39 things from this book went into her brain. Here are the first 6.
In The Emperor's New Clothes, Andersen shows how a whole court will praise what it cannot see, because each person fears being the only one who looks foolish.
In The Swineherd, Andersen has the Prince leave a princess who would trade a real rose and nightingale for a cheap plaything, so she cannot tell true worth from a trinket.
In The Shoes of Fortune, Care doubts that getting every wish fulfilled would make anyone happy, which is a useful check on what we chase.
In The Shoes of Fortune, the Councillor longs for an older, grander age, then finds he is miserable in it and is glad of his own time, faults and all.
In The Shoes of Fortune, the watchman swaps places with the lieutenant, finds the officer's life heavier than his own, and wants his old life back. We tend to envy lives we have not lived.
In The Shoes of Fortune, a man stuck in a railing is too proud to call for help and forgets the one wish that would free him. We often miss the simple way out because we are busy protecting our pride.
In The Shoes of Fortune, a young man who wants to see into other people's hearts finds the sight of a sick mother's quiet faith makes him feel humbler and better than before.
In The Shoes of Fortune, a flower credits the light for its beauty, and a poet answers that the air is what keeps it alive. The things that quietly sustain us are often the ones we overlook.
In The Shoes of Fortune, a clever parrot mocks everyone for sport, while the canary is the one who quietly opens a cage door. Andersen shows that wit without kindness is poor company.
In The Shoes of Fortune, the young man crosses the Alps and then wishes himself across again, unable to enjoy the view while fretting over his papers. A restless mind carries its worries wherever it goes.
In The Fir Tree, the little tree wants to be grown up and far away, so the sun, the birds and the children who admire him give him no pleasure. Wanting always to be somewhere else can hide the good we already have.
In The Fir Tree, the tree only sees how happy it was when its good days are over. Andersen suggests we often do not notice the happy times while we are living them.
In The Snow Queen, a single splinter of a spiteful mirror carries the power of the whole thing, so people see only what is ugly. Andersen suggests a small habit of cynicism can colour how we see everything.
In The Snow Queen, Kay copies the faults of everyone around him and the crowd calls him clever. Andersen shows how easily mockery gets mistaken for wit.
In The Snow Queen, Gerda offers her red shoes, her most precious thing, to the river for Kay. Andersen shows love that is willing to give up what it treasures most.
In The Snow Queen, the old woman's comforts slowly make Gerda forget Kay. Andersen shows that a soft, easy life can quietly cost us the people we most need to remember.
In The Snow Queen, suitors who chatter freely in the street fall silent before the throne, and the hungry ones will not share their bread. Andersen shows how grandeur can silence people and make them unkind.
In The Snow Queen, a wild robber girl decides to protect Gerda after hearing why she is travelling so far. Andersen shows that a sincere story told plainly can soften even a hard heart.
In The Snow Queen, the Finland woman tells Gerda that her power already lies in her own heart, and that she must reach Kay herself. Andersen suggests that sincere love is a strength that needs no borrowed magic.
In The Snow Queen, Gerda's warm tears thaw the ice in Kay's heart. Andersen suggests that patient, honest love can reach someone who has grown cold.
The Snow Queen ends with Kay and Gerda grown up yet still children at heart. Andersen suggests that growing older need not mean losing the warmth and wonder of childhood.
In The Elderbush, an old couple forget the date of their anniversary but remember every moment of their youth. Andersen suggests a shared life lives on in memory long after the dates are lost.
In The Elderbush, old Nanny says the most wonderful stories grow out of ordinary reality. Andersen suggests everyday life, looked at closely, holds all the wonder a story needs.
In The Elderbush, Andersen names the tree's spirit Remembrance. A kept flower stays fresh long after the moment has passed, so the things we hold in memory keep their colour.
In The Bell, most of the crowd stop at the first willows and still claim they have found the bell. Andersen shows how easily people settle for the nearest thing and call it the destination.
In The Bell, the King's Son goes on alone when others turn back, because he hears a call he cannot ignore. Andersen admires the resolute person who keeps going past the easy stopping points.
In The Old House, a small boy who has never spoken to the lonely old man across the street sends him a pewter soldier. Andersen shows that a small, unasked kindness can open a door to someone who has been left alone.
In The Old House, when a young wife hears about the lonely old man, she promises to remember him. Andersen suggests that remembering people who were forgotten is a kindness in itself.
In The Story of a Mother, the grieving mother warms a freezing thorn-bush against her breast to learn the way, and the bush blooms. Andersen shows that a loving search asks us to give something of ourselves along the road.
In The Story of a Mother, Death shows the mother both flowers and their futures, and she gives up her bargaining, asking that God's will be done. Andersen shows love learning to accept what it cannot control.
In The False Collar, a collar boasts about the boot-jack and comb of its master as if they were its own. Andersen mocks people who borrow importance from others and then talk as if it were theirs.
In The Shadow, a scholar sends his shadow off to spy on a neighbour and it never comes back. Andersen warns what can happen to the parts of ourselves we let run off without us.
In The Shadow, the shadow rises to wealth and honour by exposing other people's secrets, and people both fear him and fawn on him. Andersen shows how gossip can buy a false standing.
In The Shadow, the learned man who tries to tell the truth is threatened with prison, and the princess believes the confident shadow over him. Andersen shows how a bold liar with power can be trusted over an honest man.
In The Little Match Girl, each small match gives the girl a moment of warmth and a glimpse of comfort. Andersen shows how small comforts can carry someone through a hard night, and how much suffering goes unseen.
In The Dream of Little Tuk, a boy who helps an old washerwoman finds help come back to him in a dream. Andersen suggests kindness given freely tends to return in ways we do not expect.
In The Naughty Boy, a kind old poet lets a cold, drenched child into his warm room without asking who he is. Andersen treats taking in the cold and wet as the simplest kindness, one that needs no cleverness to offer.
In The Red Shoes, Karen goes to her confirmation thinking only of her shoes and forgets to pray. Andersen shows how vanity can crowd out the things that matter most while we are standing in them.
In The Red Shoes, Karen finds peace only after she gives up wanting to be admired and takes humble work in a clergyman's house. Andersen suggests that service and quiet devotion can repair what vanity has broken.
