The Twelve Brothers

by Jacob Grimm

The Twelve Brothers is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Classics, Childrens, German Literature, Fiction, Folklore

24 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

German philologist and folklorist Jakob Ludwig Karl Grimm in 1822 formulated Grimm's Law, the basis for much of modern comparative linguistics. With his brother Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1786-1859), he collected Germanic folk tales and published them as Grimm's Fairy Tales (1812-1815).

Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.

This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .

Adapted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Arman · Rating 5 out of 5]

قصه‌های برادران گریم
قصه نهم
دوازده برادر

تا اینجا، یکی از بهترین داستان‌های گریم بود که خونده‌ام. داستانی بسیار روان و لذت‌بخش که با حوصله تعریف می‌شود و پتانسیل آنرا دارد که براساس آن، داستانی بلند و پرکشش تعریف کرد.
داستان عناصر مختلفی دارد:
پادشاهی در انتظار دختر، دختر زیبا و ساده‌دل، برادرانی که به دنبال سرنوشت خود از کاخ بیرون می‌زنند، سحر جادوگر، تبدیل آدم‌ها به حیوان‌ (اینجا به کلاغ).
چیزی که جالب بود، از یک جایی به بعد، داستان شبیه به داستان بچه مریم مقدس میشه؛ درست مثل همانجا، شاه دختر را در جنگل پیدا می‌کند، او لال شده یا خود را به لالی می‌زند، بر علیه او توطئه می‌شود، و او را می‌خواهند بسوزانند، و در آخرین لحظه طلسم شکسته می‌شود.


پ‌ن: همه این ریویوهای قصه‌های گریم، حاصل همخوانی با مائده، علیرضا و سارا (به ترتیب ورود) هستند. مرسی ازشون.
پ‌ن ۲: ببخشید بخاطر تعداد بالای قصه‌ها و ریویوها و شلوغ شدن تایم‌لاین‌هاتون

[Ram Alsrougi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Savage.

[kezzie ʚ♡ɞ · Rating 3 out of 5]

✩ 3.75 stars
~
[read for my independent studies of folklore & mythology]

[Greta is Erikasbuddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

How old was this girl when she found her brothers? Was she 10? And then when she married the King... was she still 10?!!!!!!!!

Man... people sure did move fast in their lives back then!!

I did however enjoy the end. That was cool that the spell was broken... but did you notice that the King's Mom became the King's Step-Mom at the end?

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

داستان نهم از هم‌خوانی برادران گریم.

این داستان یه سری تشابه ها با داستان یوسف داشت، خواهری که در جست‌وجوی راهی برای رهایی دادن برادرهاییست که تصمیم به قتل اون داشتن چون اون رو عامل بدبختیشون می‌دونستند، و یوسفی که قصد نجات برادرانش رو داشت که یوسف رو دزد محبت پدر میدونستند.
اما خب اینجا برادران درنهایت در صدد کمک به خواهر آمدند.
انتقامی که درنهایت از مادرشوهر خواهر گرفتند چقدر خشن بود.
بحث گذر زمان خیلی عجیب مطرح می‌شده تو این داستان‌ها.
یه نکته ای هست شباهت این داستان به یکی دیگه از داستانای برادران گریمه که اونجا برادران تبدیل به کلاغ می‌شدند.

"I’d rather chop off their heads myself than let a girl be among them."

[Ruthikins · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a savage story...

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reminds me of one of the other stories I just read, as well as Snow White.

[Sandra (folded.between.pages.of.books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the bond and love between the siblings but that ending was a bit of a shocker...
But it's Grimm, so what else did I expect?

[♡︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

this story gave me whiplash.

[lena titova]

[read for my translation course]

[Wren (fablesandwren) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have the complete set of the Grimm Fairy-Tales, and there are so many that I haven’t read! They are very short, as one would know, so I have decided to read each one and give them a review. Some are very vulgar, some are very cute and some don’t even make sense. Some of them are well known fairy-tales and some have never been told. Some are fairy-tales we know but are not the same because they have been downplayed for the children.

