The Little Mermaid and Other Fairy Tales: Hans Christian Anderson

This was a collection of stories by Hans Christian Anderson. It included the ones you would expect; The Little Mermaid, Matchstick Girl, The Emperors New Clothes, and The Tin Soldier. It also included some others I'd never heard, so it was a good assortment. I had forgotten The Little Mermaid did not end happily and the mermaid dies...I really enjoyed the forward that spoke of Hans truly believing he was the bastard son of royalty and his "parents" were paid to raise him. It explained his education, which was mysteriously paid for, but I can't imagine what pain that would have caused the parents.