many years ago , there was an emperor , who was so excessively fond of new clothes , that he spent all his money in dress .
he did not trouble himself in the least about his soldiers ; nor did he care to go either to the theatre or the chase , except for the opportunities then afforded him for displaying his new clothes .
he had a different suit for each hour of the day ; and as of any other king or emperor , one is accustomed to say , " he is sitting in council , " it was always said of him , " the emperor is sitting in his wardrobe . "
time passed merrily in the large town which was his capital ; strangers arrived every day at the court .
one day , two rogues , calling themselves weavers , made their appearance .
they gave out that they knew how to weave stuffs of the most beautiful colors and elaborate patterns , the clothes manufactured from which should have the wonderful property of remaining invisible to everyone who was unfit for the office he held , or who was extraordinarily simple in character .
" these must , indeed , be splendid clothes ! " thought the emperor .
" had i such a suit , i might at once find out what men in my realms are unfit for their office , and also be able to distinguish the wise from the foolish !
this stuff must be woven for me immediately . "
and he caused large sums of money to be given to both the weavers in order that they might begin their work directly .
so the two pretended weavers set up two looms , and affected to work very busily , though in reality they did nothing at all .
they asked for the most delicate silk and the purest gold thread ; put both into their own knapsacks ; and then continued their pretended work at the empty looms until late at night .
" i should like to know how the weavers are getting on with my cloth , " said the emperor to himself , after some little time had elapsed ; he was , however , rather embarrassed , when he remembered that a simpleton , or one unfit for his office , would be unable to see the manufacture .
to be sure , he thought he had nothing to risk in his own person ; but yet , he would prefer sending somebody else , to bring him intelligence about the weavers , and their work , before he troubled himself in the affair .
all the people throughout the city had heard of the wonderful property the cloth was to possess ; and all were anxious to learn how wise , or how ignorant , their neighbors might prove to be .
" i will send my faithful old minister to the weavers , " said the emperor at last , after some deliberation , " he will be best able to see how the cloth looks ; for he is a man of sense , and no one can be more suitable for his office than he is . "
so the faithful old minister went into the hall , where the knaves were working with all their might , at their empty looms .
" what can be the meaning of this ? " thought the old man , opening his eyes very wide .
" i cannot discover the least bit of thread on the looms . "
however , he did not express his thoughts aloud .
the impostors requested him very courteously to be so good as to come nearer their looms ; and then asked him whether the design pleased him , and whether the colors were not very beautiful ; at the same time pointing to the empty frames .
the poor old minister looked and looked , he could not discover anything on the looms , for a very good reason , viz : there was nothing there .
" what ! " thought he again .
" is it possible that i am a simpleton ?
i have never thought so myself ; and no one must know it now if i am so .
can it be , that i am unfit for my office ?
no , that must not be said either .
i will never confess that i could not see the stuff . "
" well , sir minister ! " said one of the knaves , still pretending to work .
" you do not say whether the stuff pleases you . "
" oh , it is excellent ! " replied the old minister , looking at the loom through his spectacles .
" this pattern , and the colors , yes , i will tell the emperor without delay , how very beautiful i think them . "
" we shall be much obliged to you , " said the impostors , and then they named the different colors and described the pattern of the pretended stuff .
the old minister listened attentively to their words , in order that he might repeat them to the emperor ; and then the knaves asked for more silk and gold , saying that it was necessary to complete what they had begun .
however , they put all that was given them into their knapsacks ; and continued to work with as much apparent diligence as before at their empty looms .
the emperor now sent another officer of his court to see how the men were getting on , and to ascertain whether the cloth would soon be ready .
it was just the same with this gentleman as with the minister ; he surveyed the looms on all sides , but could see nothing at all but the empty frames .
" does not the stuff appear as beautiful to you , as it did to my lord the minister ? " asked the impostors of the emperor's second ambassador ; at the same time making the same gestures as before , and talking of the design and colors which were not there .
" i certainly am not stupid ! " thought the messenger .
" it must be , that i am not fit for my good , profitable office !
that is very odd ; however , no one shall know anything about it . "
and accordingly he praised the stuff he could not see , and declared that he was delighted with both colors and patterns .
" indeed , please your imperial majesty , " said he to his sovereign when he returned , " the cloth which the weavers are preparing is extraordinarily magnificent . "
the whole city was talking of the splendid cloth which the emperor had ordered to be woven at his own expense .
and now the emperor himself wished to see the costly manufacture , while it was still in the loom .
accompanied by a select number of officers of the court , among whom were the two honest men who had already admired the cloth , he went to the crafty impostors , who , as soon as they were aware of the emperor's approach , went on working more diligently than ever ; although they still did not pass a single thread through the looms .
" is not the work absolutely magnificent ? " said the two officers of the crown , already mentioned .
" if your majesty will only be pleased to look at it !
what a splendid design !
what glorious colors ! " and at the same time they pointed to the empty frames ; for they imagined that everyone else could see this exquisite piece of workmanship .
" how is this ? " said the emperor to himself .
" i can see nothing !
this is indeed a terrible affair !
am i a simpleton , or am i unfit to be an emperor ?
that would be the worst thing that could happen--oh ! the cloth is charming , " said he , aloud .
" it has my complete approbation . "
and he smiled most graciously , and looked closely at the empty looms ; for on no account would he say that he could not see what two of the officers of his court had praised so much .
all his retinue now strained their eyes , hoping to discover something on the looms , but they could see no more than the others ; nevertheless , they all exclaimed , " oh , how beautiful ! " and advised his majesty to have some new clothes made from this splendid material , for the approaching procession .
" magnificent !
charming !
excellent ! " resounded on all sides ; and everyone was uncommonly gay .
the emperor shared in the general satisfaction ; and presented the impostors with the riband of an order of knighthood , to be worn in their button-holes , and the title of " gentlemen weavers . "
the rogues sat up the whole of the night before the day on which the procession was to take place , and had sixteen lights burning , so that everyone might see how anxious they were to finish the emperor's new suit .
they pretended to roll the cloth off the looms ; cut the air with their scissors ; and sewed with needles without any thread in them .
" see ! " cried they , at last .
" the emperor's new clothes are ready ! "
and now the emperor , with all the grandees of his court , came to the weavers ; and the rogues raised their arms , as if in the act of holding something up , saying , " here are your majesty's trousers !
here is the scarf !
here is the mantle !
the whole suit is as light as a cobweb ; one might fancy one has nothing at all on , when dressed in it ; that , however , is the great virtue of this delicate cloth . "
" yes indeed ! " said all the courtiers , although not one of them could see anything of this exquisite manufacture .
" if your imperial majesty will be graciously pleased to take off your clothes , we will fit on the new suit , in front of the looking glass . "
the emperor was accordingly undressed , and the rogues pretended to array him in his new suit ; the emperor turning round , from side to side , before the looking glass .
" how splendid his majesty looks in his new clothes , and how well they fit ! " everyone cried out .
" what a design !
what colors !
these are indeed royal robes ! "
" the canopy which is to be borne over your majesty , in the procession , is waiting , " announced the chief master of the ceremonies .
" i am quite ready , " answered the emperor .
" do my new clothes fit well ? " asked he , turning himself round again before the looking glass , in order that he might appear to be examining his handsome suit .
the lords of the bedchamber , who were to carry his majesty's train felt about on the ground , as if they were lifting up the ends of the mantle ; and pretended to be carrying something ; for they would by no means betray anything like simplicity , or unfitness for their office .
so now the emperor walked under his high canopy in the midst of the procession , through the streets of his capital ; and all the people standing by , and those at the windows , cried out , " oh !
how beautiful are our emperor's new clothes !
what a magnificent train there is to the mantle ; and how gracefully the scarf hangs ! " in short , no one would allow that he could not see these much-admired clothes ; because , in doing so , he would have declared himself either a simpleton or unfit for his office .
certainly , none of the emperor's various suits , had ever made so great an impression , as these invisible ones .
" but the emperor has nothing at all on ! " said a little child .
" listen to the voice of innocence ! " exclaimed his father ; and what the child had said was whispered from one to another .
" but he has nothing at all on ! " at last cried out all the people .
the emperor was vexed , for he knew that the people were right ; but he thought the procession must go on now !
and the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever , to appear holding up a train , although , in reality , there was no train to hold .
there was once a poor prince , who had a kingdom .
his kingdom was very small , but still quite large enough to marry upon ; and he wished to marry .
it was certainly rather cool of him to say to the emperor's daughter , " will you have me ? "
but so he did ; for his name was renowned far and wide ; and there were a hundred princesses who would have answered , " yes ! " and " thank you kindly . "
we shall see what this princess said .
listen !
it happened that where the prince's father lay buried , there grew a rose tree--a most beautiful rose tree , which blossomed only once in every five years , and even then bore only one flower , but that was a rose !
it smelt so sweet that all cares and sorrows were forgotten by him who inhaled its fragrance .
and furthermore , the prince had a nightingale , who could sing in such a manner that it seemed as though all sweet melodies dwelt in her little throat .
so the princess was to have the rose , and the nightingale ; and they were accordingly put into large silver caskets , and sent to her .
the emperor had them brought into a large hall , where the princess was playing at " visiting , " with the ladies of the court ; and when she saw the caskets with the presents , she clapped her hands for joy .
" ah , if it were but a little pussy-cat ! " said she ; but the rose tree , with its beautiful rose came to view .
" oh , how prettily it is made ! " said all the court ladies .
" it is more than pretty , " said the emperor , " it is charming ! "
but the princess touched it , and was almost ready to cry .
" fie , papa ! " said she .
" it is not made at all , it is natural ! "
" let us see what is in the other casket , before we get into a bad humor , " said the emperor .
so the nightingale came forth and sang so delightfully that at first no one could say anything ill-humored of her .
" superbe !
charmant ! " exclaimed the ladies ; for they all used to chatter french , each one worse than her neighbor .
" how much the bird reminds me of the musical box that belonged to our blessed empress , " said an old knight .
" oh yes !
these are the same tones , the same execution . "
" yes ! yes ! " said the emperor , and he wept like a child at the remembrance .
" i will still hope that it is not a real bird , " said the princess .
" yes , it is a real bird , " said those who had brought it .
" well then let the bird fly , " said the princess ; and she positively refused to see the prince .
however , he was not to be discouraged ; he daubed his face over brown and black ; pulled his cap over his ears , and knocked at the door .
" good day to my lord , the emperor ! " said he .
" can i have employment at the palace ? "
" why , yes , " said the emperor .
" i want some one to take care of the pigs , for we have a great many of them . "
so the prince was appointed " imperial swineherd . "
he had a dirty little room close by the pigsty ; and there he sat the whole day , and worked .
by the evening he had made a pretty little kitchen-pot .
little bells were hung all round it ; and when the pot was boiling , these bells tinkled in the most charming manner , and played the old melody , " ach ! du lieber augustin , alles ist weg , weg , weg ! " * * " ah ! dear augustine !
all is gone , gone , gone ! "
but what was still more curious , whoever held his finger in the smoke of the kitchen-pot , immediately smelt all the dishes that were cooking on every hearth in the city--this , you see , was something quite different from the rose .
now the princess happened to walk that way ; and when she heard the tune , she stood quite still , and seemed pleased ; for she could play " lieber augustine " ; it was the only piece she knew ; and she played it with one finger .
" why there is my piece , " said the princess .
" that swineherd must certainly have been well educated !
go in and ask him the price of the instrument . "
so one of the court-ladies must run in ; however , she drew on wooden slippers first .
" what will you take for the kitchen-pot ? " said the lady .
" i will have ten kisses from the princess , " said the swineherd .
" yes , indeed ! " said the lady .
" i cannot sell it for less , " rejoined the swineherd .
" he is an impudent fellow ! " said the princess , and she walked on ; but when she had gone a little way , the bells tinkled so prettily " ach ! du lieber augustin , alles ist weg , weg , weg ! "
" stay , " said the princess .
" ask him if he will have ten kisses from the ladies of my court . "
" no , thank you ! " said the swineherd .
" ten kisses from the princess , or i keep the kitchen-pot myself . "
" that must not be , either ! " said the princess .
" but do you all stand before me that no one may see us . "
and the court-ladies placed themselves in front of her , and spread out their dresses--the swineherd got ten kisses , and the princess--the kitchen-pot .
that was delightful !
the pot was boiling the whole evening , and the whole of the following day .
they knew perfectly well what was cooking at every fire throughout the city , from the chamberlain's to the cobbler's ; the court-ladies danced and clapped their hands .
" we know who has soup , and who has pancakes for dinner to-day , who has cutlets , and who has eggs .
how interesting ! "
" yes , but keep my secret , for i am an emperor's daughter . "
the swineherd--that is to say--the prince , for no one knew that he was other than an ill-favored swineherd , let not a day pass without working at something ; he at last constructed a rattle , which , when it was swung round , played all the waltzes and jig tunes , which have ever been heard since the creation of the world .
" ah , that is superbe ! " said the princess when she passed by .
" i have never heard prettier compositions !
go in and ask him the price of the instrument ; but mind , he shall have no more kisses ! "
" he will have a hundred kisses from the princess ! " said the lady who had been to ask .
" i think he is not in his right senses ! " said the princess , and walked on , but when she had gone a little way , she stopped again .
" one must encourage art , " said she , " i am the emperor's daughter .
tell him he shall , as on yesterday , have ten kisses from me , and may take the rest from the ladies of the court . "
" oh--but we should not like that at all ! " said they .
" what are you muttering ? " asked the princess .
" if i can kiss him , surely you can .
remember that you owe everything to me . "
so the ladies were obliged to go to him again .
" a hundred kisses from the princess , " said he , " or else let everyone keep his own ! "
" stand round ! " said she ; and all the ladies stood round her whilst the kissing was going on .
" what can be the reason for such a crowd close by the pigsty ? " said the emperor , who happened just then to step out on the balcony ; he rubbed his eyes , and put on his spectacles .
" they are the ladies of the court ; i must go down and see what they are about ! "
so he pulled up his slippers at the heel , for he had trodden them down .
as soon as he had got into the court-yard , he moved very softly , and the ladies were so much engrossed with counting the kisses , that all might go on fairly , that they did not perceive the emperor .
he rose on his tiptoes .
" what is all this ? " said he , when he saw what was going on , and he boxed the princess's ears with his slipper , just as the swineherd was taking the eighty-sixth kiss .
" march out ! " said the emperor , for he was very angry ; and both princess and swineherd were thrust out of the city .
the princess now stood and wept , the swineherd scolded , and the rain poured down .
" alas !
unhappy creature that i am ! " said the princess .
" if i had but married the handsome young prince !
ah ! how unfortunate i am ! "
and the swineherd went behind a tree , washed the black and brown color from his face , threw off his dirty clothes , and stepped forth in his princely robes ; he looked so noble that the princess could not help bowing before him .
" i am come to despise thee , " said he .
" thou would'st not have an honorable prince !
thou could'st not prize the rose and the nightingale , but thou wast ready to kiss the swineherd for the sake of a trumpery plaything .
thou art rightly served . "
he then went back to his own little kingdom , and shut the door of his palace in her face .
now she might well sing , " ach ! du lieber augustin , alles ist weg , weg , weg ! "
there was once a prince who wished to marry a princess ; but then she must be a real princess .
he travelled all over the world in hopes of finding such a lady ; but there was always something wrong .
princesses he found in plenty ; but whether they were real princesses it was impossible for him to decide , for now one thing , now another , seemed to him not quite right about the ladies .
at last he returned to his palace quite cast down , because he wished so much to have a real princess for his wife .
one evening a fearful tempest arose , it thundered and lightened , and the rain poured down from the sky in torrents : besides , it was as dark as pitch .
all at once there was heard a violent knocking at the door , and the old king , the prince's father , went out himself to open it .
it was a princess who was standing outside the door .
what with the rain and the wind , she was in a sad condition ; the water trickled down from her hair , and her clothes clung to her body .
she said she was a real princess .
" ah ! we shall soon see that ! " thought the old queen-mother ; however , she said not a word of what she was going to do ; but went quietly into the bedroom , took all the bed-clothes off the bed , and put three little peas on the bedstead .
she then laid twenty mattresses one upon another over the three peas , and put twenty feather beds over the mattresses .
upon this bed the princess was to pass the night .
the next morning she was asked how she had slept .
" oh , very badly indeed ! " she replied .
" i have scarcely closed my eyes the whole night through .
i do not know what was in my bed , but i had something hard under me , and am all over black and blue .
it has hurt me so much ! "
now it was plain that the lady must be a real princess , since she had been able to feel the three little peas through the twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds .
none but a real princess could have had such a delicate sense of feeling .
the prince accordingly made her his wife ; being now convinced that he had found a real princess .
the three peas were however put into the cabinet of curiosities , where they are still to be seen , provided they are not lost .
wasn't this a lady of real delicacy ?
i .
a beginning every author has some peculiarity in his descriptions or in his style of writing .
those who do not like him , magnify it , shrug up their shoulders , and exclaim--there he is again !
i , for my part , know very well how i can bring about this movement and this exclamation .
it would happen immediately if i were to begin here , as i intended to do , with : " rome has its corso , naples its toledo"--"ah ! that andersen ; there he is again ! " they would cry ; yet i must , to please my fancy , continue quite quietly , and add : " but copenhagen has its east street . "
here , then , we will stay for the present .
in one of the houses not far from the new market a party was invited--a very large party , in order , as is often the case , to get a return invitation from the others .
one half of the company was already seated at the card-table , the other half awaited the result of the stereotype preliminary observation of the lady of the house : " now let us see what we can do to amuse ourselves . "
they had got just so far , and the conversation began to crystallise , as it could but do with the scanty stream which the commonplace world supplied .
amongst other things they spoke of the middle ages : some praised that period as far more interesting , far more poetical than our own too sober present ; indeed councillor knap defended this opinion so warmly , that the hostess declared immediately on his side , and both exerted themselves with unwearied eloquence .
the councillor boldly declared the time of king hans to be the noblest and the most happy period . *
while the conversation turned on this subject , and was only for a moment interrupted by the arrival of a journal that contained nothing worth reading , we will just step out into the antechamber , where cloaks , mackintoshes , sticks , umbrellas , and shoes , were deposited .
here sat two female figures , a young and an old one .
one might have thought at first they were servants come to accompany their mistresses home ; but on looking nearer , one soon saw they could scarcely be mere servants ; their forms were too noble for that , their skin too fine , the cut of their dress too striking .
two fairies were they ; the younger , it is true , was not dame fortune herself , but one of the waiting-maids of her handmaidens who carry about the lesser good things that she distributes ; the other looked extremely gloomy--it was care .
she always attends to her own serious business herself , as then she is sure of having it done properly .
they were telling each other , with a confidential interchange of ideas , where they had been during the day .
the messenger of fortune had only executed a few unimportant commissions , such as saving a new bonnet from a shower of rain , etc . ; but what she had yet to perform was something quite unusual .
" i must tell you , " said she , " that to-day is my birthday ; and in honor of it , a pair of walking-shoes or galoshes has been entrusted to me , which i am to carry to mankind .
these shoes possess the property of instantly transporting him who has them on to the place or the period in which he most wishes to be ; every wish , as regards time or place , or state of being , will be immediately fulfilled , and so at last man will be happy , here below . "
" do you seriously believe it ? " replied care , in a severe tone of reproach .
" no ; he will be very unhappy , and will assuredly bless the moment when he feels that he has freed himself from the fatal shoes . "
" stupid nonsense ! " said the other angrily .
" i will put them here by the door .
some one will make a mistake for certain and take the wrong ones--he will be a happy man . "
such was their conversation .
ii .
what happened to the councillor it was late ; councillor knap , deeply occupied with the times of king hans , intended to go home , and malicious fate managed matters so that his feet , instead of finding their way to his own galoshes , slipped into those of fortune .
thus caparisoned the good man walked out of the well-lighted rooms into east street .
by the magic power of the shoes he was carried back to the times of king hans ; on which account his foot very naturally sank in the mud and puddles of the street , there having been in those days no pavement in copenhagen .
" well !
this is too bad !
how dirty it is here ! " sighed the councillor .
" as to a pavement , i can find no traces of one , and all the lamps , it seems , have gone to sleep . "
the moon was not yet very high ; it was besides rather foggy , so that in the darkness all objects seemed mingled in chaotic confusion .
at the next corner hung a votive lamp before a madonna , but the light it gave was little better than none at all ; indeed , he did not observe it before he was exactly under it , and his eyes fell upon the bright colors of the pictures which represented the well-known group of the virgin and the infant jesus .
" that is probably a wax-work show , " thought he ; " and the people delay taking down their sign in hopes of a late visitor or two . "
a few persons in the costume of the time of king hans passed quickly by him .
" how strange they look !
the good folks come probably from a masquerade ! "
suddenly was heard the sound of drums and fifes ; the bright blaze of a fire shot up from time to time , and its ruddy gleams seemed to contend with the bluish light of the torches .
the councillor stood still , and watched a most strange procession pass by .
first came a dozen drummers , who understood pretty well how to handle their instruments ; then came halberdiers , and some armed with cross-bows .
the principal person in the procession was a priest .
astonished at what he saw , the councillor asked what was the meaning of all this mummery , and who that man was .
" that's the bishop of zealand , " was the answer .
" good heavens !
what has taken possession of the bishop ? " sighed the councillor , shaking his head .
it certainly could not be the bishop ; even though he was considered the most absent man in the whole kingdom , and people told the drollest anecdotes about him .
reflecting on the matter , and without looking right or left , the councillor went through east street and across the habro-platz .
the bridge leading to palace square was not to be found ; scarcely trusting his senses , the nocturnal wanderer discovered a shallow piece of water , and here fell in with two men who very comfortably were rocking to and fro in a boat .
" does your honor want to cross the ferry to the holme ? " asked they .
" across to the holme ! " said the councillor , who knew nothing of the age in which he at that moment was .
" no , i am going to christianshafen , to little market street . "
both men stared at him in astonishment .
" only just tell me where the bridge is , " said he .
" it is really unpardonable that there are no lamps here ; and it is as dirty as if one had to wade through a morass . "
the longer he spoke with the boatmen , the more unintelligible did their language become to him .
" i don't understand your bornholmish dialect , " said he at last , angrily , and turning his back upon them .
he was unable to find the bridge : there was no railway either .
" it is really disgraceful what a state this place is in , " muttered he to himself .
never had his age , with which , however , he was always grumbling , seemed so miserable as on this evening .
" i'll take a hackney-coach ! " thought he .
but where were the hackney-coaches ?
not one was to be seen .
" i must go back to the new market ; there , it is to be hoped , i shall find some coaches ; for if i don't , i shall never get safe to christianshafen . "
so off he went in the direction of east street , and had nearly got to the end of it when the moon shone forth .
" god bless me !
what wooden scaffolding is that which they have set up there ? " cried he involuntarily , as he looked at east gate , which , in those days , was at the end of east street .
he found , however , a little side-door open , and through this he went , and stepped into our new market of the present time .
it was a huge desolate plain ; some wild bushes stood up here and there , while across the field flowed a broad canal or river .
some wretched hovels for the dutch sailors , resembling great boxes , and after which the place was named , lay about in confused disorder on the opposite bank .
" i either behold a fata morgana , or i am regularly tipsy , " whimpered out the councillor .
" but what's this ? "
he turned round anew , firmly convinced that he was seriously ill .
he gazed at the street formerly so well known to him , and now so strange in appearance , and looked at the houses more attentively : most of them were of wood , slightly put together ; and many had a thatched roof .
" no--i am far from well , " sighed he ; " and yet i drank only one glass of punch ; but i cannot suppose it--it was , too , really very wrong to give us punch and hot salmon for supper .
i shall speak about it at the first opportunity .
i have half a mind to go back again , and say what i suffer .
but no , that would be too silly ; and heaven only knows if they are up still . "
he looked for the house , but it had vanished .
" it is really dreadful , " groaned he with increasing anxiety ; " i cannot recognise east street again ; there is not a single decent shop from one end to the other !
nothing but wretched huts can i see anywhere ; just as if i were at ringstead .
oh !
i am ill !
i can scarcely bear myself any longer .
where the deuce can the house be ?
it must be here on this very spot ; yet there is not the slightest idea of resemblance , to such a degree has everything changed this night !
at all events here are some people up and stirring .
oh ! oh !
i am certainly very ill . "
he now hit upon a half-open door , through a chink of which a faint light shone .
it was a sort of hostelry of those times ; a kind of public-house .
the room had some resemblance to the clay-floored halls in holstein ; a pretty numerous company , consisting of seamen , copenhagen burghers , and a few scholars , sat here in deep converse over their pewter cans , and gave little heed to the person who entered .
" by your leave ! " said the councillor to the hostess , who came bustling towards him .
" i've felt so queer all of a sudden ; would you have the goodness to send for a hackney-coach to take me to christianshafen ? "
the woman examined him with eyes of astonishment , and shook her head ; she then addressed him in german .
the councillor thought she did not understand danish , and therefore repeated his wish in german .
this , in connection with his costume , strengthened the good woman in the belief that he was a foreigner .
that he was ill , she comprehended directly ; so she brought him a pitcher of water , which tasted certainly pretty strong of the sea , although it had been fetched from the well .
the councillor supported his head on his hand , drew a long breath , and thought over all the wondrous things he saw around him .
" is this the daily news of this evening ? " he asked mechanically , as he saw the hostess push aside a large sheet of paper .
the meaning of this councillorship query remained , of course , a riddle to her , yet she handed him the paper without replying .
it was a coarse wood-cut , representing a splendid meteor " as seen in the town of cologne , " which was to be read below in bright letters .
" that is very old ! " said the councillor , whom this piece of antiquity began to make considerably more cheerful .
" pray how did you come into possession of this rare print ?
it is extremely interesting , although the whole is a mere fable .
such meteorous appearances are to be explained in this way--that they are the reflections of the aurora borealis , and it is highly probable they are caused principally by electricity . "
those persons who were sitting nearest him and heard his speech , stared at him in wonderment ; and one of them rose , took off his hat respectfully , and said with a serious countenance , " you are no doubt a very learned man , monsieur . "
" oh no , " answered the councillor , " i can only join in conversation on this topic and on that , as indeed one must do according to the demands of the world at present . "
" modestia is a fine virtue , " continued the gentleman ; " however , as to your speech , i must say mihi secus videtur : yet i am willing to suspend my judicium . "
" may i ask with whom i have the pleasure of speaking ? " asked the councillor .
" i am a bachelor in theologia , " answered the gentleman with a stiff reverence .
this reply fully satisfied the councillor ; the title suited the dress .
" he is certainly , " thought he , " some village schoolmaster--some queer old fellow , such as one still often meets with in jutland . "
" this is no locus docendi , it is true , " began the clerical gentleman ; " yet i beg you earnestly to let us profit by your learning .
your reading in the ancients is , sine dubio , of vast extent ? "
" oh yes , i've read something , to be sure , " replied the councillor .
" i like reading all useful works ; but i do not on that account despise the modern ones ; ' tis only the unfortunate ' tales of every-day life ' that i cannot bear--we have enough and more than enough such in reality . " " ' tales of every-day life ? ' " said our bachelor inquiringly .
" i mean those new fangled novels , twisting and writhing themselves in the dust of commonplace , which also expect to find a reading public . "
" oh , " exclaimed the clerical gentleman smiling , " there is much wit in them ; besides they are read at court .
the king likes the history of sir iffven and sir gaudian particularly , which treats of king arthur , and his knights of the round table ; he has more than once joked about it with his high vassals . "
" i have not read that novel , " said the councillor ; " it must be quite a new one , that heiberg has published lately . "
" no , " answered the theologian of the time of king hans : " that book is not written by a heiberg , but was imprinted by godfrey von gehmen . "
" oh , is that the author's name ? " said the councillor .
" it is a very old name , and , as well as i recollect , he was the first printer that appeared in denmark . "
" yes , he is our first printer , " replied the clerical gentleman hastily .
so far all went on well .
some one of the worthy burghers now spoke of the dreadful pestilence that had raged in the country a few years back , meaning that of 1484 .
the councillor imagined it was the cholera that was meant , which people made so much fuss about ; and the discourse passed off satisfactorily enough .
the war of the buccaneers of 1490 was so recent that it could not fail being alluded to ; the english pirates had , they said , most shamefully taken their ships while in the roadstead ; and the councillor , before whose eyes the herostratic [ * ] event of 1801 still floated vividly , agreed entirely with the others in abusing the rascally english .
with other topics he was not so fortunate ; every moment brought about some new confusion , and threatened to become a perfect babel ; for the worthy bachelor was really too ignorant , and the simplest observations of the councillor sounded to him too daring and phantastical .
they looked at one another from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet ; and when matters grew to too high a pitch , then the bachelor talked latin , in the hope of being better understood--but it was of no use after all . * herostratus , or eratostratus--an ephesian , who wantonly set fire to the famous temple of diana , in order to commemorate his name by so uncommon an action .
