Adapted from the original stories by Hans Christian Andersen

Illustrations by Edna F. Hart

2013 All Rights Reserved.

Considerable work went into the adaptation, editing and formatting of these works.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

Brian Martin 2013

Short Kid Stories

ShortKidStories.com

Table of Contents

Instructions on how to use this bookThe Princess and the PeaThe SwineherdThe Emperors New ClothesWhat a Good Man Does is Always RightAbout Short Kid Stories

More Short Stories for Kids - Any Way You Want ThemCalling All Childrens Writers

Instructions on how to use this bookAs a parent of two young children, I know that reading stories to kids is one of lifes joys. All the stories in this book have been adapted to make them understandable and enjoyable by children of all ages.

The stories are of varying length. To help parents or adult readers, the option of a natural break is included roughly every 5 minutes of reading time. The reading break is denoted by the following:

o --- o --- o

That way, the reading adult can decide whether to continue the story or choose to leave it for another time.

It was great to go back and rediscover some of these old stories from the master Hans Christian Andersen. I hope parents and children will get as much enjoyment out of these stories as I did adapting them.

Yours sincerely,

Brian Martin

The Ugly Duckling

It was the summer time in the country and so beautiful. The wheat fields were golden, the oats were green, and the hay stood in great stacks in the green meadows. The stork paraded about among them on his long red legs, chatting away in a foreign language he had learned from his mother.

All around the fields grew thick woods, and in the middle of the forest was a deep lake. Yes, it was beautiful, it was delightful in the country.

In that wild, sunny spot stood a lovely old farmhouse surrounded by water and from the walls down to the water's edge grew great tall plants.

In this snug place sat a duck upon her nest, watching for her eggs to hatch, but the pleasure she had felt at first was almost gone. She had begun to get tired, for the little ones were so long coming out of their shells and hardly anyone came to visit. The other ducks liked much better to swim about in the canals than to climb the slippery banks and sit under the plant leaves to gossip with her. It was a long time to stay so much by herself.

Finally, however, one shell cracked, and soon another, and from each came a little creature that lifted its head and cried "Peep, peep!"

"Quack, quack!" said the mother and then all the chicks tried to say it too as well as they could, as they looked around them at the tall green leaves. Their mother allowed them to look about as much as they liked.

"What a great world it is, to be sure," said the little ones, when they found how much more room they had than when they were in the eggshell.

"Do you think this is all the world?" said the mother. "Wait till you have seen the garden. Far beyond that it stretches down to the farmers field, though I have never gone such a distance. Are you all out?" she asked. "No, not all. The largest egg is still lying there. I wonder how

long this is going to take. I'm really beginning to get tired of it," she replied to her own question. But for all that she sat down again.

"Well, how are you to-day?" quacked an old duck that came to pay her a visit.

"There's one egg that takes a lot of hatching. The shell is hard and will not break," said the fond mother, who still sat upon her nest. "But just look at the others. Have I not a pretty family? Are they not the prettiest little ducklings you ever saw? They look so like their father the good-for-nothing! He never comes to see me."

"Let me see the egg that will not break," said the old duck. "I've no doubt it's a wild birds egg. The same thing happened to me once, and the amount of trouble it gave me, they are afraid of the water. I quacked and clucked, but it was no good. Let me take a look at it. Yes, I am right, it's a wild bird, Im sure of it. Take my advice and leave it where it is. Come to the water and teach the other children to swim."

"I think I will sit a little while longer," said the mother. "I have sat this long, so a day or two more won't matter."

"Very well, please yourself," said the old duck, rising and she went away.

At last the great egg broke and the latest bird cried "Peep, peep," as he crept forth from the shell. How big and ugly he was! The mother duck stared at him and did not know what to think. "Really," she said, "this is an enormous duckling, and it is not at all like any of the others. I wonder how he will turn out. Well, we shall see when we get to the waterfor into the water he must go, even if I have to push him in myself."

On the next day the weather was delightful. The sun shone brightly on the green leaves and the mother duck took her whole family down to the water and jumped in with a splash. "Quack, quack!" she cried and one after another the little ducklings jumped in. The water closed over their heads, but they came up again in an instant and swam about quite prettily, with their legs paddling under them as easily as possible. Their legs went on their own and the ugly grey one was also in the water, swimming with them.

"Oh," said the mother, "that is not one of the wild birds. See how well he uses his legs, and how straight up he holds himself! He is my child and he is not so very ugly after all, if you look at him properly. Quack, quack!

Come with me now. I will introduce you to the farmyard, but you must keep close to me or you may be trodden upon. Above all, beware of the cat."

o --- o --- o

When they reached the farmyard, there was a big fight going on. Two families were arguing over a piece of fish, which in the end was carried off by the cat.

"See, children, that is the way of the world," said the mother duck, looking jealously at the cat, for she would have liked the fish for herself.

