The Brothers Grimm were Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), who lived in Kassel, Göttingen, and later in Berlin, and worked as linguists and folklorists. Together, they took it upon themselves to collect and write down the numerous folktales that were largely known only through oral tradition, so that they could be made generally accessible in book form as "Children's and Household Tales," abbreviated as KHM, and passed down to future generations. Over the years, the KHM were published in various, increasingly extensive editions; however, some stories were shortened, particularly when they were deemed too coarse, bloody, or explicit. The complete edition presented here is based on the last sixth edition from 1850, additionally supplemented by a tale that was originally included only in the first edition from 1812.