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，他们喜欢听好听的故事。
As university students, they became interested in folktales（民间故事） — traditional stories that people memorized and told again and again.
上大学后，他们开始对民间故事有了兴趣，就是那种流传了很久讲过一遍又一遍的传统故事。
They began to collect traditional folktales from storytellers all over Germany.
他们开始从德国各地的说书人那里收集传统民间故事。
Many were similar to stories told in France, Italy, Japan, and other countries.
许多故事跟法国、意大利、日本和其他国家的相似。
Between 1812 and 1814, the brothers published two books in German.
1812年至1814年期间，兄弟俩出版了两本德语书。
These included stories like Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood.
其中的故事包括《汉塞尔与格蕾特》和《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.
尽管人们经常把这对兄弟与白雪公主和长发公主联系起来，但这些故事确实不是他俩写的。
In fact, the stories existed long before the two men were born in Germany in the mid-1780s.
事实上，早在十七世纪八十年代中期，这对兄弟还没在德国出生，这些故事就已经存在了。
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.
童话过去属于口头故事 - 代代相传，往往是妇女做家务时讲来消遣时间的。
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）.
1812年，雅各布和威廉出版了一本名为《苗圃与家庭故事》的合集，也就是现在所说的《格林童话》。
The Grimm brothers' tales were about traditional life and beliefs.
格林兄弟的故事都与传统生活和信仰相关。
For example, forests are common in Germany, and this image often appears in the Grimms' stories.
例如，森林在德国很常见，而格林童话里就出现过许多森林。
In the past, many people believed forests were dangerous places.
过去，许多人认为森林是危险的地方。
In the Grimms' stories, a forest is the home of evil witches（女巫）, talking animals, and other magical beings.
格林童话中，森林里住着女巫、会说话的动物和会施魔法的精灵。
Although most people today think of these stories as fairy tales for children, the brothers first wrote them for adults.
虽然现在大多数人认为这些故事是儿童读的童话，但兄弟俩最初是写给成人读的。
Many of their early tales were dark and a little scary. Later, the brothers changed the text of some of the original stories.
早期他们写的许多故事是黑暗的，有些恐怖。后来，兄弟俩更改了其中一些故事。
They "softened" many of the tales and added drawings. This made them more appropriate for children.
把那些故事改得没那么吓人，并加进了一些绘画，这样就更适合孩子阅读。
Like the early tales, though, each story still has a moral（寓意）: work hard, be good, and listen to your parents.
不过，和早期的故事一样，每个故事都包含寓意：努力工作，做个好人，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，作为受过大学教育的语言学家和图书管理员，雅各布·格林和威廉·格林出版的作品不只是童话故事。
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.
他们还写过神话方面的书，出版过语言学和中世纪研究方面的学术著作。
