What's Inside
This collection gathers eighteen distinct tales that blend the domestic whimsy of Copenhagen with the high stakes of folklore. Rather than standard heroics, the narratives follow sentient objects like a status-obsessed False Collar, creatures such as the high-jumping Leap-frog, and restless plants like the Fir Tree that pines for the future. The volume moves between royal courts where Emperors trade crowns for wardrobes and humble rooms where an old poet shelters a shivering, mischievous Cupid. Each piece functions as a self-contained moral or atmospheric sketch, frequently focusing on the irony of vanity and the sharp reality behind social pretension.
Works & figures
- Emperor
A ruler obsessed with wardrobes who parades in invisible threads. (in “The Emperor's New Clothes”)
- The Leap-frog
A competitive jumper who enters a festival to win a princess. (in “The Leap-Frog”)
- The Fir Tree
A restless evergreen that constantly wishes for the next stage of life. (in “The Fir Tree”)
- Cupid
A wet, shivering child who turns out to be a dangerous archer. (in “The Naughty Boy”)
- Tuk
A boy attempting to memorize Zealand’s geography while babysitting his sister. (in “The Dream of Little Tuk”)
- The False Collar
A piece of laundry that boasts of its status to a garter. (in “The False Collar”)
What it's really about
- Vanity
- Rulers and inanimate objects alike suffer for their self-importance.
- Impatience
- Characters often miss the present while longing for future glory.
Why it's memorable
- A Flea and a Grasshopper debating who can jump the highest before a king.
- An old house with a leaden dragon spout that leaks from its belly.
Where to start
Start with The Emperor's New Clothes for a sharp, funny demonstration of how collective silence sustains a royal lie.
For your book club
- Is the Fir Tree’s unhappiness a result of his environment or his internal longing?
- How does the False Collar’s social climbing parody the human desire for status?
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