The Brothers Grimm and a Veiled Princess with Frater Aaron

Untitled project from SquadCast

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[00:00:00] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Hello, and welcome everybody to Dine with the Divine. I'm your host, Ashley, and we're going to go into the magical, the mystical, and everything in between. On today's episode, we're going to talk about two very famous brothers,

[00:00:17] it'll be a good time. So today we have a great guest. We have Aaron here! Aaron is here! Aaron is here! So he's a creator of storybook, sacred lore of witchcraft podcast

[00:00:28] exploring magical wisdom in fairy tales and classic literature. How are you doing, Aaron?

[00:00:34] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: I'm wonderful. Thank you so much for inviting me.

[00:00:37] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Absolutely. I'm so glad you're here. So how did you get into your fascination with fairy tales and storytelling and literature. How did you get there?

[00:00:48] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Growing up, I always loved to read. I always was fascinated and a fan of fairy tales, whether that was film and animated adaptions or reading them. And. It [00:01:00] was, it was a bit of a guilty pleasure. It felt like something I should be putting away as I get older, but for some reason, they always stayed on my mind a little bit.

[00:01:07] And , there were some ways I could navigate that. So there were literary analysis. collections of fairy tales like Maria Tartar. There were psychological analysis such as Bruno Bettelheim and Jung or Marie Louise von Franz. And so there were always ways that I could still read the fairy tales and pretend I was being adult and intellectual. But I had a teacher When I was in my early twenties, and I was studying with a queer magical order called the fellowship of the Phoenix, and I had a teacher who was also an initiate of traditional witchcraft, and he would say that in his lineage, their Bible was Grimm's fairy tales And, I'm cynical, but I was always intrigued, too, and so I, I took it, I took that at face value and would ask him [00:02:00] about it and, I'm sure he was only able to share so much of that, but it was something that always stayed with me, and especially because. The fairy tales that we know were collected by Brothers Grimm changed a lot over the years while they worked on them.

[00:02:15] And then since then, English translations have changed a lot over the years. And sometimes full meanings of the tales changed. And so that made me wonder too, like, how do you work with that as a sacred text? And I began exploring them on my

[00:02:29] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: That's so interesting. And I always wonder that too about like fairy tales because you always hear you hear tales and you're like, okay at the beginning of whenever people made this up some of it has to have happened. You know what I mean? Like all the stories you hear we always hear and then of course, you're like you said, there's psychological analysis of it.

[00:02:54] I was listening to a podcast the other day and they do [00:03:00] like, I think it's tales. I think it's just tales. Yeah. And she, they always put like a little thing in the beginning and the end, usually like about the fairy tale.

[00:03:07] So either they'll do a little, like where it comes from, blah, And at the end they do a little bit of like of the meaning or like the psychological meaning of it or whatever. But they were talking about how like all the towers, a lot of the time, the towers were about like how they wanted to keep women chased and how that was like the most important thing at the time.

[00:03:30] So it was like, Oh, her dad locked her up in a tower. It was like, because. It was so important for her to be a virgin or else the world was going to end or whatever. So like all these little things, though, in these tales were so interesting. I was listening to something else where they talk a lot about the whole, like about feminism and a lot of the tales and how it's like, it's just really interesting.

[00:03:53] And depending on the culture or where you are in the world, the stories, Are even just like so different [00:04:00] culturally and they teach you so much about our culture, even though if you want to say at face value, like, oh, this is a made up story. That's like the most basic thing you can say about , a fairy tale.

[00:04:11] But it gives you so much insight into the culture. Even like my favorite I'm not going to say that. I am. My favorite anthology, I think of like fairy tales is A Thousand and One Nights. I love A Thousand and One Nights. I could read it over and over because it's just wild.

[00:04:26] Like it just keeps going and going. Every story bleeds into another story and you have to pay attention because this story is really so complicated, but it's so cool. How this, what, one story is about, you'll have three stories, and it's three stories being told by one, a story before that, about people being at a party telling the story.

[00:04:48] So you have to

[00:04:50] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: yeah, and someone will ask, you Someone will ask for information and they'll be like it's like this story where blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, but you're already two stories in deep and you're [00:05:00] like, oh, shit, here we go again.

[00:05:03] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: much, even like, all the stories from about Sinbad the Sailor. Are just the stories he was telling at his own dinner party. Like he was having a dinner party

[00:05:12] And he's like, you guys don't think I'm a badass. Hold on. Let me tell you another story. And that's every single story. And then in the end, he gives some money to another guy.

[00:05:21] Cause he's like, you should go on adventures too. And you're like, what? It's so funny.

[00:05:27] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: The symbolism of the towers and, this isn't my personal story, but my husband grew up in a very rural area and, it would have been before the 1950s, his, let's see, his father. Someone who told him, how do I put this?

[00:05:47] Okay. His father basically kidnapped his mother.

[00:05:52] So she She was a young girl at the time. And the young girl's brother was like, yeah, give me some money. I'll [00:06:00] show you which windows is yours. Come with your truck at night. And you could just pull her out through the window. And. And this man did! And then, it caused a big uproar, and the and they had to bring her back the next day because the parents were upset, and then he ended up proposing and marrying her. Anyway, but, that's something straight out of these women locked in the tower stories, and it happens.

[00:06:25] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: It's, I'm glad everything worked out in this one.

[00:06:28] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: It's horrible! I was like,

[00:06:31] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: like,

[00:06:31] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: I know I clutched my pearls when he told me this story.

[00:06:34] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: like, sir, what? Like everybody, everyone was not consenting in this situation. Okay. But everybody's okay now.

[00:06:44] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Yeah,

[00:06:47] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: There's like, I think it's in I believe it's in Indonesia. It's symbolic though, it's not like a real kidnapping, but they do that, it's like a joke, everybody's in on the joke.

[00:06:57] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: comes

[00:06:58] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Yeah, the white,

[00:06:59] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: her up and[00:07:00]

[00:07:00] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: yeah, the girls in on it and usually like the partner number one gets all his or her friends. It's usually a man and a woman, but the guy gets all his friends and they're like, we're going to kidnap her. And everybody's like, Oh, the woman's like, Oh like everybody knows. And at the end, it's like, ha.

[00:07:17] Look at us being so stupid.

[00:07:20] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: actually sounds amazing,

[00:07:21] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Yeah.

[00:07:22] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Like living out a romance novel fantasy.

[00:07:25] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: I saw one, like, video of it. So this guy goes to get his fiancée, and he's trying to carry her, but he's obviously getting very winded. And she's like, it's fine, just put me down. He's like, no! He's like, no, I'm gonna carry you. And she's like, you seem tired. You're gonna drop me. This is getting dangerous.

[00:07:48] Even she was, laughing. She's like, let's just Like we all get it. It's fine. He's like, no. I got to take you to specific field and then we got to laugh and then we got to go back.

[00:07:57] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: You know what, if he can't do it, maybe that's the [00:08:00] sign that, Oh, that's not the right one. We have to take another suitor.