" what's the matter ? " asked the hostess , plucking the councillor by the sleeve ; and now his recollection returned , for in the course of the conversation he had entirely forgotten all that had preceded it .
" merciful god , where am i ! " exclaimed he in agony ; and while he so thought , all his ideas and feelings of overpowering dizziness , against which he struggled with the utmost power of desperation , encompassed him with renewed force .
" let us drink claret and mead , and bremen beer , " shouted one of the guests--"and you shall drink with us ! "
two maidens approached .
one wore a cap of two staring colors , denoting the class of persons to which she belonged .
they poured out the liquor , and made the most friendly gesticulations ; while a cold perspiration trickled down the back of the poor councillor .
" what's to be the end of this !
what's to become of me ! " groaned he ; but he was forced , in spite of his opposition , to drink with the rest .
they took hold of the worthy man ; who , hearing on every side that he was intoxicated , did not in the least doubt the truth of this certainly not very polite assertion ; but on the contrary , implored the ladies and gentlemen present to procure him a hackney-coach : they , however , imagined he was talking russian .
never before , he thought , had he been in such a coarse and ignorant company ; one might almost fancy the people had turned heathens again .
" it is the most dreadful moment of my life : the whole world is leagued against me ! "
but suddenly it occurred to him that he might stoop down under the table , and then creep unobserved out of the door .
he did so ; but just as he was going , the others remarked what he was about ; they laid hold of him by the legs ; and now , happily for him , off fell his fatal shoes--and with them the charm was at an end .
the councillor saw quite distinctly before him a lantern burning , and behind this a large handsome house .
all seemed to him in proper order as usual ; it was east street , splendid and elegant as we now see it .
he lay with his feet towards a doorway , and exactly opposite sat the watchman asleep .
" gracious heaven ! " said he .
" have i lain here in the street and dreamed ?
yes ; ' tis east street !
how splendid and light it is !
but really it is terrible what an effect that one glass of punch must have had on me ! "
two minutes later , he was sitting in a hackney-coach and driving to frederickshafen .
he thought of the distress and agony he had endured , and praised from the very bottom of his heart the happy reality--our own time--which , with all its deficiencies , is yet much better than that in which , so much against his inclination , he had lately been .
iii .
the watchman's adventure " why , there is a pair of galoshes , as sure as i'm alive ! " said the watchman , awaking from a gentle slumber .
" they belong no doubt to the lieutenant who lives over the way .
they lie close to the door . "
the worthy man was inclined to ring and deliver them at the house , for there was still a light in the window ; but he did not like disturbing the other people in their beds , and so very considerately he left the matter alone .
" such a pair of shoes must be very warm and comfortable , " said he ; " the leather is so soft and supple . "
they fitted his feet as though they had been made for him . " ' tis a curious world we live in , " continued he , soliloquizing .
" there is the lieutenant , now , who might go quietly to bed if he chose , where no doubt he could stretch himself at his ease ; but does he do it ?
no ; he saunters up and down his room , because , probably , he has enjoyed too many of the good things of this world at his dinner .
that's a happy fellow !
he has neither an infirm mother , nor a whole troop of everlastingly hungry children to torment him .
every evening he goes to a party , where his nice supper costs him nothing : would to heaven i could but change with him !
how happy should i be ! "
while expressing his wish , the charm of the shoes , which he had put on , began to work ; the watchman entered into the being and nature of the lieutenant .
he stood in the handsomely furnished apartment , and held between his fingers a small sheet of rose-colored paper , on which some verses were written--written indeed by the officer himself ; for who has not , at least once in his life , had a lyrical moment ?
and if one then marks down one's thoughts , poetry is produced .
but here was written :
" oh , were i rich !
such was my wish , yea such when hardly three feet high , i longed for much .
oh , were i rich ! an officer were i , with sword , and uniform , and plume so high .
and the time came , and officer was i !
but yet i grew not rich .
alas , poor me !
have pity , thou , who all man's wants dost see .
" i sat one evening sunk in dreams of bliss , a maid of seven years old gave me a kiss , i at that time was rich in poesy and tales of old , though poor as poor could be ; but all she asked for was this poesy .
then was i rich , but not in gold , poor me !
as thou dost know , who all men's hearts canst see .
" oh , were i rich !
oft asked i for this boon .
the child grew up to womanhood full soon .
she is so pretty , clever , and so kind oh , did she know what's hidden in my mind - - a tale of old .
would she to me were kind !
but i'm condemned to silence ! oh , poor me !
as thou dost know , who all men's hearts canst see .
" oh , were i rich in calm and peace of mind , my grief you then would not here written find !
o thou , to whom i do my heart devote , oh read this page of glad days now remote , a dark , dark tale , which i tonight devote !
dark is the future now .
alas , poor me !
have pity thou , who all men's pains dost see . "
such verses as these people write when they are in love !
but no man in his senses ever thinks of printing them .
here one of the sorrows of life , in which there is real poetry , gave itself vent ; not that barren grief which the poet may only hint at , but never depict in its detail--misery and want : that animal necessity , in short , to snatch at least at a fallen leaf of the bread-fruit tree , if not at the fruit itself .
the higher the position in which one finds oneself transplanted , the greater is the suffering .
everyday necessity is the stagnant pool of life--no lovely picture reflects itself therein .
lieutenant , love , and lack of money--that is a symbolic triangle , or much the same as the half of the shattered die of fortune .
this the lieutenant felt most poignantly , and this was the reason he leant his head against the window , and sighed so deeply .
" the poor watchman out there in the street is far happier than i .
he knows not what i term privation .
he has a home , a wife , and children , who weep with him over his sorrows , who rejoice with him when he is glad .
oh , far happier were i , could i exchange with him my being--with his desires and with his hopes perform the weary pilgrimage of life !
oh , he is a hundred times happier than i ! "
in the same moment the watchman was again watchman .
it was the shoes that caused the metamorphosis by means of which , unknown to himself , he took upon him the thoughts and feelings of the officer ; but , as we have just seen , he felt himself in his new situation much less contented , and now preferred the very thing which but some minutes before he had rejected .
so then the watchman was again watchman .
" that was an unpleasant dream , " said he ; " but ' twas droll enough altogether .
i fancied that i was the lieutenant over there : and yet the thing was not very much to my taste after all .
i missed my good old mother and the dear little ones ; who almost tear me to pieces for sheer love . "
he seated himself once more and nodded : the dream continued to haunt him , for he still had the shoes on his feet .
a falling star shone in the dark firmament .
" there falls another star , " said he : " but what does it matter ; there are always enough left .
i should not much mind examining the little glimmering things somewhat nearer , especially the moon ; for that would not slip so easily through a man's fingers .
when we die--so at least says the student , for whom my wife does the washing--we shall fly about as light as a feather from one such a star to the other .
that's , of course , not true : but ' twould be pretty enough if it were so .
if i could but once take a leap up there , my body might stay here on the steps for what i care . "
behold--there are certain things in the world to which one ought never to give utterance except with the greatest caution ; but doubly careful must one be when we have the shoes of fortune on our feet .
now just listen to what happened to the watchman .
as to ourselves , we all know the speed produced by the employment of steam ; we have experienced it either on railroads , or in boats when crossing the sea ; but such a flight is like the travelling of a sloth in comparison with the velocity with which light moves .
it flies nineteen million times faster than the best race-horse ; and yet electricity is quicker still .
death is an electric shock which our heart receives ; the freed soul soars upwards on the wings of electricity .
the sun's light wants eight minutes and some seconds to perform a journey of more than twenty million of our danish [ * ] miles ; borne by electricity , the soul wants even some minutes less to accomplish the same flight .
to it the space between the heavenly bodies is not greater than the distance between the homes of our friends in town is for us , even if they live a short way from each other ; such an electric shock in the heart , however , costs us the use of the body here below ; unless , like the watchman of east street , we happen to have on the shoes of fortune . * a danish mile is nearly 4 3/4 english .
in a few seconds the watchman had done the fifty-two thousand of our miles up to the moon , which , as everyone knows , was formed out of matter much lighter than our earth ; and is , so we should say , as soft as newly-fallen snow .
he found himself on one of the many circumjacent mountain-ridges with which we are acquainted by means of dr .
madler's " map of the moon . "
within , down it sunk perpendicularly into a caldron , about a danish mile in depth ; while below lay a town , whose appearance we can , in some measure , realize to ourselves by beating the white of an egg in a glass of water .
the matter of which it was built was just as soft , and formed similar towers , and domes , and pillars , transparent and rocking in the thin air ; while above his head our earth was rolling like a large fiery ball .
he perceived immediately a quantity of beings who were certainly what we call " men " ; yet they looked different to us .
a far more correct imagination than that of the pseudo-herschel * had created them ; and if they had been placed in rank and file , and copied by some skilful painter's hand , one would , without doubt , have exclaimed involuntarily , " what a beautiful arabesque ! " * this relates to a book published some years ago in germany , and said to be by herschel , which contained a description of the moon and its inhabitants , written with such a semblance of truth that many were deceived by the imposture .
probably a translation of the celebrated moon hoax , written by richard a .
locke , and originally published in new york .
they had a language too ; but surely nobody can expect that the soul of the watchman should understand it .
be that as it may , it did comprehend it ; for in our souls there germinate far greater powers than we poor mortals , despite all our cleverness , have any notion of .
does she not show us--she the queen in the land of enchantment--her astounding dramatic talent in all our dreams ?
there every acquaintance appears and speaks upon the stage , so entirely in character , and with the same tone of voice , that none of us , when awake , were able to imitate it .
how well can she recall persons to our mind , of whom we have not thought for years ; when suddenly they step forth " every inch a man , " resembling the real personages , even to the finest features , and become the heroes or heroines of our world of dreams .
in reality , such remembrances are rather unpleasant : every sin , every evil thought , may , like a clock with alarm or chimes , be repeated at pleasure ; then the question is if we can trust ourselves to give an account of every unbecoming word in our heart and on our lips .
the watchman's spirit understood the language of the inhabitants of the moon pretty well .
the selenites * disputed variously about our earth , and expressed their doubts if it could be inhabited : the air , they said , must certainly be too dense to allow any rational dweller in the moon the necessary free respiration .
they considered the moon alone to be inhabited : they imagined it was the real heart of the universe or planetary system , on which the genuine cosmopolites , or citizens of the world , dwelt .
what strange things men--no , what strange things selenites sometimes take into their heads ! * dwellers in the moon .
about politics they had a good deal to say .
but little denmark must take care what it is about , and not run counter to the moon ; that great realm , that might in an ill-humor bestir itself , and dash down a hail-storm in our faces , or force the baltic to overflow the sides of its gigantic basin .
we will , therefore , not listen to what was spoken , and on no condition run in the possibility of telling tales out of school ; but we will rather proceed , like good quiet citizens , to east street , and observe what happened meanwhile to the body of the watchman .
he sat lifeless on the steps : the morning-star , * that is to say , the heavy wooden staff , headed with iron spikes , and which had nothing else in common with its sparkling brother in the sky , had glided from his hand ; while his eyes were fixed with glassy stare on the moon , looking for the good old fellow of a spirit which still haunted it . * the watchmen in germany , had formerly , and in some places they still carry with them , on their rounds at night , a sort of mace or club , known in ancient times by the above denomination .
" what's the hour , watchman ? " asked a passer-by .
but when the watchman gave no reply , the merry roysterer , who was now returning home from a noisy drinking bout , took it into his head to try what a tweak of the nose would do , on which the supposed sleeper lost his balance , the body lay motionless , stretched out on the pavement : the man was dead .
when the patrol came up , all his comrades , who comprehended nothing of the whole affair , were seized with a dreadful fright , for dead he was , and he remained so .
the proper authorities were informed of the circumstance , people talked a good deal about it , and in the morning the body was carried to the hospital .
now that would be a very pretty joke , if the spirit when it came back and looked for the body in east street , were not to find one .
no doubt it would , in its anxiety , run off to the police , and then to the " hue and cry " office , to announce that " the finder will be handsomely rewarded , " and at last away to the hospital ; yet we may boldly assert that the soul is shrewdest when it shakes off every fetter , and every sort of leading-string--the body only makes it stupid .
the seemingly dead body of the watchman wandered , as we have said , to the hospital , where it was brought into the general viewing-room : and the first thing that was done here was naturally to pull off the galoshes--when the spirit , that was merely gone out on adventures , must have returned with the quickness of lightning to its earthly tenement .
it took its direction towards the body in a straight line ; and a few seconds after , life began to show itself in the man .
he asserted that the preceding night had been the worst that ever the malice of fate had allotted him ; he would not for two silver marks again go through what he had endured while moon-stricken ; but now , however , it was over .
the same day he was discharged from the hospital as perfectly cured ; but the shoes meanwhile remained behind .
iv .
a moment of head importance--an evening's " dramatic readings"--a most strange journey every inhabitant of copenhagen knows , from personal inspection , how the entrance to frederick's hospital looks ; but as it is possible that others , who are not copenhagen people , may also read this little work , we will beforehand give a short description of it .
the extensive building is separated from the street by a pretty high railing , the thick iron bars of which are so far apart , that in all seriousness , it is said , some very thin fellow had of a night occasionally squeezed himself through to go and pay his little visits in the town .
the part of the body most difficult to manage on such occasions was , no doubt , the head ; here , as is so often the case in the world , long-headed people get through best .
so much , then , for the introduction .
one of the young men , whose head , in a physical sense only , might be said to be of the thickest , had the watch that evening .
the rain poured down in torrents ; yet despite these two obstacles , the young man was obliged to go out , if it were but for a quarter of an hour ; and as to telling the door-keeper about it , that , he thought , was quite unnecessary , if , with a whole skin , he were able to slip through the railings .
there , on the floor lay the galoshes , which the watchman had forgotten ; he never dreamed for a moment that they were those of fortune ; and they promised to do him good service in the wet ; so he put them on .
the question now was , if he could squeeze himself through the grating , for he had never tried before .
well , there he stood .
" would to heaven i had got my head through ! " said he , involuntarily ; and instantly through it slipped , easily and without pain , notwithstanding it was pretty large and thick .
but now the rest of the body was to be got through !
" ah !
i am much too stout , " groaned he aloud , while fixed as in a vice .
" i had thought the head was the most difficult part of the matter--oh ! oh !
i really cannot squeeze myself through ! "
he now wanted to pull his over-hasty head back again , but he could not .
for his neck there was room enough , but for nothing more .
his first feeling was of anger ; his next that his temper fell to zero .
the shoes of fortune had placed him in the most dreadful situation ; and , unfortunately , it never occurred to him to wish himself free .
the pitch-black clouds poured down their contents in still heavier torrents ; not a creature was to be seen in the streets .
to reach up to the bell was what he did not like ; to cry aloud for help would have availed him little ; besides , how ashamed would he have been to be found caught in a trap , like an outwitted fox !
how was he to twist himself through !
he saw clearly that it was his irrevocable destiny to remain a prisoner till dawn , or , perhaps , even late in the morning ; then the smith must be fetched to file away the bars ; but all that would not be done so quickly as he could think about it .
the whole charity school , just opposite , would be in motion ; all the new booths , with their not very courtier-like swarm of seamen , would join them out of curiosity , and would greet him with a wild " hurrah ! " while he was standing in his pillory : there would be a mob , a hissing , and rejoicing , and jeering , ten times worse than in the rows about the jews some years ago--"oh , my blood is mounting to my brain ; ' tis enough to drive one mad !
i shall go wild !
i know not what to do .
oh ! were i but loose ; my dizziness would then cease ; oh , were my head but loose ! "
you see he ought to have said that sooner ; for the moment he expressed the wish his head was free ; and cured of all his paroxysms of love , he hastened off to his room , where the pains consequent on the fright the shoes had prepared for him , did not so soon take their leave .
but you must not think that the affair is over now ; it grows much worse .
the night passed , the next day also ; but nobody came to fetch the shoes .
in the evening " dramatic readings " were to be given at the little theatre in king street .
the house was filled to suffocation ; and among other pieces to be recited was a new poem by h .
c .
andersen , called , my aunt's spectacles ; the contents of which were pretty nearly as follows : " a certain person had an aunt , who boasted of particular skill in fortune-telling with cards , and who was constantly being stormed by persons that wanted to have a peep into futurity .
but she was full of mystery about her art , in which a certain pair of magic spectacles did her essential service .
her nephew , a merry boy , who was his aunt's darling , begged so long for these spectacles , that , at last , she lent him the treasure , after having informed him , with many exhortations , that in order to execute the interesting trick , he need only repair to some place where a great many persons were assembled ; and then , from a higher position , whence he could overlook the crowd , pass the company in review before him through his spectacles .
immediately ' the inner man ' of each individual would be displayed before him , like a game of cards , in which he unerringly might read what the future of every person presented was to be .
well pleased the little magician hastened away to prove the powers of the spectacles in the theatre ; no place seeming to him more fitted for such a trial .
he begged permission of the worthy audience , and set his spectacles on his nose .
a motley phantasmagoria presents itself before him , which he describes in a few satirical touches , yet without expressing his opinion openly : he tells the people enough to set them all thinking and guessing ; but in order to hurt nobody , he wraps his witty oracular judgments in a transparent veil , or rather in a lurid thundercloud , shooting forth bright sparks of wit , that they may fall in the powder-magazine of the expectant audience . "
the humorous poem was admirably recited , and the speaker much applauded .
among the audience was the young man of the hospital , who seemed to have forgotten his adventure of the preceding night .
he had on the shoes ; for as yet no lawful owner had appeared to claim them ; and besides it was so very dirty out-of-doors , they were just the thing for him , he thought .
the beginning of the poem he praised with great generosity : he even found the idea original and effective .
but that the end of it , like the rhine , was very insignificant , proved , in his opinion , the author's want of invention ; he was without genius , etc .
this was an excellent opportunity to have said something clever .
meanwhile he was haunted by the idea--he should like to possess such a pair of spectacles himself ; then , perhaps , by using them circumspectly , one would be able to look into people's hearts , which , he thought , would be far more interesting than merely to see what was to happen next year ; for that we should all know in proper time , but the other never .
" i can now , " said he to himself , " fancy the whole row of ladies and gentlemen sitting there in the front row ; if one could but see into their hearts--yes , that would be a revelation--a sort of bazar .
in that lady yonder , so strangely dressed , i should find for certain a large milliner's shop ; in that one the shop is empty , but it wants cleaning plain enough .
but there would also be some good stately shops among them .
alas ! " sighed he , " i know one in which all is stately ; but there sits already a spruce young shopman , which is the only thing that's amiss in the whole shop .
all would be splendidly decked out , and we should hear , ' walk in , gentlemen , pray walk in ; here you will find all you please to want . ' ah !
i wish to heaven i could walk in and take a trip right through the hearts of those present ! "
and behold ! to the shoes of fortune this was the cue ; the whole man shrunk together and a most uncommon journey through the hearts of the front row of spectators , now began .
the first heart through which he came , was that of a middle-aged lady , but he instantly fancied himself in the room of the " institution for the cure of the crooked and deformed , " where casts of mis-shapen limbs are displayed in naked reality on the wall .
yet there was this difference , in the institution the casts were taken at the entry of the patient ; but here they were retained and guarded in the heart while the sound persons went away .
they were , namely , casts of female friends , whose bodily or mental deformities were here most faithfully preserved .
with the snake-like writhings of an idea he glided into another female heart ; but this seemed to him like a large holy fane . [ * ] the white dove of innocence fluttered over the altar .
how gladly would he have sunk upon his knees ; but he must away to the next heart ; yet he still heard the pealing tones of the organ , and he himself seemed to have become a newer and a better man ; he felt unworthy to tread the neighboring sanctuary which a poor garret , with a sick bed-rid mother , revealed .
but god's warm sun streamed through the open window ; lovely roses nodded from the wooden flower-boxes on the roof , and two sky-blue birds sang rejoicingly , while the sick mother implored god's richest blessings on her pious daughter . * temple he now crept on hands and feet through a butcher's shop ; at least on every side , and above and below , there was nought but flesh .
it was the heart of a most respectable rich man , whose name is certain to be found in the directory .
he was now in the heart of the wife of this worthy gentleman .
it was an old , dilapidated , mouldering dovecot .
the husband's portrait was used as a weather-cock , which was connected in some way or other with the doors , and so they opened and shut of their own accord , whenever the stern old husband turned round .
hereupon he wandered into a boudoir formed entirely of mirrors , like the one in castle rosenburg ; but here the glasses magnified to an astonishing degree .
on the floor , in the middle of the room , sat , like a dalai-lama , the insignificant " self " of the person , quite confounded at his own greatness .
he then imagined he had got into a needle-case full of pointed needles of every size .
" this is certainly the heart of an old maid , " thought he .
but he was mistaken .
it was the heart of a young military man ; a man , as people said , of talent and feeling .
in the greatest perplexity , he now came out of the last heart in the row ; he was unable to put his thoughts in order , and fancied that his too lively imagination had run away with him .
" good heavens ! " sighed he .
" i have surely a disposition to madness--'tis dreadfully hot here ; my blood boils in my veins and my head is burning like a coal . "
and he now remembered the important event of the evening before , how his head had got jammed in between the iron railings of the hospital .
" that's what it is , no doubt , " said he .
" i must do something in time : under such circumstances a russian bath might do me good .
i only wish i were already on the upper bank . " [ * ] * in these russian ( vapor ) baths the person extends himself on a bank or form , and as he gets accustomed to the heat , moves to another higher up towards the ceiling , where , of course , the vapor is warmest .
in this manner he ascends gradually to the highest .
and so there he lay on the uppermost bank in the vapor-bath ; but with all his clothes on , in his boots and galoshes , while the hot drops fell scalding from the ceiling on his face .
" holloa ! " cried he , leaping down .
the bathing attendant , on his side , uttered a loud cry of astonishment when he beheld in the bath , a man completely dressed .
the other , however , retained sufficient presence of mind to whisper to him , " ' tis a bet , and i have won it ! "
but the first thing he did as soon as he got home , was to have a large blister put on his chest and back to draw out his madness .
the next morning he had a sore chest and a bleeding back ; and , excepting the fright , that was all that he had gained by the shoes of fortune .
v .
metamorphosis of the copying-clerk the watchman , whom we have certainly not forgotten , thought meanwhile of the galoshes he had found and taken with him to the hospital ; he now went to fetch them ; and as neither the lieutenant , nor anybody else in the street , claimed them as his property , they were delivered over to the police-office . * * as on the continent , in all law and police practices nothing is verbal , but any circumstance , however trifling , is reduced to writing , the labor , as well as the number of papers that thus accumulate , is enormous .
in a police-office , consequently , we find copying-clerks among many other scribes of various denominations , of which , it seems , our hero was one .
" why , i declare the shoes look just like my own , " said one of the clerks , eying the newly-found treasure , whose hidden powers , even he , sharp as he was , was not able to discover .
" one must have more than the eye of a shoemaker to know one pair from the other , " said he , soliloquizing ; and putting , at the same time , the galoshes in search of an owner , beside his own in the corner .
" here , sir ! " said one of the men , who panting brought him a tremendous pile of papers .
the copying-clerk turned round and spoke awhile with the man about the reports and legal documents in question ; but when he had finished , and his eye fell again on the shoes , he was unable to say whether those to the left or those to the right belonged to him .
" at all events it must be those which are wet , " thought he ; but this time , in spite of his cleverness , he guessed quite wrong , for it was just those of fortune which played as it were into his hands , or rather on his feet .
and why , i should like to know , are the police never to be wrong ?
so he put them on quickly , stuck his papers in his pocket , and took besides a few under his arm , intending to look them through at home to make the necessary notes .
it was noon ; and the weather , that had threatened rain , began to clear up , while gaily dressed holiday folks filled the streets .
" a little trip to fredericksburg would do me no great harm , " thought he ; " for i , poor beast of burden that i am , have so much to annoy me , that i don't know what a good appetite is . ' tis a bitter crust , alas ! at which i am condemned to gnaw ! "
nobody could be more steady or quiet than this young man ; we therefore wish him joy of the excursion with all our heart ; and it will certainly be beneficial for a person who leads so sedentary a life .
in the park he met a friend , one of our young poets , who told him that the following day he should set out on his long-intended tour .
" so you are going away again ! " said the clerk .
" you are a very free and happy being ; we others are chained by the leg and held fast to our desk . "
" yes ; but it is a chain , friend , which ensures you the blessed bread of existence , " answered the poet .
" you need feel no care for the coming morrow : when you are old , you receive a pension . "
" true , " said the clerk , shrugging his shoulders ; " and yet you are the better off .
to sit at one's ease and poetise--that is a pleasure ; everybody has something agreeable to say to you , and you are always your own master .
no , friend , you should but try what it is to sit from one year's end to the other occupied with and judging the most trivial matters . "
the poet shook his head , the copying-clerk did the same .
each one kept to his own opinion , and so they separated .
" it's a strange race , those poets ! " said the clerk , who was very fond of soliloquizing .
" i should like some day , just for a trial , to take such nature upon me , and be a poet myself ; i am very sure i should make no such miserable verses as the others .
today , methinks , is a most delicious day for a poet .
nature seems anew to celebrate her awakening into life .
the air is so unusually clear , the clouds sail on so buoyantly , and from the green herbage a fragrance is exhaled that fills me with delight .
for many a year have i not felt as at this moment . "
we see already , by the foregoing effusion , that he is become a poet ; to give further proof of it , however , would in most cases be insipid , for it is a most foolish notion to fancy a poet different from other men .
among the latter there may be far more poetical natures than many an acknowledged poet , when examined more closely , could boast of ; the difference only is , that the poet possesses a better mental memory , on which account he is able to retain the feeling and the thought till they can be embodied by means of words ; a faculty which the others do not possess .
but the transition from a commonplace nature to one that is richly endowed , demands always a more or less breakneck leap over a certain abyss which yawns threateningly below ; and thus must the sudden change with the clerk strike the reader .
" the sweet air ! " continued he of the police-office , in his dreamy imaginings ; " how it reminds me of the violets in the garden of my aunt magdalena !
yes , then i was a little wild boy , who did not go to school very regularly .
o heavens ! ' tis a long time since i have thought on those times .
the good old soul !
she lived behind the exchange .
she always had a few twigs or green shoots in water--let the winter rage without as it might .
the violets exhaled their sweet breath , whilst i pressed against the windowpanes covered with fantastic frost-work the copper coin i had heated on the stove , and so made peep-holes .
what splendid vistas were then opened to my view !
what change--what magnificence !
yonder in the canal lay the ships frozen up , and deserted by their whole crews , with a screaming crow for the sole occupant .
but when the spring , with a gentle stirring motion , announced her arrival , a new and busy life arose ; with songs and hurrahs the ice was sawn asunder , the ships were fresh tarred and rigged , that they might sail away to distant lands .
but i have remained here--must always remain here , sitting at my desk in the office , and patiently see other people fetch their passports to go abroad .
such is my fate !
alas!"--sighed he , and was again silent .
" great heaven !
what is come to me !
never have i thought or felt like this before !
it must be the summer air that affects me with feelings almost as disquieting as they are refreshing . "
he felt in his pocket for the papers .
" these police-reports will soon stem the torrent of my ideas , and effectually hinder any rebellious overflowing of the time-worn banks of official duties " ; he said to himself consolingly , while his eye ran over the first page .
" dame tigbrith , tragedy in five acts . "
" what is that ?
and yet it is undeniably my own handwriting .
have i written the tragedy ?
wonderful , very wonderful!--and this--what have i here ? ' intrigue on the ramparts ; or the day of repentance : vaudeville with new songs to the most favorite airs . ' the deuce !
where did i get all this rubbish ?
some one must have slipped it slyly into my pocket for a joke .
there is too a letter to me ; a crumpled letter and the seal broken . "
yes ; it was not a very polite epistle from the manager of a theatre , in which both pieces were flatly refused .
" hem ! hem ! " said the clerk breathlessly , and quite exhausted he seated himself on a bank .
his thoughts were so elastic , his heart so tender ; and involuntarily he picked one of the nearest flowers .
it is a simple daisy , just bursting out of the bud .
what the botanist tells us after a number of imperfect lectures , the flower proclaimed in a minute .
it related the mythus of its birth , told of the power of the sun-light that spread out its delicate leaves , and forced them to impregnate the air with their incense--and then he thought of the manifold struggles of life , which in like manner awaken the budding flowers of feeling in our bosom .
light and air contend with chivalric emulation for the love of the fair flower that bestowed her chief favors on the latter ; full of longing she turned towards the light , and as soon as it vanished , rolled her tender leaves together and slept in the embraces of the air .
" it is the light which adorns me , " said the flower .
