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The Fairy Tales of
Hans Christian
Andersen
WITH UPWAR.|)S of; FOUR
HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS
BY HELEN STRATTON
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY EDWARD E. HALE, D.D.
4 c^
\
PHILADELPHIA
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
^f^J^^f^
c 0 c c
Copyright, iSgg,
BY '.'';■'.
Thuslove, Hanson aV*d'.Uom»a,
1 -.1
1
INTRODUCTION ^ v^
Hans Christian Andersen, without knowing it, prescribed a healthy tonic for more than one writer
in England and America. It would be a pity not to acknowledge this.
He was not well known in either country when Mary Howitt published her translations of his stories
in England. Perhaps her intimacy with Frederica Bremer, the Swedish novelist, opened the way to her
acquaintance with the Danish story-teller.
The children of England and America had the first benefit of this invasion of the Dane. For, by a
rather provoking law, it will happen that the literature of chilj^ood is sadly apt to fall into the ruts of sen-
timentalists or of mechanics. " Anybody can write a child's book " is the false theory of publishers in the
decline which comes upon children's books once in a generation. As an experienced editor once said to
me, ninety-nine hundredths of the articles sent to him about boys and girls are written by ladies who
never had the charge of either boy or girl.
Into the midst of books thus written down for children there comes, once in a generation, such a
revelation as the publication of Grimm's Fairy Tales made early in this century, as the appearance in
England of Andersen's children's stories, made. And again, such as children enjoyed when Stevenson's
poems for them appeared. Probably Stevenson's poems would not have been written but for such prose
poems as
" The Constant Tin Soldier."
" For certain soldiers lately dead
Our reverent dirge shall here be said :
Them, when their martial leader called,
I No dread preparative appalled,
But leaden-hearted, leaden-heeled,
I marked them steadfast in the field.
Death grimly sided with the foe,
And smote each leaden hero low ;
Proudly they perished one by one ;
The dread pea-cannon's work was done I
Oh not for them the tears we shed,
Consigned to their congenial lead ;
But while unmoved their sleep they take,
We mourn for their dear captain's sake, —
For their dear captain, who shall smart
Both in his pocket and his heart,
Who saw his heroes shed their gore,
And lacked a penny to buy more."
I do not venture to describe the indescribable, and so I will not try to analyze the charm of Ander-
sen's children's stories. They can speak for themselves. They do speak for themselves in the memories
of all those young people who, if I may say so, were brought up on them. There is sentiment in them,
because there is sentiment in all life ; but it is not a morbid or manufactured sentiment. It is the senti-
ment which belongs to the occasion. Here is what I have meant when I say that he administered a health-
ful tonic to all those writers for children who had sense enough to wish to improve on their own methods.
For the mere mechanics, the people who build stories up as a child makes a mud pie, — so much water and
so much clay, without going farther than the water and the clay, — no tonic is possible.
People generally speak as if " The Improvisatore " were the autobiography of Andersen, and as if
whoever has read that understands his life. This does not seem to me quite broad enough. His own
memoir of himself, which has been translated by Mrs. Howitt, gives a very curious picture of life in Den-
mark. It shows us what that gallant little kingdom is, has been, and may be. And in the midst of a
charming egotism, — perhaps because of this charming egotism — it reveals Andersen to us in a way which
makes us love him more and not less.
It is immensely to the credit of the artists of Copenhagen, of the people of rank there, of what Mrs.
Grundy calls " Society," that this boy, only not a beggar boy, landing in the streets there with nothing but
hope and one rixthaler, should have pressed his way forward and upward till he became the Dane spoken
of most often in the literary circles of the world. It makes one believe in small kingdoms, small common-
wealths— may I say, in Brick Moons ? — when one sees the cordiality, the best form of charity, the distin-
guished care, with which Copenhagen could take care of such a Danish boy when he needed care. His
first attempts at fame are made when he goes upon the stage of the theatre as one of the " populace,"
dressed in the dress which was made out of his father's coat for his own confirmation. He thinks to be
a singer, and is not fit to be a singer. He thinks to be a poet, and they do not accept him as a poet ; this
is their fault, not his. But he then does what he can do : he writes, and writes the truth. He tells what
he has seen, with that admirable unwillingness to try to tell what he has not seen. Realism, the realism
of the nineteenth century, about which much is absurdly said and sung, appears, whether in the story of
the tin soldier or in romance so called, made out of the life of a fiddler.
And here, as it seems to me, is the tonic which this Danish peasant administered to the literature of
England and America. I do not know whether he did as much good in Denmark as he did here ; I do
not know whether they needed it as much as I think it was needed by the writers for children here ; I
do know that this quiet use of language, in which there is a nominative case for the thing that is de-
scribed, and a good steadfast verb which describes that thing ; in which there is no rushing north, south,
east, or west for an effect which is visible and at hand, — I do know that this use of language is an
excellent example for young authors or for old.
It is fifty-four years since Mary Howitt introduced this shepherd of the people to people who could
not read Danish but could read English. This English nation for whom she wrote, and the American
nation which is born from that English nation, would not be what they are if, some thousand years ago,
rather more than less, certain Danes, so called, had not occasionally found their way into English seaports,
and when they chose colonized the lands of the inhabitants. It is not simply that a quaint word or two
slipped from their dialect into ours. There is more than that. The blood of Norsemen is in our veins.
Perhaps it is true that the habit of calling a spade a spade was particularly a Danish habit. Perhaps the
Danes had the gift of using words of one syllable where the Latin nations preferred to use words of four
syllables ; they liked to say Thor, and did not like to say Diispeter. And perhaps, — these are only my guesses,
but I am in the habit of thinking that we like to hear Jenny Lind sing, that we like to read the poems of
Tegner and the voyages of Nansen, that we like to find the Linnca borealis on the slopes of the White
Mountains, because we are all Scandinavians in blood. Perhaps this is the reason why we and our chil-
dren like to read Hans Christian Andersen.
It may please the reader to have a little remembrance of Andersen, which I copy from a private note
of one of his friends : " I once had the good fortune to pass four months under the same roof with Hans
Christian Andersen. I often heard him read his fairy tales, and one beautiful moonlight night he wrote
down these lines to me. The following is a literal translation of the autograph :
" ' The moon shines round and full
Over field and swamp.
And in the stillness of the wood
Grows the Rose of Poesy.'
He then gathered this bouquet in the garden where we were, and gave it to me as a remembrance of him,
but I shall not forget him even without it." The faded rose is in the letter from which I copy the lines.
EDWARD E. HALE
Contents
PACE
THE RED SHOES *
THE CHIMNEY SWEEP ^
THE NIGHTINGALE "
THE GARDEN OF PARADISE »8
THE LITTLE SWINEHERD 29
A WEEK WITH OLE LUK OIE 33
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES 42
THE ICE-MAIDEN, OR THE EAGLE'S NEST 47
THE STORKS 78
THE UGLY DUCKLING 82
THE WILD SWANS 89
THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER 100
THE LITTLE MERMAID i^S
THE GIRL WHO TROD ON THE LOAF . 141
THE CONSTANT TIN SOLDIER i47
THE SNOW QUEEN '5i
THE FELLOW-TRAVELLER 172
THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 186
THE REAL PRINCESS 188
UNDER THE WILLOW 191
LITTLE CLAUS AND BIG CLAUS 202
THE SHADOW 210
THE STORY OF A MOTHER 220
THE FLYING TRUNK 225
THE TINDER-BOX 230
THE GOLOSHES OF HAPPINESS 236
HOLGER DANSKE ... 257
THE FIR-TREE .... . , .... 261
LITTLE TUK 268
WHAT THE MOON SAW 271
THE BRONZE PIG 293
IB AND LITTLE CHRISTINE 3°°
THE CRIPPLE 308
THE OLD BACHELOR'S NIGHTCAP 314
ft 0 ...;
List of Illustrations
The Red Shoes
The Princess stood at a window .
She thought only of her shoes .
She could not stop herself.
It was the old soldier
She tapped at the window .
She went across the heath .
All the children made much of her
Her soul was carried up to God
The Chimney bweep
I entreat you to go with me into the wide world .
They saw the old cupboard was all in an uproar.
She fell on her china knee . . . . .
He led her to the door of the stove .
The roof of the town lay below . . . .
His head had rolled into a corner
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9
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The Nightingale
Sat on his golden throne reading the book
Ran up and down, and looked through all the rooms
The nightingale sang exquisitely
She went willingly on hearing the emperor wished it
Each had fastened a ribbon round her leg .
All cried out " Oh ! "
The boys in the street would go about singing .
Jumped out of bed, and called for his physician .
She sang, and the Emperor fell into a sweet sleep
II
12
13
14
14
15
1.5
16
17
The Garden of Paradise
At every step he slipped on the wet grass ....
" I sat and slept at the helm "
He kissed his mother so roughly that she nearly fell backwards
"An ostrich ran a race with me" .....
He sat on the back of the east wind .....
They now entered the cavern . . . ,
TQ
20
21
21
22
viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
She led the Princess into her palace 24
Storks and pelicans flew in long rows 26
The Fairy cried, " Come with me ! come with me ! " 27
He pushed the boughs aside 28
The Little Swineherd ; or. The Prince in Disguise
" Good morning," said he . . ..... 29
The Prince became swineherd .............. 30
The swineherd got ten kisses .............. 30
" What's the meaning of this ? " cried he 31
" What a miserable creature I am," sobbed the Princess 32
A Week with Ole Luk-Oie
On the balcony stood princesses ............. 35
"We shall cook you to-morrow," said Hjalmar ........... 37
Away they went to the mouse's wedding . 37
The mice were near treading each other to death 38
The bridal pair were sitting on the floor ............ 39
01^ Luk-Oie lifted little Hjalmar up to the window 41
" Look how he gallops along ! " 42
The Emperor's New Clothes
Staring as hard as he could 43
" It has our most gracious approval " 43
People could see them at work 44
The Emperor went forth in grand procession ........... 45
" But he has got nothing on ! " 46
The Ice-Maiden ; or. The Eagle's Nest
" Come with me on the roof," said the cat 47
Rudy loved the morning air .............. 48
They still had to cross one great glacier ............ 49
The Queen of the Glaciers .............. 49
The cold kisses which the Queen of the Glaciers had given him 5°
They bleated " Med ! med ! may ! " . . . 5 '
Began to tell tales and legends of the spirits of the Alps 5^
The mysterious shepherd and his black sheep ........••• 53
His uncle would tell tales of his childhood 54
Rudy clung to the stem of a tree .........•••• 54
" Write a letter for me to the Lord Christ ! " 55
" He gave me a kiss at the dance " 5^
The parlour cat stood on the steps ......-.>•••• 57
Offered him an Alpine rose 5^
Singing and playing on all kinds of instruments 59
" Have you a sweetheart ? " said Rudy 60
The snow came down and the wind shrieked . . . . . i • - - • • ^'
Rudy submitted to be kissed .....••.. r .-.«• 62
f tiey trod on me more than once ' ^3
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
IX
PAGE
They opened the door, and both went in 63
They set off with poles, banners, and ropes 64
In the black, gaping depth sat the Ice Maiden 65
It was captured alive 65
Rudy and Babette 67
" They play at masters down below," said the Ice Maiden 68
Peeped through the curtain 7°
Held the bowl to his lips • • 7'
The Ice Maiden gave him a kiss 7*
Therefore Babette lectured him 7*
Only his hunting jacket and hat 73
Hand in hand, seated on the little bench 75
The ring expanded into a sparkling circle 75
The Ice Maiden stood majestic, with Rudy at her feet 76
The Storks
" Stork, stork, fly home and rest " 78
" We then go into the mire and eat frogs " 79
The four youngsters were all obliged to come out on the top of the roof 80
A little fellow, scarcely more than six years old 80
There were evolutions for you ! 81
" Now, we'll fly to the pond and fetch one for every child " 82
" In the pond lies a little infant, who has dreamed itself to death " 82
The Ugly Duckling
" Now bend your neck, and say ' Quack ! ' "
The girl who fed the poultry kicked him .
" What's that ? " said the woman, looking round .
The duckling sat in a corner, very much out of spirits
He turned round and round in the water like a wheel
The children would have played with him .
Some of the children threw bread-crumbs and corn into the water
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85
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The Wild Swans
A book full of prints 9°
Helped her to undress and get into the bath 9°
Stole out of the palace in great affliction 9*
An old woman with a basket full of cherries 9'
Elise followed the rivulet v ^^
Just at sunset Elise saw eleven swans flying towards the shore 92
She stroked his wings » 93
The swans carried Elise away from the rock 94
Held him before him on his horse ' • • • • 95
Allowed the women to dress her in regal robes 9^
Until she reached the churchyard ....... = ••••• 97
The rustling of a swan's wings sounded near the grating 98
To see the witch burnt ........••••••• 99
The King plucked it, and placed it in Elise's bosom 99
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The Marsh
King's
Daughter
Was found by the King's daughter
'-'.Don't get excited " .
Tore her feather dress into a hundred pieces
It was he who pulled her down .
The stork at first believed it to be the Princess turned a child ag;
Screamed passionately, and stretched out its arms and legs
There, just at the foot of the bed, was a great ugly toad
The Viking's wife sat on the cross bench in the open banqueting hall
The serfs slept for the night in the warm ashes .
All his limbs rigid and stretched out like a mummy
We bound fire under the wings of a swallow
He stood on one leg ......
She was to hold her ear to the lips of the dead .
Came dripping with water into the lofty hall
Then the Viking's wife could take her on her knees
"But he is still the handsomest of them all," said the mother stork
Drove the knife into his side
\Vent away wrathful and sad
" Who art thou ? "
The horse galloped on
Rode through the forest
The sun went down at that moment
Sat there all through the long day
Looked with astonishment at her fine white hands
The Christian priest raised his cross on high
Lay a sleeping woman .....
Trembled and nestled up closer to her foster-mother
Stretched out her arms towards them .
There stood two beautiful women, as like as two drops of dew
She saw two powerful ostriches running round in narrow circles
Placed the golden circlet about his neck ....
Asked him to fly to the beech forest .....
She looked towards the twinkling, sparkling stars
Fell on her knees ........
The Little Mermaid
Ate out of their hands and allowed themselves to be stroked
The youngest planted hers in a circle to imitate the sun
A statue, representing a handsome youth, hewn out of pure white marble
They flew away in great alarm ........
All the vessels scudded past in great alarm ......
As often as the water lifted her up she peeped in through the transparent panes .
She held his head above the water, and then let the waves carry them whither they pleased
It was not long before a young maiden approached the spot where he was lying .
" You must not think about that," said the old dame .......
Crossing her hands over her bosom she darted along .......
Within sat the sea witch, feeding a toad from her mouth
When the sun rose over the sea she awoke and felt a sharp pang. ....
Everybody was enchanted, but most of all the Prince, who called her his little foundling
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Xl;
She would go and sit on the broad marble steps, for it cooled her burning feet to bsthe
water .............
He kissed her rosy mouth and played with her long hair ...
Gazed through the clear waters, and fancied she saw her father's palace
She was fain to laugh and dance, though the thoughts of death were in her heart
She then saw her sisters rising out of the flood . . . .
Then jumped overboard, and felt her body dissolving into foam .
to
b)t
he them in the
'37
137
138
'i3gi
"146
The Girl who Trod
on
the Loaf
Inger turned away, for she was ashamed to have for her mother a ragged woman who gathered sticks . 142
Flung the loaf into the mud that she might step on it and come over dry-shod . . . . .145
But the worst of all was the horrible hunger which she felt . . . . . . . . 143
They told her story to the children, and the little ones called her " the wicked Inger " . . . . 144
"T do so wish she would !" said the little girl, and she was quite inconsolable 145
A peasant set up a pole close to the wall, and tied a sheaf of oats to the top 145
" There is a sea-swallow flying away over the sea," said the children . . . . . . .146
The Constant Tin Sold
icr
Though they had nearly trodden upon him they could not manage to find him .
The boat flew past, and the rat followed .........
Everybody was desirous of seeing the celebrated man who travelled about inside a fish
When the maid raked out the ashes she found him in the shape of a tin heart
148
149
i5>
The Snow Queen
He' climbed up to the window . .
And she placed him beside her in the sledge, and wrapped the skin round him
A little house with strange red and blue windows ....
While she was eating, the old woman combed her hair with a golden comb
Gerda knew every flower .........
" I don't understand anything about it," said little Gerda .
Little Gerda ran forth with bare feet into the wide world
"No — have you, though ? " cried the little girl, and had nearly hugged the crow to death, so
she kiss him . . ''.
She began to sing a song which ran thus ; " Wherefore shouldn't I marry ?
And when they approached the throne where sat the Princess, they found nothing to say
On the third day there came marching cheerfully along towards the palace a little body, who
horse nor coach ...........
And he was pleased with her, and she with him ......
Gazed at Gerda, who curtsied ........
Horses with flying manes appeared like shadows on the wall
The coach was amply stored inside with sweet cakes, and under the seat were frui
" Oh, la ! " screamed the woman ........
By that time they had reached Lapland .......
The Finlandish woman's intelligent eyes twinkled, though she said nothing .
Little Gerda then repeated the Lord's Prayer ......
But he sat quite motionless, stiff and cold .......
Xhere emerged from it a beautiful horse .......
fondly di.
had neither
and gingei bread-nuts
IS?
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169
x:i
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The Fellow Traveller
The first night he was obliged to lie on a haycock in the open fields
Before the church door stood an aged beggar, leaning on a crutch ......
" Of course," said the ugly men, " if you pay his debt, we will neither of us lay a fuiger upon him "
Took out a box, saying that he had an ointment which would immediately make her leg whole again
Seized the Queen by the middle of her slender waist, so that it cracked again
The Queen knelt down .
He cut off the two wings of the dead swan, at a single blow, and kept them
He, and all his soldiers use i to kneel and pray that the Princess might grow good
They now heard the mob cheering outside the inn. The Princess was passing by
A frightful sight to behold ! From every tree hung three or four kings' sons
The Princess, wrapped in a flowing white robe, flew over the city ....
The judges sat in their arm-chairs with their heads propped up, because they had so much to I
Thrashed her more violently than before, having taken two rods with him .
But the Princess lay on the sofa, and would not speak a word .....
" So much the belter," said the old King ; " that's just what I wish " .
The Princess shrieked aloud when he dipped her into the water .....
The old King dandled his grandchildren on his knees, and let them play with his sceptre
think about
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1 80
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•83
184
•85
The Little Match Girl
She now sat down, cowering in a corner. She had drawn her little feet under her, but felt colder than
ever 186
And — what was more delightful still — the goose jumped down and waddled along the ground with a
knife and fork in its breast 187
The Real Princess
There came a knock at the town gate, and the old king went and opened it . . . . .189
But she said nothing, and went into a spare room and laid a pea on the sacking of the bedstead . . 190
" I scarcely closed my eyes all night ! I do not know what was in the bed " 190
Under the Willow
It was impossible to get him to go and paddle 191
One evening he told a story, which greatly impressed them ........ 192
And told to a party of children the story of their mute affection, which led to nothing .... 193
He should certainly not be mute, like those two gingerbreads 194
She poured out the tea, and she herself offered him a cup 195
Canute went out into the town and looked up at her window 195
Joan turned as pale as death ; she let go his hand . . . . . . . . . .196
As she had a whole handful of roses, she gave him one also 197
Right opposite there was a great, old willow-tree ... . . . . ... 198
The girls nodded to him from the wooden balconies of the houses, as they made their lace . . .199
Canute looked right into her face and she looked right into Canute's face; but she did not recognise
him . 199
And here stood Joan in all her magnificence, with the golden crown on 200
She bent her head over his face, and ice-cold tears trickled from her eyes 201
Little Claus and Big Claus
She was pouring him out wine, while he was busy with his fork in the fish .
203
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
xiu
" Zounds ! " said the farmer, hastily opening the oven
The farmer opened the lid a little, and peeped in
" What can he want it for ? " thought Big Claus, as he smeared the bottom of it with tar
Fell to belabouring Big Claus's shoulders
Seized his axe, and killed his old grandmother at a blow ......
" The moment I fell upon it the loveliest girl imaginable took me by the hand "
" There's no fear about that," said Little Claus ; still he put a large stone into the bag
The Shadow
In the midst of the flowers stood a slender, lovely maiden ....
A light was burning in the room, just behind him .....
He perceived, to his great joy, that a new shadow had sprouted out of his legs
" Come in," said he ; but no one came. So he opened the door
" Yes, I will tell you," said the shadow, sitting down
I drew myself up to my full height along the walls, which tickled my vanity very agreeably
The shadow always managed to take the precedence .......
She immediately perceived that the newly-arrived stranger was quite a different sort of
everybody else
Being a king's daughter, she was not obliged to stand upon ceremony .
On all of which topics the learned man answered with sense and judgment .
" I will go straight to the king's daughter," said the learned man ....
"It is a hard case, for he was a faithful servant," said the shadow, pretending to sigh
person to
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The Story of a Mother
The mother then wrung her hands, wept, and sang
And she wept and wept till her eyes dissolved into the lake and became two costly pearls .
And Death stretched out his hand towards the little delicate flower
The Flying Trunk
"I say, you Turkish nurse," cried he, "what is that large castle near the town, where the windows are
placed so high ?".............••
She lay asleep on the sofa, and looked so beautiful that the merchant's son could not help kissing her .
The king and queen and the whole court were at tea with the princess, and he was received very
politely .................
The boys in the streets stood on tip-toe, cried hurrah ! and whistled through their fingers .
She stood on the roof, and waited the whole day long ......-.-
The Tinder Box
And he set the dog on the witch's apron ............
" Do you know what ? " said the soldier. " Vou must either te'l me at once what you mean to do with
it, or I'll draw my sword and cut your head off" .........
She lay asleep on the dog's back, and was so lovely that everybody might see she was a real princess .
"But there's one and there's another," said all present, for, whichever way they looked, there were
crosses on all the doors ..............
" I say, you shoemaker's 'prentice, you needn't be in such a hurry," said the soldier ....
The Goloshes of Happiness
These goloshes have the property instantly to transport whomsoever shall put them on, to the place
and time he best likes
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236
XIV
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
I he more he talked to the boatmen the more incomprehensible they appeared to him
" Excuse me," said the councillor of justice to the landlady .......
" How are you now? " said the landlady, pulling the councillor's sleeve .....
Just as he was going out, the company perceived his intention, and seized him by the feet .
The lieutenant felt this to be the case, and therefore leant his head against the window frame and
sighed deeply ...............
He found himself on one of the countless circular ranges of mountains that we see in Dr. Madler's
large map of the moon .............
The young fellow then filliped his nose, which made him lose his balance .....
The first heart he entered was a lady's, but at first he fancied he had got into an orthopaedic institution
Her husband's portrait served as a weathercock ..........
The attendant uttered a loud exclamation at the sight of a man in all his clothes
(.'lose by stood a boy, striking with a stick in a swampy ditch .......
At the same moment the skirts and sleeves of his coat became wings, his clothes turned to feathers, and
his goloshes to claws ..............
They purchased the bird for eightpence, and so the clerk returned to Copenhagen
Lovely half-naked children were tending a herd of coal-black swine, under a knot of fragrant laurels
The shrivelled arms and the monotonous whines of "Afiserabtli eccelenza / " came in much faster than
the breezes ...............
She drew the goloshes off his feet, when the sleep of death ended, and he once more revived
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Holger Danske
As the old man sat talking, he was carving a large wooden figure representing Holger Danske
The first flame led him into a dark and narrow prison, where sat captive a beautiful woman
" But what you have carved is very fine, grandfather," said she ......
258
259
260
The Fir Tree
They would often bring a pipkin full of berries and seat themselves near the little fir tree . . . 261
"We know, we know," twittered the sparrows, " for we have looked in at the windows in yonder town ! " 262
At length the tapers were lit, and a grand sight it was, to be sure - 263
Told the story of Humpty-Dumpty, who fell downstairs 264
The little mice were fit to jump to the top of the tree with delight 265
"Your servant," answered the rats, and they returned back to their own sets ..... 265
The youngest ran and tore off the gold star. " See what is sticking to the ugly old fir tree," said the
child 266
So the children left off playing, and came and sat near the fire ........ 267
Little Tuk
And Tuk ran off and helped her 269
Large streams of water sprang from the cliff, and close by sat an aged king with a golden crown on his
white hair 27°
What the Moon Saw
Up and down danced the flame, but yet kept alight, and the dark eyes dwelt longingly upon it as it went 272
The hen was terrified, and made a great to do, spreading her wings to protect her chicks . . . 272
She dropt her head, and her eyes brimmed with tears 273
Motionless she sat, as I looked at her, her hands in her lap ........ 273
She knelt down and kissed the purple 274
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
XV
Then came a poor girl, who dropped her load and sat down to rest on the grave of the Hun
A shroud of skins was already being sewed upon him by his wife ....
The driver glanced round nervously ..........
The singer stood upon the time-worn stage and sang .......
Away in a corner sat a girl reading a book .........
A little boy came out and stood by his sister. "What .nre you w.ntching ? " said he
An angel brings them under his cloak .........
" Come in both of you," she said, "and see the little brother the stork brought".
The wives bore the babies on their backs, while the older ones trotted unsteadily at their sides
As a child among children Nature marked him out for Punch's part ....
Columbine, indeed, was beautiful and kind to h m .
His chin on his hands, his eyes turned to me, he looked like a grotesque sculpture
There stood the little thing stiff and starched ........
He looked at his white cheeks in the glass ........
There she stood barefoot, weeping, daring not to lift the latch to her palace home
The leader drew a figure in the sand with his staff .......
In the bell-tower stood two of the sisters, still young, and looked out over tiie world beyond
The child wept, for she could neither reach her doll, nor could the doll be helped down
The bushes seemed to her fancy crowded with elves in steeple hats ...
I laughed at the duck with her leg tied up, she did limp so funnily ....
Just then his mother woke up. She moved the curtain aside .....
Their master stood bareheaded, and reverently kissed her hand — his mother's hnnd
"Swe-e-ep," cried a voice— the liitle chimney-sweeper's, who had just climbed the cliiinney
his head out .............
Stirred slowly, deep in thought ...........
The white faced child dreamed too, her lashes wet with unshed tears ....
They crept into corners of the room, but he found each one, and snuffed at them, and did
The bear lay down, and the baby climbed on him, and hid his head in the shaggy fur.
So they began marching — Right, left ; R'ght, left !
Piling up the clothes round a chair, making out that he was playing statues
" Don't be angry, mother dear," I only said, "and a lot of butter, please " .
the
and
no liar
>tuck
PAc.:;
275
276
277
278
278
279
280
280
28t
281
282
283
284
284
28s
28s
286
286
287
287
280
288
289
289
290
291
291
292
292
293
The Bronze Pig
He sat himself on the Bronze Pig's back, and ere he was aware of it sank into slumber
The bronze horse that bears the Duke's statue neighed out loud .
" What do you bring back? " she asked the boy. .....
" Innocent souls know each other." said the woman, and petted dog and child
Beheld Bellissima barking, as if to say, " Hallo ! I'm here too " .
The creature shivered with cold, and he took to his heels at full speed
The woman bemoaned her dog, and the boy wept .....
" You bad, bad boy ! The poor little creature ! " was all she could utter ,
294
295
296
297
298
299
299
300
lb and Little Christine
There they found some snipe's eggs — a great event in their lives
As both wanted it at once, the result was that they let it fall into the water .
At last they were quite lost in the bushes ........
On her back she had a bundle, and in her hand a knoU^d stick. She was a gipsy
" You must have that," said Christine, " and it's so pretty, too " .
He set it in the hinge of the door and broke the shell, but there was little inside .
301
302
302
303
304
304
XVI
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
" Did you know me then, lb ? " she said .
So he set himself to write, but the words would not come
Where the plough had cut it, it glittered before him .
Life and joy reigned there, for there was little Christine
305
305
306
307
The Cripple
But Hans was pleased with it .......... .
" Good-night," said the king ; " now you can go home and curse your folly "
The swineherd sat in the ditch, and laughed and sang. " I am that most fortunate man '
Even people quite out on the high-road could hear it singing .....
He held the cage in his hands, and ran with it out of the door into the road
308
309
311
312
313
The Old Bachelor's Nightcap
Seated on the bed he chanted an evening psalm. ....
One pip the little girl proposed they should plant in the earth
" Lady Holle ! Lady Holle ! " she cried, loud and clear
" I dare kiss him," she would cry, and throw her arms round his neck
He longed to say, " Lady Holle, Lady Holle, open the door to me ! "
Wine, bread, and all the basket held, miraculously changed to roses .
Prone he lay, clasping in death his old nightcap. ....
315
315
316
317
3'8
319
320
iE
The Red Shoes
HERE was once a little c^irl who was delicately pretty, but who
was obliged to walk about with bare feet in summer (for she
was poor), and to wear coarse wooden shoes in winter, so that
her little insteps were red all over.
In the village lived an old shoemaker's wife, who fashioned a little pair of
shoes as well as she could out of some old strips of red cloth ; they were
rather clumsy, but the intention was kind, for the)' were to give to the little
girl, whose name was Karen.
She received the red shoes, and put them on, for the first time, on the
very day her mother was buried. They were not fit for mourning, it is true,
but having no others, she put them on to her bare feet, and followed the
pauper's coffin to its last resting-place.
There happened to pass by a large, old-fashioned carriage, in which sat an old lady, who took
compassion on the little girl, and said to the preacher : " Pray, give me that little girl, and 1 will
adopt her."
And Karen fancied that all this was owing to the red
shoes ; but the old lady thought them abominable, and ordered
them to be burnt. Karen then was dressed in clean and tidy
clothes, and was taught to read and to sew, and people said
she was pretty. But the looking-glass said : " You are more
than pretty — you are beautiful ! "
The queen once travelled through the land, with her little
daughter, who was a princess. And crowds flocked towards
the palace, and Karen stood amongst the rest, to see the little
princess, who stood at a window, dressed in the finest white
clothes. She had neither a train, nor a golden crown, but
beautiful red morocco shoes — which, it must be confessed, were
a trifle prettier than those the shoemaker's wife had patched
together for little Karen. Surely nothing in the world can be
compared to red shoes !
Karen was now old enough to be confirmed. She had new
clothes given her, and she was to have a pair of new shoes like-
wise. The rich shoemaker of the town took the measure of her
little foot in his own house, in a room where a number of glass
cases were filled with elegant shoes and shining boots. It was
a very pretty sight ; but as the old lady could not see very
well, she took no pleasure in it. Amongst the shoes was a
pair of red ones, just like those the princess wore. How
pretty they were, to be sure ! The shoemaker said they had
been made for a count's child, but had not fitted well.
" Are they of polished leather ? " asked the old lady, " for
they shine so."
"The\' shine, indeed," said Karen ; and they fitted her and
were purchased. But the old lady did not know they were red,
or she would never have allowed Karen to go to be confirmed
in red shoes, which she, however, now did.
PT. I.
THE PRINCESS STOOD AT A WINDOW.
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
SUE THUUGUl ONLY OK HKK SHOES.
Everybody looked at her feet. And when she stepped
across the church to reach the choir, she fancied that even
the old pictures over the graves, the portraits of preachers
and their wives, with their stiff collars and long black clothes,
were fixing their eyes on her red shoes. And she thought
of nothing but them, even when the preacher laid his hand
on her head, and descanted on the holy baptism that ad-
mitted her within the pale of God's servants, and reminded
her that she must now behave like a grown Christian. And
the organ pealed solemnly, while the children's voices joined
with those of the choristers ; but Karen thought of nothing
but her red shoes.
In the afternoon, the old lady heard everybody say that
the shoes were red ; and she said it was quite shocking, and
highly improper, and that in future Karen must always go
to church in black shoes, even though they should be some-
what worn.
Next Sunday she was to receive the sacrament ; and
Karen looked first at the black shoei: and then at the red
ones, and then looked again, and finished by putting on the
red ones.
The sun shone brightly. Karen and the old lady went
by the footway across the cornfield, which was rather dusty.
Near the church door stood an old invalid soldier, with a
crutch-stick, and a singularly long beard, that was red rather
than white, for he had red hair. And he stooped to the
ground, and asked the old lady if he might wipe her shoes.
And Karen likewise put out her little foot. " See, what
smart dancing pumps ! " said the soldier ; " they will stick
on firmly when you dance " ; and thereupon, he slapped the soles with his hand.
The old lady gave the invalid soldier some alms, and entered the church with Karen.
And everybody inside looked at Karen's red shoes, and all the pictures looked at them ; and
when Karen knelt before the altar, and put the gold cup to her lips, she thought only of her red
shoes : and it seemed to her as though the?y were swimming in the communion cup ; and she
forgot to sing her psalm, and forgot to say the
Lord's prayer.
The congregation now left the church, and
the old lady got into her carriage. As Karen
raised her foot to step in after her, the. old soldier
said : " See, what smart dancing pumps ! " And
Karen could not help making a few dancing
steps, and having once begun, her feet went on
dancing. It was just as if the shoes had some
power over her. She danced round the church
corner, and could not stop herself, and the coach-
man was obliged to run after her and catch hold
of her, and lift her into the carriage ; but her feet
went on dancing, so that she trod upon the good
old lady's toes at a great rate. At last the shoes
were taken off her feet, which then obtained rest.
The shoes were put by into a closet at home,
but Karen could not cease looking at them.
The old lady now fell ill, and it was said she
could not live. She had to be nursed and waited
on, and it was nobody's business to attend her
so much as Karen's ; but there happened to be
a great ball in the town, to which Karen was
invited, and she gazed at the old lady, who was
not likely to recover, and then looked at her red she could not stop herself.
THE RED SHOES 3
shoes, and thought there could not be any very great sin in putting them on — and so far there
was not — but she next went to the ball, and began to dance : only, when she wanted to go to
IT WAS THE OLD SOLDIER.
the right, the shoes would dance to the left : and when she wanted to go up the room, the shoes
persisted in going down the room ; and then down the steps into the street, and out through
the town gate. And she danced on, in spite of herself, right into the gloomy forest.
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
Something was gleaming through the tops of the trees, and she thought it was the moon — for
it was a face — but it was the old soldier with his red beard, who sat and nodded, saying : " See,
what pretty dancing pumps ! "
She was now frightened, and tried to fling off the red shoes, but they clung fast ; and she tore
off her stockings. But the
shoes had, as it were, grown to
her feet, and dance she must,
across fields and meadows —
in rain or in sunshine- — by
day and by night — only by
night it was far more dread-
ful still.
She danced up to the
open churchyard, where the
dead did not dance, having
something much better to do.
She would fain have sat down
on some pauper's grave,
where grows the bitter fern ;
but there was no rest for her.
And as she danced towards
the open church door, she
saw an angel, in long white
clothes, and with wings that
reached from his shoulders
down to the earth. His
countenance was stern and
grave, and his hand grasped
a broad and shining sword.
" Thou shalt dance ! "
said he, " dance in thy red
shoes, until thou art pale and
cold, and till thy skin has
shrivelled up to a skeleton.
Thou shalt dance from door
to door ; and thou shalt
knock at the doors where
proud and haughty chil-
that they may hear
and take warning !
shalt dance — yea,
dren,
thee,
Thou
dance-
" Mercy ! " cried Karen.
But she heard not what the
angel answered, for the shoes
carried her from the door into
the field, away — away — still
dancing on and on.
One morning she danced
past a well-known door ; she
heard the sounds of a dirge
from within, and a coffin,
decked with flowers, was
brought forth : and she now knew that her old patroness was dead, and she felt as though she
were abandoned by every one, and cursed by God's angel.
On she danced, for dance she must — aye, dance through the gloomy night. The shoes carried
her through brambles and stumps of trees, which scratched her till she bled. And she danced
across the heath, to a little lonely house, where she knew the executioner lived ; and she tapped at
the windows with her fingers, saying :
SHE TAPPED AT THE WINDOW.
THE RED SHOES
SHt WENT ACROSS THE HEATH.
" Come out — come
out. I cannot come in, for
1 am obliged to dance."
And the executioner
s?id :
" Do you not know
who 1 am ? It is I who
strike off wicked men's
heads, and I perceive
that my a.xe now clinks."
" Do not strike off
my head," said Karen,
" for then I shall not be
able to repent of m\-
sins. But strike my feet
off, that I may get rid of
my red shoes."
And she then con-
fes.sed her sins, and the
executioner struck off her
red shoes only, though
it gave her as sharp a
pang as if her toes had
come off with them. And away the shoes danced, across the fields, and into the depths of the forest.
He then gave her crutches, for she felt unable to walk, and taught her the psalm that peni-
tents sing, and she kissed the hand that had directed the axe, and went away across the heath.
" I have now suffered enough for the red shoes," said she ; " so now I will go to church, that
people may see me." And she hobbled up to the church door, but had no sooner reached it, than
the red shoes danced before her, and frightened her back.
She was in deep affliction that whole week, and shed many bitter tears ; but when Sunday
came round again, she said : " I have now suffered and struggled enough ! I believe I am quite as
good as many of those who are sitting at church, and bridling up." And she sallied boldly forth,
but she reached no farther than the churchyard gate ; for she saw the red shoes dancing before her,
and was so frightened that she turned back,
and heartily repented of her sins.
She then went to the parsonage, and
begged, as a favour, to be taken into the
family's service, promising to be diligent, and
to do everything she could. She did not
care about wages ; all she wanted was to
have a roof over her head, and to be with
good people. The preacher's wife felt com-
passion for her, and took her into her ser-
vice ; and she proved very industrious and
very thoughtful. She sat and listened with
deep attention when the preacher read the
Bible aloud in the evening. All the children
made much of her ; but when they spoke
of dress, or finery, or beauty, she would then
shake her head.
On the following Sunday they all went
to church, and they asked her if she would
accompany them ; but she looked at her
crutches with tearful eyes. And so the others
went forth to listen to the Word of God,
while she repaired alone to her little chamber,
that was only just large enough to contain a
bed and a chair. And here she sat down
ALL THE CHILDREN MADE MUCH OP HER. With her psalm-book in her hand ; and as
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
she read its pages, in a pious frame of mind, the wind
wafted to her the sounds of the organ from the church,
and she raised her tearful countenance, saying : " O Lord,
do Thou succour me ! "
Then the sun shone brightly, and before her stood God's
angel, in white clothes, such as she had seen him that night
near the church door ; only he no longer bore the sharp
sword in his hand, but held a beautiful green branch, all full
of roses ; and he touched the ceiling with it, and the ceiling
forthwith became lofty ; and at the spot where he had
touched it shone a golden star. And he touched the walls,
and they widened ; and she could see the organ that was
being played upon. She saw, too, the old pictures of the
preachers and their wives, and the congregation sitting on
their neat chairs, and singing out of their psalm-books.
For the church itself had come to the poor girl in her
small chamber, or she had come to it. She sat on a chair,
amongst the rest of the preacher's servants, and when they
had finished the psalm, and looked up, they nodded, and
said : " That was right of you to come, Karen."
" It is by the grace of God," said she.
And the organ pealed forth, and the chorus of chil-
dren's voices sounded most sweet and lovely ! The bright
sunshine shed its warm rays through the window, over the
pew where Karen sat ; and her heart was so overwhelmed with sunshine, peace, and joy, that it
broke ; and her soul was carried up to God on a sunbeam, and in Heaven there was no one who
asked about the red shoes.
HER SOUL WAS CARRIED UP TO GOD.
The Chimney Sweep
THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE CHIMNEY-
SWEEPER
AVE you ever seen an old wooden cupboard, quite black with
age, and ornamented with carved scrolls and foliage, and
nondescript figures? Just such an one stood in a sitting-
room ; it was a legacy left by the great-grandmother of the
family — it was covered from top to bottom with carved roses
and tulips. There were the oddest scrolls, out of which
peeped little stags' heads with their antlers. But in the
middle of the cupboard was represented the full-length figure
of a man ; it is, true he was rather ridiculous to look at, and
was grinning — for one could not call it laughing — and, more-
over, he had goat's legs, little horns upon his head, and a long
beard. The children always called him General-and-Lieutenant-
General-Goat-Bandylegs-Field-Sergeant — there's a name for
you ! rather difficult to pronounce, certainly, nor are there many
who obtain such a title — but to have had him carved was
something indeed ! However, there he was. He was always
looking at the table under the looking-glass, where stood a pretty little china shepherdess.
Her shoes were gilt, and her dress was ornamented with a red rose, besides which she had a
golden hat and a crook ; she was marvellously pretty to behold. Close by her side stood a
little chimney-sweeper, as black as a coal, though likewise of china ; he was just as clean and
THE CHIMNEY SWEEP
as delicate as another, and as to his being a chimney-sweeper, it was only that he represented one ;
the potter might just as well have made a prince out of him, for it would have been all one !
There he stood so elegantly with his ladder, and with a countenance as white and as rosy as
a girl's — indeed, this was, properly speaking, a fault, for his face ought to have been rather black.
He stood close to the shepherdess ; they had both been placed where they stood ; and having
been so placed, they became betrothed to each other. They were well matched, being both
young people, made of
the same china, and
equally fragile.
Close to them sat
another figure, three
times their size. He
was an old Chinese,
who could nod his head.
He also was made of
china, and pretended to
be the grandfather of
the little shepherdess ;
but this he could not
prove. He maintained
that he was entitled to
control her, and, there-
fore, when General-and-
Lieutenant - General -
Goat- Band}-legs - Field -
Sergeant asked for the
little shepherdess's hand,
he had nodded consent.
" You will obtain
in him," said the old
Chinese, " a husband
whom I verily believe
to be of mahogany. You
will become the lady
of General - and - Lieu-
tenant - General - Goat -
Bandylegs - Field - Ser -
geant ! and he has a
whole cupboardful of
plate, to say nothing of
what may be hid in the
spring-drawers and se-
cret compartments."
" I don't choose to
live in the dark cup-
board," said the little
shepherdess. " I have
heard say that he has
eleven china wives in it
already."
" Then you can be-
come the twelfth ! " said
the Chinese. To-night,
as soon as you hear a creaking in the old press, your wedding shall take place, as true as I'm a
Chinese." And thereupon he nodded his head, and fell asleep.
But the little shepherdess cried, and looked at her sweetheart, the china chimney-sweeper.
" I entreat you," said she, " to go with me into the wide world, for we can't remain here."
" I will do anything you please," said the little chimney-sweeper ; " let us set out immediately.
t think I can maintain you with my profession."
I ENTREAT YOU TO GO WITH ,ME INTO THE WIDE WORLD. '
8
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
" I wish we were but safe down from the table ! " said she. " I shall not be easy till we are
out in the wide world."
And he comforted her, and showed her how she might set her little foot on the carved pro-
jections and gilt foliage of the feet of the table ; besides, he took his ladder to help, and so
they managed to reach
the floor. But when
they looked towards
the old cupboard, they
saw it was all in an
uproar. The carved
stags poked out their
heads, raised their
antlers, and turned
their necks. The Gen-
eral - and - Lieutenant -
General - Goat - Bandy-
legs - Field - Sergeant
was cutting tremend-
ous capers, and bawling
out to the Chinese :
" They are running
away ! they are running
away ! "
The fugitives were
somewhat frightened,
and jumped into the
drawer in the window-
seat.
Here lay several
packs of cards, that
w^re not complete, and
a little dolls' theatre,
which had been built
up as neatly as could
be. A play was being
represented, and all
the queens, whether of
hearts or diamonds,
spades or clubs, sat in
the front row, fanning
themselves with their
tulips ; and behind
them stood all the
knaves, and showed
that they had heads,
both upwards and
downwards as playing-
cards have. The play
was about two lovers,
who were not allowed
to marry ; and the
shepherdess cried, for
it seemed just like her
own story.
" I cannot bear it,"
said she ; " I must
leave the drawer." But when they had reached the floor, and looked up at the table, there was
the old Chinese awake, and shaking himself— and down he came on the floor like a lump.
" The old Chinese is coming 1 " shrieked the little shepherdess, falling on her china knee, for
she was much affected.
THEY SAW THE OLD CUPBOARD WAS ALL IN AN UPROAR.
THE CHIMNEY SWEEP
9
SHE FELL ON HER CHINA KNEE,
" 1 have thoucjht of a plan," said tlie chimney-sweeper.
" Suppose we creep into the jar of perfumes that stands in
the corner. There we might he upon roses and lavender,
.ind throw salt into his eyes if he comes near us."
" That would be of no use," said she. " Besides, I know
that the old Chinese and the jar were formerly betrothed,
and there always remains a degree of good-will when one
has been on such terms. No ! we have nothing for it but to
;_;o out into the wide world ! "
" Have you really the courage to go out into the wide
world with me?" asked the chimney-sweeper. " Have you
rcHccted how large it is, and that we can never come back
hither ? "
" I have," said she.
And the chimney-sweeper looked hard at her, and said :
" My way lies through the chimney. Have you really the
courage to go with me, not only through the stove itself, but
to creep through the flue ? We shall then come out by the
chimney, and then I know how to manage. We shall climb
so high that they won't be able to reach us, and quite at
the top is a hole that leads out into the wide world."
And he led her to the door of the stove.
" It looks very black," said she ; still, in she went with
him, both through the stove and through the pipe, where it
was as dark as pitch.
" Now we are in the chimney," said he ; " and look !
there shines the most beautiful star above ! "
And it was a real star in the sky that seemed to shine down upon them as though it would
Hght them on their way. And now they climbed and crept, and a frightful way it was — so steep
and so high I But he went first, and smoothed it as
much as he could ; he held her, and showed her the
best places to set her little china foot upon, and so
they managed to reach the edge of the chimney-pot,
on which they sat down — for they were vastly tired,
as may be imagined.
The sky and all its stars was above them, and all
the roofs of the town lay below. They saw far
around them, and c great way out into the wide
world. It was not like what the poor shepherdess
had fancied it. She leaned her little head on her
chimney-sweeper's shoulder, and cried till she washed
the gilding off her sash. "This is too much ! " said
she ; " it is more than I can bear. The world is too
lar
RUDY CLUNG
TO THE STEM
OF A TREE.
THE ICE-MAIDEN; OR, THE EAGLE'S NEST 55
a distance
reeds, and
above him up to the branches and held fast, while the avalanche rolled past at
of a few yards ; but the rush of air broke the trees and bushes all around like
cast the fragments down, and left Rudy
pressed to the earth. The tree-stem to
which he had held was broken, and the top
flung to a distance ; there, among the broken
branches, lay imcle, his head crushed ; his
hand was still warm, but you would not
know his face. Rudy stood pale and trembl-
ing ; it was the first shock in his life, the
first time he had felt horror.
It was late when he brought the tidings
of death to what was now a sorrowful home.
The wife was speechless and tearless until
they brought the body home, then her grief
broke forth. The unfortunate cretin hid
himself in his bed, nor did they see him all
the next day ; but in the evening he came
to Rudy.
" Write a letter for me ! Saperli can-
not write ! Saperli can go with the letter to
the post ! "
" A letter from thee ? " exclaimed Rudy.
" And to whom ? "
" To the Lord Christ ! "
" What do you mean ? "
And the half-idiot, as they called the
cretin, cast a pathetic glance at Rudy, folded
his hands, and said solemnly and slowly :
" Jesus Christ ! Saperli wishes to send a letter to ask Him that Saperli may lie dead, and not
the man in this house."
And Rudy took him by the hand. " That letter would not go there ! that letter would not
bring him back."
But it was impossible for Rudy to make him understand..
" Now thou art the support of the house," said the widow, and Rudy became so
'WRITE A LErrEK KOR ME
IHIC LORD CHRIST.
IV
BABETTE
HO is the best shot in the canton of Vallais ?
Even the chamois knew. " Take care of
Rudy's shooting ! " they said. " Who is
the handsomest huntsman ? " "Rudy is!"
said the maidens, but they did not say,
" Take care of Rudy's shooting ! " nor did
their serious mothers say so either ; he
nodded to them as lightly as he did to a
young girl ; for he was brave and joyous,
his cheeks were brown, his teeth sound
and white, and his eyes coal-black and
sparkling ; he was a handsome fellow,
and not more than twenty. The ice-cold
water did not hurt him in swimming ;
he swam like a fish, could climb better
than any other man, could hold fast like a snail to the walls of rock, for his muscles and sinews
56
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
were good ; and you saw when he leapt that he had taken lessons from the cat and from the
chamois. Rudy was the surest guide to depend on, and might have made his fortune in that
way ; his uncle had also taught him coopering, but he gave little thought to that, for his pleasure
and delight was in shooting the chamois ; and in this way he earned money. Rudy was a good
match, as they say, if he did not look above his own position. And he was a dancer among
dancers so that the maidens dreamt of him, and some of them even thought of him when waking.
" He gave me a kiss at the dance ! " said Annette, the
schoolmaster's daughter, to her dearest friend ; but she ought
not to have said that even to her dearest friend. Such a
secret is not easy to keep : it is like sand in a bag full of
holes, it will run out ; and they all soon knew that Rudy
had given her a kiss at the dance, though he had not kissed
the one that he wanted to kiss.
"Just watch him!" said an old huntsman; "he has
kissed Annette ; he has begun w iih A, and he will kiss all
through the alphabet."
A kiss at the dance was all that the gossips could say
against Rudy so far ; but although he had kissed Annette,
she was not the flower of his heart.
Down at Bex, among the great walnut-trees, close to a
little rapid mountain stream, there lived a rich miller ; his
dwelling-house was a big building of three floors, with small
turrets, roofed with shingle and ornamented with metal plates
which shone in the rays of the sun or the moon ; the biggest
turret had for a weather-cock a glittering arrow which had
transfixed an apple, in memory of Tell's marksmanship. The
mill appeared fine and prosperous, and one could both sketch
and describe it, but one could not sketch or describe the
miller's daughter ; at least, Rudy says one could not, and
yet he had her image in his heart. Her eyes had so beamed
upon him that they had quite kindled a flame ; this had come
quite suddenly, as other fires come, and the strangest thing
was, that the miller's daughter, the charming Babette, had no
thought of it, as she and Rudy had never spoken to each
other.
The miller was rich, and his riches made Babette hard to
a])proach ; " But nothing is so high," said Rudy to himself,
" that a man can't get up to it ; a man must climb, and he
need not fall, nor lose faith in himself." This lesson he had
learnt at home.
It happened one day that Rudy had business at Bex,
and it was quite a journey, for the railway did not then
go there. From the Rhone glacier, at the foot of the Simplon, between many and various
mountain-heights, stretches the broad valley of the Rhone, whose flood often overflows its banks,
overwhelming everything. Between the towns of Sion and St. Maurice the valley bends in
the shape of an elbow, and below St. Maurice it is so narrow that it hardly allows room for more
than the river itself and a narrow road. An old tower stands here on the mountain side, as a
sentry to mark the boundary of the canton of Vallais, opposite the stone bridge by the toll-house ;
and here begins the canton Vaud, not far from the town of Bex. As you advance you notice the
increase of fertility, you .seem to have come into a garden of chestnuts and walnut-trees ; here and
there are cypresses and pomegranates in flower ; there is a southern warmth, as if you had come
into Italy.
Rudy arrived at Bex, finished his business, and looked about him ; but never a lad from the
mill, not to mention Babette, could he see. This was not what he wished.
It was now towards evening ; the air was full of the scent of the wild th\me and of the flowers
of the limes ; a shining veil seemed to hang over the wooded mountains, with a stillness, not of
sleep, nor of death, but rather as if nature were holding its breath, in order to have its likeness
photographed on the blue vault of heaven. Here and there between the trees, and across the green
fields stood poles, to support the telegraph wires, already carried through that tranquil valley ; by
" HE GAVE ME A KISS AT THE
DANCE."
THE ICE-MAIDEN ; OR, THE EAGLE'S NEST 57
one of these leaned an object, so still that it might have been mistaken for a tree-stump, but it
was Rudy, who was as still and quiet as everything about him ; he was not asleep, and he certainly
was not dead. But thoughts were rushing through his brain, thoughts mighty and overwhelming,
which were to mould his future.
His eyes were directed to one point amidst the leaves, one light in the miller's parlour where
Babette lived. So still was Rudy standing, that you might believe he was taking aim at a chamois,
for the chamois will sometimes stand for an instant as if a part of the rock, and then suddenly,
startled by the rolling of a stone, will spring away ; and so it was with Rud)- — a sudden thought
startled him.
" Never give up!" he cried. "Call at the
mill ! Good evening to the miller, good day
to Babette. A man doesn't fall when he doesn't
think about it ; Babette must see me at some
time if I am ever to be her husband."
Rudy laughed, for he was of good cheer,
and he went to the mill ; he knew well enough
what he wished for — he wished for Babette.
The river, with its )'ellowish water, rushed
along, and the willows and limes overhung its
banks; Rudy went up the path, and as it sa)s
in the old children's song :
" to the miller's house,
But found no one at home
E.xcept little Puss ! "
The parlour cat stood on the steps, put up
his back, and said " Miou !" but Rudy had no
thought for that speech ; he knocked at the
door ; no one heard, no one opened it. " Miou ! "
said the cat. If Rudy had been little, he would
have understood animals' language, and known
that the cat said : " There's no one at home ! "
So he went over to the mill to ask, and there
he got the information. The master had gone
on a journey, as far as the town of Interlaken,
" inter lac fis^heiween the lakes," as the school-
master, Annette's father, had explained it in a
lesson. The miller was far away, and Babette
with him ; there was a grand shooting competi-
tion— it began to-morrow, and went on for eight
days. Switzers from all the German cantons
would be there.
Unlucky Rudy, you might say, this was not
a fortunate time to come to Be.x ; so he turned
and marched above St. Maurice and Sion to his
own valley and his own mountains ; but he was
not disheartened. The sun rose ne.xt morning,
but his spirits were already high, for they had never set.
" Babette is at Interlaken, many days' journey from hence," he said to himself. " It is a long
way there if one goes by the high road, but It is not so far if you strike across the mountains,
as I have often done in chamois-hunting. There is my old home, where I lived when little with my
grandfather ; and the shooting-match is at Interlaken ! I will be the best of them ; and I will be
with Babette, when I have made acquaintance with her."
With his light knapsack, containing his Sunday suit and his gun and game-bag, Rudy went
up the mountain by the short wa>', which was, however, pretty long ; but the shooting-match only
began that day and was to last over a week, and all that time, he was told, the miller and Babette
. would spend with their relations at Interlaken. So Rudy crossed the Gemmi, meaning to come
down near Grindelwald.
Healthy and joyful, he stepped along, up in the fresh, the light, the invigorating mountain air.
