Good evening and welcome to the sleepy bookshelf.

This season, which is exclusive for our premium listeners,

we are reading a selection of fairy tales by Charles Perrault,

originally published in an anthology in 1697 as Histoire O Conte de Tons Passé.

Some of these old stories went on to inspire the brothers Grimm 100 years later and may be familiar to you in some respects.

Charles Perrault was born in France in 1628 and was an author and an appointed member of the

Academy Francaise, the Council for All Things pertaining to the French Language.

He is best known for his works which we will be reading in this series,

as they are considered to have laid the foundation for the modern-day fairy tale genre.

He even advised King Louis XVI to include statues from Esop's fables in the

labyrinth in Versailles, going so far as to write a guidebook to the maze for visitors. Now we know

our listeners are as unique as our novels, and lucky for you our bookshelf

is varied with lots of different types of stories to lull you into a deep sleep.

The following is a preview to give you an idea of what to expect from this season.

First, we will be reading Little Thumb about a woodcutter's son who outwits an ogre to save his brothers.

Next, we will read the ridiculous wishes about another poor woodcutter,

who is granted three wishes and wastes them on foolishness, and Rickett with a tuft,

where a prince falls in love with a beautiful but very stupid young princess.

And finally, we will read Red Riding Hood, about a young girl who visits her grandmother in the woods,

only to be met by a nasty surprise.

The fairy, about a woman with two daughters of very different temperaments,

and Puss in Boots, about a clever talking cat who rises in the ranks of society.

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