FOREWORD
These stories are called fairy tales. They are the secret tales of the world of our childhood, where anything is possible. The animals talk, there are large beanstalks, people can be changed into animals. Anything – just anything – can happen. And of course, don’t forget, virtue is its own reward. Help the weak. Do good. Punish the wicked. These are the messages that shine through stories.

‘Yes of course, Dad, we’re old enough to catch on to that idea.’

But Gosh! Well, that takes me back a while.

When I was a child I listened, enchanted, as Grandfather Hepburn, who was a minister, told his special versions of fairy stories. He retold the old stories, but added something of his experiences and personality. And this is the way with the best of story-telling. It is live, it keeps on growing.

THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES
A long time ago, there was an Emperor who was very rich, and he was very proud.

The Emperor, of course, was supposed to rule his Empire, but he left all the real work to his ministers and was totally absorbed with his own silhouette. He simply walked up and down before the mirror in his splendid clothes.

Let’s face it, the Emperor was very vain.

Now the Emperor was certainly the richest person in his country, and so naturally he could buy the most beautiful clothes.

They were made of silks and satins and velvets, and they were in lovely colours, too. The Emperor looked at himself in his big mirror, and he murmured, not only to himself but to those nearby, “I am indeed, no question about it, the most handsome man that ever lived.”