The Selected Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: "Ashputtel" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Treated cruelly by her stepmother and stepsisters, yet helped by birds, a young woman attends a royal ball and wins the heart of the king's son. Read the full text here. Translated by Edgar Taylor and Marian Edwardes.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. nigh
    not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
    The wife of a rich man fell sick; and when she felt that her end drew nigh, she called her only daughter to her bed-side, and said, ‘Always be a good girl, and I will look down from heaven and watch over you.’
  2. fair
    very pleasing to the eye
    This new wife had two daughters of her own, that she brought home with her; they were fair in face but foul at heart, and it was now a sorry time for the poor little girl.
  3. foul
    highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
    This new wife had two daughters of her own, that she brought home with her; they were fair in face but foul at heart, and it was now a sorry time for the poor little girl.
  4. frock
    a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
    Then they took away her fine clothes, and gave her an old grey frock to put on, and laughed at her, and turned her into the kitchen.
  5. plague
    annoy continually or chronically
    There she was forced to do hard work; to rise early before daylight, to bring the water, to make the fire, to cook and to wash. Besides that, the sisters plagued her in all sorts of ways, and laughed at her.
  6. hearth
    an area near a fireplace extending into a room
    In the evening when she was tired, she had no bed to lie down on, but was made to lie by the hearth among the ashes; and as this, of course, made her always dusty and dirty, they called her Ashputtel.
  7. copse
    a dense growth of trees, shrubs, or bushes
    Then he bought for the first two the fine clothes and pearls and diamonds they had asked for: and on his way home, as he rode through a green copse, a hazel twig brushed against him, and almost pushed off his hat: so he broke it off and brought it away; and when he got home he gave it to his daughter.
  8. sash
    a band of material worn around the waist or across the chest
    Ashputtel’s two sisters were asked to come; so they called her up, and said, ‘Now, comb our hair, brush our shoes, and tie our sashes for us, for we are going to dance at the king’s feast.’
  9. hither
    to this place
    ‘Hither, hither, through the sky,
    Turtle-doves and linnets, fly!
    Blackbird, thrush, and chaffinch gay,
    Hither, hither, haste away!
    One and all come help me, quick!
    Haste ye, haste ye!—pick, pick, pick!’
  10. flutter
    flap the wings rapidly or fly with flapping movements
    Then first came two white doves, flying in at the kitchen window; next came two turtle-doves; and after them came all the little birds under heaven, chirping and fluttering in: and they flew down into the ashes.
  11. stoop
    bend one's back forward from the waist on down
    And the little doves stooped their heads down and set to work, pick, pick, pick; and then the others began to pick, pick, pick: and among them all they soon picked out all the good grain, and put it into a dish but left the ashes.
  12. sorrowful
    experiencing or marked by or expressing sadness
    Now when all were gone, and nobody left at home, Ashputtel went sorrowfully and sat down under the hazel-tree, and cried out:
    ‘Shake, shake, hazel-tree,
    Gold and silver over me!’
  13. spangled
    covered with beads or jewels or sequins
    Then her friend the bird flew out of the tree, and brought a gold and silver dress for her, and slippers of spangled silk; and she put them on, and followed her sisters to the feast.
  14. stream
    flow freely and abundantly
    Then he looked down, and saw that the blood streamed so much from the shoe, that her white stockings were quite red.
  15. perch
    sit, as on a branch
    And when the dove had done its song, it came flying, and perched upon her right shoulder, and so went home with her.
Created on Wed Nov 01 13:09:55 EDT 2023 (updated Thu Nov 02 12:17:10 EDT 2023)

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