[00:08:04] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: If she's banging on him being a farmer, maybe not. He doesn't seem strong because my man was huffing and puffing, but like, that's okay. They seem like they really enjoyed each other and she was, she thought it was funny. I'm like, whatever you guys want to do. It's a good time gosh, so now that we've talked about kidnapping, people getting married We're gonna go on to a really random other subject so we're gonna do our dish of the week every week We're gonna talk about a dish that relates to our story and today we're gonna talk about German rhubarb almond cake This is a rhubarb custard cake that is very popular in Germany apparently.

[00:08:48] If you are in Germany, let me know if this is true. The base of the cake is rich and buttery and it's topped with like chopped rhubarb. I don't like rhubarb, but I pretend that I do because everybody [00:09:00] around me one time was eating rhubarb. They're like, it's so good. I was like, yeah,

[00:09:03] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Rhubarb is having a comeback. It never really went away, but it definitely seems to be gaining in popularity the past few summers.

[00:09:11] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Absolutely, people are into it, like, and that's cool. Maybe if somebody, I don't know, cooks it right, I'll like it, but I don't know. But I do like almonds, and I like things that are rich and buttery, so I might like this. So there's a lot going on in this German cake, and there's a couple layers.

[00:09:27] So the first is we have a short crust bake. So they knead it and they roll it into some pie dough because we know the Germans love some pie dough And they press it into a cake pan. Then you take sugary rhubarb pieces and you scatter those over And then you put creamy almond flour custard with vanilla extract and cinnamon.

[00:09:50] Okay, that sounds good. The custard, the way you make the custard is vanilla sugar, which is just white sugar with vanilla. Okay, I was like, what's that? That's [00:10:00] easy. And if you don't have vanilla sugar, This is white sugar infused with vanilla beans. Damn, who's buying vanilla beans? First of all, vanilla is already expensive.

[00:10:10] Extract. I'm sure the beans are a million dollars. That sounds expensive. Yeah, we're just going to use vanilla extract everybody. Don't worry. Don't go to Whole Foods and look for vanilla beans. You'll be fine. Then we have cream franchise. I hope I say that and that's essential for the velvety texture of the decadent filling.

[00:10:28] And if you can't find that in the grocery store, you can just make your own franchise, which there's a link in the recipe to how to do that if you're interested. Or you can use sour cream or Greek yogurt. The thought in my head when people substitute things with sour cream, it makes me uncomfortable because I think of sour cream as something I'm putting on a potato and not in a baked good.

[00:10:51] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: It seems so weird, but it really works in desserts.

[00:10:56] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: I'm sure it does. I feel the same way about sweet potato pie, though. I [00:11:00] can't eat it 'cause I know it's a sweet potato. Just makes me upset.

[00:11:06] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: I really prefer my sweet potatoes like french fried,

[00:11:09] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Me too.

[00:11:10] Yeah.

[00:11:11] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: a little spicy paprika or something on them.

[00:11:14] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Yes, I prefer a savory sweet potato. So I think that's why when I see sweet potato pie. I'm very uncomfortable and I can't even eat it. Like it tastes, if someone tells me, oh, it's pumpkin pie, I'll eat it. But like, I'll be like, Oh, I love pumpkin pie, but if I find out it's sweet potato pie, I can't eat it.

[00:11:32] I'll be like, no, thank you. Thank you so much. That was nice, but no, thank you. Okay. So we talked about the filling. So you're going to make your cake, everybody. You're going to make the rhubarb filling and you're going to put the sugar and the rhubarb filling in a bowl. You're going to put it together and then you're going to Release some of the rhubarb juice.

[00:11:50] Take about an hour. Then you're gonna make the cake. You're gonna beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl until it's light and fluffy. Then you're gonna add flour, wine, nice, [00:12:00] baking powder, and eggs to form the dough. Then you're gonna put that and wrap it up and put it in the refrigerator for 5 10 minutes.

[00:12:06] Then you're going to preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9 inch cake pan, roll out the lightly floured circuit, the lightly floured surface into a circle slightly larger than the diameter of the cake pan. Transfer to the prepared cake pan, letting the dough come up. On the sides about an inch so you're gonna drain the rhubarb Then you're gonna put it in the oven around the dough All right, then you're gonna have your cake.

[00:12:34] Okay, and then you're gonna put almonds on top of it. It's gonna be delicious

[00:12:38] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Is there a picture? Does it look like a pie?

[00:12:40] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: it looks like this is My black and white tablet so you probably can't see it. It does look like a pie

[00:12:46] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: It looks beautiful

[00:12:47] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Yeah, it's more like a cake I think but like either way whatever they want. It sounds nice

[00:12:54] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: That sounds really nice. I've never cooked with rhubarb. I've eaten it. I've never cooked with rhubarb. And I think one of the reasons [00:13:00] is it's, it seems to be one of those things you only cook with if you grow it.

[00:13:04] That's not true,

[00:13:05] but it totally seems to me like, Oh, I have to have a rhubarb bush in back in order to make strawberry rhubarb pie.

[00:13:12] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: That's how I think too. It's one of those things. It's like people who eat I always get I forget what it's called, but it's like a Vegetable and it's purple on the end and it's like a celery stick

[00:13:24] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Like a Swiss chard

[00:13:25] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Yeah, chard. Swiss chard. I'm like, the only people who use Swiss chard are people who grow it. Like, that's in my head, and they love it, and I'm happy for them.

[00:13:33] Like, I've eaten it. I'm like, okay, that's fine. But everybody I know who eats it has grown it in their backyard. And I'm like, you know what? Whatever floats your boat. If you like it, great. I'm not a fan, but it's okay. It's not about me. People want to grow it. Everything is not about me. Okay, now gonna go to our tea time.

[00:13:56] And as I have alluded to several times already, we're gonna talk [00:14:00] about two of the most famous brothers in the fairy tale game. You all know who these are. We're talking about the Brothers Grimm today, because why not? Let's get to the, let's get to the origin story. The basics of who these dudes are. We know they were walking around the Black Forest apparently asking people if they heard a story.

[00:14:16] We know that part. But where'd they come from? Who are they? Who are these guys? Let me tell you, they came from the bottom to the top. They did a good job. Alright, so it starts like this. Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm He's the older brother. And then Wilhelm Grimm. They're both Carls, but one's Carl with a K and one's Carl with a C?

[00:14:39] Whatever. Jacob and Wilhelm, that's all we need to really know. Born, so Jacob was born January 4th, 1785, and then Wilhelm was born February 24th, 1786. In Hanau, in Land Gravitae of Helsi Kassel, which was [00:15:00] within, at the time, The Holy Roman Empire, but right now it would just be Germany. And they were born to Philip Wilhelm Grimm, who was a jurist, who it's like a lawyer, but not.