"Come, now, use your legs, and let me see how well you can behave. You must bow your heads prettily to that old duck over there, she is the most important. Don't you see she has a red cloth tied to her leg, which is something very grand and a great honour for a duck. It shows that everyone want to make sure not to lose her. Come, now, don't turn in your toes. A well-bred duckling spreads his feet wide apart, just like his father and mother, in this way. Now bend your necks and say 'Quack!'"

The ducklings did as they were told, but the other ducks stared and said, "Look, here comes another duck family

as if there were not enough of us already! And bless me, what a queer looking object one of them is! We don't want him here." One flew out and bit him in the neck.

"Leave him alone," said the mother, "he is not doing any harm."

"Yes, but he is so big and ugly," said the spiteful duck, "and he must be sent away. A little bite will do him good."

"The others are very pretty children," said the old duck with the red cloth on her leg. "All except that grey one. I wish his mother could make him look better, he is not nice to look at.

"That is impossible," replied the mother. "He is not pretty, but he is very nice and swims as well as the others or even better. I think he will grow up pretty and perhaps even be smaller. He stayed too long in the egg and so is not the right shape yet." Then she stroked his neck and smoothed the feathers, saying "He is not a girl duck, so he doesnt have to look pretty. I think he will grow up strong and able to take care of himself."

"The other ducklings are graceful enough," said the old duck. "Now make yourself at home and if you find a piece of fish you can bring it to me."

And so they made themselves comfortable, but the poor duckling who had crept out of his shell last of all and looked so ugly, was bitten and pushed and made fun of. He was made fun of, not only by the ducks, but by all the chickens and other birds.

"He is too big," they all said. The turkey, who fancied himself really as an emperor, puffed his chest out and attached the duckling. The poor little thing did not know where to go and was quite miserable because he was so ugly he was laughed at by the whole farmyard.

So it went on from day to day. It got worse and worse. The poor duckling was chased by everyone. Even his brothers and sisters were unkind to him and would say, "Ah, you ugly creature, I wish the cat would get you." His mother had been heard to say she wished he had never been born. The ducks pecked him, the chickens beat him, and the girl who fed the poultry pushed him with her feet.

At last he could take it no more. So he ran away, frightening the little birds in the hedge as he flew over the fence. "They are afraid because I am so ugly," he thought. So he flew still farther, until he came to a large moor, which is an area with lots of grass and wet ground

and water. There were many wild ducks living there. He stayed the whole night, feeling very sad and lonely.

In the morning, when the wild ducks rose into the air, they stared at their new neighbour. "What sort of a duck are you?" they all said, coming round him.

He bowed to them and was as polite as he could be, but he did not reply to their question. "You are really very ugly," said the wild ducks, "but that will not matter as long as you do not want to marry one of our family."

Poor thing! He had not thought about marriage. All he wanted was to lie among the rushes and drink some of the water on the moor. After he had been on the moor two days, two young wild geese arrived. They were in fact goslings (the name for a young goose), for they had not been out of the egg for very long. This meant they were a bit cheeky.

"Listen, friend," said one of them to the duckling, "you are so ugly that we actually like you. Will you go with us? Not far from here is another moor where there are some wild geese and none of them are married. It is a chance for you to get a wife. You may make your fortune, even though you are ugly.

o --- o --- o

"Bang, bang," sounded in the air and the two wild geese fell to the ground. "Bang, bang," echoed far and wide in the distance and whole flocks of wild geese rose up from the rushes.

The sound continued from every direction, for hunters had surrounded the moor and some were even sitting on branches of trees overlooking the moor. The blue smoke from the guns rose like clouds over the dark trees. As it floated away across the water, hunting dogs bounced in among the long grass. The poor duckling was very scared! He turned away his head to hide it under his wing and at the same moment a large, terrible dog passed quite near him. His jaws were open, his tongue hung from his mouth, and his eyes glared. He stuck his nose close to the duckling, showing his sharp teeth and then jumped into the water with a splash, without touching him.

Thank goodness for being so ugly thought the duckling, even a dog wont bite me."

And so he lay quite still, while the shots rattled through the rushes and gun after gun was fired over him. It was late in the day before all became quiet, but even then the

poor young thing did not dare to move. He waited quietly for many hours and then, after looking carefully around him, moved away from the moor as fast as he could. He ran over field and meadow until a storm broke, and he could hardly move it was blowing so hard.

Towards evening he reached a poor little cottage that seemed ready to fall down and only seemed to remain standing because it could not decide on which side to fall first. The storm continued so strongly that the duckling could go no farther. He sat down by the cottage and then he noticed that the door was not quite closed, as one of the hinges was broken. There was a narrow opening near the bottom, big enough for him to slip through, which he did very quietly, and got a shelter for the night. Here, in this cottage, lived a woman, a cat, and a hen. The cat, who was called "My little son," was a great favourite of the owner. He could raise his back, and purr, and could even throw out sparks from his fur if it were stroked the wrong way. The hen had very short legs, so she was called "Chickie Short-legs." She laid good eggs, and her owner loved her as if she had been her child. In the morning the strange visitor was discovered. The cat began to purr and the hen to cluck.

