Table of Contents

The hare and the tortoise................2

The wolf and the lamb....................2

The ant and the dove......................3

Little Red Riding Hood....................3

Cinderella.......................................6

The Pied Piper of Hamelin............10

The ugly Duckling.........................12

Pinocchio......................................14

The Story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves 21

The Three Little Pigs....................26

The Fox and the Geese................30

The Story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears 33

The Story of Puss in Boots...........35

The Sleeping Beauty Story...........38

Hansel and Gretel.........................39

The Lion and the Mouse...............43

Jack and the beanstalk.................43

The Steadfast Tin Soldier.............47

Tinkerbell and the Secret of the Wings 50

Brave............................................54

1

THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE

A tortoise one day met a hare who made fun of her. “My, my, you move

so slowly, you will never get far!”

The tortoises, upset by the hare’s manner, said, “Let’s have a race and

see who is faster.”

The hare laughed and said, “You must be joking! But all right, we’ll see who reaches the other side of the hill first.” Off he ran, leaving the

tortoise far behind.

After a while, the hare stopped to wait for the tortoise to come long. He waited and waited till he felt

sleepy. “I might as well take a nap,” he thought. “Even if she catches up with me, I can easily win the race.” So he lay down under a shady tree

and closed his eyes.

When the tortoise passed the sleeping hare, she walked on slowly

but steadily. By the time the hare woke up, the tortoise was near the finishing line. He ran as fast as he

could, but he could not catch up with the tortoise.

THE WOLF AND THE LAMB

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A lamb was grazing with a flock of sheep one day. She soon found

some sweet grass at the edge of the field. Farther and farther she went,

away from the others.

She was enjoying herself so much that she did not notice a wolf coming

nearer to her. However, when it pounced on her, she was quick to

start pleading, “Please, please don’t eat me yet. My stomach is full of

grass. If you wait a while, I will taste much better.”

The wolf thought that was a good idea, so he sat down and waited.

After a while, the lamb said, “If you allow me to dance, the grass in my

stomach will be digested faster.” Again the wolf agreed.

While the lamb was dancing, she had a new idea. She said, “Please

take the bell from around my neck. If

you ring it as hard as you can, I will be able to dance even faster.”

The wolf took the bell and rang it as hard as he could. The shepherd heard the bell ringing and quickly sent his dogs to find the missing

lamb. The barking dogs frightened the wolf away and saved the lamb’s

life.

THE ANT AND THE DOVE

One hot day, an ant was searching for some water. After walking

around for some time, she came to a spring.

To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass. While

making her way up, she slipped and fell into the water.

She could have drowned if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly plucked off a leaf and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up

there. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground.

Just at that time, a hunter nearby was throwing out his net towards the

dove, hoping to trap it.

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Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel.

Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net. The dove was quick to fly

away to safety.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

Jacob Karl Grimm y Wilhelm Grimm

Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who was loved by every one who looked at her, but most of all by

her grandmother, and there was nothing that she would not have

given to the child.

Once she gave her a little cap of red velvet, which suited her so well that she would never wear anything else. So she was always called Little Red

Riding Hood.

One day her mother said to her, "Come, Little Red Riding Hood, here

is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine. Take them to your

grandmother, she is ill and weak, and they will do her good. Set out

before it gets hot, and when you are going, walk nicely and quietly and do not run off the path, or you may fall and break the bottle, and then your grandmother will get nothing. And when you go into her room,

don't forget to say, good-morning, and don't peep into every corner before you do it." I will take great

care, said Little Red Riding Hood to

her mother, and left

The grandmother lived out in the wood, half a league from the village, and just as Little Red Riding Hood entered the wood, a wolf met her.

Little Red Riding Hood did not know what a wicked creature he was, and

was not at all afraid of him.

"Good-day, Little Red Riding Hood," said he.

"Thank you kindly, wolf.""Whither away so early, Little Red

Riding Hood?""To my grandmother's."

"What have you got in your apron?""Cake and wine. Yesterday was

baking-day, so poor sick grandmother is to have something

good, to make her stronger.""Where does your grandmother live,

Little Red Riding Hood?""A good quarter of a league farther on in the wood. Her house stands

under the three large oak-trees. You surely must know it," replied Little

Red Riding Hood.

The wolf thought to himself, "What a tender young creature. She will be better to eat than the old woman. I

must act carefully." So he walked for a short time by the side of Little Red Riding Hood, and then he said, "See Little Red Riding Hood, how pretty the flowers are about here — why do you not look around? I believe,

too, that you do not hear how sweetly the little birds are singing; you walk gravely along as if you

were going to school, while everything else out here in the wood

is very merry.”

Little Red Riding Hood raised her eyes, and when she saw the

sunbeams dancing here and there through the trees, and pretty flowers growing everywhere, she thought,

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'Suppose I take grandmother a rose. That would please her too. It is so early in the day that I shall still get there in good time.' And so she ran from the path into the wood to look

for a rose.

Meanwhile the wolf ran straight to the grandmother's house and

knocked at the door."Who is there?"

"Little Red Riding Hood," replied the wolf. "I am bringing cake and wine.

Open the door.""Lift the latch," called out the

grandmother, "I am too weak, and cannot get up."

The wolf lifted the latch, the door sprang open, and without saying a

word he went straight to the grandmother's bed, and devoured her. Then he put on her clothes, dressed himself in her cap, laid himself in bed. Little Red Riding

Hood, however, had been running about picking roses, and when she

had gathered so many that she could carry no more, she

remembered her grandmother, and set out on the way to her.

She was surprised to find the cottage-door standing open, and when she went into the room, she

had such a strange feeling that she said to herself, 'Oh dear, how

uneasy I feel to-day, and at other

times I like being with grandmother so much.' She called out, "Good

morning," but received no answer. So she went to the bed. There lay

her grandmother.

"Oh, grandmother," she said, "what big ears you have."

"The better to hear you with, my child," was the reply.

"But, grandmother, what big eyes you have," she said.

"The better to see you with, my dear."

"But, grandmother, what large hands you have."

"The better to hug you with.""Oh, but, grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have.""The better to eat you with."

And scarcely had the wolf said this, he was out of bed and swallowed up

Little Red Riding Hood.

When the wolf had appeased his appetite, he lay down again in the

bed, fell asleep and began to snore very loud. A huntsman was just

passing the house, and thought to himself, 'How the old woman is

snoring. I must just see if she wants anything.' So he went into the room, and when he came to the bed, he

saw that the wolf was lying in it. "Do I find you here, you old sinner," said he. "I have long sought you." Then

just as he was going to fire at him, it

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occurred to him that the wolf might have devoured the grandmother,

and that she might still be saved, so he did not fire, but took a pair of

scissors, and began to cut open the stomach of the sleeping wolf.

When he had made two snips, he saw the Little Red Riding Hood, and then he made two snips more, and the little girl sprang out, crying, "Ah, how frightened I have been. How

dark it was inside the wolf."

And after that the aged grandmother came out alive also, but scarcely able to breathe. Little Red Riding Hood, however, quickly fetched

great stones with which they filled the wolf's belly, and when he awoke,

he wanted to run away, but the stones were so heavy that he

collapsed at once, and fell dead.

CINDERELLA

Charles Perrault

The wife of a rich man fell sick, and as she felt that her end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to

her bedside and said, "Dear child, be good and pious, and then the

good God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from

heaven and be near you."

Thereupon she closed her eyes and departed. Every day the maiden

went out to her mother's grave, and wept, and she remained pious and good. When winter came the snow

spread a white sheet over the grave, and by the time the spring sun had

drawn it off again, the man had taken another wife.

The woman had brought with her into the house two daughters, who were beautiful and fair of face, but

vile and black of heart. Now began a bad time for the poor step-child. "Is the stupid goose to sit in the parlor with us," they said. "He who wants to eat bread must earn it. Out with the kitchen-wench." They took her

pretty clothes away from her, put an old grey bedgown on her, and gave

her wooden shoes.

"Just look at the proud princess, how decked out she is," they cried, and laughed, and led her into the kitchen. There she had to do hard work from morning till night, get up before daybreak, carry water, light fires, cook and wash. Besides this, the sisters did her every imaginable

injury - they mocked her and emptied her peas and lentils into the ashes, so that she was forced to sit

and pick them out again. In the evening when she had worked till she was weary she had no bed to

go to, but had to sleep by the hearth in the cinders. And as on that

account she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinderella.

It happened that the father was once going to the fair, and he asked his two step-daughters what he should

bring back for them.

"Beautiful dresses," said one, "Pearls and jewels," said the

second.

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"And you, Cinderella," said he, "what will you have?"

"Father break off for me the first branch which knocks against your

hat on your way home."

So he bought beautiful dresses, pearls and jewels for his two step-

daughters, and on his way home, as he was riding through a green

thicket, a hazel twig brushed against him and knocked off his hat. Then he broke off the branch and took it with him. When he reached home

he gave his step-daughters the things which they had wished for,

and to Cinderella he gave the branch from the hazel-bush.

Cinderella thanked him, went to her mother's grave and planted the

branch on it, and wept so much that the tears fell down on it and watered

it. And it grew and became a handsome tree. Thrice a day

Cinderella went and sat beneath it, and wept and prayed, and a little

white bird always came on the tree, and if Cinderella expressed a wish, the bird threw down to her what she

had wished for.

It happened, however, that the king gave orders for a festival which was to last three days, and to which all

the beautiful young girls in the country were invited, in order that

his son might choose himself a bride. When the two step-sisters

heard that they too were to appear among the number, they were

delighted, called Cinderella and said, "comb our hair for us, brush our shoes and fasten our buckles, for we are going to the wedding at

the king's palace."

Cinderella obeyed, but wept, because she too would have liked to

go with them to the dance, and begged her step-mother to allow her

to do so.

"You go, Cinderella," said she, "covered in dust and dirt as you are,

and would go to the festival. You have no clothes and shoes, and yet

would dance." As, however, Cinderella went on asking, the step-mother said at last, "I have emptied a dish of lentils into the ashes for you, if you have picked them out

again in two hours, you shall go with us."

The maiden went through the back-door into the garden, and called, "You tame pigeons, you turtle-

doves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to pick the good into the pot, the bad into the

crop."

Then two white pigeons came in by the kitchen window, and afterwards the turtle-doves, and at last all the

birds beneath the sky, came whirring and crowding in, and

alighted amongst the ashes. And the pigeons nodded with their heads

and began pick, pick, pick, pick, and the rest began also pick, pick, pick,

pick, and gathered all the good grains into the dish. Hardly had one

hour passed before they had finished, and all flew out again.

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Then the girl took the dish to her step-mother, and was glad, and believed that now she would be allowed to go with them to the

festival.

But the step-mother said, "No, Cinderella, you have no clothes and you can not dance. You would only be laughed at." And as Cinderella

wept at this, the step-mother said, if you can pick two dishes of lentils out of the ashes for me in one hour, you shall go with us. And she thought to

herself, that she most certainly cannot do again.

When the step-mother had emptied the two dishes of lentils amongst the ashes, the maiden went through the back-door into the garden and cried,

"You tame pigeons, you turtle-doves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to pick the good into the pot, the bad into the

crop."

Then two white pigeons came in by the kitchen-window, and afterwards the turtle-doves, and at length all the

birds beneath the sky, came whirring and crowding in, and

alighted amongst the ashes. And the doves nodded with their heads and began pick, pick, pick, pick, and the others began also pick, pick, pick,

pick, and gathered all the good seeds into the dishes, and before half an hour was over they had

already finished, and all flew out again. Then the maiden was

delighted, and believed that she might now go with them to the

wedding.

But the step-mother said, "All this will not help. You cannot go with us, for you have no clothes and can not dance. We should be ashamed of

you." On this she turned her back on

Cinderella, and hurried away with her two proud daughters.

As no one was now at home, Cinderella went to her mother's

grave beneath the hazel-tree, and cried,

"Shiver and quiver, little tree, Silver and gold throw down over me."

Then the bird threw a gold and silver dress down to her, and slippers embroidered with silk and silver.

She put on the dress with all speed, and went to the wedding. Her step-

sisters and the step-mother however did not know her, and thought she must be a foreign princess, for she looked so beautiful in the golden

dress. They never once thought of Cinderella, and believed that she

was sitting at home in the dirt, picking lentils out of the ashes. The prince approached her, took her by the hand and danced with her. He would dance with no other maiden, and never let loose of her hand, and

if any one else came to invite her, he said, "This is my partner."

She danced till it was evening, and then she wanted to go home. But the king's son said, "I will go with

you and bear you company," for he wished to see to whom the beautiful

maiden belonged. She escaped from him, however, and sprang into the pigeon-house. The king's son waited until her father came, and then he told him that the unknown maiden had leapt into the pigeon-

house. The old man thought, "Can it be Cinderella." And they had to

bring him an axe and a pickaxe that he might hew the pigeon-house to

pieces, but no one was inside it. And when they got home Cinderella lay

in her dirty clothes among the ashes, and a dim little oil-lamp was

8

burning on the mantle-piece, for Cinderella had jumped quickly down from the back of the pigeon-house and had run to the little hazel-tree,

and there she had taken off her beautiful clothes and laid them on the grave, and the bird had taken

them away again, and then she had seated herself in the kitchen

amongst the ashes in her grey gown.

