James Baquet Only a handful Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s nearly 200 stories have entered the everyday knowledge of English speakers. Let’s look at a few of his best-known tales. First up is “The Ugly Duckling.” A mother duck hatches out her brood; one of the babies looks so different that he becomes the laughingstock of the barnyard. He wanders away to live with wild ducks and geese until they’re killed by hunters, but he escapes. Every home he finds brings more ridicule or danger. In autumn he sees a flock of wild swans, but he is too young to migrate south with them. After a cold winter in a cave near a frozen lake, he sees the swans return in the spring, and joins them — even if it means they will attack and kill him. To his surprise, they embrace him as one of their own. Seeing his reflection in the water, he realizes why: He was not an ugly duckling at all, but a baby who grew into a beautiful swan! He spreads his wings and flies away with the others. Next is “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” In this very simple story, two swindlers convince an emperor to spend an extravagant amount of money on a new wardrobe. They tell him that the clothes they are making are invisible to anyone stupid or incompetent. The emperor, of course, cannot see them — but won’t admit it lest they think less of him! The first time he goes out to show off his new “clothes” — bare naked — an innocent little boy in the crowd blurts out the truth! The people realize they have been hoodwinked, but the emperor marches on, prouder than ever. Finally, in “The Princess and the Pea,” a prince is seeking a wife, but each candidate is unsuitable for one reason or another. A young woman shows up on a rainy night and claims to be a princess; the prince’s mother decides to test her by placing a pea beneath a mattress and 20 featherbeds, since only a royal person would be troubled by such a small thing. The next morning the girl complains that she couldn’t sleep a wink, as something was poking her from below. When she reveals the bruise on her back, all are convinced. The prince and the girl become happily married. Vocabulary: Which word above means: 1. someone easily made fun of 2. travel to a new living place 3. area where farm animals can roam free 4. all the clothes belonging to one person 5. group of babies born or hatched at the same time 6. wasteful, very high 7. at all 8. tricked, fooled 9. quilts 10. black-and-blue mark on the skin | 