The Mouse Princess is one of those tales about someone being transformed into an animal and then trying to be transformed back again. It's somewhat similar to The Frog Prince except -- well, it's a princess instead of a prince and a mouse instead of a frog. As in many other such stories (and many folktales in general) there are certain tasks to be completed and challenges to be met before the spell is broken. This story is from Scandinavia, specifically Finland, home of many Christmas-ish things like snow and reindeer and evergreens. Since the story deals with customs and traditions, and we are presenting it at holiday time, we also discuss the holiday tradition of hanging stockings. Incidentally, there is a reference to the late British author Brian Jacques (yes, it really is pronounced "Jakes"). If you didn't get the joke, you've been missing out on some great reading. We come to you from Greenville, SC. Our special guest is Ben Lafontaine, a listener who contacted us and asked if he could be involved in a podcast. We're happy to have him, and we're sure you'll agree he did a great job. Happy listening, Dennis (Narrator, Lars), Kimberly (Farmer's Daughter, Mouse, Princess) and Ben (Father, Hans)