Đang tải... (xem toàn văn)
52 FAIRY TALES 1. Cinderella Once upon a time, there was a pretty girl named Cinderella who lived with her wicked stepmother and two selfish stepsisters. They made her do all the housework from morning till night. One day an invitation came from the palace. The King wanted all the young ladies of the land to come to the royal ball. His son, the Prince, would choose his bride at the ball. Cinderella watched sadly as her stepsisters put on their finest gowns and left for the ball. Suddenly a kind fairy appeared. She changed some mice into horses and a pumpkin into a coach. Then she changed Cinderella’s ragged dress into a beautiful gown. On her feet she now wore a pair of glass shoes. “You must leave the palace before midnight when the magic will end,” the fairy warned Cinderella as she stepped into her coach. At the ball, Cinderella was so beautiful that the Prince danced with her all night. When the clock struck midnight, Cinderella rushed out of the ballroom. As she ran down the stairs, her glass shoe dropped. She had no time to pick it up. Anyway she sped in her coach. When the last bell of midnight rang, Cinderella was back in her old clothes again. The next day, the Prince sent out a search party. “I will marry the girl who owns the glass shoe,” he declared. When the search party reached Cinderella’s house, the stepsisters took turns trying to squeeze their big feet into the glass shoe. Just then, Cinderella came into the room and asked to try on the shoe. The glass shoes fitted her perfectly Cinderella was led to the palace right away where she and the Prince were soon married.
52 FAIRY TALES Cinderella Once upon a time, there was a pretty girl named Cinderella who lived with her wicked stepmother and two selfish stepsisters They made her all the housework from morning till night One day an invitation came from the palace The King wanted all the young ladies of the land to come to the royal ball His son, the Prince, would choose his bride at the ball Cinderella watched sadly as her stepsisters put on their finest gowns and left for the ball Suddenly a kind fairy appeared She changed some mice into horses and a pumpkin into a coach Then she changed Cinderella’s ragged dress into a beautiful gown On her feet she now wore a pair of glass shoes “You must leave the palace before midnight when the magic will end,” the fairy warned Cinderella as she stepped into her coach At the ball, Cinderella was so beautiful that the Prince danced with her all night When the clock struck midnight, Cinderella rushed out of the ballroom As she ran down the stairs, her glass shoe dropped She had no time to pick it up Anyway she sped in her coach When the last bell of midnight rang, Cinderella was back in her old clothes again The next day, the Prince sent out a search party “I will marry the girl who owns the glass shoe,” he declared When the search party reached Cinderella’s house, the stepsisters took turns trying to squeeze their big feet into the glass shoe Just then, Cinderella came into the room and asked to try on the shoe The glass shoes fitted her perfectly! Cinderella was led to the palace right away where she and the Prince were soon married Aladdin and the Magic Lamp There once was a poor boy named Aladdin One day a magician promised him a reward of gold and jewels if he could a special job Aladdin agreed The magician led Aladdin into a cave He told the boy to crawl inside to get an old lamp He gave him a ring in case of danger Aladdin found the lamp but the magician would not let Aladdin out until he gave him the lamp The magician pushed a rock over the cave entrance to trap Aladdin inside Aladdin remembered the ring and he rubbed it When the genie of the ring appeared, Aladdin asked to be taken back to his home In a flash he was there! Aladdin had kept the lamp When he rubbed it, out came another genie! Aladdin wished for a palace and bags full of gold Later he fell in love with the King’s daughter, the princess They were soon married One day the magician learned that Aladdin had the magic lamp To steal the lamp, he pretended to be the lamp seller He went to Aladdin’s palace, calling, “Old lamps for new lamps!” The princess did not know that Aladdin’s lamp was magician, so she traded it for a new one! The magician hurried away and called up the genie of the lamp “Send Aladdin’s palace and the princess far away,” he ordered His evil wish was granted Aladdin was shocked to find his palace and his wife missing! He asked the genie of the ring to take him to the magic lamp Aladdin soon found himself in the magician’s house While the magician slept, he grabbed the magic lamp He quickly called upon the genie of the lamp to send the magician to a far-off land from which he could never return Next Aladdin asked for his wife and his palace to be returned The princess was overjoyed to see Aladdin, and from that day on they lived happily ever after Little Red Ridding Hood Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived with her mother in the woods The girl was called Little Red Ridding Hood because she wore a cloak with a red hood whenever she went out One day she decided to visit her grandmother who was ill “Remember, don’t stop to talk to strangers, and stay on the path!” her mother said But before long, Little Red Ridding Hood stopped to pick some flowers Suddenly a big wolf jumped out from behind her He asked her where she was going “I…I…I’m going to visit my grandmother,” said Little Red Ridding Hood The wolf took a shortcut to grandmother’s house He knocked on the door and said in Little Red Ridding Hood’s voice, “Grandmother, I’ve brought you some treats!” “Push the latch and come right in, dear!” said the old woman When she saw the wolf, she jumped out of bed and ran to hide in a cupboard The wolf put on grandmother’s nightcap and glasses Soon, Little Red Ridding Hood was at the door “Just push the latch and come right in, dear!” said the wolf, imitating the grandmother’s voice Little Red Ridding Hood looked at her grandmother and said, “Grandmother, what big eyes and ears you have!” “All he better to see and hear you with!” said the wolf “And what big teeth you have!” said the girl “All the better to eat you with!” shouted the wolf as he leapt out of the bed Little Red Ridding Hood screamed in fright Terrified by the wolf, she tried to escape from the house A woodcutter who was working nearby heard the cries and came running With his axe, he chased the wolf away Then they let the old woman out of the cupboard They thanked the woodcutter for saving their lives Little Red Ridding Hood said, “I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to my mother’s advice I’ll never talk to stranger again!” Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Once upon a time, there was a young princess named Snow White She lived in a castle with her father, the King, and her stepmother, the Queen As Snow White grew older, she became more and more beautiful – and the Queen grew more jealous! Each day, the Queen would ask her magic mirror, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?” And each day the mirror told her, “You, my Queen, are the fairest in all the land.” But then one day the mirror said, “Snow White is the fairest in all the land.” The Queen was so angry that she decided to get rid of Snow White When Snow White heard of the plan, she ran off to hide in the forest That night, she curled up at the base of a big tree and fell asleep The next morning, seven little dwarfs found her and invited her to stay at their cottage Snow White cleaned the house and cooked the meals for the dwarfs Every day, when the dwarfs went off to work in the mine, they warned Snow White not to open the door to any strangers Soon the wicked Queen found out that Snow White was living in the forest She disguised herself as an old lady and prepared a basket of poisoned apples When the Queen got to the dwarfs’ cottage, Snow White felt sorry for the old woman and took one of the apples Snow White took one bite, and then fell to the ground When the dwarfs found Snow White, they were very upset They could not wake her up They put her in a glass case so that they would remember her Many weeks later, a prince passed by the cottage When he saw Snow White, he fell deeply in love with her He opened the glass case and gave her a kiss The spell was broken! Snow White and the prince were soon married and lived happily ever after Sleeping beauty Once upon a time, there was a King and a Queen who, after many years finally had a baby girl The King planned the biggest party the kingdom had ever seen Three kind fairies were invited and they each gave the princess a special gift The first fairy gave her the gift of beauty The second fairy gave her the gift of song But before the third fairy could make her wish, a wicked fairy appeared She was angry for not being invited She put a curse on the baby, saying, “When the Princess turns sixteen, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die!” The King and the Queen were upset The third fairy spoke, “I cannot remove the curse, but I will change it The Princess will not die, but she will fall asleep for a hundred years The kiss of her true love will break the spell.” The King at once ordered all the spinning wheels in the kingdom to be burned The Princess grew up to be a beautiful young lady On the day of her sixteen birthday, she found a secret staircase in the castle It led to a room where an old woman was at a spinning wheel The old woman was really the wicked fairy The Princess went near the spinning wheel and, sure enough, she pricked her finger She fell into a deep sleep The three fairies made everyone fall asleep, so that she would not be alone Many, many years went by, and the castle became hidden by thorny vines and protected by a dragon One day, a brave prince fought his way through He found the sleeping Princess at last He gently kissed her and the spell was broken The Princess woke up, and so did everyone in the castle Soon there was another big celebration This time it was the royal wedding of the Prince and the Princess Jack and the Beanstalk Once upon a time, there was a boy name Jack who lived on a farm with his mother They were very poor and had little to eat Finally Jack’s mother had to send him to the market to sell the family cow On his way to the market, Jack met a strange, old man who offered him some magic beans in exchange for the cow Jack was sure the colorful beans would bring good luck, so he agreed When he got home, his mother was very angry “Magic beans?” she cried “You have been cheated, Jack! You gave him the cow for nothing!” Then she threw the beans out of the window and sent Jack to bed without any supper When he awoke the next morning, Jack was amazed to find a huge beanstalk had grown from the spot where his mother had thrown the beans He began climbing the beanstalk …up, up, up … At the top of the beanstalk, Jack saw a huge castle Inside there was a dining room that had large piles of gold coins Then he saw a huge table with plates of delicious food He climbed up and began to eat Just then Jack heard a loud rumbling sound He saw a giant who was snoring as he slept Jack jumped down from the table and ran for the door He grabbed some gold coins and quickly climbed back down the beanstalk The next morning, Jack climbed up to the castle again This time, he grabbed the giant’s goose that laid golden eggs, but the giant heard him and began to chase him Jack scrambled down the beanstalk He shouted, “Mother, quick! Bring the axe!” He chopped down the beanstalk and the giant fell to his death With the goose and the gold coins, Jack and his mother lived happily ever after The Ugly Duckling There was once a mother duck who sat on four eggs One by one they cracked open and out came three fluffy yellow ducklings But from the last egg came a large grey duckling The father duck did not like the grey duckling “I don’t want that ugly duckling in my family,” he said They pecked at him and chased him away No one in the farmyard wanted to be friends with him, so he wadded off to a nearby pond He felt lonely as he slept in the grass that night The next day, some wild ducks found him They laughed at him, saying, and “Get away from our pond, ugly duckling!” The sad little duckling went on his way He came to a nice house where a hen and a cat lived “Can you lay eggs?” asked the hen “Can you catch mice?” asked the cat When he answered “no”, they told him that he was not allowed to stay The ugly duckling felt miserable, so he hid in the forest from the other animals Winter came and, luckily, a farmer found him before he froze For a few weeks, the grey duckling thought that he was safe But then the farmer’s son chased him and played cruel tricks on him As soon as he could, the duckling ran away again Springtime came and he found himself a safe place by the river Then one day, when the water was calm and clear, the duckling caught sight of himself He was so surprised to see his long white neck and big wings He flapped his wings and in no time he was flying! Three large white birds flew down They said, “My, you are a handsome swan Come and join us!” Then he understood that he wasn’t an ugly duckling after all “I’m really a swan!” he shouted with joy And he never felt ugly, lonely, or unwanted again The Little Mermaid Once upon a time, there was a magical kingdom of mermaids that lived under the sea The king of the mermaids had six beautiful daughters The youngest of the mermaids loved to listen to her grandmother’s tales of what life was like in the land of humans When she was finally old enough, the little mermaid went with her sisters up to the surface of the sea to follow the sailing ships They all loved to watch the ships and the strange twolegged creatures that lived on board One day, a huge storm blew up It caused a ship to roll over and sink The little mermaid heard a voice calling for help It was a man who was drowning The little mermaid rescued him, and carried him to shore Then she slipped back into the sea when she saw a young lady walking along the beach toward her “It’s the Prince!” said the lady At that moment he opened his eyes and sat up The little mermaid had fallen in love with the Prince Each day she would go to the shore near the castle hoping to see him Finally she asked a powerful sea-witch to change her into a human “You must give me your voice as payment,” said the sea-witch “But if the Prince does not marry you, you will die!” The little mermaid agreed She drank the sea-witch’s magic potion It made her feel a sharp pain and then she fell asleep She awoke on the beach and found that she now had two legs! The Prince saw the beautiful stranger and brought her to the castle But he poor little mermaid could not speak to him because she had lost her voice! Then, when she found out that he was going to marry the girl he had seen on the beach, she was heartbroken The sea-witch said she could be a mermaid again, if she killed the Prince But she couldn’t kill the one she loved Instead, she threw herself into the sea and became whitewave Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Long ago there was a poor young man named Ali Baba One day, while in the country, he saw a band of forty thieves ride up and stop near a rocky cliff The chief of the thieves shouted, “Open Sesame!” A secret door opened The men carried sacks and boxes inside Before they left the chief said, “Close Sesame!” The door shut Ali Baba ran to the cliff and said, “Open Sesame!” Inside was a huge treasure, but all he took was a bag of gold He borrowed a pot from his rich brother Cassim to divide up the coins Cassim was curious, so he put honey in the pot Later he found a