The Little Mermaid

"The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christen Andersen 

In the deepest part of the furthest ocean stands the castle of the Sea King. Within the castle resides the Royal Sea King, his six young daughters and all of his subjects. The sea-princesses were all beautiful children and were taken care of by their Grandmother. But the little mermaid, the youngest of the sisters, was the most beautiful of them all. She was quiet and thoughtful, and cared for nothing but her flowers and a beautiful marble statue she had found on the bottom of the sea. The statue, a handsome boy carved out of pure white stone, stood in the young princess's garden. 

Nothing made the little mermaid happier than to hear about the world above the sea. She made her old grandmother tell her everything she knew about the ships and the towns, the people and the plants and the animals. 

"On your fifteenth birthday," said her grandmother, "you can go to the surface of the sea and sit on the rocks in the moonlight while the great ships are sailing by. Then you can see the forests and towns with your very own eyes." 

At night the little mermaid would gaze out her window, looking up through the dark blue water, and imagining the world overhead. She knew that the people on those ships never imagined that such a pretty little mermaid was floating beneath, longing to be among them, and waiting so patiently for the five years until her fifteenth birthday. 

"Oh, if only I were fifteen years old!" she said. "I know that I will love the world up above, and all the people who live there." 

At last, her fifteenth birthday arrived. As the sun was setting, she raised her head above the waves for the very first time. The clouds were colored with crimson and gold, and through the glimmering twilight the brightest of the stars began to shine. The sea was calm, and a ship floated idly nearby. There was music and song on board, and, as darkness fell, the reflections of a hundred colored lanterns began to dance merrily on the waves. 

The little mermaid swam closer to the ship. She peered inside the cabin windows, and saw a group of people laughing and talking happily together. Among them was a handsome young prince, with large dark eyes. He was turning sixteen years old, and his birthday was cause for much celebration. The sailors danced and sang, and when the prince arrived on deck, more than a hundred rockets shot up into the air, bursting with light and showering the little princess with falling stars. 

Night was falling, yet the little mermaid could not take her eyes off of the ship, or the beautiful prince. Soon, the lights were put out, and the sea started to become restless and the wind blew faster and harder. Still, she remained, rocking up and down on the water, gazing at the ship. 

After a while, the sails were hastily unfurled, and the noble ship began to move once again. The waves rose higher and higher, heavy clouds darkened the sky, and lightning appeared in the distance. A dreadful storm was approaching. The ship fought the storm, rushing between the threatening waves. But before long, the ship groaned and creaked; the thick planks gave way under the lashing of the sea as waves broke over the deck. They snapped the mast and soon the ship lay over on her side with the water rushing in. 

The little mermaid now saw that the crew was in danger. 
It was so pitch dark that she could not see a single object, but a flash of lightning revealed the whole scene; she could see everyone except the prince. She searched the water, and spotted him sinking into the deep waves. She swam frantically among the beams and planks that littered the surface, grabbed hold of him, held his head above the water, and let the waves drift them towards the shore. 

By morning the storm had passed and the sea was calm, but not a single piece of the ship was to be seen. With the prince still in her arms, the mermaid kissed his forehead and stroked back his wet hair. He reminded her of the marble statue in her little garden, and she kissed him again, wishing that he might live. 

Soon they came in sight of land. Carrying the prince, she swam to the beach and there she laid him on the sand in the warm sunshine. The little mermaid swam away from the shore but kept her eyes on the poor prince. 

Before long, a young girl approached the spot where the prince lay. She ran for help, and soon the prince awoke again. The prince was carried away, without knowing who had saved him, and the little princess sadly dived into the water, returning to her father's castle. 

The little mermaid had always been a silent and thoughtful child, but now she was quieter than ever. Her sisters asked her what she had seen at the surface of the water, but she would tell them nothing. Many an evening and morning she swam to the place where she had left the prince. It was her only comfort to sit in her own little garden, and fling her arms round the beautiful marble statue that reminded her of him. But she gave up tending her flowers, and they grew in wild confusion over the paths, twining their long leaves and stems round the branches of the trees, so that the whole place became dark and gloomy. 

Finally she could bear it no longer, and told one of her sisters about the prince. Then the others heard the secret, and very soon it became known to two mermaids who happened to know who the prince was. They had also seen the festival on board the ship that night, and told the sisters where the prince's palace stood. 

His castle was built of bright yellow shining stone, with long flights of marble steps, one of which reached quite down to the sea. Now that she knew where he lived, the little mermaid spent many nights on the water near the palace. She would swim much nearer the shore than any of the others ventured to do to watch the young prince in the bright moonlight. Over time, she grew more and more fond of human beings, and wished more and more to be able to wander among them in their great wide world. 

No matter how hard she tried she could not forget the charming prince. She crept away silently out of her father's palace one day, and sat in her own little garden, sad and alone. Then she heard a bugle sounding through the water, and thought: "That must be him up above. Oh, how I would give everything I have for him, and for an immortal soul so that I could be with him forever and always! I will go to the sea witch. I know I should not, and she does scare me more than anything else, but maybe she can help me." 

So the little mermaid left her garden, and swam down the road to the foaming whirlpools where the witch lived. 

She entered a marshy clearing in the middle of the forest where large, fat, ugly water-snakes rolled around in the thick black muck. Here stood a house, built with the pieces of all the broken ships ever to be destroyed in the ocean. The sea witch sat nearby and noticed the pretty little mermaid approaching her hut. 