THE PARLOUR CAT STOOD ON THE STEPS.
58
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
The valley sank deeper, the horizon opened wider ; here was a snow-peak, and there another,
and soon he could see the wliole shining range of the Alps. Rudy knew every snow-mountain,
and he made straight for the Schreckhorn, which raised its white-sprinkled, stony fingers high into
the blue air.
At length he crossed the highest ridge. The pastures stretched down towards his own
valley ; the air was light, and he felt merry ; mountain and valley smiled with abundance of
flowers and verdure ; his heart was full of thoughts of youth : one should never become old, one
need never die ; to live, to conquer, to be happy ! free as a bird — and he felt like a bird. And
the swallows flew by him, and sang, as they used to do in his childhood : " We and j-ou, and >'ou
and we ! " All was soaring and rejoicing.
Below lay the velvety green meadow, sprinkled with brown chalets, and the LUtschine
humming and rushing. He saw the glacier, with its bottle-green edges covered with earth-soiled
snow ; he saw the deep fissures, and the upper and the lower glacier. The sound of the church
bells came to him, as if they were ringing to welcome
him home ; his heart beat more strongly, and swelled
so that Babette was forgotten for a moment, so large
was his heart and so full of memories !
He again went along the way where he had stood
as a little urchin with the other children, and sold the
carved chalets. He saw among the pines his grand-
father's house, but strangers now lived in it. Children
came along the path to sell things, and one of them
offered him an Alpine rose ; Rudy took it as a good
omen, and he thought of Babette. He soon crossed the
bridge where the two Lutschine unite ; the trees here
grew thicker, and the walnuts gave a refreshing shade.
He now saw the flag waving, the white cross on a red
background, the flag of the Switzers and the Danes ; and
now he had reached Interlaken.
This, Rudy thought, was certainly a splendid town.
It was a Swiss town in Sunday dress ; not like other
places, crowded with heavy stone houses, ponderous,
strange, and stately. No ! here it seemed as if the
chalets had come down from the mountains into the
green valley, close by the clear, rapid stream, and had
arranged themselves in a row, a little in and out, to
make a street. And the prettiest of all the streets — yes,
that it certainly was ! — had sprung up since Rudy was
here, when he was little. It seemed to have been built
of all the charming chalets which his grandfather had
carved and stored in the cabinet at home, and they had
grown up here by some power like the old, oldest chest-
nut-trees. Each house was a hotel, with carved woodwork on the windows and doors, and a pro-
jecting roof, and was elegantly built ; and in front of the house was a flower-garden, between it
and the broad, macadamized road ; all the houses stood on one side of the road, so as not to
hide the fresh green meadows, where the cows wandered about with bells like those in the high
Alpine pastures. It seemed to be in the midst of loft)- mountains, which had drawn apart in
one direction to allow the snow-clad peak of the Jungfrau to be seen, most lovely of all the Swiss
mountains.
There were a great many well-dressed visitors from foreign countries as well as many Switzers
from the different cantons. Each competitor had his number in a garland on his hat. Singing
and playing on all kinds of instruments were to be heard ever\'where, mingled with cries and
shouts. Mottoes were put up on the houses and bridges, flags and pennons floated in the breeze ;
the crack of the rifles was frequently heard, and Rudy thought this the sweetest sound of all ;
indeed, in the excitement of the moment he quite forgot Babette, although he had come on
purpose to meet her.
The marksmen now went in the direction of the target. Rudy went with them, and was the-
best shot of them all — he hit the bull's-eye every time.
" Who is that young stranger who shoots so well ? " the onlookers asked each other. " He
OFFERED HIM AN ALPINE ROSE.
THE ICE-MAIDEN; OR, THE EAGLE'S NEST 59
talks French as they do in canton Vallais. But he also speaks German very well," others
replied.
" They say he was brought up near Grindelwald," one of the competitors remarked.
There was life in the fellow, his eyes shone, his arm was steady, and for that reason he never
failed in hitting the mark. Courage comes with success, but Rudy had a store of natural courage.
Admiring friends soon gathered around him, and complimented him on his success ; he altogether
forgot Babette. Then some one laid his hand on his shoulder, and spoke to him in French.
" You belong to the canton of Vallais ? "
Rudy turned, and saw a burly individual with a rosy, good-humoured face. It was the
wealthy miller from Bex ; his stout form almost concealed the pretty, slim Sabette, but she looked
at Rudy with her sparkling, dark eyes. The miller was glad that a rifleman from his own canton
should prove the best shot, and should have won universal applause. Rudy was certainly in luck,
for although he had forgotten his principal object in coming, she had now come forward to him.
When neighbours meet one another at a distance from home they generally get talking, and
make each other's acquaintance. Because Rudy was a good shot he had become a leader at the rifle
competition, just as much as the miller was at Bex, because of his wealth and his good business;
so they clasped each
other by the hand for
the first time; Babette
also offered her hand
to Rudy who squeez-
ed it, and looked at
her so earnestly that
-^lie quite blushed.
The miller spoke
of their long journey,
and how many large
towns they had come
through ; and it cer-
tainly seemed to have
been a very long
journey, as they had
travelled by the
steamboat, and also
by rail and by post-
chaise.
" I came the
nearest way," said
Rudy. " I walked
over the mountains ; no road is too high for a man to come over it."
" And break your neck," said the miller. " You look just the man to break his neck one day,
you look so headstrong."
" A man doesn't fall if he doesn't think about it," replied Rudy.
The miller's relatives in Interlaken, with whom he and Babette were staying, asked Rudy
to visit them, as he was from the same canton. This was a chance for Rudy ; fortune favoured
him, as she always does favour those who endeavour to succeed by their own energy, and re-
member that " Providence gives us nuts, but we have to crack them for ourselves."
Rudy was welcomed by the miller's relatives as if he had belonged to the family, and they
drank to the health of the best shot, and Babette clinked her glass with the others, and Rudy
thanked them for the toast.
In the evening they went for a stroll on the road by the big hotels beneath the old walnut-
trees, and there was such a throng, and the people pushed so that Rudy was able to offer his arm
to Babette. He said he was glad to have met the people from Vaud. The cantons of Vaud and
Vallais were very good neighbours. He seemed so thoroughly pleased that Babette could not
resist the inclination to press his hand. They walked together just like old acquaintances, and she
was very amusing. Rudy was delighted with her naive remarks on the peculiarities in the dress
and behaviour of the foreign ladies ; and yet she did not wish to make fun of them, for she knew
that many of them were amiable and worthy people — indeed, her own godmother was an English
lady. She had been living in Bex eighteen years ago, when Babette was christened, and she had
bl.N'GI.N'G AND TLAYING ON ALL KINDS OF INSTRUMENTS.
6o
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
given her the valuable brooch she was now wearing. Her godmother had twice written to her,
and Babette was now hoping to see her and her daughters in Interlaken. " They were two old
maids, almost thirty ! " said Babette ; but you must remember that she was only eighteen.
Her little tongue was never still for an instant, and all that Babette had to say was intensely
interesting to Rudy ; and he told her all about himself — that he had frequently been to Bex, and
knew the mill well, and that he had often seen her, though he did not suppose she had ever noticed
him ; and how he had called at the mill, hoping to see her, and found that her father and she were
away from home, a long way from home, indeed, but not so far that he could not get over the
barrier which divided them.
He told her a great deal more than this. He told her that he was very fond of her, and that
he had come here on purpose to see her, and not for the rifle competition.
Babette was vcr\- quiet when he told her this ; she thought he set too high a value on her.
While they continued rambling, the sun set behind the mighty wall of rock ; the Jungfrau
stood out in all its beauty and magnificence, with the green of the tree-clad slopes on either side
of it. All stood still to admire the gorgeous spectacle, and both Rudy and Babette were happy
in watching it.
" There is no place more lovely than this ! " said Babette.
" No, indeed 1 " exclaimed Rudy, and then he looked at Babette.
" I must go home to-morrow," he said, after a short silence.
" You must come to see us at Bex," Babette whispered to him ; " my father will be pleased."
V
THE RETURN HOME
H what a load Rud_\' liad to carry home with him over the moun-
tains the next day ! He had won three silver cups,
two rifles, and a silver coffee-pot ; this would be of
use to him when he began housekeeping. But that
was not the heaviest thing ; there was something
heavier and stronger which he carried with him — or
which carried him — on that return journey over the
mountains. The weather was wild, dull, heavy, and
wet ; dense clouds covered the mountain tops like a
thick veil, quite hiding the snowy peaks. From the
vallcN's he heard the sound of the woodman's axe,
and huge trunks of trees rolled down the steep
mountain sides ; they seemed only like small
sticks, but they were big enough for masts.
The I 'itschine rushed along with its con-
tinual '\m, the wind shrieked, and the
clouds huiried across the sky. Then Rudy
discovered that a young maid was walking at
his side ; he had not seen her until she was
quite near. She also was about to climb
over the mountain. The girl's eyes had a
strange power ; you could not help looking
at them, and they were wonderful eyes, very
clear, and deep — oh, so deep !
" Have you a sweetheart?" said Rud}',
for that was all he could think of
HAVE YOU A SWEETHEART?" SAID RUDY.
THE ICE-MAIDEN ; OR, THE EAGLE'S NnST 6i
" No, I have not," laughingl}- leplicd the maiden
truth. "Don't go round all that way," she tucn said.
the shortest way."
"Yes, and tumble
down a crevasse ! "
said Rudy. " You're
a fine one to be a
if you don't
better than
but she did not look as if she spoke the
" You must bear more to the left ; that is
guide
know
that ! '
I
way,
" and
O^im^^^^^^^
know the
she replied,
my thoughts
have not gone astray.
Yours are below, in
the valley, but here,
on high, you should
be thinking of the
Ice - Maiden ; people
say that she does not
love men."
"I fear her not!"
exclaimed Rudy.
" She had to yield me
up when I was a bab\',
and I am not going
to yield myself up to
her now that I am a
man."
It grew darker,
and the rain poured
down ; then came the
snow, dazzling and
bewildering.
"Take my hand,"
said the maiden, " I
will help you ; " and
she touched him with
her ice-ci)ld fingers.
"You needn't
help me ! " returned
Rudy ; " I don't need
a girl to teach me to
climb!" and he
hurried on, leaving
her behind. The
snow came down all
around him, the wind
shrieked, and he
heard strange sounds
of laughing and sing-
ing behind him. He
believed she was one
of the spirits in the
Ice-Maiden's train, of
whom he had heard tales when he spent the night up in the mountains as a boy.
The snow ceased to fall, and he was now above the clouds. He looked behind him, but saw no-
body ; yet he heard a strange singing and yodeling that he did not like, as it did not sound human.
When Rudy was quite at the highest ridge, from which the way tended downwards towards
m^,-.:.-
^
THE SNOW CAME DOWN AND THE WIND SHRIEKED.
62
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
the Rhone valley, he saw above Chamonix, in a patch of blue sky, two bright stars shining and
twinkling ; they reminded him of Babette, and of his own good fortune, and the thought Tjade
him feel quite warm.
VI
A VISIT TO THE MILL
'HAT splendid things you have brought back with
you ! " cried his old foster-mother ; and her eagle
eyes sparkled, and her lean neck waved backwards
and forwards more than ever. " You are lucky,
Rudy ! Let me kiss you, my dear boy ! "
And Rudy submitted to be kissed ; but he
looked as if he regarded it as a thi-ng which had to
be put up with. " What a handsome fellow you are
getting, Rudy ! " said the old woman.
" Don't talk such nonsense," Rudy replied, laugh-
ing ; but nevertheless he liked to hear it.
" I say it again,'" said the old woman. " You
are very lucky ! "
"Perhaps you may be right," he rejoined, for he was thinking of Babette.
He had never before been so anxious to go down the valley.
" They must have gone home," he said to himself " They were to have been back two days
ago. I must go to Bex."
So Rudy went to Bex, and found his friends at home at the mill. They received him kindly,
and had brought a message for him from the family at Interlaken. Babette did not speak much ;
she was very quiet, but her eyes spoke volumes, and that satisfied Rudy. Even the miller, who had
always led the conversation, and who had always had his remarks and jokes laughed at on account
of his wealth, seemed to delight in hearing of all Rudy's adventures in his hunting ; and Rudy
described the difficulties and perils which the chamois-hunters have to face among the mountains
— how they must cling to, or creep over, the narrow
ledges of snow which are frozen on to the mountain
sides, and make their way over the snow bridges
which span deep chasms in the rocks. And Rudy's
eyes sparkled as he was relating these hunting
adventures, the intelligence and activity of the
chamois, and the dangers of the tempest and the
avalanche. He perceived as he went on that the
miller grew increasingly interested in his wild life,
and that the old man paid especial attention to his
account of the bearded vulture and the royal eagle.
Among other things, he happened to mention
that, at no great distance, in the canton of Vallais,
an eagle had built its nest most ingeniously under
a steep projecting rock, and that the nest con-
tained a young one which nobody could capture.
Rudy said that an Englishman had offered him a
handful of gold the other day if he could take him
the eaglet alive ; " but there is a limit to every-
thing," said he. "That eaglet cannot be taken ; it
would be foolhardy to try."
But the wine assisted the flow of conversation :
and Rudy thought the evening all too short, though
he did not start on his return journey until past
midnight, the first time he visited the mill.
Lights were still to be seen at the windows of
the mill ; and the parlour cat came out at an (ipening
in the roof, and met the kitchen cat on the gutter
" Have you heard the news at the mill ? " said kudy subnutted to be kissed.
THE ICE-MAIDEN ; OR, THE EAGLE'S NEST 63
THEY TROD ON ME MORE THAN ONCE.
usual high spirits, happy i
ask that same evening.
In the evening,
when the omnibus was
returning, Rudy was
again inside ; but the
parlour cat had great
news to tell.
" Do you know it,
you from the kitchen ?
The miller knows every-
thing. That was a fine
end to the expedition !
Rudy came here towards
the evening, and he and
Babette had much to
whisper about ; they
stood in the passage
which leads to the
miller's room. I lay at
their feet, but they had
neither ej'es nor
thoughts for me. ' I am
going straight in to your
father ! ' said Rudy ;
' that is the fair thing.'
' Shall I accompany
you ? ' said Babette ; ' it
will encr)urage you.' ' I
have sufficient courage I '
said Rudy, ' but if you
go too, he must look
kindly on us, whether he
will or no I ' And they
both went in. Rudy
trod violently on my
tail. Rudy is very
clumsy I 1 mewed, but
neither he nor Babette
had ears to hear me.
They opened the door,
and they both went in,
I in front ; but I sprang
up or the back of a
chair, for I could not ,
tell how Rudy would
n the
the parlour cat. " There's love-making going on in the house I
The father doesn't know of it. Rudy and Babette have been
treading on each other's paws all the evening under the table.
They trod on me more than once, but I kept quiet, lest it should
be noticed."
" I would have mewed," replied the kitchen cat.
" Kitchen behaviour will not suit the parlour," said the
parlour cat ; " but I should like to know what the miller will
say when he hears of the love-making."
What will the miller say, indeed ? Rudy, also, wanted to
know that ; and he would not wait very long without finding it
out. So a .few days later, when the omnibus rolled over the
- Rhone bridge between»Vallais and Vaud, Rudy was in it, in his
expectation of a favourable answer to the question he intended to
THEY OPENED THE DOOR AND BOTH WENT IN.
64
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
kick. But the miller kicked ! and it was a good kick ! out of the door, and into the mountains to
the chamois ! Rudy may aim at them, and not at our little Babette."
"But what did they talk about?" asked the kitchen cat.
" Talk ? They talked of everything that people say when they go a-wooing : ' I am fond
of her, and slie is fond of me! and when there is milk in the pail for one, there is also milk in the
pail for two ! ' ' But she sits too high for you I ' said the miller ; ' she sits on grits, on golden grits;
you can't reach her ! ' ' Nothing sits so high that a man can't reach it, if he will ! ' said Rudy ; for
he was very pert. ' But you can't reach the eaglet — you said so yourself! Babette sits higher ! ' ' I
will take them both ! ' said Rudy. ' Yes, I will give her to you, when you give me the eaglet
alive ! ' said the miller, and laughed till the tears stood in his eyes ; ' but now I thank you for your
visits, Rudy ; come again in the morning, and you will find no one at home I Farewell, Rudy ! '
And Babette also said farewell, as miserable as a little kitten that can't see its mother. ' An honest
man's word is as good as his bond ! ' said Rudy. ' Don't cry, Babette ; I shall bring the eaglet ! '
' You will break your neck, I hope ! ' said the miller, ' and so put an end to your race I ' I call tJiat
a kick ! Now Rudy is off, and Babette sits and cries, but the miller sings German songs that he
has learnt on his journey ! I won't grieve over that now ; it can't be helped ! "
" But yet there is still some hope for him ! " said the kitchen cat.
VII
^ THE EAGLE'S NEST
^— ROM the mountain path sounds the yodeling, merry and
■^ strong, telling of good spirits and dauntless courage ; it is
Rudy — he is going to see his friend
Vesinaud.
" You will help me ! we will take
Ragli with us. I must capture the
eaglet up the face of the mountain ! "
" Won't you take the spots of
che moon first ; that is as easy ! " said Vesinaud. " You are
in good spirits ! "
" Yes, for I am thinking of getting married ! But now, to
be in earnest, I will tell you what I am intending ! "
And soon Vesinaud and Ragli knew what Rudy wished.
" You are a daring lad ! " said they. " You will not get
there ! You will break your neck ! "
" A man does not fall down, when he does not think of it ! " said Rudy.
THEY SET OFF WITH POLES, LADDERS, AND ROPES.
THE ICE-MAIDEN; OR, THE EAGLE'S NEST 65
At midnight they set off with poles, ladders, and ropes ; the way was through thickets and
bushes, and over rolling stones, always up, up in the gloomy night. The water rushed below, the
water murmured above, heavy clouds drove through the air. When the hunters reached the pre-
cipitous face of the mountain it was still darker, the rocky walls were almost met, and the sky
could only be seen high up in a small cleft. Close by, under them, was the deep abyss with its
rushing waters. All three sat quite still, waiting for daybreak, when the eagle would fly out ; for
they must first shoot it before they could think of taking the young one. Rudy sat down, as still
as if he were a piece of the stone he sat on. He had his gun in his
hand ready to shoot ; his eyes were fi.xed on the topmost cleft, where,
under a projecting ledge, the eagle's nest was concealed.
After waiting long, the hunters heard high above them a cracking,
rushing sound ; and suddenly they saw a great, hovering object. Two
gun-barrels were pointed as the great black figure of the eagle flew out ^
of its nest. One shot was heard ; for a moment the bird moved its
outstretched wings, and then slowly fell, as if with its greatness and the
extension of its wings it would fill the whole of the chasm, and carr\
the hunters with it in its fall. The eagle sank into the depths ; and
brushing against the branches of trees and bushes, broke them as it fell
IN THE BLACK GAPING DEPTH SAT THE ICE-MAlDli.N.
And now the hunters began work. They tied three of the longest
ladders together, setting them up from the last secure foothold at the
side of the precipice. But the ladders did not quite reach ; the nest
was higher up, hidden safe below the projecting rock, where it was as
smooth as a wall. After some deliberation they decided to tie two
ladders together, and lower them into the cleft from above, and join
them to the three which had been set up from below. With great
trouble they drew up the two ladders and secured the rope ; they were
then suspended over the projecting rock, and hung swinging over the
abyss, and Rudy took his place on the lowest rung. It was an ice-
cold morning, and vapours rose from the black chasm. Rudy sat out
there as a fly sits on a waving straw which some bird has taken to the
top of some high factory-chimney ; but the fly can fly away if the straw
gets loose, while Rudy can only break his neck. The wind whispered
about him, and below, in the abyss, rushed the hurrying water from the
melting glacier, the Ice-Maiden's palace.
When Rudy began to climb, the ladders trembled and swung like
a spider's web ; but when he reached the fourth ladder he found it
IT WAS CAPTUREn AI.IVE
oo
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
secure, for the lashing had been well done. The topmost ladder was flattened against the
rock, yet it swung ominously with Rudy's weight. And now came the most dangerous part of
the climb. But Rudy knew this, for the cat had taught him ; he did not think about Giddi-
ness, which hovered in the air behind him, and stretched its octopus-like arms towards him.
Now he stood on the highest rung of the ladder, and found that after all it did not reach high
enough for him to see into the nest ; he could only reach up to it with his hands. He tested
the firmness of the thick plaited boughs that supported the lower part of the nest, and when
he found a thick and firm bough, he pulled himself up by it till he got his head and chest over the
nest. But there poured upon him an overpowering smell of carrion ; putrefying lambs, chamois,
and birds lay here torn to pieces. Giddiness, which was not able to reach him, puffed the poisonous
exhalation into his face, to confuse him, and below, in the black gaping depth, over the hurrying
water, sat the Ice-Maiden herself, with her long greenish hair, staring with deathly eyes like two
gun-barrels, and saying to herself, " Now I shall capture you ! "
In a corner of the nest he saw a large and powerful eaglet, which could not yet fly. Rudy
fastened his eyes on it, held himself with all the force of one hand, and cast, with the other hand, a
noose over the young bird. Thus, with its legs entangled in the line, it was captured alive. Rudy
threw the noose with the bird in it over his shoulder, so that it hung a good way below him,
and by the help of a rope he made himself fast till his toes reached the highest rung of the
ladder.
" Hold fast I don't believe you will fall, and you won't fall ! " this was his old lesson, and he
stuck to it ; he held fast, he scrambled, he was certain he should not fall, and he did not fall.
And now was heard a yodel, so vigorous and joyful. Rudy stood on the firm rock with his
eaglet.
VIII
ERE is what you demanded ! " said Rudy, entering
the miller's house at Bex ; and, setting on the floor a
large basket, he took off the cloth, and there glared from
it two yellow, black-rimmed eyes, so sparkling, so wild,
that they seemed to burn and devour everything they
saw ; the short, strong beak gaped, ready to bite, the
neck was red and downy.
" The eaglet ! " shouted the miller. Babette gave
one scream, and sprang aside, but she could not turn
her eyes away from Rudy or the eaglet.
" You are not to be frightened ! " said the miller.
" And you always keep your word ! " said Rudy ;
" each has his own characteristic ! "
" But how is it you did not break )'our neck ? " inquired the miller.
" Because I held fast ! " answered Rud\', " and that I do still ! I hold fast to Babette 1 "
"First see that you have her!" said the miller with a laugh; and that was a good sign,
Babette knew.
" Let us get the eaglet out of the basket ; it looks dangerous. How it stares ! How did you
catch it ? "
And Rudy had to tell them, and the miller stared, opening his eyes wider and wider.
" With your boldness and luck you can maintain three wives ! " said the miller.
" Thank you I thank you ! " cried Rudy.
said the miller, and jestingly slapped the young
Yes ; still you have not got Babette ! '
hunter on the shoulder.
" Have you heard the news in the mill ? "
let, and will take Babette
brought us the ea;
said the parlour cat to the kitchen cat. " Rudy has
in exchange. They have kissed each other and let
father see it ! That is as good as an engagement. The old man didn't kick ; he drew in his
claws, and took his nap after dinner, and let the two sit and wag their tails. They have so much
to say, they won't be finished before Christmas."
THE ICE-MAIDEN; OR, THE EAGLE'S NEST 67
Nor had they finished before Christmas. The
wind scattered the brown leaves, the snow drifted
in the valley and on the high mountains. The
Ice-Maiden sat in her noble palace, which grows
in the winter ; the rocky walls were coated with
ice, there were icicles ponderous as elephants where
in the summer the mountain-torrent poured its
watery deluge ; ice-garlands of fantastic ice-
crystals glittered on the snow-powdered fir trees.
The Ice-Maiden rode on the whistling wind across
the deepest valleys. The snow carpet was spread
quite down to Bex, and she could come there and
see Rudy within doors, more than he was accus-
tomed to, for he sat with Babette. The marriage
was to take place towards the summer ; he often
had a ringing in his ears, so frequently did his
friends talk of it. There was summer, glowing
with the most beautiful alpine roses, the merry,
laughing Babette, beautiful as spring, the spring
that makes all the birds sing of summer and of
weddings.
" How can those two sit and hang over each other?'' said the parlour cat. " I am now quite
tired of their mewing ! "
KUUV A.NU BABErrt.
IX
THE ICE-MAIDEN
'HE walnuts and chestnut-trees, all hung with the green garlands of
spring, spread from the bridge at St. Maurice to the margin of the
Lake of Geneva along the Rhone, which with violent speed rushes
from its source under the green glacier — the ice palace, where the
Ice-Maiden lives, whence she flies on the wind to the highest snow-
field, and there, in the strong sunlight, stretches herself on her drifting bed.
And as she sits there she looks with far-seeing glance into the deepest valleys,
where men, like ants on a sunlit stone, busily move about.
" Powerful Spirits, as the Children of the Sun call you ! " said the Ice-
Maiden, "you are creeping things! with a rolling snow-ball both you and your
houses and towns are crushed and effaced ! " And she raised her proud head
higher, and looked about her and deep down with deathly eyes. But from the
valley was heard a rumbling, blasting of the rocks ; men were at work ; roads and
tunnels were being made for railways.
" They play like moles ! " said she ; " they are digging passages, therefore I hear
sounds like musket-shots. When I move my castle the sound is louder than the
rolling of thunder."
From the valley arose a smoke, which moved onward like a flickering veil ; it was the flying
plume from a locomotive, which was drawing a train on the recently opened railway, the winding
serpent, whose joints are the carriages.
" They play at masters down below, the Powerful Spirits ! " said the Ice-Maiden. " Yet the
powers of nature are mightier ! " and she laughed and sang, and the valleys resounded.
" Now there is an avalanche rolling ! " said the men below.
But the Children of the Sun sang yet higher of human ideas, the powerful means which
subdue the sea, remove mountains, fill up valleys ; human ideas, they are the lords of the powers
of nature. At the same moment there came over the snow-field, where the Ice- Maiden sat, a party
of mountain climbers ; they had bound themselves to one another with cords for greater security
on the smooth plain of ice, near the deep precipices.
" Creeping things ! " said she. " You the lords of nature ! " and she turned herself away from
them and looked mockingly down into the deep valley, where the railway train was rushing past.
68
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
" There they sit,
these thinkers ! they
sit in their power ! I
see them all ! One
sits proud as a king,
alone ! there they sit
in a cluster ! there
half of them are
asleep ! and when the
steam dragon stops
get out, and go their way.
thinkers go out into the
! " And she lauglied.
There is an avalanche
again ! " said those down
below in the valley.
" It will not reach
us !
PLAY AT MASTERS DOWN
BELOW," SAID THE ICE-MAIDEN.
them
said two people behind the
steam dragon ; " two souls with
one thought," as they say. It
was Rudy and Babette ; the miller also was with them.
As luggage ! " said he. " I am with them as something necessary ! "
"There sit those two!" said the Ice-Maiden. "Many chamois have I crushed,
millions of alpine roses have I snapped and broken, not leaving the roots ! I will blot
out ! Thinkers ! Powerful Spirits ! " And she laughed.
There's an avalanche rolling again ! " said those down below in the valle)-.
X
THE GODMOTHER
.T Montreux, one of the nearest towns which, with Clarens, Vernex, and Glion,
form a garland at the north-eastern end of the Lake of Geneva, lived Babette's
godmother, an English lady of position, with her daughters and a j'oung
relative ; they had recently arrived, but the miller had already paid them
a visit, told them of Babette's engagement, and of Rudy and the eaglet,
and of his visit to Interlaken — in short, the whole history — ard they had been
highly delighted and pleased with Rudy and Babette, and with the miller ;
and at last made them all three come, and so they came — Babette must
see her godmother, the godmother see Babette.
Near the little town of Villeneuve, at the end of the Lake of Geneva,
lay the steamboat which in its half-hour's journey to Vernex lies under
Montreux. This is a shore which poets have praised ; here, under the
walnut-trees, on the deep blue-green lake, sat Byron, and wrote his melodious
lines on the prisoner in the Castle of Chillon. Yonder, where Clarens is
reflected with its weeping willows in the lake, wandered Rousseau, dreaming
of Heloise. The river Rhone glides forth under the high, snow-capped
mountains of Savoy; here lies, not far from its outlet in the lake, a little island — indeed, it is so
small that from the shore it seems to be a boat out there ; it is a rock which, more than a hundred
years ago, a lady had surrounded with a stone wall, covered with soil, and planted with three
acacia-trees, which now overshadow the whole island. Babette was quite enraptured with the
little spot — it was to her the most charming in the whole voyage ; she thought they ought to
stay there, for it was a most delightful place. But the steamboat passed by it, and stopped, as it
always did, at Vernex.
The little company wandered hence between the white, sunlit walls which enclosed the
vineyards about the little mountain town of Montreux, where fig-trees cast a shade in front of the
peasants' cottages, and laurels and cypresses grow in the gardens. Half-way up stood the
boarding-house where the godmother was living.
They were very cordially received. The godmother was a tall, kind lady with a round, smiling
THE ICE-MAIDEN ; OR, THE EAGLE'S NEST 69
face ; as a child she must have been Hke one of Raphael's angel heads, but now she was an old
angel head, as her silvery hair was quite curly. The daughters were handsome, delicate-looking,
tall, and slim. The young cousin, who was with them, was entirely dressed in white from top to
toe, with yellow hair and whiskers, of which he had so much that it might have been divided
between three gentlemen, and he at once paid great attention to little Babette.
Handsomely bound books, pieces of music, and drawings were spread over the large table, the
balcony doors stood open overlooking the beautiful, extensive lake, which was so bright and
still that the mountains of Savoy, with the country towns, woods, and snowy tops, were all re-
flected in it.
Rudy, who was always bold, lively, and confident, felt himself out of his element, as they say ;
and he moved about as if he were walking on peas on a smooth floor. How slowly the
hours passed ! as if on the treadmill. And now they went for a walk, and it was just as tedious ;.
Rudy might have taken two steps forward and then one back, and still kept pace with the others.
They walked down to Chillon, the old gloomy castle on the rock, to see the instruments of torture,,
and death-chambers, the rusty chains on the rocky walls, the stony bed for those sentenced to.
death, the trap-doors through which the unfortunate beings were precipitated downwards and im-
paled on the iron spikes amidst the surf They called it delightful to see all this. It was a place
of execution, elevated by Byron's song into the world of poetry. Rudy felt it altogether the scene
of executions ; he leaned against the great stone window-frames and looked into that deep, bluish-
green water, and over to the little solitary island with the three acacias ; he wished himself there,
and away from the whole chattering party ; but Babette felt herself particularly cheerful. She
said she had been unusually entertained ; she found the cousin perfect.
" Yes, a perfect chatterbox I " said Rudy ; and it was the first time that Rudy said anything
which displeased her. The Englishman had presented her with a little book as a memento of
Chillon ; it was a French version of Byron's poem, Tlie Prisoner of Chillon, which Babette could read.
" The book may be good enough," said Rudy, " but I don't care for the much-combed fellow
who gave it you."
" He seemed to me like a meal-sack without any meal ! " said the miller, laughing at his own
wit. Rudy also laughed, and said that it was very well put.
XI
THE COUSIN
FEW da}^s later, when Rud_\' came to call at the mill, he found the
young Englishman there. Babette was just offering him some boiled
trout, which she herself must have garnished with parsley, it looked so
dainty. That was quite unnecessary. What business had the English-
man here? What did he come for? To enjoy refreshments from the
hands of Babette ? Rudy was jealous, and that amused Babette ; it
gratified her to get a glimpse of all sides of his disposition, both strong
and weak. Love was as yet but play to her, and she played with Rudy's
whole heart ; and though, as one may say, he was her happiness, the
chief thought of her life, the best and grandest in the world ; yes — but
the more gloomy did he look, so much the more did her eyes laugh ;
she could almost have kissed the blonde Englishman with the yellow
whiskers, if b\- that means she could succeed in sending Rudy fuming
away, for by that she would know how she was beloved by him. But
this was not right or prudent of little Babette, only she was no more
than nineteen. She did not think much of it ; she thought still less
how she could explain her conduct, which was more free and easy with
the young Englishman than was suitable for the miller's modest and
recently betrothed daughter.
The mill was situated where the highroad from Bex runs under
wthe snow-covered peak which the country people call the Diablerets,
not far from a rapid, greyish-white mountain stream, like foaming
soap-suds. This did not drive the mill ; it was driven by a lesser
stream, which was precipitated from the rock on the other side of the
river, and was dammed up by a stone wall so as to increase its force
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
and headway, and carried into a closed wooden basin by a broad
channel away over the rapid river. This channel was so abundantly
supplied with water that it overflowed, and made a wet, slippery path
for those who used it as a short cut to the mill. The idea occurred to
the young Englishman to use it, and dressed in white, like a Working
miller, he clambered over in the evening, guided by the light shining
from Babette's room. But he had not learnt to climb, and nearly went
head- foremost into the stream, but escaped with wet sleeves and be-
spattered trousers. Muddy and dirty he came below Babette's windows,
clambered up into the old lime-tree and imitated the call of an owl, for
he could not sing like any other bird. Babette heard it, and peeped
through her thin curtains ; but when she saw the white man, and easily
guessed who it was, her little heart beat with fright and with resentment.
She hastily put out her light, saw that all the window-bolts were
fastened, and left him to hoot.
It would be terrible if Rudy were now in the mill, but Rudy was
not in the mill ; no, what was much worse, he was just below it. There
was high talk, angry words ; there would be fighting, perhaps murder.
Babette opened her window in alarm, called Rudy's name, and told
him to go away.
" You will not let me stay ! " he shouted ; " then it is an appoint-
ment ! You are expecting good friends, better than me ! Shame on
you, Babette ! "
" You are detestable ! " said Babette ; " I hate you ! " and now she
was crying. " Go I go ! "
" I have not deserved this treatment ! " said he, and he went ; his
cheeks were like fire, his heart was like fire.
Babette flung herself on her bed, and wept.
" I love you so much, Rudy ! and you can believe that of me ! "
And she was angry, very angry, and that did her good, for other-
wise she would have been deeply grieved ; now she could fall asleep and sleep the invigorating
sleep of youth.
PEEFED IHROCGH THE
CURTAINS.
XII
THE POWERS OF EVIL
UDY left Bex, and took the homeward jjath up the mountains, in the
fresh, cooling air, the domain of the Ice-Maiden. The thick foliage of
the trees deep below him looked as if they were potato plants ; the firs
and the bushes appeared even less, the Alpine roses bloomed near the
snow, which lay in separate patches as if it were linen put out to bleach.
There was a single blue gentian, and he crushed it with the butt-end of
his gun.
Higher up he saw two chamois. Rudy's eyes sparkled, his
thoughts took a new flight ; but he was not near enough to them
for him to shoot with confidence ; so he climbed higher, where
only coarse grass grew among the blocks of stone ; the chamois
went placidly along the snow-fields. Rudy hurried on eagerly, surrounded by misty clouds, and
on a sudden he stood in front of a precipitous rocky wall, and the rain began to fall in torrents.
He felt a parching thirst, his head was hot, but his limbs were cold. He seized his hunting-
flask, but it was empty ; he had not thought of it when he rushed up the mountain. He had never
been ill, but now he had a presentiment of it ; he was tired, he felt a desire to throw himself down
and go to sleep, but everything was streaming with water. Strange objects vibrated before his
eyes, but he saw on a sudden, what he had never seen there before, a newly-built low house, lean-
ing against the rock, and at the door stood a young maiden. He thought it was the schoolmaster's
Annette, whom he once had kissed at a dance, but it was not Annette, and yet he had seen her
before, perhaps near Grindelwald, that night when he went home from the shooting match at
Interlaken.
THE ICE-MAIDEN; OR, THE EAGLE'S NEST 71
" Where do you come from ? " he demanded.
" I am at home ! " said she. " I am watching my flock."
" Your flock ! Where do they graze ? Here is only
snow and rocks ! "
" You are very clever I " said she with a laugh. " Here
behind us, lower down, is a beautiful meadow ! that is
where my goats go. I take good care of them ! I don't
lose one ; what is mine remains mine ! "
" You are brave ! " said Rudy.
" You also ! " replied she.
" Have you any milk ? Pray give me some, for I am
intolerably thirsty ! "
" I have something better than milk ! " said she, " that
you shall have ! Yesterday some travellers came here with
their guide ; they forgot half a bottle of wine, such as
you have never tasted ; they will not fetch it, and I don't
drink it, so you can have it."
And she came out with the wine, poured it into a
wooden bowl, and gave it to Rudy.
" That is good ! " said he. " I have never tasted any
wine so warming and fiery!" and his eyes sparkled, and
there came an animation, a glow into him, as if all sorrow
and depression had evaporated ; and the gushing, fresh
human nature coursed through his veins.
"But this is surely the schoolmaster's Annette!" he
exclaimed. " Give me a kiss !
" Then give me the pretty ring you have on your
finger ! "
" My engagement ring ? "
" Exactly so I " said the girl ; and she poured wine
into the bowl, and held it to his lips, and he drank
it. The joy of living was in his blood, he felt as if all the world belonged to him, and why
should he worry ? Everything is for us to enjoy and to make us happy ! The stream of life
is a stream of joy ; to ride on it, to let ourselves float on its surface, that is felicity ! He looked at
the young girl : it was Annette, and still it was not Annette ; even less was it the goblin phantom,
as he had called her, he met near Grindelwald. The girl here on the mountain was fresh as the
new-fallen snow, blooming as an Alpine rose,
and nimble as a kid, but still formed out of
Adam's ribs, as human as Rudy. And he put
his arms around her, and gazed into her won-
derfully clear eyes. It was only for a second,
and in this — who can explain it ? was it the
spirit of life or of death that filled him ? — was
he raised on high, or did he sink down into the
deep, murderous abyss of ice, deeper, ever
deeper ? He saw the walls of ice like blue-
green glass ; endless crevasses gaped around
him, and water dripped sounding like chimes,
and gleaming like pearls in bluish-white flames.
The Ice-Maiden gave him a kiss, and it chilled
him through his backbone and into his brain.
He gave one cry of pain, dragged himself away,
stumbled and fell, and it was night before his
eyes. The powers of evil had played their
game.
When he reopened his eyes the Alpine
maiden was gone, as was also the sheltering
cottage. Water drove down the bare rocky
wall, the snow lay all round him ; Rudy shivered the ice-maiden gave him a kiss.
HELD THE BOWL TO HIS LIPS.
72
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
with cold, he was soaked to the skin, and his ring was gone, his engagement ring which Babette
had given him. His gun lay by him in the snow ; he took it up and wished to discharge it, but
it missed fire. Watery clouds lay like solid masses of snow in the crevasse ; Giddiness sat there
and lured on her helpless prey, and under her there was a sound in the deep crevasse as if a huge
rock were falling, crushing and sweeping away everything that would stop it in its fall.
But in the mill Babette sat weeping. Rudy had not been near her for six days — he who
was in the wrong, he who ought to ask her forgiveness, because she loved him with her whole
heart.
XIII
IN THE MILLER'S HOUSE
HAT horrid nonsense it is with these human beings!" said the parlour
cat to the kitchen cat. " Now it is broken off again with Babette and
Rudy. She is crying, and he does not think any more of her."
" I can't endure that," said the kitchen cat.
" No more can I," said the parlour cat, " but I won't grieve over it t
Babette may now be the beloved of the red whiskers ! but he has not
been here since he wished to get on the roof"
The powers of evil have their game, both without us and within
us. This Rudy had discovered and thought over. What was it that
had taken place about him and in him on the top of the mountain ?
Was it a vision, or a feverish dream ? Never before had he known fever or illness. He had
made an examination of his own heart when he judged Babette. Could he confess to Babette
the thoughts which assailed him in the hour of temptation ? He had lost her ring, and it
was exactly in that loss that she had regained him. Would she confess to him ? It seemed as if
his heart would burst asunder when he thought of her; there arose within him so many memories;
he seemed really to see her, laughing like a merry child. Many an affectionate word she had
spoken in the abundance of her heart came like a
gleam of sunshine into his breast, and soon it was
all sunshine therein for Babette.
She might be able to confess to him, and she
ought to do so.
He went to the mill, and confessed, beginning
with a kiss, and ending in the admission that he was
the offender. It was a great offence in him that he
could distrust Babette's fidelity ; it was almost un-
pardonable ! Such distrust, such impetuosity might
bring them both to grief Yes, indeed ! and therefore
Babette lectured him, and she was pleased with her-
self, and it suited her so well. But in one thing
Rudy was right — godmother's relation was a chatter-
box ! She wished to burn the book which he had
given her, and not have the least thing in her
possession that could remind her of him.
" Now that's all over ! " said the parlour cat.
" Rudy is here again, they understand each other,
and that is the greatest good fortune, they say."
" I heard in the night," said the kitchen cat,
" the rats say the greatest good fortune is to eat
tallow-candles and to have quite enough rancid
bacon. Now, which shall I believe — rats, or a pair
of lovers ? "
" Neither of them ! " said the parlour cat. " That
is always safest."
The greatest good fortune for Rudy and Babette
was close at hand ; the wedding day — the most
beautiful day, as they called it.
THEREFORE RAIIKTTE LECTURIiD HIM.
THE ICE-MAIDEN ; OR, THE EAGLE'S NEST 73
But the marriage was not to take place at the church at Bex, or in the miller's house ; the
godmother wished the wedding to be held at her house, and that they should be married in the
pretty little church at Montreux. The miller stuck to it that this request should be compHed
with ; he alone was aware what the godmother intended to give the bride for a wedding present,
and considered they ought to make so slight a concession. The day was fixed. On the previous
evening they were to journey to Villeneuve, and to proceed in the early morning to Montreux by
boat, that the godmother's daughters might deck the bride.
"There will be a feast here the day after the wedding," said the parlour cat. "Otherwise I
would not give one mew for the lot."
" There lui// be a feast ! " said the kitchen cat ; " ducks and pigeons are killed, and a whole
deer hangs on the wall. It makes my mouth water to look at it ! In the morning they start on
their journey."
Yes, in the morning! This evening Rudy and Babette sat together, as betrothed, for the last
lime at the mill.
Out of doors was the Alpine glow, the evening bells chimed, the daughters of the sunbeams
sang : " May the best thing happen ! "
XIV
VISIONS IN THE NIGHT
HE sun was set, the clouds came down in the Rhone valley Between the
high mountains, the wind blew from the south, a wind from Africa,
but, over the high Alps, a tempest, rending the clouds asunder,
and, when the wind had swept by, for one instant it was quite still ;
the torn clouds hung in fan-
tastic shapes among the tree-
clad mountains, and over the
rushing Rhone ; they hung in shapes
like Antediluvian monsters, like eagles
hovering in the air and like frogs
capiiig in a pool ; they came down over
the rapid stream, they sailed over it al-
though they sailed in the air. The river bore on
its surface a pine-tree torn up by the roots, watery eddies flowed
before it ; that was Giddiness — there were more than one — moving
in a circle on the onward-rushing stream. The moon shone on^
the snow-covered mountain tops, on the black woods and the
strange white clouds, visions of night, spirits of the powers of
nature ; the mountain peasants saw them through the windows,
they sailed bJow in crowds before the Ice-Maiden, who came from her
glacier palace, and sat on her frail craft, the uprooted pine tree, carry-
ing the glacier water with her down the stream to the open lake.
" The wedding guests are comin^^ ! " That was what whistled and
sang in the air and the water.
There were visions without and visions within. Babette dreamed a
strange dream.
It appeared to her as if she was married to Rudy, and that many
years had passed. He was now hunting chamois, but she
was at home, and there sat with her the young Englishman
with the yellow whiskers. His glances were warm, his
words had a power of witchcraft ; he held out his hands
to her, and she was obliged to follow him. They left her
home and went down the mountain, ever down, and it
seemed to Babette as if there lay a burden on her heart,
which was always growing heavier. It was a sin against
Rudy, a sin against God. • And then on a sudden she was
deserted ; her clothes were torn by the thorns,
TART IV.
standing
ONLY HIS HUNTING-JACKET AND HAT.
74
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
her hair was grey. She looked up in her grief, and on the edge of a chff she saw Rudy. She held
out her arms towards him, but did not venture to call or pray. Nor would it have heljjed her,
for she quickly saw that it was not he, but only his hunting-jacket and hat, which were hanging
on his alpenstock, as hunters set them to deceive the chamois. And in the depth of her affliction
Babette wailed out : " Oh, that I had died on the day I was married, the day of my greatest
happiness ! that would have been a happy life ! that would have been the best thing that could
happen for me and Rudy ! None knows his future ! " and in her impious grief she precipitated her-
self into a deep chasm in the rocks. The spell was broken, and witn a cry she awoke.
The dream had vanished, but she knew that she had dreamed something dreadful, and that she
had dreamed of the young Englishman, whom she had not seen or thought of for several months.
Was he in Montreu.x ? Was she about to see him at the wedding? Her pretty lips tightened at
the thought, and she knit her brows. But soon there came a smile, and her eyes gleamed ; the
sun was shining so beautifully outside, and the morning was that of her wedding with Rudy.
He was already in the parlour when she came down, and soon they were away to Villeneuve.
They were a very happy couple ; and the miller with them laughed and beamed in the highest
spirits ; he was a good father and an upright man.
" Now we are the masters at home ! " said the parlour cat.
XV
CONCLUSION
T was not yet evening when the three happy people reached
Villeneuve, and sat down to their repast. After dinner the
miller sat in an easy chair with his pipe, and took a little nap.
The young couple went arm in arm out of the town, then by
the carriage road under the rocks so thick with bushes,
skirting the deep bluish-green lake. The gloomy Chillon
reflected its grey walls and massive towers in the clear
water ; the little island with the three acacia trees lay-
still nearer, appearing like a bouquet in the lake.
"It must be delightful out there!" said Babette;
she had still the strongest inclination to go there, and
that wish could be immediately fulfilled : there lay a boat
by the bank, the line that held it was easy to unfasten.
The\- could not see anyone from whom to ask permission,
and so they took the boat, for Rudy could row well.
The oars caught hold of the water like the fins of a
fish, the water that is so pliable and yet so strong, that is
all a back to bear, all a mouth to devour, mildl\- smiling,
softness itself, and )-et overwhelming and strong to rend
asunder. The water foamed in the wake of the boat, in which in a few mmutes the couple had
gained the island, where they landed. There was not more than room enough on it for two to
dance.
Rudy turned Babette round two or three times, and then, hand in hand, they seated themselves
on the little bench beneath the overhanging acacias, and gazed into each other's eyes, while all
around them was illuminated in the splendour of the setting sun. The pine forests on the moun-
tains put on a lilac hue like heather when in flower, and where the trees ceased and the bare rock
came into view it glowed as if the mountain was transparent ; the clouds in the heavens were
lighted up as if with red fire, the whole lake was like a fresh, blushing rose-leaf Already, as the
shadows lifted themselves up to the snow-clad hills of Savoy, they became bluish, but the topmost
peaks shone as if of red lava, and for one moment looked as if these glowing masses had raised
themselves from the bowels of the earth and were not yet extinguished. That was an Alpine glow,
such as Rudy and Babette could never hope to see the equal of The snow-covered Dent du Midi
had a splendour like the face of the full moon when it is rising.
" So much beauty ! so much happiness ! " they both said.
" The earth has no more to give me ! " said Rudy. " An evening hour like this is a whole
y /
THE ICE-MAIDEN ; OR, THE EAGLE'S NEST 75
HAND IN HAND, SEATED ON THE LITTLE BENCH.
lifetime ! How often have I felt my good
fortune as 1 feel it now, and thought, ' If all
were now ended, how fortunately I should have
lived ! How blessed is this world ! ' and the day
ended ; but a new one began again, and it
seemed to me that it was fairer still ! Heaven
is infinitely good, Babette ! "
" I am so happy ! " said she.
" Earth has nothing more to give me ! "
exclaimed Rudy.
And the evening bells chimed from the
mountains of Savoy, from the mountains of
Switzerland ; the dark blue Jura lifted itself to-
wards the west in a golden lustre.
" God give thee what is grandest and best ! "
exclaimed Habette.
" That He will ! " said Rudy. " To-morrow'
I shall have it ! to-morrow thou wilt be mine !
my own little, charming wife ! "
" The boat ! " cried Babette at that moment.
The boat, which was to take them back,
had broken loose and drifted from the island.
" I will fetch it ! " said Rudy, throwing off
his coat ; and he pulled off his boots, sprang
into the lake, and took rapid strokes towards
the boat.
Cold and deep was the clear, bluish-green water from the mountain glacier. Rudy looked
down below, only one single glance— and he thought he saw a golden ring rolling, and gleaming,
and playing— he thought of his lost betrothal ring, and the ring became larger, and expanded into
a sparkling circle, and in that shone the clear glacier ; interminable deep crevasses yawned around
him, and the dripping water sounded like a carillon of bells and gleamed with bluish flames ; in an
instant he saw what we have to tell
in so many words. Young huntsmen
and young maidens, men and women,
once swallowed up in the crevasses of
the glacier, stood here alive, with
open eyes and smiling mouth, and
deep under them came the sound of
church bells from submerged towns ;
a congregation knelt under the church
arches, pieces of ice formed the organ-
pipes, mountain torrents played on it.
The Ice-Maiden sat on the clear,
transparent floor ; she raised herself
up towards Rudy, kissed his feet, and
there ran a deadly coldness through
his limbs, an electric shock — ice and
fire ! one does not know the differ-
ence at the first touch.
" Mine ! mine ! " sounded about
him and in him. " I kissed thee
when thou wast little ! I kissed thee
on the mouth ! now I kiss thee on
the toe and on the heel — thou art
mine altogether ! "
And he was lost in the clear
blue water.
All was still ; the church bells
ceased to ring, the last notes died
THE RING EXPANDED INTO A SPARKJ.ING CIRCLE. ^
76
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
away with the splendour on the red clouds. " Mine thou art ! " sounded again in the depths ;
" Mine thou art!" sounded in the heights, from the Infinite.
THE ICE-MAIDEN STOOD MAJESTIC WITH RUDY AT HER FEET.
The icy kiss of Death overcame that which was corruptible ; the prelude was over before the
drama of life could begin, the discord resolved into harmony.
It is beautiful to fly from love to Love, from earth into the Heaven.
THE ICE-MAIDEN; OR, THE EAGLE'S NEST 77
ft
Do you call that a sad story?
Unfortunate Babette 1 it was a fearful time for her ! the boat drifted farther and farther away.
No one on shore knew that the bridal pair were on the little island. Night drew on ; the clouds
descended, and it became dark. She stood there alone, despairing, weeping. A furious storm
broke over her ; lightning illuminated the mountains of Jura, Switzerland, and Savoy, and thunder
rolled continuously. The lightning was almost as bright as the sun ; one could see each single vine
as at mid-day, and then immediately everything would be shrouded in the thickest darkness.
The flashes formed knots, rings, zig-zags ; they struck round about the lake, they shone from all
sides, while the peals were increased by the echoes. On the land people drew the boats higher up
the banks ; every living thing sought shelter, and the rain poured down in torrents.
" Wherever are Rudy and Babette in this furious storm ? " said the miller.
Babette sat with clasped hands, with her head in her lap, speechless with grief
" In that deep water ! " she said within herself " He is deep down, as under the glacier ! "
And she remembered what Rudy had told her of his mother's death, of his own rescue, and
how he had been brought up as one dead out of the crevasse in the glacier. " The Ice-Maiden has
him again ! "
And the lightning flashed as blinding as a ray of the sun on the white snow. Babette started ;
the lake lifted itself at that instant, like a shining glacier; the Ice-Maiden stood there, majestic,
pale blue, shining, and at her feet lay Rudy's corpse. " Mine ! " said she ; and round about was
again darkness and gloom, and rushing water.
" Cruel ! " moaned Babette. " Why then should he die, when the happy day was come !
0 God ! enlighten my understanding ! shine into my heart ! I cannot understand Thy ways, but
1 bow to Thy power and wisdom ! "
And God shone into her heart. A flash of thought, a ray of light, her dream of last night,
as if it were real, seemed to shine through her ; she called to mind the words which she had spoken :
she had wished for tlie best thing for herself and Rudy.
" Woe is me ! was that the seed of sin in my heart ? was my dream a future life, whose string
must be snapped for my salvation? Miserable me ! "
She sat wailing in the gloomy, dark night. In the deep stillness she thought that Rudy's
words sounded again, the last he had uttered : " Earth has nothing more to give me ! " They
had been said in the abundance of happiness, they came back to her in the depth of her
grief
° *****
A couple of years have elapsed. The lake smiles, the banks smile ; the vines put forth swell-
ing grapes ; steamboats with waving flags hurry past, pleasure-boats with both their sails set fly
like white butterflies over the expanse of water ; the railway above Chillon has been opened, and
leads deep into the Rhone valley. At every station visitors get out ; they come with their red
guide-books and read to themselves what remarkable things they have to see. They visit Chillon,
they see from thence in the lake the little island with the three acacias, and read in the book of a
bridal pair who, in the year 1856, sailed thither one evening, of the bridegroom's death, and : " next
morning the bride's despairing cry was first heard on the shore."
But the guide-books make no mention of Babette's quiet life with her father, not in the mill-
strangers live there— but in the pretty house near the railway station, where from the windows she
often looks out in the afternoon over the chestnut trees to the snow mountains where Rudy used to
disport himself; she sees in the evenings the Alpine glow, the Children of the Sun encamping
above and repeating the song of the tra\eller whose mantle the whirlwind carried away; it took
the covering, but not the man himself
There is a rosy lustre on the snow of the mountains, there is a rosy lustre in every heart where
the thought is : " God lets that which is best come to pass ! " but that is not always revealed to us
as it was to Babette in her dream.
*^
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
The Storks
N the last house in a little village there lay a stork's nest. The
mother stork sat in the nest, beside her four little ones, who were
stretching forth their heads with their little black bills, that had not
yet turned red. At a short distance, on the top of the roof, stood the
father stork, as stiff and bolt upright as well could be. He had drawn
up one leg under him, in order not to remain quite idle while he
stood sentry. One might have taken him to be carved out of wood, so
motionless was he. " It no doubt looks very grand for my wife to
have a sentinel by her nest ! " thought he. " They can't know that 1
am her husband, and they will, of course, conclude that I have been
commanded to stand here. It looks so noble ! " And he continued
standing on one leg.
A whole swarm of children were playing in the street below ; and when they perceived the
stork, the forwardest of the boys sang the old song about the stork, in which the others soon joined.
