The Happy Prince
High above the city stands the statue of the Happy Prince. He is covered with fine gold leaf. His eyes are two blue sapphires. He has a big red ruby on his sword.
Everyone loves him.
“Look at the Happy Prince!” says a mother to her son, who is crying his eyes out. “The Happy Prince never cries. Don’t you want to be like him?”
“Well, at least someone is happy in this town,” mutters a grumpy man, as he contemplates the beautiful statue.
“He looks like an angel!” say the children in the orphanage.
One night, a little swallow flies over the city. He is all alone. His friends all flew away to Egypt six weeks ago.
The swallow stayed behind because he had fallen in love with the most beautiful reed. She was tall, and slender, and she moved so gracefully in the wind.
The other swallows had laughed at this romance.
“It’s so ridiculous,” they said.
“She has no money…”
“And no steady job…”
Then autumn arrived. The other birds left for Egypt, and the little swallow began to get tired of his lover.
“Well yes, she is beautiful. But does she like to travel?” he wondered. “Of course my future wife must like to travel”.
So… he asked the reed, “Will you come to Egypt with me? It’ll be so much fun! I’ll show you the pyramids!”
But the reed shook her head.
“Very well! I will go alone!” replied the swallow. “Goodbye!” And he flew away, towards the city.
He arrives in the city after dark. “Now, where am I going to sleep?” he wonders.
He sees the statue of the Happy Prince. “Ah! I will sleep there! The view will be magnificent!”
The swallow lands between the feet of the Happy Prince. He looks around himself. “Amazing! I have a golden bedroom!” He is just about to fall asleep when – PLOP! – a drop of water falls on his head.
“What? Is it raining?” he wonders. “Strange… I don’t see any clouds…”
Then … PLOP! … another drop falls on him.
“Lousy statue!” he mutters. “It can’t even protect me from the rain! Maybe I should find a nice chimney instead…”
But then – PLOP – another drop falls. The swallow looks up. And what does he see?
The eyes of the Happy Prince are filled with tears. Tears are streaming down his golden cheeks. His face looks so sad in the moonlight! The little swallow is filled with pity.
“Who are you?” he asks the statue.
“I am the Happy Prince.”
“Well… why are you crying then?” asks the swallow. “I’m all wet.”
“Hmm. You know, when I was alive, and had a human heart, I never cried,” the statue says. “I lived in Sans-Souci Palace. There is no sorrow at Sans-Souci. Every night I danced in the great hall. During the day, I played with my friends in the garden.
There was a big wall around the garden, but I never asked what was on the other side. Why would I ask? Everything around me was so beautiful…
… When I was alive, everyone called me ‘the Happy Prince’. And yes, I was happy — if pleasure and happiness are the same thing.
But then I died, and they put me here. Now I can see all the sadness and ugliness of my city. My heart is made of lead, but I cannot stop crying.”
“What? He has a heart of lead? I thought he was solid gold!” thinks the swallow to himself. But he doesn’t say it out loud. He’s too polite.
“Far from here,” continues the statue, “Far from here, there is a small street. In this street, there is a small house. One of the windows is open, and I can see a woman. She is sitting at a table. Her face looks tired and worried. Her hands are red and calloused.
She is a seamstress, and she is sewing a dress for a wealthy lady. Her little boy is lying on the bed, ill with a fever. He wants oranges, but his mother does not have money to buy oranges. All she can give him to drink is water from the river. So the little boy continues to cry.
Little swallow, there is a ruby on my sword. Please take it to his mother. I am a statue now. I can’t do it myself.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t,” says the swallow. “I must fly to Egypt. My friends are waiting for me. They will be flying up and down the Nile, and talking to the lotus flowers. They will be sleeping in the tomb of the great King. I must go too!”
“Little swallow,” says the Prince. “Please be my messenger. Just for one night. The little boy is so thirsty, and his mother is so sad.”
“But I don’t even like little boys,” says the swallow. “Little boys throw stones at me. Of course, they never reach me. But who cares, it’s very rude!”
But the Happy Prince looks sad, and the swallow feels guilty.
“It’s very cold here,” he says, “but I will stay one night and help you”.
“Thank you, little swallow,” says the Prince.
So the swallow removes the ruby from the Prince’s sword. He holds it in his beak and flies over the roofs of the city.
He flies over the cathedral, with its angels made of white marble.
He flies over the river, and sees the lanterns hanging from the masts of the boats.
He flies over the market, and hears the seller shout “Oranges! Come and get your beautiful oranges!”
He flies over the palace, and hears the sound of music and dancing. A young girl and her boyfriend come out onto the balcony of the palace.
“The stars are so beautiful,” says the boyfriend. “And so are you…”
“I hope my dress will be ready in time for the ball,” says the girl. “My seamstress is so slow!”
Finally, the swallow arrives at the woman’s house. He looks through the window. The little boy is tossing feverishly in his bed. The mother is so tired that she has fallen asleep at her sewing table.
The swallow hops inside. He gently puts the ruby down on the table. Then he flutters around the little boy’s bed, gently fanning him with his wings.
“Huh. I don’t feel so hot anymore,” says the little boy. “I think I’m getting better…”
The swallow goes back to see the Happy Prince. He tells the prince what he did.
“It’s strange,” says the swallow. “The weather is really cold, but I feel quite warm now.”
“That’s because you have done something good,” says the Prince.
The little swallow begins to think, then he falls asleep. (Thinking always makes him sleepy.)
In the morning, the swallow takes a bath in the river.
“Tonight I’m going to Egypt!” he says.
He is very happy. He spends the day visiting the tourist attractions of the city. Wherever he goes, the sparrows chirp and ask each other “Who is this distinguished stranger? It can’t be a swallow. Here? In winter?!”
The swallow likes to be the center of attention. He enjoys himself immensely.
As the moon rises, the swallow flies back to the Happy Prince.
“Can I bring you back something from Egypt?” he asks. “I’m just about to leave.”
“Little swallow,” says the Prince. “Please stay with me one more night.”
“My friends will be waiting for me in Egypt,” replies the swallow. “Tomorrow they will go further up the river. There will be hippos in the tall grass. At noon, the yellow lions will come down to drink on the shore. Their eyes are green like emeralds. I absolutely must see this!”
“Little swallow,” says the Prince. “On the other side of town, I see a young man. He lives in a cramped, drafty attic. He is sitting at a desk covered with papers. He is trying to write a play, but his hands are too cold to hold a pen. He has no money to buy firewood, or food.”
“All right. I will stay with you one more night” says the swallow. “Do you have another ruby?”
“Alas, no,” says the Prince. “But I have my eyes. These are sapphires from India. Please take one of my eyes to the young man. He can use it to buy food, as well as wood. He can then finish writing his play.”
“Oh no! No way!” says the swallow. “I can’t take one of your eyes!”
“Little swallow,” says the Prince. “Please do as I ask.”
So the swallow takes the Prince’s eye and flies to the young man’s attic. It’s easy to get in – there’s a hole in the roof!
The young man is resting his head in his hands. He doesn’t hear the rustling of wings as the swallow places the sapphire in front of him.
When the young man looks up, he finds the beautiful sapphire just lying there on his desk.
“A donation!” he cries. “Someone likes my work! Now I can finish my play!”
The next day, the swallow flies to the harbor. He lands on the mast of a large ship. He watches the sailors taking the cargo out of the holds of the ship. “Heave-ho! Heave-ho!”
“I am going to Egypt!” he declares, but no one hears him.
When the moon rises, he flies to the Happy Prince.
“I’ve come to say goodbye,” says the swallow.
“Little swallow,” says the Prince. “Please stay with me one more night.”
“It’s winter now!” replies the swallow. “Soon it will snow! … But in Egypt the sun will be shining. I will see green palm trees. I will see crocodiles lying in the mud. My friends will be building their nests….
… Dear Prince, I must go. But I will never forget you! And next spring, I will bring you two beautiful jewels to replace the ones you have given away. The ruby will be as red as a rose and the sapphire will be as blue as the sea.”
“In the square just below us,” says the Prince, “there is a little girl selling flowers. She has dropped a lot of them on the ground, and now they’re ruined.
Her family will starve if she doesn’t bring some money home. She’s crying. She has no shoes, or socks. She has no winter jacket, and no warm hat. Please take my other eye and give it to her.”
The swallow sighs. “I can stay another night,” he says. “But I can’t take your eye. You will be blind!”
“Little swallow,” says the Prince. “Please do as I ask.”
So the swallow removes the Prince’s other eye. He flies down to the square. He swoops past the little girl and drops the jewel into her hand.
“Ooh! So pretty!” exclaims the little girl. She runs home laughing.
The swallow returns to the Prince.
“Now you are blind,” he says. “So I am going to stay with you.”
“No, little swallow!” says the poor Prince. “You have to go to Egypt!”
“No. I will stay with you forever.” says the swallow. And he falls asleep at the Prince’s feet.
The next day, the swallow sits on the Prince’s shoulder. He tells stories to the Prince, because the Prince cannot see. He talks about Egypt — the desert, the camels, the Sphinx, the pyramids, and the huge snakes in the palm trees.
“Dear little swallow,” says the Prince. “You speak of such extraordinary things! But do you know what is even more extraordinary to me? The suffering of people. There is no mystery greater than misery. Fly over my city, little swallow, and tell me what you see!”
So the swallow flies over the city. He sees rich people living comfortably in their beautiful homes, while beggars sit at their doorsteps.
He sees hungry children sitting in the dark streets.
He sees two little boys huddled together under a bridge, trying to get warm.
“You can’t sleep here!” says a policeman. “Go on! Get!”
And the boys scamper off into the rain.
The swallow returns to the Prince and tells him what he has seen.
“I am covered in gold,” says the Prince. “Peel it off and give it to the poor.”
Piece by piece, the swallow removes the thin layer of gold from the Prince. Soon, the Happy Prince appears dull and gray. Piece by piece, the swallow gives the gold to the poor. The children’s faces grow rosy. They laugh and play in the street. “We have bread now!”
Then the snow comes. And then the frost. The streets turn white. Long icicles hang from the eaves of the houses. Everyone wears winter jackets, and the children skate on the ice.
The poor little swallow gets colder and colder. But he does not leave the Prince. He eats the crumbs from in front of the baker’s door. He tries to warm himself by flapping his wings.
Then, finally, he knows he is going to die. He lands on the Prince’s shoulder one last time.
“Goodbye, dear Prince,” he whispers.
“I’m glad you’re finally going to Egypt, little swallow,” says the Prince. “You have stayed here far too long.”
“I’m not going to Egypt,” says the swallow. “I am going to the House of Death. Death is the brother of Sleep, is he not?”
He kisses the Happy Prince, and falls down dead at his feet.
At that moment, a strange sound comes from inside the statue — CRACK! The prince’s lead heart breaks in two.
The next morning, the mayor of the city walks past the statue with his city councilors.
“Oh my! The Happy Prince does not look great!” he says.
“Not great at all” the councilors say. (They always agree with the mayor.)
“Where is his ruby?” continues the mayor. “Where are his eyes?! And he is not golden anymore! Oh dear. He doesn’t look like a Happy Prince! Why, he looks no better than a beggar!”
“No better than a beggar!” the councilors say.
