Showing results by narrator "Cindy Hardin Killavey" in All Categories

Washington Irving was an American author of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories, with his two most famous being "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip van Winkle".

A king, a queen, a baby's christening, an overlooked guest and a curse. Author George McDonald takes the classic motiff and turns it on it's ear when the newborn princess loses....her gravity!

A poor boy is helped on his quest by six servants with very unusual powers.

Here's Anderson's wonderful story of the power of persuasion.

O. Henry wrote many stories, but this, the story of two "ultimate gifts", is his most famous.

The Turn of the Screw has been described by many critics as the most sophisticated and terrifying ghost story in the English language. It is considered one of the great intellectual "spook tales" of all time. The story concerns a naive young governess who is hired to take care of two children in a large mansion in the English countryside. Everything is going fine, until she discovers that the children are not as innocent as they seem.

This is a selection from The Jungle Book, in which a mongoose saves the day.

In this delightful tale, three animals who have been cast out by their masters, a dog, a cat, a rooster and a donkey decide to form a musical group together.Their first "concert" turns out to be not what they expeced when they run into a gang of criminals.

Angelina Turner would heartily agree with Dicken's Ebenezer Scrooge that Christmas is a "humbug". She is estranged from her family and doesn't think much of the holiday so she decides to test her theory that there is no such thing as the "Christmas spirit". But unlike Dicken's character. who needed three visitors to change his mind, Miss Turner only needs a Christmas Angel to show her "the rest of the story" and bring us all to a happy ending and a changed heart.

"Goody Two Shoes", published by an anonymous author in 1765, has long been one of the most popular children's stories ever written. It is the kind of story your grandmother might have told, and its message of optimism, bravery, and the rewards of honestyare giving it new popularity today.

Hester Prynne commits adultery in a Puritan settlement and, as a result, is "branded" for the rest of her life by having to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her breast. Throughout the story, a complex relationship develops between Hester, her lover, her husband, and her daughter.

This is a selection from Kipling's The Second Jungle Book.

Lewis Carroll was a minister in the Church of England and a Professor of Mathematics at Christ Church College. In his diary he described "An expedition up the river to Godstowe with the three Liddells", daughters of the college Dean, "on which occasion I told them the fairy tale of 'Alice's Adventures Underground', which I undertook to write out for Alice".

Here is another of O. Henry's entertaining "surprise ending" stories. A girl moves to the city looking for a friend she had lost track of and finds him in a very unusual way.

Everyone knows about Santa Claus of course and his wonderful trip around the world on the night before Christmas. But what about his early life? Where was he born? What was he like as a youth? How did he come to be such a wonderful toymaker? When did he start using the Reindeer? And, most importantly, how has he been able to live so very long?

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman is known primarily as a "feminist" and "local color" writer, for such classic tales as "The Revolt of Mother". She wrote very entertaining stories that included clear depictions of the pressures that often silenced or devalued women and their concerns. This famous story gets that message across but not without a bit of humor.

"O. Henry" is the pen name of American writer William Sydney Porter whose short stories are known for their wit, warm characterization and clever, unexpected endings. The Princess and the Puma is one of porter's best, and most anthologized stories.

This is the first story of The Jungle Book, in which the reader is introduced to Mowgli, the jungle boy, and his animal friends.

The story concerns a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who conducts a great experiment to see if he can create a living being from the body parts of corpses. Only whe the experiment is successful does he begin to think of the ethics and consequences of what he has done. The creature he created becomes embittered when he finds that no one will love him becuase of his appearance.

This is the timeless tale of Dorothy and her friends, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Cowardly Lion, in the enchanting land of OZ. Those who have only seen the movie are in for a real treat, as much of the book did not make it into the classic 1939 film.