Rasmus was a bitter, pessimistic young boy who was nothing like his good and pious mother. Rasmus was with a free spirit and he could not bear living in a small town. So he set on a long, exhausting journey — leaving behind his home, his family and his childhood friend Johanne. Years passed and Rasmus returned. But the old Rasmus’ spirit was not the same. The man was put under a spell. He was either going to be saved or the enchantment was going to kill him. The Old Johanne will tell us how Rasmus’ life went and what happened with him. If you want to find out, read “What Old Johanne Told” by Hans Christian Andersen.
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was a Danish author, poet and artist. Celebrated for children’s literature, his most cherished fairy tales include “The Emperor's New Clothes”, “The Little Mermaid”, “The Nightingale”, “The Steadfast Tin Soldier”, “The Snow Queen”, “The Ugly Duckling” and “The Little Match Girl”. His books have been translated into every living language, and today there is no child nor adult that has not met Andersen's whimsical characters. His fairy tales have been adapted to stage and screen countless times, most notably by Disney with the animated films “The Little Mermaid” in 1989 and “Frozen”, which is loosely based on “The Snow Queen”, in 2013. Thanks to Andersen's contribution to children's literature, his birth date, April 2, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.
