Lesson4 The Grimm Brothers

Ken Beatty

Once upon a time, there were two brothers,Jacob and Wilhelm. Their family name was Grimm, so they were called The Grimm Brothers. People all over the world know their collections of fairy tales[1].

Jacob and Wilhelm’s parents, Philipp and Dorothea, lived in Hanau, in what is now Germany. They had nine children, but three died as babies. Jacob Grimm was born in 1785 and Wilhelm was born a year later, in 1786. In 1791,the Grimm family moved to Steinau.

Philipp was a lawyer at the time and the family lived in a big house comfortably. Five years later, in 1796, Philipp died and the family lost their financial[2] support. Two years later, Jacob and Wilhelm moved to Kassel, their mother’s home city, to go to school.

Other students looked down upon poor Jacob and Wilhelm, so the boys studied ten hours a day and were the best in their classes. In 1802, Jacob went to the University of Marburg to study law. The next year, his brother joined him.

In 1806, Jacob and Wilhelm met a person who changed their lives: their professor,Friedrich Savigny. Savigny had a private library of ancient stories about heroes. Jacob was asked to assist[3] Savigny in doing research. Savigny had great influence on the two brothers who decided to study German literature[4] and folklore[5].

In the Grimm Brothers’ time, France ruled much of Germany. The French did not want people to be interested in German culture. As the Grimm Brothers were interested in German history and language, they decided to collect German stories before they were forgotten. They also collected folk songs.

In 1808, Jacob and Wilhelm’s mother died. The two brothers had to take care of their younger brothers and one younger sister. They soon took jobs as librarians in Kassel. Their jobs helped them to support their family. The Grimm family was very poor then. Sometimes, they only had one meal a day. But the Grimm Brothers worked hard together and wrote their best stories. They also did research on German language and culture.

The Grimm Brothers had a good knowledge of old German literature and folklore.They collected stories from storytellers as well as from books and journals[6]. Then, they edited[7] or rewrote the stories.

In 1812, the Grimm Brothers published their first collection of stories. They called the book Children’s and Household Tales. It became very famous and seven editions[8]were published during the lifetimes of the Grimm Brothers. These first stories included many characters that are now famous: Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. More stories were added when each new edition came out. The last edition, which was published in 1857, had 210 stories.

The stories are quite different from the ones people know today. For example, in “Cinderella”, a pumpkin and mice turn into a carriage and horses. This idea was only added in the 1950 Disney movie. Also, many of these first stories seem too cruel. For example, birds eat the stepsisters’[9] eyes in “Cinderella”.

In 1814, the Grimm Brothers published the second book of their Children’s and Household Tales. At first, the Grimm Brothers thought that the books were only for adults, but children liked them too. Jacob and Wilhelm rewrote and illustrated[10] the books for children. The Grimm Brothers thought the stories could teach children how to be good. For example, the stories show what happens when children do not keep their promises[11] or disobey[12]their parents.

Most of the Grimm Brothers’ stories were collected from about 40 people.

These people were storytellers and they went to the brothers’ home to tell their tales. One of the most helpful was a young woman named Henriette Wild. In 1825,Wilhelm married her. She then helped to take care of the family matters of the two brothers. Wilhelm had three children,Hermann, Rudolf and Auguste. Jacob lived with Wilhelm’s family. He remained single all his life.

In 1830, the Grimm Brothers left their jobs in Kassel and became librarians and professors at the University of G?ttingen. In 1841, the Grimm Brothers joined a protest[13]against the local king and lost their jobs. But they were already famous and were offered many jobs. They went to work at the University of Berlin and started work on a German dictionary. The dictionary was a big project. They spent many years on it, but they just completed letters A–F and did not finish the rest of the dictionary.

In 1859, Wilhelm Grimm died. He was 73. Jacob was affected deeply, but he continued to work on the projects he shared with his brother. Four years later, in 1863,Jacob died. He was 78. They never knew how popular their children’s stories would be. The stories have been translated into more than 160 languages and are popular in movies, comic books[14], music and theatre.

(819 words)

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Check the details] What’s the name of the Grimm Brothers’ first collection of stories?

A. Sleeping Beauty.

B. Children’s and Household Tales.

C. Cinderella.

2. [Check the details] At first, the Grimm Brothers thought that the books were only for________ .

A. children B. adults C. the old

3. [Draw a conclusion] Which one is TRUE about the Grimm Brothers?

A. The Grimm Brothers didn’t do well in their studies when they were young.

B. The Grimm Brothers knew their children’s stories would be popular in the future.

C. The Grimm Brothers didn’t finish completing the German dictionary.

Ⅱ. Read for words

1. Choose one best Chinese meaning for the underlined words.

(1) Their jobs helped them to support their family. (Para. 7)

A. 支持 B. 供养 C. 赞同

(2) Also, many of these first stories seem too cruel. (Para. 10)A. 美好的 B. 魔幻的 C. 残忍的

2. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined expressions.

(1) Other students looked down upon poor Jacob and Wilhelm, so the boys studied ten hours a day and were the best in their classes. (Para. 4)

A. were interested in B. were fond of C. didn’t respect

(2) Savigny had great influence on the two brothers who decided to study German literature and folklore. (Para. 5)

A. had great impact on

B. had most in common

C. had a good impression of

(3) More stories were added when each new edition came out. (Para. 9)

A. was published B. was finished C. was rewritten

Ⅲ. Writing practice

1. What character do you know about in the Grimm Brothers’ collection of stories?

2. Which character do you like best? Why?

3. Try your best to write a children’s story by yourself. Then share it with your friends.

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