"What is that noise about?" said the old woman, looking around the room. But her sight was not very good. When

she saw the duckling, she thought it must be a fat duck that had strayed from home. "Oh, what a prize!" she exclaimed. "I hope its a girl duck, for then I will be able to have some eggs. I must wait and see."

So the duckling was allowed to remain on trial for three weeks, but there were no eggs.

Now the cat and hen thought they owned the house. The cat thought he was the master of the house and the hen was the mistress. The duckling thought that other people might not agree, but the hen would not listen to such doubts.

"Can you lay eggs?" she asked. "No," he replied. "Then stop talking," said the hen back.

"Can you raise your back, or purr, or throw out sparks?" said the cat. "No," he replied. "Then you are not allowed to speak when we are speaking," said the cat.

So the duckling sat in a corner, feeling very alone, but when the sunshine and the fresh air came into the room through the open door, he began to feel such a great longing for a swim that he could not help talking about it.

"What a silly idea!" said the hen. "You have nothing else to do, so you have foolish ideas. If you could purr or lay eggs, you wouldnt have them."

"But it is so lovely to swim about on the water," said the duckling, "and so refreshing to feel it close over your head while you dive down to the bottom."

"Delightful, indeed! It must be a strange sort of pleasure," said the hen. "Why, you must be crazy! Ask the cathe is the smartest animal I know. Ask him how he would like to swim about on the water, or to dive under it. Ask our owner, the old woman, there is no one in the world more clever than she is. Do you think she would enjoy swimming and letting the water close over her head?"

"I see you don't understand me," said the duckling.

"We don't understand you? Who can understand you, I wonder? Do you consider yourself more clever than the cat or the old woman?I wont even mention myself. Don't imagine such nonsense, child and thank your luck that you have been looked after so well here. Are you not in a warm room and in a place you can learn things? But you are a chatter-box, and you are not nice to have around. Believe me, I only say these things to help you. I

may tell you things you dont want to hear, but that proves I am your friend. I advise you to lay eggs and learn to purr as quickly as possible."

"I believe I must go out into the world again," said the duckling.

"Yes, do," said the hen. So the duckling left the cottage and soon found water where it could swim and dive, but he was avoided by all other animals because of his ugliness.

o --- o --- o

Autumn came, and the leaves in the forest turned to orange and gold. Then, as winter approached, the wind caught the leaves as they fell and blew them around. The clouds, heavy with snow, hung low in the sky, and a bird stood among the reeds, crying, "Croak, croak." All this was very sad for the poor little duckling.

One evening, just as the sun was setting, there came a large flock of beautiful birds out of the bushes. The duckling had never seen any like them before. They were swans. They curved their graceful necks, while their soft feathers shone with a beautiful whiteness. They cried out their sound as they spread their wings and flew

away from those cold areas to warmer countries across the sea. They flew higher and higher in the air, and the ugly little duckling had a strange sensation as he watched them. He whirled himself in the water like a wheel, stretched out his neck towards them, and made a cry so strange that it frightened even himself. Could he ever forget those beautiful, happy birds! And when at last they were out of his sight, he dived under the water and rose again almost beside himself with excitement. He didn't know the names of these birds or where they had flown, but he felt towards them as he had never felt towards any other bird in the world.

He was not jealous of these beautiful birds, he didnt even begin to wish to be as lovely as they were. Poor ugly creature, how gladly he would have lived even with the ducks, had they only been nice to him.

The winter grew colder and colder. He had to swim about on the water to keep it from freezing, but every night the space on which he swam became smaller and smaller. Finally, it froze so hard that the ice in the water crackled as he moved, and the duckling had to paddle with his legs as well as he could, to keep the space from closing up. He became very tired and lay still and helpless, frozen in the ice.

Early in the morning a man who was passing by saw what had happened. He broke the ice in pieces with his wooden shoe and carried the duckling home to his wife. The warmth of the house helped the poor little creature get better, but when the children wanted to play with him, the duckling thought they would hurt him, so he jumped up in fright, fluttered into the milk pan, and splashed the milk about the room. Then the woman clapped her hands, which frightened him even more. He flew first into the butter, then into a barrel and out again. The woman screamed and tried to hit him. The children laughed and screamed and tumbled over each other in trying to catch him, but luckily he escaped. The door was open, the poor creature could just manage to slip out among the bushes and lie down tired in the snow.

It would be very sad to tell all the hard things which the poor little duckling had to survive during the hard winter, but when it had passed he found himself lying one morning in a moor, among the long grasses. He felt the warm sun shining and heard birds singing and saw that all around it was beautiful spring.