gold coin stuck inside He made Ali Baba tell him all about the treasure Greedy Cassim then went to find the cave But when he wanted to leave, he forgot the password! The thieves found him, and they cut him into pieces! Ali Baba brought back his brother’s dead body and paid a tailor to sew it up for the funeral The thieves were angry to find the dead body was gone The chief paid the old tailor to point to Ali Baba’s house Ali Baba’s new servant girl, Marjanna, saw the chief mark the door She put X’s on all the doors When the thieves came to kill Ali Baba, they didn’t know which door was his! The chief pretended to be an oil seller He brought jars of oil to Ali Baba’s house, but in each jar was a thief! When Marjannna opened a jar to get some cooking oil, a voice inside asked, “Is it time?” The girl said in a deep voice like the thief’s, “No! Not now!” She realized that her master was in great danger She quickly boiled some oil and poured it into each of the jars It killed the robbers instantly! While Ali Baba ate with the chief, Marjanna offered to danced for them She hid a knife in her veils and, as she danced, she killed the chief with it! Marjanna showed Ali Baba all the dead thieves He realized that the clever girl had saved their lives 10 Pinocchio There was once an old toy-maker named Geppetto One day he made a wooden puppet that looked just like a real boy “I shall call you Pinocchio,” he said Then Geppetto made him some clothes and a cap He was astonished when the puppet spoke and began to dance around the room! Geppetto sent Pinocchio to school He sold his coat to buy him a book On his way to school, Pinocchio heard some music coming from a puppet show He sold his book to buy the ticket for the show Inside, he met some puppets He danced and sang with them The puppet-master was angry with Pinocchio for spoiling the show Pinocchio said he was sorry, and he told the man his story The puppet-master said,”Here are five gold coins for your father’s new coat.” On his way home, Pinocchio met a cat and a fox who were thieves They told him he could grow more coins by burying his money in a magic garden and then take a nap When Pinocchio woke up, all of his gold coins were gone He cried out for help A blue fairy came to see him, but he told her a lie He said he had lost Geppetto’s money Suddenly his nose grew longer! “Your nose grows if you tell a lie,” the fairy said So Pinocchio told her the truth, and she fixed his nose Later, as he ran home by the seashore, a huge wave carried him out to sea Then a whale swallowed him whole! To his surprise, he found Geppetto inside the whale! He had been out in a boat looking for Pinocchio They managed to crawl out of the whale’s mouth while it slept Back home, Pinocchio was always good One night the fairy granted him his wish The next day, Pinocchio woke up to find that he was a real boy at last! 11 Gulliver’s Travels Gulliver was a doctor who loved to travel on the sea Once while he was sailing on a ship called Antelope, a great storm blew up The ship hit some rocks and was wrecked Luckily, Gulliver was a strong swimmer and he made it to shore He was so tired he fell asleep on the sand When he awoke, he found himself tied to the ground He could not move his head, nor his arms and legs The he saw a dozen little men on his chest! Each was only six inches tall They tried to speak to him, but sadly, Gulliver could not understand them The king of the land soon arrived He sent his people off to get food The king’s men quickly built a high platform to reach Gulliver’s face Several cartloads of food arrived A whole basket of bread or meat was only a mouthful for the giant! The people fed Gulliver until he was full One night while Gulliver slept, several little men brought him to their city on a long flat cart pulled by a team of tiny horses Gulliver was taken to a large building that was to be his house But it was so small that he had to crawl to get into it He spent most of his time lying flat on his back The king’s blacksmiths made chains to keep Gulliver locked up Scholars taught him their language Soon Gulliver was able to ask the king to set him free Gulliver was so gentle that many little people became his friends He began to feel homesick One day, he saw a boat drifting on the sea and he swam out to get it The king allowed Gulliver to repaired the boat and to leave the land of Lilliputian, as it was called Dozens of workmen helped him fix the boat When it was ready, the people gave Gulliver a grand set-off, with plenty of food and some gold to bring to his country 12 Alice in Wonderland One hot day, a girl named Alice felt sleepy as her sister sat nearby reading a book Suddenly a white rabbit with a pocket watch ran past her Alice followed him down a large rabbit hole At the end of the tunnel, there was a tiny door But Alice was too big to go through it Then she saw a bottle with the words DRINK ME Alice drank it up She felt herself shrinking, until she was ten inches tall! She passed through the door Alice met a caterpillar sitting on a mushroom It told her to eat one side of the mushroom to be taller, and the other side to be shorter Alice took a piece from each side of the mushroom She nibbled each piece until she was half her normal side Before long, she met a cat sitting in a tree It smiled and pointed to little cottage nearby Alice walked to the cottage A March Hare was having tea with a Mad Hatter, while a tiny dormouse slept Alice found the tea party too silly and left She soon met two playing-card gardeners painting white roses red Just then the Queen of Hearts arrived She looked angrily at the two men and shouted, “Off with their heads!” Then she ordered everyone into the castle There, the White Rabbit read out the names of people who had stolen the Queen’s tarts The Queen asked Alice about it Poor Alice did not know what to say Then suddenly she began to grow again Soon she was too big for the courtroom The Queen grew impatient with her, and she shouted, “Off with her head!” An army of playing-card soldiers came flying at Alice who cried as she swatted them “Wake up, Alice dear!” said her sister She brushed away some leaves from Alice face What a very strange dream she had had! 13 The Frog Prince There was once a beautiful princess who had a golden ball One day as she was playing with the ball, it dropped into a nearby pond and sank to the bottom The princess started to cry Suddenly she heard a voice saying, “Why are you crying, dear Princess?” She looked up and saw an ugly frog She told him about her ball The frog said, “I can get it for you if you grant me my wish.” “Do you want my jewels or my crown?” she asked “No, dear Princess,” said the frog “I only ask that you let me eat with you and sleep in your bed.” The princess thought the frog was joking, so she said, “Yes, I promise.” The frog dived into the water and soon came up with the golden ball The princess took it and ran away The frog called out “Wait, take me with you!” The princess did not even look back at him That evening, when she was having dinner with her father, there was a knock at the door She opened the door and there was a frog! She quickly shut the door but the King asked about the visitor She had to tell what happened that day “You must keep your promised,” said her father “Let him in.” The princess went to the door again and opened it The frog followed her to the table and ate from her place! After that, she took him to her bed As she touched the pillowed, she suddenly changed into a prince! He said an evil witch had cast a spell on him, which only a kind princess could break by granting him his wish He asked her to marry him and they lived happily ever after 14 The Gingerbread Man One day, an old woman decided to make a gingerbread man She used some currants for his eyes and nose, and some sugar for his coat She put the gingerbread man into