The Princess and the Pea

by Hans Christian Andersen Illustrated by Edmund Dulac There was once a prince, and he wanted a princess, but then she must be a real Princess. He travelled right around the world to find one, but there was always something wrong. There were plenty of princesses, but whether they were real princesses he...

The Tortoise and the Hare

One of Aesop’s Fables Illustrated by Arthur Rackham Once upon a time there was a hare who, boasting how he could run faster than anyone else, was forever teasing tortoise for its slowness. Then one day, the irate tortoise answered back: “Who do you think you are? There’s no denying...

The Espousal of the Rat’s Daughter

by Grace James Illustrated by Warwick Goble Mr. Medzumi, the Rat, was an important personage in the hamlet where he lived-at least he was so in his own and his wife’s estimation. This was in part, of course, due to the long line of ancestors from whom he was descended, and to their intimate...

The Peony Lantern

by Grace James Illustrated by Warwick Goble In Yedo there dwelt a samurai called Hagiwara. He was a samurai of the hatamoto, which is of all the ranks of samurai the most honourable. He possessed a noble figure and a very beautiful face, and was beloved of many a lady of Yedo, both openly and in secret. ...

The Moon Maiden

by Grace James Illustrated by Warwick Goble There was an old bamboo cutter called Také Tori. He was an honest old man, very poor and hard-working, and he lived with his good old wife in a cottage on the hills. Children they had none, and little comfort in their old age, poor souls. Také Tori...

The Little Mermaid

Classic Fairy Tale Illustrated by Edmund Dulac Once upon a time, in a splendid palace on the bed of the bluest ocean, lived the Sea King, a wise old triton with a long flowing white beard. He lived in a magnificent palace, built of gaily coloured coral and seashells, together with his five daughters, very...

The Fly-Away Horse

by Eugene Field Illustrated by Maxfield Parrish Oh, a wonderful horse is the Fly-Away Horse – Perhaps you have seen him before; Perhaps, while you slept, his shadow has swept Through the moonlight that floats on the floor. For it’s only at night, when the stars twinkle bright, That the...

The Dinkey Bird

by Eugene Field Illustrated by Maxfield Parrish In an ocean, ‘way out yonder (As all sapient people know), Is the land of Wonder-Wander, Whither children love to go; It’s their playing, romping, swinging, That give great joy to me While the Dinkey-Bird goes singing In the amfalula...

My Shadow

by Robert Louis Stevenson Illustrated by Margaret Tarrant I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed. The funniest thing about him...

Bed in Summer

by Robert Louis Stevenson Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith In winter I get up at night And dress by yellow candle-light. In summer, quite the other way, I have to go to bed by day. I have to go to bed and see The birds still hopping on the tree, Or hear the grown-up people’s feet Still going...