Week 14 Extra Credit Reading: Brothers Grimm (Crane), Part A

 These notes are from The Robber Bridegroom which is part of Household stories by the Brothers Grimm translated by Lucy Crane and illustrated by Walter Crane (1886).

• So, I've always heard that the Grimm fairy tales are much more gruesome than people realize. They're often read to children (and remade) for young audiences, but are quiet dark. 
• This is one of the dark ones! That's why I wanted to read these, to find the scary stories.
• I'm taking notes over part 2, but part 1 is the set up.
• The miller's daughter is visiting her groom's house. She's never been there, and he told her to visit so that she could get to know him better (lured her!)
• Never go to someone's house if you don't know them. That's the moral of this one
•  She has a weird feeling about this whole thing, so she sprinkles pea's on the ground during her journey. I love that this girl is smart! Always trust your instinct
• When she arrives, there's a creepy bird that's singing a warning, but she keeps going through the house anyway. 
• An old woman is there, and tells her that her groom is a murderer and that she WILL be murdered. 
• Now, onto part 2
• The bride is hiding, when in walks the murder gang!
• They have a young woman with them, and even when she cries, they refuse to let her go
• The give her wine, and then they murder her, by cutting her up (while the bride watches from the hiding place)
• The murdered girl has a ring on the finger. They want it, but it's stuck on the finger. They cut it off to get the ring
• But, the finger jumps away into the lap of the hiding bride
• They want to look for it, but the old woman covers for the bride
• She convinces them to stop looking for the finger
• The old-woman would be an interesting character to explore in another story. Why is she there? What's her background? Was she a slave for the murders? Why is she helping the bride
• The old woman pours sleeping stuff into their wine, and they pass out
• The bride takes her chance and runs away from the murder house (again, smart girl!). 
• The peas that 
• she left guide her out of there
• When she gets back home safely, she tells her father the whole story
• Then the wedding happens (maybe it's just the ceremony) 
• While at the table (with the groom) the bride starts to tell a story of her "dream"
• she tells the whole town the story of what happened to her, and keeps saying "Sweetheart, my dream is not yet ended"
• she ends by saying (this is the best part!)....
• "And one of the robbers saw a gold ring on the finger of the young woman, and as it was difficult to get off, he took an axe and chopped off the finger, which jumped upwards and then fell behind the great cask on my lap.
• "And here is the finger with the ring!"
• The towns people round up the evil gang, and execute them (they kind of deserve it).
• I wouldn't change much about this story. I love it lol. I was worried that the gang would get away with it, but there's still a happily ever after lol. 
• I would like to see more about the old woman. What happened to her after she escaped? Was she at the wedding??

Image information:

Robber Bridegroom Illustration

Walter Crane

Found on: Wikipedia