Next day when the festival began afresh, and her parents and the

step-sisters had gone once more, Cinderella went to the hazel-tree

and said,

"Shiver and quiver, my little tree, Silver and gold throw down over

me."

Then the bird threw down a much more beautiful dress than on the

preceding day. And when Cinderella appeared at the wedding in this

dress, every one was astonished at her beauty. The king's son had

waited until she came, and instantly took her by the hand and danced with no one but her. When others

came and invited her, he said, "This is my partner." When evening came she wished to leave, and the king's son followed her and wanted to see into which house she went. But she sprang away from him, and into the garden behind the house. Therein stood a beautiful tall tree on which hung the most magnificent pears. She clambered so nimbly between the branches like a squirrel that the king's son did not know where she

was gone. He waited until her father came, and said to him, "The

unknown maiden has escaped from me, and I believe she has climbed

up the pear-tree." The father thought, "Can it be Cinderella." And had an axe brought and cut the tree

down, but no one was on it. And when they got into the kitchen, Cinderella lay there among the

ashes, as usual, for she had jumped down on the other side of the tree, had taken the beautiful dress to the bird on the little hazel-tree, and put

on her grey gown.

On the third day, when the parents and sisters had gone away,

Cinderella went once more to her mother's grave and said to the little

tree,

"Shiver and quiver, my little tree, silver and gold throw down over

me."

And now the bird threw down to her a dress which was more splendid and magnificent than any she had

yet had, and the slippers were golden. And when she went to the festival in the dress, no one knew

how to speak for astonishment. The king's son danced with her only, and if any one invited her to dance, he

said this is my partner.

When evening came, Cinderella wished to leave, and the king's son was anxious to go with her, but she escaped from him so quickly that he could not follow her. The king's son, however, had employed a ruse, and had caused the whole staircase to be smeared with pitch, and there,

when she ran down, had the maiden's left slipper remained stuck.

The king's son picked it up, and it was small and dainty, and all

golden.

Next morning, he went with it to the father, and said to him, no one shall be my wife but she whose foot this golden slipper fits. Then were the

two sisters glad, for they had pretty feet. The eldest went with the shoe

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into her room and wanted to try it on, and her mother stood by. But

she could not get her big toe into it, and the shoe was too small for her. Then her mother gave her a knife

and said, "Cut the toe off, when you are queen you will have no more

need to go on foot." The maiden cut the toe off, forced the foot into the

shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the king's son. Then he took

her on his his horse as his bride and rode away with her. They were

obliged, however, to pass the grave, and there, on the hazel-tree, sat the

two pigeons and cried,

"Turn and peep, turn and peep, there's blood within the shoe, the

shoe it is too small for her, the true bride waits for you."

Then he looked at her foot and saw how the blood was trickling from it. He turned his horse round and took the false bride home again, and said she was not the true one, and that the other sister was to put the shoe

on. Then this one went into her chamber and got her toes safely into the shoe, but her heel was too large. So her mother gave her a knife and said, "Cut a bit off your heel, when

you are queen you will have no more need to go on foot." The

maiden cut a bit off her heel, forced her foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the king's son.

He took her on his horse as his bride, and rode away with her, but

when they passed by the hazel-tree, the two pigeons sat on it and cried,

"Turn and peep, turn and peep, there's blood within the shoe, the

shoe it is too small for her, the true bride waits for you."

He looked down at her foot and saw how the blood was running out of

her shoe, and how it had stained her white stocking quite red. Then he

turned his horse and took the false bride home again. "This also is not

the right one," said he, "have you no other daughter." "No," said the man, "there is still a little stunted kitchen-

wench which my late wife left behind her, but she cannot possibly be the

bride." The king's son said he was to send her up to him, but the mother answered, oh, no, she is much too dirty, she cannot show herself. But

he absolutely insisted on it, and Cinderella had to be called.

She first washed her hands and face clean, and then went and bowed down before the king's son, who

gave her the golden shoe. Then she seated herself on a stool, drew her foot out of the heavy wooden shoe,

and put it into the slipper, which fitted like a glove. And when she

rose up and the king's son looked at her face he recognized the beautiful maiden who had danced with him and cried, "That is the true bride."

The step-mother and the two sisters were horrified and became pale with rage, he, however, took Cinderella on his horse and rode away with her. As they passed by the hazel-tree, the two white doves cried,

"Turn and peep, turn and peep, no blood is in the shoe, the shoe is not too small for her, the true bride rides

with you."

And when they had cried that, the two came flying down and placed

themselves on Cinderella's shoulders, one on the right, the other on the left, and remained

sitting there.

When the wedding with the king's son was to be celebrated, the two

false sisters came and wanted to get

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into favor with Cinderella and share her good fortune. When the

betrothed couple went to church, the elder was at the right side and the

younger at the left, and the pigeons pecked out one eye from each of

them. And thus, for their wickedness and falsehood, they were punished

with blindness all their days.

THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN

Once upon a time...

on the banks of a great river in the north of Germany lay a town called Hamelin. The citizens of Hamelin were honest folk who lived contentedly in their Grey stone houses. The years went by, and the town grew very rich.

Then one day, an extraordinary thing happened to disturb the peace.

Hamelin had always had rats, and a lot too. But they had never been a danger, for the cats had always solved the rat problem in the usual way- by killing them. All at once, however, the rats began to multiply.

In the end, a black sea of rats swarmed over the whole town. First, they attacked the barns and storehouses, then, for lack of anything better, they gnawed the

wood, cloth or anything at all. The one thing they didn't eat was metal. The terrified citizens flocked to plead with the town councilors to free them from the plague of rats. But the council had, for a long time, been sitting in the Mayor's room, trying to think of a plan.

"What we need is an army of cats!"

But all the cats were dead.

"We'll put down poisoned food then . . ."

But most of the food was already gone and even poison did not stop the rats.

"It just can't be done without help!" said the Mayor sadly.

Just then, while the citizens milled around outside, there was a loud knock at the door. "Who can that be?" the city fathers wondered uneasily, mindful of the angry crowds. They gingerly opened the door. And to their surprise, there stood a tall thin man dressed in brightly colored clothes, with a long feather in his hat, and waving a gold pipe at them.

"I've freed other towns of beetles and bats," the stranger announced, "and for a thousand florins, I'll rid you of your rats!"

"A thousand florins!" exclaimed the Mayor. "We'll give you fifty thousand if you succeed!" At once the stranger hurried away, saying:

"It's late now, but at dawn tomorrow, there won't be a rat left in Hamelin!"

The sun was still below the horizon, when the sound of a pipe wafted

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through the streets of Hamelin. The pied piper slowly made his way through the houses and behind him flocked the rats. Out they scampered from doors, windows and gutters, rats of every size, all after the piper. And as he played, the stranger marched down to the river and straight into the water, up to his middle. Behind him swarmed the rats and every one was drowned and swept away by the current.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, there was not a single rat in the town. There was even greater delight at the town hall, until the piper tried to claim his payment.

"Fifty thousand florins?" exclaimed the councilors,

"Never..."

" A thousand florins at least!" cried the pied piper angrily. But the Mayor broke in. "The rats are all dead now and they can never come back. So be grateful for fifty florins, or you'll not get even that . . ."

His eyes flashing with rage, the pied piper pointed a threatening finger at the Mayor.

"You'll bitterly regret ever breaking your promise," he said, and vanished.

A shiver of fear ran through the councilors, but the Mayor shrugged and said excitedly: "We've saved fifty thousand florins!"

That night, freed from the nightmare of the rats, the citizens of Hamelin slept more soundly than ever. And when the strange sound of piping wafted through the streets at dawn, only the children heard it. Drawn as by magic, they hurried out of their homes. Again, the pied piper paced through the town, this time, it was children of all sizes that flocked at his heels to the sound of his strange piping.

The long procession soon left the town and made its way through the wood and across the forest till it reached the foot of a huge mountain. When the piper came to the dark rock, he played his pipe even louder still and a great door creaked open. Beyond lay a cave. In trooped the children behind the pied piper, and when the last child had gone into the darkness, the door creaked shut.

A great landslide came down the mountain blocking the entrance to

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the cave forever. Only one little lame boy escaped this fate. It was he who told the anxious citizens, searching for their children, what had happened. And no matter what people did, the mountain never gave up its victims.

Many years were to pass before the merry voices of other children would ring through the streets of Hamelin but the memory of the harsh lesson lingered in everyone's heart and was passed down from father to son through the centuries.

THE UGLY DUCKLING

Once upon a time . . . down on an old farm, lived a duck family, and

Mother Duck had been sitting on a clutch of new eggs. One nice

morning, the eggs hatched and out popped six chirpy ducklings. But one egg was bigger than the rest, and it didn't hatch. Mother Duck couldn't recall laying that seventh egg. How did it get there? TOCK! TOCK! The little prisoner was pecking inside his

shell.

"Did I count the eggs wrongly?" Mother Duck wondered. But before she had time to think about it, the last egg finally hatched. A strange looking duckling with grey feathers

that should have been yellow gazed at a worried mother. The ducklings

grew quickly, but Mother Duck had a secret worry.

"I can't understand how this ugly duckling can be one of mine!" she

said to herself, shaking her head as she looked at her lastborn. Well, the grey duckling certainly wasn't pretty, and since he ate far more than his brothers, he was outgrowing them. As the days went by, the poor ugly duckling became more and more

unhappy. His brothers didn't want to play with him, he was so clumsy, and all the farmyard folks simply laughed at him. He felt sad and

lonely, while Mother Duck did her best to console him.

"Poor little ugly duckling!" she would say. "Why are you so different from the others?" And the ugly duckling felt worse than ever. He secretly

wept at night. He felt nobody wanted him.

"Nobody loves me, they all tease me! Why am I different from my

brothers?"

Then one day, at sunrise, he ran away from the farmyard. He stopped at a pond and began to question all the other birds. "Do you know of any

ducklings with grey feathers like mine?" But everyone shook their

heads in scorn.

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"We don't know anyone as ugly as you." The ugly duckling did not lose heart, however, and kept on making enquiries. He went to another pond,

where a pair of large geese gave him the same answer to his

question. What's more, they warned him: "Don't stay here! Go away! It's

dangerous. There are men with guns around here!" The duckling

was sorry he had ever left the farmyard.

Then one day, his travels took him near an old countrywoman's

cottage. Thinking he was a stray goose, she caught him.

"I'll put this in a hutch. I hope it's a female and lays plenty of eggs!"

said the old woman, whose eyesight was poor. But the ugly duckling laid

not a single egg. The hen kept frightening him:

"Just wait! If you don't lay eggs, the old woman will wring your neck and pop you into the pot!" And the cat chipped in: "Hee! Hee! I hope the

woman cooks you, then I can gnaw at your bones!" The poor ugly

duckling was so scared that he lost his appetite, though the old woman

kept stuffing him with food and grumbling: "If you won't lay eggs, at

least hurry up and get plump!"

"Oh, dear me!" moaned the now terrified duckling. "I'll die of fright first! And I did so hope someone

would love me!"

Then one night, finding the hutch door ajar, he escaped. Once again

he was all alone. He fled as far away as he could, and at dawn, he

found himself in a thick bed of reeds. "If nobody wants me, I'll hid here forever." There was plenty a

food, and the duckling began to feel

a little happier, though he was lonely. One day at sunrise, he saw a

flight of beautiful birds wing overhead. White, with long slender

necks, yellow beaks and large wings, they were migrating south.

"If only I could look like them, just for a day!" said the duckling, admiringly.

Winter came and the water in the reed bed froze. The poor duckling left home to seek food in the snow.

He dropped exhausted to the ground, but a farmer found him and

put him in his big jacket pocket.

"I'll take him home to my children. They'll look after him. Poor thing, he's frozen!" The duckling was

showered with kindly care at the farmer's house. In this way, the ugly

duckling was able to survive the bitterly cold winter.

However, by springtime, he had grown so big that the farmer

decided: "I'll set him free by the pond!" That was when the duckling saw himself mirrored in the water.

"Goodness! How I've changed! I hardly recognize myself!" The flight of swans winged north again and glided on to the pond. When the

duckling saw them, he realized he was one of their kind, and soon

made friends.

"We're swans like you!" they said, warmly. "Where have you been

hiding?"

"It's a long story," replied the young swan, still astounded. Now, he

swam majestically with his fellow swans. One day, he heard children on the river bank exclaim: "Look at that young swan! He's the finest of

them all!"

14

And he almost burst with happiness.

PINOCCHIOCarlo Collodi

Once upon a time... a carpenter, picked up a strange lump of wood

one day while mending a table. When he began to chip it, the wood started to moan. This frightened the carpenter and he decided to get rid

of it at once, so he gave it to a friend called Geppetto, who wanted to

make a puppet. Geppetto, a cobbler, took his lump of wood home,

thinking about the name he would give his puppet.

