The Rabbit and the Maiden
Introduction
'The Rabbit and the Maiden' is the 66th tale in Grimm; its German title, 'Häsichenbraut,' means 'The Hare's Bride.' It reads more like a folk ditty sung over and over than a story of twisting plot: the rabbit comes three times to steal the cabbages, and each time the exchange between mother, maiden, and rabbit is almost identical — 'Shoo! shoo!', 'Come, maiden, sit on my tail' — repeated again and again, and it is just this catchy 'threefold' repetition that makes it so well suited to reading to little ones and having them chime along. The wedding in the tale carries an air of innocent nonsense: a crow for the parson, a fox for the clerk, all the hares as guests, and the altar pitched beneath the rainbow — pure fairy-tale whimsy. But its real cleverness lies in the maiden's escape: she builds a straw figure exactly like herself, dresses it, gives it a red mouth, stands it by the pot in her place, and slips quietly home. This ruse of 'fooling your captor with a dummy double' recurs across folk tales — in 'Fitcher's Bird,' which we've read, the clever little bride likewise deceives a wicked sorcerer with a disguised dummy. Short as it is, this story quietly holds a reassuring truth: faced with a situation they did not choose, even the small and weak can win themselves a way out through calm and cleverness.
Vocabulary from "The Rabbit and the Maiden"
12 key words from this story with definitions and original context sentences for language learners.
A round vegetable with thick green or purple leaves.
卷心菜；甘蓝。
There was once a woman who lived with her daughter in a beautiful cabbage-garden.
从前有一个女人和她的女儿住在一个美丽的菜园里。
A young unmarried girl (old-fashioned).
少女；未婚少女（旧式说法）。
"Shoo! shoo!" said the maiden; "don't eat up all our cabbages, little rabbit!"
少女说："嘘！嘘！小兔子，别把我们所有的卷心菜都吃光了！"
A small wooden cage where a pet rabbit is kept.
兔窝；兔笼。
"Come, maiden," said the rabbit, "sit on my tail and go with me to my rabbit-hutch."
兔子说："来吧，少女，坐在我的尾巴上，跟我去我的兔窝吧。"
The part sticking out at the back end of an animal's body.
尾巴。
And then the girl seated herself on the rabbit's tail, and the rabbit took her to his hutch.
然后女孩坐在了兔子的尾巴上，兔子把她带到了它的兔窝。
The outer, broken-up husk of grain such as wheat.
麸皮；糠。
"Now," said he, "set to work and cook some bran and cabbage; I am going to bid the wedding guests."
"现在，去做些麸皮和卷心菜；我要去邀请婚礼客人。"
A priest of a local parish church.
牧师；教区神父。
All the hares came, and the crow who was to be the parson to marry them, and the fox for the clerk.
所有的野兔都来了，乌鸦要来当牧师为他们证婚，狐狸当书记员。
Unhappy because of being alone.
孤独的；寂寞的。
But the maiden was sad, because she was so lonely.
但少女很伤心，因为她很孤独。
Happy and cheerful.
欢乐的；快活的。
"Get up! get up!" said the rabbit, "the wedding folk are all merry."
兔子说："起来！起来！婚礼的人们都很快乐。"
Cried, with tears (past tense of weep).
哭泣；流泪（weep 的过去式）。
But the bride wept and said nothing, and the rabbit went away, but very soon came back again.
但新娘哭泣着，什么也不说，兔子离开了，但很快又回来了。
Dried stalks of grain, used for animal bedding or making things.
稻草；麦秆。
Then she made a figure of straw, and dressed it in her own clothes, and gave it a red mouth.
然后她做了一个稻草人，穿上自己的衣服，给它一个红色的嘴巴。
Fell suddenly and clumsily.
跌倒；摔下。
He went up and hit the straw figure on the head, so that it tumbled down.
他走过去打稻草人的头，使它倒下了。
A woman on her wedding day, or just about to be married.
新娘。
And the rabbit thought that he had killed his bride, and he went away and was very sad.
兔子以为他杀死了他的新娘，便伤心地离开了。
Reading Together & Learning More
The Moral
The rabbit, trusting in his own power, insists on carrying the unwilling maiden off to his hutch and forcing her to be his bride. The maiden is small and cannot escape, yet she does not panic; instead she thinks up a clever trick: she builds a straw figure exactly like herself, dresses it in her own clothes, gives it a red mouth, stands it by the pot in her place, and slips home to her mother while she can. What this little story wants to tell a child is this: when someone tries to take you away whether you want it or not, saying 'no' is right; and when meeting force with force won't work, one calm, good idea can free you better than brute strength. Real cleverness lies in this — 'the more afraid you are, the more you must use your head.'
Educational Value
This is a rhythmic, repetitive story well suited to little ones: the rabbit appears three times, each exchange almost word for word the same, so a child easily chimes in and predicts the next line. It is naturally a small lesson in 'wit over strength' — the maiden wins not by beating the rabbit but by a clever 'slip-away-in-disguise' idea. Use it to chat with your child: when you face trouble you can't overpower, besides fighting or crying, is there a third path of 'thinking up a plan'? The whimsical wedding (a crow for the parson, a fox for the clerk, an altar under the rainbow) is also fine material for exercising imagination and description.
Tips for Parents
This one is short, rhyming, and repetitive — just the kind of story best read to toddlers, encouraging them to chime in; by the rabbit's third 'Come, maiden, sit on my tail,' most children will already be jumping in to finish the line. It is gentle and harmless overall; the only thing to watch is the ending: the rabbit strikes the straw figure on the head and 'thinks he has killed his bride' — this is in fact the maiden's clever 'switch-and-slip-away' (just as in 'Fitcher's Bird,' which we've read, the bride fools the villain with a dummy), and no one is really harmed, so as you read, just make clear 'that's only a straw dummy.' Afterwards, play an imagination game: if you had to sneak away quietly, what would you use to make a 'fake you' to fool everyone?
Talk About It
- The rabbit insists on carrying the maiden off to be his bride whether she likes it or not. Do you think the maiden is right not to want to go, and to escape?
- The maiden is no match for the rabbit in strength, yet she escapes in the end. What does she rely on — strength, or a good idea?
- The maiden builds a straw figure exactly like herself to 'switch places.' If it were you, how would you sneak away without being noticed?
- The rabbit comes three times, saying almost the same words each time. Do you enjoy this 'repeat it three times' way of telling? What's special about how it reads?
- The wedding is delightful: a crow for the parson, a fox for the clerk, the altar under the rainbow. If you were holding an 'animal wedding,' who would you invite to do what?
