The Foolish Fir-Tree
A lovely Christmas poem by Henry Van Dyke.
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A Little fir grew in the midst of the wood
Contented and happy, as young trees should.
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Posts tagged ‘Coming of Age’
Tom Thumb
The famous story by the Brothers Grimm.
Tom thumb is so small that he can fit inside a snail’s shell, so surely he can’t do much good? Can he? Follow him on this adventure and learn how being small can be a great advantage.
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The Valiant Little Tailor
A Brothers Grimm short story.
‘Seven in one Blow’ becomes this tailor’s motif after he swats seven flies at once. But thinking he is capable of killing seven men in one blow, people start to fear and respect him. One emperor puts him to the test. Continue reading ‘The Valiant Little Tailor’ »
The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was
An children’s short story from the Brothers Grimm.
This youth doesn’t know very much and can’t make a living. He is interested in what it is to ‘shudder’ and when his father sends him away to look after himself, he resolves to find out.
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The Remarkable Rocket
A children’s story by Oscar Wilde.
Nobody knows better how remarkable this rocket is than the Remarkable Rocket himself. He considers the Prince very honoured to have him perform at the wedding. But being a sensitive soul, his tears dampen more than just the occassion and his ‘letting off’ is not quite what he expected.
Audio Length 31:14
The Pink
Another Fairytale by the Brothers Grimm.
The Queen’s baby has a gift:he can wish for anything and it will appear before him. The Cook decides to kidnap him and hides him away, but the poor queen is accused of carelessness for losing him and is sentenced to seven years in a tower. Years later, the boy finds out who he is…
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The Happy Prince
A wonderful classic for children from Oscar Wilde.
This statue is of the late Prince who was always happy. But now he sits outside the castle walls and sees hardship and suffering and it makes him sad. A sparrow takes shelter on him and they become friends, doing good deeds all over the town.
Audio Length 25:20
The Four Clever Brothers
A story from the Grimm Brothers.
After four years apart, four brothers and thier father meet to demonstrate their new skills. Learning of a distress call from the King,they set off to help. But which of them should win the prize?
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King Grisly-Beard
A funny story by the Brothers Grimm.
When the princess is to choose a husband, she stands her suitors in a line and mocks each of them, calling one ‘Grisly-Beard’. Embarassed by her arrogance, her father determines to marry her to the next man to enter the castle. As it happens, it is a poor fiddler, who walks her through King Grisly-Beard’s beautiful kindom before arriving at his dirty hole.
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Jack and the Beanstalk
The famous fairy tale by Joseph Jacobs.
A young boy exchanges his cow for some beans and his angry mother throws them into the garden. But by morning, a giant beanstalk leads Jack to another world.
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How the Leopard Got its Spots
The Just-so Story from Rudyard Kipling.
The leopard and the Ethiopian go off in search of their run-away food. They come across the jungle and learn to adapt to their new surroundings.
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Cinderella
The original Fairy Tale by George Routledge and Sons.
This poor girl is treated like a servant by her sisters. They leave for the Prince’s ball, and a fairy Godmother visits Cinderella, changing her fortune forever.
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Briar Rose
The original Sleeping Beauty Fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm.
When their wish of having a daughter is granted, the king and queen have a party to which the fairies are invited. However one is a witch and casts a spell which comes to pass on Briar Rose’s fifteenth birthday.
Audio Length 12:58
Ashputtel
A Fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm.
A Cinderella Story: the poor sister who slaves after her siblings and is not allowed to go to the ball. But Ashputtel has a magic bird in the garden who helps her.
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