"I'll call him Pinocchio," he told himself. "It's a lucky name." Back in

his humble basement home and workshop, Geppetto started to carve

the wood. Suddenly a voice squealed:

"Ooh! That hurt!" Geppeto was astonished to find that the wood was

alive. Excitedly he carved a head, hair and eyes, which immediately stared right at the cobbler. But the second Geppetto carved out the

nose, it grew longer and longer, and no matter how often the cobbler cut it down to size, it just stayed a long

nose. The newly cut mouth began to chuckle and when Geppetto angrily

complained, the puppet stuck out his tongue at him. That was nothing,

however! When the cobbler shaped the hands, they snatched the good man's wig, and the newly carved legs gave him a hearty kick. His

eyes brimming with tears, Geppetto scolded the puppet.

"You naughty boy! I haven't even finished making you, yet you've no respect for your father!" Then he

picked up the puppet and, a step at a time, taught him to walk. But the minute Pinocchio stood upright, he started to run about the room, with

Geppetto after him, then he opened the door and dashed into the street.

Now, Pinocchio ran faster than Geppetto and though the poor

cobbler shouted "Stop him! Stop him!" none of the onlookers,

watching in amusement, moved a finger. Luckily, a policeman heard the cobbler's shouts and strode

quickly down the street. Grabbing

15

the runaway, he handed him over to his father.

"I'll box your ears," gasped Geppetto, still out of breath. Then he realised that was impossible, for in his haste to carve the puppet, he had forgotten to make his ears.

Pinocchio had got a fright at being in the clutches of the police, so he

apologised and Geppetto forgave his son.

Indeed, the minute they reached home, the cobbler made Pinocchio a suit out of flowered paper, a pair of bark shoes and a soft bread hat. The puppet hugged his father.

"I'd like to go to school," he said, "to become clever and help you when you're old!" Geppetto was touched

by this kind thought.

"I'm very grateful," he replied, "but we haven't enough money even to

buy you the first reading book!" Pinocchio looked downcast, then

Geppetto suddenly rose to his feet, put on his old tweed coat and went out of the house. Not long after he returned carrying a first reader, but

minus his coat. It was snowing outside.

"Where's your coat, father?"

"I sold it."

"Why did you sell it?"

"It kept me too warm!"

Pinocchio threw his arms round Geppetto's neck and kissed the

kindly old man.

It had stopped snowing and Pinocchio set out for school with his first reading book under his arm. He

was full of good intentions. "Today I want to learn to read. Tomorrow I'll learn to write and the day after to count. Then I'll earn some money and buy Geppetto a fine new coat. He deserves it, for . . ." The sudden sound of a brass band broke into the

puppet's daydream and he soon forgot all about school. He ended up in a crowded square where people

were clustering round a brightly coloured booth.

"What's that?" he asked a boy.

"Can't you read? It's the Great Puppet Show!"

"How much do you pay to go inside?"

"Fourpence.'

"Who'll give me fourpence for this brand new book?" Pinocchio cried.

A nearby junk seller bought the reading book and Pinocchio hurried into the booth. Poor Geppetto. His

sacrifice had been quite in vain. Hardly had Pinocchio got inside, when he was seen by one of the

puppets on the stage who cried out:

"There's Pinocchio! There's Pinocchio!"

"Come, along. Come up here with us. Hurrah for brother Pinocchio!"

cried the puppets. Pinocchio weent

16

onstage with his new friends, while the spectators below began to mutter about uproar. Then out

strode Giovanni, the puppet-master, a frightful looking man with fierce

bloodshot eyes.

"What's going on here? Stop that noise! Get in line, or you'll hear

about it later!"

That evening, Giovanni sat down to his meal, but when he found that more wood was needed to finish

cooking his nice chunk of meat, he remembered the intruder who had

upset his show.

"Come here, Pinocchio! You'll make good firewood!" The poor puppet

started to weep and plead.

"Save me, father! I don't want to die . . . I don't want to die!" When

Giovanni heard Pinocchio's cries, he was surprised.

"Are your parents still alive?" he asked.

"My father is, but I've never known my mother," said the puppet in a low voice. The big man's heart melted.

"It would be beastly for your father if I did throw you into the fire . . . but I must finish roasting the mutton. I'll just have to burn another puppet.

Men! Bring me Harlequin, trussed!" When Pinocchio saw that another puppet was going to be burned in

his place, he wept harder than ever.

"Please don't, sir! Oh, sir, please don't! Don't burn Harlequin!"

"That's enough!" boomed Giovanni in a rage. "I want my meat well

cooked!"

"In that case," cried Pinocchio defiantly, rising to his feet, "burn me!

It's not right that Harlequin should be burnt instead of me!"

Giovanni was taken aback. "Well, well!" he said. "I've never met a

puppet hero before!" Then he went on in a milder tone. "You really are a good lad. I might indeed . . ." Hope

flooded Pinocchio's heart as the puppet-master stared at him, then at

last the man said: "All right! I'll eat half-raw mutton tonight, but next

time, somebody will find himself in a pickle." All the puppets were

delighted at being saved. Giovanni asked Pinocchio to tell him the whole tale, and feeling sorry for

kindhearted Geppetto, he gave the puppet five gold pieces.

"Take these to your father," he said. "Tell him to buy himself a new coat,

and give him my regards."

Pinocchio cheerfully left the puppet booth after thanking Giovanni for

being so generous. He was hurrying homewards when he met a half-

blind cat and a lame fox. He couldn't help but tell them all about his good fortune, and when the pair set eyes on the gold coins, they hatched a

plot, saying to Pinocchio:

"If you would really like to please your father, you ought to take him a lot more coins. Now, we know of a magic meadow where you can sow these five coins. The next day, you

will find they have become ten times as many!"

"How can that happen?" asked Pinocchio in amazement.

"I'll tell you how!" exclaimed the fox. "In the land of Owls lies a meadow known as Miracle Meadow. If you

17

plant one gold coin in a little hole, next day you will find a whole tree

dripping with gold coins!" Pinocchio drank in every word his two "friends" uttered and off they all went to the

Red Shrimp Inn to drink to their meeting and future wealth.

After food and a short rest, they made plans to leave at midnight for Miracle Meadow. However, when Pinocchio was wakened by the

innkeeper at the time arranged, he found that the fox and the cat had

already left. All the puppet could do then was pay for the dinner, using one of his gold coins, and set off alone along the path through the

woods to the magic meadow. Suddenly... "Your money or your life!" snarled two hooded bandits. Now, Pinocchio had hidden the

coins under his tongue, so he could not say a word, and nothing the bandits could do would make

Pinocchio tell where the coins were hidden. Still mute, even when the wicked pair tied a noose round the

poor puppet's neck and pulled it tighter and tighter, Pinocchio's last

thought was "Father, help me!"

Of course, the hooded bandits were the fox and the cat. "You'll hang

there," they said, "till you decide to talk. We'll be back soon to see if you

have changed your mind!" And away they went.

However, a fairy who lived nearby had overheard everything . . . From the castle window, the Turquoise

Fairy saw a kicking puppet dangling from an oak tree in the wood. Taking pity on him, she clapped her hands three times and suddenly a hawk

and a dog appeared.

"Quickly!" said the fairy to the hawk. "Fly to that oak tree and with your

beak snip away the rope round the poor lad's neck!"

To the dog she said: "Fetch the carriage and gently bring him to

me!"

In no time at all, Pinocchio, looking quite dead, was lying in a cosy bed in the castle, while the fairy called

three famous doctors, crow, owl and cricket. A very bitter medicine,

prescribed by these three doctors quickly cured the puppet, then as she caressed him, the fairy said:

"Tell me what happened!"

Pinocchio told her his story, leaving out the bit about selling his first reading book, but when the fairy asked him where the gold coins

were, the puppet replied that he had lost them. In fact, they were hidden in one of his pockets. All at once,

Pinocchio's nose began to stretch, while the fairy laughed.

"You've just told a lie! I know you have, because your nose is growing

longer!" Blushing with shame, Pinocchio had no idea what to do

with such an ungainly nose and he began to weep. However, again

feeling sorry for him, the fairy clapped her hands and a flock of

woodpeckers appeared to peck his nose back to its proper length.

"Now, don't tell any more lies," the fairy warned him," or your nose will

grow again! Go home and take these coins to your father."

Pinocchio gratefully hugged the fairy and ran off homewards. But near the

oak tree in the forest, he bumped into the cat and the fox. Breaking his promise, he foolishly let himself be talked into burying the coins in the magic meadow. Full of hope, he

18

returned next day, but the coins had gone. Pinocchio sadly trudged home

without the coins Giovanni had given him for his father.

After scolding the puppet for his long absence, Geppetto forgave him and

off he went to school. Pinocchio seemed to have calmed down a bit.

But someone else was about to cross his path and lead him astray.

This time, it was Carlo, the lazy bones of the class.

"Why don't you come to Toyland with me?" he said. "Nobody ever studies there and you can play all

day long!"

"Does such a place really exist?" asked Pinocchio in amazement.

"The wagon comes by this evening to take me there," said Carlo.

"Would you like to come?"

Forgetting all his promises to his father and the fairy, Pinocchio was again heading for trouble. Midnight

struck, and the wagon arrived to pick up the two friends, along with some other lads who could hardly

wait to reach a place where schoolbooks and teachers had

never been heard of. Twelve pairs of donkeys pulled the wagon, and they

were all shod with white leather boots. The boys clambered into the wagon. Pinocchio, the most excited of them all, jumped on to a donkey.

Toyland, here we come!

Now Toyland was just as Carlo had described it: the boys all had great fun and there were no lessons. You weren't even allowed to whisper the word "school", and Pinocchio could hardly believe he was able to play

all the time.

"This is the life!" he said each time he met Carlo.

"I was right, wasn't I?" exclaimed his friend, pleased with himself.

"Oh, yes Carlo! Thanks to you I'm enjoying myself. And just think:

teacher told me to keep well away from you."

One day, however, Pinocchio awoke to a nasty surprise. When he raised a hand to his head, he found he had sprouted a long pair of hairy ears, in

place of the sketchy ears that Geppetto had never got round to finishing. And that wasn't all! The next day, they had grown longer than ever. Pinocchio shamefully pulled on a large cotton cap and

went off to search for Carlo. He too was wearing a hat, pulled right down to his nose. With the same thought in their heads, the boys stared at

each other, then snatching off their hats, they began to laugh at the

funny sight of long hairy ears. But as they screamed with laughter, Carlo suddenly went pale and began to

stagger. "Pinocchio, help! Help!" But Pinocchio himself was stumbling about and he burst into tears. For their faces were growing into the

shape of a donkey's head and they felt themselves go down on all

foursf. Pinocchio and Carlo were turning into a pair of donkeys. And when they tried to groan with fear, they brayed loudly instead. When

the Toyland wagon driver heard the braying of his new donkeys, he

rubbed his hands in glee.

"There are two fine new donkeys to take to market. I'll get at least four

gold pieces for them!" For such was the awful fate that awaited naughty little boys that played truant from

19

school to spend all their time playing games.

Carlo was sold to a farmer, and a circus man bought Pinocchio to

teach him to do tricks like his other performing animals. It was a hard

life for a donkey! Nothing to eat but hay, and when that was gone,

nothing but straw. And the beatings! Pinocchio was beaten every day till he had mastered the difficult circus tricks. One day, as he was jumping through the hoop, he stumbled and went lame. The circus man called

the stable boy.

"A lame donkey is no use to me," he said. "Take it to market and get rid

of it at any price!" But nobody wanted to buy a useless donkey. Then along came a little man who said: "I'll take it for the skin. It will make a good drum for the village

band!"

And so, for a few pennies, Pinocchio changed hands and he brayed

sorrowfully when he heard what his awful fate was to be. The puppet's new owner led him to the edge of the sea, tied a large stone to his

neck, and a long rope round Pinocchio's legs and pushed hlm

into the water. Clutching the end of the rope, the man sat down to wait

for Pinocchio to drown. Then he would flay off the donkey's skin.

Pinocchio struggled for breath at the bottom of the sea, and in a flash,

remembered all the bother he had given Geppetto, his broken

promises too, and he called on the fairy.

The fairy heard Pinocchio's call and when she saw he was about to

drown, she sent a shoal of big fish. They ate away all the donkey flesh,

leaving the wooden Pinocchio. Just then, as the fish stopped nibbling, Pinocchio felt himself hauled out of the water. And the man gaped in astonishment at the living puppet,

twisting and turning like an eel, which appeared in place of the dead

donkey. When he recovered his wits, he babbled, almost in tears:

"Where's the donkey I threw into the sea?"

"I'm that donkey", giggled Pinocchio.

"You!" gasped the man. "Don't try pulling my leg. If I get angry . . ."

However, Pinocchio told the man the whole story . . . "and that's how you come to have a live puppet on

the end of the rope instead of a dead donkey!"

"I don't give a whit for your story," shouted the man in a rage. "All I

know is that I paid twenty coins for you and I want my money back!

Since there's no donkey, I'll take you to market and sell you as firewood!"

By then free of the rope, Pinocchio made a face at the man and dived

into the sea. Thankful to be a wooden puppet again, Pinocchio swam happily out to sea and was soon just a dot on the horizon. But his adventures were far from over.

