Showing results by narrator "B.J. Harrison" in All Categories

Mother and Father are called away suddenly, because Grandma is “failin’ fast”. This leaves the oldest Bassett girls, Tillie and Prue, to oversee the cooking of the Thanksgiving feast. Soon all eight children pitch in, though the subtleties of plum pudding and stuffed turkey are completely unknown to them. The result is a whole bunch of old-fashioned fun in the comfortably familiar Louisa May Alcott tradition.

In his parable of Institutional Justice vs. Divine Judgement, we follow Aksionov through his journey of accusation and imprisonment for a murder he does not commit. After 26 years in a Siberian prison camp, he finally meets the man who put him there, and the choice of a lifetime is made.

“Have you seen the Yellow Sign?” mumbles a cadaverous hearse driver with a soft, squishy head. He’s been skulking about Scott’s painting studio, where he and Tessie have been developing a tangled relationship between artist and model. But as this ever-present watchman resembling a coffin worm begins to distract Scott, his portrait of Tessie takes on a deathlike pallor. How can they forever rid themselves of this hearse stalker? And what precisely does he mean by a “Yellow Sign”?

"Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by Washington Irving about a man who drinks some liquor then falls asleep for 20 years amidst the hills. Having missed the American Revolution, Rip Van Winke returns home but finds it completely changed. What he notices is really important, as they possess social and political messages that Irving wanted to stress.

Stanley Featherstonehough Ukridge is willing to do anything to get a buck—except, of course, work. Bombastic and big-eared, Ukridge has a bottomless well of corking ideas that never seem to work out, yet he’s always willing to volunteer others to tackle the inconvenient bits. Whether he’s commandeering a dog college, managing a tender-hearted pugilist, or brushing the perpetual chips off his aunt’s shoulder, Ukridge’s spotty success record never gets him down.

This case that the public nicknamed "the Magic Bullets Murder" stumped the police, the District Attorney, and the State Attorney General's forensic department because they all had no idea how a murder could be committed by bullets that were determined to have been fired from a gun that absolutely could not have been used...until someone with a much better brain than theirs started working on the case and amazed everyone with some answers that they never would have thought of.

Technology worship is brought to a head when Azuma-zi’s head spins at the wonder of a humming, whirling, and buzzing electric dynamo. He prays for the dynamo to deliver him from his troubles, and make his life easier to bear. Apparently the dynamo demands a sacrifice.... 

The infamous Baron Munchausen is capable of everything and anything. Escaping from a hungry lion’s jaws, shooting a male red deer with cherry stones or climbing a beanstalk all the way to the moon are but a small part of his adventures. Every new one is more surprising and exciting than the previous one. If you want to learn more about Baron Munchausen, do not hesitate to embark on this journey. B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories.

"I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again." When Benjamin Button is born he looks oddly like an old man. He's not interested in playing with other kids and he's too low on energy to participate anyway. When Benjamin turns 20 it dawns on his family that he is aging backwards. The younger he grows, the more he learns to embrace life.

The narrator in the story has just came back from a wedding, but he wants to take us to a Christmas party that he was at several years ago and where he witnessed how big of a difference there is between the social classes. He saw how the rich people’s children received expensive gifts while one poor boy, the son of the governess, received only a book without covers. The narrator observed something else too: children do not build relationships based on wealth. They are pure and free from prejudices - until the society changes them.

Hear the beloved children's tale as read by B.J. Harrison. "The Wind in the Willows" follows the eventful adventures of four animals: Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger, as they navigate twists of friendship, dangers and changing surroundings. This 20th-century novel has become known and loved through countless adaptations on the screen and stage alike, including the animated Disney adaptation The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) and the British film The Wind in the Willows (1996) starring Steve Coogan. B. J.

Anodos is a young boy who finds a large and mystical castle with a big and impressive library. The library hides the secret story of the poor Cosmo who was a student at the university of Prague. Cosmo’s life changed forever because of a mirror. But it was no usual mirror; it was an enchanted and a beautiful girl’s soul was kept inside of it. Cosmo was determined to free the girl but was he able to? Read this short story and find out. B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories.

Désirée and Armand’s marriage was passionate and loving. But everything changes when their baby is born, who appears to be of mixed race.

A stagecoach containing a microcosm of French society seek to escape to Le Havre during the Prussian war. Stopping at an inn along the way, they soon realize they have blundered into Prussian occupied territory. The travelers are not allowed to leave until one woman, a prostitute known as Boule de Suif, (literally suet dumpling, or ball of fat), sleeps with the commanding officer. This turn of events is met with universal indignation by the travelers. But as the days stretch out, everyone’s true colors are revealed.

Epic in scope and magically textured, Howard’s The People of the Black Circle is one of the most accomplished tales of Conan the Cimmerian. Conan drives us to magnificent mountain heights and subtle secret passes in order to foil a nefarious plot of the Black Seers of Yimsha.

"The Tragedy of Coriolanus" falls into the category of Shakespeares' political tragedies. It tells of the story of the legendary Roman hero Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Coriolanus' military success helps him get forward in Rome's political life, and he soon starts dreaming of a leadership position. Unfortunately, too much power inevitably leads to corruption, and Coriolanus’ fate is no exception.

A Christmas ball sets the plans in motion for the wealthy Julian Mastakovich, for an immensely wealthy business man has just announced that his daughter has a dowry of 300,000 rubles. First published in 1848, and adapted into a motion picture in 2000, Dostoyevsky shines a light on the business end of well-moneyed marriage. It begins when an 11-year-old girl gets an extravagant doll at a Christmas ball.

Francis Thurston finds an old collection of letters and articles from his late uncle. They contain detailed descriptions of the so called Cthulhu cult, which Francis gets more and more interested in. He begins to understand his uncle’s fear and dread but he decides to continue his investigation. Will he keep be able to keep his sanity or will the Cthulhu cult come calling on him? B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories.

William Dyer is a geologist who embarks on a long expedition to the Antarctic continent. The journey is dangerous but the strange things he and his group witness and find are far from what they had expected. The discovery mission turns into a fantastical and supernatural experience. Things get out of control when Dyer finds one of his colleagues’ camp demolished. The bigger part of the group is slaughtered, another man and his dog are missing.

When a young teacher decides to come work in a secluded Dutch village, little does he know that his stay there will change his life forever. Set among tales of ghosts and supernatural beings, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story whose setting soon begins to play tricks on the protagonist. The chilling story of the Headless horseman is a perfect reading for Halloween or a dark and stormy night. What is more, Irving’s tale inspired many big and small screen adaptations, the most popular one being Tim Burton’s movie from 1999.