Originally published in 1924, this collection The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen is illustrated with the magnificent Art Nouveau color illustrations of Kay Nielsen. It was a project that took Nielsen twelve years to complete, and his illustrations perfectly capture the other-worldly spirit of Andersen's subject matter. It includes such well-known and loved tales as "The Snow Queen," "The Real Princess," "The Hardy Tin Soldier" and "The Nightingale."...

Apart from the milkmaid’s donkey, no one paid much attention to the mighty thistle that lived just behind the hedge, outside of the seigniorial garden. Until the day that a beautiful Scottish lady of noble birth asked the son of the house to pick her a flower – such an honour for the thistle! It certainly merited being transplanted into a pot, or at least inside the garden! At least, that is what he thought... Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875)...

Once upon a time there was a darning needle who thought it was a sewing needle. It was indeed very fine, so fine that one day it broke, but it was not yet over for the needle, nor its dreams.

"In thousands of years they will come on wings of steam, through the air, across the Atlantic! The young inhabitants of America will visit old Europe. They will see the monuments and the disappearing cities." In this short story from 1853, Andersen gives us a vision of the future, not far from our present. He imagines airplanes flying over the oceans, a tunnel under the Channel and American tourists who want to see all of Europe in eight days. Hans...

"From my father, I received the best part of my inheritance... a cheerful temper." And who was his father? The hearse driver! And his son is just as willing as his father and loves walking around the cemetery, which is full of stories to tell. Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author, poet and artist. Celebrated for children’s literature, his most cherished fairy tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid",...

My grandfather, who became a great-grandfather with the birth of the son of my brother, Frederik, was a profoundly good man. He loved us greatly and loved telling us stories. But, he thought that the old times were the best times and thought little of the present, which was too modern for his taste, but maybe there was something that would change his mind... Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author, poet and artist. Celebrated for...

In the tallest and poorest house in a very narrow winding street, was an attic with a single window. Behind this window, was a bird in a cage; the state of the house and the cage were so miserable that the bird did not even have a cup for drinking: he had to make do with the neck of a bottle closed with a stopper. The bird had no problem with this and sang joyfully – as for the bottle neck, he remembered the good old days when he was still a bottle......

One day, a competition was organised: the fastest would be awarded first price. The jury gave first prize to the hare and second prize was awarded to the snail. Long debates followed between the various animals because no one agreed with the results and each extolled the merits of their own agility.

One day, the days of the week wanted to meet up to celebrate together. After finding a date to suit everyone (which was not easy, the days of the week are often busy!), they agreed to come to the party in disguise. But how could the days of the week disguise themselves? This story tells all... Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author, poet and artist. Celebrated for children’s literature, his most cherished fairy tales include...

Everyone was happy: an heir had been born and mother and son were doing well! Almost all the fairies came to offer a gift to the newborn, there was just one missing who should have brought the last pearl... Luckily, the child’s guardian angel knew where to find it!