[00:15:12] Yeah, I was like, trying to understand what a jurist is, like, you you work for the government, just know that. And you're like a lawyer, but not really, all the laws. And Dorothea, his, their mom, Grimm, who was the daughter of a castle city, Councilman. So

[00:15:28] they weren't rich, but they definitely weren't middle class. They were in between that they were doing well. They were the second and third eldest surviving siblings of the nine children that the mom had, three of them died with in infancy. So in 1791, the family moved to the countryside town of.

[00:15:50] German people, I'm so sorry if I'm mispronouncing the names of your towns, I'm doing my best. But I think it's Steinau, and this is because Philip, the papa, he became [00:16:00] a district magistrate. Good job, right? So they moved and they became prominent members of the community. They were doing really good. And they lived in a really nice house surrounded by beautiful fields.

[00:16:10] All the kids, they were probably running around hanging out. Maybe they were wearing lederhosen. I don't know. Do all German kids wear lederhosen all the time? Probably not, but maybe they were. I like to think about it because it's cute. Like the little suspenders, it's adorable. But everybody was happy.

[00:16:27] Like things were going really well. They had private tutors. They got really good Lutheran education. Hardcore. religious Lutheran education because they were German children. So that's what happened. It's fine. Later on, they attended schools after they had some tutors earlier in their lives.

[00:16:46] So then in 1796, unfortunately, tragedy struck. Mr. Grimm, the dad, he died of pneumonia. So this caused a huge problem, obviously, because he was a district [00:17:00] magistrate. He was the one making all the money. And Dorothea, the mom, she was forced to give Up all of her stuff because she had no money. She didn't have a job it's the late 1700s.

[00:17:10] She probably didn't have a career of any time. She was just married to a dude That's how it worked back then. So She now had to go and rely on her father and her sister for financial support. Sorry, my page went away. Oh, so she had to rely on her father and her Sister was the first lady in waiting at the court of William the first who was the elector of Hesse.

[00:17:35] So she had a good job. She was still a Servant, but like a high ranking servant. So like she had a decent job this sister So they were help helping support her sister. So Jacob because he was the oldest boy He was only 11, but he was the oldest now. He had to assume all the dad responsibilities, which sucks because he's 11 Okay First of all, your dad dies.

[00:17:59] That sucks. [00:18:00] And now, you're the default dad. You're 11 years old. He shared those with Wilhelm. Him and his brother, obviously, the brother's grim. They got along pretty well. And they support each other. Not to spoil the story, but for the rest of their lives, they're very close.

[00:18:16] So Wilhelm would help him do whatever they had to do. And then their grandfather was constantly trying to help them work or try to find them things to do to help the family basically. So they left Steinhau and the whole family in 1798 to attend this This school called Frederick's Gymnasium.

[00:18:38] Literally, that's the whole word. It's Frederick's Gymnasium. It's not, no space. In a castle.

[00:18:44] Yeah, yeah. I was like, wait, is it, is it Frederick's Gymnasium? Nope. Frederick's Gymnasium. Yeah. Like, okay, cute. They attended this school, and this was arranged for and paid for by the aunt, the one who's the [00:19:00] lady in waiting.

[00:19:01] But they don't have any male provider because also their grandfather died that same year So this forced them to rely on each other and that's when they became super close because they had to Rely on each other for everything at this point And they knew Oh, they were also very different. So jacob was very introspective and like He really just like wanted to chill by himself He was probably like that kid that you knew who was always just like reading in the corner Like he was cool.

[00:19:27] Like he didn't have any smoke with anybody like everybody liked that kid, but they're just like, ah, don't bother him He's quiet. That's that was probably jacob But wilhelm was way more like hey guys, like let's like let's hang out But Wilhelm was also very sickly. So this caused him some problems, but he was very outgoing.

[00:19:44] But both of them were really smart and really motivated. So that was really awesome. And they both motivated each other. And they also became very aware when they were at Frederick's gymnasium that They were the poor kids there even though, they came from as high [00:20:00] social status before, but now they didn't have any money, this, that, and the third, and they became aware that we're not really being treated the same way as these, quote, unquote, like it says here, high born kids are, we be, we're not treated the same way.

[00:20:14] No matter what though, they didn't give a shit about that because guess what? Jacob, he graduated ahead of his class in 1803 and then Wilhelm also graduated ahead of his class in 1804. Good job, boys! Deserve a hand. Yeah. Oh, and Wilhelm would have graduated earlier, but he missed a year because he has scarlet fever.

[00:20:35] Yikes. Scarlet fever sounds all those old timey. Okay, not gonna go on my rant. I'm not going to put my nurse hat on and talk about vaccines, because that's controversial. But get vaccinated. But Why people are so like, I don't want to get vaccinated against the measles and the mumps. Do you want it?

[00:20:51] Because it sounds awful.

[00:20:56] You

[00:20:56] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: you want a pock ridden face?

[00:20:59] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: What [00:21:00] I'm saying is like, Do you want diphtheria? Like who Do you know, do you, first of all, do you know that like the past, I think maybe it's the past 15, 20 years when people started getting all upset about vaccines all the time. This is not funny at all. There was pediatricians who were like, you need to get vaccinated because us, we don't even know those diseases.

[00:21:20] So when your kid comes in with the measles or the mumps, we don't know what the fuck to do. It's crazy.

[00:21:26] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: We Had eliminated them theoretically for so long.

[00:21:30] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Yeah, these pediatricians in their 30s are like, we don't even know what the mumps are. Like, we, I've never, literally there's people who are like, I've never known anybody to have the mumps. So if your kid comes in with the mumps I don't know, we're just gonna throw some, I don't know, give him some Tylenol and pray for the best because at this point we don't know what to do about it.

[00:21:49] Like, come

[00:21:51] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Ask him not to come in.

[00:21:53] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: You guys are gonna have to stay home and figure it out. We'll drop you off some ibuprofen and pray, [00:22:00] that way. Cause that's crazy. Yeah, so everybody, don't get the momsick.

[00:22:05] Anyway, so after their graduation from Frederick's Gymnasium, The boys, then they went and attended the university of Marburg. So this is a small university. There's only 200 students. And then they became even more aware how poor they were. It was probably like, going from there, like community college or their high school, they like got into like, let's see, like Cornell or something.

[00:22:28] And they're like, damn, everybody here has a lot of money and we do not. And so much so that they both wanted to study law and they were obviously very intelligent. Young guys but they didn't have the social standing, which is so messed up.

[00:22:41] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: It's. If that was a requirement nowadays.

[00:22:46] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: They're like your family doesn't come from money, so you can't study law. They were like, wait, but isn't this about how smart we are? They're like, nope. That's

[00:22:53] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: you have under 500 followers, and[00:23:00]

[00:23:00] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: basically what they said. Your family wasn't popular enough and they don't come from old money and you guys don't have a yacht. So sorry. Oh my God. I love it. But again, this is why I like the story because these boys, they don't care. They just keep going.

[00:23:17] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: They were like, fuck it, we'll study languages.

[00:23:19] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Yeah, they're like, f k you guys.

[00:23:22] Watch us become the most famous people forever.

