Language through Literature

Rumpelstilzchen — Rumpelstiltskin


Brüder Grimm, 1857 · 1003 words in German · part of the library.

How long «Rumpelstilzchen» is, and how hard

Length in German 1003 running words · 38 sentences · about 4 printed pages
Time to read about 9 minutes at a learner's pace, with the glosses to hand
Different words 286 dictionary words, averaging 26.4 words a sentence
Words glossed 286 of 286 — every one that appears in the tale
Words that appear once 160 — 56%. A word met once is a word you will not learn from this text alone
Where it stands 4 of 8 by length in the German room

236 of this tale's own 286 words, most frequent first, carry 95% of it; 106 carry 80%.

How it begins

Es war einmal ein Müller, der war arm, aber er hatte eine schöne Tochter.

There was once a miller who was poor, but he had a beautiful daughter.

That first sentence is the free sample, and the only one: «Rumpelstilzchen» is part of the library — the eight German tales and the fifteen Russian books, every word glossed, sentence-by-sentence English — for €5 a month or €39 a year, cancel whenever you like, one subscription for both shelves. What the library costs. «Der süße Brei» is free, entire, if you would rather taste the room first.

Shorter and longer in the same room

Die Sterntaler — 298 wordsKannitverstan — 847 words Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten — 1189 wordsRothkäppchen — 1264 words

All eight German tales · the fifteen Russian ones