Danish Fairy Tales

The fact that someone in past or present Denmark has told or retold it or written it down in Danish. There are very many recordings, notably by the folktale collector Evald Tang Kristensen (1843-1929). He himself wrote down 2700 folk tales, 2500 jocular tales and 25 000 legends. Most of his stories come in somewhat different versions.

Many better-known Danish folktales are much like tales of neighbouring countries: Norway, Sweden, and Germany are the closest neighbours. Moreover, Hans Christian Andersen of Odense wrote tales that he borrowed from folk traditions, or he enlarged on such tales. For example, the tale of the sensitive princess in "The Princess and the Pea" may stem from a Swedish tale he heard as a child, "Princess Who Lay on Seven Peas". Another Andersen tale, "The Emperor's New Clothes", is based on a medieval Spanish story. So Andersen did not suck all of his finest tales out of his own breast. Also, some Danish tales are rooted in Icelandic lore.

We hope that you will enjoy the tale  we have compiled for you here