Hans Christian Andersen (1805 -1875) was a Danish author best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children; his stories, called eventyr in Danish, or "fairy-tales" in English, express themes that transcend age and nationality. Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. Some of his most famous fairy tales include "The Little Mermaid," "The Snow Queen," "The Ugly Duckling," "The Nightingale," "The Emperor's New Clothes" and many more. His stories have inspired plays, ballets, and both live-action and animated films. Montague Rhodes James (1862 - 1936), who used the publication name M. R. James, was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905-1918), and of Eton College (1918-1936). He is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre. James redefined the ghost story for the new century by abandoning many of the formal Gothic cliches of his predecessors and using more realistic contemporary settings. In this book: The Dauntless Tin Soldier The Emperor's New Clothes The Little Mermaid The White Silk Boy The Green Boy and the Three Witches The Travelling Companion Thumbelina The Princess on the Pea Little Claus and Big Claus The Tinder Box The Fir Tree The Ugly Duckling The Lovers The Nightingale The Pig Boy The Elf of the Rose The Storks The Flying Trunk The Garden of Eden The Eleven Wild Swans It's Perfectly Certain The Story of the Year The Shirt Collar The Happy Family The Old House The Shadow The Elf Hill The Bell The Darning Needle The Snow Queen Chicken Greta's Family In the Duck-Yard The Snow Man What the Old Man Does is Always Right The Beetle Anne Lisbeth The Girl who Trod on the Loaf The Racers The Old Oak Tree's Last Dream (A Christmas Tale) Something Soup from a Sausage-Peg The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep"