4 Jacobs Fairy Tales

Author: Joseph Jacobs
Publisher: NA (found on internet)
Stories Read: The Cinder Maid, The Rat Ettin, The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Way, and The Master and His Pupil
Reading Level: Ages 7-10

Genre: Fairy Tales

Summary of The Red Ettin

There lived two brothers. The older was very foolish. When he was about to leave home to seek is fortune his mother asked him to fetch some water so that she could make a cake for him. Benounced to him, the bucket has a crack in it, so much of the water spills out. Because of this, the mother has to make a much smaller cake. The mother asked if the boy would either give her half and have her blessing, or take it all and have her curse. Since the cake was small he chose to have the curse. This was very foolish because on his journey he encountered many monsters, one of which was the Ettin. This fierce monster asked him three riddles. When the boy doesn't have the answer the boy is turned into stone. The younger brother was much wiser. He noticed the crack in the bucket and patched it with some clay. Because of this, his cake was much bigger than his brother, so he was more willing to give his mother half. His mother sent the boy on his way with her blessing. On his journey he encounters a fairy that tells him the answers to the Ettin's riddles and gives him a magic wand. He also encounters monsters but easily defeats them. When he comes to the Ettin he already knows the answers to the riddle because the fairy had told them to him. He saves his brother and all is well in the end. The youngest brother is wed to the beautiful princess that the Ettin had held captive.

Personal Reaction

I thought that some of these fairy tales were not very creative because they so closely resembled the brothers Grimm's stories. The Red Ettin was my favorite because it was so inventive and exciting. However, I did not understand or appreciate the morals or meanings of these stories as much as some of the other stories I read. I thought that some of these stories were amusing to read, but they weren't as interesting as some other stories.

Potential Problems 

Like the Grimm stories, the Jacobs fairy tales include some gore and bloodshed. I wouldn't recommend reading them out loud to a class.

Recommended to...

I would recommend these stories to anyone that is interested in Jacobs writing.