The Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse

A Note on the Texts

Most of Hesse’s fairy tales were printed in journals or newspapers before they appeared in book form. Only eight were gathered together for publication in Märchen (1919). Since he himself would have refused to categorize which of his tales were “truly” fairy tales, it would be foolish here to try to make clear-cut distinctions as to which of his narratives properly fit the genre. The present volume is an endeavor to collect as many of his tales as possible that were obviously associated with the modern fairy-tale tradition. Due to difficulties in obtaining permission for five of the tales, this is not a complete edition of Hesse’s fairy tales, but it is the first English edition to include the majority of them, many of which have never appeared in translation before.

The following bibliography lists the original German title, the journal or newspaper where it was first published, and the date of publication of each tale.

The Dwarf — Der Zwerg, first published as Donna Margherita und der Zwerg Filippo, in Die Rheinlande (1904)

Shadow Play — Schattenspiel, in Simplicissimus (1906)

A Man by the Name of Ziegler — Ein Mensch mit Namen Ziegler, in Simplicissimus (1908)

The City — Die Stadt, in Licht und Schatten (1910)

Dr. Knoegle’s End — Doktor Knögles Ende, in Jugend (1910)

The Beautiful Dream — Der schöne Traum, in Licht und Schatten (1912)

The Three Linden Trees — Drei Linden, in Die Alpen (1912)

Augustus — Augustus, in Die Grenzboten (1913)

The Poet — Der Dicker, first published as Der Weg zur Kunst, in Der Iag(I9I3)

Flute Dream — Flötentraum, first published as Märchen, in Licht und Schatten (1914)

A Dream About the Gods — Ein Iraum von den Göttern, in Jugend (1914)

Strange News from Another Planet — Merkwürdige Nachricht von einem anderen Stern, in Neue Zürcher Zeitung (1915)

Faldum — Faldum, first published as Das Märchen von Faldum, in Westermanns Monatshefte (1916)

A Dream Sequence — Fine Traumfolge, in Die weissen Blätter (1916)

The Forest Dweller — Der Waldmensch, first published as Kubu, in Simplicissimus (1917)

The Difficult Path — Der schwere Weg, in Die Neue Rundschau (1917)

If the War Continues — Wenn der Krieg noch zwei Jahre dauert, first published as Im Jahre 1920, in Neue Zürcher Zjeitung (1917)

The European — Der Europäer, in Neue Zürcher Zeitung (1918)

The Empire — Das Reich, in Neue Zürcher Zeitung (1918)

The Painter — Der Maler, in Vossische Zeitung (1918)

The Fairy Tale About the Wicker Chair — Märchen vom Korbstuhl, in Wieland (1918)

Iris — Iris, in Die Neue Rundschau (1918)