Chinese Classics

These four tales are based on very old stories collected and retold by Lin Yutang in Famous Chinese Short Stories, originally published in 1948. Lin wrote dozens of books in Chinese and English, and has been recognized for his witty and warm style of writing, and for bringing Chinese culture to an English-speaking audience. We have selected four of his best stories for inclusion in this book, and have retold them to appeal to modern listeners and use a limited vocabulary of just 700 different Chinese words.

These six wonderful folk tales are based on stories told by Norman Hinsdale Pitman in A Chinese Wonder Book, originally published in 1918. Pitman collected and published several collections of folk tales and other Chinese books. We have taken the liberty of retelling all six stories to be appropriate for a modern audience, and to use a limited vocabulary, most of which are in the standard 1200-word HSK4 vocabulary.

俗话说“不经一事，不长一智”、“失败乃成功之母”。现实生活中，古往今来的圣哲和明智之士为我们的言行处事提供了榜样……俗話說「不經一事，不長一智」、「失敗乃成功之母」。現實生活中，古往今來的聖哲和明智之士為我們的言行處事提供了榜樣……

历史长河滚滚而去，多少英雄豪杰已湮灭于尘埃之中，唯有那些才子的腕底波澜、笔底明珠仍然留存于世……歷史長河滾滾而去，多少英雄豪傑已湮滅於塵埃之中，唯有那些才子的腕底波瀾、筆底明珠仍然留存於世……

This is the audiobook version of the book. The print book has two versions. One version is marked with Pinyin and the other without Pinyin. Please select the version that best suits your need.

"The Most Frugal of Men" is a funny story about masters of frugality outperforming each other; "The Moon-Cake" about the dangers of asking for a cake that would resemble the moon; "The Ladle that Fell from the Moon" tells about the witty attempt to confound an elderly scammer; "The Young Head of the Family" tells about a father being outwitted by his daughter-in-law; and "A Dreadful Boar" tells how a poor old woman could defend herself of an elf that met her in the form of a wild boar, threatening to devour her granddaughter.

《王尔德童话》包含了爱尔兰文学天才奥斯卡·王尔德所写的最有代表性的童话作品，听他的童话，犹如在聆听琅琅上口的叙述，韵律无穷。…… 《王爾德童話》包含了愛爾蘭文學天才奧斯卡·王爾德所寫的最有代表性的童話作品，聽他的童話，猶如在聆聽琅琅上口的敘述，韻律無窮。

We have selected for you 100 best quotes by Victor Hugo. Victor Hugo was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. Hugo is considered to be one of the greatest and best-known French writers. Outside of France, his most famous works are the novels ! "Les Misérables" and "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame". In France, Hugo is known primarily for his poetry collections, such as "Les Contemplations" ("The Contemplations") and "La Légende des siècles" ("The Legend of the Ages").

We have selected for you 100 best quotes by Pascal. Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pascal's earliest work was in the natural and applied sciences where he made important contributions to the study of fluids, and clarified the concepts of pressure and vacuum by generalising the work of Evangelista Torricelli. Pascal also wrote in defence of the scientific method.

Montaigne might well be one of the most sympathetic writers ever known. He is known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre; his style merges casual anecdotes and autobiography with deep intellectual insights. His Essays are among the most influential ever written; one can recognize Montaigne's direct influence on great literary figures all over the world, from René Descartes to Nietzsche, Isaac Asimov, and possibly William Shakespeare. We have selected for you 100 of his most fascinating, insightful, and amusing quotes, so you can meet directly with one of the greatest minds who ever lived.

We have selected for you 100 best quotes by Flaubert. Gustave Flaubert was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. He is known especially for his debut novel Madame Bovary (1857), his Correspondence, and his scrupulous devotion to his style and aesthetics. The celebrated short story writer Guy de Maupassant was a protégé of Flaubert.

Mark Twains Prosa hat in Amerika neue Maßstäbe gesetzt. Seine Erzählungen strotzen vor humoristischen Raffinessen, satirischen Salti und Bodenständigkeit. Jede Geschichte ist ein Erlebnis, da die Figuren authentisch, skurril und persönlich wirken - aus dem Leben gegriffen eben.Die komplette Szenerie erscheint dem Zuhörer so deutlich vor seinem imaginären Auge, dass man das Gefühl hat, sich bewegende Bilder zu verfolgen. Einmal Twain, immer Twain - jeder, der sich für amerikanische Literatur interessiert, landet früher oder später bei Twain. Kein Wunder: Ehre, wem Ehre gebührt.

英俊高大的王子、聪明善良的王子、勇敢机智的王子……他们身上都有我们小朋友需要学习的珍贵品质。……英俊高大的王子、聰明善良的王子、勇敢機智的王子……他們身上都有我們小朋友需要學習的珍貴品質。

这里是童话的摇篮，这里是经典的盛宴，让一个个美丽的小公主带我们走进那个梦幻的世界。……這裏是童話的搖籃，這裏是經典的盛宴，讓一個個美麗的小公主帶我們走進那個夢幻的世界。

In this famous fairytale, the three little pigs remind us that the easiest way, the one that requires less work, is not always the right one. If you want to get something satisfying, you have to give it some commitment...

Would you ever accept to trade a big basket of fresh eggs with a few dried beans? It is like trading a big three-tiers cake full of custard and cream, with a jelly. You need to be brace and a bit of a hothead, but we all know that in farytales unusual things can happen...

Cinderella is the heroine of a traditional fairytale based on the theme of unfair oppression followed by a triumphal redemption. The tale, originating from China, has been told in hundreds of different versions all over the world and is part of the cultural inheritance of many peoples...

Who wouldn't love to have a cat like the one in Charles Perrault's amusing fairytale? A cat that can think, talk, that help his young master to get rich and famous! And to think that the relationship between cat and master has not started in a very promising way...

文字简单，富含韵律，易学易记，朗朗上口，它们仿佛神奇的魔法语言，在含蓄的幽默中，带给孩子数不尽的纯真快乐。…… 文字簡單，富含韻律，易學易記，朗朗上口，它們仿佛神奇的魔法語言，在含蓄的幽默中，帶給孩子數不盡的純真快樂。

相貌美丽的女鬼，善良的穷书生，夜夜相会，可惜人鬼殊途，又有恶鬼阻挠，有情的一对儿，能否冲破世俗的隔阂，生活在一起。…… 相貌美麗的女鬼，善良的窮書生，夜夜相會，可惜人鬼殊途，又有惡鬼阻撓，有情的一對兒，能否衝破世俗的隔閡，生活在一起。