Little People: Tales

The name of the storytellers, the Brothers Grimm, is known to children and adults around the world. However, Jacob and Wilhelm were not only writers but also famous scholars. They made a tremendous contribution to the development of German literature and culture as a whole: they provided a systematic description of German grammar, began compiling the first dictionary of the German language (the work lasted 120 years), and collected numerous folk tales and legends. The Brothers Grimm were born in the city of Hanau, in a lawyer's family. Jacob Grimm was born in 1785, and Wilhelm a year later; they had six younger brothers and a sister. To provide for the children, the father had to work tirelessly, knowing no rest. He passed away early: his body could not cope with pneumonia. The boys' mother clearly saw how curious and diligent her older sons were, and despite financial difficulties, she sent them to study at a lyceum. The brothers completed the full course of study in 4 years (twice as fast as required) and entered the law faculty of Marburg University. There, they became interested in literary studies and dedicated their brief free hours to studying German poetry. Later, the Brothers Grimm began to collect and study the tales of the German people. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were professors at the University of Göttingen and later taught at the University of Berlin; they were members of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. The Brothers Grimm published more than 200 folk tales. This collection includes 6 of them. The young reader will meet the famous Snow White, the vain little bird, as well as witches and household spirits, grateful ants and dishonorable kings, a homeless dog and hungry raven chicks. Despite the diversity of characters and plots, all these stories share one thing: each of them tells about help, mercy, and justice - for that's what holds the world together