This story was actually really great!

So the story starts that a king and queen have twelve boys (sounds very crazy!). The king and queen want their thirteenth child to be a girl. The king wants one so badly that he says that if they have a girl, he is going to kill the first twelve boys so she can inherit the kingdom! How awful is that? Well the queen thought it was too.

She told her youngest son about his plans and told him to run away to the forest and wait for her to signal if it was safe.

It wasn’t…

The boys swore that they would kill any girl they saw from that moment on…

What about when their sister wants to meet them?

What about the twelve flowers?

What about the young mute girl that marries the king?

What about the evil queen mother?

What about the ravens?

I like this story. I would say the lesson with it is to keep your promises because good things will come of them. This is probably my favorite so far.

[ale (taylor's version) everett · Rating 3 out of 5]

La malvada suegra hubo de comparecer ante un tribunal, y fue condenada. Metida en una tinaja llena de aceite hirviente y serpientes venenosas, encontró en ella una muerte espantosa.

jaja el sadismo de los cuentos de los hermanos Grimm me encantan
simplemente fan

[Aura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this story would make for an excellent movie.

[Damian · Rating 5 out of 5]

General review of story:

We not only have a biblical number of twelve but also one of them is named Benjamin, further connecting the twelve brothers to the story of Joseph and his brothers. It’s a story full of classic elements. We have a king who wants to kill his sons to name a daughter the queen of the kingdom. The Queen sends her sons away to be saved when she has a daughter. The boys live in the woods, very reminiscent of the dwarves in Snow White. Eventually, the daughter learns of her brothers and sets out to find them. Then, they all live in the woods eating local wildlife.

The princess sister unfortunately plucks twelve lilies in the garden, turning her brothers into birds. An old woman criticizes her for doing so and tells her she needs to act dumb and not speak for seven years in order to transform her brothers to their natural selves. A King sees the princess and makes her his wife. The King’s mother is evil and convinces the King to kill his wife. When the sister is on the burning stake, the seven years are up and the brothers fly down to save her. Everyone lives happily ever after except the wicked mother in law. In one version of the story, the King’s mother is referred to as a wicked stepmother.

It’s such an interesting tale and paradigmatic of how fairy tales work. Magical things just happen. The characters are brash and make weird choices. It’s a reversal of making a son the king, so often found in other stories. The sister has a birthmark on her forehead in the form of a crown, a striking visual. The old woman is not confirmed to be a witch but knows of curses and the magical things around. The solution is similar to The Little Mermaid. The sister enters a kind of general deal with the world’s magic system to bring her brothers back by losing her voice. Except she can always talk; she must choose not to though. It’s hilarious that the King marries the sister just based on her beauty. The evil mother thinks this is odd and wants to kill her only based on that and the lack of laughter.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

9. The Twelve Brothers
The king and queen have 12 sons with another baby on the way. The king however declares that if this new babe is to be a girl then the brothers must die in order to give her the kingdom and all the family's possessions. The queen does not want to kill her sons and so tells the youngest to alert his other brothers that they must go away and hide until the baby is born. If it's a boy then they can come home, but if it's girl then they must go and hide and live their lives. The brothers are not pleased when they find that their mother has a daughter and that they must live in the forest, they all vow to hate and kill all maidens they come across in life from that day on. As years go by the daughter grows into a lovely child and discovers the clothes of 12 boys. When she has asked her mother about it and learns what has happened she decides to go out and find her lost brothers so they may be together. She finds them and they all love each other very much until one day the girl unknowingly cuts some flowers from the garden that seem to have been connected to her brothers. They at once are cursed into ravens and the only way to get them back is to to live on for 7 years without taking or laughing ever. She is soon wed to a man and things of course get turned around so that the people turn on her and they find some great evil plot must be at hand for how could a woman not speak or laugh for so long? As she nears her death all 12 ravens arrive and turn back to her brothers! They arrived in time just as the 7 years ended and saved their sister from death, because even her own end in life wouldn't cause her to ruin any chances her brothers has at becoming human again.