[00:23:26] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Yeah.

[00:23:27] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Icks.

[00:23:29] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Still bringing in them royalties.

[00:23:31] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Hello? I wish I was a Grimm, because I'd still be making some money. I know. The wealthier students, they got stipend. But the brothers, they didn't even get a tuition aid. Which, damn, I didn't even know they had tuition aid back then. Like I said, they filled out their FAFSA, but they didn't let them get anything.

[00:23:47] That's not nice.

[00:23:48] Um, it's crazy. So they weren't able to also participate in student life. And activities because they didn't have money and they had to work. So then their law professor, [00:24:00] who I guess they tried to study law still, their law professor was like, Look, let me talk to you guys real quick.

[00:24:05] You're never going to make it in this game. Especially because your parents are nobodies. Your papa has died. We're so sorry. But you want to study some history and maybe some books? And they were like, Yeah, that sounds pretty cool. So they started studying medieval German literature, so their professor.

[00:24:24] Frederick Vaughn Sne S sne. We're just gonna say that for now. He. Was like start studying German literature because we are super into uniting Germany. So this is like the time again, I said the beginning, Germany was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It wasn't Germany. There was just like a bunch of different principalities and they were Germanic places.

[00:24:50] Yeah, 200 of them. And Savigne was like, we need to like rally and get all these people together so we can have [00:25:00] a whole Germany. So finding out, obviously. in any place around the world. What brings people together? Your national stories, your national poems, your thinking about all these different places in the world, like India, they have the Mahabharata, which is the national epic of India, which is awesome, so it brought them all together to be like, yeah, this is our story, rah.

[00:25:24] So Savigny had a bunch of friends who were also writers and poets, German romantics such as Clemens, Brutano, and ludwig Ackman von Arnim, and they were introduced to all these guys, the Grimms, and they were also introduced to the ideas of Johann Gottfried Herder, who thought that German literature should revert to simpler forms, which he did I'm not going to read that part because I can't pronounce it, but basically, Like, people, I think, this is my theory, people try [00:26:00] to be more like high up by making things more complicated.

[00:26:03] But this guy was like, no, why don't we just make things basic? And I think this made sense for the Grimm brothers, and that's why their further works go into them going and just literally asking people. Hey, what are your folk stories? Cause he's like, this is what we should go with here. We don't have to do all these high born stuff and make everything artistic.

[00:26:23] And that's not, let's just ask basically like what the hell happened. Now, after they learned all this, the Brothers Grimm, they decided to dedicate themselves to studying all these kinds of stories. William actually wrote, Wilhelm wrote in his autobiography, The ardor with which we studied Old German helped us overcome the spiritual depression of those days.

[00:26:44] So they just like really loved it and it made them really happy, which

[00:26:46] Makes me happy. So Jacob, he was still the dad of the family, the patriarch of the family at this point. So he was still financially responsible for his mom, his brother, and his younger siblings. So in 1805, he accepted a [00:27:00] post in Paris as Savigny's research assistant.

[00:27:04] On his return to Marburg, he was forced to abandon his studies to support his family, and their poverty had gotten so bad that they were saying that once a day, there were five people and they could only eat once a day, because, like, they had nothing. Yeah, they were really poor at this point.

[00:27:22] So then, Jacob then found full time employment in 1808 when he was appointed as a court librarian to the king of Westphalia, and went on to become the librarian in Kassel. This is like a really good position. This isn't like maybe, it's like your local library, but it's like a big deal, local library.

[00:27:41] It's not , your library where you go to use the computer and print things out for free. Cause you're not like me. Then their mom died. And then Jacob became fully responsible for his younger sibling. At this point, he had a job, which was good. So he started figuring out what he was going to do with everybody.

[00:27:58] He arranged and paid for his [00:28:00] brother Ludwig's studies at art school. That's pretty cool of him. And then for Wilhelm, he extended his visit to Hall to seek treatment. Because Wilhelm, like I said, he was very sickly. He had respiratory problems, heart problems. So he was in this place called Hall getting treatment, but then after he got a little bit better, he went and joined Jacob at Castle and became a librarian.

[00:28:24] And then his friend Brutano, he requested that the brothers start going around and collecting folktales. And this is in 1807. And

[00:28:32] They didn't have a ton of money to do this, but they were like, we're going to do it. So this says, according to ZPs, who I think wrote a book about these guys, he said, the Grimm's were unable to devote all their energies to their research and did not have a clear idea about the significance of collecting folktales in this initial phase.

[00:28:48] Yeah, I read that a couple of times. They were like, okay, they were like, we'll go talk to people and collect stories. But like, we don't really know why we're doing [00:29:00] this, but like, fine. So they did. So during their employment as librarians which gave them a lot of time for research, they didn't have a ton of money, but they gave they had a lot of time to research.

[00:29:11] Obviously, if you're a librarian they may they wrote a lot. They published a whole bunch of books. So this is between. 1812 and 1830. In 1812, they published their first volume of 86 folktales called Kinder und Hausmarschen, which was followed by two volumes of German legends and a volume of early literary history.

[00:29:36] And then they went on to publish works about Danish history, Irish folktales, also Norse mythology. And they were still editing all their German folktales too. And then people like all over the country and the land were starting to hear about this. So this became so popular that they actually received honorary doctorate degrees from the universities in [00:30:00] Marburg, Berlin, and Brasov.

[00:30:02] Which was like pretty

[00:30:03] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Wow. Go. Brothers Grim.

[00:30:05] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: I know, for two boys who were told they couldn't be lawyers because they didn't have enough money, they got honorary doctor degrees. That's awesome. I'm

[00:30:12] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Yeah.

[00:30:14] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: proud of them. So then, in May 15, 1825, Wilhelm, he decided to go and get married. He married a lady named Henriette.

[00:30:24] Aw, Henriette, so cute. I like that name. Her name's Henriette Dorothea Dorchin Wilde. Okay, Henriette Wilde. Love

[00:30:31] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: She

[00:30:32] She was als also a source of many of the tales that they collected.

[00:30:36] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: yes. Yeah.

[00:30:38] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Briefly in, in one of my discussions on my podcast, I was like, could you imagine? The, like, the casting the love spell of just the mundane action of, Scheherazade, come back tomorrow and I'll tell you the next story.

[00:30:51] And over this time, their courtship develops because they keep visiting her to hear these tales.

[00:30:57] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Yes, that's exactly what I thought too. I thought of [00:31:00] Scheherazade. I was like, oh my god, that's so cute. I know, she's probably telling him and he's probably walking away like, oh, she's so cute. And he's, she's like, I got him! Yeah! I got my sexy librarian! Like Henriette, I saw that game and I love it. So she was a pharmacist's daughter, and she's actually a childhood friend.

[00:31:19] And again, here we go, who gave the brothers a lot of the tales. Jacob, he never married, but he stayed with them. Like, he lived with them for,

[00:31:26] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: I didn't know that.

[00:31:27] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Yeah! Isn't that cute?