Only each sang it just as he happened to recollect it : —
" Stork, stork, fly home and rest,
Nor on one leg thus sentry keep !
Your wife is sitting in her nest.
To lull her little ones to sleep,
There's a halter for one,
There's a stake for another ;
For a third there's a gun.
And a spit for his brother ! "
"Only listen to what the boys are singing I " said the young storks. "They say we shall be
hanged and burned."
" You shouldn't mind what they say," said the mother stork ; " if you don't listen, it won't hurt
you."
But the boys went on singing, and pointing at the stork with their fingers. Only one boy,
whose name was Peter, said it was a shame to make game of animals, and would not join the rest.
The mother stork comforted her young ones. " Don't trouble your heads about it," said she ;
" only se; how quiet your father stands,
and that on one leg ! "
" VVe are frightened ! " said the
young ones, drawing back their heads
into the nest.
Next day, when the children had
again assembled to play, they no sooner
saw the storks than they began their
song : —
" There's a halter for one,
There's a stake for another."
" Are we to be hanged and
burned ? " asked the young storks.
" No ; to be sure not," said the
mother. "You shall learn how to fly,
and I'll train you. Then we will fly
to the meadows, and pay a visit to the
frogs, who will bow to us in the water,
and sing ' Croak I croak ! ' And then
we'll eat them up, and that will be a
right good treat ! "
" STORK, STORK, H.Y HOME AND REST."
THE STORKS
79
" And what next ? " asked the youngsters.
" Tlien all the storks in the land will assemble, and the autumn mancEuvres will begin ; and
every one must know how to fly properly, for that is very important. For whoever does not fly as
he ought is pierced to death by the general's beak ; therefore, mind you learn something when the
drilling begins."
" Then we shall be spitted after all, as the boys said — and hark ! they are singing it again."
" Attend to me and not to them," said the mother stork. " After the principal review we shall
fly to the warm countries, far from here, over hills and forests. We fly to Egypt, where there are
three-cornered stone houses, one point of which reaches to the clouds — they are called pyramids,
and are older than a stork can well imagine. And in that same land there is a river which over-
flows its banks, and turns the whole country into mire. We then go into the mire and eat frogs."
" O — oh ! " exclaimed all the youngsters.
" It is a delightful place, truly I One can eat all day long, and while we are feasting there, in
this country there is not a green leaf left upon the trees. It is so cold here that the very clouds
freeze in lumps, and fall down in little rags." It was snow she meant, only she could not explain
it better.
" Will the naughty boys freeze in lumps ? " asked the young storks.
"No, they will not freeze in lumps, but they
they will be obliged to sit moping in a gloomy
about in foreign lands, where there are flowers
Some time had now passed by, and the
they could stand upright in the nest, and look
stork came every day with nice frogs, little
storks delight in, that he could find. And how
feats he performed to amuse them ! He would
tail ; then he would clatter with his bill just like
tell them stories, all relating to swamps and
" Come, you must now learn to fly," said
four youngsters were all obliged to come out on
did stagger ! They tried to poise themselves
nearly fallen to the ground below.
" Look at me," said the mother. " This is
you must place your feet so ! Left ! right !
help you forward in the world."
She then flew a little way, and the young
assistance — but
will be very near doing so, and
room, while you will be flying
and warm sunshine."
young ones had grown so big that
all about them ; and the father
serpents, and all such dainties as
funny it was to see all the clever
lay his head right round upon his
a little rattle ; and then he would
fens.
the mother stork one day, and the
the top of the roof. How they
with their wings, but they
had
the way to hold your head I
Left ! right ! That's what
And
will
bodies were still
"I won't fly!"
into the nest. " I
countries."
" Would you
winter, and wait
burn, or to roast
" Oh, no ! "
back to the roof
they already be-
fancied they
in the air, up-
they accordingly
WE THEN GO INTO THE MIRE AND EAT FROGS
ones took a little leap without
plump ! down they fell, for their
too heavy.
said one youngster, creeping back
don't care about going to warm
like to stay and freeze here in the
till the boys come to hang, to
you? Well, then, I'll call them."
said the young stork, hopping
like the others. On the third day
gan to fly a little, and then they
should be able at once to hover
borne by their wings, and this
attempted, when down they fell,
and were then obliged to flap their
wings as quick as they could.
The boys now came into the street
below, singing their song : —
" Stork, stork, fly home and rest."
" Shan't we fly down and peck
them ? " asked the young ones.
" No ; leave them alone,' said
the mother. " Attend to me —
8o
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
THK FOUR YOUNGSTERS WEKli ALL OBLlGLIi TO COME OU'l ON
THE TOP OF THE ROOF.
that's far more important — one — two
— three ! Now let's fly round to the
right. One — two — three ! now to the
left, round the chimne_\-. Now that
was very well ! That last flap of your
wings was so graceful and so proper,
that you shall have leave to fly with
me to-morrow to the marsh. Several
genteel families of storks are coming
thither with their children ; now let me
see that mine are the best bred of
all, and mind you strut about with a
due degree of pride, for that looks
well, and makes one respected."
" But shan't we take revenge on
the naughty boys ? " asked the young
storks.
" Let them scream away as much
as they like. You can fly up to the
clouds, and go to the land of the
Pyramids, while they are freezing, and
can ncitJier see a green leaf nor eat
a sweet apple."
" But we wish to be revenged,"
whispered the j-oung ones amongst
each other ; and then they were drilled
again.
Of all the bo\s in the street, iione
seerfied more bent on singing the song
that made game of the storks than the
one who had first introduced it ; and
he was a little fellow, scarcely more
than six j-cars old. The )oung storks,
to be sure,
fancied
that he
was at
least a
hundred,
becau se
he was so
much bisr-
ger than their parents ; and besides, what did they know about the
ages of children or of grown men ? So their whole vengeance was to
be aimed at this boy, because he had been the first to begin, and had
always persisted in mocking at them. The young storks were very
much exasperated, and when they grew bigger, the>' grew still less
patient of insults, and their mother was at length obliged to promise
that they should be revenged, but only on the day of their departure.
" VVe must first see how you will acquit yourselves at the great
review. If you don't do your duty properly, and the general runs his
beak through your chests, then the boys will be in the right — at least,
so far. So we must wait and see."
" Yes, you shall see," said the youngsters ; and they took a deal
of pains, and practised every day, till they flew so elegantly and so
lightly that it was a pleasure to see them.
The autumn now set in, when all the storks began to assemble
and to start for the warm countries, leaving winter behind them.
And there were evolutions for you! The )'ouncf fledglings were
A LITTLE FELLOW, SCARCELY
MORE THAN SIX YEARS OLD.
THE STORKS
8i
set to fly over forests and villages, to see whether they could acquit themselves properly, for
they had a long voyage before them. But the young storks gave such proof of capacity, that their
THERE WERE EVOLUTIONS FOR YOU !
certificate ran as follows : — " Remarkably well — with the present of a frog and a serpent." This
was the most palpable proof of the satisfaction they had given ; and they might now eat the frog
and the serpent, which they lost no time in doing.
82
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
' NOW WE LL FLY TO THE POND, AND FETCH ONE FOR
EVERY CHILD."
" Now for our revenge ! " said they.
" Yes, assuredly," said the mother stork ;
"and I have found out what would be the
fairest revenge to take. I know where lies
the pond in which all the little human child-
ren are waiting till the storks shall come and
bring them to
their parents.
The prettiest
little children
lie sleeping
there, and
dreaming far
more sweetly
than they will ever dream hereafter. Most parents wish for
such a little infant, and most children wish for a sister or a
brother. Now we'll fly to the pond, and fetch one for every
child who did not sing the naughty song, and make game of
the storks."
" But the naughty, ugly boy, who was the first to begin
singing it," cried the young storks ; " what shall we do with
him?"
" In the pond lies a little infant, who has dreamed itself to
death. We'll take him home to the naughty boy, and then he'll
cry, because we've brought him a little dead brother. But as
for the good boy — you have not forgotten him — who said it
was a shame to make game of animals, we will bring him both
a brother and a sister. And as the boy's name is Peter, you shall all be called Peter after him."
And all was done as agreed upon, and all storks were henceforth named Peter, and are called
so still.
"IN THE POND LIES A LITTLE INFANT,
WHO HAS DREAMED ITSELF TO DEATH."
^
The Ugly Duckling
N the fields how beautiful, how fresh everything looked ! It was summer, and the
corn was yellow, the oats were green, the hayricks were standing in the verdant
meadows, and the stork was walking about on his long, red legs, chattering away
in Egyptian — the language he had learned from his lady mother. The cornfields
and meadows were surrounded by large forests, in the middle of which lay
deep lakes. Oh, it was lovely indeed to walk abroad in the country just then !
In a sunny spot stood an old country house, encircled by canals. Between
the wall and the water's edge there grew huge burdock leaves, that had shot up
to such a height that a little child might have stood upright under the tallest of them ; and this
THE UGLY DUCKLING 83
spot was as wild as though it had been situated in the depths of a wood. In this snug retirement
a duck was sitting on her nest to hatch her young ; but she began to think it a wearisome task,
as the Httle ones seemed very backward in making their appearance ; besides, she had few
visitors, for the other ducks preferred swimming about in the canals, instead of being at the trouble
of climbing up the slope, and then sitting under a burdock leaf to gossip with her.
At length one egg cracked, and then another. " Peep ! peep ! " cried they, as each yolk
became a live thing, and popped out its head.
" Quack ! quack ! " said the mother, and they tried to cackle like her, while they looked all
about them under the green leaves ; and she allowed them to look to their hearts' content, because
green is good for the eyes.
" How large the world is, to be sure ! " said the young ones. And truly enough, they had
rather more room than when they were still in the egg-shell.
" Do you fancy this is the whole world ? " cried the mother. " Why, it reaches far away
beyond the other side of the garden, down to the parson's field ; though I never went to such a
distance as that. But are you not all there ? " continued she, rising. " No, faith ! you are not ;
for there still lies the largest egg. I wonder how long this business is to last — I really begin to
grow quite tired of it ! " And she sat down once more.
"Well, how are you getting on ? " inquired an old duck, who came to pay her a visit.
" This egg takes a deal of hatching," answered the sitting duck. " It won't break ; but just look
at the others, are they not the prettiest ducklings ever seen ? They are the image of their father,
who, by the bye, does not trouble himself to come and see me."
" Let me look at the egg that won't break," quoth the old duck. " Take my word for it, it
must be a guinea-fowl's egg. I was once deceived in the same way, and I bestowed a deal of care
and anxiety on the youngsters, for they are afraid of water. I could not make them take to it.
I stormed and raved, but it was of no use. Let's see the egg. Sure enough, it is a guinea-fowl's
egg. Leave it alone, and set about teaching the other children to swim."
" I'll just sit upon it a bit longer," said the duck ; " for since I have sat so long, a few days
more won't make much odds."
" Please yourself," said the old duck, as she went away.
At length the large egg cracked. " Peep ! peep ! " squeaked the youngster, as he crept out.
How big and ugly he was, to be sure ! The duck looked at him, saying : " Really, this is a most
enormous duckling ! None of the others are like him. I wonder whether he is a guinea-chick after
all ? Well, we shall soon see when we get down to the water, for in he shall go, though I push
him in myself"
On the following morning the weather was most delightful, and the sun was shining brightly
on the green burdock leaves. The mother duck took her young brood down to the canal. Splash
into the water she went. " Quack ! quack ! " cried she, and forthwith one duckling after another
jumped in. The water closed over their heads for a moment ; but they soon rose to the surface
again, and swam about so nicely, just as if their legs paddled them about of their own accord ;
and they had all taken to the water, even the ugly, grey-coated youngster swam about with
the rest.
" Nay, he is no guinea-chick," said she. " Only look how capitally he uses his legs, and how
steady he keeps himself — he's every inch my own child. And really he's very pretty when one
comes to look at him attentively. Quack ! quack ! " added she ; " now come along, and I'll take
you into high society, and introduce you to the duck-yard ; but mind you keep close to me, that
nobody may tread upon you, and, above all, beware of the cat."
They now reached the farmyard, where there was a great hubbub. Two families were
fighting for an eel's head, which, in the end, was carried off by the cat.
" See, children, that's the way with the world ! " remarked the mother of the ducklings, licking
her beak, for she would have been very glad to have had the eel's head for herself " Now move on I "
said she, " and mind you cackle properly, and bow your head before that old duck yonder. She is
the noblest born of them all, and is of Spanish descent, and that's why she is so dignified ; and
look 1 she has a red rag tied to her leg, which is the greatest mark of distinction that can be
bestowed upon a duck, as it shows an anxiety not to lose her, and that she should be recognised
by both beast and man. Now cackle — and don't turn in your toes ; a well-bred duckling spreads
his feet wide apart, like papa and mamma, in this sort of way. Now bend your neck, and say
' Quack ! ' "
The ducklings did as they were bid ; but the other ducks, after looking at them, only said
aloud : " Now, look ! here comes another set, as if we were not numerous enough already. And,
84
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
'now bend your neck, and say 'quack !'"
bless me ! what a queer-
looking chap one of the
ducklings is, to be sure ; we
can't put up with him ! "
And one of the throng
darted forward and bit him
in the neck.
" Leave him alone," said
the mother ; " he did no
harm to any one."
" No ; but he is too big
and uncouth," said the biting
duck, " and therefore he
wants a thrashing."
" Mamma has a sweet little family," said the old duck with the rag about her leg ; " they are
all pretty except one, who is rather ill-favoured. I wish mamma could polish him a bit."
" I'm afraid that will be impossible, your grace," said the mother of the ducklings. " It's true,
he is not pretty, but he has a very good disposition, and swims as well, or perhaps better than all
the others put together. However, he may grow prettier, and perhaps become smaller ; he
remained too long in the egg-shell, and therefore his figure is not properly formed." And with
this she smoothed down the ruffled feathers of his neck, adding : " At all events, as he is a male
duck, it won't matter so much. I think he'll prove strong, and be able to fight his way through
the world."
" The other ducklings are elegant little creatures," said the old duck. " Now, make yourself
at home ; and if you should happen to find an eel's head, you can bring it to me."
And so the family made themselves comfortable.
But the poor duckling who had been the last to creep out of
his egg-shell, and looked so ugly, was bitten, pushed about, and
made gas.ie of, not only by the ducks, but by the hens. They all
declared he was much too big, and a guinea-fowl who fancied him-
self at least an emperor, because he had come into the world with
spurs, now puffed himself up like a vessel in full sail and flew at
the duckling, and blustered till his head turned completely red, so
that the poor little thing did not know where he could walk or
stand, and was quite grieved at being so ugly that the whole farm-
yard scouted him.
Nor did matters mend the next day, or the following ones,
but rather grew worse and worse. The poor duckling was hunted
down by everybody. Even his sisters were so unkind to him that
they were continually saying : " I wish the cat would run away
with you, you ugly creature ! " While his mother added : " I
wish you had never been born ! " And the ducks pecked at him,
the hens struck him, and the girl who fed the
poultry used to kick him.
So he ran awa\', and flew over the palings.
The little birds in the bushes were startled, and
took wing. " That is because I am so ugly,"
thought the duckling, as he closed his eyes,
though he ran on further till he came to a
large marsh inhabited by wild ducks. Here
he spent the whole night, and tired and sor-
rowful enough he was.
On the following morning, when the wild
ducks rose and saw their new comrade, they
said : " What sort of a creature are you ? "
Upon which the duckling greeted them all
round as civilly as he knew how.
" You are remarkably ugly," observed
THE GiKL WHO FED THE POULTRY KICKED HIM. the wlld ducks ; " but we don't care about
THE UGLY DUCKLING
85
that so long as you do not want to marry into our family." Poor, forlorn creature ! He had
truly no such thoughts in his head. All he wanted was to obtain leave to lie among the rushes
and drink a little of the marsh water. '
He remained there for two whole days, at the end of which there came two wild geese, or,
more properly speaking, goslings, who were only just out of the egg-shell, and consequently
very pert.
" I say, friend," quoth they, " you are so ugly that we should have no objection to take you
with us for a travelling com-
panion. In the neigbouring
marsh there dwell some sweetly
pretty female geese, all of them
unmarried, and who cackle most
charmingly. Perhaps you ma\-
have a chance to pick up a wife
amongst them, ugly as you
are."
Pop! pop! sounded through
the air, and the two wild gos-
lings fell dead amongst the
rushes, while the water turned
as red as blood. Pop ! pop !
again echoed around, and whole
flocks of wild geese flew up from
the rushes. Again and again
the same alarming noise was
heard. It was a shooting party,
and the sportsmen surrounded
the whole marsh, while others
had climbed into the branches
of the trees that overshadowed
the rushes. A blue mist rose in
clouds and mingled with the
green leaves, and sailed far
away across the water ; a pack
of dogs next flounced into the
marsh. Splash, splash, the\-
went, while the reeds and rushes
bent beneath them on all sides.
What a fright they occasioned
the poor duckling ! He turned
away his head to hide it under
his wing, when, lo ! a tremend-
ous-looking dog, with his tongue
lolling out, and his eyes glaring
fearfully, stood right before
him, opening his jaws and show-
ing his sharp teeth, as though
he would gobble up the poor
little duckling at a mouthful ;
but splash, splash, on he went
without touching him.
" Thank goodness ! " sighed the duckling, " I am so ugly that even a dog won't bite me."
And he lay quite still, while the shot rattled through the rushes, and pop after pop echoed
through the air.
It was not till late in the day that all became quiet, but the poor youngster did not yet venture
to rise, but waited several hours before he looked about him, and then hastened out of the marsh
as fast as he could go. He ran across fields and meadows, till there arose such a storm that he
could scarcely get on at all.
Towards evening he reached a wretched little cottage, that was in such a tumble-down
what's that?" said the woma.n, looking round.
86 ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
condition, that if it remained standing at all, it could only be from not yet having made up its
mind on which side it should fall first. The tempest was now raging to such a height that the
duckling was forced to sit down to stem the wind, when he perceived that the door hung so loosely
on one of its hinges that he could slip into the room through the crack, which he accordingly did.
The inmates of the cottage were a woman, a tom-cat, and a hen. The
tom-cat, whom she called her darling, could raise his back and purr ; and
he could even throw out sparks, provided he were stroked against the grain.
The hen had small, short legs, for which reason she was called Henny
Shortlegs ; she laid good eggs, and her mistress loved her as if she had
been her own child.
Next morning they perceived the little stranger, when the tom-cat
began to purr, and the hen to cluck.
"What's that?" said the woman, looking round. Not seeing very
distinctly, she mistook the duckling for a fat duck that had lost its way.
" Why, this is quite a prize ! " added she ; " I can now get duck's eggs,
FHE DUCKLING SAT IN A unlcss, indeed, it be a male ! We must wait a bit and see."
CORNER VERY MUCH OUT So the duckling was kept on trial for three weeks ; but no eggs were
OF SPIRITS. forthcoming. The tom-cat and the hen were the master and mistress of
the house, and always said : " We and the world " — for they fancied them-
selves to be the half, and by far the best half too, of the whole universe. The duckling thought
there might be two opinions on this point ; but the hen would not admit of any such doubts.
" Can you lay eggs ? " asked she.
" No,"
" Then have the goodness to hold your tongue."
And the tom-cat inquired : " Can you raise your back, or purr, or throw out sparks ? "
" No."
" Then you have no business to have any opinion at all, when rational people are
talking."
The duckling sat in a corner very much out of spirits, when in came the fresh air and the
sunshine, which gave him such a strange longing to swim on the water, that he could not help
saying so to the hen.
" What's this whim ? " said she. " That comes of being idle. If you could either lay eggs or
purr, you would not indulge in such fancies."
" But it is so delightful to swim about on the water ! " observed the duckling, " and to feel it
close over one's head when one dives down to the bottom."
" A great pleasure, indeed ! " quoth the hen. " You must be crazy, surely ! Only ask the cat
— for he is the wisest creature I know — how he would like to swim on the water, or to dive under
it. To say nothing of myself, just ask our old mistress, who is wiser than anybody in the world,
whether she'd relish swimming and feeling the waters close above her head."
" You can't understand me ! " said the duckling.
"We can't understand you? I should like to know who could. You don't suppose you are
wiser than the tom-cat and our mistress — to say nothing of myself? Don't take these idle fancies,
into your head, child ; but thank Heaven for all the kindness that has been shown you. Have you
not found a warm room, and company that might improve you ? But you are a mere chatter-
box, and there's no pleasant intercourse to be had with you. And you may take my word for it,
for I mean you well. I say disagreeable things, which is a mark of true friendship. Now, look to
it, and mind that you either lay eggs or learn to purr and emit sparks."
" I think I'll take my chance, and go abroad into the wide world," said the duckling.
"Do," said the hen.
And the duckling went forth, and swam on the water, and dived beneath its surface ; but he
was slighted by all other animals, on account of his ugliness.
Autumn had now set in. The leaves of the forests had turned first yellow and then brown ;
and the wind caught them up and made them dance about. It began to be very cold in the
higher regions of the air, and the clouds looked heavy with hail and flakes of snow ; while the
raven sat on a hedge, crying " Caw ! caw ! " from sheer cold ; and one began to shiver if one
merely thought about it. The poor duckling had a bad time of it ! One evening, just as the sun
was setting in all its glory, there came a whole flock of beautiful large birds from a large grove.
The duckling had never seen any so lovely before. They were dazzlingly white, with long, graceful
necks ; they were swans. They uttered a peculiar cry, and then spnead their magnificent wings,
THE UGLY DUCKLING
87
HE TURNED ROUND AND ROUND IN THE WATER LIKE A WHEEL.
and away they flew from the
cold country to warmer lands
across the open sea. They rose
so high — so high that the ugly
duckling felt a strange sensation
come over him. He turned
round and round in the water
like a wheel, stretched his neck
up into the air towards them,
and uttered so loud and strange
a cry, that he was frightened at
it himself. Oh ! never could he
again forget those beautiful,
happy birds ; and when they
were quite out of sight, he
dived down to the bottom of the
water, and when he once more
rose to the surface, he was half
beside himself. He knew not how these birds were called, nor whither they were bound ; but he
felt an affection for them such as he had never yet experienced for any living creature. Nor did
he even presume to envy them ; for how could it ever have entered his head to wish himself
endowed with their loveliness ? He would have been glad enough if the ducks had merely suffered
him to remain among them — poor ugly animal that he was !
And the winter proved so very, very cold ! The duckling was obliged to keep swimming
about, for fear the water should freeze entirely ; but every night the hole in which he swam grew
smaller and smaller. It now froze so hard that the surface of the ice cracked again ; yet the
duckling still paddled about, to prevent the hole from closing up. At last he was so exhausted
that he lay insensible, and became ice-bound.
Early next morning a peasant came by, and, seeing what had happened, broke the ice to
pieces with his wooden shoe, and carried the duckling home to his wife ; so the little creature was
revived once more.
The children wished to play with him ; but the duckling thought they meant to hurt him, and
in his fright he bounced right into a bowl of milk, that was spirted all over the room. The woman
clapped her hands, which only frightened him still more, and drove him first into the butter-tub,
then down into the meal-tub, and out again. What a scene then ensued ! The woman screamed,
and flung the tongs at him ; the children tumbled over each other in their endeavours to catch the
duckling, and laughed and shrieked. Luckily the door stood open, and he slipped through ; and
then over the faggots, into the newly-fallen snow, where he lay quite exhausted.
But it would be too painful to tell of all the privations and misery that the duckling endured
■during the hard winter. He was lying in a marsh, amongst the reeds, when the sun again began
to shine. The larks were singing, and the
spring had set in in all its beauty.
The duckling now felt able to flap his
wings ; they rustled much louder than before,
and bore him away most sturdily ; and, before
he was well aware of it, he found himself in a
large garden, where the apple-trees were in full
blossom, and the fragrant elder was steeping its
long, drooping branches in the waters of a
winding canal. Oh, how beautiful everything
looked in the first freshness of spring ! Three
magnificent white swans now emerged from the
thicket before him ; they flapped their wings,
and then swam lightly on the surface of the
water. The duckling recognised the beautiful
creatures, and was impressed with feelings of
melancholy peculiar to himself.
" I will fly towards those royal birds, and
they will strike me dead for daring to approach
THE CHILDREN WOULD HAVE PLAYED WITH HIM.
88
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
them, so ugly as I am ! But it matters not. Better to be killed by them than to be pecked at by
the ducks, beaten by the hens, pushed about by the girl that feeds the poultry, and to suffer want
SOME OF THE CHILDREN THREW BREAD-CRUMBS AND CORN INTO THE WATER.
in the winter." And he flew into the water, and swam towards these splendid swans, who rushed
to meet him with rustling wings the moment they saw him. " Do but kill me ! " said the poor
animal, as he bent his head down to the surface of the water and awaited his doom. But what
THE WILD SWANS
89
did he see in the clear stream ? Why, his own image which was no longer that of a heavy-
looking dark grey bird, ugly and ill-favoured, but of a beautiful swan !
It matters not being born in a duck-yard, when one is hatched from a swan's egg !
He now rejoiced over all the misery and the straits he had endured, as it made him feel the
full depth of the happiness that awaited him. And the large swans swam round him, and stroked
him with their beaks.
Some little children now came into the garden, and threw bread-crumbs and corn into the
water ; and the youngest cried : " There is a new one ! " The other children were delighted, too,
and repeated : " Yes, there is a new one just come ! " And they clapped their hands and capered
about, and then flew to their father and mother, and more bread and cake was flung into the
water ; and all said : " The new one is the prettiest. So young, and so lovely ! " And the elder
swans bowed before him.
He then felt quite ashamed, and hid his head under his wings. He did not himself know
what to do. He was more than happy, yet none the prouder ; for a good heart is never proud.
He remembered how he had been pursued and made game of; and now he heard everybody say
he was the most beautiful of all beautiful birds. Even the elder-bush bent its boughs down to
him in the water ; and the sun appeared so warm, and so mild I He then flapped his wings, and
raised his slender neck, as he cried in the fulness of his heart : " I never dreamed of such happiness
while I was an ugly duckling."
^— -
— ,, ~- ^^--
— — =—
:—
T ""7 ^
-■^^=r'=- '-=■
~=..' ;- r:-~
=r.
'^ — T" —
*5r
*^
^^
The Wild Swans
ipp
iness was not
AR away hence, in the land whither the swans fly when it is cold winter with
us, there once lived a king who had eleven sons, and one daughter named
Elise. The eleven brothers were princes, and used to go to school with a
star on their breast and a sword at their side. They wrote on gold slates
with diamond pencils, and learned by heart as easily as they could read ;
one could immediately perceive they were princes. Their sister Elise sat
on a little glass stool, and had a book full of prints, that had cost nearly
half the kingdom to purchase.
Oh, these children were happy indeed ! — but, unfortunately, their
to last.
Their father, who was the king of the land, married a wicked queen, who was not well disposed
oo
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
A BOOK FULL OK PRINTS.
towards the poor children. This they perceived from the very first day.
There were festivities in the palace, and the children were pla3'ing at re-
ceiving visitors ; but instead of their obtaining, as usual, all the cakes
and roast apples that were to be had, she merely gave them some sand in a
tea-cup, and told them they could make-believe with that.
In the following week, she sent their little sister Elise to a peasant's
cottage in the country ; and, before long, she spoke so ill of the poor
princes to the king, that he no longer troubled himself about them.
" Fly out into the world, and pick up your own livelihood," said the
wicked queen. " Fly in the shape of large birds without a voice." But
she could not make things as bad as she wished, for they were turned into
eleven beautiful wild swans ; and away they flew out of the palace win-
dows, uttering a peculiar cry as they swept over the park to the forest
bej-ond.
It was still
Elise lay asleep.
early as they passed by the peasant's cottage, where
They hovered over the roof, and extended their long
necks, and flapped their wings, but nobody heard or saw them ; so they
were obliged to go on. And they rose up to the clouds, and flew out into
the wide world, until they reached a large, gloomy forest, that shelved down to the sea-shore.
Poor little Elise was standing in a room in the cottage, playing with a green leaf, for she had
no other toy. And she pierced a hole through the leaf, and looked up at the sun, when she fancied
she saw her brothers' clear eyes ; and every time the warm sunbeams fell on her cheeks, she used to
think of their kisses.
One day was just as monotonous as another. If the wind rustled through the large hedge of
rose-bushes, he would whisper to the roses: "Who can be more beautiful than you?" But the
roses would shake their heads, and answer : " Elise." And if the old woman sat before the door,
on a Sunday, reading her psalm-book, the wind would turn over the leaves, and say to the book :
" Who can be more pious than thou ? " And then the psalm-book would answer : " Elise." And
both the roses and the psalm-book spoke the pure truth.
When she was fifteen, she was to return home. But when the queen
was, her heart was filled with hatred and spite. She would willingly have
turned her into a wild swan, like her brothers, but she dared not do it
just yet, because the king wished to see his daughter.
Early in the morning, the queen went into the bath-room, which
was built of marble, and furnished with soft cushions, and the most beau-
tiful carpet and hangings imaginable ; and she took three toads and kissed
them, and said to one of them : " Sit upon Elise's head when she comes
into the bath, that she may become stupid like yourself Sit upon her
forehead," said she to another, " that she may grow as ugly as you, so
that her father may not recognise her. Rest on her heart," whispered she
to the third, " that she may have a bad disposition, which will breed her
pain." She then put the toads into the transparent water, which turned
green, and next called Elise, and helped her to undress and to get into
the bath. And as Elise dipped her head under the water, one toad
placed itself on her hair, another on her forehead, and a third oti her
breast. But she did not appear to observe them ; and as soon as she rose
up again, three poppies were floating on the water. If the animals had
not been venemous, and had not been kissed by the witch, they would
have been changed into red roses. But flowers they became, however, be-
cause they had rested on her head and her heart. She was too pious
and too innocent for any witchcraft to have power over her.
When the wicked queen perceived this, she rubbed the princess with
walnut-juice till she was quite brown, and besmeared her face with rancid
ointment, and tangled her magnificent hair, till it was impossible to re-
cognise the beautiful Elise.
When her father saw her he was quite frightened, and declared she
was not his daughter. Nobody but the watch-dog and the swallows
would recognise her — only they were poor animals, and could not speak
a word.
saw how beautiful she
HLLl'Lll HER TO UNDRESS
AND GET INTO THE BATH.
THE WILD SWANS
91
STOLE OUT OF THE PALACE
IN GREAT AFFLICTION.
Poor Elise then cried, and thought of her eleven brothers, who were
all away. And she stole out of the palace in. great affliction, and walked
the whole day long across fields and marshes, till she reached the large
forest. She knew not whither she was going, but she felt so sad, and
she longed to see her brothers, who, she felt certain, had been driven
out into the world like herself, and she determined to seek till she found
them.
She had been but a short time in the wood when night came on ;
and having walked a long way, she lay down on the soft moss, said her
prayers, and leaned her head against the stump of a tree. It was per-
fectly quiet all around, the air was mild, and hundreds of glow-worms
lit up the surrounding grass and moss like green fire ; and if she touched
a twig ever so lightly, the brilliant insects showered down like so many
falling stars.
All night she dreamed of her brothers. She thought they
were playing together as in childhood, and were writing with
the diamond pencils on the gold slates, and looking at the
prints in the book that had cost half the kingdom. Only,
instead of making sums on the slates, as heretofore, they
wrote down the valiant deeds they had achieved, and all that they had
done and seen ; and in the print-book everything was living — the birds
were singing, and the figures were walking out of the book, and speak-
ing to Elise and her brothers. But the moment the latter turned over
the leaves, they jumped back into their places, that no disorder might
ensue.
The sun was already high in the heavens when she woke. Not that she could see the sun, for
the lofty trees were arching over her head, but its beams were playing here and there, like the
fluttering of a gold gauze scarf; and there came a sweet fragrance
from the woods, and the birds almost perched on her shoulders.
She heard the rippling of water, which proceeded from several
large streams that fell into a lake, that had a most beautiful
sandy bed. Thick bushes grew round the lake, but the deer
had made a large opening at one spot, through which Elise was
enabled to reach the water. Its surface was so clear, that
wVien the wind did not ruffle the branches and bushes, one
might have fancied they had been painted on the bottom of the
lake, so plainly was every leaf reflected, whether it stood in the
sunshine or the shade.
As soon as Elise saw her own image, she was frightened at
finding herself so brown and so ugly. But on wetting her
little hand, and rubbing her eyes and forehead, her white skin
was soon apparent once more. She then undressed, and got
into the water, and a lovelier royal child than herself could not
have been met with in the wide world.
When she had dressed herself again, and braided her long
hair, she went to the running stream, and drank out of the
hollow of her hand, and then she wandered deeper into the
forest, without knowing what she meant to do. She thought of
her brothers, and trusted that God would not abandon her.
God has bidden the wild apples grow to feed the hungry, and
He led her to one of these trees, whose boughs were bending
beneath the weight of their fruit. Here she made her mid-day
meal, and after propping up the branches, she went into the
gloomiest depths of the forest. It was so quiet here that she
could hear the sound of her own footsteps, and every little dried
leaf that crackled under her feet. Not a bird was to be seen,
nor did a sunbeam penetrate through the large dark branches.
The lofty trunks stood so close to each other that when she
looked before her it seemed as if she were shut in by a lattice
AN OLD WOMAN WITH A BASKET FULL
OF CHERRIES.
92
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
KLISE FOLLOWED
THE RIVULEI
made of huge beams of wood. It was solitude
such as she had never known before.
The night was quite dark. Not a little glow-
worm beamed from the moss. She lay down
sorrowfully to compose herself to sleep. She then
fancied that the boughs above her head moved
aside, and that the Almighty looked down upon
her with pit\'ing eyes, while little angels hovered
above His head and under His arms.
Next morning when she woke she could not
tell whether this was a dream, or whether it had
really taken place.
She then set out, but had not gone many
steps when she met an old woman with a basket
full of berries. The old woman gave her some
to eat, and Elise asked her if she had not seen
eleven princes riding through the forest.
" No," said the old woman ; ' but yesterday
I saw eleven swans, with gold crowns on their
heads, swimming down the river hereabouts.".
She then led Elise a little further, towards a slope, at the foot of which ran a winding rivulet.
The trees on its banks stretched forth their long, leafy branches till they met, and wherever their
growth would not have allowed them to mingle their foliage, the roots had broken loose from the
soil, and hung entwined with the branches across the river.
Elise then bid the old dame farewell, and followed the rivulet till it flowed towards a wide,
open shore.
The sea now lay before the young maiden in all its splendour, but not a sail was to be seen,
and not as much as a boat could be descried. How was she to proceed further ? She looked at
the countless little pebbles on the shore, which the water had worn till they were quite smooth —
glass, iron, stones, ever\thing, in short, that lay there and had been washed by the waves, had
assumed the shape of
water, though it was
softer still than her
delicate hand. " It
rolls along indefatig-
ably, and wears away
the hardest substances.
I will be equally in-
defatigable. Thanks
for the lesson you give
me, ye clear, rolling
waves ! My heart
tells me you will bear
me to my dear
brothers ! "
In the moist sea-
weeds lay eleven white
swan's feathers, which
she gathered into a
bunch. Drops of water
trembled upon them ;
but whether they were
deudrops or tears, no-
body could tell. It
was lonely on that sea-
shore, but she did not
feel it to be so, for
the sea was ever chang- j^g^j. ^.j. sunset elise saw eleven wild swans, with golden crow.ns on
mg, and displayed their heads, flying towards the shore.
THE WILD SWANS
93
more variet}- in a few hours than the sweetest landscapes could show in a whole year. If a
heavy black cloud arose, it seemed as if the sea meant to say : " I, too, know how to look
dark " ; and then the wind blew, and the waves turned their white side outwards. But if the
clouds were rosy, then the winds slept, and the sea looked like a rose leaf — now white, now green.
Yet, however calm it might be, there was always a slight motion near the shore, and the waters
would heave slightly, like the breast of a slumbering infant.
Just at sunset Elise saw eleven wild swans, with gold crowns on their heads, fl}'ing towards
the shore, one behind the other, like a long white ribbon. Elise then went up the slope, and hid
herself behind a bush ; the swans came down close to her, and flapped their large white wings.
The sun had no sooner sunk into the water than their swans' pjumage fell off, and Elise's
brothers stood there as eleven handsome princes. She uttered a loud scream ; for, changed as
they were, she knew and felt it must be they. She flung herself into their arms, calling them by
their names ; and the princes were quite happy on recognising their little sister, and finding how
beautiful she had grown. They laughed and cried all in a breath, and they had soon related to
each other how wicked their stepmother had been to them all.
" We brothers," said the eldest, " fly about, as wild swans, as long as the sun stands in the
heavens ; but no sooner has it sunk down than we recover our human shape. Therefore we must
always provide a resting-place for our
feet towards sunset ; for were we flying
in the clouds at this hour, we should
fall into the sea on resuming our
natural form. We do not live here.
There lies across the sea a country as
beautiful as this ; but the way thither
is long. We have to cross the wide
sea, and there is not an island to be
met with on the passage ; only one
solitary little rock lifts its head from
the midst of the waters, and is barely-
large enough to afford us a resting-
place by crowding closely together. II
the sea is rough, the waves dash over
us ; still we thank God even for this
barren crag, where we spend the night
in our human shape, for without it
we should never be able to visit our
beloved country, since it requires two
of the longest days in the year for
our flight. It is only once a year that we have the privilege of visiting our home, and we have
but eleven days to remain here and to fly over the forest, whence we can look upon the palace
where we were born, and where our father lives, and at the church where our mother lies buried.
We feel here as if the very trees and bushes were related to us ; we see the wild horses careermg
over the steppes as we saw them in childhood ; we hear the charcoal-burners singing the old songs
to which we danced as children ; it is, in short, the land of our birth, and hither do we feel our-
selves irresistibly attracted ; and here have we found you, our dear little sister. But we have
only two days left to remain here, and then we must cross the sea to go to a beautiful country,
which, however, is not our own. How shall we take you with us when we have neither ship nor
boat?"
" How can I break your spell ? " asked the sister.
And they talked nearly the whole night through, and only slept a very few hours.
Elise awoke on hearing the rustling of the swans' wings as they hovered over her, for her
brothers were once more transformed. They described large circles, and at length flew quite
away ; but one of them, the youngest, remained behind. He nestled his head in her lap, and she
stroked his wings, and they remained together the whole day. Towards evening the others re-
turned ; and when the sun had set they resumed their natural shape.
" To-morrow we must fly away," said one of them, " and may not return till the expiration
of a whole year.' Yet we cannot leave you thus. Have you the courage to accompany us ? My
arm is strong enough to carry you through the forest, and why should not the wings of us all
suffice to bear you across the ocean ? "
SHE STROKED HIS WINGS.
94
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
" Yes, do take me with you," said Elise.
They spent the whole night in making a net with the phant bark of osiers and ropy sedges,
and the net proved large and strong. Elise lay down upon it, and when the sun rose, and her
brothers were changed to swans, they took up the net with their beaks, and flew up to the clouds
with their beloved sister, who was still fast asleep. As the sunbeams fell right upon her coun-
tenance, one of the swans hovered over her head to shade her with his broad wings.
They were far from land when Elise woke. She thought she was still dreaming, so strange
did it seem to her to be carried high up in the air over the wide sea. By her side lay a branch
full of delicious ripe berries, and a bundle of savoury roots ; these had been gathered by her
youngest brother, and placed ready for her use. She smiled her thanks to him, for she recognised
him in the swan who was hovering over her to shade her with his wings.
They were so high up in the air that the largest ship below them looked like a white sea-mew
riding on the waves. A great cloud stood behind them like a vast
mountain, and on this Elise saw depicted her own shadow and that of
the eleven swans, in giant proportions. This was a prettier picture than
she had ever yet seen. But when the sun rose higher, and the cloud
remained further behind them, the floating vision vanished from her sight.
They flew on and on the livelong day, like an arrow hurtling through
the air ; still, they proceeded somewhat more slowly than usual, having
their sister to carry. Dark clouds arose as evening came on, and Elise
beheld the sinking sun with an anxious heart, for as yet no rock was in
sight. It seemed to her as if the swans were flapping their wings with
desperate efforts. Alas ! she was the cause they could not advance faster.
And at sunset they must recover their human shape, and fall into the
sea, and get drowned ! Oh, how she prayed for their safety from her
inmost heart ! — but still no rock
appeared. The black cloud
approached, violent gusts of
wind told of a coming storm,
while the clouds, gathered into
one massive, threatening wave,
seemed to move forward like
lead. One flash of
followed upon another.
The sun had now reached
the edge of the sea. Elise's
heart beat fast, and the swans
darted down so swiftly that she
thought she must fall. But now
again they soared in the air.
The sun had dipped half into
the water, when at length the
little rock appeared below them.
It did not look larger than a sea-dog's head peeping out of the waves. The sun sank so rapidly
that it now only looked like a star ; and at that moment their feet touched the solid ground. The
sun went out like the last spark in a piece of burned paper, and the brothers now stood arm-in-
arm round their sister ; but there was not an inch more room than just sufficient for herself and them.
The waves lashed the rock, and a drizzling mist kept falling over them, while the sky was
lighted up with continual flashes, and one clap of thunder followed close upon another ; but the
sister and her brothers sat holding each other's hands, a"nd singing psalms, from which they
derived both hope and courage.
Towards dawn the air was pure and still ; and, the moment the sun had risen, the swans
carried Elise away from the rock.
The sea was still rough, and, when seen from above, the white foam that crested the dark
green waves looked like millions of swans swimming on the waters.
When the sun had risen higher, Elise saw before her, in the air, a mountain, with masses of
glittering ice upon its crags, from the midst of which rose a castle at least a mile long, with
colonnade upon colonnade piled boldly each on the top of the other. Forests of palm-trees were
waving below, together with flowers as large as mill-wheels.
lightning
THE SWANS CARRIED ELISE AWAY FRO.M THE ROCK.
THE WILD SWANS
95
She inquired if that was the land whither they were bound ? But the swans shook their
heads ; for what she saw was nothing but the fairy Morgiana's beautiful and ever-varying castle,
built of clouds, and which no mortal could enter. Elise was still gazing at it, when down fell
mountains, forests, and castle in one vast heap, and twenty stately churches, all alike, with high
steeples and gothic windows, rose upon their ruins.
She thought she heard the organ pealing, but it was the roaring of the sea that deceived her.
As she approached the churches, these, in turn, changed to a large fleet that seemed to be
sailing under her. On looking below, however, she perceived it to be mere clouds of mist that
were gliding across the waters. She thus kept viewing an endless succession of sights! till at
length she perceived the real land whither they were going, where stood the finest blue mountains,
with cedar forests, towers, and castles. Long before sunset she sat on a rock, in front of a large
cavern, that was overgrown with delicate green creepers, looking like an embroidered carpet.
" Now we shall see what you will dream about to-night," said the youngest brother, as he
showed his sister her chamber.
" Heaven send that I may dream how to save you ! " said she ; and this notion busied her
intently, and she prayed heartily to God to help her — so heartily, indeed, that she continued pray-
ing in her sleep. She then thought she was flying up through the air, to the fairy Morgiana's
castle of clouds ; and the fairy came forth to welcome her, in all her beauty and splendour, yet
resembling withal the old woman who
had given her the berries in the forest,
and told her of the swans with gold
crowns en their heads.
" Your brothers can be delivered,"
said she ; " but have you sufficient
courage and constancy to break the
spell? Water is softer than your delicate
hands, and yet it wears away stones ;
but it does not feel the pains your
fingers will have to feel ; and, having no
heart, it cannot suffer the cares and
anxiety that )'ou will have to endure.
Do )-ou see this stinging-nettle that I
hold in my hand ? A number of the
same sort grow round the cavern in
which you are sleeping ; and, mark me
well, only those, and such as grow in
churchyards, are a- ailable for the pur-
pose in question. You must pluck them, although they will blister your hands. By treading upon
them with your feet you will obtain flax, with which you must braid eleven coats of mail, with long
sleeves, that will no sooner be thrown over the eleven swans than the spell will be broken. But
remember that from the moment you begin this work until it be finished, though it should take
you years to accomplish, you must not speak a word, or the first syllable you pronounce would
strike a death dagger through your brothers' hearts. Their lives depend on your silence. Mark
this well."
And at the same time she touched her hand with the nettle, which was like burning fire, and
caused Elise to wake. It was broad day, and close beside her lay a nettle, like those she had
seen in her dream. She then fell on her knees, and thanked God, and left the cave to begin her
work.
Her delicate hands now plucked the ugly nettles that were like fire. Large blisters rose on
her hands and arms ; yet she suffered cheerfully, in the hopes of delivering her beloved brothers.
She trod each nettle with her bare feet, and then began to braid the green flax.
When the sun had sunk, her brothers came home, and were frightened to find her dumb.
They thought it some fresh spell contrived by their wicked stepmother. But, on seeing her hands,
they understood what she was doing for their sakes ; and the youngest brother wept, and wherever
his tears fell on her hands the burning blisters disappeared.
She worked all night, fo'r she could not rest till she had delivered her dear brothers. The
swans were absent during the whole of the following day, and she sat alone , but never had the
hours seemed to fly faster. One coat of mail was already finished, and she then began another.
A bugle-horn now echoed amongst the mountains, and made her start with fear. The sound
96
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
approached, she heard the barking of dogs, and she flew back into the cave in great alarm ; and,
tying up the nettles that she had gathered and dressed into a bundle, she sat upon it.
ALLOWED THE WOMEN TOr DRESS HER IN REGAL ROBES.
At that moment a large dog jumped out from a narrow pass between the mountains, and was
quickly followed by another, and another still ; they barked aloud, and ran back, and then re-
turned again. In a few minutes all the huntsmen stood before the cave, and the handsomest
THE WILD SWANS
97
among them was the king of the land,
he had ever seen.
He stepped up to EUse, who was the most beautiful girl
" How did you come hither, lovely maiden ? " asked he.
Ehse shook her head. She dared not speak, for her brothers' delivery and lives were at stake:
and she hid her hands under her apron, that the king might not see what she must be enduring.
' Come with me," said he ;
beautiful, I will dress you in silk
and velvet, and place my gold
crown on your head, and you
shall dwell in my richest palace.
He then lifted her on to his
horse. She wept, and wrung
her hands, but the king said :
" I do but wish for your happi-
ness. Some day you will thank
me for what I am doing."
And then he hunted through
the mountains, and held her
before him on his horse, and
the huntsmen hunted behind
them.
Towards sunset, the hand-
some capital, with its churches
and cupolas, lay before them.
And the king led her into the
palace, where large fountains
were playing in marble halls,
whose walls and ceilings were
adorned with paintings. But
she had not the heart to look at
these fine things ; and kept
weeping and mourning. How-
ever, she willingly allowed the
women to dress her in regal
robes, to braid her hair with
pearls, and to put delicate
gloves over her scorched fingers.
When she appeared in all
her magnificence, she looked so
dazzlingly beautiful, that the
whole court bowed still more
profoundly before her. And
the king chose her for his bride,
though the archbishop shook
_— his head, and whispered that
-j» the pretty maid of the forest
j_ was in all likelihood a witch,
^ who had fascinated the eyes
~ and befooled the heart of their
king.
But the king would not listen
dishes to be laid on the tabl
you cannot
remain
here. If you are as good as you are
UNTIL SHE REACHED HIE CHURCHYARD.
to him, and ordered the music to strike up, and the most costly
on tne taDie, while the loveliest girls danced around her. And she was led
through the fragrant garden to most magnificent rooms ; but not a smile could be won from her
lips, or made to sparkle in her eyes. She Seemed the image of sorrow. The king then opened a
little room, close to her sleeping chamber, that was provided with a costly green carpet, and was
exactly like the cave she came from. On the floor lay the bundle of flax that she had spun out of
the nettles, while the coat of mail, which she had finished, hung from the ceiling. All these things
had been taken away by a huntsman who looked upon them as curiosities.
" You can fancy yourself in your early home," said the king. " Here is the work which busied
PART V
98
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
)'ou in the cave ; and now, in the midst of all your magnificence, it may amuse you to look back
at thosn days."
When Elise saw that which interested her so deeply, a smile played round her mouth, and the
blood rushed back to her cheeks. She thought of^ her brothers' delivery, and kissed the king's
hand, while he pressed her to his heart, and ordered all the bells to ring to announce their mar-
riage. And the beautiful, dumb maid of the forest became the queen of the land.
The archbishop whispered slanderous words into the king's ears, but they could not reach
his heart. The wedding, he was determined should take place, and the archbishop himself was
obliged to place the crown on the new queen's head, though he maliciously pressed down its
narrow circlet on her forehead, so that it hurt her. But a heavier circlet bound her heart, and that
was her sorrow for her brothers' fate. She did not heed her bodily sufferings. She remained
mute, for a single word would have cost her brothers their lives ; but her eyes expressed deep love
for the kind, handsome king, who did everything to please her. Each day she loved him more and
more. Oh, how it would have relieved her to have told him her sorrows, and to be able to com-
plain ! But dumb she must remain, and in silence must she finish her work. She therefore used
to steal away from his side at night, and go into the little room that was decorated like the cave,
and plaited one coat of mail after another.
On beginning the seventh, however, there was no flax left.
She knew that the nettles she required grew in the churchyard ; only she must pluck them
herself, and she knew not how she should manage to reach the spot.
" Oh ! what is the pain in my fingers, compared to the anxiety
my heart endures? " thought she. " I must attempt the adventure !
The Lord will not withdraw His hand from me." And with as
much fear and trembling as if she were about to commit a wicked
action, did she steal down into the garden one moonlight night,
and, crossing the long alleys, she threaded the lonely streets until
she reached the churchyard. There she saw a circle of witches
sitting on one of the broadest gravestones. These ugly witches
took off their rags as if they were going to bathe, and then they
dug up the fresh graves with their long, skinny fingers, and took
out the dead bodies and devoured their flesh. Elise was obliged
to pass by them, and they scowled upon her ; but she prayed
silently, and plucked the burning nettles, and carried them home.
One human being alone had seen her, and that was the arch-
bishop. He was up while others were sleeping. Now he felt con-
firmed in his opinion that the queen was not what she ought to be,
and that she was a witch, who had befooled the king and the whole
nation by her arts.
He told the king, in the confessional, what he had seen and what he feared. And when harsh
words came out of his mouth, the carved images of saints shook their heads, as much as to say,
" It is not true ! Elise is innocent ! " But the archbishop interpreted their protestations quite
differently ; he pretended they bore witness against her, and that they shook their heads at her
sins. Then a couple of bitter tears rolled down the king's cheeks. He went home, with a mis-
giving in his heart, and that night he pretended to go to sleep. But no sleep visited his eyes, and
he perceived that Elise got up. Every night she did the same, and each time he followed her
softly, and saw her disappear into the little room.
His brow grew darker day by day. Elise saw the change that had come over him, yet could
not imagine the reason, though it made her uneasy — and besides this, how she suffered at heart on
her brothers' account ! Her warm tears bedewed the regal velvet and purple, and there they lay
like glittering diamonds, and all who saw their splendour wished to be a queen. Meantime, she
had nearly finished her work. Only one coat of mail was wanting ; but she was short of flax, and
had not a single nettle left. Once more — and this once only — would she have to go to the church-
yard, and gather a few handfuls of nettles. She thought with horror of this lonely excursion, and
of the frightful witches, but her will was as firm as her trust in the Lord.
Elise went, but the king and the archbishop followed her. They saw her disappear behind the
grated door of the churchyard, and when they had nearly come up with her, the witches were
sitting on the gravestone, as Elise had seen them, and the king turned away, for he fancied that
she, whose head had been pillowed on his breast that very evening, was making one amongst
those loathsome creatures.
THE RUSTLING OK A SWAN S WINGS
SOUNDED NEAR THE GRATING.
THE WILD SWANS
99
TO SEE THE WITCH BURNT.
" The people must judge her," said
he. And the people pronounced that
she was to be burned as a witch.
She was now taken from the
splendours of the royal palace to a
dark, damp dungeon, where the wind
whistled through a grating ; and in-
stead of silk and velvet they gave her
the bunch of nettles which she had
gathered — this was to serve as her
pillow, while the hard, burning coats
of mail that she had plaited were to be
her coverlet. But nothing could have
been more welcome to her — she re-
sumed her work, and prayed to Heaven,
The boys in the street sang lampoons
upon her outside her prison, and not a soul comforted her with a kind word.
Towards evening the rustling of a swan's wings sounded near the grating. This was her
youngest brother, who had discovered his sister's dungeon ; and she sobbed for joy on seeing him,
although she knew that the following night would, in all probability, be her last. But now her
work was almost completed, and her brothers were there.
The archbishop came to spend the last hour with her, as he had promised the king he would
do. But she shook her head, and begged him by looks and by signs to go away. For, unless she
completed her work that night, her sufferings, her tears, and her sleepless nights would all prove
vain. The archbishop left the prison, muttering calumnies against her, but poor Elise knew that
she was innocent, and therefore she proceeded with her work.
The little mice ran about on the floor ; they dragged the nettles to her feet, in order to help as
well as they could ; while a thrush sat near the grating of the window and sang most sweetly all
night long, to keep up her spirits.
At early dawn, about an hour before sunrise, the eleven brothers presented themselves at the
palace gate, and requested to be shown in to the king. But they were told it was impossible. It
was still night, and the king was asleep and could not be woke. They implored, they threatened,
the guard appeared, and at last the king himself came out to inquire what was the matter ; but
just then the sun rose, and no more princes were to be seen, and nothing but eleven swans flew over
the palace.
The whole population flowed out through the gates of the town, to see the witch burnt. An
old, sorry-looking hack drew the cart on
which she sat ; she was dressed in a sack-
cloth kirtle, and her beautiful hair was
hanging loose on her shoulders ; her
cheeks were as pale as death, and her lips
moved slightly, while her fingers continued
braiding the green flax. Even on her
way to death, she would not interrupt the
work she had undertaken ; the ten coats of
mail lay at her feet, and she was finishing
the eleventh. The people scoffed at her.
" Look how the witch is muttering !
She has no psalm-book in her hand — no !
she is busy with her hateful juggling — let's
tear her work to pieces."
And they all rushed forward, and were
going to tear the coats of mail, when
eleven wild swans darted down, and plac-
ing themselves round her in the cart,
flapped their large wings. The crowd
now gave way in alarm.
