HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN(1805-1875), was Denmark's most famous author（作家）. His fairy tales（童话） are among the most widely read works in world literature（世界文学）. His stories have attracted(吸引) young readers around the world.
　　Andersen’s words are simple （简单的）, and often with humor （幽默）. Like Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Andersen's fairy tales can be considered（被看作） both children's literature and adult’s literature（成人文学）. Many of Andersen's fairy tales have serious moral meanings （教育意义）for adults.
　　Andersen was born in Odense（奥登色，丹麦一城市）. He was the son of a poor shoemaker（鞋匠） who died when Hans was 11 years old. He left Odense at the age of 14 and went to Copenhagen（哥本哈根，丹麦首都）. He nearly starved （饥饿）while trying to earn a living（谋生） as an actor（演员）, singer and dancer. In Copenhagen, he received help from Jonas Collin and continued（继续） his study from 1822 to 1828.
　　In 1829, his first play（戏剧） was produced. For several years, Andersen gained reputation （赢得荣誉）as a writer.
　　Andersen published (出版)his first tale in 1835, and continued(继续) writing them until he died. The stories became popular（受欢迎的） in the early 1840's, and made Andersen famous. Besides the fairy tales, Andersen wrote many travel books（游记） and an autobiography（自传） called The Fairy Tales of My Life.