[00:31:29] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: too busy! He had all these mouths to feed.

[00:31:35] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: I just love how, Wilhelm and Jacob were just, in it to the end. They were so adorable as

[00:31:42] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: They were the original property bros.

[00:31:44] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Yeah, they really were, like, they loved each other so much, and they really came up together, and like,

[00:31:52] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: they have other siblings that like, are there, but are not property bros.

[00:31:57] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: they're like, oh, whatever. And like, when their [00:32:00] other siblings, would call or write, they'd have to, ask about the other one, because they can't just write to one.

[00:32:04] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Yeah.

[00:32:05] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Or they just write to both of them together, because they

[00:32:08] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Just write to them together.

[00:32:09] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Yeah, they know they're gonna read it to each other, so they're like, we'll just write it to Wilhelm and Jacob.

[00:32:15] We can't ask either one. Some drama. In 1830, both the brothers were overlooked when they tried to apply for the chief librarian at where are we at now? Oh, in a different town. I don't know which one now. You guys, sorry, I got confused. I'm writing it down. So they moved 'cause they were like, we gotta get outta here.

[00:32:31] We gotta get a better job. So they moved the, all three of 'em, they moved to, got Gogan Gagan in the Kingdom of Hanover where they took employment at the University of got Gogan and Jacob became a professor in the head librarian. And Wil Helm was also a professor. A professor. They just had honorary doctorates.

[00:32:53] Good for them. For the next seven years, they continue to research and write. And in 1835, Jacob [00:33:00] published German Mythology. Wilhelm continued to edit and prepare the third edition. Kinder und Hausmarschen for publication and they taught German studies at the university and they became extremely well respected throughout all these different schools.

[00:33:18] Now, once again, drama. In 1837, they both lost their jobs because they joined this protest. That's not right. They were protesting for their rights, basically. So what had happened was, there was this group called, in the 1830s, there was this group called the young Germany and they were like the peasant class and they decided to revolt.

[00:33:38] So they were not like directly involved with the young Germans, but they they supported them. And there was some drama with this guy named Ernest Augustus, who was the king of Hanover. in 1837 and he dissolved the parliament of Hanover and just told everybody like, Oh, I'm just going to be king now.

[00:33:59] And everyone's hold [00:34:00] on. We didn't ask for that. So they were protesting against that rightly. So they're like, that shit's crazy. And because they decided they were like, we're not going to allege oath to this guy because he did something terrible. We think they got deported. But I guess, like, there's 200 different German principalities, so it's fine.

[00:34:17] Like, you can just go to another one, I guess.

[00:34:19] Seven of the professors were, seven of the professors of from the University of Göttingen were dismissed. And some of them were Jacob and Wilhelm. They all left, and they got deported, and they went back to Kassel. So then the brothers, they had no job.

[00:34:36] Again, and they were like, Oh, what do we do now? It's 1838. Nobody has any money. And what they decide to do is they're just going to write a German dictionary. So they started this German dictionary. They don't finish it. They don't publish it. I'm sorry until 1854. So this is like. 16 years later, they actually published their book.

[00:34:58] They depended on friends and family [00:35:00] for financial support and finding different ways to make it. Then, Savigne, that guy, their old professor who convinced them to do any of this in the first place, and Benete von Arnim, appealed to success, appealed to Frederick William IV of Prussia, so he's the king.

[00:35:23] of some area, guys, of Prussia. I know Prussia gets very confusing. We'll talk about it later. So in addition to teaching, they got money for their research now. They established, and they just all went to Berlin and started living there. Jacob started researching German legal traditions and the history of the German language, and he published another book about it in 18, in the 1840s.

[00:35:49] began researching Medieval literature and he's still editing Hasselmarschen. He's been editing that for 30 years. Oh my god

[00:35:57] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Yeah. [00:36:00] I, it ended up being like yeah, 40 years of different editions.

[00:36:04] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: yeah, like my god, man, like

[00:36:07] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: But, time for that, time for the bar scene in Berlin. There's like

[00:36:14] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: I know i'm like berlin. I'm like thinking like 1930s berlin. I don't know what berlin was like then but berlin was freaking cool

[00:36:26] So cool. I read this whole thing. I was watching something. I was, no, this isn't a podcast. They were talking about Berlin in the 1930s and how, like, so crazy. The next thing that happened in the late 1930s, but like in the beginning, everybody was like doing drugs. The LGBTQ scene was cool. Like everybody was like, cool.

[00:36:46] Like it was fine. Like everybody was down. Everyone was doing drugs. Everyone was chilling. Everyone's making amazing art. It was fun. Like it just had a really good time. All the clubs were hopping. People were having a [00:37:00] good time. Like literally I'm like, Oh my God, Berlin sounded like the tits back then.

[00:37:06] Okay. So now. After the revolutions in 1848. So there were some German revolutions in the German states the brothers, they elected to be part of the civil parliament. So Jacob became a prominent member of the national assembly at mains. But they weren't, They were political for a long and they thought Germany would get together, but then it didn't.

[00:37:29] They were just like, we're tired of trying to fight for this. They're getting older. They're exhausted. Jacob, he resigned in the late 1940s. And published the history of the German language. Wilhelm, he continued at the university until 1852. And then he retired from teaching and the brothers both devoted themselves to the German dictionary for the rest of their lives.

[00:37:50] Wilhelm died of an infection in Berlin in 1859. And Jacob, who was super, obviously this is his best buddy for his whole [00:38:00] entire life. So he became incredibly depressed he became incredibly depressed and increasingly reclusive. So he just stayed to himself after that he continued to work on the dictionary until he died in September 20th in 1863.

[00:38:13] And. Zeppi is that guy who wrote about them. He said that the last word of their book that they wrote was fruscht, which means fruit. Okay. That's the Brothers Grimm story, guys. We love them.

[00:38:29] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: if I understand correctly, their dictionary is actually the first real dictionary. So they invented what we know as the modern dictionary and like Miriam Webster were inspired by this new project that was going on in Germany to then make an English language dictionary.

[00:38:46] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: That's awesome! What a task to literally make a dictionary. What an exhausting task.

[00:38:56] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Yeah. And really, not that long ago. [00:39:00] If you think about it, like if it came out in the 1850s that's really not that long ago for something that, I take for granted.

[00:39:06] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: 100%! And now that you said that, it really makes me think about that too. Wow, that's not even like 200 years ago, they were like, let's write down all our words. You'd think people would have written them down before.

[00:39:18] They were like we know them. We say them. We don't need to write them down.

[00:39:23] That's so cool. I love that. And it makes you think there's a lot of cultures who have oral traditions and they don't have dictionaries. And it's sad because we don't know anymore, the dead languages or people are no longer there. But that is really cool. I'm really proud of them.

[00:39:43] I really like them. When I was reading about their life, I was like, I really like these guys. They seem cool. They seem like a good time.