“And… What the?!… Oh my… My word… Goodness me!” says the mayor. “There is a dead bird at his feet! …
We need to pass a new law: ‘Birds are not permitted to die on statues.’ Someone note that down!”
And someone notes it down.
They pull down the statue of the Happy Prince. “If it is not beautiful, then it is not useful,” says an article in the newspaper.
They melt the statue in a furnace. But the heart of lead won’t melt.
“This is so weird!” says one of the foundry workers. “What should we do with this?”
“Meh… Just throw it away,” says another. “And don’t tell the boss!”
So they throw the Prince’s heart on a pile of trash, right next to the dead swallow.
“Bring me the two most precious things in the city” says God to one of the angels.
The angel fetches the heart of lead… and the dead bird.
“Ahh. You have chosen well!” says God. “This little bird will sing in the gardens of Paradise. And in my city of gold, the Prince will be happy once more.”
The Little Red Hen
This is a story about a little red hen.
The little red hen lives on a farm. She works hard all day long: She pecks the ground. She looks for worms. She sits in a bush. And sometimes… she lays an egg.
The little red hen has three friends: a cat, a dog, and a horse. These animals don’t work hard at all.
The cat likes to sleep in the sun. The dog likes to sleep in the shade. And the horse likes to watch TV all day long.
One day the little red hen sees a raspberry bush.
“Raspberries!” she squeals. “Yum yum yum! We can make a raspberry cake!”
The little red hen runs to tell her friends.
“Guys! There are raspberries over there! We can make a raspberry cake!”
The dog drools. “Yes!!”
The cat licks her lips. “Absolutely!”
The horse flicks his tail. “What a great idea!”
“So… who wants to help me pick the raspberries?” asks the little red hen.
“Not me,” says the dog, “I’m too busy.”
“Not me,” says the cat, “I’m too tired.”
“Not me,” says the horse, “I’m watching TV.”
“Then I will do it myself,” says the little red hen. So she picks the berries, one by one, all by herself.
“Ok, now we need flour, and sugar, and milk, and butter,” says the little red hen. “Who wants to help me get them?”
“Not me,” says the dog, “I’m too busy.”
“Not me,” says the cat, “I’m too tired.”
“Not me,” says the horse, “I’m watching TV.”
“Then I will do it myself,” says the little red hen. She goes all the way to the pantry and gets the flour and the sugar. She goes all the way to the fridge and gets the butter and the milk.
Then she puts everything together into a big bowl, all by herself.
“Who wants to help me mix the cake batter?” asks the little red hen.
“Not me,” says the dog, “I’m too busy.”
“Not me,” says the cat, “I’m too tired.”
“Not me,” says the horse, “I’m watching TV.”
“Then I will do it myself!” says the little red hen. She mixes the batter until it is smooth and creamy. Then she gently stirs through the raspberries.
She pours the batter into a cake tin. Then she puts it in the oven. All by herself.
(Tick tock, tick tock)
Soon there is a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. The dog can smell it. The cat can smell it. The horse can smell it too. They all rush to the kitchen.
The little red hen takes the cake from the oven. She puts it on a plate and sprinkles it with sugar.
“So… Who wants to help me eat this cake?” asks the little red hen.
“Me!” says the dog.
“Me!” says the cat.
“Me!” says the horse.
“I don’t think so,” says the little red hen. “You would not help me make this cake… so you will not help me eat it.”
She runs away with the cake and eats every last crumb. All by herself.
The Oak Tree
One hot day, two hikers are walking in the dry, brown hills. They have been walking all day, and they are tired and hungry.
They see a tree in the distance.
“I am sooooo hungry!” says one hiker. “Do you think that’s an apple tree? I want a big, crunchy, red apple!”
“Nah, that’s not an apple tree,” says the other. “It’s a pear tree! Pears are my favorite. I want a sweet, juicy, yellow pear!”
But when they arrive at the tree, there are no apples. Or pears either. In fact, there is no fruit at all.
“Aw, boo!” says one hiker. “It’s a useless oak tree!”
Just then, the sky turns grey and it starts to rain. The two hikers run under the oak tree to stay dry. It rains and rains, but the oak tree is like a big umbrella. The hikers don’t get wet.
They wait under the oak tree for the rain to stop. Day turns into night.
“I’m cold,” says one hiker. “We should make a fire. Help me collect some wood!”
Luckily, there are many old branches under the oak tree. The two hikers collect the branches and make a nice campfire out of them. They sit beside the fire to warm themselves.
“I’m tired,” says one hiker. “We should sleep here tonight. Help me make a bed!”
The hikers make a bed out of soft, green oak leaves. They snuggle into the leaves and fall asleep.
The rain falls and the wind blows, but the hikers are comfortable, warm and dry — under the “useless” oak tree.
Moral: Sometimes the best gifts aren’t what we originally hoped for.
The Bear and the Bee
Everybody knows that bears love honey. One day Mr Bear looks in his cupboard and he can’t find any honey.
“Oh no! No honey!” he says. So he goes into the forest to find some.
He sees a beehive in a tree. He smells the honey. “Mmmmm! Honey!”
He sticks his paw into the beehive and….ZZZZZZZZZ! A bee flies out.
“Hey, bear! Go away!” says the bee. “This is not your honey!”
Mr Bear is annoyed.
“I am bigger than you,” he says. “And I am stronger than you too. I can do what I want! Now… buzz off!”
Mr Bear sticks his paw into the beehive again and….ZZZZZZZZZ! ZING!
OWIE! The bee stings him right on his nose!
“My nose! My nose! Oooh… I’m so angry!” growls Mr Bear.
He finds a big stick. He tries to hit the bee. He swings and he swings, but the bee is too fast! Mr Bear gets angrier and angrier.
“GARRRRRGHGHGH! I WILL SQUASH YOU! COME HERE!”
The bee flies back into the beehive.
“AH HAH! Now you’re trapped!” yells Mr Bear.
He swings his stick at the beehive. Smash! Smash! Smash! He smashes it to pieces!
Then he hears a strange sound. It gets louder and louder…
ZZZZ! ZZZZ! ZZZ! Zzzz! ZZZZZZZZZZ! Zzzz! ZZZZ!
Thousands of bees fly out of the smashed beehive.
They fly around Mr Bear’s head…
ZZZZZZZZZ… ZING! They sting him on his ear.
ZING ZING! They sting him on his elbow.
They chase Mr Bear through the forest. They sting him on his arms, his legs, his hands and especially on his nose.
ZING! ZING! ZING!
Mr Bear runs all the way home and slams the door shut. BAM!
Then he hears a voice behind him.
It’s Mrs. Bear.
“You did it again, didn’t you?” she says. “You lost your temper.”
“Yes,” he says as he cries and counts his bee stings.
“Here’s the bee-sting medicine,” says Mrs. Bear. “Also, we have honey in the cupboard. It’s behind the flour.”
Moral: A hot temper always gets you into trouble.
Jack and the Beanstalk
Once there was a young man named Jack. He lived with his mother on a small farm at the foot of the Foggy Mountains.
Jack and his mother were very poor. Their only way of making money was selling the milk from their cow, Bess.
One morning, Jack’s mother woke him up early. It was still dark outside. She was crying.
“Jack, wake up! Go to the market today and sell our cow, Bess.”
“But why?” asked Jack, yawning.
“We need money to fix our house. There are holes in the roof. The windows are broken. For heaven’s sake, we have no front door. Winter is coming soon. If we don’t fix the house, the cold will kill us!”
Jack packed his bag and fetched Bess from the barn.
As he was walking out the gate, he heard his mother shout: “She is worth at least five gold coins! Don’t sell her for less!”
When Jack was half way to the market, he met an old man.
“Good morning, my boy!” said the old man. “Where are you going today?”
“Good morning, sir,” replied Jack. “I’m going to the market to sell my cow. Her name is Bess.”
“She is a beautiful cow,” said the man. “I will buy Bess, and I will give you a very good deal!”
“How much will you pay for her? I won’t take less than five gold coins!” said Jack.
“I don’t have five gold coins,” whispered the man. “But I have these five black beans. These beans are magic beans! They are worth more than gold! If you take these beans, you will be richer than the richest man in the world.”
Jack thought about his mother. He thought about how happy she would be if they were rich. They could fix the roof, the windows, and the front door. Maybe they could buy a new cow!
“Okay,” said Jack. “You’ve got a deal. Give me the beans!”
Jack was very excited. He ran home and showed his mother the beans. But instead of being happy, she was furious.
“You foolish boy! You traded our only cow for a handful of beans?!”
She took the beans and threw them out the window. Then she sat down beside the fire and cried.
Jack was devastated. He shut himself in his bedroom. He felt so stupid. They no longer had a cow, and now they were poorer than before. What a disaster! And it was his fault!
The next morning when Jack opened the curtains, he saw something very strange.
In the same place where his mother had thrown the beans, there was a giant, green beanstalk. It stretched from the ground, up, up, up… all the way to the clouds.
“The beans really are magic!” whispered Jack. “The old man was telling the truth!”
Jack’s mother was still asleep, so Jack decided to climb the beanstalk to look for the riches the old man had described.
“Just five gold coins,” thought Jack. “That’s all I need to make my mother happy.”
Jack climbed up, up, up, higher and higher into the clouds. When he reached the top, he was very hungry. He saw a castle in the distance.
“Maybe I can find something to eat in that castle…” he thought.
Jack walked up to the door of the castle and knocked twice. Knock knock!
A giantess opened the door. She was as big as a house, but she had a warm smile and gentle eyes.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Giant,” said Jack. “Could you please give me something to eat? I am so hungry!”
“Oh you poor boy!” said the giantess. She could see that Jack was very thin. “Of course! Come in! Come in!”
The kind giantess gave Jack some vegetable stew. He was enjoying it so much that he didn’t notice when the kitchen table started to shake.
Stomp… Stomp… Stomp… Loud footsteps echoed down the hallway.
“Oh dear,” whispered the giantess. “That is my husband! He is home from work! He doesn’t like humans! Quick! Hide!”
Jack hid in the pantry.
The giant stomped into the kitchen and sniffed the air.
“FEE FI FO FUM! … Hello my beautiful wife!
…Wait! Do I smell a human man? YUCK! WHERE IS HE?”
“Good evening, my darling husband,” replied the giantess. “There is nobody here. You smell the vegetable stew, nothing more.”
“Good,” grunted the giant. “I hate humans.” He sat down at the table in the kitchen.
The giant took out a small sack of gold coins out of his pocket and counted them. One… two… three… four… five gold coins.
Jack watched from inside the pantry. “Five gold coins!” thought Jack. “If I had that money, I could fix our house!”
When the two giants left the room, Jack stole the five gold coins and slipped them into his bag. “This is all I need!” thought Jack.
But then Jack remembered that his family no longer had a cow. Without a cow, they would surely starve. He decided to stay and look for other treasures.
He followed the giant into the living room and hid under the couch. The giant went to the cupboard and pulled out a golden hen.
“Hello, my beautiful hen. Lay, please!” said the giant, and the hen laid a golden egg.
Jack watched from under the couch.
“A hen that lays golden eggs!” whispered Jack. “If I had that hen, I could buy fifty cows!”
When the giant left the room, Jack crawled out from under the couch. He went to the cupboard, took the hen, and put it in his bag.
