The Twelve Outrageous Dancing Princessess Or The Mystery Of The Worn Out Slippers

The Twelve Outrageous Dancing Princesses started out as a play that was performed many times over the years in several theatres with many young performers for large appreciative audiences. In book form it is now the first in the series of Not So Grim Faerie Tales by Lee Green Pope. Each tale is told with humor, surprising twists and turns and delightful characters. Outrageous tells the story of a king who had 12 beautiful daughters who loved to dance. The king would only allow them to go out dancing on Saturday night because they danced so much they wore out their slippers, but the princesses said that was not enough. Every night the king personally locked all the windows and doors but the princesses had found a secret way to get out of the palace. So every night they went out dancing and every morning there were 12 pairs of worn out slippers. Everyone called it 'the Mystery of The Worn Out Slippers.' The king sent out a proclamation that said that if any prince solved The Mystery of The Worn Out Slippers, he would be allowed to choose one of the twelve dancing princesses for his bride, but if he failed he would be sentenced to a mysterious punishment. A handsome, young commoner named Robyn Wood of Sherwood Forest Apartments came to the king and made him an offer he could not refuse. A weird old man who was really a wizard returned Robyn's kindness by telling him how to solve the mystery. Robyn meets the twelve princesses Esmeralda, Delphine, Jasmine, Lucinda, Mimi, Flora, Teresita, Valerie, Willow, Rosalind, Zoe and Celeste. He then sets out to solve the Mystery of The Worn Out Slippers and to win the hand of the beautiful Celeste.

A retelling of the traditional tale of how the king's twelve daughters wear out their shoes every night while supposedly sleeping in their locked bedroom.

Where do the king's beautiful daughter disappear to night after night? And who can solve the mystery of the twelve pairs of dancing slippers, worn to shreds by the morning? Internationally acclained illustrator Jane Ray brings to vivid life the fun-loving princesses of the classic Grimm fairy tale, as they boldly escape the confines of their father's castle. Each one is a character in her own right--a loving sister and a not-so-dutiful daughter--enjoying their moments of freedom as well as their beautiful brocade ballgowns. With its sumptuous detailed illustrations and gold and silver highlights, The Twelve Dancing Princesses is the latest jewel in the crown of Jane Ray's retellings of classic stories, which are themselves rapidly becoming modern classics.

The famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm - stories like Snow White , Red Riding Hood , and Rumplestiltskin - are know to millions of people around the world and are deeply embedded in the collective psyche. In this charming account, writer and scholar Valerie Paradiz reveals the true story of how the fairy tales came to be. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, collectors and editors of more than 200 folk stories, were major German intellects of the nineteenth century, contemporaries of Goethe and Schiller. But as Paradiz reveals here, the romantic image of the two brothers traveling the countryside, transcribing tales told to them by peasants, is a far cry from the truth. In fact, more than half the fairy tales the Grimm brothers collected were actually contributed by their educated female friends from the bourgeois and aristocratic classes. While German folkloric scholars-all of them male-fancied themselves the keepers of the cultural flame, it was a handful of women who ensured that millions would know the stories of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella by heart. Set against the backdrop of the chaotic Napoleonic wars and the years of high German romanticism, Clever Maids chronicles one of the most fascinating literary collaborations in European history and brilliantly captures the intellectual spirit of the men and women of the age. Even more, it illuminates the ways in which the Grimm tales, with their mythic portrayals of courage, sacrifice, and betrayal, still speak so powerfully to us today.

A BEAUTIFUL RETELLING OF THE CLASSIC BROTHERS GRIMM TALE WITH LAVISH FULL-COLOR OIL PAINTINGS. NEW IN PAPERBACK. Ruth Sanderson retells the tale of twelve princesses who dance secretly all night long and how their secret is eventually discovered. Long ago, in the days of princesses, castles, and magic spells, there lived a king and his twelve daughters. Although the king locked the twelve princesses in their bedroom each night, every morning their twelve pairs of dancing shoes were found to be worn quite through, as if they had been danced in all night long! The king proclaimed that anyone who discovered the secret of the worn-out shoes could marry the princess of his choice. Here is the enchanting story of how the mystery was finally solved…

This collection brings together some of the better tales by the Brothers Grimm, including "The Frog Prince", "Rapunzel", "The Fisherman and His Wife" and "Rumpelstiltskin", as well as a number of the lesser-known ones. The fairy tales were first published in English translation in 1823.