CORNELL UNIVERSITY .LIBRARY 
 
 ■3 1924 "099 385 118 
 
Cornell University 
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 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 WOODFORD PATTERSON. 
 ENDOWMENT 
 
I Thefhlse Mirror 
 
 Tale of The Snow Queeiv^ 
 
 
TALES 
 
 HANS ANDERSEN 
 
 New York: 46 East Foukteenth Street 
 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL & COMPANY 
 
 Boston : loo Purchase Street 
 

 :--■ '■'' "i 
 
 COPTKIOHT, 189T, 
 
 Bi THOMAS T. CEOWELL & CO. 
 
 y. 
 
 
 
 
 (I ' v 
 
 WntSDonli W"S!S 
 
 I. B. Gushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith 
 Norwood, Mass. U.S.A. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 . ' . ,' ' PAGE 
 
 The Wild Swans 5 
 
 The Ugly Duckliho 28 
 
 The Little Meemaid 41 
 
 The Storks 74 
 
 Little Ida's Flowers 81 
 
 The Swineherd 92 
 
 OLE LucKOlB ; OB, The DnSTMAN 99 
 
 The Daisy 114 
 
 The Buckwheat 120 
 
 The Real Princess 123 
 
 The Fir-Treb 125 
 
 Mother Elder . . '. 138 
 
 The Snow Queen 151 
 
 The Constant Tin Soldier 198, 
 
 The Shepherdess and the Chimney-Sweepee .... 205 
 
 The Red Shoes 212 
 
 The Leaping-Match 221 
 
 The Flying Trunk 224 
 
 The Old Street Lamp 234 
 
 The Little Match-Girl 245 
 
 The Darning-Needle 249 
 
 Little Tuk 254 
 
 The Old House 261 
 
 The Flax 274 
 
 The Drop op "Water 281 
 
 The Happy Family .... 284 
 
 " Everything in Its Place ! " 290 
 
THE WILD SWANS. 
 
 FAR hence, in a country to which, the swallows fly 
 in our winter-time, there dwelt a King who had 
 eleven sons, and one daughter, the beautiful Elise. 
 
 The eleven brothers — they were princes — went to 
 school with stars on their breasts and swords by their 
 sides ; they wrote on golden tablets with diamond pens, 
 and could read either with a book or without one ; in 
 short, it was easy to perceive that they were princes. 
 Their sister, Elise, used to sit upon a little glass stool, 
 and had a picture-book which had cost the half of a 
 kingdom. Oh, the children were so happy ! but happy 
 they could not always be. 
 
 Their father, the King, married a very wicked 
 Queen, who was not at all kind to the poor chil- 
 dren ; they found this out on the first day after the 
 marriage, when there was a grand gala at the palace ; 
 for, when the children played at receiving company, 
 instead of having as many cakes and sweetmeats as 
 they liked, the Queen gave them only some sand in a 
 little dish, and told them to imagine that was some- 
 thing nice. 
 
 """""' "5 
 
b ANDERSEN S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 The week after, she sent little Elise to be brought 
 up by a peasant and his wife in the country, and it 
 was not long before she told the King so many false- 
 hoods about the poor Princes that he would have 
 nothing more to do with them. "Away, out into the 
 world, and take care of yourselves," said the wicked 
 Queen; "fly away in the form of great speechless 
 birds." But she could not make them so ugly as she 
 wished ; the Princes were changed into eleven white 
 Swans. Sending forth a strg,nge cry, they flew out of 
 the palace windows, over the park and over the wood. 
 
 It was still early in the morning when they passed 
 by the place where Elise lay sleeping in the peasant's 
 cottage ; they flew several times round the roof, 
 stretched their long necks, and flapped their wings, 
 but no one either heard or saw them ; they were 
 forced to_fly away, up to the clouds and into the 
 wide world ; so on they went to the wide, dark for- 
 est which extended far away to the sea-shore. 
 
 Poor little Elise stood in the peasant's cottage 
 amusing herself with a green leaf, for she had no 
 other plaything. She pricked a hole in the leaf, and 
 peeped through it at the sun, and then she fancied 
 she saw her brothers' bright eyes ; and whenever the 
 warm sunbeams shone full upon her cheeks, she 
 thought of her brothers' kisses. 
 
 One day passed exactly like the other. When the 
 wind blew through the thick hedge of rose-trees in 
 front of the house, she would whisper to the Eoses, 
 " Who is more beautiful than you ? " but the Roses 
 would shake their heads, and say, "Elise." And 
 
THE WILD SWANS. 7 
 
 when the peasant's wife sat on Sundays at the door 
 of her cottage reading her hymn-book, the Wind 
 would flutter the leaves and say to the book, " Who 
 is more pious than thou ? " " Elise," replied the 
 Hymn-book. And what the Roses and the Hymn- 
 book said was no more than the truth. 
 
 When Elise was fifteen years old, she was brought 
 home ; but the Queen saw how beautiful she was, 
 and she hated her the more, and would willingly 
 have transformed her into a wild swan, like her 
 brothers, but she dared not do so, because the King 
 wished to see his daughter. 
 
 So the next morning the Queen went into her bath- 
 room ; it was made of marble, and had soft pillows and 
 the gayest carpets ; she took three toads, kissed them, 
 and said to one, " Settle thou upon Elise's head, that 
 she may become dull and sleepy like thee." " Settle 
 thou upon her forehead,'' said she to another, " and 
 let her become ugly like thee, so that her father may 
 not know her again." And " do thou place thyself 
 upon her bosom," whispered she to the third, "that 
 her heart may become corrupt and evil, a torment to 
 herself." She then put the toads into the clear water, 
 which immediately turned green ; and having called 
 Elise, she took off her clothes and made her get into 
 the bath. And one toad sat on her hair, another on 
 her forehead, and a third on her bosom ; but Elise 
 seemed not at all aware of it, she rose up, and three 
 poppies were seen swimming on the water. Had not 
 the animals been poisonous and kissed by a witch, 
 they would have been changed into roses whilst they 
 
8 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 rested on Elise's head and heart, — she was too good 
 for msigic to have any power over her. When the 
 Queen perceived this, she rubbed walnut-juice all 
 over the maiden's skin, so that it became quite 
 swarthy, smeared a nasty salve over her lovely face, 
 and entangled her long, thick hair; it was impossi- 
 ble to recognize the beautiful Elise after this. 
 
 So when her father saw her he was shocked, and 
 said she could not be his daughter ; no one would have 
 anything to do with her but the mastiff and the swal- 
 lows ; but they, poor things, could not say anything 
 in her favor. 
 
 Poor Elise wept, and thought of her eleven brothers, 
 not one of whom she saw at the palace. In great dis- 
 tress, she stole away, and wandered the whole day over 
 fields and moors, till she reached the forest. She 
 knew not where to go ; but she was so sad, and longed 
 so much to see her brothers, who had been driven out 
 into the world, that she determined to seek and find 
 them. 
 
 She had not been long in the forest when night 
 came on, and she lost her way amid the darkness. So 
 she lay down on the soft moss, said her evening 
 prayer, and leaned her head against the trunk of a 
 tree. It was very still in the forest, the air was mild, 
 and from the gi-ass and mould around gleamed the 
 green light of many hundred glowworms ; and, when 
 Elise lightly touched one of the branches hanging over 
 her, the bright insects fell down upon her like falling 
 stars. 
 
 All night long she dreamed of her brothers. They 
 
THE WILD SWANS. 9 
 
 were all children again, playing together, writing with 
 diamond pens upon golden tablets, and looking at the 
 pictures in the beautiful book which had cost half of 
 a kingdom. But they did not, as formerly, make 
 straight strokes and pothooks upon the tablets, — no, 
 they wrote of the bold actions they had performed, 
 and the strange adventures they had encountered, and 
 in the picture-book everything seemed alive ; the 
 birds sang, men and women stepped from the book, 
 and talked to Elise and her brothers ; however, when 
 she turned over the leaves, they jumped back into 
 their places, so that the pictures did not get confused 
 together. 
 
 f When Elise awoke, the sun was already high in the 
 heavens. She could not see it certainly ; for the tall 
 trees of the forest closely entwined their thickly leaved 
 branches, which, as the sunbeams played upon them, ' 
 looked like a golden veil waving to and fro. And the 
 air was fragrant, and the birds perched upon Elise's 
 shoulders. She heard the noise of water ; there were 
 several springs forming a pool with the prettiest 
 pebbles at the bottom, bushes were growing thickly 
 round ; but the deer had trodden a broad path through 
 them, and by this path Elise went down to the water's 
 edge. The water was so clear that, had not the boughs 
 and bushes around been moved to and fro by the wind, 
 you might have fancied they were painted upon the 
 smooth surface, so distinctly was each little leaf 
 mirrored upon it, whether glowing in the sunlight or 
 lying in the shade. 
 i As soon as Elise saw her face reflected in the water 
 
10 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 she -was quite startled, so brown and ugly did it look ; 
 however, when she had wetted her little hand, and 
 rubbed her brow and eyes, the white skin again ap- 
 peared. So Elise took off her clothes, stepped into 
 the fresh water, and in the whole world there was 
 not a king's daughter more beautiful than she then 
 appeared. 
 
 After she had again dressed herself, and had braided 
 her long hair, she went to the bubbling spring, drank 
 out of the hollow of her hand, and then wandered 
 farther into the forest. She knew not where she 
 was going ; but she thought of her brothers, and of 
 the good God, who, she felt, would never forsake her. 
 • He it was who made the wild crab-trees grow, in order 
 to feed the hungry, and who showed her a tree the 
 boughs of which bent under the weight of their fruit. 
 She made her noonday meal under its shade, propped 
 up the boughs, and then walked on amid the dark twi- 
 light of the forest. It was so still that she could hear 
 her own footsteps, and the rustling of each little 
 withered leaf that she crushed beneath her feet ; not 
 a bird was to be seen, not a single sunbeam penetrated 
 through the thick foliage ; and the tall stems of the 
 trees stood so close together, that, when she looked 
 straight before her, she seemed enclosed by trellis- 
 work upon trellis-work. Oh ! there was a solitude 
 in this forest such as Elise had never known be- 
 fore. 
 
 And the night was so dark ! not a single glowworiin 
 sent forth its light. Sad and melancholy, she lay 
 down to sleep; and then it seemed to her as if 
 
THE WILD SWAKS. 11 
 
 the boughs above her opened, and that she saw the 
 Angel of God looking down upon her with gentle 
 aspect, and a thousand little cherubs all around him. 
 When she awoke in the morning she could not tell 
 whether this was a dream, or whether she had really 
 been so watched. 
 
 She walked on a little farther, and met an old 
 woman with a basketful of berries ; the old woman 
 gave her some of them, and Elise asked if she had 
 not seen eleven Princes ride through the wood. 
 
 "No," said the old woman, "but I saw yesterday 
 eleven Swans with golden crowns on their heads 
 swim down the brook near this place." 
 
 And she led Elise on a little farther to a precipice, 
 the base of which was washed by a brook ; the trees 
 on each side stretched their long leafy branches 
 towards one another, and where they could not unite, 
 the roots had disengaged themselves from the earth, 
 and hung their interlaced fibres over the water. 
 
 Elise bade the old woman farewell, and wandered 
 by the side of the stream till she came to the place 
 where it reached the open sea. 
 
 The great, the beautiful sea lay extended before 
 the maiden's eyes, but not a ship, not a boat was to 
 to be seen;_how was ^e to go on? She observed 
 the numberless little stones on the shore, all of which 
 the waves had washed into a round form ; glass, iron, 
 stone, everything that lay scattered there, had been 
 moulded into shape, and yet the water which had 
 effected this was much softer than Elise's delicate 
 little hand. "It rolls on unweariedly," said she. 
 
12 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 " and subdues wliat' is so hard ; I will be no less un- 
 ■wearied ! Thank you for the lesson you have given 
 me, ye bright rolling waves ! some day, my heart tells 
 me, you shall carry me to my dear brothers ! " 
 
 There lay upon the wet seaweed eleven white swan- 
 feathers; Elise collected them together; drops of 
 water hung about them, whether dew or tears she 
 could not tell. She was quite alone on the sea-shore, 
 but she did not care for that; the sea presented an 
 eternal variety to her — more, indeed, in a few hours 
 than the gentle inland waters would have offered in a 
 whole year. When a black cloud passed over the sky, 
 it seemed as if the sea would say, " I, too, can look 
 dark ; " and then the wind would blow, and the waves 
 fling out their white foam ; but when the clouds shone 
 with a bright red tint, and the winds were asleep, the 
 sea also became like a rose-leaf in hue. It was now 
 green, now white, but it reposed peacefully ; some- 
 times a light breeze would be astir on the shore, caus- 
 ing the water to heave gently, like the bosom of a 
 sleeping child. 
 
 - At sunset Elise saw eleven White Swans with golden 
 crowns on their heads fly towards the land ; they flew 
 one behind another, looking like a streaming white 
 ribbon. Elise climbed the precipice, and concealed 
 herself behind a bush; the Swans settled closed to 
 her, and gapped their long white wings. 
 
 As the sun sank beneath the water, the Swans also 
 vanished ; and in their place stood eleven handsome 
 Princes, the brothers of Elise, She uttered a loud 
 cry ; for although they were very much altered, Elise 
 
THE WILD SWANS. 13 
 
 knew that they were, — felt that they must be, — 
 her brothers. She ran into their arms, called them 
 by their names ; and how happy were they to see 
 and recognize their sister, now grown so tall and so 
 beautiful ! They laughed and wept, and soon told 
 each other how wickedly their stepmother had acted 
 towards them. 
 
 " We," said the eldest of the brothers, " fly or 
 swim as long as the sun is above the horizon ; but 
 when it sinks below, we appear again in our human 
 form. We are therefore obliged to look out for a safe 
 resting-place ; for if, at sunset, we were flying among 
 the clouds, we should fall down as soon as we re- 
 sumed our own form. We do not dwell here ; a land 
 quite as beautiful as this lies on the opposite side of 
 the sea, but it is far off. To reach it, we have to 
 cross the deep waters, and there is no island midway 
 on which we may rest at night; one little solitary 
 rock rises from the waves, and upon it we only just 
 find room enough to stand side by side. There we 
 spend the night in our human form, and when the 
 sea is rough, we are sprinkled by its foam ; but we 
 are thankful for this resting-place, for without it we 
 should never be able to visit our dear native country. 
 Only once in a year is this visit to the home of our 
 fathers permitted; we require two of the' longest 
 days for our flight, and can remain here only eleven 
 days, during which time we fly over the large forest, 
 whence we can see the palace in which we were born, 
 where our father dwells, and the tower of the church 
 in which our mother was buried. Here even the 
 
14 andeesen's paiey tales. 
 
 trees and bushes seem of kin to us ; here the wild 
 horses still race over the plains, as in the days of our 
 childhood ; here the charcoal-burner still sings the 
 same old tunes to which we used to dance in our 
 youth ; hither we are still attracted ; and here we 
 have found thee, thou dear little sister ! We have 
 yet two days longer to stay here ; then we must fly 
 over the sea to a, land beautiful indeed, but not our 
 fatherland. How shall we take thee with us ? we 
 have neither ship nor boat." 
 
 " How shall I be able to release you ? " said the sis- 
 ter. And so they went on talking almost the whole 
 of the night ; they slumbered only a few hours. 
 
 Elise was awakened by the rustling of swans' wings, 
 which were fluttering above her. Her brothers were 
 again transformed, and for some time flew round in 
 large circles; at last they flew far, far away; only 
 one of them remained behind — it was the youngest ; 
 he_ laid his head in her lap, and she stroked his 
 white wings ; they remained the whole day together. 
 Towards evening the others came back; and when 
 the sun was set, again they stood on the firm ground 
 in their natural form. 
 
 " To-morrow we shall fly away, and may not leturn 
 for a year, but we cannot leave thee ; hast thou courage 
 to accompany us ? My arm is strong enough to bear 
 thee through the forest ; shall we not have sufficient 
 strength in our wings to transport thee over the sea ? " 
 
 " Yes ; take me with you," said Elise. They spent 
 the whole night in weaving a mat of the pliant willow 
 bark, and tough rushes, and their mat was thick and 
 
; THE WILD SWANS. 15 
 
 strong. Elise lay down upon it ; and when the sun 
 had risen, and the brothers were again transformed 
 into Wild Swans, they seized the mat with their beaks, 
 and flew up high among the clouds with their dear sis- 
 ter, who was still sleeping. The sunbeams shone full 
 upon her face ; so one of the Swans flew over her head, 
 and shaded her with his broad wings. 
 
 They were already far from land when Elise awoke ; 
 she thought she was still dreaming, so strange did it 
 appear to her to be travelling through the air and 
 over the sea. By her side lay a cluster of pretty ber- 
 ries and a handful of savory . roots. Her youngest 
 brother had collected and laid them there; and she 
 thanked him with_ a smile, for she knew him as the 
 Swan who flew overhead, and shaded her with his 
 wings. 
 
 They flew so high, that the first ship they saw be- 
 neath them seemed like a white seargull skimming 
 over the water. Elise saw behind her a large cloud ; 
 it looked liked a mountain ; and on it she saw the gi- 
 gantic shadows of herself and the eleven Swans : it 
 formed a picture more splendid than any she had ever 
 yet seen. Soon, however, the sun rose higher, the 
 cloud remained far behind, and then the floating, 
 shadowy picture disappeared. 
 
 The whole day they continued flying with a whiz- 
 i.iag noise somewhat like that of an arrow; but yet 
 they went slower than usual — they had their sister to 
 carry. A heavy tempest was gathering — the evening 
 approached ; anxiously did Elise watch the sun — it 
 was setting ; still the solitary rock could not be seen ; 
 
16 ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 it appeared to her that the Swans plied their wings 
 with increasing vigor. Alas ! it would be her fault if 
 her brothers did not arrive at the place in time ! They 
 would become human beings when the sun set; and 
 if this happened before they reached the rock, they 
 must fall into the sea and be drowned. She prayed 
 to God most fervently — stUl no rock was to be seen ; 
 the black clouds drew nearer — violent gusts of wind 
 announced the approach of the tempest — the clouds 
 rested on the waves which rolled swiftly forward — 
 one flash of lightning rapidly succeeded another. 
 
 The sun was now on the rim of the sea. Elise's 
 heart beat violently ; the Swans shot downward so 
 swiftly that she thought she must fall, but again they 
 began to hover; the sun was half sunk beneath the 
 water, and at that moment she saw the little rock be- 
 low her ; it looked like a seal's head when he raises it 
 just above the water. And the sun was sinking fast 
 — it seemed scarcely larger than a star; her foot 
 touched the hard ground, and it vanished altogether, 
 like the last spark on a burnt piece of paper. 
 
 Arm in arm stood her brothers around her; there 
 was only just room for her and them; the sea beat 
 tempestuously against the rock, flinging over them a 
 shower of foam ; the sky seemed in a continual blaze 
 with the fast-succeeding flashes of fire that lightened 
 it, and peal after peal rolled the thunder, but sister 
 and brothers kept firm hold of each others' hands. 
 They sang a hymn, and their hymn gave them com- 
 fort and courage. 
 
 By daybreak the air was pure and still, and as soon 
 
THE "WILD SWANS. 17 
 
 as the sun rose, the Swans flew away with Elise from 
 the rock. / The waves rose higher and higher ; and 
 when they looked from the clouds down upon the 
 blackish-green sea, covered as it was with white foam, 
 they might have fancied that millions of swans were 
 swimming on its surface. 
 
 As day advanced, Elise saw floating in the air be- 
 fore her a land of mountains intermixed with glaciers, 
 and in the centre a palace a mile in length, with splen- 
 did colonnades rising one above another, palm-trees 
 and gorgeous-looking flowers as large as millwheels 
 growing beneath. She asked if this were the country 
 to which they were flying; but the Swans shook their 
 heads, for what she saw was the beautiful airy castle 
 . of the fairy Morgana, where no human being was ad- 
 mitted; and whilst Elise still bent her eyes upon it, 
 mountains, trees, and castle all disappeared, and in 
 their place stood twelve churches with high towers 
 and pointed windows. She fancied she heard the or- 
 gan play, but it was only the murmur of the sea. She 
 was now close to these churches ; but, behold ! they 
 had changed into a large fleet sailing under them. 
 She looked down, and saw it was only a sea-mist 
 passing rapidly over the water. An eternal variety 
 floated before her eyes, till at last the actual land 
 whither she was bound appeared in sight. Beautiful 
 blue mountains, cedar woods, towns, and castles rose 
 to view. Long before sunset Elise sat down among 
 the mountains, in front of a large cavern; delicate 
 young creepers grew around so thickly that it ap- 
 peared covered with gay enrbroidered carpets. 
 
18 iUNDEESEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 "Now we shall see what thou wilt dream of to- 
 night ! " said her youngest brother, as he showed her 
 the sleeping-chamber destined for her. 
 
 " Oh, that I could dream how you might be released 
 from the spell ! " said she. And this thought com- 
 pletely occupied her; she prayed most earnestly for 
 God's assistance ; nay, even in her dreams she con- 
 tinued praying ; and it appeared to her that she was 
 flying up high in the air towards the castle of the fairy 
 Morgana. The fairy came forward to meet her, radi- 
 ant and beautiful ; and yet she fancied she resembled 
 the old woman who had given her berries in the for- 
 est, and told her of the Swans with golden crowns. 
 
 " Thou canst release thy brothers," said she ; " but 
 hast thou courage and patience sufficient ? The water . 
 is indeed softer than thy delicate hands, and yet can 
 mould the hard stones to its will, but then it cannot 
 feel the pain which thy tender fingers will feel; it 
 has no heart, and cannot suffer the anxiety and grief 
 which thou must suffer. Dost thou see these sting- 
 ing-nettles which I have in my hand ? there are many 
 of the same kind growing round the cave where thou 
 art sleeping; only those that grow there or on the 
 graves in the churchyard are of use — remember that ! 
 Thou must pluck them, although they will sting thy 
 hand ; thou must trample on the nettles with thy feet, 
 and get yarn from them ; and with this yarn thou 
 must weave eleven shirts with long sleeves : throw 
 them over the eleven Wild Swans, and the spell is 
 broken. But, mark this ! from the moment that thou 
 beginnest thy work till it is completed, even should it 
 
THE WILD SWANS. 19 
 
 occupy thee for years, thou must not speak a word ; 
 the first syllable that escapes thy lips will fall like a 
 dagger into the hearts of thy brothers ; on thy tongue 
 depends their life. Mark well all this ! " 
 
 And at the same moment the fairy touched Elise's 
 hands with a nettle, which made them burn like fire, 
 and Elise awoke. It was broad daylight, and close to 
 her lay a nettle like the one she had seen in her dream. 
 She fell upon her knees, thanked God, and then went 
 out of the cave in order to begin her work. She 
 plucked with her own delicate hands the disagreeable 
 stinging-nettles ; they burned large blisters on her 
 hands and arms, but she bore the pain willingly in 
 the hope of releasing her dear brothers. She trampled 
 on the nettles with her naked feet, and spun the green 
 yarn. 
 
 At sunset came her brothers. Elise's silence quite 
 frightened them ; they thought it must be the effect 
 of some fresh spell of their wicked stepmother ; but 
 when they saw her blistered hands, they found out 
 what their sister was doing for their sakes. The 
 youngest brother wept ; and when his tears fell upon 
 her hands, Elise felt no more pain — the blisters dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 The whole night she spent in her work, for she 
 could not rest till she had released her brothers. All 
 the following day she sat in her solitude, for the 
 Swans had flown away; but never had time passed 
 so quickly. One shirt was ready; she now began 
 the second. 
 
 Suddenly a hunting-horn .resounded among the 
 
20 Andersen's faiky tales. 
 
 mountains. Elise was frightened. The noise came 
 nearer ; she heard the hounds barking. In great ter- 
 ror she fled into the cave, bound up the nettles which 
 she had gathered and combed into a bundle, and sat 
 down upon it. 
 
 In the same moment a large dog sprang out from 
 the bushes; two others immediately followed; they 
 barked loudly, ran away, and then returned. It was 
 not long before the hunters stood in front of the cave ; 
 the handsomest among them was the King of that 
 country ; he stepped up to Elise. Never had he seen 
 a lovelier maiden. 
 
 " How camest thou here, thou beautiful child ? " 
 said he. Elise shook her head ; she dared not speak ; 
 a word might have cost her the life of her brothers, 
 and she hid her hands under her apron lest the King 
 should see how she was suffering. 
 
 "Come with me," said he, "thou must not stay 
 here ! If thou art good as thou art beautiful, I will 
 dress thee in velvet and silk ; I will put a gold crown 
 upon thy head, and thou shalt dwell in my palace ! " 
 So he lifted her upon his horse, while she wept and 
 wrung her hands ; but the King said, " I only desire 
 thy happiness ! thou shalt thank me for this some 
 day ! " and away he rode over mountains and valleys, 
 holding her on his horse in front, whilst the other 
 hunters followed. When the sun set, the King's 
 magnificent capital, with its • churches and cupolas, 
 lay before them ; and the King led Elise into the 
 palace, where, in a high marble hall, fountains were 
 playing, and the walls and ceiling displayed the most 
 
THE WILD SWANS. 21 
 
 beautiful paiutings. But Elise cared not for all this 
 splendor; she wept and mourned in silence, even 
 whilst some female attendants dressed her in royal 
 robes, wove costly pearls in her hair, and drew soft 
 gloves over her blistered hands. 
 
 And now she was full dressed ; and as she stood in 
 her splendid attire, her beauty was so dazzling that 
 the courtiers all bowed low before her, and the King 
 chose her for his bride, although the Archbishop 
 .shook his head, and whispered that "the beautiful 
 lady of the wood must certainly be a witch, who 
 had blinded their eyes, and infatuated the King's 
 heart." 
 
 But the King did not listen ; he ordered music to 
 be played-, and a sumptuous banquet served up; the 
 loveliest maidens danced round the bride, and she 
 was led through fragrant gardens into magnificent 
 halls, but not a smile was seen to play upon her 
 lips or beam from her eyes. The King then opened 
 a small room next her sleeping apartment; it was 
 adorned with costly grfeen tapestry, and exactly re- 
 sembled the cave in which she had been found : upon 
 the ground lay the bundle of yarn which she had 
 spun from the nettles, and by the wall hung the shirt 
 she had completed. One of the hunters had brought 
 all this, thinking there must be something wonderful 
 in it. 
 
 "Here thou mayest dream of thy former home," 
 said the King; "here is the work which employed 
 thee ; amidst all thy present splendor it fiiay some- 
 times give thee pleasure to fancy thyself there again." 
 
22 Andersen's faiey tales. 
 
 When Elise saw what was so dear to her heart, she 
 smiled, and the blood returned to her cheeks ; she 
 thought her brothers might still be released, and 
 she kissed the King's hand; he pressed her to his 
 heart, and ordered the bells of all the churches in 
 the city to be rung, to announce the celebration of 
 their wedding. The beautiful dumb maiden of the 
 wood was to become Queen of the land. 
 
 The Archbishop whispered evil words in the King's 
 ear, but they made no impression upon him ; the mar- 
 riage was solemnized, and the Archbishop himself 
 was obliged to put the crown upon her head. In his 
 rage he pressed the narrow rim so firmly on her fore- 
 head that it hurt her ; but a heavier weight — sorrow 
 for her brothers — lay upon her heart ; she did not 
 feel bodily pain. She was still silent — a single 
 word would have killed her brothers. Her eyes, 
 however, beamed with heartfelt love to the King, 
 so good and handsome, who had done so much to 
 make her happy. She became more warmly attached 
 to him every day. Oh, how much she wished she 
 might confide to him all her sorrows ! but she was 
 forced to remain silent; she could not speak until 
 her work was completed ! To this end she stole away 
 every night, and went into the little room that was 
 fitted up in imitation of the cave ; there she worked 
 at her shirts, but by the time she had begun the 
 seventh all her yarn was spent. 
 
 She knew that the nettles she needed grew in the 
 churchyard, but she must gather them herself; how 
 was she to get them ? 
 
THE "WILD SWANS. 23 
 
 " Oh, -wliat is tlie pain in my fingers compared to 
 the anguish my heart suffers ! " thought she. " I must 
 venture to the churchyard; the good God will not 
 withdraw his protection from me ! " 
 -Fearful, as though she were about to do something 
 wrong, one moonlight night she crept down to the 
 garden, and through the long avenues got into the 
 lonely road leading to the churchyard. She saw sit- 
 ting on one of the broadest tombstones a number of 
 ugly old. witches. They took off their ragged clothes 
 as if they were going to bathe, and digging with their 
 long, lean fingers into the fresh grass, drew up the dead 
 bodies and devoured the flesh. Elise was obliged to 
 pass close by them, and the witches fixed their wicked 
 eyes upon her; but she repeated her prayer, gathered 
 the stinging-nettles, and took them back with her into 
 the palace. One person only had seen her — it was 
 the Archbishop; he was awake when others slept. 
 Now he was convinced that all was not right about 
 the Queen ; she must be a witch, who had through her 
 enchantments infatuated the King and all the people. 
 
 In the confessional he told the King what he had 
 seen and what he feared ; and when the slanderous 
 words came from his lips, the sculptured images of 
 the saints shook their heads, as though they would 
 say, " It is untrue ; Elise is innocent ! " But the 
 Archbishop explained the omen quite otherwise ; he 
 thought it was a testimony against her that the holy 
 images shook their heads at hearing of her sin. 
 
 Two large tears rolled down the King's cheeks ; he 
 returned home in doubt; he pretended to sleep at 
 
24 andeksbn's FAiEr tales. 
 
 night, though sleep never visited him ; and he noticed 
 that Elise rose from her bed every night, and every 
 time he followed her secretly, and saw her enter her 
 little room. 
 
 His countenance became darker every day ; Elise 
 perceived it, though she knew not the cause. She was 
 much pained ; and, besides, what did she not suffer 
 in her heart for her brothers ! Her bitter tears ran 
 down on the royal velvet and purple; they looked 
 like bright diamonds, and all who saw the magnifi- 
 cence that surrounded her wished themselves in her 
 place. She had now nearly finished her work — only 
 one shirt was wanting ; unfortunately, yarn was want- 
 ing also, she had not a single nettle left. Once more, 
 only this one time, she must go to the churchyard and 
 gather a few handfuls. She shuddered when she 
 thought of the solitary walk and the horrid witches, 
 hut her resolution was as firm as her trust in God. 
 
 Elise went ; the King and the Archbishop followed 
 her. They saw her disappear at the churchyard door, 
 and when they came nearer, they saw the witches sit- 
 ting on the tombstones, as Elise had seen them ; and 
 the King turned away, for he believed her whose head 
 had rested on his bosom that very evening to be 
 amongst them. " Let the people judge her ! " said he. 
 And the people condemned her to be burnt., 
 
 She was now dragged from the King's sumptuous 
 apartments into a dark, damp prison, where the wind 
 whistled through the grated window. Instead of vel- 
 vet and silk, they gave her the bundle of nettles she 
 had gathered — on that must she lay her head ; the 
 
THE WILD SWANS. 26 
 
 shirts she had woven had to serve her as mattress and 
 counterpane ; but they could not have given her any- 
 thing she valued so much: and she continued her 
 ■work, at the same time praying earnestly to her God. 
 The boys sang jeering songs about her in front of 
 her prison ; not a soul comforted her with a kindly 
 word. 
 
 Towards evening she heard the rustling of Swans' 
 wings at the grating. It was the youngest of her 
 brothers, who had at last found his sister ; and she 
 sobbed aloud for joy, although she knew that the 
 coming night would probably be the last of her life ; 
 but then her work was almost finished, and her 
 brother was near. 
 
 The Archbishop came in order to spend the last 
 hour with her ; he had promised the King he would ; 
 but she shook her head, and entreated him with her 
 eyes and gestures to go. This night she must finish 
 her work, or all she had suffered — her pain, her anx- 
 iety, her sleepless nights — would be in vain. The 
 Archbishop went away with many angry words ; but 
 the unfortunate Elise knew herself to be perfectly 
 innocent, and went on with her work. 
 
 Little mice ran busily about, and dragged the net- 
 tles to her feet, wishing to help her ; and the thrush 
 perched on the iron bars of the window, and sang all 
 night as merrily as he could, that Elise might not lose 
 courage. 
 
 It was still twilight, just an hour before sunrise, 
 when the eleven brothers stood before the palace-gates, 
 requesting an audience with the King; but it could 
 
26 andeesen's faiey tales. 
 
 not be, they were told; it was still night, the King was 
 asleep, and they dared not wake him. They entreated, 
 they threatened, the guard came up, the King himself 
 at last stepped out to ask what was the matter; at 
 that moment the sun rose, the brothers could be seen 
 no longer, and eleven white Swans flew away over the 
 palace. 
 
 The people poured forth from the gates of the city, 
 all eager to see the witch burned. One wretched horse 
 drew the cart in which Elise was placed, a coarse frock 
 of sackcloth had been put on her, her beautiful long 
 hair hung loosely over her shoulders, her^cheeks were 
 of a deadly paleness, her lips moved gently, and her 
 fingers wove the green yam ; even on her way to her 
 cruel death she did not give up her work; the ten 
 shirts lay at her feet, she was now laboring to complete 
 the eleventh. The rabble insulted her. 
 
 " Look at the witch, how she mutters ! she has not 
 a hymn-book in her hand : no, there she sits, with her 
 accursed witchery. Tear it from her ! tear it into a 
 thousand pieces ! " 
 
 And they all crowded about her, and were on the 
 point of snatching away the shirts, when eleven white 
 Swans came flying towards the cart ; they settled all 
 round her, and flapped their wings. The crowd gave 
 way in terror. 
 
 " It is a sign from Heaven ! she is certainly inno- 
 cent ! " whispered some ; they dared not say so aloud. 
 
 As the executioner seized her by the hand to lift 
 her from the cart, she hastily threw the eleven shirts 
 over the Swans, and eleven handsome Princes appeared 
 
THE WILD SWANS. 27 
 
 in their place. The youngest had, however, only one 
 arm, and a wing instead of the other, for one sleeve 
 was deficient in his shirt — it had not been quite 
 finished. 
 
 " Now I may speak," said she ; " I am innocent ! " 
 
 And the people who had seen what had happened 
 bowed before her as before a saint. She, however, 
 sank fainting in her brothers' arms ; suspense, fear, 
 and grief had quite exhausted her. 
 
 "Yes, she is innocent," said her eldest brother; 
 and he now related their wonderful history. Whilst 
 he spoke, a fragrance as delicious as if it proceeded 
 from millions of roses diffused itself around, for every 
 piece of wood in the funeral pile had taken root and 
 sent forth braniihes ; a hedge of blooming red roses 
 surrounded Elise, and above all the others blossomed 
 a flower of dazzling white color, bright as a star ; the 
 King plucked it, and laid it on Elise's bosom, where- 
 upon she awoke from her trance with peace and joy 
 in her heart. 
 
 And all the church-bells began to ring of their own 
 accord, and birds flew to the spot in swarms, and there 
 was a festive procession back to the palace, such as 
 no King had ever seen before. 
 
28 andersek's fairy tales. 
 
 THE UGLY DUCKLDTG. 
 
 IT -was beautiful in the country ; it was summer- 
 time ; the wheat was yellow, the oats were green, 
 the hay was stacked up in the green meadows, and 
 the stork paraded about on his long red legs, discours- 
 ing in Egyptian, which language he had learned from 
 his mother. The fields and meadows were skirted by 
 thick woods, and a deep lake lay in the midst of the 
 woods. Yes, it was indeed beautiful in the country ! 
 
 The sunshine fell warmly on an old mansion, sur- 
 rounded by deep canals ; and from the walls down to the 
 water's edge there grew large burdock-leaves, so high 
 that children could stand upright among them with- 
 out being perceived. This place was as wild and un- 
 ifrequented as the thickest part of the wood, and on 
 that account a Duck had chosen to make her nest there. 
 She was sitting on her eggs ; but the pleasure she had 
 felt at first was now almost gone, because she had 
 been there so long, and had so few visitors, for the 
 other ducks preferred swimming on the canals to sit- 
 ting among the burdock-leaves gossipping with her. 
 
 At last the eggs cracked one after another, " Tchick, 
 tchick ! " All the eggs were alive, and one little head 
 after another peered forth. " Quack, quack ! " said 
 the Duck, and all got up as well as they could ; they 
 peeped about from under the green leaves; and as 
 
THE UGLY DUCKLING. 29 
 
 green is good for the eyes, their mother let them look 
 as long as they pleased. 
 
 " How large the- world is ! " said the little ones ; for 
 they found their present situation very different to 
 their former confined one, while yet in the egg-shells. 
 
 " Do you imagine this to be the whole of the 
 world ? " said the mother ; " it extends far beyond on 
 the other side of the garden to the pastor's field ; but 
 I have never been there. Are you all here ? " And 
 then she got up. " No, not all ; but the largest egg is 
 still here. How long will this last ? I am so weary 
 of it ! " And then she sat down again. 
 
 " Well, and how are you getting on ? " asked an old 
 Duck, who had come to pay her a visit. 
 
 " This one egg keeps me so long," said the mother, 
 " it will not break ; but you should see the others ! 
 they are the prettiest little ducklings I have seen in 
 all my days ; they are all like their father, — the 
 good-for-nothing fellow, he has not been to visit me 
 once ! " 
 
 " Let me see the egg that will not break," said the 
 old Duck ; " depend upon it, it is a turkey's egg. I 
 was cheated in the same way once myself, and I had 
 such trouble with the young ones ; for they were afraid 
 of the water, and I could not get them there. I called 
 and scolded, but it was all of no use. But let me see 
 the egg — ah, yes ! to be sure, that is a turkey's egg. 
 Leave it, and teach the other little ones to swim." 
 
 " I will sit on it a little longer," said the Duck. " I 
 have been sitting so long, that I may as well spend 
 the harvest here." 
 
30 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 " It is no business of mine," said the old Duck, and 
 away she waddled. 
 
 The great egg burst at last. " Tchick, tchick ! " 
 said the little one; and out it tumbled — but, oh, 
 how large and ugly it was ! The Duck looked at it. 
 " That is a great, strong creature," said she ; " none 
 of the others are at all like it ; can it be a young tur- 
 key-cock ? Well, we shall soon find out ; it must go 
 into the water, though I push it in myself." 
 
 The next day there was delightful weather, and the 
 sun shone warmly upon all the green leaves when 
 Mother Duck with all her family went down to the 
 canal : plump she went into the water. " Quack ! 
 quack ! " cried she, and one duckling after another 
 jumped in. The water closed over their heads ; but 
 all came up again, and swam together in the pleasant- 
 est manner; their legs moved without effort. All 
 were there, even the ugly gray one. 
 
 "No ! it is not a turkey," said the old Duck ; " only 
 see how prettily it moves its legs ! how upright it 
 holds itself ! it is my own child ; it is also really very 
 pretty, when one Jooks more closely at it. Quack ! 
 quack ! now come with me, I will take you into the 
 world, and introduce you in the duck-yard ; but keep 
 close to me, or some one may tread on you ; and be- 
 ware of the cat." 
 
 >■ So they came into the duck-yard. There was a 
 horrid noise ; two families were quarrelling about 
 the remains of an eel, which in the end was secured 
 by the cat. 
 
 " See, my children, such is the way of the world," 
 
THE UGLY DUCKLING. 31 
 
 said tlie Mother Duck, wiping her beak, for she, too, 
 was fond of eels. "Now use your legs," said she, 
 "keep together, and bow to the old Duck you see 
 yonder. She is the most distinguished of aU the 
 fowls present, and is of Spanish blood, which ac- 
 counts for her dignified appearance and manners. 
 And look, she has a red rag on her leg ; that is con- 
 sidered extremely handsome, and is the greatest dis- 
 tinction a duck can have. Don't turn your feet 
 inwards ; a well-educated duckling always keeps his 
 legs far apart, like his father and mother, just so — 
 look ! now bow your necks and say ' quack.' " 
 
 And they did as they were told. But the other 
 Ducks who were in the yard looked at them, and 
 said aloud, " Only see, now we have another brood, 
 as if there were not enough of us already ; and fie ! 
 how ugly that one is ; we will not endure it ; " and 
 immediately one of the Ducks flew at him, and bit 
 him in the neck. 
 
 " Leave him alone," said the mother, " he is doing 
 no one any harm." 
 
 " Yes, but he is so large, and so strange-looking, 
 and therefore he shall be teased." 
 
 " Those are fine children that our good mother 
 has," said the old Duck with the red rag on her leg. 
 " All are pretty except one, and that has not turned 
 out well; I almost wish it could be hatched over 
 again." 
 
 "That cannot be, please your highness," said the 
 
 mother. " Certainly he is not handsome ; but he is a 
 
 ,very good child, and swims as well as the others, in- 
 
32 andeesen's paiby tales. 
 
 deed rather better. I think he will grow like the 
 others all in good time, and perhaps will look smaller. 
 He stayed so long in the egg-shell, that is the cause 
 of the difference ; " and she scratched the Duckling's 
 neck, and stroked his whole body. « Besides," added 
 she, " he is a drake ; I think he will be very strong, 
 therefore it does not matter so much; he will fight 
 his way through." 
 
 "The other diicks are very pretty," said the old 
 Duck. " Pray make yourselves at home, and if you 
 find an eel's head you can bring it to me." 
 
 And accordingly they made themselves at home. 
 
 But the poor little Duckling who had come last 
 out of its egg-shell, and who was so ugly, was bitten, 
 pecked, and teased by both Ducks and Hens. "It 
 is so large ! " said they all. And the Turkey-cock, 
 who had come into the world with spurs on, and 
 therefore fancied he was an emperor, puffed himself 
 up like a ship in full sail, and marched up to the 
 Duckling quite red with passion. The poor little 
 thing scarcely knew what to do; he was quite- dis- 
 tressed, because he was so ugly, and because he was 
 the jest of the poultry-yard. 
 
 So passed the first day, and afterwards matters grew 
 worse and worse — the poor Duckling was scorned by 
 all. Even his brothers and sisters behaved unkindly, 
 and were constantly saying, " The cat fetch thee, thou 
 nasty creature ! " The mother said, " Ah, if thou wert 
 only far away ! " The Ducks bit him, the Hens pecked 
 him, and the girl who fed the poultry kicked him. 
 He ran over the hedge ; the little birds in the bushes 
 
THE UGLY DUCKLING. 33 
 
 were terrified. "That is because I am so ugly," 
 thought the Duckling, shutting his eyes, but he ran 
 on. At last he came to a wide moor, where lived 
 some Wild Ducks ; here he lay the whole night, so 
 tired and so comfortless. In the morning the Wild 
 Ducks flew up, and perceived their new companion. 
 " Pray who are you ? " asked they ; and our little 
 Duckling turned himself in all directions, and greeted 
 them as politely as possible. 
 
 " You are really uncommonly ugly ! " said the Wild 
 Ducks ; " however, that does not matter to us, provided 
 you do not marry into our families." Poor thing ! he 
 had never thought of marrying ; he only begged per- 
 mission to lie among the reeds, and drink the water 
 of the moor. 
 
 There he lay for two whole days — on the third day 
 there came two Wild Geese, or rather Ganders, who 
 had not been long out of their egg-shells, which ac- 
 counts for their impertinence. 
 
 " Hark ye," said they, " you are so ugly that we like 
 you infinitely well ; will you come with us, and be a 
 bird of passage ? On another moor, not far from this, 
 are some dear, sweet wild geese, as lovely creatures as 
 have ever said ' hiss, hiss.' You are truly in the way 
 to make your fortune, ugly as you are." 
 
 Bang ! a gun went off all at once, and both Wild 
 Geese were stretched dead among the reeds ; the water 
 bucame red with blood ; bang ! a gun went off again ; 
 whole flocks of wild geese flew up from among the 
 reeds, and another report followed. 
 
 There was a grand hunting party ; the hunters lay in 
 
34 andeesbn's fairy tales. 
 
 ambush all around ; some were even sitting in the trees, 
 whose huge branches stretched far over the moor. The 
 blue smoke rose through the thick trees like a mist, 
 and was dispersed as it fell over the water ; the hounds 
 splashed about in the mud, the reeds and rushes bent 
 in all directions. How frightened the poor little Duck 
 was ! he turned his head, thinking to hide it under his 
 wings, and in a moment a most formidable-looking dog 
 stood close to him, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, 
 his eyes sparkling fearfully. He opened wide his jaws 
 at the sight of our Ducklirig, showed him his sharp 
 white teeth, and, splash, splash ! he was gone, — gone 
 without hurting him. 
 
 " Well ! let me be thankful," sighed he ; "I am so 
 ugly that even the dog wUl not eat me." 
 
 And now he lay still, though the shooting continued 
 among the reeds, shot following shot. 
 
 The noise did not cease till late in the day, and 
 even then the poor little thing dared not stir; he 
 waited several hours before he looked around him, 
 and then hastened away from the moor as fast as he 
 could; he ran over iields and meadows, though the 
 wind was so high that he had some difficulty in pro- 
 ceeding. 
 
 Towards evening he reached a wretched little hut, 
 so wretched that it knew not on which side to fall, 
 and therefore remained standing. The wind blew vio- 
 lently, so that our poor little Duckling was obliged to 
 support himself on his tail, in order to stand against 
 it ; but it became worse and worse. He then remarked 
 that the door had lost one of its hinges, and hung so 
 
THE UGLY DUCKLING. 35 
 
 much, awry that he could creep through the crevice 
 into the room, -which he did. 
 
 In this room lived an old woman, with her Tom-cat 
 and her Hen ; and the Cat, whom she called her little 
 son, knew how to set up his back and purr; indeed, he 
 could even emit sparks when stroked the wrong way. 
 The Hen had very short legs, and was therefore called 
 "Cuckoo Short-legs;" she laid very good eggs, and the 
 old woman loved her as an own child. 
 
 The next morning the new guest was perceived ; the 
 Cat began to mew and the Hen to cackle. 
 
 "What is the matter? " asked the old woman, look- 
 ing round ; however, her eyes were not good, so she 
 took the young Duckling to be a fat duck who had 
 lost her way. " This is a capital catch," said she ; " I 
 shall now have ducks' eggs, if it be not a drake ; we 
 must try." 
 
 And so the Duckling was put to the proof for three 
 weeks, but no eggs made their appearance. 
 - Now, the Cat was the master of the house, and the 
 Hen was the mistress ; and they used always to say, 
 "We and the world," for they imagined themselves 
 to be not only the half of the world, but also by far 
 the better half. The Duckling thought it was possi- 
 ble to be of a different opinion, but that the Hen would 
 not allow. 
 
 " Can you lay eggs ? " asked she. 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Well, then, hold your tongue." 
 
 And the Cat said, " Can you set up your back ? can 
 you purr ? " 
 
36 Andersen's faiet tales. 
 
 " Well, then, you should have no opinion when rea^ 
 sonable persons are speaking." 
 
 So the Duckling sat alone in a corner, and -was in a 
 very bad humor ; however, he happened to think of 
 the fresh air and bright sunshine, and these thoughts 
 gave him such a strong desire to swim again, that he 
 could not help telling it to the Hen. 
 
 "What ails you?" said the Hen. "You have noth- 
 ing to do, and therefore brood over these fancies ; either 
 lay eggs or purr, then you will forget them." 
 
 "But it is so delicious to swim !" said the Duckling; 
 "so delicious when the waters close over your head, 
 and you plunge to the bottom ! " 
 
 "Well, that is a queer sort of pleasure," said the 
 Hen ; " I think you must be crazy. Not to speak of 
 myself, ask the Cat — he is the most sensible animal 
 I know — whether he would like to swim, or to 
 plunge to the bottom of the water. Ask the mis- 
 tress, the old woman, — there is no one in the world 
 wiser than she ; do you think she would take pleasure 
 in swimming, and in the waters closing over her 
 head ? " 
 
 " You do not understand me," said the Duckling. 
 
 " What, we do not understand you ! So you think 
 yourself wiser than the Cat and the old woman, not to 
 speak of myself. Do not fancy any such thing, child, 
 but be thankful for all the kindness that has been 
 shown you. Are you not lodged in a warm room? 
 and have you not the advantage of society from which 
 you can learn something ? But you are a simpleton, 
 
THE TJGLY DUCKLING. 37 
 
 ■ and it is wearisome to have anything to do with you. 
 Believe me, I wish you well. I tell you unpleasant 
 truths, but it is thus that real friendship is shown. 
 Come, for once give, yourself the trouble to learn to 
 purr or to lay eggs." , 
 
 " I think I will go out into the wide world again," 
 said the Duckling. 
 
 " Well, go," answered the Hen. 
 
 So the Duckling went. He swam on the surface of 
 the water, he plunged beneath ; but all animals passed 
 him by on account of his ugliness. And the autumn 
 came, the leaves turned yellow and brown, the wind 
 caught them and danced them about, the air was very 
 cold, the clouds were heavy with hail or snow, and the 
 raven sat on the hedge and croaked — the poor Duck- 
 ling was certainly not very comfortable ! 
 ~- One evening, just as the sun was setting with un- 
 usual brilliancy, a flock of large, beautiful birds rose 
 from out of the brushwood ; the Duckling had never 
 seen anything so beautiful before ; their plumage was 
 of a dazzling white, and they had long, slender necks. 
 They were swans ; they uttered a singular cry, spread 
 out their long, splendid wings, and flew away from 
 these cold regions to warmer countries, across the open 
 sea. They flew so high, so very high ! and the little 
 ugly Duckling's feelings were so strange ; he turned 
 round and round in the water like a mill-wheel, strained 
 his neck to look after them, and sent forth such a loud 
 and strange cry, that it almost frightened himself. 
 Ah ! he could not forget them, those noble birds ! 
 When he could see them no longer, he plunged to the 
 
38 ajstdbrsen's faiey tales. 
 
 bottom of the water, and when lie rose again was al- 
 most beside himself. The Duckling knew not what 
 the birds were called, knew not whither they were fly- 
 ing, yet he loved them as he had never before loved 
 anything ; he envied them not ; it would never have 
 ccourred to him to wish such beauty for himself ; he 
 would have been quite contented if the ducks in the 
 duck-yard had but endured his company — the poor, 
 ugly animal I 
 
 And the winter was so cold, so cold ! The Duckling 
 was obliged to swim round and round in the water to 
 keep it from freezing ; but every night the opening in 
 which he swam became smaller and smaller ; it froze 
 so that the crust of ice crackled ; the Duckling was 
 obliged to make good use of his legs to prevent the 
 water from freezing entirely ; at last, wearied out, he 
 lay stiff and cold in the ice. 
 
 Early in the morning there passed by a peasant, who 
 saw him, broke the ice in pieces with his wooden shoe, 
 and brought him home to his wife. 
 
 He now revived ; the children would have played 
 with him ; but our Duckling thought they wished to 
 tease him, and in his terror jumped into the milk- 
 pail, so that the milk was spilled about the room. 
 The good woman screamed and clapped her hands; 
 he flew thence into the pan where the butter was 
 kept, and thence into the meal-barrel, and out again, 
 and then how strange he looked ! 
 
 The woman screamed, and struck at him with the 
 tongs, the children ran races with each other trying to 
 catch him, and laughed and screamed likewise. It was 
 
THE UGLY DUCKLING. 39 
 
 well for him that the door stood open ; he jumped out 
 among the bushes into the new-fallen snow — he lay 
 there as in a dream. 
 
 But it would be too melancholy to relate aU the 
 trouble and misery that he was obliged to suffer dur- 
 ing the severity of the winter ; he was lying on a 
 moor among the reeds, when the sun began to shine 
 warmly again, the larks sang, and beautiful spring had 
 returned. 
 
 And once more he shook his wings. They were 
 stronger than formerly, and bore him forwards quickly, 
 and before he was well aware of it, he was in a large 
 garden where the apple-trees stood in full bloom, 
 where the syringas sent forth their fragrance, and 
 hung their long green branches down into the wind- 
 ing canal. Oh, everything was so lovely, so full of 
 the freshness of spring ! And out of the thicket 
 came three beautiful white Swans. They displayed 
 their feathers so proudly, and swam so lightly, so 
 lightly ! The Duckling knew the glorious creatures, 
 and was seized with a strange melancholy. 
 
