The Grimm version of "The Three Sisters" is based upon the "Die Bücher der Chronika der drei Schwestern" in the Volksmärchen der Deutschen published in 1782. In many ways the two stories are literally identical. The main plot points are retold by the Grimms practically word for word. However, in shortening the tale and attempting to return to a simpler version the Grimms leave out many details. By the end of the story the Grimms leave out large explanations that Musäus includes in the third book. Most of the changes have little impact on the result of the story, however, a few change the tone of the story significantly.
Because it is so much longer the Musäus version contains much more elaborate description of the scene and the motivations of the characters. One interesting addition are the added descriptions of the sisters and their animal husbands. Each gains a name that they did not have in the Grimm's version. In the Grimm's version only Reinald, the main character gets a name, but in the Musäus version all the other characters do as well. The eldest sister is names Wulfild, the second sister is named Adelheid, and the third sister is named Berta. The sisters also are described in more detail. Adelheid is painted as the greatest spinner in the land which later explains why she is gathering flax later on in the story when she meets the eagle prince. As with the princesses, the bear prince has the name Albert the bear, the eagle is called Edgar the Aar, and the whale is called Ufo the delphin. Interestingly enough Musäus later goes on to use these names to explain which kingdoms these Princes went on to found once freed from the spell. Albert founds Bernburg, Edgar Aarburg and Ufo the province of delphinate. The Princess that Reinald saves is also named Hildegard. All of these names might seem just simple details, but they actually make the tale more real. By removing them the Grimm's helped keep the tale in the unreal magical world which is often associated with fairy tales today. It is also this description and detail which distinguishes the tale as a literary tale.
Another major change between the tales is that the Musäus version dwells much longer on the financial status of the King who happens to be a Duke in the Musäus version. In the Grimm version they mention that the King was rich, but spent his money lavishly and thus was impoverished. Later they mention that the King becomes rich again after the present from the Bear and then from the Eagle, and each time they mention briefly that the King again wasted his money. However, the King's lavish living is not dwelt on long and passes by as simply a minor point. Though they do mention that he stops his lavish lifestyle after he loses his thrid daughter. In the Musäus version however the reader is told about the lavish court that the Duke establishes after each gift. For example Berta is described as dancing with all the Princes who come to their castle after the riches that came from the Eagle. The Knights and Princes flock to the castles because of its riches and the beautiful Princes. When the King loses all his money, the many princes stop coming to the castle. Later when the whale prince comes to the castle he asks for a glass of water. This is not explained in the Grimm version. In the Musäus version, however, he asks for water specifically in response to the Queens explanation that since she is poor they can no longer provide a gallant knight with a hearty meal and wine as a welcome. The reader hears all the details of the elaborate falcons, and princely contest that the Duke holds whenever he gains riches which quickly deplete his treasury each time. By removing these many details the Grimms removed the concept of this frivolous spending which in reality is never punished though the Kings supposedly reforms his ways after the third sister is gone. This of course might simply be because he has no other daughters to give away to save his life. As a sort of punishment the King does lose his daughters each time he goes searching for food because of his poverty. Interstingly enough Musäus makes it sound like the King must go hunting because the queen is not a skilled cook rather than the fact that they have no other food. It almost becomes the Queen's fault that they can only eat potatoes because that is the only thing she can cook. As a result the King must then enter the enchanted forest to get other food because they have nothing else. However, the loss of his daughters is a result of entering the forest not his foolish spending. Possibly, the Grimms who were apt to include messages which punished bad behavior and rewarded good behavior felt that they should tone down this lavish squandering of money without a clear definite consequence. They did not remove the concept completely, but by toning down the attention paid to the King's spending habits they prevent this from coming to the fore in the story.
The end part of the Musäus tale is the part most altered by the Grimm's. Not only do the Grimm's remove several suggestions by the animal husbands to Reinald about how to remove the spell, but they also removed the explanation by Hildegard of how she and her brothers became enchanted. These were not just details, but the explanation makes up a complete book of the "Die Bücher der drei Schwestern." In the Grimm tale the enchantment is simply explained by the fact that the sister had refused to marry a "godless magician." Hildegard's explanation is much more complete. She explains that an evil sorcerer asked for her hand in marriage from her father. Her father refused because he was an evil man. The Sorcerer preceded to wage war on Hildegard's Kingdom and killed her father in the process while Hildegard was sent off to live with relatives. The Sorcerer then later entraps her and because of her repeated refusals puts her in an enchanted sleep and places the spells upon her brothers. Later the sorcerer was defeated by another more powerful sorcerer. It is because the Sorcerer is dead that Reinald could break the spell. This part of the tale can in some ways be seen as inconsequential to the rest of the tale, but it does help explain how all of these things could occur. Perhaps the Brothers Grimm felt it was unnecessary, but it is very strange that after following the story almost completely word for word that they would suddenly omit a large portion of the tale.
When comparing the two versions of the tale, it becomes clear that the Musäus version is the source of the Grimm's tale "The Three Sisters." As a result Jacob Grimm was justified in removing the tale because of its possibly literary roots. However, why this tale when many other tales from Perrault were not removed? Perhaps the Grimms felt the story lacked a lesson. Reinald is rewarded for his noble and heroic search for his sisters and to break their enchantment. However, the father gets rewarded monetarily for giving his daughters away and then squanders his money on lavish living. Even with their toning the spending down, the Grimm's might have felt this gave a mixed message and deviated from the morals and ideals they seemed to try to instill in their tales. Perhaps the tale was simply too literary as Jacob Grimm claimed. Whatever the reason the Grimms felt a need to simplify the Musäus story and they eventually omit it from their collection all together. As a result, few people know the tale of "The Three Sisters," and many envision the Chekhov play rather than a fairy tale when they hear this title.
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Written by Michele Nichols