The Red Shoes (1)

The Red Shoes (1)

Once upon a time there was little girl, pretty and dainty. But in summer time she was obliged to go barefooted because she was poor, and in winter she had to wear large wooden shoes, so that her little instep grew quite red.
In the middle of the village lived an old shoemaker's wife; she sat down and made, as well as she could, a pair of little shoes out of some old pieces of red cloth. They were clumsy, but she meant well, for they were intended for the little girl, whose name was Karen.
Karen received the shoes and wore them for the first time on the day of her mother's funeral. They were certainly not suitable for mourning; but she had no others, and so she put her bare feet into them and walked behind the humble coffin.
Just then a large old carriage came by, and in it sat an old lady; she looked at the little girl, and taking pity on her, said to the clergyman, "Look here, if you will give me the little girl, I will take care of her."
Karen believed that this was all on account of the red shoes, but the old lady thought them hideous, and so they were burnt. Karen herself was dressed very neatly and cleanly; she was taught to read and to sew, and people said that she was pretty. But the mirror told her, "You are more than pretty - you are beautiful."
One day the Queen was travelling through that part of the country, and had her little daughter, who was a princess, with her. All the people, amongst them Karen too, streamed towards the castle, where the little princess, in fine white clothes, stood before the window and allowed herself to be stared at. She wore neither a train nor a golden crown, but beautiful red morocco shoes; they were indeed much finer than those which the shoemaker's wife had sewn for little Karen. There is really nothing in the world that can be compared to red shoes!
Karen was now old enough to be confirmed; she received some new clothes, and she was also to have some new shoes. The rich shoemaker in the town took the measure of her little foot in his own room, in which there stood great glass cases full of pretty shoes and white slippers. It all looked very lovely, but the old lady could not see very well, and therefore did not get much pleasure out of it. Amongst the shoes stood a pair of red ones, like those which the princess had worn. How beautiful they were! and the shoemaker said that they had been made for a count's daughter, but that they had not fitted her.
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Marmalade (5)

Marmalade sighed. The tree was right. The other cats had been right. He had neglected it - his precious baked bean tree.
Anyhow, after much persuasion, Marmalade managed to talk the tree into coming back home. I think the tree didn't want to leave in the first place, but his disappearance certainly had got Marmalade's attention. So off they walked, paw in trunk, back home. Out of the park "Hello Bernard!", past the bus stop "Hello Terrance!" (Still waiting for the never-on-time-number-49), past the grocers "Hello Roger!" (Won't have to eat your baked beans - thank goodness), down the alley "Hello Dougbert" (go find another alley you nosy cat) and finally back home.
Now, months went by, and the tree was quite happy, living back in Marmalade's garden. And true to his word, Marmalade watered the tree, weeded the tree, fed the tree, and even went out sometimes just to talk to the tree. So, this is where the story ends ... or is it?
You see, I did warn you that this was not a very pleasant story, so if you want to find out the real ending, then read on, otherwise, stop right here.
Do you remember that Marmalade was a very lazy cat? Well, he was the World's laziest cat, and as you can well imagine, all this extra effort that he had to put into his tree was truly tiring. It was now the middle of winter and it was such hard work for Marmalade to go out and keep the tree happy. Besides that - it was very cold outside - far too cold for a lazy cat like Marmalade.
One day, at tea time, Celia, Marmalade's next door neighbor popped around to deliver a parcel that had been left at her house by mistake.
"Oh great!" Marmalade exclaimed, "Do come in, it's ever so cold outside. Have a cup of tea. I'm glad you came, I'm ever so hungry."
"But don't you eat baked beans from your tree, Marmalade?" Celia asked.
"Oh no, not anymore. You see, this parcel is my weekly delivery of Meatballs. I only ever eat meatballs now. These ones are the finest you can get. They're imported you know? No more baked beans for me! Do sit down next to me in front of my lovely, roaring, freshly cut baked bean log fire."

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Marmalade (4)

Marmalade (4)