the oven to bake When it was ready, she heard a little voice crying, "Let me out! Let me out1” When she opened the oven door, out jumped the gingerbread man! He ran out of the house The old woman ran after him shouting, "Stop! Stop, little ginger man!” As he ran, he called back, “Run, run, as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!” He met a cow who said, “Stop! I’m sure you will taste better than my grass!” He ran away from the cow and met a horse The horse said, “You look very good to eat!” But even the speedy horse could not catch him The little gingerbread man proudly said, “No one can catch me! I’m the fastest of all!” Just then, a fox jumped out of the bushes “Stop, stop, little man!” said the fox “I want to talk to you!” But the gingerbread man kept running till he came to a river He could not cross it The fox said, “Jump on my nose and I will take you across the river.” The gingerbread man happily did just that When they reached the other side, the fox tossed him into his mouth and gobbled him up! 15 The Little Tin Soldier Many years ago, there was a boy who received a box of tin soldiers for his birthday The soldiers stood tall and proud in their smart uniforms They all looked exactly alike, except for one He was missing a leg! The boy put the soldiers on the table near a toy castle The little one-legged soldier saw a beautiful lady standing near the castle The lady was made of paper and she had a shiny jewel in the middle of her dress She was a ballerina She stretched out her arms and stood gracefully on one leg The tin soldier thought she had only one leg “That lady I the wife of me!” he thought They stared shyly at each other all night long The next day, the boy put the tin soldier on the window sill A gust of wind made the soldier fall out onto the street The two boys found him and sent him sailing down a drain The boat dropped into a canal As the tin soldier sank to the bottom, a fish swallow him up! Later, the fish was caught in a net Luckily, the boy’s mother bought that very same fish at the market! They were amazed to find the soldier inside the fish! The boy put the tin soldier back on the table next to the castle And there, waiting for him, was the pretty ballerina They gazed happily at each other Later the boy’s naughty brother threw the soldier into the fire Then a puff of wind blew the ballerina into the fire too Soon, all that was left of the two friends was her jewel stuck to a heart-shaped lump of tin! 16 The Little Match Girl On a cold winter’s evening, a poor little girl was huddled on a street corner in a big city It was snowing and the little girl was dressed in rags No one paid any attention to the sad, shivering girl In the pocket of her dress she had some matches She had been walking through the city all day calling out, “Matches for sale!” But no one had bought any from her all day No one gave her even a penny Her hands were freezing, but she was scared to go home because she had not sold any matches Her stepmother would be very angry She found a spot out of the wind Then she had an idea – a match might warm her up She lit one and held her hands around it She gazed into the warm flame She imagined she was sitting in front of a blazing fireplace How it warmed her! Then the match went out and the fireplace vanished Soon the stars were out Suddenly she saw a shooting star Her kind grandmother had told her that when a star falls, a soul goes to heaven The little girl struck another match There, in its light, stood her dear grandmother “Oh, Grandmother, take me with you!” cried the little girl At one she lit all of her matches With a kind smile, the grandmother took the girl in her arms Together they flew high, high up, where there was no cold, no hunger, and no suffering They had gone to heaven 17 Goldilocks and the Three Bears Once upon a time, three bears lived in a little house in the forest One morning, Mama Bear made some porridge for breakfast She filled a bowl for each of them – Papa Bear, Baby Bear, and herself As the porridge was too hot to eat, they went out for a walk While they were away, a little girl named Godilocks came to their house and saw the porridge She ate up the smallest bowl of porridge! Next she went to sit down for a rest She tried sitting on Papa Bear’s chair and Mama Bear’s chair They were too big for her Then she sat on Baby Bear’s chair It was just the right size It was just the right size! She was too heavy for it and it broke into pieces Godilocks went upstairs She tried the three beds and Baby Bear’s was just right The three bears came back and found that someone had eaten up Baby Bear’s porridge Then they found that someone had broken Baby Bear’s chair! When they went upstairs, they found Godilocks fast asleep in Baby Bear’s bed! Their voices woke up Godilocks She had a fright when she saw the three bears She ran down the stairs and out of the house They never saw her again 18 The Shoemaker and the Elves Once there was a shoemaker who was getting very old One night, he felt so tired that he went off to bed before he could finish making a pair of shoes In the morning, he was surprised to find that the shoes had already been finished for him That night, he got ready his things for starting on a new pair of shoes for a rich customer The next morning, he was again surprised to find a brand new pair of shoes waiting for him The rich customer was very pleased with the shoes She said, “This is beautiful work! I shall pay you twice the price you wanted to charge!” That night, the shoemaker happily put out the things he needed to start on a third pair of shoes He did this every night, and each morning he found another pair of shiny new shoes on his workbench The shoemaker sold his beautiful new shoes at a higher price He soon saved a large amount of money The shoemaker told his wife about the strange and wonderful thing that was happening “Let’s hide tonight and see what happens!” she said At midnight, they saw two elves coming into their shop They finished the new pair of shoes very quickly It was winter and the shoemaker’s wife saw that the elves were poorly dressed She made two little red wool jackets and laid them on the table The next night, the elves found the jackets and quickly put them on They danced happily in their new jackets But they were never seen again! 19 The Pied Piper of Hamelin Hamelin was a beautiful town, but one day hundreds of rats suddenly came into the town They were noisy and fierce, and ate up what they whatever food they could find Soon the people were worried as there was very little food left The Mayor said there would be a big reward of a hundred gold coins for anyone who could get rid of the rats Many people could not stop the rats Then one day, a strange-looking man came He said, “I am the Pied Piper I can get rid of your rats.” The Mayor said, “Do that and the money is yours.” The Pied Piper started playing a tune on his pipe At once the rats came running out from everywhere towards him! They followed him into the river The rats were drowned The Pied Piper then went to collect his reward But the Mayor never planned to give away the hundred gold coins He said, “The rats have gone You can go too!” The angry Pied Piper said, “You will be sorry for breaking for your promise.” Then he began to play on his pipe again This time, all the children came running out to listen They laughed and sang and danced as they followed him The Piper led the children out of the town Soon they came to a mountain The children followed him into the cave After the last child went in, the cave door disappeared! The people waited to their children to return, but they were never seen again 20 The Three Wishes One day, a poor wood cutter was in the forest looking for a tree to chop down He came to an old tree that had big holes in it AS he swung his axe, an elf jumped out “Stop! Stop!” said