" 'Tis a sign from Heaven ! She is
surely innocent ! " whispered the multitude ;
THE KING PLUCKED IT, AND PLACED IT IN ELISE'S BOSOM.
lOO
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
liut they did not dare to say so aloud. The executioner now took hold of her, but she hastily
tluevv the eleven coats of mail over the swans, when eleven handsome princes instantly stood be-
fore her. Only the youngest had a swan's wing instead of an arm, because a sleeve was wanting
to complete his coat of mail, for she had not been able to finish it.
" iSlow I may speak ! " said she ; " I am innocent ! "
And the mob, on seeing what had taken place, now bowed before her as if she had been a
saint ; but she sank fainting into her brothers' arms, exhausted by the intense anxiety and grief
she had suffered.
" Yes, she is innocent ! " said the eldest brother, and he now related all that had happened.
And, as he spoke, the air was filled with the perfume as of millions of roses — for every stick of
firewood in the funeral pile had taken root and put forth twigs, and there stood a fragrant hedge,
both tall and thick, full of red roses ; and quite above bloomed a flower as white and brilliant as a
star. The king plucked it, and placed it in Elise's bosom, and then she awoke, with a peaceful
and happy heart.
And all the bells fell a-ringing of themselves, and birds flocked thither in long processions.
And such a wedding party as returned to the palace, no king had ever seen before !
^
The Marsh Kind's Daughter
HE storks tell their young ones ever so many fairy tales, all of them
from the fen and the moss. Generally the tales are suited to the
\-oungsters' age and understanding. The baby birds are pleased if they
are told just " kribly, krably, plurry-murry ! " which they think wonder-
ful ; but the older ones will have something with more sense in it,
or, at the least, a
tale about them-
selves. Of the two
oldest and longest
tales which have
storks, one we all know
been told among the
— that about Moses, who was placed by his
mother in an ark on the waters of the Nile,
was found by the king's daughter, and then
was taught all learning, and became a great
man, and no one knows where he was buried.
Everybody has heard that tale.
But the other story is not known at all
even now ; perhaps because it is really a
chimney-corner tale. It has been handed
down by mother-stork to mother-stork for
hundreds of years, and each in turn has told it
better, till now we are telling it best of all.
The first pair of storks who knew it had
their summer quarters on a Viking's log-
house by the moor in Wendsyssel, which is in
the county of Hjorring, near Skagen in Jut-
land, if we want to be accurate. To this day
there is still an enormous great moss there.
You can read all about it in your geograph}'
book. The moss lies where was once the
bottom of the sea, before the great upheaval
of the land ; and now it stretches for miles,
surrounded on all sides by watery meadows
and quivering bog, with turf-moss, cloudberries.
WAS FOUND BY THE KING'S DAUGHTER.
THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER
lOI
lJU.\ r GET EXlULL)
and stunted trees growing. A fog hangs over it almost continually, and till about seventy years
ago wolves were still found there. It may certainly be called a wild moor, and you can imagine
what lack of paths and what abundance of swamp and sea was there thou-
sands of years ago. In that waste man saw ages back just what he sees to-
day. The reeds were just as high, with the same kind of long leaves and
purplish-brown, feathery flowers as they have now ; the birches stood with
white bark and fine, loose-hung leaves just as now the,y stand ; and for the
living creatures that came there, wh\', the fly wore its gauze suit of just the
same cut as now, and the colour of the stork's dress was white and black, with
red stockings. On the other hand, the men of that time wore different
clothes from those we wear. But whoever it was, poor peasant or free
hunter, that trod on the quagmire, it happened thousands of years ago
just as it does to-day — in he went and down he sank, down to the
Marsh King, as they called him, who reigned beneath in the great Moss
Kingdom. He was called also the Mire King, but we will call him
by the storks' name for him — Marsh King. People know very little
about how he governed, but per-
haps that is just as well.
Near to the moss, and right
in the Liim Fjord, stood the Vik-
ing's log-house, with paved cellar
and tower two storeys high. On
the roof the storks had built their
nest. Mother-stork sat on her
eggs, and was positive they would
turn out well.
One evening father-stork had
been out for a long time, and
when he came home he seemed
excited and flurried.
" I've dreadful news for you ! "
he said to mother-stork.
" Don't get excited," said
she. " Remember I'm sitting
on my eggs, and I might be up-
set by it, and then the eggs would
Fuffer."
"You must know it ! " he an- tore hek ;-eather dress into a hundred tieces,
I02
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
swered. " She has come here, our landlord's daughter in Egypt ! She has ventured on the
journey here, and she is lost ! "
IT WAS HE WHO PULLED HER DOWN.
" Why, she is of fairy descent ! Tell me all about it ; you know I can't bear to wait at this
time, when I'm sitting."
" Listen, mother. It's as you told me. She has believed what the doctor said, that the moor-
flowers here could do her sick father good, and so she has flown here in a feather-dress with the
THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER
103
THE STORK AT FIRST
BELIEVED IT TO BE
THE I'RIN'CESS TURNED A CHII.M AGAIN.
other winged princesses, who have to come to the north every
year to bathe and renew their \'outh. She has come, and she is
lost ! "
" You're getting too long-winded ! " said
mother-stork. " The eggs may be chilled ! I
can't bear to be excited ! "
" I have watched," said father-stork,
" and in the evening, when I went into the
reeds, where the quagmire is able to bear
me, there came three su'ans. Something
in the way they flew told me, ' Watch ;
that isn't a real swan ; it's only swan
feathers.' You know the feeling, mother,
as well as I do ; you can tell if it is right."
" Yes, certainly," said she ; " but tell
me about the princess. I'm tired of
hearing about the swan's feathers."
" Here, in the middle of the moor,
you know," said father-stork, " is a kind
of lake ; }ou can see a part of it if you
stand up. There, by the reeds and the
green quagmire, lies a great elder-stump.
The three swans alighted on it, flapped
their wings, and looked round them. Then one of them threw off her swan's plumage, and I
saw it was our own princess, of our house in Egypt. Then she sat down, and she had no other
covering than her own long, black hair. I heard her ask the two others to take great care of her
swan-skin while she plunged under the water to gather a flower which she thought she saw.
They nodded, and lifted up the loose feather-dress. ' I wonder what they mean to do with it,'
said I to myself; and no doubt she asked them the same. And she got an answer, something
she could see for herself They flew aloft with her feather dress ! ' Sink down,' they cried ;
'you .shall never fly in the swan-skin again; never see Egypt again! Stay in the moss!'
And so they tore her feather-dress into a hundred pieces, till the feathers flew about as if it was
snowing, and off flew the two good-for-nothing princesses."
" Oh, how dreadful ! " said mother-stork. "I can't bear to hear it. Rut, tell me, what else
happened ? "
"Our prince-ss moaned and wept. Her tears fell on the elder-stump, and it was quite moved,
for it was the Marsh King himself, who lives in the quagmire. I saw the stump turn it.self, so
it wasn't only a trunk, for it put out long, muddy boughs like arms. Then the unhappy girl was
frightened, and sprang aside into the quivering marsh, which will not bear me, much less her. In
at once she sank, and down with her went the elder-stump — it was he who pulled her down. Then
a few big black bubbles, and no trace of her left. She is engulfed in the marsh, and will never
return to Egypt with her flower. You couldn't have borne to see it, mother ! "
" You shouldn't have told me
anything of the sort just now ; it may
affect the eggs. The princess can take
good care of herself She'll get help
easily enough. Had it been you or
r, there would have been an end of
us."
" However, I'll go day by day to
see about it," said father-stork ; and so
he did.
The days and months went by.
He saw at last one day that right
from the bottom of the marsh a green
stalk pushed up till it reached the sur-
face of the water. Out of it grew a
SCREAMED PASSIONATELY, AND STRETCHED OUT ITS ARMS l^af, that greW Wider aUU Wjluer, aHCl
AND LEGS. close to it a bud put out. Then one
I 04
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
morning, as the stork was flying over it, it opened, with the sun's warmth, into a full-blown
flower, in the middle of which lay a beautiful child, a little girl, as if she were fresh from the
bath. So like was the child to the princess from Egypt, that at first the stork believed it to be
herself turned a child again. But when he thought it over, he decided that it was more likely
to be the child of the princess and the Marsh King, and that was why she was lying in a water-
lily.
"She mustn't be left l)'ing there," thought father-stork, "and there are too many already in
my nest. But I have it ! The Viking's wife has no children, and she has often wished for a little
one. Yes, I get the name for bringing the babies ; I will do it in sober truth for once ! I'll fly
to the Viking's wife with the child. They'll be delighted ! "
So the stork took the little girl, flew to the log-house, made a hole with his beak in the
window, with panes made of bladder, laid the child on the bosom of the Viking's wife, and flew
away to mother-stork to tell her all about it. Her young ones heard it too, for they were now
old enough.
" Listen :
has sent her
She
has a
the princess is not dead,
little one up, and the child
home found for her."
" Yes, so I said from the first," said mother-
stork. " Now think a little about your own
children. It's almost time for our journey. I
begin to feel a tingling under my wings. The
cuckoo and the nightingale are off already, and
I hear the quails chattering about it, and say-
ing that we shall soon have a favourable wind.
Our young ones are quite fit for training, I'm
sure."
Glad indeed was the X'^iking's wife when
she woke in the morning to find the beautiful
little child near her side. She kissed and
fondled it, but it screamed with passion, and
threw out its arms and legs, and seemed utterly
miserable. At last it cried itself to sleep, and
there it lay, one of the prettiest babies you could
set eyes on.
The Viking's wife was so happy, so gay,
so well, that she could not but hope that her
husband and his men would return as suddenly
as the little one had come, and so she and all
her household busied themselves to get every-
thing into order. The long coloured tapestries,
which she and her maidens had woven with
figures of their gods — Odin, Thor, Freya, as
they were called — were hung up ; the slaves were set to polish the old shields used for decoration ;
cushions were arranged on the benches, and dry wood placed on the hearth in the middle of the
hall, so that the fire could be lit in a moment. The Viking's wife took her share in the work, so
that by the evening she was very tired, and slept soundly.
When she woke towards daybreak, she was terribly frightened. The little child had vanished !
She sprang up, lighted a brand, and looked everywhere around. There, just at the foot of the
bed where "she had lain, was, not the baby, but a great ugly toad ! In utter disgust at it she took
a heavy stick to kill it, but the creature looked at her with such wonderfully sad eyes that she
could not destroy it. Once more she gazed round ; the toad uttered a faint, mournful croak.
She started, and sprang from the bedside to the window, and opened it. At that moment the
sun rose, and cast its rays upon the bed and upon the great toad. All at once it seemed that the
creature's wide mouth shrank, and became small and rosy ; the limbs filled out into the most
charming shape. It was her own beautiful babe that lay there, not the hideous reptile !
" What is this?" cried the dame. " Was it an ill dream? Yes, there is my own sweet elfin
child lying there ! " She kissed it, and pressed it to her heart ; but it fought and bit like a wild
kitten )
The Viking, however, did not come that day, nor the next ; for though he was on his way, the
TULKE, JUST AT THE FOOT OF THE BED, WAS
A GREAT UGLY TOAD.
THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER
105
wind was against him as it blew to the south for the storks. Fair wind for one is foul for the
other.
In those two days and nights the Viking's wife saw clearly how it was with her little child.
And dreadful indeed was the spell that lay on it. By day it was as beautiful as an angel of light,
but it had a bad, evil disposition. By night, on the other hand, it was a hideous toad, quiet, sad,
with sorrowful eyes. It had two natures, which changed with its outward form. And so it was
that the baby, brought by the stork, had by daylight its mother's own rightful shape, but its
father's temper ; while again, night made the kinship with him evident in the bodily form, in which,
however, dwelt the mother's mind and heart. Who could loose the spell cast by the power of
witchcraft ? The Viking's wife was worn and distressed about it, and her heart was heavy for the
unhappy being, of whose condition she did not think that she dared tell her husband if he
came home then, for he would certainly follow the custom and practice of the time, and expose
'IHE viking's wife SAT ON THE CROSS-BENCH IN THE OPEN BANQUETING HALL.
the poor child on the high road for any one that liked to take away. The good dame had not the
heart to do this : her husband should see the child only by daylight.
One morning the wings of storks were heard above the roof More than a hundred pairs of
the birds had rested themselves for the night after their heavy exercise, and they now flew up,
preparatory to starting southwards.
" All ready, and the wives and children ? " was their cry.
" Oh, I'm so light," said the young storks. " My bones feel all kribly-krably, as if I was filled
with live frogs ! How splendid it is to have to go abroad ! "
" Keep up in the flight," said father and mother, " and don't chatter so much ; it tires the
chest."
And the)- flew.
At the same moment a horn sounded over the moor. The Viking had landed with all
his men, returning laden with booty from the coasts of Gaul, where the people, like those
of Britain, used to chant in their terror : " From the rage of the Northmen, Lord, deliver us ! "
Guess what stir and festival now came to the Viking's stronghold near the moor! A barrel
io6
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
of mead was brought into hall ; a huge fire was Hghted ; horses were slaughtered ; everything
went duly. The heathen priest sprinkled the slaves with warm blood, to begin their new life ;
the fire crackled; the smoke curled under the roof; the soot fell down from the beams — but
they were used to that. Guests were invited, and received valuable gifts. Plots and treachery
were forgotten ; they drank deep, and threw the picked bones in each other's faces in good-
humoured horse-play. The bard — a kind of musician, but a warrior as well, who went with
them, saw their exploits, and sang about them — gave them a song in which they heard all
their warrior-deeds and feats of prowess. Each verse ended with the refrain :
" Wealth, kindred, life cannot endure,
But the warrior's glory standeth sure."
And they all clashed upon their shields, and beat upon the table with knives and fists, and made
great clamour.
The Viking's wife sat on the cross-bench in the open banqueting hall. She wore a robe
of silk, with bracelets of gold and beads of amber. She had put on her dress of state, and
the bard sang of her, and told of the golden treasure she had brought to her wealthy lord,
THE SLAVES SLEPT FOR THE NIGHT IN THE WAR.M ASHES.
while he was delighted with the beautiful child, for he could see it by day in all its loveliness.
He was well pleased with the baby's wildness, and said she would become a right warrior-
maid, and fight as his champion. She did not even blink her eyes when a skilful hand cut
her eyelashes with a sharp sword as a rough joke.
The barrel of mead was drained, and a second brought in, and all got well drunk, for
they were folk who loved to drink their fill. They had a proverb : " The kine know when
to go to stall from pasture, but the fool never knows when he has had enough." They
knew it well enough, but know and do are different things. They had another proverb,
too : " The dearest friend grows wearisome when he outstays his welcome." But on they
stayed. Meat and mead are good : it was glorious ! — and the slaves slept in the warm ashes,
and dipped their fingers in the fat and licked them. Oh, it was a great time!
Once again that year the Viking went on a raid, though the autumn gales were rising.
He led his men to the coast of Britain—" just over the water," he said ; and his wife remained
with the little girl. And truth to tell, the foster-mother soon grew fonder of the unhappy
toad with the gentle eyes and deep sigh than of the beautiful child that fought and bit all
about her.
THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER
lO'
The raw, dank autumn mist, " Mouthless," which devours the leaves, lay over forest and
moor ; " Bird Featherless," as they called the snow, flew closely all around ; winter was nigh
at hand. The sparrows took the storks' nests for themselves, and criticised the ways of the
late owners during their absence. And where were mother and father-stork and their young
ones all the time? Down in the land of Egypt, where the sun shone warm, as it does on
a fine summer's day with us. Tamarinds and acacias bloomed round them ; the crescent of
Mahomet gleamed bright from the cupolas of the mosques ; pairs and pairs of storks sat on
the slender turrets, and rested after their long journey. Great flocks of them had built nest
by nest on the huge pillars and broken arches of temples and forgotten cities. The date-palm
raised its foliage on high, as if to keep off the glare of the sun. Grey-white pyramids stood
out against the clear sky across the desert, where the ostrich raced at speed, and the lion
crouched with great, wise eyes, and saw the marble sphinx that lay half-buried in the sand.
The Nile flood had retired ; the whole bed of the river was swarming
with frogs, and to the stork family that was quite the best thing to be
seen in the country. The young ones thought their e}'es must be play-
ing them tricks, it all seemed so wonderful.
" We always have it just like this in our warm country," said mother-
stork ; and the young ones felt their appetites grow.
"Will there be anything more to see?" said they. "Shall we go
much farther into the country ? "
" There is nothing better to see," said mother-stork. " At that green
border is only a wild wood, where the trees crowd one upon another, and
are entangled together with thorny creepers. Only an elephant with his
clumsy legs can make a wa)' there. The snakes are too large for us,
and the lizards too lively. If you try to go into the desert you get your
eyes full of sand in fair weather, and if there is much wind, you find
yourself buried under a sand-heap. No, this is the best place. Here are
frogs and locusts. I shall stop here, and you must stay with me." And
they stayed.
The old ones sat in their nest on the slender minaret and rested
themselves, while yet they were busy preening their feathers and rubbing
their beaks on their red-stockinged legs. They would raise their necks,
bow gravely, and hold up their heads with their high foreheads, fine,
smooth feathers, and brown eyes glancing sharply. The young hen-
storks walked gravely about among the coarse reeds, stealing glances at
the other young storks, and devouring a frog at every third step, or else
a small snake, which they found so good for their health, and so tasty.
The young males began to quarrel, beat each other with their wings,
pecked, yes, stabbed till the blood flowed! And so one and another got
betrothed, for that was the whole purpose of life. They built nests, and
from that sprang new quarrels, for in hot countries tempers are so quick !
Nevertheless, it was all delightful, especially to the old ones. Everything
that one's own youngsters do becomes them. Every day there was sun-
shine; every day was so much taken up with eating that there was hardly
time to think of amusement.
But inside the rich palace of their Egyptian landlord, as they called
him, jo)- was unknown. Rich and mighty lord, there he lay on a couch, his limbs rigid, stretched
out like a mummy, in the midst of the great hall with its many-coloured walls ; it looked just as if
he was lying in a tulip. His kinsmen and servants stood around him ; he was not dead ; you
could not call him alive ; he existed. The healing moss-flower from the northern land, which
should have been searched for and gathered by her who loved him most dearly, would never be
brought. His young and beautiful daughter, who flew in swan's-plumage over sea and land, far
towa'rds the north, would never return. " She is dead and gone I " the two swan-maidens had told
him on their return. They had invented a whole history of it. Said they :—
" We all three flew high in the air : a hunter saw us and shot an arrow ; it struck our friend,
and sincrin"- her farewell, like a dying swan, she slowly sank, in the midst of a forest lake. There
we buried her, near the shore of the lake, under a fragrant weeping-birch. But we took our
revenge I We bound fire under the wings of a swallow which had built under the hunter's thatched
roof ! The thatch caught ; the house blazed up ! He was burned in it, and the light shone over
ALL HIS LIMBS RIGID AND
STRETCHED OUT LIKE A MUMMY.
io8
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
the lake as far as the drooping birch tree under which she is buried. She will never come back tc
the land of E^^ypt."
And so they both wept ; and the father-stork, when he heard it, chattered with his beak till it
rattled again.
" Lies and make-up ! " said he. " I have a great mind to drive my beak into their hearts."
"And break it off!" said mother-stork. "And what good would that do? Think first of
yourself and your own family ; everything else is of no consequence ! "
" However, I will seat myself on the edge of the open court in the morning, when all the
learned doctors are met to talk about the illness. Perhaps they will come a little nearer the
truth."
Arl the learned doctors came together, and talked and talked all about, so that the stork
could not make head or tail of
it — nor did anything come of it
for the sickness, or for the
daughter in the moor ; but,
nevertheless, we shall be glad
to hear something about it, for
we are obliged to listen to a
great deal.
But now it will be a very
good thing to learn what had
gone before this meeting, in
order to understand the story
better, for at least we know as
much as father-stork.
" Love brings life ! The
highest love supports the high-
est life ! Only through love
will he be able to secure the pre-
servation of his life ! " was what
they said ; and very wisely and
well said it was, according to
the learned.
" That's a pretty thought ! "
said father-stork.
" I don't rightly understand
it ! " said mother-stork, " and it
isn't my fault, but the expres-
sions ! However, be that as it
may, I've something else to
think about ! "
Then the learned men had
spoken of love for one thing to
another, of the difference there
is between the affection of lovers
and that of parent and child ; of the love of plant and sunbeam, where the rays of the sun touch
the bud and the young shoot thus comes forth — all this was expounded at such great length
and in so learned a way that it was impossible for father-stork to follow it, much less to repeat it
He was quite thoughtful about it, and half closed his eyes and stood on one leg a whole day after-
wards ; such learning was too heavy for him to bear.
However, he understood one thing. He had heard both the common folk and those of the
highest rank say the same thing from the bottom of their hearts — that it was a great misfortune
for thousands of people, for the country at large, that this man should be ill and not recover ; it
would be a joy and blessing if he were restored to health. " But where does the flower of health
grow for him ? " that was what they had all inquired. They sought it from the scrolls of wisdom,
from the twinkling stars, and from the winds ; they had asked in all byways where they might find
it, and at last the learned and wise announced, as we have said : " Love brings forth life, the life of
a father," and so they said more than they themselves understood. They repeated it, and wrote it as a
prescription : " Love brings forth life " ; but how was the thing to be done from this prescription ?
WE BOUND FIRE UNDER THE WINGS OF A SWALLOW.
THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER
109
There lay the difficulty. At length they came to an agree-
ment about it ; the help must come from the princess, who
was attached to her father with her whole soul and heart.
And then they decided how it was to be brought about (all
this was more than a year and a day before) : she must go by
night, at the new moon, to the marble sphinx near the desert,
must clear away the sand from the door with her feet, and
then go through the long passage that led into the middle of
one of the great pyramids, where in his mummy-case lay one
of the might)' kings of old, surrounded by splendour and
magnificence. Here she was to hold her ear to the lips of the
dead, and then it would be revealed to her how she was to gain
life and health for her father.
All this she had done, and had learned in vision that,
from the deep marsh in the land of Denmark, a spot most
clearly indicated, she might bring home the marsh-flower,
which there in the depth of the water had touched her breast. "*
Then he would be healed. So she flew in swan's plumage
from the land of Egypt to the moor.
You see, father-stork and mother-stork were aware of all
this, and now we know the story more fully than before. We
remember that the Marsh King dragged her down to him ; we
know that for those at home she is dead and gone ; only the
wisest of them all said still, with mother-stork : " She takes
good care of herself! " and they were obliged to wait, for that
was all they knew about it.
" I believe I can steal the swans' plumage from the two
good-for-nothing princesses ! " said father stork, '• then they
will not be able to go to the moor to work mischief. I will
hide the swans' skins themselves till they are wanted."
" Where will you hide them ? " asked mother stork.
" In our nest on the moor ! " said he. " 1 and the youngest of our brood can be helped along
with them, and if they are troublesome to us, there are plenty of places on the way where we can
hide them till next time of moving. One swan's dress would be enough for her, but two are
better ; it is well to have plenty of luggage in a northern climate ! "
" You will get no thanks for it ! " said mother-stork. " However, )'ou are the master. I
have nothing to say, except when I am sitting."
* ♦ * * *
In the Viking's stronghold near the moor, whither the storks flew at the spring, the little girl
had received her name. They had called her Helga, but that was far too sweet for such a 'disposition
as the one possessed by this most beautiful child. Month after month it became more evident, and
as years went by — whilst the storks pursued the same journey, in autumn towards the Nile, in
spring towards the moor — the little child became a grown girl, and before people thought of it, she
was in her sixteenth year, and the most
beautiful of maidens. But the fruit
was a beautiful shell, the kernel hard
and rough. She was wilder than most
people even in that hard, gloomy age.
It was a delight to her to splash
with her white hands in the hot blood of
the horse which had been slaughtered
as a sacrifice ; in her wildness she bit
off the neck of the black cock which
should have been slain by the heathen
priest ; and she said in sober earnest to
her foster-father : —
" If thine enemy came and tied a
rope to the beams of the roof, and lifted
SHE WAS TO HOLD HER EAR TO THE LIPS OF THE DEAD. it ovcr thy chamber, whilst thou wast
HE STOOIl ON ONE LEG.
I lO
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
asleep, I should not wake thee, even if I could ! I would not hear it, my blood still so hums in
my ears, where thou didst slap me years ago ! Thou ! I remember ! "
CAME DRll'l'ING WITH WATER INIO IIIK LOK 1 Y HAM,.
But the Viking did not believe what she said ; he was, like the others, infatuated with her
beauty ; and he did not know how disposition and appearance changed in little Helga. She
would sit without a saddle, as if she had grown to the horse, when it galloped at full speed ; and
THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER
III
she would not leap off, even when it fought with other vicious horses. In all her clothes she would
often cast herself from the bank into the strong current of the fjord and swim to meet the Viking
when his boat was steering towards the land. She cut off the longest lock from her beautiful
long hair, and made it into a string for her bow. " Self-made is well made ! " she said,
The Viking's wife, according to the age and custom, was strong in will and in disposition, but
towards the daughter she seemed a mild, anxious woman, for she knew that the dreadful child was
bewitched.
When her mother stood on the balcony, or walked out into the courtyard, it seemed as if Helga
took an evil delight in placing herself on the edge of the well, e.xtending her arms and legs, and
then leaping plump into the narrow, deep hole, where she, with her frog-nature, dived, and rose
again, crawled out, just as if she was a cat, and came, dripping with water, into the lofty hall, so
that the green leaves which were scattered on the floor
floated ajout in the watery stream.
But there was one bond that restrained little Helga,
and that was the dusk of the evening. Then she be-
came quiet and pensive, and would allow herself to be
called and led. She seemed to be drawn by some
internal feeling to her mother, and when the sun went
down and the transformation without and within her
took place, she sat there quiet and melancholy, shrunken
together into the figure of a toad. Her body, indeed,
was now far larger than that creature's, but it was only
so much the more disgusting. She looked like a miser-
able dwarf with frog's head, and web between the fingers.
There was something of the deepest melancholy in
the expression of her eyes ; she had no voice but a
hollow moan, just like a child that sobs in its dreams.
The Viking's wife could then take her on her knees ;
she forgot the ugly form, and looked only at the sor-
rowful eyes, and more than once she said : —
" I could wish almost that thou wast always my
dumb frog-child ! Thou art more frightful to look at
when thy beauty returns to thee."
And she wrote runes against witchcraft and
disease, and cast them over the wretched girl, but
she saw no change.
" Now that she is a full-grown woman, and so
like her Egyptian mother," said father-stork, " one could
not believe'that she was once so little that she lay in a
water-lily. We have never seen her mother since ! She
did not take care of herself, as you and the learned men
thought. Year out, year in, I have flown now in all
directions over the moor, but she has never made any sign.
Yes, let me tell you that every year when I have come up here some days ahead of you, to mend
the nest and put one thing and another straight, I have flown for a whole night, like an owl or a
bat, to and fro over the open water, but it was no use ! Nor have the two swan-dresses been any
use which tlie young ones and I dragged hither from the land of the Nile. Toilsome work it was,
and it took us three journeys to do it. They have now lain for many years at the bottom of the
nest, and if such a disaster as a fire should happen at any time, and the log-house be burnt, they
would be lost I "
" And our good nest would be lost also ! " said mother-stork. " You think too little of that,
and too much of the feather-dress, and your moss-princess ! You had better take it to her and stay
in the bog ! You are a useless father to your own family ; I have said that ever since I sat on an
egg for the first time ! I only hope that we or our young ones may not get an arrow in the wing
from that mad Viking girl ! She does not know what she is doing. We have lived here a little
longer than she, she should remember ! We never forget our obligations ; we pay our taxes
yearly, a feather, an egg, and a young one, as is right. Do you think, when she is outside, I feel
inclined to go down there, as in the old days, and as I do in Egypt, where I am half a companion
with them, without their forgetting me, and peep into tub and pot ? No, I sit up here worrying
THEN THE VIKING's WIFE COULD TAKE
ON HER KNEES.
112
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
myself about her — the hussy ! — and about
you too ! You ought to have let her lie in
the water-lily, and there would have been
an end of her I "
" You are kinder than your words ! "
said father-stork. " I know you better
than you know yourself"
And so he gave a jump, two heavy
strokes of his wings, stretched his legs be-
hind him, and off he flew. He sailed
away, without moving his wings. At a
good distance off he gave a powerful stroke ;
the sun shone on his white featliers ; he
stretched his neck and head forward !
That was speed and flight I
" But he is still the handsomest of
them all ! " said the mother-stork, " only
I don't tell him that."
* * * « «
I'^arly that autumn the Viking came
home with spoil and captives. Among
these was a young Christian priest, one of
those men who preached against the idols
of the northern countries. Often at that period did
the talk in the hall and in the bower of the women
refer to the new faith, which had made its way into all the
countries of the south, and by the holy Anskarius had been
brought even to Haddeb}' on the Schlei. Helga herself had
heard of the faith in the White Christ, who out of love to
men had given Himself to save them ; but for her, as they
say, it had gone in at one ear and out at the other. She
seemed to have only a perception of that word " love "
when she crouched in that closed room in her miserable
frog-form. But the Viking's wife had listened to it, and
felt herself wonderfully affected by the story and traditions
of the Son of the onl\- true God. The men, on coming home from their expedition, had told of
the splendid temples of costly hewn stone, erected for Him whose message was love ; and they
brought home with them a pair of heavy golden vessels, elaborately pierced, and with a fragrant
odour about them, for they were censers, which the Christian priests used to swing before the
altar where no blood was ever shed, but wine and consecrated bread changed
into His body and blood who had given Himself for generations yet unborn
In the deep paved cellar of the log house the young captive Christian pr
was confined, his feet and hands securely bound. The
wife said that he was "as fair as Baldur," and she was
by his distress ; but young Helga wished that a rop
be drawn through his legs, and that he should
be tied to the tails of wild oxen.
" Then I would set the dogs loose. Halloo !
away over bog and fen, out to the moor ! That
would be jolly to see ! jollier still to be able to
follow him on his course I
But the Viking did not choose that
he should be put to death that way, but,
as a denier and opposer of the high
gods, he should be offered the next morn-
ing on the blood-stone in the grove — the
first time that a human sacrifice had been
offered there.
Youn
■• UUT HE IS STII.L THE HANDSOMEST OF
THEM ALL," SAID THE MOTHER STORK.
Helga asked that she might
DROVE THE KNIFE INTO ITS SIDB.
THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER
113
sprinkle the images of the gods and the people with his blood. She sharpened her gleaming
knife, and when one of the great, ferocious dogs, of which there were a good many in the
court-yard, ran across her feet, she drove the knife into its side. "That is to test it," said she ; and
the Viking's wife looked sadly at the wild, ill-tempered girl, and, when the night came, and the
beautiful bodily form of her daughter was changed for the beauty of soul, she spoke glowing words
of sorrow to her from her own afflicted spirit.
The hideous toad with the goblin's body stood before her, and fixed its brown, sorrowful eyes
on her ; listening and seeming to understand with the intelligence of a human being.
" Never, even to my husband, has a
word fallen from my tongue about the two-
fold nature I endure in thee," said the Vik-
ing's wife. " There is more pity in my heart
for thee than I could have believed ! Great
is the love of a mother ; but affection never
comes into thy mind ! Thy heart is like the
cold clod ! Whence didst thou then come
into my house ? "
At that the hideous form trembled and
shook. It seemed as if the word touched
some connection between body and soul ;
great tears came into its eyes.
" Thy bitter trial will come some time ! "
said the Viking's wife ; " and terrible will it
be for me ! Better hadst thou been abandoned
on the highway as a child, and the night-
frost had lulled thee into death ! " And the
Viking's wife wept bitter tears, and, wrathful
and sad, passed behind the loose curtains
which hung over the beam and divided the
room.
The shrunken toad sat alone in the cor-
ner. There was silence, but after a short
interval there came from her breast a half-
smothered sigh. It was as if, painfully, a
soul awoke to life in a corner of her heart.
She took one step forward, listened, took
another step, and then with her awkward
hands she seized the heavy bar that was
placed before the door. Gently she put it
back, and quietly she drew out the peg that
was stuck in over the latch. She took the
lighted lamp that stood in front of the
it seemed as if a strong will gave her
She drew the iron pin out of the
shutter, and moved gently towards
the prisoner. He was asleep. She touched
him with her cold, damp hand, and when he
awoke and saw that hideous form, he shud-
dered, as if at an evil vision. She drew her
knife, severed his bonds, and made signs to him to follow her.
He called upon the holy Name, made the sign of the cross, and as the figure stood unchanged,
he repeated the words of the Bible : —
" ' The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive : the Lord will deliver him m time of
trouble.' Who art thou ? Whence is this reptile shape that yet is so full of deeds of com-
passion? "
The toad-figure beckoned and guided him behind sheltering curtains by a solitary way out to
the stable, pointed at a horse ; he mounted it, and she seated herself before him and held on by
the mane of the animal. The prisoner understood her, and they rode away at a quick trot, by a
path he would never have discovered, out to the open heath.
rooms ;
power,
bolted
WENT AWAY WRATHFUL AND SAD.
114-
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
' WHO ART THor
He fbrgfov tier
.lideous form, tor the
favour and mercy of
the Lord were actiiiL;
tlirough this hobgobh'ii.
He offered up pious
pra\'ers, and began to
sing no'y songs ; and
she trembled ; was it
the power of the prayers
and li\-mns tiiat acted
upon her? or was it
the coldness of the
morning which was so
(]uicl- side I I have the flower of m>- heart with me ; thus it has released itself Home-
ward ! homeward I "
But Helga said that she could not leave the land of Denmark till she had once more seen
her foster-mother, the kind wife of the Viking. In Helga's thoughts came up ever)- beautiful
remembrance, ever\- affectionate word, ever)' tear which her foster-mother had shed, and it almost
seemed at that instant as if she clung closest to that mother.
" Yes, we will go to the Viking's house," said the stork-father. "There I expect mother and
the young one.s. How they will open their eyes and chatter about it ! Yes, mother doesn't say so
very much ; what she does is short and pith\-, and so she thinks the best ! I will sound the rattle
directl)-, so that she will hear we are coming."
.And so father-stork chattered his beak, and flew with the swans to
hold.
Ever)- one there was l)-ing deep in slumber. The Viking's wife had not gone to rest till late
that night ; she was still in fear for little Helga, who had disappeared three days ago with the
Christian priest. She must have helped him to escape, for it was her horse that was missing from
THE HIDEOUS FORM OF A TOAD, TREMBLING AND .NESTLING
UP AGAINST HER FOSTER-MOTHER.
I"
the Viking's strong-
JC20
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
the stable. By what power had all this been brought about? The Viking's wife thought about the
wonderful works which she had heard were performed by the White Christ, and by those who
believed in Him and followed Him. Her changing thoughts shaped themselves into a dream. It
appeared to her that she was still sitting on her bed, awake, and meditating, and that darkness
shrouded everything outside. A storm arose ; she heard the rolling of the sea in the west and the
east, from the North Sea and the waters of the Cattegat. That huge serpent which encircles the
earth in the depths of the ocean shook convulsively ; it was Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods, as
the heathen called the last hour, when everything should pass away, even the high gods themselves.
The trumpet sounded, and the gods rode forth over the rainbow, arrayed in steel, to take part in
the last contest. Before them flew the winged warrior-maidens, and behind them in array marched
the forms of dead warriors. The whole sky was illuminated by the northern lights, but the dark-
ness again prevailed. It was an appalling hour.
And close by the frightened Viking's wife little Helga sat on the floor in the hideous form of
a toad, trembling and nestling herself up against her foster-mother, who took her on her lap and
affectionately held her fast, although she seemed more hideous than a toad. The air was full of
the sound of sword-strokes and the blows of maces, of arrows whizzing, as if a furious hail-storm
was raging above
them. The hour had
come when earth and
heaven should fail, the
stars should fall, and
everything be burned
up in the fire of Surtr;
but the dreamer knew
that a new earth and
heaven would come,
and the corn wave
where the sea now
rolled over the barren
sand bottom ; that
the God who cannot
be named rules, and
up to Him rose
Baldur, the gentle and
kind, loosed from the
realm of death. He
came — the Viking's
wife saw him, and knew his face. It was the captive Christian priest.
" White Christ ! " she cried aloud ; and as she mentioned that Name she
pressed a kiss on the hideous forehead of her frog-child ; the toad's skin fell
off, and little Helga stood there in all her beauty, gentle as she had never been before, and with
beaming eyes. She kissed her foster-mother's hands, blessed her for all her care and affection
with which she had surrounded her in the days of her distress and trial ; thanked her for the
thoughts to which she had given birth in her ; thanked her for mentioning the Name which she
repeated, " White Christ ! " and then little Helga rose up as a noble swan, her wings expanded
themselves wide, wide, with a rustling as when a flock of birds of passage flies away !
With that the Viking's wife awoke, and still heard outside the same strong sound of wings.
She knew that it was time for the storks to depart, and no doubt that was what she heard. Still,
she wished to see them once before their journey, and to bid them farewell. She stood up, went
out on to the balcony, and there she saw on the ridge of the out-house rows of storks, and round the
courtyard and over the lofty trees crowds of others were flying in great circles. But straight in
front of her, on the edge of the well, where little Helga had so often sat and frightened her with
her wildness, two swans now sat and looked at her with intelligent eyes. Her dream came to her
mind ; it still quite filled her as if it had been reality. She thought of little Helga in the form of
a swan, she thought of the Christian priest, and she felt a strange joy in her heart.
The swans beat their wings, and bent their necks, as if they wished so to salute her ; and the
Viking's wife stretched out her arms towards them as if she understood, and smiled at them
through her tears.
Then, with a noise of wings and chattering, all the storks arose to start on their journey to the
south.
STRETCHED OUT HER ARMS TOWARDS THEM.
THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER
121
" We cannot wait for the swans !" said mother-stork. "If they wish to come with us they
may ; but we can't wait here till the plovers start ! It is a very good thing to travel in family
parties ; not like the chaffinches and ruffs, where the males fly by themselves and the females by
themselves ; that is certainly not proper ! And what are those swans flapping their wings for ? "
" Every one flies in his own way ! " said father-stork. " The swans go in slanting line, the
cranes in a triangle, and the plovers in a wavy, snake-like line.
" Don't mention serpents when we are flying up here!
appetites of our young ones when they can't be satisfied."
* * *
said mother stork ; "it only excites the
* *
have heard of?" asked
Helga in
the
" Are those the high mountains down there which I
swan's skin.
"Those are thunder-clouds which drive below us," said the mother.
" What are those white clouds which lift themselves so high? " asked Helga.
" Those are the everlasting snow-clad hills, which you see," said the mother ; and they flew
over the Alps, down
towards the blue
Mediterranean.
» * *
"Land of Africa!
Coast of Egypt I "
jubilantly sang the
daughter of the Nile
in her swan form,
when, high in the air,
she descried her native
land, like a yellowish
white, undulating
streak.
And as the birds
saw it, they hastened
their flight.
"I smell the mud
of the Nile and the
wet frogs ! " said
mother - stork. " It
quite excites me !
Yes, now you shall
taste them ; now you
shall see the adjutant
bird, the ibis, and the
cranes! They all be-
long to our family,
but they are not
nearly so handsome
as we are. They
stick themselves up,
especially the idis ; he is now quite pampered by the Egyptians — they make a mummy of him,
and stuff him with aromatic herbs. I would rather be stuffed with live frogs, and so would you,
and so you shall be. It is better to have something inside you while you live, than to be in state
when you are dead ! That is my opinion, and that is always right ! "
" Now the storks are come ! " they said in the rich house on the bank of the Nile, where, in the
open hall on soft cushions covered with a leopard's skin, the royal master lay outstretched, neither
living nor dead, hoping for the lotus flower from the deep marsh in the north. Kinsmen and
servants stood around him.
And into the hall flew two beautiful white swans, which had come with the storks I They
threw off their dazzling feather dress, and there stood two beautiful women, as much alike as two
drops of dew ! They bent down over the pale, withered old man ; they put back their long hair,
and when little Helga stooped over her grandfather, the colour returned to his cheeks, his eyes
sparkled, and life came into his stiflened limbs. The old man raised himself healthy and vigorous ;
PT. VI.
THERE STOOD TWO BEAU I II' UL WOMEN AS LIKE AS TWO DROPS OF DEW.
1 22
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
daughter and granddaughter held him in their arms as if they were giving him a morning saluta-
tion in their joy after a long, heavy dream.
:{: i^ ifi ]|E ^
And there was joy over all the house and in the storks' nest, but there it was chiefly over the
good food, and the swarming hosts of frogs ; and whilst the learned men made haste to note down
in brief the history of the two princesses and the flower of health, which was such a great event
and a blessing for house and country, the parent storks related it in their fashion to their own
family, but not till they had all satisfied their hunger, or else they would have had something else
to do than to listen to stories.
" Now you will become somebody ! " whispered mother-stork ; " that is certain ! "
" Well ! what should I become ? " said father-stork ; " and what have I done ? A mere
nothing ! "
" You have done more than all the others ! Rut for you
and the young ones the two princesses would never have seen
Egypt again, and made the old man well. You will become
somebody ! You will certainly receive a Doctor's degree, and
our young ones will bear it afterwards, artd their young ones
will have it in turn. You look already like an Egyptian
doctor — in my eyes ! "
The wise and learned expounded the fundamental idea,
as they called it, that ran through the whole history : " Love
brings forth life ! " — they gave that explanation in different
ways — " the warm sunbeam was the Egyptian princess, she
descended to the Marsh King, and in their meeting the flower
sprang forth "
" I can't repeat the words quite right," said father-stork,
who had heard it from the roof, and was expected to tell
them all about it in his nest. " What they said was so in-
volved, it was so clever, that they immediately received hon-
ours and gifts. Even the head cook obtained a high mark
of distinction — that was for the soup ! "
" And what did you receive ? " inquired mother-stork ;
"they ought not to forget the most important, and that is
yourself The learned have only chattered about it all, but
your turn will come ! "
Late that night, while peaceful s'umber enwrapped the
now prosperous house, there was one who was still awake ;
and that was not the father-stork, though he stood on one leg
in the nest and slept like a sentinel. No, little Helga was
awake. She leaned out over the balcony and gazed at
the clear sky with the great, bright stars, larger and purer in
their lustre than she had seen them in the north, and yet the
same. She thought of the Viking's wife by the moor, of her
foster-mother's gentle eyes, and the tears she had shed over
her poor toad-child, who now stood in the light and splendour
of the stars by the waters of the Nile in the soft air of spring.
She thought of the love in that heathen woman's breast, that love which she had shown to a
miserable creature who, in human form, was an evil brute, and in the form of an animal, loathsome
to look at and to touch. She looked at the shining stars, and called to mind the splendour on the
forehead of the dead man, when they flew away over forest and moor ; tones resounded in her
recollection, words she had heard pronounced when they rode away, and she sat as if paralyzed —
words about the great Author of Love, the highest Love, embracing all generations.
Yes, how much had been given, gained, obtained ! Little Helga's thoughts were occupied,
night and day, with all her good fortune, and she stood in contemplation of it like a child which turns
quickly from the giver to all the beautiful presents that have been given ; so she rose up in her
increasing happiness, which could come and would come. She was indeed borne in mysterious
ways to even higher joy and happiness, and in this she lost herself one day so entirely that she
thought no more of the Giver. It was the strength of youthful courage that. inspired her bold
venture. Her eyes shone, but suddenly she was called back by a great clamour in the courtyard
SHE SAW TWO POWERFUL OSTRICHES
RUNNING ROUND IN NARROW CIRCLES.
THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER
12
PLACED THE GOLDEN CIRCLET ABOUT ins NKLk.
beneath. There she saw two powerful ostriches running hurriedly about in narrow circles. Sh'_"
had never before seen that creature, so great a bird, so clumsy and heavy. Its wings looked as if
they were clipped, the bird itself as if it
had been injured, and she inquired what
had been done to it, and, for the first time,
heard the tradition which the Egyptians
relate about the ostrich.
The race had at one time been beauti-
ful, its wings large and powerful ; then,
one evening, a mighty forest bird said to
it ; " Brother, shall we fly to the river in
the morning, if God will, and drink ? "
And the ostrich replied ; " I will." When
day broke they flew off, at first high up to-
wards the sun — the eye of God — ever
higher and higher, the ostrich far before all
the others ; it flew in its pride towards the
light ; it relied on its own strength, and
not on the Giver; it did not say, " If God
will I " Then the avenging angel drew
back the veil from the burning flame, and
in that instant the bird's wings were burnt; it sank miserably to the earth. Its descendants are
no longer able to raise themselves ; they fly in terror, rush about in circles in that narrow space.
It is a reminder to us men, in all our thoughts, in all our actions, to say : " If God will !"
And Helga thoughtfully bowed her head, looked at the hurrying ostrich, saw its fear, saw its
silly delight at the sight of its own great shadow on the white sunlit wall. And deep seriousness
fixed itself into her mind and thoughts. So rich a life, so full of prosperity, was given, was obtained
— what would happen ? What was yet to come ? The best thing : " If God will I "
*****
In the early spring, when the storks again started for the north, little Helga took her gold
bracelet, scratched her name on it, beckoned to the stork-father, placed the golden circlet about his
neck, and asked him to bear it to the Viking's wife, by which she would understand that her foster-
daughter was alive, and that she was happy, and thought of her.
" That is heavy to carry ! " thought the father-stork when it was placed around his neck ; " but
one does not throw gold and honour on the highroad. They will find it true up there that the
stork brings fortune ! "
" You lay gold, and I lay eggs ! " said the mother-
stork ; " but you only lay once, and I lay every \ear
But it vexes me that neither of us is appreciated."
" But we are quite aware of it ourselves, mother !
said father-stork.
" But you can't hang that on you," said mother-
stork. "It neither gives us fair wind nor food."
And so they flew.
The little nightingale, that sang in the tamarinc
bush, also wished to start for the north immediately.
Little Helga had often heard him up there near the
moor ; she wished to give him a message, for she
understood the speech of birds when she flew in the
swan's skin, and she had often since that time, used
it with the stork and the swallow. The night-,
ingale would understand her, and she asked him
to fly to the beech-forest on the peninsula of Jut-
land, where she had erected the grave of stones
and boughs ; there she asked him to bid all the
small birds to protect the grave, and always to sing their songs around it.
flew — and time flew also.
*****
The eagle stood on the pyramid in the autumn, and saw a magnificent array of richly-laden
AbKEU HIM TO FLY TO THE BEECH-FOREST.
And the nightingale
124-
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
SHE DID NOT LOOK
AT THE bridegroom's
BROWN, MANLY CHEEK
SHE LOOKED TOWARDS THE
TWINKLING, SPARKLING STARS.
camels, with armed men in costly cloth-
ing, on snorting Arabian steeds, shining
as white as silver, and with red quivering
nostrils, their heavy thick manes hanging
down about their slender legs. Rich
visitors, a royal prince from the land of
Arabia, beautiful as a prince ought to be,
came to that noble house, where the
storks' nest now stood empty, its former
occupants now far away in the northern
land, but soon to return. And they came
exactly on that day which was most filled
with joy and mirth. There was a grand
wedding, and little Helga was the bride,
arrayed in silk and jewels ; the bride-
young prince from the
and the two sat highest
look at the bridegroom's
groom was the
land of Arabia ;
at the table between the mother and grandfather. But she did not
brown, manly cheek, where his black beard curled ; she did not look at his dark, fiery eyes, which
were fastened upon her ; she looked outwards and upwards towards the twinkling, sparkling stars,
which beamed down from heaven.
Then there was a rustling sound of strong wing-strokes outside irj the air — the storks had
returned ; and the old couple, however tired they might be with the journey, and however much
they needed rest, still flew on to the railing of the verandah immediately they were aware whose
festivity it was. They had already heard, at the frontier of the country, that little Helga had
allowed them to be painted on the wall because they belonged to her history.
" That is very nicely borne in mind," said father-stork.
" It is very little ! " said the stork-mother ; " she could not have done less."
And when Helga saw them, she got up and went out into the verandah to them to pat them on
the back. The old storks curtsied with their necks, and the youngest of their young ones looked
on, and felt themselves honoured.
And Helga looked up to the bright stars which shone clearer and clearer ; and between them
and her, a form seemed to move still purer than the air, and seen through it, that hovered
quite near her — it was the dead Christian priest ; so he came on the day of her festivity, came from
the Kingdom of Heaven.
"The splendour and glory which are there, surpass everything that earth knows!" he said.
And little Helga prayed gently and from her heart, as she had never prayed before, that she
only for one single minute might dare to look within, might only cast one single glance into the
Kingdom of Heaven, to the Father of all.
And he raised her into the splendour and glory, in one current of sounds and thoughts ; it
was not only round about her that it shone and sounded, but within her. No words are able to
describe it.
" Now we must return ; you are wanted ! " he said.
" Only one glance more ! " she entreated ; " only one short minute ! "
" We must go back to the earth ; all the guests have gone away."
" Only one glance I the last "
*****
And little Helga stood outside in the verandah ; but all the torches outside were extinguished,
all the lights in the wedding chamber were gone, the storks were gone, no guests to be seen, no
bridegroom ; everything seemed to be blown away in three short minutes.
Then Helga was filled with terror, and she went through the great, empty hall, into the ne.xt
room. Strange soldiers were sleeping there. She opened a side door that led into her apartment,
and when she expected to stand there, she found herself outside in the garden ; but it was not like
this before — the heaven was red and shining, it was towards daybreak.
Only three minutes in Heaven, and a whole night had passed on the earth !
Then she saw the storks ; she cried to them, speaking their language, and father-stork turned
his head, listened, and drew near her.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
125
"You are speaking our language ! " said he ; " what
do you want ? Why do you come here you strange
woman ? "
" It is I ! it is Helga ! Don't you know me ? Three
minutes ago we were talking together, yonder in the
verandah."
" That is a mistake ! " said the stork ; " you must
have dreamt it ! "
" No, no ! " she said, and reminded him of the
Viking's stronghold and the moor, and of the journey
hither !
Then father-stork blinked his eyes : " That is a
very old story ; I have heard it from my great-great-
great-grandmother's time ! Yes, certainly, there was
such a princess in Egypt from the land of Denmark,
but she disappeared on the night of her wedding many
hundreds of years ago, and never came back again.
That you may read for yourself on the monument in
the garden ; there are sculptured both swans and
storks, and at the top you yourself stand in white
marble."
It was indeed so. Little Helga saw it, understood
it, and fell on her knees.
The sun broke forth, and as in former times at the touch of its beams the toad form disap-
peared and the beautiful shape was seen, so she raised herself now at the baptism of light in a
form of brighter beauty, purer than the air, a ray of light — to the Father of all.
Her body sank in dust ; there lay a faded lotus-flower where she had stood.
FELL ON HER KNEES.
"Then that was a new ending to the story!" said the father-stork. "I had not at all expected
it ! but I rather like it ! "
" I wonder what my young ones will say about it ! " said the mother-stork.
" Yes, that is certainly the principal thing ! " answered the father.
<^
The Little Mermaid
AR out at sea, the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflowers, and as clear as
the purest crystal. But it is very deep — so deep, indeed, that no rope can
fathom it ; and many church steeples need be piled one upon the other to
reach from the bottom to the surface. It is there that the sea-folk dwell.
Nor must it be imagined that there is nothing but a bare, white, sandy
ground below. No, indeed ! The soil produces the most curious trees and
flowers, whose leaves and stems are so flexible that the slightest motion of the
waters seems to fluster them as if they were living creatures. Fishes, great and
small, glide through the branches as birds fly through the trees here upon earth.
In the deepest spot of all stands the sea-king's palace ; its walls are of coral,
and its tall pointed windows of the clearest amber, while the roof is made of
mussel shells, that open and shut according to the tide. And beautiful they
look, for in each shell lies a pearl, any one of which would be worthy to be
placed in a queen's crown.
The sea-king had been a widower for many years, so his aged mother
kept house for him. She was a very wise woman, but extremely proud of her
noble birth, which entitled her to wear twelve oyster shells on her tail, while
26
ANDKRSEN'S FAIRY TALES
ATE OUT OK THEIR HANDS, AND ALLOWED
THEMSELVES TO BE STROKED.
li
other well-born persons might only
wear six. In all other respects
she was a very praisewortliy sort
of body ; and especially as regards
the care she took of the little
princesses, her granddaughters.
They were six pretty children ;
but the youngest was the prettiest
of all. Her skin was as clear and
delicate as a rose leaf, and her
eyes as blue as the deepest sea ;
but she had no feet any more than
the others, and her body ended in
a fish's tail.
Tlic\' were free to play ab nit all day long in the vast rooms of the palace below water, where
flowers grew upon the walls. The large amber windows were cyjened, when the fishes would
swim inwards to them just as the swallows fly into our houses when we open the windows ; only
the fishes swam right up to the princesses, ate out of their hands, and allowed themselves to be
stroked.
In front of the palace was a large garden with bright red and dark blue trees, whose fruit
glittered like gold, and whose blossoms were like fiery sparks, as both stalks and leaves kept
rustling continually. The ground was strewn with the most delicate sand, but blue as the
flames of sulphur. The whole atmosphere was of a peculiar blue tint that would have led you to
believe you were hovering high up in the air, with clouds above and below you, rather than stand-
ing at the bottom of the sea. When the winds were calm, the sun was visible ; and to those below
it looked like a scarlet flower shedding light from its calyx.
Each of the little princesses had a plot of ground in the garden, where she might dig and
plant as she pleased. One sowed her flovvcrs so as to come up in the shape of a whale ; another
preferred the figure of a little mermaid ; ,.
but the youngest planted hers in a circle
to imitate the sun, and chose flowers as
red as the sun appeared to her. She was
a sintrular child, both silent and thought-
ful ; and while her sisters were delighted
with all the strange things that the)-
obtained through the wrecks of vari-
ous ships, she had never claimed
anything — with tl e exception of the
red flowers that resembled the sun
above — but a pretty statue, repre-
senting a handsome youth, hewn
out of pure white marble that h.ul
sunk to the bottom of the sea, when
a ship ran aground. She
planted a bright red weep-
ing - willovv beside the
statue ; and when the tree
grew up, its fresh boughs
hung over it nearly down
to the blue sands, where
the shadow looked quite
violet, and kept dancing
about like the branches.
It seemed as if the top of
the tree were at play with
its roots, and each trying
to snatch a kiss.
