When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm set out to collect stories in the early 1800s, their goal was not to entertain children but to preserve Germanic folklore and the hard life of European peasants was reflected in the tales they discovered.

However, once the brothers saw how the stories entranced young readers, they began softening some of the harsher aspects to make them more suitable for children.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in 1785 and 1786 near Frankfurt, Germany. Their collections of folk and fairy tales have stood the test of time and still influence literature today.