[00:39:50] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: they seem cool and they're open to, they were raised in what I would probably call like a very strict or hardcore German Protestant [00:40:00] upbringing. They would have been taught they would have been taught a Lutheran form of Protestantism, I think, but they were so open to the mystical and pagan beliefs of the past that they were hoping to, That they were hoping to recapture in those stories.

[00:40:14] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: I love that.

[00:40:15] I love it. It's so interesting. And I love how they literally just, this project, a part of it started for them to be like, let's get all the Germans together. Like, let's do that. About our national stories and all our stuff in between we had Wilhelm fallen in love with the girl next door when she knew a whole bunch of stories like it's just The whole thing is very neat.

[00:40:36] I love it. So we've come to our story time where we're going to tell one of their stories. This story today obviously comes out of their book. I have Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales and today's story is called Maid Malene. Maid Malene was a story I liked. There's a, I like a lot of these stories. There was a different story I read and I was like [00:41:00] some of these stories are nonsense and I love it.

[00:41:03] I love, oh yeah.

[00:41:05] The more nonsensical a story is, the more I love it. This is the same way I feel about every time I learn about mythology of some ancient deity and their story is just wild. I'm like, I love it because it doesn't make sense and it doesn't need to. It's none of my business.

[00:41:20] This is a story and I need to shut up about it, but I love it. Now here's the story of me and Malene. So here's the deal. There was this king and he had a son and this, he went, the son went to his dad and he's like, dad, there's this girl, her name is Malene and she's a hottie. And I think I'm in love with her.

[00:41:41] And the dad's like, okay, cool. So he calls the other king. He's like, Hey, my son is really like into your daughter. And the king's like, I don't care about that because I already told her she's got to marry somebody else. Maeve Moline, meanwhile, the other kid, he doesn't know that his daughter, Moline, Is in [00:42:00] love with this guy so he doesn't even know they know each other So her dad was like maline funny story I got a phone call today from that other king over there and he said that his son wants to marry you But I told him absolutely not and she's like, what do you mean?

[00:42:16] He's like because you have to marry this other dude I got for you and she's like, absolutely not. I'm not marrying some other dude So she gets mad and she's like dad trying me today and the dad's like, oh try me I'm gonna build a tower and put you in it So just speaking of towers You put her in a tower and he said you're gonna stay up there for seven years until you get your shit together You learn how to talk to me Oh my God.

[00:42:41] So he, at least he said, let me put her up there with a lady and waiting, which why you just, I guess so she didn't go crazy. She had someone to talk to put her up there in this tower with her maid. So they're up there for seven years and for seven years, they got seven years of worth of food.

[00:42:57] Apparently they calculated this very [00:43:00] well and they put it up there. Now time's going by, time's going by, time's going by. Also the King's son. He heard about this, and he knew Malene was in the tower. So he went over there on his horse, I'm assuming. He went over there, and he'd be like, Malene! Malene!

[00:43:17] Like, he'd be yelling, and he wouldn't hear anything. And there was no way for him to get up there. There was no way for him to get in. She was locked in. So now time is going by, time is going by, time is going by. Malene realizes that it's almost been seven years. And their food is running out. So she's like, I guess someone's coming to get us because he said seven years and it's been almost at time.

[00:43:41] And the lady in waiting is like, yeah, I guess so, because this is out of control. But now it's like the last days of the seven years and they're realizing like, we literally have no food left. Like someone needs to come, but they were waiting to hear noise, to hear horses, to hear people. They didn't hear anything.

[00:43:59] Couple days [00:44:00] went by now their food is like out. So they're like, oh my god, what are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? So Malene was like, we got to do get whatever utensils we got and we're gonna try to dig ourselves out of this thing So they just chip it away at the wall Finally after like three days of continuously chipping away at the wall, they see like a little like dime sized hole So they're like, okay, we're doing it.

[00:44:21] We're doing it. They get crazier. They keep going. They keep going. They keep going Finally, they get enough space that they can both crawl out of the tower Now they're looking around and the sky is blue and they're like, oh my god, thank god we're out of this stupid ass tower, this is crazy. But they go to the kingdom, like to the castle's burned down, the villages around it are burned down.

[00:44:45] There's nobody. They can't see anybody. Everybody's gone. And they're like that's why nobody came to get us because everybody is gone. It looks like the town has been ravaged by some type of war or fire. So they're like, what the hell [00:45:00] are we going to do now? We have nobody to talk to. We don't know anybody anymore.

[00:45:04] So the two of them, they start going, they're just walking around. They're two homeless women now who have nothing. So they're walking, they go from house to house. They're begging, they get a bread here, a little bread there, a little water here. Finally, they get to this neighboring kingdom, and they get seen by like some maids.

[00:45:25] And they were like, Oh my God, you guys, we're starving. Is there any way you could give us some food or even give us a job? And both of them, they're like, okay, we can give you a job. You guys can come in here and you can be scullery mates. And they're like, fine, no problem. Like just, we just need food and water.

[00:45:40] So they go into the place. And they see that they're like, actually, we need a lot of help this week. We're actually going to call in reinforcements because the king's son is getting married. And they were like, Oh, really? And they're like, yeah, king's son's getting married this week. The food needs to be cooked, the feast needs to be [00:46:00] made.

[00:46:00] And they're like, okay, cool. So then they were like, actually Malene, you look like a good lady in waiting. So we're gonna have you tend to the bride. And she's like, okay, cool. No problem. So she went in here and the story says, let me read it for him. Oh, by the way, didn't tell you this is very important.

[00:46:20] The kingdom that they're at is actually the kingdom of the man that Malene wanted to marry. Duh. I'm sure this is a key part of the story. So she Malene's like, oh shit. But it's fine. She's just, she's going to go along with whatever they tell her to do. She's. She's not the woman she used to be, she feels.

[00:46:41] She's been through a lot of trauma. It's fine. So here it says, Ahem. His father had chosen another bride for him, whose face was as ugly as her heart was wicked.

[00:46:50] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: ha ha ha ha ha ha. In Grimms Fairy Tales, ugliness talks about the internal nature, usually. Ha. Heh.

[00:46:59] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: I [00:47:00] was like, Ooh,

[00:47:00] they said that a face only a mother could love.

[00:47:07] They said she was ugly. So basically she was a nasty woman. She wasn't very nice. Okay. She was mean, probably cold hearted person. She was not kind. Okay, fine. That's what we got. Anyway, it doesn't matter. So the wedding was already set. Meanwhile, the prince didn't even know what she looked like.

[00:47:22] So it didn't matter because his dad was like, you got to marry somebody. But the prince is just going along with whatever. It's fine. Malene went to the room to give this girl, her meals, the bride, but the bride, she, okay, this is not nice, but okay. Again, about the ugliness, the bride, they said the bride knew she was ugly.

[00:47:41] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: You know. ha Ha

[00:47:42] ha. I mean.

[00:47:43] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: I am not a looker and I'm a bitch. I don't know if this is going to go well, but I need to marry this man. So she's like, look, mainly, and here's the situation. I don't want to go out there because if this dude sees me, it's going to be [00:48:00] hell. So I'm going to have you put my bride clothes on.