“This is all I need… “ thought Jack.
But then Jack thought about what the old man had promised. Jack imagined being richer than the richest man in the world. He decided to see what other treasures he could find.
He followed the giant into the bedroom, and hid under the bed. There was a golden harp standing in a corner of the room.
“Hello, my beautiful harp. Play, please!” said the giant. The harp began playing music with no one touching the strings.
“Wow! A magic harp!” whispered Jack. “That harp would make me rich and famous!”
When the giant fell asleep, Jack crawled out from under the bed. He took the magic harp and put it in his bag.
But this time Jack was less lucky.
The magic harp screamed, “Help me, master! A human is stealing me!”
The giant woke up and saw Jack with the magic harp, the golden hen, and his gold coins.
“STOP, THIEF!”
The giant chased Jack — out of the bedroom, down the hallway, through the kitchen, and out the front door.
But Jack was smaller and faster than the giant. Jack reached the beanstalk first and slid down. He arrived at the ground with all his treasures.
The giant reached the top of the beanstalk and looked down. He was afraid of heights. He slowly climbed down.
“BE CAREFUL, MY HUSBAND!” shouted the giantess from the castle. “HUMANS CAN BE DANGEROUS!”
Jack saw the giant coming down the beanstalk. So he ran into his house and grabbed an axe. He chopped the beanstalk. Whack! Whack! Whack!
Suddenly, the beanstalk snapped. The giant came tumbling down from the sky. He fell down, down, down, and landed far away, on the other side of the Foggy Mountains. Thud!
For a moment everything was silent. Then Jack heard a strange sound from far away.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo!”
It was the giant. The beanstalk had fallen, and now he had no way to get back up to his castle in the clouds.
The giant yelled so loudly that the clouds shook and turned gray. Then somewhere up in the sky, Jack heard Mrs. Giant start to cry. Her tears fell through the clouds in tiny drops and soaked the earth.
After that, Jack and his mother lived a very comfortable life. The golden hen made Jack a millionaire. The magic harp made him famous. Jack married a rich and famous woman and together they had ten children.
But Jack was never truly happy.
Every time the wind blew, Jack heard the giant calling for his wife. And every time it rained, he felt the giant-wife’s tears falling on him.
Jack felt sad and guilty.
One day, when Jack was very old, he decided that he didn’t want to be sad any more. He opened a box on his mantelpiece and pulled out one last shrivelled magic bean.
If he could find the giant, he could grow another beanstalk. Then the giant could climb back up to his castle in the clouds. If he could find the giant, he could also apologize for being so greedy.
Jack packed his bag and walked into the Foggy Mountains.
Did Jack find the giant? Did he grow a new beanstalk with the last magic bean? Nobody knows.
But people say, if you listen closely during a thunderstorm, you can hear the rumbling sound of two giants dancing together in the clouds.
The Wind and the Sun
The wind and the sun are having a disagreement.
“I am the most powerful!” says the wind.
“No, I am the most powerful!” says the sun.
“I can blow trees to the ground!” brags the wind. “I can push ships across the ocean. I can make hurricanes and tornadoes!”
“Is that right?” replies the sun. “Well, I can melt all the snow on the mountains. I can dry up an entire lake. I can make a sidewalk so hot that it cooks an egg!”
Just then, they see a man walking along the road in his winter jacket .
“Let’s have a contest to see who is more powerful,” says the wind. “Whoever can remove the man’s jacket first wins.”
The sun agrees.
The wind goes first. He blows a gust of cold wind at the man.
The man shivers and zips up his jacket. “Brrr! What a cold and windy day!”
It starts to rain. The wind blows even harder and turns the rain into snow.
“Well look at that! It’s snowing!” says the man. “Snow wasn’t in the weather forecast today…”
He pulls his hood over his head.
The wind blows his strongest gust towards the man, but the man’s jacket stays on.
“Hmm. It’s a bit fresh today…” he says. “A winter storm must be coming…” He zips the jacket higher to cover his nose.
“Gah! This is impossible,” says the wind. He stops blowing.
“My turn!” says the sun.
First the sun shines enough to stop the snow. The man unzips his hood.
Then the sun pulls the clouds apart and gently shines down on the man. Suddenly, it is a beautiful spring day.
“Wow. The weather sure is strange around here!” says the man. He unzips his jacket.
The sun gently wiggles her fingers and increases the temperature.
“What strange weather. Now it feels like summer!” the man says as he begins to sweat. “Goodness me, it’s so hot!”
He removes his winter jacket. He lies down on the grass for a nap in the warm sun.
“I win!” says the sun, beaming.
Moral: Sometimes warmth and gentleness can achieve more than strength and force.
The Girl and the Ice Cream Truck
A girl sits at her bedroom window, looking down at the street. She is waiting for summer.
She wants to eat ice cream and go swimming. She wants picnics and strawberries.
She is tired of winter jackets and gloves. She is tired of grey skies and snow.
Her mother says that summer is far away. Her father says that more snow is coming.
Still, she sits at the window, waiting for some sign that summer has arrived.
Just then, she sees an ice cream truck driving down the street.
“An ice cream truck! That MUST mean it’s summer now!” she squeals.
She runs to her closet and puts on her bathing suit and her summer hat.
She runs down the stairs and out the door and…
CRUNCH!
She looks down and sees her bare feet….in the icy grass.
“But…but… I saw an ice cream truck!” she says, confused.
She looks up just in time to see the ice cream truck turn the corner and pull into the auto repair shop.
Moral: Don’t draw a conclusion based on a single observation; one ice cream truck does not make a summer.
The City Mouse and the Country Mouse
This is a city mouse. He lives in a big city with tall buildings and lots of shops and restaurants. But today he is visiting his friend, a country mouse.
The country mouse lives in a cozy nest at the bottom of a tree. Her home is small, but it is warm and comfortable.
The country mouse cooks a dinner of food from her garden: corn, carrots, acorns, and a cold glass of water from the stream. Meanwhile, the city mouse talks and talks:
“The city is amazing! I go to the theater and the museum… My house has TWENTY rooms. You absolutely MUST visit! Have you ever tried Chinese food?”
That night, the country mouse dreams that she lives in the city. She dreams that she eats at fancy restaurants, says fancy things, and buys fancy hats from fancy stores. She dreams about eating Chinese food.
“How wonderful!” she thinks. “I want to live in the city too!”
The next morning the country mouse agrees to visit the city mouse. She packs her bag and follows the city mouse back to his big house in the city.
The house is enormous! There are TWENTY rooms full of beautiful furniture.
The country mouse is amazed.
“Which room is mine?” she asks.
“Um… we actually live down here…” says the city mouse. He leads her down some stairs to the basement. In the darkness, the country mouse sees many families of mice.
“These are my housemates…” explains the city mouse.
The city mouse leads the country mouse back upstairs for dinner. In the dining room there is a feast of delicious foods on the table: cheese, bread, cookies, cakes, and lemonade. There is also… Chinese food!
But just as they start to eat… CRASH! A cat with sharp teeth and sharp claws jumps up on the table. It’s the city cat!
REEEEEOWWWW!
The city cat chases the two mice off the table and across the floor. The mice hide in a hole in the wall. They are trapped!
They wait silently until the cat leaves. Then, they quietly creep back to the dining room … but all the food is gone! The city humans ate everything!
The country mouse hurries back to the basement and packs her bag.
“Where are you going?” asks the city mouse.
“Home.” she says. “I want to go back to the country. Your city life isn’t so wonderful after all. Now, please, help me call a taxi.”
Moral: Sometimes other people’s lives are not as great as they make you believe.
The Dog and his Bone
A dog is walking down the street, when he sees a bone in a trash can.
“A bone! Yippee! How lucky for me!” he thinks. He grabs the bone, and happily runs home.
He runs past the train station and the school. He runs through the park. He runs onto a bridge.
On the bridge, the dog looks down into the deep, still water below. There, he sees another dog with a bone in its mouth.
“Who is that dog?” he wonders. “What is he doing down there?”
The dog stares at the other dog. The other dog stares back.
“Where did that dog get such a BIG bone?” the dog wonders. “Why is his bone bigger than mine?”
The dog growls at the other dog. The other dog growls too.
“I want that big bone!” he thinks.
The greedy dog decides to steal the other dog’s bone. He leaps off the bridge and into the water. Splash!
But as soon as he hits the water, the other dog disappears. There was never any other dog. It was just his own reflection!
The water is very deep and the dog is surprised.
“Woof woof woof! Help!” he barks.
And when he barks, his bone drops from his mouth — and sinks to the bottom of the water.
The dog swims to shore. He is wet and cold, and now he has no bone at all.
Moral: Be happy with what you have. If you’re greedy, you might lose everything.
The Frightened Lion
One night, Lion is getting ready for bed. He reads his favorite bedtime story and sings his favorite bedtime song. He turns on his night-light. Then — he hears a sound…
Tap! … Tap!
“What’s that sound?” he whispers.
Tap! … Tap!
“That sound… it’s coming from outside the window!”
He climbs out of bed. He grabs a baseball bat and tip-toes towards the window.
Tappity-tap! TAP!
“It’s a monster!” he thinks. He grabs his bicycle helmet and puts it on his head for protection. He hears the sound again…
TAP! … TAP! … Tappity-TAP!
Lion panics. “The monster is getting closer! It sounds like the BIGGEST, SCARIEST monster ever!”
Tap! Tap! Tappity-tap!
TAPPITY-TAP!
TAPPITY-TAPPITY-TAPPITY…. TAP!
“EEEK!” Lion squeals. He runs away from the window and hides under the bed. He pulls a blanket over his head. He holds his baseball bat tightly in his hands, and….
Tappity tap!
A little frog jumps up on the window sill. The frog is wearing a tutu and tap shoes. She dances a little dance.
Tap tap tappity-tap!
“Hello Lion! Are you in there?” says the frog.
She looks through the window and sees Lion hiding under the bed. Lion is wrapped in a blanket… wearing a bicycle helmet … and holding a baseball bat. He looks ridiculous.
(And to be honest, he feels ridiculous too.)
“Ummm… I have some new dance moves to show you,” says the frog. “But you look busy. I will come back later. See ya!”
The frog hops down to the ground and happily dances away.
Tap-TAP! Tappity-tappity-TAP!
Moral: Sometimes our imaginations make things scarier than they really are.
The Fox and the Crow
Early one morning, a fox is walking through the woods. He is hungry, and he is looking for something to eat. He sees a crow sitting on the highest branch of a tree. The crow has a piece of cheese in her beak.
“Mmm… I love cheese!” thinks the fox. “I think I’ve found my breakfast! But how can I get the cheese?”
He thinks and he thinks. Then he has a clever idea. “I will make her talk!”
He sits at the bottom of the tree and looks up at the crow.
“Good morning, Miss Crow!” he says. “It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?”
The crow looks down at the fox. She says nothing.
“I said, good morning! Did you hear me?” says the fox. “Maybe you can’t hear me up there.”
The crow is suspicious. She holds the cheese tightly in her beak and says nothing.
“Hmm. This is not so easy,” thinks the fox. But he doesn’t give up. He smiles at the crow.
“You know… you really are the most beautiful bird,” he says. “Your feathers are so shiny! Your eyes are so intelligent! Your beak is so…umm… pointy! Everything about you is perfect!”