Then the young bird felt that his wings were strong, as he flapped them against his sides and rose high into the air. His wings carried him on until, before he knew how it had happened, he found himself in a large garden. The

apple trees were in full blossom, and other lovely-smelling trees bent their long green branches down to the stream. Everything looked beautiful in the early spring. From the bushes close by came three beautiful white swans, rustling their feathers and swimming lightly over the water. The duckling saw these lovely birds and felt more unhappy than ever.

"I will fly to these royal birds," he said, "and they will finish me off because they will think that an ugly duck like me should not try to speak to them. But it does not matter. It is better than being pecked by the ducks, beaten by the hens, pushed about by the maiden who feeds the chickens, or starved with hunger in the winter."

Then he flew to the water and swam towards the beautiful swans. The moment they saw the stranger they rushed to meet him with outstretched wings.

"Finish me off," said the poor bird and he bent his head down to the surface of the water and waited for them to strike.

But what did he see in the clear water below? Himself no longer a dark-grey bird, ugly and horrible to look at, but a graceful and beautiful swan.

The great swans swam round him and stroked his neck with their beaks as a welcome. After a while some little children came into the garden and threw bread and cake into the water.

"See," cried the youngest, "there is a new one." The rest were delighted and ran to their father and mother, dancing and clapping their hands and shouting happily, "There is another swan, come, a new one has arrived."

Then they threw more bread and cake into the water and said, "The new one is the most beautiful of all, he is so young and pretty." And the old swans bowed their heads before him. Then he felt quite ashamed and hid his head under his wing, for he did not know what to do, he was so happyyet he was not at all proud. He had been hated and attacked for his ugliness, and now he heard them say he was the most beautiful of all the birds. Even the old tree bent down into the water before him, and the sun shone warm and bright.

He shook his feathers, curved his slender neck, and cried joyfully, from the depths of his heart, "I never dreamed of such happiness as this while I was the ugly duckling."

The Princess and the PeaOnce upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess, but she had to be a real princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There were princesses out there alright, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones or not. There was always something about them that was not quite right. So he came home again and was very sad, for he wanted very much to have a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm came on. There was thunder and lightning and the rain poured down. Suddenly a knock was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious, what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes. It ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess.

"Well, we'll soon find that out," thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom. Then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty featherbeds on top of the mattresses.

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept.

"Oh, very badly!" said she. "I hardly closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!"

Now they knew that she was a real princess, because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty featherbeds. Nobody but a real princess could have felt it.

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess. The pea was put into the museum, where it may still be seen to this day, if no one has stolen it or eaten it.

The Swineherd

There was once a poor prince who had a kingdom, but it was a very small one. Still, it was big enough to allow him to share it with someone, so he decided to get married.

It was certainly quite cheeky of him to ask the emperor's daughter, "Will you marry me?" as he did one day. But he was well known far and wide, and there were a hundred princesses who would have answered, "Yes please!"

Listen on and hear how this one answered.

It happened that in his kingdom there grew a rose tree, a most beautiful rose tree, which blossomed only once in

five years, and even then had only one flower. Ah, but what a rose! It smelled so sweet that anyone who smelled it forgot all their worries.

The prince also had a nightingale that could sing so beautifully that it could sing any music in the world.

The prince decided to send these, his two most precious possessions to the princess. He put them into large silver caskets and sent them to her.

The emperor had them brought into a large hall, where the princess and the ladies of the court were sitting. When she saw the caskets with the presents, the princess clapped her hands for joy.

"I hope its a mechanical cat!" she cried. Instead, the rose tree, with its beautiful rose, came to view.

"Oh, how prettily it is!" said all the court ladies.

"It is more than pretty," said the emperor, "it is lovely."

The princess touched it and was ready to cry. "Darn it daddy," she said, "it is not made by someone at all. It is only something that grew! How boring is that?"

"Darn," said all the court ladies together, "it is only something that grew!"

"Let us see whats in the other casket before we get into a bad mood," said the emperor. So the nightingale came out, and sang so delightfully that at first no one could say anything bad about her.

"Super! Charming! exclaimed the ladies all in one.

"The bird reminds me of the musical box that belonged to our dear emperors wife!" said an old knight. "Oh! yes, these are the same tunes, sung the same way."

"Yes, yes!" said the emperor, and he started to cry with emotion.

"I still hope it is not a real bird," said the princess. Real things are boring. I only like things that are made.

"Yes, it is a real bird," said the delivery men who had brought it.

"Well, then, let the bird fly away for all I care," replied the princess. And I have certainly no interest in meeting the prince who sent me these disappointing gifts.

The prince, however, he was not to be discouraged as he didnt like to give up. He dirtied his face brown and black, pulled his cap over his ears, and knocked at the door of the castle.

"Good day to my emperor," he said. "Can I have a job here at the palace?"

"Why, yes," said the emperor. "I do need someone to take care of the pigs, there are so many of them."

So the prince was given the job of the imperial swineherd.

He had a miserable little room, close by the pigsty, and here he had to stay the whole day long. By the first evening he had made a pretty little saucepan. Little bells were hung all around it and when the pot was boiling, the bells made a lovely tinkling and played a simple tune.