 " I will fly to them, those kingly birds ! " said he. 
 " They will kill me because I, ugly as I am, have pre- 
 sumed to approach them ; but it matters not, better 
 to be killed by them than to be bitten by the ducks, 
 pecked by the hens, kicked by the girl who feeds the 
 poultry, and to have so much to suffer during the win- 
 ter ! " He flew into the water, and swam towards the 
 beautiful creatures ; they saw him, and shot forward 
 to meet him. " Only kill me," said the poor animal, 
 and he bowed his head low, expecting death ; but what 
 
40 ANPEESEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 did he see in the waiter ? He saw beneath him his 
 own form, no longer that of a plump, ugly, gray bird 
 — it was that of a Swan. 
 
 It matters not to have been born in a duck-yard, if 
 one has been hatched from a swan's egg. 
 
 The good creature felt himself really elevated by 
 all the troubles and adversities he had experienced. 
 He could now rightly estimate his own happiness, and 
 the larger Swans swam round him, and stroked him 
 "with their beaks. 
 
 Some little children were running about in the gar- 
 den ; they threw grain and bread into the water, and . 
 the youngest exclaimed, " There is a new one ! " the 
 others cried out, " Yes, there is a new Swan come I " 
 and they clapped their hands and danced around. 
 They ran to their father and mother, bread and cake 
 ■were thrown into the water, and every one said, " The 
 new one is the best, so young and so beautiful I " and 
 the old Swans bowed before him. >- The young Swan 
 felt quite ashamed, and hid his head under his wings ; 
 he scarcely knew what to do, he was all too happy, 
 but still not proudj for a good heart is never proud. 
 
 He remembered how he had been persecuted and 
 derided, and he now heard every one say he was the 
 most beautiful of all beautiful birds. The syringas 
 bent down their branches towards him low into the 
 water, and the sun shone so warmly and brightly — 
 he shook his feathers, stretched his slender neck, and 
 in the joy of his heart said, " How little did I dream 
 of so much happiness when I was the ugly, despised 
 Duckling I " 
 
teE LITTLE MERMAID. 41 
 
 THE LITTLE MERMAID. 
 
 FAR out in the wide sea, where the water is blue 
 as the loveliest cornflower, and clear as the 
 purest crystal, where it is so deep that very, very many 
 church-towers must be heaped one upon another in 
 order to reach from the lowest depth to the surface 
 above, dwell the Mer-people. 
 
 , Now, you must not imagine that there is nothing 
 but sand below the water : no, indeed, far from it ! 
 Trees and plants of wondrous beauty grow there, 
 whose stems and leaves are so light that they are 
 waved to and fro by the slightest motion of the water, 
 almost as if they were living beings. Fishes, great 
 and small, glide in and out among the branches, just 
 as birds fly about among our trees. 
 
 Where the water is deepest stands the palace of the 
 Mer-king. The walls of this palace are of coral ; and 
 the high, pointed windows are of amber; the roof, 
 however, is composed of mussel-shells, which, as the 
 billows pass over them, are continually opening and 
 shutting. This looks exceedingly pretty, especially 
 as each of these mussel-shells contains a number of 
 bright, glittering pearls, one only of which would be 
 the most costly ornament in the diadem of a king in 
 the upper world. 
 
 The Mer-king, who lived in this palace, had been 
 
42 andeksen's faiey tales. 
 
 for many years a widower ; his old mother managed 
 the household affairs for him. She was, on the whole, 
 a sensible sort of a lady, although extremely proud of 
 her high birth and station, on which account she wore 
 twelve oysters on her tail, whilst the other inhabitants 
 of the sea, even those of distinction, were allowed only 
 six. In every other respect she merited unlimited 
 praise, especially for the affection she showed to the 
 six little Princesses, her granddaughters. ">These were 
 all very beautiful children ; the youngest was, how- 
 ever, the most lovely ; her skin was as soft and deli- 
 cate as a rose-leaf, her eyes were of as deep a blue 
 as the sea; but, like all other mermaid's, she had 
 no feet, her body ended in a tail like that of a 
 fish. 
 
 The whole day long the children used to play in the 
 spacious apartments of the palace, where beautiful 
 flowers grew out of the walls on all sides around them. 
 When the great amber windows were opened, fishes 
 would swim into these apartments as swallows fly into 
 our rooms ; but the fishes were bolder than the swal- 
 lows — they swam straight up to the little Princesses, 
 ate from their hands, and allowed themselves to be 
 caressed. 
 
 In front of the palace there was a large garden, full 
 of fiery red and dark-blue trees ; the fruit upon them 
 glittered like gold, and the flowers resembled a bright 
 burning sun. The sand that formed the soil of the 
 garden was of a bright blue color, somewhat like flames 
 of sulphur ; and a strangely beautiful blue was spread 
 over the whole, so that one might have fancied one's 
 
THE LITTLE MERMAID. 43 
 
 self raised very high in the air, with the sky at once 
 above and below — certainly not at the bottom of the 
 sea. When the waters were quite still, the sun might 
 be seen looking like a purple flower, out of the cup 
 of which streamed forth the light of the world. 
 
 Each of the little Princesses had her own plot in the 
 garden, where she might plant and sow at her pleas- 
 ure. One chose hers to be made in the shape of a 
 whale, another preferred the figure of a mermaid ; but 
 the youngest had hers quite round like the sun, and 
 planted in it only those flowers that were red, as the 
 sun seemed to her. She was certainly a singular child, 
 very quiet and thoughtful. Whilst her sisters were 
 adorning themselves with all sorts of gay things that 
 came out of a ship which had been wrecked, she asked 
 for nothing but a beautiful white marble statue of a 
 boy, which had been found in it. She put the statue 
 in her garden, and planted a red weeping-willow by 
 its side. The tree grew up quickly, and let its long 
 boughs fall upon the bright blue ground, where ever- 
 moving shadows played in violet hues, as if boughs 
 and root were embracing. 
 
 Nothing pleased the little Princess more than to 
 hear about the world of human beings living above 
 the sea. She made her old grandmother tell her every- 
 thing she knew about ships, towns, men, and land an- 
 imals, and was particularly pleased when she heard 
 that the flowers of the upper world had a pleasant 
 fragrance (for the flowers of the sea are scentless), and 
 that the woods were green, and the fishes fluttering 
 among the branches of various gay colors, and that 
 
44 andeeskn's paiey tales. 
 
 they could sing with a loud, clear voice. The old lady 
 meant birds ; but she called them fishes, because her 
 grandchildren, having never seen a bird, would not 
 otherwise have understood her. 
 
 "When you have attained your fifteenth year," 
 added she, " you will be permitted to rise to the sur- 
 face of the sea ; you will then sit by moonlight in the 
 clefts of the rocks, see the ships sail by, and learn to 
 distinguish towns and men." 
 
 The next year the eldest of the sisters reached this 
 happy age ; but the others — alas ! the second sister 
 was a year younger than the eldest, the third a year 
 younger than the second, and so on. The youngest 
 had still five whole years to wait till that joyful time 
 should come when she also might rise to the surface 
 of the water, and see what was going on in the upper 
 world ; however, the eldest promised to tell the others 
 about everything she might see, when the first day of 
 her being of age arrived ; for the grandmother gave . 
 them but little information, and there was so much 
 that they wished to hear. 
 
 But none of all the sisters longed so ardently for 
 the day when she should be released from childish re- 
 straint as the youngest — she who had longest to wait, 
 and was so quiet and thoughtful. Many a night she 
 stood by the open window, looking up through the 
 clear blue water, whilst the fishes wejre leaping and 
 playing around her. She could see the sun and the 
 moon ; their light was pale, but they appeared larger 
 than they do to those who live in the upper world. If 
 a shadow passed over them, she knew it must be either 
 
THE LITTLE. MERMAID. 45 
 
 a whale, or a sliip sailing by full of human beings. 
 Never could these last have imagined that, far beneath 
 them, a little Mermaiden was passionately stretching 
 forth her white hands towards their ship's keel. 
 
 The day had now arrived when the eldest Princess 
 had attained her fifteenth year, and was therefore al- 
 lowed to rise up to the surface of the sea. 
 
 When she returned she had a thousand things to 
 relate. Her chief pleasure had been to sit upon a 
 sand-bank in the moonlight, looking at a large town 
 which lay on the coast, where lights were beaming 
 like stars, and where music was playing ; she had 
 heard the distant noise of men and carriages, she had 
 seen the high church-towers, had listened to the ring- 
 ing of the bells ; and just because she could not go on 
 shore, she longed the more after all these things. 
 
 How attentively did her youngest sister listen to 
 her words ! And when she next stood at night-time 
 by her open window, gazing upward through the blue 
 waters, her thoughts dwelt so eagerly upon the great 
 3ity, full of life and sound, that she fancied she could 
 hear the church-bells ringing. 
 
 Next year the second sister received permission to 
 3wim wherever she pleased. She rose to the surface 
 Df the sea just when the sun was setting; and this 
 sight so delighted her that she declared it to be more 
 oeautiful than anything else she had seen above the 
 waters. 
 
 " The whole sky seemed tinged with gold," said 
 jhe ; " and it is impossible for me to describe to you 
 ,he beauty of the clouds. Now red, now violet, they 
 
46 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 glided over me ; but still more swiftly flew over the 
 water a flock of white swans, just where the sun was 
 descending-. I looked after them ; but the sun disap- 
 peared, and the bright rosy light on the surface of 
 the sea and on the edges of the clouds died away 
 gradually." 
 
 It was now time for the third sister to visit the up- 
 per world. She was the boldest of the six, and ven- 
 tured up a river. On its shores she saw green hills, 
 covered with woods and vineyards, from among which 
 arose houses and castles. She heard the birds sing- 
 ing ; and the sun shone with so much power that she 
 was continually obliged to plunge below, in order to 
 cool her burning face. In a little bay she met with a 
 number of chUdren, who were bathing and jumping 
 about; she would have joined in their gambols, but the 
 children fled back to land in great terror, and a little 
 black animal barked at her in such a manner, that she 
 herself was frightened at last, and swam back to the 
 sea. But never could she forget the green woods, the 
 verdant hills, and the pretty children, who, although 
 they had no fins, were swimming about in the river so 
 fearlessly. 
 
 The fourth sister was not so bold ; she remained in 
 the open sea, and said, on her return home, she 
 thought nothing could be more beautiful. She had 
 seen ships sailing by, so far off that they looked like 
 searguUs ; she had watched the merry dolphins gam- 
 bolling in the water, and the enormous whales send- 
 ing up into the air a thousand- sparkling fountains. 
 
 The year after, the fifth sister attained her fifteenth 
 
THE LITTLE MBEMAID. 47 
 
 year, — her birthday happened at a different season 
 from that of her sisters ; it was -winter, the sea was of a 
 green color, and immense icebergs were floating on its 
 surface. These, she said, looted like pearls, although 
 all were much larger than the church-towers in the 
 land of human beings. She sat down upon one of 
 these pearls, and let the wind play with her long hair ; 
 but then all the ships hoisted their sails in terror, and 
 escaped as quickly as possible. In the evening the 
 sky was covered with clouds; and whilst the great 
 mountains of ice alternately sank and rose again, and 
 beamed with a reddish glow, flashes of lightning burst 
 forth from the clouds, and the thunder rolled on, peal 
 after peal. The sails of all the ships were instantly 
 furled, and horror and affright reigned on board ; but 
 the Princess sat still on the iceberg, looking uncon- 
 cernedly at the blue zig-zag of the flashes. 
 
 The first time that either of these sisters rose out 
 of the sea, she was quite enchanted at the sight of so 
 many new and beautiful objects ; but the novelty was 
 soon over, and it was not long ere their own home 
 appeared far more attractive than the upper world. 
 
 Mapy an evening would the five sisters rise hand in 
 hand from the depths of the ocean. Their voices were 
 far sweeter than any human voice ; and when a storm 
 was coming on, they would swim in front of the ships 
 and sing, — oh, how sweetly did they sing ! — describ- 
 ing the happiness of those who live at the bottom of 
 the sea, and entreating the sailors not to be afraid, 
 but to come down to them.. 
 
 But the mariners did not understand their words, — 
 
48 Andersen's faiey tales. 
 
 they fancied tlie song was only the whistling of the 
 wind, — and thus they lost the hidden glories of the 
 sea; for, if their ships were wrecked, all on board 
 were drowned, and none but dead men ever entered the 
 Mer-king's palace. 
 
 Whilst the sisters were swimming at evening time, 
 the youngest would remain motionless and alone in 
 her father's palace, looking up after them. She would 
 have wept ; but Mermaids cannot weep, and therefore, 
 when they are troubled, suffer infinitely more than 
 human beings do. 
 
 " Oh, if I were but fifteen ! " sighed she ; " I know 
 that I should love the upper world and its inhabitants 
 so much ! " 
 
 At last the time she had so longed for arrived. 
 
 " Well, now it is your turn," said the grandmother ; 
 " come here that I may adorn you like your sisters." 
 And winding around her hair a wreath of white lilies, 
 whose every petal was the half of a pearl, she com- 
 manded eight large oysters to fasten themselves to 
 the Princess's tail, in token of her high rank. 
 
 " But that is so very uncomfortable ! " said the little 
 Princess. 
 
 " One must not mind slight inconveniences when 
 one wishes to look well," said the old lady. 
 
 How willingly the Princess would have given up 
 all this splendor, and exchanged her heavy crown for 
 the red flowers of her garden, which were so much 
 more becoming to her. But she dared not do so. 
 " Farewell ! " said she ; and she rose from the sea, 
 light as a flake of foam. 
 
THE LITTLE MEEMAID. 49 
 
 When, for the first time in her life, she appeared 
 on the surface of the water, the sun had just sunk be- 
 low the horizon, the clouds were beaming with bright 
 golden and rosy hues, the evening star was shining in 
 the pale western sky, the air was mild and refreshing, 
 and the sea as smooth as a looking-glass. A large 
 ship with three masts lay on the still waters ; one sail 
 only was unfurled ; for not a breath was stirring, and 
 the sailors were quietly seated on the cordage and lad- 
 ders of the vessel. Music and song resounded from 
 the deck ; and after it grew dark hundreds of lamps all , 
 on a sudden burst forth into light, whilst innumerable 
 flags were fluttering overhead. The little Mermaid 
 swam close up to the captain's cabin ; and every now 
 and then, when the ship was raised by the motion of 
 the water, she could look through the clear window- 
 panes. She saw within many richly dressed men ; the 
 handsomest among them was a young Prince with large- 
 black eyes. He could not certainly be more than six- 
 teen years old, and it was in honor of his birthday 
 that a grand festival was being celebrated. The crew 
 were dancing on the deck ; and when the young Prince 
 appeared ainong them, a hundred rockets were sent up 
 into the air, turning night into day, and so terrifying 
 the little Mermaid, that for some minutes she plunged 
 beneath the water. However, she soon raised her lit- 
 tle head again, and then it seemed as if all the stars 
 were falling down upon her. Such a fiery shower she 
 had never seen before, — never had she heard that 
 men possessed such wonderful powers. Large suns 
 revolved around her, bright fishes floated in the air. 
 
50 ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 and all these marvels were reflected on the clear sur- 
 face of the sea. It was so light in the ship, that 
 everything could be seen distinctly. Oh, how happy 
 the young Prince was ! he shook hands with the sail- 
 ors, laughed and jested with them, whilst sweet notes 
 of music mingled with the silence of the night. 
 
 It was now late, but the little Mermaid could not 
 tear herself away from the ship and the handsome 
 young Prince. She remained looking through the 
 cabin-window, rocked to and fro by the waves. There 
 •was a foaming and fermentation in the depths beneath, 
 and the ship began to move on faster. The sails were 
 spread, the waves rose high, thick clouds gathered over 
 the sky, and the noise of distant thunder was heard. 
 The sailors perceived that a storm was coming on, so 
 they again furled the sails. The great vessel was 
 tossed about on the tempestuous ocean like a light 
 boat ; and the waves arose to an immense height, tow- 
 ering over the ship, which alternately sank beiieath 
 and rose above them. To the little Mermaid this 
 seemed most delightful, but the ship's crew thought 
 very differently. The vessel cracked, the stout masts 
 bent under the violence of the billows, the water rushed 
 in. Por a minute the ship tottered to and fro, then 
 the mainmast broke, as if it had been a reed ; the 
 ship turned over, and was filled with water. The lit- 
 tle Mermaid now perceived that the crew were in dan- 
 ger ; for she herself was forced to beware of the beams 
 and splinters torn from the vessel, and floating about 
 on the waves. But at the same time it became pitch 
 dark, so that she could not distinguish anything ; pres- 
 
THE LITTLE MERMAID. 
 
 ently, however, a dreadful flash of lightning disclob 
 to her the whole of the wreck. . Her eyes sought the 
 young Prince ; the same instant the ship sank to the 
 bottom. ,At first she was delighted, thinking that 
 the Prince must now come to her abode ; but she soon 
 remembered that man cannot live in water, and that 
 therefore, if the Prince ever entered her palace, it 
 would be as a corpse. 
 
 " Die ! no, he must not die ! " She swam through 
 the fragments with which the water was strewn, re- 
 gardless of the danger she was incurring, and at last 
 found the Prince all but exhausted, and with great 
 diflSculty keeping his head above water. He had al- 
 ready closed his eyes, and must inevitably have been 
 drowned, had not the little Mermaid come to his 
 rescue. She seized hold of him, and kept him above 
 water, suffering the current to bear them on together. 
 
 Towards morning the storm was hiTshed ; no trace, 
 however, remained of the ship. The sun rose like fire 
 out of the sea ; his beams seemed to restore color to 
 the Prince's cheeks, but his eyes were still closed. 
 The Mermaid kissed his high forehead, and stroked 
 his wet hair away from his face. He looked like the 
 marble statue in her garden; she kissed him again, 
 and wished most fervently that he might recover. 
 
 She now saw the dry land with its mountains glit- 
 tering with snow. A green wood extended along the 
 coast ; and at the entrance of the wood stood a chapel 
 or convent, she could not be sure which. Citron- and 
 melon-trees grew in the garden adjoining it; an avenue 
 of tall palm-trees led up to the door. The sea here 
 
andeesen's paxry tales. 
 
 iined. a little bay, in ■which the water was quite 
 smooth, but very deep, and under the cliffs there were 
 dry, firm sands. Hither swam the little Mermaid with 
 the seemingly dead Prince ; she laid him upon the 
 warm sand, and took care to place his head high, and 
 to turn his face to the sun. 
 
 The bells began to ring in the large white building 
 which stood before her, and a number of young girls 
 came out to walk in the garden. The Mermaid went 
 away from the shore, hid herself behind some stones, 
 covered her head with foam, so that her little face 
 could not be seen, and watched the Prince with unre- 
 mitting attention. 
 
 It was net long before ojie of the young girls ap- 
 proached ; she seemed quite frightened at finding the 
 Prince in this state, apparently dead ; soon, however, 
 she recovered herself, and ran back to call her sisters. 
 The little Mermaid saw that the Prince revived, and 
 that all around smiled, kindly and joyfully upon him ; 
 for her, however, he looked not ; he knew not that it 
 was she who had saved him ; and when the Prince was 
 taken into the house, she felt so sad that she imme- 
 diately plunged beneath the water, and returned to 
 her father's palace. 
 
 If she had been before quiet and thoughtful, she 
 now grew still more so. Her sisters asked her what 
 she had seen in the upper world, but she made no 
 answer. 
 
 Many an evening she rose to the place where she 
 had left the prince. She saw the snow on the moun- 
 tains melt, the fruits in" the garden ripen and gath- 
 
THE LITTLE MEKMAID. 53 
 
 ared, but the Prince she never saw ; so she always 
 returned sorrowfully to her home under the sea. Her 
 only pleasure was to sit in her little garden, gazing 
 on the beautiful statue so like the Prince. She cared 
 no longer for her flowers ; they grew up in wild luxu- 
 riance, covered the steps, and entwined their long 
 stems and tendrils among the boughs of the trees, 
 unto, her whole garden became a bower. 
 
 At last, being unable to conceal her sorrow any 
 longer, she revealed the secret to one of her sisters, 
 who told it to the other Princesses, and they to some 
 of their friends. Among them was a young Mermaid 
 who recollected the Prince, having been an eye-wit- 
 ness herself to the festivities in the ship ; she knew 
 also in what country the Prince lived, and the name 
 of its king. 
 
 " Come, little sister ! " said the Princesses ; and, 
 embracing her, they rose together arm in arm, out of 
 the water, just in front of the Prince's palace. 
 
 This palace was built of bright yellow stones ; a flight 
 of white marble steps led from it down to the sea. 
 A gilded cupola crowned the building ; and white mar- 
 ble figures, which might almost have been taken for 
 real men and women, were placed among the pillars 
 surrounding it. Through the clear glass of the high 
 windows one might look into magnificent apartments 
 hung with silken curtains,- the walls adorned with beau- 
 tiful paintings. It was a real treat to the little royal 
 Mermaids to behold so splendid an abode ; they gazed 
 through the windows of one of the largest rooms, and 
 in the centre saw a fountain playing whose waters 
 
54 ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 sprang tip so high as to reach the glittering cupola 
 above, through which fell the sunbeams dancing on 
 the water, and brightening the pretty plants which 
 grew around it. 
 
 The little Mermaid now knew where her beloved 
 Prince dwelt, and henceforth she went there almost 
 every evening. She often approached nearer the land 
 than her sisters had ventured, and even swam up the 
 narrow channel that flowed under the marble balcony. 
 Here, on bright moonlight nights, she would watch 
 the young Prince whilst he believed himself alone. 
 < Sometimes she saw him sailing on the water in a 
 gayly painted boat, with many colored flags waving 
 above. She would then hide among the green reeds 
 which grew on the banks, listening to his voice ; and 
 if any one in the boat noticed the rustling of her long 
 silver veil when it was caught now and then by the 
 light breeze, they only fancied it was a swan flapping 
 his wings. 
 
 Many a night when the fishermen were casting their 
 nets by the beacon's light she heard them talking of 
 the Prince, and relating the noble actions he had per- 
 formed. She was then so happy, thinking how she 
 had saved his life when struggling with the waves, and 
 remembering how his head had rested on her bosom, 
 and how she had kissed him when he knew nothing of 
 it, and could never even dream of her existence. 
 
 Human beings became more and more dear to her 
 every day; she wished that she were one of thera. 
 Their world seemed to her much larger than that of 
 the Mer-people j they could fly over the ocean in 
 
THE LITTLE MEKMAID. 65 
 
 their ships, as well as climb to the summits of those 
 high mountains that rose above the clouds ; and their 
 wooded domains extended much farther than a Mer- 
 maid's eye could penetrate. 
 
 There were many things that she wished to hear 
 explained, but her sisters could not give her any sat- 
 isfactory answer ; she was again obliged to have re- 
 course to the old Queen-mother, who knew a great deal 
 about the upper world, which she used to call "the 
 country above the sea." 
 
 "Do men, when they are not drowned, live for- 
 ever ? " she asked one day ; " do they not die as we 
 do who live at the bottom of the sea ? " 
 
 " Yes," was the grandmother's reply ; " they must 
 die like us, and their life is much shorter than ours. 
 We live to the age of three hundred years ; but, when 
 we die, we become foam on the sea, and are hot al- 
 lowed even to share a grave among those that are 
 dear to us. We have no immortal souls, we can never 
 live again, and are like the green rushes which when 
 once cut down are withered forever. Human beings, 
 on the contrary, have souls that continue to live when 
 their bodies become dust ; and as we rise out of the 
 water to admire the abode of man, even so these souls 
 ascend to glorious unknown dwellings in the skies, 
 which we are not permitted to see." 
 
 " Why have not loe immortal souls ? " asked the 
 little Mermaid. "I would willingly give up my three 
 hundred years to be a human being for only one day, 
 thus to become entitled to that heavenly world above." 
 
 "You must not think of that," answered her grand- 
 
56 andeesbn's fairy tales. 
 
 mother; "it is much better as it is; we live longer 
 and are far happier than human beings." 
 
 " So I must die, and be dashed like foam over the 
 sea, never to rise again and hear the gentle murmur of 
 the ocean, never again to see the beautiful flovrers and 
 the bright sun ! — Tell me, dear grandmother, are there 
 no means by which I may obtain an immortal soul ? " 
 
 "No!" replied the old lady. "It is true, that if 
 thou couldest so win the affections of a human being 
 as to become dearer to him than either father or 
 mother ; if he loved thee with all his heart, and prom- 
 ised, whilst the priest joined his hands with thine, to 
 be always faithful to thee, — then his soul would flow 
 into thine, and thou wouldest become partaker of hu- 
 man bliss. But that can never be ! for what in our 
 eyes is the most beautiful part of our body, the tail, 
 the inhabitants of the earth think hideous ; they can- 
 not bear it. To appear handsome to them, the body 
 must have two clumsy props, which they call legs." 
 
 The little Mermaid sighed, and looked mournfully 
 at the scaly part of her form, otherwise so fair and 
 delicate. 
 
 "We are happy," added the old lady; "we shall 
 jump and swim about merrily for three hundred years ; 
 that is a long time, and afterwards we shall repose 
 peacefully in death. This evening we have a court- 
 ball." 
 
 The ball which the Queen-mother spoke of was far 
 more splendid than any that earth has ever seen. The 
 walls of the saloon were of crystal, very thick, but 
 yet very clear ; hundreds of large mussel-shells were 
 
THE LITTLE MERMAID. 57 
 
 planted in rows along tliem ; these shells were some 
 of rose-color, some green as grass, but all sending forth 
 a bright light, which hot only illuminated the whole 
 apartment, but also shone through the glassy walls so 
 as to light up the waters around, and niaking the scales 
 of the numberless fishes, great and small, crimson and 
 purple, silver- and gold-colored, appear more brilliant 
 than ever. 
 
 Through the centre of the saloon flowed a bright, 
 clear stream, on the surface of which danced Mermen 
 and Mermaids to the melody of their own sweet voices, 
 — voices far sweeter than those of the dwellers upon 
 earth. The little Princess sang most sweetly of all, 
 and they clapped their hands and applauded her. For 
 a moment it pleased her to be thus reminded that there 
 was neither on earth nor in the sea a more beautiful 
 voice than hers. But her thoughts soon returned to 
 the world above her ; she could not forget the hand- 
 some Prince ; she could not control her sorrow at not 
 having an immortal soul. She stole away from her 
 father's palace ; and whilst all was joy within she sat 
 alone, lost in thought, in her little neglected garden. 
 On a sudden she heard the tones of horns resounding 
 over the water far away in the distance ; and she said 
 to herself, " Now he is going out to hunt — he whom 
 I love more than my father and my mother, with 
 whom my thoughts are constantly occupied, and to 
 whom I would so willingly trust the happiness of my 
 life ! All, all ! will I risk to win him — and an im- 
 mortal soul ! Whilst my sisters are still dancing in 
 the palace, I will go to the enchantress whom I have 
 
58 ajstdeesen's faiey tales. 
 
 hitherto feared so much, but who is, nevertheless, the 
 only person who can advise and help me." 
 
 So the little Mermaid left the garden, and went to 
 the foaming whirlpool beyond which dwelt the en- 
 chantress. She had never been this way before; 
 neither flowers nor sea-grass bloomed along her path ; 
 she had to traverse an extent of bare, gray sand till she 
 reached the whirlpool, the waters of which were eddy- 
 ing and whizzing like mill-wheels, tearing everything 
 they could seize along with them into the abyss below. 
 She was obliged to make her way through this hor- 
 rible place, in order to arrive at the territory of the 
 enchantress. Then she had to pass through a boiling, 
 slimy bog, which the enchantress called her turf-moor ; 
 her house stood in a wood beyond this, and a strange 
 abode it was. All the trees and bushes around were 
 polypi, looking like hundred-headed serpents shooting 
 up out of the ground ; their branches were long, slimy 
 arms with fingers of worms, every member, from the 
 root to the uttermost tip, ceaselessly moving and ex- 
 tending on all sides. Whatever they seized they fas- 
 tened upon so that it could not loosen itself from their 
 grasp. The little Mermaid stood still for a minute, 
 looking at this horrible wood ; her heart beat with fear, 
 and she would certainly have returned without attain- 
 ing her object, had she not remembered the Prince — 
 and immortality. The thought gave her new courage ; 
 she bound up her long waving hair, that the polypi 
 might not catch hold of it, crossed her delicate- arms 
 over her bosom, and swifter than a fish can glide 
 through the water, she passed these unseemly trees, 
 
THE LITTLE MEBMAID. 59 
 
 who stretcLed their eager arms after her in vain. She 
 could not, however, help seeing that every polypus had 
 something in its grasp, held as firmly by a thousand 
 little arms as if enclosed by iron bands. The whi- 
 tened skulls of a number of human beings who had 
 been drowned in the sea, and had sunk into the abyss, 
 grinned horribly from the arms of these polypi ; helms, 
 chests, skeletons of land animals, were also held in 
 their embrace ; among other things might be seen even 
 a little Mermaid whom they had seized and strangled ! 
 What a fearful sight for the unfortunate Princess ! 
 
 But she got safely through this wood of horrors, and 
 then arrived at a slimy place, where immense fat 
 snails were crawling about, and in the midst of this 
 place stood a house built of the bones of unfortunate 
 people who had been shipwrecked. Here sat the witch, 
 caressing a toad in the same manner as some persons 
 would a pet bird. The ugly fat snails she called her 
 chickens, and she permitted them to crawl about 
 her. 
 
 " I know well what you would ask of me," said she 
 to the little Princess. " Your wish is foolish enough ; 
 yet it shall be fulfilled, though its accomplishment is 
 sure to bring misfortune on you, my fairest Princess. 
 You wish to get rid of your tail, and to have instead 
 two stilts, like those of human beings, in order that a 
 young Prince may fall in love with you, and that you 
 may obtain an immortal soul — is it not so ? " Whilst 
 the witch spoke these words, she laughed so violently 
 that her pet toad and snails fell from her lap. " You 
 come just at the right time," continued she ; " had 
 
60 Andersen's faiey tales. 
 
 you come after sunset, it -vsrould not liave been in my 
 power to have helped you before another year. I will 
 prepare for you a drink, with which you must swim 
 to land ; you must sit down upon the shore and swal- 
 low ^it, and then your tail will fall and shrink up to 
 the things which men call legs. This transformation 
 will, however, be very painful ; you will feel as if 
 a sharp knife passed through your body. All who 
 look on you, after you have been thus changed, wiU 
 say that you are the loveliest child of earth they have 
 ever seen; you will retain your peculiar undulating" 
 movements, aijd no dancer will move so lightly, but 
 every step yoii take will cause you pain all but un- 
 bearable ; it will seem to you as if you were walking 
 on the sharp edges of swords, and your blood will 
 flow. Can you endure all this suffering? If so, I 
 will grant your request." 
 
 " Yes, I will," answered the Princess with a falter- 
 ing voice ; for she remembered her dear Prince, and 
 the immortal soul which her suffering might win. 
 
 " Only consider," said the witch, " that you can 
 never again become a Mermaid, when once you have 
 received a human form. You may never return to 
 your sisters and your father's palace ; and unless you 
 shall win the Prince's love to such a degree that he 
 shall leave father and mother for you, that you shall 
 be mixed up with all his thoughts and wishes, and 
 unless the priest join your hands, so that you become 
 man and wife, you will never obtain the immortality 
 you seek. The morrow of the day on which he is 
 united to another will see your death ; your heart will 
 
THE LITTLE MERMAID. 61 
 
 break with sorrow, and you will be changed to foam 
 on the sea." 
 
 " Still I will venture ! " said the little Mermaid, pale 
 and trembling as a dying person. 
 
 " Besides all this, I must be paid ; and it is no slight 
 thing that I require for my trouble. Thou hast the 
 sweetest voice of all the dwellers in the sea, and thou 
 thinkest by its means to charm the Prince ; this voice, 
 however, I demand as my recompense. The best thing 
 thou possessest I require in exchange for my magic 
 drink ; for I shall be obliged to sacrifice my own blood, 
 in order to give it the sharpness of a two-edged sword." 
 
 " But if you take my voice from me," said the 
 Princess, "what have I left with which to charm 
 the Prince ? " 
 
 " Thy graceful form," replied the witch, " thy un- 
 dulating motion and speaking eyes. With such as 
 these, it will be easy to infatuate a vain human heart. 
 Well, now ! hast thou lost courage ? Put out thy little 
 tongue, that I may cut it off, and take it for myself, 
 in return for my magic elixir." 
 
 1" " Be it so ! " said the Princess ; and the witch took 
 up her caldron, in order to mix her potion. " Clean- 
 liness is a good thing," remarked she, as she began to 
 rub the caldron with a handful of snails. She then 
 scratched her bosom, and let the black blood trickle 
 liown into the caldron, every moment throwing in 
 uew ingredients, the smoke from the mixture assum- 
 ing such horrible forms as were enough to fill behold- 
 ers with terror, and a moaning and groaning proceeding 
 from it which might be compared to the weeping of 
 
62 Andersen's paiey tales. 
 
 crocodiles. The magic drink at length became clear 
 and transparent as pure water : it was ready. 
 
 " Here it is 1 " said the witch to the Princess, cut- 
 ting out her tongue at the same moment. The poor 
 little Mermaid was now dumb — she could neither sing 
 nor speak. 
 
 " If the polypi should attempt to seize you as you 
 pass through my little grove," said the witch, " you 
 have only to sprinkle some of this liquid over them, 
 and their arms will burst into a thousand pieces." 
 But the Princess had no need of this counsel, for the 
 polypi drew hastily back, as soon as they perceived 
 the bright phial that glittered in her hand like a star ; 
 thus she passed safely through the formidable wood, 
 over the moor, and across the foaming mill-stream. 
 
 She now looked once again at her father's palace ; 
 the lamps in the saloon were extinguished, and all the 
 family were asleep. She would not go in, for she 
 could not speak if she did ; she was about to leave 
 her home forever ; her heart was ready to break with 
 sorrow at the thought. She stole into the garden, 
 plucked a flower from the bed of each of her sisters as 
 a remembrance, kissed her hand again and again, and 
 then rose through the dark blue waters to the world 
 above. 
 
 The sun had not yet risen when she arrived at the 
 Prince's dwelling, and ascended those well-known 
 marble steps. The moon still shone in the sky when 
 the little Mermaid drank off the wonderful liquid con- 
 tained in her phial ; she felt it run through her like a 
 sharp knife, and she fell down in a swoon. When the 
 
THE LITTLE MEEMAID. 63 
 
 sun rose she woke, and felt a burning pain in all her 
 limbs ; but — she saw standing close to her the object 
 of her love, the handsome young Prince, whose coal- 
 black eyes were fixed inquiringly upon her. Full of 
 shame, she cast down her own, and perceived, instead 
 of the long, fish-like tail she had hitherto borne, two 
 slender legs ; but she was quite naked, and tried in 
 vain to cover herself with her long, thick hair. The 
 Prince asked who she was, and how she had got there ; 
 and she, in reply, smiled, and gazed upon him with her 
 bright blue eyes, for, alas ! she could not speak. He 
 then led her by the hand into the palace. She found 
 that the witch had told her true ; she felt as if she 
 were walking on the edges of sharp swords, but she 
 bore the pain willingly; on she passed, light as a 
 zephyr, and all who saw her wondered at her light, 
 undulating movements. 
 
 When she entered the- palace, rich clothes of mus- 
 lin and sUk were brought to her; she was lovelier 
 than all who dwelt there, but she could neither speak 
 nor sing. Some female slaves, gayly dressed in silk 
 and gold brocade, sung before the Prince and his 
 royal parents ; and one of them distinguished herself 
 by her clear, sweet voice, which the Prince applauded 
 by clapping his hands. This made the little Mermaid 
 very sad, for she knew that she used to sing far better 
 than the young slave. " Alas ! " thought she, " if he 
 did but know that for his sake I have given away my 
 voice forever." 
 
 The slaves began to dance; our lovely little Mer- 
 maiden then arose, stretched out her delicate white 
 
04 ANDERSEN S FAIEY TALES. 
 
 arms, and hovered gracefully about the room. Every 
 motion displayed more and more the perfect symmetry 
 and elegance of her figure ; and the expression which 
 beamed in her speaking eyes touched the hearts of the 
 spectators far more than the song of the slaves. 
 
 All present were enchanted, but especially the 
 young Prince, who called her his dear little foundling. 
 And she danced again and again, although every step 
 cost her excessive pain. The Prince then said she 
 should always be with him ; and accordingly a sleep- 
 ing-place was prepared for her on velvet cushions in 
 the anteroom of his own apartment. 
 
 The Prince caused a suit of male apparel to be made 
 for her, in order that she might accompany him in his 
 rides ; so together they traversed the fragrant woods, 
 where green boughs brushed against their shoulders, 
 and the birds sang merrily among the fresh leaves. 
 With him she climbed up steep mountains; and al- 
 though her tender feet bled, so as to be remarked by 
 the attendants, she only smiled, and followed her dear 
 Prince to the heights, whence they could see the clouds 
 chasing each other beneath them, like a flock of birds 
 migrating to other countries. 
 
 During the night she would, when all in the palace 
 were at rest, walk down the marble steps, in order to 
 cool her burning feet in the deep waters ; she would 
 then think of those beloved ones who dwelt in the 
 lower world. 
 
 One night, as she was thus bathing her feet, her 
 sisters swam together to the spot, arm in arm and 
 singing, but, alas ! so mournfully ! She beckoned to 
 
THE LITTLE MEKMAID. 65 
 
 them ; and they immediately recognized her, and told 
 her how great was the mourning in her father's house 
 for her loss. From this time the sisters visited her 
 every night; and once they brought with them the 
 old grandmother, who had not seen the upper world 
 for a great many years ; they likewise brought their 
 father, the Mer-king, with his crown on his head ; 
 but these two old people did not venture near enough 
 to land to be able to speak to her. 
 
 The little Mermaiden became dearer and dearer to 
 the Prince every day ; but he only looked upon her 
 as a sweet, gentle child ; and the thought of making 
 her his wife never entered his head. And yet his 
 wife she must be, ere she could receive an immortal 
 soul ; his wife she must be, or she would change into 
 foam, and be driven restlessly over the billows of the 
 sea! 
 
 " Dost thou not love me above all others ? " her eyes 
 seemed to ask, as he pressed her fondly in his arms, 
 and kissed her lovely brow. 
 
 " Yes," the Prince would say, " thou art dearer to 
 me than any other, for no one is as good as thou art ! 
 Thou lovest me so much ; and thou art so like a young 
 maiden whom I have seen but once, and may never 
 see again. I was on board a ship which was wrecked 
 by a sudden tempest; the waves threw me on the 
 shore, near a holy terhple, where a number of young 
 girls are occupied constantly with religious services. 
 The youngest of them found me on the shore, and 
 saved my life. I saw her only once ; but her image 
 is vividly impressed upon my memory, and her alone 
 
66 asdeksen's fairy tales. 
 
 can I love. But slie belongs to the holy temple ; and 
 thou, who resemblest her so much, hast been given to 
 me for consolation ; never will we be parted ! " 
 
 " Alas ! he does not know that it was I who saved 
 his life," thought the little Mermaideu, sighing deeply ; 
 " I bore him over the wild waves, into the wooded bay, 
 where the holy temple stood ; I sat behind the rocks, 
 waiting till some one should come. I saw the pretty 
 maiden approach, whom he loves more than me," — 
 and again she heaved a deep sigh, for she could not 
 weep ; " he said that, the young girl belongs to the 
 holy temple ; she never comes out into the world, so 
 they cannot meet each other again, — and I am always 
 with him, see him daily ; I will love him, and devote 
 my whole life to him." 
 
 " So the Prince is going to be married to the beau- 
 tiful daughter of the neighboring king," said the cour- 
 tiers ; " that is why he is having that splendid ship 
 fitted out. It is announced that he wishes to travel, 
 but in reality he goes to see the princess ; a numerous 
 retinue will accompany him." The little Mermaiden 
 smiled at these and similar conjectures, for she knew 
 the Prince's intentions better than any one else. 
 
 " I must go," he said to her ; " I must see the beaii- 
 tiful princess ; my parents require me to do so ; but 
 they will not compel me to marry her, and bring her 
 home as my bride. And it is quite impossible for 
 me to love her, for she cannot be so like the beautiful 
 girl in the temple as thou art ; and if I were obliged 
 to choose, I should prefer thee, my little silent found- 
 ling with the speaking eyes." And he kissed her rosy 
 
THE LITTLE MERMAID. 67 
 
 lips, played with her locks, and folded her in his arms, 
 whereupon arose in her heart a sweet vision of human 
 happiness and immortal bliss. 
 
 " Thou art not afraid of the sea, art thou, my sweet, 
 silent child ? " asked he tenderly, as they stood to- 
 gether in the splendid ship which was to take them 
 to the country of the neighboring king. And then he 
 told her of the storms that sometimes agitate the 
 waters, of the strange fishes that inhabit the deep, 
 and of the wonderful things seen by divers. But she 
 smiled at his words, for she knew better than any 
 child of earth what went on in the depths of the ocean. 
 
 At night-time, when the moon shone brightly, and 
 when all on board were fast asleep, she sat in the 
 ship's gallery, looking down into the sea. It seemed 
 to her, as she gazed through the foamy track made by 
 the ship's keel, that she saw her father's palace and 
 her grandmother's silver crown. She then saw her 
 sisters rise out of the water, looking sorrowful, and 
 stretching out their hands towards her. She nodded 
 to them, smiled, and would have explained that every- 
 thing was going on quite according to her wishes ; but 
 just then the cabin-boy approached, upon which the 
 sisters plunged beneath the water so suddenly that 
 the boy thought what he had seen on the waves was 
 nothing but foam. 
 
 The next morning the ship entered the harbor 
 of the king's splendid capital. Bells were rung, 
 trumpets sounded, and soldiers marched in procession 
 through the city, with waving banners and glittering 
 bayonets. Every day witnessed some new entertain- 
 
68 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 ment ; calls and parties followed each other. The 
 princess, however, was not yet in the town ; she had 
 been sent to a distant convent for education, there 
 to be taught the practice of all royal virtues. At last 
 she arrived at the palace. 
 
 The little Mermaid had been anxious to see this 
 unparalleled princess, and she was now obliged to 
 confess that she had never before seen so beautiful 
 a creature. 
 
 The skin of the princess was so white and delicate 
 that the veins might be seen through it, and her dark 
 eyes sparkled beneath a pair of finely formed eye- 
 brows. 
 
 " It is herself ! " exclaimed the Prince, when they 
 met; "it is she who saved my life, when I lay like 
 a corpse on the seashore ! " a.nd he pressed his blush- 
 ing bride to his beating heart. 
 
 " Oh, I am all too happy ! " said he to his dumb 
 foundling, " what I never dared to hope for has come 
 to pass. Thou must rejoice in my happiness, for 
 thou lovest me more than all others who surround 
 me." And the little Mermaid kissed his hand in si- 
 lent sorrow; it seemed to her as if her heart was 
 breaking already, although the morrow of his mar- 
 riage-day, which must inevitably see her death, had 
 not yet dawned. 
 
 Again rang the church bells, whilst heralds rode 
 through the streets of the capital to announce the 
 approaching bridal. Odorous flames burned in silver ^ 
 candlesticks on all the altars, the priests swung theja' 
 golden censers, and bride and bridegroom joined ha^'ds 
 
THE LITTLE MEEMAID. 69 
 
 whilst the holj words that united them were spoken. 
 The little Mermaid, clad in silk and cloth of gold, 
 stood behind the princess, and held the train of the 
 bridal dress ; but her ear heard nothing of the solemn 
 music; her eye saw not the holy ceremony; she re- 
 membered her approaching end ; she remembered that 
 she had lost both this world and the next. 
 
 That very same evening bride and bridegroom went 
 Dn board the ship; cannons were fired, flags waved 
 with the breeze, and in the centre of the deck was 
 raised a magnificent pavilion of purple and cloth of 
 jold, fitted up with the richest and softest couches. 
 Here the princely pair were to spend the night. A 
 favorable wind swelled the sails, and the shi-o glided 
 .ightly over the blue waters. 
 
 As soon as it was dark, colored lamps were hung 
 3ut, and dancing began on the deck. The little Mer- 
 naid was thus involuntarily reminded of what she had 
 ieen the first time she rose to the upper world. The 
 spectacle that now presented itself was equally splen- 
 iid ; and she was obliged to join in the dance, hov- 
 jring lightly as a bird over the ship-boards. All 
 ipplauded her, for never had she danced with more 
 iuchanting grace. Her little feet suffered extremely, 
 jut she no longer felt the pain ; the anguish her heart 
 luffered was much greater. It was the last evening 
 ihe might see him for whose sake she had forsaken 
 ler home and family, had given away her beautiful 
 '^oice, and suffered daily the most violent pain, — all 
 vithout his having the least suspicion of it. It was 
 he last evening that she might breathe the same 
 
70 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 atmosphere in which, he, the beloved one, lived; 
 the last evening when she might behold the deep 
 blue sea, and the starry heavens, — an eternal night, 
 in which she might neither think nor dream, awaited 
 her. And all was joy in the ship ; and she, her heart 
 filled with thoughts of death and annihilation, smiled 
 and danced with the others till past midnight. Then 
 the Prince kissed his lovely bride, and arm in arm 
 they entered the magnificent tent prepared for their 
 repose. 
 
 All was now still ; the steersman alone stood at the 
 ship's helm. The little Mermaid leaned her white 
 arms on the gallery, and looked towards the east, 
 watching for the dawn ; she well knew that the first 
 sunbeam would witness her dissolution. She saw her 
 sisters rise out of the sea ; deadly pale were their 
 features, and their long hair no more fluttered over 
 their shoulders — it had all been cut off. 
 
 " We have given it to the witch," said they, " to 
 induce her- to help thee, so that thou mayst not die. 
 She has given to us a penknife — here it is ! Before 
 the sun rises, thou must plunge it into the Prince's 
 heart ; and when his warm blood trickles down upon 
 thy feet, they will again be changed to a fish-like 
 tail ; thou wilt once more become a Mermaid, and wilt 
 live thy full three hundred years, ere thou changest 
 to foam on the sea. But hasten ! either he or thou 
 must die before sunrise. Our aged mother mourns 
 for thee so much her gray hair has fallen off through 
 sqrrow, as ours fell before the scissors of the witch. 
 Kill tK6 Prince, and come down to us ! Hasten ! 
 
THE LITTLE MERMAID. 71 
 
 hasten ! dost thou not see the red streaks on the east- 
 ern sky, announcing the near approach of the sun ? 
 A few minutes more and he rises, and then all will be 
 over with thee." At these words they sighed deeply, 
 and vanished. 
 
 The little Mermaid drew aside the purple curtains 
 of the paviliori, where lay the bride and bridegroom ; 
 bending over them, she kissed the Prince's forehead, 
 and then, glancing at the sky, she saw that the dawn- 
 ing light became every moment brighter. The Prince's 
 lips unconsciously murmured the name of his bride — 
 he was dreaming of her, and her only, whilst the fatal 
 penknife trembled in the hand of the unhappy Mer- 
 maid. All at once she threw far out into the sea that 
 instrument of death ; the waves rose like bright blaz- 
 ing flames around, and the water where it fell seemed 
 tinged with blood. With eyes fast becoming dim and 
 fixed, she looked once more at her beloved Prince, 
 then plunged from the ship into the sea, and felt her 
 body slowly but surely dissolved into foam. 
 
 The sun rose from his watery bed ; his beams fell 
 so softly and warmly upon her, that our little Mer- 
 maid was scarcely sensible of dying. She still saw 
 the glorious sun ; and over her head hovered a thou- 
 sand beautiful, transparent forms, — so transparent 
 were they that through them she could distinguish 
 the white sails of the ship and the bright red clouds 
 in the sky; the voices of these airy creatures had a 
 melody so sweet and soothing that a human ear would 
 be as little able to catch the sound as the eye to dis- 
 cern their forms ; they hovered around her without 
 
72 andeesek's faiby tales, 
 
 wings, borne by their own lightness through the air. 
 The little Mermaid at last saw that she had a body 
 transparent as theirs, and felt herself raised gradually 
 from the foam of the sea to higher regions. 
 
 " Where are they taking me ? " asked she ; and her 
 accents sounded just like the voices of those heavenly 
 beings. 
 
 " Speak you to the daughters of air ? " was the an- 
 swer. "The Mermaid has no immortal soul, and can 
 only acquire that heavenly gift by winning the love of 
 one of the sons of men ; her immortality depends upon 
 union with man Neither do the daughters of air 
 possess immortal souls, but they can acquire them by 
 their own good deeds. We fly to hot countries, where 
 the children of earth are wasting away under siiltry, 
 pestilential breezes— - our fresh, cooling breath revives 
 them. We diffuse ourselves through the atmosphere ; 
 we perfume it with the delicious fragrance of flowers, 
 and thus spread delight and health over the earth. 
 By doing good in this manner for three hundred years, 
 we win immortality, and receive a share of the eter- 
 nal bliss of human beings. And thou, poor little Mer- 
 maid ! who, following the impulse of thine own heart, 
 hast done and suffered so much, thou art now raised 
 to the airy world of spirits, that, by performing deeds 
 of kindness for three hundred years, thou mayest ac- 
 quire an immortal soul." 
 
 The little Mermaid stretched out her transparent 
 arms to the sun, and, for the first time in her life, 
 tears moistened her eyes. 
 
 And now again all were awake and rejoicing in the 
 
THE LITTLE MEEMAID. 73 
 
 ship ; she saw the Prince, with his pretty bride ; they 
 had missed her ; they looked sorrowfully down on the 
 foamy waters, as if they knew she had plunged into 
 the sea ; unseen, she kissed the bridegroom's forehead, 
 smiled upon him, and then, with the rest of the chil- 
 dren of air, soared high above the rosy cloud which 
 was sailing so peacefully over the ship. 
 
 " After three hundred years we shall fly in the king- 
 dom of heaven ! " 
 
 " We may arrive there even sooner," whispered one 
 of her sisters. " We fly invisibly through the dwell- 
 ings of men, where there are children ; and whenever 
 we find a good child, who gives pleasure to his parents 
 and deserves their love, the good God shortens our 
 time of probation. No child is aware that we are flit- 
 ting about his room, and that whenever joy draws 
 from us a smile a year is struck out of our three hun- 
 dred. But when we see a rude, naughty child, we 
 weep bitter tears of sorrow ; and every tear we shed 
 adds a day to our time of probation." 
 
74 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 THE STOEKS. 
 
 ON the roof of a house situated at the extremity 
 of a small town, a stork had built his nest- 
 There sat the mother-stork, with her four young ones, 
 who all stretched out their little black bills, which 
 had not yet become red. Not far off, upon the parar 
 pet, erect and proud, stood the father-stork ; he had 
 drawn one of his legs under him, being weary of 
 standing on two. You might have fancied him carved 
 in- wood, he stood so motionless. "It looks so grand," 
 thought he, " for my wife to have a sentinel to keep 
 guard over her nest; people cannot know that I am 
 her husband ; they will certainly think that I am com- 
 manded to stand here — how well it looks ! " and so 
 he remained standing on one leg. 
 
 In the street below, a number of children were play- 
 ing together. When they saw the storks, one of the 
 liveliest amongst them began to sing as much as he 
 could remember of some old rhymes about storks, in 
 which he was soon joined by the others : — 
 
 " Stork! stork! long-legged stork! 
 Into thy nest I prithee walk; 
 There sits thy mate, 
 With her four children so great. 
 
 The first we'll hang like a cat, 
 The second we'll hum. 
 The third on a spit we'll turn, 
 The fourth drown dead as a rat! " 
 
THE STORKS. 75 
 
 " Only listen to what the boys are singing," said 
 the little storks ; " they say we shall be hanged and 
 burnt ! " 
 
 " Never mind," said the mother, " don't listen to 
 them ; they will do you no harm." 
 
 But the boys went on singing, and pointed their 
 fingers at the storks ; only one little boy, called Peter, 
 said, " It was a sin to mock and tease animals, and 
 that he would have nothing to do with it." 
 