Out of the water behind him loomed a terrible giant shark! A horrified Pinocchio sawits wide open jaws

and tried to swim away as fast as he could, but the monster only glided

closer. Then the puppet tried to escape by going in the other

direction, but in vain. He could never escape the shark, for as the water

rushed into its cavern-like mouth, he was sucked in with it. And in an

instant Pinocchio had been swallowed along with shoals of fish

20

unlucky enough to be in the fierce creature's path. Down he went,

tossed in the torrent of water as it poured down the shark's throat, till he felt dizy. When Pinocchio came to his senses, he was in darkness. Over his head, he could hear the loud heave of the shark's gills. On his hands and knees, the puppet crept down what felt like a sloping

path, crying as he went:

"Help! Help! Won't anybody save me?"

Suddenly, he noticed a pale light and, as he crept towards it, he saw it was a flame in the distance. On he

went, till: "Father! It can't be you! . . ."

"Pinocchio! Son! It really is you . . ."

Weeping for joy, they hugged each other and, between sobs, told their adventures. Geppetto stroked the

puppet's head and told him how he came to be in the shark's stomach.

"I was looking for you everywhere. When I couldn't find you on dry land, I made a boat to search for you on the sea. But the boat capsized in a storm, then the shark gulped me

down. Lucklly, it also swallowed bits of ships wrecked in the tempest, so I've managed to survive by gettlng

what I could from these!"

"Well, we're still alive!" remarked Pinocchio, when they had finished recounting their adventures. "We

must get out of here!" Taking Geppetto's hand, the pair started to climb up the shark's stomach, using

a candle to light their way. When they got as far as its jaws, they took

fright, but as so happened, this shark slept with its mouth open, for it

suffered from asthma.

As luck would have it, the shark had been basking in shallow waters

since the day before, and Pinocchio soon reached the beach. Dawn was just breaking, and Geppetto, soaked to the skin, was half dead with cold

and fright.

"Lean on me, father." said Pinocchio. "I don't know where we

are, but we'll soon find our way home!"

Beside the sands stood an old hut made of branches, and there they took shelter. Geppetto was running a temperature, but Pinocchio went out, saying, "I'm going to get you some milk." The bleating of goats

led the puppet in the right direction, and he soon came upon a farmer.

Of course, he had no money to pay for the milk.

"My donkey's dead," said the farmer. "If you work the treadmill from dawn to noon, then you can have some milk." And so, for days on end, Pinocchio rose early each morning to earn Geppetto's food.

At long last, Pinocchio and Geppetto reached home. The puppet worked

late into the night weaving reed baskets to make money for his father and himself. One day, he

heard that the fairy after a wave of bad luck, was ill in hospital. So

instead of buying himself a new suit

21

of clothes, Pinocchio sent the fairy the money to pay for her treatment.

One night, in a wonderful dream, the fairy appeared to reward Pinocchio for his kindness. When the puppet looked in the mirror next morning,

he found he had turned into somebody else. For there in the

mirror, was a handsome young lad with blue eyes and brown hair. Geppetto hugged him happily.

"Where's the old wooden Pinocchio?" the young lad asked in astonishment. "There!" exclaimed Geppetto, pointing at him. "When

bad boys become good, their looks change along with their lives!"

THE STORY OF SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARVES

Jacob Karl Grimm y Wilhelm Grimm

Grimm's Fairy Tale version - translated by Margaret Hunt - language modernized a bit by

Leanne Guenther

Once upon a time, long, long ago a king and queen ruled over a distant

land.  The queen was kind and lovely and all the people of the

realm adored her.  The only sadness in the queen's life was that

she wished for a child but did not have one.

One winter day, the queen was doing needle work while gazing out her ebony window at the new fallen

snow.  A bird flew by the window startling the queen and she pricked her finger.  A single drop of blood

fell on the snow outside her window.  As she looked at the blood

on the snow she said to herself, "Oh, how I wish that I had a

daughter that had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair

as black as ebony."

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

sadly, the queen died after giving birth to Snow White.

Soon after, the king married a new woman who was beautiful, but as

well proud and cruel.  She had studied dark magic and owned a magic mirror, of which she would

daily ask,

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

Each time this question was asked, the mirror would give the same

answer, "Thou, O Queen, art the fairest of all."  This pleased the

queen greatly as she knew that her magical mirror could speak nothing

but the truth.

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

22

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

you.

The Queen flew into a jealous rage and ordered her huntsman to take Snow White into the woods to be killed.  She demanded that the

huntsman return with Snow White's heart as proof.

The poor huntsman took Snow White into the forest, but found himself unable to kill the girl. 

Instead, he let her go, and brought the queen the heart of a wild boar.

Snow White was now all alone in the great forest, and she did not know what to do.  The trees seemed to

whisper to each other, scaring Snow White who began to run.  She ran

over sharp stones and through thorns.  She ran as far as her feet

could carry her, and just as evening was about to fall she saw a little

house and went inside in order to rest.

Inside the house everything was small but tidy.  There was a little table with a tidy, white tablecloth

and seven little plates.  Against the wall there were seven little beds, all

in a row and covered with quilts.

Because she was so hungry Snow White ate a few vegetables and a

little bread from each little plate and from each cup she drank a bit of

milk. Afterward, because she was so tired, she lay down on one of the

little beds and fell fast asleep.

After dark, the owners of the house returned home.  They were the

seven dwarves who mined for gold in the mountains.  As soon as they

arrived home, they saw that someone had been there -- for not

everything was in the same order as they had left it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

But the seventh one, looking at his bed, found Snow White lying there

asleep.  The seven dwarves all came running up, and they cried out with amazement.  They fetched their seven candles and shone the light

on Snow White.

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

They were so happy that they did not wake her up, but let her continue

to sleep in the bed.  The next morning Snow White woke up, and when she saw the seven dwarves she was frightened.  But they were friendly and asked, "What is your

name?"

"My name is Snow White," she answered.

23

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

Then she told them that her stepmother had tried to kill her, that the huntsman had spared her life,

and that she had run the entire day through the forest, finally stumbling

upon their house.

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

have everything that you want."

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

So Snow White lived happily with the dwarves.  Every morning they

went into the mountains looking for gold, and in the evening when they came back home Snow White had their meal ready and their house tidy.  During the day the girl was

alone, except for the small animals of the forest that she often played

with.

Now the queen, believing that she had eaten Snow White's heart,

could only think that she was again the first and the most beautiful

woman of all.  She stepped before her mirror and said:

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

It answered:

You, my queen, are fair; it is true.But Snow White, beyond the

mountainsWith the seven dwarves,

Is still a thousand times fairer than you.

This startled the queen, for she knew that the mirror did not lie, and she realized that the huntsman had deceived her and that Snow White was still alive.  Then she thought, and thought again, how she could rid herself of Snow White -- for as long as long as she was not the

most beautiful woman in the entire land her jealousy would give her no

rest.

At last she thought of something.  She went into her most secret room -- no one else was allowed inside -- and she made a poisoned apple.  From the outside it was beautiful,

and anyone who saw it would want it. But anyone who might eat a little piece of it would died.  Coloring her

face, she disguised herself as an old peddler woman, so that no one

would recognize her, traveled to the dwarves house and knocked on the

door.

Snow White put her head out of the window, and said, "I must not let

anyone in; the seven dwarves have forbidden me to do so."

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

of them."

24

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

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

shall eat half."

Now the apple had been so artfully made that only the one half was

poisoned.  Snow White longed for the beautiful apple, and when she saw that the peddler woman was

eating part of it she could no longer resist, and she stuck her hand out and took the poisoned half.  She

barely had a bite in her mouth when she fell to the ground dead.

The queen looked at her with an evil stare, laughed loudly, and said,

"White as snow, red as blood, black as ebony wood!  The dwarves shall

never awaken you."

Back at home she asked her mirror:

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

It finally answered:

You, my queen, are fairest of all.

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

jealous heart can be at rest.

When the dwarves came home that evening they found Snow White

lying on the ground.  She was not breathing at all.  She was dead. 

They lifted her up and looked at her longingly.  They talked to her, shook her and wept over her.  But nothing helped.  The dear child was dead, and she remained dead.  They laid her on a bed of straw, and all seven sat next to her and mourned for her and cried for three days.  They were

going to bury her, but she still looked as fresh as a living person,

and still had her beautiful red cheeks.

They said, "We cannot bury her in the black earth," and they had a

transparent glass coffin made, so she could be seen from all sides. 

They laid her inside, and with golden letters wrote on it her name, and

that she was a princess.  Then they put the coffin outside on a mountain, and one of them always stayed with

it and watched over her.  The animals too came and mourned for

Snow White, first an owl, then a raven, and finally a dove.

Now it came to pass that a prince entered these woods and happened onto the dwarves' house, where he sought shelter for the night . He saw

the coffin on the mountain with beautiful Snow White in it, and he read what was written on it with

golden letters.

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

anything you want for it."

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

world."

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

respect her as my most cherished one."

25

As he thus spoke, the good dwarves felt pity for him and gave him the

coffin.  The prince had his servants carry it away on their shoulders.  But

then it happened that one of them stumbled on some brush, and this

dislodged from Snow White's throat the piece of poisoned apple that she

had bitten off.  Not long afterward she opened her eyes, lifted the lid from her coffin, sat up, and was

alive again.

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

The prince said joyfully, "You are with me."  He told her what had

happened, and then said, "I love you more than anything else in the

world.  Come with me to my father's castle.  You shall become my wife." 

Snow White loved him, and she went with him.  Their wedding was planned with great splendor and

majesty.

Snow White's wicked step-mother was invited to the feast, and when

she had arrayed herself in her most beautiful garments, she stood before

her mirror, and said:

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

The mirror answered:

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

times fairer than you.

Not knowing that this new queen was indeed her stepdaughter, she

arrived at the wedding, and her heart filled with the deepest of dread when she realized the truth - the evil queen was banished from the land forever and the prince and Snow

White lived happily ever after.

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

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There was once upon a time a pig who lived with her three children on a large, comfortable, old-fashioned

farmyard. The eldest of the little pigs was called Browny, the second

Whitey, and the youngest and best looking Blacky. Now Browny was a

very dirty little pig, and, I am sorry to say, spent most of his time rolling

and wallowing about in the mud. He was never so happy as on a wet

day, when the mud in the farmyard got soft, and thick, and slab. Then

he would steal away from his mother's side, and finding the

muddiest place in the yard, would roll about in it and thoroughly enjoy

himself.

His mother often found fault with him for this, and would shake her head sadly and say, "Ah, Browny! Some

day you will be sorry that you did not obey your old mother."

But no words of advice or warning could cure Browny of his bad habits.

Whitey was quite a clever little pig, but she was greedy. She was

always thinking of her food, and looking forward to her dinner. And

when the farm girl was seen carrying the pails across the yard, she would rise up on her hind legs

and dance and caper with

excitement. As soon as the food was poured into the trough she

jostled Blacky and Browny out of the way in her eagerness to get the best

and biggest bits for herself. Her mother often scolded her for her

selfishness, and told her that someday she would suffer for being

so greedy and grabbing.

Blacky was a good, nice little pig, neither dirty nor greedy. He had nice dainty ways (for a pig), and his skin was always as smooth and shining

as black satin. He was much cleverer than Browny and Whitey,

and his mother's heart used to swell with pride when she heard the

farmer's friends say to each other that someday the little black fellow

would be a prize pig.

Now the time came when the mother pig felt old and feeble and near her end. One day she called the three little pigs round her and said, "My children, I feel that I am growing old and weak, and that I shall not live long. Before I die I

should like to build a house for each of you, as this dear old sty in which

we have lived so happily will be given to a new family of pigs, and

you will have to turn out. Now, Browny, what sort of a house would

you like to have?"

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"A house of mud," replied Browny, looking longingly at a wet puddle in

the corner of the yard.

"And you, Whitey?" said the mother pig in rather a sad voice, for she

was disappointed that Browny had made so foolish a choice.

"A house of cabbage," answered Whitey, with a mouth full, and

scarcely raising her snout out of the trough in which she was grubbing

for some potato parings.

"Foolish, foolish child!" said the mother pig, looking quite distressed.

"And you, Blacky?" turning to her youngest son. "What sort of a house

shall I order for you?"

"A house of brick, please mother, as it will be warm in winter and cool in

summer, and safe all the year round."

"That is a sensible little pig," replied his mother, looking fondly at him. "I will see that the three houses are

got ready at once. And now one last piece of advice. You have heard me talk of our old enemy the fox. When he hears that I am dead, he is sure to try and get hold of you, to carry

you off to his den. He is very sly and will no doubt disguise himself, and

pretend to be a friend, but you must promise me not to let him enter your

houses on any pretext whatever."

And the little pigs readily promised, for they had always had a great fear of the fox, of whom they had heard

many terrible tales.

A short time afterwards the old pig died, and the little pigs went to live

in their own houses.

Browny was quite delighted with his soft mud walls and with the clay

floor, which soon looked like nothing but a big mud pie. But that was what

Browny enjoyed, and he was as happy as possible, rolling about all day and making himself in such a

mess.

One day, as he was lying half asleep in the mud, he heard a soft

knock at his door, and a gentle voice said, "May I come in, Master

Browny? I want to see your beautiful new house."

"Who are you?" said Browny, starting up in great fright, for though

the voice sounded gentle, he felt sure it was a feigned voice, and he

feared it was the fox.

"I am a friend come to call on you," answered the voice.

"No, no," replied Browny, "I don't believe you are a friend. You are the

wicked fox, against whom our mother warned us. I won't let you

in."