" but ' tis the air which enables thee to breathe , " said the poet's voice .
close by stood a boy who dashed his stick into a wet ditch .
the drops of water splashed up to the green leafy roof , and the clerk thought of the million of ephemera which in a single drop were thrown up to a height , that was as great doubtless for their size , as for us if we were to be hurled above the clouds .
while he thought of this and of the whole metamorphosis he had undergone , he smiled and said , " i sleep and dream ; but it is wonderful how one can dream so naturally , and know besides so exactly that it is but a dream .
if only to-morrow on awaking , i could again call all to mind so vividly !
i seem in unusually good spirits ; my perception of things is clear , i feel as light and cheerful as though i were in heaven ; but i know for a certainty , that if to-morrow a dim remembrance of it should swim before my mind , it will then seem nothing but stupid nonsense , as i have often experienced already--especially before i enlisted under the banner of the police , for that dispels like a whirlwind all the visions of an unfettered imagination .
all we hear or say in a dream that is fair and beautiful is like the gold of the subterranean spirits ; it is rich and splendid when it is given us , but viewed by daylight we find only withered leaves .
alas ! " he sighed quite sorrowful , and gazed at the chirping birds that hopped contentedly from branch to branch , " they are much better off than i !
to fly must be a heavenly art ; and happy do i prize that creature in which it is innate .
yes !
could i exchange my nature with any other creature , i fain would be such a happy little lark ! "
he had hardly uttered these hasty words when the skirts and sleeves of his coat folded themselves together into wings ; the clothes became feathers , and the galoshes claws .
he observed it perfectly , and laughed in his heart .
" now then , there is no doubt that i am dreaming ; but i never before was aware of such mad freaks as these . "
and up he flew into the green roof and sang ; but in the song there was no poetry , for the spirit of the poet was gone .
the shoes , as is the case with anybody who does what he has to do properly , could only attend to one thing at a time .
he wanted to be a poet , and he was one ; he now wished to be a merry chirping bird : but when he was metamorphosed into one , the former peculiarities ceased immediately .
" it is really pleasant enough , " said he : " the whole day long i sit in the office amid the driest law-papers , and at night i fly in my dream as a lark in the gardens of fredericksburg ; one might really write a very pretty comedy upon it . "
he now fluttered down into the grass , turned his head gracefully on every side , and with his bill pecked the pliant blades of grass , which , in comparison to his present size , seemed as majestic as the palm-branches of northern africa .
unfortunately the pleasure lasted but a moment .
presently black night overshadowed our enthusiast , who had so entirely missed his part of copying-clerk at a police-office ; some vast object seemed to be thrown over him .
it was a large oil-skin cap , which a sailor-boy of the quay had thrown over the struggling bird ; a coarse hand sought its way carefully in under the broad rim , and seized the clerk over the back and wings .
in the first moment of fear , he called , indeed , as loud as he could--"you impudent little blackguard !
i am a copying-clerk at the police-office ; and you know you cannot insult any belonging to the constabulary force without a chastisement .
besides , you good-for-nothing rascal , it is strictly forbidden to catch birds in the royal gardens of fredericksburg ; but your blue uniform betrays where you come from . "
this fine tirade sounded , however , to the ungodly sailor-boy like a mere " pippi-pi . "
he gave the noisy bird a knock on his beak , and walked on .
he was soon met by two schoolboys of the upper class--that is to say as individuals , for with regard to learning they were in the lowest class in the school ; and they bought the stupid bird .
so the copying-clerk came to copenhagen as guest , or rather as prisoner in a family living in gother street . " ' tis well that i'm dreaming , " said the clerk , " or i really should get angry .
first i was a poet ; now sold for a few pence as a lark ; no doubt it was that accursed poetical nature which has metamorphosed me into such a poor harmless little creature .
it is really pitiable , particularly when one gets into the hands of a little blackguard , perfect in all sorts of cruelty to animals : all i should like to know is , how the story will end . "
the two schoolboys , the proprietors now of the transformed clerk , carried him into an elegant room .
a stout stately dame received them with a smile ; but she expressed much dissatisfaction that a common field-bird , as she called the lark , should appear in such high society .
for to-day , however , she would allow it ; and they must shut him in the empty cage that was standing in the window .
" perhaps he will amuse my good polly , " added the lady , looking with a benignant smile at a large green parrot that swung himself backwards and forwards most comfortably in his ring , inside a magnificent brass-wired cage .
" to-day is polly's birthday , " said she with stupid simplicity : " and the little brown field-bird must wish him joy . "
mr .
polly uttered not a syllable in reply , but swung to and fro with dignified condescension ; while a pretty canary , as yellow as gold , that had lately been brought from his sunny fragrant home , began to sing aloud .
" noisy creature !
will you be quiet ! " screamed the lady of the house , covering the cage with an embroidered white pocket handkerchief .
" chirp , chirp ! " sighed he .
" that was a dreadful snowstorm " ; and he sighed again , and was silent .
the copying-clerk , or , as the lady said , the brown field-bird , was put into a small cage , close to the canary , and not far from " my good polly . "
the only human sounds that the parrot could bawl out were , " come , let us be men ! "
everything else that he said was as unintelligible to everybody as the chirping of the canary , except to the clerk , who was now a bird too : he understood his companion perfectly .
" i flew about beneath the green palms and the blossoming almond-trees , " sang the canary ; " i flew around , with my brothers and sisters , over the beautiful flowers , and over the glassy lakes , where the bright water-plants nodded to me from below .
there , too , i saw many splendidly-dressed paroquets , that told the drollest stories , and the wildest fairy tales without end . "
" oh ! those were uncouth birds , " answered the parrot .
" they had no education , and talked of whatever came into their head .
" if my mistress and all her friends can laugh at what i say , so may you too , i should think .
it is a great fault to have no taste for what is witty or amusing--come , let us be men . "
" ah , you have no remembrance of love for the charming maidens that danced beneath the outspread tents beside the bright fragrant flowers ?
do you no longer remember the sweet fruits , and the cooling juice in the wild plants of our never-to-be-forgotten home ? " said the former inhabitant of the canary isles , continuing his dithyrambic .
" oh , yes , " said the parrot ; " but i am far better off here .
i am well fed , and get friendly treatment .
i know i am a clever fellow ; and that is all i care about .
come , let us be men .
you are of a poetical nature , as it is called--i , on the contrary , possess profound knowledge and inexhaustible wit .
you have genius ; but clear-sighted , calm discretion does not take such lofty flights , and utter such high natural tones .
for this they have covered you over--they never do the like to me ; for i cost more .
besides , they are afraid of my beak ; and i have always a witty answer at hand .
come , let us be men ! "
" o warm spicy land of my birth , " sang the canary bird ; " i will sing of thy dark-green bowers , of the calm bays where the pendent boughs kiss the surface of the water ; i will sing of the rejoicing of all my brothers and sisters where the cactus grows in wanton luxuriance . "
" spare us your elegiac tones , " said the parrot giggling .
" rather speak of something at which one may laugh heartily .
laughing is an infallible sign of the highest degree of mental development .
can a dog , or a horse laugh ?
no , but they can cry .
the gift of laughing was given to man alone .
ha ! ha ! ha ! " screamed polly , and added his stereotype witticism .
" come , let us be men ! "
" poor little danish grey-bird , " said the canary ; " you have been caught too .
it is , no doubt , cold enough in your woods , but there at least is the breath of liberty ; therefore fly away .
in the hurry they have forgotten to shut your cage , and the upper window is open .
fly , my friend ; fly away .
farewell ! "
instinctively the clerk obeyed ; with a few strokes of his wings he was out of the cage ; but at the same moment the door , which was only ajar , and which led to the next room , began to creak , and supple and creeping came the large tomcat into the room , and began to pursue him .
the frightened canary fluttered about in his cage ; the parrot flapped his wings , and cried , " come , let us be men ! "
the clerk felt a mortal fright , and flew through the window , far away over the houses and streets .
at last he was forced to rest a little .
the neighboring house had a something familiar about it ; a window stood open ; he flew in ; it was his own room .
he perched upon the table .
" come , let us be men ! " said he , involuntarily imitating the chatter of the parrot , and at the same moment he was again a copying-clerk ; but he was sitting in the middle of the table .
" heaven help me ! " cried he .
" how did i get up here--and so buried in sleep , too ?
after all , that was a very unpleasant , disagreeable dream that haunted me !
the whole story is nothing but silly , stupid nonsense ! "
vi .
the best that the galoshes gave the following day , early in the morning , while the clerk was still in bed , someone knocked at his door .
it was his neighbor , a young divine , who lived on the same floor .
he walked in .
" lend me your galoshes , " said he ; " it is so wet in the garden , though the sun is shining most invitingly .
i should like to go out a little . "
he got the galoshes , and he was soon below in a little duodecimo garden , where between two immense walls a plumtree and an apple-tree were standing .
even such a little garden as this was considered in the metropolis of copenhagen as a great luxury .
the young man wandered up and down the narrow paths , as well as the prescribed limits would allow ; the clock struck six ; without was heard the horn of a post-boy .
" to travel ! to travel ! " exclaimed he , overcome by most painful and passionate remembrances .
" that is the happiest thing in the world !
that is the highest aim of all my wishes !
then at last would the agonizing restlessness be allayed , which destroys my existence !
but it must be far , far away !
i would behold magnificent switzerland ; i would travel to italy , and - - " it was a good thing that the power of the galoshes worked as instantaneously as lightning in a powder-magazine would do , otherwise the poor man with his overstrained wishes would have travelled about the world too much for himself as well as for us .
in short , he was travelling .
he was in the middle of switzerland , but packed up with eight other passengers in the inside of an eternally-creaking diligence ; his head ached till it almost split , his weary neck could hardly bear the heavy load , and his feet , pinched by his torturing boots , were terribly swollen .
he was in an intermediate state between sleeping and waking ; at variance with himself , with his company , with the country , and with the government .
in his right pocket he had his letter of credit , in the left , his passport , and in a small leathern purse some double louis d'or , carefully sewn up in the bosom of his waistcoat .
every dream proclaimed that one or the other of these valuables was lost ; wherefore he started up as in a fever ; and the first movement which his hand made , described a magic triangle from the right pocket to the left , and then up towards the bosom , to feel if he had them all safe or not .
from the roof inside the carriage , umbrellas , walking-sticks , hats , and sundry other articles were depending , and hindered the view , which was particularly imposing .
he now endeavored as well as he was able to dispel his gloom , which was caused by outward chance circumstances merely , and on the bosom of nature imbibe the milk of purest human enjoyment .
grand , solemn , and dark was the whole landscape around .
the gigantic pine-forests , on the pointed crags , seemed almost like little tufts of heather , colored by the surrounding clouds .
it began to snow , a cold wind blew and roared as though it were seeking a bride .
" augh ! " sighed he , " were we only on the other side the alps , then we should have summer , and i could get my letters of credit cashed .
the anxiety i feel about them prevents me enjoying switzerland .
were i but on the other side ! "
and so saying he was on the other side in italy , between florence and rome .
lake thracymene , illumined by the evening sun , lay like flaming gold between the dark-blue mountain-ridges ; here , where hannibal defeated flaminius , the rivers now held each other in their green embraces ; lovely , half-naked children tended a herd of black swine , beneath a group of fragrant laurel-trees , hard by the road-side .
could we render this inimitable picture properly , then would everybody exclaim , " beautiful , unparalleled italy ! "
but neither the young divine said so , nor anyone of his grumbling companions in the coach of the vetturino .
the poisonous flies and gnats swarmed around by thousands ; in vain one waved myrtle-branches about like mad ; the audacious insect population did not cease to sting ; nor was there a single person in the well-crammed carriage whose face was not swollen and sore from their ravenous bites .
the poor horses , tortured almost to death , suffered most from this truly egyptian plague ; the flies alighted upon them in large disgusting swarms ; and if the coachman got down and scraped them off , hardly a minute elapsed before they were there again .
the sun now set : a freezing cold , though of short duration pervaded the whole creation ; it was like a horrid gust coming from a burial-vault on a warm summer's day--but all around the mountains retained that wonderful green tone which we see in some old pictures , and which , should we not have seen a similar play of color in the south , we declare at once to be unnatural .
it was a glorious prospect ; but the stomach was empty , the body tired ; all that the heart cared and longed for was good night-quarters ; yet how would they be ?
for these one looked much more anxiously than for the charms of nature , which every where were so profusely displayed .
the road led through an olive-grove , and here the solitary inn was situated .
ten or twelve crippled-beggars had encamped outside .
the healthiest of them resembled , to use an expression of marryat's , " hunger's eldest son when he had come of age " ; the others were either blind , had withered legs and crept about on their hands , or withered arms and fingerless hands .
it was the most wretched misery , dragged from among the filthiest rags .
" excellenza , miserabili ! " sighed they , thrusting forth their deformed limbs to view .
even the hostess , with bare feet , uncombed hair , and dressed in a garment of doubtful color , received the guests grumblingly .
the doors were fastened with a loop of string ; the floor of the rooms presented a stone paving half torn up ; bats fluttered wildly about the ceiling ; and as to the smell therein--no--that was beyond description .
" you had better lay the cloth below in the stable , " said one of the travellers ; " there , at all events , one knows what one is breathing . "
the windows were quickly opened , to let in a little fresh air .
quicker , however , than the breeze , the withered , sallow arms of the beggars were thrust in , accompanied by the eternal whine of " miserabili , miserabili , excellenza ! "
on the walls were displayed innumerable inscriptions , written in nearly every language of europe , some in verse , some in prose , most of them not very laudatory of " bella italia . "
the meal was served .
it consisted of a soup of salted water , seasoned with pepper and rancid oil .
the last ingredient played a very prominent part in the salad ; stale eggs and roasted cocks'-combs furnished the grand dish of the repast ; the wine even was not without a disgusting taste--it was like a medicinal draught .
at night the boxes and other effects of the passengers were placed against the rickety doors .
one of the travellers kept watch while the others slept .
the sentry was our young divine .
how close it was in the chamber !
the heat oppressive to suffocation--the gnats hummed and stung unceasingly--the " miserabili " without whined and moaned in their sleep .
" travelling would be agreeable enough , " said he groaning , " if one only had no body , or could send it to rest while the spirit went on its pilgrimage unhindered , whither the voice within might call it .
wherever i go , i am pursued by a longing that is insatiable--that i cannot explain to myself , and that tears my very heart .
i want something better than what is but what is fled in an instant .
but what is it , and where is it to be found ?
yet , i know in reality what it is i wish for .
oh ! most happy were i , could i but reach one aim--could but reach the happiest of all ! "
and as he spoke the word he was again in his home ; the long white curtains hung down from the windows , and in the middle of the floor stood the black coffin ; in it he lay in the sleep of death .
his wish was fulfilled--the body rested , while the spirit went unhindered on its pilgrimage .
" let no one deem himself happy before his end , " were the words of solon ; and here was a new and brilliant proof of the wisdom of the old apothegm .
every corpse is a sphynx of immortality ; here too on the black coffin the sphynx gave us no answer to what he who lay within had written two days before : " o mighty death ! thy silence teaches nought , thou leadest only to the near grave's brink ; is broken now the ladder of my thoughts ?
do i instead of mounting only sink ?
our heaviest grief the world oft seeth not , our sorest pain we hide from stranger eyes : and for the sufferer there is nothing left but the green mound that o'er the coffin lies . "
two figures were moving in the chamber .
we knew them both ; it was the fairy of care , and the emissary of fortune .
they both bent over the corpse .
" do you now see , " said care , " what happiness your galoshes have brought to mankind ? "
" to him , at least , who slumbers here , they have brought an imperishable blessing , " answered the other .
" ah no ! " replied care .
" he took his departure himself ; he was not called away .
his mental powers here below were not strong enough to reach the treasures lying beyond this life , and which his destiny ordained he should obtain .
i will now confer a benefit on him . "
and she took the galoshes from his feet ; his sleep of death was ended ; and he who had been thus called back again to life arose from his dread couch in all the vigor of youth .
care vanished , and with her the galoshes .
she has no doubt taken them for herself , to keep them to all eternity .
out in the woods stood a nice little fir tree .
the place he had was a very good one : the sun shone on him : as to fresh air , there was enough of that , and round him grew many large-sized comrades , pines as well as firs .
but the little fir wanted so very much to be a grown-up tree .
he did not think of the warm sun and of the fresh air ; he did not care for the little cottage children that ran about and prattled when they were in the woods looking for wild-strawberries .
the children often came with a whole pitcher full of berries , or a long row of them threaded on a straw , and sat down near the young tree and said , " oh , how pretty he is !
what a nice little fir ! "
but this was what the tree could not bear to hear .
at the end of a year he had shot up a good deal , and after another year he was another long bit taller ; for with fir trees one can always tell by the shoots how many years old they are .
" oh !
were i but such a high tree as the others are , " sighed he .
" then i should be able to spread out my branches , and with the tops to look into the wide world !
then would the birds build nests among my branches : and when there was a breeze , i could bend with as much stateliness as the others ! "
neither the sunbeams , nor the birds , nor the red clouds which morning and evening sailed above him , gave the little tree any pleasure .
in winter , when the snow lay glittering on the ground , a hare would often come leaping along , and jump right over the little tree .
oh , that made him so angry !
but two winters were past , and in the third the tree was so large that the hare was obliged to go round it .
" to grow and grow , to get older and be tall , " thought the tree--"that , after all , is the most delightful thing in the world ! "
in autumn the wood-cutters always came and felled some of the largest trees .
this happened every year ; and the young fir tree , that had now grown to a very comely size , trembled at the sight ; for the magnificent great trees fell to the earth with noise and cracking , the branches were lopped off , and the trees looked long and bare ; they were hardly to be recognised ; and then they were laid in carts , and the horses dragged them out of the wood .
where did they go to ?
what became of them ?
in spring , when the swallows and the storks came , the tree asked them , " don't you know where they have been taken ?
have you not met them anywhere ? "
the swallows did not know anything about it ; but the stork looked musing , nodded his head , and said , " yes ; i think i know ; i met many ships as i was flying hither from egypt ; on the ships were magnificent masts , and i venture to assert that it was they that smelt so of fir .
i may congratulate you , for they lifted themselves on high most majestically ! "
" oh , were i but old enough to fly across the sea !
but how does the sea look in reality ?
what is it like ? "
" that would take a long time to explain , " said the stork , and with these words off he went .
" rejoice in thy growth ! " said the sunbeams .
" rejoice in thy vigorous growth , and in the fresh life that moveth within thee ! "
and the wind kissed the tree , and the dew wept tears over him ; but the fir understood it not .
when christmas came , quite young trees were cut down : trees which often were not even as large or of the same age as this fir tree , who could never rest , but always wanted to be off .
these young trees , and they were always the finest looking , retained their branches ; they were laid on carts , and the horses drew them out of the wood .
" where are they going to ? " asked the fir .
" they are not taller than i ; there was one indeed that was considerably shorter ; and why do they retain all their branches ?
whither are they taken ? "
" we know !
we know ! " chirped the sparrows .
" we have peeped in at the windows in the town below !
we know whither they are taken !
the greatest splendor and the greatest magnificence one can imagine await them .
we peeped through the windows , and saw them planted in the middle of the warm room and ornamented with the most splendid things , with gilded apples , with gingerbread , with toys , and many hundred lights ! "
" and then ? " asked the fir tree , trembling in every bough .
" and then ?
what happens then ? "
" we did not see anything more : it was incomparably beautiful . "
" i would fain know if i am destined for so glorious a career , " cried the tree , rejoicing .
" that is still better than to cross the sea !
what a longing do i suffer !
were christmas but come !
i am now tall , and my branches spread like the others that were carried off last year !
oh ! were i but already on the cart !
were i in the warm room with all the splendor and magnificence !
yes ; then something better , something still grander , will surely follow , or wherefore should they thus ornament me ?
something better , something still grander must follow--but what ?
oh , how i long , how i suffer !
i do not know myself what is the matter with me ! "
" rejoice in our presence ! " said the air and the sunlight .
" rejoice in thy own fresh youth ! "
but the tree did not rejoice at all ; he grew and grew , and was green both winter and summer .
people that saw him said , " what a fine tree ! " and towards christmas he was one of the first that was cut down .
the axe struck deep into the very pith ; the tree fell to the earth with a sigh ; he felt a pang--it was like a swoon ; he could not think of happiness , for he was sorrowful at being separated from his home , from the place where he had sprung up .
he well knew that he should never see his dear old comrades , the little bushes and flowers around him , anymore ; perhaps not even the birds !
the departure was not at all agreeable .
the tree only came to himself when he was unloaded in a court-yard with the other trees , and heard a man say , " that one is splendid !
we don't want the others . "
then two servants came in rich livery and carried the fir tree into a large and splendid drawing-room .
portraits were hanging on the walls , and near the white porcelain stove stood two large chinese vases with lions on the covers .
there , too , were large easy-chairs , silken sofas , large tables full of picture-books and full of toys , worth hundreds and hundreds of crowns--at least the children said so .
and the fir tree was stuck upright in a cask that was filled with sand ; but no one could see that it was a cask , for green cloth was hung all round it , and it stood on a large gaily-colored carpet .
oh ! how the tree quivered !
what was to happen ?
the servants , as well as the young ladies , decorated it .
on one branch there hung little nets cut out of colored paper , and each net was filled with sugarplums ; and among the other boughs gilded apples and walnuts were suspended , looking as though they had grown there , and little blue and white tapers were placed among the leaves .
dolls that looked for all the world like men--the tree had never beheld such before--were seen among the foliage , and at the very top a large star of gold tinsel was fixed .
it was really splendid--beyond description splendid .
" this evening ! " they all said .
" how it will shine this evening ! "
" oh ! " thought the tree .
" if the evening were but come !
if the tapers were but lighted !
and then i wonder what will happen !
perhaps the other trees from the forest will come to look at me !
perhaps the sparrows will beat against the windowpanes !
i wonder if i shall take root here , and winter and summer stand covered with ornaments ! "
he knew very much about the matter--but he was so impatient that for sheer longing he got a pain in his back , and this with trees is the same thing as a headache with us .
the candles were now lighted--what brightness !
what splendor !
the tree trembled so in every bough that one of the tapers set fire to the foliage .
it blazed up famously .
" help !
help ! " cried the young ladies , and they quickly put out the fire .
now the tree did not even dare tremble .
what a state he was in !
he was so uneasy lest he should lose something of his splendor , that he was quite bewildered amidst the glare and brightness ; when suddenly both folding-doors opened and a troop of children rushed in as if they would upset the tree .
the older persons followed quietly ; the little ones stood quite still .
but it was only for a moment ; then they shouted that the whole place re-echoed with their rejoicing ; they danced round the tree , and one present after the other was pulled off .
" what are they about ? " thought the tree .
" what is to happen now ! "
and the lights burned down to the very branches , and as they burned down they were put out one after the other , and then the children had permission to plunder the tree .
so they fell upon it with such violence that all its branches cracked ; if it had not been fixed firmly in the ground , it would certainly have tumbled down .
the children danced about with their beautiful playthings ; no one looked at the tree except the old nurse , who peeped between the branches ; but it was only to see if there was a fig or an apple left that had been forgotten .
" a story !
a story ! " cried the children , drawing a little fat man towards the tree .
he seated himself under it and said , " now we are in the shade , and the tree can listen too .
but i shall tell only one story .
now which will you have ; that about ivedy-avedy , or about humpy-dumpy , who tumbled downstairs , and yet after all came to the throne and married the princess ? "
" ivedy-avedy , " cried some ; " humpy-dumpy , " cried the others .
there was such a bawling and screaming--the fir tree alone was silent , and he thought to himself , " am i not to bawl with the rest ?
am i to do nothing whatever ? " for he was one of the company , and had done what he had to do .
and the man told about humpy-dumpy that tumbled down , who notwithstanding came to the throne , and at last married the princess .
and the children clapped their hands , and cried .
" oh , go on !
do go on ! "
they wanted to hear about ivedy-avedy too , but the little man only told them about humpy-dumpy .
the fir tree stood quite still and absorbed in thought ; the birds in the wood had never related the like of this .
" humpy-dumpy fell downstairs , and yet he married the princess !
yes , yes !
that's the way of the world ! " thought the fir tree , and believed it all , because the man who told the story was so good-looking .
" well , well ! who knows , perhaps i may fall downstairs , too , and get a princess as wife ! "
and he looked forward with joy to the morrow , when he hoped to be decked out again with lights , playthings , fruits , and tinsel .
" i won't tremble to-morrow ! " thought the fir tree .
" i will enjoy to the full all my splendor !
to-morrow i shall hear again the story of humpy-dumpy , and perhaps that of ivedy-avedy too . "
and the whole night the tree stood still and in deep thought .
in the morning the servant and the housemaid came in .
" now then the splendor will begin again , " thought the fir .
but they dragged him out of the room , and up the stairs into the loft : and here , in a dark corner , where no daylight could enter , they left him .
" what's the meaning of this ? " thought the tree .
" what am i to do here ?
what shall i hear now , i wonder ? "
and he leaned against the wall lost in reverie .
time enough had he too for his reflections ; for days and nights passed on , and nobody came up ; and when at last somebody did come , it was only to put some great trunks in a corner , out of the way .
there stood the tree quite hidden ; it seemed as if he had been entirely forgotten . " ' tis now winter out-of-doors ! " thought the tree .
" the earth is hard and covered with snow ; men cannot plant me now , and therefore i have been put up here under shelter till the spring-time comes !
how thoughtful that is !
how kind man is , after all !
if it only were not so dark here , and so terribly lonely !
not even a hare !
and out in the woods it was so pleasant , when the snow was on the ground , and the hare leaped by ; yes--even when he jumped over me ; but i did not like it then !
it is really terribly lonely here ! "
" squeak !
squeak ! " said a little mouse , at the same moment , peeping out of his hole .
and then another little one came .
they snuffed about the fir tree , and rustled among the branches .
" it is dreadfully cold , " said the mouse .
" but for that , it would be delightful here , old fir , wouldn't it ? "
" i am by no means old , " said the fir tree .
" there's many a one considerably older than i am . "
" where do you come from , " asked the mice ; " and what can you do ? "
they were so extremely curious .
" tell us about the most beautiful spot on the earth .
have you never been there ?
were you never in the larder , where cheeses lie on the shelves , and hams hang from above ; where one dances about on tallow candles : that place where one enters lean , and comes out again fat and portly ? "
" i know no such place , " said the tree .
" but i know the wood , where the sun shines and where the little birds sing . "
and then he told all about his youth ; and the little mice had never heard the like before ; and they listened and said , " well , to be sure !
how much you have seen !
how happy you must have been ! "
" i ! " said the fir tree , thinking over what he had himself related .
" yes , in reality those were happy times . "
and then he told about christmas-eve , when he was decked out with cakes and candles .
" oh , " said the little mice , " how fortunate you have been , old fir tree ! "
" i am by no means old , " said he .
" i came from the wood this winter ; i am in my prime , and am only rather short for my age . "
" what delightful stories you know , " said the mice : and the next night they came with four other little mice , who were to hear what the tree recounted : and the more he related , the more he remembered himself ; and it appeared as if those times had really been happy times .
" but they may still come--they may still come !
humpy-dumpy fell downstairs , and yet he got a princess ! " and he thought at the moment of a nice little birch tree growing out in the woods : to the fir , that would be a real charming princess .
" who is humpy-dumpy ? " asked the mice .
so then the fir tree told the whole fairy tale , for he could remember every single word of it ; and the little mice jumped for joy up to the very top of the tree .
next night two more mice came , and on sunday two rats even ; but they said the stories were not interesting , which vexed the little mice ; and they , too , now began to think them not so very amusing either .
" do you know only one story ? " asked the rats .
" only that one , " answered the tree .
" i heard it on my happiest evening ; but i did not then know how happy i was . "
" it is a very stupid story !
don't you know one about bacon and tallow candles ?
can't you tell any larder stories ? "
" no , " said the tree .
" then good-bye , " said the rats ; and they went home .
at last the little mice stayed away also ; and the tree sighed : " after all , it was very pleasant when the sleek little mice sat round me , and listened to what i told them .
now that too is over .
but i will take good care to enjoy myself when i am brought out again . "
but when was that to be ?
why , one morning there came a quantity of people and set to work in the loft .
the trunks were moved , the tree was pulled out and thrown--rather hard , it is true--down on the floor , but a man drew him towards the stairs , where the daylight shone .
" now a merry life will begin again , " thought the tree .
he felt the fresh air , the first sunbeam--and now he was out in the courtyard .
all passed so quickly , there was so much going on around him , the tree quite forgot to look to himself .
the court adjoined a garden , and all was in flower ; the roses hung so fresh and odorous over the balustrade , the lindens were in blossom , the swallows flew by , and said , " quirre-vit !
my husband is come ! " but it was not the fir tree that they meant .
" now , then , i shall really enjoy life , " said he exultingly , and spread out his branches ; but , alas , they were all withered and yellow !
it was in a corner that he lay , among weeds and nettles .
the golden star of tinsel was still on the top of the tree , and glittered in the sunshine .
in the court-yard some of the merry children were playing who had danced at christmas round the fir tree , and were so glad at the sight of him .
one of the youngest ran and tore off the golden star .