the elf “Spare this tree and I’ll grant you three wishes!” The woodcutter nodded his head and the elf disappeared The woodcutter went home and told his wife about the elf and the three wishes Then, feeling hungry, he asked,”Where’s my soup?” “It’ll be ready soon,” his wife said With a sigh, she added, “I wish I had sausages to go with supper!” Suddenly a string of sausages appeared right out of the air! “What a stupid thing to do!” shouted the woodcutter “You have wasted the first wish! I wish those sausages would get stuck up your nose!” Sure enough the sausages flew towards his wife The sausages became stuck up the poor woman’s nose! She pulled at them, but they would not come out The husband burst out laughing Then he tried pulling hard to remove the sausages, but they would not come out “There’s only one thing to do,” he said “I wish those sausages would leave your nose.” The sausages came out, and that night, the husband and wife at least had a good meal of sausages 10 21 The Magic Porridge Pot There was once a poor little girl who lived with her mother in a little village One day, there was no food left to eat The little girl went into the forest to find some nuts and berries In the middle of the forest she met an old woman The woman asked her, “Why you look so sad?” The girl replied, “My mother and I are very hungry.” The woman gave her a little pot and said, “When you say, “Cook, little pot, cook!", it will make tasty porridge And when you say, “Stop, little pot, stop!”, it will stop cooking.” The little girl thanked her and ran home with the pot She showed it to her mother Then the girl said, “Cook, little pot, cook!” At once, the pot was filled with porridge The girl and her mother were so happy When they had eaten enough, the girl said, “Stop, little pot, stop!” And they were never hungry again One day, while the girl went to visit a friend, he mother asked the pot to start cooking But when she had enough, she could not remember how to stop it The pot went on cooking and flowed over It flowed onto the floor and right out into the streets It even flowed into other people’s houses! Before long, the whole village was filled with the porridge Some villagers scooped it into their pots and pans When the little girl came home, she quickly said, “Stop, little pot, stop!” It stopped cooking right away The villagers had a busy time cleaning up their houses and streets – but at least no one went hungry! 22 The Great Big Turnip There was once an old farmer who loved to eat turnips He decided to grow some in his own garden One day he walked to town to buy some turnip seeds That evening, he planted the seeds in his garden He covered the seeds with a little soil and watered them The next morning, he went into his garden to check on his seeds To his surprise, he saw an enormous turnip! He pulled hard, but he could not get it out of the ground He called out to his wife “Help me to pull this great turnip out!” His wife left her breakfast and came out to help him They both pulled, but it would not come out His wife called their son to help them They all pulled, but it would not come out Their son called out to his sister to help them They all pulled, but it would not come out The girl called out to the dog to help them They all pulled, but it still would not come out The dog barked to call the cat to help They all pulled, but it would not come out The cat then meowed to call the mouse to help them With the mouse’s tinny bit of help, out came the turnip at last! They all fell backwards, but no one was hurt And to reward everyone’s hard work, the farmer’s wife cooked some of the turnip for dinner 11 23 The Three Billy Goats Gruff One day, three billy goats named Gruff wanted to go up a hill to eat the long, sweet grass growing there On the way up, they had to cross a narrow wooden bridge over a stream Under this bridge lived a great, ugly troll with huge eyes and a big nose He was always bad-tempered and hungry The youngest billy goat Gruff was the first to cross the bridge Trip, Trap! Trip, Trap! went the goat’s hooves over the bridge The troll shouted out, “Who’s up there? “It’s only I, the youngest billy goat Gruff,” said the goat The troll said, “How dare you cross my bridge! Now I’m going to gobble you up!” “Don’t eat me, Mr Troll! Wait for my big brother, he will be a better meal for you!” pleaded the youngest billy goat “All right, be off with you, said the troll He waited till he once again heard TRIP, trap! TRIP, trap! “Who’s that crossing my bridge” he roared The second billy goat Gruff then introduced himself “This bridge belongs to me! Now I’m going to gobble you up!” said the troll with a mean look “Don’t eat me, Mr Troll!” said the second goat “Wait for my big brother, he will be a feast for you!” The troll waited till the third billy goat Gruff came stomping across the bridge “I’m going to gobble you up!” roared the troll, but the third billy goat Gruff rushed at him He knocked the troll right off the bridge, and those goats were never bother by the troll again 24 King Midas and the Golden Touch King Midas was a very good king His people were very happy under his rule One day, as he was walking in his garden, he saw an old man sleeping under a tree He felt sorry for the man, so he did not punish him Just then, a fairy appeared! “Because you are so kind,” she said, “I will grand you one wish!” The king thought about it and said, “I would like everything I touch to turn to gold.” The fairy waved her hands, and when King Midas touched some flowers, they turned to gold! He touched the status and they turned to gold, too! It was the same with the trees! After turning many things in his garden to gold, he felt hungry He went into the castle to eat But the food and drink he touched all turned to gold! He was hungry and sad How would he eat or drink? Just then his daughter came in She ran to hug him and he tried to stop her At his touch, she at one turned to gold! The king was filled with sorrow He went into the garden and called out for the fairy She appeared before him King Midas cried, “I beg of you, Fairy, please take away my golden touch Let everything be normal again.” All at once everything was back to normal He was filled with joy when his daughter cam and hugged him 12 25.The Sly Fox and the Little Red Hen There was once a little red hen that lived alone in the woods One day a sly old fox moved into a nearby cave The fox spent much of his time thinking of a way to catch the little hen He wanted to cook her for dinner! Bur the little red hen was always careful to lock her door At last the fox thought of a way to catch her Early one morning, he waited for the little red hen to leave the house While she was busy collecting stick for her net, the fox crept through the woods towards her house He carried a bag with him and he sneaked into the hen’s little house The little hen had a terrible fright when she found the fox in her house She flew up onto a high beam “You can’t catch me here,” she said to him, “so you might as well go home!” “Are you so sure of that?” asked the fox as he began chasing after his own tail Faster and faster he ran, and the little red hen became very dizzy watching him She felt off the beam and the fox quickly put her in his bag He then started off for home But the fox was tired from all the running, so he lay down for a little nap As he slept, the hen woke up She took out a pair of scissors that she carried in her shawl and cut her way out of the bag The clever hen filled the fox’s bag with stones, then she trotted off for home The fox soon awoke and carried the bag into his house He put on a huge pot of water to boil But when the stones splashed into the boiling water, the fox was scalded badly He never bothered that hen again! 