"Oho! Is that the way you answer me?" said the fox, speaking very roughly in his natural voice. "We

shall soon see who is master here," and with his paws he set to work

and scraped a large hole in the soft mud walls. A moment later he had

jumped through it, and catching Browny by the neck, flung him on his shoulders and trotted off with

him to his den.

The next day, as Whitey was munching a few leaves of cabbage out of the corner of her house, the

fox stole up to her door, determined to carry her off to join her brother in his den. He began speaking to her in the same feigned gentle voice in

28

which he had spoken to Browny. But it frightend her very much when he

said, "I am a friend come to visit you, and to have some of your good

cabbage for my dinner."

"Please don't touch it," cried Whitey in great distress. "The cabbages are the walls of my house, and if you eat them you will make a hole, and the wind and rain will come in and give me a cold. Do go away. I am sure

you are not a friend, but our wicked enemy the fox."

And poor Whitey began to whine and to whimper, and to wish that she had not been such a greedy little pig, and had chosen a more

solid material than cabbages for her house. But it was too late now, and in another minute the fox had eaten his way through the cabbage walls,

and had caught the trembling, shivering Whitey and carried her off

to his den.

The next day the fox started off for Blacky's house, because he had

made up his mind that he would get the three little pigs together in his

den, and then kill them, and invite all his friends to a feast. But when he reached the brick house, he found

that the door was bolted and barred, so in his sly manner he began, "Do

let me in, dear Blacky. I have brought you a present of some eggs that I picked up in a farmyard on my

way here."

"No, no, Mister Fox," replied Blacky. "I am not gong to open my door to

you. I know your cunning ways. You have carried off poor Browny and

Whitey, but you are not going to get me."

At this the fox was so angry that he dashed with all his force against the

wall, and tried to knock it down. But it was too strong and well built. And though the fox scraped and tore at the bricks with his paws, he only hurt himself, and at last he had to give it up, and limp away with his forepaws all bleeding and sore.

"Never mind!" he cried angrily as he went off. "I'll catch you another day, see if I don't, and won't I grind your bones to powder when I have got you in my den!" And he snarled fiercely and showed his teeth.

Next day Blacky had to go into the neighboring town to do some

marketing and to buy a big kettle. As he was walking home with it slung

over his shoulder, he heard a sound of steps stealthily creeping after him.

For a moment his heart stood still with fear, and then a happy thought came to him. He had just reached the top of a hill, and could see his own little house nestling at the foot of it among the trees. In a moment

he had snatched the lid off the kettle and had jumped in himself. Coiling himself round, he lay quite snug in the bottom of the kettle, while with

his foreleg he managed to put the lid on, so that he was entirely hidden. With a little kick from the inside, he started the kettle off, and down the hill it rolled full tilt. And when the fox came up, all that he saw was a large

black kettle spinning over the ground at a great pace. Very much disappointed, he was just going to turn away, when he saw the kettle stop close to the little brick house,

and a moment later, Blacky jumped out of it and escaped with the kettle

into the housed, when he barred and bolted the door, and put the

shutter up over the window.

"Oho!" exclaimed the fox to himself. "You think you will escape me that

29

way, do you? We shall soon see about that, my friend." And very quietly and stealthily he prowled

round the house looking for some way to climb onto the roof.

In the meantime Blacky had filled the kettle with water, and having put

it on the fire, sat down quietly waiting for it to boil. Just as the

kettle was beginning to sing, and steam to come out of the spout, he heard a sound like a soft, muffled

step, patter, patter, patter overhead, and the next moment the fox's head

and forepaws were seen coming down the chimney. But Blacky very

wisely had not put the lid on the kettle, and, with a yelp of pain, the fox fell into the boiling water, and

before he could escape, Blacky had popped the lid on, and the fox was

scalded to death.

As soon as he was sure that their wicked enemy was really dead, and

could do them no further harm, Blacky started off to rescue Browny and Whitey. As he approached the den he heard piteous grunts and

squeals from his poor little brother and sister who lived in constant

terror of the fox killing and eating them. But when they saw Blacky

appear at the entrance to the den, their joy knew no bounds. He quickly

found a sharp stone and cut the cords by which they were tied to a stake in the ground, and then all

three started off together for Blacky's house, where they lived

happily ever after. And Browny quite gave up rolling in the mud, and Whitey ceased to be greedy, for

they never forgot how nearly these faults had brought them to an

untimely end.

THE FOX AND THE GEESE

There was once a Goose at the point of death, So she called her

three daughters near, And desired them all, with her latest

breath, Her last dying words to hear.

"There's a Mr. Fox," said she, "that I know,

Who lives in a covert hard by, To our race he has proved a deadly

foe, So beware of his treachery."

Build houses, ere long, of stone or of bricks,

And get tiles for your roofs, I pray; For I know, of old, Mr. Reynard's

tricks, And I fear he may come any day."

Thus saying, she died, and her daughters fair, --

Gobble, Goosey, and Ganderee, -- Agreed together, that they would

beware Of Mr. Fox, their enemy.

But Gobble, the youngest, I grieve to say,

Soon came to a very bad end, Because she preferred her own silly

30

way, And would not to her mother attend.

For she made, with some boards, an open nest,

For a roof took the lid of a box; Then quietly laid herself down to

rest, And thought she was safe from the

Fox.

But Reynard, in taking an evening run,

Soon scented the goose near the pond;

Thought he, " Now I'll have some supper and fun,

For of both I am really fond."

Then on to the box he sprang in a trice,

And roused Mrs. Gobble from bed; She only had time to hiss once or

twice Ere he snapped off her lily-white

head.

Her sisters at home felt anxious and low

When poor Gobble did not appear, And Goosey, determined her fate to

know, Went and sought all the field far and

near.

At last she descried poor Gobble's head,

And some feathers not far apart, So she told Ganderee she had

found her dead, And they both felt quite sad at heart.

Now Goosey was pretty, but liked her own way,

Like Gobble, and some other birds." 'Tis no matter," said she, "if I only

obey A part of my mother's last words."

So her house she soon built of nice red brick,

But she only thatched it with straw; And she thought that, however the

fox might kick, He could not get e'en a paw.

So she went to sleep, and at dead of night

She heard at the door a low scratch;

And presently Reynard, with all his might,

Attempted to jump on the thatch.

But he tumbled back, and against the wall

Grazed his nose in a fearful way, Then, almost mad with the pain of

his fall, He barked, and ran slowly away.

So Goosey laughed, and felt quite o'erjoyed

To have thus escaped from all harm;

But had she known how the Fox was employed,

She would have felt dreadful alarm;

31

For Gobble had been his last dainty meat,

So hungry he really did feel, -- And resolved in his mind to

accomplish this feat, And have the young goose for a

meal.

So he slyly lighted a bundle of straws,

And made no more noise than a mouse,

Then lifted himself up on his hind paws,

And quickly set fire to the house.

'Twas soon in a blaze, and Goosey awoke,

With fright almost ready to die, And, nearly smothered with heat

and with smoke, Up the chimney was forced to fly.

The Fox was rejoiced to witness her flight,

And, heedless of all her sad groans, He chased her until he saw her

alight, Then eat her up all but her bones.

Poor Ganderee's heart was ready to break

When the sad news reached her ear.

"'Twas that villain the Fox," said good Mr. Drake,

Who lived in a pond very near.

"Now listen to me, I pray you," he said,

"And roof your new house with some tiles,

Or you, like your sisters, will soon be dead, --

A prey to your enemy's wiles."

So she took the advice of her mother and friend,

And made her house very secure, Then she said, -- "Now, whatever

may be my end, The Fox cannot catch me, I'm sure."

He called at her door the very next day,

And loudly and long did he knock, But she said to him, -- "Leave my

house, I pray, For the door I will not unlock;

"For you've killed my sisters I know full well,

And you wish that I too were dead." "Oh dear," said the Fox, " I can't

really tell Who put such a thought in your

head:

"For I've always liked geese more than other birds,

And you of your race I've loved best."

But the Goose ne'er heeded his flattering words,

So hungry he went to his rest.

Next week she beheld him again appear,

"Let me in very quick," he cried, "For the news I've to tell you'll be

charmed to hear, And 'tis rude to keep me outside."

But the Goose only opened one window-pane,

And popped out her pretty red bill, Said she, "Your fair words are all in

vain, But talk to me here if you will."

"Tomorrow," he cried, " there will be a fair,

All the birds and the beasts will go; So allow me, I pray, to escort you

there, For you will be quite charmed I

know."

"Many thanks for your news," said Ganderee,

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"But I had rather not go with you; I care not for any gay sight to see,"

-- So the window she closed, and

withdrew.

In the morning, howe'er, her mind she changed,

And she thought she would go to the fair;

So her numerous feathers she nicely arranged,

And cleaned her red bill with much care.

She went, I believe, before it was light,

For of Reynard she felt much fear; So quickly she thought she would

see each sight, And return ere he should appear.

When the Goose arrived she began to laugh

At the wondrous creatures she saw; There were dancing bears, and a tall

giraffe, And a beautiful red macaw.

A monkey was weighing out apples and roots;

An ostrich, too, sold by retail; There were bees and butterflies

tasting the fruits, And a pig drinking out of a pail.

Ganderee went into an elephant's shop,

And quickly she bought a new churn;

For, as it grew late, she feared to stop,

As in safety she wished to return.

Ere, however, she got about half the way,

She saw approaching her foe; And now she hissed with fear and

dismay, For she knew not which way to go.

But at last of a capital plan she bethought,

Of a place where she safely might hide;

She got into the churn that she had just bought,

And then fastened the lid inside.

The churn was placed on the brow of a hill,

And with Ganderee's weight down it rolled,

Passing the Fox, who stood perfectly still,

Quite alarmed, though he was very bold.

For the Goose's wings flapped strangely about,

And the noise was fearful to hear; And so bruised she felt she was

glad to get out, When she thought that the coast

was clear.

So safely she reached her own home at noon,

And the Fox ne'er saw her that day; But after the fair he came very soon,

And cried out in a terrible way, --

"Quick, quick, let me in! oh, for once be kind,

For the huntsman's horn I hear; Oh, hide me in any snug place you

can find, For the hunters and hounds draw

near."

So the Goose looked out in order to see

Whether Reynard was only in jest; Then, knowing that he in her power

would be, She opened the door to her guest.

"I'll hide you," she said, " in my nice new churn."

"That will do very well," said he;

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"And thank you for doing me this good turn,

Most friendly and kind Ganderee."

Then into the churn the Fox quickly got;

But, ere the Goose put on the top, A kettle she brought of water quite

hot, And poured in every drop.

Then the Fox cried out, "O! I burn, I burn,

And I feel in a pitiful plight;" But the Goose held fast the lid of the

churn, So Reynard he died that night.

MoralMankind have an enemy whom they

well know, Who tempts them in every way;

But they, too, at length shall o'ercome this foe,

If wisdom's right law they obey.

THE STORY OF GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks.  She  went

for a walk in the forest.  Pretty soon, she came upon a house.  She

knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.

At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge.

Goldilocks was hungry.  She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.

"This porridge is too hot!" she exclaimed.

So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.

"This porridge is too cold," she said

So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge.

"Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said happily and she ate it all

up.

After she'd eaten the three bears' breakfasts she decided she was

feeling a little tired.  So, she walked into the living room where she saw three chairs.  Goldilocks sat in the

first chair to rest her feet.

"This chair is too big!" she exclaimed.

So she sat in the second chair.

"This chair is too big, too!"  she whined.

So she tried the last and smallest chair.

"Ahhh, this chair is just right," she sighed.  But just as she settled down

into the chair to rest, it broke into pieces!

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Goldilocks was very tired by this time, so she went upstairs to the

bedroom.  She lay down in the first bed, but it was too hard. Then she

lay in the second bed, but it was too soft. Then she lay down in the third bed and it was just right.  Goldilocks

fell asleep.

As she was sleeping, the three bears came home.

"Someone's been eating my porridge," growled the Papa bear.

"Someone's been eating my porridge," said the Mama bear.

"Someone's been eating my porridge and they ate it all up!" cried

the Baby bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," growled the Papa bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," said the Mama bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair and they've broken it all to pieces,"

cried the Baby bear.

They decided to look around some more and when they got upstairs to the bedroom, Papa bear growled, "Someone's been sleeping in my

bed,"

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed, too" said the Mama bear

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed and she's still there!" exclaimed

Baby bear.

Just then, Goldilocks woke up and saw the three bears.  She

screamed, "Help!"  And she jumped up and ran out of the room. 

Goldilocks ran down the stairs, opened the door, and ran away into the forest.  And she never returned

to the home of the three bears.

THE END

THE STORY OF PUSS IN BOOTS

There was once a miller who had three sons, and when he died his estate was divided among them.

The older sons fared very well, but the youngest received nothing but the cat, and he often complained

bitterly of his lot.

"My brothers may get their living easily enough," he said, "but as for me, I may soon die of hunger and

want."

The cat, who had heard this, came out of the cupboard where he had

been listening."

35

"Do not worry, my good master," he said. "You have only to give me a

bag and have a pair of boots made for me, and you shall see that your

portion is not so bad as you imagine it to be."

