The Bremen Town Musicians by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

by Carol6 Comments
"The Bremen Town Musicians" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Today's story features four old animals, a donkey, a dog, a cat and a crow. All are going to be killed by their respective masters because they are too old or tired to do their jobs in the household. The donkey is the first animal. He decides that he will run away and be a town musician in Bremen. Along the way, he meets the other critters and they each join him. The friends stop for the night and find a little house, who's light gives them the hope of a warm place to sleep and a bite to eat. Looking in the window, though, the donkey sees that, while the table is covered with good things to eat, the house is filled with robbers. The animals come up with a plan and stand at the window, each on top of the other as in the statue above. When this was done, at a given...
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“The Three Army Surgeons” by The Brothers Grimm

by Carol2 Comments
"The Three Army Surgeons" by the Brothers Grimm Over the last year or so, I've learned that fairy tales are not all sweet and light, some are downright gruesome and nasty. Today's choice, a new one to me, certainly falls in the second category. Three surgeons "who thought they knew their art perfectly" were traveling and stopped at an inn to stay the night. The innkeeper asks them to prove what they can do. They each state that they will cut off a body part, a hand, heart, and eye respectively, and reattach them in the morning.  The innkeeper believes that that will indeed prove that they know everything, but the surgeons actually carry a salve with them that joins body part together. Each of the surgeons cuts off the body part. The pieces are put on a platter and given to the servant, who placed it in the cupboard. During the night, though, the servant girl's lover, a soldier, comes and she...
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