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Cover of Grimms' Fairy Tales (The German Reader), an interlinear German–English edition
GermanThe German Reader · Classic fairy tales

Grimms' Fairy Tales.

Brothers Grimm · The German Reader

Ten Brothers Grimm tales in the original German of the final 1857 edition, including Rotkäppchen, Hänsel und Gretel and Schneewittchen, glossed word by word in English.

Buy on AmazonHow the method works

164 pages · Paperback & Kindle · Beginner–intermediate

A line from the book
EsitwarwaseinmalonceeinakleineslittlesüßessweetMädchengirl

the opening of “Rotkäppchen” (Little Red Riding Hood)

Inside this edition

Ten unabridged tales.

The complete German text of ten famous tales, mapped word-by-word to English.

The Grimms in their own words are a natural first step into German literature. The tales are short, the plots are already familiar, and the same core vocabulary returns again and again, wolf and forest, king and daughter, until it is simply yours.

This edition prints the complete, unabridged German of the Grimms' final 1857 edition with a literal English word beneath each German word. Aside from light spelling modernisation, the wording, voice and endings remain exactly as the brothers wrote them. You read the real thing, with help always one line away.

  1. 01Der FroschkönigThe Frog King
  2. 02Der Wolf und die sieben jungen GeißleinThe Wolf and the Seven Young Kids
  3. 03RotkäppchenLittle Red Riding Hood
  4. 04Die Bremer StadtmusikantenThe Bremen Town Musicians
  5. 05RapunzelRapunzel
  6. 06DornröschenSleeping Beauty
  7. 07RumpelstilzchenRumpelstiltskin
  8. 08Hänsel und GretelHansel and Gretel
  9. 09AschenputtelCinderella
  10. 10SchneewittchenSnow White
The method

Why this edition.

01

Keep your momentum

Read straight through the stories. When you meet an unfamiliar word, its literal English meaning is right beneath it, with no dictionary and no lost place.

02

See how German is built

The glosses keep the original German word order, so verb-final clauses and separable verbs stop being rules to memorise and become patterns you've seen a thousand times.

03

Stories you already know

Because you know how Rotkäppchen ends, you can give all your attention to the German. Familiar plots are the gentlest on-ramp to authentic literature.

04

Current spelling, authentic voice

The 19th-century orthography is updated to modern standards (daß becomes dass, Thür becomes Tür) so you never learn outdated forms, while the Grimms' 1857 wording stays untouched.

05

Illustrated by Otto Ubbelohde

Otto Ubbelohde's classic illustrations accompany the tales, the images that defined the Grimms for generations of German readers.

Read a passage
EsitwarwaseinmalonceeinakleineslittlesüßessweetMädchen,girl
daswhomhattehadjedermanneveryonelieb,dearderwhoesitnuronlyansah,looked-at
amat-theallerliebstendearest-of-allaberhoweverseineitsGroßmutter,grandmother
diewhowussteknewgarat-allnicht,notwaswhatsiesheallesalldemto-theKindechildgebengivesollte.should

the complete opening of “Rotkäppchen” (Little Red Riding Hood)

At a glance

The details.

Series
The German Reader
Language pair
German–English interlinear
Format
Paperback & Kindle
Print length
164 pages
Source text
Final 1857 edition, spelling modernised
Illustrations
Otto Ubbelohde
Level
Beginner–intermediate (A2–B1)
Published
June 2026
ASIN
B0H72FQ8S3
Keep reading

More in German.

Every edition is glossed by hand, word by word, and printed on demand by Amazon.

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Read Grimms' Fairy Tales with every word translated beneath the original.

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