The cat's master obtained both bag and boots, and watched the cat pull on the boots and throw the bag over

his shoulder. Then Puss in Boots sallied forth.

He went to a warren in which there were a great number of rabbits. He put some bran and some parsley into his bag, and then waited for

some innocent rabbit to feast on the dainties. Soon two young rabbits jumped into his bag and Puss in

them. Boots drew the strings and caught

Puss in Boots was very proud of his prey, and hurried with it to the

palace and asked to speak to the king. Bowing low, Puss said, "Sire, I

have brought for you rabbits from the warren of my noble lord, the

Marquis of Carabas (the title Puss gave to his master), which he

commanded me to present to your majesty with his compliments."

The king was much pleased and said, "Tell your lord Marquis of

Carabas that I accept his present with pleasure."

In this manner the cat continued to carry presents of game to the king at

least once a week for two or three months.

Then one day Puss in Boots said to his master, "If you will only follow my advice, your fortune is made. Go to

the river and bathe just where I show you."

The Marquis of Carabas did exactly as the cat advised, and while he was bathing, the king passed by,

riding in his coach with his daughter, the loveliest princess in the world.

Then Puss in Boots began to cry out, "Help! Help! My lord Marquis of Carabas is going to be drowned!"

Hearing the cries, the king ordered his attendants to go to the rescue of

my lord Marquis of Carabas.

While the servants were drawing the young man from the river, Puss in

Boots came up to the coach and told his majesty that thieves had run off with his master's clothes, though in reality he himself had hidden them

under a stone.

After the marquis was dressed, the king was much impressed with him, and asked him to ride in the royal

36

coach; and it was not at all strange that the king's daughter at once fell

deeply in love with him.

Quite overjoyed, Puss in Boots marched before the coach, giving

orders to the workmen he met along the way.

Presently as the king came by, he saw some mowers working in a

meadow, and asked them to whom the meadow belonged.

To my lord Marquis of Carabas!" the mowers answered, as the cat had

instructed them.

"A very fine piece of land you have there, my lord marquis," said the

king.

"You speak the truth, sire," replied the young man, "for it never fails to bring me a most bountiful harvest."

Soon the coach passed another field where laborers were working

industriously. When the king asked to whom the field belonged, they answered, "To my lord Marquis of

Carabas!"

The king once more complimented the marquis upon his rich

possessions.

At last Puss in Boots arrived at a stately castle. It belonged to an

ogre, the richest ever known, and all the lands through which the king

had passed that morning belonged to him.

The Ogre received Puss as civilly as an ogre could do and asked him to

sit down.

"I have been told," began Puss in Boots, "that you are able to change

yourself into any kind of creature that you have a mind to. You can,

for example, transform yourself into a lion, an elephant, or the like."

"That is true," answered the ogre very briskly; "and to convince you, I

shall now become a lion."

The cat was so terrified at the sight of a lion so near him that he leaped

onto the roof, which caused him even more difficulty, because his

boots were of no use at all to him in walking on the tiles. However, the

ogre resumed his natural form, and the cat came down, saying that he had been very frightened indeed.

"I have further been told," said the cat, "that you can also transform

yourself into the smallest of animals, for example, a rat or a mouse. But I

can scarcely believe that. I must

37

admit to you that I think that that would be quite impossible."

"Impossible!" cried the ogre. "You shall see!", and in an instant he became a mouse and began to

scamper about the floor.

No sooner had Puss seen the Ogre in the form of a mouse than he

sprang upon him, eating him in an instant

In the meantime the king's coach approached the Ogre's castle. The king desired to visit it, and ordered

the attendants to drive up to the gates. Hearing the wheels on the

drawbridge, Puss in Boots hastened out.

"Your majesty is indeed welcome to the castle of my lord Marquis of

Carabas!" he said.

"And is this splendid castle also yours, my lord Marquis of Carabas?"

inquired the king. "Let us go in, if you please."

The marquis gave his hand to the princess, and they followed the king into the castle. In the spacious hall they found a splendid feast which

had been prepared by the Ogre for some of his friends.

The king was so charmed with the good qualities of my lord Marquis of Carabas that when he had partaken

of the banquet he said:

"It will be your own fault if you do not soon become my son-in-law, my dear lord Marquis of Carabas!"

So after a short courtship the princess became the bride of the

marquis and they lived happily ever after

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY STORY

Once upon a time, in a land far far away (a land which had no visa for

pretty princess, you see, so Cinderella, Snow White and many more princess lived there) slept a

beautiful princess, called...err...urm... the sleeping

beauty. So one day, her sleeping pills wore off, and she suddenly woke up from her deep slumber.

She quickly logged on to PreetyFakeBook.com and found that

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all her friends from school days where in a relationship.

Worried about she would die alone, single, she pinged Cinderella about

her relationship.

"How did you get prince charming?" inquired the sleeping beauty.

"Oh its simple," Cinderella, then told her about her deception of gate

crashing the princes grand ball in which she was not at all invited.

Then she informed to mysteriously escape from the dance leaving the prince excited high and dry. Thus in

a nutshell, he comes hunting for you.

"Oh it is," Sleeping beauty said and decided to try it on. She quickly

dressed amazing and gate crashed a princes ball (since the land had free visa, there was no limit for

prince grand ball, they happened every day) but far from noticing her, the prince simply was busy playing

kingdomVille on his iPrince and distressed she decided to go back to

sleep.

On the way she met Snow White, who was busy painting the night sky.

"Hello there..." said the Sleeping beauty, "I see that engagement ring

on your fingers. How are you?"

"I am fine," beamed Snow white flashing that ring.

She told her about the story and explained to her that the key to

finding the good man is to live with 7 men and then dump them for the

eight one who rescues you from them.

Sleeping beauty considered that idea for a while, then realized Snow

White was top in the Physical Education class and also had joined weekend karate lessons, while she was simply...well.. sleeping. Living with 7 men and still staying a virgin

for 8th was not her cup of tea.

Sad that she would die alone, she walked past Rapunzels tower, who was sitting on the top most window.

She immediately called her and asked her the secret to get a

handsome prince. Rapunzel giggled from the tower, and send a

'Dhotiranjan Varadahastam Kesh Kala' oil, the secret behind long hair.

Happy that finally she can do something, Sleeping beauty

returned to her tower to try the new shampoo. When she returned she found the door ajar, cautiously, she stepped in, worried that she might

find 7 little men in there, she found a note on her bed.

'Was here to ask you out, seems you already are engaged somewhere else. - Prince

Charming.'

HANSEL AND GRETELJacob Karl Grimm y Wilhelm Grimm

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Once upon a time a very poor woodcutter lived in a tiny

cottage in the forest with his two children, Hansel and

Gretel. His second wife often ill-treated the children and was

forever nagging the woodcutter.

    "There is not enough food in the house for us all. There are too many mouths to feed! We must get rid of the two brats," she declared. And she kept on

trying to persuade her husband to abandon his

children in the forest.  

   "Take them miles from home, so far that they can never find their way back!

Maybe someone will find them and give them a home." The downcast woodcutter didn't

know what to do. Hansel who, one evening, had overheard

his parents' conversation, comforted Gretel.

    "Don't worry! If they do leave us in the forest, we'll find the

way home," he said. And

slipping out of the house he filled his pockets with little

white pebbles, then went back to bed.

    All night long, the

woodcutter's wife harped on and on at her husband till, at

dawn, he led Hansel and Gretel away into the forest. But as they went into the

depths of the trees, Hansel dropped a little white pebble here and there on the mossy

green ground. At a certain point, the two children found they really were alone: the woodcutter had plucked up enough courage to desert 

them, had mumbled an excuse and was gone.

    Night fell but the woodcutter did not return. Gretel began to

sob bitterly. Hansel too felt scared but he tried to hide his feelings and comfort his sister.

    "Don't cry, trust me! I swear

I'll take you home even if Father doesn't come back for us!" Luckily the moon was full

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that night and Hansel waited till its cold light filtered through

the trees.  

   "Now give me your hand!" he said. "We'll get home

safely, you'll see!" The tiny white pebbles gleamed in the moonlight, and the children found their way home. They

crept through a half open window, without wakening

their parents. Cold, tired but thankful to be home again,

they slipped into bed.  

   Next day, when their stepmother discovered that

Hansel and Gretel had returned, she went into a rage. Stifling her anger in front of the

children, she locked her bedroom door, reproaching

her husband for failing to carry out her orders. The weak

woodcutter protested, torn as he was between shame and fear of disobeying his cruel

wife. The wicked stepmother kept Hansel and Gretel under

lock and key all day with nothing for supper but a sip of water and some hard bread. All night, husband and wife quarreled, and when dawn

came, the woodcutter led the children out into the forest.

    Hansel, however, had not eaten his bread, and as he

walked through the trees, he left a trail of crumbs behind

him to mark the way. But the little boy had forgotten about

the hungry birds that lived in the forest. When they saw

him, they flew along behind and in no time at all, had eaten

all the crumbs. Again, with a lame excuse, the woodcutter

left his two children by  themselves.

    "I've left a trail, like last

time!" Hansel whispered to Gretel, consolingly. But when

night fell, they saw to their horror, that all the crumbs had

gone.  

   "I'm frightened!" wept Gretel bitterly. "I'm cold and hungry

and I want to go home!"  

   "Don't be afraid. I'm here to look after you!" Hansel tried to encourage his sister, but he

too shivered when he glimpsed frightening shadows and evil eyes around them in

the darkness. All night the two children huddled together for warmth at the foot of a large

tree.  

   When dawn broke, they started to wander about the

forest, seeking a path, but all hope soon faded. They were well and truly lost. On they

walked and walked, till suddenly they came upon a

strange cottage in the middle of a glade.

    "This is chocolate!" gasped Hansel as he broke a lump of

plaster from the wall.

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    "And this is icing!" exclaimed Gretel, putting another piece of wall in her mouth. Starving

but delighted, the children began to eat pieces of candy

broken off the cottage.  

   "Isn't this delicious?" said Gretel, with her mouth full.

She had never tasted anything so nice.

    "We'll stay here," Hansel declared, munching a bit of

nougat. They were just about to try a piece of the biscuit door when it quietly swung

open.  

   "Well, well!" said an old woman, peering out with a

crafty look. "And haven't you children a sweet tooth?"

    "Come in! Come in, you've nothing to fear!" went on the

old woman. Unluckily for Hansel and Gretel, however,

the sugar candy cottage belonged to an old witch, her

trap for catching unwary victims. The two children had come to a really nasty place.

    "You're nothing but skin and bones!" said the witch, locking

Hansel into a cage. I shall fatten you up and eat you!"

    "You can do the housework," she told Gretel grimly, "then I'll make a meal of you too!" As luck would have it, the witch

had very bad eyesight, an when Gretel smeared butter

on her glasses, she could see even less.

    "Let me feel your finger!"

said the witch to Hansel every day to check if he was getting

any fatter. Now, Gretel had brought her brother a chicken

bone, and when the witch went to touch his finger,

Hansel held out the bone.  

   "You're still much too thin!" she complained. When will

you become plump?" One day the witch grew tired of waiting.

    "Light the oven," she told

Gretel. "We're going to have a tasty roasted boy today!" A

little later, hungry and impatient, she went on: "Run

and see if the oven is hot enough." Gretel returned,

whimpering: "I can't tell if it is hot enough or not." Angrily,

the witch screamed at the little girl: "Useless child! All right, I'll see for myself." But when the witch bent down to peer inside the oven and check the heat, Gretel gave her a tremendous push and slammed the oven

door shut. The witch had come to a fit and proper end. Gretel ran to set her brother free and they made quite sure that the

oven door was tightly shut behind the witch. Indeed, just to be on the safe side, they

fastened it firmly with a large padlock. Then they stayed for

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several days to  eat some more of the house, till they discovered amongst

the witch's belongings, a huge chocolate egg. Inside lay a

casket of gold coins.  

   "The witch is now burnt to a cinder," said Hansel, "so we'll

take this treasure with us." They filled a large basket with food and set off into the forest to search for the way home.

This time, luck was with them, and on the second day, they saw their father come out of

the house towards them, weeping.

    "Your stepmother is dead.

Come home with me now, my dear children!" The two

children hugged the woodcutter.

    "Promise you'll never ever desert us again," said Gretel, throwing her arms round her father's neck. Hansel opened

the casket.  

   "Look, Father! We're rich now . . . You'll never have to

chop wood again."  

   And they all lived happily together ever after.

THE LION AND THE MOUSE

Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the

Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to

swallow him. "Pardon, O King," cried the little Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who

knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?"

The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go. Some time after the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters

who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing

the sad plight in which the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed

away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. "Was I not right?" said

the little Mouse.

Little friends may prove great friends

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JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

Richard Walker

ONCE upon a time there lived a poor widow who had an only son

named Jack. She was very poor, for times had been hard, and Jack was too young to

work. Almost all the furniture of the little cottage had been sold to buy

bread, until at last there was nothing left worth selling. Only the good cow, Milky White, remained, and

she gave milk every morning, which they took to market and sold. But one sad day Milky White gave no milk, and then things looked bad

indeed.

"Never mind, mother," said Jack. "We must sell Milky White. Trust me

to make a good bargain, "and away he went to

the market.