"Well hello little princess. Don't bother explaining, I know what you want," said the sea witch in a raspy voice. "It is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way, and it will only bring you sadness, my pretty princess. You want to get rid of your fish's tail, and to have legs instead, like a human being, so that the young prince may fall in love with you." She laughed out loud, before continuing, "You are just in time," said the witch, "for after sunrise tomorrow I should not be able to help you till the end of another year. I will prepare a potion for you. You must swim to land before sunrise, and sit down on the shore and drink it. Your tail will shrink into a pair of legs. It will be painful, like you have never known before, but everyone will say that you are the prettiest little human being they ever saw. Are you sure you want to risk your happiness for this fleeting moment?" she asked. 

"Yes, I will," said the little princess in a trembling voice, as she thought of the prince. 

"But think again," said the witch, "for once you have become human, you can never be a mermaid again. You can never return to your sisters, or to your father's palace, and if you do not win the love of the prince, then you will be heartbroken forever. The first morning after he marries another your heart will break, and you will become nothing more than foam on the crest of the waves." 

"I will do it," said the little mermaid, turning pale as she said this. 

"Ah, but I must be paid," cackled the witch, "and it is not a trifle that I ask. You have the sweetest voice of all, and you must give to me." 

"But if you take away my voice," said the little mermaid, "what is left of me?" 

"Your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes. Surely with these you can win a man's heart. Well, have you lost your courage? It is a small price to pay for your prince." 

"O-Ok," nodded the little mermaid. 

Then the witch placed her cauldron on the fire, to prepare the magic drink. The witch threw tons of ingredients into the pot, one after another, and when it began to boil, the sound was like the weeping of a crocodile. When at last the magic potion was ready, it looked like the clearest water. 

"There it is," said the witch. The little mermaid turned to leave, with the crystal clear potion in her hand like a twinkling star. 

She swam quickly back through the woods and the marsh, and between the rushing whirlpools. She saw that in her father's palace the torches in the ballroom had gone out, and everyone was asleep. She turned her back, knowing that she would never see them again, and felt as though her heart was about to split into a thousand pieces. 

The sun had not yet risen when she came in sight of the Prince's palace. There, she drank the magic potion immediately passing from its strong magic. When the sun arose over the sea, she awoke to find the handsome young prince gazing down at her. He fixed his coal-black eyes upon her so earnestly that she had to look away, and then became aware that her fish's tail was gone, and that she had as pretty a pair of white legs and tiny feet. The prince asked her who she was, and where she came from, and she looked at him mildly and sadly with her deep blue eyes. 

Oh, how she wanted to tell him everything, but she could not speak! He helped her to her feet, and every step she took was more painful than the last, but she endured it, and stepped lightly and gracefully by the prince's side. He took her into his palace and dressed her in robes of silk and muslin. She was the most beautiful creature in the palace, but she was silenced, and could neither speak nor sing. 

The prince was enchanted by her, and said she should remain with him always. He had a dress made for her, so she could ride with him on horseback and soon, the two became best friends. As the days passed, the little mermaid loved the prince more and more, and he loved her, too. But he loved her as he would love a little child, and never thought about marrying her. 

"Yes, you are dear to me," the prince told the little mermaid one day. "You have the best heart, and you are the most devoted to me out of anyone I know. You remind me of a young maiden I once saw, but I will never meet again. I was in a ship that was wrecked, and the waves cast me ashore near a holy temple. A young maiden there found me on the shore, and saved my life. I saw her but twice, and she is the only one in the world I could love. You are like her, and you have almost made me forget about her." 

The princess wanted to cry and tell the prince that she was that maiden, but alas, she could not. And so soon it was announced that the prince must marry, and that the beautiful daughter of a neighboring king would be his wife. 

"We must travel," said the prince. "I must see this beautiful princess; my parents want me to. But I cannot love her; she is not like the beautiful maiden who saved me. If I were forced to choose a bride, I would rather choose you, with your beautiful eyes." 

The next morning the ship sailed into the harbor of a beautiful town belonging to the neighboring king. The church bells were ringing, and from the high towers sounded a flourish of trumpets. Soldiers, with colorful banners and glittering bayonets, lined the shore to greet the prince and his family. That day was a celebration, full of great dances and festivals in the streets and the palace. 

At last the princess entered, more beautiful than anyone had imagined. Her skin was delicate and fair, and beneath her long dark eyelashes her blue eyes shone and glittered. 

"You are the most beautiful person I have ever laid eyes on!" exclaimed the prince when he saw his bride to be. 

"Oh, I am so happy," said he to the little mermaid, "all of my dreams have come true!" Struck by the beauty of the princess, he had completely forgotten about the maiden who saved his life. 

The day of the wedding arrived. Everyone was full of excitement and laughter, but the little mermaid, dressed in silk and gold, was broken-hearted. She had lost everything she had, and that night was to be her last. 

Later in the day, after the ceremony, the bride and groom boarded the elegant ship that had been prepared for them. It glided away smoothly and lightly over the calm sea. The little mermaid could not help but think about the first time she had seen the surface of the water, on the prince's birthday. Now, she joined in the dancing, and had never danced so elegantly before. She knew this was the last evening she should ever see the prince, for whom she had given everything. This was the last time that she would breathe the same air as him, or gaze up at the starry sky and down into the deep sea. 

The celebration on the ship continued till long after midnight; the little mermaid laughed and danced with everyone, even though her heart was full of pain and sadness. Eventually it grew darker, the party went to sleep, and the ship became quiet. The little mermaid leaned against the side of the ship and watched the horizon, waiting for the sun to rise. Taking one last breath, she flung herself over the edge of the ship into the sea. 