" only look what is still on the ugly old christmas tree ! " said he , trampling on the branches , so that they all cracked beneath his feet .
and the tree beheld all the beauty of the flowers , and the freshness in the garden ; he beheld himself , and wished he had remained in his dark corner in the loft ; he thought of his first youth in the wood , of the merry christmas-eve , and of the little mice who had listened with so much pleasure to the story of humpy-dumpy . " ' tis over--'tis past ! " said the poor tree .
" had i but rejoiced when i had reason to do so !
but now ' tis past , ' tis past ! "
and the gardener's boy chopped the tree into small pieces ; there was a whole heap lying there .
the wood flamed up splendidly under the large brewing copper , and it sighed so deeply !
each sigh was like a shot .
the boys played about in the court , and the youngest wore the gold star on his breast which the tree had had on the happiest evening of his life .
however , that was over now--the tree gone , the story at an end .
all , all was over--every tale must end at last .
first story .
which treats of a mirror and of the splinters now then , let us begin .
when we are at the end of the story , we shall know more than we know now : but to begin .
once upon a time there was a wicked sprite , indeed he was the most mischievous of all sprites .
one day he was in a very good humor , for he had made a mirror with the power of causing all that was good and beautiful when it was reflected therein , to look poor and mean ; but that which was good-for-nothing and looked ugly was shown magnified and increased in ugliness .
in this mirror the most beautiful landscapes looked like boiled spinach , and the best persons were turned into frights , or appeared to stand on their heads ; their faces were so distorted that they were not to be recognised ; and if anyone had a mole , you might be sure that it would be magnified and spread over both nose and mouth .
" that's glorious fun ! " said the sprite .
if a good thought passed through a man's mind , then a grin was seen in the mirror , and the sprite laughed heartily at his clever discovery .
all the little sprites who went to his school--for he kept a sprite school--told each other that a miracle had happened ; and that now only , as they thought , it would be possible to see how the world really looked .
they ran about with the mirror ; and at last there was not a land or a person who was not represented distorted in the mirror .
so then they thought they would fly up to the sky , and have a joke there .
the higher they flew with the mirror , the more terribly it grinned : they could hardly hold it fast .
higher and higher still they flew , nearer and nearer to the stars , when suddenly the mirror shook so terribly with grinning , that it flew out of their hands and fell to the earth , where it was dashed in a hundred million and more pieces .
and now it worked much more evil than before ; for some of these pieces were hardly so large as a grain of sand , and they flew about in the wide world , and when they got into people's eyes , there they stayed ; and then people saw everything perverted , or only had an eye for that which was evil .
this happened because the very smallest bit had the same power which the whole mirror had possessed .
some persons even got a splinter in their heart , and then it made one shudder , for their heart became like a lump of ice .
some of the broken pieces were so large that they were used for windowpanes , through which one could not see one's friends .
other pieces were put in spectacles ; and that was a sad affair when people put on their glasses to see well and rightly .
then the wicked sprite laughed till he almost choked , for all this tickled his fancy .
the fine splinters still flew about in the air : and now we shall hear what happened next .
second story .
a little boy and a little girl in a large town , where there are so many houses , and so many people , that there is no roof left for everybody to have a little garden ; and where , on this account , most persons are obliged to content themselves with flowers in pots ; there lived two little children , who had a garden somewhat larger than a flower-pot .
they were not brother and sister ; but they cared for each other as much as if they were .
their parents lived exactly opposite .
they inhabited two garrets ; and where the roof of the one house joined that of the other , and the gutter ran along the extreme end of it , there was to each house a small window : one needed only to step over the gutter to get from one window to the other .
the children's parents had large wooden boxes there , in which vegetables for the kitchen were planted , and little rosetrees besides : there was a rose in each box , and they grew splendidly .
they now thought of placing the boxes across the gutter , so that they nearly reached from one window to the other , and looked just like two walls of flowers .
the tendrils of the peas hung down over the boxes ; and the rose-trees shot up long branches , twined round the windows , and then bent towards each other : it was almost like a triumphant arch of foliage and flowers .
the boxes were very high , and the children knew that they must not creep over them ; so they often obtained permission to get out of the windows to each other , and to sit on their little stools among the roses , where they could play delightfully .
in winter there was an end of this pleasure .
the windows were often frozen over ; but then they heated copper farthings on the stove , and laid the hot farthing on the windowpane , and then they had a capital peep-hole , quite nicely rounded ; and out of each peeped a gentle friendly eye--it was the little boy and the little girl who were looking out .
his name was kay , hers was gerda .
in summer , with one jump , they could get to each other ; but in winter they were obliged first to go down the long stairs , and then up the long stairs again : and out-of-doors there was quite a snow-storm .
" it is the white bees that are swarming , " said kay's old grandmother .
" do the white bees choose a queen ? " asked the little boy ; for he knew that the honey-bees always have one .
" yes , " said the grandmother , " she flies where the swarm hangs in the thickest clusters .
she is the largest of all ; and she can never remain quietly on the earth , but goes up again into the black clouds .
many a winter's night she flies through the streets of the town , and peeps in at the windows ; and they then freeze in so wondrous a manner that they look like flowers . "
" yes , i have seen it , " said both the children ; and so they knew that it was true .
" can the snow queen come in ? " said the little girl .
" only let her come in ! " said the little boy .
" then i'd put her on the stove , and she'd melt . "
and then his grandmother patted his head and told him other stories .
in the evening , when little kay was at home , and half undressed , he climbed up on the chair by the window , and peeped out of the little hole .
a few snow-flakes were falling , and one , the largest of all , remained lying on the edge of a flower-pot .
the flake of snow grew larger and larger ; and at last it was like a young lady , dressed in the finest white gauze , made of a million little flakes like stars .
she was so beautiful and delicate , but she was of ice , of dazzling , sparkling ice ; yet she lived ; her eyes gazed fixedly , like two stars ; but there was neither quiet nor repose in them .
she nodded towards the window , and beckoned with her hand .
the little boy was frightened , and jumped down from the chair ; it seemed to him as if , at the same moment , a large bird flew past the window .
the next day it was a sharp frost--and then the spring came ; the sun shone , the green leaves appeared , the swallows built their nests , the windows were opened , and the little children again sat in their pretty garden , high up on the leads at the top of the house .
that summer the roses flowered in unwonted beauty .
the little girl had learned a hymn , in which there was something about roses ; and then she thought of her own flowers ; and she sang the verse to the little boy , who then sang it with her : " the rose in the valley is blooming so sweet , and angels descend there the children to greet . "
and the children held each other by the hand , kissed the roses , looked up at the clear sunshine , and spoke as though they really saw angels there .
what lovely summer-days those were !
how delightful to be out in the air , near the fresh rose-bushes , that seem as if they would never finish blossoming !
kay and gerda looked at the picture-book full of beasts and of birds ; and it was then--the clock in the church-tower was just striking five--that kay said , " oh !
i feel such a sharp pain in my heart ; and now something has got into my eye ! "
the little girl put her arms around his neck .
he winked his eyes ; now there was nothing to be seen .
" i think it is out now , " said he ; but it was not .
it was just one of those pieces of glass from the magic mirror that had got into his eye ; and poor kay had got another piece right in his heart .
it will soon become like ice .
it did not hurt any longer , but there it was .
" what are you crying for ? " asked he .
" you look so ugly !
there's nothing the matter with me .
ah , " said he at once , " that rose is cankered !
and look , this one is quite crooked !
after all , these roses are very ugly !
they are just like the box they are planted in ! "
and then he gave the box a good kick with his foot , and pulled both the roses up .
" what are you doing ? " cried the little girl ; and as he perceived her fright , he pulled up another rose , got in at the window , and hastened off from dear little gerda .
afterwards , when she brought her picture-book , he asked , " what horrid beasts have you there ? "
and if his grandmother told them stories , he always interrupted her ; besides , if he could manage it , he would get behind her , put on her spectacles , and imitate her way of speaking ; he copied all her ways , and then everybody laughed at him .
he was soon able to imitate the gait and manner of everyone in the street .
everything that was peculiar and displeasing in them--that kay knew how to imitate : and at such times all the people said , " the boy is certainly very clever ! "
but it was the glass he had got in his eye ; the glass that was sticking in his heart , which made him tease even little gerda , whose whole soul was devoted to him .
his games now were quite different to what they had formerly been , they were so very knowing .
one winter's day , when the flakes of snow were flying about , he spread the skirts of his blue coat , and caught the snow as it fell .
" look through this glass , gerda , " said he .
and every flake seemed larger , and appeared like a magnificent flower , or beautiful star ; it was splendid to look at !
" look , how clever ! " said kay .
" that's much more interesting than real flowers !
they are as exact as possible ; there is not a fault in them , if they did not melt ! "
it was not long after this , that kay came one day with large gloves on , and his little sledge at his back , and bawled right into gerda's ears , " i have permission to go out into the square where the others are playing " ; and off he was in a moment .
there , in the market-place , some of the boldest of the boys used to tie their sledges to the carts as they passed by , and so they were pulled along , and got a good ride .
it was so capital !
just as they were in the very height of their amusement , a large sledge passed by : it was painted quite white , and there was someone in it wrapped up in a rough white mantle of fur , with a rough white fur cap on his head .
the sledge drove round the square twice , and kay tied on his sledge as quickly as he could , and off he drove with it .
on they went quicker and quicker into the next street ; and the person who drove turned round to kay , and nodded to him in a friendly manner , just as if they knew each other .
every time he was going to untie his sledge , the person nodded to him , and then kay sat quiet ; and so on they went till they came outside the gates of the town .
then the snow began to fall so thickly that the little boy could not see an arm's length before him , but still on he went : when suddenly he let go the string he held in his hand in order to get loose from the sledge , but it was of no use ; still the little vehicle rushed on with the quickness of the wind .
he then cried as loud as he could , but no one heard him ; the snow drifted and the sledge flew on , and sometimes it gave a jerk as though they were driving over hedges and ditches .
he was quite frightened , and he tried to repeat the lord's prayer ; but all he could do , he was only able to remember the multiplication table .
the snow-flakes grew larger and larger , till at last they looked just like great white fowls .
suddenly they flew on one side ; the large sledge stopped , and the person who drove rose up .
it was a lady ; her cloak and cap were of snow .
she was tall and of slender figure , and of a dazzling whiteness .
it was the snow queen .
" we have travelled fast , " said she ; " but it is freezingly cold .
come under my bearskin . "
and she put him in the sledge beside her , wrapped the fur round him , and he felt as though he were sinking in a snow-wreath .
" are you still cold ? " asked she ; and then she kissed his forehead .
ah ! it was colder than ice ; it penetrated to his very heart , which was already almost a frozen lump ; it seemed to him as if he were about to die--but a moment more and it was quite congenial to him , and he did not remark the cold that was around him .
" my sledge !
do not forget my sledge ! "
it was the first thing he thought of .
it was there tied to one of the white chickens , who flew along with it on his back behind the large sledge .
the snow queen kissed kay once more , and then he forgot little gerda , grandmother , and all whom he had left at his home .
" now you will have no more kisses , " said she , " or else i should kiss you to death ! "
kay looked at her .
she was very beautiful ; a more clever , or a more lovely countenance he could not fancy to himself ; and she no longer appeared of ice as before , when she sat outside the window , and beckoned to him ; in his eyes she was perfect , he did not fear her at all , and told her that he could calculate in his head and with fractions , even ; that he knew the number of square miles there were in the different countries , and how many inhabitants they contained ; and she smiled while he spoke .
it then seemed to him as if what he knew was not enough , and he looked upwards in the large huge empty space above him , and on she flew with him ; flew high over the black clouds , while the storm moaned and whistled as though it were singing some old tune .
on they flew over woods and lakes , over seas , and many lands ; and beneath them the chilling storm rushed fast , the wolves howled , the snow crackled ; above them flew large screaming crows , but higher up appeared the moon , quite large and bright ; and it was on it that kay gazed during the long long winter's night ; while by day he slept at the feet of the snow queen .
third story .
of the flower-garden at the old woman's who understood witchcraft but what became of little gerda when kay did not return ?
where could he be ?
nobody knew ; nobody could give any intelligence .
all the boys knew was , that they had seen him tie his sledge to another large and splendid one , which drove down the street and out of the town .
nobody knew where he was ; many sad tears were shed , and little gerda wept long and bitterly ; at last she said he must be dead ; that he had been drowned in the river which flowed close to the town .
oh ! those were very long and dismal winter evenings !
at last spring came , with its warm sunshine .
" kay is dead and gone ! " said little gerda .
" that i don't believe , " said the sunshine .
" kay is dead and gone ! " said she to the swallows .
" that i don't believe , " said they : and at last little gerda did not think so any longer either .
" i'll put on my red shoes , " said she , one morning ; " kay has never seen them , and then i'll go down to the river and ask there . "
it was quite early ; she kissed her old grandmother , who was still asleep , put on her red shoes , and went alone to the river .
" is it true that you have taken my little playfellow ?
i will make you a present of my red shoes , if you will give him back to me . "
and , as it seemed to her , the blue waves nodded in a strange manner ; then she took off her red shoes , the most precious things she possessed , and threw them both into the river .
but they fell close to the bank , and the little waves bore them immediately to land ; it was as if the stream would not take what was dearest to her ; for in reality it had not got little kay ; but gerda thought that she had not thrown the shoes out far enough , so she clambered into a boat which lay among the rushes , went to the farthest end , and threw out the shoes .
but the boat was not fastened , and the motion which she occasioned , made it drift from the shore .
she observed this , and hastened to get back ; but before she could do so , the boat was more than a yard from the land , and was gliding quickly onward .
little gerda was very frightened , and began to cry ; but no one heard her except the sparrows , and they could not carry her to land ; but they flew along the bank , and sang as if to comfort her , " here we are !
here we are ! "
the boat drifted with the stream , little gerda sat quite still without shoes , for they were swimming behind the boat , but she could not reach them , because the boat went much faster than they did .
the banks on both sides were beautiful ; lovely flowers , venerable trees , and slopes with sheep and cows , but not a human being was to be seen .
" perhaps the river will carry me to little kay , " said she ; and then she grew less sad .
she rose , and looked for many hours at the beautiful green banks .
presently she sailed by a large cherry-orchard , where was a little cottage with curious red and blue windows ; it was thatched , and before it two wooden soldiers stood sentry , and presented arms when anyone went past .
gerda called to them , for she thought they were alive ; but they , of course , did not answer .
she came close to them , for the stream drifted the boat quite near the land .
gerda called still louder , and an old woman then came out of the cottage , leaning upon a crooked stick .
she had a large broad-brimmed hat on , painted with the most splendid flowers .
" poor little child ! " said the old woman .
" how did you get upon the large rapid river , to be driven about so in the wide world ! "
and then the old woman went into the water , caught hold of the boat with her crooked stick , drew it to the bank , and lifted little gerda out .
and gerda was so glad to be on dry land again ; but she was rather afraid of the strange old woman .
" but come and tell me who you are , and how you came here , " said she .
and gerda told her all ; and the old woman shook her head and said , " a-hem ! a-hem ! " and when gerda had told her everything , and asked her if she had not seen little kay , the woman answered that he had not passed there , but he no doubt would come ; and she told her not to be cast down , but taste her cherries , and look at her flowers , which were finer than any in a picture-book , each of which could tell a whole story .
she then took gerda by the hand , led her into the little cottage , and locked the door .
the windows were very high up ; the glass was red , blue , and green , and the sunlight shone through quite wondrously in all sorts of colors .
on the table stood the most exquisite cherries , and gerda ate as many as she chose , for she had permission to do so .
while she was eating , the old woman combed her hair with a golden comb , and her hair curled and shone with a lovely golden color around that sweet little face , which was so round and so like a rose .
" i have often longed for such a dear little girl , " said the old woman .
" now you shall see how well we agree together " ; and while she combed little gerda's hair , the child forgot her foster-brother kay more and more , for the old woman understood magic ; but she was no evil being , she only practised witchcraft a little for her own private amusement , and now she wanted very much to keep little gerda .
she therefore went out in the garden , stretched out her crooked stick towards the rose-bushes , which , beautifully as they were blowing , all sank into the earth and no one could tell where they had stood .
the old woman feared that if gerda should see the roses , she would then think of her own , would remember little kay , and run away from her .
she now led gerda into the flower-garden .
oh , what odour and what loveliness was there !
every flower that one could think of , and of every season , stood there in fullest bloom ; no picture-book could be gayer or more beautiful .
gerda jumped for joy , and played till the sun set behind the tall cherry-tree ; she then had a pretty bed , with a red silken coverlet filled with blue violets .
she fell asleep , and had as pleasant dreams as ever a queen on her wedding-day .
the next morning she went to play with the flowers in the warm sunshine , and thus passed away a day .
gerda knew every flower ; and , numerous as they were , it still seemed to gerda that one was wanting , though she did not know which .
one day while she was looking at the hat of the old woman painted with flowers , the most beautiful of them all seemed to her to be a rose .
the old woman had forgotten to take it from her hat when she made the others vanish in the earth .
but so it is when one's thoughts are not collected .
" what ! " said gerda .
" are there no roses here ? " and she ran about amongst the flowerbeds , and looked , and looked , but there was not one to be found .
she then sat down and wept ; but her hot tears fell just where a rose-bush had sunk ; and when her warm tears watered the ground , the tree shot up suddenly as fresh and blooming as when it had been swallowed up .
gerda kissed the roses , thought of her own dear roses at home , and with them of little kay .
" oh , how long i have stayed ! " said the little girl .
" i intended to look for kay !
don't you know where he is ? " she asked of the roses .
" do you think he is dead and gone ? "
" dead he certainly is not , " said the roses .
" we have been in the earth where all the dead are , but kay was not there . "
" many thanks ! " said little gerda ; and she went to the other flowers , looked into their cups , and asked , " don't you know where little kay is ? "
but every flower stood in the sunshine , and dreamed its own fairy tale or its own story : and they all told her very many things , but not one knew anything of kay .
well , what did the tiger-lily say ?
" hearest thou not the drum ?
bum !
bum !
those are the only two tones .
always bum !
bum !
hark to the plaintive song of the old woman , to the call of the priests !
the hindoo woman in her long robe stands upon the funeral pile ; the flames rise around her and her dead husband , but the hindoo woman thinks on the living one in the surrounding circle ; on him whose eyes burn hotter than the flames--on him , the fire of whose eyes pierces her heart more than the flames which soon will burn her body to ashes .
can the heart's flame die in the flame of the funeral pile ? "
" i don't understand that at all , " said little gerda .
" that is my story , " said the lily .
what did the convolvulus say ?
" projecting over a narrow mountain-path there hangs an old feudal castle .
thick evergreens grow on the dilapidated walls , and around the altar , where a lovely maiden is standing : she bends over the railing and looks out upon the rose .
no fresher rose hangs on the branches than she ; no appleblossom carried away by the wind is more buoyant !
how her silken robe is rustling ! " ' is he not yet come ? ' " " is it kay that you mean ? " asked little gerda .
" i am speaking about my story--about my dream , " answered the convolvulus .
what did the snowdrops say ?
" between the trees a long board is hanging--it is a swing .
two little girls are sitting in it , and swing themselves backwards and forwards ; their frocks are as white as snow , and long green silk ribands flutter from their bonnets .
their brother , who is older than they are , stands up in the swing ; he twines his arms round the cords to hold himself fast , for in one hand he has a little cup , and in the other a clay-pipe .
he is blowing soap-bubbles .
the swing moves , and the bubbles float in charming changing colors : the last is still hanging to the end of the pipe , and rocks in the breeze .
the swing moves .
the little black dog , as light as a soap-bubble , jumps up on his hind legs to try to get into the swing .
it moves , the dog falls down , barks , and is angry .
they tease him ; the bubble bursts !
a swing , a bursting bubble--such is my song ! "
" what you relate may be very pretty , but you tell it in so melancholy a manner , and do not mention kay . "
what do the hyacinths say ?
" there were once upon a time three sisters , quite transparent , and very beautiful .
the robe of the one was red , that of the second blue , and that of the third white .
they danced hand in hand beside the calm lake in the clear moonshine .
they were not elfin maidens , but mortal children .
a sweet fragrance was smelt , and the maidens vanished in the wood ; the fragrance grew stronger--three coffins , and in them three lovely maidens , glided out of the forest and across the lake : the shining glow-worms flew around like little floating lights .
do the dancing maidens sleep , or are they dead ?
the odour of the flowers says they are corpses ; the evening bell tolls for the dead ! "
" you make me quite sad , " said little gerda .
" i cannot help thinking of the dead maidens .
oh ! is little kay really dead ?
the roses have been in the earth , and they say no . "
" ding , dong ! " sounded the hyacinth bells .
" we do not toll for little kay ; we do not know him .
that is our way of singing , the only one we have . "
and gerda went to the ranunculuses , that looked forth from among the shining green leaves .
" you are a little bright sun ! " said gerda .
" tell me if you know where i can find my playfellow . "
and the ranunculus shone brightly , and looked again at gerda .
what song could the ranunculus sing ?
it was one that said nothing about kay either .
" in a small court the bright sun was shining in the first days of spring .
the beams glided down the white walls of a neighbor's house , and close by the fresh yellow flowers were growing , shining like gold in the warm sun-rays .
an old grandmother was sitting in the air ; her grand-daughter , the poor and lovely servant just come for a short visit .
she knows her grandmother .
there was gold , pure virgin gold in that blessed kiss .
there , that is my little story , " said the ranunculus .
" my poor old grandmother ! " sighed gerda .
" yes , she is longing for me , no doubt : she is sorrowing for me , as she did for little kay .
but i will soon come home , and then i will bring kay with me .
it is of no use asking the flowers ; they only know their own old rhymes , and can tell me nothing . "
and she tucked up her frock , to enable her to run quicker ; but the narcissus gave her a knock on the leg , just as she was going to jump over it .
so she stood still , looked at the long yellow flower , and asked , " you perhaps know something ? " and she bent down to the narcissus .
and what did it say ?
" i can see myself--i can see myself !
oh , how odorous i am !
up in the little garret there stands , half-dressed , a little dancer .
she stands now on one leg , now on both ; she despises the whole world ; yet she lives only in imagination .
she pours water out of the teapot over a piece of stuff which she holds in her hand ; it is the bodice ; cleanliness is a fine thing .
the white dress is hanging on the hook ; it was washed in the teapot , and dried on the roof .
she puts it on , ties a saffron-colored kerchief round her neck , and then the gown looks whiter .
i can see myself--i can see myself ! "
" that's nothing to me , " said little gerda .
" that does not concern me . "
and then off she ran to the further end of the garden .
the gate was locked , but she shook the rusted bolt till it was loosened , and the gate opened ; and little gerda ran off barefooted into the wide world .
she looked round her thrice , but no one followed her .
at last she could run no longer ; she sat down on a large stone , and when she looked about her , she saw that the summer had passed ; it was late in the autumn , but that one could not remark in the beautiful garden , where there was always sunshine , and where there were flowers the whole year round .
" dear me , how long i have staid ! " said gerda .
" autumn is come .
i must not rest any longer . "
and she got up to go further .
oh , how tender and wearied her little feet were !
all around it looked so cold and raw : the long willow-leaves were quite yellow , and the fog dripped from them like water ; one leaf fell after the other : the sloes only stood full of fruit , which set one's teeth on edge .
oh , how dark and comfortless it was in the dreary world !
fourth story .
the prince and princess gerda was obliged to rest herself again , when , exactly opposite to her , a large raven came hopping over the white snow .
he had long been looking at gerda and shaking his head ; and now he said , " caw !
caw ! "
good day !
good day !
he could not say it better ; but he felt a sympathy for the little girl , and asked her where she was going all alone .
the word " alone " gerda understood quite well , and felt how much was expressed by it ; so she told the raven her whole history , and asked if he had not seen kay .
the raven nodded very gravely , and said , " it may be--it may be ! "
" what , do you really think so ? " cried the little girl ; and she nearly squeezed the raven to death , so much did she kiss him .
" gently , gently , " said the raven .
" i think i know ; i think that it may be little kay .
but now he has forgotten you for the princess . "
" does he live with a princess ? " asked gerda .
" yes--listen , " said the raven ; " but it will be difficult for me to speak your language .
if you understand the raven language i can tell you better . "
" no , i have not learnt it , " said gerda ; " but my grandmother understands it , and she can speak gibberish too .
i wish i had learnt it . "
" no matter , " said the raven ; " i will tell you as well as i can ; however , it will be bad enough . "
and then he told all he knew .
" in the kingdom where we now are there lives a princess , who is extraordinarily clever ; for she has read all the newspapers in the whole world , and has forgotten them again--so clever is she .
she was lately , it is said , sitting on her throne--which is not very amusing after all--when she began humming an old tune , and it was just , ' oh , why should i not be married ? ' ' that song is not without its meaning , ' said she , and so then she was determined to marry ; but she would have a husband who knew how to give an answer when he was spoken to--not one who looked only as if he were a great personage , for that is so tiresome .
she then had all the ladies of the court drummed together ; and when they heard her intention , all were very pleased , and said , ' we are very glad to hear it ; it is the very thing we were thinking of . ' you may believe every word i say , " said the raven ; " for i have a tame sweetheart that hops about in the palace quite free , and it was she who told me all this .
" the newspapers appeared forthwith with a border of hearts and the initials of the princess ; and therein you might read that every good-looking young man was at liberty to come to the palace and speak to the princess ; and he who spoke in such wise as showed he felt himself at home there , that one the princess would choose for her husband .
" yes , yes , " said the raven , " you may believe it ; it is as true as i am sitting here .
people came in crowds ; there was a crush and a hurry , but no one was successful either on the first or second day .
they could all talk well enough when they were out in the street ; but as soon as they came inside the palace gates , and saw the guard richly dressed in silver , and the lackeys in gold on the staircase , and the large illuminated saloons , then they were abashed ; and when they stood before the throne on which the princess was sitting , all they could do was to repeat the last word they had uttered , and to hear it again did not interest her very much .
it was just as if the people within were under a charm , and had fallen into a trance till they came out again into the street ; for then--oh , then--they could chatter enough .
there was a whole row of them standing from the town-gates to the palace .
i was there myself to look , " said the raven .
" they grew hungry and thirsty ; but from the palace they got nothing whatever , not even a glass of water .
some of the cleverest , it is true , had taken bread and butter with them : but none shared it with his neighbor , for each thought , ' let him look hungry , and then the princess won't have him . ' " " but kay--little kay , " said gerda , " when did he come ?
was he among the number ? "
" patience , patience ; we are just come to him .
it was on the third day when a little personage without horse or equipage , came marching right boldly up to the palace ; his eyes shone like yours , he had beautiful long hair , but his clothes were very shabby . "
" that was kay , " cried gerda , with a voice of delight .
" oh , now i've found him ! " and she clapped her hands for joy .
" he had a little knapsack at his back , " said the raven .
" no , that was certainly his sledge , " said gerda ; " for when he went away he took his sledge with him . "
" that may be , " said the raven ; " i did not examine him so minutely ; but i know from my tame sweetheart , that when he came into the court-yard of the palace , and saw the body-guard in silver , the lackeys on the staircase , he was not the least abashed ; he nodded , and said to them , ' it must be very tiresome to stand on the stairs ; for my part , i shall go in . ' the saloons were gleaming with lustres--privy councillors and excellencies were walking about barefooted , and wore gold keys ; it was enough to make any one feel uncomfortable .
his boots creaked , too , so loudly , but still he was not at all afraid . "
" that's kay for certain , " said gerda .
" i know he had on new boots ; i have heard them creaking in grandmama's room . "
" yes , they creaked , " said the raven .
" and on he went boldly up to the princess , who was sitting on a pearl as large as a spinning-wheel .
all the ladies of the court , with their attendants and attendants ' attendants , and all the cavaliers , with their gentlemen and gentlemen's gentlemen , stood round ; and the nearer they stood to the door , the prouder they looked .
it was hardly possible to look at the gentleman's gentleman , so very haughtily did he stand in the doorway . "
" it must have been terrible , " said little gerda .
" and did kay get the princess ? "
" were i not a raven , i should have taken the princess myself , although i am promised .
it is said he spoke as well as i speak when i talk raven language ; this i learned from my tame sweetheart .
he was bold and nicely behaved ; he had not come to woo the princess , but only to hear her wisdom .
she pleased him , and he pleased her . "
" yes , yes ; for certain that was kay , " said gerda .
" he was so clever ; he could reckon fractions in his head .
oh , won't you take me to the palace ? "
" that is very easily said , " answered the raven .
" but how are we to manage it ?
i'll speak to my tame sweetheart about it : she must advise us ; for so much i must tell you , such a little girl as you are will never get permission to enter . "
" oh , yes i shall , " said gerda ; " when kay hears that i am here , he will come out directly to fetch me . "
" wait for me here on these steps , " said the raven .
he moved his head backwards and forwards and flew away .
the evening was closing in when the raven returned .