For some time he went along very sadly,-but after a little he quite

recovered his spirits.

"I may as well ride as walk," said he; so instead of leading the cow by the halter, he jumped on her back, and so he went whistling along until he

met a butcher.

"Good morning,"said the butcher. "Good morning, sir," answered Jack.

"Where are you going ?" said the butcher.

"I am going to market to sell the cow."

"It's lucky I met you," said the butcher. "You may save yourself the

trouble of going so far."

With this, he put his hand in his pocket, and pulled out five curious-

looking beans.

"What do you call these ?" he said. "Beans," said Jack.

Yes," said he, "beans, but they're the most wonderful beans that ever

were known.If you plant them overnight, by the next morning

they'll grow up and reach the sky. But to save you the trouble of going all the way to market, I don't mind exchanging them for that cow of

yours."

"Done!" cried Jack, who was so delighted with the bargain that he

ran all the way home to tell his mother how lucky he had been.

But oh! how disappointed the poor widow was.

"Off to bed with you!" she cried; and she was so angry that she threw the

beans out of the window into the garden. So poor Jack went to bed

without any supper, and cried himself to sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, the room was almost dark; and Jack

jumped out of bed and ran to the window to see what was the matter. The sun was shining brightly outside, but

from the ground right up beside his

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window there was growing a great beanstalk, which stretched up and up as far as he could see, into the

sky.

"I'Il just see where it leads to," thought Jack, and with that he

stepped out of the window on to the beanstalk, and began to climb

upwards. He climbed up and up, till after a time his mother's cottage

looked a mere speck below, but at last the stalk ended, and he found

himself in a new and beautiful country. A little way off there was a

great castle, with a broad road leading straight up to the front gate. But what most surprised Jack was to

find a beautiful maiden suddenly standing beside him.

"Goodmorning, ma'am," said he, very politely..

"Good morning, Jack," said she; and Jack was more surprised than ever,

for he could not imagine how she had learned his name. But he soon

found that she knew a great deal more about him than his name; for

she told him how, when he was quite a little baby, his father, a

gallant knight, had been slain by the giant who lived in yonder castle, and

how his mother, in order to save

Jack, had been obliged to promise never to tell the secret.

"All that the giant has is yours," she said, and then disappeared quite as

suddenly as she came.

"She must be a fairy," thought Jack.

As he drew near to the castle, he saw the giant's wife standing at the

door.

"If you please, ma'am," said he, "would you kindly give me some

breakfast? I have had nothing to eat since yesterday."

Now, the giant's wife, although very big and very ugly, had a kind heart, so she said:"Very well, little man, come in; but you must be quick

about it, for if my husband, the giant, finds you here, he will eat you up,

bones and all."

So in Jack went, and the giant's wife gave him a good breakfast, but

before he had half finished it there came a terrible knock at the front door,

which seemed to shake even the thick walls of the

castle.

"Dearie me, that is my husband!" said the giantess, in a terrible fright; "we must hide you somehow," and she lifted Jack up and popped him

into the empty kettle.

No sooner had the giant's wife opened the door than her husband

roared out:

"Fee, fi, fo, fum,I smell the blood of an Englishman;

Be he alive, or be he dead,I'll grind his bones to make my

bread!"

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Nonsense!" said his wife; "you must be mistaken. It's the ox's hide you smell." So he sat down, and ate up the greater part of the ox. When he

had finished he said: "Wife, bring me my money-bags."

So his wife brought him two full bags of gold, and the giant began to count

his money. But he was so sleepy that his head soon began to nod,

and then he began to snore, like the rumbling of thunder. Then Jack

crept out, snatched up the two bags, and though the giant's dog barked loudly,he made his way down the

beanstalk back to the cottage before the giant awoke.

Jack and his mother were now quite rich; but it occurred to him one day

that he would like to see how matters were going on at the giant's

castle. So while his mother was away at market, he climbed up, and up, and up, and up, until he got to

the top of the beanstalk again.

The giantess was standing at the door, just as before, but she did not

know Jack, who, of course, was more finely

dressed than on his first visit. "If you please, ma'am," said he, "will you

give me some breakfast?"

"Run away," said she, "or my husband the giant will eat you up, bones and all. The last boy who

came here stole two bags of gold--off with you!" But the giantess had a

kind heart, and after a time she allowed Jack to come into the

kitchen, where she set before him enough breakfast to last him a

week. Scarcely had he begun to eat than there was a great rumbling like an earthquake, and the giantess had

only time to bundle Jack into the oven when in came the giant.No

sooner was he inside theroom than he roared:

"Fee, fi, fo, fum.I smell the blood of an Englishman;

Be he alive, or be he dead,I'll grind his bones to make my

bread!"

But his wife told him he was mistaken, and after breakfasting off a roasted bullock, just as if it were a lark, he called out: "Wife, bring the

little brown hen!" The giantess went out and brought in a little brown hen, which she placed

on the table.

"Lay!" said the giant; and the hen at once laid a golden egg. "Lay!" said the giant a second time; and she

laid another golden egg. "Lay!" said the giant a third time; and she laid a

third golden egg.

"That will do for to-day," said he, and stretched himself out to go to

sleep. As soon as he began to snore, Jack crept out of the oven, went on tiptoe to the table, and,

snatching up the little brown hen, made a dash for the door. Then the hen began to cackle, and the giant began to wake up; but before he

was quite awake, Jack had escaped from the castle,and, climbing as fast as he could down the beanstalk, got safe home to his mother's cottage.

The little brown hen laid so many golden eggs that Jack and his

mother had now more money than they could spend. But Jack was always thinking about the beanstalk; and one day he crept

out of the window again, and climbed up, and up, and up, and up,

until he reached the top.

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This time, you may be sure, he was careful not to be seen; so he crept round to the back of the castle, and when the giant's wife went out he

slipped into the kitchen and hid himself in the oven. In came the giant, roaring louder than ever:

"Fee, fi, fo, fum.I smell the blood of an Englishman;

Be he alive, or be he dead.I'll grind his bones to make my

bread!"

But the giantess was quite sure that she had seen no little boys that

morning; and after grumbling a great deal, the giant sat down to

breakfast. Even then he was not quite satisfied, for every now and

again he would say: .

"Fee, fi, fo, fumI smell the blood of an Englishman;"

and once he got up and looked in the kettle. But, of course, Jack was

in the oven all the time!

When the giant had finished, he called out: "Wife, bring me the

golden harp!" So she brought in the golden harp, and placed it on the

table. "Sing!" said the giant; and the harp at once began to sing the most

beautiful songs that ever were heard. It sang so sweetly that the

giant soon fell fast asleep; and then Jack crept quietly out of the oven, and going on tiptoe to the table,

seized hold of the golden harp. But the harp at once called out:"Master! master!" and the giant woke up just

in time to catch sight of Jack running out of the kitchen-door.

With a fearful roar, he seized his oak-tree club, and dashed after

Jack, who held the harp tight, and ran faster than he

had ever run before. The giant, brandishing his club, and taking

terribly long strides, gained on Jack at every instant, and he would

have been caught if the giant had not slipped over a boulder. Before

he could pick himself up, Jack began to climb down the beanstalk,

and when the giant arrived at the edge he was nearly half-way to the cottage. The giant began to climb

down too; but as soon as Jack saw him coming, he called out: "Mother,

bring me an axe!" and the widow hurried out with a chopper. Jack had no sooner reached the ground than he cut the bean-stalk right in two.

Down came the giant with a terrible crash, and that, you may be sure,

was the end of him. What became of the giantess and the castle nobody

knows. But Jack and his mother grew very rich, and lived happy ever

after.

THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIERHans Christian Andersen's

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There were once five-and-twenty tin soldiers. They were all brothers, born of the same old tin spoon. They shouldered their muskets and looked straight ahead of them, splendid in their uniforms, all red and blue.

The very first thing in the world that they heard was, "Tin soldiers!" A small boy shouted it and clapped his hands as the lid was lifted off their box on his birthday. He immediately set them up on the table.

All the soldiers looked exactly alike except one. He looked a little different as he had been cast last of all. The tin was short, so he had only one leg. But there he stood, as steady on one leg as any of the other soldiers on their two. But just you see, he'll be the remarkable one.

On the table with the soldiers were many other playthings, and one that no eye could miss was a marvelous castle of cardboard. It had little windows through which you could look right inside it. And in front of the castle were miniature trees around a little mirror supposed to represent a lake. The wax swans that swam on its surface were reflected in the mirror. All this was very pretty but prettiest of all was the little lady who stood in the open doorway of the castle. Though she was a paper doll, she wore a dress of the fluffiest gauze. A tiny blue ribbon went over her shoulder for a scarf, and in the middle of it shone a spangle that was as big as her face. The little lady held out both her arms, as a ballet dancer does, and one leg was lifted so high behind her that the tin soldier couldn't see it at all, and he supposed she must have only one leg, as he did.

"That would be a wife for me," he thought. "But maybe she's too grand. She lives in a castle. I have only a box, with four-and-twenty roommates to share it. That's no place for her. But I must try to make her acquaintance." Still as stiff as when he stood at attention, he lay down on the table behind a snuffbox, where he could admire the dainty little dancer who kept standing on one leg without ever losing her balance.

When the evening came the other tin soldiers were put away in their box, and the people of the house went to bed. Now the toys began to play among themselves at visits, and battles, and at giving balls. The tin soldiers rattled about in their box, for they wanted to play too, but they could not get the lid open. The nutcracker turned somersaults, and the slate pencil squeaked out jokes on the slate. The toys made such a noise that they woke up the canary bird, who made them a speech, all in verse. The only two who stayed still were the tin soldier and the little dancer. Without ever swerving from the tip of one toe, she held out her arms to him, and the tin soldier was just as steadfast on his one leg. Not once did he take his eyes off her.

Then the clock struck twelve and - clack! - up popped the lid of the snuffbox. But there was no snuff in

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it, no-out bounced a little black bogey, a jack-in-the-box.

"Tin soldier," he said. "Will you please keep your eyes to yourself?" The tin soldier pretended not to hear.

The bogey said, "Just you wait till tomorrow."

But when morning came, and the children got up, the soldier was set on the window ledge. And whether the bogey did it, or there was a gust of wind, all of a sudden the window flew open and the soldier pitched out headlong from the third floor. He fell at breathtaking speed and landed cap first, with his bayonet buried between the paving stones and his one leg stuck straight in the air. The housemaid and the little boy ran down to look for him and, though they nearly stepped on the tin soldier, they walked right past without seeing him. If the soldier had called, "Here I am!" they would surely have found him, but he thought it contemptible to raise an uproar while he was wearing his uniform.

Soon it began to rain. The drops fell faster and faster, until they came down by the bucketful. As soon as the rain let up, along came two young rapscallions.

"Hi, look!" one of them said, "there's a tin soldier. Let's send him sailing."

They made a boat out of newspaper, put the tin soldier in the middle of it, and away he went down the gutter with the two young rapscallions running beside him and clapping their hands. High heavens! How the waves splashed, and how fast the water ran down the gutter.

Don't forget that it had just been raining by the bucketful. The paper boat pitched, and tossed, and sometimes it whirled about so rapidly that it made the soldier's head spin. But he stood as steady as ever. Never once flinching, he kept his eyes front, and carried his gun shoulder-high. Suddenly the boat rushed under a long plank where the gutter was boarded over. It was as dark as the soldier's own box.

"Where can I be going?" the soldier wondered. "This must be that black bogey's revenge. Ah! if only I had the little lady with me, it could be twice as dark here for all that I would care."

Out popped a great water rat who lived under the gutter plank.

"Have you a passport?" said the rat. "Hand it over."

The soldier kept quiet and held his musket tighter. On rushed the boat, and the rat came right after it, gnashing his teeth as he called to the sticks and straws:

"Halt him! Stop him! He didn't pay his toll. He hasn't shown his passport. "But the current ran stronger and stronger. The soldier could see daylight ahead where the board ended, but he also heard a roar that would frighten the bravest of us. Hold on! Right at the end of that gutter plank the water poured into the great canal. It was as dangerous to him as a waterfall would be to us.

He was so near it he could not possibly stop. The boat plunged into the whirlpool. The poor tin soldier stood as staunch as he could, and

49

no one can say that he so much as blinked an eye. Thrice and again the boat spun around. It filled to the top - and was bound to sink. The water was up to his neck and still the boat went down, deeper, deeper, deeper, and the paper got soft and limp. Then the water rushed over his head. He thought of the pretty little dancer whom he'd never see again, and in his ears rang an old, old song:

"Farewell, farewell, O warrior brave,

Nobody can from Death thee save."

And now the paper boat broke beneath him, and the soldier sank right through. And just at that moment he was swallowed by a most enormous fish.

My! how dark it was inside that fish. It was darker than under the gutter-plank and it was so cramped, but the tin soldier still was staunch. He lay there full length, soldier fashion, with musket to shoulder.

Then the fish flopped and floundered in a most unaccountable way. Finally it was perfectly still, and after a while something struck through him like a flash of lightning. The tin soldier saw daylight again, and he heard a voice say, "The Tin Soldier!" The fish had been caught, carried to market, bought, and brought to a kitchen where the cook cut him open with her big knife.

