Showing results by narrator "Bert Stauff" in All Categories

The Little Brother and Sister is a tale from the Brothers Grimm about two siblings escaping their abusive, witch stepmother. She enchants all water sources in the forest to transform anyone who drinks from them into an animal.

“Faithful John,” a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, follows a loyal servant named John who promises a dying king to protect his son, the young prince, and keep him from harm. The king entrusts John with the secret of a forbidden room containing a portrait of a beautiful princess, warning that if the prince sees it, he will fall in love and face grave dangers. Despite John’s efforts, the prince discovers the portrait and insists on finding the princess to marry her.

In “The Musicians of Bremen,” four aging domestic animals—a donkey, dog, cat, and rooster—are neglected by their masters and decide to run away to Bremen to become town musicians. On their journey, they encounter a house inhabited by robbers. The animals work together to create a cacophony of noise, scaring away the robbers and claiming the house for themselves. Despite their initial goal, the animals decide to settle in the robbers’ house, finding happiness and contentment in their new home.

The Fisherman and His Wife, a classic fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, stands as a stark and timeless parable exploring the complexities of human desire, the perils of unchecked ambition, and the true meaning of happiness.

“The Frog Prince,” also known as “The Frog King, or Iron Henry,” is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm and is the first story in their collection of “Children’s and Household Tales,” published in 1812. The tale has captivated audiences for many years, offering moral lessons about keeping promises, looking beyond appearances, and the power of love and perseverance. A beautiful, but spoiled, princess often played with her golden ball by a well in the woods. One day, she dropped the ball into the well and began to cry.

“The Ugly Duckling” is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It tells the story of a mother duck whose eggs are hatching. The last of her baby birds to hatch is a larger bird than the other ducklings, and the other birds and animals around on the farm consider it to be “ugly.” The story is associated with Andersen’s own life, and the three trials of the ugly duckling correspond to the three stages of Andersen’s life. The duckling spent the winter in a marshy pond and finally, spring arrived.

After climbing through a mirror, Alice enters a backward, chess-like world where she becomes a pawn aiming to reach the eighth square and become a queen. On her journey toward adulthood, she meets strange, nonsensical characters like Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Jabberwock, and Humpty Dumpty. Alice’s adventure is revealed to be a dream at the end, leaving her to wonder who was dreaming and what was real.

The Real Princess, also known as The Princess and the Pea, is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a prince seeking a true princess to marry. The prince travels the world, but cannot find a princess he feels is truly authentic. One stormy night, a bedraggled young woman claiming to be a real princess arrives at the castle gate.

Puss in Boots is an anthropomorphic cat who helps his penniless master gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess. He achieves this through cleverness and deceit, presenting gifts from his master and eventually tricking an ogre out of his castle. In the end, the miller’s son, with Puss’s help, marries the princess and becomes wealthy, rewarding the cat with a life of luxury as a lord.

In Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Fir Tree, a young fir tree in the forest longs to grow tall and experience more exciting things than its current life offers. It yearns to be cut down and become a ship’s mast, then later desires the splendor of being a decorated Christmas tree in a warm house.

In The Little Mermaid, a mermaid gives up her voice to become human and pursue a prince she loves, but her love is ultimately unrequited. She is given a chance to kill the prince and return to the sea, but she chooses to sacrifice herself, becoming sea foam. Instead of ceasing to exist, she becomes a spirit, working towards earning an immortal soul through good deeds.

Hans Christian Andersen’s The Old House tells the story of a dilapidated, centuries-old house in a street of modern homes. A curious boy befriends the lonely old man who lives there and explores the house, filled with relics and memories of the past. The house and its contents, including a lost tin soldier, are eventually sold and the house is demolished, yet its history and the friendship it fostered endure as memories in the boy’s mind, represented by the rediscovery of the tin soldier years later.

Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Swineherd” tells the story of a Prince who, rejected by an arrogant Princess who disdains his genuine gifts of a rose and nightingale, disguises himself as a swineherd. The Princess is then lured by the Swineherd’s clever, but ultimately superficial, trinkets, trading kisses for a magical pot and a musical rattle. When the Emperor discovers his daughter’s scandalous behavior, he banishes them both, only for the Prince to reveal his true identity and denounce her for valuing triviality over true worth and rejecting his genuine love.

“Hansel and Gretel” is a classic fairy tale about a brother and sister abandoned in a forest and encountering a witch. They are lured to a gingerbread house, but Gretel outsmarts the witch and helps Hansel escape, revealing the witch’s evil nature and ultimately destroying it. The story emphasizes themes of survival, resourcefulness, and sibling love.