 The mother-stork again tried to comfort her little 
 ones. " Never mind," said she ; " see how composedly 
 your father is standing there, and upon one leg only." 
 
 " But we are so frightened ! " said the young ones, 
 drawing their heads down into the nest. 
 
 The next day, when the children were again as- 
 sembled to play together, and saw the storks, they 
 again began their song : — 
 
 " The first we'll hang like a cat, 
 The second we'll bum ! " — 
 
 " And are we really to be hanged and burnt ? " ■ 
 asked the young storks. 
 
 " No, indeed ! " said the mother. " You shall learn 
 to fly ; I will teach you myself. Then we can fly over 
 to the meadow, and pay a visit to the frogs. They 
 will bow to us in the water, and say, ' Croak, croak ! ' 
 and then we shall eat them ; will not that be nice ? " 
 
 " And what then ? " asked the little storks. 
 
 " Then all the storks in the country will gather 
 together, and the autumnal exercise will begin. It is 
 of the greatest consequence that you should fly well 
 
76 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 then ; for every one who does not, the general will stab 
 to death with his bill ; so you must pay great attention 
 when we begin to drill you, and learn very quickly." 
 
 " Then we shall really be killed after all ! as the 
 boys said. Oh, listen ! they are singing it again ! " 
 
 " Attend to me, and not to them ! " said the mother. 
 " After the grand exercise, we shall fly to warm coun- 
 tries, far, far away from here, over mountains and 
 forests. We shall fly to Egypt, where are the three- 
 cornered stone houses whose summits reach the clouds; 
 they are called pyramids, and are older than it is pos- 
 sible for storks to imagine. There is a river, too, 
 which overflows its banks, so as to make the whole 
 country like a marsh ; and we shall go into the marsh 
 and eat frogs." 
 
 " Oh ! " said the young ones. 
 
 " Yes, it is delightful ! one does nothing but eat aU 
 the day long. And whilst we are so comfortable, in 
 this country not a single green leaf is left on the trees ; 
 and it is so cold that the clouds are frozen, and fall 
 down upon the earth in little white pieces.'' She 
 meant snow, but she could not express herself more 
 clearly. 
 
 "And will the naughty boys be frozen to pieces 
 too ? " asked the young storks. 
 
 '' !N"o, they will not be frozen to pieces ; but they 
 will be nearly as badly off as if they were ; they will 
 be obliged to crowd round the fire in their little dark 
 rooms ; while you, on the contrary, will be flying about 
 in foreign lands, where there are beautiful flowers and 
 warm sunshine." 
 
THE STORKS. 77 
 
 Well, time passed away, and the young storks grew 
 so tall that when they stood upright in the nests they 
 could see the country around to a great distance. The 
 father-stork used to bring them every day the nicest 
 little frogs, as well as snails, and all the other stork 
 tidbits he could find. Oh ! it was so droll to see him 
 show them his tricks ; he would lay his head upon his 
 tail, make a rattling noise with his bill, and then tell 
 them such charming stories, all about the moors. 
 
 " Now you must learn to fly ! " said the mother one 
 day ; and accordingly all the four young storks were 
 obliged to come out upon the parapet. Oh ! how they 
 trembled ! And though they balanced themselves on 
 their wings, they were very near falling. 
 
 " Only look at me," said the mother. " This is the 
 way you must hold your heads ; and in this manner 
 place your feet — one, two ! one, two ! this will help 
 you to get on." She flew a little way, and the young 
 ones made an awkward spring after her, — bounce! 
 down -they fell, for their bodies were heavy. 
 
 " I will not fly ! " said one of the young ones, as he 
 crept back into the nest ; " I do not want to go into 
 the warm countries ! " 
 
 '•'Do you want to be frozen to death during the 
 winter ? shall the boys come, and hang, burn, or roast 
 you ? Wait a little, I will call them ! " 
 
 " Oh, no ! " said the little stork ; and again he began 
 to hop about on the roof like the others. By the 
 third day they could fly pretty well, and so they 
 thought they could also sit and take their ease in the 
 air ; but bounce ! down they tumbled, and found them- 
 
78 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 selves obliged to make use of tlieir wings. The boys 
 now came into their street, singing their favorite 
 song, — 
 
 "Stork! stork! long-legged stork!" 
 
 " Shall not we fly down and peck out their eyes ? " 
 said the young ones. 
 
 " No, leave them alone ! " said the mother. " At- 
 tend to me, that is of much more importance ! — one, 
 two, three, now to the right ! — one, two, three, now to 
 the left, round the chimney-pot ! That was very well ; 
 you managed your wings so neatly last time that I 
 will permit you to come with me to-morrow to the 
 marsh ; several first-rate stork families will be there 
 with their children. Let it be said that mine are the 
 prettiest and best behaved of all ; and remember to 
 stand very upright, and to throw out your chest ; that 
 looks well, and gives such an air of distinction ! " 
 
 " But are we not to take revenge upon those rude 
 boys ? " asked the young ones. 
 
 " Let them screech as much as they please ! You 
 will fly among the clouds, you will go to the lands of 
 the pyramids, when they must shiver with cold, and 
 have not a single green leaf to look at, nor a single 
 sweet apple to eat ! " 
 
 " Yes, we shall be revenged ! " whispered they, one 
 to another. And then they were drilled again. 
 
 Of all the boys in the town, the forwardest in sing-, 
 ing nonsensical verses was always the same one who 
 had begun teasing the storks, a little urchin not more 
 than six years old. The young storks, indeed, fan- 
 
THE STORKS. 79 
 
 cied him a hundred years old, because he was bigger 
 than either their father or mother ; and what should 
 they know about the ages of children or grown-up 
 human beings ! All their schemes of revenge were 
 aimed at this little boy ; he had been the first to tease 
 them, and he teased them still. The young storks 
 were highly excited about it ; and, the older they 
 grew, the less they were inclined to endure persecu- 
 tion. Their mother, in order to pacify them, at last 
 promised that they should be revenged, but not until 
 the last day of their stay in this place. 
 
 " We must first see how you behave yourselves at 
 the grand exercise ; if then you should fly badly, and 
 the general should thrust his beak into your breast, 
 the boys will, in some measure, be proved in the right. 
 Let me see how well you will behave ! " 
 
 " Yes, that you shall ! " said the young ones. And 
 now they really took great pains, practised every day, 
 and at last flew so lightly and prettily that it was a 
 pleasure to see them. 
 
 Well, now came the autumn. All the storks as- 
 sembled, in order to fly together to warm countries 
 for the winter. What a practising there was ! Away 
 they went over woods and fields, towns and villages, 
 merely to see how well they could fly, for they had a 
 long journey before them. The young storks distin- 
 guished themselves so honorably that they were pro- 
 nounced '•' worthy of frogs and serpents." This was 
 the highest character they could obtain ; now they 
 were allowed to eat frogs and serpents — and eat 
 them they did. 
 
80 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 " Now we will have our revenge ! " said they. 
 
 " Very well ! " said the mother ; " I have been think- 
 ing what will be best. I know where is the pool in 
 which all the little human children lie until the storks 
 come and take them to their parents ; the pretty lit- 
 tle things sleep and dream so pleasantly as they will 
 never dream again. All parents like to haTfe a little 
 child, and all children like to have a little brother or 
 sister. "We will fly to the pool, and fetch one for each 
 of the boys who has not sung that wicked song, nor 
 made a jest of the storks ; and the other naughty 
 children shall have none." 
 
 " But he who first sung those naughty rhymes — 
 that great ugly fellow ! what shall we do to him ? " 
 cried the young storks. 
 
 " In the pool there lies a little child who has 
 dreamed away his life ; we will take it for him, and 
 he will weep because he has only a little dead brother. 
 But as to the good boy who said it was a sin to mock 
 and tease animals, surely you have not forgotten him ? 
 We will bring him two little ones, a brother and a 
 sister. And as this little boy's name is Peter, you, 
 too, shall for the future be called ' Peter ! ' " 
 
 And it came to pass just as the mother said ; and 
 all the storks were called "Peter," and are still so 
 called to this very day. 
 
LITTLE Ida's floweks. 81 
 
 LITTLE IDA'S FLOWEES. 
 
 " TV T Y poor flowers are quite faded ! " said little Ida. 
 
 lyX. " Only yesterday evening they were so pretty, 
 and now they are all drooping ! What can be the 
 reason of' it?" asked she of the Student, who was 
 sitting on the sofa, and who was a great favorite with 
 her, because he used to tell her stories, and cut out 
 all sorts of pretty things for her in paper, such as 
 hearts with little ladies dancing in them, high castles 
 with open doors, etc. " Why do these flowers look so 
 deplorable? " asked she again, showing him a bouquet 
 of faded flowers. 
 
 1" " Do you not know ? " replied the Student. " Your 
 flowers went to a ball last night, and are tired ; that 
 is why they all hang their heads." 
 
 " Surely flowers cannot dance ! " exclaimed little 
 Ida. 
 
 " Of course they can dance ! When it is dark, and 
 we are all gone' to bed, they jump about as merrily as 
 possible. They have a ball almost every night." 
 
 " May their children go to the ball too ?" asked Ida. 
 
 " Yes," said the Student ; " little daisies, and lilies 
 of the valley." 
 
 " And where do the prettiest flowers dance ? " 
 
 " Have you never been in the large garden in front 
 of the King's beautiful summer palace, the garden so 
 
82 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 full of flowers ? Surely you recollect the swans whicli 
 come swimming up to you when you throw them 
 crumbs of bread ? There you may imagine they 
 have splendid balls." 
 
 " I was there yesterday with my mother," said Ida ; 
 " but there were no leaves on the trees, neither did I 
 see a single flower. What could have become of 
 them ? There were so many in the summer-time ! " 
 + " They are now at the palace," answered the Stu- 
 dent. " As soon as the King leaves his summer resi- 
 dence, and returns with all his court to the town, the 
 flowers likewise hasten out of the garden and into the 
 palace, where they enjoy themselves famously. Oh, if 
 you could but see them ! The two loveliest roses sit on 
 the throne, and act King and Queen. The red cocks- 
 combs then arrange themselves in rows before them, 
 bowing very low ; they are the gentlemen of the" bed- 
 chamber. After that the prettiest among the flowers 
 come in, and open the ball. The blue violets repre- 
 sent midshipmen, and begin dancing with the hya- 
 cinths ajid crocuses, who take the part of young 
 ladies. The tulips and the tall orange-lilies are old 
 dowagers, whose business it is to see that everything 
 goes on with perfect propriety." 
 
 " But," asked the astonished little Ida, " may the 
 flowers give their ball in the King's palace ? " 
 
 "No one knows anything about it," replied the 
 Student. " Perhaps once during the night the old 
 Castellan may come in, with his great bunch of keys, 
 to see that all is right; but as soon as the flowers 
 hear the clanking of the keys they are quite still, and 
 
LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS. 83 
 
 hide themselves behind the long silk window-curtains. 
 ' I smell flowers here,' says the old Castellan, but he 
 is not able to find them." 
 
 " That is very funny," said Ida, clapping her little 
 hands ; " but could not I see the flowers ? " 
 
 " To be sure you can see them ! " returned the Stu- 
 dent. " You have only to peep in at the window next 
 time you go to the palace. I did so to-day, and saw a 
 long yellow lily lying on the sofa. That was a court 
 lady." 
 
 " Can the flowers in the Botanic Garden go there 
 too ? Can they go so far ? " asked Ida. 
 
 " Certainly, for flowers can fly if they wish it. The 
 pretty red and yellow butterflies, that look so miich 
 like flowers, are in fact nothing else. They jump 
 from their stalks, move their petals as if they were 
 little wings, and fly about; as a reward for always 
 behaving themselves well, they are allowed, instead 
 of sitting quietly on their stalks, to flutter hither and 
 thither all day long, till wings actually grow out of 
 their petals. You feave often seen it yourself. For 
 the rest, it may be that the flowers in the Botanic 
 Garden have not heard what nierry-making goes on 
 every night at the palace; but I assure you, if next 
 time you go into the garden, you whisper to one of 
 the flowers that a ball is to be given at night at Fred- 
 ericksberg the news will be repeated from flower to 
 flower, and thither they will all fly to a certainty. 
 Then, should the Professor come into the garden, and 
 find all his flowers gone, he will not be able to ima- 
 gine what is become of them." 
 
84 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 " Indeed ! " said Ida ; " and, pray, how can the 
 flowers repeat to each other what I say to them ? I 
 am sure that flowers cannot speak." 
 
 " No, they cannot speak — you, are right there," 
 returned the Student; "but they make themselves 
 understood by pantomime. Have you never seen them 
 move to and fro at the least breath of air ? They can 
 understand each other this way as well as we can by 
 talking." 
 
 "And does the Professor understand their panto- 
 mime ? " asked Ida. 
 
 " Oh, certainly ! One morning he came into the 
 garden, and perceived that a tall nettle was convers- 
 ing in pantomime with a pretty red carnation. ' Thou 
 art so beautiful,' said he to the carnation, ' and I love 
 thee so much ! ' But the Professor could not allow 
 such things ; so he gave a rap at the nettle's leaves, 
 which are his fingers, and in doing so he stung him- 
 self, and since then has never dared to touch a nettle." 
 
 " Ah, ah ! " laughed little Ida ; " that was very 
 droll." 
 
 " What do you mean by this ? " here interrupted 
 the tedious Counsellor, who had come on a visit ; 
 " putting such trash into the child's head ! " He could 
 not endure the Student, and always used to scold 
 when he saw him cutting out pasteboard figures ; as, 
 for instance, a man on the gallows holding a heart in 
 his hand, which was meant for a heart-stealer ; or an 
 old witch, riding on a broomstick, and carrying her 
 husband on the tip of her nose. He used always to 
 say then, as now, " What do you mean by putting 
 
LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS. 85 
 
 such trash into the child's head ? It is all fantastical 
 nonsense ! " 
 
 However, little Ida thought what the Student had 
 told her about the flowers was very droll, and she 
 could not leave off thinking of it. She was now sure 
 that her flowers hung their heads because they were 
 tired with dancing so much the night before. So she 
 took them to the pretty little table where her play- 
 things were arranged. Her doll lay sleeping in the 
 cradle ; but Ida said to her, " You must get up, Sophy, 
 and be content to sleep to-night in the table-drawer, 
 for the poor flowers are ill, and must sleep in your 
 bed ; perhaps they will be well again by to-morrow." 
 She then took the doll out of the bed ; but the good 
 lady looked vexed at having to give up her cradle to 
 the flowers. 
 
 Ida then laid the faded flowers in her doll's bed, 
 drew the covering over them, and told them to lie 
 quite still, whilst she made some tea for them to 
 drink, in order that they might be well again the next 
 day. And she drew the curtains round the bed, that 
 the sun might not dazzle their eyes. 
 
 All the evening she thought of nothing but the 
 Student's words ; and just before she went to bed she 
 ran up to the window, where her mother's tulips and 
 hyacinths stood, behind the blinds, and whispered to 
 them, " I know very well that you are going to a ball 
 to-night." But the flowers moved not a leaf, and 
 seemed not to have heard her. 
 
 After she was in bed, she thought for a long time 
 how delightful it must be to see the flowers dancing 
 
86 andeesen's faiey tales. 
 
 in the palace, and said to herself, " I ■wonder whether 
 my flowers have been there ? " but before she could 
 determine the point, she fell asleep. During the night 
 she awote; she had been dreaming of the Student 
 and the flowers, and of the Counsellor, who told her 
 that they were making game of her. All was still in 
 the room, the night-lamp was burning on the table, 
 and her father and mother were both asleep. 
 
 "I wonder whether my flowers are still lying in 
 Sophy's bed ? " said she. " I should very much like 
 to know." She raised herself a little, and looking 
 towards the door, which stood half open, she saw that 
 the flowers and all her playthings were just as she 
 had left them. She listened, and it seemed to her as 
 if some one must be playing on the harpsichord ; but 
 the tones were lower and sweeter than she had ever 
 heard before. 
 
 " Now my flowers must certainly be dancing," said 
 she. " Oh, how I should like to see them ! " but she 
 dared not get up, for fear of waking her father and 
 mother. " If they would only come in here ! " Still, 
 the flowers did not come, and the music sounded so 
 sweetly. At last she could restrain herself no longer ; 
 she must see the dancing. So she crept lightly out 
 of the bed, and stole towards the door of the room. 
 Oh, what wonderful things she saw then ! 
 
 There was no night-lamp burning here; however, 
 it was quite light in the room, for the moon shone 
 brightly through the windows on the floor. All the 
 hyacinths and tulips stood there in two rows, whilst 
 their empty pots might still be seen in front of the 
 
LITTLE roA'S FLOWERS. 87 
 
 windows ; they performed figures, and took hold of 
 each other by the long green leaves. At the harpsi- 
 chord sat a large yellow lily, which Ida fancied she 
 must have seen before ; for she remembered the Stu- 
 dent's saying that this flower was exceedingly like 
 Miss Laura, and how every one had laughed at his 
 remark. Now she herself agreed that the lily did 
 resemble this young lady ; for she had exactly her way 
 of playing, bowing her long yellow face now on one 
 side, now on the other, and nodding her head to mark 
 the time. A tall blue crocus now stepped forward, 
 sprang upon the table on which lay Ida's playthings, 
 went straight up to the bed, and drew back the cur- 
 tains. There lay the sick flowers ; but they rose im- 
 mediately, and greeted the other flowers, who invited 
 them to dance with them. The sick flowers appeared 
 quite well again, and danced as merrily as the rest. 
 
 Suddenly a heavy noise, as of something falling 
 from the table, was heard. Ida cast a glance that 
 way, and saw that it was the rod which she had found 
 on her bed on the morning of Shrove Tuesday, and 
 which seemed desirous of ranking itself among the 
 flowers. It was certainly a very pretty rod; for a 
 wax-doll was fixed on the top, wearing a hat as broad- 
 brimmed as the Counsellor's, with a blue-and-red rib- 
 bon tied round it. It hopped upon its three red stilts 
 in the middle of the flowers, and stamped the floor 
 merrily with its feet. It was dancing the mazurka, 
 which the flowers could not dance ; they were too light- 
 footed to stamp. 
 
 All at once the wax-doll on the rod swelled out to 
 
88 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 a giant, tall and broad, and exclaimed in a loud voice, 
 " What do you mean by putting such trash into the 
 child's head ? It is all fantastical nonsense ! " And 
 now the doll looked as much like the Counsellor in 
 his broad-brimmed hat, as one drop of water resem- 
 bles another ; her countenance looked as yellow and 
 peevish as his ; the paper flowers on the rod, however, 
 pinched her thin legs, whereupon she shrunk up to 
 her original size. The little Ida thought this scene 
 so droll that she could not help laughing ; the ball 
 company, however, did not notice it, and the rod con- 
 tinued to stamp about, till at last the doll-counsellor 
 was obliged to dance too, whether she would or no, 
 and make herself now thin, now thick, now tall, now 
 short, till at last the flowers interceded for her, and 
 the rod then left her in peace. 
 
 A loud knocking was now heard from the drawer 
 in which lay Ida's doll. It was Sophy who made the 
 noise. She put her head out of the drawer and asked, 
 in great astonishment, " Is there a ball here ? why 
 has no one told me of it ? " 
 
 " Will you dance with me ? " asked the nutcrackers. 
 
 " Certainly you are a very fit person to dance with 
 me ! " said Sophy, turning her back upon him. She 
 then sat down on the table, expecting that one of the 
 flowers would come and ask her to dance, but no one 
 pg,i)[je, She coughed — " hem ! hem ! " still no one 
 canje. jVteantinie the outcrackers danced by himself, 
 and his steps were not at all .badly made. 
 
 As no flowers came forward to ask Sophy to dance, 
 all at once she let herself fall down upon the floor, 
 
LiTTLK Ida's flowers. 89 
 
 ■which excited a general commotion, so that all the 
 flowers ran up to ask her whether she had hurt her- 
 self. But she had received no injury. The flowers, 
 however, were all very polite, especially Ida's flowers, 
 who took the opportunity of thanking her for the com- 
 fortable bed in which they had slept so quietly, and 
 then seized her hands to dance with her, whilst all 
 the other flowers stood in a circle round them. Sophy 
 was now quite happy, and begged Ida's flowers to 
 make use of her bed again after the ball, as she did 
 not at all mind sleeping one night in the table-drawer. 
 
 But the flowers said, " We owe you many thanks 
 for your kindness ; we shall not live long enough to 
 need it ; we shall be quite dead by to-morrow ; but 
 request the little Ida to bury us in the garden near 
 her canary-bird, then we shall grow again next sum- 
 mer, and be even more beautiful thau we have been 
 this year." 
 
 " No, you must not die ! " replied Sophy warmly, as 
 she kissed the flowers. Just then the door was sud- 
 denly opened, and a number of flowers danced into 
 the room. Ida could not conceive where these flowers 
 came from, unless from the King's garden. First of 
 all entered two beautiful roses wearing golden crowns, 
 then followed stocks and pinks, bowing to the com- 
 pany on all sides. They had also a band of music with 
 them ; great poppies and peonies blew upon pea-shells 
 till they were quite red in the face, whilst blue and 
 white campanulas rang a merry peal of bells. These 
 were followed by an immense number of different 
 flowers, air dancing; violets, daisies, lilies of the 
 
90 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 valley, narcissuses, and others, who all moved so 
 gracefully that it was delightful to see them. 
 
 At last these happy flowers wished one another 
 " good-night ; " so little Ida once more crept into bed 
 to dream of all the beautiful things she had seen. 
 
 The next morning, as soon as she was up and 
 dressed, she went to her little table to see if her 
 flowers were there. She drew aside the bed-curtains 
 — yes ! there lay the flowers, but they were to-day 
 much more faded than yesterday; Sophy, too, was 
 lying in the drawer, but she looked uncommonly 
 sleepy. 
 
 "Can you not remember what you have to say to 
 me?" asked little Ida of her; but Sophy made a 
 most stupid face, and answered not a syllable. 
 
 " You are not at all good ! " said Ida ; " and yet all 
 the flowers let you dance with them." She then chose 
 out from her playthings a little pasteboard box with 
 birds painted on it, and therein she placed the faded 
 flowers. " That shall be your cofBn," said she ; " and 
 when my Norwegian cousins come to see me, they 
 shall go with me to bury you in the garden, in order 
 that next sumnier you may bloom again, and be still 
 more beautiful than you have been this year." 
 
 The two Norwegian cousins, of whom she spoke, 
 were two lively boys, called Jonas and Adolph. 
 Their father had given them two iiew crossbows, 
 which they brought with them to show to Ida. She 
 told them of the poor flowers that were dead, and 
 were to be buried in the garden. The two boys 
 walked in front with their bows slung across their 
 
LITTLE Ida's flowers. 91 
 
 shoulders, and little Ida followed, carrying the dead 
 flowers in their pretty coffin. A grave was dug for 
 them in the garden. Ida kissed the flowers once 
 more, then laid the box down in the hollow, and 
 Jonas and Adolph shot arrows over the grave with 
 their crossbows, for they had neither guns nor 
 cannon. . 
 
92 akdersen's faiey tales. 
 
 THE SWINEHEED. 
 
 THEEE was once a poor Prince who had a king- 
 dom : 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 an- 
 swered " Yes ! " a,nd " Thank you kindly." We shall 
 see what this Princess said. Listen ! 
 
 It happened that where the Prince's father lay bur- 
 ied there grew a rose-tree, — a most beautiful rose-tree, 
 which blossomed onlyjDnce 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 for- 
 gotten by him who inhaled its fragrance. 
 
 And, furthermore, the Prince had a nightingale, who 
 could sing in such a manner that it seemed as if 
 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 cas- 
 kets, and sent to her. 
 
 The Emperor had them brought into a large hall, 
 where the Priiicess 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. 
 
THE SWINEHERD. 93 
 
 " Ah, if it were but a little pussy-cat ! " exclaimed 
 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. 
 
 " Pie, papa ! " said she, " it is not made at all, it is 
 natural ! " 
 
 " Fie ! " cried all the courtiers, " it is natural ! " 
 
 " Let us see what is in the other casket before we 
 get into a bad humor," proposed the Emperor. So the 
 nightingale came forth, and sang so delightfully that 
 at first no one could say anything ill-humored of her. 
 
 " Superbe I charmant I " 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 ! " remarked 
 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. 
 
 " Yet it is a real bird," said those who had' brought it. 
 
 " Well, then let the bird fly," returned the Prin- 
 cess ; and she positively refused to see the Prince. 
 
 However, he was not to be discouraged; he daubed 
 
94 andeesen's eaiey tales. 
 
 his face over brown and black, pulled his cap over 
 Ms 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 saucepan. Little 
 bells were hung all round it ; and when the pot was 
 boiling, these bells tinkled in the most charming man- 
 ner, and played the old melody : — 
 
 "Aoh! du lieber Augustin, 
 Alles ist weg, weg, veg! "i 
 
 But what was still more curious, whoever held his 
 finger in the smoke of this saucepan immediately 
 smelt all the dishes that were cooking on every hearth 
 in the city ; this, you see, was something quite dififer- 
 ent 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 Augus- 
 tin ; " it was the only piece she knew, and she played 
 it with one finger. 
 
 " Why, there is my piece ! " said the Princess ; " that 
 
 1 "Ah I dear Augustine! 
 All is lost, lost, lost!" 
 
THE SWINEHEBD. 95 
 
 swineherd must certainly have been well educated! 
 Go in and ask him the price of the instrument." 
 
 So one of the court-ladies had to run in ; however, 
 she drew on wooden slippers first. 
 
 " What will you take for the saucepan ? " inquired 
 the lady. 
 
 " I will have ten kisses from the Princess," said the 
 swineherd. 
 
 " Indeed ! " said the lady. 
 
 " I cannot sell it for less," rejoined the swineherd. 
 
 " Well, what does he say ? " asked the Princess. 
 
 " I cannot tell you, really," replied the lady ; " it is 
 too bad 1 " 
 
 " Then you can whisper it ! " So the lady whis- 
 pered it. 
 
 " 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, — 
 
 "Aoh! du lieber Augustin, 
 AUes 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 ! " answered the swineherd ; " ten 
 kisses from the Princess, or I keep the saucepan my- 
 self." 
 
 " 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 saucepan. 
 
96 ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 That was delightful ! the saucepan was kept boiling 
 all the 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-f avored_ swine- 
 herd — let not a day pass without working at some- 
 thing ; 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 superhel" said the Princess when 
 she passed by ; "I have never heard prettier composi- 
 tions ! Go in and ask him the price of the instru- 
 ment ; 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 ! " replied 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." 
 
THE SWINEHEED. 97 
 
 " 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 every one 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 courtyard, 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 ! " cried 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. 
 
98 ^ Andersen's paikx- tales. 
 
 " Alas ! unkappy 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 
 wouldst not have an honorable prince ! thou couldst 
 not prize the rose and the nightingale, but thou wast 
 ready to kiss the swineherd for the sake of a trum- 
 pery 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, 
 AUes ist weg, weg, wegl " 
 
OLE LTJCKOIE; OB, THE DUSTMAN. 
 
 OLE LUCKOIE; OE, THE DUSTMAN. 
 
 THEKE is no one in the -whole world who knows 
 so many stories as Ole Luckoie, the Dustman 
 — oh ! his are delightful stories. 
 
 In the evening, when children are sitting quietly at 
 table, ,or on their little stools, he takes off his shoes, 
 comes softly up-stairs, opens the door very gently, 
 and all on a sudden throws dust into the children's 
 eyes. He then glides behind them, and breathes 
 lightly, very lightly, upon their necks, whereupon 
 their heads become immediately so heavy ! But it 
 does them no harm, for the Dustman means it kindly ; 
 he only wants the children to be quiet, and they are 
 most quiet when they are ia bed. They must be quiet, 
 in order that he may tell them his stories. 
 
 When the children are asleep, the Dustman sits 
 down upon the bed ; he is gayly dressed, his coat is 
 of silk, but of what Color it is impossible to say, for it 
 seems now green, now red, now blue, according to the 
 light. Under each arm he holds an umbrella ; one, 
 which has pictures painted on it, he holds over good 
 children, it makes them have the most delightful 
 dreams all night long ; and the other, which has 
 nothing on it, he holds over naughty children, so that 
 they sleep heavily, and awake in the morning with- 
 out having dreamed at all. 
 
100 Andersen's faiey tales. 
 
 ' N'.ow lejb us hear what stories the Dustman told to a 
 'little boy of the name of Hialmar, to whom he came 
 every evening for a whole week through. There are 
 seven stories altogether, for the week has seven days. 
 
 MONDAY. 
 
 "Listen to me," said Ole Luckoie, as soon as he 
 had got Hialmar into bed. "Now I will decorate 
 your room ; " and all at once, as he was speaking, the 
 flowers in the flower-pots grew up into large trees, the 
 long branches of which extended to the ceiling, and 
 along the walls, so that the room looked like a beau- 
 tiful arbor. All these branches were full of flowers ; 
 and every flower was more beautiful even than the 
 rose, and had so pleasant a smell. Moreover, could 
 you have tasted them, you would have found them 
 sweeter than preserves. And fruit which shone like 
 gold hung from the trees, also dumplings full of cur- 
 rants ; never was the like seen before. But, at the 
 same time, a loud lamentation was heard in the table- 
 drawer, where Hialmar's school-books were kept. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " said the Dustman, going 
 up to the table, and taking out the drawer. There 
 lay the slate, on which the figures were pressing and 
 squeezing together, because a wrong figure had got 
 into the sum, so that it was near falling to pieces ; 
 the pencil hopped and tugged at its string like a little 
 dog — he wanted to help the sum, but he could not. 
 And a little farther off lay Hialmar's copy-book: a 
 complaining and moaning came thence also, it was 
 quite unpleasant to hear it ; at the beginning of every 
 
It makes them have the most delightful dreams. 
 
OLE ltjckoie; ok, the dustman. 101 
 
 line, on each, page, there stood a large letter with a 
 little letter by its side ; this was the copy : and under- 
 neath them stood other letters, intended to look like the 
 copy. Hialmar had written these ; but they seemed 
 to have fallen over the lines, upon which they ought 
 to have stood. 
 
 " Look, this is the way you must hold yourselves," 
 said the copy; "look slanting — just so, with a grace- 
 ful curve." 
 
 " Oh ! we would do so willingly," said Hialmar's 
 letters ; " but we cannot, we are so badly made ! " 
 
 " Then you shall have some of the children's pow- 
 ders," said the Dustman. 
 
 " Oh, no ! " cried they, and stood so straight that it 
 was a pleasure to see them. 
 
 "Well, I cannot tell you any more stories now," 
 said the Dustman ; " I must drill these letters : right, 
 left— right, left ! " So he drilled the letters till they 
 looked as straight and perfect as only the letters in a 
 copy can be. However, after the Dustman had gone 
 away, and when Hialmar looked at them the next 
 morning, they were as miserable and badly formed 
 as before. 
 
 TUESDAY. 
 
 As soon as Hialmar was in bed, the Dustman 
 touched with his little magic wand all the pieces of 
 furniture in the room ; whereupon they all began to 
 talk : and they all talked about themselves, excepting 
 the spittoon, who stood quite still, and was much 
 vexed at their being so vain, all talking about them- 
 selves, without ever thinking of him who stood so 
 
102 andeesen's paiey tales. 
 
 modestly ia the corner, and suffered himself to be 
 spat upon. 
 
 Over the wardrobe, there hung a large picture in 
 a gilt frame ; it was a landscape ; there you might see 
 tall trees, flowers blossoming in the grass, and a river 
 that wound itself round the wood, passing many a 
 grand old castle on its way to the sea. 
 
 The Dustman touched the picture with his magic 
 wand ; and immediately the birds began to sing, the 
 boughs of the trees waved to and fro, and the clouds 
 actually flew ; one could see their shadows flit over 
 the landscape. 
 
 The Dustman then lifted little Hialmar up to the 
 frame, and Hialmar put his legs into the picture ; 
 there he stood amid the tall grass. He ran to the 
 water's edge, and sat down in a little boat, painted 
 red and white, with sails glittering like silver; six 
 swans, with golden wreaths round their necks, and 
 bright blue stars upon their heads, drew the boat 
 along, near a green wood, where the trees were tell- 
 ing stories about robbers and witches, and the flowers 
 were talking of the pretty little fairies, and of what 
 the butterflies had said to them. 
 
 Most beautiful fishes, with scales like gold and sil- 
 ver, swam behind the boat, every now and then leap- 
 ing up, so that the water was splashed over Hialmar's 
 head ; birds red and blue, great and small, flew after 
 him in two long rows ; the gnats danced, and the 
 cockchafers said, " Boom, boom." They all wished 
 to accompany Hialmar, and every one of them had a 
 story to tell. 
 
OLE LTJCKOIE; OE, THE DUSTMAN. 103 
 
 A pleasant voyage was that ! The woods were now 
 thick and gloomy, now like beautiful gardens beam- 
 ing with flowers and sunshine. Large palaces built 
 of glass or marble rose from among the trees ; young 
 princesses stood in the balconies — these were all lit- 
 tle girls whom Hialmar knew well, and with whom he 
 had often played. They stretched out their hands to 
 him, each holding a pretty little image made of sugar, 
 such as are seen in confectioners' shops. Hialmar 
 seized the end of one of these little images as he 
 sailed by, and a princess kept hold of the other, so 
 each got half, the princess the smaller, Hialmar the 
 larger. At every castle little princes were keeping 
 guard; they shouldered their golden scimetars, and 
 showered down raisins and tin soldiers — these were 
 real princes ! Hialmar sailed sometimes through 
 woods, sometimes through large halls, or the middle 
 of a town. Among others, he passed through the 
 town where his nurse lived, she who had brought him 
 up from his infancy, and who loved him so much. 
 She nodded and beckoned to him as he passed by, and 
 sang the pretty verses she had herself composed and 
 sent to him : — 
 
 "How many, many hours I think on thee. 
 
 My own dear Hialmar, still my pride and joy! 
 How have I hung delighted over thee, 
 Kissing thy rosy cheeks, my darling hoy! 
 
 Thy first low accents it was mijne to hear; 
 
 To-day my farewell words to thee shall fly. 
 Oh! may the Lord thy shield he ever near, 
 
 And fit thee lor a mansion in the sky! " 
 
104 Andersen's faiey tales. 
 
 And all the birds sang with her, the flowers danced 
 upon their stalks, and the old trees nodded their 
 heads, whilst the Dustman told stories to them also. 
 
 WEDNESDAY. 
 
 Oh, how the rain was pouring down ! Hialmar 
 could hear it even in his sleep, and when the Dust- 
 man opened the window the water came in upon the 
 ledge ; there was quite a lake in front of the house, 
 and on it a splendid ship. 
 
 " Will you sail with me, little Hialmar ? " said the 
 Dustman ; " if you will, you shall visit foreign lands 
 to-night, and be here again by the morning." 
 
 And now Hialmar, dressed in his Sunday clothes, 
 was in the ship ; the weather immediately cleared up, 
 and they floated down the street, cruised round the 
 church, and were soon sailing upon the wide sea. 
 They quickly lost sight of land, and could see only a 
 number of storks, who had all come from Hialmar's 
 country, and were going to a warmer one. The storks 
 were flying one after another, and were already very 
 far from land. One of them, however, was so weary 
 that his wings could scarcely bear him up any longer ; 
 he was last in the train, and was soon far behind the 
 others ; he sank lower and lower, with his wings out- 
 spread ; he still endeavored to move them, but in vain ; 
 his wings touched the ship's cordage, he slid down 
 the sail, and — bounce ! there he stood on the deck. 
 
 So the cabin-boy put him into the place where the 
 hens, ducks, and turkeys were kept; the poor Stork 
 stood amongst them quite confounded. 
 
OLE LUGKOIE ; OR, THE DUSTMAN. 105 
 
 " Only look, what a foolish fellow I " said all the 
 Hens. And the Turkey-cock made himself as big as 
 he could, and asked him who he was ; and the Ducks 
 waddled backwards and pushed each other, crying 
 " Quack, quack ! " 
 
 The Stork then told them about his warm Africa, 
 about the pyramids, and about the ostrich, who races 
 through the desert like a wild horse ; but the Ducks 
 did not understand him, and again pushed each other, 
 saying, " Do not we all agree in thinking him very 
 stupid ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed, he is stupid ! " said the Turkey-cock, 
 and began to gobble. 
 
 So the Stork was silent, and thought of his Africa. 
 " You have really very pretty slender legs ! " said the 
 Turkey-cock. " What did they cost you per yard ? " 
 
 " Quack, quack, quack ! " all the Ducks began to 
 titter; but the Stork seemed not to have heard the 
 question. 
 
 " You might just as well have laughed with them," 
 said the Turkey-cock to him, " for it was a capital 
 joke ! But perhaps it was not high enough for you ? 
 Ah ! ah! he has very grand ideas ; let us go on amus- 
 ing ourselves." And then he gobbled, the Hens 
 cackled, and the Ducks quacked ; they made a horrid 
 noise with their amusements. 
 
 But Hialmar went to the hen-house, opened the 
 door, and called the Stork, who immediately jumped 
 on deck ; he had now rested himself sufficiently, and 
 bowed his head to Hialmar, as if to thank him. He 
 then spread his wings and flew away — whilst the 
 
106 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 Hens cackled, the Ducks quacked, and the Turkey- 
 cock turned red as fire. 
 
 " To-morrow we -will have you all made into 
 soup ! " said Hialmar ; whereupon he awoke, and 
 found himself in his own little bed. A strange jour- 
 ney had the Dustman taken him that night ! 
 
 THURSDAY. 
 
 " I'll tell you what ! " said the Dustman, " do not 
 be afraid, and you shall see a little mouse ! " and he 
 held out his hand, with the pretty little animal in it. 
 " She is come to invite you to a wedding ; there are 
 two little mice here, who intend this very night to 
 enter into matrimony. They live under the floor of 
 the dining-room ; theirs must be such a pretty 
 house ! " 
 
 " But how can I get through the little hole ? " 
 asked Hialmar. " Let me take care of that," said the 
 Dustman. " I will make you very little I " and he 
 touched Hialmar with his magic wand, and Hialmar 
 became smaller and smaller, till at last he was no 
 larger than his own fingers. " Now you can borrow 
 the tin soldier's clothes; I think they will just fit 
 you ; and it looks so grand to wear uniform when 
 you are in company." 
 
 " Ah, yes ! " said Hialmar, and in another moment 
 he was dressed like the prettiest little tin soldier. 
 
 " Will you have the goodness to sit down in your 
 mother's thimble ? " said the little Mouse. " In that 
 case, I shall feel honored by drawing you." 
 
 " What ! will you really take so much trouble ? " 
 
OLE luck()IE; oe, the dustman. 107 
 
 said Hialmar ; and away they went to the Mouse's 
 wedding. 
 
 They first came to a long passage under the floor, 
 which was high enough for the thimble to be drawn 
 along through it, and was illuminated with lighted 
 tinder throughout. 
 
 " Is there not a pleasant smell here ? " said the 
 Mouse who was drawing the thimble. "The whole 
 passage is covered with rind of bacon ; there is noth- 
 ing more delightful ! " 
 
 They now entered the bridal apartment ; the lady 
 Mice stood on the right-hand side, whispering to 
 gether, seemingly very merry ; on the left side stood 
 the gentlemen Mice, who were all stroking their whis- 
 kers with their paws. In the middle of the room 
 the bride and bridegroom were seen, standing in the 
 scooped-out rind of a cheese, and kissing each other 
 incessantly, before the eyes of all present. They 
 were already betrothed, and were to be married im- 
 mediately. Strangers were arriving every moment; 
 the Mice almost trod each other to death; and the 
 bridal pair had placed themselves just in the centre of 
 the doorway, so that one could neither get out nor get 
 in. The whole room was, like the passage, covered 
 with the rind of bacon ; this was all the entertain- 
 ment given ; for dessert, however, a pea was exhib- 
 ited, in which a little Mouse belonging to the family 
 had bitten the initials of the married couple. Was 
 not this an exquisite idea ? 
 
 All the Mice agreed that the wedding had been ex- 
 tremely genteel, and the conversation delightful. 
 
108 andeksen's fairy tales. 
 
 f 
 
 So now Hialmar returned home ; he had certainly 
 been in most distinguished company ; but still he 
 felt as if he had rather lowered himself, by becoming 
 so small, and wearing the uniform of one of his own 
 tin soldiers. 
 
 FBIDAT. 
 
 " It is incredible what a number of old people there 
 are always wanting to have me with them," said the 
 Dustman, " especially those who have done anything 
 wicked. ' Dear, good Dustman,' they say to me, ' we 
 cannot sleep a wink all night ; we lie awake and see 
 all our bad deeds sitting on the edge of the bed, like 
 little ugly goblins, and sprinkling scalding water over 
 us. If you would but come and drive them away, 
 so that we could have a little sleep,' and then they 
 sigh so deeply, ' we will be sure to pay you well, — 
 good-night, Dustman, the money is lying at the win- 
 dow.' But I do not come for money," added Old 
 LuckSie. 
 
 " What are we to do to-night ? " asked Hialmar. 
 
 " Why, I do not know whether you would like to go 
 again to a wedding ? The one of which I am now 
 speaking is quite of another kind from yesterday's. 
 Your sister's great doll, that looks like a man, .and is 
 called Herman, is going to marry the doll Bertha; 
 moreover, it is a birthday ; so they will doubtless 
 receive a great many presents." 
 
 " Oh, yes ! I know that already," said Hialmar ; 
 "whenever the dolls want new clothes, my sister 
 calls it either their birthday or their wedding-day. 
 
OLE luckoib; oe, the dustman. 109 
 
 They must certainly have been married a hundred 
 times already." 
 
 "Yes, but to-night they will be married for the 
 hundred and iirst time ; and when it has come to 
 that number, they can never be married again. So 
 this time the wedding will be splendid ! Only look ! " 
 
 And Hialmar looked upon the table, where stood 
 the little doll's house ; the windows were lighted up, 
 and tin soldiers presented arms at the door. The 
 bride and bridegroom were sitting on the ground, and 
 leaning against the leg of the table; they seemed very 
 thoughtful, — there was, perhaps, good reason for be- 
 ing so. But the Dustman had, meanwhile, put on his 
 grandmother's black gown, and married them. When 
 the ceremony was over, all the furniture in the room 
 began singing the following pretty song, which had 
 been written by the Lead-pencil : — 
 
 "Waft, gentle breeze, our kind farewell 
 To the tiny house where the hridefolks dwell, 
 "With their skin of kid-leather fitting so well; 
 They are straight and upright as a tailor's ell. 
 Hurrah, hurrah for beau and belle! 
 Let echo repeat our kind farewell! " 
 
 And now presents were brought to them ; all eat- 
 ables^ however, they declined accepting ; love was 
 enough for them to live upon. 
 
 " Shall we go into the country, or make a tour in 
 .some foreign land ? " asked the bridegroom. So the 
 Swallow, who had travelled a good deal, and the old 
 Hen, who had hatched five broods of chickens, were 
 consulted. And the Swallow spoke of those beauti- 
 
110 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 ful, warm countries, where bunches of grapes, large 
 and heavy, hang on the vines ; where the air is so 
 balmy, and the mountains are tinged with various 
 hues, such as are never known here. 
 
 " But then they have not our green cabbages ! " 
 said the Hen. " One summer, I and all my chick- 
 ens lived in the country; there was a gravel-pit, in 
 which we might go and scrape about ; besides, we 
 had access to a garden full of green cabbages. Oh, 
 how green they were ! I cannot imagine anything 
 more beautiful ! " 
 
 " But one head of cabbage looks exactly like an- 
 other," said the Swallow ; " and then we so often 
 have wet weather here ! " 
 
 " One gets accustomed to that," said the Hen. 
 
 " But it is so cold, it freezes ! " 
 
 " That is good for the cabbages," said the Hen ; 
 " besides which, it can be warm sometimes. Did 
 we not, four years ago, have a summer which lasted 
 five weeks ? It was so hot, that one could hardly 
 breathe. Then, too, we have not all the poisonous 
 animals which they have in foreign countries ; and 
 we are free from robbers. He is a blockhead who 
 does not think our country the most beautiful of 
 all ! he does not deserve to live here ! " and at these 
 words tears rolled down the Hen's cheeks. " I, too, 
 have travelled ; I have been twelve miles in a coop. 
 There is no pleasure at all in travelling." 
 
 " Yes, the Hen is a sensible animal ! " said the doll 
 Bertha. " I do not wish to travel over the moun- 
 tains ; one is always going up and down ! No, we 
 
OLE LUCKOIB; OR, THE DUSTMAN. Ill 
 
 will go to the gravel-pit, and walk in the garden 
 among the cabbages." 
 And so it was settled. 
 
 SATURDAY. 
 
 " Now may I have some stories ? " asked little 
 Hialmar, as soon as the Dustman had put him to 
 sleep. 
 
 "We shall have no time for them this evening," 
 said the Dustman, spreading his picture-umbrella over 
 him. " Look at these Chinese ! " The umbrella re- 
 sembled a large Chinese plate, with blue trees and 
 pointed bridges ; little Chinese men and women stood 
 nodding their heads among them. 
 
 " By to-morrow morning all the world must be put 
 in order," said the Dustman ; " it is a festival day — 
 it is Sunday. I must go to the church-tower, to see 
 whether the little Nisses are rubbing the bells, so as 
 to make them ring merrily. I must away to the fields, 
 to see that the winds are sweeping the dust off the 
 grass and leaves. I must take down the stars, in order 
 to brighten them. I put them into my apron, but first 
 they must be numbered ; and the holes in which they 
 fit, up in the sky, must be numbered also, that every 
 one may return to his proper place ; else they would 
 not sit firmly, and we should have too many falling 
 stars, one coming down after another." 
 
 " Listen to me, good Mr. Ole Luckoie," said an old 
 Portrait, which hung by the wall, near where Hialmar 
 was sleeping. "Do you know that I am Hialmar's 
 great-grandfather ? I am much obliged to- you for 
 
112 andeesen's paiey tales. 
 
 telling the boy stories, but you must not puzzle him. 
 Stars cannot-be taken down and brightened ; they are 
 bodies like our earth." 
 
 " Many thanks, old Great-grandfather ! " said the 
 Dustman, " many thanks ! Thou art certainly very 
 old, but I am older still ! I am an old heathen ; the 
 Greeks and Eomans called me the God of Dreams. I 
 have been in families of the greatest distinction, and 
 I go there still ! I know how to deal with great and 
 small ! Now it is thy turn ; say what thou pleasest ! " 
 
 " So one is no longer allowed to speak one's mind ! " 
 muttered the old Portrait. 
 
 And presently Hialmar awoke. 
 
 SUNDAY. 
 
 " Good-evening ! " said the Dustman ; and Hialmar 
 nodded his head to him, and jumped up to turn his 
 great-grandfather's Portrait to the wall, in order that 
 he might not interrupt them, as yesterday. 
 
 " Now you shall tell me stories about the five green 
 peas who all lived in one pod ; and about the cock 
 courting the hen ; and about the darning-needle, who 
 was so fine that she fancied herself a sewing-needle." 
 
 " One may have too much of a good thing ! " said 
 the Dustman. " I would rather show you something 
 else ; I will' show you my brother. He never comes 
 more than once to any one ; and whomsoever he visits 
 he takes on his horse, and tells him a story. He 
 knows only two stories ; the one unspeakably delight- 
 ful, such as no one in the world can imagine; the 
 other so dreadful, so horrible — it is not to be de- 
 
OLD luck.oie;,or, the dustman. 113 
 
 scribed." And the Dustman lifted little Hialmar up 
 to tlie window, saying, "There is my brother, the 
 other Dustman ; he is also called Death ! You see 
 he is not so frightful as he is represented in picture- 
 books, where he seems to be all bones ; no, he wears 
 clothes embroidered with sUver; it is the gayest of 
 uniforms ! a mantle of black velvet flutters over his 
 horse, behind him. See how he gallops ! " 
 
 And Hialmar saw the other Dustman ride on, and 
 take old and young with him on his horse : some he 
 placed in front, and others behind ; but he always 
 asked first what sort of a journal they had to show. 
 
 " Good," they all replied. " Yes, but let me see 
 it," said he ; so they were obliged to show it to him; 
 and all those who had " Very good " written in it were 
 put in front of the horse, and heard the story that 
 was so delightful ; but those who had " Pretty good," 
 or " Bad," inscribed in their journals, were obliged to 
 get up behind, and listen to the horrible story. They 
 trembled and wept ; they tried to jump down from 
 the horse's back ; but that they could not do, for they 
 were as firmly fixed on as if they had grown there. 
 
 " Death is a most beautiful Dustman," said Hial- 
 mar ; " I am not afraid of him." 
 
 " That you should not be," said the Dustman ; 
 "only take care to have a good journal to show." 
 
 " Ah, this is very instructive ! " muttered the great- 
 grandfather's Portrait. " It is always of use to give 
 one's opinion." He was now satisfied. 
 
 These are the stories of Ole Luckoie ; perhaps he 
 may tell you more this very evening. 
 
114 andeksen's fairy tales. 
 
 THE DAISY. 
 
 LISTEN to my story ! 
 J In the country, close by the roaaside, there 
 stands a snmmer-honse — you must certainly have 
 seen it. In front is a little garden full of flowers, en- 
 closed by white palings ; and on a bank outside the 
 palings there grew, amidst the freshest green grass, a 
 little Daisy. The sun shone as brightly and warmly 
 upon the Daisy as upon the splendid large flowers 
 within the garden ; and therefore it grew hourly, so 
 that one morning it stood fully open, with its delicate 
 white gleaming leaves, which, like rays, surrounded 
 the little yellow sun in their centre. 
 
 It never occurred to the little flower that no one 
 saw her, hidden as she was among the grass ; she was 
 quite contented; she turned towards the warm sun, 
 looked at it, and listened to the Lark who was sing- 
 ing in the air. 
 
 The Daisy was as happy as if it were the day of 
 some high festival, and yet it was only Monday. The 
 children were at school; and whilst they sat upon 
 their forms, and learned their lessons, the little flower 
 upon her green stalk learned from the warm sun, and 
 everything around her, how good God is. Meanwhile 
 all that she felt in silence was expressed clearly and 
 beautifully by the little Lark ! And the flo'v^er looked 
 
THE DAISY. 115 
 
 up witli a sort of reverence to the happy bird who could 
 fly and sing; it did not distress her that she could 
 not do the same. "I can see and listen," thought 
 she ; " the sun shines on me, and the -wind kisses me. 
 Oh ! how richly am I blessed." 
 
 There stood within the palings several grand, stiff- 
 looking flowers ; the less fragrance they had the more 
 airs they gave themselves. The Peonies puffed them- 
 selves out, in order to make themselves larger than 
 the Eoses. The Tulips had the gayest colors of all ; 
 they were perfectly aware of it, and held themselves 
 as straight as a candle, that they might be the better 
 seen. . They took no notice at all of the little flower 
 outside the palings ; but she looked all the more upon 
 them, thinking, " How rich and beautiful they are ! 
 Yes, that noble bird will surely fly down and visit 
 them. How happy am I, who live so near them, and 
 can see their beauty ! " Just at that moment, " Quir- 
 revit ! " the Lark did fly down, but he came not to the 
 Peonies or the Tulips : no, he flew down to the poor 
 little Daisy in the grass, who was almost frightened 
 from pure joy, and knew not what to think, she was 
 so surprised. 
 
 The little bird hopped about and sang, " Oh, how 
 soft is this grass ! and wha.t a, sweet little flower 
 blooms here, with its golden heart and silver gar- 
 ment ! " for the yellow centre of the Daisy looked 
 just like gold, and the little petals around gleamed 
 silver white. 
 
