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“The Shreds.” A Selection from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Gilbert James, London: Siegle, Hill and Co., [c. 1900], pp. 29-30.

Tale Summary

There was once a maiden who was very pretty, but also very lazy. Whenever she tried to spin she would become inpatient, and whenever there was a knot she would rip it out and throw the thread on the ground. Whenever this happened, her servant-girl would gather up the scraps and was eventually able to weave a beautiful dress for herself out of them. A man fell in love with the lazy maiden, but on the evening before the wedding, the servant-girl was twirling in the pretty dress and the bride-to-be let it slip that she had woven it from her scraps. The bridegroom realized that he did not want to be with the lazy maiden, and married the industrious maid instead.

Fairy Tale Title

The Shreds

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Brothers Grimm

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Gilbert James

Common Tale Type

Tale Classification

Page Range of Tale

pp. 29-30

Full Citation of Tale

“The Shreds.” A Selection from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Gilbert James, London: Siegle, Hill and Co., [c. 1900], pp. 29-30.

Original Source of the Tale

Brothers Grimm

Tale Notes

Research and Curation

Kaeli Waggener 2024

Book Title

A Selection from Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Book Author/Editor(s)

Brothers Grimm

Illustrator(s)

Gilbert James

Publisher

Siegle Hill & Co; The H.B. Claflin Company

Date Published

1900

Decade Published

1900-1909

Publisher City

London
New York

Publisher Country

United Kingdom
United States

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Book Notes

This book includes six tales, most of which are the Grimm Brothers' best-known tales including Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Prince, Rumplestilskin, Hansel and Grethel, The Rabbit’s Bride, and The Shreds. The illustrations are simple but beautiful and a few pages are decorated with floral motifs. It is a very small book that appears adapted for children.