The Fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen gathers the best-loved stories the Danish writer told nearly two hundred years ago, read slowly and softly for sleep.
Inside are the tales most of us grew up with: a mermaid who trades her voice for a pair of legs, a plain little duckling who turns out to be a swan, a vain emperor parading through town in clothes that aren't really there, and a princess whose royal blood is proven by a single pea under twenty mattresses. There's a steadfast tin soldier, a nightingale who sings for an emperor, and a girl who dreams her way through the cold on a winter's night. Some stories end happily. Others are quieter and a little sad, the way old folk tales often are.
Andrew Bond's calm, even voice is made for winding down, each short Scandinavian tale nudging you a little nearer sleep before the next one starts. Good company for anyone who loves old fables read aloud.
