The World of Fairy Tales. The Ultramarine Book / Мир волшебных сказок. Синяя книга. Книга для чтения на английском языке
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Some time passed and the minister came to look at these mysterious clothes but he couldn't see them. Of course, it was impossible for him to admit to the Emperor that he could not see anything. Soon the Emperor wanted to see the new clothes for himself. He invited the weavers to bring the new clothes to the palace.
The weavers held the clothes up before him but he couldn't see anything. The Emperor didn't wish to seem stupid in front of his people so he pretended he could see the clothes.
The weavers asked the Emperor if he would like to try the new clothes on.
He didn't have any choice but to put these mysterious clothes on.
His ministers complimented him on how lovely and colourful the clothes looked. They didn't want to admit that they couldn't see anything.
It was time to introduce his new suit to the people of his kingdom.
A great procession went along the streets of the capital to show off his new clothes. The proud Emperor walked at the head of this strange procession feeling very proud of his new clothes.
The crowd started to whisper and laugh but nobody dared to tell the Emperor that he was naked. Suddenly a small innocent boy shouted, «Look, the Emperor is naked!»
The embarrassed Emperor suddenly realised the truth. It was a disaster but he couldn't stop the procession so he walked on through the city completely naked.
Hans Christian Andersen
The Little Mermaid
Once upon a time lived a Sea King who had four clever and beautiful daughters Mermaids. His wonderful palace was far below the sea. The Mermaids liked to hear tales of the world above, but their wise father always warned them it was a dangerous place.
The youngest Mermaid longed to visit the human world but she should wait for some years. Mermaids could only go up above the sea on their fifteenth birthday
At last her fifteenth birthday came and the lovely Mermaid hurried up above the sea. There was a terrible storm. Suddenly she saw a big ship which began to sink. At the helm of the ship the Mermaid noticed a prince who didn't want to give up and tried to reach the shore. Everything happened very quickly and our brave captain turned in the water going to the bottom. The little Mermaid didn't hesitate and dived deeply to save the handsome prince. Very soon she brought him safely to shore, and swam away before anybody could see her.
Day by day the little Mermaid came to shore and waited for her prince. She fell in love with the prince and couldn't live without him. Of course, she knew that Mermaids couldn't marry humans and it made her very unhappy.
The sad Mermaid decided to visit the Sea Witch and ask a wicked lady to make her human. The ugly Witch was ready to help a nice girl but she had only one condition. She wanted to get the little Mermaid's voice for her work. The Sea Witch warned the little Mermaid that she would never talk again and if the prince married another girl she would become foam on the wave. The nice girl didn't have any choice and agreed at once. After it she drank some magic potion and turned into a human.
Next morning, the prince found a beautiful stranger on the palace steps. The girl wasn't able to say anything but they became great friends. Very soon the little Mermaid found out that the prince loved another princess who lived in a far-away country.
What could the little Mermaid do? She knew that she couldn't return home and missed her family very much.
One day, an invitation arrived from the princess who lived far away. The prince was full of happiness and invited the little Mermaid to go to the distant kingdom with him. He rushed to his wonderful princess and looked forward to seeing his sweetheart. They didn't want to separate for a while and could talk for hours. Very soon the happy couple married.
The little Mermaid knew that all her efforts were in vain. So she walked into the sea and her body turned into foam. The kind prince and his bride spent hours looking for the silent beauty. They missed their good friend who came mysteriously to their lives and just mysteriously disappeared forever.
Hans Christian Andersen
The Emperor’s Nightingale
This news reached the ears of the Emperor himself. He flew in rage and demanded to take this creature to the palace. In a flash his servants rushed to the ancient tree ready to catch and bring the magical bird to the emperor's hall. Very soon a cage with a little grey bird was placed in front of him and the plain creature started to sing.
The song of the nightingale was so sweet that our rough Emperor burst into tears immediately. The birds voice touched everyones heart and the nightingale became a star.
All citizens only talked about the magical bird and he became the main sight of the country.
One day, the Emperor received a big parcel with a mechanical nightingale inside. It sang like a real nightingale and was covered with diamonds, rubies and sapphires. The Emperor decided to compare which of them was better. But the duet sounded quite wrong because the real nightingale sang from natural inspiration and couldn’t match the artificial toy.
The mechanical bird could sing for many hours without becoming bit tired. The silly Emperor chose a toy and ordered to chase the real nightingale away. Every day the Emperor enjoyed listening to wonderful songs. He couldn’t imagine his evening before going to bed without these concerts. One evening listening to his favourite song he suddenly heard some crack and his beloved bird stopped to sing forever.
After this terrible event the Emperor’s life changed completely. He couldn’t sleep and eat, he even fell ill and was going to die. The old Emperor lay pale and cold in his bed. He opened his eyes and saw Death. The frightened Emperor understood that it was his end when he suddenly heard a delightful song.
It was the little nightingale from the park who sat trilling on a branch. The nice creature sang so beautifully that in a flash the Emperor forgot about his death and illness completely. The old man was full of energy. The happy Emperor burst into tears but they were tears of happiness and pleasure.
The grateful Emperor understood his mistake and asked the bird to forgive him. The kind bird only wanted to make people happy singing her songs and the Emperor’s tears of happiness were the main reward.