European Childrens Classics

This is a story from the Andersen's Fairy Tales collection.

This story may help explain why the word "grim" is often connected to stories collected by the Brothers Grimm. This short tale feels like a traditional children's story, but is much more grim and foreboding. Memorable with a dash of creepy.

"The Happy Prince" is a short story by Oscar Wilde, about a swallow and a statue. The swallow who remained behind when his flock flew to Africa for the winter, befriends a golden and bejewelled statue of a prince. Witnessing the poverty and suffering in the city, the statue asks the swallow to take his jewels and use them to help the poor. One by the swallow takes the gemstones, and ultimately also the gold plating, stripping the statue bare. But because it waited so long, it succumbs to the cold of winter.

A poor shoemaker and his wife need money to pay the rent. He gives away the last pair of shoes he has to a needy person. Before going to bed, he cuts out the last pieces of leather so that he can sew them into a pair of shoes the next day. Three elves come in the night and make the pair of shoes which he sells for more than his asking price the next day.

While most farmers are well-mannered and espouse great virtues and integrity this story proves there exists at least one farmer who is a profound scoundrel. It's not often a farmer can start with a wooden calf and end up the richest farmer in the land. The moral may well be never to follow this fellow's example.

Once there was a lazy girl who would not spin and her mother berates her for it. The Queen overhears and the woman, ashamed, explains that the girl spins so much that her mother cannot afford to buy enough flax to keep her occupied. The queen, impressed, takes the girl to a room filled with flax. If she spins it all within three days, she'll be rewarded with marriage to the queen's oldest son. Two days later, the queen returns and is amazed to find the flax untouched. The girl says that homesickness has kept her from spinning, but she realizes this lie will not serve her twice.

A little fir tree stands in the woods. All he can think about is growing up into a big tree. When a hare hops over him, emphasizing how small he is, he is embarrassed. Children call him the baby of the forest. Find out what happens to the little fir tree in this far from happily-ever-after tale for older children.

The classic story of a king buying invisible clothes from con men. See what peer pressure can do.

Another Grimm's Fairy Tale, "The Enchanted Stag" is a story about how a little sister cares for her brother while he is under a spell by their wicked step-mother. A King saves them both, and then they are betrayed again by the step-mother.... Will the King be fooled by the step-mother, will the brother always be under the spell? Find out who lives happily ever after. Narrated by Kathy Verduin.

This is a story from the Thumbelina and Other Fairy Tales collection.

When Alice follows a white rabbit down a hole she discovers the extraordinary world of Wonderland, where a magical adventure begins. It’s not long before Alice finds herself attending a very unconventional tea party and taking part in a peculiar game of croquet, all in the company of such mysterious and unforgettable characters as the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the Mock Turtle.