[00:48:03] You're going to go out there. And she's like, I'd rather not. She's like, on account of that's my ex, and I'm nervous, he's the one who got away. Or the one that was pushed away because I was an ex cower.

[00:48:15] She doesn't know that. The bride doesn't know that. This is what Malene's thinking in her head. And she was like, listen, if you don't do this, I'm gonna kill you.

[00:48:25] And she's like, oh in that case, I guess I'll do it. She's like,

[00:48:29] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: a very convincing argument.

[00:48:32] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: die over this. Malene puts on the bride outfit, she gets ready, she puts on the veil, and she's out here, right? She's going, and she's probably sweating bullets. If I was her, I'd be like, oh, she probably sees her. The guy she used to like, Okay, everybody you've all seen you've all known this moment, maybe not all of you maybe just me but like You see somebody maybe used to like And you're like, ah, they look good.

[00:48:58] And you're

[00:48:58] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Oh.[00:49:00]

[00:49:01] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: And you have to remind yourself how toxic they were. Because you're like, you know what I'm talking about? You see a picture and you're like, ah, he looks good as hell. But you have to remind, oh, but he's a crazy person.

[00:49:15] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: yeah, but they open their mouth sometimes.

[00:49:17] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Exactly. have to remember all the reasons that you got away Doesn't matter if they have a six pack now.

[00:49:29] You have to pull yourself away. So anyway, so Malene is seeing the prince. He probably looks great, probably in a great outfit. It's his wedding day. He probably looks sharp, right? So she's like, okay, here we go. Now, oh, another thing you guys should know, when Malene and her girlfriend were walking around they were eating nettles.

[00:49:49] Like because they had nothing to eat. They were hungry, right? They were, they had nothing. So they were eating nettles and plants and stuff. So they're walking out into the [00:50:00] church, like, and I guess it's a long walk because a lot happens. You'll see. So they're walking and Malene says she sees a little nettle plant.

[00:50:07] And she sees it.

[00:50:12] It's faster than her tag. The PTSD. She was like, oh my god, a nettle plant. So she says she says, Oh, nettle plant, little nettle plant. What doubts thou here alone? I have known the time when I ate thy unboiled, when I ate thy unroasted. And the king's son said, What? Oh nothing. I didn't say anything.

[00:50:35] I was thinking of Maid Malene. And he said, You were thinking of who? And she said, Maid Malene. He's like, How do you know Maid Malene? She's like, Actually I don't know her. I just heard, like, a story about her one time. And he's like, okay. Fine. That's weird. So then, They keep walking and she's gonna come to a footbridge and she says footbridge do not break.

[00:50:59] I am NOT the true [00:51:00] bride She's like saying this under Footbridge do not break. I'm not the true bride. He's like, what's that? And she's like, oh, Nothing. I was thinking, once again, I was just thinking about May Maline. And he's like, wow, you really you really to think about May Maline, don't you?

[00:51:24] And she's like,

[00:51:25] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: obsessed with her.

[00:51:29] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Why are you thinking about my ex all the time? Okay, fine. So then They come to the church door and then once again, she opens her mouth and she's like church door break knot I'm, not the true bride and he said what did you say? She's like, oh yeah, so I was thinking about me and maline again and he's like What are you talking about?

[00:51:51] So he's just like whatever. Let's just get this He at this point remember the prince still thinks he's marrying some girl. He doesn't know so he's like, let's just get this over with [00:52:00] So he gets a pretty necklace and he puts it around her neck and he's like, blah blah They go to the priest says whatever he's got to say to get married.

[00:52:07] Cool Then he walks her home now The veil is still on and she didn't talk at the end because she was like i'm really talking too much So we get back to the royal palace. She runs into the bridal chamber like I gotta change You So she runs in there and meets the real bride in there, the ugly girl, and she takes off her clothes, puts back on her maid's outfit, and gives all the clothes back to the real bride.

[00:52:33] Now it's the only thing she keeps on is her necklace that he gave her. So when that night came, the bride, the real bride, she was led into the prince's room because they got to do the boom now to consummate. So now she, she let the veil come off her face. This is not nice. Hold on. So they said they let the veil come off her face and he jumped back.

[00:52:56] He said, whoa! Hold on. [00:53:00] Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Oh,

[00:53:06] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: she didn't want to have happen in front of everyone at the church

[00:53:10] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Okay. So now he's not trying to be rude, but now he's just like, okay yeah. How are you?

[00:53:21] He's uncomfortable, but it's fine. The prince really didn't want to be rude. I think he didn't know. I'm not going to get too mad at him, but he was shocked. Let's just say that now. So he jumps back and he's like, okay. So then they start talking and he's like, By the way what was that thing that you said about to the nettle plant when we were walking?

[00:53:41] And she's like, what? And he's like, you said something to the nettle plant. What was that about? And she's like, I don't talk to nettle plants. And he said if you don't talk to nettle plants, you obviously aren't the one who married me. And she's like, Oh, hold up, hold, I have to pee. It's like, okay.

[00:53:58] So here she runs [00:54:00] down the hall and she's like, Maybelline, get your ass over here. What were you talking about? Nettle plant, what did you say? So she tells her, she's like, I said this thing. Oh, nettle plant, little nettle plant. So the bride runs back to the room and she's like, Oh, sorry, I'm done peeing now.

[00:54:15] Actually, what I had said was, oh, nettle plant, blah, blah, blah. So he's like, oh, OK cool. And then he's like, oh, yeah. And then what about the footbridge? You said something else about the footbridge. What's that about? And she's like, what do you mean footbridge? It's like, when we're walking past the footbridge, you said something.

[00:54:31] Why did you say that? And she's like, I don't talk to footbridges. He's like, then, girl, you aren't the one I married. Like, this is what I'm trying to tell you. And she's like, oh, now I have to defecate. He's like, what? She's like, I gotta poop.

[00:54:46] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Romantic

[00:54:49] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: And he's like, okay, you don't have to tell me, but go ahead, girl. Like, leave me alone. She runs. She's gotta go. And she's like, Maymalene, come [00:55:00] here. So she comes, and she's like, what did you see at the footbridge? And she's like, oh I said that the footbridge shouldn't break because if it broke, it meant I wasn't a bride.

[00:55:08] And she's like, first of all, why the hell would you say something like that? What she said? When I get done with this knight! Your head is gonna roll. Okay, that's it. That's all you need to know. So Maybelline was like, oh, I don't fuck that, but whatever. It's like, what you gonna do now? So she goes back to her husband.

[00:55:26] She's like, sorry about that. I'm trying to be a delicate little flower, but I had to poo. So I'm okay now. Don't worry. And he's, she tells him, okay, I said footbridge do not break. I'm not your true bride. He's like, oh, okay. Okay, cool. And then he's like, the last thing though, you said, what was that about?