 How happy the little Daisy was ! no one can im- 
 agine how happy. The bird kissed her with his beak, 
 
116 akdeksen's faiey tales. 
 
 sang to her, and then flew up again into the blue sky. 
 It was a full quarter of an hour ere the flower re- 
 covered herself. Half ashamed, and yet completely 
 happy, she looked at the flowers in the garden ; they 
 must certainly be aware of the honor and happiness 
 that had been conferred upon her, they must know 
 how delighted she was. But the Tulips held them- 
 selves twice as stiff as before, and their faces grew 
 •quite red with anger. As to the thick-headed Peo- 
 nies, it was, indeed, well that they could not speak, 
 or the little Daisy would have heard something not 
 very pleasant. The poor little flower could see well 
 that they were in an ill-humor, and she was much 
 grieved at it. Soon after, a girl came into the garden 
 with a knife sharp and bright ; she went up to the 
 Tulips and cut off one after another. " Ugh ! that is 
 horrible," sighed the Daisy ; " it is now all over with 
 them." The girl then went away with the Tulips. 
 How glad was the Daisy that she grew in the grass 
 outside the palings, and was a despised little flower ! 
 She felt really thankful ; and when the sun set, she 
 folded her leaves, went to sleep, and dreamed all 
 night of the sun and the beautiful bird. 
 
 The next morning, when our little flower, fresh 
 and cheerful, again spread out all her white leaves in 
 the bright sunshine and clear blue air, she heard the 
 voice of the bird ; but he sang so mournfully. Alas ! 
 the poor Lark had good reason for sorrow; he had 
 been caught, and' put into a cage close by the open 
 window. He sang of the joys of a free and and unre- 
 strained flight ; he sang of the young green corn in 
 
THE DAISY. 117 
 
 the fields, and of the pleasure of being borne up by 
 his wings in the open air. The poor bird was cer- 
 tainly very unhappy — he sat a prisoner in his nar- 
 row cage ! 
 
 The. little Daisy would so willingly have helped 
 him, but how could she ? Ah, that she knew not ; 
 she quite forgot how beautiful it was all around her, 
 how warmly the sun shone, how pretty and white 
 were her leaves. Alas ! she could only think of the 
 imprisoned bird — whom it was not in her power to 
 help. 
 
 All at once two little boys came out of the garden ; 
 one of them had a knife in his hand, as large and as 
 sharp as that with which the girl had cut the Tulips. 
 They went up straight to the little Daisy, who could 
 not imagine what they wanted. 
 
 " Here we can cut a nice piece of turf for the 
 Lark," said one of the boys ; and he began to cut 
 deep all around the Daisy, leaving her in the centre. 
 
 " Tear out the flower," said the other boy ; and the 
 little Daisy trembled all over for fear ; for she knew 
 that if she were torn out she would die, and she 
 wished so much to live, as she was to be put into 
 the cage with the imprisoned Lark. 
 
 " Ko, leave it alone ! " said the first, " it looks so 
 pretty ; " and so she was let alone, and was put into 
 the Lark's cage. 
 
 But the poor bird loudly lamented the loss of his 
 freedom, and beat his wings against the iron bars of 
 his cage ; and the little flower could not speak — 
 could not say a single word of comfort to him, much 
 
118 Andersen's taiky tales. 
 
 as she wished to do so. Thus passed the whole 
 morning. 
 
 - " There is no water here I " sang the captive Lark ; 
 " they have all gone out and forgotten me ; not a 
 drop of water to drink ! my throat is dry and burn- 
 ing ! there is fire and ice within me, and the air is so 
 heavy ! Alas ! I must die ; I must leave the warm 
 sunshine, the fresh green trees, and all the beauti- 
 ful things which God has created ! " And then he 
 pierced his beak into the cool grass, in order to refresh 
 himself a little — and his eye fell upon the Daisy, 
 and the bird bowed to her, and said, "Thou, too, 
 wilt wither here, thou poor little flower ! They have 
 given me thee, and the piece of green around thee, 
 instead of the whole world which I possessed be- 
 fore ! Every little blade of grass is to be to me a 
 green tree, thy every white petal a fragrant flower ! 
 Alas ! thou only remindest me of what I have lost." 
 
 " Oh ! that I could comfort him ! " thought the 
 Daisy ; but she could not move a single petal ; yet 
 the fragrance which came from her delicate blos- 
 som was stronger than is usual with this flower ; the 
 bird noticed it, and although, panting with thirst, he 
 tore the green blades in very anguish, he did not 
 touch the flower. 
 
 It was evening, and yet no one came to bring the 
 poor bird a drop of water ; he stretched out his slen- 
 der wings, and shook them convulsively ; his song 
 was a mournful wail ; his little head bent towards 
 the flower, and the bird's heart broke from thirst 
 and desire. The flower could not now, as on the pre- 
 
THE DAISY. 119 
 
 ceding eveiiing, fold together her leaves and sleep: 
 sad and sick, slie drooped to the ground. 
 
 The boys did not come till the next morning ; and 
 when they saw the bird was dead, they wept bitterly. 
 They dug a pretty grave, which they adorned with 
 flower-petals ; the bird's corpse was put into a pretty 
 red box ; royally was the poor bird buried ! Whilst 
 he yet lived and sang they forgot him — left him suf- 
 fering in his cage — and now he was highly honored 
 and bitterly bewailed. 
 
 But the piece of turf with the Daisy in it was 
 thrown out into the street ; no one thought of her 
 who had felt most for the little bird, and who had so 
 much wished to comfort him ! 
 
120 andeksen's faiey tales. 
 
 THE BUCKWHEAT. 
 
 IF, after a tempest, you chance to -walk through a 
 field where Buckwheat is growing, you may ob- 
 serve that it is burnt as black as though a flame of 
 fire had passed over it ; and should you ask the rea- 
 son, the peasant will tell you, " That the lightning 
 has done it." 
 
 But how is it that the lightning has done it ? I 
 will tell you what the Sparrow told me; and the 
 Sparrow heard the story from an old Willow-tree, 
 which grew, and still grows, close to a field of Buck- 
 wheat. 
 
 This WOlow-tree is tall and highly respectable, 
 but at the same time old and wrinkled : its trunk 
 has been riven asunder from top to bottom ; grass and 
 brambles grow out of the gap ; the tree bends for- 
 ward, and the branches hang down almost to the 
 ground, looking like long green hair. 
 ■ There were different kinds of corn growing in the 
 fields around the Willow ; rye, wheat, and oats — the 
 beautiful oats, whose ears, when they, are ripe, look 
 like a number of little yellow canary birds sitting upon 
 one branch. The corn-ears were richly blessed ; and 
 the fuller they were, the lower they bowed their heads 
 in pious humility. 
 
 But there was also a field of Buckwheat, lying just 
 
THE BUCKWHEAT, 121 
 
 in front of the old Willow-tree ; the Buckwheat bowed 
 not like the rest of the corn ; he stood stiff and proud. 
 
 " I am quite as rich as the wheat," said he ; " and, 
 besides, I am so much more handsome ; my flowers 
 are as beautiful as the blossoms of the apple-tree ; it 
 is delightful to look at me and my companions. Do 
 you know anything more beautiful than we are, you^ 
 old Willow-tree ? " 
 
 And the Willow-tree bent his head, as much as to 
 say, " Yes, indeed I do ! " But the Buckwheat was 
 puffed up with pride, and said, " The stupid tree ! he 
 is so old that grass is growing out of his body." 
 
 Now came on a dreadful storm; all the flowers of 
 the field folded their leaves, or bent their heads, as it 
 passed over them ; the Buckwheat however, in his 
 pride, still stood erect. 
 
 " Bow thy head as we do ! " said the Mowers. 
 
 " I have no need," said the Buckwheat. 
 '" Bow thy head as we do ! " said the Corn. " The 
 angel of storms comes flying hitherward ; he has wings 
 which reach from the clouds to the earth ; he will 
 strike thee down before thou hast time to entreat for 
 mercy ! " 
 
 " No, I will not bow ! " said the Buckwheat. 
 
 " Close thy flowers, and fold thy leaves," said the 
 old Willow-tree ; " look not into the flash, when the 
 cloud breaks. Men even dare not to do that; for 
 the flash reveals to us God's heaven, and that sight 
 must dazzle even human eyes ; what, then, would it 
 prove to mere vegetables like us, if we should dare to 
 look into it, — we, who are so inferior to men ? " 
 
122 Andersen's faiey tales. 
 
 " So inferior, indeed ! " said the Buckwheat. " Now, 
 then, I will look right into God's heaven." And, in 
 his pride and haughtiness, he did gaze upon the light- 
 ning without shrinking. Such was the flash, that it 
 seemed as if the whole worid was in flames. 
 
 When the tempest was over, Mowers and Corn, 
 greatly refreshed by the rain, once more breathed 
 pure air ; but the Buckwheat had been burnt as black 
 as a coal by the lightning: it stood on the field a 
 dead, useless plant. 
 
 And the old Willow-tree waved its branches to and 
 fro in the wind, and large drops of water fell from the 
 green leaves, as though the tree wept. And the Spar- 
 rows asked, "Why weepest thou? it is so beautiful 
 here ! See how the sun shines ; how the clouds pass 
 over the clear sky ; how sweet is the fragrance of the 
 flowers ! Why, then, weepest thou, old Willow-tree ? " 
 
 And the Willow-tree told of the Buckwheat's pride 
 and haughtiness, and of the punishment which fol- 
 lowed. I, who relate this story, heard it from the 
 Sparrows — they told it to me one evening when I 
 asked them for a tale. 
 
THE EEAL PRINCESS. 123 
 
 THE EEAL PEESTCESS. 
 
 THEEE was once a Prince who wished, to marry 
 a Princess, but then she must be a real Prin- 
 cess. 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 re- 
 turned 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; 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 one little 
 
124 ANDERSEN'S FAIEY TALES. 
 
 pea on the bedstead. She then laid twenty mat- 
 tresses one upon another over the pea, 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 some- 
 thing hard under me, and am all over black and blue. 
 It has hurt me so much ! " 
 
 !N"ow it was plain that the lady must be a real 
 Princess, since she had been able to feel the one 
 little pea 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 pea, however, was put into the cabinet of curi- 
 osities, where it is still to be seen, provided it be not 
 lost. 
 
 Was not this a lady of real delicacy ? 
 
THE FIR-TKEE. 125 
 
 THE FIE-TEEE. 
 
 FAR away in the deep forest, ttere once grew a 
 pretty Fir-Tree; the situation was delightful, 
 the sun shone full upon him, the breeze played freely 
 around him, and in the neighborhood grew many 
 companion fir-trees, some older, some younger. But 
 the little Fir-Tree was not happy : he was always 
 longing to be tall; he thought not of the warm sun 
 and the fresh air ; he cared not for the merry, prat- 
 tling peasant children who came to the forest to look 
 for strawberries and raspberries. Except, indeed, 
 sometimes, when after having filled their pitchers, or 
 threaded the bright berries on a straw, they would 
 sit down near the little Fir-Tree, and «ay, " What a 
 pretty little tree this is ! " and then the Fir-Tree 
 would feel very much vexed. 
 
 Year by year he grew, a long green shoot sent he 
 forth every year ; for you may always tell how many 
 years a fir-tree has lived by counting the number of 
 joints in its stem. 
 
 " Oh, that I was as tall as the others are," sighed 
 the little Tree, " Then I should spread out my 
 branches so far, and my crown should look out over 
 the wide world around! the birds would build their 
 nests among my branches, and when the wind blew 1 
 should bend my head so grandly, just as the other? 
 do!" 
 
126 Andersen's eairy tales. 
 
 He had no pleasure in the sunshine, in the song of 
 the birds, or iu the red clouds that sailed over him 
 every morning and evening. 
 
 In the winter-time, when the ground was covered 
 with the white, glistening snow, there was a hare 
 that would come continually scampering about, and 
 jumping right over the little Tree's head — and that 
 was most provoking ! However, two wiaters passed 
 away, and by the third the Tree was so tall that the 
 hare was obliged to run round it. " Oh ! to grow, to 
 grow, to become tall and old, that is the only thing 
 in the world worth living for ;" — -so thought the 
 Tree. 
 
 The wood-cutters came in the autumn and felled 
 some among the largest of the trees ; this happened 
 every year, and our young Fir, who was by this 
 time a tolerable height, shuddered, when he saw 
 those grand, magnificent trees fall with a tremen- 
 dous crash, crackling to the earth : their boughs were 
 then all cut off ; terribly naked, and lanky, and long 
 did the stems look after this — they could hardly be 
 recognized. They were laid one upon another in 
 wagons, and horses drew them away, far, far away, 
 from the forest. Where could they be going ? 
 What might be their fortunes ? 
 
 So next spring, when the Swallows and the Storks 
 had returned from abroad, the Tree asked them, say- 
 ing, " Know you not whither they are taken ? have 
 you not met them ? " 
 
 The Swallows knew nothing, about the matter; 
 but the Stork looked thoughtful for a moment, then 
 
THE FIR-TEEE. 127 
 
 nodded his head, and said, " Yes, I believe I have 
 seen them ! As I -was flying from Egypt to this 
 place I met several ships ; those ships had splendid 
 masts. I have little doubt that they were the trees 
 that you speak of ; they smelled like fir-wood. I 
 may congratulate you, for they sailed gloriously, 
 quite gloriously ! " 
 
 " Oh, that I, too, were tall enough to sail upon the 
 sea ! Tell me what it is, this sea, and what it looks 
 like." 
 
 " Thank you, it would take too long, a great 
 deal ! " said the Stork, and away he stalked. 
 
 " Eejoice in thy youth ! " said the Sunbeams ; " re- 
 joice in thy luxuriant youth, in the. fresh life that 
 is within thee ! " 
 
 And the Wind kissed the Tree, and the Dew wept 
 tears over him, but the Fir-Tree understood them not. 
 
 When Christmas approached, many quite young 
 trees were felled — trees which were some of them 
 not so tall or of just the same height as the young 
 restless Fir-Tree who was always longing to be away ; 
 these young trees were chosen from the most beauti- 
 ful, their branches were not cut off, they were laid 
 in a wagon, and horses drew them away, far, far 
 away, from the forest. 
 
 " Where are they going ? " asked the Fir-Tree. 
 " They are not larger than I am ; indeed, one of 
 them was much less ; why do they keep all their 
 branches ? where can they be gone ? " 
 
 " We know ! we know ! " twittered the Sparrows. 
 "We peeped in through the windows of the town 
 
128 Andersen's faiky tales. 
 
 below ! we know where they are gone ! Oh, you can- 
 not think what honor and glory they receive ! We 
 looked through the window-panes, and saw them 
 planted in a warm room, and decked out with such 
 beautiful things — gilded apples, sweetmeats, play- 
 things, and hundreds of bright candles ! " 
 
 " And then ? " asked the Eir-Tree, trembling in 
 every bough ; " and then ? what happened then ? " 
 
 " Oh, we saw no more. That was beautiful, beauti- 
 ful beyond compare ! " 
 
 " Is this glorious lot destined to be mine ? " cried 
 the Fir-Tree, with delight. " This is far better than 
 sailing over the sea. How I long for the time ! 
 Oh, that Christmas were come ! I am now tall and 
 full of branches, like the others which last year were 
 carried away. Oh, that I were even now in the 
 wagon ! that I were in the warm room, honored and 
 adorned ! and then — yes, then, something still better 
 must happen, else why should they take the trouble 
 to decorate me ? it must be that something still 
 greater, still more splendid, must happen — but what ? 
 Oh, I suffer, I suffer with longing ! I know not what 
 it is that I feel ! " 
 
 " Rejoice in our love ! " said the Air and the Sun- 
 shine. " Eejoice in thy youth and thy freedom ! " 
 
 But rejoice he never would : he grew and grew, in 
 winter as in summer ; he stood there clothed in green, 
 dark-green foliage ; the people that saw him said, 
 " That is a beautiful tree ! " and next Christmas he 
 was the first that was felled. The axe struck sharply 
 through the wood, the tree fell to the earth with a 
 
THE FIE-TREB. 129 
 
 heavy groan ; he suffered an agony, a faintness, that 
 he bad never expected; he quite forgot to think of 
 his good fortune, he felt such sorrow at being com- 
 pelled to leave his home, the place whence he had 
 sprung; he knew that he should never see again 
 those dear old comrades, or the little bushes and 
 flowers that had flourished under his shadow, per- 
 haps not even the birds. Neither did he find the 
 journey by any means pleasant. 
 
 The Tree first came to himself when, in the court- 
 yard to which he was first taken with the other trees, 
 he heard a man say, " This is a splendid one, and the 
 very thing we want ! " 
 
 Then came two smartly dressed servants, and car- 
 ried the Fir-Tree into a large and handsome saloon. 
 Pictures hung on the walls, and on the mantel-piece 
 stood large Chinese vases with lions on the lids ; 
 there were rocking-chairs, silken sofas, tables covered 
 with picture-books, and toys that had cost a hundred 
 times a hundred rix-dollars — at least so said the 
 children. And the Fir-Tree was planted in a large 
 cask filled with sand, but no one could know that it 
 was a cask, for it was hung with green cloth, and 
 placed upon a carpet woven of many gay colors. 
 Oh, how the Tree trembled! What was to happen 
 next ? A young lady, assisted by the servants, now 
 began to' adorn him. 
 
 Upon some branches they hung little nets cut out 
 of colored paper, every net filled with sugar-plums ; 
 from others gilded apples and walnuts were sus- 
 pended, ] ooking just as if they had grown there ; and 
 
130 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 more than a hundred little wax-tapers, red, blue, and 
 white, were placed here and there among the boughs. 
 Dolls, that looked almost like nien and women — the 
 Tree had never seen such things before — seemed 
 dancing to and fro among the leaves, and highest, on 
 the summit, was fastened a large star of gold tinsel ; 
 this was, indeed, splendid, splendid beyond compare ! 
 "This evening," they said, "this evening it will be 
 lighted up." 
 
 " Would that it were evening ! " thought the Tree. 
 " Would that the lights were kindled, for then — 
 what will happen then ? Will the trees come out of 
 the forest to see me ? Will the sparrows fly here and 
 look in through the window-panes ? Shall I stand 
 here adorned, both winter and summer ? 
 
 He thought much of it; he thought till he had 
 bark-ache with longing, and bark-aches with trees are 
 as bad as headaches with us. The candles were 
 lighted — oh, what a blaze of splendor ! the Tree 
 trembled in all his branches, so that one of them 
 caught fire. " Oh, dear ! " cried the young lady, and 
 it was extinguished in great haste. 
 
 So the Tree dared not tremble again; he was so 
 fearful of losing something of his splendor, he felt 
 almost bewildered in the midst of all this glory and 
 brightness. And now, all of a sudden, both folding- 
 doors were flung open, and a troop of children rushed 
 in as if they had a mind to jump over him; ,the older 
 people followed more quietly; the little ones stood 
 quite silent, but only for a moment! then their ju- 
 bilee burst forth afresh; they shouted till the walls 
 
> 
 THE FIR-TEEE. 131 
 
 re-echoed, they danced round the Tree, one present 
 after another was torn down. 
 
 "What are they doing ?" thought the Tree ; "what 
 will happen now ? " And the candles burned down 
 to the branches, so they were extinguished, — and the 
 children were given leave to plunder the Tree. Oh ! 
 they rushed upon him in such riot, that the boughs 
 all crackled ; had not his summit been festooned with 
 the gold star to the ceiling he would have been over- 
 turned. 
 
 The children danced and played about with their 
 beautiful playthings ; no one thought any more of the 
 Tree except the old nurse, who came and peeped among 
 the boughs, but it was only to see whether perchance 
 a fig or an apple had not been left among them. 
 
 " A story ! a story ! " cried the children, pulling a 
 short thick man towards the tree. He sat down, say- 
 ing, " It is pleasant to sit under the shade of green 
 boughs ; besides, the Tree may be benefited by hear- 
 ing my story. But I shall only tell you one. Would 
 you like to hear about Ivedy Avedy, or about Humpty 
 Dumpty, who fell down-stairs, and yet came to the 
 throne and won the Princess ? " 
 
 " lyedy Avedy ! " cried some ; " Humpty Dumpty ! " 
 cried others ; there was a famous uproar ; the Fir- 
 Tree alone was silent, thinking to himself, " Ought I 
 to make a noise as they do ? or ought I to do nothing 
 at all ? " for he most certainly was one of the com- 
 pany, and had done all that had been required of him. 
 
 And the short thick man told the story of Humpty 
 Dumpty, who fell down-stairs, and yet came to the 
 
132 ANDEESEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 throne and won the Princess. And the children 
 clapped their hands and called out for another; they 
 wanted to hear the story of Ivedy Avedy also, but 
 they did not get it. The Mr-Tree stood meanwhile 
 quite silent and thoughtful — the birds in the forest 
 had never related anything like this. "Humpty 
 Dumpty fell down-stairs, and yet was raised to the 
 throne and won the Princess ! Yes, yes, strange 
 things come to pass in the world ! " thought the Fir- 
 Tree, who believed it must all be true, because such a 
 pleasant man had related it. " Ah ! ah ! who knows 
 but I may fall down-stairs and win a Princess ? " 
 And he rejoiced in the expectation of being next day 
 again decked out with candles and playthings, gold 
 and fruit. 
 
 " To-morrow I will not tremble," thought he. " I 
 will rejoice in my magnificence. To-morrow I shall 
 again hear the story of Humpty Dumpty, and per- 
 haps that about Ivedy Avedy likewise." And the 
 Tree mused thereupon all night. 
 
 In the morning the maids came in. 
 
 "Now begins my state anew!" thought the Tree. 
 But they dragged him out of the room, up the stairs, 
 and into an attic-chamber, and there thrust Mm into 
 a dark corner, where not a ray of light could pene- 
 trate. " What can be the meaning of this ? " thought 
 the Tree. " What am I to do here ? What shall I 
 hear in this place ? " And he leaned against the 
 wall, and thought, and thought. And plenty of time 
 he had for thinking it over, for day after day, and 
 night after night, passed away, and yet no one ever 
 
THE FIE-TKEE. 133 
 
 came into the room. At last somebody did come in, 
 but it was only to push into the corner some old 
 trunks ; the Tree was now entirely hidden from 
 sight, and apparently entirely forgotten. 
 
 " It is now winter," thought the Tree. " The 
 ground is hard, and covered with snow ; they cannot 
 plant me now, so I am to stay here in shelter till the 
 spring. Men are so clever and prudent ! I only wish 
 it were not so dark and so dreadfully lonely ! not even 
 a little hare ! Oh, how pleasant it was in the forest, 
 when the snow lay on the ground, and the hare scam- 
 pered about, — yes, even when he jumped over my 
 head, though I did not like it then. It is so terribly 
 lonely here." 
 
 " Squeak ! squeak ! " cried a little Mouse, just then 
 gliding forward. Another followed ; they snuffed 
 about the Fir-Tree, and then slipped in and out among 
 the branches. 
 
 " It is horribly cold ! " said the little Mice. « Other- 
 wise it is very comfortable here. Don't you think so, 
 you old Fir-Tree ? " 
 
 " I am not old," said the Fir-Tree ; " there are 
 many who are much older than I am." 
 
 " How came you here ? " asked the Mice ; " and 
 what do you know ? " They were most uncommonly 
 curious. " Tell us about the most delightful place on 
 earth ? Have you ever been there ? Have you been 
 into the storeroom, where cheeses lie on the shelves, 
 and bacon hangs from the ceiling; where one can 
 dance over tallow-candles; where one goes in thin 
 and comes out fat ? " 
 
134 ANDERSEN'S FAIEY TALES. 
 
 " I know nothing about that," said the Tree ; " but 
 I know the forest, where the sun shines and where 
 the birds sing ! " and then he spoke of his youth and 
 its pleasures. The little Mice had never heard any- 
 thing like it before ; they listened so attentively and 
 said, " Well, to be sure ! how much you have seen ! 
 how happy you have been ! " 
 
 " Happy ! " repeated the Fir-Tree, in surprise ; and 
 he thought a moment over all that he had been saying, 
 " Yes, on the whole, those were pleasant times ! " 
 He then told them about the Christmas Eve, when he 
 had been decked out with cakes and candles. 
 
 " Oh ! " cried the little Mice, " how happy you have 
 been, you old Fir-Tree ! " 
 
 "I am not old at all!" returned the Fir; "it is 
 only this winter that I have left the forest; I am 
 just in the prime of life ! " 
 
 " How well you can talk ! " said the little Mice ; 
 and the next night they came again, and brought 
 with them four other little Mice, who wanted also to 
 hear the Tree's history ; and the more the Tree spoke 
 of his youth in the forest, the more vividly he remem- 
 bered it, and said, " Yes, those were pleasant times ! 
 but they may come again, they may come again ! 
 Humpty Dumpty fell down-stairs, and for all that he 
 won the Princess; perhaps I, too, may win a Prin- 
 cess ; " and then the Fir-Tree thought of a pretty 
 little delicate Birch-Tree that grew in the forest, — a 
 real Princess, a very lovely Princess, was she to. the 
 ihe Fir-Tree. 
 
 " Who is this Humpty Dumpty ? " asked the little 
 
THE FIE-TEEE. 135 
 
 Mice. Whereupon he related the tale; he could re- 
 member every word of it perfectly; and the little 
 Mice were ready to jump to the top of the Tree for 
 joy. The night following several more Mice came, 
 and on Sunday came also two Eats; they, however, 
 declared that the story was not at all amusing, which 
 much vexed the little Mice, who, after hearing their 
 opinion, could not like it so well either. 
 
 " Do you know only that one story ? " asked the 
 Eats. 
 
 "Only that one!" answered the Tree; "I heard 
 it on the happiest evening of my life, though I did 
 not then know how happy I was." 
 
 "It is a miserable story! Do you know none 
 about pork and tallow? — no storeroom story?" 
 
 " No," said the Tree. 
 
 " Well, then, we have heard enough of it ! " re- 
 turned the Eats, and they went their ways. 
 
 The little Mice, too, never came again. The Tree 
 sighed. " It was pleasant when they sat round me, 
 those busy little Mice, listening to my words. Now 
 that, too, is all past ! However, I shall have pleasure 
 in remembering it when I am taken away from this 
 place." 
 
 But when would that be ? One morning people 
 came and routed out the lumber-room; the trunks 
 were taken away, the Tree, too, was dragged out of 
 the corner ; they threw him carelessly on the floor, 
 but one of the servants picked him up and carried him 
 down-stairs. Once more he beheld the light of day. 
 
 " Kow life begins again ! " thought the Tree ; he 
 
136 Andersen's eaiey tales. 
 
 felt the fresh air, the warm sunbeams — he was out 
 in the court. All happened so quickly that the Tree 
 quite forgot to look at himself, — there was so much 
 to look at all around. The court joined a garden, 
 everything was so fresh and blooming, the roses 
 clustered so bright and so fragrant round the trellis- 
 work, the lime-trees were in full blossom, and the 
 swallows flew backwards and forwards, twittering, 
 " Quirri-virri-vit, my beloved is come ! " but it was 
 not the Pir-Tree whom they meant. 
 
 " I shall live ! I shall live ! " He was filled with 
 delightful hope ; he tried to spread out his branches, 
 but, alas ! they were all dried up and yellow. He 
 was thrown down upon a heap of weeds and nettles. 
 The star of gold tinsel that had been left fixed on 
 his crown now sparkled brightly in the sunshine. 
 
 Some merry children were playing in the court, 
 the same who at Christmas-time had danced round 
 the Tree. One of the youngest now perceived the 
 gold star, and ran to tear it ofE. 
 
 " Look at it, still fastened to the ugly old Christ- 
 mas-Tree ! " cried he, trampling upon the boughs till 
 they broke under his boots. 
 
 And the Tree looked on all the flowers of the gar- 
 den, now blooming in the freshness of their beauty ; 
 he looked upon himself, and he wished from his 
 heart that he had been left to wither alone in the 
 dark corner of the lumber-room ; he called to mind 
 his happy forest-life, the merry Christmas Eve, and 
 the little Mice who had listened so eagerly when he 
 related the story of Humpty Dumpty. 
 
THE FIR-TItEE. 137 
 
 " Past, all past ! " said the poor Tree. " Had I but 
 been happy, as I might have been ! Past, all past ! " 
 
 And the servant came, and broke the Tree into 
 small pieces, heaped them up, and set fire to them. 
 And the Tree groaned deeply, and every groan 
 sounded like a little shot ; the children all ran up to 
 the place, and jumped about in front of the blaze, 
 looking into it, and crying, " PifE ! pifE ! " But at 
 each of those heavy groans the Fir-Tree thought of 
 a bright summer's day, or a starry winter's night in 
 the forest, of Christmas Eve, or of Humpty Dumpty, 
 the only story that he knew and could relate. And 
 at last the Tree was burned. 
 
 The boys played about in the court ; on the bosom 
 of the youngest sparkled the gold star that the Tree 
 had worn on the happiest evening of Ms life ; but 
 that was past, and the Tree was past, and the story 
 alsOj past ! past ! for all stories must come to an end 
 some time or other. 
 
188 andbesen's faiky tales. 
 
 MOTHER ELDER. 
 
 THERE was once a little boy who had caught a 
 cold by getting his feet wet ; how he had man- 
 aged it no one could conceive, for the weather was 
 perfectly fine and dry. His mother took off his 
 clothes, put him to bed, and brought in the teapot, 
 intending to make him a cup of good, warm elder- 
 tea. Just then the pleasant old man who lodged in 
 the uppermost floor of the house came in. He liyed 
 quite alone, poor man! for he had neither wife nor- 
 children of his own; but he loved all his neighbors' 
 children very fondly, and had so many charming sto- 
 ries and fairy tales to tell them, that it was a pleas- 
 ure to see him among them. 
 
 "Now drink your tea, like a good boy," said the 
 mother, " and who knows but you may hear a story." 
 
 "Ah, yes, if one could only think of something 
 new ! " said the old man, smiling and nodding his 
 head. " But where did the little one get his feet 
 wet ? " asked he. 
 
 " Where, indeed ? " said the mother ; " that's just 
 what nobody can make out." 
 
 " May not I have a story ? " asked the boy. 
 
 "Yes, if you can tell me exactly how deep the 
 gutter is in the little street yonder, along which you 
 go to school. I want to know that first." 
 
MOTHER ELDER. 139 
 
 "The water just comes up to the middle of my 
 boot," replied the boy, " but not unless I walk through 
 the deep hole." 
 
 "Ah, then, that's where we got our wet feet ! " 
 said the old man. " And now, I suppose, you will 
 call upon me for a tale ; but really I don't know any 
 more." 
 
 *- " But you can get one ready in a moment," insisted 
 the boy. " Mother says that everything you look at 
 quickly becomes a fairy tale, and that everything 
 you touch you turn into a story." 
 
 "Yes, but those stories and fairy tales are not 
 good for much ! the right sort come of their own ac- 
 cord; they tap at my forehead, and cry, 'Here we 
 are ! ' " 
 
 " I hope they will soon come and tap ! " said the 
 little boy; and his mother laughed, put some elder- 
 flowers into the teapot, and poured boiling water 
 over them. 
 
 " Come, now for a story ! tell me one, pray ! " 
 
 " Yes, if ^he stories would but come ; but they are 
 proud, and will only visit me when it so pleases 
 them. Hush ! " cried he all of a sudden, " here we 
 have it ; keep a good lookout ; now it is in the tea- 
 pot." 
 
 And the little boy looked at the teapot; he saw 
 the lid rise up, and the elder-flowers spring forth, so 
 fresh and white they were, and they shot out long, 
 thick branches, — even out of the spout they shot 
 forth, — spreading on all sides, and growing larger 
 and larger, till, at last there stood by the bedside a 
 
140 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 most charming elder-bush, a perfect tree, some of its 
 boughs stretching over the bed and thrusting the cur- 
 tains aside. Oh, how full of blossoms was this tree, 
 and how fragrant were those blossoms ! and in the 
 midst of the tree sat a kind-looking old dame, wear- 
 ing the strangest dress in the world; it was green 
 like the elder-leaves, and with a pattern of large 
 white elder-flower clusters spreading all over it ; 
 one could not be sure whether it were actually a 
 gown, or real, living green leaves and flowers. 
 
 " What is her name ? " inquired the little boy. 
 
 " Why, those old Greeks and Eoman," replied the 
 old man, "used to call her a Dryad, but we don't 
 understand those outlandish names ; the sailors in 
 the Kew Booths ^ have a much better name for her ; 
 they call her Mother Elder, and that suits her very 
 well. Now listen to me, and keep looking at the 
 pretty elder-tree the while. 
 
 "Just such another large, blooming tree as that 
 stands among the New Booths; it has grown up in 
 the corner of a miserable little courtyard. Under 
 the shade of this tree, there sat one afternoon, the 
 glorious sunshine aTound them, two old people, — a 
 very, very old sailor, and his very, very old wife. 
 They were great-grandparents already, and would 
 soon have to keep their Golden Wedding-day; but 
 they could not exactly remember on what day it 
 would fall, and Mother Elder sat in the tree above 
 them, looking so pleased, just as she does now. 'Ah, 
 
 1 Nyboder (New Booths) is a quarter of Copenhagen inhabited 
 by the seamen. 
 
MOTHER ELDBK. 141 
 
 I know which, is the Golden Wedding-day ! ' ■'said she ; 
 but they did not hear her, — there they sat, talking 
 over old times. 
 
 "'Can't you remember,' said the old sailor, 'the 
 days when we were quite little ones, and used to be 
 always running and playing about ia this very same 
 yard where we are sitting now; and how we stuck 
 slips in the ground to make a garden ? ' 
 
 " ' To be sure I remember it,' replied the old woman. 
 'We watered the slips every day, but only one of 
 them took root, and that was an elder-slip ; and it 
 shot out its green shoots till it grew up to be this 
 large tree that we old folks are now sitting under.' 
 
 " ' So it did ! ' said the sailor ; ' and in the corner 
 yonder used to stand a water-pail, where I swam my 
 boats. I carved them out with my own hand — 
 such famous boats they were ! — but I soon had to 
 sail myself in rather larger vessels than those, though.' 
 
 " ' Yes, but first we went to school to be made schol- 
 ars of,' said his wife ; ' and then we were confirmed : 
 we both of us cried, I remember; and in the after- 
 noon we went hand in hand up to the Eound Tower, 
 and looked out upon the world ; out over all Copen- 
 hagen and the sea ; and then we went to Fredericks- 
 berg, where the King and Queen were sailing about 
 the canals in their magnificent barges.' 
 
 " ' But those barges were scarcely more like the 
 great ships I sailed ia than my poor little boats were ; 
 
 1 The fiftieth anniversary o( a wedding-day is in Denmark 
 called the Golden Wedding-day, and is kept as a domestic 
 festival. 
 
142 Andersen's paiey tales. 
 
 and, oh, for how many, many years I was away on 
 those long voyages ! ' 
 
 " ' Yes, and how often I wept for you ! ' said she. 
 ' I believed you must be dead, and gone forever, lying 
 far, far down beneath the deep waters. Many a 
 night have I got up to look at the weather-cock, to 
 see if the wind had changed ; and change it did, 
 over and over again, but still you did not return. 
 There is one day I shall never forget ; it was pouring 
 with rain ; the dustmen had come to the house where 
 I was in service. I came down with the dust-box, 
 and remained standing at the door ; — oh, what 
 weather it was ! and while I stood there, the postman 
 came up and gave me a letter ; it was from you. What 
 a journey that letter had made ! I tore it open and 
 read it ; I laughed and cried by turns, I was so 
 happy. The letter told me you were in the warm 
 countries, where the coffee-trees grow -~ what charm- 
 ing countries those must be ! — it told me so many 
 things, and I fancied I could see all that you had 
 described; and the rain still kept pouring down in 
 torrents, and there I stood at the door with the dust- 
 box. Just then somebody came up behind me, and 
 took hold of me ' — 
 
 " ' Yes, indeed, and didn't you give him a good box 
 on the ear ? didn't his ear tingle after it ? ' 
 
 " ' But I did not know that it was you. You had 
 arrived as soon as your letter, and you were so hand- 
 some, — but that you are still ; -^ and you had a large 
 yellow silk handkerchief in your pocket and a' new 
 hat on your head. Oh, what weather it was ! the 
 streets were ouite flooded.' 
 
MOTHEE ELDEE. 143 
 
 " ' And then we were married,' said the sailor ; 
 'don't you remember ' that ? and then we had our 
 first little boy, and after him we had Marie, and 
 Niels, and Peter, and Hans Christian.' 
 
 " ' Ah ! and how happy it was that they should all 
 grow up to be good, honest, and industrious, and to 
 be loved by everybody.' 
 
 " ' And their children, too, they have little ones 
 now,' added the old sailor; 'yes, they are fine healthy 
 babies, those great-grandchildren of ours ! And so it 
 was, I fancy, just about this time of year that we had 
 our wedding.' 
 
 " ' Yes, this very day is your Golden Wedding- 
 day ! ' said Mother Elder, putting out her head be- 
 tween the two old people ; but they fancied she was 
 their neighbor nodding to them. They gave little 
 heed to her, but again looked at each other, and took 
 hold of each other's hand. Presently their children 
 and grandchildren came out into the court ; they knew 
 well that this was the Golden Wedding-day, and had 
 come that very morning to congratulate their parents ; 
 but the two old people had quite forgotten that, al- 
 though they could remember so clearly things that 
 had happened half a century ago. And the elder- 
 blossoms smelled so sweetly, and the sun, which was 
 near setting, shone full into the old couple's faces — 
 such a red rosy light he shed over their features, and 
 the youngest of the grandchildren danced round them, 
 shouting with glee that this evening there should be 
 a grand feast, for they were all to have hot potatoes 
 for supper ; and Mother Elder nodded her head to 
 
144 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 them from the tree, and shouted, ' Hurrah ! ' as loudly • 
 as they did." 
 
 " But I don't call that a tale at all," said the little 
 boy in the bed. 
 
 " Don't you ? " said the kind old story-teller ; « well, 
 suppose we ask Mother Elder what she thinks about 
 it." 
 
 "No, you are right, that was not a tale," replied 
 Mother Elder ; " but now you shall have one. I will 
 show you how the most charming fairy tales spring 
 out of the commonest incidents of every-day life ; 
 were it not so, you know my pretty elder-bush could 
 hardly have grown out of the teapot!" And then 
 she took the little boy out of bed, pillowing his head 
 upon her bosom, and the elder-boughs so richly laden 
 with blossoms entwined around them, so that they 
 seemed to be sitting in a thick-leaved, fragrant arbor, 
 and the arbor flew away with them through the air — 
 that was most delightful ! Mother Elder had, all of 
 a sudden, changed into a pretty and graceful young 
 girl ; her robe was still of the same fresh-green, white- 
 flowered material that Mother Elder had worn; on 
 her bosom rested a real elder-flower cluster, and a 
 whole garland of elder-flowers was wreathed among 
 her curling flaxen hair ; her eyes were large and blue 
 — it was a delight to behold a creature so lovely! 
 And she and the boy embraced, and immediately they 
 were of the same age; they loved each other, and 
 were unspeakably happy. 
 
 Hand in hand they walked out of the arbor, and 
 were now in the pretty flower-garden of their home. 
 
MOTHER ELDER. 145 
 
 On the grass-plot they found their father's -walking- 
 stick, For the children, it seemed, there was life in 
 this stick : as soon as they got astride it, the bright 
 knob of the handle became a fiery, neighing head, a 
 long black mane fluttered to and fro in the wind, four 
 long, slender legs shot out, — a fine spirited creature 
 was their new steed, and off he galloped with them 
 round the grass-plot — hurrah! 
 
 " Now we will ride many miles away," said the boy. 
 " Let us ride to the dear old manor-house we went to 
 last year." 
 
 And still they rode round and round the grass-plot ; 
 the little girl, who, as we know, was no other than 
 Mother Elder, crying out all the while, " Now we are 
 in the country. Seest thou not yonder pretty cot- 
 tage ? The elder-tree lowers its branches over it ; and 
 the cock is strutting about, and scraping up the ground 
 for the hens. See how proudly he strides ! And now 
 we are close to the church ; it stands high on the hill, 
 among the great oak-trees, one of which is quite hol- 
 low. Now we are at the smithy ; the fire is blazing, 
 and the half-naked men are banging away with their 
 hammers, and the sparks are flying about all round. 
 Away, away, to the old manor-house ! " 
 
 And all that the little maiden riding on the stick 
 iescribed flew past them, — the boy saw it all, — and 
 still they only rode round and round the grass-plot. 
 Then the children played in one of the walks, and 
 narked out a tiny garden for themselves in the mould ; 
 md the girl took one of the elder-blossoms out of her 
 lair, and planted it, and it grew up, just as the elder- 
 
146 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 sprig grew which was planted among the E"ew Booths 
 by the old sailor and his wife when they were little 
 ones, as has been told already. And, hand in hand, 
 the children now went on together, just as the chil- 
 dren in the New Booths had done ; bnt not up to the 
 Eound Tower nor to the Gardens of Fredericksberg. 
 No, the little girl threw her arms round the little 
 boy's waist, and then away they flew over all Den- 
 mark. And spring deepened into summer, and sum- 
 mer mellowed into autumn, and autumn faded away 
 into pale, cold winter, and a thousand pictures were 
 mirrored in the boy's eyes and heart; and still the 
 little girl sang to him, " Never, oh never, forget thou 
 this ! " And wheresoever they flew, the sweet, strong 
 perfume of the elder-tree floated round them; the 
 little boy could distinguish the delicious fragrance of 
 the roses blooming in the gardens he flew past, and 
 the wind wafted to him the fresh odor of the beech- 
 trees : but the elder-perfume far excelled these, he 
 thought; for its blossoms nestled to his fairy-like 
 maiden's heart, and over those blossoms he continu- 
 ally bowed his head whilst flying. 
 
 "How beautiful is spring!" exclaimed the young 
 girl, as they stood together in the beech-wood, where 
 the trees had newly burst into fresh vernal loveliness, 
 where the sweet-scented woodroof grew at their feet, 
 the pale-tinted anemones looking up so prettily amid 
 its green. " Oh, would it were always spring in the 
 fragrant Danish beech-wood ! " 
 
 " How beautiful is summer ! " said she again, as 
 they passed an ancient baronial castle; its red, stained 
 
MOTHER ELDER. 147 
 
 ■walls and battlements mirrored in tlie moat encircling 
 them ; swans swimming in the moat, and peering in- 
 quisitively up into the cool, shady avenues. A sea 
 of green com waved to and fro in the fields ; tiny red 
 and golden blossoms peeped out of the ditches, and 
 the hedges were enwreathed with wild, wantoning 
 hops and the bell-flowered white bindweed. It was 
 evening ; the moon rose large and round ; the meadows 
 were odorous with the scent of haystacks. " Never, 
 oh never, forget thou this ! " 
 
 " How beautiful is autumn ! " exclaimed the little 
 maiden; and the vault of heaven seemed to rise 
 higher, and to grow more intensely blue, and the 
 woods became flushed with the richest and most 
 varied hues of crimson, green, and yellow. The 
 hounds bounded past in full cry ; whole flocks of wild 
 fowl flew screaming over the cairn-stones, to which 
 luxuriant brambles were clinging. In the far distance 
 lay the deep blue sea, dotted over with white sails ; 
 old women, young maids, and children were assembled 
 in a barn, picking hops into a great cask ; the young 
 ones of the party were singing, and the ancient dames 
 were telliug old legends of fairies and enchantments. 
 What could be pleasanter than this ? 
 
 " How beautiful is winter ! " declared our young 
 damsel ; and, behold ! the trees stood around them 
 all covered with hoar-frost — like white, branching 
 forals they looked ; the snow crisped under the chil- 
 dren's feet with a noise as if they had creaking new 
 boots on, and falling stars, one after another, shot 
 across the sky. The Christmas-tree was lighted up 
 
148 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 in the parlor ; everybody had had presents given him, 
 and everybody was in good humor; the peasant's 
 cot in the country was merry with the sound of the 
 violin, — and the pancakes disappeared so fast ! Even 
 the poorest child might have reason to echo the words, 
 " How beautiful is winter ! " 
 
 Yes, truly, it was beautiful ! and it was our fairy 
 maiden who showed all these fair sights to the little 
 boy; and still the elder-perfume floated round him, 
 when a new picture rose up before his eyes, — the red 
 flag with its white cross fluttering in the breeze, — 
 the very same flag under which the old mariner in 
 the New Booths had sailed. And the boy felt that 
 he was now grown up to be a youth, and that he must 
 go to seek his fortune in the wide world, — far away 
 must he go to the warm countries, where grow the 
 coffee-trees ; but at their parting the young maiden 
 took the cluster of elder-blossoms from her bosom, 
 and gave it to him. And he kept it carefully, — he 
 kept it between the leaves of his hymn-book; and 
 when he was in foreign lands he never took up the 
 book but it opened upon the place where the flower 
 of memory lay, and the oftener he looked at it the 
 fresher, he fancied, it became; he seemed, while he 
 looked at it, to breath the sweet air of the Danish 
 beech-groves, to see peeping among the tiny elder- 
 flowerets the pretty maiden with her bright blue eyes, 
 and to hear her low whisper, " How beautiful is Den- 
 mark in spring, in summer, in autumn, and in winter ! " 
 And a hundred fair visions of the past flitted unbidden 
 across his mind. 
 
MOTHER ELDER. 149 
 
 Many, very many years passed away, and he was 
 now an old man sitting with his old wife under a 
 flowering tree ; they held each other by the hand just 
 as the old couple in the New Booths had done, and 
 they talked, too, of old times, and of their Golden 
 Wedding-day. The little maiden, with the blue eyes 
 and the elder-blossoms in her hair, sat on the tree 
 above, and nodded her head to them, saying, " To-day 
 is your Golden Wedduig-day ! " and then she took 
 bwo flower-clusters out of her hair, and kissed them 
 twice; at the first kiss they shone like silver, after 
 the second, like gold, and when she had set them on 
 the two old people's heads, each cluster became a gold 
 3rown. And thus the two sat there like a crowned 
 King and Queen, under the fragrant elder-tree ; and 
 the old man began to tell his wife the story about 
 Mother Elder, which had been told him when a little 
 boy ; and it seemed to them both that a great part of 
 bhe story was very like their own real history, and 
 they liked that part far the best. 
 
 " Yes, so it is," said the little maiden in the tree. 
 ■■' Some call me Mother Elder, others call me a Dryad ; 
 3ut my proper name is Memory. Here I sit in the 
 ;ree whilst it grows and grows ; I never forget ; I 
 'emember all things well; I could tell such famous 
 itories ! Now let me see if you still have your flower 
 safe ? " 
 
 And the old man opened his hymn-book ; there lay 
 ;he elder-flower, as fresh as if it had but just been laid 
 jetween the leaves ; and Memory nodded her head ; 
 md the two old people with their gold crowns sat 
 
150 ANDEESBN'S FAIllY TAXES. 
 
 under the tree, their faces flushed with the red even- 
 ing sunlight ; they closed their eyes — and then — and 
 then — why, then, there was an end of the tale. 
 
 The little boy lay in his bed; he did not rightly 
 know whether he had been dreaming all this, or 
 whether it had been told him. The teapot stood on 
 the table, but no elder-tree was growing out of it; 
 and his friend, the old story-teller, was just on the 
 point of going out at the door. Whilst the boy was 
 rubbing his eyes he was gone. 
 
 " How pleasant that was ! " said the little boy. 
 "Mother, I have been to the warm countries." 
 
 " Yes, I have no doubt of that! " replied the mother ; 
 " after you had drunk two brimful cups of good hot 
 elder-tea, you were likely enough to get into the warm 
 countries ! " and she covered him up well for fear he 
 should get chilled. "You have had such a famous 
 sound sleep while I sat disputing with him as to 
 whether it were a fairy tale, or a real, true history." 
 
 " And where is Mother Elder ? " asked the boy. 
 
 " She is in the teapot," said his mother ; " and there 
 she may stay." 
 
THE SNOW QTJEEX. 151 
 
 THE SNOW QUEEN. 
 
 IN SBVEN PAETS. 
 
 PART THE FIRST, 
 WHICH TREATS OF THE MIEKOR AND ITS FRAGMENTS. 
 
 LISTEN ! We are beginning our story ! When we 
 ^ arrive at the end of it we shall, it is to be hoped, 
 know more than we do now. 
 
 There was once a magician ! a wicked magician ! ! 
 a most wicked magician ! ! ! Great was his delight 
 at having constructed a mirror possessing this pecu- 
 liarity, viz., that everything good and beautiful, when 
 reflected in it, shrank up almost to nothing, whilst 
 those things that were ugly and useless were magni- 
 fied, and made to appear ten times worse than before. 
 The loveliest landscapes reflected in this mirror looked 
 like boiled spinach ; and the handsomest persons ap- 
 peared odious, or as if standing upon their heads, their 
 features being so distorted that their friends could 
 never have recognized them. Moreover, if one of them 
 had a freckle, he might be sure that it would seem to 
 spread over the nose and mouth; and if a good or 
 pious thought glanced across his mind, a wrinkle was 
 seen in the mirror. All this the magician thought 
 
152 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 highly entertaining, and he chuckled with delight at 
 his own clever invention. Those who frequented the 
 school of magic where he taught spread abroad the 
 fame of this wonderful mirror, and declared that by 
 its means the world and its inhabitants might be seen 
 now, for the first time, as they really were. They 
 carried the mirror from place to place, till at last 
 there was no country nor person that had not been 
 misrepresented in it. Its adinirers now must needs 
 fly up to the sky with it, to see if they could not 
 carry on their sport even there. But the higher they 
 flew the more wrinkled did the mirror become, — they 
 could scarcely hold it together. They flew on and on, 
 higher and higher, till at last the mirror trembled so 
 fearfully that it escaped from their hands, and fell 
 to the earth, breaking into millions, billions, and tril- 
 lions of pieces. And then it caused far greater unhap- 
 piness than before; for fragments of it, scarcely so 
 large as a grain of sand, would be flying about in tlie 
 air, and sometimes get into people's eyes, causing 
 them to view everything the wrong way, or to have 
 power to see only what was perverted and corrupt, 
 each little fragment having retained the peculiar prop- 
 erties of the entire mirror. Some people were so 
 unfortunate as to receive a little splinter into their 
 hearts, — that was terrible ! the heart became cold 
 and hard, like a lump of ice. Some pieces were large 
 enough to be iised as window-panes, but it was of no 
 use to look at one's friends through such panes as 
 those. Other fragments were made into spectacles; 
 aiid then what trouble people had with setting and 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 153 
 
 resetting them! The wicked magician was greatly 
 amused with all this, and he laughed till his sides 
 ached. 
 
 There are still some little splinters of this mischie- 
 vous mirror flying about in the air ; we shall hear more 
 about them very soon. 
 
 PART THE SECOND. 
 A LITTLE BOX AND A LITTLE GIEL. 
 
 In a large town, where there are so many houses and 
 inhabitants that there is not room enough for all the 
 people to possess a little garden of their own, and 
 therefore many are obliged to content themselves with 
 keeping a few plants in pots, there dwelt two poor 
 children whose garden was somewhat larger than a 
 flower-pot. They were not brother and sister, but they 
 loved each other as much as if they had been; and 
 their parents lived in two attics exactly opposite. 
 The roof of one neighbor's house nearly joined the 
 other, the gutter ran along between, and there was in 
 each roof a little window, so that you could stride 
 across the gutter from one window to the other. 
 
 The parents of each child had a large wooden box 
 in which grew herbs for kitchen use ; and they had 
 placed these boxes upon the gutter, so near that they 
 almost touched each other. A beautiful little rose- 
 tree grew in each box ; scarlet-runners intwined their. 
 
154 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 long shoots over the windows, and, uniting with the 
 branches of the rose-trees, formed a flowery arch 
 across the street. The boxes were very high, and the 
 children knew that they might not climb over them, 
 but they often obtained leave to sit on their little 
 stools under the rose-trees ; and thus they passed 
 many a delightful hour. 
 
 But when winter came, there was an end to these 
 pleasures. The windows were often quite frozen over ; 
 and then they heated halfpence on the stove, held the 
 warm copper against the frozen pane, and thus made 
 a little round peep-hole, behind which would sparkle 
 a bright, gentle eye, one from each window. 
 
 The little boy was called Kay ; the little girl's 
 name was Gerda. In summer-time they could get out 
 of window, and jump over to each other ; but in winter 
 there were stairs to run down, and stairs to run up, 
 and sometimes the wind roared, and the snow fell with- 
 out doors. 
 
