"All my fortune, and this house itself and its garden, came out of a bottle not much bigger than a pint."

The promise of wealth beyond imagining and his every wish granted tempts a young Hawaiian sailor to purchase an enchanted bottle. There's just one catch; if the owner should die before selling it on, his soul will burn in hell forever. Keawe reasons that the bottle should be easy enough to pass on once he has gained his heart's desire - but it must be sold at a loss, and the price drops with every trade...

Robert Louis Stevenson travelled the Pacific from 1888, finally settling in Samoa in 1890 where he lived until his death in 1894. Inspired by his travels he took the Samoan name Tusitala - Teller of Tales. "The Bottle Imp" first appeared in the short story collection "Island Nights Entertainment" (1893) and is a hugely engaging tale of greed, consequences and the redeeming power of love.

Read by Ian McDiarmid

Written by Robert Louis Stevenson

Abridged by Kirsteen Cameron

Produced by Kirsteen Cameron. Show less