Still, the crow says nothing.
So the fox says: “Tell me, Miss Crow… is your voice also magnificent? I hear that you have the most wonderful voice. Please sing for me! Just one song! Then I can tell everyone you really are the most incredible bird — the queen of all birds, in fact!”
This makes the crow feel good. She wants everyone to know she has a wonderful voice. She wants everyone to know that she is the queen of all birds.
She smiles a little smile. Then she smiles a big smile. Then she opens her mouth to sing her best song for the fox. And… plop! The cheese drops out of her beak and falls straight into the mouth of the fox. He swallows it in one gulp.
“Mmmmm. Thank you for the delicious breakfast, Miss Crow!” laughs the fox as he walks away. “Have a lovely day!”
Moral: Beware of flatterers. They often want something from you.
The Bird and the Whale
Once there was a bird who fell in love with a whale. And a whale who fell in love with a bird.
The bird loved the whale’s beautiful smile. He loved the way she swam through the water so gracefully.
The whale loved the bird’s handsome white feathers. She loved to watch him soar through the sky.
And they both loved to eat lots of tiny fish.
All summer, the bird and the whale met in the bay. They talked and talked.
They talked about the moon, and the tides, and the ships in the ocean.
The bird told jokes and made the whale laugh. The whale sang beautiful songs that made the bird cry (even though he didn’t know why).
“One day, you could meet my family in the ocean,” said the whale.
“And you could meet my friends on the land,” said the bird.
Everything was perfect.
But the world does not stop turning just because a bird and whale fall in love. Summer turned into autumn, and autumn turned into winter. The ocean turned cold, and all the other whales left for warmer waters.
“Come with me to warmer waters,” said the whale. “It’s a wonderful place. It’s always warm, and there are so many fish to eat.”
“I love to eat fish,” said the bird. “And I love you. I will follow you anywhere. But first, teach me to be a whale?”
“Like this!” said the whale, “follow me!”, and she dived deep into the water.
“OK!” said the bird, and he also dived deep into the water.
Deeper and deeper he went. “I’m swimming!” he laughed. “I’m a whale!” But soon he couldn’t breathe. He returned to the surface, gasping.
He tried and tried and tried again, but he ran out of breath every time.
“I don’t think a bird can become a whale,” said the bird. “Come with me instead. I live up on the cliffs. It is a wonderful place. It’s warm and cosy, and every morning you can watch the sun rise.”
“I love to watch the sun rise,” said the whale. “And I love you. I will follow you anywhere. But first, teach me to be a bird?”
“Like this!” said the bird. “Follow me!”, and he flapped his wings and soared into the sky.
“OK!” said the whale. She squeezed her eyes shut and flapped her fins, just like the bird. She flapped and flapped, up and down. Water splashed everywhere. “I’m flying!” she laughed. “I’m a bird!”
But when she opened her eyes, she wasn’t soaring in the sky. She was still in the water.
She tried and tried and tried again, but she could not fly.
“I don’t think a whale can become a bird,” said the whale.
“But if you can’t fly, and I can’t swim, where can we live together?” said the bird.
“We will stay here — in the waves!” said the whale.
But the bird shook his head sadly.
“You love to swim deep in the ocean,” he said. That is your favourite thing to do. You would never be happy here.”
The whale sighed.
“And you love to fly and soar into the sky,” she said. “That is your favourite thing to do. You would never be happy here either.”
And so, because the bird and whale loved each other so much, they said goodbye.
But they never forgot each other. Every time the whale saw a bird flying high in the sky, she thought of her bird. She hoped he was enjoying the skies — just like that.
And every time the bird saw a whale diving deep in the ocean, he thought of his whale. He hoped she was enjoying the ocean — just like that.
Chicken Little
Let me tell you a story about a chicken. His name is Chicken Little. He lives in a normal little chicken house in a normal little town.
Chicken Little is neither tall nor short. He is neither fat nor thin. He is neither smart nor stupid. He is a completely normal chicken.
One completely normal morning, Chicken Little is eating his breakfast in the kitchen. (He likes toast with butter and coffee with cream.)
He is reading the internet. He sees a terrifying story with a terrifying headline. It says: THE SKY IS FALLING!
He is so scared that he drops his toast into his coffee. Plop!
“The sky is falling? THE SKY IS FALLING!” shouts Chicken Little. “I have to warn everyone!”
First, he emails the story to one-thousand of his closest friends. Then runs down the road to warn everyone else.
The first person he meets on the road is Gwen the Hen. She is coming from the supermarket.
“Good morning, Chicken Little!” says Gwen the Hen. “Where are you going? Why are you so scared?”
“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” says Chicken Little.
“Really? How do you know?” asks Gwen.
“I saw it on the internet!” says Chicken Little.
“Holy moly! It must be true!” says Gwen. “Let’s go!”
And so Chicken Little and Gwen the Hen run down the road towards the pond.
When they reach the pond, they meet Chuck the Duck. He is having a bath.
“Hello, you two!” says Chuck the Duck. “Where are you going? Why are you so scared?”
“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” say Chicken Little and Gwen the Hen together.
“Really? How do you know?” asks Chuck.
“I saw it on the internet!” says Chicken Little.
“Oh no! It must be true!” says Chuck. “Let’s go!”
So Chicken Little, Gwen the Hen, and Chuck the Duck run down the road towards the farm.
When they reach the farm they meet Bruce the Goose. He is reading poetry to Percy the pigeon.
“Hello everyone!” says Bruce the Goose. “Where are you going? Why are you so scared?”
“The sky is falling. THE SKY IS FALLING!” everyone yells.
“Really? How do you know?” asks Percy the pigeon.
“WE SAW IT ON THE INTERNET!!” they all say.
“Goodness gracious! It must be true!” says Bruce. “There is no time to read poetry now. Let’s go!”
And Chicken Little, Gwen the Hen, Chuck the Duck, Bruce the Goose and Percy the Pigeon run down the road towards the town.
On the main street, they meet Fred the Fox. He is sitting at a cafe, writing on his laptop.
“Hello everyone!” says Fred the Fox. “Where are you going? Why are you so scared?”
“THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKYYYY IS FAAALLLLING!” everyone yells.
“Really? How do you know?” asks Fred.
“WE SAW IT ON THE INTERNET!!!!” they all shout.
“Wow! Well then it must be true!” says the fox. “But don’t worry, friends, I know the perfect place to hide. Follow me!”
Fred the fox leads everyone through the village, down the road, across the field, and up a hill. At the top of the hill is a big, dark cave.
“Come in! Come in!” says Fred the fox. “There is enough room for everybody! The sky won’t fall on us here. We are safe.”
And so, one by one, Chicken Little and all of his friends follow the fox into the cave.
The next morning, Chicken Little and his friends have disappeared. The cave is empty.
Where did they go? We don’t know for sure. But I will tell you one thing: Fred the Fox is very happy. He has a big, round belly.
“Silly animals,” he says. And he sits under a tree, gets his laptop, and begins to write again.
Rumpelstiltskin
Once upon a time there was a rich hat maker. He told lots of lies. But he was so rich that nobody cared when he told lies.
“Oh, he’s just joking!” they all laughed.
The rich hat maker loved to go to dances with other rich people. At the dances, the rich people stood around and told lies to each other.
“My husband shot a turkey from three kilometers away…” said a rich lady.
“My son is so smart, he teaches his teachers!” said a rich man.
“My cat is so clever, she fetches sticks like a dog!” said another rich lady.
The rich hat maker wanted to join the conversation, so he told his biggest lie yet:
“My daughter is so amazing, she can turn hay into gold!”
All the rich people nodded and smiled. “Oh yes,” they said. “How wonderful.”
Suddenly there was a loud voice at the back of the room.
“SHE CAN TURN HAY INTO GOLD?!”
It was the king! Everybody bowed and gasped as he walked up to the hat maker.
“DID YOU SAY … SHE CAN TURN HAY INTO GOLD?”
“Umm… well… what I meant was…. errrr…. Yes?” stammered the hat maker.
“BRING HER TO ME!” bellowed the king. He stormed out of the room.
‘Oh dear,’ thought the hat maker. ‘What do I do now?’
The next morning the hat maker brought his daughter, Sophie, to a small room in the palace. Sophie was very confused.
“Why am I here? Father? What’s going on?”
“Your father is a liar,” explained the king. “Last night he said that you can turn hay into gold. I think that is a lie! And I HATE liars.”
Sophie looked at her father. He stared at his feet.
“Here is a bundle of hay,” said the king. “Please, turn it into gold. It must be done by morning.”
Sophie gasped.
“Oh, and one more thing,” said the king. “If you fail, I will feed your father to my crocodiles. I HATE liars…”
Everyone left. Sophie was alone.
‘Oh dear,’ thought Sophie. ‘What do I do now?’
Night fell. Sophie felt angry.
“How ridiculous!” she fumed. “I can’t turn hay into gold! It’s impossible!”
Just then, she heard a strange little laugh.
“Tee hee hee… What do you have for me?”
A little man appeared in a corner of the room. He was very small. He had brown curly hair, a black hat, and red pointy shoes.
“Do you need some help, my dear?” he asked.
“I need to turn this hay into gold,” sighed Sophie. “That’s ridiculous! It’s not possible!”
“Oh, it is possible,” said the little man. “I can do it for you… ”
“Yes! Please help me!” begged Sophie.
The little man pulled two knitting needles out of his pocket. He began to knit the hay into clothes. As the hay passed through his needles, it turned into beautiful golden thread.
He knitted golden scarves. He made golden hats and golden socks. Soon the hay was gone, and there was a pile of golden clothes on the floor.
“And now, what do you have for me?” asked the little man.
“This diamond necklace?” suggested Sophie.
“Perfect,” said the man. “I need a diamond necklace.”
Sophie gave him her necklace. He said, “tee hee hee”, and disappeared.
The next morning, the king returned to the room. He opened the door and could not believe what he saw.
“Is this a trick? How did you do this?” he demanded.
Sophie’s father interrupted: “I told you! My daughter is amazing. Her mother was the same—”
“STOP LYING!” shouted the king. “Sophie, come with me, please.”
The king led Sophie to another room. Inside the room were TEN piles of hay.
“If you did it once, you can do it again,” said the king. “It must be done by morning. And this time I’m locking the door!”
Everyone left, and the door was locked. Sophie was alone.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” said Sophie.
But this time, Sophie knew what to do.
She searched the entire room. She looked high and low. She looked behind the curtains. She looked on top of the shelves.
“Little man? Little man? Are you here?”
Just then, she heard a funny little laugh.
“Tee hee hee… what do you have for me?”
The little man appeared in a corner of the room.
Once again, the little man pulled two knitting needles out of his pockets. He started to knit the hay.
He knitted golden sweaters. He made golden gloves and golden underpants. Soon the hay was gone, and there was a pile of golden clothes on the floor.
“And now, what do you have for me?” asked the little man.
“This ruby ring?” suggested Sophie.
“Perfect,” said the man. “I need a ruby ring.”
Sophie gave her ring to the man. He said, “tee hee hee”, and disappeared.
When the king opened the door the next morning, he could not believe what he saw.
“HOW DID YOU DO THIS?” he yelled. “TELL ME! NOW!”
