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THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES
Many years ago, there was an Emperor, who was so
excessively fond of new
clothes, that he spent all his money in dress. He
did not trouble himself in
the least about his soldiers; nor did he care to go
either to the theatre or
the chase, except for the opportunities then
afforded him for displaying his
new clothes. He had a different suit for each hour
of the day; and as of any
other king or emperor, one is accustomed to say, "he
is sitting in council,"
it was always said of him, "The Emperor is sitting
in his wardrobe."
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O. T.
A Danish Romance
by Hans Christian Andersen
Author of the "Improvisatore" and the "Two Baronesses"
CHAPTER I
"Quod felix faustumque sit!"
There is a happiness which no poet has yet properly sung, which no
lady-reader, let her be ever so amiable, has experienced or ever
will experience in this world. This is a condition of happiness
which alone belongs to the male sex, and even then alone to the
elect. It is a moment of life which seizes upon our feelings,
our minds, our whole being. Tears have been shed by the innocent,
sleepless nights been passed, during which the pious mother, the
loving sister, have put up prayers to God for this critical moment
in the life of the son or the brother.
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THE SNOW QUEEN
A TALE IN SEVEN STORIES
FIRST STORY
WHICH DEALS WITH A MIRROR AND ITS FRAGMENTS
Now we are about to begin, and you must attend; and when we get to the
end of the story, you will know more than you do now about a very wicked
hobgoblin. He was one of the worst kind; in fact he was a real demon. One
day he was in a high state of delight because he had invented a mirror with
this peculiarity, that every good and pretty thing reflected in it shrank
away to almost nothing. On the other hand, every bad and good-for-nothing
thing stood out and looked its worst. The most beautiful landscapes
reflected in it looked like boiled spinach, and the best people became
hideous, or else they were upside down and had no bodies.
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THE TRUE STORY OF MY LIFE:
A SKETCH
BY
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN.
CHAPTER I.
My life is a lovely story, happy and full of incident. If, when I was a
boy, and went forth into the world poor and friendless, a good fairy
had met me and said, "Choose now thy own course through life, and the
object for which thou wilt strive, and then, according to the
development of thy mind, and as reason requires, I will guide and
defend thee to its attainment," my fate could not, even then, have been
directed more happily, more prudently, or better. The history of my
life will say to the world what it says to me--There is a loving God,
who directs all things for the best.
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THE DANCE
Historic Illustrations
of Dancing
from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D.
BY
AN ANTIQUARY
Dancing is probably one of the oldest arts. As soon as man was man he
without doubt began to gesticulate with face, body, and limbs. How long it
took to develop bodily gesticulation into an art no one can guess—perhaps a
millennium.
In writing of dancing, one will therefore include those gesticulations or
movements of the body suggesting an idea, whether it be the slow movement of
marching, or the rapid gallop, even some of the movements that we commonly
call acrobatic. It is not intended here to include the more sensual
movements of the East and the debased antique.
Generally the antique dances were connected with a religious ritual
conceived to be acceptable to the Gods. This connection between dancing and
religious rites was common up to the 16th century. It still continues in
some countries.
In some of the earliest designs which have come down to us the dancers
moved, as stars, hand in hand round an altar, or person, representing the
sun; either in a slow or stately method, or with rapid trained gestures,
according to the ritual performed.
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