A statue is made of a happy prince following his death. The town leaders are extremely proud of the statue which is gilded in gold and decorated with expensive jewels. For the first time, as a statue, the prince becomes aware that while he was living a happy life, most of his people lived in poverty. He gradually sheds all his expensive finery to give to those who needed it more. Thus stripped of the glory of its riches, the town leaders declare the statue no longer beautiful, but shabby and worthy of destroying.
The Nightingale and the Rose
A promise is extended between young lovers: she will dance him at the ball if he arrives with a red rose. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a rose, but a nightingale promises to help. Sadly, her assistance requires the ultimately sacrifice to turn a white rose red. It doesn’t matter anyway, because the flighty girls turns him over for a rival offering better things.
The Portrait of Mr. W.H.
A sort of contemporary mystery tale in which the title character exists only in painted form. Mr. W.H. is a young, androgynous male appear in the painting who is believed to be an Elizabethan actor to whom Shakespeare wrote many of his famous love sonnets. The mystery becomes a tale of obsession, possible forgery, a suicide that wasn’t and forbidden sexuality.
The Remarkable Rocket
A remarkably ironic story about an arrogant and overbearing firework rocket who never tires of discussing his favorite subject: his own greatness. When his sensitivity is challenged, he attempts to further prove his own greatness by producing tears on demand. These tears cause him to become too wet to ignite at his big moment and he instead winds up discarded instead of being the centerpiece of the celebration planned that night. Even so the Rocket remains convinced of his greatness under the delusion that he is just being given time to dry out before he is allowed to show off. Under this delusion, he reveals his insensitivity to a brand new audience. Ultimately, he winds up being tossed into a fire as a piece of kindling. When he finally does ignite an puts on show, it is during the day when the light is too bright for the show to be enjoyed.
The Fisherman and His Soul
A mortal man. A mermaid. A scheming witch. Only in this version, it is not the mermaid who goes to the witch looking to grow legs so she can become part of the world above. The fisherman reverses the deal, looking to use the witch’s magic to remove his legs so he can more naturally live under the sea with the mermaid love of his life. As in the original, things do not as planned.
The Birthday of the Infanta
To celebrate the 12th birthday of the Infanta—the daughter of the Spanish King—a celebration is being held. The star attraction is a dancing Dwarf who has never seen his own reflection and thus is not aware that people are laughing at him because of his appearance. The Dwarf notices a monster on the opposite side of the room before the tragic realization that the monster’s replicating his own movements is actually his reflection in mirror.
Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime
A palmist foretells the future of Lord Arthur: he is going to commit a murder. This foreknowledge puts a real damper on the Lord’s upcoming plans to marry Sybil Merton so he decides to what any reasonable person would under those circumstances: just get the murder out of the way so he can marry his bride in good conscience. A couple of attempts prove that murder may be foul, but it is not fairly easy. Ultimately, he manages to finally carry out his deed successfully and it turns out Lord Arthur’s palm not only predicted Lord Arthur’s future, but his own death.
The Model Millionaire
A good young man who has failed in business wants to marry a young woman, but her father does not believe he can care for her. One day while visiting his artist friend, he gives the only coin in his pocket to the poor old beggar who is posing for the painting. What he doesn’t realize is that the man was only wearing beggar clothes to pose in and is actually one of the wealthiest men in Europe. To show appreciation for the young man’s generosity, he rewards him, thus allowing him to marry the young woman and improve his odds for financial success.
An American family buys an ancestral home in England said to be haunted. The family turns out to be much easy to haunt than the British occupants of the past. Indeed, it is they who start to play tricks upon the ghost, thus making his previously happy life as a haunter a living nightmare for the dead spirit.
The Sphinx without a Secret
A conversation between Victorian men in Paris. One is morose and the other assumes that his mood is the cause of a woman. The story commences and it is one in which the depression arrives because of a strange pursuit of a woman of mystery. Only it turns out that she wasn’t quite as mysterious as she seems. The friend suggests that this woman—Lady Alroy—set up the strangely secretive circumstances his friend has described specifically with intent because rather than being a woman of mystery, she is “a woman with a mania for mystery.”
