New translation of thirty Hans Christian Andersen tales including early stories through poignant masterpieces to later tales for adults.

"As the child of peasants, Karen grew up with a pair of simple red shoes. Then, when her parents died, Karen was adopted by a rich old woman who gave Karen a new pair of red shoes that would make princesses green with envy. This newfound wealth causes Karen to forget her humble origins and grow up to become a cruel and vain adult. Then, one day, the red shoes that sparked her greed come to life and steer Karen down a path she never would have imagined...

"Through an enchanting conversation with a young girl in a horse-drawn coach, Hans Christian Andersen shares his life's struggles, dreams, and triumphs--whose threads can be found woven into his greatest stories."--

Presents nine of Andersen's well-known tales: The Emperor's New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea, Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling, The Tinderbox, The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep, The Little Match Girl, The Nightingale, and The Little Mermaid.

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.

Hans Christian Andersen's beloved tale The Snow Queen is an enchanting story of the bond of love and friendship between young playmates Kai and Gerda. When a small shard of a wicked troll's broken mirror lodges in Kai's eye and heart, he loses his joyfulness and sees only the world's imperfections. With his heart turned to ice, the Snow Queen kidnaps him and returns to her castle in the far northern reaches of Lapland. Gerda, heartbroken but innocent...

Relates how the wares of the little match girl illuminate her cold world on the last day of the old year.

With the help of a magic tinderbox, a soldier finds a fortune and pursues a princess imprisoned in a castle.

A tiny girl no bigger than a thumb is stolen by a great ugly toad and subsequently has many adventures and makes many animal friends, before finding the perfect mate in a warm and beautiful southern land.