Sophie shrugged. “I taught myself how to knit last winter…”
The king led Sophie to yet another room in the palace. This room was completely full of hay, from floor to ceiling.
“Here are ONE HUNDRED bundles of hay,” said the king. “And there are ten guards outside the door. This time, nobody can help you. I hope you are not lying, dear Sophie,” the king said quietly. “Remember, ALL liars will be fed to the crocodiles…”
Everyone left. Sophie was alone. And there were ten guards outside the door.
Again, Sophie knew what to do.
She searched the entire room. She looked high and low. She looked under the table. She looked in the closet.
“Little man? Little man? Where are you?”
But the little man wasn’t there.
Sophie sat down and cried. Soon she fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke up, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Every single piece of hay was gone, and there was a HUGE pile of golden clothes on the floor.
The little man was sitting on top of the clothes.
“Oh thank you!” cried Sophie. “I thought I was crocodile food, for sure!”
The little man smiled. “And now, what do you have for me?” he asked.
“This sapphire bracelet?” said Sophie.
“No. I don’t need a bracelet…” said the little man.
“These silver earrings?” suggested Sophie.
“No. I don’t wear earrings…” said the little man.
Sophie grew angry. “I don’t have anything else to give you!” she said.
“Hmmmm. I know what I want,” said the little man. Many years from now, give me your first child.”
“WHAT? NO!” cried Sophie.
“… Or I will tell the king you are a liar…” said the little man.
Sophie had no other choice. She agreed to the little man’s deal.
The king returned. When the king opened the door, he was amazed. There was huge pile of golden clothes, stacked from the floor to the ceiling.
“You really are amazing,” he said to Sophie. “You may go. But maybe, one day, you can teach me how to knit too?”
Sophie agreed. She ran out of the palace as fast as she could.
Ten years passed. Sophie grew into a clever and accomplished woman. She married a kind man. They had a baby boy.
One morning, Sophie was playing with her son in the garden when she heard that strange little laugh.
“Tee hee hee. What do you have for me?” The little man stepped out from behind a bush.
“NO! YOU CAN’T HAVE HIM!” screamed Sophie. She held the baby close to her chest. She cried and cried.
“We had a deal, my dear,” said the little man. “But I will make you another deal: Guess my name! If you know my name, you can keep your son. You have three days. Is it a deal?”
Sophie cried. “It’s a deal.”
The next night the little man returned, and Sophie guessed all the common names:
“Is it … Tim?”
“— No”
“Is it … Jack?”
“— No”
“Is it … Chris?”
“— No”
The second night, she guessed some less common names:
“Is it … Balthazar?”
“— No”
“Is it … Ferdinand?”
“— No”
“Is it … Alfonso?”
“— No”
The third day, Sophie was panicking. She went for a walk in the forest to clear her head. It was already getting late.
“His feet are pointy like a Norwegian,” she thought, “… so maybe his name is Bjørn? … But his nose is red like an Australian, so maybe his name is Keith? … But his hat looks Turkish! So maybe his name is Mustafa?…”
Sophie walked deeper and deeper into the forest. She jumped over logs and climbed over rocks, and then turned a corner. She was very surprised to see a small house.
A woman was sitting on the porch. She was knitting baby clothes and singing quietly. On her neck was Sophie’s necklace. On her finger was Sophie’s ring.
“Rumpelstiltskin! Rumpelstiltskin, my love!” the woman shouted. “Can you come here? I need you to help me knit!”
And guess who appeared at the door? It was the little man!
Sophie ducked down behind a bush. How lucky! She ran home as fast as she could.
That night, the little man came to see Sophie. He seemed very happy.
“It’s time, my dear,” he said. “So… do you know my name?”
“Is it Rhubarb?”
“— No”
“Is it Roquefort?”
“— No”
“Is it … Rumpelstiltskin?”
The little man’s face turned red with anger.
“ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGH!”
He screamed and shouted and stomped his feet.
“How did you know my name? HOW DID YOU KNOW MY NAME?”
But then he stopped… and cried. He looked up at Sophie.
“We would have loved your son very much,” he whispered.
The little man wiped his tears away with a yellow handkerchief, and disappeared.
After that, Sophie and her family lived happily ever after, just like in the stories.
But what happened to the little man?
Well, look closely when you hear people telling big lies. Because big lies always need a big payment.
Rumplestiltskin will usually be there. Under the table, or on top of the cupboard. He is always waiting to make a good deal…
Snow White
Once upon a time, in a kingdom very far away, there lived a king and a queen.
The king was handsome and kind. Everybody loved him. But the real ruler of the kingdom was his wife — the queen.
Before she became queen, she worked in the castle kitchen. She was very poor. But she was also very beautiful, and funny, and very good at Scrabble.
So the king fell in love with her, and married her.
The king loved the queen very much. But the queen was always afraid that the king would meet someone more beautiful.
Luckily, the queen had a magic mirror. The mirror saw everything and knew everything.
Every day the queen looked at herself in the mirror, and asked: “Magic mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful of all?”
And the mirror replied:
“You are, my Queen! You are the most beautiful woman in the whole world.”
The queen was happy. She knew there was nobody in the world as beautiful as her.
But one day everything changed. The queen stood in front of the mirror and asked her usual question.
“Magic mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful of all?”
And the mirror replied:
“You are very beautiful, my Queen. But the most beautiful woman in the world is… Snow White.”
The queen was shocked.
“Who is this Snow White?” she asked the mirror.
“Snow White works in the castle kitchen. She has hair as black as night, lips as red as roses, and skin as white as snow. As of… 8am this morning, she is a wee-bitty-bit more beautiful than you.”
“ARRRGGHH!!” yelled the queen. She stomped her feet. She pulled her hair. Then she sat down and sobbed.
“I will lose everything!”
The queen was afraid, and that fear turned her heart cold and hard.
She called a trusted hunter to her room.
“Find the girl, Snow White,” she ordered. “Take her far, far away. Take her deep into the woods.” And then the queen looked deep into the hunter’s eyes. “She must never come back.”
The hunter found Snow White, and took her into the forest.
When they reached the deepest, darkest part of the forest, the hunter stopped. “Go!” he whispered. “Run fast and far and don’t ever go home!”
Snow White watched the hunter disappear.
“Well, I can’t go home now,” she muttered. She looked around at the dark and silent forest. It started to rain.
“But I can’t stay here either. Ok feet, let’s go.”
Snow White ran and ran. She ran across a stream, up a hill, and down into a dark valley. She ran all morning.
By midday her pale skin and rosy cheeks were covered in mud and scratches.
By early afternoon her long black hair was full of sticks and leaves.
By night, she was not beautiful anymore. She was tired, hungry, and shivering with cold.
But then Snow White smelled woodsmoke in the air. She followed the smell and found a cottage in the woods. There was a warm, golden glow from the windows. She knocked on the door.
“Hello?” She called out. “Is anyone home?”
There was no answer. She pushed the door open and went inside.
Inside the cottage were seven tiny beds, seven tiny chairs, and a roaring fire. A big table was covered with dirty dishes.
Snow White was very hungry and thirsty. She found some bread, and ate the whole loaf.
She found some milk, and drank the whole bottle.
Then she sat in front of the fire to get warm. And just like that, she fell asleep.
When she woke up, there were seven dwarfs standing around her.
Snow White rubbed her eyes.
“Who are you?” she said.
“This is our house!” said one dwarf, angrily. “Who are you?”
“Shhh, you’ll scare her!” said another.
“She’s a giant. She scares me!” said yet another.
“Can I stay with you?” asked Snow White. “It seems I can’t go home.”
The dwarfs whispered amongst themselves.
“Ok,” they agreed. “But only if you help us wash the dishes. We hate washing dishes.”
“It’s a deal,” said Snow White.
And so, Snow White found a new home with the seven dwarfs.
Every morning she washed the dishes.
And every morning, as the dwarfs left for work, they said “Be careful. Don’t open the door for anyone…
… And thank you for washing the dishes. We really hate washing dishes.”
Back at the castle, the queen was feeling better. She thought Snow White was gone forever. But she was still a little afraid.
“Come and play Scrabble with me, my love!” shouted the King from the bottom of the stairs. “You can go first!”
“Maybe later, dearest,” replied the queen. She stood in front of her magic mirror.
“Magic mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful of all?”
The mirror replied: “You are very beautiful, my Queen. But the girl Snow White is the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“Snow White is ALIVE??” shouted the queen.
“She is living with the seven dwarfs in the forest,” said the mirror. “Last night, she was not very beautiful. But as of… 1pm today, she is more beautiful than you.”
“RATS!” shouted the queen. She went to her closet and got her old coat and old boots.
“I’ll have to kill her myself!”
She ran out of the palace, jumped into her fastest carriage, and sped off towards the forest.
Snow White was reading beside the fire when there was a knock on the door.
KNOCK KNOCK!
She peeked through the window. There was a woman holding a basket of fruit. The woman had a beautiful face, but she was wearing an old dress and old boots.
“FRUIT! FRESH FRUIT! APPLES AND BANANAS AND PEARS AND ORANGES!”
“Oh, I want some fruit…” thought Snow White.
The woman saw Snow White through the window.
“Hello dear!” said the woman. “Do you want some fruit? I have delicious apples today.”
“I love apples…” said Snow White. “But I’m not supposed to open the door for anyone… those apples might be poisoned.”
“Oh, how silly,” said the woman. She cut an apple in half.
“Here. You can taste half, and I will eat the other half. That way you know it’s NOT poisoned.”
Snow White opened the door.
The woman gave one half of the apple to Snow White, and ate the other half. When Snow White saw the woman eating the juicy apple, her mouth watered. She couldn’t stop herself. She took a big bite of the apple.
Almost immediately, Snow White fell to the ground. The apple was poisoned, but only on one half!
The queen sighed with relief. Quickly, she got back into her carriage and rode back to the castle.
When the dwarfs arrived home, they found Snow White lying on the floor.
They yelled in her ears. They tickled her feet. They poured cold water on her face. But she didn’t wake up.
“Is she … dead?” asked one dwarf.
“She doesn’t seem to be alive…” said a second.
And so the dwarfs made a glass coffin for their beloved friend.
They set it on a table in a beautiful part of the forest, surrounded by flowers.
Snow White lay there for over a year: through spring, summer, autumn and winter.
One day, a prince from a different kingdom was walking through the forest with his dog.
He saw Snow White’s strange glass coffin. He brushed off the leaves and saw Snow White inside.
Just then, he tripped over his dog and knocked the coffin off the table! Snow White rolled out of the coffin and onto the grass.
“Oh no! Oh dear! Oh ffffffiddlesticks!” the prince shouted.
But then an amazing thing happened:
The piece of poisoned apple that was stuck in Snow White’s throat fell out, and she began to cough.
The prince rushed to help her.
“Apples…” she coughed.
“I beg your pardon?” said the prince.
“No .. more .. apples!” coughed Snow White.
That night, the queen stood in front of the magic mirror and asked her question.
“Magic mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful of all?”
And to her surprise, the mirror said:
“You are very beautiful, my Queen. But… Snow White is again the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“WHAAAAAAT?????” screamed the queen. And in her anger, she picked up a shoe and threw it at the mirror.
The mirror smashed into a thousand pieces, and the magic inside it was released.