26 The Princess and the Pea There was once a prince who wanted to marry a true princess He had met many pretty young ladies, but how could he know if they were a true princess? One evening there was a storm, with thunder and lightning and heavy rain The Queen and the Prince had just finished their dinner when suddenly there was a loud knock at the door The Prince went to open it A lovely young lady stood there with water running from her hair to her shoes She said she was a princess The Queen invited her to stay for the night She had thought of a way to find out if the lady was a true princess She took a small green pea and placed it between the bottom mattresses of the guest bed Then the Queen ordered twenty mattresses to be piled on the bed She brought the young lady to the room and said, “You shall sleep here tonight.” At breakfast the next morning, the Queen asked her if she had slept well “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I’ve never slept so badly before,” she said “I felt as if I was lying on something hard!” The young lady apologized again to the Queen, and then described how she had tossed and turned about the whole night The Queen was delighted, for who else but a true princess could feel the tiny pea under all those mattresses The prince had at last found his true princess, and they were soon happily married 13 27 The Emperor’s New Clothes Many, many years ago, there lived an emperor who loved fine clothes so much that he spent all his money on fancy new outfits One day, two thieves came to the kingdom They pretended to be tailors and said they could make the most beautiful clothes in the world Of course, the Emperor wanted to know as much as possible about these clothes “Your Majesty,” said the sly tailors, “our clothes have the finest colors and patterns In fact, these amazing clothes are invisible to anyone who is stupid.” The Emperor was delighted “I must have some of those wonderful clothes!” he said He gave the tailors ten bags of gold to start work at once The tailors laughed as they took the money back to their shop They set up a loom, and late into the night, they pretended to weave and sew When the clothes were ready, the tailors pretended to show the Emperor a shirt, some trousers and a wonderful cloak Of course, the Emperor could not see the new clothes The Emperor did not want everyone to think that he was stupid, so he said, “Why, they are beautiful!” and he pretended to put hem on Later, the Emperor walked out into the street “What lovely clothes!” the people all cried Nobody wanted to be called stupid Just then a little boy shouted, “He’s not wearing any clothes!” The people saw that he was right and began to laugh The foolish Emperor ran back to the palace and was not seen for many weeks 28 Puss in Boots There was once an old man who owned nothing but a mill, a donkey, and a cat He had three sons, and when he died, the oldest son got the mill, the next son got the donkey and the youngest son got the cat “My brother will be able to make a living,” said the youngest son, “but how will I ever feed myself with only a cat?” But then the cat spoke! “Don’t worry, Master,” he said “Just give me a hat and a pair of boots, and I will make you rich!” With his new hat and boots, away went the cat Soon he caught a fat rabbit, and he took it to the king’s castle The cat bowed and said, “Sire, my master, the Marquis, sends you this gift!” Each day, the cat would come back with more gifts for the king One day, the cat said to the king, “The Marquis invites you and the royal family to his castle!” But how would the clever cat find a castle for the young man? “Follow me!” said the cat to the man They ran to a nearby castle where an ogre lived “Tell me, Great Ogre,” said the cat, “is it true that you can change yourself to anything?” When the ogre said yes, the cat asked him to change into a tiny mouse Poof! In an instant he was a mouse – then, quick as a wink, the cat caught him and gobbled him up! The king arrived and he was very pleased with the Marquis’s castle The young man and the king’s daughter fell in love They were soon married and lived happily ever after 14 29 Rapunzel There was once a poor man who was waiting for his wife to give birth to their first baby The wife often wished for some rapunzel lettuce to eat The man decided to take some from the garden next door where a witch lived One night the witch caught him “I will let you live,” she said, “if you give me your child!” The man agreed Not long after the baby was born, the witch came to take her away She named the girl Rapunzel The girl grew up to be very beautiful with long golden hair On her twelfth birthday, the witch put her in a high tower that had only one window and no door Each day the witch came to visit Rapunzel, and she would called, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!” And the girl would let her long braid of golden hair hang down from the window The witch would then climb up the braid to get into the tower A few years later, a handsome prince happened to hear Rapunzel singing in the tower He watched as the witch called to the girl and then climbed up Rapunzel’s braid to get to the tower After the witch left, the prince called, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!” Out came the hair, and the prince climbed up They soon felt deeply in love But the witch found out about the prince and was very angry She cut off the braid so that the prince fell from the tower Then she sent Rapunzel away to a far-off land Luckily, the prince fell into a bush and was not hurt He went looking for Rapunzel, and after a year he found her! They were soon married and lived happily ever after 30 Beauty and the Beast Long ago, an old man was returning home to his daughter after a trip Her name was Beauty and she loved roses When the man saw some roses in a garden, he decided to pick some for her Suddenly he heard a terrible growl There stood a huge ugly beast “Those are my roses!” it roared “Forgive me!” said the man, trebling in fear “I took the roses for my daughter Beauty.” “I will spare your life,” the Beast said, “if you send your daughter to live here in my castle.” With a heavy heart, the man went home and told his daughter what had happened When Beauty arrived at the castle, she saw that the Beast was very kind and polite to her – although he was very frightened to look at! Beauty and the Beast spent many hours together One day the Beast asked Beauty, “Will you marry me?” “Oh!” cried Beauty in surprise “I could never marry you!” The Beast became very sad and stay away from Beauty Then he became very sick When Beauty saw him, she began to cry “Beast!” wept Beauty “Do not die Please get better! I love you!” When he heard those magical words, the Beast suddenly turned into a handsome prince! “By loving me, you have broken a witch’s spell that made me a beast,” he said Then he took Beauty’s hand and asked, “Will you marry me?” “Oh!” cried Beauty “Of course I will marry you!” They were soon married and there was great joy throughout the land 15 31 Rumpelstiltskin There was once a farmer who liked to boast that his daughter could spin straw into gold When the king heard about this, he said, “I would like to meet her Bring her to the palace!” When the young lady arrived, the king put her in a room full of straw “You must spin this straw into gold or you will be punished,” he said The lady cried, for she could not really spin straw into gold Suddenly, a strange little man appeared “In three days I will spin the gold,” he said, "but you must give me a gift each day.” So the lady gave him her necklace The next day, she gave the little man her ring But on the third day, she had nothing to give him “Give me your first child,” he said Sadly, the lady agreed The king was so happy with the gold that he married the lady A year later, they had a beautiful baby One day the strange little man came to take the baby away The lady, who was now the queen, offered