The Raven And The Fox

About This Short Story

Title: The Raven And The Fox From “Fables in Rhyme for Little Folks”

Author: Jean de La Fontaine

Illustrator: John Rae

Translator: W.T. (William Trowbridge) Larned

Categories: Fables

Summary: A story about a fox and a raven which urges us not to trust anyone who is trying to deceive us."

The Short Story

Mr. Raven was perched upon a limb,
And Reynard the Fox looked up at him;
For the Raven held in his great big beak
A morsel the Fox would go far to seek.

Said the Fox, in admiring tones: "My word!

Sir Raven, you are a handsome bird.

Such feathers! If you would only sing,

The birds of these woods would call you King."
... Read more »

The Sheep and the Pig

About This Short Story

Title: The Sheep and the Pig From “The Aesop for Children”

Author: Æsop

Illustrator: Milo Winter

Categories: Folklore, Fables

Summary: Aesop for Children. The Sheep and the Pig. "It is easy to be brave when there is no danger."

The Short Story

One day a shepherd discovered a fat Pig in the meadow where his Sheep were pastured. He very quickly captured the porker, which squealed at the top of its voice the moment the Shepherd laid his hands on it. 

You would have thought, to hear the loud squealing, that the Pig was being cruelly hurt. But in spite of its squeals and struggles to escape, the Shepherd tucked his prize under his arm and started off to the butcher's in the market place. ... Read more »

The Tale of Tom Kitten

About This Short Story

Title: The Tale of Tom Kitten

Author: Beatrix Potter

Illustrator: Beatrix Potter

Categories: Animals, Cats, Juvenile fiction

Summary: The Tale of Tom Kitten is set in the cottage garden Beatrix created herself at Hill Top, the farm she owned near the village of Sawrey. Tom and his sisters look so smart in their new clothes. When their mother sends them outside while she waits for her visitors, she couldn't possibly guess what kind of mess they are going to get themselves into! The Tale of Tom Kitten is number 8 in Beatrix Potter's series of 23 little books.

The Short Story

Once upon a time there were three little kittens, and their names were Mittens, Tom Kitten, and Moppet.

They had dear little fur coats of their own; and they tumbled about the doorstep and played in the dust.

But one day their mother—Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit—expected friends to tea; so she fetched the kittens indoors, to wash and dress them, before the fine company arrived. ... Read more »

The Nightingale and the Rose

About This Short Story

Title: The Nightingale and the Rose From “The Happy Prince and Other Tales”

Author: Oscar Wilde 1854-1900

Illustrator: Charles Robinson 1870-1937

Categories: Fairy tales

Summary: A Young Student is saddened because he has no red rose to offer The Girl he loves. A little Nightingale overhears his plight and makes the ultimate sacrifice in this retelling of Oscar Wilde's classic fairy tale.

The Short Story

SHE said that she would dance with me if I brought her red roses,” cried the young Student; “but in all my garden there is no red rose.”

SHE WILL PASS ME BY

From her nest in the holm-oak tree the Nightingale heard him, and she looked out through the leaves, and wondered.

“No red rose in all my garden!” he cried, and his beautiful eyes filled with tears. “Ah, on what little things does happiness depend! I have read all that the wise men have written, and all the secrets of philosophy are mine, yet for want of a red rose is my life made wretched.” ... Read more »

The Emperor's New Clothes

About This Short Story

Title: The Emperor's New Clothes From “Stories from Hans Andersen”

Author: Hans Christian Andersen

Illustrator: Edmund Dulac

Categories: Fairy tales

Summary: The story of a self-centered emperor who thinks only about himself and shows no concern about his people.

The Short Story

Many years ago there was an Emperor, who was so excessively fond of new clothes that he spent all his money on them. 

He cared nothing about his soldiers, nor for the theatre, nor for driving in the woods except for the sake of showing off his new clothes. He had a costume for every hour in the day, and instead of saying, as one does about any other king or emperor, 'He is in his council chamber,' here one always said, 'The Emperor is in his dressing-room.'

Life was very gay in the great town where he lived; hosts of strangers came to visit it every day, and among them one day two swindlers. They gave themselves out as weavers, and said that they knew how to weave the most beautiful stuffs imaginable. Not only were the colours and patterns unusually fine, but the clothes that were made of the stuffs had the peculiar quality of becoming invisible to every person who was not fit for the office he held, or if he was impossibly dull. ... Read more »