But what was still more amazing, whoever held his finger in the steam from this saucepan could smell all the dishes that were cooking on every cooker in the whole city.

Now the princess happened to walk that way with her court ladies, and when she heard the tune she stood quite

still and seemed pleased. It was the only tune she could play on the piano, which she could only play with one finger, as she never could be bothered to practice.

"Why, that is the piece that I play on the piano!" said the princess. "That swineherd must certainly have been well educated. Go in and ask him the how much will it cost to buy it.

So one of the court ladies went in holding her nose and asked How much for the saucepan?"

"The price is ten kisses from the princess," said the swineherd.

"Heaven preserve us!" cried the lady.

"I cannot sell it for less," answered the swineherd.

"Well, what does he say?" asked the princess after the lady had returned.

"I cannot tell you, really," replied the lady. "It is too dreadful."

"Then you may whisper it." So the lady whispered it.

"He is a cheeky fellow," said the princess and she walked on. But when she had gone a little way, the bells again began to tinkle prettily.

"Wait!" said the princess. "Ask him if he will have ten kisses from my ladies of the court.

"No, thank you!" answered the swineherd. "Ten kisses from the princess, or I keep the saucepan myself."

"How tiresome! But I want that saucepan and I want it now!" said the princess to the ladies around her. "Ill do it, but all of you stand around me so that nobody else can see.

The court ladies placed themselves in front of her, and spread out their dresses. So the swineherd got his ten kisses and the princess got the saucepan.

It was delightful! The saucepan was kept boiling all the evening and the whole of the following day. They knew what was cooking on every cooker in the city. The court ladies danced and clapped their hands in excitement.

"We know who has soup, and who has pancakes for dinner to-day, who has chops and who has eggs. How interesting!" they all said.

"Yes, but keep my secret, for I am an emperor's daughter, said the princess. It wouldnt be good if people found out and said I was nosey, which of course Im not, she said, putting her finger back into the steam.

o --- o --- o

The prince - that is, the swineherd, for no one knew that he was anything other than a dirty pig boy didnt let a day pass without working at something. At last he made a rattle, which, when it was swung round and round, played all the dance waltzes and jigs which have ever been heard since the beginning of time.

"Ah, that is superb! said the princess, when she passed by. "I have never heard prettier music. Go in and ask him the price of the instrument, she asked one of the ladies. But tell him no more kisses."

"He wants a hundred kisses from the princess," said the lady when she returned.

"Hes mad," said the princess and walked on. But when she had gone a little way she stopped again. "Its good to encourage the arts," she said. "I am the emperor's daughter. Tell him he shall, as on yesterday, have ten kisses and can take the rest from the ladies of the court."

"Oh, but we would not like that at all," said the ladies.

"How dare you complain," cried the princess. "If I can kiss him, surely you can! Remember I give you food and money."

The lady went back in to make the offer, but it was no use. "A hundred kisses from the princess," he said, "or forget about it.

Now the princess really wanted that rattle, so finally she gave in. "Stand round," she said, and all the ladies stood around her as before to cover her up.

"What can be the reason for such a crowd by the pigsty?" asked the emperor, who happened just then to step out on the balcony. He rubbed his eyes and put on his spectacles.

"They are the ladies of the court. I must go and see whats going on." So he pulled on his slippers and went outside.

As soon as he had got into the courtyard he moved very softly, and the ladies were so busy with counting the kisses that they did not notice the emperor. He rose up on his tiptoes to see over them.

"What is all this?" said he, when he saw what was going on, and he tore off a slipper and threw it at the couple, just as the swineherd was taking the eighty-sixth kiss.

"Be off with you both! Leave! cried the emperor, for he was very angry. Both the princess and the swineherd were thrown out of the city.

"What a bore, said the princess. Now Im stuck out here with a smelly pig-boy. I should have married that other handsome prince with the rose tree and the nightingale. At least I would have had a roof over my head.

The swineherd went behind a tree, washed the black and brown from his face, threw off his dirty clothing, and stepped forth in his princely clothes. He looked so noble that the princess could not help bowing before him.

Great, thats all sorted then, she said. Ive changed my mind and Ill take you after all. Hopefully most of your bad smell is gone. Youll have to get rid of that bird though, I cant stand it. Now, take me somewhere for food, Im hungry.

"You know what, he replied. On second thoughts, I think Ill say no, thanks. You had no interest when I was an honourable prince. You couldnt see the beauty of the

rose or the nightingale, my most precious possessions in the world. But you were ok to kiss the swineherd for the sake of a toy. Youre not for me after all. Im off.

He then went back to his own little kingdom, where he shut the door of his palace and left her behind. As for the princess, maybe she learned her lesson and became a nicer person, nobody really knows for sure, as it was too long ago.