"Hello, Marmalade. You do look ever so miserable. I hear that you've lost your baked bean tree." Bernard stated matter-of-factly. "Yes, Bernard. Not that it is any of your business, but I have. I don't suppose you've seen it anywhere?" Marmalade asked. "Actually, I think I have. But before I tell you, I think I should tell you that your baked bean tree isn't very happy." "Humph!" Marmalade said. "Trees don't have feelings. Where is it?" And with that, Bernard directed Marmalade to the pond, where he thought he had seen a very unhappy looking tree sitting on the park bench. Marmalade didn't have to look for long, which was just as well seeing as he is the laziest cat in the Whole Wide World, and frankly, I don't think that he would have bothered looking for more than five minutes. Anyway, the baked bean tree was found by Marmalade sitting on an old park bench. He was hunched over, his head in his hands. He was crying. No, he was sobbing. His tears were huge, fat drops and they were pouring out of the tree's eyes. The tears fell into the pond, and as the minutes ticked by, the pond was getting deeper and deeper due to the fact that the tree simply WOULD NOT STOP CRYING! And can you really blame him? "Um, hello tree." Marmalade said, a little awkwardly. "I've been looking for you absolutely everywhere!" "Well, you've found me. You can go home now." Replied the tree. Marmalade looked around, as if to check that no one else was there. He coughed a light cough; the type grown-ups do when they are trying to get someone's attention. He took a deep, deep breath and began to speak. "I ... I ... I need you tree. You have the most wonderful beaked beans in the World. Come back. Please." "Ha!" scoffed the tree; "Why on Earth do you think I would ever come back home with you? You are a horrible, mean, nasty, selfish, heartless, thoughtless ... cat. You just want me come home so that you can eat my wonderful baked beans. Well, I can tell you something - I shan't! You never feed me, you never water me, you never weed me, you never talk to me, and I can tell you that being a baked bean tree is a very lonely business - no-one ever wants to talk to you because of our unique ... um ... aroma."

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Marmalade (3)

Marmalade (3)

As Marmalade walked around the corner, he came to the grocery shop. Now, they sold baked beans in there, but Marmalade never bought them from here - his own beans from his special tree were far better. Roger, the Tomcat was working in the shop. "Hello, Marmalade! Why do you look so sad?" Roger asked. "My baked bean tree has gone missing and I don't know why. Have you seen it anywhere?" Marmalade demanded. "Well, no, I haven't. Have you been looking after it properly, by weeding it regularly?" "Why should I bother weeding around my tree? I'm too busy. That's far too much work." Marmalade said angrily and with that he gave a 'humph' and walked off, with his head high in the air, swishing his tail around like he didn't have a care in the World. Marmalade continued walking, always looking for his tree. Soon he came to the bus stop where Terrance the tabby cat was standing waiting for the number 49 bus that goes into town. "Hello Marmalade. You don't look very happy. What ever is the matter with you?" Terrance asked very politely. "I'm looking for my baked bean tree. It seems to have gone missing and I don't know why. I don't suppose that you have seen it anywhere?" Marmalade asked, getting rather annoyed. "No, I haven't." replied Terrance, "Have you been feeding it plant food and fertilizer to keep it strong and healthy?" "Bah!" said Marmalade "Why should I bother doing things like that? It's only a tree, and besides, trees are strong enough too look after themselves. I don't have time to do that sort of thing. That's far too much work" and with that he gave a 'humph' and walked off, with his head high in the air, swishing his tail around like he didn't have a care in the World. By now Marmalade had almost decided to walk back home when he came to the park. The park was very big and there were lots of exciting things to do there. Leaning on the entrance to the gate was Bernard the boss cat. Bernard, as you can probably guess by his name was the boss of all the cats in the neighborhood. Bernard always knew everything that was going on. Sometimes he even knew things were going to happen before they even happened!


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Marmalade (2)

Marmalade (2)

Marmalade opened up his cupboard to get himself some baked beans and ... there were NO baked beans left! "Rats!" Marmalade muttered under his breath. "I'll have to go out in that horrible, freezing, icy weather and get some more baked beans. Double rats!" Lucky for Marmalade, in his garden was a tree. This tree was a very special tree because on its long, thick, strong branches grew something very special. Can you guess? Baked beans of course! More beans than you could ever possibly imagine. There were enough baked beans for Marmalade to feed for a month. When the baked beans got picked, the tree would just grow some more. So, reluctantly, Marmalade put on his boots, scarf, hat and a very warm coat. He went outside and trudged slowly through the snow to his baked bean tree, or to where his baked bean tree normally stood. Marmalade stood and stared, for instead of the lovely big strong baked bean tree, was a hole. No tree and no baked beans. Marmalade rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but when he looked again, the tree still wasn't there. "Well! Where is my tree? I must have baked beans, and I won't go to the shops to get them. I want my baked beans and I want them now" he shouted and stomped around the garden like a little human boy. So, Marmalade decided to go for a walk to see if he could find his tree. He didn't like walking anywhere very much, but if he didn't have a tree, then he wouldn't have baked beans, because he was FAR too lazy to go to the shops for his beans, and besides, they just didn't taste the same if they were store bought. Marmalade was such a snob! Marmalade walked down his path, angry that his tree had disappeared like that. He walked to the end of his street where he met Dougbert. Dougbert was a friendly alley cat. "Hello, Marmalade. What's the matter? You look angry." Dougbert asked. "My baked bean tree is missing. Have you seen it?" Marmalade grunted in reply. "No, Marmalade, I haven't. Why has it gone? Have you been watering it properly?" Dougbert replied. "I never water my tree. That's far too much work." Marmalade said, and with that he gave a 'humph' and walked off, with his head high in the air, swishing his tail around like he didn't have a care in the World.