" caw--caw ! " said he .
" she sends you her compliments ; and here is a roll for you .
she took it out of the kitchen , where there is bread enough .
you are hungry , no doubt .
it is not possible for you to enter the palace , for you are barefooted : the guards in silver , and the lackeys in gold , would not allow it ; but do not cry , you shall come in still .
my sweetheart knows a little back stair that leads to the bedchamber , and she knows where she can get the key of it . "
and they went into the garden in the large avenue , where one leaf was falling after the other ; and when the lights in the palace had all gradually disappeared , the raven led little gerda to the back door , which stood half open .
oh , how gerda's heart beat with anxiety and longing !
it was just as if she had been about to do something wrong ; and yet she only wanted to know if little kay was there .
yes , he must be there .
she called to mind his intelligent eyes , and his long hair , so vividly , she could quite see him as he used to laugh when they were sitting under the roses at home .
" he will , no doubt , be glad to see you--to hear what a long way you have come for his sake ; to know how unhappy all at home were when he did not come back . "
oh , what a fright and a joy it was !
they were now on the stairs .
a single lamp was burning there ; and on the floor stood the tame raven , turning her head on every side and looking at gerda , who bowed as her grandmother had taught her to do .
" my intended has told me so much good of you , my dear young lady , " said the tame raven .
" your tale is very affecting .
if you will take the lamp , i will go before .
we will go straight on , for we shall meet no one . "
" i think there is somebody just behind us , " said gerda ; and something rushed past : it was like shadowy figures on the wall ; horses with flowing manes and thin legs , huntsmen , ladies and gentlemen on horseback .
" they are only dreams , " said the raven .
" they come to fetch the thoughts of the high personages to the chase ; ' tis well , for now you can observe them in bed all the better .
but let me find , when you enjoy honor and distinction , that you possess a grateful heart . "
" tut !
that's not worth talking about , " said the raven of the woods .
they now entered the first saloon , which was of rose-colored satin , with artificial flowers on the wall .
here the dreams were rushing past , but they hastened by so quickly that gerda could not see the high personages .
one hall was more magnificent than the other ; one might indeed well be abashed ; and at last they came into the bedchamber .
the ceiling of the room resembled a large palm-tree with leaves of glass , of costly glass ; and in the middle , from a thick golden stem , hung two beds , each of which resembled a lily .
one was white , and in this lay the princess ; the other was red , and it was here that gerda was to look for little kay .
she bent back one of the red leaves , and saw a brown neck .
oh ! that was kay !
she called him quite loud by name , held the lamp towards him--the dreams rushed back again into the chamber--he awoke , turned his head , and--it was not little kay !
the prince was only like him about the neck ; but he was young and handsome .
and out of the white lily leaves the princess peeped , too , and asked what was the matter .
then little gerda cried , and told her her whole history , and all that the ravens had done for her .
" poor little thing ! " said the prince and the princess .
they praised the ravens very much , and told them they were not at all angry with them , but they were not to do so again .
however , they should have a reward .
" will you fly about here at liberty , " asked the princess ; " or would you like to have a fixed appointment as court ravens , with all the broken bits from the kitchen ? "
and both the ravens nodded , and begged for a fixed appointment ; for they thought of their old age , and said , " it is a good thing to have a provision for our old days . "
and the prince got up and let gerda sleep in his bed , and more than this he could not do .
she folded her little hands and thought , " how good men and animals are ! " and she then fell asleep and slept soundly .
all the dreams flew in again , and they now looked like the angels ; they drew a little sledge , in which little kay sat and nodded his head ; but the whole was only a dream , and therefore it all vanished as soon as she awoke .
the next day she was dressed from head to foot in silk and velvet .
they offered to let her stay at the palace , and lead a happy life ; but she begged to have a little carriage with a horse in front , and for a small pair of shoes ; then , she said , she would again go forth in the wide world and look for kay .
shoes and a muff were given her ; she was , too , dressed very nicely ; and when she was about to set off , a new carriage stopped before the door .
it was of pure gold , and the arms of the prince and princess shone like a star upon it ; the coachman , the footmen , and the outriders , for outriders were there , too , all wore golden crowns .
the prince and the princess assisted her into the carriage themselves , and wished her all success .
the raven of the woods , who was now married , accompanied her for the first three miles .
he sat beside gerda , for he could not bear riding backwards ; the other raven stood in the doorway , and flapped her wings ; she could not accompany gerda , because she suffered from headache since she had had a fixed appointment and ate so much .
the carriage was lined inside with sugar-plums , and in the seats were fruits and gingerbread .
" farewell !
farewell ! " cried prince and princess ; and gerda wept , and the raven wept .
thus passed the first miles ; and then the raven bade her farewell , and this was the most painful separation of all .
he flew into a tree , and beat his black wings as long as he could see the carriage , that shone from afar like a sunbeam .
fifth story .
the little robber maiden they drove through the dark wood ; but the carriage shone like a torch , and it dazzled the eyes of the robbers , so that they could not bear to look at it . " ' tis gold ! ' tis gold ! " they cried ; and they rushed forward , seized the horses , knocked down the little postilion , the coachman , and the servants , and pulled little gerda out of the carriage .
" how plump , how beautiful she is !
she must have been fed on nut-kernels , " said the old female robber , who had a long , scrubby beard , and bushy eyebrows that hung down over her eyes .
" she is as good as a fatted lamb !
how nice she will be ! "
and then she drew out a knife , the blade of which shone so that it was quite dreadful to behold .
" oh ! " cried the woman at the same moment .
she had been bitten in the ear by her own little daughter , who hung at her back ; and who was so wild and unmanageable , that it was quite amusing to see her .
" you naughty child ! " said the mother : and now she had not time to kill gerda .
" she shall play with me , " said the little robber child .
" she shall give me her muff , and her pretty frock ; she shall sleep in my bed ! "
and then she gave her mother another bite , so that she jumped , and ran round with the pain ; and the robbers laughed , and said , " look , how she is dancing with the little one ! "
" i will go into the carriage , " said the little robber maiden ; and she would have her will , for she was very spoiled and very headstrong .
she and gerda got in ; and then away they drove over the stumps of felled trees , deeper and deeper into the woods .
the little robber maiden was as tall as gerda , but stronger , broader-shouldered , and of dark complexion ; her eyes were quite black ; they looked almost melancholy .
she embraced little gerda , and said , " they shall not kill you as long as i am not displeased with you .
you are , doubtless , a princess ? "
" no , " said little gerda ; who then related all that had happened to her , and how much she cared about little kay .
the little robber maiden looked at her with a serious air , nodded her head slightly , and said , " they shall not kill you , even if i am angry with you : then i will do it myself " ; and she dried gerda's eyes , and put both her hands in the handsome muff , which was so soft and warm .
at length the carriage stopped .
they were in the midst of the court-yard of a robber's castle .
it was full of cracks from top to bottom ; and out of the openings magpies and rooks were flying ; and the great bull-dogs , each of which looked as if he could swallow a man , jumped up , but they did not bark , for that was forbidden .
in the midst of the large , old , smoking hall burnt a great fire on the stone floor .
the smoke disappeared under the stones , and had to seek its own egress .
in an immense caldron soup was boiling ; and rabbits and hares were being roasted on a spit .
" you shall sleep with me to-night , with all my animals , " said the little robber maiden .
they had something to eat and drink ; and then went into a corner , where straw and carpets were lying .
beside them , on laths and perches , sat nearly a hundred pigeons , all asleep , seemingly ; but yet they moved a little when the robber maiden came .
" they are all mine , " said she , at the same time seizing one that was next to her by the legs and shaking it so that its wings fluttered .
" kiss it , " cried the little girl , and flung the pigeon in gerda's face .
" up there is the rabble of the wood , " continued she , pointing to several laths which were fastened before a hole high up in the wall ; " that's the rabble ; they would all fly away immediately , if they were not well fastened in .
and here is my dear old bac " ; and she laid hold of the horns of a reindeer , that had a bright copper ring round its neck , and was tethered to the spot .
" we are obliged to lock this fellow in too , or he would make his escape .
every evening i tickle his neck with my sharp knife ; he is so frightened at it ! " and the little girl drew forth a long knife , from a crack in the wall , and let it glide over the reindeer's neck .
the poor animal kicked ; the girl laughed , and pulled gerda into bed with her .
" do you intend to keep your knife while you sleep ? " asked gerda ; looking at it rather fearfully .
" i always sleep with the knife , " said the little robber maiden .
" there is no knowing what may happen .
but tell me now , once more , all about little kay ; and why you have started off in the wide world alone . "
and gerda related all , from the very beginning : the wood-pigeons cooed above in their cage , and the others slept .
the little robber maiden wound her arm round gerda's neck , held the knife in the other hand , and snored so loud that everybody could hear her ; but gerda could not close her eyes , for she did not know whether she was to live or die .
the robbers sat round the fire , sang and drank ; and the old female robber jumped about so , that it was quite dreadful for gerda to see her .
then the wood-pigeons said , " coo !
coo !
we have seen little kay !
a white hen carries his sledge ; he himself sat in the carriage of the snow queen , who passed here , down just over the wood , as we lay in our nest .
she blew upon us young ones ; and all died except we two .
coo !
coo ! "
" what is that you say up there ? " cried little gerda .
" where did the snow queen go to ?
do you know anything about it ? "
" she is no doubt gone to lapland ; for there is always snow and ice there .
only ask the reindeer , who is tethered there . "
" ice and snow is there !
there it is , glorious and beautiful ! " said the reindeer .
" one can spring about in the large shining valleys !
the snow queen has her summer-tent there ; but her fixed abode is high up towards the north pole , on the island called spitzbergen . "
" oh , kay !
poor little kay ! " sighed gerda .
" do you choose to be quiet ? " said the robber maiden .
" if you don't , i shall make you . "
in the morning gerda told her all that the wood-pigeons had said ; and the little maiden looked very serious , but she nodded her head , and said , " that's no matter--that's no matter .
do you know where lapland lies ! " she asked of the reindeer .
" who should know better than i ? " said the animal ; and his eyes rolled in his head .
" i was born and bred there--there i leapt about on the fields of snow . "
" listen , " said the robber maiden to gerda .
" you see that the men are gone ; but my mother is still here , and will remain .
however , towards morning she takes a draught out of the large flask , and then she sleeps a little : then i will do something for you . "
she now jumped out of bed , flew to her mother ; with her arms round her neck , and pulling her by the beard , said , " good morrow , my own sweet nanny-goat of a mother . "
and her mother took hold of her nose , and pinched it till it was red and blue ; but this was all done out of pure love .
when the mother had taken a sup at her flask , and was having a nap , the little robber maiden went to the reindeer , and said , " i should very much like to give you still many a tickling with the sharp knife , for then you are so amusing ; however , i will untether you , and help you out , so that you may go back to lapland .
but you must make good use of your legs ; and take this little girl for me to the palace of the snow queen , where her playfellow is .
you have heard , i suppose , all she said ; for she spoke loud enough , and you were listening . "
the reindeer gave a bound for joy .
the robber maiden lifted up little gerda , and took the precaution to bind her fast on the reindeer's back ; she even gave her a small cushion to sit on .
" here are your worsted leggins , for it will be cold ; but the muff i shall keep for myself , for it is so very pretty .
but i do not wish you to be cold .
here is a pair of lined gloves of my mother's ; they just reach up to your elbow .
on with them !
now you look about the hands just like my ugly old mother ! "
and gerda wept for joy .
" i can't bear to see you fretting , " said the little robber maiden .
" this is just the time when you ought to look pleased .
here are two loaves and a ham for you , so that you won't starve . "
the bread and the meat were fastened to the reindeer's back ; the little maiden opened the door , called in all the dogs , and then with her knife cut the rope that fastened the animal , and said to him , " now , off with you ; but take good care of the little girl ! "
and gerda stretched out her hands with the large wadded gloves towards the robber maiden , and said , " farewell ! " and the reindeer flew on over bush and bramble through the great wood , over moor and heath , as fast as he could go .
" ddsa !
ddsa ! " was heard in the sky .
it was just as if somebody was sneezing .
" these are my old northern-lights , " said the reindeer , " look how they gleam ! "
and on he now sped still quicker--day and night on he went : the loaves were consumed , and the ham too ; and now they were in lapland .
sixth story .
the lapland woman and the finland woman suddenly they stopped before a little house , which looked very miserable .
the roof reached to the ground ; and the door was so low , that the family were obliged to creep upon their stomachs when they went in or out .
nobody was at home except an old lapland woman , who was dressing fish by the light of an oil lamp .
and the reindeer told her the whole of gerda's history , but first of all his own ; for that seemed to him of much greater importance .
gerda was so chilled that she could not speak .
" poor thing , " said the lapland woman , " you have far to run still .
you have more than a hundred miles to go before you get to finland ; there the snow queen has her country-house , and burns blue lights every evening .
i will give you a few words from me , which i will write on a dried haberdine , for paper i have none ; this you can take with you to the finland woman , and she will be able to give you more information than i can . "
when gerda had warmed herself , and had eaten and drunk , the lapland woman wrote a few words on a dried haberdine , begged gerda to take care of them , put her on the reindeer , bound her fast , and away sprang the animal .
" ddsa !
ddsa ! " was again heard in the air ; the most charming blue lights burned the whole night in the sky , and at last they came to finland .
they knocked at the chimney of the finland woman ; for as to a door , she had none .
there was such a heat inside that the finland woman herself went about almost naked .
she was diminutive and dirty .
she immediately loosened little gerda's clothes , pulled off her thick gloves and boots ; for otherwise the heat would have been too great--and after laying a piece of ice on the reindeer's head , read what was written on the fish-skin .
she read it three times : she then knew it by heart ; so she put the fish into the cupboard--for it might very well be eaten , and she never threw anything away .
then the reindeer related his own story first , and afterwards that of little gerda ; and the finland woman winked her eyes , but said nothing .
" you are so clever , " said the reindeer ; " you can , i know , twist all the winds of the world together in a knot .
if the seaman loosens one knot , then he has a good wind ; if a second , then it blows pretty stiffly ; if he undoes the third and fourth , then it rages so that the forests are upturned .
will you give the little maiden a potion , that she may possess the strength of twelve men , and vanquish the snow queen ? "
" the strength of twelve men ! " said the finland woman .
" much good that would be ! "
then she went to a cupboard , and drew out a large skin rolled up .
when she had unrolled it , strange characters were to be seen written thereon ; and the finland woman read at such a rate that the perspiration trickled down her forehead .
but the reindeer begged so hard for little gerda , and gerda looked so imploringly with tearful eyes at the finland woman , that she winked , and drew the reindeer aside into a corner , where they whispered together , while the animal got some fresh ice put on his head . " ' tis true little kay is at the snow queen's , and finds everything there quite to his taste ; and he thinks it the very best place in the world ; but the reason of that is , he has a splinter of glass in his eye , and in his heart .
these must be got out first ; otherwise he will never go back to mankind , and the snow queen will retain her power over him . "
" but can you give little gerda nothing to take which will endue her with power over the whole ? "
" i can give her no more power than what she has already .
don't you see how great it is ?
don't you see how men and animals are forced to serve her ; how well she gets through the world barefooted ?
she must not hear of her power from us ; that power lies in her heart , because she is a sweet and innocent child !
if she cannot get to the snow queen by herself , and rid little kay of the glass , we cannot help her .
two miles hence the garden of the snow queen begins ; thither you may carry the little girl .
set her down by the large bush with red berries , standing in the snow ; don't stay talking , but hasten back as fast as possible . "
and now the finland woman placed little gerda on the reindeer's back , and off he ran with all imaginable speed .
" oh !
i have not got my boots !
i have not brought my gloves ! " cried little gerda .
she remarked she was without them from the cutting frost ; but the reindeer dared not stand still ; on he ran till he came to the great bush with the red berries , and there he set gerda down , kissed her mouth , while large bright tears flowed from the animal's eyes , and then back he went as fast as possible .
there stood poor gerda now , without shoes or gloves , in the very middle of dreadful icy finland .
she ran on as fast as she could .
there then came a whole regiment of snow-flakes , but they did not fall from above , and they were quite bright and shining from the aurora borealis .
the flakes ran along the ground , and the nearer they came the larger they grew .
gerda well remembered how large and strange the snow-flakes appeared when she once saw them through a magnifying-glass ; but now they were large and terrific in another manner--they were all alive .
they were the outposts of the snow queen .
they had the most wondrous shapes ; some looked like large ugly porcupines ; others like snakes knotted together , with their heads sticking out ; and others , again , like small fat bears , with the hair standing on end : all were of dazzling whiteness--all were living snow-flakes .
little gerda repeated the lord's prayer .
the cold was so intense that she could see her own breath , which came like smoke out of her mouth .
it grew thicker and thicker , and took the form of little angels , that grew more and more when they touched the earth .
all had helms on their heads , and lances and shields in their hands ; they increased in numbers ; and when gerda had finished the lord's prayer , she was surrounded by a whole legion .
they thrust at the horrid snow-flakes with their spears , so that they flew into a thousand pieces ; and little gerda walked on bravely and in security .
the angels patted her hands and feet ; and then she felt the cold less , and went on quickly towards the palace of the snow queen .
but now we shall see how kay fared .
he never thought of gerda , and least of all that she was standing before the palace .
seventh story .
what took place in the palace of the snow queen , and what happened afterward .
the walls of the palace were of driving snow , and the windows and doors of cutting winds .
there were more than a hundred halls there , according as the snow was driven by the winds .
the largest was many miles in extent ; all were lighted up by the powerful aurora borealis , and all were so large , so empty , so icy cold , and so resplendent !
mirth never reigned there ; there was never even a little bear-ball , with the storm for music , while the polar bears went on their hind legs and showed off their steps .
never a little tea-party of white young lady foxes ; vast , cold , and empty were the halls of the snow queen .
the northern-lights shone with such precision that one could tell exactly when they were at their highest or lowest degree of brightness .
in the middle of the empty , endless hall of snow , was a frozen lake ; it was cracked in a thousand pieces , but each piece was so like the other , that it seemed the work of a cunning artificer .
in the middle of this lake sat the snow queen when she was at home ; and then she said she was sitting in the mirror of understanding , and that this was the only one and the best thing in the world .
little kay was quite blue , yes nearly black with cold ; but he did not observe it , for she had kissed away all feeling of cold from his body , and his heart was a lump of ice .
he was dragging along some pointed flat pieces of ice , which he laid together in all possible ways , for he wanted to make something with them ; just as we have little flat pieces of wood to make geometrical figures with , called the chinese puzzle .
kay made all sorts of figures , the most complicated , for it was an ice-puzzle for the understanding .
in his eyes the figures were extraordinarily beautiful , and of the utmost importance ; for the bit of glass which was in his eye caused this .
he found whole figures which represented a written word ; but he never could manage to represent just the word he wanted--that word was " eternity " ; and the snow queen had said , " if you can discover that figure , you shall be your own master , and i will make you a present of the whole world and a pair of new skates . "
but he could not find it out .
" i am going now to warm lands , " said the snow queen .
" i must have a look down into the black caldrons . "
it was the volcanoes vesuvius and etna that she meant .
" i will just give them a coating of white , for that is as it ought to be ; besides , it is good for the oranges and the grapes . "
and then away she flew , and kay sat quite alone in the empty halls of ice that were miles long , and looked at the blocks of ice , and thought and thought till his skull was almost cracked .
there he sat quite benumbed and motionless ; one would have imagined he was frozen to death .
suddenly little gerda stepped through the great portal into the palace .
the gate was formed of cutting winds ; but gerda repeated her evening prayer , and the winds were laid as though they slept ; and the little maiden entered the vast , empty , cold halls .
there she beheld kay : she recognised him , flew to embrace him , and cried out , her arms firmly holding him the while , " kay , sweet little kay !
have i then found you at last ? "
but he sat quite still , benumbed and cold .
then little gerda shed burning tears ; and they fell on his bosom , they penetrated to his heart , they thawed the lumps of ice , and consumed the splinters of the looking-glass ; he looked at her , and she sang the hymn : " the rose in the valley is blooming so sweet , and angels descend there the children to greet . "
hereupon kay burst into tears ; he wept so much that the splinter rolled out of his eye , and he recognised her , and shouted , " gerda , sweet little gerda !
where have you been so long ?
and where have i been ? "
he looked round him .
" how cold it is here ! " said he .
" how empty and cold ! "
and he held fast by gerda , who laughed and wept for joy .
it was so beautiful , that even the blocks of ice danced about for joy ; and when they were tired and laid themselves down , they formed exactly the letters which the snow queen had told him to find out ; so now he was his own master , and he would have the whole world and a pair of new skates into the bargain .
gerda kissed his cheeks , and they grew quite blooming ; she kissed his eyes , and they shone like her own ; she kissed his hands and feet , and he was again well and merry .
the snow queen might come back as soon as she liked ; there stood his discharge written in resplendent masses of ice .
they took each other by the hand , and wandered forth out of the large hall ; they talked of their old grandmother , and of the roses upon the roof ; and wherever they went , the winds ceased raging , and the sun burst forth .
and when they reached the bush with the red berries , they found the reindeer waiting for them .
he had brought another , a young one , with him , whose udder was filled with milk , which he gave to the little ones , and kissed their lips .
they then carried kay and gerda--first to the finland woman , where they warmed themselves in the warm room , and learned what they were to do on their journey home ; and they went to the lapland woman , who made some new clothes for them and repaired their sledges .
the reindeer and the young hind leaped along beside them , and accompanied them to the boundary of the country .
here the first vegetation peeped forth ; here kay and gerda took leave of the lapland woman .
" farewell !
farewell ! " they all said .
and the first green buds appeared , the first little birds began to chirrup ; and out of the wood came , riding on a magnificent horse , which gerda knew ( it was one of the leaders in the golden carriage ) , a young damsel with a bright-red cap on her head , and armed with pistols .
it was the little robber maiden , who , tired of being at home , had determined to make a journey to the north ; and afterwards in another direction , if that did not please her .
she recognised gerda immediately , and gerda knew her too .
it was a joyful meeting .
" you are a fine fellow for tramping about , " said she to little kay ; " i should like to know , faith , if you deserve that one should run from one end of the world to the other for your sake ? "
but gerda patted her cheeks , and inquired for the prince and princess .
" they are gone abroad , " said the other .
" but the raven ? " asked little gerda .
" oh !
the raven is dead , " she answered .
" his tame sweetheart is a widow , and wears a bit of black worsted round her leg ; she laments most piteously , but it's all mere talk and stuff !
now tell me what you've been doing and how you managed to catch him . "
and gerda and kay both told their story .
and " schnipp-schnapp-schnurre-basselurre , " said the robber maiden ; and she took the hands of each , and promised that if she should some day pass through the town where they lived , she would come and visit them ; and then away she rode .
kay and gerda took each other's hand : it was lovely spring weather , with abundance of flowers and of verdure .
the church-bells rang , and the children recognised the high towers , and the large town ; it was that in which they dwelt .
they entered and hastened up to their grandmother's room , where everything was standing as formerly .
the clock said " tick ! tack ! " and the finger moved round ; but as they entered , they remarked that they were now grown up .
the roses on the leads hung blooming in at the open window ; there stood the little children's chairs , and kay and gerda sat down on them , holding each other by the hand ; they both had forgotten the cold empty splendor of the snow queen , as though it had been a dream .
the grandmother sat in the bright sunshine , and read aloud from the bible : " unless ye become as little children , ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven . "
and kay and gerda looked in each other's eyes , and all at once they understood the old hymn : " the rose in the valley is blooming so sweet , and angels descend there the children to greet . "
there sat the two grown-up persons ; grown-up , and yet children ; children at least in heart ; and it was summer-time ; summer , glorious summer !
a flea , a grasshopper , and a leap-frog once wanted to see which could jump highest ; and they invited the whole world , and everybody else besides who chose to come to see the festival .
three famous jumpers were they , as everyone would say , when they all met together in the room .
" i will give my daughter to him who jumps highest , " exclaimed the king ; " for it is not so amusing where there is no prize to jump for . "
the flea was the first to step forward .
he had exquisite manners , and bowed to the company on all sides ; for he had noble blood , and was , moreover , accustomed to the society of man alone ; and that makes a great difference .
then came the grasshopper .
he was considerably heavier , but he was well-mannered , and wore a green uniform , which he had by right of birth ; he said , moreover , that he belonged to a very ancient egyptian family , and that in the house where he then was , he was thought much of .
the fact was , he had been just brought out of the fields , and put in a pasteboard house , three stories high , all made of court-cards , with the colored side inwards ; and doors and windows cut out of the body of the queen of hearts .
" i sing so well , " said he , " that sixteen native grasshoppers who have chirped from infancy , and yet got no house built of cards to live in , grew thinner than they were before for sheer vexation when they heard me . "
it was thus that the flea and the grasshopper gave an account of themselves , and thought they were quite good enough to marry a princess .
the leap-frog said nothing ; but people gave it as their opinion , that he therefore thought the more ; and when the housedog snuffed at him with his nose , he confessed the leap-frog was of good family .
the old councillor , who had had three orders given him to make him hold his tongue , asserted that the leap-frog was a prophet ; for that one could see on his back , if there would be a severe or mild winter , and that was what one could not see even on the back of the man who writes the almanac .
" i say nothing , it is true , " exclaimed the king ; " but i have my own opinion , notwithstanding . "
now the trial was to take place .
the flea jumped so high that nobody could see where he went to ; so they all asserted he had not jumped at all ; and that was dishonorable .
the grasshopper jumped only half as high ; but he leaped into the king's face , who said that was ill-mannered .
the leap-frog stood still for a long time lost in thought ; it was believed at last he would not jump at all .
" i only hope he is not unwell , " said the house-dog ; when , pop ! he made a jump all on one side into the lap of the princess , who was sitting on a little golden stool close by .
hereupon the king said , " there is nothing above my daughter ; therefore to bound up to her is the highest jump that can be made ; but for this , one must possess understanding , and the leap-frog has shown that he has understanding .
he is brave and intellectual . "
and so he won the princess .
" it's all the same to me , " said the flea .
" she may have the old leap-frog , for all i care .
i jumped the highest ; but in this world merit seldom meets its reward .
a fine exterior is what people look at now-a-days . "
the flea then went into foreign service , where , it is said , he was killed .
the grasshopper sat without on a green bank , and reflected on worldly things ; and he said too , " yes , a fine exterior is everything--a fine exterior is what people care about . "
and then he began chirping his peculiar melancholy song , from which we have taken this history ; and which may , very possibly , be all untrue , although it does stand here printed in black and white .
once upon a time there was a little boy who had taken cold .
he had gone out and got his feet wet ; though nobody could imagine how it had happened , for it was quite dry weather .
so his mother undressed him , put him to bed , and had the tea-pot brought in , to make him a good cup of elderflower tea .
just at that moment the merry old man came in who lived up a-top of the house all alone ; for he had neither wife nor children--but he liked children very much , and knew so many fairy tales , that it was quite delightful .
" now drink your tea , " said the boy's mother ; " then , perhaps , you may hear a fairy tale . "
" if i had but something new to tell , " said the old man .
" but how did the child get his feet wet ? "
" that is the very thing that nobody can make out , " said his mother .
" am i to hear a fairy tale ? " asked the little boy .
" yes , if you can tell me exactly--for i must know that first--how deep the gutter is in the little street opposite , that you pass through in going to school . "
" just up to the middle of my boot , " said the child ; " but then i must go into the deep hole . "
" ah , ah !
that's where the wet feet came from , " said the old man .
" i ought now to tell you a story ; but i don't know any more . "
" you can make one in a moment , " said the little boy .
" my mother says that all you look at can be turned into a fairy tale : and that you can find a story in everything . "
" yes , but such tales and stories are good for nothing .
the right sort come of themselves ; they tap at my forehead and say , ' here we are . ' " " won't there be a tap soon ? " asked the little boy .
and his mother laughed , put some elder-flowers in the tea-pot , and poured boiling water upon them .
" do tell me something !
pray do ! "
" yes , if a fairy tale would come of its own accord ; but they are proud and haughty , and come only when they choose .
stop ! " said he , all on a sudden .
" i have it !
pay attention !
there is one in the tea-pot ! "
and the little boy looked at the tea-pot .
the cover rose more and more ; and the elder-flowers came forth so fresh and white , and shot up long branches .
out of the spout even did they spread themselves on all sides , and grew larger and larger ; it was a splendid elderbush , a whole tree ; and it reached into the very bed , and pushed the curtains aside .
how it bloomed !
and what an odour !
in the middle of the bush sat a friendly-looking old woman in a most strange dress .
it was quite green , like the leaves of the elder , and was trimmed with large white elder-flowers ; so that at first one could not tell whether it was a stuff , or a natural green and real flowers .
