There was once a merchant who was so rich that he could have paved the whole street, and perhaps even a little side-street besides, with silver. But he did not do that; for he knew other ways to spend his money. If he spent a shilling he got back a pound, such an excellent businessman was he till he died.

Now his son inherited all this money. He lived very merrily. He went every night to the theatre, made paper kites out of five-pound notes, and played ducks and drakes with sovereigns instead of stones. In this way the money was likely to come soon to an end, and so it did.

Download the audio story

This wonderful fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen has an oriental setting and overtones of the Arabian Nights. Like the Arabian Nights, it is really a story within a story. The cast of characters includes a princess in a tower, a box of matches, and an iron pot. Our story-teller, Natasha, has voices for all of them. The hero is himself a story-teller, who makes his way through life by telling tales - not unlike Hans Christian Andersen himself.

This version is from The Pink Fairy Book of Andrew Lang, 1897.

Read by Natasha Lee Lewis. Duration 13.30.