Showing results by narrator "Emma Fenney" in All Categories

Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. This title is part of Andersen's Fairy Tales, Volume 2, published by Dreamscape Media. LLC.

Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. This title is part of Andersen's Fairy Tales, Volume 2, published by Dreamscape Media. LLC.

In this parable about the transience of earthly things, a mysterious bell is heard by the inhabitants of a village. They search the forest but are unable to find the source. When a prince and a child eventually discover it, they realize that it is as mysterious and old as nature itself.

In The Shoes of Fortune, a series of people who are dissatisfied with their lives put on a pair of magic shoes that grants them wishes. A civil servant who idealizes the middle ages experiences all its inconveniences. A watchman lives the lonely life of his superior and endures a terrifying visit to the moon. The shoes pass from owner to owner until one exhausted wearer who wishes for rest and spiritual freedom dies. Andersen concludes with a quote by Solon: Call no man happy until he rests in his grave.

In The Leap-Frog, a flea, a grasshopper, and a frog arrange a contest to see who can jump highest. The King offers the hand of the princess to the victor. The flea and the grasshopper, victims of their own vanity and ambition, are matched against the patient, wise and humble frog. The short tale is a fable about the perils of high self-regard.

In The Story of a Mother, a mother, watching over her sick child, briefly closes her eyes, and Death comes. Rushing outside to pursue Death, she encounters various spirits who offer conditional advice. When she finally finds her child, Death offers her a terrible choice. First published in 1847, this story has been adapted for film several times.

In The Red Shoes, a peasant girl named Karen is adopted by a rich old lady and grows up vain and spoiled. She is so enamored of a new pair of red shoes that she wears them to church in spite of a warning to only wear black shoes there. She soon learns that ignoring that warning was a bad idea: a mysterious old soldier at the church charms the red shoes with a tap of his hand. This cautionary tale has been adapted for various media including film.

In The Little Match Girl, a barefoot girl tries unsuccessfully to make money for her family by selling matches on the street. Afraid to go home empty-handed and face her father’s wrath, she decides to take shelter in an alley for the night and lights matches to keep herself warm. The harsh realism of this story reminds listeners to be grateful and kind during the cold holiday season.

In The Swineherd, a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, a prince who disguises himself as a swineherd woos an arrogant princess. Sending her a nightingale and a rose, the princess rejects the humble gifts preferring the man-made over the real. The prince/swineherd creates a musical pot and charges the princess 10 kisses for it. The princess trudges through the mud to pay 100 kisses for his next creation, a musical rattle. A parable about the shallowness of earthly things.

In The Old House, a boy is invited to meet the old man across the street, and he offers the old man a gift of a toy soldier. The toy soldier, unhappy with his new surroundings, flings himself through a hole in the floor and disappears. After the old man dies, the old house is torn down, and a new one is built, but the toy soldier remains to be rediscovered.

In The Princess and the Pea, a prince who wants to marry a princess finds it difficult to ascertain whether a princess is authentically noble. On a stormy night, a bedraggled young woman claiming to be a princess seeks shelter in the prince's castle. The Prince’s mother tests the girl’s claim by placing three peas underneath the 20 mattresses laid out for her. A humorous tale about the absurdities of the noble.

In The Naughty Boy, an old poet welcomes a wet and shivering boy into his home to warm up, not realizing that the boy has an ulterior motive - and a bow and arrow. This short tale ruminates on the naughtiness and ubiquity of Cupid.

In The Happy Family, a pair of snails live inside a burdock forest near an old manor house. They remember the old days when their kinfolk were served on platters in the old house and suspect the house has since been abandoned. Deciding to grow their family, they adopt a common snail and must arrange a marriage for their new child.

In this fable about what happens to liars and boasters, a gentleman’s collar decides to marry and proposes to various female objects, embroidering his accomplishments and good qualities at every turn. 

When 40-something Nicola Eagles goes on the holiday of a lifetime to the Maldives, she never dreams she'll fall in love - she's too shy, too set in her ways. But then she meets someone who changes her life forever. Just when things seem to be going right for Nicola, though, she disappears without a trace. Was it a voluntary disappearance, or was she abducted - or murdered?

In "The Emperor's New Clothes", two weavers tell the emperor that they can make him a new suit of clothes that is invisible to people who are unfit for their positions or who are stupid or incompetent. Con men, the two weavers actually outfit the emperor in nothing, but will anyone be willing to tell the emperor that he is naked? As an idiom, the story's title refers to things that are accepted as common knowledge in spite of being obviously untrue.

In "The Elderbush", a boy arrives home with a cold. His mother whisks him off to bed and prepares some elderflower tea to warm him up. A kindly older neighbor stops by to visit the boy, who asks for a fairy tale. The old man struggles to think of one, but becomes inspired by the aroma of the elderflower tea. A story about how real life can provide subjects for some of the most wonderful fairy tales.

In "The Dream of Little Tuk", a little boy named Tuk interrupts his studying to help an old woman carry water. Later, when he goes to sleep, he puts his geography book under his pillow in the hopes that its knowledge will be magically transmitted into his brain. In his dreams, the old woman appears and repays his earlier kindness.

 Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness. Readily accessible by children, they present lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity that appeal to mature listeners as well. This collection of 18 tales includes "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Princess and the Pea", and "The Snow Queen". 

By the Sunday Times best-selling author of The Lie. Forbidden love, intimate betrayal and the devastating power of exposure drive Helen Dunmore's remarkable new title. London, November 1960: the Cold War is at its height. Spy fever fills the newspapers, and the political establishment knows how and where to bury its secrets. When a highly sensitive file goes missing, Simon Callington is accused of passing information to the Soviets and arrested.