But as the sun rose, casting its warm rays onto the ocean, the little mermaid did not turn into the water foam she had expected. Instead, she saw hundreds of beautiful transparent beings floating all around her. "Who are you?" asked the little mermaid. 

"We are the fairies of the earth" answered one of the figures. "Because of your kind heart and your good deeds, we have decided to give you your life back in the sea. You truly sacrificed your life for the prince, even dancing with a broken heart on his wedding day. You now know that even though someone else's life might look better, ultimately you have to be true to yourself." 

With that, the Earth Fairies floated away and the Little Mermaid grew back her fish feet. She swam to her family, hugged her father, kissed her sisters, and cried with her grandmother. Finally, the Little Mermaid had discovered true happiness.

The Elves and the Shoemaker

"The Elves and the Shoemaker" by The Brothers Grimm 

Once upon a time, there was a kind shoemaker who was very poor. 

In fact, one night, the shoemaker realized that he only had one last piece of leather. 

It was only big enough to make one pair of shoes and thereafter he would have to close his shop. 

He and his wife did not know what they would do. They might starve because they had no money to pay for food. 

The man sat at his workbench and cut out the last piece of leather. 

He prayed that somehow he and his wife would find a way to survive. 

He went to bed and planned to wake up early the next morning to make his last pair of shoes from the last piece of leather. 

The next morning the man woke up and went to the workbench in his shop. 

To his great surprise, a pair of shoes had already been made out of the last piece of leather. 

The shoes were perfect. There was not a single thread or stitch that was out of place. 

The shoemaker could not believe his eyes. 

Someone had done his work for him! 

"Mary, Mary come quick!" the shoemaker called to his wife. 

Mary ran downstairs to the shop to see what was the matter. 

"What's wrong?" asked Mary. 

"Nothing," said the shoemaker. "Actually, something wonderful and amazing has happened. Somebody made these shoes last night while we were sleeping." 

Mary gasped in surprised. "But who would do such a kind thing for us?" she wondered aloud. "They made these shoes perfectly." 

Soon, the shoemaker opened his shop and a customer came in and tried on the shoes. They fit him perfectly. 

And because they were so well made and fit so well, he paid much more for the shoes than the normal price. The shoemaker was so happy. 

He took the money that he got from the sale of the shoes and bought enough leather to make two pairs of shoes and dinner for his wife and himself. 

They had not eaten for two days. 

That night before bed, the shoemaker sat down at his workbench and cut out the leather into two pieces for the two pairs of shoes that he would make in the morning. 

Then, he went to sleep. 

The next morning the shoemaker went to his shop to make the two shoes out of the leather pieces, but when he got to his workbench, two pairs of shoes were already made. 

They were perfect in every way. 
The shoemaker could not believe his luck. 

Someone had done his work for him a second night. 

"Mary, Mary," the shoemaker called. "Guess what? Someone has made our shoes again!" he shouted. 

Mary ran down stairs and started dancing a little out of sheer happiness as she ran over to see the new shoes. 

"Oh, that is incredible! I wish I knew who was helping us. I would thank them. I would give them—" 

Mary stopped. 

She realized that they had almost nothing to give anyone. 

"Well, I would at least thank them very much." 

The shoemaker opened the shop and soon two customers came and bought the shoes and again, because they were so well made and fit so well, the two customers both paid much more for the shoes than the normal price. 

The shoemaker and his wife went to the leather smith and bought enough leather for four pairs of shoes. 

Then they went to the market and bought enough food to last two days. 

They felt like a king and queen. 

On the way home, the shoemaker spotted a wild daisy growing on its own on the side of the road. 

He picked the flower and gave it to his wife. 

She smiled and put it in her hair. "I am going to put this in a vase later so that we have something pretty to look at during dinner," said Mary. 

At dinner, the shoemaker and his wife tried to guess who might be making the shoes for them but had no luck. 

Finally, it was getting late. 

The shoemaker went downstairs to cut his leather and while he worked, he had an idea. 

He finished quickly and ran back upstairs to tell his wife. 

"Mary, I've just thought of something. We should hide in the workroom of the shop and wait for the mysterious helpers to come tonight. That way we will know who is helping us." 

"That's a great idea. Let's do it," said Mary. 

And so, they hid behind a large armchair and waited for the helpers to appear. 

After quite a while, two elves, who were naked from head-to-toe, entered the workroom of the shop, and began to make the shoes. 

They zoomed around at lightening speed and finished making all fours pairs in two minutes. 

And then, they zoomed right out of the shop. 

They were gone before the shoemaker or his wife could thank them or talk to them. 

The next morning, the shoemaker and his wife decided that they could not allow the elves to run around naked when they had helped the couple so much. 

"They must get cold at night and when winter comes I hate to think of how cold they will be," said Mary almost crying at the thought. 

Then, Mary thought of the curtains that hung in their bedroom and how beautiful and soft they were and she realized that they would make a good fabric for clothing. 

And so, she took down the curtains and with a needle and thread she began to make an outfit for each of the two elves. 

She made two shirts, two pairs of pants, two pairs of slippers, two coats, two pairs of gloves, two scarves, and two hats. 

That day, the shoemaker sold the four pairs of shoes and used the money from the sales to buy enough leather to keep him in business for a few weeks. 

