A long time ago and far away there lived a King and a Queen. They were very happy, for their first child, a girl, had been born.
“We must have a grand christening for her,” said the King , who was delighted to have a daughter.
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A long time ago and far away there lived a King and a Queen. They were very happy, for their first child, a girl, had been born.
“We must have a grand christening for her,” said the King , who was delighted to have a daughter.
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Long ago, in a land far away, there lived a beautiful young girl.
She was very sad. Her mother had died and her father had married again. His new wife had two ugly daughters, Esmerelda and Griselda.
Soon after, her father also died and life immediately changed for the girl.
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Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who was loved by every one who looked at her, but most of all by her grandmother, and there was nothing that she would not have given to the child. Once she gave her a little cap of red velvet, which suited her so well that she would never wear anything else. So she was always called little red-cap.
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Once upon a time there was a princess who was ever so proud: if any man came to woo her she would set him a riddle, and if he couldn’t guess it he was laughed to scorn and sent packing. She also had it made known that whoever did guess the answer to her riddle should marry her, no matter who he might be.
In olden times when wishing still helped one, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which has seen so much, was astonished whenever it shone in her face. Close by the king’s castle lay a great dark forest, and under an old lime-tree in the forest was a well, and when the day was very warm, the king’s child went out into the forest and sat down by the side of the cool fountain, and when she was bored she took a golden ball, and threw it up on high and caught it, and this ball was her favorite play thing.
One evening, the sun was just setting in with true splendor when a flock of beautiful large birds appeared out of the bushes. The duckling had never seen anything so beautiful. They were dazzlingly white with long waving necks. They were swans and uttering a peculiar cry. They spread out their magnificent broad wings and flew away from the cold regions toward warmer lands and open seas.
Once there was a Queen. She was sitting at the window. There was snow outside in the garden-snow on the hill and in the lane, snow on the hunts and on the trees: all things were white with snow.
Long ago and far away, there lived an Emperor. This Emperor was very vain and could think about nothing but his clothes. He had wardrobes and cupboards full of clothes. They filled his spare bedrooms and upstairs corridors of the palace.