There was nothing she
delii/hted in so much as to
THE YOUNGEST PLANltU llt-K
I.N A CIRCLE TO IMITATE THE SUN.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
127
heat about the upper world. She was always asking her grandmother to tell her all she knew
about ships, towns, people, and animals. What struck her as most beautiful was that the flowers
of the earth should shed perfumes, which they do not below the sea ; that the forests were grecn^
and that the fishes amongst the trees should sing so loud and so exquisitely that it must be a treat
to hear them. It was the little birds that her grandmother called fishes, or else her young
listeners would not have understood her, for they had never seen birds.
" When you have accompli--hed your fifteenth year," said the grandmother, " you sh.all have
leave to rise up out of the ^ca, and sit on the rocks in
the moonshine, and look at the large ships sailing
past. And then you will see both forests and towns."
In the following year one of the sisters would reach
the age of fifteen, but as all the rest were each a year
younger than the other, the youngest would have to
wait live years before it would be her turn to come up
from the bottom of the ocean, and see what our world
is like. However, the eldest promised to tell the others
what she saw, and what struck her as most beautiful on
the first day ; for their grandmother did not tell them
enough, and there were so many things they wanted to
know.
But none of them longed for her turn to come so
intensely as the youngest, who had to wait the longot,
and was so reserved and thoughtful. Many a night did
she stand at the open window, and gaze upwards
through the dark blue water, and watch the fishes as
they lashed the sea with their fins and tails. She could
see the moon and stars, that appeared, indeed, rather
pale, though much larger, seen through the water, than
tlicv do to us. If something resembling a black cloud
glided between the stars and herself, she knew that it
was either a whale swimming overhead, or a ship full
of human beings, none of whom probably dreamed
that a lovely little mermaid was standing below, and
stretching forth her white hands towards the keel of
their vessel.
The eldest princess was now fifteen, and was
allowed to rise up to the surface of the sea.
On her return she had a great deal to relate ; but
the most delightful thing of all, she said, was to lie
upon a sand-bank in the calm sea, and to gaze upon the
large city near the coast, where lights were shining like
hundreds of stars ; to listen to the sounds of music, to
the din of carriages, and the busy hum of the crowd ;
and to see the church steeples, and hear the bells ring-
ing. And she longed after all these things, just because
she could not approach them.
Oh, how attentively her youngest sister listened 1
And later in the evening, when she stood at the open
window, and gazed up through the dark blue water, how
shj thought about the large city, with its din and busth.
church bells ringing from below.
In the following )'ear, the second sister obtained leave to rise up to the surface of the water,
and swim about at her pleasure. She went up just at sunset, which appeared to her the finest
sight of all. She said that the whole sky appeared like gold, and as to the clouds, their beauty
was beyond all description. Red and violet clouds sailed rapidly above her head, while a flock of
wild swans, resembling a long white scarf, flew still faster than they across the sea towards the
setting sun. She, too, swam towards it, but the sun sank down, and the rosy hues vanished from
the surface of the water and from the skies.
The year after, the third sister went up. She was the boldest of them all, so she swam uj> a.
A STATUE, REPRESENTISr, A HANIKOME YOUTH,
HEWN OUT OF PURE WHITE MARHLE.
and even fancied she could hear the
128
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
river that fell into the sea. She saw beautiful
green hills covered with vines ; castles and citadels
peeped out from stately woods ; she heard the birds
singing, and the sun felt so warm that she was fre-
quently obliged to dive down under the water to
cool her burning face. In a small creek she met
with a whole troop of little human children. They
were naked, and dabbling about
in the water. She wanted to
play with them, but they flew
away in great alarm, and there
came a little black animal (she
meant a dog, only she had never
seen one before), who barked
at her so tremendously that she
was frightened, and sought to
reach the open sea. But she
should never forget the beauti-
ful forests, the green hills, or the pretty children, who were able to swim in the water although
they had no fish's tails.
The fourth sister was less daring. She remained in the midst of the sea, and maintained that
it was most beautiful at that point, because from thence one could see for miles around, and the
sky looked like a glass bell above one's head. She had seen ships, but only at a distance — they
looked like sea-mews ; and the waggish dolphins had thrown somersaults, and the large whales had
squirted water through their nostrils, so that one might fancy there were hundreds of fountains all
round.
It was now the fifth sister's turn. Her birthday was in the winter, therefore she saw what the
THEY FLEW AWAY IN GKEAT ALARM.
ALL THE VESSELS SCUDDED PAST IN GREAT ALARM.
Others had not seen the first time they went up. The sea looked quite green, and huge icebergs
were floating about ; each looked like a pearl, she said, only larger than the churches built by
human beings. They were of the oddest shapes, and glittered like diamonds. She had placed
herself upon the largest of them, letting the wind play with her long hair, and all the vessels
THE LITTLE MERMAID
i2g
sCudded past in great alarm, as though fearful of approaching the spot where she was sitting, but
towards evening, the sky became overcast, it thundered and lightened, while the dark sea lifted up
the huge icebergs on high, so that they were illuminated by the red flashes of the lightning. All
the vessels reefed in their sails, and their passengers were panic struck, while she sat quietly on her
floating block of ice and watched the blue lightning as it zig-zagged along the silent sea.
The first time that each of the sisters had successively risen to the surface of the water, they
had been enchanted by the novelty and beauty of all they saw ; but being now grown up, and at
liberty to go above as often as they pleased, they had grown indifferent to such excursions. They
longed to come back into the water, and at the end of a month they had all declared that it was
far more beautiful down below, and that it was
pleasanter to stay at home.
It frequently happened in the evening
that the five sisters would entwine their arms,
and rise up to the surface of the water all in
a row. They had beautiful voices, far finer
than any human being's, and when a storm
was coming on, and they anticipated that a
ship might sink, they swam before the vessel,
and sang most sweetly of the delights to be
found beneath the water, begging the seafarers
not to be afraid of coming down below. But
the sailors could not understand what they
said, and mistook their words for the howling
of the tempest, and they never saw all the fine
things below, for if the ship sank the men
were drowned, and their bodies alone reached
the sea-king's palace.
When the sisters rose up arm-in-arm
through the water, the youngest would stand
alone, looking after them, and felt ready to
cry ; only mermaids have no tears, and there-
fore suffer all the more.
" How I wish I were fifteen ! " said she.
" I am sure I shall love the world above, and
the beings that inhabit it."
At last she reached the age of fifteen.
" Well, now you are grown up ! " said her
grandmother, the widow of the late king.
" So let me dress you like your sisters." And
she placed in her hair a wreath of white lilies,
every leaf of which was half a pearl ; and the
old dame ordered eight large oyster shells to
be fastened to the princess's tail, to denote
her high rank.
" But they hurt me so," said the little
mermaid
" Pride must suffer pain," said the old lady.
Oh ! how gladly would she have shaken off all this pomp and laid aside her heavy wreath—
the red flowers in her garden adorned her far better — but she could not help herself " Farewell ! "
cried she, rising as lightly as a bubble to the surface of the water.
The sun had just sunk as she raised her head above the waves, but the clouas were still pink,
and fringed with gold ; and through the fast vanishing rosy tints of the air beamed the evening in
all its beauty. The atmosphere was mild and cool, and the sea quite calm. A large ship vyith
three masts was lying on its surface ; only a single sail was hoisted, for not a breeze was stirring,
and the sailors were sitting all about in the rigging. There were musical instruments playing, and
voices singing ; and when the evening grew darker, hundreds of gay-coloured lanterns were lighted,
which looked like the flags of all nations streaming through the air. The little mermaid swam close
to the cabin window, and as often as the water lifted her up, she peeped in through the transparent
panes, and saw a number of well-dressed persons. But the handsomest of all was the prince, with
AS OFTEN AS THE WATER LIFTED HER UP SHE PEEPED
IN THROUGH THE TRANSPARENT PANES.
I30
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
large, dark eyes ; he could not be above sixteen, and it was his birthday that was being celebrated
with such magnificence. The sailors danced upon deck, and when the young prince came up
above a hundred rockets were let off, that lit the air till it was as bright as day, and so frightened
the little mermaid that she dived under the water. But she soon popped out her head once more,
when all the stars in heaven seemed to be falling down upon her. She had never seen such fire-
works before ; large suns were throwing out sparks, beautiful fiery fishes were darting through the
blue air, and all these wonders were reflected in the calm sea below. The ship itself was thrown
into such bright relief that every little cord was distinctly visible, and, of course, each person still
more so. And how handsome the young prince looked, as he pressed the hands of those present
and smiled, while the music resounded through that lovely night !
It was late. Still the little mermaid could not take her eyes off the ship or the handsome
prince. The variegated lanterns were now extinguished, the rockets ceased to be let off, and no
more cannons were fired ; but there was a rumbling and a grumbling in the heart of the sea. Still
she sat rocking up and down in the water, so as to peep into the cabin. But now the ship began
to move faster, the sails were unfurled one after another, the waves ran higher, heavy clouds flitted
across the sky, and flashes of lightning were seen in the distance. A tremendous storm seemed
coming on, so the sailors reefed in the sails once more. The large ship kept pitching to and fro
in its rapid course across the raging sea ; the billows heaved, like so many gigantic black moun-
tains, threatening to roll over the topmast, but the ship dived down like a swan between the high
waves, and then rose again on the
towering pinnacle of the waters. The
little mermaid fancied this was a
right pleasant mode of sailing, but
the crew thought differently. The
ship kept cracking and cracking, the
thick planks gave way beneath the
repeated lashings of the waves, a leak
was sprung, the mast was broken
right in twain like a reed, and the
vessel drooped on one side, while the
water kept filling the hold. The
little mermaid now perceived that
the crew were in danger, and she her-
self was obliged to take care not to
be hurt by the beams and planks
belonging to the ship that were dis-
persed upon the waters. For one
moment it was so pitch dark that
she could see m thing, but when a
flash of lightning illumined the sky,
and enabled her to discern distinctly all on board, she looked especially for the }oung prince,
whom she perceived sinking into the water just as the ship burst asunder. She was then quite
pleased at the thought of his coming down to her, till she reflected that human beings cannot
live in water, and that he would be dead by the time he reached her father's castle. But die he
must not, therefore she swam towards him through the planks and beams that were driven about
on the billows, forgetting that they might crush her to atoms. She dived deep under the water,
and then, rising again between the waves, she managed at length to reach the young prince, who
was scarcely able to buffet any longer with the stormy sea. His arms and legs began to feel
powerless, his beautiful ej-es were closed, and he would have died had not the little mermaid
come to his assistance. She held his head above the water, and then let the waves carry them
whither they pleased.
Towards morning the storm had abated, but not a wreck of the vessel was to be seen. The
sun rose red and beaming from the water, and seemed to infuse life into the prince's cheeks, but his
eyes remained closed. The mermaid kissed his high, polished forehead, and stroked back his wet
hair ; she fancied he was like the marble statue in her garden, and she kissed him again, and wished
that he might live.
They now came in sight of land, and she saw high blue mountains, on the tops of which the
snow looked as dazzlingly white as though a flock of swans were lying there. Below, near the
coast, were beautiful green forests, and in front stood a church or a convent — she did not rightly
SHE HELD HIS HEAD ABOVE THE WATER, AND THEN LET THB
WAVES CARRY THEM WHITHER THEY PLEASED.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
131
know which^but, at all events, it was a building. Citrons and China oranges grew in the garden,
and tall palm-trees stood in front of the door. The sea formed a small bay at this spot, and the
water, though very deep, was quite calm ; so she swam with the handsome prince towards the
clifi", where the delicate white sands had formed a heap, and here she laid him down, taking great
care that his head should be placed higher than his body, and in the warm sunshine.
The bells now pealed from the large white building, and a number of girls came into the
garden. The little mermaid then swam farther away and hid herself behind some high stones that
rose out of the water, and covering her head and bosom with foam, so that no one could see her
little countenance, she watched whether any one came to the poor prince's assistance.
It was not long before a young maiden approached the spot where he was Ijing. She ap-
peared frightened at first, but it was only for a moment ; and then she fetched a number of persons ;
and the mermaid saw that the prince came to life again, and that he smiled on all those around
him. But he did not send her a smile, neither did he know she had saved him, so she felt quite
IT WAS NOT LONG BEFORE A YOUNG MAIDEN APPROACHED THE SPOT WHERE HE WAS LYING.
afflicted ; and when he was led into the large building she dived back into the water with a heavy
heart and returned to her father's castle.
Silent and thoughtful as she had always been, she now grew still more so. Her sisters in-
quired what she had seen the first ti.ie she went above, but she did not tell them.
Many an evening, and many a morning, did she rise up to the spot where she had left the
prince. She saw the fruit in the garden grow ripe, and then she saw it gathered ; she saw the
snow melt away from the summits of the high mountains, but she did not see the prince ; and each
time she returned home more sorrowful than ever. Her only consolation was to sit in her little
garden and to fling her arm round the beauteous marble statue that was like the prince ; but she
ceased to tend her flowers, and they grew like a wilderness all over the paths, entwining their
long stems and leaves with the branches of the trees, so that it was quite dark beneath their
shade.
At length she could resist no longer, and opened her heart to one of her sisters, from whom
all the others immediately learned her secret, though they told it to no one else, except to a couple
of other mermaids, who divulged it to nobody, except to their most intimate friends. One of these
happened to know who the prince was. She, too, had seen the gala on ship-board, and informed
them whence he came, and where his kingdom lay.
132
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
" Come, little sister," said the other princesses ; and, entwining their arms, they rose ud in a
long row out of the sea at the spot where they knew the prince's palace stood.
This was built of bright yellow, shining stone, with a broad flight of marble steps, the last of
which reached down into the sea. Magnificent golden cupolas rose above the roof, and marble
statues, closely imitating life, were placed between the pillars that surrounded the edifice. One
could see, through the transparent panes of the large windows, right into the magnificent rooms,
fitted with costly silk curtains and splendid hangings, and ornamented with large pictures on all
the walls ; so that it was a pleasure to look at them. In the middle of the principal room, a large
fountain threw up its sparkling jets as high as the glass cupola in the ceiling, through which the
sun shone down upon the water, and on the beautiful plants growing in the wide basin that
contained it.
Now that she knew where he lived, she spent many an evening, and many a night, on the
neighbouring water. She swam much nearer the shore than any of the others had ventured to do ;
nay, she even went up the narrow canal, under the handsome marble balcony that threw its long
shadow over the water. Here she would sit, and gaze at the young prince, who thought himself
quite alone in the bright moonshine.
Many an evening did she see him sailing in his pretty boat, adorned with flags, and enjoying
music : then she would listen from amongst
the green reeds ; and if the wind happened
to seize hold of her long silvery white veil,
those who saw it took it to be a swan
spreading out his wings.
Many a night, too, when fishermen were
spreading their nets by torchlight, she
heard them speaking highly of the young
prince ; and she rejoiced that she had
saved his life, when he was tossed about,
half dead, on the waves. And she remem-
bered how his head had rested on her bosom,
and how heartily she had kissed him — but
of all this he knew nothing, and he could
not even dream about her.
She soon grew to be more and more
fond of human beings, and to long more
and more fervently to be able to walk about
amongst them, for their world appeared to
her far larger and more beautiful than her own. They could fly across the sea upon ships, and
scale mountains that towered above the clouds ; and the lands they possessed — their fields and
their forests — stretched away far beyond the reach of her sight.
There was such a deal that she wanted to learn, but her sisters were not able to answer all her
questions ; therefore she applied to her old grandmother, who was well acquainted with the upper
world, which she called, very correctly, the lands above the sea.
" If human beings do not get drowned," asked the little mermaid, " can they live for ever?
Do not they die, as we do here in the sea ? "
" Yes," said the ancient dame, " they must die as well as we ; and the term of their life is even
shorter than ours. We can live to be three hundred years old ; but when we cease to be here, we
shall only be changed into foam, and are not even buried below among those we love. Our souls
are not immortal. We shall never enter upon a new life. We are like the green reed, that can
never flourish again when it has once been cut through. Human beings, on the contrar)', have a
soul that lives eternally — yea, even after the body has been committed to the earth — and that rises
up through the clear pure air to the bright stars above ! Like as we rise out of the water to look
at the haunts of men, so do they rise to unknown and favoured regions, that we shall never be
privileged to see."
" And why have not we an immortal soul ? " asked the little mermaid sorrowfully. " I would
willingly give all the hundreds of years I may have to live, to be a human being but for one day,
and to have the hope of sharing in the joys of the heavenly world."
"You must not think about that," said the old dame. "We feel we are much happier and
better than the human race above."
"So I shall die, and be driven about like foam on the sea, and cease to hear the music of the
"you MUST NOT THINK ABOUT THAT," SAID THE
OLD DAME.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
133
waves, and to see the beautiful flowers, and the red sun ? Is there nothing I can do to obtain an
immortal soul ? "
" No," said the old sea-queen ; " unless a human being loved you so dearly that you were more
to him than either father or mother ; if all his thoughts and his love were centred in you, and he
allowed the priest to lay his right hand in yours, promising to be faithful to you here and hereafter :
then would his soul glide into your body, and you would obtain a share in the happiness awaiting
human beings. He would give you a soul without forfeiting his own. But this will never happen !
Your fish's tail, which is a beauty amongst us sea-folk, is thought a deformity on earth, because
they know no better. It is necessary there to have two stout props, that they call legs, in order to
be beautiful ! "
The little mermaid sighed as she cast a glance at her fish's tail.
" Let us be merry," said the old dame ; " let us jump and hop about during the three hundred
years that we have to live — which is really quite enough, in all conscience. We shall then be all
the more disposed to rest at a later period. To-night we shall have a court ball."
On these occasions
there was a display of mag-
nificence such
as we never
see upon earth.
The walls and
the ceiling of
the large ball-room
were of thick, though
transparent glass,
hundreds of colos-
sal mussel - shells —
some of a deep red,
others as green as
grass — were hung in
rows on each side,
and contained blue
flames, that illumin-
ated the whole room,
and shone through the walls,
that the sea was lighted
all around. Countless fishes,
great and small, were to be
seen swimming past the glass walls,
some of them flaunting in scarlet
scales, while others sparkled like liquid
gold or silver.
Through the ball-room flowed a wide stream, on whose surface the mermen and mermaids
danced to their own sweet singing. Human beings have no such voices. The little mermaid sang
the sweetest of them all, and the whole court applauded with their hands and tails ; and for a
moment she felt delighted, for she knew that she had the loveliest voice ever heard upon earth or
upon the sea. But her thoughts soon turned once more to the upper world, for she could not long
forget either the handsome prince or her grief at not having an immortal soul like his. She,
therefore, stole out of her father's palace, where all within was song and festivity, and sat down
sadly in her own little garden. Here she heard a bugle sounding through the water.
" Now," thought she, " he is surely sailing about up above — he who incessantly fills all my
thoughts, and to whose hands I would fain entrust the happiness of my existence. I will venture
everything to win him and to obtain an immortal soul. VVhile my sisters are dancing yonder in
my father's castle, I will go to the sea-witch, who has always frightened me hitherto, but now,
perhaps, she can advise and help me."
The little mermaid then left her garden, and repaired to the rushing whirlpool, behind which
the sorceress lived. She had never gone that way before. Neither flowers nor sea-grass grew
there ; and nothing but bare, grey, sandy ground led to the whirlpool, where the waters kept
eddying like waving mill-wheels, dragging everything they clutched hold of into the fathomless
depth below. Between these whirlpools, that might have crushed her in their rude grasp, was the
HER HANDS
OVER HER BOSOM
SHE DARTED ALONG
AS A FISH SHOOTS
THROUGH THE WATER " .
BETWEEN THE UGLY POLWI
134
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
WITHIN SAT THE SEA-WITCH, FEEDING
A TOAD FROM HER MOUTH.
mermaid forced to pass to reach the dominions of the sea-witch; and even here, during a good
part of the way, there was no other road than across a sheet of warm, bubbhng mire, which the
witch called her turf-common. At the back of this lay her house, in the midst of a most singular
forest. Its trees and bushes were polypi— half animal, half plant
— they looked like hundred-headed serpents growing out of the
ground ; the branches were long, slimy arms, with fingers like
flexible worms, and they could move every joint from the root
to the tip. They laid fast hold of whatever they could snatch
from the sea, and never yielded it up again. The little mermaid
was so frightened at the sight of them that her heart beat with
fear, and she was fain to turn back ; but then she thought of
the prince, and of the soul that human beings possessed, and she
took courage. She knotted up her long, flowing hair, that the
poh'pi might not seize hold of her locks ; and, crossing her
hands over her bosom, she darted along, as a fish shoots through
the water, between the ugly pol}-pi, that stretched forth their
flexible arms and fingers behind her. She perceived how each of
them retained what it had seized, with hundreds of little arms,
as strong as iron clasps. Human beings, who had died at sea
and had sunk below, looked like white skeletons in the arms of
the polypi. They clutched rudders, too, and chests, and skeletons
of animals belonging to the earth, and even a little mermaid
whom they had caught and stifled — and this appeared to her,
perhaps, the most shocking of all.
She now approached a vast swamp in the forest, where large, fat water-snakes were wallowing
in the mire and displaying their ugl}' whitish-yellow bodies. In the midst of this loathsome spot
stood a house, built of the bones of shipwrecked human beings, and within sat the sea-witch,
feeding a toad from her mouth, just as people amongst us give a little canary-bird a lump of sugar
to eat. She called the nasty fat water-snakes her little chicks, and let them creep all over her
bosom.
" I know what you want ! " said the sea-witch. " It is very stupid of you, but you shall have
your way, as it will plunge you into misfortune, my fair princess. You want to be rid of your fish's
tail, and to have a couple of props like those human beings have to walk about upon, in order that
the young prince may fall in love with you, and that you may obtain his hand and an immortal
soul into the bargain ! " And then the old witch laughed so loud and so repulsively that the toad
and the snakes fell to the ground, where they lay wriggling about. " You come just at the nick of
time," added the witch, " for to-morrow, by sunrise, I should no longer be able to help you till
another year had flown past. I will prepare you a potion ; and you must swim ashore with it
to-morrow, before sunrise, and then sit down and drink it. Your tail will then disappear, and
shrivel up into what human beings call neat legs. But mind, it will hurt you as much as if a sharp
sword were thrust through you. Everybody that sees you will say you are the most beautiful
mortal ever seen. You will retain the floating elegance of your gait : no dancer will move so
lightly as }ou, but every step you take will be like treading upon such sharp knives that you
would think your blood must flow. If you choose to put up with sufferings like these, 1 have
the power to help you."
" I do," said the little mermaid, in a trembling voice, as she thought of the prince and of an
immortal soul.
" But bethink you well," said the witch ; " if once you obtain a human form, you can never
be a mermaid again ! You will never be able to dive down into the water to your sisters or
return to your father's palace; and if you should fail in winning the prince's love to the degree
of his forgetting both father and mother for your sake, and loving you with his whole soul, and
bidding the priest join your hands in marriage, then you will never obtain an immortal soul !
And the very day after he will have married another, your heart will break, and you will dissolve
into the foam on the billows."
" I am resolved," said the little mermaid, who had turned as pale as death.
" But you must pay me my dues," said the witch, " and it is no small matter I require. You
have the loveliest voice of all the inhabitants of the deep, and you reckon upon its tones to charm
him into loving you. Now, you must give me this beautiful voice. I choose to have the best of all
you possess in exchange for my valuable potion. For I must mix my own blood with it, that it
may prove as sharp as a two-edged sword."
THE LITTLE MERMAID 135
"But if you take away my voice," said the little mermaid, " what have I left?"
"Your lovely form," said the witch, "_\-our buoyant carriage, and your expressive eyes. With
these you surely can befool a man's heart. Well? Has your courage melted away? Come, put
out your little tongue, and let me cut it off for my fee, and you shall have the valuable potion."
" 3o be it," said the little mermaid ; and the witch put her cauldron on the fire to prepare the
potion. " Cleanliness is a virtue ! " quoth she, scouring the cauldron with the snakes that she had
tied into a knot ; after which she pricked her own breast, and let her black blood trickle down into
the vessel. The steam rose up in such fanciful shapes that no one could have looked at them
without a shudder. The witch kept flinging fresh materials into the cauldron every moment, and
when it began to simmer it was like the wailings of a crocodile. At length the potion was ready,
and it looked like the purest spring water.
" Here it is," said the witch, cutting off the little mermaid's tongue ; so now she was dumb,
and could neither sing nor speak.
" If the polypi should seize hold of you on your return through my forest," said the witch,
"you need only sprinkle a single drop of this potion over them, and their arms and fingers will be
shivered to a thousand pieces." But the little mermaid had no need of this talisman ; the pol}'pi
drew back in alarm f.om her on perceiving the dazzling potion that shined in her hand like a
twinkling star. So she crossed rapidly through the forest, the swamp, and the raging whirlpool.
She saw her father's palace — the torches were now extinguished in the large ball-room — and
she knew the whole family were asleep within, but she did not
dare venture to go and seek them, now that she was dumb and
was about to leave them for ever. Her heart seemed ready to
burst with angm'sh. She stole into the garden and plucked a
flower from each of her sisters' flower-beds, kissed her hand a
thousand times to the palace, and then rose up through the
blue waters.
The sun had not yet risen when she saw the prince's castle
and reached the magnificent marble steps. The moon shone
brightly. The little mermaid drank the sharp and burning
potion, and it seemed as if a two-edged sword was run through
her delicate frame. She fainted away, and remained apparently ^^,^^^. ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ,^^^ ^^^
lifeless. When the sun rose over the sea she auoke, and felt a ^^^ ^^^,^^^_ ^^^ ^.^^^ ^ ^„^^p p^^^
sharp pang ; but just before her stood the handsome young
prince. He gazed at her so intently with his coal-black eyes
that she cast hers to tlie ground, and now perceived that her fish's tail had disappeared, and
that she had a pair of the neatest little white legs that a maiden could desire. Only, having
no clothes on, she was obliged to enwrap herself in her long, thick hair. The prince inquired who
she was, and how she had come thither ; but she could only look at him with her mild but sorrow-
ful deep blue eyes, for speak she could not. He then took her by the hand, and led her into the
palace. Every step she took was, as the witch had warned her it would be, like treading on the
points of needles and sharp knives ; but she bore it willingly, and, hand in hand with the
prince, she glided in as lightly as a soap-bubble, so that he, as well as everybody else, marvelled at
lier lovely lightsome gait.
She was now dressed in costly robes of silk and muslin, and was the most beautiful of all the
inmates of the palace; but she was dumb, and could neither sing nor speak. Handsome
female slaves, attired in silk and gold, came and sang before the prince and his royal parents ; and
one of them happening to sing more beautifully than all the others, the prince clapped his hands
and smiled. This afflicted the little mermaid. She knew that she herself had sung much more
exquisitely, and thought, " Oil, did he but know that to be near him I sacrificed my voice to all
eternit)' ! "
The female slaves now performed a variety of elegant, aerial-looking dances to the sound of
the most delightful music. The little mermaid then raised her beautiful white arms, stood on the
tips of her toes, and floated across the floor in such a way as no one had ever danced before.
Every motion revealed some fresh beauty, and her eyes appealed still more directly to the heart
than the singing of the slaves had done.
Everybody was enchanted, but most of all the prince, who called her his little foundling ; and
she danced on and on, though every time her foot touched the floor she felt as if she were treading
on sharp knives. The prince declared that he would never part with her, and she obtained leave to
sleep on a velvet cushion before his door.
136
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
He had her dressed in male attire, that she might accompany him on horseback. They then
rode together through the perfumed forests, where the green IJoughs touched their shoulders, and
EVERYBODY WAS ENCHANTED, BUT MOST OF ALL THE PRINCE, WHO CALLED HER HIS LITTLE FOUNDLING.
the little birds sang amongst the cool leaves. She climbed up mountains by the prince's side ; and
though her tender feet bled so that others perceived it, she only laughed at her sufferings, and
THE LITTLE MERMAID
137
SHE WOULD GO AND SIT ON THE
BROAD MARBLE STEPS, FOR IT
COOLED HER BURNING FEET
TO BATHE THEM IN THE SF.A
WATER.
followed him till they could see the clouds rolling beneath them like a
flock of birds bound for some distant land.
At night, when others slept throughout the prince's palace, she
would go and sit on the broad marble steps, for it cooled her burning
feet to bathe them in the sea water ; and then she thought of those
below the deep.
One night her sisters rose up arm in arm, and sang so mournfully
as they glided over the waters. She then made them a sign, when
they recognised her, and told her how deeply she had afflicted them all.
After that they visited her every night ; and once she perceived at a
great distance her aged grandmother, who had not come up above the
surface of the sea for many years, and the sea-king, with his crown on
his head. They stretched out their arms to her, but they did not ven-
ture so near the shore as her sisters.
Each day she grew to love the prince more fondly ; and he loved
her just as one loves a dear, good child. But as to choosing her for his
queen, such an idea never entered his head ; yet, unless she became his
wife, she would not obtain an immortal soul, and would melt to foam
on the morrow of his wedding another.
" Don't you love me the best of all ?" would the little mermaid's eyes seem to ask, when he
embraced her and kissed her fair forehead.
" Yes, I love you best," said the prince, " for you have the best heart of any. You are the most
devoted to me, and you resemble a young maiden whom I once saw, but whom I shall never meet
again. I was on board a ship that sank ; the billows cast me near a holy temple, where several
young maids were performing divine service ; the youngest of them found me on the shore and
saved my life. I saw her only twice. She would be the only one that I could love in this world ;
but your features are like hers, and you have almost driven her image out of my soul. She
belongs to the holy temple ; and, therefore, my good star has sent you to me — and we will never
part."
" Alas ! he knows not that it was I who saved his life! " thought the little mermaid. " I bore
him across the sea to the wood where stands the holy temple, and I sat beneath the foam to watch
whether any human beings came to help him. I saw the pretty girl whom he loves better than he
does me." And the mermaid heaved a deep sigh, for tears she had none to shed. " He says the
maiden belongs to the holy temple, and she will, therefore, never
return to the world. They will not meet again while I am by
his side and see him every day. I will take care of him, and
love him, and sacrifice my life to him."
But now came a talk of the prince being about to marry,
and to obtain for his wife the beautiful daughter of a neighbour-
ing king ; and that was why he was fitting out such a mag-
nificent vessel. The prince was travelling ostensibly on a mere
visit to his neighbour's estates, but in reality to see the king's
daughter. He was to be accompanied by a numerous retinue.
The little mermaid shook her head and smiled. She knew the
prince's thoughts better than the others did. " I must travel,"
he had said to her. " I must see this beautiful princess, because
my parents require it of me ; but they will not force me to
bring her home as my bride. I cannot love her. She will not
resemble the beautiful maid in the temple whom you are like ;
and if I were compelled to choose a bride, it should sooner be
you, my dumb foundling, with those expressive eyes of yours."
And he kissed her rosy mouth, and played with her long hair,
and rested his head against her heart, which beat high with
hopes of human felicity and of an immortal soul.
" You are noi afraid of the sea, my dumb child, are you ? "
said he, as they stood on the magnificent vessel that was to
carry them to the neighbouring king's dominions. And he
talked to her about tempests and calm, of the singular fishes to
found in the deep, and of the wonderful things the divers
HE KISSED HER ROSY MOUTH AND
PLAYED WSTH HER LONG HAIR.
138
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
GAZED THROUGH THE CLEAR WATERS, AND FANCIED SHE SAW HER FATHER S PALACE.
saw below ; and
she smiled, for she
knew better than
any one else what
was in the sea
below.
During the
moonlit night,when
all were asleep on
board, not even ex-
cepting the helms-
man at his rudder,
she sat on deck,
and gazed through
the clear waters,
and fancied she
saw her father's
palace. High above
it stood her aged
grandmother, with
her silver crown on her head, looking up intently at the keel of the ship. Then her sisters rose
up to the surface, and gazed at her mournfully, and wrung their white hands. She made a sign
to them, smiled, and would fain have told them that she was happy and well off; but the
cabin-boy approached, and the sisters diVed beneath the waves, leaving him to believe that the
white forms he thought he descried were only the foam upon the waters.
Next morning the ship came into port, at the neighbouring king's
splendid capital. The bells were all set a-ringing, trumpets sounded
flourishes from high turrets, and soldiers, with flying colours and shin-
ing bayonets, stood ready to welcome the stranger. Every day
brought some fresh entertainment : balls and feasts succeeded each
other. But the princess was not yet there ; for she had been brought
up, people said, in a far distant, holy temple, where she had acquired
all manner of ro}al virtues. At last she came.
The little mermaid was curious to judge of her beauty, and she
was obliged to acknowledge to herself that she had never seen a
lovelier face. Her skin was delicate and transparent, and beneath her
long, dark lashes sparkled a pair of sincere, dark blue eyes.
" It is you ! " cried the prince — " \'ou who saved me, when I lay
like a lifeless corpse upon the shore ! " And he folded his blushing
bride in his arms. " Oh, I am too happy I " said he to the little
mermaid : " my fondest dream has come to pass. You will rejoice at
my happiness, for you wish me better than any of them." And the
little mermaid kissed his hand, and felt already as if her heart was
about to break. His wedding-morning would bring her death, and she
would be then changed to foam upon the sea.
All the church-bells were ringing, and the heralds rode through
the streets, and proclaimed the approaching nuptials. Perfumed oil
was burning in costly silver lamps on all the altars. The priests were
swinging their censers ; while the bride and bridegroom joined their
hands, and received the bishop's blessing. The little mermaid, dressed
in silk and gold, held up the bride's train ; but her ears did not hear the
solemn music, neither did her eyes behold the ceremony : she thought of
the approaching gloom of death, and of all she had lost in this world.
That same evening the bride and bridegroom went on board.
The cannons were roaring, the banners were streaming, and a costly
tent of gold and purple, lined with beautiful cushions, had been pre-
pared on deck for the reception of the bridal pair.
The vessel then set sail, with a favourable wina, and glided
smoothl)- along the calm sea.
SHE WAS FAIN lO LAUGH
AND DANCE, THOUGH THE
THOUGHTS OF DEATH WERE
IN HLK HEART.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
139
When it grew dark, a number of variegated lamps were lighted, and the crew danced merrily
on deck. The little mermaid could not help remembering her first visit to the earth, when she
witnessed similar festivities and magnificence ; and she twirled round in the dance, half poised in
the air, like a swallow when pursued ; and all present cheered her in ecstasies, for never had she
danced so enchantingly before. Her tender feet felt the sharp pangs of knives ; but she heeded it
not, for a sharper pang had shot
through her heart. She knew
that this was the last evening she
should ever be able to see him for
whom she had left both her rela-
tions and her home, sacrificed her
beautiful voice, and daily suffered
most excruciating pains, without
his having even dreamed that such
was the case. It was the last
night on which she might breathe
the same air as he, and gaze on
the deep sea and the starry sky.
An eternal night, unenlivened by
either thoughts or dreams, now
awaited her ; for she had no soul,
and could never now obtain one.
Yet all was joy and gaiety on
board till long past midnight ; and
she was fain to laugh and dance,
though the thoughts of death were
in her heart. The prince kissed
his beautiful bride, and she played
with his black locks ; and then
they went, arm in arm, to rest
beneath the splendid tent.
All was now quiet on board ;
the steersman only was sitting at
the helm, as the little mermaid
leaned her white arms on the edge
of the vessel, and looked towards
the east for the first blush of morn-
ing. The very first sunbeam, she
knew, must kill her. She then saw
her sisters rising out of the flood.
They were as pale as herself, and
their long and beautiful locks were
no longer streaming to the winds,
for they had been cut off
" We gave them to the witch,"
said they, " to obtain help, that
you might not die to-night. She
gave us a knife in exchange — and
a sharp one it is, as you may see.
Now, before sunrise, you must
plunge it into the prince's heart ;
and when his warm blood shall besprinkle your feet, they will again close up into a fish's tail, and
}'nu will be a mermaid once more, and can come down to us, and live out your three hundred
\ears, before you turn into inanimate, salt foam. Haste, then ! He or you must die before sun-
rise ! Our old grandmother has fretted till her white hair has fallen off, as ours has under the
witch's scissors. Haste, then ! Do you not perceive those red streaks in the sky? In a few
minutes the sun will rise, and then you must die \ " And they then fetched a deep, deep sigh, as
they sank down into the waves.
The little me.rmaid lifted the scarlet curtain of the tent, and beheld the fair bride resting her
HK THEN SAW HER sIsTERs RISING OUT OF THE FLOOD. THEV WERE AS
PALE AS HERSELF, AND THEIR LONG AND BEAUTIFUL LOCKS WERE NO
LONGER STREAMING TO THE WINDS, FOR THF.Y HAD BEEN CUT OFF.
140
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
head on the prince's breast ; and she bent down and kissed his beautiful forehead, then looked
up at the heavens, where the rosy dawn grew brighter and brighter ; then gazed on the sharp
knife, and again turned her eyes towards the prince, who was calling his bride by her name in
his sleep. She alone filled his thoughts, and the mermaid's fingers clutched the knife instinctively
— but in another moment she hurled the blade far away into the waves, that gleamed redly where
it fell, as though drops of blood were gurgling up from the water. She gave the prince one last,
dying look, and then jumped overboard, and felt her body dissolving into foam.
The sun now rose out of the sea ; its beams threw a kindly warmth upon the cold foam, and
the little mermaid did not experience the pangs of death. She saw the bright sun, and above were
floating hundreds of transparent, beautiful crea-
tures ; she could still catch a glimpse of the ship's
white sails, and of the red clouds in the sky, across
the swarms of these lovely beings. Their language
was melody, but too ethereal to be heard by human
ears, just as no human eye can discern their forms.
Though without wings, their lightness poised
them in the air. The little mermaid saw
that she had a body like theirs, that kept
rising higher and higher from out the foam.
" Where am I ? " asked she ! and her
voice sounded like that of her companions
— so ethereal that no earthly music could
give an adequate idea of its sweetness.
"Amongst the daughters of the air!"
answered they. " A mermaid has not an
immortal soul, and cannot obtain one, unless
she wins the love of some human being —
her eternal welfare depends on the will of
another. Rut the daughters of the air, although
not possessing an immortal soul by nature, can
obtain one by their good deeds. We fly to warm
countries, and fan the burning atmosphere, laden
with pestilence, that destroys the sons of man.
We diffuse the perfume of flowers through the air
to heal and to refresh. When we have striven for
three hundred years to do all the good in our
power, we then obtain an immortal soul, and share
in the eternal happiness of the human race. You, poor little mermaid ! have striven with your
whole heart like ourselves. You have suffered and endured, and have raised }-ourself into an
aerial spirit, and now your own good works may obtain you an immortal soul after the lapse of
three hundred years."
And the little mermaid lifted her brightening eyes to the sun, and for the first time she felt
them filled with tears. All was now astir in the ship, and she could see the prince and his beautiful
bride looking for her, and then gazing sorrowfully at the pearly foam, as though they knew that
she had cast herself into the waves. She then kissed the bride's forehead, and fanned the prince,
unseen by either of them, and then mounted, together with the other children of the air, on the
rosy cloud that was sailing through the atmosphere.
" Thus shall we glide into the Kingdom of Heaven, after the lapse of three hundred years,"
said she.
" We may reach it sooner," whispered one of the daughters of the air. " We enter unseen the
dwellings of man, and for each day on which we have met with a good child, who is the joy of his
parents, and deserving of their love, the Almighty shortens the time of our trial. The child little
thinks, when we fly through the room, and smile for joy at such a discovery, that a year is deducted
from the three hundred we have to live. But when we see an ill-behaved or naughty child, we shed
tears of sorrow, and every tear adds a day to the time of our probation."
nlEN JUMPED OVERBOARD,
AND FELT HER BODY
DISSOLVING INTO FOAM.
^
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
141
The Girl who Trod on the Loaf
ME story of the girl who trod on the loaf lest she should soil
her shoes, and of what happened to her, must be familiar to
you. It has been both written and printed.
She was a poor child, but proud and arrogant ; there
was a poor foundation in her, as they say. As quite a little
girl it was her one delight to get hold of flies and pull off their
wings, so that they could only crawl. She took cockchafers and
beetles, stuck them on needles, then held a green leaf or a little piece
of paper to their feet, and the poor creatures held fast to it, and
turned it about to get off the needle.
" Now the cockchafer is reading!" said little Inger ; "see how
it turns the leaf! "
As she grew bigger she became worse, instead of better ; but she
was handsome, and that was her misfortune, for otherwise she would
have been more often chastised than she was.
" Your head will meet with some hard blow I " her own mother
said. " You have often as a child trodden on my apron, and I am
afraid that when you are older you will tread on my heart."
And certainly she did so.
She now came out into the country to be a servant to some
people of rank ; they treated her as if she had been their own child,
and she was dressed as such. She looked well, and grew yet more
arrogant.
When she had been out about a twelvemonth, her master said to
her, " You ought to go and visit your parents, little Inger."
And she went ; but it was in order to show herself, that they
might see how fine she had grown. But when she came to the town
gate, and saw girls and young men gossiping at the pond, while her
mother sat on a stone hard by, with a bundle of firewood, which she
had gathered in the forest, and rested herself, then Inger turned
away ; for she was ashamed that she, with all her fine clothes, should have for her mother a ragged
woman who gathered sticks. It was not because she pitied her that she turned away ; she was
only vexed.
And now half a year passed by.
" You ought to go home one day and call on your old parents, little Inger," said her
mistress. " Here is a large loaf of wheaten bread you can take to them ; they will be pleased to
see you."
And Inger put on her best clothes and her new shoes, and she raised her skirts and walked
carefully, to keep her feet clean and smart ; and I don't blame her for that. But when she came
where the path crosses some boggy ground, and water and mud stood a long way in the road, then
she flung the loaf into the mud, that she might step on it and come over dry-shod ; then, when she
stood with one foot on the loaf and raised the other, the loaf sank with her deeper and deeper :
she was quite lost to sight, and there was only a black, bubbling pool.
That is the story.
Where had she gone to ? She went down to the bog-wife, who was brewing. The bog-wife is
aunt to the elf-maidens, who are pretty well known ; songs have been written about them, and
they have been painted ; but about the bog-wife people only know that when the meadows steam in
the summer it is because the bog-wife is brewing. It was down into her brewery that Inger sank,
and there is no one who can stand that place long. A cesspool is a bright and splendid apart-
ment compared with the bog-wife's brewery ! Every vat stinks so that human beings would
certainly faint away, and the vats stand quite close together ; and if there is anywhere a little
opening between them where one could squeeze through, still one would find it stopped up by all
142
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
the wet toads and fat snakes that have become entangled together. Little Inger sank down to
this place. All that disgusting living entanglement was so icy cold that she shivered through all
INGER TURNED AWAY, KOK SHE WAS ASHAMED THAT SHE, WITH ALL HER FINE CLOTHES, SHOULD HAVE FOR
HER MOTHER A RAGGED WOMAN WHO GATHERED STICKS.
her limbs, and she grew stiffer and stiffen She stuck to the loaf, and it dragged her just as an
amber stud drags a particle of straw.
The bog-wife was at home. The brewery was that day visited by the fiend and his great-
THE GIRL WHO TROD ON THE LOAF
^43
grandmother, and she is a venomous old woman who is
never unoccupied ; she never goes out without taking her
needlework with her, and so she had brought it here. She
sewed running-leather to put into men's shoes, to make
them restless ; she embroidered lies, and crocheted heedless
words that had fallen to the ground — everything was for
injury and ruin. Yes, the old great-grandmother knew how
to sew, and embroider, and crochet.
She saw Inger, and put up her eye-glass to her eye and
looked again at her. " That is a girl with talent," she said ;
" I should like to have her as a remii iscence of my visit
here : she will make a suitable statue in my great-grandson's
anteroom."
And so she took her. In this way little Inger came to
the infernal regions. People do not always go down there
by the most direct way, but they can come by a roundabout
way when they have talent.
It was an endless anteroom ; one turns dizzy with look-
ing forward or looking backward : and there stood there a
crowd of weary people, waiting till the door should be
opened. They would have to wait a long time ! Great,
fat, waddling spiders spun a web for thousands of years
over their feet, and this web snared them as in a trap and
held them fast as with copper
chains ; and besides that, there
was a perpetual anxiety in every
soul, a torturing an.xiety. The
avaricious man stood there, and
had forgotten the key to his
money-box, and he knew that
it was in the lock. Yes, it
would be tedious to repeat all
the kinds of pain and worry —
they were innumerable. Inger
thought it horrid to have to
stand like a statue ; it seemed
as if she had grown to the loaf
" That happens to one be-
cause one wishes to keep one's
feet clean ! " she said to herself
" See how they are staring at me." Yes, they were all looking at
her ; their evil inclinations shone out of their eyes and spoke silently
from the corners of their mouths : they were dreadful to look at.
" It must be a pleasure to look at me ! " thought little Inger ; " I
have a pretty face and good clothes ! " And now she turned her eyes,
for her neck was too stiff to turn. No ; how dirty she had become in
the bog-wife's brewhouse ! she had not thought of that. Her clothes
seemed to be covered with slime ; a snake had entwined itself in her
hair and hung down at the back of her neck, and a toad peeped
forth from every fold in her frock and barked like an asthmatic pug.
It was very disagreeable. " But the others down here look just as
dreadful ! " She comforted herself with that reflection.
But the worst of all was the horrible hu'nger which she felt ; could
she not then bend herself and break a piece off the loaf she was
standing on ? No ; her back was stiff, her arms and hands were stiff,
her whole body was like a stone column. She could only turn her
eves in her head, turn them entirely round, so that they looked out
BUT THE WORST OF AiA. WAS i i • , i ^i ^ i i • , a i ^i ^i a- T-i
THE HORRIBLE HUNGER WHICH ^e^^'"^' ^"^ '.^^^^ ^^^^ ^ ?'^^^^''>- .'^'s'^^- /"^ '1^^" ^lie fl^s Came They
SHE Fi XT. crept across her eyes, backwards and forwards. She bunked her eyes^
FLUNG THE LOAF INTO THE MUD, THAT SHE
MIGHT STEP ON IT AND COME OVER DRY-SHOD.
144
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
but the flies did not fly away, for they could not : their wings had been pulled off, and they had
become creeping things. That was a torture, as well as the hunger ; and at last it seemed to her
as if her inside was feeding upon itself, and she became entirely empty, so horribly empty !
" If this lasts long I shall not be able to endure it ! " she said ; but she was obliged to endure
it, and it went on and on.
And then there fell a burning tear on her head ; it rolled over her face and bosom straight
down to the loaf: and then another tear fell, and many more. Who was weeping over little
Inger? Had she not a mother up on the earth? Tears of grief, such as a mother weeps over her
child, always reach it ; but they do not set it free : they burn, and only cause greater torture. And
now that intolerable hunger, and not to be able to reach the loaf which she had trodden on with
her foot ! She had now at length a feeling as if everything within her must have eaten itself up,
she was like a slender, hollow reed that drew every sound into itself; she plainly heard everything
that related to her which was said on the earth, and what she
heard was evil and harsh. Her mother wept, certainly, and
was deeply distressed, but she said : " Pride goes before a fall !
It was thy misfortune, Inger ; but how thou hast grieved thy
mother ! "
Her mother and every one up there knew of her sin, that
she had trodden on the loaf, and had sunk
through and disappeared ; the cowherd had
related it, for he had seen it from the hill-side.
" How hast thou grieved thy mother,
Inger!" said the mother; " yes, I thought as
much ! "
" Would that I had never been born ! "
Inger; "it would have been much
for me. But it can't be helped, now
ries."
r master and mistress
THEY TOLD HER STORY
TO THE CHILDREN, AND
THE LITTLE ONES CALLED
HEK " THE WICKED INGER."
thought
better
that my mothi
She heard
— the worthy fo.
to her — spoke : "
said ; " she did no
but trod them un
grace will be narrt
" They should 1
thought Inger; " thr\v \
fancies out of me, 'f i \
She heard that V.-.%f
written about her : " 1 . '%*';
on the loaf lest she si'
and it was sung all roi .,
" That one should hi
and suffer so much for tl
lad been like parents
'. a sinful child," they
the gifts of Heaven,
feet. The door of
er to enter at."
rained me better!"
\ i have beaten the
tire ballad was
d girl who trod
il her shoes " ;
country.
" certainly the others ough
)^^^ uch for that !
' ,^5; ought Inger ;
■%
for their faults ! Yes, indeed, then there would be many to punish I Oh, how . ar.\-,
And her temper became even harder than her body. '
" Down here in this society one can't become better ! And I don't wish to bi
how they stare ! "
And she felt angry and ill-disposed against everybody.
" Now they have something to tell up there ! Oh, how I am tormented ! "
And she heard that they told her story to the children, and the little ones caL
wicked Inger." " She was so loathsome ! " they said, " so hideous ! it was quite right f
tortured ! "
There were always hard words against her in the children's mouths.
But one day, as resentment and hunger fretted within her hollow form, and she
name mentioned and her story told before an innocent child, a little girl, she perceivec
little one burst out crying at the story of the proud, vain Inger.
" But will she never come up again ? " asked the little girl. And the answer was :
" She will never come up again."
anished
ited ! "
See
er
THE GIRL WHO TROD ON THE LOAF 145
" But if she now will ask for forgiveness, and never do
again ? "
" But she will not ask for forgiveness," they said.
" I do so wish that she would ! " said the little girl, and she
was quite inconsolable. " I will give my doll's house if she may
come up ! It is so horrible for poor Inger ! "
And the expression went straight down into Inger's heart,
as if it did her good. It was the first time that there was any
one who said, " Poor Inger ! " and did not add anything about
its being her own fault. A little innocent child wept and
prayed for her. It was so strange that
"l DO SO WISH SHE WOULD," SAID ] HE
LITTLE GIRL, AND SHE WAS QUITE INCONSOLABLE,
A PEASANT SET UP A
PT. VII.
POLE CLOSE TO THE WALL, AND TIED
OF OATS TO THE TOP.
it made her wish
to weep herself ;
but she could
weep, and that
was a torture.
As years passed
in the upper world
— for down below there was no alteration — she heard
sounds from above less frequently, for there was less
said about her ; then one day she noticed a sigh :
"Inger! Inger! how thou hast grieved me! I said it
would be so ! " It was her mother, as she was dying.
She sometimes heard her name mentioned by her
old master and mistress ; and it was the gentlest word
that her mistress said : " I wonder whether I shall ever
see thee again, Inger ! One does not know where one
may come to I "
But Inger understood well enough that
her worthy mistress would never come where
she was.
In this manner again a long and bitter
time passed.
Then Inger again heard her name men-
tioned, and she saw overhead what looked
like two clear, shining stars ; they were two
gentle eyes, which were closing on the earth.
So many years had passed since that time
when the little girl wept inconsolably for
" poor Inger," that the child had become an
old woman whom Heaven would now call to
her rest, and just in that moment when all
the thoughts of her whole life rose up, she
remembered also how, as a little child, she
had been caused to weep bitterly when she
heard the story of Inger. That time and
that impression stood out so vividly before
the old woman in the hour of her death that
she exclaimed quite loud : " O Lord, my
God, I do not wonder that I, as well as
Inger, have often trampled upon the gifts of
Thy blessings without thinking of them ; I
wonder that I have not also walked with
pride in my heart: but Thou in Thy mercy
hast not suffered me to sink, but hast held
me up; leave not hold of me in my last
hour ! "
And the eyes of the old woman closed,
and the eyes of her soul opened to hidden
things, and, as Inger was so strongly pre-
1^6
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
sent in her last thoughts, she saw her — saw where she had been dragged deep down — and nf
that sight the gentle lady burst into tears; in the kingdom of heaven she stood like a child
and wept for poor Inger. The tears and the prayers sounded like an echo down in the hollow,
empty form that enclosed the imprisoned, tortured soul which was overwhelmed by all that un-
thought-of kindness from above. An angel of God wept over her ! Wherefore was this granted to^
her? It seemed as if her tortured soul recalled every deed of her earthly life, and Inger trembled
as she wept such tears as she had never before been able to weep. Sorrow for her own condition
filled her ; she thought that for her the gate of mercy could never be opened : and when, in
her contrition, she acknowledged her unworthiness, a ray of light shone down into the depths oi
the abyss. The ray came with
a power stronger than that of
sunshine which thaws a snow
man that the boys have set up
in the yard, and then — much
more quickly than a snowflake,.
falling on a child's warm mouth,
melts away into a drop — Inger's
petrified form evaporated ; a little
bird soared like a flash of light-
ning up to the world of men.
But it was fearful and afraid of
all about it; it was ashamed of
itself in the presence of all liv-
ing creatures, and hastily sought
shelter in a dark hole which it
discovered in a ruined wall.
Mere it sat and crouched, its
whole body quivering ; it could
not utter a sound, for it had nv
voice. It sat for a long time
before it was sufficiently at rest
to see and notice all the splen-
dour around it. Everything was
indeed splendid ! The air was
so fresh and mild, the moon
shone so clear, trees and bushes
exhaled their fragrance, and it
was so comfortable where it sat,
and its plumage was so clean
and delicate. No, every created
thing seemed still to be pre-
served in love and splendour.
All the thoughts that arose
within the bird's breast wished
to break forth into song, but the
bird could not sing ; fain would
he have sung as the cuckoo and nightingale do in the spring. Heaven, that hears the silent
adoration of the worm, here also took note of the hymn which arose in harmonious thoughts, even
as the psalm sounded in David's breast before he gave it words and melody.
For some weeks these silent songs grew and increased in its thoughts; they must break out at
last, at the first stroke of the wings in a kind action, if such might be done.
Now came the holy festival of Christmas. A peasant set up a pole close to the wall, and tied
a sheaf of oats which had not been threshed to the top, so that the birds of the air might have a
merry Christmas and a joyful meal at that holy time.
And the sun rose on Christmas morning, and shone on the sheaf of oats, and all the twittering
birds flew about the pole where their dinner was ; then the little bird from the wall also chirped
"pee, peel" then the swelling thoughts burst forth into sound, then the weak piping became a
complete hymn of joy, the thought of a kind action was aroused, and the bird flew out from its
shelter. It was well known in the kingdom of heaven what it had been before it was a bird.
THERE IS A SEA-SWALLOW FLYING AWAY
OVER THE SEA !
SAID THE CHILDREN.
THE CONSTANT TIN SOLDIER
U7
The winter set in severely, the lakes were covered with thick ice, the birds and forest creatures
found it hard to get food. The little bird flew out in the highroad, and there, in the tracks of the
sledges, looked for and found here and there a grain of corn ; at baiting-places it found a few
crumbs. It only ate a single one of these, and called on all the other starving sparrows that they
might find food here. Then it flew to the towns, and looked carefully round about ; and wherever
a kind hand had scattered bread for the birds outside the window, there it ate only a single crumb
and gave all to the others.