“NOOOOOOOOOO!” screamed the queen.
She collapsed on the floor and fell into a deep sleep.
While she slept, the queen had a strange dream. In her dream, she was dancing in hot iron shoes. Her feet burned and burned, but she couldn’t stop dancing.
When the Queen woke up from this terrible dream, it was morning. The sun was shining, and the Queen felt …different.
The magic mirror’s spell was broken, so she didn’t feel anxious or jealous anymore. She felt free.
She went downstairs to find her husband. She really wanted to play Scrabble.
And what happened to Snow White?
The dwarfs were very happy to see Snow White alive. They invited the prince for dinner. When the prince learned that nobody liked washing dishes, he bought them a dishwasher.
Everybody lived happily ever after.
The Emperor’s New Clothes
Once upon a time there was an emperor. He had a big round belly, bushy eyebrows, and a very long moustache. But he was very vain. All he thought about was himself.
“I am so wonderful!” he would say. “Look at my wonderful eyebrows! Look at my excellent moustache! I look marvellous!”
The emperor loved to wear fancy clothes. He had four-hundred fancy shirts, three-hundred pairs of fancy pants, and one-thousand pairs of fancy socks.
The emperor also loved to say fancy words, like: ‘empirical’, ‘cantankerous’, and ‘discombobulate’.
(He didn’t know what the fancy words meant, but he liked to say them anyway. He liked to sound intelligent.)
“I am so INTELLIGENT!” he said. “I am a GENIUS!”
One day, a man arrived at the palace. He said that he was a tailor. He said he could make the fanciest clothes in the land.
(But really, this man was a dishonest man. He earned his money by fooling rich people.)
The tailor brought the emperor ten suitcases.
“Your most majestic and intelligent majesty…” he said. “… I am here to show you my marvellous new discovery…
“Everybody knows that you are the most intelligent man in the world. And I have created some amazing new clothes. These clothes are only for intelligent people. In fact, stupid people cannot even see these clothes…”
The emperor clapped his hands. “Amazing! With these clothes I can know who is smart and who is stupid! I will never be bothered by idiots again! Let me try these clothes!”
The tailor undressed the emperor until he stood only in his underpants. He unpacked his tape measure. He measured the emperor’s arms, legs, shoulders, and all around his big round belly.
The tailor reached inside one of the suitcases.
“No… this one is too big. No… this one is too small. Ahh! This one is perfect!”
He pretended to lift a shirt out of the suitcase.
“What do you think?” said the tailor.
The emperor gasped. He could not see anything!
“Isn’t it wonderful?” said the tailor. “And remember… only intelligent people will be able to see it!”
The tailor reached into his suitcase again. “Look at these pants! Aren’t they beautiful? And they are completely invisible to idiots! And look at this jacket! See the colours? A complete nincompoop will see absolutely nothing!”
“Oh, oh, yes… very nice!” stammered the emperor. But he was confused. Why couldn’t he see the clothes?
“Surely it’s not possible that I am an idiot?!” he thought. “A complete moron would not know fancy words like… vestibule! Crepuscular! Flibbertigibbit!”
But the emperor said nothing.
The tailor pretended to dress the emperor in the invisible shirt, pants, jacket, and shoes.
The emperor stood in front of his mirror. He wanted to see the clothes, but all he saw was his big, round belly and his underpants.
“I’m not sure that it’s really my style…” said the emperor. “But let me get a second opinion.”
The emperor called three of his most intelligent friends into the room.
“Friends! What do you think of these new clothes? Only intelligent people can see these clothes. Stupid people see nothing at all!”
Of course, his friends didn’t see anything either. But they did not want to look stupid.
“Oh, yes! That is a great shirt!” said the first friend.
“Yes! The pants are the perfect color,” said the second friend.
“Cool shoes!” said the third friend.
The emperor was excited. “I will wear these new clothes in the parade tomorrow!”
The emperor gave the tailor a lot of money. The tailor left the palace with ten suitcases full of gold. When he was safely in his carriage, he laughed long and hard.
“What a doofus!”
That night, the Emperor did not sleep. He stayed up late, reading the biggest, heaviest books in his library.
“I just need a few more fancy words, THEN I’ll be able to see my clothes,” he thought.
In the morning, two servants came to the Emperor’s room to dress him for the parade.
Of course, they couldn’t see any clothes either. But they said nothing. They did not want to look stupid.
They pretended to dress the emperor in invisible pants, invisible shirt, invisible jacket, and an invisible hat.
The emperor looked at himself in the mirror. He stared and he squinted. He turned his head left and right.
And … wait… there it was!
Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a slight shimmering fabric. A checkered pattern. A tiny bit of colour. He could see the clothes!
(In reality, there were no clothes. But we often see what we want to see.)
The emperor was happy that he could finally see the clothes.
“Let’s join the parade!” he shouted.
Everybody from the town was at the parade. All the intelligent people were there. All the scientists. All the writers. All the teachers. And all the children.
The emperor stood in his open carriage and waved to the crowd. But as the emperor’s carriage drove down the street, the crowd fell silent. The music stopped. Everybody stared at the emperor.
“These clothes must be amazing…” thought the emperor.
But then, from the back of the crowd, a small child yelled:
“Mummy, I can see his underpants!”
Everybody gasped. Then there were a few giggles. And then everyone on the street laughed — and laughed — and laughed even harder.
They clapped and shouted: “UN-DER-PANTS! UN-DER-PANTS!”
The emperor heard the crowd laugh. He knew he had been fooled. He wasn’t wearing special clothes. He was wearing nothing—only his underpants.
He jumped out of the carriage and ran all the way back to the palace. Behind him, he heard: “UN-DER-PANTS! UN-DER-PANTS!”
He ran to his bedroom and slammed the door.
Later, when his friends found him, he was lying on his bed. He was wearing all his real clothes: all his fancy shirts, all his fancy pants, and all one-thousand pairs of fancy socks.
Rapunzel
Once upon a time there was a girl named Rapunzel. Rapunzel lived in a tall tower in the middle of a forest. The tower had no ladder, no stairs, and definitely no elevator. There was no way to get up or down.
So… why did Rapunzel live in a tower?
Well, it all started with a witch. As you know, witches can be very jealous. They especially hate people stealing herbs from their gardens.
Unfortunately Rapunzel’s mother didn’t know this about witches. Many years ago when she was pregnant with Rapunzel, she snuck over the fence and stole some parsley from the witch next door.
The witch saw her stealing parsley. She was furious. She gave Rapunzel’s mother two choices.
Option one: The witch would curse her unborn baby girl. The girl would always be unlucky. She would meet the wrong people, and say the wrong things, and wear the wrong clothes for every occasion. She would never live happily ever after.
Option two: On the girl’s tenth birthday, she would go to live with the witch. She would be the witch’s apprentice. The witch promised that, eventually, the girl would live happily ever after.
Rapunzel’s mother was heartbroken. She chose option two. And on the evening of Rapunzel’s tenth birthday, the witch came to take her away. She put Rapunzel in the tall tower in the woods.
After that, every day was the same for Rapunzel. She cleaned her room at the top of the tower. She braided her long, long hair.
And every day at lunchtime, the witch came to the tower. She stood under the window and shouted: “RAPUNZEL! RAPUNZEL! LET DOWN YOUR HAIR!”
Rapunzel threw her braid out of the window. The witch climbed up Rapunzel’s hair like a rope, and crawled in through the window.
The witch taught Rapunzel how to make medicines with herbs. And Rapunzel loved the witch. She was Rapunzel’s only friend.
One night, Rapunzel was reading a book beside the window when she heard someone below:
“RAPUNZEL! RAPUNZEL! LET DOWN YOUR HAIR!”
“That’s strange,” she thought. “The witch never comes this late.”
She threw her braid out of the window, and the person climbed up, up, up.
But when this person reached the top, Rapunzel saw that it wasn’t the witch. It was a man!
Rapunzel quickly grabbed her book and smacked the man on the head. “Get out! Get out! You’re not the witch!”
The strange man fell to the floor. “Ow! Ow! Stop hurting me!” he begged.
“Who are you? What do you want? Why did you climb my hair?” demanded Rapunzel.
“I’m Justin! My name is Justin!” he whimpered. “I came here to save you….?”
As you can imagine, Rapunzel was not very impressed.
“Tell me, Justin,” she growled. “Does it look like I need to be saved?”
Justin sighed. “I’m sorry. I thought this was my chance to be a hero.”
“What do you mean?” asked Rapunzel.
“My chance to be hero!” said Justin. “Every man needs to be a hero at least once in his life. It’s the only way to live happily ever after!”
Rapunzel put down her book.
“I don’t need a hero,” she said, kindly. “Go away. Be a hero somewhere else. It’s late. I want to go to bed.”
Rapunzel threw her braid out the window.
“Well, can I come back and talk to you tomorrow?” Justin asked, “you seem nice. Also I brought a rope for you. In case you change your mind one day…”
“Fine, fine,” said Rapunzel. “Goodbye, Justin.” And Justin climbed out the window and down Rapunzel’s hair.
The next day, Rapunzel cleaned her room and braided her hair.
The witch came at lunch time. She brought Rapunzel a sandwich and showed her how to make medicine to cure headaches.
But as the witch was leaving, she saw Justin’s rope lying on the floor.
“Whose rope is this? Where did you get it? Do you want to escape?”
Rapunzel tried to explain, but the witch was too upset.
“I love you like a daughter. Do you really hate me so much that you want to leave?”
“No… there was a man—” Rapunzel said.
“A MAN?” the witch cried. “Fine! Go to him! Go!” Tears poured down the witch’s face. “Go and live happily ever after with this …. man!”
The witch threw some magic powder at the floor, and Rapunzel immediately fell asleep.
When she woke up, she was not in the tower anymore. She was lying under a tree in the forest. Her hair was cut.
Rapunzel cried for ten minutes, and then she stood up and decided to look for her tower.
Meanwhile, back at the tower, Justin returned as promised.
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,” he shouted from beneath the window. And the hair dropped down in front of his face.
But as I’m sure you know… It wasn’t Rapunzel in the tower. It was the witch!
When Justin got to the top of the tower, the witch pulled him in through the window.
“So YOU are the man who wants to take my Rapunzel!” she said. “I see. Well then. Go and live happily ever after together.”
The witch blew a handful of powder into his face. And with that, Justin was blind.
After walking all night, Rapunzel found her way home. But the tower was gone! All that was left was a burnt circle on the ground.
“Oh nooooo!” cried Rapunzel, and she fell to the ground sobbing.
But then she heard a voice coming from behind some trees.
“Hello? Is someone there? Can you help me? I can’t see. I can’t see anything.”
It was Justin. When Rapunzel saw Justin’s blind eyes, she knew what to do.
“Stay right there,” she ordered.
Rapunzel ran into the forest to find some herbs. She ground the herbs and made medicine. Then she put the medicine on Justin’s eyes.
Then… she cried again.
“Please don’t cry…” said Justin, softly. “Why are you crying?”
“My home is gone. My only friend is gone. You are blind—this is a mess!”
“Everything will be ok,” Justin said. Then he smiled. “Trust me — I’m a hero!”
For three days, they camped in the forest. Rapunzel made medicine for Justin’s eyes. Justin told her about every time he had tried to be a hero.