" what's that woman's name ? " asked the little boy .
" the greeks and romans , " said the old man , " called her a dryad ; but that we do not understand .
the people who live in the new booths [ * ] have a much better name for her ; they call her ' old granny'--and she it is to whom you are to pay attention .
now listen , and look at the beautiful elderbush . * a row of buildings for seamen in copenhagen .
" just such another large blooming elder tree stands near the new booths .
it grew there in the corner of a little miserable court-yard ; and under it sat , of an afternoon , in the most splendid sunshine , two old people ; an old , old seaman , and his old , old wife .
they had great-grand-children , and were soon to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage ; but they could not exactly recollect the date : and old granny sat in the tree , and looked as pleased as now . ' i know the date , ' said she ; but those below did not hear her , for they were talking about old times . " ' yes , can't you remember when we were very little , ' said the old seaman , ' and ran and played about ?
it was the very same court-yard where we now are , and we stuck slips in the ground , and made a garden . ' " ' i remember it well , ' said the old woman ; ' i remember it quite well .
we watered the slips , and one of them was an elderbush .
it took root , put forth green shoots , and grew up to be the large tree under which we old folks are now sitting . ' " ' to be sure , ' said he . ' and there in the corner stood a waterpail , where i used to swim my boats . ' " ' true ; but first we went to school to learn somewhat , ' said she ; ' and then we were confirmed .
we both cried ; but in the afternoon we went up the round tower , and looked down on copenhagen , and far , far away over the water ; then we went to friedericksberg , where the king and the queen were sailing about in their splendid barges . ' " ' but i had a different sort of sailing to that , later ; and that , too , for many a year ; a long way off , on great voyages . ' " ' yes , many a time have i wept for your sake , ' said she . ' i thought you were dead and gone , and lying down in the deep waters .
many a night have i got up to see if the wind had not changed : and changed it had , sure enough ; but you never came .
i remember so well one day , when the rain was pouring down in torrents , the scavengers were before the house where i was in service , and i had come up with the dust , and remained standing at the door--it was dreadful weather--when just as i was there , the postman came and gave me a letter .
it was from you !
what a tour that letter had made !
i opened it instantly and read : i laughed and wept .
i was so happy .
in it i read that you were in warm lands where the coffee-tree grows .
what a blessed land that must be !
you related so much , and i saw it all the while the rain was pouring down , and i standing there with the dust-box .
at the same moment came someone who embraced me . ' " ' yes ; but you gave him a good box on his ear that made it tingle ! ' " ' but i did not know it was you .
you arrived as soon as your letter , and you were so handsome--that you still are--and had a long yellow silk handkerchief round your neck , and a bran new hat on ; oh , you were so dashing !
good heavens !
what weather it was , and what a state the street was in ! ' " ' and then we married , ' said he . ' don't you remember ?
and then we had our first little boy , and then mary , and nicholas , and peter , and christian . ' " ' yes , and how they all grew up to be honest people , and were beloved by everybody . ' " ' and their children also have children , ' said the old sailor ; ' yes , those are our grand-children , full of strength and vigor .
it was , methinks about this season that we had our wedding . ' " ' yes , this very day is the fiftieth anniversary of the marriage , ' said old granny , sticking her head between the two old people ; who thought it was their neighbor who nodded to them .
they looked at each other and held one another by the hand .
soon after came their children , and their grand-children ; for they knew well enough that it was the day of the fiftieth anniversary , and had come with their gratulations that very morning ; but the old people had forgotten it , although they were able to remember all that had happened many years ago .
and the elderbush sent forth a strong odour in the sun , that was just about to set , and shone right in the old people's faces .
they both looked so rosy-cheeked ; and the youngest of the grandchildren danced around them , and called out quite delighted , that there was to be something very splendid that evening--they were all to have hot potatoes .
and old nanny nodded in the bush , and shouted ' hurrah ! ' with the rest . "
" but that is no fairy tale , " said the little boy , who was listening to the story .
" the thing is , you must understand it , " said the narrator ; " let us ask old nanny . "
" that was no fairy tale , ' tis true , " said old nanny ; " but now it's coming .
the most wonderful fairy tales grow out of that which is reality ; were that not the case , you know , my magnificent elderbush could not have grown out of the tea-pot . "
and then she took the little boy out of bed , laid him on her bosom , and the branches of the elder tree , full of flowers , closed around her .
they sat in an aerial dwelling , and it flew with them through the air .
oh , it was wondrous beautiful !
old nanny had grown all of a sudden a young and pretty maiden ; but her robe was still the same green stuff with white flowers , which she had worn before .
on her bosom she had a real elderflower , and in her yellow waving hair a wreath of the flowers ; her eyes were so large and blue that it was a pleasure to look at them ; she kissed the boy , and now they were of the same age and felt alike .
hand in hand they went out of the bower , and they were standing in the beautiful garden of their home .
near the green lawn papa's walking-stick was tied , and for the little ones it seemed to be endowed with life ; for as soon as they got astride it , the round polished knob was turned into a magnificent neighing head , a long black mane fluttered in the breeze , and four slender yet strong legs shot out .
the animal was strong and handsome , and away they went at full gallop round the lawn .
" huzza !
now we are riding miles off , " said the boy .
" we are riding away to the castle where we were last year ! "
and on they rode round the grass-plot ; and the little maiden , who , we know , was no one else but old nanny , kept on crying out , " now we are in the country !
don't you see the farm-house yonder ?
and there is an elder tree standing beside it ; and the cock is scraping away the earth for the hens , look , how he struts !
and now we are close to the church .
it lies high upon the hill , between the large oak-trees , one of which is half decayed .
and now we are by the smithy , where the fire is blazing , and where the half-naked men are banging with their hammers till the sparks fly about .
away ! away !
to the beautiful country-seat ! "
and all that the little maiden , who sat behind on the stick , spoke of , flew by in reality .
the boy saw it all , and yet they were only going round the grass-plot .
then they played in a side avenue , and marked out a little garden on the earth ; and they took elder-blossoms from their hair , planted them , and they grew just like those the old people planted when they were children , as related before .
they went hand in hand , as the old people had done when they were children ; but not to the round tower , or to friedericksberg ; no , the little damsel wound her arms round the boy , and then they flew far away through all denmark .
and spring came , and summer ; and then it was autumn , and then winter ; and a thousand pictures were reflected in the eye and in the heart of the boy ; and the little girl always sang to him , " this you will never forget . "
and during their whole flight the elder tree smelt so sweet and odorous ; he remarked the roses and the fresh beeches , but the elder tree had a more wondrous fragrance , for its flowers hung on the breast of the little maiden ; and there , too , did he often lay his head during the flight .
" it is lovely here in spring ! " said the young maiden .
and they stood in a beech-wood that had just put on its first green , where the woodroof [ * ] at their feet sent forth its fragrance , and the pale-red anemony looked so pretty among the verdure .
" oh , would it were always spring in the sweetly-smelling danish beech-forests ! " * asperula odorata .
" it is lovely here in summer ! " said she .
and she flew past old castles of by-gone days of chivalry , where the red walls and the embattled gables were mirrored in the canal , where the swans were swimming , and peered up into the old cool avenues .
in the fields the corn was waving like the sea ; in the ditches red and yellow flowers were growing ; while wild-drone flowers , and blooming convolvuluses were creeping in the hedges ; and towards evening the moon rose round and large , and the haycocks in the meadows smelt so sweetly .
" this one never forgets ! "
" it is lovely here in autumn ! " said the little maiden .
and suddenly the atmosphere grew as blue again as before ; the forest grew red , and green , and yellow-colored .
the dogs came leaping along , and whole flocks of wild-fowl flew over the cairn , where blackberry-bushes were hanging round the old stones .
the sea was dark blue , covered with ships full of white sails ; and in the barn old women , maidens , and children were sitting picking hops into a large cask ; the young sang songs , but the old told fairy tales of mountain-sprites and soothsayers .
nothing could be more charming .
" it is delightful here in winter ! " said the little maiden .
and all the trees were covered with hoar-frost ; they looked like white corals ; the snow crackled under foot , as if one had new boots on ; and one falling star after the other was seen in the sky .
the christmas-tree was lighted in the room ; presents were there , and good-humor reigned .
in the country the violin sounded in the room of the peasant ; the newly-baked cakes were attacked ; even the poorest child said , " it is really delightful here in winter ! "
yes , it was delightful ; and the little maiden showed the boy everything ; and the elder tree still was fragrant , and the red flag , with the white cross , was still waving : the flag under which the old seaman in the new booths had sailed .
and the boy grew up to be a lad , and was to go forth in the wide world-far , far away to warm lands , where the coffee-tree grows ; but at his departure the little maiden took an elder-blossom from her bosom , and gave it him to keep ; and it was placed between the leaves of his prayer-book ; and when in foreign lands he opened the book , it was always at the place where the keepsake-flower lay ; and the more he looked at it , the fresher it became ; he felt as it were , the fragrance of the danish groves ; and from among the leaves of the flowers he could distinctly see the little maiden , peeping forth with her bright blue eyes--and then she whispered , " it is delightful here in spring , summer , autumn , and winter " ; and a hundred visions glided before his mind .
thus passed many years , and he was now an old man , and sat with his old wife under the blooming tree .
they held each other by the hand , as the old grand-father and grand-mother yonder in the new booths did , and they talked exactly like them of old times , and of the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding .
the little maiden , with the blue eyes , and with elder-blossoms in her hair , sat in the tree , nodded to both of them , and said , " to-day is the fiftieth anniversary ! "
and then she took two flowers out of her hair , and kissed them .
first , they shone like silver , then like gold ; and when they laid them on the heads of the old people , each flower became a golden crown .
so there they both sat , like a king and a queen , under the fragrant tree , that looked exactly like an elder : the old man told his wife the story of " old nanny , " as it had been told him when a boy .
and it seemed to both of them it contained much that resembled their own history ; and those parts that were like it pleased them best .
" thus it is , " said the little maiden in the tree , " some call me ' old nanny , ' others a ' dryad , ' but , in reality , my name is ' remembrance ' ; ' tis i who sit in the tree that grows and grows !
i can remember ; i can tell things !
let me see if you have my flower still ? "
and the old man opened his prayer-book .
there lay the elder-blossom , as fresh as if it had been placed there but a short time before ; and remembrance nodded , and the old people , decked with crowns of gold , sat in the flush of the evening sun .
they closed their eyes , and--and - - !
yes , that's the end of the story !
the little boy lay in his bed ; he did not know if he had dreamed or not , or if he had been listening while someone told him the story .
the tea-pot was standing on the table , but no elder tree was growing out of it !
and the old man , who had been talking , was just on the point of going out at the door , and he did go .
" how splendid that was ! " said the little boy .
" mother , i have been to warm countries . "
" so i should think , " said his mother .
" when one has drunk two good cupfuls of elder-flower tea , ' tis likely enough one goes into warm climates " ; and she tucked him up nicely , least he should take cold .
" you have had a good sleep while i have been sitting here , and arguing with him whether it was a story or a fairy tale . "
" and where is old nanny ? " asked the little boy .
" in the tea-pot , " said his mother ; " and there she may remain . "
people said " the evening bell is sounding , the sun is setting . "
for a strange wondrous tone was heard in the narrow streets of a large town .
it was like the sound of a church-bell : but it was only heard for a moment , for the rolling of the carriages and the voices of the multitude made too great a noise .
those persons who were walking outside the town , where the houses were farther apart , with gardens or little fields between them , could see the evening sky still better , and heard the sound of the bell much more distinctly .
it was as if the tones came from a church in the still forest ; people looked thitherward , and felt their minds attuned most solemnly .
a long time passed , and people said to each other--"i wonder if there is a church out in the wood ?
the bell has a tone that is wondrous sweet ; let us stroll thither , and examine the matter nearer . "
and the rich people drove out , and the poor walked , but the way seemed strangely long to them ; and when they came to a clump of willows which grew on the skirts of the forest , they sat down , and looked up at the long branches , and fancied they were now in the depth of the green wood .
the confectioner of the town came out , and set up his booth there ; and soon after came another confectioner , who hung a bell over his stand , as a sign or ornament , but it had no clapper , and it was tarred over to preserve it from the rain .
when all the people returned home , they said it had been very romantic , and that it was quite a different sort of thing to a pic-nic or tea-party .
there were three persons who asserted they had penetrated to the end of the forest , and that they had always heard the wonderful sounds of the bell , but it had seemed to them as if it had come from the town .
one wrote a whole poem about it , and said the bell sounded like the voice of a mother to a good dear child , and that no melody was sweeter than the tones of the bell .
the king of the country was also observant of it , and vowed that he who could discover whence the sounds proceeded , should have the title of " universal bell-ringer , " even if it were not really a bell .
many persons now went to the wood , for the sake of getting the place , but one only returned with a sort of explanation ; for nobody went far enough , that one not further than the others .
however , he said that the sound proceeded from a very large owl , in a hollow tree ; a sort of learned owl , that continually knocked its head against the branches .
but whether the sound came from his head or from the hollow tree , that no one could say with certainty .
so now he got the place of " universal bell-ringer , " and wrote yearly a short treatise " on the owl " ; but everybody was just as wise as before .
it was the day of confirmation .
the clergyman had spoken so touchingly , the children who were confirmed had been greatly moved ; it was an eventful day for them ; from children they become all at once grown-up-persons ; it was as if their infant souls were now to fly all at once into persons with more understanding .
the sun was shining gloriously ; the children that had been confirmed went out of the town ; and from the wood was borne towards them the sounds of the unknown bell with wonderful distinctness .
they all immediately felt a wish to go thither ; all except three .
one of them had to go home to try on a ball-dress ; for it was just the dress and the ball which had caused her to be confirmed this time , for otherwise she would not have come ; the other was a poor boy , who had borrowed his coat and boots to be confirmed in from the innkeeper's son , and he was to give them back by a certain hour ; the third said that he never went to a strange place if his parents were not with him--that he had always been a good boy hitherto , and would still be so now that he was confirmed , and that one ought not to laugh at him for it : the others , however , did make fun of him , after all .
there were three , therefore , that did not go ; the others hastened on .
the sun shone , the birds sang , and the children sang too , and each held the other by the hand ; for as yet they had none of them any high office , and were all of equal rank in the eye of god .
but two of the youngest soon grew tired , and both returned to town ; two little girls sat down , and twined garlands , so they did not go either ; and when the others reached the willow-tree , where the confectioner was , they said , " now we are there !
in reality the bell does not exist ; it is only a fancy that people have taken into their heads ! "
at the same moment the bell sounded deep in the wood , so clear and solemnly that five or six determined to penetrate somewhat further .
it was so thick , and the foliage so dense , that it was quite fatiguing to proceed .
woodroof and anemonies grew almost too high ; blooming convolvuluses and blackberry-bushes hung in long garlands from tree to tree , where the nightingale sang and the sunbeams were playing : it was very beautiful , but it was no place for girls to go ; their clothes would get so torn .
large blocks of stone lay there , overgrown with moss of every color ; the fresh spring bubbled forth , and made a strange gurgling sound .
" that surely cannot be the bell , " said one of the children , lying down and listening .
" this must be looked to . "
so he remained , and let the others go on without him .
they afterwards came to a little house , made of branches and the bark of trees ; a large wild apple-tree bent over it , as if it would shower down all its blessings on the roof , where roses were blooming .
the long stems twined round the gable , on which there hung a small bell .
was it that which people had heard ?
yes , everybody was unanimous on the subject , except one , who said that the bell was too small and too fine to be heard at so great a distance , and besides it was very different tones to those that could move a human heart in such a manner .
it was a king's son who spoke ; whereon the others said , " such people always want to be wiser than everybody else . "
they now let him go on alone ; and as he went , his breast was filled more and more with the forest solitude ; but he still heard the little bell with which the others were so satisfied , and now and then , when the wind blew , he could also hear the people singing who were sitting at tea where the confectioner had his tent ; but the deep sound of the bell rose louder ; it was almost as if an organ were accompanying it , and the tones came from the left hand , the side where the heart is placed .
a rustling was heard in the bushes , and a little boy stood before the king's son , a boy in wooden shoes , and with so short a jacket that one could see what long wrists he had .
both knew each other : the boy was that one among the children who could not come because he had to go home and return his jacket and boots to the innkeeper's son .
this he had done , and was now going on in wooden shoes and in his humble dress , for the bell sounded with so deep a tone , and with such strange power , that proceed he must .
" why , then , we can go together , " said the king's son .
but the poor child that had been confirmed was quite ashamed ; he looked at his wooden shoes , pulled at the short sleeves of his jacket , and said that he was afraid he could not walk so fast ; besides , he thought that the bell must be looked for to the right ; for that was the place where all sorts of beautiful things were to be found .
" but there we shall not meet , " said the king's son , nodding at the same time to the poor boy , who went into the darkest , thickest part of the wood , where thorns tore his humble dress , and scratched his face and hands and feet till they bled .
the king's son got some scratches too ; but the sun shone on his path , and it is him that we will follow , for he was an excellent and resolute youth .
" i must and will find the bell , " said he , " even if i am obliged to go to the end of the world . "
the ugly apes sat upon the trees , and grinned .
" shall we thrash him ? " said they .
" shall we thrash him ?
he is the son of a king ! "
but on he went , without being disheartened , deeper and deeper into the wood , where the most wonderful flowers were growing .
there stood white lilies with blood-red stamina , skyblue tulips , which shone as they waved in the winds , and apple-trees , the apples of which looked exactly like large soapbubbles : so only think how the trees must have sparkled in the sunshine !
around the nicest green meads , where the deer were playing in the grass , grew magnificent oaks and beeches ; and if the bark of one of the trees was cracked , there grass and long creeping plants grew in the crevices .
and there were large calm lakes there too , in which white swans were swimming , and beat the air with their wings .
the king's son often stood still and listened .
he thought the bell sounded from the depths of these still lakes ; but then he remarked again that the tone proceeded not from there , but farther off , from out the depths of the forest .
the sun now set : the atmosphere glowed like fire .
it was still in the woods , so very still ; and he fell on his knees , sung his evening hymn , and said : " i cannot find what i seek ; the sun is going down , and night is coming--the dark , dark night .
yet perhaps i may be able once more to see the round red sun before he entirely disappears .
i will climb up yonder rock . "
and he seized hold of the creeping-plants , and the roots of trees--climbed up the moist stones where the water-snakes were writhing and the toads were croaking--and he gained the summit before the sun had quite gone down .
how magnificent was the sight from this height !
the sea--the great , the glorious sea , that dashed its long waves against the coast--was stretched out before him .
and yonder , where sea and sky meet , stood the sun , like a large shining altar , all melted together in the most glowing colors .
and the wood and the sea sang a song of rejoicing , and his heart sang with the rest : all nature was a vast holy church , in which the trees and the buoyant clouds were the pillars , flowers and grass the velvet carpeting , and heaven itself the large cupola .
the red colors above faded away as the sun vanished , but a million stars were lighted , a million lamps shone ; and the king's son spread out his arms towards heaven , and wood , and sea ; when at the same moment , coming by a path to the right , appeared , in his wooden shoes and jacket , the poor boy who had been confirmed with him .
he had followed his own path , and had reached the spot just as soon as the son of the king had done .
they ran towards each other , and stood together hand in hand in the vast church of nature and of poetry , while over them sounded the invisible holy bell : blessed spirits floated around them , and lifted up their voices in a rejoicing hallelujah !
in the street , up there , was an old , a very old house--it was almost three hundred years old , for that might be known by reading the great beam on which the date of the year was carved : together with tulips and hop-binds there were whole verses spelled as in former times , and over every window was a distorted face cut out in the beam .
the one story stood forward a great way over the other ; and directly under the eaves was a leaden spout with a dragon's head ; the rain-water should have run out of the mouth , but it ran out of the belly , for there was a hole in the spout .
all the other houses in the street were so new and so neat , with large window panes and smooth walls , one could easily see that they would have nothing to do with the old house : they certainly thought , " how long is that old decayed thing to stand here as a spectacle in the street ?
and then the projecting windows stand so far out , that no one can see from our windows what happens in that direction !
the steps are as broad as those of a palace , and as high as to a church tower .
the iron railings look just like the door to an old family vault , and then they have brass tops--that's so stupid ! "
on the other side of the street were also new and neat houses , and they thought just as the others did ; but at the window opposite the old house there sat a little boy with fresh rosy cheeks and bright beaming eyes : he certainly liked the old house best , and that both in sunshine and moonshine .
and when he looked across at the wall where the mortar had fallen out , he could sit and find out there the strangest figures imaginable ; exactly as the street had appeared before , with steps , projecting windows , and pointed gables ; he could see soldiers with halberds , and spouts where the water ran , like dragons and serpents .
that was a house to look at ; and there lived an old man , who wore plush breeches ; and he had a coat with large brass buttons , and a wig that one could see was a real wig .
every morning there came an old fellow to him who put his rooms in order , and went on errands ; otherwise , the old man in the plush breeches was quite alone in the old house .
now and then he came to the window and looked out , and the little boy nodded to him , and the old man nodded again , and so they became acquaintances , and then they were friends , although they had never spoken to each other--but that made no difference .
the little boy heard his parents say , " the old man opposite is very well off , but he is so very , very lonely ! "
the sunday following , the little boy took something , and wrapped it up in a piece of paper , went downstairs , and stood in the doorway ; and when the man who went on errands came past , he said to him - - " i say , master ! will you give this to the old man over the way from me ?
i have two pewter soldiers--this is one of them , and he shall have it , for i know he is so very , very lonely . "
and the old errand man looked quite pleased , nodded , and took the pewter soldier over to the old house .
afterwards there came a message ; it was to ask if the little boy himself had not a wish to come over and pay a visit ; and so he got permission of his parents , and then went over to the old house .
and the brass balls on the iron railings shone much brighter than ever ; one would have thought they were polished on account of the visit ; and it was as if the carved-out trumpeters--for there were trumpeters , who stood in tulips , carved out on the door--blew with all their might , their cheeks appeared so much rounder than before .
yes , they blew--"trateratra !
the little boy comes !
trateratra!"--and then the door opened .
the whole passage was hung with portraits of knights in armor , and ladies in silken gowns ; and the armor rattled , and the silken gowns rustled !
and then there was a flight of stairs which went a good way upwards , and a little way downwards , and then one came on a balcony which was in a very dilapidated state , sure enough , with large holes and long crevices , but grass grew there and leaves out of them altogether , for the whole balcony outside , the yard , and the walls , were overgrown with so much green stuff , that it looked like a garden ; only a balcony .
here stood old flower-pots with faces and asses ' ears , and the flowers grew just as they liked .
one of the pots was quite overrun on all sides with pinks , that is to say , with the green part ; shoot stood by shoot , and it said quite distinctly , " the air has cherished me , the sun has kissed me , and promised me a little flower on sunday ! a little flower on sunday ! "
and then they entered a chamber where the walls were covered with hog's leather , and printed with gold flowers .
" the gilding decays , but hog's leather stays ! " said the walls .
and there stood easy-chairs , with such high backs , and so carved out , and with arms on both sides .
" sit down ! sit down ! " said they .
" ugh ! how i creak ; now i shall certainly get the gout , like the old clothespress , ugh ! "
and then the little boy came into the room where the projecting windows were , and where the old man sat .
" i thank you for the pewter soldier , my little friend ! " said the old man .
" and i thank you because you come over to me . "
" thankee ! thankee ! " or " cranky ! cranky ! " sounded from all the furniture ; there was so much of it , that each article stood in the other's way , to get a look at the little boy .
in the middle of the wall hung a picture representing a beautiful lady , so young , so glad , but dressed quite as in former times , with clothes that stood quite stiff , and with powder in her hair ; she neither said " thankee , thankee ! " nor " cranky , cranky ! " but looked with her mild eyes at the little boy , who directly asked the old man , " where did you get her ? "
" yonder , at the broker's , " said the old man , " where there are so many pictures hanging .
no one knows or cares about them , for they are all of them buried ; but i knew her in by-gone days , and now she has been dead and gone these fifty years ! "
under the picture , in a glazed frame , there hung a bouquet of withered flowers ; they were almost fifty years old ; they looked so very old !
the pendulum of the great clock went to and fro , and the hands turned , and everything in the room became still older ; but they did not observe it .
" they say at home , " said the little boy , " that you are so very , very lonely ! "
" oh ! " said he .
" the old thoughts , with what they may bring with them , come and visit me , and now you also come !
i am very well off ! "
then he took a book with pictures in it down from the shelf ; there were whole long processions and pageants , with the strangest characters , which one never sees now-a-days ; soldiers like the knave of clubs , and citizens with waving flags : the tailors had theirs , with a pair of shears held by two lions--and the shoemakers theirs , without boots , but with an eagle that had two heads , for the shoemakers must have everything so that they can say , it is a pair !
yes , that was a picture book !
the old man now went into the other room to fetch preserves , apples , and nuts--yes , it was delightful over there in the old house .
" i cannot bear it any longer ! " said the pewter soldier , who sat on the drawers .
" it is so lonely and melancholy here !
but when one has been in a family circle one cannot accustom oneself to this life !
i cannot bear it any longer !
the whole day is so long , and the evenings are still longer !
here it is not at all as it is over the way at your home , where your father and mother spoke so pleasantly , and where you and all your sweet children made such a delightful noise .
nay , how lonely the old man is--do you think that he gets kisses ?
do you think he gets mild eyes , or a christmas tree ?
he will get nothing but a grave !
i can bear it no longer ! "
" you must not let it grieve you so much , " said the little boy .
" i find it so very delightful here , and then all the old thoughts , with what they may bring with them , they come and visit here . "
" yes , it's all very well , but i see nothing of them , and i don't know them ! " said the pewter soldier .
" i cannot bear it ! "
" but you must ! " said the little boy .
then in came the old man with the most pleased and happy face , the most delicious preserves , apples , and nuts , and so the little boy thought no more about the pewter soldier .
the little boy returned home happy and pleased , and weeks and days passed away , and nods were made to the old house , and from the old house , and then the little boy went over there again .
the carved trumpeters blew , " trateratra !
there is the little boy !
trateratra ! " and the swords and armor on the knights ' portraits rattled , and the silk gowns rustled ; the hog's leather spoke , and the old chairs had the gout in their legs and rheumatism in their backs : ugh ! it was exactly like the first time , for over there one day and hour was just like another .
" i cannot bear it ! " said the pewter soldier .
" i have shed pewter tears !
it is too melancholy !
rather let me go to the wars and lose arms and legs !
it would at least be a change .
i cannot bear it longer !
now , i know what it is to have a visit from one's old thoughts , with what they may bring with them !
i have had a visit from mine , and you may be sure it is no pleasant thing in the end ; i was at last about to jump down from the drawers .
" i saw you all over there at home so distinctly , as if you really were here ; it was again that sunday morning ; all you children stood before the table and sung your psalms , as you do every morning .
you stood devoutly with folded hands ; and father and mother were just as pious ; and then the door was opened , and little sister mary , who is not two years old yet , and who always dances when she hears music or singing , of whatever kind it may be , was put into the room--though she ought not to have been there--and then she began to dance , but could not keep time , because the tones were so long ; and then she stood , first on the one leg , and bent her head forwards , and then on the other leg , and bent her head forwards--but all would not do .
you stood very seriously all together , although it was difficult enough ; but i laughed to myself , and then i fell off the table , and got a bump , which i have still--for it was not right of me to laugh .
but the whole now passes before me again in thought , and everything that i have lived to see ; and these are the old thoughts , with what they may bring with them .
" tell me if you still sing on sundays ?
tell me something about little mary !
and how my comrade , the other pewter soldier , lives !
yes , he is happy enough , that's sure !
i cannot bear it any longer ! "
" you are given away as a present ! " said the little boy .
" you must remain .
can you not understand that ? "
the old man now came with a drawer , in which there was much to be seen , both " tin boxes " and " balsam boxes , " old cards , so large and so gilded , such as one never sees them now .
and several drawers were opened , and the piano was opened ; it had landscapes on the inside of the lid , and it was so hoarse when the old man played on it ! and then he hummed a song .
" yes , she could sing that ! " said he , and nodded to the portrait , which he had bought at the broker's , and the old man's eyes shone so bright !
" i will go to the wars !
i will go to the wars ! " shouted the pewter soldier as loud as he could , and threw himself off the drawers right down on the floor .
what became of him ?
the old man sought , and the little boy sought ; he was away , and he stayed away .
