Arianna Manetti narrates some of the best-known fairy tales. The animated series includes Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Rapunzel and many other favorites.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
"The Frog Prince" is a famous fairy tale—nothing new! But what an opportunity to learn and practice the passato remoto! In everyday conversations this tense is rare in much of Italy, but when we're talking about "once upon a time..." it's a mainstay.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Many of us know how this story ends. That's why it will be easy to understand. And there are still plenty of verbs to learn in the passato remoto!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Here's one of the most famous fairy tales of all, "Cinderella." The Italian, "La Cenerentola" comes from the noun la cenere (ash, ashes, cinder). See how much you can understand without the English subtitles!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
In fairy tales, good triumphs over evil in the end. This one's no exception.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
There's plenty of new vocabulary in the well-known story of "Sleeping Beauty". And since there are both a king and a queen, and twelve fairies, many verbs are in the third person plural of the passato remoto! Make the most of it!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Being a fairy tale, there's a happy ending. Maybe you'll understand it even without the subtitles!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Usually associated with Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, the tale of "Puss in Boots" was, instead, first written down by Giovanni Francesco Straparola in the 1550s. It is not known whether he invented the tale or whether it reflects an older oral tradition.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
"Puss in Boots" underscores what we all know—cats have everything figured out.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale, "The Ugly Duckling", is presented in Italian. These fairy tales are so familiar that they allow us to fully concentrate on the words and spare us the worry of not understanding what's happening in the story.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
The Ugly Duckling realizes that he isn't so ugly after all.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" is translated as "La sirenetta" in Italian. The Italian term sirena covers both mermaids (part fish) and sirens (part bird).
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
"The Little Mermaid" concludes with a happy ending if you're a 19th century poet, as Andersen was. The vocabulary review focuses on verbs in the passato remoto.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
In this telling of the late 19th century British fairy tale, the wolf is bad but not big.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
The youngest piglet was right all along. Being a kind soul, he forgave his brothers.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Beauty and the Beast is a French 18th century fairy tale. It was written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. Her tale, which is as long as a novel, has been adapted numerous times. This nice retelling of the tale is more dependent on the Walt Disney Company.
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