Household Tales · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Household Tales by Jacob Grimm.

Read with companions Book page

Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.

Chapter 1
The Frog-King, or Iron Henry
A princess loses her golden ball in a well and reluctantly promises a frog that he can be her companion in exchange for retrieving it. The frog appears at the castle and, at the king's insistence, she fulfills her promise. When she finally throws the frog against the wall in anger, he transforms into a handsome prince, explaining he was bewitched. They marry and travel to his kingdom, accompanied by his faithful servant Henry, whose heart had been bound with iron bands that break with joy.
Chapter 2
Cat and Mouse in Partnership
A cat convinces a mouse to live together and store a pot of fat in a church for winter. The cat repeatedly lies about being a godmother to sneak away and eat the fat, first licking off the top, then half, then all. When winter comes and the mouse discovers the empty pot, the cat eats the mouse as well.
Chapter 3
Our Lady's Child
A poor woodcutter gives his three-year-old daughter to the Virgin Mary, who raises her in heaven. When the girl is fourteen, Mary entrusts her with the keys to thirteen doors, forbidding her to open the thirteenth. Overcome by curiosity, the girl opens the forbidden door, sees the Trinity, and her finger turns gold. She lies about it three times, and Mary casts her out into a wilderness where she lives miserably for years. A king finds her, marries her, and they have three children. Each time Mary appears and demands confession, the queen denies opening the door, and Mary takes each child. Finally, as the queen is about to be burned at the stake, she confesses, and Mary returns her children and restores her speech.
Chapter 4
The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was
A young man, considered stupid by his family, sets out to learn what it means to shudder. Through a series of encounters—including a fake ghost, a haunted castle with playing cats and a dead man, and a bearded fiend—he remains fearless. He eventually marries the king's daughter, and only learns to shudder when his wife pours cold water and gudgeons over him while he sleeps.
Chapter 5
The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids
An old goat leaves her seven kids at home, warning them about the wolf. The wolf tricks them by disguising his voice and paws, and eats six of them. The mother goat returns, finds the youngest hidden in the clock-case, and together they cut open the sleeping wolf's stomach, rescuing the kids. They fill the wolf's stomach with stones, and when he goes to drink, he falls into a well and drowns.

Free preview

215 more chapter companions sit beside the text in BetterReads — open a free preview to unlock the rest.

215 more companions → free preview

The Frog-King, or Iron Henry

Cat and Mouse in Partnership

Our Lady's Child

The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was

The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids