Zulfiya’s poems. The Brothers Grimm and “The Brave Tailor”

The Brothers Grimm were German scholars: Jakob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859). They were professors at the universities of Göttingen and Berlin, collected and reworked folk tales, and in 1812–1822 published “Children’s and Household Tales”, with over two hundred tales. In “The Brave Tailor” the tailor Hans kills seven flies with one blow and has a belt made saying he killed seven at a blow; the giants and the king who read it think he is very mighty; the tailor tricks the giants with his wits and also carries out the king’s hard tasks. The tale differs from many others: it ends not with a throne and crown but with the tailor going back to his own trade and hanging his belt on the wall. So honest, brave and resourceful people cannot be overcome by evil.