In the course of the winter the bird had collected and given away so many crumbs that
together they weighed as much as the whole of the loaf which little Inger had trodden on lest she
should soil her shoes, and when the last crumb of bread was found and given away the bird's grey
wings became white and spread themselves out.
" There is a sea-swallow flying away over the sea ! " said the children who saw the white bird.
At one instant it plunged into the sea, at another it soared aloft in the clear sunshine ; it shone so
that it was not possible to see where it had gone to — they said that it flew straight into the sun.
«5r
The Constant Tin Soldier
is very genteel, and lives in
five-and-twenty of us in tliat.
HERE were once five-and-twenty tin soldiers
that were all brothers, for they were all made
out of the same old tin spoon. They all
shouldered their muskets, looked stiff, and
wore a smart red and blue uniform. The first
thing they heard in this world, when the lid
was taken off the box in which they lay, were
the words " Tin soldiers ! " spoken by a little
boy, who was clapping his hands with joy. They had
been given him on his birthday, and he now set them
up on the table. Each soldier was exactly the image
of the other, except one that was a little different to the
rest ; and he had only one leg, having been melted the
t of the batch, when there was not enough tin left. Yet he
stood as firmly on his one leg as the others on their two legs ; and
it was precisely he, who became a remarkable character.
The table on which they were placed was strewed with a
number of other toys, the most attractive amongst them being a
pretty little paper castle. One might see through the tiny win-
dows into the rooms. In front of the castle stood little trees,
round a small piece of looking-glass, that was meant to represent
a transparent lake. Wax swans were swimming on its surface,
that reflected back their image. This was all very pretty ; but the
prettiest of all was a diminutive lady, who stood at the castle's
open door. She, too, was cut out of paper ; but she wore a dress of
the clearest muslin and a narrow blue ribbon over her shoulders,
like a scarf; and in the middle of this was placed a tinsel rose, as
big as her whole face. The little lady stretched out both her
arms, for she was a dancer ; and then she lifted her leg so high
that the tin sholdier lost sight of it, and therefore concluded that
she had only one, like himself
" She would make a fit wife for me," thought he ; " only she
a castle ; while I have nothing but a box to live in, and we are
It would be no place for a lady I Still I must try and scrape
148
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
acquaintance with her." And he laid himself at full length behind a snuff-bnx that happened
to be on the table, and from thence he could peep at the delicate little lady, who continued
standing on one leg without losing her balance.
Towards evening, all the other tin soldiers were put back into the box, and the people of the
house went to bed ; so now the playthings began to play at various games. The tin soldiers
rattled in their box, for they wanted to join the rest, but they could not lift up the lid. The
nut-crackers threw somersaults, and the pencil jumped about the table ; and there was such a din
that the canary-bird awoke, and began to speak, and in poetry, too. The only ones who did not
move from their places, were the tin soldier and the dancer. She stood on tiptcje, and stretched
out both her arms ; and he was just as persevering on his one leg. He did not take his eyes off
her for a single moment.
The clock now struck twelve, when — crack! up flew the lid of the snuff-box ; there was no
snuff in it, but a little black
gnome, for it was a puzzle.
" Tin soldier." said the
gnome, " don't be hankering
after forbidden fruit."
But the tin soldier pre-
tended not to ha\e heard
him.
" Only wait till to-mor-
row," observed the gnome.
Next morning, when the
children were up, the tin
soldier was placed in the
window ; and whether it was
the gnome, or the draught,
that did it, certain it is that
the window flew open, and
down the soldier fell, head
over heels from the third
storey into the street below.
It was a tremendous fall !
His cap and bayonet stuck
fast between the flag-stones,
while his leg stood upright
in the air.
The servant-girl and the
little boy went downstairs
immediately to look after
him ; but, though they had
nearly trodden upon him,
they could not manage to
they might have found him ;
help.
ular shower.
THOUGH THEY HAD NEARLY TRODDEN UPON HIM, THEY COULD NOT
MANAGE TO FIND HIM.
find him. If the tin soldier had but called out, " Here am I ! "
but he did not think it consistent with his uniform to cry out for
It now began to rain. The drops fell faster and faster, and there was soon a re_
When it was over, two boys that were idling about the streets happened to pass by.
" Look," said one of them, " there lies a tin soldier. He shall have a sail in a boat."
And so they made a boat out of a newspaper, and placed the soldier inside it, and set him
floating down the gutter. The two boys ran by his side, clapping their hands. But, dear me !
what waves there were in the gutter, and what a strong current ! It was, to be sure, at high water,
owing to the rain. The paper boat rocked up and down, and sometimes whirled round so fast
that the tin soldier trembled ; yet he remained at his post, made no faces, looked straight before
him, and shouldered his musket.
On a sudden, the boat shot under a long bridge that lay across the gutter, where it was as dark
as in his box.
" Where am I going to ? " thought he. " This must surely be the gnome's fault ! Oh ! if the
little lady was but here at my side in the boat, it might then be as dark as it pleased, and I should
not care."
THE CONSTANT TIN SOLDIER
149
A huge rat, that lived under the bridge of the gutter, now made his appearance.
" Have you a pass ? " enquired the rat. "Come, out with it!" But the tin soldier remained
silent, and held his musket still tighter.
The boat flew past, and the rat followed, flow he did gnash his teeth, and call out to the
wood-shavings and the straw : " Stop him ! stop him ! He has not paid the toll, nor shown his
pass."
But the stream gushed on more madly still, and the tin soldier could already see daylight
at the point where the bridge ended ; at the same time, however, he heard a rushing sound, well
calculated to appal even the bravest. Only fancy ! just where the bridge left off, the waters
widened into a large sheet that fell into the mouth of a sewer ; and such a situation was as perilous
to him as it would be for us to sail down a waterfall in a boat.
He was now so near the precipice that he could no longer keep himself back. The boat
dashed on, and the poor tin soldier kept as stiff as ever he could, that nobody should say of him
that he had even so much as winked an eye. The boat now spun round three or four times, till it
was filled with water to the edge — and sink it
must! The tin soldier ^^^■■eia^^a.-.^ stood up to his neck in
water, while the boat sank ^^^^^^^^^^^Jb^£^^^^ deeper and deeper, the
paper went grad- .^jA^SL^ i ''f "' "^^^^^^BMBB^^^^^ u^Hy ^o rags, and
the waters now titlff^Si^B^^SB^^^^SS^Sf^SuKSt^S^B^, closed over the tin
soldier's head. .^XESS^^^^^^^SS^^Bm^^^^MBt^^^^S^. He thought of the
<
The boat fi.ew past, and
the rat followed.
elegant little dancer, whom he should never see again, and in his ears rang the burden of the
old song ; —
"On, soldier! on — on — though swords clash and shots rattle,
'Tis thy fate to find death in the midst of the battle."
And now the paper fell in two, and down the tin soldier was flung — but was instantly swallowed
up by a huge fish.
Oh ! how dark it was inside the fish ! — worse a great deal than under the bridge over the
gutter, and, besides, it was such a narrow place. But the tin soldier retained his fortitude, and lay
at full length with his gun on his shoulder.
The fish swam about, making the most frightful contortions. At last he became quite quiet.
Then a flash of lightning seemed to dart through him, daylight appeared, and a voice called out,
"The tin soldier, as I'm alive!" The fish had been caught, taken to market, and sold, and was
now in the kitchen, where the cook was opening it with a large knife. She picked up the soldier by
the waist, between her fin';er and thumb, and carried him into the sitting-room, where everybody
was desirous of seeing such a celebrated man, who had travelled about inside a fish. But the tm
soldier was not the more conceited for that. They placed him on the table, and there — what odd
events do happen in the world, to be sure! The tin soldier found himself once more in the
identical room in which he had been before, and saw the same children, and the same playthings
15°
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
on the table, together with the noble castle and the elegant little dancer. She was still standing on
one leg, and still holding up the other — she, too, was constant. This touched the tin soldier so
BVERYBODY WAS DESIROUS OF SEEING SUCH A CELEBRATEU MAX, WHO HAD TRAVELLED ABOUT INSIDE A FISH.
deeply that he was fit to weep tin, only he restrained himself, as in duty bound. He looked at her.
and she looked at him, but they said nothing.
THE SNOW QUEEN
^51
Then one of the little boys took up the
soldier, and flung him right into the stove ; nor
did he give any reason for so doing, which plainly
showed that the gnome in the box was at the
bottom of it all.
The tin soldier was now lighted up by the
flames, and felt a tremendous degree of heat ;
but whether it proceeded from the real fire, or
from the fire of love, he could not exactly tell.
His colour was completely gone, but whether this
had happened during his travels, or was merely
the effects of grief, nobody could guess. He
looked at the little lady, and she looked at him,
and he felt himself melting away ; still he stood
firm with his gun on his shoulder. The door now
happened to open, and the wind caught up the
dancer, who fluttered like a sylph right into the
stove beside the tin soldier, and was instantly con-
sumed by the flames. The tin soldier melted
down to a lump, and next day, when the maid
raked out the ashes, she found him in the shape of
a little tin heart. Of the dancer nothing remained
but the tinsel rose, and that was as black as a cinder.
^4y%,c^^
WHEN THE MAID RAKEU OU 1 THE ASHES, SHE FOUND HIM
IN THE SHAPE OF A LITTLE TIN HEART.
The Snow Queen
IN SEVEN STORIES
Story the First— Which Treats of a Looking-Glass and its Broken Fragments
ISTEN to me, and the story shall begin. When we shall have got to the end,
we shall know more than we do now ; for it is about a very wicked hobgoblin !
He was one of the craftiest that ever lived ; in short, he was the arch-fiend in
person. One day, when he was in a facetious humour, he made a looking-glass
which possessed the power of diminishing, almost to a nonentity, everything good
and beautiful mirrored on its surface, while all that was worthless or ill-looking
was brought out into still stronger relief Seen in this glass, the most lovely land-
scapes looked like cooked spinach, and the best amongst mankind appeared
repulsive, and as if standing on his head. The countenances were so distorted
that they were unrecognisable ; and if one had a single freckle, one would have been led
to believe that it e.xtended over one's nose and mouth. The arch-fiend said this was ex-
tremely entertaining. If a good, pious thought entered a human being's brain, a flaw appeared
in the looking-glass, and made the arch-fiend laugh at his cunning invention. All those who
attended the hobgoblin's school — for he kept one — spread the fame of the wonderful glass
in all directions, and maintained that people might now see, for the first time, how the world
and its inhabitants really looked. They carried the glass about everywhere, till at last there was
not a land nor a human being left but what had been seen distorted on its surface. They
now presumed to attempt to scale the regions of the blessed ; but the higher they flew with
the glass the more it cracked. They could scarcely hold it fast, yet they flew higher and higher,
and still nearer the sun, till the glass shook so dreadfully in the process of fusion that it slipped
out of their hands, and fell upon the earth, where it split into millions and billions of pieces ; and
15
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
by this means it became still more mischievous than heretofore, for some of the shivers were
scarcely so large as a grain of sand, and these flew about the world, and when they lodged in
anybody's eye, there they remained, and the person thenceforth saw everything through a dis-
torted medium, or only approved the perverse side of a question ; for every minute fragment of
the glass possessed the same qualities that formerly belonged to the whole glass. Some human
beings had a piece right through their heart — and this was shocking, for it made their hearts as
cold as a lump of ice. Some of these fragments were so large that they served for window-panes ;
but it would not have done to look at one's friends through such panes as those. Other pieces
were set as spectacles, and it was hard for those who wore them to see anything in its proper
hght, or to have the least sense of justice ; and the arch-fiend laughed till he shook his sides, so
amazingly was he tickled by all the mischief that arose. And many little glass shivers flew
besides through the air, as we shall presently hear.
Story the Second — A Little Boy and a Little Girl
iN a large town, where the population was so dense and the houses so
closely packed that there was no room for everybody to have a little
garden, and consequently the bulk of the inhabitants were obliged to
rest satisfied with the possession of a few plants in flower-pots, there
lived two poor children, who had a somewhat larger garden than a
mere flower-pot. They were not brother and sister, though they loved
one another quite as much as if they had been.
Their parents lived opposite each other, in two garrets, where
the roof of a neighbouring house joined theirs, and a gutter ran all
along between the two roofs. In each house was a little window,
and, by stepping over the gutter, it was easy to go from one window to
the other.
The parents on both sides had a large wooden box, in which they
reared pot-herbs for their own use, and a little rose-tree. There was
one in each bjx, and they flourished amazingly ! The parents now took it into their heads to
place these boxes across the gutter, so that they nearly reached from one window to another,
and looked like two flowery banks. Blooming peas flung their tendrils over the edge of the
boxes, and the rose-trees put forth their long sprigs, that twined about the windows, and leaned
towards each other. In short, it was almost like a triumphal arch of leaves and flowers.
As the boxes were very high, and the children knew that they must not climb up to them,
they often had leave to get down out of the window to each other, and to sit on their little stools
under the roses. And then they played together so prettily.
In winter there was an end to such pleasures. The windows were frequently covered with
frost : but then they warmed copper-pieces on the stove, and laid a warm coin on the frozen pane,
and that made such a nice round hole to peep through. And then a soft, bright eye beamed from
each window — this was the little boy and the little girl looking at each other. His name was Kay,
and hers Gerda. In summer they needed but to take a leap to be side by side, but in winter they
had many stairs to go down, and then to go up again, before they could meet ; and now the snow-
flakes were flying about abroad.
" The white bees are swarming," said grandmother.
" Have they, too, a queen bee?" asked the little boy.
" To be sure," said the grandmother ; " she is flying in the thickest of the swarm. She is the
largest of them all, and never remains upon the ground, but flutters upwards again towards the
black clouds. She often flies through the streets of the town at midnight, and peeps in at the
windows, and then they freeze into such odd shapes, and look like flowers."
" Yes, I have seen that," said both the children, and now they knew it was true.
" Can the Snow Queen come in here ? " asked the little girl.
" Let her come," said the boy, " and I'll put her on the warm stove, and then she must melt"
But grandmother stroked his hair, and told them other stories.
In the evening, when little Kay had returned home and was half undressed, he climbed on a
chair up to the window, and peeped through the little hole, when he saw some snow-flakes falling,
the largest among which alighted on the edge of one of the flower-boxes, and kept increasing and
increasing till it became a full-grown woman, dressed in the most aerial white gauze, that seemed
THE SNOW QUEEN
153
to consist of millions of star-like flakes fastened together. She was delicately beautiful, but made
of ice — dazzling, glittering ice. Yet was she living; her eyes sparkled like two bright stars, and
there seemed to be no rest or calmness in them. She nodded towards the window, and waved
her hand. The little boy was frightened, and jumped down from the chair, and then he thought
he saw a large bird fly past the window.
On the following day there was a clear frost ; and then at last the spring came. The sun
shone, the earth was clothed in green, the swallows built their nests, the windows were opened,
and the little children once more sat in their small garden on the roof, high above all the other
storeys.
The roses blossomed most beautifully that summer. The little girl had learned a psalm in
which roses were mentioned, and the roses reminded her of it ; and she sang it to the little boy,
and he joined her in singing : —
" The roses bloom but one short hour, then die ;
But th' infant Jesus ever lives on high ! "
And the little ones held each other by the hand, and kissed the roses, and looked up at God's
bright sunshine, and addressed it as though it were the infant
Jesus. Oh, those were pleasant summer days ! It was so
delightful up there near the fresh rose-trees, that seemed never
to mean to have done blossoming.
Kay and Gcrda sat looking in their book at the pictures of
quadrupeds and birds, when, just as the great church clock
struck five, Kay said : " Oh, dear ! Something pricks my heart,
and something has flown into my eye."
The little girl put her arm round his neck, and his eyes
twinkled, but there was nothing to be seen in them. " I think
it is gone," said he ; but gone it was not. It was one of those
bits of glass no bigger than a grain of sand, being a particle of
the magic glass, which we have not forgotten — of that nasty
glass that made everything great and good look small and
ugly, while all that was bad and disagreeable stood out in
strong relief, and every fault in anything became immediately
perceptible. Poor Kay had likewise received a grain right
through his heart, which was soon to grow as hard as a lump
of ice. He now ceased to feel any pain, but there the grain
remained.
," Why do you cry ? " asked he. " You look so ugly !
Nothing ails me. Fie ! " cried he suddenly, " there's a worm-
hole in that rose. And look, that one is quite crooked ! Al-
together they are nasty roses, as bad as the boxes in which they
are set." And then he kicked the boxes, and tore off the
two roses.
" Kay, what are you doing ? " cried the little girl ; and
when he saw how frightened she was, he tore off another rose, and then leaped in at his window
away from sweet little Gerda.
The next time she brought out the picture-book, he said it was only fit for children in
swaddling clothes ; and v/hen his grandmother related a story, he was sure to interrupt her with
some " ifs " and " buts " ; and whenever he could manage it, he would place himself behind her,
put on a pair of spectacles, and speak just like her ; and he mimicked her so well that everybody
laughed. He could soon mimic both the voice and the gait of every soul in the street. Kay was
sure to imitate to the life the disagreeable attributes of each person, and people said, " That boy
will surely be a genius." But it was only the bit of glass that had stuck in his eye and in his
heart, and which made him tease even little Gerda, who loved him so dearly.
His amusements were now quite different to what they were formerly : they savoured more of
a grown person. One winter's day, when it had snowed, he came with a burning-glass, and held
out the skirt of his blue coat to catch some flakes of snow.
" Now look in the glass, Gerda," said he. And every flake was magnified, and looked like a
Deautiful flower or a decagonal star ; and very pretty it was to see. " Now is not this scientific ? "
HE CLIMBED UP TO THE WINDOW.
154
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
said Kay ; "and how far more interesting than real flowers. There is not a fault in them ; they
are quite correct, provided they don't melt awa\-."
Soon after Kay appeared with thick gloves on his hands, and his sledge at his back, and
called out to Gerda, " I have leave to go to the great square, where other boys are playing." And
away he went.
The boldest among the boys who used to play there often fastened their sledges to the carts
of the country people who passed by, and went a good way with them. And this amused them
vastly. In the height of their play there came along a large sledge painted white, in which sat
some one huddled up in a rough white skin, and wearing a rough white cap. The sledge went
twice round the square, and Kay, having hastily bound his little sledge to it, drove away in its
wake. It went faster and still faster right down the adjoining street. The driver turned round
and gave Kay a friendly nod, just as if they were acquainted ; and every time that Kay wanted
to unfasten his little sledge the driver nodded again, and Kay sat still ; and thus they drove out
at one of the gates of the town. It now began to snow so heavily that the little boy could not see
a hand's length before him ; but on they went. And though he suddenly let go the string, in
order to get loose from the large sledge, it proved of no use ; for his little craft still clung fast to
the other, and they went with the speed of the wind. He then screamed aloud, but nobody heard
him ; and the snow kept fluttering about, and the sledge kept fl>'ing, and anon there was a violent
shock, as if they were leaping over hedges and ditches. The boy was frightened, and tried to
repeat the Lord's Prayer ; but he could
only think of the multiplication-table.
The flakes of snow grew larger and
larger, and at last looked like great white
fowls. These suddenly jumped on one
side, the large sledge stopped, and the
person who had driven it rose. The skin
and the cap were of snow, and he saw a
tall and slender lady of dazzling whiteness
— and this was the Snow Queen !
" We have come along at a good
pace," said she ; " but if )'ou don't wish to
freeze, creep into my bear-skin." And she
placed him beside her in the sledge, and
wrapped the skin round him, and it was
just as if he were sinking into a snow-drift.
" Are you still freezing ? " said she, as
she kissed his forehead. Oh! that kiss was colder than ice! It seemed to shoot right through
his heart, half of which was already a lump of ice, and he felt as if he were going to die
— but only for a moment, and then he was better than ever, and ceased to feel the coldness of the
atmosphere that surrounded him.
" My sledge ! Don't forget my sledge ! " That was his first thought ; and so it was fastened
to one of the white fowls, who flew behind, with the sledge on its back. The Snow Queen kissed
Kay once more, and then he clean forgot little Gerda, and his grandmother, and everybody at
home.
" Now you shall have no more kisses," said she, " or I should kiss you to death."
Kay looked at her, and she was beautiful to behold. A more intellectual or lovely coun-
tenance he could not imagine ; and she no longer seemed to him to be made of ice, as she did
formerly, when she sat outside the window and nodded to him. In his eyes she appeared perfect ;
nor did she inspire him with the slightest fear. He told her that he could reckon by heart, and
even reduce fractions ; and that he knew how many square miles there were in the land, and the
number of its inhabitants. And she continued smiling ; and then he thought that what he knew
was not sufficient, and he looked up towards the vast expanse of air above them, and she flew with
iiim high above the black clouds, where the storm was raging ; and it seemed as if it were singing
lid songs. Then they flew over forests, and lakes, across the sea and the lands beyond. Under
them blew the cold wind, the wolves howled, the snow crackled, and the black, cawing crows were
hovering about ; but high above all shone the clear large moon, and Kay witnessed the long, long
winter's night. In the daytime he slept at the feet of the Snow Queen.
AND SHE PLACED HIM BESIDE HER IN THE SLEDGE, AND
WRAPPED THE SKI.N' ROUND HIM.
THE SNOW QUEEN
155
Jonsjer.
' He is dead and gone !
' We don't believe it,"
Story the Third
The Flower-Garden of the Conjuring Woman
UT how fared little Gerda when Kay did not return ? Where could he
be ? Nobody knew, nobody could give any tidings of him. Only the
boys said they had seen him fasten his sledge to a mighty, large one that
had driven through the streets and out b)- the town gate. Nobody knew
whither he had gone ; many tears were shed ; little Gerda cried so bitterly
and so long. And then people said he was dead, that he had got
drowned in the river that flowed past the school. Oh ! what long, dreary
u inter days were those !
The spring now returned, and brought a warmer sunshine. " Kay
is dead and gone," said little Gerda.
" I don't believe it," answered the sunshine.
' said she to the swallows.
answered they ; and at length little Gerda ceased to believe it any
" I will put on my new red shoes," said she one morning, " those which Kay never saw, and
then I'll go down to the river and ask after him."
It was quite early. She kissed her old grandmother, who was yet asleep, put on the red shoes,
and went all alone out through the town gate, towards the river.
" Is it true that you have taken my little playfellow away from me ? " said she. " I will make
you a present of my red shoes if you will give him me back."
And it seemed to her as if the waves nodded to her in a singular fashion ; and then she took
off her red shoes, which she was so fond of, and threw them into the water. But they fell near the
bank, and the little waves brought them back to land, just as if the river would not accept of what
she most valued, as it had not little Kay to give in exchange. But now she fancied that she had
not thrown the shoes out far enough, and so she crept into a boat that lay amongst the sedges, and
went to the farthest end of it, and then flung the shoes from thence into the water. But, as the
boat was not fastened, her motion set it gliding away from the strand. Perceiving this, she
hastened to get out of the boat, but before she had time to do so, it was above an ell distant from
land, and soon floated along still
faster.
Little Gerda was now fright-
ened, and began to cry ; only
nobody heard her except the
sparrows, and they could not
carry her ashore. But they flew
along the banks, and, as if to
comfort her, they kept singing,
" Here we are ! Here we are ! "
The boat followed the tide. Little
Gerda sat still, with only her
stockings on her feet ; her little
red shoes followed in the wake of
the boat, but without being able
to reach it, as it went much
faster.
The banks on each side of
the river were very pretty. There
were beautiful flowers, aged trees,
and grassy slopes, on which sheep
and cows were grazing ; but not
a human being was to be seen.
" Perhaps the river will carry
me to little Kay," thought Gerda ;
and then she grew more cheerfil,
and rose and looked for hours
A LITTLE HOUSE WITH STRA.NGE RED AND BLUE WINDOWS. IT HAD,
BESIDES, A THATCHED ROOF, AND BEFORE IT STOOD TWO WOODEN SOLDIERS,
WHO PRESENTED ARMS TO ALL WHO SAILED PAST.
156
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
at the pretty green banks of the river, till she reached a large
cherry orchard, in which stood a little house with strange red and
blue windows. It had, besides, a thatched roof, and before it
stood two wooden soldiers, who presented arms to all who sailed
past.
Gerda called to then:i, thinking they were alive, but of course
they did not answer. She now approached them, and the tide
drove the boat straight towards the shore.
Gerda called out in a still louder voice, when a very old
woman, leaning on a crutch, came out of the house. She wore a
broad hat to screen her from the sun, and it was painted with
the prettiest flowers.
" You poor little child ! " said the old woman : " to think of
your coming out into the wide world on this broad and rapid
stream ! " and the old woman waded through the water, tuwed the
boat ashore with her crutch, and lifted little Gerda out.
Gerda was glad to be once more on dry land, although she
was somewhat afraid of the strange old woman.
" Come and tell us who you are, and how you came hither,"
said she.
And Gerda told her all ; and the old woman shook her head,,
and said, " Hem, hem ! " And after Gerda had told her every-
thing, and had asked in turn if she had not seen little Kay, the
woman said he had not yet passed that way, but he might come
still ; and so she had better take heart, and taste her cherries, and
look at her flowers, that were prettier than any picture-book, for
every one of them could tell a story. She then took Gerda by
the hand, and led her into the house, and the old woman shut
the door.
The windows were very high, and the panes were red, blue,
and yellow, so that the light shone through them in a variety of
strange colours. But on the table were the finest cherries, and
Gerda was allowed to eat as many of them as she chose. While
she was eating, the old woman combed her hair with a golden
comb, and her yellow locks curled and looked beautifully glossy
round her cheerful little face, that was round and fresh as a rose.
" I have long wished for such a nice little girl," said the old woman, "and now you shall see
how comfortably we shall live together." And while she was combing little Gerda's hair, Gerda
forgot more and more all about her adopted brother Kay, for the old woman was learned in witch-
craft, though not a wicked sorceress : she only made use of
magic arts for her amusement, and because she wished to
keep little Gerda. Therefore she went into the garden, and
extended her crutch towards all the rose trees, every one of
which, however blooming, sank into the dark ground, without
leaving a trace of where it had stood. The old crone was
fearful lest the sight of rose-trees would have reminded Gerda
of her own, when she would have recollected little Kay, and
run away.
She now took Gerda into the garden. How fragrant and
how lovely it was ! Every imaginable flower, and for every
season too, were to be seen there in full bloom. No picture-
book could be more varied or more beautiful. Gerda jumped
for joy at the sight, and played till the sun sank behind the
tall cherry-trees, and then she lay down in an elegant bed with
red silk pillows, stuffed with variegated violets, and slept and
dreamed as pleasantly as any queen on her wedding-day.
Next morning she was free to play again with the flowers
in the warm sunshine ; and many days flew by in the same
manner. Gerda knew each flower ; but numerous as were the
WHILE SHE WAS EATING, THK Dl.D
WOMAN COMBED HER HAIR WITH
A GOLDEN COMB.
GERDA KNEW EVERY FLOWER.
THE SNOW QUEEN
157
flowers, there still seemed to be one missing, although she could not tell which it was. One day, how-
ever, as she sat and gazed at the old woman's garden hat with its painted flowers, the prettiest among
them happened to be a rose. The old woman had forgotten to take it out of the hat when she buried
the others in the earth. Rut that is the way when one's thoughts are not always present. " What !
are there no roses here? " said Gerda, jumping amongst the flower-beds, and looking for what, alas!
was not to be found. She then sat down and cried, and her tears fell just on the spot where one of
the rose-trees had sunk into the ground ; and when her warm tears bedewed the earth, the rose-tree
shot up once more as blooming as ever, and Gerda embraced it, and kissed the roses, and thought
of the lovely roses at home, and with them of little Kay.
" Oh, how I have been detained ! " said the little girl ; " I wanted to look for little Kay. Do
you not know where he is ? " asked she of the roses. " Do you think he is dead ?
" He is not dead," answered the roses ; " we have
been into the ground, where all the dead lie, and
Kay was not there."
" I thank you," said little Gerda, and went to
the other flowers, and peeped into each calyx, and
asked, " Do you know ^vhere little Kay is ? "
But each flower stood dreaming in the sun, and
thinking of its own story ; and Gerda heard a great
many of these, but none of the flowers knew any-
thing about Kay.
What said the yellow lily?
" Do you hear the drum ? Boom ! boom ! It
has only two sounds ; it always sa>s ' Boom ! boom ! '
Listen to the dirge of the women, and the call of the
priests. The Hindoo widow stands, wrapped in her
long red mantle, on the funeral pile ; the flames
encircle her and her husband's dead body. But the
Hindoo widow thinks of the living ones who sur-
round her, and of him whose eyes shine brighter than
the flames — of him whose fiery eyes affect her heart
far more than the flames that will consume her body
to ashes. Can the flame of the heart be extinguished
in the flames of a funeral pile ? "
" I don't understand anything about it," said
little Gerda.
" That is my story," said the yellow lily.
What said the bindweed ?
" An old feudal castle hangs over the narrow
crossway ; thick house-leek is climbing, leaf by leaf,
up its old red walls and round the balcony, where
stands a fair maiden, who bends over the railing,
and looks into the road below. No rose on its spray
is fresher than she ; no apple-blossom when blown off the tree floats more lightly than she
walks; and how her gorgeous silk gown rustles! 'Is he not yet coming?'"
" Do you mean Kay ? " asked little Gerda.
" I'm speaking of my story — of my dream," replied the bindweed.
What said the little snowdrop ?
" Between the trees hangs a plant fastened by ropes ; it is a swing, and two little girls, in snow-
white dresses, and with long green ribbons fluttering from their bonnets, sit swinging themselves.
Their brother, who is bigger than they, stands on the swing ; he has flung his arm round the rope
to steady himself, for in one hand he holds a little bowl, and in the other a clay pipe. He is blow-
ing soap-bubbles ; the swing keeps going, and the pretty variegated bubbles fl)- about, while the
last still clings to the stem of the pipe, and rocks in the wind. The swing keeps going ; the little
black dog, as light as the bubbles, raises himself on his hind paws, and will get into the swing
amongst the rest ; and off goes the swing, and the dog falls, barks, and is angry ; the children
tease him, and the bubbles burst. A rocking plank, and scattered foam — such is my song."
" It may be all very pretty, but you tell it in so mournful a tone, and you don't even mention
little Kay.
• I DON T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT IT,
SAID LITTLE GERDA.
158
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
What said the hyacintlis ?
" There were three beautiful sisters, most delicate and transparent ; one was dressed in red, the
other in blue, and the third in pure white ; and they danced, hand in hand, near the silent lake, in
the bright moonshine. They were no elves, but daughters of the earth. There was a sweet fra-
grance, and the girls disappeared in the wood. The fragrance waxed stronger ; three coffins, in
which lay the beautiful girls, glided from the thicket across the lake : the glow-worms flew beside
them, like so many little floating torches. Are the dancing girls asleep, or are they dead ?
The perfume of the flowers says they are corpses, and the evening bell is tolling their knell.
" You make me quite sad," said little
Gerda. " You smell so strong that you
make me think of the dead girls. Alas ! is
little Kay really dead ? The roses who
went down into the earth say he is not."
" Ding, dong ! " sounded the hyacinth
bells. " We are not tolling for little Kay,
for we don't know him ; we are merely
singing our song, the only one we can
sing."
And Gerda then went up to the butter-
cup, that peeped out of its shining green
leaves.
" You are a bright little sun," said
Gerda ; " tell me, if you know, where I
can find my playfellow ? "
And the buttercup sparkled so prettily
and looked at Gerda. What song could
the buttercup sing ? Not one that said
anything about Kay.
" The bright sunshine shone warmly,
one spring morning, upon a little courtyard.
The beams glided down the white walls
of the neighbouring house, and close by
bloomed the first yellow flower, and sparkled
like gold in the warm sunshine. The old
grandmother sat out in the air on her
chair, and her grand-daughter, a poor and
pretty serving-girl, returned home from a
short visit. She kissed her grandmother.
There was gold — the gold of the heart —
in that blessed kiss. There was gold in
the sunbeams of that morning, and she
was worth her weight in gold. That's
my little story," said the buttercup.
old grandmother," sighed
no doubt she is longing
fretting about me as she
Kay. But I'll soon go
Kay with me. It is no
LITTLE GERDA KAK FORTH, WITH KARE KEET, INTO THE
WIDE WORLD.
" My poor
Gerda. " Yes,
to see me, and
did about little
home, and bring
use asking the flowers, who know nothing
but their own song : they can give me no tidings." And then she tucked up her little gown that
she might run the faster ; but the narcissus caught her foot as she was jumping over it : so she
stopped short, and looked at the tall yellow flower, and said, "Perhaps you know something? "
And she stooped down clo.se to the narcissus, and what did it tell ?
" I can see myself to the very life ! " said the narcissus. " Oh ! oh ! how beautifully I do smell !
Up there, in that small room with a balcony, is a little dancer, who stands sometimes on one leg
and sometimes on both legs ; she tramples on the whole world : she is nothing but deceit from
head to foot. She pours water out of the teapot upon a piece of stuff" she holds in her hand, which
is her bodice. Cleanliness is a virtue ! Her white dress hangs upon a peg — that, too, has been
washed in the teapot, and dried upon the roof. She puts it on, and wraps a saffron-coloured
THE SNOW QUEEN
^59
handkerchief round her throat, which mai' be."
" No — have you though?" cried the little girl, and had nearly hugged the crow to death, so
fondly did she kiss him.
" Stead}', steady," said the crow ; " I think — I know — I believe — it may be little Kay ; but he
has certainly forgotten you by this time for the princess."
" Is he living at a princess's ? " asked Gerda.
" Yes ; listen," said the crow : " only I find it so hard to
speak your language. If you understand crows' language,' then
I shall be able to tell you better."
" No, I never learned it," said Gerda ; " but mj' grand-
mother knows it, and she could speak it too. I wish I had
learned it."
" Never mind," said the crow
though I can't tell it properly."
knew.
" In the kingdom where we now are lives a princess, who
is desperately clever ; it is true she has read and forgotten all
the newspapers that e.xist in the world, so learned is she.
Lately, as she was sitting on the throne — which, people sa)-, is
not so very agreeable either — she began to sing a song which
ran thus ; —
'Wherefore shouldn't I marry?'
' Why not, indeed ? ' added she ; and then she determined to
marry ; only she wished to find a husband who knew how to
answer when he was spoken to, and not one who could merely
' "Crows' langu.age" is a jocose term for a kind of gibberish in use
amongst children, and produced by the addition of syllables and letters to
each word.
' I'll tell it as well as I can.
And then he told what he
-^-
'NO— HAVE VOU THOUGH?" CRIED TilF,
LITTLE GIRL, AND HAD NEARLY
HUGGED THE CROW TO DEATH, SO.
FONDLY DID SHE KISS HIM.
i6o
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
stand and look grand, because that is so tiresome. So she assembled all her ladies-in-waiting by
the beat of a drum ; and when they heard of her intention, they were much pleased. ' We are
glad of it,' said they ; ' we had thought of it lately ourselves.' You may believe every word I
utter," continued the crow ; " for I have a tame sweetheart who hops about the palace, and told me
all that passed."
Of course his sweetheart was a crow, for like seeks like, and a crow is sure to choose a crow.
" The newspapers immediately sported a border of hearts with the princess's initials, and pro-
claimed that every good-looking young man was at liberty to go to the palace, and speak to the
princess ; and he who could say anything worth
hearing would be welcome to the run of the
palace ; while he who spoke the best would be
chosen as a husband for the princess. Yes,
\'es," continued the crow, " you may believe me :
it is every word as true as that I'm sitting here.
The people all crowded helter-skelter to the
palace, and there was such crushing and push-
ing ; but nobody succeeded either the first or
the second day. They could all speak well
enough while they were outside in the street,
but when they had passed through the palace
gate, and came to behold the bodyguards in
silver and the lackeys all over gold, standing
along the staircase, and the large rooms so
finely lighted up, they were quite confounded.
And when they approached the throne where
sat the princess, they found nothing to say, and
could only repeat the last word that she uttered,
\\hich she had no mind to hear a second time.
It was exactly as if the people inside had taken
snuff into their stomachs, and had fallen asleep
till they came back into the street and re-
covered their speech. There was a whole row
of them, reaching from the town gate to the
palace. I went myself to see them," added the
crow. " They were hungry and thirsty, but they
did not get as much as a glass of water in the
palace. Some of the wisest had, to be sure,
taken slices of bread-and-butter with them ;
but they did not share them with their next
neighbour ; for each thought, ' Let him look
hungry, and then the princess won't have him.' "
" But tell me about Kay — little Kay,"
— said Gerda. " When did he come ? — and was
he amongst the crowd ? "
" Stop a bit, we are
marching cheerfully along towards the palace a little
his eyes sparkled like yours, and he had beautiful long
SHE BEGAN TO SING A SONG WHICH KAN THUS
"WHEREFORE SHOULDN'T I MARRY?"
comins to him
pre-
Oh, then, I have found him now ! " and she
sently. On the third day, there came
body, who had neither horse nor coach
hair, but was shabbily dressed."
" That was Kay ! " cried Gerda, in high delight
clapped her hands for joy.
" He had a little knapsack on his back," said the crow.
" No — it must have been his sledge," said Gerda ; " for he went away with his sledge."
" That may be," said the crow ; " I was not so particular about it. But this I know from my
tame sweetheart, that when he came through the palace gate, and saw the bodyguards all over
silver and the lackeys on the stairs all bedizened with gold, he was not the least flustered, but
nodded to them, saying : ' It must be very tiresome to stand on the staircase ; I prefer going in.'
And the rooms were in a blaze of light ; privy councillors and excellencies were walking about on
their bare feet, and carrying golden vases : it was enough to inspire one with profound respect.
His boots creaked so dreadfully loud ; but he did not care a fig about that"
THE SNOW QUEEN
i6i
" It must be Kay," said Gcrda ; " I know he had new boots on : I have heard them creak in
grandmother's room."
" Ves, they did creak, indeed ! " said the crow. " But he went up boldh' to the princess, who
was sitting on a huge pearl as large as a spinning-wheel ; and all the court ladies with their maids,
and their maids' maids, and all the lords with their gentlemen, and their gentlemen's gentlemen,
who each had a page to attend
them, stood all around ; and the
nearer they stood to the door the
prouder they looked. Indeed,
one could hardly venture to look
at a gentleman's gentleman's
page, who always wears slippers,
so important an air did each
assume as he stood in the door-
way."
" It must be quite awful ! "
said little Gerda ; " but did Kay
obtain the princess ? "
" If I had not been a crow, I
would have taken her myself,
although I am engaged. He
spoke just as well as I do, when I
am speaking the crows' language
— so I heard from my tame
sweetheart. He was cheerful and
pleasant ; he had not come to
woo her, but to see how clever
the princess might be : and he
was pleased with her, and she
with him."
" To be sure, it must be
Kay ! " said Gerda. " He was so
clever ; he could reckon by hcai t
even fractions. Oh ! will you not
take me to the palace ? "
" That is easily said," an-
swered the crow ; " but how can
we manage it ? I will, however,
speak to my tame sweetheart
about it, and she will give us
some advice ; for I must tell )'ou
candidly, a little girl of your sort
would never obtain leave to enter
the palace."
"Yes, I shall," said Gerda.
" When Kay hears that I am
there, he will immediately come
out to fetch me in."
" Wait for me there, near
yonder trellis," said the crow,
wagging his head as he flew
away.
It was not till late in the evening that the crow returned. " Caw ! caw ! " said he. " She sends
her love to you, and here is a little roll which she took in the kitchen, on purpose for you. There
is bread en u ;h there, and )ou must be very hungry. It is not possible for you to enter the
palace, as you are barefooted : the guards in silver and the footmen in gold would not allow you
to pass. But don't cry. We shall manage to get you in. My sweetheart knows a small back-
staircase that leads to the bedroom, and she knows where she can iind the key."
And they went through the long alley in the garden, where the leaves were falling one after
.'^ND WHEN THEY APPRO.\CHED THE THRONE WHERE SAT THE I'RINCESS,
THEY FOUND NOTHING TO SAY.
I 62
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
the other ; and when the Hghts in the palace were extinguished one after another, the crow led
little Gerda tti a back door, that was only fastened with a latch.
ON THE THIRD DAY, THERE CAME MARCHING CHEERFULLY ALONG TOWARDS THE PALACE A LITTLE BODY
WHO HAD NEITHER HORSE NOR COACH.
Oh, how Gerda's heart beat with anxious longing ! She felt as if about to do something
wrong ; yet she only wanted to know whether it'was little Kay. " It must be he," thought she, as
THE SNOW QUEEN
163
she pictured to herself his intelli-
gent eyes and his long hair, and
fancied she saw him smile as he
did formerly, when they used to
sit under the roses at home. He
would surely be glad to see her, to
hear what a long way she had
come for his sake, and to know
how afflicted they all were, at
home, when he did not come back.
Oh, how her heart was thrilled
with fear and joy !
They were now on the stairs,
where a small lamp was burning
in a closet. In the middle of the
floor stood the tame crow, twist-
ing her head in all directions as
she gazed at Gerda, who curtsied,
as her grandmother had taught
her to do.
" My betrothed has spoken
highly of you, my little missy,"
said the tame crow, " and your
story is extremely touching. If
you will take the lamp, I will walk
before. We will go straight along
this way, and then we shall meet
no one."
" Somebody seems to be be-
hind us," said Gerda, as a rustling
noise went past her, and horses
with flying manes and thin legs, whippers-in, and ladies and gentlemen on horseback, all appeared
like shadows on the wall.
" They are only dreams," said the crow, " that come and fetch royalty's thoughts to go
a-hunting. So much the better, as you can look at them in their beds all the more safely. But I
hope when you rise to high honours, you will show a grateful heart."
" Of course," said the crow from the woods.
They now entered the first room, that was hung with rose-coloured satin, ornamented with
artificial flowers, and where the dreams were already rushing past them ; only they went so fast that
Gerda could not manage to see the royal personages. Each room was more magnificent than the
last — it was enough to bewilder one. Now they reached a bedroom. The ceiling was like a large
palm tree, with glass leaves of the most costly crystal ; and in
the middle of the floor two beds, each resembling a lily, hung
from a golden stem ; the one in which the princess lay was
white, the other was red, and it was in the latter that Gerda
went to seek for little Kay. She pushed one of the red leaves
aside, and perceived a brown neck. Oh, that must be Kay !
She called out his name aloud, and held the lamp over him — the
dreams again rushed into the chamber on horseback — he woke,
turned his head round, and showed that he was not little Kay.
The prince's neck alone resembled his ; still, he was young
and pretty. Then the princess peeped out of the white lily,
and asked what was the matter, when little Gerda began to
cry, and related her whole story, and all that the crows had
done to help her.
" Poor child ! " said the prince and princess, praising the
crows, and assuring them they were not angry with them,
though they were not to make a practice of doing such things,
GERDA, WHO CURTSIED. aud that they should even be rewarded.
AND HE WAS PLEASED WITH HER, AND SHE WITH HIM.
164
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
HORSES WITH FLYING MANES . .
SHADOWS ON THE WALL.
APPEARED LIKE
"Would you ]\ke to have your free-
dom gi\en j'ou ? " asked the princess, " or
would you prefer being appointed court
crows, and having for your perquisites all
the leavings in the kitchen ? "
The two crows bowed, and begged
leave to have the fixed appointment, for
they thought of their old age, and said it
would be so comfortable to have a cer-
tain provision for their old days, as they
called it.
And the prince got out of his bed to
give it up to Gerda, and more he could
scarcely do. She folded her little hands
and thought, " How kind are both human
beings and animals ! " And then she
closed her eyes, and fell into a sweet sleep. All the dreams came flying back into the chamber,
looking like angels, and drawing in a little sledge, in which .sat Kay, who nodded to her. P.ut it
was only a dream, so, of course, it vanished the moment she woke.
On the following day she was dressed in silk and velvet from head to foot, and they offered to
let her stop in the palace and enjoy a good time of
it ; but all she asked for was a little coach and a
horse, and a pair of little boots, that she might go
into the wide world to look for Kay.
And she not only obtained boots, but a muff;
she was elegantly dressed, and on going away she
found waiting at the door a new coach of pure gold,
with coachman, footmen, and postillions, wearing
gold crowns on their heads. The prince and princess
themselves helped her into the coach, and wished
her every happiness. The wild crow, who was now
married, accompanied her for the first three miles,
and sat by her side, for he could not bear riding
backwards ; the tame crow stood in the doorway,
flapping her wings, but went no further, because she
had been suffering from headache ever since she
had had a fixed appointment, and too much to eat.
The coach was amply stored inside with sweet cakes,
and under the seat were fruit and gingerbread-nuts.
" Farewell ! farewell ! " cried the prince and
princess, and little Gerda wept, and the crow wept.
And then after the first few miles the wild crow
took leave of her likewise ; and his was the saddest
leave-taking of all : he perched upon a tree, and the coach was amply stored inside with
flapped his black wings as long as he could see the sweet cakes, and under the seat were
coach glancing in the bright sunshine. fruit and gingerbread-nuts.
Story the Fifth— The Little Robber-Girl
HEY now drove through a gloomy forest ; but the coach lit up the way
like a torch, and glared in the eyes of some robbers, who could not withstand
such a sight.
" It is gold ! it is gold ! " said they, rushing forward ; and seizing hold
of the horses, they struck the little jockeys, the coachman and '"ootmen,
dead, and dragged little Gerda out of the coach.
" She is fat and nice, and fed with the kernels of nuts," said the old robber
woman, who had a long bristly beard, and eyebrows that overshadowed her
eyes. " It's as good as a little fat lamb — how nice it will taste ! " So saying,
she drew forth a shining knife, and most frightfully did it glitter.
THE SNOW QUEEN
165
" Oh, la ! " screamed the woman, whose ear was bitten at that very moment by her own
daughter, a froward, naughty girl, who was hanging on her back. " You ugly thing ! " said the
mother, forgetting to kill Gerda.
" She shall play with me," said the little robber-girl. " She shall give me her muff and her
pretty dress, and sleep with me in my bed." And she bit her mother again, till she leaped into the
air, and twirled round again. And all the robbers laughed, saying, " See how she is dancing with
her cub ! "
" I will take a ride in the coach," said the little robber-girl. And she must, and would, have
lier way, she was so ill-bred and obstinate. She and Gerda then got in, and away they went into
the depths of the wood. The little robber-girl was as big as Gerda, but stronger, with broader
shoulders and a darker skin ; her eyes were quite black, and she looked almost melancholy. She
took little Gerda round the waist, and said : " They shan't kill you, as long as I don't wish you ill.
I suppose you are a prin-
cess ? "
" No," said Gerda, re-
lating her whole history,
and h )W fond she was of
little Kay.
The robber-girl looked
at her earnestly, and,
slightly nodding her head,
she said, " They shan't kill
you, even if I should wish
you ill ; for then I'd do it
m}-self" And then she
dried Gerda's eyes, and
put b ith her hands into
the handsome muff, that
was so soft and so warm.
The coach now stopped.
They were in the middle
of a courtyard belonging
to a robber's castle, that
was full of crevices from
top to bottom. Crows and
ravens flew out of the open
holes, and great bulldogs,
every one of which looked
as though it could swallow
a whole man, were jump-
ing about, though they did
not bark, because it was
^not allowed.
In a large, old, smoky hall a bright fire was burning on the stone floor. The smoke went up
to the ceiling, and found an outlet as best it might. Soup was boiling in a large caldron, and hares
and rabbits were roasting on spits.
" You shall sleep to-night with me and all my little animals," said the robber-girl. They then
had something to eat and drink given them ; after which they went into a corner, where straw and
carpets were laid on the floor. Upwards of a hundred doves were perched on laths and poles, and
were apparently asleep, though they turned round slightly when the two little girls approached.
" They all belong to me," said the little robber-girl ; and seizing hold of the one nearest to
her, she held it by the feet, and shook it till it flapped its wings. " Kiss it ! " cried she, flapping it
into Gerda's face. " There sits a rabble of wild doves," continued she, pointing behind a number of
staves that were fixed in front of a hole high up in the wall. "Those two are a couple of rascally
wild doves, who would fly away directly if the)' were not kept locked up. And here stands my
dear old ba-a ! " So saying, she took by the horn a reindeer, who wore a bright brass collar round
his neck, and was tied up. " We must keep him pretty tightly too, or else he would give us the
slip. I tickle his neck every evening with my sharp knife, which he is vastly afraid of" And the
little girl took out a long knife from a cleft in the wall, and drew it slightly across the reindeer's
'OH, LA !" SCREAMED THE WOMAN,
i66
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
neck. The poor animal began to kick, and the Httle robber girl laughed, and then drew little
Gerda into bed with her.
"Do you mean to keep the knife with you when you are asleep? " asked Gerda, looking at it
with some alarm.
" I always sleep with the knife," said the little robber-girl. " One never knows what may
happen. But tell me now over again all that you told me about Kay, and why you went out into
the wide world."
And Gerda related what she had told before, while the wild doves kept cooing in their cage
above, and the other doves slept. The little robber-girl put her arm round Gerda'.s neck, and held
the knife in her other hand, and snored aloud ; but Gerda could not close her ej-es, not knowing
whether she was to live or to be put to death. The robbers sat round the fire, singing and drink-
ing, and the robber woman became quite tipsy. Oh ! it was shocking for the little girl to witness
such a scene !
Then the wild doves said : " Coo ! coo ! we have seen little Kay. A white fowl carried his
sledge. He sat in the Snow Queen's carriage, which drove right over the forest as we lay in our
flests. She blew upon us young ones, who all died except our two selves. Coo ! coo ! "
" What are you saying up there ? " cried Gerda. " Where was the Snow Queen going ? Do
you know anything about it ? "
" She was probably going to Lapland, where there is always
snow and ice. Ask the reindeer that is fastened to a rope."
" Yes, there is ice and snow, and a delightful place it is,"
said the reindeer. " There one can leap about in freedom in the
large glittering valleys, and there the Snow Queen pitches her
summer tent ; but her stronghold lies near the North Pole, on an
island called Spitzbergen."
" Oh, Kay ! little Kay ! " sighed Gerda.
" Lie still," said the robber-girl, " or I'll run the
knife through your body ! "
Next morning Gerda told her all that the
wild doves had said, when the little robber-
girl looked serious, though she nodded her
head, saying : " That's no matter ! that's no
matter I Do you know where Lapland lies ? "
asked she of the reindeer.
" Who can know better than I ? " said the
animal, while his eyes sparkled. " I was born
and brought up there, and I have frisked
about on its snow-fields."
" Hark ! " .said the robber-girl to Gerda ;
" you see that all our men are gone, and only mother remains at home : but towards noon she
drinks out of a large bottle, and takes a little nap afterwards, and then I'll do something for you."
She now jumped out of bed, took her mother by the neck, pulled her beard, and said, " My own
dear mammy ! good-morning to you ! "
The mother, in return, filliped her nose till it was red and blue ; and all this was out of love.
When the mother had drunk freely out of her bottle, and had gone off to sleep, the robber-
girl went to the reindeer, and said : " I should like vastly to tickle you many times more with the
sharp knife, for then you make yourself so ridiculous ; but never mind, I will untie your rope and
help you out, that you may run off to Lapland. But you must put your best leg foremost, to carry
this little girl to the Snow Queen's palace, where she will find her playfellow. You have heard all
she told, for she spoke loud enough, and you were listening."
The reindeer jumped for joy. The robber-girl lifted little Gerda on to the animal, and took
the precaution to bind her fast, and even to give her a little cushion to sit upon.
" And there are your fur boots," said she, " for it is getting cold ; but as to the muff, I shall
keep that, it is so pretty. Yet you shan't be frozen by the cold, either ; here are my mother's
large mittens, which will reach to your elbows. Creep into them. Now your hands look just like
my mother's."
And Gerda wept for joy.
" I don't like to see you whimpering," said the little robber-girl ; " you ought now to look
pleasedi Here are a couple of loaves and a ham, so now you won't starve." These were fastened
BY THAT TIME THEY HAD REACHED LAPLAND.
THE SNOW QUEEN
167
to the reindeer, and then the Httle robber-girl opened the doors, enticed all the dogs into the house,
and, lastly, cut the rope that bound the reindeer with her sharp knife, saying to him, " Now, run
away ; but take good care of the little girl."
And Gerda stretched forth her hands, in the large mittens, towards the robber-girl, and bid
her farewell, and then away the reindeer flew, through thick and thin, across the wide forest, over
bogs and steppes, as quick as he could fly. The wolves howled and ravens screeched. " Fizz !
fizz ! " said the sky, as if it were sneezing red.
" There's my old friend the aurora borealis ! " cried the reindeer ; " see how it shines ! " And
he ran still faster, both day and night. The loaves were eaten, and the ham too, and by that time
they had reached Lapland.
Story the Sixth — The Laplander and the Finlander
.HEY stopped in front of a miserable-looking little house, whose roof reached down
to the ground, and whose door was so low that the family were obliged to creep
on all-fours when they wanted to go out or in. Nobody was at home just then but
an old Laplandish woman, who was cooking fish by the light of a train-oil lamp,
and the reindeer told her Gerda's whole story, after having first told his own —
which seemed to him far the more important of the two ; and Gerda was so be-
numbed with the cold that she could not speak a word.
" Why, you poor creatures," said the Laplander, " you have still a long way to
go. You must go a hundred miles into Finland ; for it is there the Snow Queen lives in the
summer, and burns Bengal lights every evening. I will write a few words on a dried stock-fish,
for I have no paper, and give it you for the Finlandish woman up there, and she will direct you
better than I can."
And when Gerda was warmed, and had eaten and drunk, the Laplandish woman wrote a few
words on a dried stock-fish, and, telling Gerda to take good care of it, tied her once more upon the
reindeer, who made off with great speed.
" Fizz ! fizz ! " said the air, and during the whole night there shone the prettiest blue aurora
borealis. And then they reached Finland, and knocked at the chimney of the Findlandish woman,
for door she had none.
It was so terribly hot within that their hostess had scarcely any clothes on her back. She
was small and dirty-looking. She immediately loosened little Gerda's dress, and took off her
mittens and boots, or else she would have been oppressed by the heat, and put a lump of ice on
the reindeer's head, and then read what was written on the stock-fish. After perusing it three
times she knew its contents by heart, and then put the stock-fish into the saucepan where the
broth was cooking, as it was fit to be eaten, and she never wasted
anything.
