Grimms' Fairy Tales, Jacob Grimm

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Read Grimms' Fairy Tales in English, with German beside it

by Jacob Grimm · 1785–1863

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"Grimms' Fairy Tales" by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm is a German collection of fairy tales first published in 1812. Beginning with 86 stories and eventually expanding to 210 tales across seven editions, this seminal work transformed oral folklore into written literature. The brothers collected stories from friends, acquaintances, and old books to preserve German cultural history. What started as a scholarly project evolved through decades of revisions, with tales added and removed, content adjusted for young readers, and illustrations incorporated to become a cornerstone of Western children's literature.

Summary generated automatically by Project Gutenberg.

Read time
460 min
Words
101,102
Chapters
66
Paragraphs
976
Price
Free
  • Fairy tales -- Germany
Grimms' Fairy TalesTHE GOOSE-GIRL

‘Bride, bride, there thou gangest!

„Braut, Braut, dort gehst du!

Alas!

Ach!

alas!

ach!

if thy mother knew it, Sadly, sadly, would she rue it.’

wenn deine Mutter es wüsste, Traurig, traurig, würde sie es bereuen.“

Then they went out of the city, and drove the geese on.

Dann gingen sie aus der Stadt und trieben die Gänse vor sich her.

And when she came to the meadow, she sat down upon a bank there, and let down her waving locks of hair, which were all of pure silver;

Und als sie auf die Wiese kam, setzte sie sich dort auf einen Damm und ließ ihre wellenden Haarlocken hängen, die alle aus reinem Silber waren;

and when Curdken saw it glitter in the sun, he ran up, and would have pulled some of the locks out, but she cried:

und als Curdken sie in der Sonne glitzern sah, lief er herbei und wollte einige der Locken herausziehen, aber sie rief:

‘Blow, breezes, blow!

„Weht, Winde, weht!

Let Curdken’s hat go!

Lasst Curdken’s Hut gehen!

Blow, breezes, blow!

Weht, Winde, weht!

Let him after it go!

Lasst ihn danach gehen! Über Hügel, Täler und Felsen,

O’er hills, dales, and rocks, Away be it whirl’d Till the silvery locks Are all comb’d and curl’d!

Fort soll er gewirbelt werden, Bis die silbernen Locken Alle gekämmt und gelockt sind!

Then there came a wind, so strong that it blew off Curdken’s hat; and away it flew over the hills: and he was forced to turn and run after it;

Dann kam ein Wind, so stark, dass er Curdken’s Hut wegpustete; und davon flog er über die Hügel: und er musste sich umdrehen und ihm nachlaufen;

till, by the time he came back, she had done combing and curling her hair, and had put it up again safe.

bis, als er zurückkam, sie mit dem Kämmen und Locken ihres Haares fertig war und es wieder sicher hochgesteckt hatte.

Then he was very angry and sulky, and would not speak to her at all; but they watched the geese until it grew dark in the evening, and then drove them homewards.

Dann war er sehr wütend und mürrisch und wollte gar nicht mit ihr sprechen; aber sie hüteten die Gänse, bis es am Abend dunkel wurde, und trieben sie dann nach Hause.

The next morning, as they were going through the dark gate, the poor girl looked up at Falada’s head, and cried:

Am nächsten Morgen, als sie durch das dunkle Tor gingen, blickte das arme Mädchen zu Faladas Kopf hinauf und rief:

About the author

Jacob Grimm1785–1863

Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) was a German jurist, linguist, and philologist born in Hanau and died in Berlin.

The Jacob Grimm page, and where to start →

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Questions about Grimms' Fairy Tales

Can I read Grimms' Fairy Tales in English with German side by side online?

Yes, free. Paralelo shows the English original with a German machine translation beside it, aligned phrase by phrase: hover or tap a phrase and its counterpart lights up in the other column. Anyone can read a passage; a free account opens the whole book.

What level do I need to read Grimms' Fairy Tales here?

There is no set level. Grimms' Fairy Tales runs to 101,102 words in 66 chapters, and the translation sits beside it, aligned phrase by phrase, so you can start below the level the original would need on its own and lean on the translation only where you stumble.

Is Grimms' Fairy Tales really free to read?

Yes. The text is in the public domain, and the translation and alignment are ours to give. A free account opens the whole book; the paid tier is for unlimited explanations.

Can I read Grimms' Fairy Tales in another language?

Yes. It is also published in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and switching keeps your place, because both columns share one paragraph numbering.

How long does Grimms' Fairy Tales take to read?

About 8 hours at a normal pace, longer if you stop to look at the alignment, which is rather the point.

Book details

Original language
English
Translation
German, machine translation
Source text
Project Gutenberg #2591
Licence
Public domain worldwide

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