The Ugly Duckling realizes that he isn't so ugly after all.

La luna di traverso (the moon on its side) is a way of saying "bad mood." Dixi got up on the wrong side of the bed, but being a magical little elephant, he has the actual sidelong moon on his hands. What to do?

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.

"Puss in Boots" underscores what we all know—cats have everything figured out.

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.

Dixi goes to a party to celebrate spring, where his hungry little tummy gets plenty of attention. In Italian, a hungry tummy growls, using the verb "brontolare." Both a "growl" and a "brontolio" are onomatopoeic.

In fairy tales, good triumphs over evil in the end. This one's no exception.

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!

Being a fairy tale, there's a happy ending. Maybe you'll understand it even without the subtitles!

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!

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!

"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.

The two kids want to go on strike because their father won't raise their allowance. But they are having a hard time finding something to strike over, and decide to take advice from the fish in the acquarium.

A fun way to get some insight into the Italian constitution—an animated illustration of some of its main points. Turri Scandurra: “La Costituzione per tutti” (The constitution for everyone).

Sara wants to eat the fridge because of boyfriend trouble and Palla has a ringing stomach.