" i shall find him ! " said the old man ; but he never found him .
the floor was too open--the pewter soldier had fallen through a crevice , and there he lay as in an open tomb .
that day passed , and the little boy went home , and that week passed , and several weeks too .
the windows were quite frozen , the little boy was obliged to sit and breathe on them to get a peep-hole over to the old house , and there the snow had been blown into all the carved work and inscriptions ; it lay quite up over the steps , just as if there was no one at home--nor was there any one at home--the old man was dead !
in the evening there was a hearse seen before the door , and he was borne into it in his coffin : he was now to go out into the country , to lie in his grave .
he was driven out there , but no one followed ; all his friends were dead , and the little boy kissed his hand to the coffin as it was driven away .
some days afterwards there was an auction at the old house , and the little boy saw from his window how they carried the old knights and the old ladies away , the flower-pots with the long ears , the old chairs , and the old clothes-presses .
something came here , and something came there ; the portrait of her who had been found at the broker's came to the broker's again ; and there it hung , for no one knew her more--no one cared about the old picture .
in the spring they pulled the house down , for , as people said , it was a ruin .
one could see from the street right into the room with the hog's-leather hanging , which was slashed and torn ; and the green grass and leaves about the balcony hung quite wild about the falling beams .
and then it was put to rights .
" that was a relief , " said the neighboring houses .
a fine house was built there , with large windows , and smooth white walls ; but before it , where the old house had in fact stood , was a little garden laid out , and a wild grapevine ran up the wall of the neighboring house .
before the garden there was a large iron railing with an iron door , it looked quite splendid , and people stood still and peeped in , and the sparrows hung by scores in the vine , and chattered away at each other as well as they could , but it was not about the old house , for they could not remember it , so many years had passed--so many that the little boy had grown up to a whole man , yes , a clever man , and a pleasure to his parents ; and he had just been married , and , together with his little wife , had come to live in the house here , where the garden was ; and he stood by her there whilst she planted a field-flower that she found so pretty ; she planted it with her little hand , and pressed the earth around it with her fingers .
oh ! what was that ?
she had stuck herself .
there sat something pointed , straight out of the soft mould .
it was--yes , guess !
it was the pewter soldier , he that was lost up at the old man's , and had tumbled and turned about amongst the timber and the rubbish , and had at last laid for many years in the ground .
the young wife wiped the dirt off the soldier , first with a green leaf , and then with her fine handkerchief--it had such a delightful smell , that it was to the pewter soldier just as if he had awaked from a trance .
" let me see him , " said the young man .
he laughed , and then shook his head .
" nay , it cannot be he ; but he reminds me of a story about a pewter soldier which i had when i was a little boy ! "
and then he told his wife about the old house , and the old man , and about the pewter soldier that he sent over to him because he was so very , very lonely ; and he told it as correctly as it had really been , so that the tears came into the eyes of his young wife , on account of the old house and the old man .
" it may possibly be , however , that it is the same pewter soldier ! " said she .
" i will take care of it , and remember all that you have told me ; but you must show me the old man's grave ! "
" but i do not know it , " said he , " and no one knows it !
all his friends were dead , no one took care of it , and i was then a little boy ! "
" how very , very lonely he must have been ! " said she .
" very , very lonely ! " said the pewter soldier .
" but it is delightful not to be forgotten ! "
" delightful ! " shouted something close by ; but no one , except the pewter soldier , saw that it was a piece of the hog's-leather hangings ; it had lost all its gilding , it looked like a piece of wet clay , but it had an opinion , and it gave it : " the gilding decays , but hog's leather stays ! "
this the pewter soldier did not believe .
really , the largest green leaf in this country is a dock-leaf ; if one holds it before one , it is like a whole apron , and if one holds it over one's head in rainy weather , it is almost as good as an umbrella , for it is so immensely large .
the burdock never grows alone , but where there grows one there always grow several : it is a great delight , and all this delightfulness is snails ' food .
the great white snails which persons of quality in former times made fricassees of , ate , and said , " hem , hem ! how delicious ! " for they thought it tasted so delicate--lived on dock-leaves , and therefore burdock seeds were sown .
now , there was an old manor-house , where they no longer ate snails , they were quite extinct ; but the burdocks were not extinct , they grew and grew all over the walks and all the beds ; they could not get the mastery over them--it was a whole forest of burdocks .
here and there stood an apple and a plum-tree , or else one never would have thought that it was a garden ; all was burdocks , and there lived the two last venerable old snails .
they themselves knew not how old they were , but they could remember very well that there had been many more ; that they were of a family from foreign lands , and that for them and theirs the whole forest was planted .
they had never been outside it , but they knew that there was still something more in the world , which was called the manor-house , and that there they were boiled , and then they became black , and were then placed on a silver dish ; but what happened further they knew not ; or , in fact , what it was to be boiled , and to lie on a silver dish , they could not possibly imagine ; but it was said to be delightful , and particularly genteel .
neither the chafers , the toads , nor the earth-worms , whom they asked about it could give them any information--none of them had been boiled or laid on a silver dish .
the old white snails were the first persons of distinction in the world , that they knew ; the forest was planted for their sake , and the manor-house was there that they might be boiled and laid on a silver dish .
now they lived a very lonely and happy life ; and as they had no children themselves , they had adopted a little common snail , which they brought up as their own ; but the little one would not grow , for he was of a common family ; but the old ones , especially dame mother snail , thought they could observe how he increased in size , and she begged father , if he could not see it , that he would at least feel the little snail's shell ; and then he felt it , and found the good dame was right .
one day there was a heavy storm of rain .
" hear how it beats like a drum on the dock-leaves ! " said father snail .
" there are also rain-drops ! " said mother snail .
" and now the rain pours right down the stalk !
you will see that it will be wet here !
i am very happy to think that we have our good house , and the little one has his also !
there is more done for us than for all other creatures , sure enough ; but can you not see that we are folks of quality in the world ?
we are provided with a house from our birth , and the burdock forest is planted for our sakes !
i should like to know how far it extends , and what there is outside ! "
" there is nothing at all , " said father snail .
" no place can be better than ours , and i have nothing to wish for ! "
" yes , " said the dame .
" i would willingly go to the manorhouse , be boiled , and laid on a silver dish ; all our forefathers have been treated so ; there is something extraordinary in it , you may be sure ! "
" the manor-house has most likely fallen to ruin ! " said father snail .
" or the burdocks have grown up over it , so that they cannot come out .
there need not , however , be any haste about that ; but you are always in such a tremendous hurry , and the little one is beginning to be the same .
has he not been creeping up that stalk these three days ?
it gives me a headache when i look up to him ! "
" you must not scold him , " said mother snail .
" he creeps so carefully ; he will afford us much pleasure--and we have nothing but him to live for !
but have you not thought of it ?
where shall we get a wife for him ?
do you not think that there are some of our species at a great distance in the interior of the burdock forest ? "
" black snails , i dare say , there are enough of , " said the old one .
" black snails without a house--but they are so common , and so conceited .
but we might give the ants a commission to look out for us ; they run to and fro as if they had something to do , and they certainly know of a wife for our little snail ! "
" i know one , sure enough--the most charming one ! " said one of the ants .
" but i am afraid we shall hardly succeed , for she is a queen ! "
" that is nothing ! " said the old folks .
" has she a house ? "
" she has a palace ! " said the ant .
" the finest ant's palace , with seven hundred passages ! "
" i thank you ! " said mother snail .
" our son shall not go into an ant-hill ; if you know nothing better than that , we shall give the commission to the white gnats .
they fly far and wide , in rain and sunshine ; they know the whole forest here , both within and without . "
" we have a wife for him , " said the gnats .
" at a hundred human paces from here there sits a little snail in her house , on a gooseberry bush ; she is quite lonely , and old enough to be married .
it is only a hundred human paces ! "
" well , then , let her come to him ! " said the old ones .
" he has a whole forest of burdocks , she has only a bush ! "
and so they went and fetched little miss snail .
it was a whole week before she arrived ; but therein was just the very best of it , for one could thus see that she was of the same species .
and then the marriage was celebrated .
six earth-worms shone as well as they could .
in other respects the whole went off very quietly , for the old folks could not bear noise and merriment ; but old dame snail made a brilliant speech .
father snail could not speak , he was too much affected ; and so they gave them as a dowry and inheritance , the whole forest of burdocks , and said--what they had always said--that it was the best in the world ; and if they lived honestly and decently , and increased and multiplied , they and their children would once in the course of time come to the manor-house , be boiled black , and laid on silver dishes .
after this speech was made , the old ones crept into their shells , and never more came out .
they slept ; the young couple governed in the forest , and had a numerous progeny , but they were never boiled , and never came on the silver dishes ; so from this they concluded that the manor-house had fallen to ruins , and that all the men in the world were extinct ; and as no one contradicted them , so , of course it was so .
and the rain beat on the dock-leaves to make drum-music for their sake , and the sun shone in order to give the burdock forest a color for their sakes ; and they were very happy , and the whole family was happy ; for they , indeed were so .
a mother sat there with her little child .
she was so downcast , so afraid that it should die !
it was so pale , the small eyes had closed themselves , and it drew its breath so softly , now and then , with a deep respiration , as if it sighed ; and the mother looked still more sorrowfully on the little creature .
then a knocking was heard at the door , and in came a poor old man wrapped up as in a large horse-cloth , for it warms one , and he needed it , as it was the cold winter season !
everything out-of-doors was covered with ice and snow , and the wind blew so that it cut the face .
as the old man trembled with cold , and the little child slept a moment , the mother went and poured some ale into a pot and set it on the stove , that it might be warm for him ; the old man sat and rocked the cradle , and the mother sat down on a chair close by him , and looked at her little sick child that drew its breath so deep , and raised its little hand .
" do you not think that i shall save him ? " said she .
" our lord will not take him from me ! "
and the old man--it was death himself--he nodded so strangely , it could just as well signify yes as no .
and the mother looked down in her lap , and the tears ran down over her cheeks ; her head became so heavy--she had not closed her eyes for three days and nights ; and now she slept , but only for a minute , when she started up and trembled with cold .
" what is that ? " said she , and looked on all sides ; but the old man was gone , and her little child was gone--he had taken it with him ; and the old clock in the corner burred , and burred , the great leaden weight ran down to the floor , bump ! and then the clock also stood still .
but the poor mother ran out of the house and cried aloud for her child .
out there , in the midst of the snow , there sat a woman in long , black clothes ; and she said , " death has been in thy chamber , and i saw him hasten away with thy little child ; he goes faster than the wind , and he never brings back what he takes ! "
" oh , only tell me which way he went ! " said the mother .
" tell me the way , and i shall find him ! "
" i know it ! " said the woman in the black clothes .
" but before i tell it , thou must first sing for me all the songs thou hast sung for thy child !
i am fond of them .
i have heard them before ; i am night ; i saw thy tears whilst thou sang'st them ! "
" i will sing them all , all ! " said the mother .
" but do not stop me now--i may overtake him--i may find my child ! "
but night stood still and mute .
then the mother wrung her hands , sang and wept , and there were many songs , but yet many more tears ; and then night said , " go to the right , into the dark pine forest ; thither i saw death take his way with thy little child ! "
the roads crossed each other in the depths of the forest , and she no longer knew whither she should go ! then there stood a thorn-bush ; there was neither leaf nor flower on it , it was also in the cold winter season , and ice-flakes hung on the branches .
" hast thou not seen death go past with my little child ? " said the mother .
" yes , " said the thorn-bush ; " but i will not tell thee which way he took , unless thou wilt first warm me up at thy heart .
i am freezing to death ; i shall become a lump of ice ! "
and she pressed the thorn-bush to her breast , so firmly , that it might be thoroughly warmed , and the thorns went right into her flesh , and her blood flowed in large drops , but the thornbush shot forth fresh green leaves , and there came flowers on it in the cold winter night , the heart of the afflicted mother was so warm ; and the thorn-bush told her the way she should go .
she then came to a large lake , where there was neither ship nor boat .
the lake was not frozen sufficiently to bear her ; neither was it open , nor low enough that she could wade through it ; and across it she must go if she would find her child !
then she lay down to drink up the lake , and that was an impossibility for a human being , but the afflicted mother thought that a miracle might happen nevertheless .
" oh , what would i not give to come to my child ! " said the weeping mother ; and she wept still more , and her eyes sunk down in the depths of the waters , and became two precious pearls ; but the water bore her up , as if she sat in a swing , and she flew in the rocking waves to the shore on the opposite side , where there stood a mile-broad , strange house , one knew not if it were a mountain with forests and caverns , or if it were built up ; but the poor mother could not see it ; she had wept her eyes out .
" where shall i find death , who took away my little child ? " said she .
" he has not come here yet ! " said the old grave woman , who was appointed to look after death's great greenhouse !
" how have you been able to find the way hither ?
and who has helped you ? "
" our lord has helped me , " said she .
" he is merciful , and you will also be so !
where shall i find my little child ? "
" nay , i know not , " said the woman , " and you cannot see !
many flowers and trees have withered this night ; death will soon come and plant them over again !
you certainly know that every person has his or her life's tree or flower , just as everyone happens to be settled ; they look like other plants , but they have pulsations of the heart .
children's hearts can also beat ; go after yours , perhaps you may know your child's ; but what will you give me if i tell you what you shall do more ? "
" i have nothing to give , " said the afflicted mother , " but i will go to the world's end for you ! "
" nay , i have nothing to do there ! " said the woman .
" but you can give me your long black hair ; you know yourself that it is fine , and that i like !
you shall have my white hair instead , and that's always something ! "
" do you demand nothing else ? " said she .
" that i will gladly give you ! "
and she gave her her fine black hair , and got the old woman's snow-white hair instead .
so they went into death's great greenhouse , where flowers and trees grew strangely into one another .
there stood fine hyacinths under glass bells , and there stood strong-stemmed peonies ; there grew water plants , some so fresh , others half sick , the water-snakes lay down on them , and black crabs pinched their stalks .
there stood beautiful palm-trees , oaks , and plantains ; there stood parsley and flowering thyme : every tree and every flower had its name ; each of them was a human life , the human frame still lived--one in china , and another in greenland--round about in the world .
there were large trees in small pots , so that they stood so stunted in growth , and ready to burst the pots ; in other places , there was a little dull flower in rich mould , with moss round about it , and it was so petted and nursed .
but the distressed mother bent down over all the smallest plants , and heard within them how the human heart beat ; and amongst millions she knew her child's .
" there it is ! " cried she , and stretched her hands out over a little blue crocus , that hung quite sickly on one side .
" don't touch the flower ! " said the old woman .
" but place yourself here , and when death comes--i expect him every moment--do not let him pluck the flower up , but threaten him that you will do the same with the others .
then he will be afraid !
he is responsible for them to our lord , and no one dares to pluck them up before he gives leave . "
all at once an icy cold rushed through the great hall , and the blind mother could feel that it was death that came .
" how hast thou been able to find thy way hither ? " he asked .
" how couldst thou come quicker than i ? "
" i am a mother , " said she .
and death stretched out his long hand towards the fine little flower , but she held her hands fast around his , so tight , and yet afraid that she should touch one of the leaves .
then death blew on her hands , and she felt that it was colder than the cold wind , and her hands fell down powerless .
" thou canst not do anything against me ! " said death .
" but our lord can ! " said she .
" i only do his bidding ! " said death .
" i am his gardener , i take all his flowers and trees , and plant them out in the great garden of paradise , in the unknown land ; but how they grow there , and how it is there i dare not tell thee . "
" give me back my child ! " said the mother , and she wept and prayed .
at once she seized hold of two beautiful flowers close by , with each hand , and cried out to death , " i will tear all thy flowers off , for i am in despair . "
" touch them not ! " said death .
" thou say'st that thou art so unhappy , and now thou wilt make another mother equally unhappy . "
" another mother ! " said the poor woman , and directly let go her hold of both the flowers .
" there , thou hast thine eyes , " said death ; " i fished them up from the lake , they shone so bright ; i knew not they were thine .
take them again , they are now brighter than before ; now look down into the deep well close by ; i shall tell thee the names of the two flowers thou wouldst have torn up , and thou wilt see their whole future life--their whole human existence : and see what thou wast about to disturb and destroy . "
and she looked down into the well ; and it was a happiness to see how the one became a blessing to the world , to see how much happiness and joy were felt everywhere .
and she saw the other's life , and it was sorrow and distress , horror , and wretchedness .
" both of them are god's will ! " said death .
" which of them is misfortune's flower and which is that of happiness ? " asked she .
" that i will not tell thee , " said death ; " but this thou shalt know from me , that the one flower was thy own child ! it was thy child's fate thou saw'st--thy own child's future life ! "
then the mother screamed with terror , " which of them was my child ?
tell it me !
save the innocent !
save my child from all that misery !
rather take it away !
take it into god's kingdom !
forget my tears , forget my prayers , and all that i have done ! "
" i do not understand thee ! " said death .
" wilt thou have thy child again , or shall i go with it there , where thou dost not know ! "
then the mother wrung her hands , fell on her knees , and prayed to our lord : " oh , hear me not when i pray against thy will , which is the best ! hear me not ! hear me not ! "
and she bowed her head down in her lap , and death took her child and went with it into the unknown land .
there was once a fine gentleman , all of whose moveables were a boot-jack and a hair-comb : but he had the finest false collars in the world ; and it is about one of these collars that we are now to hear a story .
it was so old , that it began to think of marriage ; and it happened that it came to be washed in company with a garter .
" nay ! " said the collar .
" i never did see anything so slender and so fine , so soft and so neat .
may i not ask your name ? "
" that i shall not tell you ! " said the garter .
" where do you live ? " asked the collar .
but the garter was so bashful , so modest , and thought it was a strange question to answer .
" you are certainly a girdle , " said the collar ; " that is to say an inside girdle .
i see well that you are both for use and ornament , my dear young lady . "
" i will thank you not to speak to me , " said the garter .
" i think i have not given the least occasion for it . "
" yes !
when one is as handsome as you , " said the collar , " that is occasion enough . "
" don't come so near me , i beg of you ! " said the garter .
" you look so much like those men-folks . "
" i am also a fine gentleman , " said the collar .
" i have a bootjack and a hair-comb . "
but that was not true , for it was his master who had them : but he boasted .
" don't come so near me , " said the garter : " i am not accustomed to it . "
" prude ! " exclaimed the collar ; and then it was taken out of the washing-tub .
it was starched , hung over the back of a chair in the sunshine , and was then laid on the ironing-blanket ; then came the warm box-iron .
" dear lady ! " said the collar .
" dear widow-lady !
i feel quite hot .
i am quite changed .
i begin to unfold myself .
you will burn a hole in me .
oh !
i offer you my hand . "
" rag ! " said the box-iron ; and went proudly over the collar : for she fancied she was a steam-engine , that would go on the railroad and draw the waggons .
" rag ! " said the box-iron .
the collar was a little jagged at the edge , and so came the long scissors to cut off the jagged part .
" oh ! " said the collar .
" you are certainly the first opera dancer .
how well you can stretch your legs out !
it is the most graceful performance i have ever seen .
no one can imitate you . "
" i know it , " said the scissors .
" you deserve to be a baroness , " said the collar .
" all that i have is a fine gentleman , a boot-jack , and a hair-comb .
if i only had the barony ! "
" do you seek my hand ? " said the scissors ; for she was angry ; and without more ado , she cut him , and then he was condemned .
" i shall now be obliged to ask the hair-comb .
it is surprising how well you preserve your teeth , miss , " said the collar .
" have you never thought of being betrothed ? "
" yes , of course ! you may be sure of that , " said the hair-comb .
" i am betrothed--to the boot-jack ! "
" betrothed ! " exclaimed the collar .
now there was no other to court , and so he despised it .
a long time passed away , then the collar came into the rag chest at the paper mill ; there was a large company of rags , the fine by themselves , and the coarse by themselves , just as it should be .
they all had much to say , but the collar the most ; for he was a real boaster .
" i have had such an immense number of sweethearts ! " said the collar .
" i could not be in peace !
it is true , i was always a fine starched-up gentleman !
i had both a boot-jack and a hair-comb , which i never used !
you should have seen me then , you should have seen me when i lay down !
i shall never forget my first love--she was a girdle , so fine , so soft , and so charming , she threw herself into a tub of water for my sake !
there was also a widow , who became glowing hot , but i left her standing till she got black again ; there was also the first opera dancer , she gave me that cut which i now go with , she was so ferocious !
my own hair-comb was in love with me , she lost all her teeth from the heart-ache ; yes , i have lived to see much of that sort of thing ; but i am extremely sorry for the garter--i mean the girdle--that went into the water-tub .
i have much on my conscience , i want to become white paper ! "
and it became so , all the rags were turned into white paper ; but the collar came to be just this very piece of white paper we here see , and on which the story is printed ; and that was because it boasted so terribly afterwards of what had never happened to it .
it would be well for us to beware , that we may not act in a similar manner , for we can never know if we may not , in the course of time , also come into the rag chest , and be made into white paper , and then have our whole life's history printed on it , even the most secret , and be obliged to run about and tell it ourselves , just like this collar .
it is in the hot lands that the sun burns , sure enough ! there the people become quite a mahogany brown , ay , and in the hottest lands they are burnt to negroes .
but now it was only to the hot lands that a learned man had come from the cold ; there he thought that he could run about just as when at home , but he soon found out his mistake .
he , and all sensible folks , were obliged to stay within doors--the window-shutters and doors were closed the whole day ; it looked as if the whole house slept , or there was no one at home .
the narrow street with the high houses , was built so that the sunshine must fall there from morning till evening--it was really not to be borne .
the learned man from the cold lands--he was a young man , and seemed to be a clever man--sat in a glowing oven ; it took effect on him , he became quite meagre--even his shadow shrunk in , for the sun had also an effect on it .
it was first towards evening when the sun was down , that they began to freshen up again .
in the warm lands every window has a balcony , and the people came out on all the balconies in the street--for one must have air , even if one be accustomed to be mahogany ! * it was lively both up and down the street .
tailors , and shoemakers , and all the folks , moved out into the street--chairs and tables were brought forth--and candles burnt--yes , above a thousand lights were burning--and the one talked and the other sung ; and people walked and church-bells rang , and asses went along with a dingle-dingle-dong ! for they too had bells on .
the street boys were screaming and hooting , and shouting and shooting , with devils and detonating balls--and there came corpse bearers and hood wearers--for there were funerals with psalm and hymn--and then the din of carriages driving and company arriving : yes , it was , in truth , lively enough down in the street .
only in that single house , which stood opposite that in which the learned foreigner lived , it was quite still ; and yet some one lived there , for there stood flowers in the balcony--they grew so well in the sun's heat ! and that they could not do unless they were watered--and some one must water them--there must be somebody there .
the door opposite was also opened late in the evening , but it was dark within , at least in the front room ; further in there was heard the sound of music .
the learned foreigner thought it quite marvellous , but now--it might be that he only imagined it--for he found everything marvellous out there , in the warm lands , if there had only been no sun .
the stranger's landlord said that he didn't know who had taken the house opposite , one saw no person about , and as to the music , it appeared to him to be extremely tiresome .
" it is as if some one sat there , and practised a piece that he could not master--always the same piece . ' i shall master it ! ' says he ; but yet he cannot master it , however long he plays . " * the word mahogany can be understood , in danish , as having two meanings .
in general , it means the reddish-brown wood itself ; but in jest , it signifies " excessively fine , " which arose from an anecdote of nyboder , in copenhagen , ( the seamen's quarter . ) a sailor's wife , who was always proud and fine , in her way , came to her neighbor , and complained that she had got a splinter in her finger .
" what of ? " asked the neighbor's wife .
" it is a mahogany splinter , " said the other .
" mahogany !
it cannot be less with you ! " exclaimed the woman--and thence the proverb , " it is so mahogany!"--(that is , so excessively fine)--is derived .
one night the stranger awoke--he slept with the doors of the balcony open--the curtain before it was raised by the wind , and he thought that a strange lustre came from the opposite neighbor's house ; all the flowers shone like flames , in the most beautiful colors , and in the midst of the flowers stood a slender , graceful maiden--it was as if she also shone ; the light really hurt his eyes .
he now opened them quite wide--yes , he was quite awake ; with one spring he was on the floor ; he crept gently behind the curtain , but the maiden was gone ; the flowers shone no longer , but there they stood , fresh and blooming as ever ; the door was ajar , and , far within , the music sounded so soft and delightful , one could really melt away in sweet thoughts from it .
yet it was like a piece of enchantment .
and who lived there ?
where was the actual entrance ?
the whole of the ground-floor was a row of shops , and there people could not always be running through .
one evening the stranger sat out on the balcony .
the light burnt in the room behind him ; and thus it was quite natural that his shadow should fall on his opposite neighbor's wall .
yes ! there it sat , directly opposite , between the flowers on the balcony ; and when the stranger moved , the shadow also moved : for that it always does .
" i think my shadow is the only living thing one sees over there , " said the learned man .
" see , how nicely it sits between the flowers .
the door stands half-open : now the shadow should be cunning , and go into the room , look about , and then come and tell me what it had seen .
come , now !
be useful , and do me a service , " said he , in jest .
" have the kindness to step in .
now !
art thou going ? " and then he nodded to the shadow , and the shadow nodded again .
" well then , go !
but don't stay away . "
the stranger rose , and his shadow on the opposite neighbor's balcony rose also ; the stranger turned round and the shadow also turned round .
yes ! if anyone had paid particular attention to it , they would have seen , quite distinctly , that the shadow went in through the half-open balcony-door of their opposite neighbor , just as the stranger went into his own room , and let the long curtain fall down after him .
next morning , the learned man went out to drink coffee and read the newspapers .
" what is that ? " said he , as he came out into the sunshine .
" i have no shadow !
so then , it has actually gone last night , and not come again .
it is really tiresome ! "
this annoyed him : not so much because the shadow was gone , but because he knew there was a story about a man without a shadow . * it was known to everybody at home , in the cold lands ; and if the learned man now came there and told his story , they would say that he was imitating it , and that he had no need to do .
he would , therefore , not talk about it at all ; and that was wisely thought . * peter schlemihl , the shadowless man .
in the evening he went out again on the balcony .
he had placed the light directly behind him , for he knew that the shadow would always have its master for a screen , but he could not entice it .
he made himself little ; he made himself great : but no shadow came again .
he said , " hem ! hem ! " but it was of no use .
it was vexatious ; but in the warm lands everything grows so quickly ; and after the lapse of eight days he observed , to his great joy , that a new shadow came in the sunshine .
in the course of three weeks he had a very fair shadow , which , when he set out for his home in the northern lands , grew more and more in the journey , so that at last it was so long and so large , that it was more than sufficient .
the learned man then came home , and he wrote books about what was true in the world , and about what was good and what was beautiful ; and there passed days and years--yes ! many years passed away .
one evening , as he was sitting in his room , there was a gentle knocking at the door .
" come in ! " said he ; but no one came in ; so he opened the door , and there stood before him such an extremely lean man , that he felt quite strange .
as to the rest , the man was very finely dressed--he must be a gentleman .
" whom have i the honor of speaking ? " asked the learned man .
" yes !
i thought as much , " said the fine man .
" i thought you would not know me .
i have got so much body .
i have even got flesh and clothes .
you certainly never thought of seeing me so well off .
do you not know your old shadow ?
you certainly thought i should never more return .
things have gone on well with me since i was last with you .
i have , in all respects , become very well off .
shall i purchase my freedom from service ?
if so , i can do it " ; and then he rattled a whole bunch of valuable seals that hung to his watch , and he stuck his hand in the thick gold chain he wore around his neck--nay ! how all his fingers glittered with diamond rings ; and then all were pure gems .
" nay ; i cannot recover from my surprise ! " said the learned man .
" what is the meaning of all this ? "
" something common , is it not , " said the shadow .
" but you yourself do not belong to the common order ; and i , as you know well , have from a child followed in your footsteps .
as soon as you found i was capable to go out alone in the world , i went my own way .
i am in the most brilliant circumstances , but there came a sort of desire over me to see you once more before you die ; you will die , i suppose ?
i also wished to see this land again--for you know we always love our native land .
i know you have got another shadow again ; have i anything to pay to it or you ?
if so , you will oblige me by saying what it is . "
" nay , is it really thou ? " said the learned man .
" it is most remarkable : i never imagined that one's old shadow could come again as a man . "
" tell me what i have to pay , " said the shadow ; " for i don't like to be in any sort of debt . "
" how canst thou talk so ? " said the learned man .
" what debt is there to talk about ?
make thyself as free as anyone else .
i am extremely glad to hear of thy good fortune : sit down , old friend , and tell me a little how it has gone with thee , and what thou hast seen at our opposite neighbor's there--in the warm lands . "
" yes , i will tell you all about it , " said the shadow , and sat down : " but then you must also promise me , that , wherever you may meet me , you will never say to anyone here in the town that i have been your shadow .
i intend to get betrothed , for i can provide for more than one family . "
" be quite at thy ease about that , " said the learned man ; " i shall not say to anyone who thou actually art : here is my hand--i promise it , and a man's bond is his word . "
" a word is a shadow , " said the shadow , " and as such it must speak . "
it was really quite astonishing how much of a man it was .
it was dressed entirely in black , and of the very finest cloth ; it had patent leather boots , and a hat that could be folded together , so that it was bare crown and brim ; not to speak of what we already know it had--seals , gold neck-chain , and diamond rings ; yes , the shadow was well-dressed , and it was just that which made it quite a man .