The Emperors New ClothesMany, many years ago lived an emperor, who thought so much of new clothes that he spent all his money in order to obtain them. His only ambition was to be always well dressed. He did not care for his soldiers, and going to the theatre did not interest him. The only thing, in fact, he thought anything of was to go out and show himself off with new clothes as often as possible. He had a coat for every hour of the day. As often as you would say of a normal king "He is busy ruling the kingdom," you could say of him, "The emperor is in his dressing-room trying on new gear."

The great city where he lived was a very busy place, every day many strangers from all parts of the globe arrived. One day, two swindlers came to this city and pretended to everyone that they were weavers. They said

that they could make the finest cloth anyone could imagine. Their colours and patterns, they said, were not only very beautiful, but were made of a special material invisible to any person who was stupid.

That must be wonderful cloth," thought the emperor. "If I were to be dressed in a suit made of this cloth I would be able to find out which people in my kingdom are stupid and therefore should not be in their jobs. I must have this cloth made for me without delay."

And he gave a large sum of money to those rascals, in advance, so that they should get to work immediately. They set up two looms and pretended to be very hard at work. They asked for the finest silk and the most precious gold-cloth. All they expensive material they got they hid away for themselves and worked at the empty looms till late at night.

"Id love to know how they are getting on with the cloth," thought the emperor. But he felt worried when he remembered that anyone who couldnt see it was stupid. He thought that of course he would be able to see it, but decided to send someone else first to check it out, just in case. Everybody in the town knew how remarkable the clothes were and were dying to see how bad or stupid their neighbours were.

"I shall send my honest old minister to the weavers," thought the emperor. "He can see how it looks, for he is very clever.

The good old minister went into the room where the swindlers sat before the empty looms. "Goodness gracious! he thought and opened his eyes wide, "I cannot see anything at all," but he did not say so. Both swindlers told him to come near and asked him if he did not admire the lovely pattern and the beautiful colours, pointing to the empty looms. The poor old minister tried his very best, but he could see nothing, for there was nothing to be seen. "Oh dear," he thought, "Can I be so stupid? I would never have thought so, and nobody must find out! Is it possible that I am too stupid to do my job? No, I cannot admit that I wasnt able to see the cloth."

"Have you got nothing to say?" said one of the swindlers, while he pretended to be busy weaving.

"Oh, it is very pretty, really beautiful," replied the old minister looking through his glasses. "What a beautiful pattern, what brilliant colours! I will tell the emperor that I like the cloth very much."

"We are pleased to hear that," said the two weavers and described to him the colours and explained the curious

pattern. The old minister listened carefully, so he would be able to tell the emperor what they said and so he did.

Now the swindlers asked for more money, silk and gold-cloth, which they said they required for weaving. They kept everything for themselves and not a thread came near the loom, but they continued, as before, to pretend to work at the empty looms.

Soon afterwards the emperor sent another good man to the weavers to see how they were getting on, and if the cloth was nearly finished. Like the old minister, he looked and looked but could see nothing, as there was nothing to be seen.

"Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth?" asked the two rascals, showing and explaining the fantastic pattern, which, however, did not exist.

"I think am not stupid," thought the man. "Maybe I am not clever enough for my job. I must not let any one know that" and he praised the cloth, which he did not see and praised the beautiful colours and the fine pattern. "It is very excellent," he said to the emperor.

o --- o --- o

Everybody in the whole town talked about the precious cloth. At last the emperor wished to see it himself, while it was still on the loom. With a number of assistants, including the two who had already been there, he went to the two clever swindlers, who now worked as hard as they could, but without using any thread.

"Is it not magnificent?" said the two old men who had been there before. "Your Majesty must admire the colours and the pattern." And then they pointed to the empty looms, for they expected that the others could see the cloth.

"What is this?" thought the emperor, "I do not see anything at all. That is terrible! Am I stupid? Too stupid to be an emperor? That would indeed be the most terrible thing that could happen to me."

"Really," he said, turning to the weavers, "your cloth is wonderful, really wonderful. He nodded contentedly as he looked at the empty loom, because he didnt want to say that he couldnt see anything. All his attendants, who were with him, looked and looked, and although they could not see anything more than the others, they said, like the emperor, "It is very beautiful." And all advised him to wear the new magnificent clothes at a great procession which was soon to take place. "It is

magnificent, beautiful, excellent," they said. Everybody seemed to be delighted, and the emperor appointed the two swindlers "Imperial Court weavers."

The whole night before the day on which the procession was to take place, these two rascals pretended to work, and burned more than sixteen candles. They wanted people to see that they were busy finishing the emperor's new clothes. They pretended to take the cloth from the loom, and worked about in the air with big scissors, and sewed with needles without thread. At last they said: "The emperor's new clothes are ready now."

The emperor and all his barons then came to the hall. The swindlers held their arms up as if they held something in their hands and said: "These are the trousers!" "This is the coat!" and "Here is the cloak!" and so on. "They are all as light as a cobweb, so light in fact, that it feels as if you have nothing on at all, but that is just the beauty of the clothes."