him all her jewels instead But he said no Then he said, “If you can guess my name in three days, you can keep your baby.” For two days the queen recited all the names she knew They were all wrong Then a messenger told her he had seen a strange little man in the forest singing:” Ha, ha, ha! Rumpelstiltskin is my name!” On the thirst day, the queen asked, “Is your name …… Rumpelstiltskin?” the man was furious! He stamped the floor so hard that it broke He fell into the hole and was never seen again 32 Tom Thumb Once upon a time, there was a poor woodcutter who lived with his wife in a small house by a forest They were sad that they had no children “I would even be glad for a child the size of my thumb!” the man said Some time later, they had a baby boy It was strange, for he was no bigger than a thumb! They name him Tom Thumb and they loved him dearly Although Tom got older, he never grew any larger But he became a kind boy who helped his parents when ever he could One day, Tom went to fetch his father with the horse He sat between the horse’s ears to fell it which way to go A passing circus owner thought the horse was very clever He offered to buy it But when he saw Tom, he offered a big bag of gold to buy Tom instead Tom’s father did not want to sell his only son But Tom said, “Sell me to the circus, Father! Don’t worry! I’ll be home soon.” A few weeks later, Tom went away from the circus But on his way home, as Tom slept on a clump of grass, a bull ate him! From inside his stomach, tom called out, “Help! Let me out!” The bull was afraid, and it ran about in panic A farmer heard Tom’s cries coming from inside the bull He was frightened, so he killed the bull and threw its stomach into the forest Soon a hungry wolf came along and swallowed the stomach! “Dear wolf!” called out Tom inside the wolf “I know where you’ll find more delicious food!” Tom let the wolf right to his own house! There, he called out to his parents His father killed the wolf and set Tom free He was happy to be home at last! 16 33 The Selfish Giant Long ago, in the country far away, there was a beautiful garden Some children stopped to play in the garden each day after school The garden belonged to a giant, but no one had seen him around for many years The giant’s garden had soft grass and flowers It had trees to climb, and in their branches birds chirped happily The giant had been away for seven years But one winter day, he returned When the giant saw the children in the garden, he was angry “What are you doing here?” he yelled The children were frightened and ran away Then he built a high wall around his garden and he put up and sign that said, Trespassers Will Be Punished! He was a very selfish giant Now the children could no longer play in the garden Instead they played in the dusty and dirty street Then spring came All over the country there were flowers and birds singing But in the giant’s garden, it was still winter And it stayed winter year after year “I cannot understand why spring is so late,” said the giant But one morning, the giant saw that spring had finally returned to his garden! The children had crept in through a little hole in the wall The trees were so glad to see them that they covered themselves in blossoms “How selfish I have been!” cried the giant “Now I know why spring would not come.” He knocked down the wall and the garden now belonged to the children 34 The Wild Swans There was once was a king who had eleven sons and one daughter Her name is Elisa Sadly, their mother died The king soon chose a new queen, but she was not at all kind to the children The new queen sent the brothers and Elisa away But before they went, she tried to change the boys into ugly birds Instead, they turned into beautiful swans With a loud cry, they flew away to the forest Each evening, the swans became prince again Bit in the morning, as the sun rose, they turned back into swans Elisa prayed that she could break the spell One night Elisa dreamed that she flew to a fairy’s castle “How can I help my brother?” she asked the fairy The fairy told her to gather stinging nettles that grow in the dark, scary graveyard With these she must make eleven shirts As Elisa left the dream castle, the fairy said, “You must not speak from the moment you begin this task until it is finished.” If you do, your brothers will stay swans forever.” When Elisa woke up, she went to a nearby graveyard and picked all the nettles she could find They stung her hands until they were red and blistered Then she began to knit the nettles As she worked, she never spoke to her brothers In a few days, the shirts were done She put them on the eleven swans, and there stood eleven princes The spell was broken! They told the king about the evil queen and he sent her far away 17 35 The Big Pancake Once upon a time, there was a mother who had seven hungry children One day, she was frying a delicious pancake for them They all stood around her waiting to taste that sweet pancake “Oh mother dear, give me a bite of that pancake I am so hungry,” said one child “Please, oh darling mother!” said the second child Soon all of the children were begging for a bite “Just a minute!” said the mother “I must first cook it on the other side Then you shall all eat it.” The pancake grew frightened, and it tried to jump out of the pan! But it fell back in the pan, the other side up After it cooked a little longer, it jumped right out of the pan and went rolling out the front door “Whoa! Stop, pancake!” yelled the family “We’re hungry! We want to eat you!” They chased the pancake down the street, but it was rolling too fast for them The pancake rolled past a man, a hen, a cockerel, a duck and a goose Each of them wanted to eat the pancake, but the pancake just laughed and rolled right on After it had rolled a long time, it met a horse “Let me run with you to keep you company,” said the horse, “for it is not safe to travel alone.” The pancake agreed Then the clever horse led the big pancake down a rocky road It hit a stone and bounced in the air “I’ll save you!” cried the horse He caught the pancake in his mouth and gobbled it down 36 The Story of Chicken Licken One day a fluffy, yellow chick named Chicken Licken was busy pecking at some corn in the farmyard All of a sudden – Ouch! – something hit her on the head “Goodness!” said Chicken Licken “The sky is falling! I must run and tell the King!” So she hurried down the road until she met Henny Penny and Cocky Locky “The sky is falling!” cried Chicken Licken “I’m going to tell the King!” “Oh dear! Can we come with you?” asked Henny Penny “Certainly,” said Chicken Licken And so they hurried along until they met Ducky Lucky “We are going to tell the King that the sky is falling! They explained to him Ducky Lucky was also worried, so he joined them Soon they met Turkey Lurkey and Goosey Loosey “Let us come too!” they said after they were told about going to see the King So they all hurried along until they met Foxy Loxy When they told him where they were going, he said, “Quick, my friends! I know a short cut to the king’s castle Follow me!” But Foxy Loxy did not take them to the King Instead he took them to his cave One by one they followed him in And one by one he gobbled them up! Luckily, Chicken Licken was very small, and he was able to get out of that dangerous cave He ran home as fast as he could, but he never told the King about the sky falling 18 37 The Three Little Pigs There once were three little pigs who ran away from a farm They soon came to a forest near a field of corn It was a very nice place to build a house “I will build a house of straw,” said the first little pig “It will be nice and warm inside and I will finish first!” Sure enough, in two hours his house was built The second pig said, “I will build my house with sticks The wind won’t blow it down, and I will be safe from the Wolf.” It took all day to build his house The third little pig built his house with bricks He worked for five full days “I want to be safe from the big bad Wolf," he said Then he went inside and locked the door The very next day, the big, bad Wolf went to the house of straw and shouted, “Open up, little pig, or I’ll blow your house down!” “Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin” cried the pig With w huff and a puff the Wolf blew down that house! The little pig ran off to the house of sticks When the Wolf got there, he said, “Let me in, little pigs, or I’ll blow your house down!” ““Not by the hair on our chinny-chin-chins” called out the pigs The Wolf blew once, twice, three times At last, the house of sticks fell down in a heap The two pigs ran off to the house of bricks The Wolf could not blow down the brick house, so he climbed onto the roof But when he slid down the chimney, he felt into a pot of hot water! That night, the pigs had wolf soup for supper! 