James and the Giant Peach vs Undine, eine Erzählung

James and the Giant Peach

Roald Dahl

1961

When James Henry Trotter accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree, strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it's as big as a house. Then James discovers a secret entranceway into the fruit, and when he crawls inside, he meets a bunch of marvelous oversized friends -- Old-Green-Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug, Miss Spider, and more. After years of feeling like an outsider in the house of his despicable Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, James has finally found a place where he belongs. With a snip of the stem, the peach starts rolling away, and the exciting adventure begins!

Undine, eine Erzählung

Friedrich de la Motte-Fouqué, Friedrich Heinrich Kar La Motte-Fouqué

1845

The "beautiful" classic fairytale of the ill-fated love between a mermaid and a knight (George MacDonald). This universally loved fairytale, written by German novelist and playwright Friedrich La Motte-Fouqué, has been adapted into operas, songs, ballets, and films, since its original publication in the early 1800s. Undine is the exquisite tale of the all-too-human emotions that drive, and ultimately threaten, magical love. When a knight, Sir Huldbrand of Ringstetten, comes upon a humble fisherman's cottage, he is immediately charmed by the old couple's mischievous adopted daughter Undine, whose true parentage is unknown. Trapped in the cottage by a flood, the knight and the fair maiden are blissfully happy together, despite Undine's capriciousness, and are eventually married. But unknown to Huldbrand, Undine is a water spirit, and their union has given her a sought-after prize: a soul. And now possessed with that most human of gifts, she will have to endure the many joys and sufferings that come along with it—for better or worse . . .