Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales
On December 1, 1835, Hans Christian Andersen published the first volume of his immortal Fairy Tales. The initial reception across Europe was less than enthusiastic, but Andersen’s popularity gained momentum such that fairy tales like “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Princess and the Pea,” and “The Ugly Duckling” became canonized by the end of Andersen’s lifetime. Below, “The Saucy Boy,” one of the fairy tales published in Andersen’s first volume.
Once upon a time there was an old poet, one of those right good old poets.
One evening, as he was sitting …