Once he tried to fight a giant… but the giant was very kind. He invited Justin inside for tea.
Once he tried to kill a dragon… But the dragon had baby dragons in its nest. Justin couldn’t do it.
Once he rescued a cat from a tree… But the cat immediately climbed back up.
“It’s really hard to be a hero!” he complained.
When Rapunzel felt like crying, Justin told jokes until she laughed. When she couldn’t sleep, he listened to all her worries.
On the fourth day when Rapunzel woke up, Justin was already awake. He was looking at her with his bright blue eyes. He could see!
“Thank you, my beautiful friend,” he said. “You fixed my eyes.”
Justin and Rapunzel walked to Justin’s village. Rapunzel liked it in the village. Justin helped her build a new tower, and this time the tower had stairs. Rapunzel spent her days making medicine for the sick people in the village.
Did Justin ever become a hero? Yes, of course! There are many kinds of heroes. But the best and bravest heroes are the ones who help their friends through hard times. And Justin had helped his friend Rapunzel.
In the end, Justin and Rapunzel both lived happily ever after — just as the witch had promised.
Cinderella
A long time ago there was a very beautiful girl named Cinderella.
Cinderella had long red hair, green eyes, and freckles all over her nose. She was clever and kind, and she loved to tell jokes.
But she was very unhappy. Her father and mother had died, and Cinderella lived with her stepmother and two stepsisters.
Although they all lived in a big house, they were actually quite poor. Their money was nearly gone.
Cinderella’s stepmother wanted one of her daughters to marry a rich man so they would no longer be poor.
But Cinderella’s stepsisters were not as pretty as Cinderella, not as kind as Cinderella, and not as funny as Cinderella.
The men who came to the house always fell immediately in love with Cinderella, and never noticed the stepsisters.
This frustrated the stepmother, so she ordered Cinderella to do all the chores.
“Sweep the hallway!” demanded the stepmother.
“Clean the kitchen!”
“Cook our dinner!”
“Tidy our bedrooms!”
“Mop the bathroom!”
“Wipe the windows!”
“Quick! Hurry!”
The stepmother tried hard to make Cinderella miserable.
The stepsisters had beautiful dresses and shoes, but Cinderella’s dress was made of old rags.
The stepsisters always ate the most delicious foods, but Cinderella always ate scraps.
And the stepsisters slept in their comfortable beds in their bedrooms, but Cinderella slept on a straw bed on the kitchen floor.
The animals were Cinderella’s only friends. In the evening she sat beside the fireplace in the kitchen and told jokes to the family of mice who lived in the wall. She talked to the cat.
“Things will get better one day,” she told the cat.
“Meow…” the cat replied.
One day, while Cinderella was in the garden picking pumpkins, a letter arrived at the house. It was an invitation to the king’s summer ball.
Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters were very excited.
“The prince will be there!”
“He is so handsome!”
“He is so rich!”
“He needs a wife!”
The stepsisters spent weeks preparing for the ball. They bought new dresses, new shoes, and new handbags.
On the day of the ball, Cinderella helped them put on their dresses and do their hair.
“Oh, I have a wonderful idea!” exclaimed the youngest stepsister. “Cinderella, come to the ball with us! It will be more fun if you are there!”
“Oh, but you don’t have anything to wear…” laughed the oldest stepsister. “You can’t meet the prince wearing those dirty old clothes. What a shame. Maybe next time.”
Cinderella tried not to cry. She finished dressing her sisters and then went down to the kitchen. She sat beside the fire and sighed.
“Things will get better one day,” she told the cat.
“Meow…” the cat replied.
Just then, there was flash of light, and an old woman appeared in a corner of the kitchen.
“Who… who are you?” stammered Cinderella.
“I am your fairy godmother” said the old woman. “You are an orphan, and all orphans have a fairy godmother.”
The fairy godmother stroked the cat.
“This cat tells me how kind you are. And how you always wish for things to get better one day. Today is that day, Cinderella. You are going to the king’s ball. Fetch me a pumpkin!”
Cinderella ran into the garden and picked a big, orange pumpkin. The fairy godmother touched the pumpkin with her magic wand and it turned into a golden carriage.
“Come here, little mice!” she said to the mice in the wall. She waved her wand again, and the mice turned into six beautiful horses to pull the carriage.
“But I don’t have a dress!” said Cinderella.
“Stand still,” said the fairy godmother. She waved her wand again, and Cinderella’s dirty clothes turned into a spectacular silver dress. Two beautiful glass shoes appeared on Cinderella’s feet.
“Now go to the ball!” said the fairy godmother. “But you must be home by midnight! When the clock strikes twelve, your dress will turn back into rags, and your carriage will turn back into a pumpkin.
… Have fun!”
And with another flash of light, the fairy godmother disappeared.
“I’m going to the ball!” said Cinderella.
“Meow…” said the cat.
At the king’s ball, the prince was very bored.
He felt like he had danced with every young lady in the kingdom. All of the ladies were wearing beautiful dresses, but none of the ladies were interesting. None of them understood his jokes.
The prince had just finished dancing with one of Cinderella’s stepsisters when the room suddenly fell silent.
Everybody turned to look as the most beautiful girl walked through the door.
She had long red hair and kind green eyes. Her dress was silver. Her shoes sparkled, like they were made of glass.
It was Cinderella, but nobody recognised her. Not even her stepmother and stepsisters!
The prince’s mouth dropped open. He had never seen a woman as beautiful as Cinderella.
He asked her to dance. They danced together all evening. The prince thought Cinderella was beautiful, but also kind, clever and funny. She laughed at his jokes, and he laughed at hers.
Cinderella was having such a wonderful time that she didn’t notice that it was so late. The clock began to chime midnight.
Dong… dong… dong…
“Oh no! I have to leave!” gasped Cinderella, and she ran out of the ballroom.
“Don’t go! I don’t even know your name!” shouted the prince. But Cinderella was already gone.
Cinderella fled from the palace so fast that she lost one of her glass shoes on the stairs.
When she got to the bottom of the stairs — DONG! — The clock finished chiming midnight.
Cinderella’s beautiful dress turned back into rags, and her golden carriage turned back into a pumpkin.
“Drat,” said Cinderella.
Just then, she saw the prince running towards her, holding the glass shoe she had dropped.
She did not want him to see her dressed in her dirty old rags. She felt ashamed, but there was nowhere to hide!
“Excuse me, miss,” he said, panting. “Did you see where that beautiful girl went? This is her shoe! I must find her!”
The prince didn’t recognise Cinderella without her beautiful clothes!
Cinderella shook her head. The prince ran off to continue his search. Cinderella walked all the way home.
Three weeks passed. The prince couldn’t sleep. He could not stop thinking about the beautiful girl at the ball.
He waited for her to return to the palace, but she did not return. He waited for her to send a letter, but no letters came.
Finally, in desperation, he gave the glass shoe to a trusted messenger and ordered him to visit every house in the kingdom.
“Find the girl who this shoe belongs to, and bring her to me!”
The messenger visited hundreds of houses. At every house, women claimed the glass shoe was theirs. But when they tried on the shoe, their feet were too big, or too wide, or too small.
Finally, the messenger arrived at Cinderella’s house. Cinderella’s stepmother opened the door.
“Of course! Of course! Come in!”
She led the messenger into the dining room, where the two stepsisters were waiting.
The oldest sister said “Thank God! That’s my shoe!” But when she tried the shoe, her foot was too wide.
The youngest sister said “Silly sister… It’s not your shoe, it’s my shoe!” But when she tried the shoe, her foot was too small.
The stepmother said “Get out of the way, girls, it’s not your shoe. It’s MY shoe!” and tried the shoe. But her foot was too long.
“Oh how silly!” said the stepmother. “The shoe must have shrunk in the rain…”
But the messenger was not so easily fooled. “Are there any other women in this house?” he asked.
“No one but our serving girl, and the shoe is certainly not hers… “ said the stepmother.
“Fetch her immediately. Every woman in the kingdom must try the shoe,” insisted the messenger.
When Cinderella arrived in the dining room she was wearing her usual rags, and her face was covered in dirt.
She put her dirty foot into the glass shoe and… amazing! It wasn’t too wide. It wasn’t too long. It fit perfectly!
In a quiet voice she said, “It’s my shoe.”
“Please come with me,” said the messenger. And before Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters could stop them … the messenger hurried Cinderella out the door and into a carriage.
Cinderella was taken to the palace to meet the prince. She was still wearing her dirty old dress, and her arms, legs and face were dirty. She looked at the floor because she felt so ashamed.
The prince took Cinderella’s hand.
“Miss, please look at me,” he requested kindly. And when she lifted her head and he saw her kind, green eyes, he knew that she was the girl he had fallen in love with at the ball.
They were married the next spring, and spent the rest of their lives laughing at each other’s jokes.
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Once upon a time there were three billy goats. They lived in the mountains in a little goat-village called Goatstown.
The three goats were brothers, but they were very different. The youngest brother was the smallest, the middle one was the fattest, and the oldest one was the strongest.
As you probably know, goats eat grass all the time. Grass for breakfast. Grass for lunch. Grass for dinner.
(Sometimes they eat chocolate cake for dessert, but usually they just eat more grass.)
During the summer, there was lots of tall, green grass in Goatstown. But in the winter, the mountains were covered in deep snow, and there was no grass anywhere.
So the three goats decided to go down from the mountain and find the tall, green grass in the meadow on the other side of town.
They went across the road (clip clop, clip clop),
… through the village (clip clop, clip clop),
… and across the pond (splish, splash, splish, splash),
… until they arrived at a long bridge.
On the other side of the bridge was the tallest, greenest grass that the goats had ever seen. They stomped their feet and wiggled their tails. Yum, yum! Grass!
But the bridge was very long and very narrow. Only one goat could cross at a time.
“Hey guys, let me go first!” said the youngest goat. “I am the smallest and the fastest. I will see if the bridge is safe!”
“If that’s what you want,” said the other goats, and the youngest brother began to cross the bridge.
TRANSLATE?
When he reached the middle of the bridge, he heard a big, terrifying voice coming from below…
“WHO’S UP THERE? WHO’S CLIP-CLOPPING OVER MY BRIDGE?”
The young goat thought for a moment and replied:
“Hello! My name is Steve. I enjoy knitting and playing cards. My favorite colour is red, and my favorite foods are grass and chocolate cake. How are you?”
“I DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE!” shouted the troll. “YOU WOKE ME UP! NOW I’M HUNGRY, AND I’M GOING TO EAT YOU FOR BREAKFAST!”
“Goodness me,” thought Steve the goat. “What a rude and grumpy troll!”
But Steve was very intelligent, so he said to the troll:
“Excuse me, Mr. Troll. I am small and bony, and I taste like cabbage. But my brother is bigger and tastier than me. Wait for him. He is right behind me!”
“URGH! I HATE CABBAGE!” grumbled the troll. “OK, I WILL WAIT. NICE TO MEET YOU, STEVE, HAVE A LOVELY DAY.”
And Steve ran across the bridge, (clip clop, clip clop) until he reached the tall, green grass in the meadow.
His brothers saw him frolicking in the grass. They licked their lips and waggled their ears.
“Hey buddy, let me go next!” said the middle goat. “I am fatter than you. If I can cross that bridge, then it is safe for you!”
