The Brothers Grimm, Frog Prince

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were pioneers in the field of folklore, collecting stories through Germany’s rich oral tradition in order to preserve a history that might otherwise have been lost forever. In doing so, they popularized some of today’s most enduring fairy tales, including Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and Sleeping Beauty.

“The Frog Prince; or Iron Henry” was the first story in the 1812 edition of Grimms’ Fairy Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen). It tells of a spoiled princess who reluctantly befriends a frog who, unbeknownst to her, is actually a prince under a sorcerer’s spell. In the original tale, the curse is lifted when the princess throws the frog against a brick wall in anger, but in later years the Brothers Grimm sanitized the story, turning it into the version we know today. This classic tale was considered by the brothers to be the oldest and most beautiful of the stories they collected in German-speaking regions.

The Brothers Grimm set standards for research and analysis of stories and legends that made them pioneers in the field of folklore in the 19th century. During this time their collection of tales maintained its status as second only to the Bible as the most popular book in Germany. So profound was their legacy that it extended to form much of the foundation of Disney animated movies, as well as many other Hollywood films we know and love today.

We are honoured to reproduce this manuscript from the Bodmer Foundation, a library and museum specializing in manuscripts and precious editions, as the first release in our Fairy Tale Collection.