 " Those are the white bees swarming there ! " said 
 the old grandmother. 
 
 " Have they a queen bee ? " asked the little boy ; for 
 he knew that the real bees have one. 
 
 "They have," said the grandmother. "She flies 
 yonder where they swarm so thickly : she is the lar- 
 gest of them, and never remains upon the earth, but 
 flies up again into the black cloud. Sometimes, on a 
 winter's night, she flies through the streets of the 
 town, and breathes with her frosty breath upon the 
 windows, and then they are covered with strange and 
 beautiful forms, like trees and flowers." 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 165 
 
 " Yes, I have seen tliein ! " said both the children 
 — they knew that this was true. 
 
 " Can the Snow Queen come in here ? " asked the 
 little girl. 
 
 " If she do come in," said the boy, " I will put her 
 on the warm stove, and then she will melt." 
 
 And the grandmother stroked his hair, and told him , 
 some stories. 
 
 That same evening, after little Kay had gone home, 
 and was half-undressed, he crept upon the chair by the 
 window, and peeped through the little round hole. 
 Just then a few snowflakes fell outside ; and one, the 
 largest of them, remained lying on the edge of one of 
 the flower-pots. The snowflake appeared larger and 
 larger, and at last took the form of a lady dressed in 
 the finest white crape, her attire being composed of 
 millions of star-like particles. She was exquisitely 
 fair and delicate, but entirely of ice, — glittering, daz- 
 zling ice ; her eyes gleamed like two bright stars, but 
 there was no rest nor repose in them. She nodded at 
 the window, and beckoned with her hand. The little 
 boy was frightened, and jumped down from the chair. 
 He then fancied he saw a large bird fly past the win- 
 dow. 
 
 There was a clear frost next day ; and soon after- 
 wards came spring, — the trees and flowers budded, 
 the swallows built their nests, the windows were 
 opened, and the little children sat once more in their 
 little garden upon the gutter that ran along the roofs 
 of the houses. 
 
 The roses blossomed beautifully that summer, and 
 
156 andeesen's paiey tales. 
 
 the little girl had learned a hymn in ■which there was 
 
 something about roses ; it reminded hep of her own. 
 
 So she sang it to the little boy, and he sang it with 
 
 her: — 
 
 "Our roses bloom and fade away, 
 Our Infant Lord abides for aye. 
 May we be blessed his face to see, 
 And ever little children be I " 
 
 And the little ones held each other by the hand, 
 kissed the roses, and looked up into the blue sky, talk- 
 ing away all the time. What glorious summer days 
 were those ! How delightful it was to sit under those 
 lovely rose-trees, which seemed as if they never in- 
 tended to leave off blossoming! One day Kay and 
 Gerda were sitting looking at their picture-book, full 
 of birds and animals, when suddenly — the clock on 
 the old church tower was just striking five — Kay ex- 
 claimed, " Oh, dear ! what was that shooting pain in 
 my heart ? And now, again, something has certainly 
 got into my eye ! " 
 
 The little girl turned and looked at him. He 
 winked his eyes — no, there was nothing to be seen. 
 
 " I believe it is gone," said he ; but gone it was not. 
 It was one of those glass splinters from the Magic 
 Mirror, — the wicked glass which made everything 
 gi'eat and good reflected in it to appear little and hate- 
 ful, and which magnified everything ugly and mean. 
 Poor Kay had also received a splinter in his heart. 
 It would now become hard and cold, like a lump of ice. 
 He felt the pain no longer, but the splinter was there. 
 
 " Why do you cry ? " asked he ; " you look so ugly 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 167 
 
 when you cry ! There is nothing the matter with me. 
 Me ! " exclaimed he again, " this rose has an insect in 
 it ; and just look at this ! After all, they are ugly 
 roses ! and it is an ugly box they grow in ! " Then he 
 kicked the box, and tore off the roses. 
 
 " Kay ! what are you doing ? " cried the little 
 girl ? But when he saw how it grieved her, he tore 
 off another rose, and jumped down through his own 
 window, away from his once dear little Gerda. 
 
 Ever afterwards, when she brought forward the 
 picture-book, he called it a baby's book ; and when 
 her grandmother told stories, he interrupted her with 
 a " but ; " and sometimes, whenever he could manage 
 it, he would get behind her, put on her spectacles, and 
 speak just as she did. He did this in a very droll 
 manner, and so people laughed at him. Very soon 
 he could mimic everybody in the street. All that 
 was singular and awkward about them Kay could 
 imitate ; and his neighbors said, " What a remarkable 
 head that boy has ! " But no ; it was the glass splin- 
 ter which had fallen into his eye, the glass splinter 
 which had pierced into his heart — it was these which 
 made him regardless whose feelings he wounded, and 
 even made him tease the little Gerda who loved him 
 so fondly. 
 
 His games were now quite different from what they 
 used to be — they were so rational ! One winter's 
 day, when it was snowing, he came out with a large 
 burning-glass in his hand, and, holding up the skirts 
 of his blue coat, let the snowflakes fall upon them. 
 
 " Now look through the glass, Gerda ! " said he, 
 
158 Andersen's faiky tales. 
 
 returning to the house. Every snowflake seemed 
 much larger, and resembled a splendid flower, or a 
 star with ten points ; they were quite beautiful. 
 " See how curious ! " said Kay. " These are far more 
 interesting than real flowers. There is not a single 
 blemish in them; they would be quite perfect if 
 only they did not melt." 
 
 Soon after this, Kay came in again, with thick 
 gloves on his hands, and his sledge slung across his 
 back; he called out to Gerda, "I have got leave to 
 drive on the great square where the other boys 
 play ! " and away he went. 
 
 The boldest boys in the square used to fasten their 
 sledges firmly to the wagons of the country people, 
 and thus drive a good way along with them ; this 
 they thought particularly pleasant. Whilst they 
 were in the midst of their play, a large sledge, 
 painted white, passed by ; in it sat a person wrapped 
 in a rough white fur, and wearing a rough white cap. 
 When the sledge had driven twice round the square, 
 Kay bound to it his little sledge, and was carried on 
 with it. On they went, faster and faster, into the 
 next street. The person who drove the large sledge 
 turned round and nodded kindly to Kay, just as if 
 they had been old acquaintances ; and every time Kay 
 was going to loose his little sledge, turned and nodded 
 again, as if to signify that he must stay. So Kay 
 sat still, and they passed through the gates of the 
 town. Then the snow began to fall so thickly that 
 the little boy could not see his own hand ; but he was 
 still carried on. He tried hastily to unloose the cords 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 159 
 
 and free himself from the large sledge, but it was of 
 no use ; his little carriage could not be unfastened, 
 and glided on as swift as the wind. Then he cried 
 out as loud as he could ; but no one heard him. The 
 snow fell and the sledge flew ; every now and then it 
 made a spring, as if driving over hedges and ditches. 
 He was very much frightened ; he would have re- 
 peated, "" Our Father," but he could remember noth- 
 ing but the multiplication table. 
 
 The snowflakes seemed larger and larger; at last 
 they looked like great white fowls. All at once they 
 fell aside, the large sledge stopped, and the person 
 who drove it arose from the seat. He saw that the 
 cap and coat were entirely of snow ; that it was a lady, 
 tall and slender and dazzlingly white — it was the 
 Snow Queen ! 
 
 "We have driven fast," said she; "but no one 
 likes to be frozen — creep under my bearskin." And 
 she seated him in the sledge by her side, and spread 
 her cloak around him : he felt as if he were sinking 
 into a drift of snow. • 
 
 " Are you still cold ? " asked she, and then she 
 kissed his brow. Oh ! her kiss was colder than ice ; 
 it went to his heart, although that was half frozen 
 already. He thought he should die. It was, how- 
 ever, only for a moment ; directly afterwards he 
 was quite well, and no longer felt the intense cold 
 around. 
 
 " My sledge ! do not forget my sledge ! " ■ He 
 thought first of that. It was fastened to one of the 
 white fowls, which flew behind with it on his back. 
 
160 andbesen's faiky tales. 
 
 The Snow Queen kissed Kay again ; and lie entirely 
 forgot little Gerda, her grandmother, and all at home. 
 
 "Now you must have no more kisses," said she, 
 " else I should kiss thee to death." 
 
 Kay looked at her, she was so beautiful; a more 
 intelligent, more lovely countenance he could not 
 imagine. She no longer appeared to him ice, cold ice, 
 as at the time when she sat outside the window and 
 beckoned to him ; in his eyes she was perfect. He felt 
 no fear. He told her how well he could reckon in his 
 head, even fractions; that he knew the number of 
 square miles of every country, and the number of the 
 inhabitants contained in different towns. She smiled ; 
 and then it occurred to him that, after all, he did not 
 yet know so very much. He looked up into the wide, 
 wide space, and she flew with him high up into the 
 black cloud while the storm was raging; it seemed 
 now to Kay as though singing songs of olden time. 
 
 They flew over woods and over lakes, over sea and 
 over land ; beseath them the cold wind whistled, the 
 wolves howled, the snow glittered, and the black crow 
 flew cawing over the plain, whilst above them shone 
 the moon, so clear and tranquil. 
 
 Thus did Kay spend the long, long winter night ; 
 all day he slept at the feet of the Snow Queen. 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 161 
 
 PART THE THIRD. 
 THE ENCHANTEB FLOWEK-GABDEN. 
 
 But how fared it with little Gerda, when Kay never 
 returned ? Where could he be ? No one knew ; no 
 one could give any account of him. The boys said 
 that they had seen him fasten his sledge to another 
 larger and very handsome one, which had driven into 
 the street, and thence through the gates of the town. 
 No one knew where he was, and many were the tears 
 that were shed. Little G-erda wept much and long, for 
 the boys said he mast be dead ; he must have been 
 drowned in the river that flowed not far from the 
 town. Oh, how long and dismal the winter days were 
 now ! 
 
 At last came the spring, with its warm sunshine. 
 
 " Alas, Kay is dead and gone ! " said little Gerda. 
 
 " That I do not believe,'' said the Sunshine. 
 
 " He is dead and gone," said she to the Swallows. 
 
 "That we do not believe," returned they; and at 
 last little Gerda herself did not believe it. 
 
 " I will put on my new red shoes," said she, one 
 morning, " those which Kay has never seen, and then 
 I will go down to the river and ask after him." 
 
 It was quite early ; she kissed her old grandmother, 
 who was still sleeping, put on her red shoes, and 
 went alone through the gates of the town towards 
 the river. 
 
162 Andersen's faiby tales. 
 
 " Is it true," said she, " that thou hast taken my 
 little playfellow away? I will give thee my red 
 shoes if thou wilt restore him to me ! " 
 
 And the wavelets of the river flowed towards her 
 in a manner which she fancied was unusual. She 
 fancied that they intended to accept her offer, so she 
 took off her red shoes, though she prized them more 
 than anything else she possessed, and threw them into 
 the stream ; but they fell near the shore, and the lit- 
 tle waves bore them back to her, as though they would 
 not take from her what she most prized, as they had 
 not got little Kay. However, she thought she had not 
 thrown the shoes far enough ; so she stepped into a 
 little boat which lay among the reeds by the shore, 
 and, standing at the farthest end of it, threw them 
 from thence into the water. The boat was not fas- 
 tened, and her movements in it caused it to glide away 
 from the shore. She saw this, and hastened to get 
 out ; but, by the time she reached the other end of the 
 boat, it was more than a yard distant from the land ; 
 she could not escape, and the boat glided on. 
 
 Little Gerda was much frightened, and began to 
 cry ; but no one besides the Sparrows heard her, and 
 they could not carry her back to the land. However, 
 they flew along the banks, and sang, as if to comfort 
 her, " Here we are ! here we are ! " The boat followed 
 the stream ; little Gerda sat in it quite still. Her red 
 shoes floated behind her ; but they could not overtake 
 the boat, which glided along faster than they did. 
 
 Beautiful were the shores of that river, — lovely 
 flowers, stately old trees, and bright green hills dotted 
 
THE SNOW Q0EEN. 163 
 
 with sheep and cows, were seen in abundance, but 
 not a single human being. 
 
 " Perhaps the river may bear me to my dear Kay," 
 thought Gerda; and then she became more cheerful, 
 ai£^i amused herself for hours with looking at the 
 lovely country around her. At last she glided past a 
 large cherry-garden, wherein stood a little cottage, 
 with thatched roof and curious red and blue win- 
 dows ; two wooden soldiers stood at the door, who 
 presented arms when they saw the little vessel ap- 
 proach. 
 
 Gerda called to them, thinking that they were 
 alive; but they, naturally enough, made no answer. 
 She came close up to them, for the stream drifted 
 the boat to the land. 
 
 Gerda called still louder, whereupon an old lady 
 came out of the house, supporting herself on a crutch ; 
 she wore a large hat, with most beautiful flowers 
 painted on it. 
 
 " Thou poor little child ! " said the old woman, 
 "the mighty flowing river has indeed borne thee a 
 long, long way." And she walked right into the 
 water, seized the boat with her crutch, drew it to 
 land, and took out the little girl. 
 
 Gerda was glad to be on dry land again, although 
 she was a little afraid of the strange old lady. 
 
 "Come and tell me who thou art, and how thou 
 earnest hither," said she. 
 
 And Gerda told her all ; and the old lady shook her 
 head, and said, ' ' Hem ! hem ! " And when Gerda 
 asked if she had seen little Kay, the lady said that 
 
164 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 he had not arrived there yet, but that he would be 
 sure to come soon, and that in the meantime Gerda 
 must not be sad ; that she might stay with her, might 
 eat her cherries, and look at her flpwers, which were 
 prettier than any picture-book, and could each tell 
 her a story. 
 
 She then took Gerda by the hand ; they went to- 
 gether into the cottage, and the old lady shut the 
 door. The windows were very high, and their panes 
 of different colored glass, red, blue, and yellow, so 
 that when the bright daylight streamed through them, 
 various and beautiful were the hues reflected upon 
 the room. Upon a table in the centre was placed a 
 plate of very fine cherries, and of these Gerda was 
 allowed to eat as many as she liked ; and whilst she 
 was eating them, the old dame combed her hair with 
 a golden comb, and the bright flaxen ringlets fell on 
 each side of her pretty, gentle face, which looked as 
 round and as fresh as a rose. 
 
 "I have long wished for such a dear little girl," 
 said the old lady. " We shall see if we cannot live 
 very happily together." And, as she combed little 
 Gerda's hair, the child thought less and less of her 
 foster-brother Kay ; for the old lady was an enchan- 
 tress. She did not, however, practise magic for the 
 sake of mischief, but merely for her own amusement. 
 And now she wished very much to keep little Gerda 
 to live with her; so, fearing that if Gerda saw her 
 roses, she would be reminded of her own flowers and 
 of little Kay, and that then she might run away, she 
 went out into the garden, and extended her crutch 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 165 
 
 over all her rose-buslies, upon wMch, although they 
 were full of leaves and blossoms, they immediately 
 sank into the black earth, and no one would have 
 guessed that such plants had ever grown there. 
 
 Then she led Gerda into this flower-garden. Oh, 
 how beautiful and how fragrant it was ! Mowers 
 of all seasons and all climes grew there in fulness of 
 beauty ; certainly no picture-book could be compared 
 with it. Gerda bounded with delight, and played 
 among the flowers till the sun set behind the tall 
 cherry-trees ; after which a pretty little bed, with 
 crimson silk cushions, stuffed with blue violet leaves, 
 was prepared for her, and here she slept so sweetly, 
 and had such dreams as a queen might have on her 
 bridal eve. 
 
 The next day she again played among the flowers 
 in the warm sunshine, and many more days were 
 spent in the same manner. Gerda knew every flower 
 in the garden ; but numerous as they were, it seemed 
 to her that one was wanting — she could not tell 
 which. She was sitting one day looking at her host- 
 ess's hat, which had flowers painted on it, and be- 
 hold, the loveliest among them was a rose ! The old 
 lady had entirely forgotten the painted rose on her 
 hat when she made the real roses to disappear from 
 her garden and sink into the ground. This is often 
 the case when things are done hastily. 
 
 " What ! " cried Gerda, " are there no roses in the 
 garden?" And she ran from one bed to another, 
 sought and sought again ; but no rose was to be found. 
 She sat down and wept ; and it so chanced that her 
 
166 AiTDEBSEN'S FAIBY TALES. 
 
 tears fell on a spot where a rose-tree had formerly 
 stood, and as soon as her warm tears had moistened the 
 earth, the bush shot up anew, as fresh and as bloom- 
 ing as it was before it had sunk into the ground ; and 
 Gerda threw her arms arotind it, kissed the blossoms, 
 and immediately recalled to memory the beautiful 
 roses at home, and her little playfellow Kay. 
 
 " Oh, how could I stay here so long ? " exclaimed 
 the little maiden; "I left my home to seek for Kay. 
 Do you not know where he is ? " she asked of the 
 Eoses ; " think you that he is dead ? " 
 
 " Dead, he is not," said the Roses. " We have been 
 down in the earth ; the dead are there, but not Kay.'' 
 
 " I thank you," said little Gerda ; and she went to 
 the other flowers, bent low over their cups, and asked, 
 " Know you not where little Kay is ? " 
 
 But every flower stood in the sunshine dreaming its 
 own little tale; they related their stories to Gerda, 
 but none of them knew anything of Kay. 
 
 " And what think you ? " she asked of the Tiger-lily. 
 
 "Listen to the drums beating, boom ! boom ! They 
 have but two notes ; always boom ! boom ! Listen to 
 the dirge the women are singing ! Listen to the chorus 
 of the priests ! Enveloped in her long red robes 
 stands the Hindoo wife on the funeral pile ; the flames 
 blaze around her and her dead husband, but the Hin- 
 doo wife thinks not of the dead. She thinks only of 
 the living, and the anguish which consumes her spirit 
 is keener than the fire which will soon reduce her 
 body to ashes. Can the flame of the heart expire 
 amid the flames of the funeral pile ? " 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 167 
 
 " I do not understand that at all ! " said little 
 Gerda. 
 
 " That is my tale ! " said the Tiger-lily. 
 
 " What says the Convolvulus ? " 
 
 "Hanging over a narrow mountain causeway be- 
 hold an ancient baronial castle ; thick evergreens grow 
 amongst the time-stained walls, their leafy branches 
 intwine about the balcony, and there stands a beauti- 
 ful maiden. She bends over the balustrades, and fixes 
 her eyes with eager expectation on the road winding 
 beneath. The rose hangs not fresher and lovelier on 
 its stem than she ; the apple-blossom which the wind 
 threatens every moment to tear from its branch is not 
 more fragile and trembling. Listen to the rustling of 
 her rich silken robe ! Listen to her half-whispered 
 words, ' He comes not yet ' ! " 
 
 " Is it Kay you mean ? " asked little Gerda. 
 
 " I do but tell you my tale — my dream," replied 
 the Convolvulus. 
 
 " What says the little Snowdrop ? " 
 
 " Between two trees hangs a swing ; two pretty lit- 
 tle maidens, their dress as white as snow, and long 
 green ribbons fluttering from their hats, sit and swing 
 themselves in it. Their brother stands up in the 
 swing. He has thrown his arms round the ropes to 
 keep himself steady, for in one hand he holds a little 
 cup, in the other a pipe made of clay ; he is blowing 
 soap-bubbles. The swing moves, and the bubbles fly 
 upwards with bright, ever-changing colors ; the last 
 hovers on the edge of the pipe, and moves with the 
 wind. The swing is still in motion, and a little black 
 
168 ANDERSEN'S PAIK.Y TALES. 
 
 dog, almost as light as the soap-bubbles, rises on his 
 hind feet, and tries to get into the swing also ; away 
 goes the swing, the dog falls, is out of temper, and 
 barks; he is laughed at, and the bubbles burst. A 
 swinging-board, a frothy, fleeting image, is my song." 
 
 " What you describe may be all very pretty, but 
 you speak so mournfully, and there is nothing about 
 Kay. 
 
 " What say the Hyacinths ? " 
 
 " There were three fair sisters — transparent and 
 delicate they were ; the kirtle of the one was red, that 
 of the second blue, of the third pure white. Hand in 
 hand they danced in the moonlight beside the quiet 
 lake ; they were not fairies, but daughters of men. 
 Sweet was the fragrance when the maidens vanished 
 into the wood; the fragrance grew stronger. Three 
 biers, whereon lay the fair sisters, glided out from 
 the depths of the wood and floated upon the lake ; the 
 glow-worms flew shining around like little hovering 
 lamps. Sleep the dancing maidens, or are they dead ? 
 The odor from the flowers tells us they are corpses. 
 The evening bells peal out their dirge." 
 
 " You make me quite sad," said little Gerda. " Your 
 fragrance is so strong, I cannot help thinking of the 
 dead maidens. Alas ! and is little Kay dead ? The 
 Eoses have been under the earth, and they say, ''No.'." 
 
 " Ding-dong ! ding-dong ! " rang the Hyacinth bells. 
 " We toll not for little Kay ; we know him not. We 
 do but sing our own song — the only one we know." 
 
 And Gerda went to the Buttercup, which shone so 
 brightly from among her smooth green leaves. 
 
THE SNOW QUEES. 169 
 
 " Thou art like a little bright sun," said Gerda ; 
 " tell me, if thou canst, where I may find my play- 
 fellpw." 
 
 And the Buttercup glittered so brightly, and looked 
 at Gerda. What song could the Buttercup sing ? 
 Is'either was hers about Kay. ^ 
 
 " One bright spring morning the sun shone warmly 
 upon a little courtyard ; the bright beams streamed 
 down the white walls of a neighboring house, and 
 close by grew the first yellow flower of spring, 'glitter- 
 ing like gold in the warm sunshine. An old grand- 
 mother sat without in her armchair. Her grand- 
 daughter, a pretty, lowly maiden, had just returned 
 home from a short visit; she kissed her grandmother. 
 There was gold, pure gold, in that loving kiss : — 
 
 " ' Gold was the flower ! 
 
 Gold the fresh, bright morning hour ! ' 
 
 " That is my little story," said the Buttercup. 
 
 " My poor old grandmother ! " sighed Gerda. " Yes, 
 she must be wishing for me, just as she wished for 
 little Kay. But I shall soon go home again, and take 
 Kay with me. It is of no use to ask Uhe flowers 
 about him ; they only know their own song ; they can 
 give me no information."* And she folded her little 
 frock round her, that she might run the faster ; but, 
 in jumping over the Narcissus, it caught her foot, as 
 if wishing to stop her. So she turned and looked at 
 the tall yellow flower, saying, " Have you any news 
 to give me ? " She bent over the Narcissus, waiting 
 for an answer. And what said the Narcissus ? 
 
170 anderskn's fairy tales. 
 
 " I can look at myself ; I can see myself ! Oh, how- 
 sweet is my fragrance ! Up in the little attic-chamber 
 stands a little dancer. She rests sometimes on one 
 leg, sometimes on two. She has trampled the whole 
 world under her feet ; she is nothing but an illusion. 
 She pours water from a teapot upon a piece of cloth 
 she holds in her hand ; it is her bodice. Cleanliness 
 is a fine thing. Her white dress hangs on the hook ; 
 that has also been washed by the water from the tea- 
 pot, and dried on the roof of the house. She puts it 
 on, and wraps a safEron-colored handkerchief round 
 her neck ; it makes the dress look all the whiter. 
 With one leg extended, there she stands, as though 
 on a stalk. I can look at myself ; I see myself ! " 
 
 " I don't care if you do," said Gerda. " You need 
 not have told me that ; " and away she ran to the end 
 of the garden. 
 
 The gate was closed, but she pressed upon the rusty 
 lock till it broke ; the gate sprang open, and little 
 Gerda, with bare feet, ran out into the wide world. 
 Three times she looked back ; there was no one fol- 
 lowing her. She ran till she could run no longer, and 
 then sat down to rest upon a large stone. Casting a 
 glance around, she saw that the summer was past, 
 that it was now late in the autumn. Of course she 
 had not remarked this in the enchanted garden, where 
 there were sunshine and flowers all the year round. 
 
 " How long I must have stayed there ! " said little 
 Gerda. " So, it is now autumn ! Well, then, there 
 is no time to lose ; " and she rose to pursue her way. 
 
 Oh, how sore and weary were her little feet ! and 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 171 
 
 all around looked so cold and barren. The long willow- 
 leaves had already turned yellow, and the dew trickled 
 down from them in large drops. The leaves fell off 
 the trees, one by one; the sloe alone bore fruit, and 
 its berries were so sharp and bitter ! Cold and gray 
 and sad seemed the world to her that day. 
 
 PART THE FOURTH. 
 THE PBINCE AND THE PKINCESS. 
 
 Geeda was again obliged to stop and take rest. 
 Suddenly a large Eaven hopped upon the snow in 
 front of her, saying, " Caw ! Caw ! Good-day ! Good- 
 day ! " He had sat for some time on the withered 
 branch of a tree just opposite, eying the little 
 maiden, and wagging his head ; and he now came 
 forward to make acquaintance, and to ask her whither 
 she was going all alone. That word " alone " Gerda 
 understood right well; she felt how sad a meaning 
 it has. She told the Raven the history of her life 
 and fortunes, and asked if he had seen Kay. 
 
 And the Eaven nodded his head, half doubtfully, 
 and said, " That is possible ! — possible ! " 
 
 " Do you think so ? " exclaimed the little girl ; and 
 she kissed the Raven so vehemently, that it is a 
 wonder she did not squeeze him to death. 
 
 " More moderately ! — moderately ! " said the 
 Raven. " I think I know — I think it may be little 
 
172 andeesen's faiky tales. 
 
 Kay.; but he has certainly forsaken thee for the 
 Princess." 
 
 " Dwells he with a Princess ? " asked Gerda. 
 
 "Listen to me," said the Raven; "but it is so 
 difB.cult to speak your language ! Do you under- 
 stand Eavenish ? If so, I can tell you much better." 
 
 "No, I have never learned Eavenish," said Gerda; 
 "but my grandmother knew it, and Pye-language 
 also. Oh, how I wish I had learned it ! " 
 
 " Never mind," said the Eaven ; " I will relate my 
 story in the best manner I can, though bad will be 
 the best ; " and he told all he knew. 
 
 " In the kingdom wherein we are now sitting there 
 dwells a Princess, a most uncommonly clever Prin- 
 cess. All the newspapers in the world has she read, 
 and forgotten them again, so clever is she. It is not 
 long since she ascended the throne, which I have 
 heard is not quite so agreeable a situation as one 
 would fancy; and immediately after she began to 
 sing a new song, the burden of which was this, ' Why 
 should I not marry me ? ' ' There is some sense in 
 this song,' said she, and she determined she would 
 marry; but at the same time declared that the man 
 whom she would choose must be able to answer sen- 
 sibly whenever people spoke to him, and must be 
 good for something else besides merely looking grand 
 and stately. The ladies of the court were then all 
 drummed together, in order to be informed of her 
 intentions, whereupon they were highly delighted ; 
 and one exclaimed, ' That is just what I wish ; ' and 
 another, that she had lately been thinking of the very 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 173 
 
 same thing. Believe me," continued the Eaven, 
 " every word I say is true ; for I have a tame beloved 
 who hops at pleasure about the palace, and she has 
 told me all this." 
 
 Of course the "beloved" was also a raven, for 
 birds of a feather flock together. 
 
 "Proclamations, adorned with borders of hearts, 
 were immediately issued, wherein, after enumerating 
 the style and titles of the Princess, it was set forth 
 that every well-favored youth was free to go to the 
 palace and converse with the Princess ; and that who- 
 ever should speak in such wise as showed that he felt 
 himself at home, there would be the one the Princess 
 would choose for her husband. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," continued the Eaven, " you may 
 believe me ; all this is as true as that I sit here. The 
 people all crowded to the palace; there was famous 
 pressing and squeezing. But it was all of no use, 
 either the Gist or the second day; the young men 
 could speak well enough while they were outside 
 the palace-gates, but when they entered, and saw the 
 royal guard in silver uniform, and the lackeys on the 
 staircase in gold, and the spacious saloon all lighted 
 up, they were quite confounded. They stood before 
 the throne where the Princess sat; and when she 
 spoke to them, they could only repeat the last word 
 she had uttered, which, you know, it was not particu- 
 larly interesting for her to hear over again. It was 
 just as if they had been struck dumb the moment 
 they entered the palace ; for as soon as they got out, 
 they could talk fast enough. There was a regular 
 
174 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 procession constantly moTing from the gates of the 
 town to the gates of the palace. I was there, and saw 
 it with my own eyes," said the Eaven. " They grew 
 both hungry and thirsty whilst waiting at the palace ; 
 but no one could get even so much as a glass of 
 water. To be sure, some of them, wiser than the rest, 
 had brought with them slices of bread and butter; 
 but none would give any to his neighbor, for he 
 thought to himself, ' Let him look hungry, and then 
 the Princess will be sure not to choose him.' " 
 
 "But Kay, little Kay, when did he come ? " asted 
 Gerda ; " was he among the crowd ? " 
 
 " Presently, presently 1 We have just come to him. 
 On the third day arrived a youth with neither horse 
 nor carriage ; gayly he marched up to the palace. His 
 eyes sparkled like yours ; he had long beautiful hair, 
 but was very meanly clad." 
 
 " That was Kay ! " exclaimed Gerda. " Oh, then 
 I have found him ! " and she clapped her hands with 
 delight. 
 
 " He carried a knapsack on his back," said the 
 Raven. 
 
 " No, not a knapsack," said Gerda, " a sledge ; for 
 he had a sledge with him when he left home." 
 
 " It is possible," rejoined the Eaven ; " I did not 
 look very closely ; but this I heard from my beloved, 
 that when he entered the palace-gates, and saw the 
 royal guard in silver and the lackeys in gold upon the 
 staircase, he did not seem in the least confused, but 
 nodded pleasantly, and said to them, ' It must be very 
 tedious standing out here; I prefer going in.' The 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 176 
 
 halls glistened with light; Cabinet Councillors and 
 Excellencies were walking about barefooted, and carry- 
 ing golden keys. It was just the place to make a 
 man solemn and silent ; and the youth's boots creaked 
 horribly, yet he was not at all afraid." 
 
 " That most certainly was Kay ! " said Gerda. " I 
 know he had new boots ; I have heard them creak in 
 my grandmother's room." 
 
 " Indeed they did creak ! " said the Eaven ; " but 
 merrily went he up to the Princess, who was sitting 
 upon a pearl as large as a spinning-wheel, whilst all 
 the ladies of the court, with the maids of honor 
 and their handmaidens ranged in order, stood on one 
 side, and all the gentlemen in waiting, with their gen- 
 tlemen, and their gentlemen's gentlemen, who also 
 kept pages, stood ranged in order on the other side; 
 and the nearer they were to the door the prouder 
 they looked. The gentlemen's gentlemen's page, who 
 always wears slippers, one dares hardly look at, so 
 proudly he stands at the door." . 
 
 " That must be dreadful ! " said little Gerda. 
 " And has Kay really won the Princess ? " 
 
 "Had I not been a Eaven I should have won her 
 myself, notwithstanding my being betrothed. The 
 young man spoke as well as I speak when I converse 
 in Eavenish; that I have heard from my tame be- 
 loved. He was handsome and lively. ' He did not 
 come to woo her,' he said ; 'he had only come to hear 
 the wisdom of the Princess ; ' and he liked her much, 
 and she liked him in return." 
 
 " Yes, to be sure, that was Kay," said Gerda ; " he 
 
176 andbesen's fairy tales. 
 
 ■was so clever, he could reckon in Ms head even frac- 
 tions ! Oh, will you not take me into the palace ? " 
 
 "Ah! that is easily said," replied the Eaven ; "but 
 how is it to be done ? I will talk it over with my 
 tame beloved ; she will advise us what to do, for I 
 must tell you that such a little girl as you are will 
 never gain permission to enter publicly." 
 
 " Yes, I shall ! " cried Gerda. " When Kay knows 
 that I am here, he will immediately come out and 
 fetch me." 
 
 " Wait for me at the trellis yonder," said the Ea- 
 ven. He wagged his hea!d, and away he flew. 
 
 The Eaven did not return till late in the evening. 
 " Caw, caw ! " said he. " My tame beloved greets 
 you kindly, and sends you a piece of bread which she 
 took from the kitchen ; there is plenty of bread there, 
 and you must certainly be hungry. It is not possible 
 for you to enter the palace, for you have bare feet.' 
 The royal guard in silver uniform, and the lackeys in 
 gold, would never permit it ; but do not weep, thou 
 shalt go there. My beloved knows a little back-stair- 
 case leading to the sleeping apartments, and she 
 knows also where to find the key." 
 
 And they went into the garden, down the grand 
 avenue, where the leaves dropped upon them as they 
 passed along; and, when the lights in the palace one 
 by one had all been extinguished, the Eaven took 
 Gerda to a back-door, which stood half open. Oh, 
 how Gerda's heart beat with fear and expectation! 
 It was just as if she was about to do something 
 wrong, although she only wanted to know whether 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 177 
 
 Kay was really there. Yes, it must be lie ! She re- 
 membered so well his bright eyes and long hair. She 
 would see if his smile were the same it used to be 
 when they sat together under the rose-trees. He 
 would be so glad to see her ; to hear how far she had 
 come for his sake ; how all at home mourned his ab- 
 sence. Her heart trembled with fear and joy. 
 
 They went up the staircase. A small lamp, placed 
 on a cabinet, gave a glimmering light ; on the floor 
 stood the tame Raven, who first turned her head on 
 all sides, and then looked at Gerda, who made her 
 courtesy, as her grandmother had taught her. 
 
 " My betrothed has told me much about you, my 
 good young maiden," said the tame Raven ; " your 
 adventures, too, are extremely interesting. If you 
 will take the lamp, I will show you the way. We 
 are going straight on ; we shall not meet any one 
 now." 
 
 -"It seems to me as if some one were behind us," 
 said Gerda; and, in fact, there was a rushing sound 
 as of something passing, — strange-looking shadows 
 flitted rapidly along the wall ; horses with long, 
 slender legs and fluttering manes ; huntsmen, knights, 
 and ladies. 
 
 " These are only Dreams ! " said the Eaven ; « they 
 come to amuse the great personages here at night; 
 you will have a better opportunity of looking at them 
 when you are in bed. I hope that when you arrive 
 at honors and dignities, you will show a grateful 
 lieart." 
 
 " Do not talk of that ! " said the Wood-Raven. 
 
178 Andersen's faiky tales. 
 
 They now entered the first saloon ; its walls were 
 covered with rose-colored satin, embroidered with 
 gold flowers. The Dreams rustled past them, but 
 with such rapidity that Gerda could not see them. 
 The apartments through which they passed vied with 
 each other in splendor, and at last they reached the 
 sleeping-hall. In the centre of this room stood a pil- 
 lar of gold, resembling the stem of a large palm-tree, 
 whose leaves of glass — costly glass — formed the 
 ceiling ; and depending from the tree, hung near the 
 floor, on thick golden stalks, two beds in the form of 
 lUies. The one was white, wherein reposed the Prin- 
 cess ; the other was red, and here must Gerda seek 
 her playfellow Kay. She bent aside one of the red 
 leaves, and saw a brown neck. Oh, it must be Kay ! 
 She called him by his name aloud — held the lamp 
 close to him ; the Dreams again rushed by. He awoke, 
 turned his head, and, behold ! it was not Kay. 
 
 The Prince resembled him only about the throat ; 
 he was, however, young and handsome. And the 
 Princess looked out from the white lily-petals, and 
 asked what was the matter. Then little Gerda wept 
 and told her whole story, and what the Kavens had 
 done for her. 
 
 " Poor child ! " said the Prince and Princess ; and 
 they praised the Eavens, and said they were not at 
 all angry with them. Such liberties must never be 
 taken again in their palace, but this time they should 
 be rewarded. 
 
 " Would you like to fly away free to the woods ? " 
 asked the Princess, addressing the Ravens ; " or to 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 179 
 
 have the appointment secured to you as Court-Eavens, 
 with the perquisites belonging to the kitchen, such as 
 crumbs and leavings ? " 
 
 ^-And both the Eavens bowed low, and chose the ap- 
 pointment at court ; for they thought of old age, and 
 said it would be so comfortable to be well provided 
 for in their declining years. 
 
 Then the Prince arose, and made Gerda sleep in 
 his bed; and she folded her little hands, thinking, 
 " How kind both men and animals are to me ! " She 
 closed her eyes, and slept soundly and sweetly, and 
 all the Dreams flitted about her. They looked like 
 angels from heaven, and seemed to be drawing a 
 sledge, whereon Kay sat and nodded to her ; but this 
 was only fancy, for as soon as she awoke, all the beau- 
 tiful visions had vanished. 
 
 The next day she was dressed from head to foot in 
 silk and velvet. She was invited to stay at the palace 
 and enjoy all sorts of diversions ; but she begged only 
 for a little carriage and a horse, and a pair of little 
 boots. All she desired was to go again iato the wide 
 world to seek Kay. 
 
 And they gave her the boots, and a muff besides. 
 She was dressed so prettily ; and as soon as she was 
 ready, there drove up to the door a new carriage of 
 pure gold, with the arms of the Prince and Princess 
 glittering upon it like a star, the coachman, footmen, 
 and outriders all wearing gold crowns. The Prince and 
 Princess themselves helped her into the carriage, and 
 wished her success. The Wood-Eaven, who was now 
 married, accompanied her the first three miles ; he 
 
180 andeesen's faiey tales. 
 
 sat by her side, for riding backwards was a thing 
 he could not bear. The other Kaven stood at the 
 door flapping her wings, i- She did not go with them 
 on account of a headache she had felt ever since she 
 had received her appointment, in consequence of eat- 
 ing too much. The carriage was well provided with 
 sugar-plums, fruit, and gingerbread-nuts. 
 
 " Farewell ! farewell ! " cried the Prince and Prin- 
 cess ; little Gerda wept, and the Eaven wept out of 
 sympathy. But his farewell was a far sorer trial; 
 he flew up to the branch of a tree, and flapped his 
 black wings at the carriage till it was out of sight. 
 
 PART THE FIFTH. 
 THE LITTLE KOBBBE— MAIDEN. 
 
 Thet drove through the dark, dark forest. The car- 
 riage shone like a torch. Unfortunately, its brightness 
 attracted the eyes of the robbers who dwelt in the 
 forest-shades : they could not bear it. 
 
 " That is gold ! gold ! " cried they. Forward they 
 rushed, seized the horses, stabbed the outriders, coach- 
 man, and footmen to death, and dragged little Gerda 
 out of the carriage. 
 
 " She is plump ; she is pretty ; she has been fed on 
 nut-kernels ! " said the old Eobber-wife, who had a 
 long bristly beard, and eyebrows hanging like bushes 
 over her eyes. " She is like a little fat lamb ! and 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN, 181 
 
 how smartly slie is dressed ! " and she drew out her 
 bright dagger, glittering most terribly. 
 
 " Oh, oh ! " cried the woman ; for at the very mo- 
 ment she had lifted her dagger to stab Gerda, her 
 own wild and wilful daughter jumped upon her back 
 and bit her ear violently. " You naughty child ! " 
 said the mother. 
 
 " She shall play with me," said the little Kobber- 
 maiden. " She shall give me her mu£E and her pretty 
 frock, and sleep with me in my bed 1" And then she 
 bit her mother again, till the Eobber-wife sprang up 
 and shrieked with pain, whilst the robbers all laughed, 
 saying, " Look at her playing with her young one ! " 
 
 " I will get into the carriage ! " And so spoiled and 
 wayward was the little Robber-maiden, that she al- 
 ways had her own way, and she and Gerda sat together 
 in the carriage, and drove over stock and stone, farther 
 and farther into the wood. The little Robber-maiden 
 was about as tall as Gerda, but much stronger. She 
 had broad shoulders, apd a very dark skin ; her eyes 
 were quite black, and had an expression almost mel- 
 ancholy. She put her arm round Gerda's waist, and 
 said, " She shall not kill thee so long as I love thee ! 
 Art thou not a princess ? " 
 
 " No," said Gerda ; and then she told her all that 
 had happened to her, and how much she loved little 
 Kay. 
 
 The Robber-maiden looked earnestly in her face, 
 shook her head, and said, "She shall not kill thee, 
 even if I do quarrel with thee ; then, indeed, I would 
 rather do it myself ! " And she dried Gerda's tears, 
 
182 ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 and put both her hands into the pretty muff that was 
 so soft and warm. 
 
 The carriage at last stopped in the middle of the 
 courtyard of the Eobbers' castle. This castle was 
 half-ruined : crows and ravens flew out of the open- 
 ings, and some fearfully large bull-dogs, looking as if 
 they could devour a man in a moment, jumped round 
 the carriage ; they did not bark, for that was for- 
 bidden. 
 
 The maidens entered a large smoky hall, where a 
 tremendous fire was blazing on the stone floor. The 
 smoke rose up to the ceiling, seeking a way of escape, 
 for there was no chimney; a large caldron, full of 
 soup, was boiling over the fire, whilst hares and rab- 
 bits were roasting on the spit. 
 
 " Thou shalt sleep with me and my little pets to- 
 night ! " said the Eobber-maiden. Then they had some 
 food, and afterwards went to a corner, wherein lay 
 straw and a piece of carpet. Nearly a hundred pi- 
 geons were perched on staves and laths around them ; 
 they seemed to be asleep, but' were startled when the 
 little maidens approached. 
 
 " These all belong to me ! " said Gerda's companion ; 
 and seizing hold of one of the nearest, she held the 
 poor bird by the feet, and swung it. " Kiss it," said 
 she, flapping it into Gerda's face. " The rabble from 
 the wood sit up there," continued she, pointing to a 
 number of laths fastened across a hole in the wall. 
 ?* Those are wood-pigeons ; they would fly away, if I 
 did not keep them shut up. And here is my old fa- 
 vorite ! " She piUled forward by the horn a Kein- 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 183 
 
 deer, who wore a bright copper ring round his neck, 
 by which he was fastened to a large stone. "We are 
 obliged to chain him up, or he would run away from 
 us. Every evening I tickle his neck with my sharp 
 dagger, it makes him fear me so much ! " and the 
 Eobber-maiden drew out a long dagger from a gap in 
 the wall, and passed it over the Eeindeer's throat. 
 The poor animal struggled and kicked, but the girl 
 laughed, and then she pulled Gerda into bed with 
 her. 
 
 " Will you keep the dagger in your hand whilst 
 you sleep ? " asked Gerda, looking timidly at the dan- 
 gerous plaything. 
 
 " I always sleep with my dagger by my side," re- 
 plied the little Eobber-maiden. "One never knows 
 what may happen. But now tell me all over again 
 what you told me before about Kay, and the reason 
 of your coming into the wide world all by yourself." 
 And Gerda again related her history ; and the Wood- 
 pigeons imprisoned above listened, but the others were 
 fast asleep. The little Eobber-maiden threw one arm 
 round Gerda's neck, and holding the dagger with the 
 other, was also soon asleep. One could hear her heavy 
 breathing ; but Gerda could not close her eyes through- 
 out the night : she knew not what would become of 
 her, whether she would even be suffered to live. The 
 robbers sat round the fire drinking and singing. Oh, 
 it was a dreadful night for the poor little girl ! 
 
 Then spoke the Wood-pigeons, " Coo, coo, coo ! We 
 have seen little Kay. A white fowl carried his sledge ; 
 he himself was in the Snow Queen's chariot, which 
 
184 andkesen's fairy tales. 
 
 passed through the wood whilst we sat in our nest. 
 She breathed upon us young ones as she passed, and 
 all died of her breath excepting us two — coo, coo, 
 coo ! " 
 
 " What are you saying ? " cried Gerda. " Where 
 was the Snow Queen going ? Do you know anything 
 about it ? " 
 
 " She travels most likely to Lapland, where ice and 
 snow abide all the year round. Ask the Reindeer 
 bound to the rope there." 
 
 " Yes, ice and snow are there all through the year. 
 It is a glorious land ! " said the Eeindeer ; " there, 
 free and happy, one can roam through the wide, spark- 
 ling valleys ! There the Snow Quoen has her summer- 
 tent ; her strong castle is very far off, near the North 
 Pole, on the island called Spitzbergen." 
 
 " Kay, dear Kay ! " sighed Gerda. 
 
 " You must lie still," said the Eobber-maiden, " or 
 I will thrust my dagger into your side." 
 
 When morning came, Gerda repeated to her what 
 the Wood-pigeons had said, and the little Eobber- 
 maiden looked grave for a moment, then nodded her 
 head, saying, " No matter ! no matter ! Do you know 
 where Lapland is ? " asked she of the Reindeer. 
 
 " Who should know but I ? " returned the animal, 
 his eyes kindling. "There was I born and bred, there 
 how often have I bounded over the wild icy plains ! " 
 
 " Listen to me ! " said the Robber-maiden to Gerda. 
 " You see all our men are gone ; my mother is still 
 here, and will remain ; but towards noon she will 
 drink a little out of the great flask, and after that 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 185 
 
 she will sleep ; then I will do something for you ! " 
 And so saying she Jumped out of bed, sprung upon 
 her mother, pulled her by the beard, and said, " My 
 own dear mam, good-morning ! " and the mother ca- 
 ressed her so roughly that she was red and blue all 
 over ; However, it was from pure love. 
 
 When her mother was fast asleep, the Robber- 
 maiden went up to the Reindeer and said, " I should 
 have great pleasure in stroking you a few more times 
 with my sharp dagger, for then you look so droll ; but 
 never mind, I will unloose your chain and help you 
 to escape, on condition that you run as fast as you 
 can to Lapland, and take this little girl to the castle 
 of the Snow Queen, where her playfellow is. You 
 must have heard her story ; for she speaks loud enough, 
 and you know well how to listen." 
 
 The Reindeer bounded with joy; and the Robber- 
 maiden lifted Gerda on his back, taking the precau- 
 tion to bind her on firmly, as well as to give her a 
 little cushion to sit on. " And here," said she, " are 
 your fur boots ; you will need them in that cold coun- 
 try. The mufE I must keep myself ; it is too pretty to 
 part with. But you shall not be frozen ; here are my 
 mother's huge gloves, — they reach up to the elbow, — 
 put them on. Now your hands look as clumsy as my 
 old mother's ! " 
 
 And Gerda shed tears of joy. 
 
 " I cannot bear to see you crying ! " said the little 
 Robber-maiden ; " you ought to look glad. See, here 
 are two loaves and a piece of bacon for you, that you 
 may not be hungry on the way." She fastened this 
 
186 ANDERSEN'S FAIEY TALES. 
 
 provender also on the Eeindeer's back, opened the 
 door, called away the great dogs, and then cutting 
 asunder with her dagger the rope which bound the 
 Eeindeer, shouted to him, " E"ow, then, run ! but take 
 good care of the little girl." 
 
 And Gerda stretched out her hands to the Robber- 
 maiden, and bade her farewell; and the Reindeer 
 fleeted through the forest, — over stock and stone, 
 over desert and heath, over meadow and moor. The 
 wolves howled and the ravens shrieked. " Isch ! 
 isch ! " a red light flashed ; one might have fancied 
 the sky was sneezing. 
 
 " Those are my dear old Northern Lights I " said 
 the Eeindeer ; " look at them, how beautiful they 
 are ! " And he ran faster than ever ; night and day 
 he ran. The loaves were eaten, so was the bacon; 
 at last they were in Lapland. 
 
 PART THE SIXTH. 
 THE LAPLAND WOMAK AND THE PINMABK WOMAN. 
 
 Thet stopped at a little hut — a wretched hut it 
 was ; the roof very nearly touched the ground, and 
 the door was so low, that whoever wished to go either 
 in or out was obliged to crawl upon hands and knees. 
 No one was at home except an old Lapland woman, 
 who was busy boiling fish over a lamp filled with 
 train-oil. The Reindeer related to her Gerda's whole 
 
THE SNOW QTTBEN. 187 
 
 history; not, however, till after he had made her 
 acquainted with his own, which appeared to him of 
 much more importance. Poor Gerda, meanwhile, was 
 so overpowered by the cold that she could not speak. 
 
 " Ah, poor things ! " said the Lapland woman ; " you 
 have still a long way before you ! You have a hundred 
 miles to run before you can arrive in Finmark. The 
 Snow Queen dwells there, and burns blue lights every 
 evening. I will write for you a few words on a piece 
 of dried stock-fish, — paper I have none, — and you 
 may take it with you to the wise Finmark woman 
 who lives there ; she will advise you better than I 
 can." 
 
 So when Gerda had well warmed herself and taken 
 some food, the Lapland woman wrote a few words on 
 a dried stock-fish, bade Gerda take care of it, and 
 bound her once more firmly on the Reindeer's back. 
 Onwards they sped. The wondrous Northern Lights, 
 now of the loveliest, brightest blue color, shone all 
 through the night ; and amidst these splendid illumi- 
 nations they arrived in Finmark, and knocked at the 
 chimney of the Wise-woman, for door to her house 
 she had none. 
 
 Hot, very hot was it within ; so much so, that the 
 Wise-woman wore scarcely any clothing. She was low 
 in stature, and very dirty. She immediately loosened 
 little Gerda's dress, took off her fur boots and thick 
 gloves, laid a piece of ice on the Keindeer's head, and 
 then read what was written on the stock-fish. She 
 read it three times ; after the third reading she knew 
 it by heart, and threw the fish into the porridge-pot, 
 
 J 
 
188 ANDERSEN'S FAIEY TALES. 
 
 for it might make a very excellent supper, and she 
 never wasted anything. 
 
 The Reindeer then repeated his own story, and 
 when that was finished he told of little Gerda's ad- 
 ventures ; and the Wise-woman twinkled her wise 
 eyes, but spoke not a word. 
 
 "Thou art so powerful," continued the Eeindeer, 
 " that I know thou canst twist all the winds of the 
 world into a rope, of which if the pilot loosen one 
 knot, he will have a favorable wind ; if he loosen the 
 second, it will blow sharp ; and if he loosen the third, 
 so tremendous a storm will arise that the trees of the 
 forest will be uprooted, and the ship wrecked. Wilt 
 thou not mix for this little maiden that wonderful 
 draught which will give her the strength of twelve 
 men, and thus enable her to overcome the Snow 
 Queen ? " 
 
 " The strength of twelve- men ! " repeated the Wise- 
 woman ; " that would be of much- use, to be sure ! " 
 and she walked away, drew forth a large parchment 
 roll from a shelf, and began to read. What strange 
 characters were seen inscribed on the scroll as the 
 Wise-woman slowly unrolled it ! She read so intently, 
 that the perspiration ran down her forehead. 
 
 But the Eeindeer pleaded so earnestly for little 
 Gerda, and Gerda's eyes were raised so entreatingly 
 and tearfully, that at last the Wise-woman's eyes be- 
 gan to twinkle again out of sympathy ; and she drew 
 the Eeindeea- into a corner, and, putting a fresh piece 
 of ice upon his head, whispered thus, — 
 
 " Little Kay is still with the Snow Queen, in whose 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 189 
 
 abode everyth.ing is according to his taste, and there- 
 fore he believes it to be the best place in the -world. 
 But that is because he has a glass splinter in his heart, 
 and a glass splinter in his eye ; until he has got rid 
 of them he will never feel like a human being, and 
 the Snow Queen will always maintain her influence 
 over him." 
 
 " But canst thou not give something to little Gerda 
 whereby she may overcome all these evil influences ? " 
 
 " I can give her no power so great as that which she 
 already possesses. Seest thou not how strong she is ? 
 Seest thou not that both men and animals must serve 
 her — a poor little girl, wandering barefoot through 
 the world ? Her power is greater than ours ; it pro- 
 ceeds from her heart — from her being a loving and 
 innocent child. If this power, which she already pos- 
 sesses, cannot give her access to the Snow Queen's 
 palace, and enable her to free Kay's eye and heart 
 from the glass fragment, we can do nothing for her ! 
 Two miles hence is the Snow Queen's garden ; thither 
 thou canst carry the little maiden. Put her down close 
 by the bush bearing red berries and half covered with 
 snow ; lose no time, and. hasten back to this place ! " 
 
 And the Wise-woman lifted Gerda on the Rein- 
 deer's back, and away they went. 
 