She picked the soldier up bodily between her two fingers, and carried him off upstairs. Everyone wanted to see this remarkable traveler who had traveled about in a fish's stomach, but the tin soldier took no pride in it. They put him on the table and-lo and behold, what curious

things can happen in this world-there he was, back in the same room as before. He saw the same children, the same toys were on the table, and there was the same fine castle with the pretty little dancer. She still balanced on one leg, with the other raised high. She too was steadfast. That touched the soldier so deeply that he would have cried tin tears, only soldiers never cry. He looked at her, and she looked at him, and never a word was said. Just as things were going so nicely for them, one of the little boys snatched up the tin soldier and threw him into the stove. He did it for no reason at all. That black bogey in the snuffbox must have put him up to it.

The tin soldier stood there dressed in flames. He felt a terrible heat, but whether it came from the flames or from his love he didn't know. He'd lost his splendid colors, maybe from his hard journey, maybe from grief, nobody can say.

He looked at the little lady, and she looked at him, and he felt himself melting. But still he stood steadfast, with his musket held trim on his shoulder.

Then the door blew open. A puff of wind struck the dancer. She flew like a sylph, straight into the fire with the soldier, blazed up in a flash, and was gone. The tin soldier melted, all in a lump. The next day, when a servant took up the ashes she found him in the shape of a little tin heart. But of the pretty dancer nothing was left except her spangle, and it was burned as black as a coal.

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TINKERBELL AND THE SECRET OF THE WINGS

Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

Tinker Bell ventures into the mysterious Winter Woods and

meets a frost fairy named Periwinkle – and a magical secret is revealed! ”

Tinkers' Nook was bustling with activity. The tinker fairies were

making snowflake baskets for the fairies of winter. A flock of snowy owls soon arrived for the baskets, bringing a final shipment order for

Fairy Mary with them. "Goodness," Fairy Mary said. "They need twenty

more baskets for tomorrow's pickup!" Tink watched as the

magnificent birds headed off toward the Winter Woods. "There's a whole other world over there," she said to

herself.

Later that day, Tink volunteered to help her friend Fawn take animals to the Winter Woods to hibernate. But Fawn told Tink that they could

only bring animals to the border, and weren't allowed to go into the Winter Woods. Then she got disracted by a

sleeping marmot. "No hibernating yet!" she called into the animal's ear. "You do that in winter!" Even though

she knew it could be dangerous, Tink was very curious about the

Winter Woods. With Fawn distracted, Tinker Bell jumped

across the border!

Tink gazed in wonder at the beautiful wintry landscape, enchanted by the delicate

snowflakes that drifted down all around her. Suddenly, her wings

began to sparkle in a burst of colorful light---and she heard the

faint sound of a baby's laugh!

The magical moment ended when Fawn yanked Tinker Bell back into

autumn. Fawn touched Tink's wings and gasped. They were freezing! Fawn rushed Tink straight to the

fairy hospital. A healing-talent fairy examined Tink's wings. Then she warmed them until they were back

to normal again.

Tink was on a mission to find out what had made her wings sparkle.

She flew off to the Book Nook, where she found a wing-shaped

book she hoped would give some answers. Unfortunately, a bookworm

had chewed through the pages. A fairy told Tink that the author of the book---the Keeper--might be able to help her. But he lived in the Winter

Woods.

Tinker Bell put on a warm outfit, packed the book in a bag, and

snuck into the tinkers' workshop. Then the adventurous fairy climbed inside a snowflake basket. Tink's fairy friends watched closely. In a

moment, Tink was soaring through the air. The young owl that had

picked up the basket had no idea there was a stowaway inside!

As the owl crossed into the Winter Woods, Tinker Bell felt a cold blast of air. She peeked out of the basket

51

and saw a majestic valley spread before her!

Suddenly, the owl accidentally let go of Tink's basket! She crashed onto

the landing area, sending snowflakes scattering everywhere.

Tinker Bell ducked behind the basket to hide---then realized that her book had been flung onto the

ice. She had to get it back before a winter fairy found it! Just then, Lord Milori, the Lord of Winter, arrived.

"Now, that is odd," he said, grabbing the book from Sled, a winter fairy

who had spotted it. Lord Milori asked Sled to return the book to the

Keeper.

Tinker Bell secretly followed Sled to the Hall of Winter. When she

arrived, she spotted the Keeper, whose name was Dewey. Then

another winter fairy rushed into the room and asked Dewey why her wings were sparkling! Suddenly,

Tinker Bell's wings began to sparkle, too---just like when she had crossed

the border the other day! An irresistible force pulled her toward

the fairy. The fairy's name was Periwinkle.

The girls hoped Dewey could explain what was happening to their

wings. He brought Tink and Peri over to a giant snowflake. "Just put

your wings into the light," he told them. A few seconds later, the

chamber filled with images showing the journey of a baby's first laugh---a laugh that split in two and landed on a dandelion! One half traveled to the Pixie Dust Tree on the warm side of

Pixie Hollow, and Tinker Bell was born. The other half blew into the

Winter Woods, and baby Periwinkle arrived. That meant Tink and Peri

were sisters!

Suddenly, Lord Milori arrived. He was concerned about the book Sled

had found. "What if a warm fairy brought it here?" he asked Dewey.

"If a warm fairy comes here, you will send them back." Peri and Tink, who had been hiding behind the

snowflake, gasped. Did this mean that Tinker Bell would have to go

home already?

Dewey told the girls they could have a little time to visit before Tink had to go home. Tink put on her coat and earmuffs to keep warm. When they

got to Periwinkle's house, Peri showed Tink a bundle of items she had been collecting. "You collect Lost Things, too?" asked Tink. "I

called them Found Things," Periwinkle replied, smiling.

Next, they went to the Frost Forest, where Peri introduced Tinker Bell to her friends Gliss and Spike. They

went ice-sliding, which was like sledding on a frozen roller coaster.

Tink had a wonderful time!

That night outside Periwinkle's house, after Tinker Bell had built a

fire to stay warm, she had a thought. "I made it warmer over here," she

said. "Maybe I could make it colder over there." Tink wanted her sister

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to be able to visit her on the warm side of Pixie Hollow. Suddenly, the snow floor crumbled beneath them. It was melting from the fire! A lynx

named Fiona brought them to safety. Dewey told the girls that now it was really time for Tink to go back

home.

The girls realized that they might never see each other again. Tinker

Bell had to come up with a plan. When the three fairies reached the border, Tinker Bell broke into fake sobs. "I can't watch!" Dewey cried. "Meet me here tomorrow. There's

something I need you to bring," Tink whispered to Peri.

A little while later, Tinker Bell arrived back on the warm side of Pixie

Hollow. She asked her friends Clank and Bobble for help. The three

fairies were hard at work when a few of Tinker Bell's other friends stopped by. Clank had told them about Tink's

newfound sister, and everyone couldn't wait to find out more about

her!

The next day, Tinker Bell arrived at the border with Bobble and Clank, who were pulling a strange-looking contraption. It was a snowmaker!

Periwinkle and her friends gasped in surprise. "How does it work?" Peri

asked.

A few seconds later, the snowmaker started to grate a block of ice and

turn it into snow. Peri was delighted!

Peri's journey through the warm seasons was filled with one amazing sight after the next. She saw a fast-

moving rainbow and a field of blooming flowers. She thought

everything was so beautiful.

Soon, Fawn, Iridessa, Rosetta, Silvermist , and Vidia got to meet

the frost fairy face to face. "Everyone ... this is Periwinkle, my

sister!" Tinker Bell announced.

Peri was continuing her tour of the warm side of Pixie Hollow when Tink noticed that Peri's wings had started to wilt. The snowmaker was running out of ice, and there wasn't enough

snow to keep Peri cold!

Immediately, Tink brought Peri back to the border. At the moment, Lord

Milori appeared. "Lift your wings," he told Peri. "Let the cold surround

them." Suddenly Queen Clarion, the Queen of Pixie Hollow, arrived. She

looked at the girls sadly. "This is why we do not cross the border," Lord Milori told Tinker Bell and

Periwinkle. "I'm sorry. You two may never see each other again."

As the girls went their separate ways, Lord Milori mounted his owl

and flew off---but not before he knocked the snowmaker into a

stream. Instead of going over the waterfall as Lord Milori had

intended, the contraption caught on a ledge. There it remained, making a snowstorm out of the ice chunks

that flowed into it.

Later that day, Queen Clarion tried to make Tinker Bell understand why

the rule about not crossing the border was so important. She told the story of two fairies who fell in

love. One was from the warm seasons and one was from the

Winter Woods. One of the fairies crossed the border and broke a

wing---an injury for which there was no cure. Just as the queen finished

her sad tale, it began to snow! Queen Clarion was concerned. It

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was very dangerous for snow to fall in Pixie Hollow.

Queen Clarion, Tink, and a group of fairies arrived at the stream to find

Clank and Bobble attempting to free the snowmaker---which was making

a small blizzard---from the ledge. Everyone rushed to help. Finally, they succeeded in pushing the

machine into the water, but snow still showered down from the sky! "It's too late," Queen Clarion said quietly. "The seasons have been

thrown out of balance."

If the warm side got too cold, the Pixie Dust Tree would freeze---and

there would never be any more pixie dust. Just then, Tink noticed that a

flower that Periwinkle had brought to the warm side of Pixie Hollow was

still blooming! Tinker Bell flew straight to the Winter Woods, but her wings iced over and she fell.

She asked why the flower was still alive. Gliss explained that frost tucks warm air inside. "We could frost the Pixie Dust Tree before the freeze

hit," Peri suggested.

Tink and the frost fairies flew to the Pixie Dust Tree. They got right to

work, but it looked as if the job would be too big for them to

complete in time. Then Tink spotted Dewey, Lord Milori, and the rest of the frost fairies flying toward them.

But Tink was afraid that help had come too late. The freeze had already swept across the warm seasons of Pixie Hollow and the

Pixie Dust Tree. The fairies gathered anxiously around the Pixie Dust Well. Sunlight was streaming through the frozen branches of the

tree. Ever so slowly, the frost melted. Then the pixie dust began to

flow again!

All of a sudden, Tinker Bell realized that she had broken a wing when

she had flown to the Winter Woods. "It's getting warmer," Tink said

bravely to Peri. "You should get back to winter." As the sisters held

hands and said good-bye, an explosion of light burst from their wings. Magically, Tink's wing was

healed!

From that day on, warm fairies could cross over the border into winter anytime they liked. A coat of frost

kept them safe and warm. Friendships between warm fairies

and winter fairies bloomed---all just as beautiful as Periwinkle's flower!.

BRAVEProduction Company: Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

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In Scotland, King Fergus of Clan DunBroch presents his young

daughter Merida with a bow for her birthday. While practicing, Merida

encounters a will-o'-the-wisp. Soon afterwards, Mor'du, a giant demon

bear, attacks the family. Merida escapes along with her mother

Queen Elinor while Fergus fights off the bear at the cost of his left leg. Years later, Merida has become a free-spirited teenager and an older sister of identical triplets: Hamish,

Hubert and Harris. Her mother informs her that Merida is to be betrothed to one of her father's

allied clans. Reminding Merida of a legend about a prince who ruined his own kingdom, Elinor warns her

that failure to marry could harm DunBroch. Despite the warning,

Merida is dissatisfied with the arrangement.

The clans arrive with their first-born sons to compete in Highland Games for Merida's hand. Merida declares she is eligible to compete for her

own hand as the first-born of Clan DunBroch, causing a falling out

between Merida and Elinor. After cutting the family tapestry in anger, Merida flees into the woods. There, the will-o'-the-wisps lead her to the hut of an elderly witch posing as a

wood carver. After some bargaining, the witch agrees to give Merida a spell to change her mother; in the

form of a cake.

Merida returns to the castle and gives Elinor the cake, causing her mother to transform into a large

bear. With the help of her brothers, Merida and Elinor return to the

witch's now deserted cottage where they discover that the spell will be permanent unless undone by the second sunrise. The witch leaves

Merida a riddle, mentioning that she must "mend the bond torn by pride."

The two begin to reconcile their relationship while Merida observes that the spell is slowly becoming permanent, as Elinor often loses control and acts like a bear. After encountering the wisps again, the

two follow them to ancient ruins and discover that Mor'du was once the

prince in Elinor's legend, who received the same spell from the

witch. Merida theorizes that she can reverse the spell by repairing her

family tapestry.

At the castle, the clans are on the verge of war, but the princess quells

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their fighting and declares that the children should be allowed to get married in their own time. Merida

then sneaks into the tapestry room with Elinor, who is losing control of her human self. Fergus enters the bed chamber and is attacked by Elinor until she regains human

consciousness and races out of the castle in desperation. Fergus gives

chase. With the help of her brothers, who have transformed into cubs by eating the cake, Merida rides after

her father while sewing up the tapestry. The clan members and Fergus capture Elinor, but Merida

intervenes just before Mor'du attacks. Elinor kills Mor'du by luring him under a falling menhir, releasing

the prince's spirit.

Merida places the tapestry over Elinor, but nothing happens. After

breaking down in tears and reconciling with her mother, Elinor is

transformed back along with the triplets, and the family is reunited. A few days later, the clans depart for their respective lands and Merida

and Elinor ride their horses together.

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