Showing results by narrator "David McCran" in All Categories

Holmes and Watson are spending their day off at the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens when the discovery of a dead body in the large Palm House requires their immediate attention. The park's head of security enlists their help in hope of solving the case before the arrival of Scotland Yard.

Baron Collingwood's eldest son and heir to the title dies from a mysterious illness. Shortly thereafter, his brother, the second in line, also falls ill. His condition takes a dramatic turn for the worse, leaving doctors and police stumped. The Baron thus turns to Holmes and Watson for help.

A treacherous murder rattles the Japanese embassy in London. The in-house secret service agent turns to Sherlock Holmes for help in quickly solving the case before it provokes a diplomatic crisis.

Sherlock Holmes is called to the London Zoo to investigate the treacherous murder of an unusual victim. While Scotland Yard ascribes little significance to the case, Holmes believes he has uncovered a politically motivated assassination.

The Sign of the Four (1890), also called The Sign of Four, is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective. The story is set in 1888. The Sign of the Four has a complex plot involving service in India, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, a stolen treasure, and a secret pact among four convicts ("the Four" of the title) and two corrupt prison guards. It presents the detective's drug habit and humanizes him in a way that had not been done in the preceding novel, A Study in Scarlet (1887).

The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of the four crime novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin. Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson investigate the case.

A woodcutter complained of his poor lot. Jupiter (or alternatively, a tree spirit or fairy) granted him three wishes. The woodcutter went home, and his wife persuaded him to put off the wishing until the next day, after he had thought, but while sitting by the fire, he wished for sausages. His wife taxed him for his folly, and angry, he wished for the sausages to attach to her nose. Finally, they agreed to use the last wish to take the sausages off her nose, leaving them no better off than before (apart from having gained the sausages).

An extremely fortunate and wealthy king lives with his beautiful wife and daughter. The source of the king's riches is his prized, marvelous donkey whose droppings are gold. The king's wife is struck by an illness and dies, but not before making her husband promise not to remarry except to a woman whose beauty and attributes equal hers. The king grieves for a lengthy period, but is finally persuaded to seek another wife. It becomes clear that the only woman who fits the promise is his daughter.

The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods is a fairy tale about a princess cursed by an evil fairy to sleep for a hundred years before being awakened by a handsome prince. A good fairy, knowing the princess would be frightened if alone when she wakes, uses her wand to put every living person and animal in the palace and forest asleep, to awaken when the princess does.

There was once a man who had fine houses, both in town and country, a deal of silver and gold plate, embroidered furniture, and coaches gilded all over with gold. But this man was so unlucky as to have a Blue Beard, which made him so frightfully ugly that all the women and girls ran away from him.

In the version by Charles Perrault, a fairy grants an ugly prince named Riquet (Ricky) the gift of intelligence and the ability to confer wit upon the one he loves the most. At birth, Prince Riquet has a small patch of hair on his head, leading to his nickname "of the tuft".

There was, once upon a time, a widow, who had two daughters. The eldest was so much like her in the face and humour, that whoever looked upon the daughter saw the mother. They were both so disagreeable, and so proud, that there was no living with them. The youngest, who was the very picture of her father, for courtesy and sweetness of temper, was withal one of the most beautiful girls ever seen. As people naturally love their own likeness, this mother even doated on her eldest daughter, and at the same time had a horrible aversion for the youngest.

Once upon a time there lived a woodcutter and his wife; they had seven children, all boys. The eldest was but ten years old, and the youngest only seven. People were astonished that the woodcutter had had so many children in such a short time, but his wife was very fond of children, and never had less than two at a time.

Once upon a time there was a miller who left no more riches to the three sons he had than his mill, his ass, and his cat. The division was soon made. Neither the lawyer nor the attorney was sent for. They would soon have eaten up all the poor property. The eldest had the mill, the second the ass, and the youngest nothing but the cat.

A widower marries a haughty woman with two daughters of her own. The woman and the two daughters hate the man's gentle and beautiful daughter, who they call Cinderella, and treat her cruelly. Cinderella is always assigned to do the chores around the house and forced to sleep in the attic.