Posted by “Everything you look at can become a fairy tale and you can get a story from everything you touch.”
– Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805. To celebrate his birth and all that he contributed to the world and my life (I was obsessed with reading “The Emperor’s New Clothes” when I was a kid), here are five things you probably didn’t know about Hans Christian Andersen:
– Hans Christian Andersen took a trip to England and stayed with Charles Dickens for over a month. Rumour has it that Dickens and his family were not too impressed with him and felt that he overstayed his welcome. By a lot.
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– Many people believe that Hans Christian Andersen was dyslexic because of the poor spelling found in his diaries and manuscripts, but that is apparently not true.
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– There is a statue commemorating Hans Christian Andersen and his fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling” in Central Park. The memorial cost $75,000 but don’t be afraid to climb it. That’s what it’s meant for.
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– Andersen originally wrote “The Little Mermaid” as a ballet, and it has a much more depressing ending than the Disney version.
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– It is believed that the first fairy tale he ever wrote was called “The Tallow Candle”, which was only recently discovered at the bottom of an old box in Denmark’s national library. You can read it here.
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