When night came and it was very late, the shoemaker and his wife went down to the shop and laid out the clothes that Mary had made for the elves on the workbench. 

Then, they hid behind the armchair and waited. 
When the elves finally arrived, they saw the clothes on the workbench and began to dance in joy. 

They dressed quickly and zoomed out of the shop. 

From that moment on, life was always good for the shoemaker and his wife. 

They were never poor or hungry again and they never forgot the kind elves who helped them. 

They lived happily ever after.

Aladdin

"Aladdin" by Antoine Galland 

Now, there is something you need to know about our hero Aladdin; he was a constant day-dreamer. And despite what you may have heard, Aladdin was not a practical young man. He would lie in bed for hours at a time, dreaming of having no homework, being as rich as the sultan, and marrying a beautiful princess. But in reality, none of these things were true. Aladdin lived with his mother in a dilapidated shack, barely making enough money to eat. 

"Oh, Aladdin," his mother would cry out. "How I wish you would get your head out of the clouds. It's a waste of a perfectly good brain to dream all day." And though Aladdin loved his mother very much, he could never stop dreaming of a better life. 

One day, as Aladdin was searching the streets for a job, a man claiming to be his uncle stopped him. "Aladdin, my boy" he proclaimed, "Come with me and you and your mother will never have to worry about money again." 

But when Aladdin ran home to tell his mother about his uncle and the great riches he would get, his mother was not impressed. "Don't believe everything you hear, Aladdin" she scolded him. "There is no such thing as a free lunch." 

But Aladdin saw an offer he couldn't refuse and went with his uncle to claim his wealth. Aladdin followed the man far out into the desert where nothing but sand could be seen for miles away. There, his uncle took out a dark magical powder and threw it into the ground. All of a sudden, the ground began to shake, quake, and rumble. 

A huge cave opened and the uncle said, "You are the only one that can enter the cave, my boy. There is a magical lamp inside. Get it, and bring it back to me... We will be rich beyond your wildest dreams!" 

Aladdin was too busy thinking about what he would do with his riches to notice the twisted smile on his uncle's face. He gathered up his courage and stepped into the cave. 

Once inside, Aladdin found the lamp, and headed back. As he approached the entrance, the ground began to shake again. Aladdin looked at his uncle, who now looked back at him menacingly. "Give the lamp to me, boy!" he growled. 

Aladdin stopped in his tracks. "Uncle, what's the matter with you?" 

"You little fool," he yelled, "I am not your uncle, I am the sorcerer, Jaffar! Now give me the lamp!" 

Jaffar reached out toward Aladdin, who turned to run away. Suddenly, the cave started to close! "Nooo!" screamed Jaffar. Aladdin tried to get back to the entrance, but it was too late. He was trapped inside! 

And so, Aladdin sat in the cave lonely and hungry for two days before he began to think of ways to escape. "There must be something special about this lamp," Aladdin thought to himself, as he clutched it and felt its smooth surface. 

Suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared, and a woman emerged. "I am the genie of the lamp," she said. "I will grant you three wishes. What do you wish?" 

"I wish I was out of this cave and back home!" 

And just like that, his wish was granted... Aladdin was back at his home, explaining to his mother what had happened. When he showed her the magic lamp, she couldn't understand. "Look at this ugly thing," she said to Aladdin, "It's disgustingly dirty. Let me just clean it off and then we'll sell it". Just then as she was rubbing the lamp, the genie popped out of the lamp and again asked Aladdin and his mother what they wanted. 

Aladdin didn't think twice about his answer. "I want to be rich!" he exclaimed. 

Suddenly, a huge feast appeared on the table. The closet magically overflowed with fine clothes and shoes. Then a treasure chest appeared, filled with gold and jewels. Even Aladdin's mother was surprised and amazed for a moment, before she stopped to think. 

"Aladdin," she warned, "Don't forget that you can lose these wishes just as quickly as you found them. The only way to really find true happiness is to work for it." But Aladdin was busy counting his gold to pay attention to his mother's advice. 

Now that he was rich, Aladdin thought, he didn't have to go to school or do homework any more, he could do whatever he wanted! But he soon grew bored of counting his gold and trying on his new clothes. He began to wonder, what exactly do rich people do all day anyway? He decided to go visit the Sultan's palace to find out. 

Outside the palace, he noticed the Sultan's daughter through a window and was struck by her beauty. It was love at first sight. 

So, dressed in his fanciest outfit, Aladdin went to visit the Sultan, and presented him with a pot of gold. But the Sultan was not impressed. "My daughter is the most beautiful woman in all of the kingdom," he cried out. "To receive her hand in marriage, you must prove yourself worthy. Send the Princess a gift of forty gold chests full of jewels, carried by forty servants. Also, you must have a house that is as beautiful as mine. Then, and only then, can you marry my daughter." 

When Aladdin arrived at home, he grabbed his lamp. When the genie appeared he asked her to make the Princess fall in love with him. But the genie explained, "There are only two things I cannot do: I cannot destroy anything that I didn't make, and I cannot make anybody do anything they don't want to do." 

Aladdin remembered what the Sultan has said, so instead he told the genie to build him a castle right next to the Sultan's palace. When the Sultan awoke the next morning, he was shocked to find a castle as great as his own right next door. 

Then one hour later, Aladdin led a parade of forty servants carrying forty golden basins through the Sultan's door. The Sultan was so impressed and so shocked that he agreed to let Aladdin meet his daughter. 