 " Oh, I have left my boots behind ! I have left my 
 gloves behind ! " cried little Gerda, when it was too 
 late. The cold was piercing, but the Eeindeer dared 
 not stop ; on he ran until he reached the bush with 
 bhe red berries. Here he set Gerda down, kissed her, 
 the tears rolling down his cheeks the while, and ran 
 
190 akdeesen's faiky tales. 
 
 fast back again, which was the best thing he could do. 
 And there stood poor Gerda, without shoes, without 
 gloves, alone in that barren region — that terrible icy- 
 cold Mnmark. 
 
 She ran on as fast as she could — a whole regiment 
 of snowflakes came to meet her. They did not fall 
 from the sky, which was cloudless and bright with 
 the Northern Lights; they ran straight along the 
 ground, and the farther G-erda advanced the larger 
 they grew. Gerda then remembered how large and 
 curious the snowflakes had appeared to her when one 
 day she had looked at them through a burning-glass. 
 These, however, were very much larger — they were 
 living forms; they were, in fact, the Snow Queen's 
 guards. Their shapes were the strangest that could 
 be imagined : some looked like great ugly porcupines ; 
 others like snakes rolled into knots with their heads 
 peering forth ; and others like little fat bears with 
 bristling hair, — all, however, were alike dazzlingly 
 white, all were living snowflakes. 
 
 Little Gerda began to repeat " Our Father." Mean- 
 while, the cold was so intense that she could see her 
 own breath, which, as it escaped her mouth, ascended 
 into the air like vapor ; more dense grew this vapor', 
 and at length shaped itself into the forms of little 
 bright angels, which, as they touched the earth, be- 
 came larger and more distinct. They wore helmets 
 on their heads, and carried shields and spears in their 
 hands ; their number increased so rapidly, that by the 
 time Gerda had finished her prayer a whole legion 
 stood around her. They thrust with their spears 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 191 
 
 against the horrible snowflakes, which fell into thou- 
 sands of pieces, and little Gerda walked on, unhurt 
 and undaunted. The angels touched her hands and 
 feet ; and then she scarcely felt the cold, and boldly 
 approached the Snow Queen's palace. 
 
 But before we accompany her there, let us see what 
 Kay is doing. He is certainly not thinking of little 
 Gerda, least of all can he imagine that she is now 
 standing at the palace-gate. 
 
 PART THE SEVENTH, 
 
 WHICH TREATS 01" THE SNOW QUEEN's PALACE, AND 
 OF WHAT CAME TO PASS THEREIN. 
 
 The walls of the palace were formed of the driven 
 snow, its doors and windows of the cutting winds. 
 There were above a hundred halls, the largest of them 
 many mUes in extent, all illuminated by the Northern 
 Lights; all alike vast, empty, icily cold, and daz- 
 zlingly white. ZsTo sounds of mirth ever resounded 
 through these dreary spaces; no cheerful scene re- 
 freshed the sight — not even so much as a bears' ball, 
 such as one might imagine sometimes takes place, the 
 tempest forming a band of musicians, and the polar 
 bears standing on their hind-paws, and exhibiting 
 themselves in the oddest positions. Nor was there 
 ever a card-assembly, wherein the cards might be held 
 in the mouth, and deaJt out by the paws ; nor even a 
 
192 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 small, select cofEee-party for the -white young lady 
 foxes. Vast, empty, and cold were the Snow Queen's 
 chambers ; and the Northern Lights flashed now high, 
 now low, in regular gradations. In the midst of the 
 empty, interminable snow-saloon lay a frozen lake : it 
 was broken into a thousand pieces ; but these pieces 
 so exactly resembled each other, that the breaking of 
 them might well be deemed a work of more than 
 human skill. The Snow Queen, when at home, al- 
 ways sat in the centre of this lake ; she used to say 
 that she was then sitting on the Mirror of Eeason, 
 and that hers was the best — indeed, the only one — 
 in the world. 
 
 ■ Little Kay was quite blue, nay, almost black, with 
 cold ; but he did not observe it, for the Snow Queen 
 had kissed away the shrinking feeling he used to ex- 
 perience, and his heart was like a lump of ice. He 
 was busied among the sharp icy fragments, laying 
 and joining them together in every possible way, just 
 as people do with what are called Chinese Puzzles. 
 Kay could form the most curious and complete fig- 
 ures, — this was the ice-puzzle of reason, — and in 
 his eyes these figures were of the utmost importance. 
 He often formed whole words ; but there was one 
 word he could never succeed in forming — it was 
 Eternity. The Snow Queen had said to him, " When 
 thou canst put that figure together, thou shalt become 
 thine own master, and I will give thee the whole 
 world, and a new pair of skates besides." But he 
 could never do it. 
 
 "Now I am going to the warm countries," said the 
 
THE SNOW QUEEN. 193 
 
 Snow Queen ; " I shall flit through the air, and look 
 into the black caldrons" — she meant the burning 
 mountains, Etna and Vesuvius. " I shall whiten 
 them a little ; that will be good for the citrons and 
 vineyards." So away flew the Snow Queen, leaving 
 Kay sitting all alone in the large, empty hall of ice. 
 He looked at the fragments, and thought and thought 
 till his head ached : he sat so still and so stiff that 
 one might have fancied that he, too, was frozen. 
 
 Cold and cutting blew the winds when little Gerda 
 passed through the palace-gates ; but she repeated her 
 evening prayer, and they immediately sank to rest. 
 She entered the large, cold, empty hall. She saw 
 Kay, she recognized him, she flew upon his neck, she 
 held him fast, and cried, " Kay ! dear, dear Kay ! I 
 have found thee at last ! " 
 
 But he sat still as before — cold, silent, motionless. 
 His unkindness Tvounded poor Gerda deeply ; hot and 
 bitter were the tears she shed. They fell upon his 
 breast, they reached his heart, they thawed the ice, 
 and dissolved the tiny splinter of glass within it ; he 
 looked at her whilst she sang her hymn, — 
 
 "Our roses bloom and fade away, 
 Our infant Lord abides for aye. 
 May we be blessed his face to see, 
 And ever little children be! " 
 
 Then Kay burst into tears ; he wept till the glass 
 splinter floated in his eye, and fell with his tears. He 
 knew his old companion immediately, and exclaimed 
 with joy, " Gerda, my dear little Gerda ! where hast 
 
194 andeksen's fairy tales. 
 
 thou been all this time ? And where have I 
 been ? " 
 
 He looked around him. " How cold it is here ! — 
 how wide and empty!" and he embraced Gerda, 
 whilst she laughed and wept by turns. Even the 
 pieces of ice took part in their joy ; they danced 
 about merrily, and when they were wearied and lay 
 down, they formed of their own accord the mystical 
 letters of which the Snow Queen had said, that when 
 Kay could put them together, he should be his own 
 master, and that she would give him the whole world, 
 with a new pair of skates besides. 
 
 And Gerda kissed his cheeks, whereupon they be- 
 came fresh and glowing as ever ; she kissed his eyes, 
 and they sparkled like her own ; she kissed his hands 
 and feet, and he was once more healthy and merry. 
 The Snow Queen might now come home as soon as 
 she liked — it mattered not; Kay's charter of free- 
 dom stood written on the mirror in bright icy 
 characters. 
 
 They took each other by the hand, and wandered 
 forth out of the palace, talking, meanwhile, about 
 the aged grandmother, and the rose-trees on the roof 
 of their houses; and as they walked on, the winds 
 were hushed into a calm, and the sun burst forth in 
 splendor from among the dark storm-clouds. When 
 they arrived at the bush with the red berries, they 
 found the Eeindeer standing by, awaiting their ar- 
 rival ; he had brought with him another and younger 
 Eeindeer, whose udders were full, and who gladly 
 gave her warm milk to refresh the young travellers. 
 
THE SNOW QtJEEN. 195 
 
 The old Reindeer and tlie young Hind now carried 
 Kay and Gerda on their backs, first to the little hot 
 room of the Wise-woman of Finmark, where they 
 warmed themselves, and received advice how to pro- 
 ceed in their journey home, and afterwards to the 
 abode of the Lapland woman, who made them some 
 new clothes, and provided them with a sledge. 
 
 The whole party now ran on together till they 
 came to the boundary of the country ; but just where 
 the green leaves began to sprout, the Lapland woman 
 and the two Eeindeer took their leave. " Farewell ! 
 — farewell ! " said they all. And the first little birds 
 they had seen for many a long day began to chirp 
 and warble their pretty songs ; and the trees of the 
 forest burst upon them full of rich and variously 
 tinted foliage. Suddenly the green boughs parted 
 asunder, and a spirited horse galloped up. Gerda 
 knew it well, for it was the one which had been har- 
 nessed to her gold coach ; and on it sat a young girl 
 wearing a bright scarlet cap, and with pistols on the 
 holster before her. It was, indeed, no other than 
 the Kobber-maiden, who, weary of her home in the 
 forest, was going on her travels, first to the Iforth, 
 and afterwards to other parts of the world. She at 
 once recognized Gerda, and Gerda had not forgotten 
 her. Most joyful was their greeting ! 
 
 " A fine gentleman you are, to be sure, you grace- 
 less young truant ! " said she to Kay. " I should like 
 to know if you deserved that any one should be run- 
 ning to the end of the world on your account ! " 
 
 But Gerda stroked her cheeks, and asked after the 
 
 Prince and Princess, . 
 
 / 
 / 
 
196 andbesbn's paiky talbs. 
 
 " They are gone travelling into foreign countries," 
 replied the Eobber-maiden. 
 
 « And the Eaven ? " asked Gerda. 
 
 "Ah! the Eaven is dead," returned she. "The 
 tame beloved has become a widow ; so she hops about 
 with a piece of black worsted wound round her leg. 
 She moans most piteously, and chatters more than 
 ever ! But tell me now all that has happened to you, 
 and how you managed to pick up your old play-fel- 
 low." 
 
 And Gerda and Kay told their story. 
 
 " Snip-snap-snurre-basselurre ! " said the Robber- 
 maiden ; she pressed the hands of both, promised that 
 if ever she passed through their town she would pay 
 them a visit, and then bade them farewell, and rode 
 away out into the wide world. 
 
 Kay and Gerda walked on hand in hand ; and where- 
 ever they went it was spring, beautiful spring, with 
 its bright flowers and green leaves. 
 
 They arrived at a large town ; the church bells were 
 ringing merrily, and they immediately recognized the 
 high towers rising into the sky — it was the town 
 wherein they had lived. Joyfully they passed through 
 the streets, joyfully they stopped at the door of Ger- 
 da's grandmother. They walked up the stairs, and 
 entered the well-known room. The clock said " Tick, 
 tick ! " and the hands moved as before ; only one alter- 
 ation could they find, and that was in themselves, for 
 they saw that they were now full-grown persons. The 
 rose-trees on the roof blossomed in front of the open 
 window, and there beneath them stood the children's 
 
THE SNOW QUEKN. 197 
 
 stools. Kay and Gerda went and sat down upon 
 tkem, still holding each other by the hands. The cold, 
 hollow splendor of the Snow Queen's palace they had 
 forgotten; it seemed to them only an unpleasant 
 dream. The grandmother, meanwhUe, sat amid God's 
 bright sunshine, and read from the Bible these words : 
 "Unless ye become as little children, ye shall not 
 enter into the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 And Kay and Gerda gazed on each other ; they now 
 understood the words of their hymn, — 
 
 " Our roses bloom and fade away, 
 Our Infant Lord abides for aye. 
 May we be blessed Ms face to see, 
 And ever little children be." 
 
 There they sat, those two happy ones, grown up, 
 and yet children — children in heart, while all around 
 them glowed bright summer — warm, , glorious sum- 
 mer. 
 
1?8 akdersbn's taiky tales. 
 
 THE CONSTANT TIN SOLDIEE. 
 
 THEEE were once five-and-twenty Tin Soldiers, all 
 brothers, for they had all been made out of one 
 old tin spoon. They carried muskets in their arms, 
 and held themselves very upright, and their uniforms 
 were red and blue — very gay indeed. The first word 
 that they heard in this world, when the lid was taken 
 off the box wherein they lay, was, " Tin Soldiers ! " 
 It was a little boy who made this exclamation, clap- 
 ping his hands at the same time. They had been 
 given to him because it was his birthday, and he now 
 set them out on the table. The soldiers resembled 
 one another to a hair ; one only was rather different 
 from the rest. He had but one leg,, for he had been 
 made last, when there was not quite tin enoligh left ; 
 however, he stood as firmly upon his one leg as the 
 others did upon their two. And this identical Tin Sol- 
 dier it is whose fortunes seem to us worthy of record. 
 On the table where the Tin Soldiers were set out 
 were several other playthings ; but the most charming 
 of them all was a pretty pasteboard castle. Through 
 its little windows one could look into the rooms. In 
 front of the castle stood some tiny trees, clustering 
 round a little mirror intended to represent a lake, and 
 waxen swans swam in the lake, and were reflected on 
 its surface. All this was very pretty ; but prettiest 
 
THE CONSTANT TIX SOLDIEB. 199 
 
 of all was a little damsel standing in the open door- 
 way of the castle. She, too, was cut out of paste- 
 board ; but she had on a frock of the clearest muslin, 
 a little sky-blue ribbon was flung across her shoulders 
 like a scarf, and in the midst of this scarf was set a 
 bright gold wing. The little lady stretched out both 
 her arms, for she was a dancer, and raised one of her 
 legs so high in the air that the Tin Soldier could not 
 find it, and fancied that she had, like him, only one 
 leg. 
 
 " That would be just the wife for me," thought he ; 
 " but, then, she is of rather too high rank ; she lives 
 in a castle. I have only a box ; besides, there are all 
 our five-and-twenty men in it : it is no place for her ! 
 However, there will be no harm in my making ac- 
 quaintance with her." And so he stationed himself 
 behind a snufE-box that stood on the table ; from this 
 place he had a full view of the delicate little lady, 
 who still remained standing on one leg, yet without 
 losing her balance. 
 
 When evening came, all the other Tin Soldiers were 
 put away into the box, and the people of the house 
 went to bed. The playthings now began to play in 
 their turn ; they pretended to visit, to fight battles, 
 and give balls. The Tin Soldiers rattled in the box, 
 for they wanted to play too ; but the lid would not 
 come off. The nutcrackers cut capers, and the slate- 
 pencil played at commerce on the slate. There was 
 such a racket that the canary-bird waked up, and be- 
 gan to talk too ; but he always talked in verse. The 
 only two who did not move from their places were 
 
200 ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 the Tin Soldier and the little daticer. She constantly 
 remained in her graceful position, standing on the 
 point of her foot, with outstretched arms ; and as for 
 him, he stood just as firmly on his one leg, never for 
 one moment turning his eyes away from her. 
 
 Twelve o'clock struck — crash ! open sprang the lid 
 of the snuff-box ; but there was no snuff inside it. No, 
 out jumped a little black Conjurer ; in fact, it was a 
 Jack-in-the-box. 
 
 " Tin Soldier !" said the Conjurer, "wilt thou keep 
 thine eyes to thyself ? " 
 
 But the Tin Soldier pretended not to hear. 
 
 " Well, only wait till to-morrow ! " quoth the Con- 
 jurer. 
 
 When the morrow had come, and the children were 
 out of bed, the Tin Soldier was placed on the window- 
 ledge; and, whether the Conjurer or the wind occa- 
 sioned it, all at once the window flew open, and out 
 fell the Tin Soldiery head foremost, from the third 
 story to the ground. A dreadful fall was that ! His 
 one leg turned over and over in the air ; and at last he 
 rested, poised on his soldier's cap, with his bayonet 
 between the paving-stones. 
 
 The maid-servant and the little boy immediately 
 came down to look for him ; but although they very 
 nearly trod on him, they could not see him. If the 
 Tin Soldier had but called out, " Here I am ! " they 
 might easily have found him ; but he thought it would 
 not be becoming for him to cry out, as he was in uni- 
 form. 
 
 It now began to rain ; every drop fell heavier than 
 
THK COXSTAKT TIN SOLDIER. 201 
 
 the last : there was a regular shower. When it was 
 over, two boys came by. 
 
 " Look," said one, " here is a Tin Soldier ! He shall 
 have a sail for once in his life." 
 
 So they made a boat out of an old newspaper, put 
 the Tin Soldier into it, and away he sailed down the 
 gutter, both the boys running along by the side, and 
 clapping their hands. The paper boat rocked to and 
 fro, and every now and then veered round so quickly 
 that the Tin Soldier became quite giddy ; still he 
 moved not a muscle, looked straight forward before 
 him, and held his bayonet tightly clasped. 
 
 All at once the boat sailed under a long gutter- 
 board; he found it as dark here as at home in his 
 own box. 
 
 " Where shall I get to next ? " thought he ; " yes, 
 to be sure, it is all that Conjurer's doing ! Ah, if the 
 little maiden were but sailing with me in the boat, I 
 would not care for its being twice as dark ! " 
 
 Just then a great Water-Eat, that lived under the 
 gutter-board, darted out. 
 
 " Have you a passport ? " asked the Eat. " Where 
 is your passport ? " 
 
 But the Tin Soldier was silent, and held his weapon 
 with a still firmer grasp. The boat sailed on, and the 
 Eat followed. Oh ! how furiously he showed his 
 teeth, and cried out to sticks and straws, " Stop him, 
 stop him ! He has not paid the toll ! He has not 
 shown his passport ! " But the stream grew stronger 
 and stronger. The Tin Soldier could already catch a 
 glimpse of the bright daylight before the boat came 
 
202 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 from under the tunnel ; but at tlie same time he heard 
 a roaring noise, at which the boldest heart might well 
 have trembled. Only fancy ! where the tunnel ended, 
 the water of the gutter fell perpendicularly into a 
 great canal ; this was as dangerous for the Tin Soldier 
 as sailing down a mighty waterfall would be for us. 
 
 He was now so close that he could no longer stand 
 upright. The boat darted forwards ; the poor Tin Sol- 
 dier held himself as stiff and immovable as possible ; 
 no one could accuse him of having even blinked. The 
 boat spun round and round, three, nay, four times, 
 and was filled with water to the brim ; it had to sink. 
 The Tin-soldier stood up to his neck in water ; deeper 
 and deeper sank the boat, softer and softer grew the 
 paper. The water went over the soldier's head ; he 
 thought of the pretty little dancer, whom he should 
 never see again, and these words rang in his ears : — 
 
 " "Wild adventure, mortal danger, 
 Be thy portion, valiant stranger 1 " 
 
 The paper now tore asunder; the Tin Soldier fell 
 through the rent; but in the same moment he was 
 swallowed up by a large fish. 
 
 Oh, how dark it was ! worse, even, than under the 
 gutter-board, and so narrow too ! But the Tin Sol- 
 dier's resolution was as constant as ever ; there he lay 
 at full length, shouldering his arms. 
 
 The fish turned and twisted about, and made the 
 strangest movements : at last he became quite still ; a 
 flash of lightning, as it were, darted through him. 
 The daylight shone brightly, and some one exclaimed, 
 
THE CONSTANT TIN SOLDIER. 203 
 
 " Tin Soldier ! " Tlie fish had been caught, taken to 
 the market, sold, and brought home into the kitchen, 
 ■where the servant-girl was cutting him up with a large 
 knife. She seized the Tin Soldier by the middle with 
 two of her fingers, and took him into the parlor, where 
 every one was eager to see the wonderful man who 
 had travelled in the maw of a fish. However, our 
 little warrior was by no means proud. They set him 
 on the table, and there — no ! how could anything so 
 extraordinary happen in this world ? — the Tin Soldier 
 was in the very same room in which he had been be- 
 fore. He saw the same children, the same playthings 
 stood on the table, among them the beautiful castle 
 with the pretty little dancing maiden, who was still 
 standing upon one leg, whilst she held the other high 
 in the air ; she, too, was constant. It quite affected 
 the Tin Soldier ; he could have found it in his heaA 
 to weep tin tears, but such weakness would have been 
 unbecoming in a soldier. He looked at her, and she 
 looked at him, but neither spoke a word. 
 
 And now one of the little boys took the Soldier, and 
 threw him without ceremony into the stove. He did 
 not give any reason for so doing ; but, no doubt, the 
 Conjurer in the snuff-box must have had a hand in it. 
 
 The Tin Soldier now stood in a blaze of red light ; 
 he felt extremely hot. Whether this heat was the re- 
 sult of the actual fire, or of the flames of love within 
 him, he knew not. He had entirely lost his color. 
 Whether this change had happened during his travels, 
 or were the effect of strong emotion, I know not. He 
 looked upon the little damsel, she looked upon him, 
 
204 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 and he felt that he was melting ; but, constant as ever, 
 he still stood shouldering his arms. A door opened, 
 the wind seized the Dancer, and, like a sylph, she flew 
 straightway into the stove, to the Tin Soldier; they 
 both flamed up into a blaze — and were gone ! The 
 Soldier was melted to a hard lump, and when the 
 maid took the ashes out the next day, she found his 
 remains in the shape of a little tin heart: of the 
 Dancer there remained only the gold wing, and that 
 was burnt black as a coal. 
 
SHEPHERDESS AND CHIMNEY-SWEEPEE. 205 
 
 THE SHEPHEEDESS AJSTD THE CHIMNEY- 
 SWEEPEE. 
 
 HAVE you never seen an old-fashioned, oaken-wood 
 cabinet, quite black with age, and covered with 
 varnish and carving-work ? Just such a piece of fur- 
 niture, an old heirloom that had been the property of 
 its present mistress's great-grandmother, stood once 
 in a parlor ; it was carved from top to bottom, roses, 
 tulips, and little stags' heads with long branching 
 antlers peering forth from amid the curious scrolls 
 and foliage surrounding them. Moreover, in the cen- 
 tre paiiel of the cabinet was carved the fuU-length 
 figure of a man, who seemed to be perpetually grin- 
 ning, perhaps at himself, for in truth he was a most 
 ridiculous figure ; he had crooked legs, small horns on 
 his forehead, and a long beard. The children of the 
 house t.sed to call him "the crooked-legged Eield- 
 marshai-Major-General-Corporal-Sergeant ; " for this 
 was a long, hard name, and not many figures, whether 
 carved in wood or in stone, could boast of such a 
 title. ' There he stood, his eyes always fixed upon the 
 table under the pier-glass ; for on this table stood a 
 pretty little porcelain Shepherdess, her mantle gath- 
 ered gracefully round her, and fastened with a red 
 rose. Her shoes and hat were gilt; her hand held 
 a crook — oh, she was charming ! Close by her stood 
 
206 andeksen's fairy tales. 
 
 a little Chimney-sweeper, likewise of porcelain. He 
 was as clean and neat as any of the other figures. 
 Indeed, the manufactuier might just as well have 
 made a prince as a chimney-sweeper of him ; for, 
 though elsewhere black as a coal, his face was as 
 fresh and rosy as a girl's, which was certainly a mis- 
 take — it ought to have been black. His ladder in his 
 hand, there he kept his station, close by the little 
 Shepherdess. They had been placed together from 
 the first, had always remained on the same spot, and 
 had thus plighted their troth to each other. They 
 suited each other so well ; they were both young peo- 
 ple, both of the same kind of porcelain, both alike 
 fragile and delicate. 
 
 Not far off stood a figure three times as large as 
 the others. It was an old Chinese Mandarin, who 
 coifld nod his head. He, too, was of porcelain, and 
 declared that he was grandfather to the little Shep- 
 herdess. He could not prove his assertion : however, 
 he insisted that he had authority over her; and so 
 when " the crooked-legged Field-marshal-Major-G-en- 
 eral-Corporal-Sergeant " made proposals to the little 
 Shepherdess, he nodded his head in token of tis con- 
 sent. 
 
 " Kow you will have a husband," said the old Man- 
 darin to her, — "a husband who, I verily believe, is 
 of mahogany-wood. You will be the wife of a ' Field- 
 marshal-Major-General-Corporal-Sergeant,' of a man 
 who has a whole cabinet full of silver-plate, besides a 
 store of no one knows what in the secret drawers ! " 
 
 " I will not go into that dismal cabinet ! " declared 
 
SHEPHERDESS AND CHIMNEY-S WEEPER. 207 
 
 the little Shepherdess. "I have heard say that eleven 
 porcelain ladies are already imprisoned there." 
 
 " Then you shall be the twelfth, and you -will be in 
 good company ! " rejoined the Mandarin. " This very 
 night, when the old cabinet creaks, your nuptials shall 
 be celebrated, as sure as I am a Chinese Mandarin ! " 
 Whereupon he nodded his head and fell asleep. 
 
 But the little Shepherdess wept, and turned to the 
 beloved of her heart, the porcelain Chimney-sweep. 
 
 "I believe I must ask you," said she, "to go out 
 with me into the wide world, for here we cannot 
 stay." 
 
 " I will do everything you wish," replied the little 
 Chimney-sweeper ; " let us go at once : I think I can 
 support you by my profession." 
 
 " If we could but get off the table ! " sighed she. 
 " I shall never be happy till we are away, out in the 
 wide world." 
 
 And he comforted her, and showed her how to set 
 her little foot on the carved edges and gilded foli- 
 age twining round the leg of the table, till at last 
 they reached the floor. But turning to look at the 
 old cabinet, they saw everything in a grand commo- 
 tion, all the carved stags putting their little heads 
 farther out, raising their antlers, and moving their 
 throats, whilst "the crooked-legged Field-marshal- 
 Major-G-eneral-Corporal-Sergeant" sprang up, and 
 shouted out to the old Chinese Mandarin, " Look, 
 they are eloping ! they are eloping ! " 
 
 They were not a little frightened, and quickly 
 jumped into an open drawer for protection. 
 
208 Andersen's faiey tales. 
 
 In this drawer there were three or four incomplete 
 packs of cards, and also a little puppet-theatre. A 
 play was being performed, and all the Queens, whether 
 of Diamonds, Hearts, Clubs, or Spades, sat in the front 
 row fanning themselves with the flowers they held in 
 their hands; behind them stood the- Knaves, showing 
 that they had each two heads, one above and one be- 
 low, as most cards have. The play was about two 
 persons who were crossed in love ; and the Shepherdess 
 wept over it, for it was just like her own history. 
 
 " I cannot bear this ! " said she. " Let us leave the 
 drawer." But when they had again reached the floor, 
 on looking up at the table, they saw that the old 
 Chinese Mandarin had awakened, and was rocking his 
 whole body to and fro with rage. 
 
 " Oh, the old Mandarin is coming ! " cried the little 
 Shepherdess, and down she fell on her porcelain knees 
 in the greatest distress. 
 
 " A sudden thought has struck me," said the Chim- 
 ney-sweeper; "suppose we creep into the large Pot- 
 pourri Vase that stands in the corner ; there we can 
 rest upon roses and lavender, and throw salt in his 
 eyes if he come near us." 
 
 "That will not do at all," said she; "besides, I 
 know that the old Mandarin was once betrothed to 
 the Pot-pourri Vase, and, no doubt, there is still some 
 slight friendship existing between them. No, there 
 is no help for it ; we must wander forth together into 
 the wide world." 
 
 " Hast thou, indeed, the courage to go with me 
 into the wide world ? " asked the Chimey-sweeper. 
 
SHEPHERDESS AND CHIMNEY-SWEEPEK. 209 
 
 " Hast thou considered how large it is, and that we 
 may never return home again ? " 
 
 " I have," replied she. 
 
 And the Chimney-sweeper looked keenly at her, 
 and then said, " My path leads through the chimney ! 
 Hast thou, indeed, the courage to creep with me 
 through the stove, through the flues and the tunnel ? 
 Well do I know the way ! We shall mount up so high 
 that they cannot come near us, and at the top there 
 is a cavern that leads into the wide world." 
 
 And he led her to the door of the stove. 
 
 " Oh, how black it looks ! " sighed she. However, 
 she went on with him, through the flues, and through 
 the tunnel, where it was dark, pitch dark. 
 
 " Now we are in the chimney," said he ; " and look, 
 what a lovely star shines above us ! " 
 
 And there was actually a star in the sky, shining 
 right down upon them, as if to show them the way. 
 And they crawled and crept — a fearful path was 
 theirs — so high, so very high ! But he guided land 
 supported her, and showed her the best places whereon 
 to plant her tiny porcelain feet, till they reached the 
 edge of the chimney, where they sat down to rest, for 
 they were very tired ; and indeed not without reason. 
 Heaven with all its stars was above them, and the 
 town with all its roofs lay beneath them ; the wide, 
 wide world surrounded them. The poor Shepherdess 
 had never imagined all this ; she leant her little head 
 on her Chimney-sweeper's arm, and wept so vehe- 
 mently that the gilding broke off from her waistband. 
 
 " This is too much ! " exclaimed she. " This can I 
 
210 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 not endure ! The world is all too large ! Oh, that 
 I were once more upon the little table under the pier- 
 glass ! I shall never be happy till I am there again. 
 I have followed thee out into the wide world, surely 
 thou canst follow me home again, if thou lovest 
 me!" 
 
 And the Chimney-sweeper talked very sensibly 
 to her, reminding her of the old Chinese Mandarin 
 and "the crooked-legged Field-marshal-Major-Gene- 
 ral-Corporal-Sergeant ; " but she wept so bitterly, and 
 kissed her little Chimney-sweep so fondly, that at last 
 he could not but yield to her request, unreasonable as 
 it was. So with great difB.culty they crawled down 
 the chimney, crept through the flues and the tunnel, 
 and at length found themselves once more in the 
 dark stove ; but they still lurked behind the door, 
 listening, before they would venture to return into 
 the room. Everything was quite still ; they peeped 
 out — alas 1 on the ground lay the old Chinese Man- 
 darin. In attempting to follow the runaways, he had 
 fallen down off the table, and had broken into three 
 pieces — liis head lay shaking in a corner. "The 
 crooked-legged Field-marshal-Major-General-Corporal- 
 Sergeant " stood where he had always stood, thinking 
 over what had happened. 
 
 " Oh, how shocking ! " exclaimed the little Shep- 
 herdess; "old grandfather is broken in pieces, and 
 we are the cause ! I shall never survive it ! " and 
 she wrung her delicate hands. 
 
 " He can be put together again," replied the Chim- 
 ney-sweeper. " He can very easily be put together ; 
 
SHEPHERDESS AND CHIMNEY-SWEEPEE. 211 
 
 only be not so impatient ! If they glue his back to- 
 gether, and put a strong rivet in his neck, then he 
 will be as good as new again, and will be able to say 
 plenty of unpleasant things to us." 
 
 " Do you really think so ? " asked she. And then 
 they climbed up the table to the place where they 
 had stood before. 
 
 " See how far we have been ! " observed the Chim- 
 ney-sweeper ; " we might have spared ourselves all 
 the trouble." 
 
 "If we could but have old grandfather put to- 
 gether ! " said the Shepherdess. " Will it cost very 
 much ? " 
 
 And he was put together. The family had his back 
 glued and his neck riveted ; he was as good as new, 
 but could no longer nod his head. 
 
 " You have certainly grown very proud since you 
 broke in pieces ! " remarked " the crooked-legged 
 Field - marshal - Major- General - Corporal - Sergeant ; " 
 " but I must say, for my part, I do not see that there 
 is anything to be proud of. Am I to have her, or am 
 I not ? Just answer me that ! " 
 
 And the Chimney-sweeper and the little Shepherd- 
 ess looked imploringly at the old Mandarin, they 
 were so afraid lest he should nod his head; but 
 nod he could not, and it was disagreeable to him to 
 tell a stranger that he had a rivet in his neck, so the 
 young porcelain people always remained together; 
 they blessed the grandfather's rivet, and loved each 
 other till they broke in pieces. 
 
212 andeesek's fairy tales. 
 
 THE RED SHOES. 
 
 THESE -was once a little girl, very pretty and 
 delicate, but so poor that in summer-time she 
 went barefoot, and in winter wore large wooden 
 shoes, so that her little ankles grew quite red and 
 sore. 
 
 In the village dwelt the shoemaker's mother ; she 
 sat down one day, and made out of some old pieces 
 of red cloth a pair of little shoes. They were clumsy 
 enough, certainly ; but they fitted the little girl tolera- 
 bly well, and she gave them to her. The little girl's 
 name was Karen. 
 
 It was the day of her mother's funeral when the 
 red shoes were given to Karen ; they were not at all 
 suitable for mourning, but she had no others, and in 
 them she walked with bare legs behind the miserable 
 straw bier. 
 
 Just then a large old carriage rolled by ; in it sat 
 a large old lady. She looked at the little girl, and 
 pitied her ; and she said to the priest, " Give me the 
 little girl, and I will take care of her." 
 
 And Karen thought it was all for the sake of the 
 red shoes that the old lady had taken this fancy 
 to her; but the old lady said they were frightful, 
 and they were burnt. And Karen was dressed very 
 neatly: she was taught to read and to work, and 
 
THE EED SHOES. 213 
 
 people told her she was pretty ; but the Mirror said, 
 " Thou art more than pretty ; thou art beautiful ! " 
 
 It happened one day that the Queep travelled 
 through that part of the country with her little 
 daughter, the Princess ; and all the people, Karen 
 amongst them, crowded in front of the palace, whilst 
 the little Princess stood, dressed in white, at a win- 
 dow, for every one to see her. She wore neither 
 train nor gold crown, but on her feet were pretty 
 red morocco shoes ; much prettier ones, indeed, than 
 those the shoemaker's mother had made for little 
 Karen. Nothing in the world could be compared to 
 these red shoes ! 
 
 Karen was now old enough to be confirmed ; she 
 was to have both new frock and new shoes. The 
 rich shoemaker in the town took the measure of her 
 little foot. Large glass cases, full of neat shoes and 
 shining boots, were fixed round the room ; however, 
 the old lady's sight was not very good, and, naturally 
 enough, she had not so much pleasure in looking at 
 them as Karen had. Amongst the shoes was a pair 
 of red ones, just like those worn by the Princess. 
 How gay they were ! and the shoemaker said they 
 had been made for a count's daughter, but had not 
 quite fitted her. 
 
 " They are of polished leather," said the old lady ; 
 " see how they shine ! " 
 
 " Yes, they shine beautifully ! " exclaimed Karen. 
 And as the shoes fitted her, they were bought; but 
 the old lady did not know that they were red, for 
 she would never have suffered Karen to go to confir- 
 mation in red shoes. But Karen did so. 
 
214 ajtdeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 Everybody looked at her feet; and as she walked 
 up the nave to the chancel it seemed to her that even 
 the antique sculptured figures on the monuments, 
 with their stiff ruffs and long black robes, fixed their 
 eyes on her red shoes; of them only she thought 
 when the Bishop laid his hand on her head, when he 
 spoke of Holy Baptism, of her covenant with God, 
 and how that she must now be a full-grown Christian. 
 The organ sent forth its deep, solemn tones ; the 
 children's sweet voices mingled with those of the 
 choristers, but Karen still thought only of her red 
 shoes. 
 
 That afternoon, when the old lady was told that 
 Karen had worn red shoes at her confirmation, she 
 was much vexed, and told Karen that they were 
 quite unsuitable, and that henceforward, whenever 
 she went to church, she must wear black shoes, were 
 they ever so old. 
 
 Next Sunday was the Communion-day. Karen 
 looked first at the red shoes, then at the black ones, 
 then at the red again, and — put them on. 
 
 It was beautiful, sunshiny weather. Karen and the 
 old lady walked to church through the cornfields ; the 
 path was very dusty. 
 
 At the church-door stood an old soldier. He was 
 leaning on crutches, and had a marvellously long 
 beard, not white, but reddish-hued ; and he bowed al- 
 most to the earth, and asked the old lady if he might 
 wipe the dust off her shoes. And Karen put out her 
 little foot also. " Oh, what pretty dancing shoes ! " 
 quoth the old soldier ; " take care, and mind you do 
 
THK RED SHOES. 215 
 
 not let them slip off wlien you dance ; " and he passed 
 his hands over them. 
 
 The old lady gave the soldier a halfpenny, and then 
 went with Karen into church. 
 
 And every one looked at Karen's red shoes ; and all 
 the carved figures, too, bent their gaze upon them; 
 and when Karen knelt before the altar, the red shoes 
 still floated before her eyes. She thought of them, 
 and of them only, and she forgot to join in the hymn 
 of praise ; she forgot to repeat " Our Father." 
 
 At last all the people came out of church, and the 
 old lady got into her carriage. Karen was just lift- 
 ing her foot to follow her, when the old soldier stand- 
 ing in the porch exclaimed, " Only look, what pretty 
 dancing-shoes ! " And Karen could not help it, she 
 felt she must make a few of her dancing-steps ; and 
 after she had once begun, her feet continued to move, 
 just as if the shoes had received power over them. 
 She danced round the churchyard ; she could not stop. 
 The coachman was obliged to run after her. He took 
 hold of her, and lifted her into the carriage ; but the 
 feet still continued to dance, so as to kick the good 
 old lady most cruelly. At last the shoes were taken 
 off, and the feet had rest. 
 
 And now the shoes were put away in a press; but 
 Karen could not help going to look at them every now 
 and then. 
 
 The old lady lay ill in bed. The doctor said she 
 could not live much longer. She certainly needed 
 careful nursing; and who should be her nurse and 
 constant attendant but Karen ? But there was to be 
 
216 ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 a grand ball in the town. Karen was invited. She 
 looked at the old lady, who was almost dying; she 
 looked at the red shoes — she put them on: there 
 could be no harm in doing that, at least. She went 
 to the ball, and began to dance. 
 
 But when she wanted to move to the right, the 
 shoes bore her to the left ; and when she would dance 
 up the room, the shoes danced down the room, danced 
 down the stairs, through the streets, and through the 
 gates of the town. Dance she did, and dance she 
 must, straight out into the dark wood. 
 
 Something all at once shone through the trees ! 
 She thought at first it must be the moon's bright 
 face, shining blood-red through the night mists ; but 
 no, it was the old sqldier with the red beard. He 
 sat there, nodding at her, and repeating, '•' Only look, 
 what pretty dancing-shoes ! " 
 
 She was very much frightened, and tried to throw 
 off her red shoes, but could not unclasp them. She 
 hastily tore off her stockingfs ; but the shoes she could 
 not get rid of. They had, it seemed, grown on to her 
 feet. Dance she did, and dance she must, over field 
 and meadow, in rain and in simshine, by night and 
 by day. By night ! That was most horrible ! She 
 danced into the lonely churchyard; but the dead 
 there danced not — they were at rest. She would 
 fain have sat down on the poor man's grave, where 
 the bitter tansy grew ; but for her there was neither 
 rest nor respite. She danced past the open church- 
 door. There she saw an Angel, clad in long white 
 robes, and with wings that reached froTO his shoulders 
 
THE BED SHOES. 217 
 
 to the earth.. His countenance was grave and stern, 
 and in his hand he held a broad glittering sword. 
 
 " Dance shalt thou," said he ; " dance on, in thy red 
 shoes, till thou art pale and cold, and thy skin 
 shrints and crumples up like a skeleton's ! Dance 
 shalt thou still, from door to door; and wherever 
 proud, vain children live, thou shalt knock, so that 
 they may hear thee and fear! Dance shalt thou, 
 dance on " — 
 
 " Mercy ! " cried Karen ; but she heard not the 
 Angel's answer, for the shoes carried her through the 
 gate, into the fields, along highways and byways, and 
 still she had to dance. 
 
 One morning she danced past a door she knew well ; 
 she heard psalm-singing from within, and presently a 
 coffin, strewn with flowers, was borne out. Then 
 Karen knew that the good old lady was dead ; and she 
 felt herself a thing forsaken by all mankind, and ac- 
 cursed by the Angel of God. 
 
 Dance she did, and dance she must, even through 
 the dark night ; the shoes bore her continually over 
 thorns and briers, till her limbs were torn and bleed- 
 ing. Away she danced over the heath to a little sol- 
 itary house ; she knew that the headsman dwelt there, 
 and she tapped with her fingers against the panes, 
 crying, — 
 
 " Come out ! come out ! — I cannot come in to you ; 
 I am dancing." 
 
 And the headsman replied, " Surely thou knowest 
 not who I, am. I cut off the heads of wicked men, 
 and. my axe is very sharp and keen." 
 
218 andeksen's faiey tales. 
 
 • 
 
 " Cut not off my head ! " said Karen, " for then I 
 could not live to repent of my sin; but cut off my 
 feet with the red shoes." 
 Z' And then she confessed to him all her sin, and the 
 1 headsman cut off her feet with the red shoes on them ; 
 DuTeven after this the shoes still danced away with 
 those little feet over the fields, and into the deep 
 forests. 
 
 And the headsman made her a pair of wooden 
 feet, and hewed down some boughs to serve her as 
 crutches, and he taught her the psalm which is always 
 repeated by criminals ; and she kissed the hand that 
 had guided the axe, and went her way over the heath. 
 
 "Now I have certainly suffered quite enough 
 through the red shoes," thought Karen ; " I will go 
 to church, and let people see me once more ! " And she 
 went as fast as she could to the church-porch ; but as 
 she approached it, the red shoes danced before her, 
 and she was frightened, and turned back. 
 
 All that week through she endured the keenest 
 anguish and shed many bitter tears ; however, when 
 Sunday came, she said to herself, " Well, I must have 
 suffered and striven enough by this time ; I dare say 
 I am quite as good as many of those who are holding 
 their heads so high in church." So she took courage 
 and went there ; but she had not passed the church- 
 yard-gate before she saw the red shoes again dancing 
 before her, and in great terror she again turned back, 
 and more deeply than ever bewailed her sin. 
 
 She then went to the pastor's house, and begged 
 that some employment might be given her, promising 
 
THE BED SHOES. 219 
 
 to work diligently and do all she could. Slie did 
 not wisli for any ■wages, slie said ; she only wanted a 
 roof to shelter her, and to dwell with good people. 
 And the pastor's wife had pity on her, and took her 
 into her service. And Karen was grateful and in- 
 dustrious. Every evening she sat silently listening to 
 the pastor, while he read the Holy Scriptures aloud. 
 All the children loved her ; but when she heard them 
 talk about dress and finery, and about being as beau- 
 tiful as a queen, she would sorrowfully shake her 
 head. 
 
 Again Sunday came ; all the pastor's household 
 went to church ; and they asked her if she would not 
 go too, but she sighed and looked with tears in her 
 eyes upon her crutches. 
 
 When they were all gone, she went into her own 
 little lowly chamber, — it was but just large enough 
 to contain a bed and a chair, — and there she sat 
 down with her psalm-book in her hand ; and whilst 
 she was meekly and devoutly reading in it, the wind 
 wafted the tones of the organ from the church into 
 her room, and she lifted up her face to heaven and 
 prayed, with tears, " God, help me ! " 
 
 Then the sun shone brightly, so brightly ! — and 
 behold ! close before her stood the white-robed Angel 
 of God, the same whom she had seen on that night 
 of horror at the church-porch ; but his hand wielded 
 not now, as then, a sharp, threatening sword, — he 
 held a lovely green bough, full of roses. With this 
 he touched the ceiling, which immediately rose to a 
 great height, a bright gold star sparkling in the spot 
 
220 Andersen's eaiuy tales. 
 
 where the Angel's green bough had touched it. And 
 he touched the wall^, whereupon the room widened, 
 and Karen saw the organ, the old monuments, and 
 the congregation all sitting in their richly carved 
 seats and singing from their psalm-books. 
 
 For the church had come home to the poor girl in 
 her little narrow chamber, or rather the chamber had 
 grown, as it were, into the church ; she sat with the 
 rest of the pastor's household, and when the psalm 
 was ended, they looked up and nodded to her, saying, 
 " Thou didst well to come, Karen ! " 
 
 " This is mercy ! " said she. 
 
 And the organ played again, and the children's 
 voices in the choir mingled so sweetly and plaintively 
 with it ! The bright sunbeams streamed warmly 
 through the windows upon Karen's seat. Her heart 
 was so full of sunshine, of peace and gladness, that 
 it broke ; her soul flew upon a sunbeam to her Father 
 in heaven, where not a look of reproach awaited her 
 — not a word was breathed of the Eed Shoes. 
 
THE LEAPING-MATCH. 221 
 
 THE LEAPING-MATCH. 
 
 THE Flea, the Grasshopper, and the Erog once 
 wanted to try which of them could jump highest ; 
 so they invited the whole world, and anybody else who 
 liked to come and see the grand sight. Three famous 
 jumpers were they, as was seen by every one when 
 they met together in the room. 
 
 " I will give my daughter to him who shall jump 
 highest," said the King ; " it would be too bad for you 
 to have the trouble of jumping, and for us to offer you 
 no prize." 
 
 ^ The Elea was the first to introduce himself : he had 
 such polite manners, and bowed to the company on 
 every side, for he was of noble blood ; besides, he was 
 accustomed to the society of man, which had been a 
 great advantage to him. 
 
 Next came the Grasshopper. He was not quite so 
 slightly and elegantly formed as the Plea ; however, 
 he knew perfectly well how to conduct himself, and 
 wore a green uniform, which belonged to him by right 
 of birth. Moreover, he declared himself to have sprung 
 from a very ancient and honorable Egyptian family, 
 and that in his present home he was very highly es- 
 teemed ; so much so, indeed, that he had been taken 
 out of the field and put into a card-house three stories 
 high, built on purpose for him, and all of court-cards. 
 
222 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 the colored sides being turned inwards. As for tlie 
 doors and windows in his house, they were cut out of 
 the body of the Queen of Hearts. "And I can sing so 
 well," added he, "that sixteen parlor-bred crickets, 
 who have chirped and chirped ever since they were 
 born, and yet could never get anybody to build them a 
 card-house, after hearing me have fretted themselves 
 ten times thinner than ever, out of sheer envy." 
 
 Both the Flea and the Grasshopper knew very well 
 how to make the most of themselves, and each consid- 
 ered himself quite an equal match for a Princess. 
 
 The Frog said not a word : however, it might be 
 that he thought the more; and the house-dog, after 
 going snuffing about him, confessed that the Frog 
 must be of a good family. And the old councillor, 
 who in vain received three orders to hold his tongue, 
 declared that the Frog must be gifted with the spirit 
 of prophecy, for that one could read on his back 
 whether there was to be a severe or a mild winter; 
 which, to be sure, is more than can be read on the 
 back of the man who writes the ■weather-almanac. 
 
 " Ah, I say nothing for the present ! " remarked 
 the old King; "but I observe everything, and form 
 my own private opinion thereupon." 
 
 And now the match began. The Flea jumped so 
 high that no one could see what^-'.ad become of him ; 
 they insisted that he had not jumped at all, " which 
 was disgraceful, after he had made such a fuss ! " 
 
 The Grasshopper jumped only half as high, but he 
 jumped right into the King's face, and the King de- 
 clared he was quite disgusted by his rudeness. 
 
THE LEAPING-MATCH. 223 
 
 The Frog stood still, as if lost in tliouglit ; at last 
 people fancied he did not intend to jump at all. 
 
 " I'm afraid he is ill ! " said the Dog ; and he went 
 snuffing at him again, when lo ! all at once he made a 
 little sidelong jump into the lap of the Princess, who 
 was sitting on a low stool close by. 
 ,A,Then spoke the King, "There is nothing higher 
 than my daughter, therefore he who jumps up to her 
 jumps highest ; but only a person of good understand- 
 ing would ever have thought of that, and thus the 
 Erog has shown us that he has understanding. He 
 has brains in his head ; that he has ! " 
 
 And thus the Frog won the Princess. 
 
 "I jumped highest for all that!" exclaimed the 
 Mea. " But it's all the same to me ; let her have the 
 stiff-legged slimy creature if she like him ! I jumped 
 highest, but I am too light and airy for this stupid 
 world ; the people can neither see me nor catch me ; 
 dulness and heaviness win the day with them ! " 
 
 And so the Flea went into foreign service, where, it 
 is said, he was killed. 
 
 And the Grasshopper sat on a green bank, meditat- 
 ing on the world and its goings on ; and at length he 
 repeated the Flea's last words, "Yes, dulness and 
 heaviness win the d^y ! — dulness and heaviness win 
 the day ! " And tc& he again began singing his 
 own peculiar, melancholy song, — and it is from him 
 that we have learnt this history ; and yet, my friend, 
 though you read it here in a printed book, it may not 
 be perfectly true. 
 
224 andbksen's fairy tales. 
 
 THE ELYING TRUNK. 
 
 THEEE -was once a merchant so rich that he 
 might have paved the whole street where he 
 lived, and an alley besides, with pieces of silver ; but' 
 this he did not do — he knew another way of using 
 his money, and whenever he laid out a shilling, he 
 gained a crown in return. A merchant he lived, and 
 a merchant he died. 
 
 All his money then went to his son. But the son 
 lived merrily, and spent all his time in pleasures ; 
 went to masquerades every evening, made bank-notes 
 into paper kites, and played at ducks and drakes in 
 the pond with gold pieces instead of stones. In this 
 manner his money soon vanished, until at last he had 
 only a few pennies left, and his wardrobe was reduced 
 to a pair of slippers and an old dressing-gown. His 
 friends cared no more about him now that they could 
 no longer walk abroad with him. One of them, how- 
 ever, more good-natured than the rest, sent him an old 
 trunk, with this advice, " Pack up, and be off ! " 
 
 This was all very fine, but he had nothing that he 
 could pack up ; so he put himself into the trunk. 
 1 It was a droll trunk. When the lock was pressed 
 close it could fly. The merchant's son did press the 
 lock ; and lo, up flew the trunk with him through the 
 chimney, high into the clouds, on and on, higher and 
 
THE PLYING TRUNK. 225 
 
 higher. The lower part cracked, which rather fright- 
 ened him ; for, if it had broken in two, a pretty fall 
 he would have had ! 
 
 However, it descended safely, and he found himself 
 in Turkey. He hid the trunk under a heap of dry 
 leaves in a wood, and walked into the next town ; he 
 could do so very well, for, among the Turks, every- 
 body goes about clad as he was, in dressing-gown and 
 slippers. He met a nurse carrying a little child in 
 her arms. "Harkye, Turkish nurse," quoth he. 
 " What palace is that with the high windows, close 
 by the town ? " 
 
 "The King's daughter dwells there," replied the 
 nurse. " It has been prophesied of her that she shall 
 be made very unhappy by a lover, and therefore no 
 one may visit her except when the King and Queen 
 are with her." 
 
 " Thank you," said the merchant's son ; and he im- 
 mediately went back into the wood, sat down in his 
 trunk, flew up to the roof of the palace, and crept 
 through the window into the Princess's apartment. 
 
 She was lying asleep on the sofa. She was so 
 beautiful that the merchant's son could not help 
 kneeling down to kiss her hand, whereupon she awoke, 
 and was not a little frightened at the sight of this un- 
 expected visitor; but he told her that he was the 
 Turkish Prophet, and had come down from the sky 
 on purpose to woo her ; and on hearing this she was 
 well pleased. 
 
 So they sat down side by side, and he talked to her 
 about her eyes, how that they were beautiful dark- 
 
226 akdbrsen's faiey tales. 
 
 blue seas, and that thoughts and feelings floated like 
 mermaidens therein ; and he spoke of her brow, how 
 that it was a fair, snowy mountain, with splendid 
 halls and pictures, and many other such like things he 
 told her. 
 
 Oh, these were charming stories ! and thus lie 
 wooed the Princess, and she immediately said, " Yes ! " 
 
 " But you must come here on Saturday," said she ; 
 " the King and Queen have promised to drink tea with 
 me that evening ; they will be so proud and so pleased 
 when they hear that I am to marry the .Turkish 
 Prophet ! And mind you tell them a very pretty 
 story, for they are exceedingly fond of stories ; my 
 mother likes them to be very moral and aristocratic, 
 and my father likes them to be merry, so as to make 
 him laugh." 
 
 " Yes, I shall bring no other bridal present than 
 a tale," replied the merchant's son ; and here they 
 parted, but not before the Princess had given her 
 lover a sabre all covered with gold. He knew excel- 
 lently well what use to make of this present. 
 
 So he flew away, bought a new dressing-gown, and 
 then sat down in the wood to compose the tale which 
 was to be ready by Saturday, and certainly he found 
 composition not the easiest thing in the world. 
 
 At last he was ready, and at last Saturday came. 
 
