H. C Andersen

After being kidnapped by an ugly toad, a beautiful girl no bigger than a thumb has a series of dreadful experiences before meeting a fairy prince just her size.

An ugly duckling spends an unhappy year ostracized by the other animals in the barnyard before he grows into a beautiful swan.

Listeners will rediscover Hans Christian Andersen's best-known fairy tales, and find new favorites, all brought to life by a full cast. Recognizing the literary merit of Andersen's own simple colloquial language, which Victorian translators and their imitators very often altered to sentimentalize or vulgarize, translator Erik Haugaard has remained faithful to the original text.

The wares of the poor little match girl illuminate her cold world, bringing some beauty to her brief, tragic life.

The life of a little fir tree who, when discarded, recalls with nostalgia its two glorious moments--being a beautiful fir and being a brightly-lit Christmas tree.

Two rascally weavers convince the emperor they are making him beautiful new clothes, visible only to those fit for their posts, but during a royal procession in which he first wears them, a child whispers that the emperor has nothing on.

A collection of tales including "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "The Little Match girl," "Thumbelina," "The Elfin Hill," "Little Ida's Flower," "The Ugly Duckling," "The Wild Swans," and "The Emperor's New Clothes."