The Princess was not impressed by Aladdin's wealth and jewels, but she could see that deep down he was a kind boy. Aladdin soon visited the Princess every day, and he was so happy that he forgot all about the genie, the lamp, and Jaffar. 

But Jaffar had not forgotten about Aladdin. He had heard all about Aladdin's riches, and knew that it was all because of the lamp. So he devised a plan: 

Jaffar set up a shop in the village that offered to trade new lamps for old ones. 

One day, one of Aladdin's servants was cleaning up after him, and noticed an old lamp lying around. The servant picked up the lamp and brought it to Jaffar's shop. 

When Jaffar got his hands on the magical lamp, he used the genie to make Aladdin's castle disappear. 

Aladdin couldn't figure out what had happened to him. One day he was rich, and the next day, he was poor again! He suddenly remembered the lamp, and ran home to his mother's house to search for it. 

"Aladdin!" scolded his mother. "The lamp is what got you into this mess. Now the Sultan is looking for you and demanding that you go see him. 

Aladdin went over to the palace and found a very sad and angry Sultan. "Aladdin, Jaffar was here. He told me about your genie, then took my daughter and disappeared. You have forty days to find her," he screamed, "Or you will be banished from the kingdom forever!" 

Jaffar must have gotten a hold of the magic lamp somehow, Aladdin thought. What was he going to do without it? He went back to his mother to ask for her advice. 

"Aladdin," she said, "you don't need magic to solve your problems. I've heard of this Jaffar. He has built a new palace in Egypt! He must have used the lamp to do this. You must go there and save the Princess." 

So Aladdin packed up, and when he arrived at Jaffar's fortress, he could see the Princess through a window. "My beautiful Princess," Aladdin called out. "I have come to rescue you. To escape, you must steal Jaffar's lamp. Wait until he has fallen asleep and then we will run away together." 

As soon as Jaffar went to sleep, the Princess snuck into his room and stole the magical lamp. Then she went back to her window. "What am I supposed to do with this old thing?" she called to Aladdin. 

When Aladdin told her about the genie, she didn't believe him. But she rubbed the lamp anyway, and was amazed when the genie appeared. 

"I am the genie of the lamp. I will grant you three wishes. What do you wish?" 

"I wish I was with Aladdin!" said the Princess, without thinking. 

Just like that, the Princess and Aladdin were together outside of Jaffar's fortress. They snuck away, and when they felt safe, the Princess rubbed the lamp again and wished to be home. 

When they returned to the Palace, the Sultan was so happy to have his daughter back, that he made a grand feast in honor of Aladdin. 

The Princess, having seen Aladdin's true bravery, agreed to marry him on one condition. "We use our last wish," she said, "to free the genie and to never us magic in our kingdom again." Aladdin happily agreed and just like that the genie of the lamp disappeared with a smile. 

Aladdin rebuilt his castle, but this time with his own two hands so nobody could ever take it away again. And they all lived happily ever after.

The Nightingale

"The Nightingale" by Hans Christian Andersen 

Once upon a time in China, there was a great emperor who lived in the most beautiful palace in the world. In the forest just beyond the garden gate, there lived a nightingale who sang the loveliest songs. Travelers from every country in the world came to admire the emperor's palace and gardens, but what they all loved best was the nightingale. On their return home, the travelers told of what they had seen, and some even wrote books about it. 

These books soon traveled all over the world, and eventually ended up in the hands of the emperor. He sat in his golden chair and read, pleased to find such beautiful descriptions of his palace. But when he read that the nightingale was the most beautiful of all, he was confused. 

"I know nothing of any nightingale," he said. "Is there such a bird in my empire?" 

He instructed his noblemen to find the nightingale, so that she may appear at court that very evening. They searched through all of the halls and passages, but couldn't find the bird. 

"The book might be fiction," they told the emperor. "You can't believe everything you read." 

"The book was sent to me by the great emperor of Japan, so it must be true," he said. 

The noblemen set out again to find the bird, and they finally met a young maid in the kitchen who said she knew of it. "She lives by the sea shore," she told them. "And every night on my way home, I sit down in the woods to rest and listen to her song." 

She led them through the woods, and they soon found a little gray bird perched on a branch. The noblemen were surprised by how plain and simple she looked.

"Little nightingale," they said. "We have the pleasure of inviting you to sing before the emperor this evening at his palace." 

"My song sounds best in the woods," said the bird, but she still came willingly when she heard it was the emperor's wish. The palace was elegantly decorated for the occasion, with beautiful flowers and lamps. A golden perch had been fixed for the nightingale to sit on, and the whole court was there to hear her sing. The nightingale's song was so sweet that it touched everyone's heart, and tears came to the emperor's eyes. 

The emperor was so delighted that he wanted to give the nightingale a golden slipper to wear around her neck. But she told him she'd been rewarded enough already. "I have seen tears in an emperor's eyes," she said. "That is my richest reward." 

The nightingale's visit was so successful, that the emperor ordered that she remain in court. She would have her own cage and twelve servants to attend to her, and would be able to fly twice a day as long as she kept a silken string fastened to her leg. 

One day, the emperor received another package from the emperor of Japan. It was an artificial nightingale made to look like a living one, and was covered with diamonds and rubies. As soon as it was wound up, the artificial bird could sing like a real one. It was so pretty to look at, and could sing the same song dozens of times without getting tired. But when the emperor turned to show the real nightingale, she was gone. No one had noticed as she flew out the open window and back out into the woods. 

"How strange," said the emperor. "But we still have the best bird of all, even better than the real one." 

