Andersen's Fairy Tales Tales 111-120 Summary

Tale 111: The Butterfly

A butterfly goes around talking to various flowers, trying to figure out which one to take as a wife. He waits too long to make his decision, and ends up alone.

A young Italian sculptor makes a beautiful statue of a noble girl, and nicknames it "Psyche." The girl rejects his advances, and he goes on a crazy all-night drinking binge. He repents by becoming a monk. Long after his death, the statue of Psyche is found.

A snail decides to hide in its house instead of giving to the world, as the rosebush does when it opens its blossoms. We've have to admit, carrying a home around on your back sounds pretty cozy; we'd probably want to hole up, too.

A man who loves fairy tales goes looking for them. He finds a bog witch, who tells him stories, and refers to a bunch of stories that Andersen had written. This is all weirdly meta; there are stories within the story that's in a book full of stories! The bog witch also warns the man that a bunch of will-o'-the-wisps are gonna be running around town and impersonating people… but of course the man can't warn anyone, since they'll think he's just telling fairy tales.

A windmill thinks of the family working inside of it as its soul. It thinks deep thoughts. Then it burns down. Because here at Shmoop, we believe this is what deep thinking will do to you. Just kidding. Think on!

A silver coin is happy that it gets to travel the world. Except people keep saying that it's counterfeit, so the coin feels guilty about that. Finally it ends up back in its homeland; people thought it was a fake because it was from another country.

This bishop is a real meanie who persecutes his dead relative's wife for being an independent woman and running a manor by herself. He manages to get her exiled, but, luckily, she meets her son while she's abroad. The son kills the bishop, and that apparently makes everything right in the world.

A girl named Anna and her grandpa are playing while the rest of the family is at the theater. Using household items as actors and props, the grandpa puts on a marvelously entertaining play for his granddaughter.

A town crier's wife wishes that her unborn child be given some of the sun's brightness. Her wish is granted, and the boy has bright red hair. His mother always calls him her "golden treasure" and wishes for him to have good fortune. He goes away to war, survives, and then becomes a famous musician. This dude sounds like a treasure, alright.

The narrator relates a bunch of anecdotes from his grandfather's life, including how once a huge storm switched a bunch of signs around that had been hanging in front of shops. Mhm, the title kinda says it all.