Personal Note
I find this story sweet and not as dark as some of the Grimm stories you read about death and people failing at their tasks for selfish reasons.

[D.L. Tillery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story, though it has plot holes and unanswered questions at the end of it. It was still a decent story. It's definitely a short story. That said It's an interesting story, its written in an older-speaking style, as expected os a Brothers Grimm Tale.

The story starts with a king and queen who have 12 boys... and a child on the way... the king clearly likes his wife.

Without going into too many details, the king plans to off his 12 sons if he has a daughter, so she will have an abundance of luck and inheritance I gather... so this causes a chain reaction of events that span this 5-page story. I liked it, but it gets 3 stars due to a few holes in the story... short or not, you need to transition well to the next part of the story.

I will have a detailed review on my YouTube channel near the end of the month (Feb 2025) for the Gothic Hearts reading challenge, so check there for a full review of this short story. Author D.L. Tillery on youtube.

[Sukriti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jacob Grimm, alongside his brother Wilhelm, is renowned for compiling "Grimm's Fairy Tales," a collection of German folktales. This book is a captivating journey into the heart of folklore, presenting a mixture of enchanting and sometimes dark stories that have fascinated readers for generations. Grimm's work is not just a mere collection of tales; it's a profound exploration of the human condition, morals, and the cultural heritage of Germany. The stories range from the well-loved "Cinderella" and "Snow White" to the less known but equally intriguing tales. Each story is a masterpiece of fantasy, imbued with timeless themes and moral lessons, making this book a valuable treasure for both young and adult readers. Jacob Grimm's contribution through this compilation has left an indelible mark on literature and continues to inspire the imagination of readers worldwide.

[Amelia Bujar · Rating 3 out of 5]

FULL REVIEW ON MY WEBSITE
https://thebookcornerchronicles.com/2...

The original tale is much better but also darker then the version kids see.

It is different but not that different from what you might remember from first hearing this tale as a kid.

The plot here are very good but also dark which is the mix which I personally like a lot.

The writing style here was very old and you could feel the vibe of old the Europe which was amazing for me.

[April Helms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another tale in the "sister must save her enchanted brothers" story. Here, a king and queen have 12 sons but the king declares that if the next child the queen has is a daughter, the 12 boys must be slaughtered in favor of their sister. He even has coffins made for his sons in advance. The queen warns the youngest son of this, and he tells the others. They all run off, then later escape permanently when they find their mother as, indeed, had a princess. Years later, the princess finds her brothers, and then must rescue them.

[Normalmente · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the metaphor of it: 12 Brothers for 12 Months, 1 Daughter for 1 Sun, 1 Forest for the daylight and a bewitched hut for the night, King bad, Queen Good first, then the other way around. Then all live happy for years to come, each year. Get it?

The moral is that there are good years and bad years, good people and bad people, some people change and some people don't.

Better than the average Grimm story and again I am making an effort to remind myself back then women were treated like... Well, they way witches were treated back then.

[S C · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s hard to put my thoughts into words when it comes to this story. The father was so horrible, yet their sister was so sweet until she tried to do something nice for them then bye bye brothers. Even if the spell was broken at the end still very odd.

[Nathan Crowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus christ. Wtf

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting mix here. In part dated/ sexist with a ‘fair maiden’. But also shows true love for her kin.

[Giuliana Ayala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historia shockeante...

[Nathaniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Golden haired mute woman
I'm less than 10 stories in and I'm starting to sence some patterns I'm not all that fond of

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short one, but still just as enjoyable.

[danna · Rating 1 out of 5]

pq la chica se quedó con el hombre que la iba a matar??? Y COMO Q VIVIERON FELICES POR SIEMPRE

[Aaron Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

C.f. The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen

The brothers must die to exalt the princess. The princess willingly sacrifices her life to save her brothers.

[Rawan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last sentence was funny 😂

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly sweet tale about love, trust and redemption between siblings. The ending was also a bit of a shocker with the brutal execution of their stepmother, but kids gotta do what kids gotta do, right?