 The King, the Queen, and the whole court were 
 waiting tea for him at the Princess's palace. The 
 suitor was received with much ceremony. 
 
 " Will you not tell us a story ? " asked the Queen ; 
 " a story that is instructive and full of deep meaning." 
 
THE FLYING TRUNK. 227 
 
 " But let it make us laugh," said tlie King. 
 
 "With pleasure," replied the merchant's son; and 
 now you must hear his story. 
 
 " There was once a bundle of Matches, who were all 
 extremely proud of their high descent ; for their gene- 
 alogical tree — that is to say, the tall fir-tree, from 
 which each of them was a splinter — had been a tree 
 of great antiquity, and distinguished by its height 
 from all the other trees of the forest. The Matches 
 were now lying on the mantel-piece, between a Tinder- 
 box and an old iron Saucepan, and to these two they 
 often talked about their youth. 'Ah, when we were 
 upon the green branches,' said they ; ' when we really 
 lived upon green branches — that was a happy time ! 
 Every morning and evening we had diamond-tea — 
 that is dew ; the whole day long we had sunshine, at 
 least whenever the sun shone, and all the little birds 
 used to tell stories to us. It might easily be seen, too, 
 that we were rich, for other trees were clothed with 
 leaves only during the summer, whereas our family 
 could afford to wear green clothes both summer and 
 winter. But at last came the wood-cutters, then was 
 the great revolution, and our family was dispersed. 
 The paternal trunk obtained a situation as mainmast 
 to a magnificent ship, which could sail round the world 
 if it chose ; the boughs were transported to various 
 I^laces, and our vocation was henceforth to kindle 
 lights for low, common people. Now you will under- 
 stand how it comes to pass that persons of such high 
 descent as we are should be living in a kitchen.' 
 
 " ' To be siire, mine is a very different history,' re- 
 
228 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 marlsed the iron Saucepan, near whicii the Matches 
 were lying, 'rrom the moment I came into the 
 ■world until now, I have been rubbed and scrubbed, 
 and boiled over and over again — oh, how many times ! 
 I love to have to do with what is solidly good, and am 
 really of the first importance in this house. My only 
 recreation is to stand clean and bright upon this 
 mantel-piece after dinner, and hold some rational 
 conversation with my companions. However, except- 
 ing the Water-pail, who now and then goes out into 
 the court, we all of us lead a very quiet, domestic 
 life here. Our only newsmonger is the Turf-basket, 
 but he talks in such a democratic way about " govern- 
 ment" and "the people" — why, I assure you, not 
 long ago, there was an old Jar standing here, who 
 was so much shocked by what he heard said that he 
 fell down from the mantel-piece and broke into a 
 thousand pieces ! — that Turf -basket is a Liberal, 
 that's the fact' — 
 
 " ' Now, you talk too much,' interrupted the Tinder- 
 box ; and the steel struck the flint, so that the sparks 
 flew out. ' Why not spend a pleasant evening ? ' 
 
 " ' Yes, let us settle who is of highest rank among 
 us I ' proposed the Matches. 
 
 " ' Oh, no ! for my part, I would rather not speak of 
 myself,' objected the Earthenware Pitcher. ' Suppose 
 we have an intellectual entertainment ? I will begin. 
 I will relate something of every-day life, such as we 
 have all experienced ; one can easily transport one's- 
 self into it, and that is so interesting! Near the 
 Baltic, among the Danish beech-groves ' — 
 
THE FLYINO TKIIWK. 229 
 
 " ' That is a capital beginning ! ' cried all the Plates 
 at once ; ' it will certainly be just the sort of story 
 for me ! ' 
 
 " ' Yes, there I spent my youth in a very quiet 
 family; the furniture was rubbed, the floors were 
 washed, clean curtains were hung up every fortnight ! ' 
 
 " ' How very interesting ! what a charming way 
 you have of describing things ! ' said the Hair-broom. 
 ' Any one might guess immediately that it is a lady 
 who is speaking; the tale breathes such a spirit of 
 cleanliness ! ' 
 
 " ' Very true ; so it does ! ' exclaimed the Water- 
 pail ; and in the excess of his delight he gave a little 
 jump, so that some of the water splashed upon the 
 floor. 
 
 " And the Pitcher went on with her tale, and the 
 end proved as good as the beginning. 
 
 " All the Plates clattered applause ; and the Hair- 
 broom took some green parsley out of the sand-hole 
 and crowned the Pitcher, for he knew that this would 
 vex the others ; and thought he, ' If I crown her to- 
 day, she will crown me to-morrow.' 
 
 " ' Now I will dance,' said the Fire-tongs, and ac- 
 cordingly she did dance ; and oh ! it was wonderful to 
 see how high she threw one of her legs up into the 
 air ; the old Chair-cover in the corner tore with horror 
 at seeing her. ' Am not I to be crowned too ? ' asked 
 the Tongs ; and she was crowned forthwith. 
 
 " ' These are the vulgar rabble ! ' thought the 
 Matches. 
 
 " The Tea-urn was now called upon to sing ; but she 
 
230 ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 had a cold, she said; she could only sing when she 
 was boiling. However, this was all her pride and af- 
 fectation ; the fact was, she never cared to sing except 
 when she was standing on the parlor-table before com- 
 pany. 
 
 " On the window-ledge lay an old Quill-pen, with 
 which the maids used to write. There was nothing 
 remarkable about her, except that she had been dipped 
 too deep in the ink ; however, she was proud of that. 
 ' If the Tea-urn does not choose to sing,' quoth she, 
 ' she may let it alone. There is a Nightingale in the 
 cage hung just outside ; he can sing. To be sure, he 
 has never learnt the notes — never mind, we will not 
 speak evil of any one this evening ! ' 
 
 " ' I think it highly indecorous,' observed the Tea- 
 kettle, who was the vocalist of the kitchen, and a 
 half-brother of the Tea-urn's, 'that a foreign bird 
 should be listened to. Is it patriotic ? I appeal to 
 the Turf-basket.' 
 
 " ' I am only vexed,' said the Turf-basket, ' I am 
 vexed from my inmost soul, that such things are 
 thought of at all. Is it a becoming way of spending 
 the evening? Would it not be much more rational 
 to reform the whole house, and establish a totally new 
 order of things, rather more according to nature ? 
 Then every one would get into his right place, and I 
 would undertake to direct the revolution. What say 
 you to it ? That would be something worth the 
 doing ! ' 
 
 " ' Oh, yes ; we will make a grand commotion ! ' cried 
 they all. Just then the door opened — it was the 
 
THE FLYIKG TRUNK. 231 
 
 servant-maid. They all stood perfectly still, not one 
 dared stir ; yet there was not a single kitchen utensil 
 among them all but was thinking about the wonder- 
 ful things he could have done, and how great was 
 his superiority over the others. ' Ah, if I had chosen 
 it,' thought each of them, ' what a merry evening we 
 might have had ! ' 
 
 "The maid took the Matches and struck a light. 
 Oh, how they sputtered and blazed up ! 
 
 " ' Now every one may see,' thought they, ' that we 
 are of highest rank. What a splendid, dazzling light 
 we give, how glorious ! ' and in another moment they 
 were burnt out." 
 
 "That is a capital story," said the Queen. "I 
 quite felt myself transported into the kitchen. Yes, 
 thou shalt have our daughter ! " 
 
 " With all my heart," said the King. " On Mon- 
 day thou shalt marry our daughter." They said 
 " thou " to him now, since he was so soon to become 
 one of the family. The wedding was a settled thing, 
 and on the evening preceding the whole city was illu- 
 minated. Cakes, buns, and sugarplums were thrown 
 out among the people. All the little boys in the 
 streets stood upon tip-toes, shouting " Hurrah ! " and 
 whistling through their fingers — it was famous ! 
 
 "Well, I suppose I ought to do my part too," 
 thought the merchant's son; so he went and bought 
 sky-rockets, squibs, Catherine-wheels, Eoman-candles, 
 and all kinds of fireworks conceivable, put them all 
 into his trunk, and flew up into the air, letting them 
 off as he flew. 
 
232 ANDERSEN'S FAIKY TALES. 
 
 Hurrah ! what a glorious sky-rocket was that ? 
 
 All the Turks jumped up to look, so hastily that 
 their slippers flew about their ears ; such a meteor 
 they had never seen before. Now they might be sure 
 that it was indeed the Prophet who was to marry 
 their Princess. 
 
 As soon as the merchant's son had returned in his 
 trunk to the wood, he said to himself, " I will now go 
 into the city and hear what people say about me, and 
 what sort of a figure I made in the air." And cer- 
 tainly this was a very natural idea. 
 
 Oh, what strange accounts were given ! Every one 
 whom he accosted had beheld the bright vision in a 
 way peculiar to himself; but all agreed that it was 
 marvellously beautiful. 
 
 " I saw the great Prophet with my own eyes," de- 
 clared one. " He had eyes like sparkling stars, and a 
 beard like foaming water." 
 
 " He flew enveloped in a mantle of fire," said an- 
 other; "the prettiest little cherubs were peeping 
 forth from under its folds." 
 
 yes,, he heard of many beautiful things, and the 
 morrow was to be Ms wedding-day. 
 .. H^adw went back to the wood, intending to get 
 into his trunk again, but where was it ? 
 ■ .Alas! the trunk was burnt. One spark from the 
 fireworks had been left in it, and set it on fire ; the 
 trunk now lay in ashes. The poor merchant's son 
 could never fly again, could never again visit his 
 bride. 
 
 She sat the livelong day upon the roof of her 
 
THE FLYING TKUNK. 233 
 
 palace expecting him; she expects him still. He, 
 meantime, goes about the •world telling stories; but 
 none of his stories are so pleasant as that one which 
 he related in the Princess's palace about the Brim- 
 stone Matches. 
 
234 andeksen's fairy tales. 
 
 THE OLD STREET LAMP. 
 
 HAVE you never heard the history of the Old 
 Street Lamp ? Not that it is so extraordina- 
 rily entertaining, but I think it will bear telling just 
 for once. 
 
 A decent, respectable Old Street Lamp was the one 
 of which I speak. For many, many years she had 
 done good service, but was now to be cashiered. For 
 the very last evening she sat on the lamprpost, giving 
 light to the street; and she felt very much as a super- 
 annuated ballet-dancer feels when she is dancing for 
 the last time, and knows that to-morrow and ever 
 after she will sit alone in her attic-chamber, morning, 
 noon, and night, unthought of and uncared for by the 
 generous public. Our Lamp felt just such a horror of 
 the coming day ; for she knew that she would then be 
 taken, for the first time in her life, into the Council- 
 room, to be surveyed by the " six-and-thirty men " of 
 the Town-council, in order that they might decide 
 whether she were or were not any longer fit for ser- 
 vice. Then, too, would it be determined whether she 
 should be sent out to one of the bridges to give light 
 there, or into the country to one of the manufac- 
 tories, or, perhaps, to an iron-foundry, to be melted 
 down and made into something new. And this last 
 probability was especially painful to her; for she 
 
THE OLD STREET LAMP. 235 
 
 feared that if she were made into something new, she 
 would retain no recollection of ever haying been a 
 Street Lamp. Besides, whatever became of her, she 
 was sure to be separated from the watchman and his 
 wife, whom she had known so long that she had 
 learnt to consider herself quite one of their family. 
 The watchman had been made a watchman just at 
 the very same time that she was made a lamp. His 
 wife was somewhat proud and finical in those days ; 
 only when she passed the Street Lamp of an evening 
 did she deign to throw a glance up at her — never by 
 day. Now, on the contrary, in these latter years, 
 when all three, watchman, wife, and Lamp, had 
 grown old, the wife had become more friendly, had 
 often cleaned out the Lamp and given her fresh oil. 
 Very honorable people were this man and wife ; they 
 had never cheated the Lamp of a single drop that 
 was her due. 
 
 It was her last night in the street, and to-morrow 
 she must go into the Council-room : these were two 
 gloomy thoughts for the Lamp ; and, naturally enough, 
 she burned with a dimmed and feeble light. But 
 other thoughts besides these passed across her. She 
 had shone upon so many things, she had seen so 
 much, perhaps as much as " the six-and-thirty men," 
 although she never would have said so, for she was a 
 really modest, decorous Old Lantern, and would on 
 no account have given offence to any one, least of all 
 to her superiors. She remembered so much, and in 
 the midst of her recollections her flame suddenly 
 blazed up high as if she were thinking, "Yes, and 
 
236 Andersen's faiey tales. 
 
 V- there are a few, too, who will remember me. There 
 was, for instance, that handsome young man — ah! 
 it is many years ago now — who came with a letter 
 in his hand; it was written on rose-colored paper, 
 so pretty, so delicate, and with gilt edges, and it was 
 in a lady's handwriting ; he read the letter twice 
 over, and then kissed it, and looked up at me, and 
 his two eyes seemed to say, 'I am the very hap- 
 piest man in the world ! ' Ah, none but he and I 
 knew what was written in that first letter from his 
 betrothed bride. And I remember well seeing two 
 other eyes — it is strange how thoughts spring up in 
 one. There was a splendid funeral passing through 
 the street, such a beautiful young lady lay in her 
 coffin inside the carriage, wreaths of flowers were 
 thrown upon the coffin, and so many bright torches 
 were there in the procession that my dim light was 
 quite put out by them. A great crowd of people fol- 
 lowed the procession ; but after they were all passed 
 by, and the torches out of sight, and I looked around 
 me, I saw some one standing by the post weeping; 
 never shall I forget those two sorrowful eyes that 
 then glanced up at me ! " 
 
 Thus many different thoughts passed across the 
 Old Street Lamp on her last evening of public ser- 
 vice. The sentinel upon guard, when he is relieved, 
 at least knows his successor, and can exchange a few 
 words with him ; but the Lamp knew not who was to 
 take her place, and thus could not, as otherwise she 
 might have done, give him one or two useful hints 
 concerning rain and sleet, or show how far the moon- 
 
THE OLD STREET LAMP. 237 
 
 light was wont to spread over the pavemeiit, or from 
 what side the wind blew. 
 
 On the gutter-board stood three candidates for the 
 vacant office ; they had presented themselves to the 
 Lamp, under the idea that she would have to appoint 
 her own successor. The first of these was a herring's 
 head, which, you know, shines in the dark ; and this 
 herring's head was of opinion that his being elevated 
 to the lamp-post would be a great saving of oil. The 
 second was a piece of tinder, which, as it declared, 
 shone brighter in the dark than a stock-fish even ; 
 besides, it was a fragment from a tree that had once 
 been the glory and pride of the forest. The third 
 candidate was a glow-worm ; how she had got there 
 the Lamp could not conceive. However, there she 
 was, and glittering very prettily; but the herring's 
 head and the piece of tinder were both ready to take 
 their oaths that she could only shine at certain times, 
 and that, consequently, she was quite out of the 
 question. 
 
 The Old Lamp explained that not one of them gave 
 sufficient light to be fit to take her place, but this 
 none of the three would believe ; and so when they 
 heard that it was not for the Lamp to choose her 
 successor, they said that they were very glad of it, 
 for that she was too much decayed to be able to 
 choose with judgment. 
 
 Just then the Wind came rushing round the corner 
 of the street ; he blew through the smoke-cowl upon 
 the Old Lantern, exclaiming, "What is this that I 
 hear ? that thou wilt really leave us to-morrow ? Is 
 
238 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 this actually the last evening that I shall meet thee 
 here? Well, if it must be so, I will at least make 
 thee a parting gift, — I will blow into thy brain-pan, 
 so that not only shalt thou remember clearly and 
 plainly whatever thou hast seen and heard, but when- 
 ever anything is told or read aloud in thy presence, 
 thou shalt be so clear-headed as to see it as in a 
 picture ! " 
 
 " Ah, that is a valuable gift, indeed ! " replied the 
 Old Street Lamp. " Many thanks ! — if only I am 
 not melted down " — 
 
 "We must hope that will not happen," said the 
 Wind. " And now I blow this faculty into thee ; if 
 thou canst get many such gifts thou mayest stUl en- 
 joy a comfortable old age." 
 
 " If only I am not melted down ! " sighed the Lamp. 
 " Or canst thou, perhaps, even in that case, secure me 
 my memory ? " 
 
 " Old Lantern, be reasonable ! " exhorted the Wind, 
 and again he blew. And now the Moon stepped forth 
 from the clouds. " What will you give ? " inquired 
 the Wind. 
 
 " I shall give just nothing at all ! " was her reply. 
 "I am now on the wane, and lanterns have never 
 shone for me, long as I have shone for lanterns." 
 And accordingly the Moon retired behind the clouds 
 again, for she was determined not to be plagued into 
 giving anything. 
 
 Presently a drop of Water fell down upon the cover 
 of the Lamp. It was like a drop from a roof ; but it 
 declared that it came from the gray clouds, and was 
 
THE OLD STEEBT LAMP. 239 
 
 sent as a gift, perhaps the very best gift imaginable. 
 " 1 penetrate into th ee, so as t o_enable _thee_iji.£)ne 
 night , if thou shouldgt wish it,Jto becomejnistX;^^^^ 
 thus fall to piecesjand return to dust." But to the 
 Lamp this seemed a miserable gift, "and so seemed it 
 to the Wind. " Has no one a better — has no one a 
 better to offer ?" whistled he as loud as he could ; and 
 in that moment there fell a bright, shooting star, glit- 
 tering in a long trail down the air. 
 
 " What was that ? " cried the Herring's Head. 
 " Was that a star falling down ? I verily believe it 
 went into the Lamp ! Well, to be sure, if the ofB.ce 
 is sought by people of such very high station as that, 
 we had best give up the idea of it ! " and so he did ; 
 and the two other candidates did the same. But the 
 Lamp suddenly flared up so high and bright : " That 
 was a charming gift ! " said she. " The brilliant stars 
 above, whom I have always delighted in so much, and 
 who shine so beautifully, as I have never been able to 
 shine, although it has been the grand aim and effort 
 of my life so to do — those brilliant, beaming stars 
 have taken heed of me, a poor old lantern, and one of 
 them has come down to me with a rare gift, so that 
 in future all that I can myself remember and see so 
 plainly shall also be seen by those whom I love ! — a 
 precious gift, indeed ; for every enjoyment that cannot 
 be shared with another is only half an enjoyment." 
 
 "Very rightly thought; the sentiment does thee 
 honor ! " said the Wind. " It seems, though, thou dost 
 not know that unless a wax candle is lighted inside 
 thee, no one will be able to see any pictures through 
 
240 andebsen's paiey tales. 
 
 thy means. But the stajs never thought of that ; they 
 imagine that everything that shines here below has 
 at least one wax candle in it. But now I am right 
 weary," added the Wind ; " I will lay myself down to 
 rest a little while." And so he lay down to rest. 
 
 Next day — but we may as well pass over the next 
 day — next evening the Lamp lay in an arm-chair — 
 and where ? In the old watchman's room. He had 
 begged of the " six-and-thirty men," in consideration 
 of his long and faithful services, to be allowed to keep 
 the Old Lamp for his own ; they laughed at his odd 
 request, and gave it him ; and so now the Lamp lay 
 in the arm-chair, close by the warm stove, and she 
 seemed to have grown so much larger as nearly to fill 
 the great arm-chair. And the old people were sitting 
 at supper ; and every now and then they bhrew a kind, 
 friendly glance at the Old Lamp, as though they 
 would gladly have given her a place at the table. 
 The room wherein they dwelt was properly a cellar ; 
 however, it was tolerably warm and comfortable, and 
 very clean and neat ; the door was bound round with 
 list, there were curtains to the bedstead and the little 
 windows, and on the window-ledges stood two such 
 strange-looking flower-pots ! Neighbor Christian, the 
 sailor, had brought them home from the Indies — 
 whether from the East or the West the old people did 
 not know. They were two earthenware elephants, 
 without backs, and hollow inside, and out of the mould 
 with which they were filled sprang up from one of 
 them the most delicate young leeks — that was their 
 kitchen-garden ; from the other, a large geranium full 
 
THE OLD STREET LAMP. 241 
 
 * 
 
 of blossoms — that was their flower-garden. On the 
 wall hung a large colored print of " The Congress at 
 Vienna " — there were seen King and Emperors both, 
 all so grand I A clock, with heavy leaden weights, 
 kept up an incessant " tick, tick ; " it always went too 
 fast, but that was better than going too slow, at 
 least, so said the old folks. And they ate their even- 
 ing meal; and the Old Street Lamp, as before said, 
 lay in the arm-chair close by the warm stove, and 
 she felt as if she were ruthlessly tossed hither and 
 thither amid the wide world. But when the old 
 watchman looked at her, and began to talk of what 
 they two had lived through together, in moonlight 
 and darkness, in rain and in mist, in the bright, brief 
 summer nights, and in the long, severe hours of win- 
 ter when the snowflakes drifted thickly about them, 
 and he was so glad to get back to the shelter of his 
 cellar-home, — then, while he talked thus, all was 
 right again with the Old Lamp, for she saw all he 
 spoke of, and she knew that the Wind had not de- 
 ceived her. 
 
 They were so brisk and busy, those old people, not 
 1 single hour of theirs was ever dozed or dawdled 
 iway. On Sunday afternoons some book or other was 
 ilways brought forward, generally a book of travels, 
 xnd the old man would read aloud about Africa, about 
 ts vast forests and the wild elephants that roamed at 
 arge among them, and the old woman would listen 
 io attentively, and cast a look at the earthenware ele- 
 phants that served her as flower-pots. "Yes, I can 
 ilmost fancy that ! " she would say. And the Lamp 
 
242 Andersen's faiey tales. 
 
 wished so fervently that a wax candle were lighted 
 and put inside her, for then the good old woman 
 would actually see the whole scene pictured visibly 
 before her, just as the Lamp saw it, — the tall trees, 
 with their thickly leaved, intertwining boughs, the 
 naked black men on horseback, and whole herds of 
 elephants, reeds And underwood breaking and crack- 
 ling under their broad feet. 
 
 "What can all my rare gifts avail when no wax 
 candle is lit within me ? " sighed the Lamp. " They 
 have nothing but train-oil and tallow candles, and 
 neither of those will do." 
 
 One day, however, a number of wax-candle ends 
 were brought into the cellar ; the larger pieces were 
 burnt out in the candlestick, and the smaller ones the 
 old woman used to wax her thread with when she was 
 at work. This was worse than ever ! Here were 
 wax candles in plenty, and no one ever thought of 
 putting one little piece into the Lamp. 
 
 " So here I stand with all my rare gifts ! " thought 
 the Lamp. " I see so many charming pictures pass 
 before me, but I may never share the enjoyment with 
 you, my friends ! Alas, you do not know that I can 
 change these bare white walls to the richest tapestry, 
 to glorious, leafy woods, to everything that you can 
 desire to see — alas, you know it not ! " 
 
 The Lamp was continually being rubbed clean, and 
 in the corner where it stood it was so placed that 
 every one's eyes fell upon it ; people, truly enough, 
 called it a piece of old rubbish, but the old couple 
 cared nothing for that — they loved it. 
 
THE OLD STKEET LAMP. 243 
 
 One day — it was the old watchman's birthday — 
 his wife came up to the Lamp, saying, with a smile, 
 " I will get up a little illumination in his honor ; " 
 and the Lamp's iron hat cracked, for she thought, 
 " Now, then, I shall have a wax candle ! " But oil, 
 not wax, was given her. She burned all the evening 
 long, and she now felt sure that the gift the stars had 
 given her, the best gift of all, must needs remain a 
 hidden treasure, as far as this present life was con- 
 cerned. Then she dreamt, — for a Lamp so highly 
 gifted as she was must surely be able to dream, — she 
 dreamt that the old people were dead, and that she 
 herself had been carried to an iron-foundry to be 
 melted dowru Very much frightened was she, as 
 frigStened as when she was taken into the Council- 
 room to be examined by " the six-and-thirty men ; " 
 and yet, although she knew she had the power of be- 
 coming rust and dust if she chose, she did not choose 
 it ; and so it came to pass that she was cast into the 
 furnace, and became a most beautiful little iron can- 
 dlestick, intended to hold wax tapers, and wax tapers 
 only ;. it was in the form of an angel holding a bouquet 
 of flowers, and in the centre of the bouquet the wax 
 candle was placed, and the candlestick itself was set 
 on a green writing-desk. And the room around it was 
 such a pretty room ; books were scattered about, and 
 beautiful pictures hung upon the walls. It was a 
 poet's room, and all that he imagined and wrote about 
 seemed whirling round, — the chamber becoming now 
 a deep, gloomy forest ; now a sun-lit plain, scattered 
 with hamlets, the stork striding about on his long 
 
244 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 legs ; now a stately sMp, tossing Mgli on the waves 
 of the heaving ocean ! 
 
 " Oh, what rare gifts are mine ! " thought the Old 
 Lamp, when she awoke. " Almost could I long to be 
 melted down ! — but no, that must not be while the 
 old folks live. They love me for my own sake ; I am 
 like their child to them ; and they liave rubbed me 
 clean, and given me fresh oil for so. many years, and 
 I am as well off here, and as honored as ' The Con- 
 gress at Vienna.' I ought certainly to be contented 
 with my lot ! " 
 
 And from henceforth she had more inward peace ; 
 and surely this respectable Old Street Lamp deserved 
 to be at peace — don't you think she did ? 
 
THE LITTLE MATCH-GIBL. 245 
 
 THE LITTLE MATCH-GIRL. 
 
 IT was dreadfully cold, it was snowing fast, and 
 almost dark; tlie evening — the last evening of 
 the old year — was drawing in. But cold and dark 
 as it was, a poor little girl, with bare head and feet, 
 was still wandering about the streets. When she left 
 her home she had slippers on, but they were much 
 too large for her ; indeed, properly, they belonged 
 to her mother, and had dropped off her feet whilst 
 she was running very fast across the road, to get out 
 of the way of two carriages. One of the slippers was 
 not to be found ; the other had been snatched up by a 
 little boy, who ran off with it, thinking it might serve 
 him as a doll's cradle. 
 
 So the little girl now walked on, her bare feet quite 
 red and blue with the cold. She carried a small bun- 
 dle of matches in her hand, and a good many more in 
 her tattered apron. No one had bought any of them 
 the livelong day — no one had given her a single 
 penny. Trembling with cold and hunger crept she 
 on, the picture of sorrow — poor little child ! 
 
 The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which 
 curled in such pretty ringlets over her shoulders ; but 
 she thought not of her own beauty, or of the cold. 
 Lights were glimmering through every window, and 
 the savor of roast goose reached her from several 
 
246 andeesen's eaiky tales. 
 
 houses; it was New Year's Eve, and it was of this 
 that she thought. 
 
 In a corner formed by two houses, one of which 
 projected beyond the other, she sat down, drawing 
 her little feet close under her, but in vain — she could 
 not warm them. She dared not go home. She had 
 sold no matches, earned not a single penny, and per; 
 haps her father would beat her. Besides, her home 
 was almost as cold as the street. It was an attic ; 
 and althotigh the larger of the many chinks in the 
 roof were stopped up with straw and rags, the wind 
 and snow often penetrated through. Her hands were 
 nearly dead with cold. One little match from her 
 bundle would warm them perhaps, if she dared light 
 it. She drew one out, and struck it against the wall. 
 Bravo ! it was a bright, warm flame, and she held her 
 hands over it. It was quite an illumination for that 
 poor little girl ^ nay, call it rather a magic taper; 
 for it seemed to her as if she were sitting before a 
 large iron stove with brass ornaments, so beautifully 
 blazed the fire within ! The child stretched out her 
 feet to warm them also. Alas ! in an instant the flame 
 had died away, the stove vanished, the little girl sat 
 cold and comfortless, with the burnt match in her 
 hand. 
 
 A second match was struck against the wall. It 
 kindled and blazed, and wherever its light fell the 
 wall became transparent as a veil — the little girl 
 could see into tl;e room within. She saw the table 
 spread with a snow-white damask cloth, whereon were 
 ranged shining china dishes, The roast goose, stuffed 
 
THE LITTLE JIATCH-GIUL. 247 
 
 with apples and dried, plums, stood at one end, smok- 
 ing hot, and — which was pleasantest of all to see — 
 the goose, with knife and fork still in hfer breast, 
 jumped down from the dish, and waddled along the 
 floor right up to the poor child. The match was 
 burnt out, and only the thick, hard wall was beside 
 her. 
 
 She kindled a third match. Again shot up the 
 flame. And now she was sitting under a most beauti- 
 ful Christmas-tree, far larger, and far more prettily 
 decked out, than the one she had seen last Christmas 
 Eve through the glass doors of the rich merchant's 
 house. Hundreds of wax tapers lighted up the green 
 branches ; and tiny painted figures, such as she had 
 seen in the shop windows, looked down from the tree 
 upon her. The child stretched out her hands towards 
 them in delight, and in that moment the light of the 
 match was quenched. Still, however, the Christmas 
 candles burned higher and higher. She beheld them 
 beaming like stars in heaven ; one of them fell, the 
 lights streaming behind it like a long, fiery tail. 
 
 "Now some one is dying," said the little girl softly ; 
 for she had been told by her old grandmother — the 
 only person who had ever been kind to her, and who 
 was now dead — that whenever a star falls an im- 
 mortal spirit returns to the God who gave it. 
 
 She struck yet another match against the wall. It 
 flamed up, and, surrounded by its light, appeared be- 
 fore her that same dear grandmother, gentle and lov- 
 ing "as always, but bright and happy as she had never 
 looked during her lifetime. 
 
248 ANDEKSEN'S TAIRY TALES. 
 
 " Grandmother ! " exclaimed the child, "oh, take me 
 ■with you ! I know thou wilt leave me as soon as the 
 match goes out — thou wilt vanish like the warm fire 
 in the stove, like the splendid New Year's feast, like 
 the beautiful large Christmas-tree ! " and she hastily- 
 lighted all the remaining matches in the bundle, lest 
 her grandmother should disappear. And the matches 
 burned with such a blaze of splendor that noon-day 
 could scarcely have been brighter. Never had the 
 good old grandmother looked so tall and stately, so 
 beautiful and kind. She took the little girl in her 
 arms, and they both flew together. Joyfully and glo- 
 riously they flew, higher and higher, till they were 
 in that place where neither cold, nor hunger, nor pain, 
 is ever known — they were in Paradise. 
 
 But in the cold morning hour, crouching in the 
 corner of the wall, the poor little girl was found — 
 her cheeks glowing, her lips smiling — frozen to death 
 on the last night of the Old Tear. The New Year's 
 sun shone on the lifeless child. Motionless she sat 
 there with the matches in her lap, one bundle of them 
 quite burnt out. 
 
 " She has been trying to warm herself, poor thing ! " 
 the people said ; but no one knew of the sweet visions 
 she had beheld, or how gloriously she and her grand- 
 mother were celebrating their New Year's festival. 
 
THE DARNING-NEEDLE. 249 
 
 THE DAKNING-NEEDLE. 
 
 THERE -was once a Darning-needle so fine that 
 she fancied herself a Sewing-needle. 
 
 " Now take care, and hold me fast ! " said the 
 Darning-needle to the Fingers that took her up. 
 "Don't lose me, pray! If I were to fall down on 
 the floor, you would never be able to fine me again ; 
 I am so fine ! " 
 
 " That's more than you can tell ! " said the Eingers, 
 as they took hold of her. 
 
 " See, I come with a train ! " said the Darning- 
 needle, drawing a long thread, without a single knot 
 in it, after her. 
 
 The Fingers guided the needle to the cook-maid's 
 slippers; the upper leather was torn, and had to be 
 sewn together. 
 
 " This is vulgar work ! " said the Darning-needle. 
 " I shall never get through ; I break — I am break- 
 ing ! " And break she did. " Did I not say so ? " 
 continued she ; " I am too fine ! " 
 
 "ISTow she is good for nothing," thought the Fin- 
 gers; however, they must still keep their hold. The 
 cook-maid dropped sealing-wax upon the Darning- 
 needle, and then stuck her into her neckerchief. 
 
 " See, now I am a Breast-pin ! " said the Darning- 
 needle. " I knew well that I should come to honor ; 
 
250 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 •when one is something, one always becomes some- 
 thing." And at this she laughed, only inwardly, of 
 course, for nobody has ever seen or heard a Darning- 
 needle laugh ; there sat she now at her ease, as proud 
 as if she were driving in her carriage, and looking 
 about her on all sides. 
 
 "May I take the liberty of asking if you are of 
 gold ? " inquired she of the pin that was her neigh- 
 bor. " You have a pleasing exterior, and a very 
 peculiar head ; it is but small, though. You must 
 take care that it grows, for it is not every one that 
 can have sealing-wax dropped upon her ! " And the 
 Darning-needle drew herself up so proudly that she 
 fell off from the neckerchief into the sink, where the 
 cook was engaged just then in washing up. 
 
 " Kow for our travels ! " said the Darning-needle ; 
 " but I hope I shall not go very far." However, she 
 did travel far, very far. 
 
 " I am too fine for this world," said she, as at last 
 she sat still in the gutter. " However, I know who 
 I am, and there is always some little pleasure in 
 that." And so the Darning-needle held herself erect, 
 and did not lose her good-humor." 
 
 All sorts of things sailed past her, — splinters of 
 wood, straws, scraps of old newspapers. " See how 
 they sail along ! " said the Darning-needle. " They 
 do not know what is sticking under them I It is I. 
 I stick ; I sit here. There go|^ a splinter. He thinks 
 of nothing in the world but himself, splinter as he is. 
 There floats a straw — to see how it turns round and 
 round ! Nay, think not so much of thyself, thou 
 
THE DAENING-NEEDLB. 251 
 
 mightest easily float against one of the stones. There 
 swims a newspaper — everything in it is forgotten, 
 yet how it spreads itself out ! I sit patiently and 
 quietly ! I know what I am, and that I shall always 
 be the same ! " 
 
 One day there chanced to be close by her some- 
 thing that glittered so charmingly that the Darning- 
 needle felt persuaded it must needs be a diamond. It 
 was, in reality, only a splinter of glass ; but delighted 
 with its appearance, the Darning-needle addressed it, 
 introducing herself as a Breast-pin. " Surely, you are 
 a diamond ? " — " AVhy, yes, something of the sort ! ' 
 was the reply f so now each believed the other to be 
 some very rare and costly trinket, and they both 
 began to complain of the extraordinary haughtiness 
 of the world. 
 
 " Yes, I have dwelt in a box belonging to a young 
 lady," said the Darning-needle, " and this young lady 
 was a cook-maid ; she had five fingers on each hand, 
 and anything so arrogant, so conceited, as these five 
 fingers I have never known ; and, after all, what were 
 they good for ? For nothing but to hold me, — to 
 take me out of the box, and lay me in the box ! " 
 
 " And were they at all bright ? did they shine ? " 
 asked the Glass-splinter. 
 
 " Shine ! " repeated the Darning-needle, " not they ; 
 but conceited enough they were, notwithstanding ! 
 They were five brothers : ' Finger ' was the family 
 name ; they held themselves so erect, side by side, 
 although they were not all of the same height. The 
 first, Thumbkin he was called, was short and thick ; 
 
252 aitdeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 he generally stood out of the rank rather before the 
 others ; he had only one bend in his back, so that he 
 could only bow once, but he used to say that if he 
 were cut off from a man, that man wijuld no longer 
 be fit for military service. Foreman, the second, 
 would put himself forward everywhere, meddled with 
 sweet and with sour, pointed at sun or moon, and he 
 it was who pressed upon the pen whenever the fingers 
 wrote. Middleman was so tall that he could look 
 over the others' heads; Eingman wore a gold belt 
 round his body ; and as for Littleman, he did nothing 
 at all, and was proud of that, I suppose. Proud they 
 were, and proud they would be, therefore I took my- 
 self off into the gutter ! " 
 
 " And now we sit together and shine ! " quoth 
 the Glass-splinter. Just then some more water was 
 poured into the gutter; it overflowed its boundaries, 
 and carried the Glass-splinter along with it. 
 
 " So now he has advanced farther," observed the 
 Darning-needle. " I stay here — I am too fine — but 
 such it is my pride to be ; it is respectable." So still 
 she sat there erect, enjoying her own thoughts. 
 
 " I could almost believe I was born of a sunbeam, 
 I am so fine ; and yet the sunbeams do not seem to 
 seek me out under the water. Alas, I am so fine 
 that even my mother cannot find me. Had I still 
 my old eye which broke, I believe I could weep — I 
 would not, though ; it is not refined to weep." 
 
 One day some boys were raking about in the 
 gutter, hunting for old nails, pennies, and such like. 
 This was dirty, certainly, but such was their pleasure. 
 
THE DAKNING-NEEDLE, 253 
 
 " Halloo ! " cried one, . pricking himself •with, the 
 Darning-needle ; " there's a fellow for you ! " 
 
 " Do not call me a fellow ; I am a young lady," 
 said the Darning-needle; but no one heard it. The 
 sealing-wax had worn off, and she had become quite 
 black ; black, however, makes a person look thin, so 
 she fancied herself finer than ever. 
 
 " There sails an egg-shell," said the boys ; and they 
 stuck the Darning-needle into the shell. 
 
 " White walls and a lady in black ! " said the Darn- 
 ing-needle, "that is very striking! Now every one 
 can see me ! But I hope I shall not be seasick, for 
 then I shall break." Her fear was needless ; she was 
 not seasick, neither did she break. 
 
 "Nothing is so good to prevent seasickness as 
 being of steel, and then, too, never to forget that one 
 is a little mote than man. Now my trial is over ; the 
 finer one is, the more one can endure." 
 
 " Crash ! " went the egg-shell ; a wagon rolled over 
 it. " Ugh, what a pressure ! " sighed the Darning- 
 needle; "now I shall be seasick after all! I shall 
 break ! I shall break ! " But she broke not, although 
 the wheel had passed over her ; long did she lie 
 there — and there let her lie ! 
 
254 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 LITTLE TUK. 
 
 ADEOLL name, to be sure, is Tuk ! However, it 
 was not the little boy's real name — his real 
 name was Carl; but when he was so young he could 
 hardly speak, he used to call himself Tuk. Why, it 
 would be difficult to say, for Tuk is not at all like 
 Carl. However, the boy was still called Little Tuk 
 by all who knew him. 
 
 Little Tuk had to take care of his sister Gustava, 
 who was smaller even than himself ; and he had also 
 to learn his lesson. Here were two things to be done ; 
 and the diiiiculty was, how to do them both at once. 
 The poor boy sat with his little sister in his lap, sing- 
 ing to her all the pretty songs he knew, yet every 
 now and then casting a sidelong glance at his geograr 
 phy-book, which lay open beside him. By to-morrow 
 morning he must not only be able to repeat without 
 book the names of all the towns in the diocese of 
 Zealand, but to tell about them all that could be told. 
 
 At last his mother came home and took little Gus- 
 tava. Tuk then ran to the window, and read and read 
 till he had nearly read his eyes out ; for it was grow- 
 ing darker every minute, and his mother could not 
 afEord to buy candles. 
 
 "There goes the old washerwoman home through 
 the street," said the mother, looking out of window ; 
 
LITTLE TUK. 255 
 
 "she can hardly carry herself, poor thing! and she 
 has the weight of that great heavy pail of water from 
 the puinp to bear besides. Jump up, like a good boy. 
 Little Tuk ; go and help the poor old creature ! " 
 
 And Little Tuk immediately jumped up and ran to 
 help her. When he came back it was quite dark. It 
 was of no use to wish for a candle ; he had to go to 
 bed. There he lay, still thinking of his geography 
 lesson, of the diocese of Zealand, and all that his 
 master had told him. It should have been all read 
 over again by rights ; but that he could not do now. 
 His geography-book he put under his pillow, for some- 
 body had told him that would help him wonderfully 
 to remember his lesson. However, he had never yet 
 found that this sort of help was at all to be depended 
 upon. 
 
 So there he lay, thinking and thinking, till all at 
 once he felt as though some one were gently sealing 
 his eyes and mouth with a kiss. He slept, and yet 
 he slept not; for he seemed to see the old washer- 
 woman's mild eyes fixed upon him, and to hear her 
 say,— 
 
 " It would be a sin and a shame. Little Tuk, if you 
 were not to know your lesson. You helped me, now 
 I wiU help you, and then our Lord wUl help us both." 
 
 And then the leaves of the book under Little Tuk's 
 head began to rustle, and to turn over and over. 
 
 " Cluck, cluck, cluck ! " cried a hen ; she came from 
 the town of Kioge. "I am a Kioge hen," said she ; 
 and she told Little Tuk how many inhabitants the 
 town contained, and about the battle that had once 
 
256 audebsen's faiey tai.es. 
 
 been fought there, and ho-w it was now a place of no 
 consequence at all. 
 
 " Kribbley krabbley, kribbley krabbley ! " and here 
 a great wooded bird bounced down upon the bed. It 
 was the popinjay from the shooting-ground at Prestoe. 
 It declared that there were as many inhabitants in 
 Prestoe as it had nails in its body. It was a proud 
 bird. 
 
 " Thorwaldsen lived in one corner of Prestoe. Am 
 not I a pretty bird, a merry popinjay ? " 
 
 And now Little Tuk no longer lay in bed — he was 
 on horseback — on he went, gallop, gallop ! A mag- 
 nificently clad knight — a knight of the olden time — 
 wearing a bright helmet and a waving plume, held 
 him on his own horse, and on they rode together, 
 through the wood, to the ancient city of Vordingborg ; 
 and it was once again full of life and bustle, as in the 
 days of yore. The high towers of the King's castle 
 rose up against the sky, and bright lights were seen 
 gleaming through the windows. Within were song 
 and dance and merriment. King Waldemar was lead- 
 ing out the noble young ladies of his court to tread 
 stately measures with him. Suddenly the morning 
 dawned, the lamps grew pale, the sun rose, and the 
 outlines of the buildings gradually faded away; one 
 high form after another seemed blotted out of the 
 clear morning sky, till at last one tower alone re- 
 mained to mark the spot where that royal castle had 
 stood. And the vast city had shrunk up into a poor, 
 mean-looking little town; and the school-boys came 
 out of school, their books under their arms, and they 
 
LITTLE TTTK. 267 
 
 said, " Two thousand inhabitants." But that was not 
 true — there were not near so many. 
 
 And Little Tuk lay in his bed again. He knew not 
 whether he had been dreaming or not. Again there 
 was somebody close by his side. 
 
 " Little Tuk ! Little Tuk ! " cried a voice ; it was 
 the voice of a young sailor-boy. "I come to salute 
 you from Corsoer. Corsoer is a new town — a living 
 town ; it has steamships and stage-coaches of its 
 own. Once people used to call it a low, vulgar place ; 
 but that is an old, worn-out prejudice. ' I dwell by 
 the seaside,' says Corsoer. ' I have broad high-roads 
 and pleasure-gardens, and I have given birth to a poet 
 — a very amusing one too, which is more than all 
 poets are. I once thought of sending a ship all round 
 the world. I did not send it, but I might just as well 
 have done so — and I dwell so pleasantly, close by 
 the port. The loveliest roses are blossoming round 
 about me ! ' " 
 
 And Little Tuk could see the roses. Their soft, 
 blushing red petals, and their fresh, green leaves, 
 gleamed before his eyes. But in a moment the flowers 
 had vanished, and the green leaves spread and thick- 
 ened. A perfect grove had grown up above the bright 
 waters of the fiord, and above the grove towered the 
 two high-pointed steeples of a glorious old church. 
 From the grass-grown side of the hill gushed forth, as 
 in clear rainbow-hued streams of light, a fountain, — 
 a merry, musical voice it had, — and close beside it 
 sat a king, wearing a gold crown upon his long, dark 
 hair. This was King Hroar sitting by the fountain, 
 
258 andbesbn's faibt tales. 
 
 and hard by -was the town no"W called Eoeskilde 
 (Hroar's Fountain). And beyond the hill, on a broad 
 highway, advanced all Denmark's kings and queens, 
 all wearing their gold crowns. Hand in hand they 
 passed on into the church, and the organ's deep tones 
 mingled with the clear rippling of the fountains. 
 And Little Tuk saw and heard it all. 
 
 All at once this scene too had vanished ! What 
 had become of it ? It was just like turning over the 
 leaves of a book. 'Sow he saw an old woman. She 
 was a weeder ; she came from Soroe, where grass 
 grows in the very market-place. Her gray linen 
 apron was thrown over her head and back. The apron 
 was wet ; it must have been raining. " Yes, so it has," 
 said she; and then she began to repeat something 
 very funny out of Holberg's comedies ; nor were they 
 all she knew — she could recite old ballads about 
 Waldemar and Absalon. But all of a sudden she 
 shrunk up together, and rocked her head, just as if 
 she were going to jump. 
 
 " Croak ! " said she ; " it is wet, it is wet ; it is still 
 as the grave in Soroe ! " She had become a frog. 
 " Croak ! " and again she was an old woman. " One 
 must dress to suit the weather," says she. " It is wet, 
 it is wet ; my town is like a ilask, — one goes into it 
 through the cork, and through the cork one must get 
 out again. But I have healthy, rosy-cheeked boys at . 
 the bottom of the flask ; there they learn wisdom, — 
 Greek, Greek ! Croak, croak, croak ! " 
 
 Her voice was like frog-music, or like the noise one 
 makes in walking through a marsh in great boots; 
 
LITTLE TUK. 259 
 
 always the same tone, so monotonous, so dull, that 
 Little Tuk fell into a sound sleep, and a very good 
 thing it was for him. 
 
 But even in this sleep a dream visited him. His 
 little sister Gustava, with her blue eyes and curling 
 flaxen hair, had, it seemed, all at once grown up into 
 a beautiful girl; and though she had no wings, she 
 could fly, and they flew together over all Zealand — 
 over its green woods and blue waters. 
 
 " Listen to the cock crowing. Little Tuk ! Cock-a- 
 doodle-doo! look at the hens scraping away in the 
 town of Kioge ! There thou shalt have such a famous 
 poultry-yard ; thou shalt no longer suffer hunger and 
 want ; thou shalt shoot at the popinjay, and reach the 
 mark ; thou shalt be a rich and happy man ; thy house 
 shall rise as proudly as King Waldemar's castle at 
 Vordingborg, and shall be decked so spendidly with 
 marble statues, like those that Thorwaldsen sculp- 
 tured at Frestoe. Thy good name shall be borne 
 round the world like the ship which should have gone 
 out from Corsoer, and in the town of Roeskilde thou 
 shalt speak and give counsel, wisely and well, like 
 King Hroar ; and then at last. Little Tuk, when thou 
 shalt lie in thy peaceful grave, thou shalt sleep as 
 quietly " — 
 
 " As if I lay sleeping in Soroe I " said Little Tuk ; 
 and hereupon he awoke. It was bright morning, and 
 lie remembered nothing of all his dreams ; they were 
 to him as if they had never been. 
 
 He jumped out of bed, and sought for his book ; he 
 knew the names of all the towns in his lesson perfectly 
 
260 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 well. And the old washerwoman put her head in at 
 the door, and nodded to him, saying, — 
 
 "Thanks for yesterday's help, thou dear, sweet 
 child ! may the angels bring thy best dream to pass ! " 
 
 But Little Tuk had forgotten what he had dreamt. 
 It mattered not, though, the angels knew it. 
 
THE OLD HOUSE. 261 
 
 THE OLD HOUSE. 
 
 THEEE stood in a street a very, very old house. 
 It was, indeed, almost three hundred years old, 
 as might be known by looking at the beam, whereon 
 the date of its building was carved out among fantas- 
 tic tulips and curling hop tendrils. Whole texts, too, 
 were cut in the time-worn wood, after the fashion of 
 days by-gone; and over every window peered a hu- 
 man face V— such curious, wry faces were those ! The 
 first-floor of this house projected a good way beyond 
 the ground floor, and immediately under the roof ran 
 a leaden gutter with a dragon's head to it. The rain- 
 water was meant to run out from the dragon's 
 mouth ; but there being a hole in the gutter, it gener- 
 ally chose in preference to pour down through this 
 hole. 
 
 All the other houses in the street were so new and 
 so neat and so spruce, with their large window-panes 
 and flat, smooth walls, it was quite plain that they 
 would have nothing to do with the Old House. You 
 could see so well that they were saying within them- 
 selves, " How much longer is that heap of rubbish to 
 stand here, a disgrace to the street ? Why, the upper 
 story puts itself so forward that no one from our 
 windows can see what is being done underneath it ! 
 And just look at the steps too ; they are as broad as 
 
262 Andersen's faiey tales. 
 
 if they belonged to a castle, and as Mgh — one would 
 suppose they led up to a church-steeple. The iron 
 balustrade looks for all the -world just like the en- 
 trance to an old tomb, and it must needs have brass 
 knobs too. So stupid, so tasteless ! " 
 
 On the opposite side of the street all the houses 
 •were new, neat, and spruce ; and they were all of the 
 same way of thinking as the other houses. But at 
 one of the windows, looking straight at the Old 
 House, used to sit a little boy with fresh rosy cheeks 
 and bright sparkling eyes ; and he thought better of 
 this despised old building; he loved it, both in sun- 
 shine and moonshine. And when he sat there, look- 
 ing at the mouldering wall, from which all the mortar 
 had worn away, he could fancy such strange pictures ! 
 He could image to himself how the street looked three 
 centuries back, when all the houses had flights of 
 steps, projecting upper stories, and pointed gable- 
 ends; he could see soldiers walking about with hal- 
 berds in their hands, and gutters running down in 
 the shapes of dragons and griffins. Yes, that was 
 just the house to please him ! and in it, he knew, 
 dwelt an old gentleman who wore large brass buttons 
 on his coat, and such a wig ! you could be sure it was 
 a real- wig. Every morning a serving-man as old as 
 his master came to him, to clean up his rooms and go 
 on errands; at other times, the old gentleman in 
 brass buttons was quite alone in the Old House. 
 Sometimes he came and looked out from his window, 
 and then the little boy nodded to him, and he nodded 
 again to the little boy, and thus Ihey became friends 
 
THE OL/DmHOUSE 
 
 "And the most delicious fruils.andl fsweetmeaKinhis hand ' 
 
THE OLD HOUSE. 263 
 
 and acquaintances, although they had never yet 
 spoken to each other. But that might come in time. 
 The little boy heard his parents say, "The old gen- 
 tleman opposite is very well off ; but it is terrible to 
 be so quite alone as he is." 
 
 So next Sunday the little boy was very busy wrap- 
 ping something up in paper. He then went down to 
 the door, and watched till the old man who went on 
 errands came by, and said to him, "Please to take 
 this to the old gentleman up there from me ; I have 
 two Tin Soldiers ; this is one of them. I want him to 
 have it, because I know that he is so terribly lonely." 
 
 And the old man looked quite pleased, nodded, 
 and took the Tin Soldier into the Old House. By 
 and by he came back to ask whether the little boy 
 would not like to come himself and pay the old gen- 
 tleman a visit. And the child got leave of his 
 parents, and then went over the way into the Old 
 House. 
 
 And the brass knobs on the balustrades shone much 
 brighter than usual, he thought, as if they had been 
 fresh rubbed in honor of his visit; and the carved 
 Trumpeters rising out of the tulips on the door 
 blew with all their might ; their cheeks, he was sure, 
 were much more puffed out than ever they had been 
 before. Yes, they blew their trumpets, " Tararara ! 
 See, the little boy comes ; Tararara ! " and then the 
 door opened. The whole length of the passage was 
 hung with portraits of knights in armor and ladies in 
 full silk robes; and the armor rattled, and the silk 
 robes rustled so pleasantly ! And then there was a 
 
264 astdeesbn's faiey tales. 
 
 staircase; the stairs first went a good way up, and 
 then a little way down ; and next the little boy and 
 his conductor stood in a balcony, a very decayed bal- 
 cony, with many large chinks and crevices in it, 
 grass and weeds sprouting thickly out of all these 
 gaps, and making the place look as green as if it had 
 been a garden instead of a balcony. Antique flower- 
 pots, all having human faces and asses' ears, were 
 ranged here ; the plants in them grew exactly as 
 suited their own pleasure and convenience. In one 
 pot were seen some straggling gillyflowers ; the green 
 leaves and shoots — there were no blossoms yet — 
 had spread out over the edges, as if in very great 
 glee; you could see that the plant meant to say, 
 " The breeze has fanned me, the sun has kissed me, 
 and promised me a little flower on Sunday, a little 
 flower on Sunday ! " 
 
 And then his guide led the little boy into a cham- 
 ber where the walls were covered with leather hang- 
 ings with gold flowers stamped upon them. 
 