37 Hansel and Gretel There was once a brother and sister named Hansel and Gretel who lived in a forest Their father was a wood cutter, and their stepmother was very unkind One day, they found that they had no food to eat and no money The wicked stepmother told the woodcutter there was no choice but to send the children away So she led Hansel and Gretel far into the forest She gave them a piece of bread and said she would come back later The children waited and waited, but they never saw her again Hansel and Gretel did not know what to That night, they had to sleep under a tree In the morning they were cold and hungry, and they could not find their way home They were lost! After walking through the forest all day, Hansel and Gretel became very tired and week Suddenly they saw a little house that was made out of cakes and candies! The children ran up to the candy house and began breaking off pieces to eat Before long, a voice said, “Who is nibbling on my house?” It was a witch! The children tried to run away, but the witch caught them She locked up Hansel in a room and said she was going to cook him – and eat him! They had to find a way to escape As the witch was checking her oven, Gretel pushed her right in! A moment later she was burnt to ashes The children found the witch’s treasure, and soon their father found them He was very angry with the stepmother and had sent her away From then on, they never went hungry again 19 38.Thumbelina There was once a poor woman who was sad because she had no children One day, a kind old fairy gave her a seed and said, “This seed will grow into a child for you!” The woman took the magic seed home and planted it She watered it and cared for it with love Soon a large flower grew up and inside the blossom there was a child! The woman was so happy! She named the girl Thumberila since she was only as tall as a person’s thumb At night, the little girl slept in a tiny bed made from a shell! One night, a big, ugly toad found Thumberila asleep in her bed She carried the tiny girl away to her home by the river “You will make a fine wife for my son!” said the toad Poor Thumberila did not want to marry a toad! With the help of some kind fish, she got away from the nasty toads The fish took her to a place where a mouse lived The old mouse was happy to have Thumberila come and live with her Soon a mole began to visit them quite often He loved to hear the girl’s singing One day, the mole said that he wanted to marry Thumberila! But when she saw the mole’s dark home in the ground, she knew she did not want to marry him Thumberila’s friend, a bluebird, helped her to fly away to a magical land There she met a handsome fairy prince and they fell in love They were soon married and lived happily ever after! 40 The Wizard of Oz Dorothy lived with her dog Toto on a little farm One day, a huge wind storm carried her house away! After a while, the house landed in a magical land Luckily, Dorothy was not hurt A pretty lady said to Dorothy, “I am Glinda, the Good Witch of the North Your house killed the Wicked Witch of the East We are all very happy!” She gave Dorothy the witch’s magic shoes “Thank you!” said Dorothy “But I just want to go home.” Glinda told Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City There, the great Wizard of Oz would help her Dorothy and Toto set off at once Along the way, they met a Scarecrow, a Tin Man and a Cowardly Lion The Scarecrow wanted the Wizard to give him a brain, the Tin man wanted a heart, and the Lion wanted courage In the Emerald City, the Wizard of Oz said, “First, you must kill the Wicked Witch of the West!” But on their way to her castle, the witch’s monkey caught Dorothy When Dorothy’s friends found her, the witch set fire to the Scarecrow Quickly, Dorothy threw water on him The water splashed on the witch, and she melted away! Later, the Wizard of Oz gave the Scarecrow a brain and the Tin Man a heart The Lion got a medal for bravery The Wizard was going to take Dorothy home in his hot-air balloon, but a strong wind blew the balloon away with the Wizard inside! Poor Dorothy! How would she get home? The Good Witch of the South appeared and said, “Just tap your magic shoes together three times!” Dorothy held Toto and she tapped her shoes In an instant, she was back home 20 41 Peter and the Wolf A little boy named Peter lived with his grandfather near a deep dark forest One day, Peter went out into the meadow, but he left the gat open A duck waddled out after him A little bird chirped happily after Peter from a big tree Just then, Peter’s grandfather came running outside in his pyjamas He pulled Peter back inside the gate “The meadow is a dangerous place!” said the old man “What if a wolf came out of the forest and gobbled you up?” “I am not afraid of wolves!” said Peter to himself A short time later, a large wolf did not come out of the forest! As Peter watched from the gate, the wolf crept toward the pond In a panic, the duck jumped out of the water With one quick gulp, the wolf swallowed her whole! Then Peter had an idea He got a strong rope, and he climbed up the wall and onto a branch in the tree He said to the bird, “Fly down near the wolf’s head But don’t get caught!” As the wolf snapped at the bi\rd, Peter made a noose and caught the wolf by the tail! Just then, some hunters came out of the forest They were following the wolf and shooting their guns “Don’t shoot!” cried Peter “The bird and I have caught the wolf Let’s take him to the zoo so that everyone can admire him!” How grand it looked as they marched off with the wolf to the zoo And, if you listen carefully, you might still hear the duck quacking inside the wolf’s belly! 21 [...]... wolf and set Tom free He was happy to be home at last! 16 33 The Selfish Giant Long ago, in the country far away, there was a beautiful garden Some children stopped to play in the garden each day after school The garden belonged to a giant, but no one had seen him around for many years The giant’s garden had soft grass and flowers It had trees to climb, and in their branches birds chirped happily The... knocked down the wall and the garden now belonged to the children 34 The Wild Swans There was once was a king who had eleven sons and one daughter Her name is Elisa Sadly, their mother died The king soon chose a new queen, but she was not at all kind to the children The new queen sent the brothers and Elisa away But before they went, she tried to change the boys into ugly birds Instead, they turned into... lived in a forest Their father was a wood cutter, and their stepmother was very unkind One day, they found that they had no food to eat and no money The wicked stepmother told the woodcutter there was no choice but to send the children away So she led Hansel and Gretel far into the forest She gave them a piece of bread and said she would come back later The children waited and waited, but they never saw