The real nightingale was banished from the empire, and the artificial one placed on a silk cushion near the emperor's bed. The whole court was enthralled with the fake bird, which sang again and again for them, the exact same song every time. Only a poor fisherman, who had often heard the real nightingale, said, "It sounds pretty enough, but there's something missing." 

A year passed, and soon, the whole royal court knew the artificial bird's song by heart. But one evening, the emperor was lying in bed listening to it, when something inside the bird made a whizzing sound. A spring had cracked, and the music stopped. The emperor called for his doctor, but what could he do? They sent for a watchmaker, and after a great deal of examination, the bird was repaired. But he said it must be used carefully, for the springs were worn, and it would be impossible to replace them. Now, there was great sorrow, for the bird could only be played once a year. 

Five more years passed, and the emperor became very sick. He was not expected to live long, and a new emperor had already been chosen to replace him. He lay cold and pale in the royal bed, and all was silent and still. A window stood open and the moon shone in on the emperor and the artificial bird. The poor emperor could hardly breathe, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Death sitting there, wearing the emperor's gold crown and holding his sword in one hand and his beautiful banner in the other. 

The emperor cried desperately for music, anything not to hear Death's words spoken aloud, but the artificial bird refused to sing. 

"I've given you gold and costly presents," the emperor cried. "I've hung a gold slipper around your neck. Now sing! Sing!" But the bird remained silent. There was no one to wind it up, and so it could not sing a note. 

Death continued to stare at the emperor with his cold, hollow eyes. Suddenly, there came through the open window the sound of sweet music. Outside on the branch of a tree, sat the living nightingale. She'd heard of the emperor's illness, and came to sing to him. And as she sang, the shadows grew paler, and the blood in the emperor's veins gave life to his weak limbs. Even Death himself was listening. "Go on, little nightingale," said Death. "Go on and sing." 

"Then you'll give me the emperor's crown? And the golden sword and banner?" said the bird. 

So Death gave up each of these treasures for a song, and the nightingale continued her singing. She sang of a quiet churchyard where white roses grow, and Death began to long to see his garden. He floated out through the window in a cold, white mist. 

"Thank you, little bird," said the emperor. "I banished you from my kingdom once, and yet you charmed Death away from my bed, and banished him from my heart with your sweet song. How can I reward you?" 

"You have already rewarded me," said the nightingale. "I'll never forget how I drew tears from your eyes the first time I sang to you. These are the jewels that delight a singer's heart. I'll gladly sing to you again." 

And as she sang, the emperor fell into a sweet sleep, and when he awoke, he was strengthened and restored. The sun shone brightly through his window, and the nightingale still sat beside him. 

"You must always remain with me," said the emperor. "You can sing only when it pleases you, and I'll break the artificial bird into a thousand pieces." 

"Don't do that," replied the nightingale. "The bird did very well as long as it could. And I can't live in the palace, but I'll sit on the branch outside your window, and sing to you in the evenings so that you may be happy. I love your heart more than I love your crown, and so I'll come to sing to you always."

The Ugly Duckling

"The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Anderson 

One summer in a beautiful country barnyard, a duck sat upon a nest of eggs waiting and waiting for them to hatch. 

The duck was very lonely because all of the other ducks who lived on the farm were swimming and playing in the pond. 

They did not want to sit in the hot sun with the duck and wait for the eggs to hatch. 

Finally, the eggs began to crack and the little baby ducklings poked their heads through the broken eggshells and started to cry out, "Quack, quack!" 

Upon hearing this sound, a very old duck came along to check on the Mother Duck. "Hello, Mother Duck. I see your eggs have hatched." 

"Yes they have, and I am so happy. Aren't these the most beautiful ducklings you have ever seen? But this last egg still has not hatched." 

The Mother Duck moved aside so that the Old Duck could see the remaining egg, which was very large. 

"That looks like a turkey egg. Maybe you've been tricked," said the Old Duck. "You should teach your other children to swim before they are too old. If you wait, they will be too afraid to jump in the pond. Leave this other egg for awhile and come back after a swim to see if it has hatched." 

"No, I cannot leave my baby duckling until he or she hatches. I am sure it will not be too long before it does, and the others will learn to swim without a problem," insisted the Mother Duck. 

The Old Duck decided to sit with the Mother Duck while she waited for the big egg to hatch. 

The next day, the big egg shook and cracked and the last baby duckling waddled out of the broken eggshell. 

The Old Duck and the Mother Duck looked at the last baby duckling with great surprise. 

She looked nothing like the other ducks. 

In fact, she did not really look like much of a duck at all. 

She was big, gray, ugly and strange looking. 

"Well, she certainly is an unusual looking duckling," said the Old Duck. 

"Hmm, said the Mother Duck. "She must be so big and odd because she was in the egg for so long. She is rather pretty if you look at her a certain way. In time, I am sure she will grow into a proper looking duck." 


The Mother Duck led her children to the pond and one-by-one, they all jumped in. 

The ugly, gray duckling swam very well. 

Actually, she swam even better than the other ducklings. 

The Mother Duck was happily surprised. 

She was very worried that she might have been a poor swimmer because she was so big. 

But after their swim, the Mother Duck and her family went into the barnyard. 

All of the animals stopped in their tracks as soon as they noticed the ugly duckling. 

They began to come up to her and tease her. 

One young duck even bit her. 

A hen came and grabbed some of the ugly duckling's feathers in her beak and pulled until the Ugly Duckling began to cry. 

