Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales are like exquisite jewels, drawing from us gasps of recognition and delight. Writing in the midst of a Europe-wide rebirth of national literature, Anderson broke new ground with his fairy tales in two important ways. First, he composed them in the vernacular, mimicking the language he used in telling them to children aloud. Second, he set his tales in his own land and time, giving rise to his loving descriptions of the Danish countryside. In contrast to such folklorists as the Brothers Grimm, Anderson’s tales are grounded in the real and often focus on the significance of small or overlooked things. The Princess and the pea --Thumbelina --The swineherd --The buckwheat --The wild swans --The darning needle --The nightingale --The teapot --The ugly duckling --The snow queen --The shepherdess and the chimney sweep --The last dream of the old oak tree --The shadow --It's perfectly true --Grief --Father's always right --The snowman --The snail and the rose tree --"Something' --The fir tree --The tinderbox --Little Ida's flowers --The little mermaid --The emperor's new clothes --The steadfast tin soldier --The flying trunk --The sweethearts --"She was no good' --The bell --The little match girl --The collar --The goblin at the grocer's --In a thousand years' time --Five peas from the same pod --The beetle --The toad --Dance, dance, Dolly mine! --The flax --The gardener and his master --The book of fairy tales.