The World of Fairy Tales. The Scarlet Book/ Мир волшебных сказок. Алая книга. Книга для чтения на английском языке

Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry only a princess but she should be a real princess. So he travelled around his kingdom and all over the world to find his real love.

His kingdom was rather big and there were a lot of nice princesses but every time when he came to their palaces he understood that they weren't real princesses. It was very difficult to find her out but his heart always said to him. There was always something wrong with them what shouldn't be.

Years passed, some journeys were very long. Sometimes it took him weeks to reach some overseas kingdoms.

So the prince returned home sad but he wasn’t going to give up. The young man believed that one day his dream would come true and he would get married and live happily with his beloved princess ever after. Very often he saw this fantastic life in his dreams.

One night a terrible storm happened there. There was a very loud thunder and a very light lighting. The sky turned into black and the darkness came to the ground. The rain was streaming down in torrents.

Suddenly the old king heard that somebody was knocking the city gate. Really he was a very loving father and wanted very much his son to be happy. So he looked forward to seeing areal princess too. I don't know why but he believed that she should appear when the ground was shaking of thunder.

So he had a special feeling and hurried to the city gates. When the kind king opened the gate, he saw a very pretty girl. You can believe or not but his heart said to him that the poor wet child was a real princess.

The water ran down from her hair and clothes. The cheerful king asked her immediately if she was a real princess. He was sure that the answer would be, «Yes». Her answer sounded so nice that he was ready to listen to this voice all his life. So he took the girl to the palace where the queen was waiting for them. She wasn't so trustful like her sensitive husband. Only facts could prove her who was who.

But she said nothing and went to the bedroom for the guests. There she put off all the bedding and laid a small pea on the bottom. Then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on a small pea.

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how well she had slept. The princess was a very polite and shy girl and at first she looked confused. The king and queen were so kind to her and she was very grateful to them but the queen insisted and asked again how well the princess slept the last night. So the girl didn't have any choice and told everything. It turned out that she couldn't sleep the whole night. Something very hard was lying in her bed. It was horrible! She complained that she was black and blue all over her body.

The queen was happy when she heard these words, only a real princess could feel a small pea through the twenty mattresses. Only a princess could be so sensitive!

It was that wonderful moment when the prince saw his future wife. To tell you the truth he forgot about everything. It wasn't important to him if she was a princess or not, he just fell in love at the first sight. At once the young man understood that his dream came true and it was his real love for all his life.

Of course, the pea was put in the museum and now you can see it there. The people like to tell this story about twenty mattresses and a small pea but we, of course, know the real truth.

Once upon a time there lived two poor children named Gerda and Kay. Their parents lived opposite one another and they were great friends. All summer long they played together happily in the sunshine.

Then winter came, and it was too cold to play outside. One winter's day they sat by the stove while Kay's Granny told them about the Snow Queen. She was a dangerous woman who lived in the icy north. In winter she flew around and looked through windows frosting up the glass.

That night, Kay glanced out of his window. A few snowflakes were still falling. One flake grew bigger and bigger, until it turned into a beautiful woman made of shining ice and dressed in starry snow. Kay was frightened and suddenly she disappeared.

The weather cleared the next day. Spring was just around the corner. Kay played happily with Gerda and helped her to look after the roses. Soon many rose bushes were full of lovely flowers.

One day, the children were sitting outside when Kay suddenly felt something in his eye. Gerda tried to help him but she couldn't see anything. From that day Kay became a different boy. He hated everything and everybody. He was cruel to all his friends, including Gerda.

When winter came Kay and Gerda didn't play any more, he just ignored Gerda. One evening, Kay was playing in the market place when a large white sleigh appeared in the square. A beautiful lady dressed in white fur sat there. It was a Snow White.

She called Kay but this time he wasn't frightened. He jumped into her sleigh and they flew up into the sky and far away. For many days and weeks his friends and parents looked for him everywhere. His grandmother wept thinking Kay was drowned. Only Gerda believed that her true friend was alive and needed her help.