“If that’s what you want,” said the big goat. The middle goat started walking.
When he reached the middle of the bridge, he heard a big, terrifying voice coming from below…
“WHO’S UP THERE? WHO’S CLIP-CLOPPING OVER MY BRIDGE?”
The middle goat thought for a moment and replied:
“Hello, Mr. Troll! My name is Roger. I like to play the piano and sing opera. My favorite colour is yellow, and my favorite foods are grass and chocolate cake. How are you?”
“I DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE!” shouted the troll. “YOU WOKE ME UP! NOW I’M HUNGRY, AND I’M GOING TO EAT YOU FOR BREAKFAST!”
“Yikes!” thought the goat. “What a rude and grumpy troll!”
But Roger the goat was not stupid, so he said to the troll:
“Excuse me, Mr. Troll. I know I look fat and tasty, but it’s really just gas. If you eat me, I will taste like a fart. But my brother is much tastier. Wait for him. He is right behind me!”
“DISGUSTING! I HATE FARTS!” grumbled the troll. “OK, I WILL WAIT. NICE TO MEET YOU, ROGER, HAVE A LOVELY DAY.”
And Roger ran across the bridge, (clip clop, clip clop) until he reached the tall, green grass in the meadow.
TRANSLATE?
The big goat saw Steve and Roger playing in the grass. He did a little goat dance and made a funny goat sound. Meh-eh-eh! Meh-eh-eh!
“Now it’s my turn!” said the big goat, and he began to cross the bridge.
When he reached the middle of the bridge, he heard a big terrifying voice coming from below…
“WHO’S UP THERE? WHO’S CLIP-CLOPPING OVER MY BRIDGE?”
The big goat thought for a moment and replied.
“Good morning! My name is Tony. I like to bake cookies and walk on the beach. My favorite colour is blue, and my favorite foods are grass and chocolate cake. How are you?”
“I DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE!” shouted the troll. “YOU WOKE ME UP! NOW I’M HUNGRY, AND I’M GOING TO EAT YOU FOR BREAKFAST!”
“Oh dear,” thought Tony. “What a rude and grumpy troll!”
But before Tony could say anything else, the troll jumped up onto the bridge. He had hands as big as dinner plates. His feet were as long as loaves of bread. And the hair on his back was as thick as grass.
The troll stretched and shook his hairy body, and growled:
“TWO GOATS HAVE ALREADY CROSSED THIS BRIDGE TODAY. SO DON’T GO TELLING ME YOU HAVE A BIGGER, TASTIER BROTHER. I AM NOT AN IDIOT. NOW, STAND STILL SO I CAN EAT YOU! I’M VERY HUNGRY!”
Tony the goat was very smart, but remember… he was also the strongest of the three goats.
He stomped his feet. He lowered his horns. Then he charged at the troll… clip clop, clip clop, clip clop… BUMP!
He hit the troll in the backside and knocked him off the bridge.
“AIIIEEEEEEE!” squealed the troll as he fell all the way down into the river. Splash!
Tony ran across the bridge safely, and joined his brothers. The three goats ate a big lunch of tall, green grass. They talked and laughed and played goat football in the meadow—far from the cold winter snow.
And the troll? He was washed down the river and into the sea. He was never seen again.
Hansel and Gretel
Many years ago, there was a woodcutter. He lived deep in the forest with his wife. She was a kind and gentle woman. They had two children: Hansel and Gretel.
The family did not have much money, but their home was always cozy and warm, and the children always had soup and bread to eat. They never went hungry.
One year, there was a terribly cold winter, and Hansel and Gretel’s mother became ill and died.
In time the woodcutter married another woman, but she was not kind and gentle. She was cruel and selfish. She wanted to be rich, and she wanted to eat fancy foods like roast beef, mashed potatoes, peas, corn, lemon cakes, and exotic fruits from sunny lands.
She was angry that they could only afford soup and bread for every meal.
“Soup and bread! Soup and bread! Every day! Soup and bread! I am so tired of soup and bread!” she complained.
The stepmother was especially cruel to Hansel and Gretel because she believed they were the reason the family was so poor.
“You children eat too much! It’s your fault that we only have soup and bread!”
She wanted the children gone.
One day, while the woodcutter was out cutting wood, the stepmother called Hansel and Gretel into the kitchen of their cottage.
“There is not enough food to make soup for dinner”, said the stepmother. “We will all go hungry tonight. Go into the forest and pick some mushrooms to make a mushroom soup. I know where the best mushrooms grow…”
Then she gave them the most confusing directions she could think of. She knew they would never be able to find their way home.
“Walk north for two hours, turn left at the tall trees, walk east for twenty minutes, continue straight ahead, cross the stream, turn right onto the main road, go through the hole in the fence, walk under the bridge (watch out for the troll), and then three miles inside the forest, you will find some mushrooms under a tree. Go now so you can be back in time for dinner.”
Hansel and Gretel were scared. They knew the forest was deep and dark, and that it was easy to get lost.
“Don’t worry! I have a plan!” whispered Hansel to Gretel. He went to the back of the house and filled his pockets with white pebbles from the garden.
Then the two children started walking, following their stepmother’s directions. Every few steps, Hansel dropped a little white pebble on the ground.
They walked for hours, but they did not find any mushrooms.
“It’s almost night time. I’m scared,” said Gretel, crying.
“Don’t worry. I can find the way home!” said Hansel.
Hansel waited until the moon was bright. The moonlight shone through the tall trees and made his tiny white pebbles glow. They followed the trail of pebbles all the way back home.
Their stepmother was furious. She didn’t expect the children to find their way home.
“Little fools! Where are the mushrooms?” the stepmother shouted. “Now we have nothing to eat! There will be no dinner for you tonight! Go straight to bed!”
The children went to bed hungry.
The next morning, after the woodcutter left for work, the stepmother woke the children up.
“Wake up! Wake up you little fools! Today is your father’s birthday. I want to make him an apple pie for his birthday dinner. Go into the forest and pick some apples. This time I will come too. I know where we can find a big apple tree.”
She gave them a loaf of bread for their lunch, and then she hurried them out the house. Hansel did not have time to collect any pebbles.
But clever Hansel had a plan. He did not eat his bread for lunch. Instead, he tore it into tiny crumbs. Every few steps, he dropped a crumb to mark the path.
They followed their stepmother down the path, around a corner, and through the forest. “Further! Further!” said the stepmother.
They went deeper into the forest. They turned left. They turned right. “Further! Further!” said the stepmother.
Finally they stopped, and the stepmother sat down to rest. She pointed to a very dark part of the forest. “The apple tree is over there!”
The children walked deeper into the forest, but they didn’t see the apple tree.
“Where?” they called.
“Just a little further!” called the stepmother.
Hansel and Gretel walked deeper and deeper into the forest, but they still didn’t see the apple tree.
“Where?” they called a second time.
“Just a little further!” replied the stepmother. Her voice was very faint now.
Hansel and Gretel walked and walked, deeper and deeper. No apple tree.
“Where?” they called a third time.
But there was no reply from their stepmother. She was gone.
“Oh no! We are lost!” said Gretel, crying.
“Don’t worry, I have a plan,” said Hansel.
He turned around to find the crumbs, but they were gone! The hungry birds had stolen every piece of bread!
“I’m scared,” wept Gretel. “And I’m cold, and hungry, and I want to go home!”
“Don’t worry. Everything will be alright,” Hansel said, trying to be brave. But he was scared, too.
That night, the children slept in some soft bushes to stay warm.
When they woke up, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there was a sweet, delicious smell in the air.
“I am so hungry,” said Gretel. “I think I smell cookies….”
“Look!” said Hansel, pointing. “A house!”
It was the strangest house they had ever seen. The walls looked like yellow lemon cookies. The windows looked like they were made of chocolate. The roof looked like it was made of green and red candies.
Hansel was starving. So he ran to the house and broke off a piece of the wall. “This tastes like a lemon cookie!” he said, surprised.
Gretel grabbed a piece of a window and stuffed it in her mouth. “This is chocolate!”
The children could not stop eating.
“We’ll stay here forever,” Hansel declared, munching on the apple pie porch.
They were just about to try a piece of the purple candy door when it quietly swung open.
“Hello!” said an old woman from behind the door. “Do you children like sweets? I have more inside the house! Come in! Come in! Don’t be afraid!”
The old woman looked kind and friendly, so the two children went inside.
Oh no! Bad idea! The old woman was not kind and friendly at all. She was an evil witch!
As soon as Hansel and Gretel were inside, she slammed the door and locked it. The children were trapped.
The witch grabbed Hansel by his wrist. “You’re too thin!” she said. “I must fatten you up before I eat you!” Then she threw Hansel into a cage and locked the door.
She turned to Gretel. “Foolish girl. You will do the household chores, then I’ll eat you too!”
Hansel began to cry. “Please don’t eat me!” he begged.
But Gretel stayed calm. “Don’t worry. Now I have a plan!” whispered Gretel.
Then Gretel snuck over to her brother, and she gave him a twig. “Tomorrow morning, the witch will see if you are fat enough to eat. When she comes, give her this twig instead of your finger,” she ordered.
Sure enough, in the morning, the witch hobbled over to Hansel and growled, “Stick your finger through the cage. I want to see if you are fat enough to eat!”
Hansel held out the twig.
“You’re still too thin!” she complained. “Come here, foolish girl, and give your brother more sweets to eat.”
This continued for an entire week. Every day, the witch checked to see if Hansel was fat enough. Every day, Hansel held out the twig.
Finally, the witch got tired of waiting. On the eighth day, she called to Gretel: “Come here, foolish girl! Light the oven. Today I am going to eat roasted boy with carrots and gravy! Check if the oven is hot enough to roast your brother.”
But clever little Gretel had another plan. She started to cry. “But I am too stupid. How do I know if the oven is hot enough? Can you show me?” she asked.
The witch muttered and grumbled: “Useless child! I’ll check the oven myself.”
The witch bent down to look at the bright orange flames, and quickly Gretel pushed her into the oven and slammed the door shut. THUD!
That was the end of the witch.
Gretel unlocked Hansel’s cage. The children found a basket and filled it with cakes and cookies, pies, and candies. Then they ran away as fast as they could.
They ran all night. They ran through the forest. They ran under the bridge. They crawled through the hole in the fence. They turned left. They turned right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Eventually they heard the sound of someone cutting wood in the distance.
It was the woodcutter! The children ran to their father and hugged him and kissed him. He cried and cried. But he was actually very happy.
“My sweet, sweet children! Where were you?”
Hansel and Gretel told the woodcutter the whole story. When he heard that their stepmother had abandoned them in the forest, he was furious. He ordered the stepmother to leave the house immediately and never return.
That night, Hansel and Gretel and their father had a late birthday party. They ate all the sweets from the basket: cherry pie, chocolate cake, green and red candies, blue lollipops, and gingerbread cookies.
Later that year, Hansel and Gretel were visiting the bakery in town when they saw an old woman begging for coins. It was their stepmother!
“Children! Please help me! I am starving!” she begged.
Gretel thought for a moment. She went inside the bakery and bought a small loaf of bread and a small bowl of soup.
“Here,” Gretel said. “Soup and bread. Your favorite.”
Hansel and Gretel never saw their stepmother ever again.