" now i shall tell you my adventures , " said the shadow ; and then he sat , with the polished boots , as heavily as he could , on the arm of the learned man's new shadow , which lay like a poodle-dog at his feet .
now this was perhaps from arrogance ; and the shadow on the ground kept itself so still and quiet , that it might hear all that passed : it wished to know how it could get free , and work its way up , so as to become its own master .
" do you know who lived in our opposite neighbor's house ? " said the shadow .
" it was the most charming of all beings , it was poesy !
i was there for three weeks , and that has as much effect as if one had lived three thousand years , and read all that was composed and written ; that is what i say , and it is right .
i have seen everything and i know everything ! "
" poesy ! " cried the learned man .
" yes , yes , she often dwells a recluse in large cities !
poesy !
yes , i have seen her--a single short moment , but sleep came into my eyes !
she stood on the balcony and shone as the aurora borealis shines .
go on , go on--thou wert on the balcony , and went through the doorway , and then - - " " then i was in the antechamber , " said the shadow .
" you always sat and looked over to the antechamber .
there was no light ; there was a sort of twilight , but the one door stood open directly opposite the other through a long row of rooms and saloons , and there it was lighted up .
i should have been completely killed if i had gone over to the maiden ; but i was circumspect , i took time to think , and that one must always do . "
" and what didst thou then see ? " asked the learned man .
" i saw everything , and i shall tell all to you : but--it is no pride on my part--as a free man , and with the knowledge i have , not to speak of my position in life , my excellent circumstances--i certainly wish that you would say you * to me ! " * it is the custom in denmark for intimate acquaintances to use the second person singular , " du , " ( thou ) when speaking to each other .
when a friendship is formed between men , they generally affirm it , when occasion offers , either in public or private , by drinking to each other and exclaiming , " thy health , " at the same time striking their glasses together .
this is called drinking " duus " : they are then , " duus brodre , " ( thou brothers ) and ever afterwards use the pronoun " thou , " to each other , it being regarded as more familiar than " de , " ( you ) .
father and mother , sister and brother say thou to one another--without regard to age or rank .
master and mistress say thou to their servants the superior to the inferior .
but servants and inferiors do not use the same term to their masters , or superiors--nor is it ever used when speaking to a stranger , or anyone with whom they are but slightly acquainted--they then say as in english--you .
" i beg your pardon , " said the learned man ; " it is an old habit with me .
you are perfectly right , and i shall remember it ; but now you must tell me all you saw ! "
" everything ! " said the shadow .
" for i saw everything , and i know everything ! "
" how did it look in the furthest saloon ? " asked the learned man .
" was it there as in the fresh woods ?
was it there as in a holy church ?
were the saloons like the starlit firmament when we stand on the high mountains ? "
" everything was there ! " said the shadow .
" i did not go quite in , i remained in the foremost room , in the twilight , but i stood there quite well ; i saw everything , and i know everything !
i have been in the antechamber at the court of poesy . "
" but what did you see ?
did all the gods of the olden times pass through the large saloons ?
did the old heroes combat there ?
did sweet children play there , and relate their dreams ? "
" i tell you i was there , and you can conceive that i saw everything there was to be seen .
had you come over there , you would not have been a man ; but i became so !
and besides , i learned to know my inward nature , my innate qualities , the relationship i had with poesy .
at the time i was with you , i thought not of that , but always--you know it well--when the sun rose , and when the sun went down , i became so strangely great ; in the moonlight i was very near being more distinct than yourself ; at that time i did not understand my nature ; it was revealed to me in the antechamber !
i became a man !
i came out matured ; but you were no longer in the warm lands ; as a man i was ashamed to go as i did .
i was in want of boots , of clothes , of the whole human varnish that makes a man perceptible .
i took my way--i tell it to you , but you will not put it in any book--i took my way to the cake woman--i hid myself behind her ; the woman didn't think how much she concealed .
i went out first in the evening ; i ran about the streets in the moonlight ; i made myself long up the walls--it tickles the back so delightfully !
i ran up , and ran down , peeped into the highest windows , into the saloons , and on the roofs , i peeped in where no one could peep , and i saw what no one else saw , what no one else should see !
this is , in fact , a base world !
i would not be a man if it were not now once accepted and regarded as something to be so !
i saw the most unimaginable things with the women , with the men , with parents , and with the sweet , matchless children ; i saw , " said the shadow , " what no human being must know , but what they would all so willingly know--what is bad in their neighbor .
had i written a newspaper , it would have been read !
but i wrote direct to the persons themselves , and there was consternation in all the towns where i came .
they were so afraid of me , and yet they were so excessively fond of me .
the professors made a professor of me ; the tailors gave me new clothes--i am well furnished ; the master of the mint struck new coin for me , and the women said i was so handsome !
and so i became the man i am .
and i now bid you farewell .
here is my card--i live on the sunny side of the street , and am always at home in rainy weather ! "
and so away went the shadow .
" that was most extraordinary ! " said the learned man .
years and days passed away , then the shadow came again .
" how goes it ? " said the shadow .
" alas ! " said the learned man .
" i write about the true , and the good , and the beautiful , but no one cares to hear such things ; i am quite desperate , for i take it so much to heart ! "
" but i don't ! " said the shadow .
" i become fat , and it is that one wants to become !
you do not understand the world .
you will become ill by it .
you must travel !
i shall make a tour this summer ; will you go with me ?
i should like to have a travelling companion !
will you go with me , as shadow ?
it will be a great pleasure for me to have you with me ; i shall pay the travelling expenses ! "
" nay , this is too much ! " said the learned man .
" it is just as one takes it ! " said the shadow .
" it will do you much good to travel !
will you be my shadow ?
you shall have everything free on the journey ! "
" nay , that is too bad ! " said the learned man .
" but it is just so with the world ! " said the shadow , " and so it will be ! " and away it went again .
the learned man was not at all in the most enviable state ; grief and torment followed him , and what he said about the true , and the good , and the beautiful , was , to most persons , like roses for a cow !
he was quite ill at last .
" you really look like a shadow ! " said his friends to him ; and the learned man trembled , for he thought of it .
" you must go to a watering-place ! " said the shadow , who came and visited him .
" there is nothing else for it !
i will take you with me for old acquaintance ' sake ; i will pay the travelling expenses , and you write the descriptions--and if they are a little amusing for me on the way !
i will go to a watering-place--my beard does not grow out as it ought--that is also a sickness--and one must have a beard !
now you be wise and accept the offer ; we shall travel as comrades ! "
and so they travelled ; the shadow was master , and the master was the shadow ; they drove with each other , they rode and walked together , side by side , before and behind , just as the sun was ; the shadow always took care to keep itself in the master's place .
now the learned man didn't think much about that ; he was a very kind-hearted man , and particularly mild and friendly , and so he said one day to the shadow : " as we have now become companions , and in this way have grown up together from childhood , shall we not drink ' thou ' together , it is more familiar ? "
" you are right , " said the shadow , who was now the proper master .
" it is said in a very straight-forward and well-meant manner .
you , as a learned man , certainly know how strange nature is .
some persons cannot bear to touch grey paper , or they become ill ; others shiver in every limb if one rub a pane of glass with a nail : i have just such a feeling on hearing you say thou to me ; i feel myself as if pressed to the earth in my first situation with you .
you see that it is a feeling ; that it is not pride : i cannot allow you to say thou to me , but i will willingly say thou to you , so it is half done ! "
so the shadow said thou to its former master .
" this is rather too bad , " thought he , " that i must say you and he say thou , " but he was now obliged to put up with it .
so they came to a watering-place where there were many strangers , and amongst them was a princess , who was troubled with seeing too well ; and that was so alarming !
she directly observed that the stranger who had just come was quite a different sort of person to all the others ; " he has come here in order to get his beard to grow , they say , but i see the real cause , he cannot cast a shadow . "
she had become inquisitive ; and so she entered into conversation directly with the strange gentleman , on their promenades .
as the daughter of a king , she needed not to stand upon trifles , so she said , " your complaint is , that you cannot cast a shadow ? "
" your royal highness must be improving considerably , " said the shadow , " i know your complaint is , that you see too clearly , but it has decreased , you are cured .
i just happen to have a very unusual shadow !
do you not see that person who always goes with me ?
other persons have a common shadow , but i do not like what is common to all .
we give our servants finer cloth for their livery than we ourselves use , and so i had my shadow trimmed up into a man : yes , you see i have even given him a shadow .
it is somewhat expensive , but i like to have something for myself ! "
" what ! " thought the princess .
" should i really be cured !
these baths are the first in the world !
in our time water has wonderful powers .
but i shall not leave the place , for it now begins to be amusing here .
i am extremely fond of that stranger : would that his beard should not grow , for in that case he will leave us ! "
in the evening , the princess and the shadow danced together in the large ball-room .
she was light , but he was still lighter ; she had never had such a partner in the dance .
she told him from what land she came , and he knew that land ; he had been there , but then she was not at home ; he had peeped in at the window , above and below--he had seen both the one and the other , and so he could answer the princess , and make insinuations , so that she was quite astonished ; he must be the wisest man in the whole world !
she felt such respect for what he knew !
so that when they again danced together she fell in love with him ; and that the shadow could remark , for she almost pierced him through with her eyes .
so they danced once more together ; and she was about to declare herself , but she was discreet ; she thought of her country and kingdom , and of the many persons she would have to reign over .
" he is a wise man , " said she to herself--"it is well ; and he dances delightfully--that is also good ; but has he solid knowledge ?
that is just as important !
he must be examined . "
so she began , by degrees , to question him about the most difficult things she could think of , and which she herself could not have answered ; so that the shadow made a strange face .
" you cannot answer these questions ? " said the princess .
" they belong to my childhood's learning , " said the shadow .
" i really believe my shadow , by the door there , can answer them ! "
" your shadow ! " said the princess .
" that would indeed be marvellous ! "
" i will not say for a certainty that he can , " said the shadow , " but i think so ; he has now followed me for so many years , and listened to my conversation--i should think it possible .
but your royal highness will permit me to observe , that he is so proud of passing himself off for a man , that when he is to be in a proper humor--and he must be so to answer well--he must be treated quite like a man . "
" oh !
i like that ! " said the princess .
so she went to the learned man by the door , and she spoke to him about the sun and the moon , and about persons out of and in the world , and he answered with wisdom and prudence .
" what a man that must be who has so wise a shadow ! " thought she .
" it will be a real blessing to my people and kingdom if i choose him for my consort--i will do it ! "
they were soon agreed , both the princess and the shadow ; but no one was to know about it before she arrived in her own kingdom .
" no one--not even my shadow ! " said the shadow , and he had his own thoughts about it !
now they were in the country where the princess reigned when she was at home .
" listen , my good friend , " said the shadow to the learned man .
" i have now become as happy and mighty as anyone can be ; i will , therefore , do something particular for thee !
thou shalt always live with me in the palace , drive with me in my royal carriage , and have ten thousand pounds a year ; but then thou must submit to be called shadow by all and everyone ; thou must not say that thou hast ever been a man ; and once a year , when i sit on the balcony in the sunshine , thou must lie at my feet , as a shadow shall do !
i must tell thee : i am going to marry the king's daughter , and the nuptials are to take place this evening ! "
" nay , this is going too far ! " said the learned man .
" i will not have it ; i will not do it !
it is to deceive the whole country and the princess too !
i will tell everything !
that i am a man , and that thou art a shadow--thou art only dressed up ! "
" there is no one who will believe it ! " said the shadow .
" be reasonable , or i will call the guard ! "
" i will go directly to the princess ! " said the learned man .
" but i will go first ! " said the shadow .
" and thou wilt go to prison ! " and that he was obliged to do--for the sentinels obeyed him whom they knew the king's daughter was to marry .
" you tremble ! " said the princess , as the shadow came into her chamber .
" has anything happened ?
you must not be unwell this evening , now that we are to have our nuptials celebrated . "
" i have lived to see the most cruel thing that anyone can live to see ! " said the shadow .
" only imagine--yes , it is true , such a poor shadow-skull cannot bear much--only think , my shadow has become mad ; he thinks that he is a man , and that i--now only think--that i am his shadow ! "
" it is terrible ! " said the princess ; " but he is confined , is he not ? "
" that he is .
i am afraid that he will never recover . "
" poor shadow ! " said the princess .
" he is very unfortunate ; it would be a real work of charity to deliver him from the little life he has , and , when i think properly over the matter , i am of opinion that it will be necessary to do away with him in all stillness ! "
" it is certainly hard , " said the shadow , " for he was a faithful servant ! " and then he gave a sort of sigh .
" you are a noble character ! " said the princess .
the whole city was illuminated in the evening , and the cannons went off with a bum ! bum ! and the soldiers presented arms .
that was a marriage !
the princess and the shadow went out on the balcony to show themselves , and get another hurrah !
the learned man heard nothing of all this--for they had deprived him of life .
most terribly cold it was ; it snowed , and was nearly quite dark , and evening--the last evening of the year .
in this cold and darkness there went along the street a poor little girl , bareheaded , and with naked feet .
when she left home she had slippers on , it is true ; but what was the good of that ?
they were very large slippers , which her mother had hitherto worn ; so large were they ; and the poor little thing lost them as she scuffled away across the street , because of two carriages that rolled by dreadfully fast .
one slipper was nowhere to be found ; the other had been laid hold of by an urchin , and off he ran with it ; he thought it would do capitally for a cradle when he some day or other should have children himself .
so the little maiden walked on with her tiny naked feet , that were quite red and blue from cold .
she carried a quantity of matches in an old apron , and she held a bundle of them in her hand .
nobody had bought anything of her the whole livelong day ; no one had given her a single farthing .
she crept along trembling with cold and hunger--a very picture of sorrow , the poor little thing !
the flakes of snow covered her long fair hair , which fell in beautiful curls around her neck ; but of that , of course , she never once now thought .
from all the windows the candles were gleaming , and it smelt so deliciously of roast goose , for you know it was new year's eve ; yes , of that she thought .
in a corner formed by two houses , of which one advanced more than the other , she seated herself down and cowered together .
her little feet she had drawn close up to her , but she grew colder and colder , and to go home she did not venture , for she had not sold any matches and could not bring a farthing of money : from her father she would certainly get blows , and at home it was cold too , for above her she had only the roof , through which the wind whistled , even though the largest cracks were stopped up with straw and rags .
her little hands were almost numbed with cold .
oh ! a match might afford her a world of comfort , if she only dared take a single one out of the bundle , draw it against the wall , and warm her fingers by it .
she drew one out .
" rischt ! " how it blazed , how it burnt !
it was a warm , bright flame , like a candle , as she held her hands over it : it was a wonderful light .
it seemed really to the little maiden as though she were sitting before a large iron stove , with burnished brass feet and a brass ornament at top .
the fire burned with such blessed influence ; it warmed so delightfully .
the little girl had already stretched out her feet to warm them too ; but--the small flame went out , the stove vanished : she had only the remains of the burnt-out match in her hand .
she rubbed another against the wall : it burned brightly , and where the light fell on the wall , there the wall became transparent like a veil , so that she could see into the room .
on the table was spread a snow-white tablecloth ; upon it was a splendid porcelain service , and the roast goose was steaming famously with its stuffing of apple and dried plums .
and what was still more capital to behold was , the goose hopped down from the dish , reeled about on the floor with knife and fork in its breast , till it came up to the poor little girl ; when--the match went out and nothing but the thick , cold , damp wall was left behind .
she lighted another match .
now there she was sitting under the most magnificent christmas tree : it was still larger , and more decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door in the rich merchant's house .
thousands of lights were burning on the green branches , and gaily-colored pictures , such as she had seen in the shop-windows , looked down upon her .
the little maiden stretched out her hands towards them when--the match went out .
the lights of the christmas tree rose higher and higher , she saw them now as stars in heaven ; one fell down and formed a long trail of fire .
" someone is just dead ! " said the little girl ; for her old grandmother , the only person who had loved her , and who was now no more , had told her , that when a star falls , a soul ascends to god .
she drew another match against the wall : it was again light , and in the lustre there stood the old grandmother , so bright and radiant , so mild , and with such an expression of love .
" grandmother ! " cried the little one .
" oh , take me with you !
you go away when the match burns out ; you vanish like the warm stove , like the delicious roast goose , and like the magnificent christmas tree ! "
and she rubbed the whole bundle of matches quickly against the wall , for she wanted to be quite sure of keeping her grandmother near her .
and the matches gave such a brilliant light that it was brighter than at noon-day : never formerly had the grandmother been so beautiful and so tall .
she took the little maiden , on her arm , and both flew in brightness and in joy so high , so very high , and then above was neither cold , nor hunger , nor anxiety--they were with god .
but in the corner , at the cold hour of dawn , sat the poor girl , with rosy cheeks and with a smiling mouth , leaning against the wall--frozen to death on the last evening of the old year .
stiff and stark sat the child there with her matches , of which one bundle had been burnt .
" she wanted to warm herself , " people said .
no one had the slightest suspicion of what beautiful things she had seen ; no one even dreamed of the splendor in which , with her grandmother she had entered on the joys of a new year .
ah ! yes , that was little tuk : in reality his name was not tuk , but that was what he called himself before he could speak plain : he meant it for charles , and it is all well enough if one does but know it .
he had now to take care of his little sister augusta , who was much younger than himself , and he was , besides , to learn his lesson at the same time ; but these two things would not do together at all .
there sat the poor little fellow , with his sister on his lap , and he sang to her all the songs he knew ; and he glanced the while from time to time into the geography-book that lay open before him .
by the next morning he was to have learnt all the towns in zealand by heart , and to know about them all that is possible to be known .
his mother now came home , for she had been out , and took little augusta on her arm .
tuk ran quickly to the window , and read so eagerly that he pretty nearly read his eyes out ; for it got darker and darker , but his mother had no money to buy a candle .
" there goes the old washerwoman over the way , " said his mother , as she looked out of the window .
" the poor woman can hardly drag herself along , and she must now drag the pail home from the fountain .
be a good boy , tukey , and run across and help the old woman , won't you ? "
so tuk ran over quickly and helped her ; but when he came back again into the room it was quite dark , and as to a light , there was no thought of such a thing .
he was now to go to bed ; that was an old turn-up bedstead ; in it he lay and thought about his geography lesson , and of zealand , and of all that his master had told him .
he ought , to be sure , to have read over his lesson again , but that , you know , he could not do .
he therefore put his geography-book under his pillow , because he had heard that was a very good thing to do when one wants to learn one's lesson ; but one cannot , however , rely upon it entirely .
well , there he lay , and thought and thought , and all at once it was just as if someone kissed his eyes and mouth : he slept , and yet he did not sleep ; it was as though the old washerwoman gazed on him with her mild eyes and said , " it were a great sin if you were not to know your lesson tomorrow morning .
you have aided me , i therefore will now help you ; and the loving god will do so at all times . "
and all of a sudden the book under tuk's pillow began scraping and scratching .
" kickery-ki ! kluk ! kluk ! kluk!"--that was an old hen who came creeping along , and she was from kjoge .
" i am a kjoger hen , " [ * ] said she , and then she related how many inhabitants there were there , and about the battle that had taken place , and which , after all , was hardly worth talking about . * kjoge , a town in the bay of kjoge .
" to see the kjoge hens , " is an expression similar to " showing a child london , " which is said to be done by taking his head in both bands , and so lifting him off the ground .
at the invasion of the english in 1807 , an encounter of a no very glorious nature took place between the british troops and the undisciplined danish militia .
" kribledy , krabledy--plump ! " down fell somebody : it was a wooden bird , the popinjay used at the shooting-matches at prastoe .
now he said that there were just as many inhabitants as he had nails in his body ; and he was very proud .
" thorwaldsen lived almost next door to me . * plump !
here i lie capitally . " * prastoe , a still smaller town than kjoge .
some hundred paces from it lies the manor-house ny soe , where thorwaldsen , the famed sculptor , generally sojourned during his stay in denmark , and where he called many of his immortal works into existence .
but little tuk was no longer lying down : all at once he was on horseback .
on he went at full gallop , still galloping on and on .
a knight with a gleaming plume , and most magnificently dressed , held him before him on the horse , and thus they rode through the wood to the old town of bordingborg , and that was a large and very lively town .
high towers rose from the castle of the king , and the brightness of many candles streamed from all the windows ; within was dance and song , and king waldemar and the young , richly-attired maids of honor danced together .
the morn now came ; and as soon as the sun appeared , the whole town and the king's palace crumbled together , and one tower after the other ; and at last only a single one remained standing where the castle had been before , * and the town was so small and poor , and the school boys came along with their books under their arms , and said , " 2000 inhabitants ! " but that was not true , for there were not so many . * bordingborg , in the reign of king waldemar , a considerable place , now an unimportant little town .
one solitary tower only , and some remains of a wall , show where the castle once stood .
and little tukey lay in his bed : it seemed to him as if he dreamed , and yet as if he were not dreaming ; however , somebody was close beside him .
" little tukey !
little tukey ! " cried someone near .
it was a seaman , quite a little personage , so little as if he were a midshipman ; but a midshipman it was not .
" many remembrances from corsor . * that is a town that is just rising into importance ; a lively town that has steam-boats and stagecoaches : formerly people called it ugly , but that is no longer true .
i lie on the sea , " said corsor ; " i have high roads and gardens , and i have given birth to a poet who was witty and amusing , which all poets are not .
i once intended to equip a ship that was to sail all round the earth ; but i did not do it , although i could have done so : and then , too , i smell so deliciously , for close before the gate bloom the most beautiful roses . " * corsor , on the great belt , called , formerly , before the introduction of steam-vessels , when travellers were often obliged to wait a long time for a favorable wind , " the most tiresome of towns . "
the poet baggesen was born here .
little tuk looked , and all was red and green before his eyes ; but as soon as the confusion of colors was somewhat over , all of a sudden there appeared a wooded slope close to the bay , and high up above stood a magnificent old church , with two high pointed towers .
from out the hill-side spouted fountains in thick streams of water , so that there was a continual splashing ; and close beside them sat an old king with a golden crown upon his white head : that was king hroar , near the fountains , close to the town of roeskilde , as it is now called .
and up the slope into the old church went all the kings and queens of denmark , hand in hand , all with their golden crowns ; and the organ played and the fountains rustled .
little tuk saw all , heard all .
" do not forget the diet , " said king hroar . * * roeskilde , once the capital of denmark .
the town takes its name from king hroar , and the many fountains in the neighborhood .
in the beautiful cathedral the greater number of the kings and queens of denmark are interred .
in roeskilde , too , the members of the danish diet assemble .
again all suddenly disappeared .
yes , and whither ?
it seemed to him just as if one turned over a leaf in a book .
and now stood there an old peasant-woman , who came from soroe , * where grass grows in the market-place .
she had an old grey linen apron hanging over her head and back : it was so wet , it certainly must have been raining .
" yes , that it has , " said she ; and she now related many pretty things out of holberg's comedies , and about waldemar and absalon ; but all at once she cowered together , and her head began shaking backwards and forwards , and she looked as she were going to make a spring .
" croak ! croak ! " said she .
" it is wet , it is wet ; there is such a pleasant deathlike stillness in sorbe ! "
she was now suddenly a frog , " croak " ; and now she was an old woman .
" one must dress according to the weather , " said she .
" it is wet ; it is wet .
my town is just like a bottle ; and one gets in by the neck , and by the neck one must get out again !
in former times i had the finest fish , and now i have fresh rosy-cheeked boys at the bottom of the bottle , who learn wisdom , hebrew , greek--croak ! " * sorbe , a very quiet little town , beautifully situated , surrounded by woods and lakes .
holberg , denmark's moliere , founded here an academy for the sons of the nobles .
the poets hauch and ingemann were appointed professors here .
the latter lives there still .
when she spoke it sounded just like the noise of frogs , or as if one walked with great boots over a moor ; always the same tone , so uniform and so tiring that little tuk fell into a good sound sleep , which , by the bye , could not do him any harm .
but even in this sleep there came a dream , or whatever else it was : his little sister augusta , she with the blue eyes and the fair curling hair , was suddenly a tall , beautiful girl , and without having wings was yet able to fly ; and she now flew over zealand--over the green woods and the blue lakes .
" do you hear the cock crow , tukey ?
cock-a-doodle-doo !
the cocks are flying up from kjoge !
you will have a farm-yard , so large , oh ! so very large !
you will suffer neither hunger nor thirst !
you will get on in the world !
you will be a rich and happy man !
your house will exalt itself like king waldemar's tower , and will be richly decorated with marble statues , like that at prastoe .
you understand what i mean .
your name shall circulate with renown all round the earth , like unto the ship that was to have sailed from corsor ; and in roeskilde - - " " do not forget the diet ! " said king hroar .
" then you will speak well and wisely , little tukey ; and when at last you sink into your grave , you shall sleep as quietly - - " " as if i lay in soroe , " said tuk , awaking .
it was bright day , and he was now quite unable to call to mind his dream ; that , however , was not at all necessary , for one may not know what the future will bring .
and out of bed he jumped , and read in his book , and now all at once he knew his whole lesson .
and the old washerwoman popped her head in at the door , nodded to him friendly , and said , " thanks , many thanks , my good child , for your help !
may the good ever-loving god fulfil your loveliest dream ! "
little tukey did not at all know what he had dreamed , but the loving god knew it .
along time ago , there lived an old poet , a thoroughly kind old poet .
as he was sitting one evening in his room , a dreadful storm arose without , and the rain streamed down from heaven ; but the old poet sat warm and comfortable in his chimney-corner , where the fire blazed and the roasting apple hissed .
" those who have not a roof over their heads will be wetted to the skin , " said the good old poet .
" oh let me in !
let me in !
i am cold , and i'm so wet ! " exclaimed suddenly a child that stood crying at the door and knocking for admittance , while the rain poured down , and the wind made all the windows rattle .
" poor thing ! " said the old poet , as he went to open the door .
there stood a little boy , quite naked , and the water ran down from his long golden hair ; he trembled with cold , and had he not come into a warm room he would most certainly have perished in the frightful tempest .
" poor child ! " said the old poet , as he took the boy by the hand .
" come in , come in , and i will soon restore thee !
thou shalt have wine and roasted apples , for thou art verily a charming child ! "
and the boy was so really .
his eyes were like two bright stars ; and although the water trickled down his hair , it waved in beautiful curls .
he looked exactly like a little angel , but he was so pale , and his whole body trembled with cold .
he had a nice little bow in his hand , but it was quite spoiled by the rain , and the tints of his many-colored arrows ran one into the other .
the old poet seated himself beside his hearth , and took the little fellow on his lap ; he squeezed the water out of his dripping hair , warmed his hands between his own , and boiled for him some sweet wine .
then the boy recovered , his cheeks again grew rosy , he jumped down from the lap where he was sitting , and danced round the kind old poet .
" you are a merry fellow , " said the old man .
" what's your name ? "
" my name is cupid , " answered the boy .
" don't you know me ?
there lies my bow ; it shoots well , i can assure you !
look , the weather is now clearing up , and the moon is shining clear again through the window . "
" why , your bow is quite spoiled , " said the old poet .
" that were sad indeed , " said the boy , and he took the bow in his hand and examined it on every side .
" oh , it is dry again , and is not hurt at all ; the string is quite tight .
i will try it directly . "
and he bent his bow , took aim , and shot an arrow at the old poet , right into his heart .
" you see now that my bow was not spoiled , " said he laughing ; and away he ran .
the naughty boy , to shoot the old poet in that way ; he who had taken him into his warm room , who had treated him so kindly , and who had given him warm wine and the very best apples !
the poor poet lay on the earth and wept , for the arrow had really flown into his heart .
" fie ! " said he .
" how naughty a boy cupid is !
i will tell all children about him , that they may take care and not play with him , for he will only cause them sorrow and many a heartache . "
and all good children to whom he related this story , took great heed of this naughty cupid ; but he made fools of them still , for he is astonishingly cunning .
when the university students come from the lectures , he runs beside them in a black coat , and with a book under his arm .
it is quite impossible for them to know him , and they walk along with him arm in arm , as if he , too , were a student like themselves ; and then , unperceived , he thrusts an arrow to their bosom .
when the young maidens come from being examined by the clergyman , or go to church to be confirmed , there he is again close behind them .
yes , he is forever following people .
at the play , he sits in the great chandelier and burns in bright flames , so that people think it is really a flame , but they soon discover it is something else .
he roves about in the garden of the palace and upon the ramparts : yes , once he even shot your father and mother right in the heart .
ask them only and you will hear what they'll tell you .
oh , he is a naughty boy , that cupid ; you must never have anything to do with him .
he is forever running after everybody .
only think , he shot an arrow once at your old grandmother !
but that is a long time ago , and it is all past now ; however , a thing of that sort she never forgets .
fie , naughty cupid !
but now you know him , and you know , too , how ill-behaved he is !
