The Dwarf's Spectacles

These fairy tales blend tenderness, humor, and moral imagination to turn small creatures and children into witnesses of love, loss, and justice. In "Why the Rose-bush has Thorns," a nightingale sings a rose-bush into bloom and nests there with her chicks, only for a wicked cat to kill them; grief gives the rose its thorns, explaining both the bird's mournful song and the plant's protective beauty. "Last Year's Fly" follows Buzz-Buzz, a kitchen fly whose easy summer life gives way to winter loneliness and a tragic, unwitting death in the fire. Other tales explore companionship and instinct: a white mouse remains unhappy until a second mouse arrives, then reveals fierce loyalty and fear, while a girl who can hear mice learns how easily kindness can become cruelty. The collection also opens into richer magical adventures, where spoiled children, fleeing girls, and a fairy queen encounter crows, a hind, elves, and enchanted mothers. Across these stories, affection, belonging, and the consequences of selfishness shape a world where sorrow is transformed into wisdom and mercy. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.