Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

雅布·格林和威廉·格林

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were two young men from Germany who loved a good story.

雅各布·格林和威廉·格林是两个来自德国的年轻人，他们喜欢听好故事。

As university students, they became interested in folktales(民间故事) — traditional stories that people memorized and told again and again.

上了大学之后，他们开始对民间故事产生兴趣，就是那种传统故事流传已久的传统故事。

They began to collect traditional folktales from storytellers all over Germany.

她们逐渐从德国各地的讲书人那里收集传统的民间故事。

Many were similar to stories told in France, Italy, Japan, and other countries.

很多故事类似于法国，西班牙，日本和其他国家。

Between 1812 and 1814, the brothers published two books in German.

从1812年到1814年，兄弟俩出版了两本德语书籍。

These included stories like Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood.

这些故事包括《汉塞尔与格蕾特》和《小红小红帽》。

Despite the fact that Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are often associated with Snow White and Rapunzel(长发公主)， the brothers didn't actually write any of those stories.

尽管每个人都经常把这对兄弟和白雪公主和长发公主联系起来，但是这些故事的确不是他们写的。

In fact, the stories existed long before the two men were born in Germany in the mid-1780s.

事实上，早在17世纪80年代中期，这对兄弟还没有出生在德国，这些故事就已经存在。

The fairy tales, in fact, were part of a rich oral（口头） tradition — passed down from generation to generation, often by women seeking to pass the time during household chores.

过去的童话属于口头故事 - 代代相传，通常是女人做家务时讲的消遣时间。

In 1812, Jacob and Wilhelm published the stories as part of a collection titled Nursery and Household Tales, or what is now known as Grimm's Fairy Tales(格林童话).

一八一二年，雅各布和威廉出版了一本名为《苗圃与家庭故事》的集合，即现在所说的《格林童话》。

The Grimm brothers' tales were about traditional life and beliefs.

格林兄弟的故事与传统生活和信仰有关。

例如，森林在德国很常见，很多森林都出现在格林童话里。

In the past, many people believed forests were dangerous places.

过去，很多人认为森林是一个危险的地方。

In the Grimms' stories, a forest is the home of evil witches（女巫）, talking animals, and other magical beings.

在格林童话里，森林里住着女巫，会说话的动物，会施魔的精灵。

Although most people today think of these stories as fairy tales for children, the brothers first wrote them for adults.

虽然现在大多数人都认为这些故事是孩子们读的童话，但是兄弟俩最初是写给大人读的。

Many of their early tales were dark and a little scary. Later, the brothers changed the text of some of the original stories.

早些时候，他们写的许多故事都是黑暗的，有些可怕。后来，兄弟俩改变了一些故事。

They "softened" many of the tales and added drawings. This made them more appropriate for children.

把这些故事改得不那么恐怖，加上一些绘画，这样更适合孩子阅读。

Like the early tales, though, each story still has a moral（寓意）: work hard, be good, and listen to your parents.

然而，就像早期的故事一样，每一个故事都包含着寓意：努力工作，做一个好人，听父母的话。

Actually, as university-trained philologists(语言学者) and librarians, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published more than fairy tales.

事实上，雅各布·格林和威廉·格林作为受过高等教育的语言学家和图书管理员，出版的作品不仅仅是童话。

They wrote books about mythology（神话）, and published scholarly（学术的） works on linguistics（语言学） and medieval（中世纪） studies.

在语言学和中世纪研究方面，他们还写了神话方面的书，出版了学术作品。