And then, all of the animals began to sing and laugh, "Look, look, here, here, ho, ho, boo-hoo, see the Ugly Duckling cry. Look, look, here, here, ho, ho, boo-hoo, see the Ugly Duckling cry. Her neck is too long. Her feathers are dry." 

"Leave her alone," said the Mother Duck. "She's not hurting anyone." 

"Yes, but she is just so big and ugly that she should be forced to leave the farm so that we don't have to look at her," said the Duck who had bitten the ugly duckling. 

"Don't say that!" shouted the Mother Duck. "She may not be pretty but she is very kind and sweet and a very good swimmer. As a matter of fact, she swims even better than her brothers and sisters, and I think that in time, she will become smaller and prettier. Now just leave her alone." 

Even though her mother tried to make them all see that she was a good duck, the next few days were terrible for the ugly duckling. 

The other animals of the farmyard did not obey the Mother Duck's order to leave the Ugly Duckling alone. 

Instead, they became even meaner to the Ugly Duckling and soon her brothers and sisters began to tease her too. 

And eventually, her mother became too tired to defend her anymore. 

And so, one night, the Ugly Duckling snuck away from the farm into the great, wide world. 

She traveled a long, long way until she finally found a huge field and fell asleep. 

In the morning, the Ugly Duckling awoke to find herself surrounded by several wild ducks. 

One of the ducks began to tease her for being so ugly. 

Another duck told her, "It's okay that you are so ugly as long as you don't marry into our family." 

The Ugly Duckling soon moved on. 

After traveling for a while, the Ugly Duckling found a gaggle of geese and stopped to look at them. 

She hoped that she might be able to join them. 

As she approached, she heard a loud, "BANG! BANG!" 

Two geese fell dead to the ground. 

In the distance, the Ugly Duckling saw some men with hunting rifles. 

She got very scared and decided to run away from the geese. 

She ran and ran until she was very far away and very tired. 

She could hardly breathe from running so fast. 

She stopped and turned around. 

She could no longer see the geese but she realized that she was standing next to a beautiful lake. 

She saw the most beautiful birds that she had ever seen gliding on the surface of the lake's clear, blue water. 

They had long necks and soft white feathers. 

"Oh, those pretty birds will never allow me to join them or swim with them. They're so beautiful and I am so ugly," thought the ugly duckling. 

Suddenly, the beautiful birds noticed the Ugly Duckling and swam toward the edge of the lake where she was standing. 

One of them said, "Hello, young swan. Where did you come from?" 

"Me?" said the Ugly Duckling in surprise, "I came from a place that is very far away. I don't know what a swan is but I am a duck. What is a swan?" 

The beautiful birds began to laugh. "What is a swan? Why, we are swans and so are you. You are not a duck. Imagine! You as a duck! A swan would make a very funny-looking duck. But you are the most beautiful young swan here. Come live with us and we will raise you." 

"I'm a swan! I AM beautiful!" rejoiced the swan who was no longer an ugly duckling. 

"Finally, I am accepted," the swan thought to herself joyfully. 

And the young swan lived among the other swans happily ever after.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

 Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

Once upon a time, long, long ago a king and queen ruled over a distant land.  The queen was kind and lovely and all the people of the realm adored her.  The only sadness in the queen's life was that she wished for a child but did not have one. 

One winter day, the queen was doing needle work while gazing out her ebony window at the new fallen snow.  A bird flew by the window startling the queen and she pricked her finger.  A single drop of blood fell on the snow outside her window.  As she looked at the blood on the snow she said to herself, "Oh, how I wish that I had a daughter that had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony."  

Soon after that, the kind queen got her wish when she gave birth to a baby girl who had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony.  They named the baby princess Snow White, but sadly, the queen died after giving birth to Snow White.

Soon after, the king married a new woman who was beautiful, but as well proud and cruel.  She had studied dark magic and owned a magic mirror, of which she would daily ask, 

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?. 

Each time this question was asked, the mirror would give the same answer, "Thou, O Queen, art the fairest of all."  This pleased the queen greatly as she knew that her magical mirror could speak nothing but the truth.

One morning when the queen asked, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" she was shocked when it answered:

You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow White is even fairer than you.

The Queen flew into a jealous rage and ordered her huntsman to take Snow White into the woods to be killed.  She demanded that the huntsman return with Snow White's heart as proof. 

The poor huntsman took Snow White into the forest, but found himself unable to kill the girl.  Instead, he let her go, and brought the queen the heart of a wild boar.

Snow White was now all alone in the great forest, and she did not know what to do.  The trees seemed to whisper to each other, scaring Snow White who began to run.  She ran over sharp stones and through thorns.  She ran as far as her feet could carry her, and just as evening was about to fall she saw a little house and went inside in order to rest.

Inside the house everything was small but tidy.  There was a little table with a tidy, white tablecloth and seven little plates.  Against the wall there were seven little beds, all in a row and covered with quilts.

Because she was so hungry Snow White ate a few vegetables and a little bread from each little plate and from each cup she drank a bit of milk. Afterward, because she was so tired, she lay down on one of the little beds and fell fast asleep.

After dark, the owners of the house returned home.  They were the seven dwarves who mined for gold in the mountains.  As soon as they arrived home, they saw that someone had been there -- for not everything was in the same order as they had left it.

The first one said, "Who has been sitting in my chair?"

The second one, "Who has been eating from my plate?"

The third one, "Who has been eating my bread?"

The fourth one, "Who has been eating my vegetables?"

