A Celebration Of Fairy Tales

In a land across the sea, a long time go

                            

A baby boy was born to a shoemaker and his wife.

                            

Hans was loved by his parents and grandmother.Everyone enjoyed telling him stories.He began to make up his own stories when he was young.

Hans went to school for a little while when he was small. He spent most of his time with his grandmother who told him even more stories.

When Hans was 14, he left home and went to Copenhagen to join the theater. He didn’t have much luck. He worked for many families, hoping for a chance to go to school.

                                                  

In 1831 he began to travel around Europe. While he was traveling, he wrote poems, plays and songs.

A small book of his first fairy tales came out May 8, 1935. These included ‘The Tinderbox’, ‘Little Claus and Big Claus’, The Princess and the Pea’ and ‘Little Ida’s Flowers’.

Hans lived in Nyhavn from 1848-1865.It is the original port area for the city.

Tivoli has been a park since 1843.Maybe Hans went there to enjoy the fun.

It is so beautiful, it could be right out of a fairy tale.

Hans had other talents too. He could make paper cuttings of his fairy tales.

This stamp was designed to celebrate his200th anniversary.

There are many castles throughout Denmark.Can you imagine living there?

This is one of Denmark's most beloved treasures.Do you know what fairy tale this statue represents?

During his life, Hans Christian Andersen always thought of himself as this character. People around the world have enjoyed his love of a good storyand clever ways of writing.