Showing results by narrator "Cathy Dobson" in All Categories

When the king advertises for a herdsman to look after his gigantic herd of hares, the deal sounds too good to be true. A fair wage and the chance to win the hand of the princess in marriage. But there is a catch. If any of the hares should be lost out on the hills, then instead of wages and the princess, the herdsman should receive a harsh beating. Three brothers each try their luck...but one has a secret magic pipe to help him, as well as the sharp wits and cunning needed to outwit the king and queen.

When a letter of great significance is stolen from the royal palace in Paris, the prefect of police is at great pains to discover its whereabouts. The identity of the thief is known, but try as the detectives will, they are unable to pinpoint the hiding place where the incriminating letter is secreted. When the Prefect approaches Dupin for his advice on the matter, the latter sees the solution immediately. An insight from which he is able to profit handsomely. Poe at his most ingenious!

When the young American Henry Adam accidentally finds himself alone and penniless in London, he unwittingly becomes the subject of an astounding bet between two brothers. He is presented with a bank note for one million pounds, to use as he pleases for a month. One brother believes the note will prove useless to him. The other believes that, even though nobody will be able to offer him change, the American’s mere possession of the bank note will mean that plenty of people will offer him credit.

A splendid collection of both well loved and little known fairy stories which have entertained and delighted children for many generations.

A cruel nobleman grants permission for the marriage of two of his serfs only on condition that the bride spins her wedding gown and a death-shroud for himself from nettles - and that the wedding should not take place until after his death. Every time the girl spins the cloth for his shroud, he becomes violently ill - and his attempts to stop her are thwarted by strong magic. There are many twists to the tale as the magic spinning wheel steers the characters towards their destinies.

When Theophil Eshley, the bovine painter, is called upon by his neighbour Adela Pingsford to remove a stray ox from her garden things go inevitably and comically wrong. No oxen are harmed in the course of this story, but sadly the same cannot be said of assorted chrysanthemums, drawing rooms and egos.

Conradin is a sickly and introverted child who hates his guardian, Mrs. De Ropp. When she takes away his pet hen and threatens to do the same with his pole-cat, whom he worships like a god, Conradin makes a special prayer and his sinister wish is answered. Hector Hugh Munro (aka Saki) at his most sinister and macabre. Superb!

A quartet of short stories by the mastermind of practical jokes, Hector Hugh Munro, better known under his pseudonym “Saki”. This collection brings together four of his most ingenious tales, all of which involve one character playing a prank on the others. The results range from the comic to the macabre… but all are brilliantly narrated with Saki’s superb ironic wit. The Stampeding of Lady Bastable.

When master chef Monsieur Aristide Saucourt presents his signature dish to diners at the Grand Sybaris Hotel, he anticipates they will acknowledge this as the pinnacle of his career. But the moment does not go as planned and ends in a fatal tragedy involving hot soup.

Kipling’s classic tale taken from the Just So Stories. Leopard is having trouble finding the other animals in the forest because they have camouflaged themselves. But he soon learns the advantages of having a patterned hide.

Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) was a prominent modernist writer of short fiction and a close associate of D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. 'The Tiredness of Rosabel' is a beautiful and poignant tale of a milliner who weaves glimpses of inspiration from her day's humdrum experiences into a wistful and romantic dream.

There are certain stories which stand out from the crowd owing to the unique creativity of the plot and the skill with which the author unfolds his tale. This selection contains 50 of the most ingenious short stories ever written. Includes: 'The Lighthouse on Shivering Sand' by J. S. Fletcher; 'The Umbrella' by Arnold Bennett; 'The Lovely Lady' by D. H. Lawrence; 'The Lake' by W. F. Harvey; 'A Tiger’s Skin' by W. W. Jacobs; and 'The Strange Case of Mr. Todmorden' by F. Britten Austin.

A superb collection of classic short stories showcasing the variety, depth and imagination of great Victorian writers.

The "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal - the redness and the horror of blood. To avoid the terrible plague which is devastating his kingdom, Prince Prospero locks himself with 1000 revellers in his castle and holds one hedonistic party after another. For months they celebrate their crazed feasts, until one night a stranger appears at the festivities... a stranger who strikes fear into the hearts of all present. Terrifying!

Frances Browne (1816-1879) was an Irish poet and novelist who is best remembered for her enchanting stories for children, published under the title of Granny's Wonderful Chair. The collection tells the story of Snowflower, a little girl left alone in the world with a magical chair belonging to her absent grandmother, which can take her wherever she wants to go and can tell her marvellous stories.

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (1812-1885) was a Norwegian writer, scholar and collector of traditional folktales. Peter Gynt is the story of a hunter who gets the better of a group of trolls who like to take over peoples' farms.

'The Enchanted Knife' is the story of a young man who seeks to marry the princess. Her father sets him an impossible task to perform before he will grant the suit - but with the aid of the cunning princess and a magic knife, the youth is able to win his bride.

'Mustapha' is a ghost story set in Egypt during Victorian times. Mustapha has taken a solemn vow to avoid alcohol. A British tourist trying to make a fool of the locals tricks him into drinking brandy. What seems to the Englishman a trivial prank has terrible consequences for Mustapha...and his ghost is determined to exact its revenge....

'Number Fifty-Six' is a humorous tale of a Chinese laundryman who gets to know his clients through their laundry habits. He is able to infer much from the state of the various shirts, handkerchiefs, waistcoats which are delivered to him for washing. Of all his clients he is most fascinated by number 56...a man with strangely fluctuating shirt habits. And then one fateful day, a dreadful set of laundry is delivered to him....

'The Magic H's' is a humorous tale of a young, rich, eligible and attractive young aristocrat: Harald Hipperholme. Tragically, the young man suffers a speech impediment - he is unable to pronounce the letter H - which in polite London society amounts to social death. The young earl sounds more like a Cockney without his H's. He resorts in the first place to elocution lessons but with no success. Then he tries black magic and conjures up a demon who agrees to help him. But of course there is a terrible catch to the deal....