Excerpt from Twenty Stories From Grimm: Edited, With Notes and Vocabulary The tales which were collected by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm in the beginning of this century do not require an introduction. There is no book that from the day on which it was published to the present has so steadily re tained its hold on childhood. The reason is not far to seek: the tales themselves go back to the childhood of mankind; they are no literary product, but have been unconsciously developed by countless generations. Now it seems to me that it is this very simplicity which makes these tales particularly suitable as an early reading book for children. We move amid the objects of ordinary life; there is no careful analysis of motives; the diction is as straightforward as we expect from the naive story-tellers of simple folk. It is no objection that the tales are already well known through English translations: I see no reason why the path of the beginner should not be made smooth; and a competent teacher will never have difficulty in making sure that the lesson has been carefully prepared. He will expect the idiomatic phrases not only to be translated, but will insist on a knowledge of their literal meaning; and by asking German questions based on the text and requiring German answers (not a mere 3a or Stein, but complete sentences) he can convince himself that his pupils have fully mastered the passages set, and have derived real benefit. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.