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You don't have to be a child to enjoy the wonder of a fairy tale. For many people, a childhood love of the stories of Hans Christian Andersen is something they will remember for the rest of their life. The famous Danish author also wrote plays, novels, poems and travelogues, but he's best remembered for his wonderful fairy tales. His popular stories seem to transcend age and nationality, appealing to everyone. Born in April 1805, he wrote an amazing 3,381 fairy tales that have been translated into more than 125 different languages. Debut book Andersen's father introduced him to literature by reading him the magical tales of the Arabian Knights. After his father died in 1816, he went to a local school for poor children in Odense, where he received a basic education. He worked as a weaver to support himself after his mother remarried. By the age of 14, he had moved to Copenhagen to find work as an actor in the Royal Danish Theatre. He began writing poetry in his spare time. The theatre director, Jonas Collin, was so impressed by Andersen's talents that he sent him to a Slagelse grammar school to complete his education. Andersen started writing short stories and his debut book, The Ghost at Palnatoke's Grave, was published in 1822. His first fairy tales were published in 1835, in a Danish book called Eventyr, or Fairy Tale. This was the start of his life-long love of fairy tales. Famous tales During the 19th century, he wrote some of the most famous fairy tales in history. They were written in such a way that they never became dated. His most popular stories and fables include The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Clothes, Thumbelina, The Princess and the Pea, The Snow Queen, The Little Match Girl and The Ugly Duckling. His tales almost always carried a moral message. In the case of The Ugly Duckling: born on a farm, he is perceived to be ugly and is bullied and abused by the other animals. He goes to live with wild ducks and geese, but hunters kill his new friends. He tries to migrate with a flock of wild swans but hasn't learned how to fly, so he spends a miserable, cold winter alone, hiding in a cave. When spring arrives, the swans arrive back at the lake and the duckling ventures out, figuring it would be better to be killed by the swans than to carry on living his miserable life of solitude, but he is amazed when the swans give him a warm welcome. Suddenly, he understands why - during the winter, he has grown into an adult bird and it turns out he isn't a duck after all, but rather a beautiful swan. Accepted by his new family, he takes to the air with the other swans and flies off to a life of happiness. Ugly Duckling meaning Andersen first thought up the story in 1842, when he was staying at the Bregentved country estate, where he enjoyed spending time watching the beauty of nature. He spent a year writing The Ugly Duckling and later told friends it was a reflection of his own life. The literary critic, Georg Brandes, once asked Andersen whether he had considered writing his autobiography, to which the author replied it had already been written and was called The Ugly Duckling. The story recognised his own impoverished childhood and his misery after his father's death. He later described attending school as being the most "bitter" and "darkest" experience of his life, as he said the schoolmaster bullied him, allegedly to "improve his character". He became depressed, but writing helped him to express himself and he blossomed into a swan when he became a popular published author. The message conveyed by the much-loved story is simple: you shouldn't judge a person by their outer appearance. Even though someone may grow up feeling worthless, they can still grow up to blossom, like a beautiful swan. It's more about discovering what's inside, rather than simply by someone's appearance. The Ugly Duckling was published on 11th November 1843 in Copenhagen, Denmark, in a compilation called New Fairy Tales: First Book. They were described as Andersen's "most perfectly constructed tales". Films and song The Ugly Duckling has remained one of Andersen's best-loved fairy tales and has been reprinted around the world numerous times. The tale was made into films, including Walt Disney's black and white short film, The Ugly Duckling, in 1931, followed by an Academy Award-winning Technicolor remake in 1939. The fairy tale was also made into a song, Ugly Duckling, sung by Danny Kaye in the 1952 musical, Hans Christian Andersen. Andersen's stories have inspired plays, ballets and live-action films. In Denmark, one of Copenhagen's busiest boulevards (circling Copenhagen City Hall Square) is called HC Andersen's Boulevard and features a larger-than-life bronze statue of the author. 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