114
64/III.		The Three Feathers	119
65		All Kinds of Hide (Allerleirauh)	125
71.	*	Princess Mouse-Hide	134
75.	*	Bird Phoenix	137
82.	*	The Three Sisters	141

 

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