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Marmalade (1)

Marmalade (1) Marmalade is a baked bean cat. I bet you've never met a baked bean cat before. If you have, it was probably Marmalade, because as far as I know, he's the only one in the whole wide World. As you can probably guess, a baked bean cat is a very fussy cat. All baked bean cats ever eat is ... baked beans. Baked beans for breakfast, baked beans for lunch, baked beans for supper and baked beans for brunch - in fact, I don't think that Marmalade the baked bean cat has even tasted anything else except for baked beans - ever! Sometimes, when Marmalade is feeling peckish and wants a snack, he will sit by the sunny window, reading his newspaper (The Daily Purr, and yes, cats can read - it's a common myth that they don't). And, as well as all this, Marmalade is probably the laziest cat in the World too. He's so lazy that sometimes, he won't even get out of bed! I have a tale to tell you about Marmalade. It's not a very nice one, so if you are at all squeamish, then you had better not read any further. Ah! You are reading on! I take it that this means you are a very brave person - don't say I didn't warn you! Marmalade lives in a very grand house. It's all very proper in there - purrfect for a baked bean cat. There is baked bean wallpaper in every room in the house which goes very nicely with the carpet which has a lovely baked bean pattern on it. The lamp in his sitting room is the shape of a baked bean, and the table is too. His lovely, comfortable, soft and squidgy favorite chair is also the shape of a baked bean ... the biggest baked bean in the World, in fact. In Marmalade's bedroom he has baked beans on his quilt and his bed is the shape of a huge, massive, enormous ... baked bean can. No matter where you go in Marmalade's house - there are baked beans everywhere. One morning, at the end of autumn, Marmalade groggily got out of bed, yawned the biggest, loudest, widest yawn, put on his warm baked beans slippers and dragged himself towards the window. He drew back his baked bean curtains and smiled contentedly as he saw a light sprinkling of snow had landed in his garden overnight. "Good," he grumbled to himself "at least I won't have to cut the grass for a while". Marmalade mooched downstairs, still yawning and walked through to the kitchen. Guess what Marmalade was going to have for breakfast? Yes, baked beans of course!

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The Selfish Giant (5)

The Selfish Giant (5)

One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the winter now, for he knew that it was merely the spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting. Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvelous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved. Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, 'Who hath dared to wound thee?' For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet. 'Who hath dared to wound thee?' cried the Giant; 'tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him.' 'Nay!' answered the child; 'but these are the wounds of Love.' 'Who art thou?' said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child. And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, 'You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise.' And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms

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The Selfish Giant (4)

The Selfish Giant (4)


So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became Winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he died not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him. And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. 'It is your garden now, little children,' said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were gong to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen. All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye. 'But where is your little companion?' he said: 'the boy I put into the tree.' The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him. 'We don't know,' answered the children; 'he has gone away.' 'You must tell him to be sure and come here to-morrow,' said the Giant. But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad. Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. 'How I would like to see him!' he used to say. Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. 'I have many beautiful flowers,' he said; 'but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.'
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The Selfish Giant (3)

The Selfish Giant (3)

One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. 'I believe the spring has come at last,' said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out. What did he see? He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. 'Climb up! Little boy,' said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the little boy was too tiny. And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. 'How selfish I have been!' he said; 'now I know why the spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever.' He was really very sorry for what he had done.

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The Selfish Giant (2)

The Selfish Giant (2)

The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. 'How happy we were there,' they said to each other. Then the spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. 'spring has forgotten this garden,' they cried, 'so we will live here all the year round.' The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. 'This is a delightful spot,' he said, 'we must ask the Hail on a visit.' So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice. 'I cannot understand why the spring is so late in coming,' said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; 'I hope there will be a change in the weather.' But the spring never came, nor the summer. The autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. 'He is too selfish,' she said. So it was always winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.


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The Selfish Giant (1)

The Selfish Giant (1)
Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden. It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. 'How happy we are here!' they cried to each other. One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden. 'What are you doing here?' he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away. 'My own garden is my own garden,' said the Giant; 'any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.' So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.
TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED
He was a very selfish Giant.

