Brothers Grimm fairytales translated and restored to their original horror

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The first edition of the Grimm Brothers' fairytales has been translated to English for the first time, bringing back their original horror and mayhem.

Children and many adults today are familiar with the musicalDisney tales that guarantee a "happily ever after," but the folk tales on which they're based were not all charming princes and singing mice.

The original 156 stories written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1812 and 1815 included cannibalism, sex, self-mutilation and murder. Through several subsequent editions, the tales were softened and by the seventh edition were compiled as Children's Stories and Household Tales.

In the original tales, the prince impregnated Rapunzel, the wicked Queen was Snow White's biological mother who wanted to kill and eat her, and Cinderella's stepsisters cut off parts of their feet to fit into the slipper -- a slipper made of silk and silver rather than glass.

The seventh edition is the one best known today but Jack Zipes, professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota, decided to translate the 1812 and 1815 volumes.

"The original edition was not published for children or general readers. Nor were these tales told primarily for children. It was only after the Grimms published two editions primarily for adults that they changed their attitude and decided to produce a shorter edition for middle-class families. This led to Wilhelm's editing and censoring many of the tales," Zipes told The Guardian.

Wilhelm, he said, edited the fairytales to cater to the religious sensibilities of the middle class. Zipes believes the puritanical censors imparted over the years are not good for readers or publishers.

"It is time for parents and publishers to stop dumbing down the Grimms' tales for children," he said.