"Indeed!" said all the assistants, but they could not see anything, for there was nothing to be seen.

"Does it please your Majesty now to undress," said the swindlers, "that we may help your Majesty in putting on the new suit in front of the mirror?"

The emperor undressed and the swindlers pretended to put the new suit on him, one piece after another. The emperor looked at himself in the glass from all sides.

"How well they look! How well they fit!" said all. "What a beautiful pattern! What fine colours! That is a magnificent suit of clothes!"

It was announced that it was time to start the procession.

"I am ready," said the emperor. "Does not my suit fit me wonderfully?" Then he turned once more to the looking-glass, so that people would think he was admiring his clothes again.

Two boys were there to walk behind the emperor, to hold up the train of the emperors clothes, that is the material from his clothes that would otherwise trail behind on the ground. They stretched their hands to the ground as if they lifted up the train and pretended to hold something in their hands. They did not like people to know that they could not see or feel anything.

The emperor marched in the procession under a beautiful canopy and all who saw him in the street and out of the windows exclaimed: "Indeed, the emperor's new suit is amazing! What a long train he has! How well it fits

him!" Nobody wanted to admit they saw nothing, for then it would mean they were too stupid. Never were the emperor's clothes more admired.

At last a little boy piped up. "But he has nothing on at all! Hes completely nude!"

"Good heavens! Im sorry about that, said the embarrassed father. Hes just a simple boy who doesnt know any better." But soon, the whole crowd was whispering what the child had said.

"He does have nothing on at all," cried all the people, realising the truth. The emperor suddenly realised they were right, but he thought to himself, "Now I must keep pretending until the end or Ill look even more stupid."

So the emperor tried to walk with even greater dignity, while the crowd laughed and teased him all the way to the end. Afterwards he sent his soldiers to arrest the two swindlers, but they had fled the city with all the money and precious material.

For the rest of his days, people joked about the time the emperor went for a parade with no clothes on and he never lived it down.

What a Good Man Does is Always Right

I will tell you a story that was told to me when I was a small. Every time I think of this story, it seems to get better and better.

There was once a very old farmhouse in country, with a thatched roof, with all sorts of moss and plants growing on it. The walls of the house were crooked and only one window could be opened.

Outside a dog lay around most of the day, barking at everything that passed by. An old couple lived in this house, a peasant and his wife. Poor as they were, they had one thing that was valuable, and that was a horse,

which only lived by eating the grass which it found growing at the side of the road. The old peasant sometimes rode into town on this horse and his neighbours often borrowed it from him, and paid for the loan of it by helping the old couple in some way.

After a while they thought they might as well sell the horse, or exchange it for something a bit more useful. But what might this something be?

"You know best, old man," said his wife. "The fair is on today, so ride into town and get rid of the horse for money or exchange it for something good. Whatever you decide is fine with me, off you go now.

She fastened his tie for him, for she could do that better than he could, straightened his hat and gave him a kiss. Then he rode away upon the horse that was to be sold, or exchanged for something else.

The sun shone with great heat, and not a cloud was to be seen in the sky. The road was very dusty, for many people, all going to the fair, were driving, riding, or walking on it. There was no shelter anywhere from the hot sun. Among the crowd a man came along, bringing a cow to the fair. The cow was as beautiful a creature as any cow could be.

"Id say she gives good milk, said the peasant to himself. "That would be a very good exchange: the cow for the horse.

Hello there! You with the cow," he said to the owner of the cow. "Id say my horse is worth more than your cow, but Id like to have the cow. Will you swap?

"To be sure I will," said the man, delighted.

The men exchanged animals. When it was done, the peasant could have gone home, for he had done what he had come to do. But having made up his mind to go to the fair, he decided to go ahead, if only to at least have a look at it. So on he went to the town with his cow. Leading the animal, he walked on quickly, and, after a short time, overtook a man with a sheep. It was a good fat sheep, with fine wool on its back.

"I would like to have that sheep," said the peasant to himself. "There is plenty of grass for him by our house, and in the winter we could keep him in the room with us. Perhaps it would be better to have a sheep than a cow.

Shall we exchange?" he asked the man.

The man with the sheep was quite ready to swap, and the bargain was quickly made. And then our peasant continued his way on the road with his sheep. Soon after this, he passed out another man, who had come into the road from a field, and was carrying a large goose under his arm.

"What a heavy creature you have there!" said the peasant. "It has plenty of feathers and plenty of fat, and would look well tied to a string, or paddling in the water at our place. That would be very useful to my wife, she could make all sorts of money out of it. How often she has said, 'If we only had a goose!' Now here is an opportunity, and, if possible, I will get it for her. Shall we exchange? I will give you my sheep for your goose.

The other man did not mind swapping, and so the exchange was made, and our peasant took the goose.

