Interactive English

High above the city, on a tall column, stands the statue of the Happy Prince. He is gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes he has two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glows on his sword hilt. He is very much admired by the town officials, yet a lot of poor people suffer here.

A collection of short stories from one of the most famous writers of very long novels, Leo Tolstoy, including: 'Ilyas', 'Little Girls Wiser Than Men' and 'The Coffee-House of Surat'.

'For man to be able to live, he must either not see the infinite, or have such an explanation of the meaning of life as will connect the finite with the infinite.' Read in English, unabridged.

Set in a magical kingdom where a wealthy prince and a Russian princess meet for the first time and fall madly in love with each other. Their wedding is to be a huge celebration for the entire realm, with all sorts of entertainment, including fireworks as a grand finale. As soon as various firework elements are set in place, they start talking amongst each other, and we meet the very distinguished Remarkable Rocket, responsible for so many of Oscar Wilde's memorable epigrams.

Enter the magical world of four little rabbits: Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter. Join their mischief and adventures in the vegetable garden of old Mr. McGregor. Get to know Peter's friends: Twinkleberry, Squirrel Nutkin, Tom Kitten, Benjamin Bunny, and many other wonderful woodland creatures. Discover how Jeremy Fisher nearly got eaten by the fish he tried to catch and the story of Jemima Puddle-duck, who was annoyed because the farmer's wife would not let her hatch her own eggs.

A collection of short stories by Anton Chekhov, featuring "A Tragic Actor", "In a Strange Land", "Oh the Public", "The Looking Glass", "Her Husband", and "Overdoing It".

These stories are small masterpieces. The scene is set quickly, and within a few sentences the storyline is underway. But all seem to contain elements of the unexpected.

Jack Frost invades Hell. Intriguing right? Well, hold onto your hats, there is more to this story. Demon Winters follows Dee - a pudgy, slacker, emo, and a want-to-be poet all wrapped up into a husky, hoofed Hellion. As he sets out on an adventure with his trusty shovel and treasured journal, overcoming the new snow-covered landscape while battling foreign ice creatures of legend to restore Hell from the icy grip of Jack Frost. ***This book uses explicit language from time to time.***

Profound truths, wisdom and a sense of mindfulness contained in many fairy tales and short stories written by Oscar Wilde and Anton Chekhov have that universal appeal which speaks to audiences of all ages and nationalities. The characters embodied in these stories are both familiar and mysterious; they open doors and make us think and, above all, are sources of inspiration.

A timeless observation of the human condition from one of the best story writers in the history of world literature. Chekhov’s stream-of-consciousness technique that revolutionised modern literature and his characteristic mix of humour and poignancy unite the 11 stories featured in this collection: "A Tragic Actor", "In a Strange Land", "Oh the Public", "The Looking Glass", "Her Husband", "Overdoing It", "Talent", "Anyuta", "The Helpmate", "Ivan Matveyich", and "Polinka".

Listen to the story about two disagreeable people called Tommy Brock and Mr. Tod. Nobody could call Mr. Tod nice. The rabbits could not bear him; they could smell him half a mile off. He was of a wandering habit, and he had foxey whiskers; they never knew where he would be next. One day he was living in a stick-house in the coppice, causing terror to the family of old Mr. Benjamin Bouncer. Next day he moved into a pollard willow near the lake, frightening the wild ducks and the water rats. Read in English, unabridged.

Natalya Bronin is lying in her bedroom, her whole being abandoned to repose. She lies, deliciously drowsy, thinking of her little daughter, who lives somewhere far away with her grandmother or aunt. The child is more precious to her than the public, bouquets, notices in the papers, and adorers, and she would be glad to think about her till morning. She is happy, at peace, and all she longs for is not to be prevented from lying undisturbed, dozing and dreaming of her little girl. Read in English, unabridged.

Once upon a time, there was a man who had fine houses in both town and country, a deal of silver and gold plate, carved furniture, and coaches gilded all over. But, unhappily, this man had a blue beard, which made him so ugly and so terrible that all the women and girls ran away from him. Read in English, unabridged.

There was once a merchant who was very, very rich. He had six children, three boys and three girls, and as he was a man of good sense, he spared no expense in order that they might be well educated and gave them masters of every kind. His daughters were all beautiful, but his youngest one was especially admired, and from the time she was a small child had been known and spoken of only as Beauty. Read in English, unabridged.

Listen to the story of how mischievous Tom Kitten got himself into trouble with two very large rats that wanted to turn him into a dumpling. They smeared him with butter, and then they rolled him in dough. Read in English, unabridged.

The starways' Lone Watcher had expected some odd developments in his singular, nerve-fraught job on the asteroid. But nothing like the weird, twenty-one-day liquid test devised by the invading Steel-Blues. Unlike the usual style of audiobook, this release has a music and effects soundtrack backing the narration, giving it a radio play feel rather than a straightforward reading.

Enter the world of mystery with this timeless audiobook adaptation of Leskov's classic ghost story uncovering mysteries of a haunted castle with a reputation going back several centuries. Featuring ghost action and audio effects, it includes a story that takes you through events unfolding in St. Petersburg in 1859 or 1860. This release also includes another story of mysterious disappearance. A 19th-century nobleman goes missing in Turgenev's "Hunting Sketches".

Smirnov is scared of being robbed. To compensate and deter the cabman from attacking him, he blusters on in a comical way about his fighting abilities, the three revolvers he doesn't have, and how a party of armed friends will join him soon.

I understood that when you love you must either, in your reasonings about that love, start from what is highest, from what is more important than happiness or unhappiness, sin or virtue in their accepted meaning, or you must not reason at all.

One must never judge by appearances! Look at this book: it has long ago been read. It is warped, tattered, and lies in the dust uncared for; but open it, and it will make you weep and turn pale. My sister is like that book. Lift the cover and peep into her soul, and you will be horror-stricken. Read in English, unabridged.

There was once a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was called the Simpleton. He was laughed at and despised and neglected on all occasions. Now it happened one day that the eldest son wanted to go into the forest to hew wood, and his mother gave him a beautiful cake to take with him, so he might not suffer from hunger.... Read in English, unabridged.

Tickets, please.... A phrase familiar to every train passenger. And every now and then, there's one without a ticket, with a good excuse ready. When Podtyagin, a seasoned ticket collector on a train, decides to give up drinking and work honestly at his job, it sounds like a good resolution. And this very day he comes across an 'unreasonable' passenger who finds the very word 'tickets' cruel and absurd. Read in English, unabridged.