The fifth one, "Who has been eating with my fork?"

The sixth one, "Who has been drinking from my cup?"

But the seventh one, looking at his bed, found Snow White lying there asleep.  The seven dwarves all came running up, and they cried out with amazement.  They fetched their seven candles and shone the light on Snow White. 

"Oh good heaven! " they cried. "This child is beautiful!"

They were so happy that they did not wake her up, but let her continue to sleep in the bed.  The next morning Snow White woke up, and when she saw the seven dwarves she was frightened.  But they were friendly and asked, "What is your name?"

"My name is Snow White," she answered.

"How did you find your way to our house?" the dwarves asked further.

Then she told them that her stepmother had tried to kill her, that the huntsman had spared her life, and that she had run the entire day through the forest, finally stumbling upon their house.

The dwarves spoke with each other for awhile and then said, "If you will keep house for us, and cook, make beds, wash, sew, and knit, and keep everything clean and orderly, then you can stay with us, and you shall have everything that you want."

"Yes," said Snow White, "with all my heart."  For Snow White greatly enjoyed keeping a tidy home.

So Snow White lived happily with the dwarves.  Every morning they went into the mountains looking for gold, and in the evening when they came back home Snow White had their meal ready and their house tidy.  During the day the girl was alone, except for the small animals of the forest that she often played with.

Now the queen, believing that she had eaten Snow White's heart, could only think that she was again the first and the most beautiful woman of all.  She stepped before her mirror and said:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

It answered:

You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow White, beyond the mountains
With the seven dwarves,
Is still a thousand times fairer than you.

This startled the queen, for she knew that the mirror did not lie, and she realized that the huntsman had deceived her and that Snow White was still alive.  Then she thought, and thought again, how she could rid herself of Snow White -- for as long as long as she was not the most beautiful woman in the entire land her jealousy would give her no rest.

At last she thought of something.  She went into her most secret room -- no one else was allowed inside -- and she made a poisoned apple.  From the outside it was beautiful, and anyone who saw it would want it. But anyone who might eat a little piece of it would died.  Coloring her face, she disguised herself as an old peddler woman, so that no one would recognize her, traveled to the dwarves house and knocked on the door.

Snow White put her head out of the window, and said, "I must not let anyone in; the seven dwarves have forbidden me to do so."

"That is all right with me," answered the peddler woman. "I'll easily get rid of my apples.  Here, I'll give you one of them."

"No," said Snow White, "I cannot accept anything from strangers."

"Are you afraid of poison?" asked the old woman. "Look, I'll cut the apple in two.  You eat half and I shall eat half."

Now the apple had been so artfully made that only the one half was poisoned.  Snow White longed for the beautiful apple, and when she saw that the peddler woman was eating part of it she could no longer resist, and she stuck her hand out and took the poisoned half.  She barely had a bite in her mouth when she fell to the ground dead.

The queen looked at her with an evil stare, laughed loudly, and said, "White as snow, red as blood, black as ebony wood!  The dwarves shall never awaken you."

Back at home she asked her mirror:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

It finally answered:

You, my queen, are fairest of all.

Then her cruel and jealous heart was at rest, as well as a cruel and jealous heart can be at rest.

When the dwarves came home that evening they found Snow White lying on the ground.  She was not breathing at all.  She was dead.  They lifted her up and looked at her longingly.  They talked to her, shook her and wept over her.  But nothing helped.  The dear child was dead, and she remained dead.  They laid her on a bed of straw, and all seven sat next to her and mourned for her and cried for three days.  They were going to bury her, but she still looked as fresh as a living person, and still had her beautiful red cheeks.

They said, "We cannot bury her in the black earth," and they had a transparent glass coffin made, so she could be seen from all sides.  They laid her inside, and with golden letters wrote on it her name, and that she was a princess.  Then they put the coffin outside on a mountain, and one of them always stayed with it and watched over her.  The animals too came and mourned for Snow White, first an owl, then a raven, and finally a dove.

Now it came to pass that a prince entered these woods and happened onto the dwarves' house, where he sought shelter for the night . He saw the coffin on the mountain with beautiful Snow White in it, and he read what was written on it with golden letters.

Then he said to the dwarves, "Let me have the coffin. I will give you anything you want for it."

But the dwarves answered, "We will not sell it for all the gold in the world."

Then he said, "Then give it to me, for I cannot live without being able to see Snow White. I will honor her and respect her as my most cherished one."

As he thus spoke, the good dwarves felt pity for him and gave him the coffin.  The prince had his servants carry it away on their shoulders.  But then it happened that one of them stumbled on some brush, and this dislodged from Snow White's throat the piece of poisoned apple that she had bitten off.  Not long afterward she opened her eyes, lifted the lid from her coffin, sat up, and was alive again.

"Good heavens, where am I?" she cried out.

The prince said joyfully, "You are with me."  He told her what had happened, and then said, "I love you more than anything else in the world.  Come with me to my father's castle.  You shall become my wife."  Snow White loved him, and she went with him.  Their wedding was planned with great splendor and majesty.

Snow White's wicked step-mother was invited to the feast, and when she had arrayed herself in her most beautiful garments, she stood before her mirror, and said:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

The mirror answered:

You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But the young queen is a thousand times fairer than you.

Not knowing that this new queen was indeed her stepdaughter, she arrived at the wedding, and her heart filled with the deepest of dread when she realized the truth - the evil queen was banished from the land forever and the prince and Snow White lived happily ever after.