 " Gilding wears out with time and bad weather, 
 But leather endures; there's nothing like leather! " 
 
 sang the Walls. 
 
 And here stood such high-backed Arm-chairs, carved 
 all over, and with arms on either side. " Sit down, 
 sit down," cried they. " Ugh ! how I am cracking 
 inside ! I have got the rheumatism in my back, like 
 the old cabinet. Rheumatism in my back, ugh ! " 
 
 At last the little boy entered the room which 
 fronted the street, and where the old gentleman sat. 
 
THE OLD HOUSE. 265 
 
 " Thanks for the Tin Soldier, my little friend," said 
 the old gentleman. "And thanks, too, for coming 
 over to see me." 
 
 " Thanks, thanks ! " or " Crack, crack ! " said all 
 the pieces of Furniture in the room; there were so 
 many of them, and they stood in each othej's way to 
 see the little boy. 
 
 On the middle panel of the wall hung the picture 
 of a beautiful lady. Very young and very happy she 
 looked, but she was clad quite after the fashion of 
 the olden time. She had powder in her hair, and 
 her clothes stood out stifiBly round her. She said 
 neither " thanks " nor " crack ; " but she looked with 
 her gentle eyes upon the little boy, who immediately 
 asked the old gentleman, " Where did you get her 
 from ? " 
 
 "From the pawnbroker's," replied the old gentle- 
 man. " There are so many pictures to be had there, 
 nobody knows or cares anything about them ; for the 
 people they were meant for were all buried long 
 ago. But I happened to know that lady in past 
 times — she is dead too ; dead and gone these fifty 
 years." 
 
 And under the portrait hung a bouquet of faded 
 flowers, carefully preserved behind glass ; they must 
 have been fifty years old too, they looked so very 
 antique. And the pendulum of the great clock 
 swung backwards and forwards, and the hand went 
 round and round, and everything in the room grew 
 older and older every moment, but they never thought 
 of that. 
 
266 andeksen's paiey tales. 
 
 " They say at home,", said the little boy, " that 
 you are so terribly lonely." 
 
 " Oh, no ! " was the reply. " The old thoughts and 
 the memories and scenes they bring -with them come 
 and visit me continually ; and noyr you are come too ! 
 I am very happy." 
 
 And then the old gentleman took down from the 
 bookcase a picture-book — such pictures were those ! 
 There were long, endless processions ; the strangest 
 carriages, such as are never seen nowadays ; soldiers 
 not unlike knaves of clubs, aud peaceable citizens 
 bearing the banners of different companies ; the tail- 
 ors' flag showed a pair of scissors held between two 
 lions; the shoemakers' ought to have had boots for 
 their device, but they had not — they carried an eagle 
 with two heads ; for everything belonging to shoe- 
 makers, you know, must be so that they may say, " It 
 is a pair." Ah, a rare picture-book was that ! 
 
 And presently the old gentleman went into an 
 adjoining room to fetch out sweetmeats, nuts, and 
 apples ; the Old House was rich in stores of these, it 
 seemed. 
 
 Then spoke the Tin Soldier, who stood on the chest 
 of drawers, " I cannot stand this, indeed ! It is so 
 sad and lonely here, no one who has ever been used 
 to live in a family can accustom himself to such a 
 life as is led here. No, I cannot bear it ! The day 
 is so long and wearisome, and the evenings are still 
 longer ; it is not as over the way with you, where 
 your father and mother used to talk so pleasantly 
 and sensibly, while you and all the other sweet chil- 
 
THE OLD HODSE. 267 
 
 dren played at your merry games. This old gentle- 
 man is quite a hermit. Do you think there are any 
 kind eyes -watching him ? Do you think he eyer has 
 kisses given him, or a pretty Christmas-tree ? Noth- 
 ing will ever be given to him except his funeral ! 
 No, I cannot bear it ! " 
 
 " You must not take it in that way," said the little 
 boy. " For my part, I think it is very pleasant to be 
 here ; and did you not hear him say how that all his 
 old thoughts and memories came to visit him ? " 
 
 " That may be ; but I don't see them, and I know 
 nothing about them," replied the Tin Soldier. "I tell 
 you I cannot bear it ! " 
 
 " But you must bear it," insisted the little boy. 
 
 Here the old gentleman came back, a bright smile 
 on his face, and the most delicious fruits and sweet- 
 meats in his hand. And the little boy quite forgot 
 the Tin Soldier. 
 
 Happy and pleased the little boy returned home. 
 Days and weeks passed away ; often and often did 
 the little boy stand at the window to nod at the Old 
 House ; often and often did the old gentleman nod to 
 him in return ; often and often did the little boy go 
 to pay a visit over the way. 
 
 And every time the carved Trumpeters blew, " Tra- 
 rarara ! See, the little boy comes ; Trarra-ra^-ra ! " and 
 the Swords and the Armor in the old knightly por- 
 traits rattled, and the Ladies' Silks Robes rustled ; 
 the Leather Hangings chanted — 
 
 " Gildings wear out with time and bad weather, 
 But leather endures; there's nothing like leather! " 
 
268 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 and tlie old Arm-chairs cracked, because of th.e rheu- 
 matism in their backs. It was always exactly as the 
 first time the little boy had been there ; for in the 
 Old House every day — ever hour even — passed like 
 the foregoing. 
 
 "I cannot bear it!" again declared the Tin Sol- 
 dier ; " it is so very sad, it makes me weep tin tears ! 
 Eather let me go to the wars, and lose my arms and 
 legs ; that will be a change, at least. I cannot bear 
 this life. I know now what it is to be visited by one's 
 old thoughts and memories, for mine have been pay- 
 ing visits to me, and I assure you there is no pleasure 
 in it at all ; I have many a time been nearly jumping 
 down off the chest of drawers. I saw all of you as 
 plainly as if you had been here. It was Sunday morn- 
 ing again ; and all you children were standing before 
 the table and singing your hymns, as you always used 
 to sing them. There you stood, looking so earnest, 
 and with your hands clasped; and your father and 
 mother were listening so gravely ! And then the door 
 opened ; and your little sister Maria, who is not yet 
 two years old, and who always begins to dance when- 
 ever she hears music or singing, of whatever kind 
 it may be, came in. She would better have stayed 
 away, for she immediately began to dance ; but she 
 could not make out the time at all, because the tune 
 was so slow ; and so she stood first on one foot, with 
 her head drooping down over it, and then on the other 
 foot, leaning her head quite on the opposite side. 
 But still she could not hit upon the right time. You 
 all of you stood so grave, though it was really very 
 
THE OLD HOUSE. 269 
 
 difficult to be serious any longer — I could not. I 
 laughed inwardly — and therefore I fell down from 
 the table and lamed myself. I am lame still in con- 
 sequence; it was wrong of me to laugh. And all this 
 happens over again ■within me, and so does every- 
 thing else that I have lived through and seen; and 
 this is what the old gentleman means by 'his old 
 thoughts, and the memories and scenes they bring 
 with them.' But tell me, do you still sing on Sun- 
 days ? Tell me something about little Maria, and 
 about my comrade, the other Tin Soldier — ah, he is a 
 lucky fellow ! I cannot bear this life ! " 
 
 " You are given away," said the little boy ; " you 
 must stay here. I wonder you don't see that ! " 
 
 And the old gentleman brought out a drawer, where- 
 in were kept many things wonderful to see, — money- 
 boxes and balm-boxes and packs of old-fashioned 
 cards. Very large gilt cards were they, such as are 
 never met with now. And other drawers, full of old 
 curiosities, were opened, and the harpsichord, too, 
 was opened; there was a landscape painted on the 
 inside of the lid, and the instrument was very hoarse 
 when the old gentleman played upon it. He began 
 to hum a tune. 
 
 " Ah, yes, she used to sing that ! " said he ; and he 
 looked up at the portrait he had bought at the pawn- 
 broker's. So brightly the old gentleman's eyes 
 sparkled as he looked at it! 
 
 " I will go to the wars ! I "will go to the wars ! " 
 cried the Tin Soldier, as loud as ever he could ; and 
 down he fell upon the floor. 
 
270 Andersen's faiey tales. 
 
 What could have become of him ? The old geatle- 
 man hunted in vain, the little boy hunted in vain. 
 " Never mind, I shall be sure to find him," said the 
 old gentleman; however, he never could find him. 
 The floor was full of cracks and crevices; the Tin 
 Soldier had fallen through one of these crevices, and 
 there he lay buried alive. 
 
 Evening came, and the little boy went home ; weeks 
 passed away — many weeks passed away. The win- 
 dows were now quite frozen over ; the little boy had 
 to breathe hard upon them before he could make a 
 tiny peep-hole through which he could look at the 
 Old House ; and then he saw that the snow had drifted 
 into all the wooden carving-work and quaint devices, 
 and lay quite thick upon the steps, just as if no one 
 were at home. And no one was at home. The old 
 gentleman was dead. 
 
 On the evening of that day a carriage drove up to 
 the door of the Old House, and a coffin was carried 
 down the steps ; the old gentleman was to be buried 
 far out in the country. The carriage drove away. 
 No one followed it — all his friends were dead. The 
 little boy kissed his hand to the coffin; then he saw 
 it disappear. 
 
 A few days afterwards there was a sale at the Old 
 House. The little boy looked out from his window, 
 watching to see the different pieces of Furniture as 
 they were carried out. The old knights and ladies, 
 the flower-pots, with the long asses' ears, the old 
 chairs and cabinets, all his acquaintances he saw 
 taken away, some to one place, some to another. The 
 
THE OliD HOUSE. 271 
 
 portrait bought at the pawnbroker's returned to the 
 pawnbroker's again, and there it was left undisturbed ; 
 for no one living now knew anything of that sweet, 
 gentle-eyed face, and no one cared about such an old, 
 dusty, musty picture. 
 
 Next spring the House itself was pulled down, for 
 " it Tvas a disgrace to the street," people said. One 
 could now look from the street right into the room 
 where were the leathern hangings, all torn and gashed, 
 and the green weeds of the balcony clung wildly 
 round the falling planks. By degrees all was cleared 
 away. 
 
 " A very good thing too ! " declared the neighboring 
 Houses. 
 
 And a pleasant new house with large windows and 
 smooth, white walls was built in its stead, and the 
 space in front, where the Old House had stood, was 
 made into a little garden ; vines grew clustering up 
 over the neighbor's walls, so as to shelter it on either 
 side, and it was shut out from the street by a large 
 iron grating with a trellis-gate. That looked quite 
 grand. People stood outside, and tried to peep in 
 through the iron trellis. And the sparrows, too, 
 clustered by dozens and dozens among the vines, 
 chirping as loud and as fast as they could ; not about 
 the Old House, though, for that they could none of 
 them have known. Many years had elapsed — so 
 many that the little boy we spoke of had grown up 
 to be a man ; yes, and a good and clever man he was, 
 and his parents took great pride and pleasure in him. 
 
272 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 He had just married, and had removed with his fair 
 young bride into this new house with the garden to 
 it ; and he stood by her side in the garden whilst she 
 was planting a little field-flower that had taken her 
 fancy. She planted it with her own pretty white 
 hand, and smoothed down the earth round it with her 
 fingers. « Oh, dear, what was that ? " She had 
 pricked herself. There was something sharp and 
 pointed among the soft mould. 
 
 It was — only think ! — it was the Tin Soldier, the 
 very same one which the old gentleman had lost, and 
 which, after being tumbled and tossed about hither 
 and thither, had now lain for many years quietly in 
 the earth. 
 
 And the young bride wiped the Tin Soldier dry, 
 first with a green leaf, and then with her own pocket- 
 handkerchief — it was perfumed so deliciously ! and 
 the Tin Soldier felt as if he were awakening from a 
 trance. 
 
 " Let me look at him," said the young man ; and he 
 smiled and shook his head. " No, it cannot possibly 
 be the very same Tin Soldier, but it reminds me so of 
 one that I had when I was a little boy." And then 
 he told his wife about the Old House, and the old 
 gentleman, and the Tin Soldier that he had given 
 him because he was so terribly lonely. He told it 
 exactly as it had been, and tears came into his young 
 wife's eyes at thinking of the solitary life the old 
 gentleman must have lived. 
 
 " I don't see why this should not be the very same 
 Tin Soldier," said she ; " I will keep it just to put me 
 
THE OLD HOUSE. 273 
 
 in mind of all you have told me. And you must 
 show me the old gentleman's grave." 
 
 "I wish I knew it," was the reply. "I believe 
 nobody knows it. All his friends were dead, nobody 
 cared about the matter, and I was such a little boy 
 then ! " 
 
 "He must have been terribly lonely, poor old 
 gentleman ! " remarked she. 
 
 " Yes, terribly lonely ! " said the Tin Soldier ; " but 
 it is charming to find that one is not forgotten ! " 
 
 " Charming, indeed ! " cried something close by. 
 No one but the Tin Soldier recognized the thing that 
 spoke ; it was a Shred from the old leather hangings. 
 The gilding was all worn off, and it looked like a clod 
 of moist earth ; still, it held by its former good opin- 
 ion of itself, and asserted it too : — 
 
 " Gilding wears out with time and bad •weather, 
 But leather endures; there's nothing like leather! " 
 
 However, the Tin Soldier believed nothing of such 
 vain boasting. 
 
274 Andersen's faikt tales. 
 
 THE TLAX. 
 
 THE riax was in full bloom. Its pretty blue blos- 
 soms were as soft as the wings of a moth, and 
 still more delicate. And the sun shone on the flax- 
 field, and the rain watered it ; and that was as good 
 for the Elax-flowers as it is for little children to be 
 washed and kissed by their mother, — they look so 
 much fresher and prettier afterwards. Thus it was 
 with the Elax-flowers. 
 
 " People say I am so fine and flourishing," observed 
 the Max, " and that I am growing so charmingly tall, 
 a splendid piece of linen will be got from me. Oh, 
 how happy I am ! how can any one be happier ? Every- 
 thing around me is so pleasant, and I shall be of iise 
 for something or other. How the sun cheers one up, 
 and how fresh and sweet the rain tastes ! I am incom- 
 parably happy; I am the happiest vegetable in the 
 world ! " 
 
 " Ah, ah, ah ! " jeered the Stakes in the hedge ; 
 "you don't know the world, not you; but we know 
 it, there are knots in us ! " and then they cracked so 
 dolefully : — 
 
 " Snip, snap, snurre, 
 Bassilurre, , 
 
 And so the song is en-ded-ded-ded." 
 
 " No, it is not ended," replied the Flax ; " the sun 
 
THE KLAX. 275 
 
 shines every morning, the rain does me so much good, 
 I can see myself grow ; I can feel that I am in blos- 
 som — who so happy as I ? " 
 
 However, one day people came, took hold of the 
 riax, and puUed it up, root and all ; that was exceed- 
 ingly uncomfortable ; and then it was thrown into 
 water, as if intended to be drowned, and, after that, 
 put before the fire, as if to be roasted. This was 
 most cruel ! 
 
 " One cannot always have what one wishes ! " sighed 
 the Flax ; " it is well to suffer sometimes, it gives one 
 experience." 
 
 But matters seemed to get worse and worse. The 
 Max was bruised and broken, hacked and hackled, 
 and at last put on the wheel — snurre rur ! snurre 
 rur ! — it was not possible to keep one's thoughts col- 
 lected in such a situation as this. 
 
 " I have been exceedingly fortunate," thought the 
 Flax amid all these tortures. " One ought to be 
 thankful for the happiness one has enjoyed in times 
 past. Thankful, thankful, oh yes ! " and still the Flax 
 said the same when taken to the loom. And here it 
 was made into a large, handsome piece of Linen ; all 
 the Flax of that one field was made into a single 
 piece. 
 
 " Well, but this is charming ! Never should I have 
 expected it. What unexampled good fortune I have 
 carried through the world with me ! What arrant 
 nonsense the Stakes in the hedge used to talk with 
 their — ,„ . 
 
 Snip, snap, snurie, 
 BasBilurre.' 
 
276 akdeesen's paiey tales. 
 
 The song is not ended at all ! Life is but just begin- 
 ning. It is a very pleasant thing, too, is life. To be 
 sure I have suffered ; but that is past now, and I have 
 become something through suffering. I am so strong, 
 and yet so soft ! so white, and so long ! This is far 
 better than being a vegetable ; even during blossom- 
 time nobody attends to one, and one only gets water 
 when it is raining. Now I am well taken care of. 
 The girl turns me over every morning, and I have a 
 shower-bath from the water-tub every evening ; nay, 
 the parson's wife herself came and looked at me, and 
 said I was the finest piece of Linen in the parish. No 
 one can possibly be happier than I am ! " 
 
 The Linen was taken into the house, and cut up 
 with scissors. Oh, how it was cut and clipped, how 
 it was pierced and stuck through with needles ! that 
 was certainly no pleasure at all. It was at last made 
 up into twelve articles of attire, such articles as are 
 not often mentioned, but which people can hardly do 
 without ; there were just twelve of them. 
 
 " So this, then, was my destiny. Well, it is very 
 delightful. Now I shall be of use in the world, and 
 there is really no pleasure like that of being useful. 
 We are now twelve pieces, but we are still one and 
 the same — we are a dozen! Certainly this is being 
 extremely fortunate ! " 
 
 Years passed away ; at last the Linen could endure 
 no longer. 
 
 '« All things must pass away some time or other," 
 remarked each piece. " I should like very much to 
 last a little while longer, but one ought not to wish 
 
THE FLAX 277 
 
 for impossibilities." And so the Linen was rent into 
 shreds and remnants numberless. They believed all 
 was over with them ; for they were hacked and 
 mashed and boiled, and they knew not what else; 
 and thus they became beautiful, fine, white paper. 
 
 " Now, upon my word, this is a surprise ! and a 
 most delightful surprise too ! " declared the Paper. 
 " Why, now I am finer than ever, and I shall be writ- 
 ten upon ! I wonder what will be written upon me. 
 Was there ever such famous good fortune as mine ! " 
 And the Paper was written upon. The most charming 
 stories in the world were written on it, and they were 
 read aloud ! and people declared that these stories 
 were very beautiful and very instructive; that to 
 read them would make mankind both wiser and bet- 
 ter. Truly, a great blessing was given to the world 
 in the words written upon that same paper. 
 
 "Certainly this is more than I could ever have 
 dreamt of when I was a wee little blue flower of the 
 field ! How could I then have looked forward to 
 becoming a messenger destined' to bring knowledge 
 and pleasure among men ? I can hardly understand 
 it even now. Yet so it is, actually. And, for my 
 own part, I have never done anything, beyond the 
 little that in me lay, to strive to exist, and yet I am 
 carried on from one state of honor and happiness to 
 another ; and every time that I think within myself, 
 ' Now, surely, the song is en-ded-ded-ded,' I am con- 
 verted into something new, something far higher and 
 better. Now I suppose I shall be sent on my travels 
 — shall be sent round the wide world, so that all men 
 
278 andbesen's fairy tales. 
 
 may read me. I should think that -would be the 
 wisest plan. Formerly I had blue blossoms ; now, for 
 every single blossom, I have some beautiful thought 
 or pleasant fancy — who so happy as I ?" 
 
 But the paper was not sent on its travels ; it went 
 to the printer's instead, and there all that was written 
 upon it was printed in a book ; nay, in many hundred 
 books. And in this way an infinitely greater number 
 of people received pleasure and profit therefrom than 
 if the written Paper itself had been sent round the 
 woiid, and perhaps got torn and worn to pieces before 
 it had gone half way. 
 
 "Yes; to be sure, this is much more sensible," 
 thought the Paper. " It never occurred to me, 
 though. I am to stay at home, and be held in as 
 great honor as if I were an old grandfather. The 
 book was written on me first, the ink flowed in upon 
 me from the pen, and formed the words. I shall stay 
 at home, while the books go about the world, to and 
 fro — that is much better. How glad I am ! how for- 
 tunate I am ! " 
 
 So the Paper was rolled up and laid on one side. 
 "It is good to repose after labor," said the Paper; 
 "it is quite right to collect one's self, and quietly 
 think over all that dwelleth within one. Now, first, 
 do I rightly know myself. And to know one's self, 
 I have heard, is the best knowledge, the truest prog- 
 ress. And come what will, this I am sure of, all will 
 end in progress — always is there progress ! " 
 
 One day the roll of Paper was thrown upon the 
 stove to be burnt ; it must not be sold to the grocer 
 
THE FLAX. 279 
 
 to •wrap round pounds of butter and sugar. And all 
 the children in the house flocked round ; they wanted 
 to see the blaze ; they wanted to count the multitude 
 of tiny red sparks which seem to dart to and fro 
 among the ashes, dying out, one after another, so 
 quickly, they call them " the children going out of 
 school ; " and the last spark of all is the schoolmaster. 
 They often fancy he is gone out ; but another and an- 
 other spark flies up unexpectedly, and the schoolmaster 
 always tarries a little behind the rest. 
 
 And now all the Paper lay heaped up on the stove. 
 " Ugh ! " it cried ; and all at once it burst into a flame. 
 So high did it rise into the air, never had the Flax 
 been able to rear its tiny blue blossoms so high, and 
 it shone as never the white Linen had shone ; all the 
 letters written on it became fiery red in an instant, 
 and all the words and thoughts of the writer were 
 surrounded with a glory. 
 
 " Now, then, I go straight up into the sun ! " 
 said something within the flames. It was as if a 
 thousand voices at once had spoken thus. And the 
 Flame burst through the chimney, and rose high 
 above it ; and brighter than the Flame, yet invisible 
 to mortal eyes, hovered little tiny beings, as many as 
 there had been blossoms on the Flax. They were 
 lighter and of more subtle essence than even the 
 Flame that bore them ; and when that Flame had 
 quite died away, and nothing remained of the Paper 
 but the black ashes, they once again danced over 
 them, and wherever their feet touched the ashes, 
 their footprints, the fiery red sparks, were seen. 
 
280 Andersen's fairy tales. 
 
 Thus "the children went out of school, and the 
 schoolmaster came last." It was a pleasure to see 
 the pretty sight ; and the children of the house stood 
 looking at the black ashes, and singing, — 
 
 "Snip, snap, snmre, 
 Bassilure, 
 And now the song is en-ded-ded-ded." 
 
 But the tiny invisible beings replied every one, 
 "The song is never ended; that is the best of it! 
 We know that, and therefore none are so happy as 
 we are ! " 
 
 However, the children could neither hear nor under- 
 stand the reply ; nor would it be well that they should, 
 for children must not know everything. 
 
THE DROP OF WATEK. 281 
 
 THE DEOP OP WATER. 
 
 SUEELY you know wliat a microscope is, — that 
 wonderful glass wMch. makes everytliing appear 
 a hundred times larger than it really is. If you look 
 through a microscope at a single drop of ditch-water, 
 you will perceive more than a thousand strange-shaped 
 creatures, such as you never could imagine dwelling 
 in the water. It looks not unlike a plateful of shrimps, 
 all jumping and crowding upon each other; and so 
 ferocious are these little creatures that they will tear 
 off each other's arms and legs without mercy ; and 
 yet they are happy and merry after their fashion. 
 
 Now, there was once an old man whom all his neigh- 
 bors called Cribbley Crabbley — a curious name to be 
 sure ! He always liked to make the best of every- 
 thing ; and when he could not manage it otherwise, he 
 tried magic. 
 
 So one day he sat with his microscope held up to 
 his eye, looking at a drop of ditch-water. Oh, what a 
 strange sight was that ! All the thousand little imps 
 in the water were jumping and springing about, de- 
 vouring each other, or pulling each other to pieces. 
 
 " Upon my word, this is too horrible ! " quoth old 
 Cribbley Crabbley ; " there must surely be some means 
 of making them live in peace and quiet." And he 
 thought and thought, but still could not hit on the 
 
282 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 right expedient. "I must give them a color," lie 
 said at last, " then. I shall be able to see them more 
 distinctly ; " and accordingly he let fall into the water 
 a tiny drop of something that looked like red wine, 
 but in reality it was witches' blood ; whereupon all 
 the strange little creatures immediately became red 
 all over, not unlike the Eed Indians. The drop of 
 water now seemed a whole townful of naked wild 
 men. 
 
 " What have you there ? " inquired another old 
 magician, who had no name at all, which made him 
 more remarkable even than Cribbley Crabbley. 
 
 "Well, if you can guess what it is," replied Crib- 
 bley, " I will give it you ; but I warn you, you'll not 
 find it out so easily." 
 
 And the magician without a name looked through 
 the microscope. The scene now revealed to his eyes 
 actually resembled a town where all the inhabitants 
 were running about without clothing ; it was a horri- 
 ble sight ! But still more horrible was it to see how 
 they kicked and cuffed, struggled and fought, pulled 
 and bit each other. All those that were lowest must 
 needs strive to get uppermost, and all those thab were 
 highest must be thrust down. " Look, look ! " they 
 seemed to be crying out, " his leg is longer than mine ; 
 pah ! off with it ! And there is one who has a little 
 lump behind his ear, — an innocent little lump enough, 
 but it pains him, and it shall pain him more. And 
 they hacked at it, and seized hold of him and de- 
 voured him, merely because of this little lump. Only 
 one of the creatures was quiet, very quiet, and still ; 
 
THE DROP OF WATER. 283 
 
 it sat by itself, like a little modest damsex, wishing 
 for nothing but peace and rest. But the others would 
 not have it so ; they pulled the little damsel forward, 
 cuffed her, cut at her, and ate her. 
 
 " This is most uncommonly amusing," remarked the 
 nameless magician. 
 
 " Do you think so ? Well, but what is it ? " asked 
 Cribbley Crabbley. " Can you guess, or can you not ? 
 — that's the question." 
 
 "To be sure I can guess," was the reply of the 
 nameless magician, " easy enough. It is either Copen- 
 hagen or some other large city ; I don't kno*7 which, 
 for they are all alike. It is some large city." 
 
 " It is a drop of ditch-water ! " said Cribbley Crab- 
 bley. 
 
284 andeesen's faiey tales. 
 
 THE HAPPY FAMILY. 
 
 THE largest green leaves that you can find in the 
 country are the burdock-leaves. If a little girl 
 take one of them, and hold it in front of the skirt of 
 her frock, it serves her as an apron ; and if she place 
 it on her head, it is almost as good a shelter against 
 the rain as an umbrella — so very, very large are 
 these leaves. Never is one burdock-leaf found grow- 
 ing alone — wherever one grows, a whole colony of 
 them grow also ; they are sociable leaves, and beauti- 
 ful too, but all their beauty is food for the Snails. 
 Those large white Snails, of which the grand folks 
 used, in olden time, to make fricassees, dine off the 
 burdock-leaves ; and greedily they eat of them, saying 
 all the while, " Hum, how nice ! how exquisite ! " for 
 they think the food quite delicious ; they live upon 
 burdock-leaves, and they imagine that the burdock- 
 leaves have been sown for their sakes. 
 
 Now, there was an old-fashioned Manor-house; Snails 
 were no longer cooked and eaten there 5 for not only 
 had the custom died away, but the last owners of the 
 house had also died, and no one lived in it at all. But 
 burdock-leaves grew near this house, and they had not 
 died away; they still grew and thrived and multi- 
 plied ; and as there was no one to weed them up, they 
 spread over all the paths and all the beds, till the gar- 
 
THE HAPPY FAMILY. 285 
 
 deii at last became a perfect •wilderness of burdock- 
 leaves. Here and there, indeed, might still be seen a 
 solitary apple- or plum-tree, otherwise no one could 
 possibly have guessed that this place had ever been a 
 garden ; on all sides you saw burdock-leaves', nothing 
 but burdock-leaves. And among them dwelt two old 
 Snails, the last of their race. 
 
 Even they themselves could not tell how old they 
 were ; but they could remember perfectly that their 
 family had once been very numerous ; that they be- 
 longed to a colony from a foreign land ; and that for 
 them and theirs the whole grove had been planted. Be- 
 yond the burdock-grove they had never been ; but they 
 knew that there was another place in the world called 
 the Manor-house, and that there Snails were cooked, 
 and then became black, and were laid upon silver 
 dishes ; but what happened afterwards they could not 
 divine. Nor could they at all imagine how they would 
 feel when cooked- and laid on silver dishes ; but that it 
 was very delightful, and a very great honor and dis- 
 tinction — of that they were certain. Neither the 
 Cockchafer, the Toad, nor the Earthworm, all of whom 
 they had questioned on the subject, could give them 
 any correct information ; for not one of these had ever 
 been cooked, or laid in a silver dish. 
 
 No creatures in the world were held in such high 
 honor as these old white Snails ; they were quite sure 
 of that : the burdock-wood had grown up solely on 
 their account, and the Manor-house stood beyond 
 merely that they might some day be taken there, 
 cooked, and laid in silver dishes. 
 
286 Andersen's faiky tales. 
 
 They no-vsr lived a ybij lonely, and yet a very happy 
 life ; and as they had no children of their own, they 
 had taken a liking to a little common Snail, and 
 brought it up as their own child. TJnfortunately thin 
 little Snail, being of a different species, could not grow 
 larger, so as to become like its foster-parents ; how- 
 ever, old Mother Snail insisted that she could perceive 
 he was growing fast, and she begged Father Snail, 
 since he could not see it as she did, to touch the little 
 Snail's house and feel it. And old Father Snail felt 
 the house, and acknowledged that the mother was in 
 the right. 
 
 One day there came a heavy shower of rain. " Only 
 listen, what a drum-drum-drumming there is on the 
 burdock-leaves ! " remarked Father Snail. 
 
 " It is the drops that make that drumming," re- 
 joined Mother Snail. "Look, now they are running 
 straight down the stalk ; you will see it quite wet 
 presently. I am glad we have our own good house ; 
 and the little one, too, he is safe in his. Certainly, 
 it cannot be denied, that more is done for us than for 
 all other creatures put together ; it is easily seen that 
 we are of the first importance in the world. We have 
 houses provided for us from our birth, and the bur- 
 dock-wood is planted for our sakes ! I should rathei' 
 like to know, though, how far it extends, and what is 
 beyond it.'^ 
 
 "There is nothing beyond it!" quoth Father Snail. 
 " And if there were any other places, what would it 
 signify ? No place can be better than this ; we have 
 nothing to wish for." 
 
THE HAPPY FAMILY. 287 
 
 " I cannot say that, for my part," replied Mother 
 Snail. " I own I should lite to go up to the Manor- 
 house, and there be cooked, and laid in a silver dish. 
 All our forefathers went there, and only think what 
 an honor it must be ! " 
 
 " Most probably the Manor-house has fallen to 
 pieces," said Father Snail, " or else the burdock-grove 
 has grown over it, so that the human beings cannot 
 now get out to fetch us. However, there is no need 
 to be in such haste — but you are always in such a vio- 
 lent hurry about everything ; and the little one, too, 
 he begins to take after you. Why, he has crept all 
 up the stalk in less than three days ; it makes my 
 head turn quite dizzy to look at him ! " 
 
 " Don't scold him^" said Mother Snail ; " he crawls 
 so cleverly ! we shall have great pride and pleasure 
 in him, and what else have we old folks got to live 
 for ? But there is one thing we ought to thinLb of 
 now, — how are we to get him a wife? Don't you 
 think that far out in the burdock-grove there may 
 perhaps be a few more of our family left ? " 
 
 " Black Snails, no doubt, there are in plenty," re- 
 plied the other ; " Black Snails without houses ; but 
 they are so low, so vulgar ! I'll tell you what we can 
 do ; we can commission the Ants to look about for us ; 
 they are always running backwards and forwards, as 
 if all the business in the world had to be done by 
 them ; they must certainly be able to find a wife for 
 our little Snail." 
 
 " To be sure, we know where is the loveliest little 
 creature imaginable ! " exclaimecj five or six Ants, 
 
288 andkrsen's fairy tales. 
 
 who -were passing by just then. " But perhaps she 
 may not choose to listen to the proposal, for she is 
 a Queen." 
 
 " What does that matter ? " returned the two old 
 Snails. " Has she a house ? That is much more to 
 the purpose ! " 
 
 " A house ! " repeated the Ants ; " she has a pal- 
 ace ! the most magnificent ant'palace, with seven hun- 
 dred passages ! " 
 
 " Oh, thank you ! " said Mother Snail ; " if you 
 fancy our son is going to live in an ant-hill, you are 
 very much mistaken, that's all. If you have no bet- 
 ter proposal to make than that, we can give the com- 
 mission to the -white Gnats ; they flutter about in rain 
 and in sunshine ; they know every corner of the bur- 
 dock-grove quite intimately.". 
 
 "Ah, yes, we know the wife for him!" declared 
 the Gnats, on being appealed to. "A hundred human 
 paces off there sits, on a gooseberry-bush, a little Snail 
 with a house ; she lives so solitary, poor thing ! like a 
 hermitess, and she is quite old enough to marry. It 
 is only the distance of a hundred human paces." 
 
 "Well, then, let her come to him," said the old 
 Snails ; "that will be most fitting ; he has a burdock- 
 grove ; she has only a gooseberry-bush." 
 
 And so the Gnats fluttered away to make the offer 
 to little Miss Snail. Eight days passed before she 
 made her appearance ; so much the better, that showed 
 she came of the right breed. 
 
 And now the bridal solemnities were held. Six 
 Glowworms shone as brightly as they could ; other- 
 
THE HAPPY FAMILY. 289 
 
 wise, the whole affair passed off very quietly, for 
 neither of the two old Snails could endure merri- 
 ment and rioting. Indeed, Father Snail was too 
 much moved to be able to say a word; but Mother 
 Snail made a most beautiful and affecting speech, 
 giving to the two young people the whole burdock- 
 grove for their inheritance, and declaring, as she 
 always had declared, that it was the best, if not the 
 only place in the world. Moreover, she promised that 
 if they lived together peaceably and honestly, and mul- 
 tiplied in the grove, they and their children should at 
 last be taken to the Manor-house, there to be cooked 
 till they were black, and then be laid on silver dishes. 
 And after this speech was ended, the two old Snails 
 crept back into their houses, and never came out again ; 
 there they slept. And the young Snails reigned in 
 the burdock-wood in their stead, and had a numerous 
 posterity. But they never had the good fortune to 
 be cooked, or to be put in silver dishes ; and so they 
 decided that the Manor-house must have fallen to 
 pieces, and that all the human beings in the world 
 must be dead ; no one ever contradicted them in this 
 opinion, and therefore it must needs be true. And 
 for their sakes the rain-drops beat upon the burdock- 
 leaves, and made drum music, and for their sakes the 
 sun shone on the burdock-leaves, giving them a bright 
 green color ; and they were very happy, and the whole 
 Snail family were very happy. 
 
290 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 "EVEEYTHING IN ITS PLACE!" 
 
 ' 'T^IS more than a hundred years since. 
 
 X Near the large lake behind the wood stood an 
 old baronial Hall, deep moats, half choked up with 
 reeds and rushes, surrounding it. Close by the bridge 
 leading over the moat to the carriage-entry stood a ven- 
 erable willow-tree, bending protectingly over the reeds. 
 
 The merry noise of horns and hoof-tramps came 
 nearer and nearer from the high-road beyond, and the 
 little goose-girl hurried her geese on one side to make 
 rooni for the hunting-party ; on they galloped, and 
 the girl had to jump up on one of the high stones of 
 the bridge, to escape being run over. She was scarcely 
 more than a child, slight and delicate as a fairy, with 
 the Sweetest expression in her face, and such spark- 
 ling hasiel eyes ! But the hunters took no note either 
 of her graceful form or her bright eyes ; on they gal- 
 loped, and one of them, the Lord of the Hall, as he 
 passed, in pure wantonness striking her on the breast 
 with the handle of his whip, pushed her over the 
 bridge. 
 
 "Everything in its place!" cried he; "so down 
 with thee into the mud ! " and he laughed at his own 
 stupid jest, and his comrades all laughed in chorus. 
 And with their loud laugh, and the yet louder bark of 
 the hounds, the whole party swept past. 
 
" EVEKYTHING IN ITS PLACE ! ' 291 
 
 The poor little goose-girl, as she fell, had seized 
 hold of one of the overhanging willow-boughs. Cling- 
 ing by it she held herself above the slough of the 
 moat ; and as soon as hunters, horses, hounds, and 
 horns were safe within the Hall gates, she labored to 
 clamber up on the bridge again. But the willow- 
 bough she held broke off from the trunk, and she was 
 on the point of falling heavily among reeds, when a 
 strong hand from above seized and saved her. A 
 wandering hosier had been witness to the little scene, 
 and hurried up to help the poor girl. 
 
 " Everything in its place ! " repeated he, laughing, 
 as he lifted her up and set her upon terra firma ; and 
 he tried to set the cracked willow-bough straight again, 
 but he could not succeed. It stubbornly refused to re- 
 turn to " its right place," so he stuck it into the soft 
 earth, saying, " Grow there if thou canst, and sup- 
 ply the folks at the hall with a flute, if they mend their 
 manners ; with a cane, if they don't ! " And, gather- 
 ing up his chattels, the peddler passed on through 
 the gates, to display them in the servants' hall. Mean- 
 time, uproarious tumult reigned in the banqueting- 
 room, unseemly songs, coarse jests, and rude laughter 
 mingling with the many-toned bark of dogs ; for the 
 hounds had been called in to share the day's sport to 
 the end. Wine and ale foamed in pitcher and glass, 
 and the dogs were made to drink with their masters. 
 The peddler was soon summoned to bring in his pack, 
 but only as a jest ; the wine was in and the sense was 
 out ; ale was poured into a stocking, and he was bid- 
 den to swallow it down quickly. But in another mo- 
 
292 ANDERSEN'S FAIEY TALES. 
 
 ment the humor of the party took another turn ; whole 
 herds of cattle, broad lands, and peasants' cottages, 
 were set upon one card, were lost and won. 
 
 "Everything in its place!" repeated the peddler, 
 when he was safe out of Sodom and Gomorrah, as he 
 called the banquet-room. " The open road, the King's 
 highway, that is my proper place. In that Hall I am 
 quite out of my element." And the little goose-girl, 
 standing behind a stile, nodded to him a grateful 
 farewell. 
 
 Days and weeks passed away, and the broken wil- 
 low-bough that the peddler had stuck into the soft 
 mould of the moat was still fresh and green, and even 
 thrust out new shoots ; the little goose-girl saw that 
 it must have taken root, and she quite rejoiced over 
 it ; it was her tree) she thought. But while the wil- 
 low-sprig throve so well, at the Hall everything throve 
 ill. Drinking and gambling, these were the two notes 
 on which the Lord of the Hall rang the changes, and 
 six years had not fully passed away when he wan- 
 dered with scrip and staff, a ruined man, banished 
 the home of his fathers; and that home was pur- 
 chased by a hosier, the very same who had been made 
 a laughing-stock in his banquet-room, and made to 
 drink ale out of a stocking. Thrift and honesty, that 
 had been his rule of life ; and now the peddler was 
 Lord of the Hall, and from that hour a card was never 
 seen in it. " Paper was meant for something better," 
 he was wont to say ; " but when the Evil One first saw 
 God's Book, he determined he would have his Bible 
 too, and so he invented cards." 
 
"EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE ! " 293 
 
 The new Lord of tlie Hall hastened to take to him- 
 self a wife, and who should she be but the little goose- 
 girl, then grown up into a good, pious, and modest 
 maiden ! Her gentle nature stood her in stead of 
 gentle blood ; and iii her new attire she moved as re- 
 fined, courteous, and noble as any high-born lady in 
 the land. And now came happy and peaceful times 
 for the Old Hall, the lady ruling all within, and her 
 husband all without, and blessing seemed to rest on 
 all their labors. The moats were drained, and fruit- 
 trees planted in their place ; the rooms were all kept 
 clean, the floors bright as a mirror, and in the state 
 saloon sate Madam, with her daughters and her 
 maidens, the long winter eTsnings through, spinning 
 wool and flax. And every Sunday evening the Bible 
 was read aloud to the whole assembled household, 
 read by the Councillor himself, for a Councillor was 
 the peddler in his old age. And children grew up 
 around him, and children's children, and all were well 
 brought up, though not all were gifted with an equal 
 portion of sense — that could not be expected in any 
 family. 
 
 And all this time the willow-bough without had 
 grown and spread and flourished, a large, magnificent 
 tree. " It is our genealogical tree," the old folks 
 were wont to say ; and they bade their children hold 
 it in all honor, and especially they impressed this 
 upon those among them who, as aforesaid, were not 
 over-burdened with brains. 
 
 And now the hundred years are gone and past, our 
 own generation has succeeded. The lake has become 
 
294 andeesen's fairy tales. 
 
 a marsh, an oblong strip of "water encased in stone is 
 all that remains of the moat, and over it a splendid 
 old tree droops its branches, — a willow-tree ; it stands 
 there as if to prove how beautiful a willow-tree may- 
 be, if it is but left alone, and suffered to grow in its 
 own way. Storms have at times handled it roughly ; 
 the trunk is cleft asunder from the crown almost to 
 the root, and grass and flowers grow in all the crev- 
 ices, especially near the crown, where the great boughs 
 are parted; wind and weather have conveyed mould 
 enough to supply a perfect little hanging garden, 
 chickweed, raspberries, nay, even a tiny little service- 
 shrub has taken root there, and, slender and delicate, 
 grows embedded in the old willow-tree, reflecting it- 
 self in the black water whenever the wind drives the 
 duckweed aside into a corner of the stream. A little 
 foot-path leads past the tree over the fields. 
 
 And high on the bank near the wood, commanding 
 a charming prospect, stands the New Hall ; the old 
 one has been razed to the ground, wiped out of the 
 landscape, as it were. ,The New Hall is large and 
 splendid ; the broad steps leading up to the door look 
 like a bower of roses and large-leaved plants ; the 
 window-panes are marvellously bright ; and the lawn 
 on which they open is as smoothly green as though it 
 were swept morning and evening. The saloons within 
 are rich with costly paintings, and with chairs and 
 couches of splendid velvet and silk, and so cleverly 
 constructed that they can almost walk on their own 
 legs ; there are tables with marble slabs, books bound 
 in morocco with gilt edges. For rich people dwell 
 
" EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE 1 " 295 
 
 here npw, and grand people too, with the title of 
 Baron ! 
 
 " Everything in its place ! " is still the family motto, 
 and accordingly the pictures that had once hung in 
 all glory and honor on the walls of the Old Hall have 
 been banished to the gallery leading to the servants' 
 room. Among the " old rubbish," as they were called, 
 were two quaint old portraits; one of a grave-looking 
 man wearing a wig and a crimson coat, the other of a 
 lady fair, her hair powdered and combed back after 
 the antique fashion, and holding a red rose in her 
 hand. Both pictures were encircled with a wreath of 
 willow-boughs ; they are portraits of the old Coun- 
 cillor and his wife, from whom the present occupants 
 of the HaU claim descent. The pictures are in toler- 
 able preservation, except that they are pierced with 
 small round holes innumerable, the juvenile Barons 
 having used them as targets when they were trying 
 their skill with the cross-bow. 
 
 " But they are not really of our family," remarked 
 one of the young Barons. " He was a peddler, and she 
 was a goose-girl. They were not like our papa and 
 mamma." 
 
 " Mere rubbish " were these old pictures ! " Every- 
 thing in its place ! " so the great-grandparents were 
 sent to the servants' gallery. 
 
 The little Barons have a tutor ; he is a clergyman's 
 son, and lives at the Hall. One day the tutor, his 
 pupils, and their eldest sister, who had lately been 
 confirmed, went out for a walk. They took the patl. 
 leading past the old willow-tree, and as they went the 
 
296 ANDERSEN'S FAIEY TALES. 
 
 young girl made . herself a bouquet of wild-flowers 
 and green sprays. " Everything in its place ! " and 
 out among the green fields, in the fresh morning air, 
 these children of Danish soil looked as fair as any 
 bouquet of rich-hued exotics. But while her fingers 
 were busy, her ears were open to hear every word the 
 tutor was saying; it pleased her right well to hear 
 him speak of the beauty of Nature, and of that beauty 
 more excellent than Nature's, — moral beauty ; to hear 
 him tell of the gallant deeds and heroic lives of the 
 great men and noble women of history. For hers was 
 a thoroughly happy and healthful mind ; noble and 
 elevated thoughts were natural to her, and she had a 
 heart large enough to embrace and love all that God 
 has created. 
 
 The party stopped at the old willow-tree; the 
 youngest of the young Barons wanted to have a flute 
 cut for him out of it ; his tutor broke off a bough for 
 the purpose. 
 
 " Oh, don't do it, pray ! " cried the young Baroness ; 
 but her protest came too late — it was done. " Oh, 
 you should not touch our famous old tree, I love it so 
 much ! They all laugh at me at home about it, but I 
 don't care for that. There is a legend about this 
 tree " — 
 
 And she went on to relate what we have heard 
 already about the Old Hall, the goose-girl, and the 
 peddler who met there for the first time — the an- 
 cestors of the family at the New Hall, and of the 
 young Baroness herself. 
 
 " They would not be ennobled, those good, honest 
 
" EVEEYTHESTG IN ITS PLACE ! " 297 
 
 old folks," added she. " They were fond of the prov- 
 erb, ' Everything in its place ; ' and they never would 
 buy themselves a title to higher rank than they could 
 claim by birth. It was their son, my grandfather, 
 who was made a Baron ; he was a very learned man, 
 was much respected and beloved by princes and prin- 
 cesses, and used to go to all their grand festivities. 
 He was his parents' favorite too ; I don't know why, 
 but I do love those old folks so much; I always 
 think there must have been something so homelike, 
 so patriarchal, about that Old Hall, with the mistress 
 of the house sitting spinning among her maidens, and 
 the old Councillor reading the Bible aloud." 
 
 "Yes, they were excellent people, right-minded 
 people," replied the tutor ; and he forthwith fell into 
 a discourse upon the difference between the aristoc- 
 racy and the burgher-families ; no one who heard his 
 enthusiasm for the old nobility could have imagined 
 that he himself was plebeian born. 
 
 "It is glorious to belong to a race that has made 
 itself illustrious ! glorious to know that the blood 
 that flows in one's own veins is the same that has 
 glowed like living fire in the good cause of old ! 
 glorious to claim as one's own rightful heritage a 
 name that is, as it were, a passport everywhere. So 
 long as the nobles are noble, who shall deny them 
 honor and precedence ? I know that the fashion of 
 the time is to decry respect for our old nobility as a 
 stupid, worn-out prejudice, and to assume that the 
 lower we descend into the mud of poverty and obscu- 
 rity, the brighter will be the gems of true goodness 
 
298 andbesen's paiey tales. 
 
 to be found glistening among th^ rubbish. But that 
 is not my way of thinking, for it is perfectly mad, 
 utterly false. Many examples of true nobility of 
 soul may be found among the nobly born; I could 
 cite several, but I will instance only one, which I 
 learnt from my mother. She was staying at a great 
 house, my grandmother had been nurse, or some such 
 thing, to its mistress ; my mother was in the parlor 
 with the old lord when he noticed a poor old woman 
 hobbling upon crutches into the court-yard ; she used 
 to come once every week for a small pension. ' Poor 
 thing!' said he, 'it is too bad for her to have to 
 walk up here ; ' and almost as he spoke he was out 
 of the door and down the steps — he, the old lord, 
 nearly eighty years of age, himself hurried down to 
 the poor woman, to spare her the labor of walking 
 upstairs to fetch her money. This may seem a trivial 
 anecdote enough ; but, trivial as it is, it reveals a truly 
 kindly and noble character. Honor to all such ! honor 
 to the courtesy and gentleness that smooth down the 
 harsh barriers between rank and rank, that acknowl- 
 edge the same human nature everywhere, whether it 
 be clothed in woollen, or in purple and fine linen ! 
 But as for those gentry who prate of their 'blood,' 
 and pride themselves on their pedigrees, with less of 
 right and of reason than high-mettled Arab steeds, 
 and who arch their necks and eyebrows in scorn at 
 the rest of the world — such as these disgrace the 
 nobility they are too often supposed to represent; 
 they have, of their own accord, put on the ridiculous 
 mask given them by Tbespis, and are rightly handed 
 over to the satirist." 
 
" EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE 1 " 299 
 
 Such, was the tutor's oration; it was rather too 
 long for the occasion, but then he was busy making 
 the flute the while. 
 
 There was a large party at the Hall that evening ; 
 the grand saloon was crowded with guests, some from 
 the neighborhood, some from the capital, a bevy of 
 ladies richly dressed, with and without taste, a group 
 of the clergy from the adjoining parishes standing 
 in a corner together, as grave as if they were met for 
 a funeral. A funeral party it certainly was not ; it 
 was meant for a party of pleasure, but the pleasure 
 was yet to come. Music and song went on, first one 
 of the party volunteering, then another; but it was 
 mostly music of that sort which is more delightful to 
 the performer than to the audience. The little Baron 
 brought out his flute, but neither he nor his papa, 
 who tried it after him, could make anything of it ; it 
 was pronounced a perfect failure. 
 
 "But you are a performer too, surely," quoth a 
 witty, fine gentleman, addressing the tutor ; " you 
 are, of course, a flute-player, as well as a flute-maker. 
 You are a universal genius, I hear; and genius is 
 quite the rage nowadays — nothing like genius. 
 Come, now, I am sure you will be so good as to en- 
 trance us by playing on this little instrument." And 
 he handed it over, announcing in a loud voice that 
 the tutor was going to favor the company with a solo 
 on the flute. 
 
 It was easy to see that these people wanted to 
 make game of him, and he refused to play ; but they 
 pressed him so long and so urgently that at last, in 
 
300 andeksek's faiky tales. 
 
 very weariness, he took tlie flute and raised it to his 
 lips. 
 
 It was a strange flute ! A sound issued from it, 
 loud, shrill, and vibrating as that sent forth by a 
 steam-engine, nay, louder far ; it thrilled right through 
 the house, through garden and woodland, miles out 
 into the country; and with the sound came also a 
 strong, rushing wind, its stormy breath clearly utter- 
 ing the words, " Everything in its place ! " 
 
 Forthwith the Baron, the master of the Hall, caught 
 up by the storm-wind, flew out at the window, and 
 was shut up in the porter's lodge in a trice ; and the 
 porter himself was borne up, not into the drawing- 
 room, no, for that he was not fit, but into the servants' 
 hall, where the proud, finical flunkeys, in their silk 
 stockings, shook with horror to see such a low person 
 sit down at table with them. 
 
 But, in the grand saloon, the young Baroness was 
 wafted up to the seat of honor, where she was right 
 worthy to sit, and the tutor's place was beside her. 
 There they sat together, for all the world like bride 
 and bridegroom. An old count, descended from one 
 of the noblest houses in the land, retained his seat, 
 not so much as a breath of air disturbing him. For 
 the flute was strictly just. And the witty young 
 gentleman who had been the occasion of all this 
 tumult was whirled out headforemost to join geese 
 and gander in the poultry-yard. 
 
 Half a mile out in the country the flute wrought 
 wonders. The family of a rich merchant, who drove 
 with four horses, were all precipitated from the car- 
 
" EVKEYTHING IN ITS PLACE 1 " 301 
 
 riage-window, and two farmers, who had of late grown 
 too wealthy to know their nearest relations, were 
 puffed into a ditch. It was a dangerous flute. Lucky 
 that at the first sound it uttered it cracked in twain, 
 and was then put safely by in the tutor's pocket. 
 "Everything in its place." 
 
 Next day no more was said about the adventure 
 than if it had never happened. The affair was hushed 
 up, and all things were in the same order as before, 
 save that the two old portraits of the peddler and the 
 goose-girl continued to hang on the walls of the saloon, 
 whither the storm-wind had blown them. Here some 
 connoisseur chanced to see them, and, as he pronounced 
 them to be painted by a master-hand, they were 
 cleaned and restored, and ever after held in honor. 
 Their value had not been known before. 
 
 " Everything in its place ! " so shall it be aU in 
 good time, never fear ! — not in this world, though ; 
 that would be expecting rather too much.