The reindeer now related first his own story and then little
Gerda's, and the Finlandish woman's intelligent eyes twinkled,
though she said nothing.
" As you are so wise," said the reindeer, " that you can bind
all the winds in the world with a bit of thread, so that if a sea-
man loosens one knot it will bring him a fair wind, and if he
loosens another there will blow a stiff gale, and by unt)'ing a
third and fourth he could raise a hurricane that would over-
throw forests — cannot j'ou give this little girl a potion to endow
her with the power of twelve men, so that she should conquer the
Snow Queen ? "
" The power of twelve men ! " said the Finlandish woman ;
" that would be of much use, indeed ! " and then she went to a
shelf, and took down a large skin roll, which she unfurled, and
up^n which she read strange characters, till the perspiration
trickled down from her forehead.
But the reindeer begged so hard for little Gerda, and she
looked at the Finlandish woman with such tearful and entreating
THE FINLANDISH WOMAN S INIKI.1.1-
GENT EYES TWINKLED, THOUGH
SHE SAID NOTHING.
i68
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
eyes, that the eyes of the latter began to twinkle, and taking the reindeer into a corner she
whispered into his ear, as she laid a fresh lump of ice on his head, —
" Little Kay is sure enough with the Snow Queen, and finds everything in her palace so much
to his taste and his liking that he thinks it the finest place in the world ; but this comes of his
having a glass fragment in his heart and a little speck of glass in his eye. They must be removed,
or else he'll never be a human being again, and the Snow Queen will retain her power over him.
"But can't you give little Gerda something that shall endow her with power overall these things?"
" 1 can't give her any greater power than she already possesses ; do you not see how great it
already is ? Do you not see how men and animals must serve her, and how she has come on in
the world with bare feet ? She can't receive any power from us ; its seat is in her heart, and con-
sists in her being such a dear, innocent child as she is. If she can't gain access to the Snow Queen
by her own means, and remove the glass
shivers out of little Kay, we can do
nothing to bring about such a result.
The Snow Queen's garden begins two
miles from hence. You can carry the
little girl thither, and set her down near
the large bush, which stands covered with
red berries amidst the snow. Don't stay
gossiping, but make haste and come back
hither." And then the Finlandish woman
lifted little Gerda on to the reindeer's
back, who ran off as fast as he could.
" Oh, I have forgotten my boots
and my mittens ! " cried little Gerda
the moment she was in the biting
cold, yet she dared not stop the rein-
deer, who ran till he reached the bush
with the red berries, where
""•"•,.,,. he set down Gerda and
\ kissed her mouth, while
large, bright tears trickled
\ down the animal's cheeks,
and away he ran back.
There stood poor Gerda
without shoes or gloves in
the middle of dreary, icy
cold Finland.
She ran forwards as
quick as she could, when
she was met by a whole
regiment of snow-flakes ;
which did not, however,
fall from the sky, that was bright and lit up by an aurora borealis, but ran along the ground, and
grew bigger the nearer they approached. Gerda remembered how large and artfully-fashioned
snow-flakes looked when she saw them through a burning-glass. But here they were far larger
and more alarming, for they were alive ; they were the Snow Queen's outguards, and were of
the oddest shapes. Some looked like ugly, large porcupines ; others like a knot of serpents, with
their heads poking out ; others again like thick little bears, with bristling hairs. All were dazzl-
ingly white, and all were living snow-flakes.
Little Gerda then repeated the Lord's Prayer, while the cold was so intense that she could
see her own breath, which came out of her mouth like so much smoke. These clouds of breath
became thicker, and took the shape of little angels, who grew larger the moment they touched the
earth ; and all wore helmets on their heads, and carried spears and shields in their hands. Their
numbers kept increasing, and by the time Gerda had finished her prayer a whole legion of them
surrounded her, and they pierced the frightful snow-flakes with their spears till they shivered them
into a hundred pieces, and little Gerda went on in safety and in good spirits. The angels stroked
her hands and feet, so that she felt the cold less, and hastened on to the Snow Queen's castle.
But now we must see what Kay is after. In truth he was not thinking of little Gerda at all, much
less of her being outside the castle at that very moment.
»•-
>.
siP^Tajs*s^^
LITTLE GERDA THEN REPEATED THE LORD S PRAYER.
THE SNOW QUEEN
169
Story the Seventh
Of the Snow Queen's Castle, and What Took Place in it Later
HE walls of the castle were made of drifted snow, and the windows and doors
were made of biting winds. There were above a hundred rooms in it, just as
the snow had blown them together ; the largest was several miles long. They
were all lit up by the vivid aurora borealis, and they were so large, so empty, so
icy cold, and so glittering! No festivities were ever held there; not so much
as a little ball for bears, to which the tempest might have played tunes, and
where the bears might have danced on their hind legs and shown their good
breeding ; nor even a game of hot cockles, nor a gossiping coffee party for white
fox spinsters : the Snow Queen's halls were empty, cold, and dreary. The
aurora borealis shone so plain throughout the castle that one could reckon when
it stood at the highest or the lowest point in the heavens. In the middle of
this empty and endless snow-hall lay a frozen lake, that was broken into a
thousand pieces, only each piece was so like the other that it formed a complete work of art ; and
in the centre of the lake sat the Snow Queen, when she was at home, and then she said she was
sitting on the mirror of reason, which was the best and only one in the world.
Little Kay was quite blue, nay, almost black wjtli cold ; but he did not perceive it, for she
had kissed away his shivering feelings, and his heart was like a lump of ice. He was dragging
about some sharp, flat pieces of ice, and placing them in all manner of ways, for he wanted to
make something out of them. It was just as when we make use of little wooden squares and
triangles to compose figures, which we call a Chinese puzzle. Kay, too, was making figures, and
very clever ones. This was the ice-game of reason. In his eyes the figures were very remarkable,
and of the highest importance — owing to the little glass shi\cr that still stuck in his eye. He
compo.sed complete figures that formed a written word, but he never could manage to form the
word he wanted, which was "Eternity." And the Snow Queen had said, " If you can find out
this figure you shall then be your own master, and I'll give you the whole world, besides a new
pair of skates." But he could not accomplish it.
" Now I will rush off to warm lands," said the Snow Queen ; " I will go and look into the
black pipkins." It was the volcanoes Etna and Vesuvius that she designated in this manner.
" I will whiten them a bit ! It will be good for them, and benefit the lemons and grapes." And
away the Snow Queen flew, and Kay remained all alone in the large ice-hall that was so many
miles long, and kept looking at the pieces of ice, and thinking and thinking till his head was ready
to split ; and he sat so stiff and so motionless that one might
have thought he was frozen.
Just then it happened that little Gerda came through the
large gate into the castle. Cutting winds were raging within,
but she said an evening prayer, and the winds abated as if
they were going to sleep ; and she entered the large, empty,
cold rooms, and there she beheld Kay. She immediately re-
cognised him, and flew to embrace him, and held him fast
while she exclaimed, " Kay ! dear little Kay ! So I have
found you at last."
But he sat quite motionless, stiff, 'and cold ; and then
little Gerda shed warm tears that fell upon his breast, and
penetrated to his heart, and melted the lump of ice, and
washed away the little glass fragment at the same time. He
looked at her while she sang, —
" The roses bloom Ijut one short hour, then die.
But th' infant Jesus ever hves on high."
Then Kay burst into tears, and he cried so abundantly
that the little bit of glass swam out of his eye when he
recognised her, and exclaimed joyously, "Gerda! dear little but he sat quite motionless, stiff
Gerda ! Where have you stayed away so long ? And where and cold.
PT. VIII.
170
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
have I been ? " And he looked all about him. " How cold it is here ! How large and empty
it all seems ! " And he clung to Gerda, who laughed and cried for joy ; and the scene was so
^
THERE EMERGED FROM IT A BEAUTIFUL HORSE . . . MOUNTED BY A GIRL WEARING A SHINING RED CAP,
AND WITH PISTOLS IN HER BELT.
moving that even the pieces of ice jumped about for joy : and when they were tired and lay down
again, they formed themselves into the very letters the Snow Queen had said he must find out
THE SNOW QUEEN
I 7 I
before he could become his own master, and she would make him a present of the whole world
and a pair of new skates.
Then Gerda kissed his cheeks, and the bloom returned to them ; she kissed his eyes, and they
beamed like hers ; she kissed his hands and feet, and he became healthy and cheerful. The Snow
Queen might now come home if she pleased, for there stood his letters-patent of freedom, written
in glittering pieces of ice.
And they took each other by the hand and walked out of the castle, and talked of grand-
mamma and of the roses on the roof ; and wherever they went the winds were laid to rest, and
the sun shone forth. And when they reached the bush with red berries they found the reindeer
waiting for them, accompanied by a younger reindeer, whose udders were full of warm milk, which
she gave the children to drink, and then kissed their mouths. The\' then carried Kay and Gerda
to the Finlandish woman, where they warmed themselves thoroughly in the hot room, and obtained
directions about their journey homewards, and next to the Laplandish woman, who had made new
clothes for them and set their sledge in order.
The reindeer and his companion ran beside them, and followed them to the frontiers of the
land, where the first green shoots were to be seen ; and here the little travellers took leave of the
reindeer and of their Laplandish hostess. " Farewell ! " was said on all sides. And the first little
birds began to twitter, and the forest was full of green buds ; and there emerged from it a beautiful
horse (that Gerda recognised as having belonged to the golden coach), mounted by a girl wearing
a shining red cap, and with pistols in her belt. This was the little robber-girl, who was tired of
staying at home and was going first to the north, and then, if that did not suit her, to some other
part of the world. She and Gerda instantly recogni.sed each other, and delighted they were to
meet.
" You are a pretty fellow to have gone a-gadding in such a manner," said she to little Kay ;
" I wonder whether you deserve that anybod}- should have taken the trouble to run to the world's
end for your sake."
But Gerda patted her cheeks, and asked after the prince and princess.
"The)' are travelling in foreign lands," said the robber-girl.
" And what is become of the crow ? " said Gerda.
" He is dead," returned she. " His tame sweetheart is become a widow, and wears a bit of
black woollen thread round her leg. She makes great lamentations, but it's all mere stuff. But
now tell me how you fared, and how you managed to get him back."
Then Gerda and Kay related all that had taken place. " Snip-snap-snorum ! " said the robber-
girl, who shook their hands and promised, shuuld she ever pass through their town, that she would
pay them a visit, and then she rode forth into the wide world. Meantime, Kay and Gerda walked
on hand in hand, and the farther the}- went the lovelier the spring appeared with its flowers and
verdure ; the church bells were ringing, and they recognised the tall steeples and the large town
where they lived ; and they entered it, and found their way to their grandmother's door, then up
the stairs and into the room, where all looked the same as it used to do. The clock was still going
" tick-tack ! " and the hands were p;>inting to the hour ; but, as the_\' passed through the doorway,
they perceived they were now grown-up. The roses on the roof were in full blcjom and peeping
in at the open window ; and there stood their little chairs which the}- used as children, upon which
Kay and Gerda now sat down, each on their own, holding each other by the hand, while the cold,
empty splendour of the Snow Queen's palace vanished from their thoughts like a painful dream.
The grandmother sat in God's bright sunshine, reading aloud the following passage in the Bible :
" Except ye become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven."
And Kay and Gerda exchanged looks, and they now understood the meaning of the old
hymn : —
"The roses bloom but one short hour, tlien die,
But th' infant Jesus ever lives on high."
And there they both sat — grown-up, yet children still, for they were children in their hearts ;
and it was summer — warm, glorious summer !
*Sr ^ «Sr
172
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
The Fellow-Traveller
OOR Johannes was sorely afflicted, for his father was ill, past all
hope of recovery. Besides their two selves, not a soul was present
in the little room. The lamp on the table was flickering, and it
was late at night.
" You have been a good son, Johannes," said the sick father,
" and God will, no doubt, help you on in the world." And he
gazed at him with mild and thoughtful eyes, fetched a deep sigh,
and then died — though he only looked as if he had gone to sleep.
But Johannes wept ; for now he had nobody in the wide world —
neither father, mother, sister, nor brother. Poor Johannes ! He
knelt down beside the bed, kissed his dead father's hand, and shed
many, many bitter tears ! But at length his eyes closed, and he
fell asleep against the hard bed-post.
He had then a strange dream. He thought the sun and moon
came down to him, and he saw his father again in full health and
freshness, and heard him laugh as he used to do when he was
a gold crown on her long, shining
him ; and his father said : " Look
She is the loveliest maid upon
all these fine things vanished ; his
pleased. A pretty girl, with
hair, presented her hand to
what a bride you have won
earth." He then woke, and
father lay dead and cold in his bed, and nobody was near them. Poor Johannes !
In the following week, the dead man was buried. The son followed close behind the coffin,
for he was never again to behold the father who had loved him so dearly. He heard them fling
the earth down upon the coffin, and still saw a little corner of it left ; but, at the next shovelful,
even that disappeared. Then he felt as though his heart would break, so afflicted was he. They
sang a psalm round the grave, and it sounded so beautiful that it brought tears into Johannes' eyes.
He wept, and felt relieved. The sun shone down gloriously on the green trees, just as if it meant
to say : " You must not be so mournful, Johannes. Look how beautifully blue the sky is yonder !
Your father is up above, and is begging of the All-merciful that you may thrive at all times ! "
" I will always be good," said Johannes, "then I shall join my father in heaven ; and what joy
it will be to meet him again ! How much I shall have to tell him, and how much he will have to
teach me about the delights of heaven, just as he used to teach me here on earth. Oh, what joy
that will be ! "
He fancied it all so plainly that he smiled, while the tears still ran down his cheeks. The
birds in the chestnut trees kept twittering, " Twit ! twit ! " They were gay, although they had been
at the funeral ; but they knew that the dead man was now in heaven, and had wings much larger
and more beautiful than their own ; and that he was happy, because he had been good here on
earth : and, therefore, they were pleased. Johannes saw how they flew from the green trees out into
the wide world, and then he wished to fly away also. But he first cut out a large wooden cross to
place on his father's grave ; and when he brought it thither in the evening, he found the grave
decked with gravel and flowers. This had been done by strangers, who all esteemed the worthy
man who had gone to his last home.
Early the next morning, Johannes packed up his little bundle, and put into his girdle his whole
legacy, consisting of fifty dollars and a couple of silver shillings, with which he meant to wander
forth into the world. But first of all he repaired to his father's grave in the churchyard, where he
repeated the Lord's Prayer, and then said, " Farewell ! "
Abroad in the fields through which he passed, all the flowers looked fresh and lovely in the
warm sunshine. And they nodded in the wind, just as if they meant to say : " Welcome to the
greenwood ! Is it not delightful here ? " But Johannes turned round to give a last look at the old
church, in which he was christened as an infant, and where he used to go with his father every
Sunday to hear the service, and to sing his psalm ; and in so doing he perceived, in one of the
upper loopholes of the church tower, the little goblin belonging to it, who stood with his little
pointed, red cap on his head, shading his countenance with his arm, so that the sun might not
THE FELLOW-TRAVELLER
173
THE HKil MGHI
WAm um.lGlill lu LIL UN A HAVCuCK
lllL ulEN MKLDS.
stream into his
eyes. Johannes
nodded farewell to
him ; and the little
goblin waved his
red cap, laid his
Ijand on his heart,
and then kissed his
hand to him, to
show that he was
kindly disposed to-
wards him, and
wished him a happy
journey.
Johannes now
thought of how
many beautiful
things he should
see in the wide
world, so large and
so magnificent as it was ; and he went on and on much further than he had ever been before. He
did not know the places through which he passed, nor the people whom he met. He was now
abroad in a foreign land.
The first night he was obliged t ' lie on a haycock in the open fields, for he had no other bed.
But this he thought was so nice a
bed that the king himself could
not be better off. The field, and
the haycock, with the blue sky
above, certainly formed a very
pretty bedchamber. The green
grass, dotted with little red and
white flowers, was the carpet ; the
elder bushes and hedges of wild
roses were the nosegays that decor-
ated the room ; and his washing-
basin was the brook, with its clear,
pure waters, where the reeds were
nodding to bid him good-night
and good-morning. The moon
was a large lamp, high up in the
blue ceiling, and one that could
not set fire to the curtains.
Johannes might sleep in peace,
and he did so ; nor did he wake
till the sun rose, and all the little
birds around were singing: "Good-
morrow ! Good-morrow ! Are you
not yet up ? "
The bells were ringing for
church, for it was Sunday. The
people were going to hear the
preacher, and Johannes followed
them, sang a psalm, and heard the
word of God. He felt just as if he
were in his own parish church, in
which he had been christened, and
where he sang psalms with his
father.
BEFORE THE CHURCH DOOR STOOD AN AGED BEGGAR, LEANIiNG ON A CRUTCH. I" tile churchyard WCrC Several
174
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
t^iaves, some of which were overgrown with very high grass. And he thought how his father's
grave would grow to look the same in the end, as he would not be there to weed it and deck it.
So he fell to work and tore up the grass, and set up the wooden crosses that had fallen down,
and replaced the wreaths that had been blown away by the wind, thinking all the time, " Per-
haps some one is doing the same for my father's grave, as I am unable to take care of it."
Before the church door stood an aged beggar, leaning on a crutch. Johannes gave him his
silver shillings, and then went forth on his way, lighter and happier than he had felt before.
Towards evening there arose a violent storm, which made him hasten to find a shelter. Dark-
ness soon came on ; but at length he reached a small and lonely church that stood on a little hill.
" I will sit down in a corner," said he, as he went in ; "I am so tired that I need rest." He
then sat down, and folded his hands, and said his evening prayer ; and before he perceived it, he
was fast asleep, and dreaming, while a thunder-storm was raging abroad.
When he awoke, it was in the middle of the night,
but the fearful storm was over, and the moon shone
in through the window to greet him. In the middle of
the church stood an open coffin, in which lay the body
of a man, that was awaiting burial. Johannes was not
fearful, for he had a good conscience ; and, besides, he
knew that the dead never injure any one. It is only
living, wicked men that do any harm. Two such bad
characters stood beside the dead man that was lying in
the church awaiting burial, and they wanted to vent
their spite, by not letting him rest in his coffin, and cast-
ing his poor body outside the church door.
" Why do you want to do so ? " asked Johannes.
" It would be very wicked. In Christ's name, let him
rest in peace ! "
" Oh, stuff and nonsense I " said the two hideous
men ; " he has taken us in. He owed us money, and
couldn't pay it ; and now he is dead into the bargain,,
and we shan't recover a penny ! Therefore we will
take our revenge, and he shall lie outside the church
door like a dog."
" I have nothing in the world but fifty dollars,"
said Johannes, " which form my whole patrimony ;
yet will I willingly give them to you, provided you
promise truly to leave the dead man in peace. I shall
manage without the money. I have strong and healthy
limbs, and a merciful God will assist me in times of
need ! "
" Of course," said the ugly men, " if you pay his-
debt, we will neither of us lay a finger upon him —
tnat you may depend upon." And hereupon they took
the money which he gave them, laughed aloud at his simple good nature, and went their ways.
Then he laid the body carefully back into the coffin, folded the dead man's hands, took leave of
him, and continued his way through a large forest, in a contented frame of mind.
All around him, wherever the moon shone through the trees, he saw numbers of elegant little
elves at play. His presence did not disturb them, for they knew him to be a good and harmless
son of the earth ; for it is only bad people who are not privileged to see the elves. Some of them
were not taller than the breadth of one's finger, and wore their long yellow hair fastened up with
gold combs. They were rocking themselves, two by two, on the large dew-drops that sparkled on
the leaves and the tall grass. Now and then the drop would roll away, and down they fell between
the long blades, occasioning a deal of laughter and merriment amongst the tiny folk. It was a
pretty sight. Then they sang, and Johannes recognised distinctly all the pretty songs he had learned
as a little boy. Large speckled spiders, with silver crowns upon their heads, were set to build
suspension bridges and palaces from one hedge to another, which, when spangled by the dew,
glittered like glass in the moonshine. These frolics continued till sunrise, when the little elves
crept into the flower-buds and the wind took possession of their bridges and palaces, which were
tossed upon the air as cobwebs.
' OK COUKbK,
HIS DEUT,
SAIU THE UGLY MEN, " IK VOU FAY
WE WILL NEITHER OF US LAY A
FINGER UPON HIM."
THE FELLOW-TRAVELLER
175
Johannes had just left the forest, when the full-toned voice of a man cried out to him, " Ho
there, comrade ! whither are you going ? "
" Into the wide world," said he. " I have neither father nor mother, and am a poor boy ; but
the Lord will help me in time of need."
" I am likewise going into the wide world," said the stranger. " Shall we keep each other
company ? "
" Willingl)'," said he ; and so they walked on together. They soon felt a mutual liking for
each other, for both were good ; only Johannes soon found out that the stranger was much wiser
than himself He had travelled throughout nearly the whole world, and could tell of everything
that existed.
The sun was already high when they sat down under a tree to eat their breakfast, just as an
old woman was coming up to them. She was very aged, and almost bent double, and supported
herself on a crutch-stick, while she carried on her back a bundle of firewood, which she had gathered
in the forest. Her apron was tucked up, and Johannes saw three large rods of fern and willow-
twigs peeping out at
each end. When she
was quite close to our
travellers, her foot slip-
ped, and she fell with
a loud scream, for she
had broken her leg —
poor old woman !
Johannes at once
proposed that the}-
should carry the old
woman home ; but the
stranger opened his
knapsack, and took out
a bo.x, saying that he
had an ointment which
wou Id i m m e d i a t e 1 )•
make her leg whole
again, and so strong
that she would be able
to walk home by her-
self, just as if the ac-
cident had never hap-
pened ; only he re-
quired that she should
give him in return the
three rods she carried
in her apron.
" That would be well paid," said the old woman, nodding her head in a peculiar manner. She
did not like giving up the rods ; but, on the other hand, it was still more disagreeable to be lying
there with a broken limb. So she gave him the rods, and the moment he had rubbed her leg with
the ointment the old dame got up, and walked much better than before. Such were the effects
of the ointment ; and truly it was not of a sort to be purchased at the apothecary's.
" What do }-ou want with these rods ? " asked Johannes of his fellow-traveller.
" They are three very pretty herb-brooms," said he, " and I like them, because I am a foolish
fellow."
They then went on a good deal further.
" Look how overcast the sky appears ! " said Johannes, pointing before them. " Those are
frightfully heavy clouds."
" No," said his fellow-traveller " they are not clouds; they are mountains — fine, large moun-
tains— at the top of which one may overlook the clouds, and breathe fresh air. And delightful it
is. believe me, to stand there ! To-morrow we shall assuredly be far out in the wide world."
But they were not so near as they looked, and it took a full day before they had reached the
m.ountains, where the black forests were towering up to the sky, and where blocks of stone might
be found as huge as a large town. It seemed a somewhat difficult undertaking to cross them ;
TOOK oUl
SAYING THAT HE HAD AiN OINTMENT WHICH WOULD IMMEDIATELY
MAKE HER LEG WHOLE AGAIN.
lyG
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
SEIZliU THli QUliEiN BY THE MIDLiLL ul- HER SLENDER
WAIST, SO THAT IT CRACKED AGAIN.
therefore, Johannes and his fellow-traveller turned into
an inn, in order to rest and gather strength for the
next day's excursion.
A number of persons were assembled in the tap-
room of the inn, where a man was e.xhibiting a puppet-
show. He had just set up his little theatre, and the
people were sitting round to see the play. But, right
in front, a stout butcher had sat himself down in the
very best place, while his great bulldog by his side —
who looked wondrously snappish — sat staring like the
rest of the audience.
The play now began. It was a ver}' pretty piece,
with a king and queen, who sat on a splendid throne,
with gold crowns on their heads and long trains to
their robes ; for their means allowed them to indulge
in such lu.xuries. The prettiest little puppets, with
glass eyes and large moustaches, stood at all the doors,
and opened and shut them, to let in fresh air. It was a
very agreeable play, and not at all mournful. But, just as the queen got up, and passed across
the stage, no one knows what the huge bulldog took into his head ; but, being no longer held
by the butcher, he jumped right into the theatre, and seized the queen by the middle of her
slender waist, so that it cracked again. It was quite shocking to hear.
The poor man who exhibited the show was both frightened and sorry for the loss of his queen,
for she was the most elegant puppet in his stock, and the ugl)' bulldog had bitten her head off.
But when the rest of the spectators had retired, the stranger who travelled with Johannes said that
he would set her to rights, and, taking out his box, he smeared the puppet with the same oint-
ment that had cured the old woman's broken leg. The moment this was done, the puppet was
whole again, and could even move all her limbs of herself and no longer required to be pulled by
wires. The puppet was like a human being, except that it could not speak. The showman was
vastly delighted, for now he had no longer an\' occasion to hold this puppet, who could dance of her
own accord, which none of the others could do.
Late at night, when all the folks at the inn had gone to bed, somebody was heard to sigh so
dreadfully deep, and so frequently, that the whole household got up, to see what could be the
matter. The showman went to his little theatre, for it was from thence the sighing proceeded.
All the wooden puppets were lying in a heap ; the king and his body-guard it was who were
sighing so piteously, and staring with their glass eyes, because they wished so to be smeared a little
like the queen, in order that they might move of themselves. The queen knelt down and lifted
up her prett)- crown, saying, " Take this, but do smear my husband and my courtiers." The poor
showman could not then help crying, for he was really sorry for his puppets. He immediately
promised Johannes' fellow-traveller all the money he might earn on the following evening through his
puppet-show, if he would only smear four or five of his prettiest puppets But the fellow-traveller
said he did not require any-
thing but the large sword that i^Rscas^R^
he wore at his side, on receiving
which, he besmeared six puppets,
that immediately danced so
gracefully that all living girls
that beheld them were irresis-
tibly impelled to dance likewise.
The coachman and the cook be-
gan dancing, then the waiters
and the chambermaids, and all
the strangers present, as well as
the shovel and the tongs — only
the latter fell down at the very
first leap. They had, indeed, a
merry night of it !
Next morning, Johannes
started with his fellow-traveller,
THE QUEEN
KNEI.T DOWN
THE FELLOW-TRAVELLER
//
before any of the others were astir, and
crossed the larp;-e forest of fir-trees, in their
way up the high mountains. They climbed
to such a height that the church steeples be-
low looked like little blue berries in the
green grass, and they could see for miles and
miles around, where they had never yet
been. Johannes had never before seen so
much at once of the beauties of this lovely
world. And then the sun shone so warmlj'
through the fresh blue air, and the hunts-
men's horns echoed so beautifully between
the mountains, that tears came into his ej'es,
and he could not forbear exclaiming, " All-
merciful God ! what a kind Father Thou art
to us, to have given us all the fine things to
be seen in the world ! "
His fellow-traveller likewise stood with
folded hands, and gazed upon the forest, and
the towns that lay in the bright sunshine.
At the same moment, they heard a lovel)'
sound above their heads, and, on looking up,
they perceived a large white swan hovering
in the air, and singing as no bird had ever
sung before. But its voice grew weaker and
weaker, till its head drooped, and it slowly
dropped down to their feet, where the poor
bird lay quite dead.
"Two such beautiful wings," said the
fellow-traveller, " so white and so large as
this bird's, are worth some money ; so I will
take them with me. You see it was well
that I obtained a sword." And he cut off
the two wings of the dead swan at a single
blow, and kept them.
They now travelled many miles across the mountains, till they at length reached a large city,
containing hundreds of towers, that shone like silver in the sunshine. In the midst of the town
stood a handsome marble palace, roofed with pure red gold, in which dwelt the king.
Johannes and his fellow-traveller did not care to enter the town immediately, but went into
an inn, situated in the outskirts, in order to dress themselves ; for they wished to look tidy when
they walked through the streets. The landlord informed them how good a man the king was, and
that he never injured anybody ; but as to his daughter — Heaven defend us ! — she was a bad
princess indeed ! Beauty she possessed in abundance : nobody was prettier or more elegant than
herself But what of that ? She was a wicked witch, and was the cause of many accomplished
princes having lost their lives. She had given leave to everybody to woo her. Any one might present
himself, be he a prince or a beggar ; it was all the same to her. Only he must guess three things
that she had thought of and questioned him about. If he succeeded, he was to marry her, and become
king over all the land at her father's death ; but if he f-ould not guess the three things, he was then
to be hung, or to
have his head struck
off Her father, the
(lid king, was deeply
c( mcerned at all this ;
but he could not for-
bid her being so
wicked, because he
had once declared
that he would never
meddle with her
CUT OFF THE TWO WI.NCs OF THE DEAD SWAN AT A SINGLE
BLOW, AND KEPT THEM.
HE AND ALL HIS SOLDIERS UsED TO KNEEL AND I'KAV THAT THE PKlNCEr.:, .MIGH L GKOW GOOD.
178
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
she was
Twelve
clothes
lovers, and that she might do as she liked about them. Every time a prince came to try his
luck at guessing, in order to obtain the princess's hand, he was sure to fail, and was, therefore,
hung or beheaded. He had been warned betimes that it would be safer to desist from his suit.
The old king was so afPicted at the mourning and wretchedness thus occasioned that, for one
whole day in the year, he and all his soldiers used to kneel and pray that the princess might
grow good ; but she would not. The old women who tippled brandy used to colour it quite black
before they drank it ; this was their way of mourning, and they could not well do more.
" What a shocking princess ! " said Johannes. " She deserves the rod, and it would do her
good. If I were the old king, she should have been thrashed long ago."
They now heard the mob cheering outside the inn. The princess was passing, and
really so beautiful that everybody forgot how wicked she was, and therefore hurrahed.
beautiful maidens, dressed in white silk
and holding golden tulips in their hands, rode by
her side on coal-black horses. The princess her-
self was mounted on a snow-white steed, with
diamond and ruby trappings. Her riding-dress
was of gold brocade ; and the whip she held in
her hand looked like a sunbeam. The gold crown
on her head resembled the little stars twinkling in
the heavens, while her mantle consisted of thou-
sands of splendid butterflies' wings stitched to-
gether. Yet, in spite of this magnificence, she was
herself far more beautiful than her clothes.
When Johannes caught sight of her, his face
grew as red as a drop of blood, and he was struck
completely dumb ; for the princess exactly re-
sembled the beautiful girl with the golden crown,
whom he had dreamed of the night his father
died. He thought her most beautiful, and could
not help lo\-ing her passionately. It could not
be possible, thought he, that she was a wicked
witch, who ordered people to be hung or beheaded
when they were unable to guess what she asked.
" But since every one, down to the poorest beggar,
is free to woo her," said he, " I will repair to the
palace, for I cannot resist doing so." Everybod)-
advised him not to attempt such a thing, as he
must inevitably fail like the rest,
traveller, likewise, warned him to
Johannes thought he should succeed,
his shoes and his coat, washed his hands and face,
combed his pretty, flaxen hair, and then went
alone into the town, and proceeded to the palace.
" Come in," said the old king, when Johannes
knocked at the door. Johannes opened it, and the old king came forward to meet him in his
dressing-gown and embroidered slippers ; he wore his crown on his head, and bore his sceptre
in one hand and his ball in the other. " Wait a bit," said he, putting the ball under his arm, to
leave one hand free to present to Johannes. But the moment he heard he came as a suitor, he
began to weep so violently that both ball and sceptre fell on the floor, and he was fain to wipe
his eyes with the skirts of his dressing-gown. Poor old king I
"Think not of it," said he, "you will fare as badly as all the others. Come, you shall
see."
He then led him into the princess's pleasure-garden, and a frightful sight was there to behold !
From every tree hung three or four kings' sons who had wooed the princess, but had been unable
to guess her riddles. At every breeze that blew, all these skeletons rattled till the little birds were
frightened, and never dared to come into the garden. All the flowers were propped with human
bones ; and human skulls might be seen grinning in flower-pots. It was an odd garden for a
princess.
" Now, you see," said the old king, "your fate will be just the same as that of all the others
His fellow-
desist ; but
He brushed
THEY NOW HEARD THE MOB CHEERING OUTSIDE THE
THE PRINCESS WAS PASSING UY.
THE FELLOW-TRAVELLER
179
whose remains you behold. Therefore give up the attempt. You really make me quite unhappy,
for I take it .so to heart."
l-RO.M LVtKV TREE ULWG TilKLL OR I-OL'R KI.NGb" bO.NS, WHO I1.\L) WooELl THK I'RI.N'CESS, HUT HAD
BEEN UNABLE TO GUESS HER RIDDLES.
Johannes kissed the good old king's hand, and assured him that all would be well ; for he was
quite enchanted with the lovely princess.
i8o
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
As the princess then rode into the palace-yard, accompanied by all her ladies, they went out
to greet her. She was marvellously fair to look upon, as she presented her hand to Johannes.
And he thought a great deal more of her than he did before ; and felt certain she could not be a
wicked witch, as everybody said she was. They then went into a room where little pages handed
them sweetmeats and gingerbread-nuts. But the old king was so out of sorts, he could not eat at
all. Besides, the gingerbread-nuts were too hard for him.
It was agreed that Johannes should return to the
palace on the following morning, when the judges and
the whole council would be assembled to see and hear
how the guessing was carried on. If he succeeded, he
was then to return twice more ; but there never yet had
been anybody who had been able to solve any question
the first time, and in each case his life was forfeited.
Johannes felt no an.xiety as to how he should fare.
On the contrary, he was pleased, and thought onl>' of the
beautiful princess ; and was quite confident that God
would help him through his trials. Though how this was
to be accomplished he knew not, and preferred not
troubling himself to think about the matter. He capered
along on the high-road, as he returned to the inn where his
fellow-traveller was waiting his return,
Johannes could not cease expatiating on the gracious
reception he had met with from the princess, and on her
extreme beauty. He quite longed for the morrow, when
he was to go to the palace and try his luck at guessing.
But his fellow-traveller shook his head mournfully.
" I wish you so well ! " said he. " VVe might have re-
mained together a good deal longer, and now I must lose
you ! Poor, dear Johannes ! I could weep, only I will not
spoil your joy on the last evening that we may ever spend
together. VVe will be merry — right merry ! To-morrow,
when you are gone, I shall be able to weep undisturbed."
All the inhabitants of the town had immediately
heard that there was a new suitor for the princess's hand,
and there prevailed universal consternation. The theatre
was closed ; the pastry-cooks put crape round their sugar-
husbands ; and the king and the priests were on their
knees in the church. This sadness was occasioned by
the conviction that Johannes could not succeed better
than all the other suitors had done.
Towards evening Johannes' fellow-traveller prepared a
goodly bowl of punch, and said : " Now let us be merry,
and drink the princess's health." But after drinking a
couple of glasses, Johannes proved so sleepy, that he could
not possibly keep his eyes open, and fell fast asleep.
His fellow-traveller then lifted him gently out of his chair,
and laid him in bed ; and when it was quite dark, he
took the two large wings he had cut off from the dead
swan, and fastened them firmly to his own shoulders. He
then put into his pocket the largest rod that he had obtained from the old woman who fell and
broke her leg ; and opening the window, he flew over the town, straight to the palace, where he
placed himself in an upper corner of the building right under the princess's bed-chamber.
The whole town was perfectly quiet. The clock now struck a quarter to twelve, when the
window opened, and the princess, wrapped in a flowing white mantle, and provided with a pair of
black wings, flew over the citj- towards a large mountain. But the fellow-traveller made himself
invisible ; and as he flew behind the princess, he thrashed her with his rod till she bled. What a
strange flight through the air it was ! The wind caught her mantle, which swelled out on all sides
like the large sail of a ship, and the moon shone through it.
" How it does hail, to be sure ! " said the princess, at every blow she received from the rod ;
THE PRINCESS, WRAPPED IN A FLOWING
WHITE ROBE, AND PROVIDED WITH A
PAIR OF BLACK WINGS, FLEW OVER
THE CITY.
THE FELLOW-TRAVELLER
i8i
and such weather suited her. At last she reached the mountain, and knocked for admittance.
Then came a noise like a clap of thunder, while the mountain opened, and the princess went in.
The fellow-traveller followed her, for nobody could see him, as he was invisible. They went
through a long, wide passage, where the walls shone brilliantly from the light of above a thousand
glittering spiders that were running up and down and illuminating them like fire. They next
entered a large hall built of silver and gold ; red and blue flowers, as large as sunflowers, were
beaming from the walls ; but nobody could pluck them, for the stems were ugly, venomous
serpents, and the flowers were the flames their jaws kept vomiting forth. The whole ceiling was
covered with glow-worms and light-blue bats that were flapping their thin wings. It looked quite
frightful. In the middle of the floor stood a throne that was supported by the skeletons of fcur horses,
whose harness had been furnished by the red, fiery spiders. The throne itself was of milk-white
glass, and the cushions were little black mice that kept biting each other's tails. Above it was a
canopy of a deep-red cobweb, dotted with the prettiest little green flies that sparkled like precious
stones. On the throne sat an old magician, with a crown on his ugly head and a sceptre in his
hand. He kissed the princess on her forehead, and placed her beside him on his splended throne,
THE JUDGES SAT IN THEIR ARM-CllAIKS, U 11 11 THEIR HEADS I'KOI'l'ED UP BY EIDER-DOWN CUSHIONS, BECAUSE
THEY HAD SO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT.
.md then the music struck up. Huge black grasshoppers played the jew's-harp, while the owl beat
a tattoo on its own body, having no better drum. It was a ludicrous concert. Little dark-coloured
goblins, with a will-o'-the-wisp in their caps, danced about the room. But nobody could see the
fellow-traveller, who had placed himself right behind the throne, where he could see and hear
everything. The courtiers, who now came in, were very delicate and genteel. But an\body who
could see what is what, would quickly perceive what they were made of They were nothing better
than broomsticks with cabbages for their heads, whom the magician had conjured into life, and
whom he had tricked out in embroidered clothes. However, they did just as well, as they were
only wanted for show.
After a little dancing, the princess related to the magician that she had a new suitor,
and consulted him as to what she should ask him next morning when he came to the palace.
" I will tell you what," said the magician ; " you must choose something easy, and then he'll
never hit upon it. Think of one of your shoes. He'll never guess that. Then you will have him
beheaded, and mind you don't forget to bring me his eyes to-morrow night."
The princess bowed, and said she would not forget to bring them. The magician then opened
the mountain, and she flew back ; but the fellow-traveller followed her, and struck her so smartly
with the rod, that she sighed most deeply over such a hail-storm, and hastened all she could to
l82
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
reach her bed-chamber throui^h
the window The fellow-traveller
then returned to the inn, where
Johannes was still asleep, took
off his wings, and went to bed
likewise, for he might well be
tired.
Johannes woke at an early
hour next morn-
ing. His fellow-
traveller got up,
and told him that
he had had a
strange dream that
night about the
princess and her
shoe, and therefore
urged him to ask
w hether it was not
her shoe that the
princess was think-
ing about ? For
this he had learned
from the magician
in the mountain.
" I may as
well ask that as
an)-thing else," said
Johannes. " Per-
haps your dream may turn out to be the
truth, for I trust in God to help me through.
Still, I will take leave of you, because
should I guess wrong, I shall never see
you again."
They then embraced one another,
and Johannes went into the town, and walked to the palace. The whole hall was filled with
people. The judges sat in their arm-chairs, with their heads propped up by eider-down cushions,
because they had so much to think about. The old king stood wiping his eyes with a white
pocket-handkerchief The princess now entered. She looked more beautiful than even the day
before, and saluted the assembly with charming grace. But she extended her
hand to Johannes, saying : " Good-morning to you."
Johannes was now called upon to guess what she had thought of
me ! how kindly she did look at him ! But no sooner had he pronounced the
single word "shoe," than she turned as pale
as chalk, and trembled all over. Still, this did
not serve her much, since he had guessed
correctly.
But, goodness ! how pleased the old king
was — he cut a caper that was
quite pleasant to behold I And
all present c.lapped their hands,
to cheer both him and Johannes,
who had been successful in this,
his first ordeal.
The fellow'-traveller was
likewise much rejoiced on hear-
ing how matters had turned
out. But Johannes folded his
hands and thanked his God, but ihe pki.nclsn lav u.n mt. sut.-v, a.nu would nut speak a word.
THRASHED HER MORE VIOLENTLY THAN BEIORE, HAVING TAKEN
TWO RODS WITH HIM.
THE FELLOW-TRAVELLER
183
who he felt certain would help him through the two next times. On the following day, he was
to make a second attempt at guessing.
"so MUCH THE BETTER," SAID THE OLD KING, " THAT'S JUST WHAT I WISH,
The evening passed much the same as the fpregoing one. When Johannes had gone to sleep,
his fellow-traveller flew after the princess to the mountain, and thrashed her more violently than
i84
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
before, having taken two rods with him. Nobody saw him, and he heard all that was said. The
princess was to think of her glove, and this he repeated to Johannes, as if it had been a dream.
So that he was able to guess correctly, which occasioned great joy amongst the inmates of the
palace. The whole court cut capers as they had seen the king do the first time. But the princess
lay on the sofa, and would not speak a word. All now depended on whether Johannes could guess
right the third time. If he succeeded, he was to marry the beautiful princess, and reign over the
land at the old king's death. But if he guessed wrong, he was to forfeit his life, and the magician
would have his beautiful blue eyes.
On the preceding evening, Johannes went to bed early, said his prayers, and then fell into
a quiet sleep. But his fellow-traveller tied his wings to his back, and put his sword at his
side, and taking the three rods with him, flew towards the palace.
It was as dark as pitch, and there w«as such a storm that the tiles were flying off from the roofs
of the houses, and the trees in the garden, where hung the skeletons, bent like so many reeds
beneath the wind. It lightened every moment, and the thunder rolled along as though it was a
single clap that lasted through the whole
night. The window now opened, and
the princess flew out. She was as pale
as death, but she laughed at the bad
weather, and thought it was scarcely
bad enough. And her white mantle
fluttered in the wind like a large sail,
while the fellow-traveller thrashed her
with the three rods till her blood flowed,
and she could scarcely fly any farther.
She managed, however, to reach the
mountain.
" This is a violent hail-storm," said
THE PRINCESS SHRIEKtU Al.OUI) WHEN HE DIPPED HER INTO THE WATER,
she ; " I was never out in such weather
before."
" There may be too much of a good
thing," observed the magician.
She now told him that
Johannes had guessed aright
the second time, and should he
succeed again on the following
morning, he would then have
won, and she would never again
be able to come to the moun-
tain, or to practise magic arts as
she had hitherto done ; there-
fore was she quite out of spirits,
will find out something that he
But now let's be merry ! " And
wearing
1
" He shall not be able to guess it," said th^ magician, " for
will never hit upon, unless he is a greater conjurer than myself
then he took both the princess's hands, and they danced about with all the little goblin
will-o'-the-wisp lights, that were in the room. The red spiders jumped just as merrily up and down
the walls ; it looked as if the fiery flowers were emitting sparks. The owl beat the drum, the
crickets whistled, and the black grasshoppers played on the jew's-harp. It was a frolicsome ball.
When they had danced enough the princess was obliged to go home, for fear of being missed in
the palace. The magician said he would accompany her, that they might be together a little longer.
They then flew away through the bad weather, while the fellow-traveller broke his three rods
across their shoulders. The magician had never been out in such a hail-storm before. Just on
reaching the palace, and on bidding the princess farewell, he whispered, " Think of my head."
But the fellow-traveller heard him, and just as the princess slipped in at her bedroom window, and
the magician was about to turn round, he seized him by the long black beard, and cut off his ugly
head at a single stroke from his sword, so that the magician had not even time to see him. He
then threw the body into the sea, to serve as food for the fishes ; but he merely dipped the head in
the waters, and then tied it up in his silk handkerchief, and took it to the inn, and went to bed.
Next morning he gave the bundle to Johannes, bidding him not open it till the princess should
ask him what she was thinking of
THE FELLOW-TRAVELLER
185
There were so many spectators in the large hall of the palace, that they stood as thick as
radishes tied in a bunch. The council sat on their arm-chairs with the soft cushions, and the old
king was dressed in new clothes ; his golden crown and sceptre had been furbished up ; and the
whole scene looked very solemn. But the princess was pale as ashes, and wore a coal-black
dress, as though she were attending a funeral. " What have I thought of? " asked she of Johannes.
And he immediately opened the silk handkerchief, when he was himself quite startled on beholding
the ugly magician's head. Everybody shuddered, for it was frightful to look at ; but the princess
sat like a statue, and could not speak a word. At length she rose and gave her hand to Johannes,
for he had guessed aright. She looked neither to the right nor the left, but sighed out : " Now you
are my master ! Our wedding will be celebrated this evening."
" So much the better," said the old king, " that's just what I wish." All present cried
" Hurrah ! " The soldiers on parade struck up their music in the streets, the bells were set a-ring-
ing, the pastry-cooks took the black crape off their sugar-husbands, and rejoicings were held every-
where. Three oxen, stuffed with ducks and chickens, and roasted whole, were placed in the middle
of the market-place, and everyone was free to cut a slice ; the fountains spouted the most delicious
wine ; and if one bought a penny cracknel at the baker's, one received six large biscuits as a pre-
sent— and the biscuits had raisins in them !
Towards night the whole town was illuminated, the
soldiers fired cannons, and the boys let off pop-guns ; and
there was a deal of eating, and drinking, and crushing,
and capering at the palace. All the fine gentlemen and
the beautiful young ladies danced together, and
one might hear them from afar singing the
following song : —
" Here are many maidens fair.
Who twirl like any spinninjf-wheel,
And tread the floor as light as air ;
Still round and round, sweet maiden, reel,
And d 'nee aw.iy the mazes through,
Until the sole has left your shoe"
But the princess was still a witch,
and could not endure Johannes. This
struck his fellow-traveller, and therefore
he gave Johannes three feathers out of
the swan's wings, and a small phial con-
taining only a few drops, and told him
to place a large vat full of water in front
of the princess's bed, and when the
princess was about to get into bed, he
must give her a slight push, so that she should fall into the water, into which he must dip her
three times, having taken care first to shake in the feathers and the contents of the phial. The
magic spell would then be broken, and she would love him tenderly.
Johannes did all that his fellow-traveller suggested. The princess shrieked aloud when he
dipped her into the water, and struggled out of his hands under the form of a coal-black swan with
fiery c>'es. The second time she rose to the surface the swan had become white, all but a black
ruff round its neck. Johannes pra\-ed to God, and made the bird dive down a third time, when it
was suddenly transformed to the most beautiful princess. She was far lovelier than before, and
thanked him, with tears in her eyes, for having broken the spell that bound her.
On the following morning, the old king came with all his court, and the congratulations lasted
till late in the day. Last of all came Johannes' fellow-traveller, with his stick in his hand, and his
knap.sack at his back. Johannes embraced him affectionately, and said that he must not go away,
but stay with him, for he was the cause of all his happiness. But his fellow-traveller shook his
head, and said in a mild and friendly voice : " No ; m\' time is now up. I have but paid a debt. Do
you remember the dead man whom his wicked creditors would fain have ill-used ? You gave all
you possessed that he might rest in peace in his grave. I am that dead man ! "
And at the same moment he vanished.
The wedding rejoicings now lasted a full month. Johannes and the princess loved each other
dearly, and the old king lived to see many a happy day, and dandled his little grandchildren on his
knee, and let them play with his sceptre. And Johannes became king over the whole land.
THE Ol.U KING . . .
DANDLED HIS GRAND-
CHILDREN ON HIS KNEES, AND
LET THEM PLAY WITH HIS SCEPTRE.
186
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
The Little Match-Girl
T was dreadfully cold, it snowed, and was gretting quite dark, for it
was evening — yes, the last evening of the year.
Amid the cold and the darkness, a little girl, with bare head
and naked feet, was roaming through the streets. It is true she had
on a pair of slippers when she left home, but that was not of much
- use, for they were very large slippers ; so large, indeed, that they had
hitherto been used by her mother ; besides, the little creature lost
them as she hurried across the street, to avoid two carriages, that
were driving at a fearful rate. One of the slippers was not to be
found, and the other was pounced upon by a boy, who ran awaj' with
it, saying that it would serve for a cradle when he shoulcl have
children of his own.
So the little girl went along, with her little bare feet, that were
red and blue with cold. She carried a number of matches in an old
apron, and she held a bundle of them in her hand. Nobody had
bought anything of her the whole livelong day, and nobod)- had even
given her a penny.
She crept along, shivering with cold and hunger, a perfect picture
of misery — poor little thing!
The snow-flakes covered her long flaxen hair, which hung in
pretty curls round her throat ; but she heeded them not.
Lights were streaming from all the windows, and there was a
savoury smell of roast goose ; for it was St. Sylvester's evening. And
this she did heed.
She now sat down, cowering in a corner formed by two houses,
one of which projected beyond the other. She had drawn her little
feet under her, but she felt colder than ever ; yet she dared not
return home, for she had not sold a match, and could not bring back
a penny.
Her father would certainly beat her ; and it was cold enough at home, besides — for they
had only the roof above them, and the wind came liowling through it, though the largest holes
had been stopped with straw and rags. Her little hands were nearly frozen with cold.
Alas ! a single match might do her some good, if
she might only draw one out of the bundle, and rub it
against the wall, and warm her fingers.
So at last she drew one out. Whisht ! how it shed
sparks, and how it burned ! It gave out a warm, bright
flame, like a little candle, as she held her hands over
it, — truly, it was a wonderful little light ! It really
seemed to the little girl as if she were sitting before a
large iron stove, with polished brass feet, and brass
shovel and tongs. The fire burned so blessedly, and
warmed so nicely, that the little creature stretched out
her feet to warm them likewise, when lo ! the flame
expired, the stove vanished, and left nothing but the
little half-burned match in her hand.
She rubbed anotlier match against the wall. It
gave a light, and where it shone upon the wall, the
latter became as transparent as a veil, and she could see
into the room.
A snow-white tablecloth was spread upon the table, she now s.'vt down, cowering in a corner.
on which stood a splendid china dinner service, while she h.^d drawn her little feet under
a roast goose, stuffed with apples and prunes, sent her, but felt colder than ever.
THE LITTLE MATCH-GIRL
187
forth the most savour}' odour. And what was more deh'ghtful still, the goose jumped down from
the dish, and waddled along the ground with a knife and fork in its breast, up to the poor girl.
A.M) WllAl WAS MURE DKI.IG H 11 T I. sTllI., THE GOOSE JL'Ml'ED DOWN FROM llIE DISH, AND WADDLED
ALONG THE GROUND, WITH A KNIFE AND FORK IN ITS BREAST, UP TO THE POOR GIRL.
The match then went out, and nothing remained but the thick, damp wall.
She lit another match.
i88
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
She now sat under the most magnificent Christmas tree, that was larger, and more superbly
decked, than even the one she had seen through the glass door at the rich merchant's. A thousand
tapers burned on its green branches, and gay pictures, such as one sees on targets, seemed to be
looking down upon her. The match then went out.
The Christmas lights kept rising higher and higher. They now looked like stars in the sky.
One of them fell down, and left a long streak of fire.
" Somebody is now dying," thought the little girl — for her old grandmother, the only person
who had ever loved her, and who was now dead, had told her, that when a star falls, it is a sign
that a soul is going up to heaven.
She again rubbed a match upon the wall, and it was again light all round ; and in the bright-
ness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining like a spirit, yet looking so mild and loving.
" Grandmother," cried the little one , " oh ! take me with you ! I know you will go away when
the match goes out — you will vanish like the warm stove, and the delicious roast goose, and the
fine, large Christmas-tree ? "
• And she made haste to rub the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to hold her grand-
mother fast.
And the matches gave a light that was brighter than noonday. Her grandmother had never
appeared so beautiful nor so large. She took the little girl in her arms, and both flew upwards,
all radiant and joyful, far — far above mortal ken — where there was neither cold, nor hunger, nor
care to be found ; for it was to the land of the blessed that they had flown.
But, in the cold dawn, the poor girl might be seen leaning against the wall, with red cheeks
and smiling mouth : she had been frozen on the last night of the old year.
The new year's sun shone upon the little corpse.
The child sat in the stiffness of death, still holding the matches, one bundle of which was burned.
People said : " She tried to warm herself"
Nobody dreamed of the fine things she had seen, nor in what splendour she had entered upon
the joys of the new year, together with her grandmother.
«Sf "S? ^
he Real Princess
THERE was once a prince who wished to marry a princess ;
but he wanted her to be a real princess. He travelled all
round the world to find such one, but there was always
something wrong. N'ot that there was any lack of princesses,
but as to whether or no they were real ones, he could not
always make out. There was sure to be something
in the way that was not quite satisfactory. At length
he returned home, quite out of spirits, for he wished
so to find a real princess.
One evening there was a dreadful storm. It
thundered and lightened, and poured of rain, till it
v/as quite dreadful. There came a knock at the
town-gate, and the old king went and opened it.
A princess stood outside the gate — but, oh dear I
what a state she was in from the rain and the bad
weather! The water was dripping down from her
hair and her clothes, and running in at the tips of her
shoes and coming out at the heels. Yet she said she
was a real princess.
" Well, that we'll presently see," thought the old
THE REAL PRINCESS
189
THERE CAME A KNOCK AT THE TOWN C.A IE, AM) THE OLD KING WENT AND OPENF.D IT.
igo
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
real
seen
queen. But she said nothing, and
went into a spare room, and took off
all the beddini,', and laid a pea on
the sacking of the bedstead. She
then took tvvent)- mattresses and laid
them upon the pea, and then piled
twenty eider-down beds on the top
of the mattresses.
The princess lay upon them the
whole night. On the following morn-
ing she was asked how she had
slept.
" Oh, most shockingly ! " said
the princess. " I scarcely closed my
eyes all night ! I do not know what
was in the bed. I laid upon some
hard substance, which has made me
black and blue all over. It is quite
dreadful ! "
It was now evident that she was
a real princess, since she perceived
the pea through twenty mattresses
and twenty eider-down beds. None
but a real princess could have such
delicate feeling.
So the prince married her, for
he knew that he had now found a
princess ; and the pea was preserved in the cabinet of curiosities, where it is still to be
, unless somebody has stolen it.
And *:* s mind you, is a real story.
SHE SAIL) NOTHING, AND WENT INTO A SPARE ROOM AND LAID
A PEA ON THE SACKING OF THE BEADSTEAD.
SCARCELY CLOSED MY EYES ALL NIGHT! I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WAS IN THE Hr.D."
