Reading these old tales is interesting. I'm sure something is lost in the translation, because some of the sentence structure is just off, and many of the tales are just strange, but overall I found it to be a delightful read. ( )

Being a review of one odd and several interesting experiences while gathering and comparing editions of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales.
First, they are not fairy tales. Yes, they have talking animals, magic, witches, tiny people, giants, etc., but they have not one single honest-to-Lauma fairy, fairie, or fae in any of the stories. The Brothers called them "Household Stories", and "Tales for Young and Old", not "Fairy" stories. This edition labels the spine "Grimms' Popular Tales", and the title page, "Grimm's Fairy Tales". Why? I won't go into detail, but it's because English translators wanted stories for children, and what could be more childish then cute buzzy peoplebugs? Hence, "fairy tales". The Grimm stories are grim and unDisneyfied--slicing, drownings, beheadings, burnings, burstings, eatings; thought should be taken before reading some of the original stories to young children without explanation.
The odd experience was when I was comparing this, my 1891 edition from the New York Worthington Co. (translated by Lucy Crane, illustrated by Walter Crane) to my Dover unabridged reprint of the 1886 Macmillan and Company original edition (translated by Lucy Crane, illustrated by Walter Crane). The first thing you notice is the title page; in the original, it is "Household Stories from the collections of the Brothers Grimm", set in a charming house drawing by Walter Crane, but the 1891 edition has the words "Grimms' Fairy Tales" with no drawing. At least the stories, from page 1, "The Rabbit's Bride", to page 269, ending "The Golden Goose", are the same. Same words, same spacings, same drawings. Um. Except....
What? This is weird. Pages 40 and 41 in the 1886 edition are "The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats" Pages 40 and 41 in the 1891 edition are "The Wolf and the Seven Goslings." Same words, same spacing, except in 1891, the words "goose", "goslings", and "geese" replace "goat" and "kids". The 1891 edition still has the mother goose "bleating" goodbye. The lead picture changes from a goat to goose and goslings, and the endcap picture changes from a goat and kids to a goose and goslings. They appear to both be in the drawing style of Walter Crane.
Let's check some other editions. "Grimm's Fairy Tales" from Grosset & Dunlap, maybe 1900?, translated by Mrs E. V. Lucas, Lucy Crane, and Marian Edwardes [did Lucy have a say in this alteration of her edition?]: "The Wolf and the Seven Kids". Huh. "The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, Third Edition", from Bantam, 2003, translated by Jack Zipes: "The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids". "Grimms' Tales for Young and Old, The Complete Stories", from Anchor Books, 1983, translated by Ralph Manheim: 210 stories, no "Wolf and Seven of Some Creature". Complete Stories may not be the correct title. The only other place I find geese is "Grimm's Fairy Tales" from Avenel Books, 1973, which has selected stories from the Lucy Crane editions: it has "The Wolf and the Seven Goslings" (1891 edition), but it also has the 1886 title page with the Walter Crane drawing.
So, this very odd change, with apparent contrivance of the Cranes, is a mystery that can only be solved by a deep dive into Grimmland, for which I currently do not have the time. Maybe next decade....
Meanwhile, let's compare some translations. I will use the first sentence from the same story:
1-3. The Frog Prince: In the old times, when it was still of some use to wish for the thing one wanted, there lived a King whose daughters were all handsome, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun himself, who has seen so much, wondered each time he shone over her because of her beauty. (all 3 of the Lucy Crane books mentioned above: 1886, 1891, maybe 1900).
4. The Frog Prince: In the old times, when people could have all they wished for at once, lived a king who had many beautiful daughters; but the youngest was so lovely that the sun himself would wonder whenever he shone on her face. (Grimm's Fairy Tales, Arcadia House, 1950, no translator listed).
5. The Frog-King, or Iron Henry: In old times, when wishing still helped one, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which has seen so much, was astonished whenever it shone in her face. (Folk-Lore and Fable, Harvard Classics, 1909, no translator listed).
6. The Frog-King or Iron Heinrich: In olden times, when wishing still helped, there lived a king, whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that even the sun, who had seen many things, was filled with wonder every time he shone upon her face. (Grimms' Tales for Young and Old, The Complete Stories, from Anchor Books, 1983, translated by Ralph Manheim).
7. The Frog King, or Iron Heinrich: In olden times, when wishing still helped, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which had seen so many things, was always filled with amazement each time it cast its rays upon her face. (The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, Third Edition, from Bantam, 2003, translated by Jack Zipes).
It is interesting to compare the small changes, from whether the sun is a male to the change from "handsome" to "beautiful". Fun to do with all stories. ( )

I read these for a course that I am taking and honestly would have put the book down long before finishing if not for that reason. Certainly not as dark as I imagined them to be before reading...in fact, I found them foolish. I will grant a handful of stories were engaging, good stories....the rest were just foolish. I shared with my daughter who laughed over the couple she read. ( )

The translations by Lucy Crane are very straight-forward renditions of the German originals, with somewhat more sophistication than in other versions dircted more toward junior readers. The art deco illustrations by her husband Walter are exquisite.

I haven't yet compared the contents of this book to the Lucas-Crane-Edwards 1945 edition to see which ones Lucy Crane contributed to that volume,

A pdf is available here.
https://ia802307.us.archive.org/6/items/householdstories19068gut/19068-h/19068-h.... ( )

This is the best edition on Project Gutenberg, because it has the Crane illustrations. It may be pilfered from Dover, but it is in the public domain after all. I'm not quite sure how Dover does what it does. ( )