The Rabbit’s Bride: Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale About Choices, Courage, and Freedom

Excerpt from: Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm, by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Walter Crane, translated by Lucy Crane, Macmillan and Company, 1886.

There was once a woman who lived with her daughter in a beautiful cabbage garden.

One day, a rabbit came into the garden and began eating all the cabbages.

At last, the woman said to her daughter,

“Go into the garden and drive out the rabbit.”

The girl went into the garden.

“Shoo! Shoo!” she called. “Don’t eat all our cabbages, little rabbit!”

But the rabbit looked at her and said,

“Come, maiden. Sit on my tail and come with me to my rabbit-hutch.”

But the girl would not go.

The next day, the rabbit returned and began eating the cabbages again.

The woman once more sent her daughter into the garden.

“Go and drive away the rabbit,” she said.

“Shoo! Shoo!” called the girl. “Don’t eat all our cabbages, little rabbit!”

Again the rabbit said,

“Come, maiden. Sit on my tail and go with me to my rabbit-hutch.”

But once again, the girl refused.

A third time, the rabbit returned to the garden.

He happily munched on the cabbages until the woman sent her daughter to chase him away.

“Shoo! Shoo!” said the girl. “Don’t eat all our cabbages, little rabbit!”

And again the rabbit said,

“Come, maiden. Sit on my tail and go with me to my rabbit-hutch.”

This time, the girl climbed onto the rabbit’s tail.

The rabbit carried her away to his little rabbit-hutch.

When they arrived, the rabbit said,

“Now, get to work and cook some bran and cabbage. I am going to invite the wedding guests.”

The rabbit hurried away to invite his guests.

Soon, they all gathered for the wedding.

Would you like to know who came?

All the hares came.

A crow came to act as the parson who would marry them.

A fox came to be the clerk.

And the altar was set beneath a rainbow.

But the girl was very sad.

She did not want to be there, and she felt lonely and far away from her mother.

“Get up! Get up!” said the rabbit. “The wedding guests are all merry!”

But the bride only cried and said nothing.

The rabbit went away.

After a short while, he returned.

“Get up! Get up!” he said. “The wedding guests are waiting!”

But the girl still said nothing.

She was determined to find a way home.

The rabbit went away again.

Then the girl had an idea.

She made a figure out of straw.

She dressed the straw figure in her own clothes, gave it a red mouth, and placed it beside the kettle of bran.

Then she quietly left the rabbit-hutch and went home to her mother.

Soon the rabbit came back.

“Get up! Get up!” he called.

He saw the figure dressed in the girl’s clothes and believed that it was his bride.

He went up to it and struck it on the head.

The straw figure fell down.

The rabbit thought that he had killed his bride.

He became very sad and went away.

Meanwhile, the real girl had safely returned home to her mother.

And that was the end of the strange adventure of the Rabbit’s Bride.

• Think carefully before making important choices. The girl accepts the rabbit’s invitation but soon discovers that she does not want the life he has planned for her.
• It is important to recognize when something feels wrong. The girl is unhappy at the rabbit’s wedding and listens to her feelings.
• Clever thinking can help solve difficult problems. Instead of confronting the rabbit directly, the girl creates a straw figure and uses it to make her escape.
• Freedom and independence matter. The girl ultimately chooses to return to her mother and the home where she feels safe and comfortable.
• We should respect other people’s choices. The story reminds us that nobody should be pressured into doing something they do not want to do.

• Cabbage — A round leafy vegetable that grows close to the ground.
• Maiden — An old-fashioned word for a young woman or girl.
• Rabbit-hutch — A small shelter or enclosure where rabbits are kept.
• Bran — The outer layer of a grain, often used as food for animals.
• Bride — A woman who is getting married.
• Wedding — A ceremony or celebration in which two people are married.
• Parson — A member of the clergy who may perform a religious ceremony.
• Clerk — A person who helps with official duties or records.
• Garland — A decoration made by arranging flowers, leaves, or other materials together.
• Straw — Dry stems left after grain has been harvested, often used for making simple objects or figures.