Frau Trude is a German fairy tale

Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...

 collected by the Brothers Grimm

Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...

, tale number 43.

It is Aarne-Thompson type 334, at the witch's house.

Synopsis

A willful little girl will not obey her parents and, having taken it into her head that she wants to see Frau Trude, goes in spite of all their warnings. She arrives terrified, and Frau Trude questions her. She tells of seeing a black man on her steps (a collier, says Frau Trude), a green man (a huntsman), a red man (a butcher), and, looking through her window, the devil

Devil

The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...

 instead of Frau Trude.

Frau Trude says she saw the witch in her proper attire, and that she had been waiting for the girl. She turned her into a block of wood and threw her onto the fire, and then warmed herself by it, commenting on how bright the block made the fire.

Commentary

The tale is unusual in that the evil witch triumphs in the end; the child is defeated. However, a common theme in Grimm tales is that children who don't obey their parents are punished, making it a signature Grimm story.

See also

• Hansel and Gretel
  Hansel and Gretel
  "Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
  
  
• Vasilissa the Beautiful
  Vasilissa the Beautiful
  Vasilisa the Beautiful , commonly known as Vasilisa's Doll, is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki....
  
  
• The Willful Child
  The Willful Child
  The Wilful Child is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm as tale number 117. As a legend, it is widely distributed in Germany.It is Aarne-Thompson type 779, divine rewards and punishments. Another tale of this type is The Star Money....