E Nesbit

Originally published in 1907. From the author's preface, "Shakespeare wrote for grown-up people, for men and women, and in words that little folks cannot understand. Hence this volume. To reproduce the entertaining stories contained in the plays of Shakespeare, in a form so simple that children can understand and enjoy them, was the object had in view by the author of these Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare...the editor has...added a collection...

A collection of tales which shows how dragons can shape the fates of princes, queens, and ordinary children.

Cursed by an evil fairy at her christening, Princess Melisande grows up bald but finds herself facing another set of problems when her wish for golden hair is fulfilled.

After climbing to the top of a huge beanstalk, a boy uses his quick wits to outsmart a giant and gain a fortune for himself and his mother.

You can imagine the packing, the running up and down stairs, the difficulty of choosing what to leave behind-for that is, after all, what it comes to when you are going away, much more than the difficulty of choosing what you will take with you. Miss Sandal, surrounded by heaps of toys and books-far too large to have been got into the trunks, even if all the clothes had been left out-at last settled the question by promising to send on, by post or...

Eleven of Shakespeare's plays rewritten in narrative form. Includes a brief biography on Shakespeare, and the social customs that existed when he was a boy.

Matilda and her stern nursemaid accidentally pay a visit to a kingdom in which everything is constantly made topsy-turvy every time the Cockatoucan laughs, and so Matilda sets herself to putting things right once and for all.

Playing in the library of their home, Rosamund and Fabian builda huge town out of books, only to find themselves trapped therewhen they go inside.