Interactive English

Some of the happiest memories of childhood often come from memorable magical tales. Rediscover this magic with this collection of fairy tales and stories.

This volume includes 'Little Red Riding-Hood' and 'The Sleeping Beauty' by Charles Perrault; 'The Looking Glass' and 'Her Husband' by Anton Chekhov; and 'The Gift of The Magi' by O. Henry.

Shakespeare often uses expressive language in his portrayal of jealousy. It is a 'green-eyed monster', an object that 'one might fight and conquer', 'an infection which strikes as quickly as the plague'. In this selection of Shakespeare stories, jealousy plays a prominent role, offering us a wonderful opportunity to learn how Shakespeare's characters are dealing with this vice.

The First Noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay. In fields where they lay keeping their sheep, on a cold winter's night that was so deep. This recording offers reading of the English-language lyrics followed by magical harp music based on original Christmas carol melody composition.

A crafty, boots-wearing cat named Puss and how he made a fortune for his young, not very rich master and made friends with a great monarch, Marquis Carabas. Read in English, unabridged.

Little Hans spends most of his time gardening and makes a living from sales of his beautiful flowers. Little Hans always treats his neighbours well and even allows the neighbouring rich miller to pick flowers from his garden. But the miller rarely invites Hans into his house or responds in kind. The miller instead has his own philosophy of friendship: 'Lots of people act well, but very few people talk well, which shows that talking is much the more difficult thing of the two, and much the finer thing also'.

Listen to the story of Jemima Puddle-duck, who was annoyed because the farmer's wife would not let her hatch her own eggs.

In the cheapest room of a big block of furnished apartments Stepan Klotchkov, a medical student in his third year, was walking to and fro, zealously conning his anatomy. In the window, covered by patterns of frost, sat Anyuta, a thin little brunette of five-and-twenty, very pale with mild grey eyes. Sitting with bent back she was busy embroidering with red thread the collar of a man's shirt. She was working against time....

A collection of short stories from one of the most famous writers of very long novels, Leo Tolstoy, including: 'Ilyas', 'Little Girls Wiser Than Men' and 'The Coffee-House of Surat'.

'For man to be able to live, he must either not see the infinite, or have such an explanation of the meaning of life as will connect the finite with the infinite.' Read in English, unabridged.

Natalya Bronin is lying in her bedroom, her whole being abandoned to repose. She lies, deliciously drowsy, thinking of her little daughter, who lives somewhere far away with her grandmother or aunt. The child is more precious to her than the public, bouquets, notices in the papers, and adorers, and she would be glad to think about her till morning. She is happy, at peace, and all she longs for is not to be prevented from lying undisturbed, dozing and dreaming of her little girl. Read in English, unabridged.

The starways' Lone Watcher had expected some odd developments in his singular, nerve-fraught job on the asteroid. But nothing like the weird, twenty-one-day liquid test devised by the invading Steel-Blues. Unlike the usual style of audiobook, this release has a music and effects soundtrack backing the narration, giving it a radio play feel rather than a straightforward reading.

Vasilisa had not seen her daughter for four years. Her daughter, Yefimya, had gone after her wedding to Petersburg, had sent them two letters, and since then had seemed to vanish out of their lives; there had been no sight nor sound of her. And whether the old woman was milking her cow at dawn or heating her stove or dozing at night, she was always thinking of one and the same thing - what was happening to Yefimya, whether she were alive.... Read in English, unabridged.

A story of a successful farmer, Ilyas, who grew into one of the wealthiest in the area only to lose it all through series of bad accidents. He finds his happiness, however, only after losing all his possessions and achieving peace for himself and his wife. Read in English, unabridged.

Perpetual winter comes to the beautiful garden of a selfish giant who erected a wall around it to stop children playing in the garden. Unexpected consequences follow. The birds stop singing in this garden, and both trees and flowers stop blossoming. One day the giant discovers that spring has returned to the garden, and the children have found a way in through a gap in the wall. He sees the error of his ways and resolves to destroy the wall. Read in English by Josh Verbae, unabridged.

Dostoyevsky skilfully paints a portrait of a character who manages to recall a childhood memory from 20 years ago, and by doing so he alters the course of his life and even enables himself to completely free his heart from hatred and anger. Read in English, unabridged.

A native Frenchman no longer tutors the wealthy landlord's children, as they've grown up and left the house. The Frenchman is now paid simply to be around, to be properly dressed, to smell of scent, and to listen to Kamyshev's babble, to eat and drink and sleep. It may sound like a dream job, but there's always a catch. Read in English, unabridged.

'Once, as I was wandering about the fields after partridges with Yermolai, I saw some way off a deserted garden, and turned into it. I had hardly crossed its borders when a snipe rose up out of a bush with a clatter. I fired my gun, and at the same instant, a few paces from me, I heard a shriek; the frightened face of a young girl peeped out for a second from behind the trees, and instantly disappeared. Yermolai ran up to me: "Why are you shooting here? There is a landowner living here."'

Chekhov says truth and falsehood both play important roles in the personal happiness of men. Could this also be the cause of both passionate romance and a failed relationship between an impoverished Russian prince and a rich landowner? This story examines the very essence of human psychology, providing valuable insight into complexities of such concepts as happiness, deception, romance and depression.

Make music with this introduction to the four instrument families: drums, horns, strings, and voice in this new series written and narrated by a world-renowned music educator. What do a set of bongos, a tambourine, and a cooking pot have in common? They are all drums! This first introduction to...

Owl tries his best to wrap up his night and settle in for a long sleep–after moving past a few bumps in the road—in this Geisel Honor-winning, giggle-worthy bedtime story. Will Owl ever get a good night's sleep? He's ready for bed, but as soon as he settles in, he hears a strange noise. He...

Fans of the best-selling Dragons Love Tacos will devour Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri’s newest story, a hilarious picture book about robots, adapted for audio. FACT: Robots are awesome. They have lasers for eyes, rockets for feet, and supercomputers for brains! Plus, robots never have to eat...