By this time he had arrived very near the town. The crowd on the road had been gradually increasing, and there was quite a rush of men and cattle. The cattle walked on the path and by the fence, and at the gate they even walked into a potato field, where a hen was strutting about. The tail feathers of this hen were very short, and it winked with both its eyes, and looked very clever as it said, "Cluck, cluck."

As soon as our good man saw it, he thought, "Why, that's the finest hen I ever saw in my life, upon my word, Id like to have that hen. Hens can always pick up a few grains that lie about, and almost look after themselves with no work. I think it would be a good exchange if I

could get it for my goose. Will we exchange?" he asked the hen owner.

"Exchange?" repeated the man. "Well, that would be fine, he replied. So they made an exchange. The man took the goose, and the peasant carried off the hen.

o --- o --- o

Now all this swapping of animals on his way to the fair was hard work and he was hot and tired. He wanted something to eat, and a nice drink, so he went into an inn. He was just about to enter, when the stable man came out carrying a sack. "What have you in that sack?" asked the peasant.

"Rotten apples," answered the stable man, "a whole sack full of them. They will be good for feeding the pigs.

"Why, thats a terrible waste," the peasant replied. "Id like to take them home to my wife. Last year our old apple tree gave us only one apple, and she kept it in the cupboard till it went rotten. She would be delighted with a whole sack full.

"What will you give me for the sack of apples?" asked the man.

Well, I will give you my hen in exchange," he replied.

So he gave up the hen and took the apples, which he carried into the inn. He leaned the sack carefully against the stove, and then went to the table. But he didnt realise the stove was hot.

There were many people presenthorse-dealers, cattle-owners and two men from England. The Englishmen were so rich that their pockets bulged and seemed ready to burst. They suddenly noticed a hissing sound coming from the apples that were beginning to roast by the stove and went over. The peasant saw them and told them the whole story of the horse, which he had exchanged for a cow, and all the rest of it, down to the sack of now roasting, rotten apples.

"Well, your wife wont be very happy with you when you get home," laughed one of the Englishmen. "Won't she be angry with you and give out to you?"

"What! Give out for what?" said the peasant. "Why, she will kiss me and say 'What a good man does is always right.'"

"Lets make a bet on it," said the Englishman. "We'll bet you a ton of gold coins.

"No, a sack of gold will be enough," replied the peasant. "I can only bet a sack of apples in return, and I'll bet myself and my wife as well. That will be a fair bet I think.

"Done! replied the Englishmen and so the bet was made.

A coach came to the door and the two Englishmen and the peasant got in, and away they drove. Soon they arrived at the peasant's house.

"Good evening, dear," he said to his wife when she came out to greet them.

"Good evening, my dear," she replied.

"I've made the exchange."

"Ah, well, you know best about these things," said the woman. Then she hugged him and paid no attention to the strangers. She didnt notice the sack.

"I got a cow in exchange for the horse," said the peasant.

"Oh, how delightful!" she said. "Now we shall have plenty of milk, and butter, and cheese on the table. That was a great swap."

"Yes, but I changed the cow for a sheep."

"Ah, better still!" cried the wife. "You always think of everything. We have just enough land for a sheep to graze. Sheeps milk and cheese, woolen jackets and warm stockings! The cow could not give all these things. You think of everything!"

"But I changed away the sheep for a goose."

"Then we shall have roast goose to eat this year. You dear man, you are always thinking of something to please me. This is delightful. We can fatten up the goose before we roast her."

"But I gave away the goose for a hen."

"A hen! Well, that was a good exchange," replied the woman. "The hen will lay eggs and hatch them, and we shall have chickens. We shall soon have a yard full of hens and chickens. Oh, this is just what I was wishing for!"

"Yes, but I exchanged the hen for a sack of rotten apples."

"What! I must really give you a kiss for that!" cried the wife. "My dear, good husband, now I'll tell you something. Do you know, almost as soon as you left me this morning, I began thinking of what I could give you nice for supper this evening, and then I thought of fried eggs and bacon and herbs. I had eggs and bacon but no herbs, so I went over to the schoolmaster's. I knew they had plenty of herbs, but the schoolmistress is very mean, although she can smile so sweetly. I asked her to lend me a handful of herbs. 'Lend!' she exclaimed, 'I have nothing to lend you, not even a rotten apple, my dear woman,' and she shut the door in my face. But now I can lend her ten, or a whole sack full. It makes me laugh to think bringing them to her and see the look on her face. Then she gave him a hearty kiss.

"This is great," said both the Englishmen. "Things keep getting worse and they are still having a laugh. It's worth the money to see it." So they paid all the gold to the peasant who, whatever he did, however bad, was always kissed for it. Isnt that a great way to be?

This is the story I heard when I was a child. And now you have heard it, too and know that "What a good man does is always right."

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Instructions on how to use this bookThe Princess and the PeaThe SwineherdThe Emperors New ClothesWhat a Good Man Does is Always RightAbout Short Kid StoriesMore Short Stories for Kids - Any Way You Want ThemCalling All Childrens Writers