[00:55:43] She said what did I say now? About the church door. And she's like, I didn't say anything to the church door. And he's like, yes, you did. And if you didn't, you're not in the bride. And she's like, Oh, okay. I think I left my. [00:56:00] A hairpin in the bathroom. He's like, okay. She goes, Maybelline. What the, right? And she's like, okay, this is what I said by the church door.

[00:56:10] And she's like, for real. I'm having you executed when I'm done. Because this is actually your, the whole night is ruined. Because I had to run back and forth trying to figure out all these things that you said to my husband. So she gets back to the room. She's now probably trying to be like sexy, right?

[00:56:26] She's got her Savage by Fenty on and she's like, okay, it's time.

[00:56:31] He's like, oh, she's, probably, getting a little undressed. He's like, where's that necklace I got you? And she goes, what necklace? He's like, you, I gave you a necklace today. You're not wearing it. Where is that? She's like I don't think you gave me a necklace. She's like I did give you a necklace and then He looks at her and he's like, I don't even think you're the one that I married and she's like Bro, [00:57:00] what are you talking about?

[00:57:01] He's like I swear to god. You're not the one I married You don't look like he's like the one that I married looked like my the girl that I used to be in love with Malene, you don't look anything like Malene and she kept talking about Malene and I knew it was Malene go get that girl He's like if you don't i'm gonna lose my mind.

[00:57:18] So she's like So she goes and gets the girl brings her back and she tells him like look I did this only because I was afraid You jumped back when you saw me like I was afraid of that and he's like, I don't care. So then he Brings in Malene and he's like, Oh my God, Malene. He's like, the love of my life is here.

[00:57:38] Oh my God. So he's losing his shit. He's so excited. He can't believe Malene is here. And then the woman, though, in the meantime, had already gone and the ugly one she already gone and told the guards to come get Malene and execute her. So they grab Malene, run out, the king's son's trying to run, they're holding him back, she's like, kill her!

[00:57:59] So they [00:58:00] get in the courtyard, and they're literally about to cut Malene's head off. The king runs out, the king calls off the guards from her son, they all come through, They're like, no, don't kill Malene. Malene gets up. Son is like, oh my God, I thought you were dead. Like, that's the only reason I stopped going to the tower.

[00:58:19] I just assumed after seven years you were dead. And she's like, nah, I was just up there suffering. Man, this was rough. And she's like, he's like, since I put the necklace on you, we did all of our vows. We're basically married now. And she's like, Bet, like that sounds good to me. So then They end up being married homegirl who was unattractive ended up being executed And everybody was fine.

[00:58:45] They all lived their lives except the ugly girl who got killed. Sorry And now there's a tower that was there for a long time where maline was and apparently when the kids walked by it They used to say clang gloria who sits within this [00:59:00] tower a king's daughter She sits within A sight of her I cannot win.

[00:59:04] The wall it will not break, the stone cannot be pierced. Little Hans with your coat so gay, follow me, fast as you may. I don't know why Hans had to be involved in this or who that is, but that's fine. He has a nice coat and I wanted to talk about it. So that's the story of me and Malene. Me

[00:59:26] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: that story.

[00:59:29] Besides the maiden in the tower, was there other reasons that you really wanted to bring that one up?

[00:59:35] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: No, I just thought it was I just laughed when they were like, oh, he jumped back because she was so ugly. I said

[00:59:43] That is so rude,

[00:59:48] how dare he literally

[00:59:53] It's that

[00:59:53] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: I really, I really did want to see that, like, I was hoping that was going to happen at the wedding ceremony, though, before, [01:00:00] before we found out about the false bride detail.

[01:00:05] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: Everyone's just like oh girl Isn't that what they said? Henry the eighth I guess it's not but didn't henry the eighth see anna cleaves coming down the river and he said send her back He said absolutely not. I can't marry that one But then they like became friends.

[01:00:27] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: You know what I also liked was when Malene and her lady in waiting got to that kingdom, they turned to Malene and said, You look like a good lady in waiting. Meanwhile, the lady in waiting is like, I, like, that's actually what I am. They're

[01:00:45] You're a scullery maid.

[01:00:47] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: She's like, I've literally been in the tower with this princess for seven years doing my job. I'm

[01:00:53] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: know how to do it.

[01:00:55] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: really good. Helped her escape from the tower. I'm [01:01:00] very good at my Yeah, she's really good at her job.

[01:01:07] Oh, that was funny. So that brings us now to the end of our episode. Erin, this has been a good time. I'm so glad we got to talk.

[01:01:20] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Likewise, it was very generous of you to invite me onto the show. Thank you so much for having me.

[01:01:27] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: I enjoyed it and I was like, oh, our podcast is going to be a line. They're your podcast is very cute. I really love it. It's, I like it. Yeah. So now I always tell everybody, tell people where they can find you on the internet and they want to listen to you more, what they should do.

[01:01:43] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Yeah, you can find me on YouTube, Instagram, Spotify. I am freighter Aaron on Facebook and pretty much everywhere else. You can find me at storybook podcast or storybook witchcraft. Again, the the podcast is a series of discussions called. [01:02:00] Storybook sacred lore of witchcraft where we look at fairy tales.

[01:02:03] I'll usually have an episode where I narrate the fairy tale and then the follow up episode will be a more in depth panel discussion where we take apart some of the details and talk about how that influences our craft. I'll be at mystic South this year July 25th through or July 26th through 28th and discussing ecstatic practices that are hidden in Grimm's fairy tales.

[01:02:28] Yeah

[01:02:34] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: What a perfect episode. And then you're thinking about, oh, this is great okay, I love it! Like, I, okay, people who listen to this podcast, I literally don't, like, sometimes know what I'm going to talk about. You obviously, you have a podcast about story, so it's like, what better to talk about than Grimms Fairy Tales at Home.

[01:02:57] I didn't plan that. Like it was, I'm just so [01:03:00] happy. And it just, I said, spirit, you guys are always working for me and I love it. Thank you. So yay. Okay.

[01:03:07] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: Yay,

[01:03:09] ashley-_1_06-24-2024_190515: I'm going to put a link. To Aaron's podcast, I'm going to put a link to Mystic South. So everybody can check it out. When you want to and if you want to and all this stuff, yeah, it's great.

[01:03:19] So Thank you so much. Once again, Aaron for being here. This is great and everybody if you don't know now, you're listening to Dine with the Divine This is the podcast that I talk all the time and we have guests and it's a good time. You can find me on Instagram, on threads, I sometimes I'm there and sometimes I forget about it.

[01:03:38] You can find me on Facebook and if you want to follow, oh and YouTube, and if you want to follow me, Ashley M. Stankofa Healing Sanctuary on Facebook. Instagram threads. That's usually about it. So anyway rate and review the podcast. If you haven't already, I'd really appreciate it. And I appreciate all of you for listening.

[01:03:58] And I'll talk to all of you [01:04:00] next week. Bye.

[01:04:01] squadcaster-1f0g_1_06-24-2024_180515: bye bye

[01:04:03] ​