Listen to the dialogue between a mother and her elder daughter, Julia.0:04
Decide which of the facts in your workbook are true, false or not stated in the dialogue.0:07
Ma', am, I have just read the Ugly Duckling to Anne.0:13
She liked it very much.0:17
But it turned out that I know very little about the famous Danish writer and couldn't answer Anne's questions about him.0:19
I have certainly read a lot of his stories.0:27
The Mermaid, the Emperor's New Clothes, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and many more.0:30
But I don't think I know anything about his life.0:37
His childhood, for example.0:40
Well, he was born in Denmark.0:42
His parents were rather poor, but the boy was happy.0:45
His mother and father loved him and did everything they could for their son.0:49
Hans Christian's grandmother was an excellent storyteller and often told her little grandson wonderful tales of magic and adventure.0:54
So he had quite a happy childhood, didn't he?1:03
On the one hand, his family loved him very much.1:09
His father once made him a toy theatre and his mother, Anne Marie taught the boy to make clothes for his cardboard actors and actresses.1:12
Hans Christian made plays with his toy actors.1:22
And one day he understood he would like to be an actor.1:25
He dreamed of going to the city of Copenhagen to win riches and fame.1:28
I think all boys and girls think of becoming actors in their childhood.1:36
I wanted that myself when I was younger.1:41
But you said he was happy on the one hand.1:44
What about the other?1:47
On the other hand he was very unhappy for many years because as it turned out, he was not talented.1:49
And he was not good looking either.1:56
He was very tall for his age and clumsy.1:58
His legs seemed too long for his body.2:02
His feet were very large and so was his nose.2:05
When he danced, people usually laughed.2:08
There was no grace in his clumsy body and no delight in his long, sad face.2:11
And he wasn't a healthy boy, so he couldn't work and earn money.2:17
How did he manage then?2:22
He suffered a lot when he understood he couldn't be an actor, a singer or a dancer and he didn't have money.2:24
He went to Copenhagen when he was 14 and there some kind people helped him to go to school.2:31
The friendship with Jonas Collin and his family helped Anderson to finish school.2:38
He began writing poems.2:44
They were no success.2:46
But then, at the age of 30, he began writing fairy tales.2:48
He wrote them with such charm that book publishers took all his stories and published them.2:52
Did he make up all the stories himself?2:59
I think he did, though who knows?3:02
He could remember his granny's stories and.3:05
And borrow the plots too.3:08
But is it really important?3:10
You and your sister are fond of his fairy tales and so are millions of children and grown ups.3:12
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