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The Twelve Dancing Princesses (4)

The Twelve Dancing Princesses (4)

They danced on till three o'clock in the morning, and then all their shoes were worn out, so that they were obliged to leave. The princes rowed them back again over the lake (but this time the soldier placed himself in the boat with the eldest princess); and on the opposite shore they took leave of each other, the princesses promising to come again the next night. When they came to the stairs, the soldier ran on before the princesses, and laid himself down. And as the twelve, tired sisters slowly came up, they heard him snoring in his bed and they said, 'Now all is quite safe'. Then they undressed themselves, put away their fine clothes, pulled off their shoes, and went to bed. In the morning the soldier said nothing about what had happened, but determined to see more of this strange adventure, and went again on the second and third nights. Everything happened just as before: the princesses danced till their shoes were worn to pieces, and then returned home. On the third night the soldier carried away one of the golden cups as a token of where he had been. As soon as the time came when he was to declare the secret, he was taken before the king with the three branches and the golden cup; and the twelve princesses stood listening behind the door to hear what he would say. The king asked him. 'Where do my twelve daughters dance at night?' The soldier answered, 'With twelve princes in a castle underground.' And then he told the king all that had happened, and showed him the three branches and the golden cup which he had brought with him. The king called for the princesses, and asked them whether what the soldier said was true and when they saw that they were discovered, and that it was of no use to deny what had happened, they confessed it all. So the king asked the soldier which of the princesses he would choose for his wife; and he answered, 'I am not very young, so I will have the eldest.' -- and they were married that very day, and the soldier was chosen to be the king's heir.

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The Twelve Dancing Princesses (3)

The Twelve Dancing Princesses (3)

'You silly creature!' said the eldest, 'it is nothing but a nail in the wall.' Down they all went, and at the bottom they found themselves in a most delightful grove of trees; and the leaves were all of silver, and glittered and sparkled beautifully. The soldier wished to take away some token of the place; so he broke off a little branch, and there came a loud noise from the tree. Then the youngest daughter said again, 'I am sure all is not right -- did not you hear that noise? That never happened before.' But the eldest said, 'It is only our princes, who are shouting for joy at our approach.' They came to another grove of trees, where all the leaves were of gold; and afterwards to a third, where the leaves were all glittering diamonds. And the soldier broke a branch from each; and every time there was a loud noise, which made the youngest sister tremble with fear. But the eldest still said it was only the princes, who were crying for joy. They went on till they came to a great lake; and at the side of the lake there lay twelve little boats with twelve handsome princes in them, who seemed to be waiting there for the princesses. One of the princesses went into each boat, and the soldier stepped into the same boat as the youngest. As they were rowing over the lake, the prince who was in the boat with the youngest princess and the soldier said, 'I do not know why it is, but though I am rowing with all my might we do not get on so fast as usual, and I am quite tired: the boat seems very heavy today.' 'It is only the heat of the weather,' said the princess, 'I am very warm, too.' On the other side of the lake stood a fine, illuminated castle from which came the merry music of horns and trumpets. There they all landed, and went into the castle, and each prince danced with his princess; and the soldier, who was still invisible, danced with them too. When any of the princesses had a cup of wine set by her, he drank it all up, so that when she put the cup to her mouth it was empty. At this, too, the youngest sister was terribly frightened, but the eldest always silenced her.

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The Twelve Dancing Princesses (2)

The Twelve Dancing Princesses (2)

Then she gave him a cloak, and said, 'As soon as you put that on you will become invisible, and you will then be able to follow the princesses wherever they go.' When the soldier heard all this good advice, he was determined to try his luck, so he went to the king, and said he was willing to undertake the task. He was as well received as the others had been, and the king ordered fine royal robes to be given him; and when the evening came he was led to the outer chamber. Just as he was going to lie down, the eldest of the princesses brought him a cup of wine; but the soldier threw it all away secretly, taking care not to drink a drop. Then he laid himself down on his bed, and in a little while began to snore very loudly as if he was fast asleep. When the twelve princesses heard this they laughed heartily; and the eldest said, 'This fellow too might have done a wiser thing than lose his life in this way!' Then they rose and opened their drawers and boxes, and took out all their fine clothes, and dressed themselves at the mirror, and skipped about as if they were eager to begin dancing. But the youngest said, 'I don't know why it is, but while you are so happy I feel very uneasy; I am sure some mischance will befall us.' 'You simpleton,' said the eldest, 'you are always afraid; have you forgotten how many kings' sons have already watched in vain? And as for this soldier, even if I had not given him his sleeping draught, he would have slept soundly enough.' When they were all ready, they went and looked at the soldier; but he snored on, and did not stir hand or foot: so they thought they were quite safe. Then the eldest went up to her own bed and clapped her hands, and the bed sank into the floor and a trap-door flew open. The soldier saw them going down through the trap-door one after another, the eldest leading the way; and thinking he had no time to lose, he jumped up, put on the cloak which the old woman had given him, and followed them. However, in the middle of the stairs he trod on the gown of the youngest princess, and she cried out to her sisters, 'All is not right; someone took hold of my gown.'
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