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
ItjL
Under the Willow
HE countn- is very bare in the neic^hbourhood of Kjoge;
the town, indeed, lies on the sea-shore, and that is
always beautiful, but yet it might be more beautiful
than it is. Round about the ground is flat, and the
forest is a long way off; but when one is quite at home in
a place one always finds sometiiing beautiful there, some-
thing that one would long for even in the loveliest spot
upon earth. And we may also say that in an outlying part
of Kjoge, where a couple of poor little gardens extend
down to the little rivulet which runs down to the beach, it
is quite delightful in summer ; and, indeed, two little chil-
dren, Canute and Joan, who lived there, found it so as they
played about, and crept under the gooseberry-bushes after
each other. In one of the gardens stood an elder, in the
other an old willow ; and under that tree in particular the
children delighted to play ; and they were allowed to do
so, although the tree stood quite close to the stieam, where
they easily could have fallen into the water, but God took
care of the little ones — otherwise they would have fared
badly. They were also very careful ; indeed, the boy was
so much afraid of the water that it was not possible in the
summer to get him out on the beach, where the other children delightid to go and paddle; he
was scolded sharply for it, and he had to bear
that; but little Juan, the neighbour's child, once
dreamt that she was sailing in a boat in the Bay
of Kjoge, and Canute went straight out to her;
the water at first reached to his neck, and then
it rose right over his head ; and from the moment
that Canute heard that dream he could no longer
bear that they should say he was afraid of the
water, but he merely referred to Joan's dream,
and did not go into the water.
The poor parents often met, and Canute and
Joan played in the gardens and out in the road,
along which a whole row of willows grew beside
the ditch ; they were not beautiful, for they were
pollarded, they did not stand there for show but
to be of use ; the old willow in the garden was
more beautiful, and they sat under it many a time
and oft, as they sa}-.
There is a large market-place in Kjoge, and
at fair-time there stood whole streets of tents with
silk ribbons, boots, and everything possible ; there
was a great crowd, and it was generally in rainy
weather, so that you noticed the vapour from the
peasants' cloaks, but there was also a most de-
lightful smell of gingerbread ; there was a whole
booth full of it ; and the best part of it was that
the man who sold it always lodged at fair-time
with little Canute's parents, and so a little ginger-
bread-cake naturally found its way there also,
whereof Joan had a piece ; moreover, what almost
seemed even more delightful, the gingerbread-
seller could tell stories about almost everything.
IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET HIM
. . . TO GO AND PADDLE.
rg2
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
even about his own gingerbread-cakes. One evening he told a story about these which made so
deep an impression on the two children that they never afterwards forgot it ; and so it is best
that we also should hear it, especially as it is short.
ONE EVENING HE TOED A STORY
WHICH GREATEY IMPRESSED THEM.
" Two gingerbread-cakes were lying on the plate," he said ; " one was in the shape of a man
with a hat, and the other was like a young woman without a hat, but with a spot of gold-leaf on
UNDER THE WILLOW
193
her head ; they had their faces on the side which was turned upwards, and you ought to look on
them that way and not on the wrong side, just as you should look at some people. The man had
a bitter almond at his left side, and that was his heart ; the young woman, on the other hand, was
nothing but gingerbread. They lay as samples on the plate, they lay a long time and so they fell
in love with each other ; but neither said anything of it to the other, and that one must do if it is
to come to anything.
" ' He is a man, he must speak the first word,' she thought , but still she would be pleased to
know that her love was reciprocated.
" Now, he was more greed)' in his thoughts, as men always are ; he dreamt that he was a live
street-boy and possessed twopence, and so he bought the young woman and ate her.
" And they lay days and weeks on the plate and grew dry, and her thoughts became more
delicate and womanly : 'It is
enough for me that I have lain
on the same plate with him ! ' she
thought, and so she cracked at the
waist.
'" If she had known my love,
she would have held together
longer ! ' he thought.
" And that is the story, and
here they are both of them ! " said
the cake-seller. " They are notable
for their career and their mute
affection, which never led to any-
thing. Look ! there they are ! "
and so he gave Joan the man,
which was entire, and Canute had
the broken young woman ; but
they were so sad about the story
that they had not the heart to eat
the lovers.
The ne.\t day they went with
them into Kjuge churchyard, where
the church wall is covered with
the most beautiful green ivy, which
hangs over the wall like a rich
curtain, winter and summer ; and
they placed the gingerbread-cakes
up in the green in the sunshine,
and they told to a party of other
children the story of their mute
affection which led to nothing :
they called it affection, for the
story was delightful — thev all
found it so. Then they looked at the gingerbread lovers ; and yes ! there was a great boy, who,
it seems, out of pure malice, had eaten the broken young woman. The children burst into tears,
and afterwards— and no doubt it was that the unfortunate man should not be left alone in the
world— they ate him up also, but they never forget the story.
The children were always together at the elder-bush or under the willow, and the little girl
sang the most delightful songs with voice as clear as silver bells ; in Canute there was not a note of
mu.s'ic, but he knew the words, and that is always something. The people in Kjoge, even the iron-
monger's wife, stood still and listened to Joan. " That is a sweet voice the little girl has ! " she said.
Those were happy days, but they did not last for ever. The neighbours parted company ; the
little girl's mother was dead and the father was going to Copenhagen to be married again ; he would
be able to get employment there— he would be a messenger somewhere, and that ought to be a very
profitable post. And the neighbours took a tearful farewell, and the children wept bitterly ; but
the old people promised to write to each other at least once every year. And Canute became a
shoemaker's apprentice, for they could not let that big boy go on doing nothing any longer. Also
he was confirmed.
PT. IX.
AND TOLD TO A
PARTY OF CHILDREN
THE STORY OF THEIR
MUTE AFFECTION
WHICH LED TO NOTHING.
194
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
Oh, how he wished on that holiday that he could go to Copenhagen and see little Joan ! But
he did not go ; indeed, he had never been there, although it only lies twenty-three miles from
Kjoge ; but Canute had seen the towers across the bay in clear weather, and on the day of his
confirmation he plainly saw the golden cross shining on the Cathedral.
Ah, how often he thought of Joan ! But did she remember him ? Yes, indeed ! Near
Christmas there came a letter from her father to Canute's parents, saying that they had done very
well in Copenhagen, and that Joan would make a great fortune by her beautiful voice ; she had
been engaged at the theatre to sing there, and already received some small payment ; out of this
she sent her dear neighbours at Kjoge a whole dollar for their merry-making on Christmas Eve,
that they might drink her health, and she had herself written with her own hand a postscript as
follows : " Kind remembrance to Canute ! "
They wept all together, and still it was
quite delightful ; they indeed wept from joy.
Every day Joan had been in his thoughts, and
now he saw thafshe also thought of him ; and,
as the time approached when he would become
a journeyman, it became more clear to him that
he was attached to Joan and that she must be
his little wife ; and then a smile pla\ed on his
mouth, and he drew the thread still more
quickly, while his leg pressed against the strap ;
he quite ran the awl into one of his fingers, but
he did not mind. He should certainly not be
mute, like those two gingerbreads ; the story
would be a lesson for him.
And now he became a journeyman, and
packed his knapsack. At last he would go to
Copenhagen for the first time in his life, and
he had a master there already. Oh, how sur-
prised and pleased Joan would be ! She was
now seventeen years old, and he was nineteen.
He wished to buy her a gold ring before
leaving Kjoge, but he considered that he would
be able to get one much more beautiful in
Copenhagen ; and so he took leave of the old
people, and started on foot one autumn day
through the drizzling rain ; the leaves were
falling from the trees ; he was wet to the skin
when he reached the great city of Copenhagen,
and went to his new master.
On his first Sunday he wished to pay a
visit to Joan's father. He put on his new work-
man's clothes, and the new hat from Kjoge
which suited him so well, for before this he had
always worn a cap. And he found the house which he was looking for, and came up many
flights of stairs ; it quite made him giddy to see how people had to live over one another in this
bewildering city.
They appeared to be in comfortable circumstances in their parlour, and Joan's father received
him in a friendly way. His wife was a stranger to him, but she shook hands and gave him a cup
of coffee.
" Joan will be pleased to see you," said the father ; " you have become quite a good-looking
man ! Now you shall see her. She is a girl I am mure than satisfied with, by God's blessing.
She has her own room, and she pays us for it." And the father rapped quite politely at her door,
as if he had been a stranger, and so they went in. But how charming it was ! Certainly there was
not such a room in the whole of Kjoge, the queen could not have one more delightful ! There
was a carpet, there were curtains right down to the floor, and a real velvet chair ; and all round
there were flowers and pictures, and there was a looking-glass that one might easily run into, for
it was just as large as a door. Canute saw all this at one glance, and yet he only looked at Joan,
for she was a full-grown maidjn ; quite different from what Canute had imagined her, but much
HE SHOULD CERTAINLY NOT lili .MUTE, LIKE THOSE
TWO GINGERBREADS.
UNDER THE WILLOW
195
beautiful. There was not such a damse
iiinre and how fashionable she was! But
J^J<'^Ce to Canute, it was only for a
though
straiK
i/ards
him as if she was going to kiss
as she in all
she seemed
moment, and then she
him ; she did not
flew ti but she looked as if she would. Yes, she was certainly
do so.Q see the friend of her childhood ! The tears stood in her
glad t^rid she had so much to ask and to tell him, both about
^y^^- hone upon it from morning till night : it was really quite
unbearable ! The learned man from the cold districts
was young and clever. It seemed to him as if he were
peeping into a glowing furnace, and this made such an
impression on him that he grew thin, and even his shadow
shrivelled up and became much smaller than it was at
home ; moreover, the sun took it away, such as it was,
and it only existed in the evening, after the sun had set.
It was quite a pleasure to look at it. No sooner was
light brought into the room than the shadow stretched
THE SHADOW
211
all up the wall, and even to the very ceiling, so tall did it
become ; for it required a good stretching to recover its strength.
The learned man went out into the balcony to stretch himself;
and as soon as the stars peeped forth from the clear blue sky, he
felt somewhat revived. People now began to appear at all the
balconies in the street — for in warm climates every window
has its balcony, and fresh air one must breathe, however ac-
customed one may be to the mahoganizittg process — so it was
a very lively scene from top to bottom of the houses. Shoe-
makers and tailors, and all other folks of the same sort, sat out
in the street below ; tables and chairs were brought out, tapers
were lighted —ay, by thousands — and one chatted, and another
sang, while promenaders passed to and fro, carriages drove
along, and mules trotted to the " tingle-lingle-ling " of the bells
on their harness ; and dead bodies were buried, amidst dirges
and the tolling of church-bells. Yes, indeed, it was a most busy
scene down below in the street. A single house, which stood
right opposite the one inhabited by the foreign learned man,
formed an exception to the general bustle, and was quite quiet.
And yet somebody lived there, for there were flowers in the
balcony, that bloomed most beautifully in the heat of the sun,
which they could not have done had they not been watered ;
therefore, somebody must water them : consequently, there must
be inmates in the house. Besides, the doors were half-opened
towards evening ; only it was dark, at least in the front rooms :
and, moreover, music might be heard coming from the interior
of the house. The foreign learned man thought the music
peculiarly enchanting ; but it is barely possible this might be
only fancy, for he thought everything most delightful in warm
latitudes, if there had but been no sun. The foreigner's landlord
said he did not know who had hired the house opposite ; nobody
to the music, he thought it most abom-
is just as if some one sat practising a
piece which he could not master.
It is always the same piece, too.
' I shall finish by conquering it,'
he says, I suppose ; but he will
not, let him try as long as he may."
The foreigner once woke in the night — he slept with the
balcony door open — and as the wind raised the curtain, it seemed
to him that a wonderful brightness was streaming from the
balcony of the house opposite. All the flowers looked like flames
of the most beautiful colours, and in the midst of the flowers
stood a slender, lovely maiden. She, too, seemed streaming with
light, and it quite dazzled his eyes ; but then, to be sure, he had
but just opened them, and awoke out of his sleep. He jumped
out of bed at a bound, and crept softly behind the curtain ; but
the maiden had already disappeared, the brightness had vanished,
the flowers were no longer flaming, though they stood there as
beautiful as ever. The balcony door was ajar, and from the
inside of the house was wafted the sound of music, so exquisite
that it might have lapped one in Elysian dreams. It was like
magic. Who could live there ? Where was the real entrance to
the dwelling? — for, both in the main street and in the side lane,
the whole ground-floor was a series of shops, and the people could
not always come out and in through them.
One evening the stranger sat in his balcony : a light was
A LIGHT WAS BURNING IN THE buming in the room, just behind him ; and it was, therefore,
ROOM JUST BEHIND HIM. qultc Hatufal that his shadow should fall on the opposite house.
was to be seen, and as
inabl)' tiresome. " It
IN THE MIDST OK THE FLOWERS STOOD
A SLENDER, LOVELY MAIDEN.
212
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
So, as he sat amongst the flowers on his balcony, every time he moved his shadow moved like-
wise.
" I verily think my shadow is the only live thing that is to be seen in the house opposite," said
the learned man. " See how prettily it sits there between the flowers. The door is only ajar,
therefore the shadow ought to be clever enough to step in, look
about him, and then come back and tell me what he has seen.
Ay, then you would be of some use," added he in joke. " Be
so good as to step in now, will you?" And then he nodded to
the shadow, and the shadow nodded in return. " Now go ; only
don't stay away for good." And the foreigner rose, and the
shadow on the balcony opposite rose likewise ; and the foreigner
turned round, and the shadow turned round also : and had any-
body observed it, he might have plainly seen the shadow going in
through the half-open door of the balcony of the opposite house,
at the very same moment that the foreigner returned to his room
and drew the long curtain over the glass door.
On the following morning, the learned man went out to
drink coffee and to read the newspapers. " How is this ? " said
he, when he stood in the sunshine : " I have lost my shadow !
It seems that he really went away yesterday evening, and has
not returned. This is a sad thing."
And it vexed him sorely ; not so much that the shadow
was gone, as because he knew that there was a story of a man
without a shadow, and everybody in his country knew this story :
so that, when he should return home and relate his own adven-
ture, people would say he was only mimicking the original story ;
and there was no need for him to have such things said of him.
So he determined not to speak of it, and a sensible resolution it
was.
In the evening he again went out upon his balcony, having
previously taken care to place the light behind him, for he knew
that a shadow will always have his master to screen him ; but
he could not entice him out. He made himself little, and then
tall ; still no shadow was there, and no shadow would come.
He cried, " Hem ! ahem ! "—but that was of no use.
It was distressing enough ; but in tropical climates everything grows
so fast that in the course of a week he perceived, to his great joy, that
a new shadow had sprouted out of his legs, when he stood in the sun-
shine ; so he felt satisfied that the root had remained. In the course
of three weeks he had a very respectable shadow, which continued grow-
ing on his voyage back to the northern latitudes : so that it became
at last so tall and so stout that he might very well have parted with
half of it.
On his return home, the learned man wrote books about all that
is good, and true, and beautiful in this world ; and days flew past, and
years went by — many years, indeed, rolled over his head.
One evening, as he sat in his study, a slight tap was heard at the
door. "Come in," said he; but no one came. So he opened the door,
and there stood before him a person of such extraordinary thinness
that he felt a strange sensation creep over him. In other respects the
stranger was very elegantly dressed, and seemed to be a very gentle-
manly person.
"Whom have I the honour of addressing? " said our bookworm.
" Ay, I thought you would not recognise me," said the gentlemanly stranger. " I have become
so corporeal that I have actually acquired flesh and clothes. You never thought to see me in such
a condition. Do you not know your old shadow ? Ay, you never believed that I should return.
I have been extremely lucky since I was last with you : I have become very wealthy in every
respect ; and if I had a mind to purchase my freedom from service, I have ample means at my
disposal to do so." And he rattled a number of costly trinkets hanging to his watch, and fingered
HB PERCEIVED, TO HIS GREAT JOV,
THAT A NEW SHADOW HAD
SPROUTED OUT OF HIS LEGS.
THE SHADOW
213
a thick gold chain that he wore round his neck ; besides which, diamond rings sparkled on all his
fingers, and none of it was mock jewellery.
" No ; I cannot recover from my surprise," said the learned man. " What does it all mean?"
" Something rather out of the common way, to be sure," said the shadow. " But you are not
an every-day sort of a man yourself; and you know I have trodden in your footsteps ever since
your childhood. As soon as you found that I was old enough to make my way in the world
alone, you let me follow my own
devices, and I am now in the most
brilliant circumstances ; only I had a
kind of hankering to see you once
more before you die, and I wished to
see this place again, because one has
always a sneaking kindness for one's
native country. I know that you
have got another shadow — now, do I
owe either you or him any money?
Do but have the goodness to tell me."
" No — is it really you ? " said the
learned man. "This is a most re-
markable occurrence. I never thought
that one could see one's old shadow
become a human being."
" Only tell me what I owe you,"
said the shadow ; " for I don't like
to remain in anybody's debt."
"How can you talk so?" said
the learned man. " What can you
possibly owe me ? You are as free
as anybody else. I rejoice extremely
at your good fortune. Sit down, my
old friend, and pray tell me how it
all happened, and what you saw in
the house opposite mine, in the
tropical land yonder."
" Yes, I will tell you," said the
shadow, sitting down ; " only you
must promise me, in return, that you
will never tell anybody in this city,
let us meet where we may, that I
have been your shadow ; for I have
some thoughts of marrying, having
more than sufficient to support a
family."
" Be easy on that score," said the
learned man ; " I will tell nobody
who you really are. You may rely
upon my promise. Here is my hand
upon it, which is all-sufficient be-
tween men of honour."
" Between a man and a shadow of honour," said the shadow, correcting him.
It was really quite remarkable how much he had assumed the appearance of a man. He was
dressed in a complete suit of black, of the finest cloth, patent-leather boots, and a close-folding hat,
which could be pressed together so as to leave nothing visible but the top of the crown and the
rim ; not to speak of the watch-trinkets, the gold chain, and the diamond ring we have already
mentioned. The shadow was, in fact, extremely well dressed ; and it was, indeed, his clothes that
made a complete man of him.
" Now I will tell you what you wish to know," said the shadow, placing his feet, with the
patent-leather boots, as hard as ever he could on the arm of the learned man's new shadow, that
lay at his feet like a poodle. This was either out of pride, or, perhaps, merely to enforce upon the
"come
BUT NO ONE CAME.
HE OPENED IHE DOOR.
214
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
new shadow to stick to his master. But the new shadow lay quite still, in order to listen atten-
tively ; for he, too, wished to learn how a shadow could be discharged and grow to be his own
master.
" Do you know who lived in the house opposite ? " said the shadow. " It was the most
delightful being in the world — namely Poetry. I stayed there three weeks, and that was just as
good as if one could live three thousand years, and read all the verse and prose that has been
written. And I may say, for it is strictly true, that I have seen everything, and that I know every-
thing."
" Poetry !" exclaimed the learned man. "Ay, she often takes up her abode, hermit-fashion,
in large towns. Poetry ! Well, I saw her for one short moment, only my eyes were full of sleep.
She stood on the balcony, as radiant as an aurora borealis, surrounded by flowers that seemed
living flames. Tell me — pray,
tell me. You were on the bal-
cony, and then went through the
glass door ; and what then ? "
" Then I found myself in the
ante-room," said the shadow.
" You were still sitting and look-
ing towards the ante-room oppo-
site you. There was no light in
it, though it was per\aded by a
kind of twilight ; but the doors
of a whole suite of rooms stood
open, and they were all lighted
up. Indeed, such a mass of light
would have killed me, had I
penetrated as far as the presence
of the maiden herself But I was
prudent, and took time, as one
ought to do."
" And then what did you
see ? " said the learned man.
" I saw everything, as you
shall hear ; but — and this is
really no arrogance on my part
— as a free agent, and as a person
possessing the extensive know-
ledge I am master of, to say
nothing of my position in the
world and my affluent circum-
stances, I wish you would speak
a little less familiarly, and now
and then remember to say ' sir.' " '
" I beg your pardon, sir,"
said the learned man. " It comes of old habit, which is not easily got rid of You are quite
right, and I will bear your remark in mind. But pray continue, sir, and tell me what you saw."
" Everything," said the shadow ; " for I saw everything and I know everything."
" How did it look inside the rooms? " asked the learned man. " Was it like a cool grove? or
was it like a holy temple? Were the rooms like the starry sky which one sees from the top of
high mountains ? "
" Everything was there," said the shadow. " It is true I did not quite enter, for I remained in
the twilight of the ante-room, but even there I was extremely well off I saw everything and
know everything. I have, in short, been in the waiting-room at the court of Poetry."
" Then what did you see ? Did all the gods of ancient times pass through the large rooms ?
Did the heroes of past ages fight there? Did lovely children play there and tell their dreams ? "
" I tell you that I was there, and therefore you may think that I saw everjthing that was to
'YES, I WILL TELL YOU," SAID THE SHADOW, SITTING DOWN.
• In the original he requests him to drop the "thee" and "thou," and say "you" ; which being unsuitable to the
English idiom, has been replaced by an equivalent. — Note, Trans.
THE SHADOW
215
i*'^^^
5 [III
«:»
/:,
y^'
written a
of that I
a general
, and they
iX.
P
t'Si
be seen. If you had gone there you would not have remained a human being, but I became one.
And I immediately learned to understand my inward essence, and my natural affinity to Poetry.
It is true that I did not think much about it when I used to be with you ; but you may remember
that I was wonderfully large both at sunrise and sunset ; that in the
moonshine I was almost more visible than yourself — but I did not
then understand my inward essence, whereas in the ante-room it was
revealed to me, and I became a human being ! I came out again in
full maturity, but you had left the tropical latitudes. As a man, I felt
ashamed to go about in the state I was in ; I wanted boots, and
clothes, and the exterior varnish by which a man is recognised ; so I
went my ways — I don't mind telling you, for you won't put it into a
book — I went my ways under cover of a pastry-cook's gown, beneath
which I concealed myself, while the woman little dreamed how much
she was harbouring. It was not till evening that I ventured out. I
ran about the streets in the moonshine ; I drew myself up to my full
height along the walls, which tickled my vanity very agreeably ; I ran
up and down, peeped through the highest windows in the rooms, and
through the roof ; I looked into places where nobody could look, and
I saw what nobody saw, and what nobody was to see. After all, the
world is a bad world, and I would not be a human being were it not
an established fact that they are reckoned of some importance in the
scale of creation. I saw the most incredible things on the part of
wives, husbands, parents, and 'sweet, incomparable children.' I saw
what no mortal has the power of knowing, but what they all would
delight to know — namely, evil of their neighbours. Had I
newspaper, it would have been read with avidity ; instead
wrote straight to the persons themselves, and there arose
panic in all the towns I visited. They were so afraid of me
loved me so dearly ! The professor made a professor of me ; the tailor
gave me new clothes (my wardrobe is amply supplied) ; the overseer
of the mint struck coins for me ; the women said I was handsome :
and so I became the man I now am. And now I must bid }'ou
adieu. Here is my card ; I live on the sunny side of the street, and
am always at home in rainy weather." And thereupon the shadow
went away.
" It is very remarkable ! " said the learned man.
Days and years flew by, when the shadow returned once more.
" How are you ? " said he.
" Alas ! " said the learned man, " I write on the true, the good, and
the beautiful, but nobody cares to hear anjthing about such topics. I
am quite in despair, for I take it to heart."
" That is what I never do," said the shadow. " I grow stout and
fat, and everybody should endeavour to do the same. You do not
understand the world ; you will grow ill at this rate — you ought to
travel. I am going a journey in the summer ; will you accompany me?
I should like to have a travelling companion ; will you come with me
as my shadow? It would afford me great pleasure. I will pay your
travelling expenses."
" Are you going far? " asked the learned man.
" That's according as people reckon," said the shadow. " A journey
will do you good. If you choose to be my shadow, your travelling
expenses shall be defrayed."
" This is too absurd," said the learned man.
" But it is the way of the world," said the shadow, " and so it will remain," and away he went.
Matters went badly with the learned man. Care and sorrow pursued him, and all that he said
about the true, the good, and the beautiful was caviare to the multitude, or, to speak more
familiarly, pearls before swine. He at length fell ill.
" You really look like a mere shadow," people would say to him ; when a cold shudder would
creep over the learned man, for he had his own thoughts on the subject.
mill
„<..
IIV
l!!!l
'^.
I DREW MYSELF UP TO MY KULL
HEIGHT ALONG THE WALLS,
WHICH TICKLED MY VANITY
VERY AGREEABLY.
2l6
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
tion ;
same
must
" You must go to some watering-place," said the shadow, who came to pay him a visit.
" There is no other chance for you. I will take you with me, for the sake of old acquaintance. I
will pay for your journey, and you can make a description of it, which will serve to entertain me on
the road. I want to visit a watering-place, for my beard does not grow as it ought ; that is a sort
of illness, too : and a beard I must have. Now do be rational and accept my offer, and we will
travel like friends."
And so they started on a journey. The shadow was now master, while the master had turned
shadow. They drove with one another, they rode and walked together, both side by side, or before
and behind one another, just as the sun happened to stand. The shadow always managed to take
the precedence, but the learned man
was not wounded at his doing so,
for he had a very good heart, and
was extremely mild, and of a friendly
disposition. So one day the master
said to the shadow : " As we have
now become fellow-travellers, and
have grown up together from our
childhood, shall we not drink to our
good fellowship ? Would it not be
more friendly to call each other by
our names ? "
" What you say," replied the
shadow, who was now really the
master, " was spoken in a very well-
meaning and straightforward inten-
I will therefore reply in exactly the
spirit. You, who are a learned man,
be well aware how capricious is human
nature. There are persons who cannot bear
to smell brown paper, for it makes them
unwell ; others experience a sensation through
their very marrow if a nail is scratched along
a pane of glass : now, for my part, I experience
a similar sensation at any familiarity on your
part ; I feel myself, as it were, crushed to the
earth, as I was in my former position relative
to yourself You may perceive it is a matter
of feeling and not of pride. But, though I
cannot tolerate any familiarity on your part, I
will most willingly call you by }our Christian
name, and then half of jour wish will, at
least, be fulfilled."
And so the shadow called his former
master by his name. " It is rather too bad,"
thought the latter, "that I must call him 'sir,'
while he addresses me by my name," — still,
he was obliged to put up with it.
They arrived in a watering-place where there were many foreigners, and, amongst others, the
daughter of a king, a most beautiful creature, who had the disease of being too sharp-sighted,
which was very alarming.
She immediately perceived that the newly-arrived stranger was quite a different person to
everybody else. " They say that he is come here to get his beard to grow, but I can perceive that
the real reason is, that he is unable to cast a shadow."
She now became curious about the matter, and therefore, while on the promenade one day, she
entered into conversation with the foreign gentleman. Being a king's daughter, she was not obliged
to stand upon ceremony, and therefore said bluntly to him, " Your disease is, that )ou cannot cast
a shadow."
" Your royal highness must be on the high way to your recovery," said the shadow. " I know
that your complaint consists of being too sharp-sighted ; but you have now .seemingly got over it
^?§^-^
THE SHADOW ALWAYS
MANAGED TO TAKE
THE PRECEDENCE.
THE SHADOW
217
completely : I happen to
have a most unusual
shadow. Do you not see
the person who is always
by my side ? Other
people have a usual sort
of shadow, but I cannot
endure commonplace
things. Persons often
give their servants finer
cloth for their liveries
than they make use of
for their own wear, and
in like manner I have
been pleased to trick out
my shadow like a man —
nay, you may perceive
that I have even furnished
him with a shadow, which
is rather an expensive whim, only I like to have some-
thing out of the way belonging to me."
" Can it be possible," thought the princess, " that I
should have recovered ? This watering-place must be
the best in the world ; water has wonderful properties
in our times. But I will not yet leave the place, because
it now begins to be very entertaining ; this foreign
prince — for prince he must be — pleases me exceedingly.
It is to be hoped his beard won't grow, for then he
would be off directly."
In the evening, the king's daughter and the shadow danced together in the large assembly-
room. She was light, but he was lighter still — she had never seen such a dancer before. She told
him from what
country she came,
and he knew the
country ; he had
been there when
she was not at
home, and had
peeped through
the palace win-
dows both below
and above : he had
heard this, that,
and the other, and
could therefore
answer the king's
daughter,and make
allusions that
astonished her ex-
ceedingly. He
must, she thought,
be the most
learned man on
earth, and she felt
the greatest respect
for his knowledge.
And when she
danced with him
again, she fell in
PT.
BEING A king's DAUGHTER, SHE WAS NOT OBLIGED TO STAND UPON CEREMONY.
X.
2l8
ANDERSEN'S EAIRY TALES
love with him — a fact which the shadow was not behind-hand in perceiving, for her eyes nearly
looked him through. She danced with him a third time, and was on the point of telling him what
she felt, but, being prud jnt, she thought of her country and her kingdom, and of the many people
ON ALL OF WHICH TOPICS THE LEARNED MAN ANSWERED WITH SENSE AND JUDGMENT.
over whom she would one day reign. " He is a clever man," said she to herself, " and that is
all well and good ; and he dances admirably, which is well and good likewise — but query, has
he any solid knowledge? That is an impoitant consideration, and I must put him to the test."
THE SHADOW
219
And so she immediately asked him a most knotty question, which she herself would not have
been able to resolve, when the shadow made a very odd face.
" You will not be able to answer that," said the king's daughter.
" I should have been able to have done so in my childhood," said the shadow, " and I fancy
that even my shadow, who is standing there near the door, would be able to answer your question."
" Your shadow ? " said the king's daughter ; " that would be remarkable indeed."
" I do not positively say that he can," observed the shadow, " but I should think so. He has
followed me so many years, and has heard
so much from me, that I should believe he
could. But your royal highness must allow
me to observe that he is so proud of being
taken for a human being, that if one wants
him to be in a good humour — and that he
need be, in order to answer properly — he
must be treated like a real man."
" I like his spirit," said the king's
daughter ; and going up to the learned
man, who stood near the door, she talked
with him about the sun and the moon, the
green forests, the inhabitants of the earth,
both far and near, on all of which topics
the learned man answered with sense and
judgment.
" What a man must he be who can
have so wise and learned a shadow ! "
thought she. " It would be a blessing for
my people and my nation if I chose such a
one — so choose him I will."
And the king's daughter and the shadow
were soon agreed, but she wished nobody
to be informed of their engagement until
she had returned to her kingdom.
" Not a soul shall hear of it — not even
my shadow ! " said the shadow, and he had
jiarticular reasons for saying so.
They now reached the land where the
king's daughter reigned when she was at
home.
" I say, friend," quoth the shadow to
the learned man, " now that I am as happy
and as influential as anybody can be, I
will do something out of the usual way for
you. You shall live with me in the palace,
and shall drive out with me in the roj-al
carriage, and receive a yearly salary of a
hundred thousand rix-doUars ; only you
must let yourself be styled a shadow before
everybody, and must never betray that \-ou ever were a man ; and once a year, when I sit in the
balcony in the sunshine, and show myself, you must crouch at m\- feet as becomes a shadow. For
I may now inform 3'ou that I am about to marry the king's daughter, and that our wedding will
take place this evening."
" No ; this is carrying absurdit)' rather too far," said the learned man. " I cannot and will not
submit to it. Why, it would be nothing less than deceiving the whole nation, and the king's
daughter into the bargain. I shall reveal the whole truth, and say that I am a man and that you
are a shadow, only dressed up in man's clothes."
" Not a soul would believe you," said the shadow. " Be reasonable, or I shall summon the
guard."
" I will go straight to the king's daughter," said the learned man.
" But I shall go first," said the shadow, " and you, m\' fine fellow, shall go into prison." And
' I WILL GO STRAIGHT TO THE KING S DAUGHTER,
LEARNED MAN.
SAID THE
220
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
this was no sooner said than done, for the
guards obeyed him whom they knew the king's
daughter was about to marry.
" You seem to be trembling," said the
king's daughter, when the shadow entered her
room. " Has anything happened ? You must
not be ill to-day, just when we are going to
celebrate our wedding."
" I have gone through the most dreadful
scene that can be imagined," said the shadow.
" Only think ! — I suppose a shadow's poor brain
cannot endure much — only think ! my shadow
is gone mad ; he fancies that he has become
a man, and that I — only think ! — that I am
his shadow ! "
but
said the princess
am sadly afraid he will
" This is shocking,"
has he been shut up ? "
" Of course ; and I
never recover."
" Poor shadow ! " said the princess ; " he is
most unfortunate. It would really be a charity
to deliver him from his little bit of an exist-
ence ; and when I come to think how apt the
people are in our days to take part with little
folks against great folks, it seems to me it would
be a politic measure to get rid of him quietly."
"it is a hard case, for he was a faithful
servant," said the shadow, pretending to sigh.
" You are a noble character ! " said the princess, bowing to him.
In the evening the whole town was illuminated, and cannons were fired — boom ! — and soldiers
presented arms. It was a very grand wedding. The king's daughter and the shadow stepped into
the balcony to show themselves to the people, and to obtain one cheer more.
But the learned man heard nothing of all these festivities, for he had already been executed.
" IT IS A HARD CASE, FOR HE WAS A FAITHFUL SERVANT,"
SAID THE SHADOW, PRETENDING TO SIGH.
The Story of a Mother
MOTHER sat watching her little child, and she
was sadly afflicted, for she feared it would die.
It was quite pale, and its little eyes were closed.
The child sometimes breathed as heavily as if
it drew a dee[i sigh, and then the mother
would gaze on li.c little being with still greater
anguish.
Some one knocked at the door, and in
came an old man, wrapped up in what looked
like a horse-cloth, for that keeps one warm ;
and he stood in need of such covering, for
it was a cold winter's day. Abroad every-
thing lay covered with snow and ice, and
the wind was so sharp that it cut one's
face.
Seeing the old man shiver with cold,
and as the little child had gone to sleep
for a moment, the mother got up and
THE STORY OF A MOTHER
221
placed a small pot of beer on the stove, to warm it for him. And the old man sat and rocked
the cradle, while the mother sat on a chair beside him, and looked at her sick child, who was
breathing so heavily, and took
hold of its little hand.
" You think that I shall
preserve him, do you not ? "
asked she. " An all-merciful
God will surely not take him
from me."
The old man — who was
no other than Death — nodded
his head so oddly, that it
might just as well have stood
for yes as no. And the mother
cast down her eyes, while tears
rolled down her cheeks. Her
head felt so heavy, for she had
never closed her eyes for three
days and three nights, that she
now fell asleep, but only for a
minute, and then she got up
and shivered with cold. " How
is this ? " asked she, lookin,;
all about her. But the o'.>l
man was gone, and her little-
child was gone ; he had evi-
dently taken it with him. And
the old clock in the corner
began to rattle — the heavy
leaden weights fell to the
ground : — whirr ! and the clock
stood still.
But the poor mother
rushed out of the house, call-
ing after her child.
Outside in the snow sat a
woman in long black clothes,
who said : " Death has been
into your room. I saw him
hastening away with your
little child. He strode faster
than the wind : and he never
brings back what he has
taken."
" Only tell me which way
he is gone," said the mother,
— "tell me the way, and I'll
find him."
" I know it," said the wo-
man in black ; " but before I
tell you, you must first sing
me all the songs you used to
sing your child. I am fond of
tho.se songs. I have heard
them before. I am Night ;
and I saw your tears flowing
while you sang them."
THE MOTHER THEN WRUNG HER HANDS, WEPT, AND SANG.
I will sing them all— all," said the mother ; " but don't detain me now, that I may overtake
him, and get back my child."
222
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
But Night sat silent and still. The mother then wrung her hands, wept, and sang.
were many songs sung, but still more tears were shed. Then Night said : " Go to the
the gloomy forest of pines, it was thither I saw Death carrj'ing the little child."
In the depths of the wood was a cross way, and she knew not which
There stood a bramble-bush, without either leaves or flowers, for it was cold
right,
There
n
direction to take,
winter, and icicles
hung to the twigs.
" Have you not seen Death go past with my little child ? "
" Yes," said the bramble-bush ; "but I will not tell you which way he has taken, until you
have warmed me on your bosom. I am freezing here to death, and turning to ice."
And she pressed the bramble-bush close to her breast, in order that it might thaw. And the
thorns ran into her flesh, and her blood trickled down in large drops. But the bramble-bush put
forth green leaves, and blossomed in the cold winter's night — for warm, indeed, is the heart of
an afflicted mother ! And the
brain ble-bush told her the way she
She then reached a large lake,
where there was neither a ship nor
a boat to be seen. The lake was
not sufficiently frozen to bear her
on its surface, nor yet shallow
enough to be waded through — yet
over it must she go to find her
child. She then lay down to drink
up the lake ; but that was an
impossible task for any mortal to
perform. Nevertheless, the sorrow-
ing mother thought that a miracle
might perhaps take place.
" No, that will never do," said
the lake ; let us two rather agree
upon a bargain. I love to collect
uearls, and your eyes are the purest
,jearls I have ever seen. If you
will cry them away, then will 1
take you to yonder large hot-
house, where Death lives, and rears
trees and flowers, every one of
which is a mortal's life."
" What would I not give to
find my child ? " said the weeping
mother. And she wept and wept
till her eyes dissolved into the
lake, and became two costly pearls.
Then the lake raised her up as if
she sat on a see-saw, and swung her over to the opposite shore, where stood a strange house a
mile long. There was no saying whether it was a mountain covered with forests and caverns,
or whether it was timbered. But the poor mother could not see, for she had cried her eyes away.
" Where shall I find Death, who took away my little child ? " asked she.
" He has not yet arrived here," said a grey old woman, who took care of Death's hot-house.
" How have you come hither, and who has helped you ? "
I " God has helped me," answered she. " He is compassionate ; and do you be the same.
Where shall I find my little child ? "
" I do not know it," said the old woman, " and you can't see. Many flowers and trees
withered to-night, and Death will soon come and transplant them. You know that every human
being has his tree of life, or his flower of life, according as the case may be. They look like other
plants, but their hearts beat. Children's hearts beat likewise. Therefore be guided by that, and
perhaps you may recognise the beatings of your child's heart. But what will you give me if I tell
you what more you must do ? "
" I have nothing to give," said the afflicted mother ; " but I would go to the world's end for you."
AND SHE WEPT AND WEPT TILL HER EYES DISSOLVED INTO THE LAKE,
AND BECAME TWO COSTLY PEARLS.
THE STORY OF A MOTHER
223
" I have no business there," said the old woman ; " but you can give me your long black hair.
You know yourself that it is beautiful, and it pleases me. You can take my white locks in
exchange, and that would be something."
AND DEATH STRETCHED OUT HIS HAND TOWARDS THE LITTLE DELICATE FLOWER.
" Is that all you ask ? " said she. " I will give it you with pleasure." And she gave her fine
hair in exchange for the old woman's snow-white locks.
224 ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
And they went into Death's lars^e hot-house, where trees and flowers were growing
promiscuously in a strange fashion. There were delicate hyacinths, under glass shades ; and
large peonies, as strong as trees. There were water-plants; some quite fresh, others half sickly
from being entwined in the coils of water-snakes, while black crabs were hugging their stems.
Then there were splendid palm-trees, oak, and plane-trees, besides parsley and thyme. Each tree
and each flower had its name, and to each was attached the life of some human being, who might
be living in China, in Greenland, or in any other part of the world, as it might happen. Some
large trees were planted in little pots, so that they were stifled, and ready to shiver the pots to
atoms ; while many little weakly flowers were set in a rich soil, surrounded with moss, and
nurtured with the utmost care. But the afflicted mother bent over the smallest plants, and could
hear in each the beatings of a human heart ; and she recognised the beatings of her child's heart
amongst a million.
" There he is," cried she, stretching out her hand towards a little crocus, that drooped its
sickly head on one side.
" Do not touch the flower," said the old woman. " But place yourself here, and when Death
comes — and I e.xpect him every minute — don't let him root up the plant, but threaten him to
serve other flowers the same, and then he'll be uneasy ! He must account for each to God, and
none must be uprooted till leave be given him to do so."
A cold wind blew through the hot-hou.se, and the blind mother felt it must be Death who had
just arrived.
" How did you find your way hither ? " asked he. " How could you come faster than I did ? "
" I am a mother ! " answered she.
And Death stretched out his hand towards the little delicate flower ; but she held her hands
fast around it, and clung to it so an.xiously, yet so carefully withal, that not one of its leaves were
injured. Then Death breathed on her hands, and she felt his breath to be colder than the biting
wind, and her hands relaxed their hold.
" You cannot prevail against me," said Death.
" But a merciful God may," said she.
" I only obey His will," said Death. " I am His gardener. I take all His flowers and trees,
and transplant them into the vast garden of paradise, in an unknown land. How they flourish
there, and what that garden is like, I may not say."
" Give me back my child," said the mother, with tears and entreaties. And she seized hold of
two pretty flowers, and said to Death : " I will tear up all your flowers, for I am in despair ! "
" Do not touch them," said Death. " You say you are unhappy ; and would you make
another mother just as unhappy as yourself?"
" Another mother ! " cried the poor woman, leaving hold of the flowers.
" There are your eyes," said Death. " I have fished them up out of the lake. They were so
bright, that I knew they were yours. Take them back — they are now more brilliant than before —
and then look into the deep well just by. I will speak the names of the two flowers that you
wished to root up, when their whole future career shall lie displayed before you. And then you
will see what you wanted to ruin and destroy in the bud."
And she then looked down into the well ; and it was delightful to see how the existence of
one of these flowers was a blessing to the world, and how much happiness it spread around ; while
the life of the other was full of care, anxiety, misery, and wretchedness.
" Both are the will of God," said Death.
" Which is fhe unhappy flower, and which is the blessed one ? " said she.
" I may not tell you," answered Death : " but this much shall you learn from me : that one of
these flowers was attached to your child's e.xistence. It was the future fate that awaited your
child that you beheld ! "
The mother then uttered a scream of alarm.
"Which of them was my child's fate? Tell me. Deliver the innocent one! Deliver my
child from so much misery ! Rather take it away ! Take it to the kingdom of God ! Forget my
tears and my entreaties, and all that I have done ! "
" I do not understand you," said Death. " Do you wish to have your child back again, or
shall I take him to that place which you do not know ? "
The mother then wrung her hands, fell on her knees, and prayed to God : " Grant not my
prayers when they are contrary to Thy will, which must always be the best ! Oh ! grant them
not ! " And her head drooped upon her bosom.
And Death carried her child to the unknown land.
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
225
The Flying Trunk
■^yk
HERE was once a merchant who was so
rich that he could have paved the whole
street, and perhaps a little alley besides
with silver, only he did not do it, because
e knew how to turn his money to better
account. If he put out a shilling, he got a-
ollar in return ; and a very knowing merchant
was he — until he died.
His son now inherited all his money, and
led a merry life, went to masquerades every
night, made kites out of bonds, and threw piece«
of gold, instead of stones, into the sea, when he
wanted to make ducks and drakes. This was
one way of getting rid of his money, and it was not
ong before he had spent all his fortune. At last he
had nothing left but four shillings, and no clothes
remaining, except a pair of slippers and an old
dressing-gown. His friends now took no further
notice of him, as they could no longer walk about
the streets with him ; but one of them was good-
natured enough to send him an old trunk, with this
message : " Pack up." This was all very well, only
he had nothing to pack up ; therefore he put himself into the trunk
It was a very wonderful trunk. The moment the lid was shut, the trunk was able to fly. He
shut it down — and. Heigh, presto ! away it flew up the chimney, and above the clouds, further and
further still. As often as the bottom of the trunk creaked a little, he was very uneasy lest it should
fall to pieces, for then he would have cut a tremendous somersault — would he not? In this
manner he reached Turkey. Having concealed his trunk under some dried leaves in a wood, he
entered a neighbouring town. And this he was able to do, for all Turks go about in the same trim
as himself — namely, in a dressing-gown and slippers. He happened to meet a nurse carrying a little
child. " I say, you Turkish nurse," cried he, "what is that large castle near the town, where the
windows are placed so high ?"
" The king's daughter lives there," replied she. " It has been foretold that she would be very
unhappy about a lover, so nobody is allowed to see her except in the presence of the king and
queen."
" Thank you," said the merchant's son ; and he returned to the wood, placed himself in his trunk,
flew on to the roof, and crept in to the princess through the window.
She lay asleep on the sofa, and looked so beautiful that the merchant's son could not help
kissing her. She then awoke, and was very much frightened ; but he told her he was a Turkish
god, who had come down through the air to see her, and that pleased her very much.
They sat side by side, and he told her stories about her eyes ; they were beautiful dark lakes,
he said, and thoughts swam in their waters like so many little mermaids. Then he talked of her
forehead, which he compared to a mountain of snow which contained the most beautiful halls filled
with pictures. And then he told her about the stork, who brings such lovely little children.
What pretty stories those were I Then he wooed the princess, and she accepted his suit at
once.
" But you must come on Saturday," said she, " for then the king and queen will be taking tea
with me. They will be very proud of my obtaining a Turkish god for my husband. Only mind
you think of some pretty story to tell them, for my parents are very fond of such. My mother
hkes a story to be moral and genteel, and my father prefers something funny, that makes one
laugh."
" I shall bring no other marriage gift than a story, ' said he, and then they parted. But the
princess gave him a sword that was set with gold coins, and this he could make use of.
2 26
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
So he now flew away, and bought a new dressing-gown, and sat in the wood and composed a
story, for it was to be ready by Saturday, and that was no easy matter.
It was, howe,ver, ready for Saturday.
The king and queen and the whole court were at tea with the princess, and he was received
very politely.
" Will you tell us a story? " asked the queen ; " one that is instructive and full of meaning?"
" Yet laughable withal,"
said the king.
"Certainly," replied he ; and
then he began to relate the
following story, that deserves to
be listened to attentively : —
" There was once a bundle
of matches that were exceed-
ingly proud of their descent.
Their genealogical tree — namely,
the large pine of which each
was a small fragment — was a
stately and aged tree in a forest.
The matches now lay between
a tinder-box and an iron sauce-
pan, and talked about the days
I if their youth. 'Yes,' said
they, ' when we were still on
the green boughs, we were
really in our palmy days ! Every
morning and evening we had
diamond tea — that was the
dew ; and we had sunshine all
day, when the sun happened to
shine, and all the little birds
were obliged to tell stories. We
could perceive that we were rich,
for while the trees that have
leaves were only dressed in sum-
mer, our family had the means
to wear green clothes both sum-
mer and winter. At last the
woodcutter came, and that was
the great revolution that over-
turned our family. The head
of our house obtained the situa-
tion of main-mast in a very fine
ship that might have sailed
round the world as easily as
not, the other branches of the
family were taken to different
places, and we now fulfil the
office of giving light to the
vulgar herd. That is how per-
sons of our rank come to be
here in the kitchen.'
"'My fate has been widely different,' said the iron saucepan, that stood near the matches.
' Ever since I have been in the world, I have been scoured and put on the fire times out of mind.
I am for the solid department, and am the most important implement in the house. My only
pleasure consists in being made clean and shining after dinner, and then lying quietly in my place
and having a little rational talk with my neighbours. Yet, with the exception of the bucket that
is carried to and fro from the yard, we live entirely within these four walls. Our only newsman is
the market-basket, who tells us such alarming things about the Government and the people that-
•' I SAY, YOU TURKISH NURSE," CRIED HE, " WHAT IS THAT LARGE CASTLE
NEAR THE TOWN, WHERE THE WINDOWS ARE PLACED SO HIGH?''
THE FLYING TRUNK
227
recently an old pot fell down through sheer fright, and was broken to shivers. The basket belongs
to the Liberal party, I can tell you.'
" ' You speak a great deal too much,' said the tinder-box, while the steel struck the flint till
it emitted sparks. ' Shall we contrive how we can spend a pleasant evening ? '
"'Yes ; let us discuss who is the most nobly born amongst us,' said the matches.
" ' No ; I do not like speaking of myself," objected the saucepan. ' Let us think of some
evening's amusement. I will begin. We will tell each other the adventures we have met with ;
that will be easy to do, and very entertaining. On the shores of the Baltic, near the Danish
beeches '
"'What a pretty beginning!' said the plates; 'this will surely be a story that will please
us.'
"'Yes — I spent my youth in a quiet family. The furniture was rubbed with wax, the floor
was scoured and clean curtains were put up every fortnight.'
" ' How very interesting you make your story ! ' observed the broom ; ' one can perceive at
SHE LAY ASLEEP O.N THE SOFA, AND LOOKED SO BEAUTIFUL THAT THE MERCHANTS SON COULD NOT
HELP KISSING HER.
once that it is told by a man who has enjoyed the advantages of female society. There is some-
thing so elegant about it ! '
" ' That is quite true,' said the bucket, giving a little leap for joy, and splashing the floor.
" And the saucepan went on with the narrative, and the end was worthy of the beginning.
" The plates rattled with delight, and the broom took up some green parsley and crowned the
saucepan, for he knew it would ve.x the others. 'If I crown him to-day,' thought he, 'he will
crown me to-morrow.'
"' Now I will dance,' said the fire-tongs, and began dancing. Bless us, how she did foot it!
The old chair-cover in the corner burst at the sight. ' Shall I be crowned now ? ' asked the fire-
tongs ; and she accordingly obtained a wreath.
" ' These are only common people,' thought the matches.
" The urn was now asked to sing, but declared she had a cold, and could not sing unless she
boiled. But these were only airs — she would not sing unless she were on the table in the drawing-
room, with the master and mistress of the house.
" In the window was stuck an old goose-quill, which the maid used for writing. There waa
228
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
nothing remarkable about her, except that she had been dipped rather too deep in the ink. But
she was proud of this. ' Since the urn won't sing,' said she, ' she may let it alone. There is a
THE KING AND QUEEN AND THE WHOLE COURT WERE AT TEA WITH THE PRINCESS, AND HE
WAS RECEIVED VERY POLITELY.
nightingale in a cage outside, and she can sing. She never learned anything, but we will overlook
that for this evening.'
THE FLYING TRUNK
229
" ' I consider it highly improper,' said the
tea-kettle — he was a kitchen singer, and half-
brother to the urn — ' that this foreign bird should
l)e heard. Do you call that patriotism ? Let the
market-basket decide the question.'
" ' I am ve.xed,' said the market-basket,
' more heartily ve.xed than any one can imagine.
Is this a fit way of spending the evening? Would
it not be much more sensible to set
the house to rights ? Every one
should take his place, and I would
lead the whole game. That would
be something far better.'
" ' Yes ; let us make a good show,' said all.
The door was then opened. The maid came in,
and they stood stock still — not one of them
stirred ! Yet there was not a single pot amongst
them who was not conscious of what he was able
to do, and of his high quality. ' Yes, if I had
chosen,' thought each, ' we might have had a
very pleasant evening.'
" The maid took up the matches and lit the
fire vvitli them. — Bless us ! what spark
threw out, and how they did burn !
" ' Everybody can now perceive,' thought
they, 'that we are the most distinguished per-
sons present. How we shine ! What a light we
shed ! ' And so saying, they were burned."
SHE STOOD
AND WAITED T
THE ROOF,
WHOLE DAY LONG.
THE BOYS IN THE STREETS STOOD ON TIPTOE, CRIED
H"URRAH ! AND WHISTLED THROUGH THEIR FINGERS.
"That is a charming story!"
said the queen ; " I felt myself so
completely transported into the
kitchen, amongst the matches ! Yes,
you shall obtain our daughter's
hand."
" Yes," said the king, " you
shall have our daughter on Mon-
day." And then they treated him
as familiarly as though he had al-
ready belonged to the family.
The wedding-day was now
fixed, and on the night before the
whole town was illuminated. Pastry
and cracknels were distributed to
the mob ; the boys in the streets
stood on tip-toe, cried Hurrah ! and
whistled through their fingers. It
was a magnificent sight to behold 1
" I must now treat them to
something," thought the merchant's
son. So he purchased rockets,
crackers, and all sorts of fireworks,
which he packed into his trunk,
and then flew up into the air with
them.
230
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
What a whizzing and what a whirring they made as they went off!
The Turks capered about with delight, till their slippers flew about their ears ; they had never
before seen such a sight in the air. They now understood that the princess was really going to
marry a Turkish divinity.
As soon as the merchant's son had come down again into the wood, with his trunk, he
thought : " I will go into the town, and learn how the entertainment went off" And it was quite
natural he should wish to do so. What things the people did say, to be sure! Every one whom
he questioned had seen the show through his own medium, but they all thought it beautiful.
" I saw the Turkish god's own self," said one. " His eyes were like beaming stars, and his
beard like foaming water."
" He flew in a fiery mantle," said another ; " the loveliest cherubs peeped out from amongst its
folds."
Yes, he heard mighty fine things ; and the next day he was to be married.
He now returned to the wood to sit in his trunk — but where was it ? The trunk was burned.
A spark from the fireworks had remained behind, so the trunk had caught fire and had been re-
duced to ashes. He could not fly any more, nor go to meet his bride.
She stood on the roof, and waited the whole day long, and most likely is waiting there still.
Meanwhile, he wanders through the world, and tells stories, but none of them are so amusing as
the one he told about the matches.
The Tinder-Box
pennies as you
next chamber.
HERE came a soldier marching along on the high
road. Left ! Right ! Left ! Right ! He had his
knapsack on his back, and his sword at his side, for
he had been to war, and was returning home.
On his way, he happened to meet a very re-
pulsive-looking old witch, whose under-lip hung down
to her chin. She said : " Good-evening, soldier —
•''' what a handsome sword, and what a large knapsack
you have got ! You are a very proper sort of soldier!
And you shall' have as much money as ever you
like."
" Thank you, you old witch," said the soldier.
" You see that large tree ? " said the witch, pointing to a
tree near at hand. " Well ! it is quite hollow inside. You
must climb to the top, and then you will see a hole, through
which you must let yourself down quite deep into the tree.
I will tie a rope round your body, that I may be able to
draw you up again when you call out."
" But what am I to do down in
soldier.
" Get money," said the witch,
moment you have reached the bottom of the tree, you will
find yourself in a large hall, brilliantly lighted with innumer-
able lamps. You will then perceive three doors. These are
quite easy to open, for in each lock there is a key. As you
enter the first chamber, you will see a large chest in the
middle of the floor, and on the chest will be sitting a dog
with a pair of e)es as big as teacups. But you need not
mind him. I will give you my checked apron to spread on
the floor ; then go right to the dog, seize hold of him, and
place him on my apron, open the chest and take as many
please. They are copper ones. If you prefer silver, you need only go into the
Only there sits a dog with eyes as big as mill-wheels. But never mind him.
the tree ? " asked the
for know, that the
THE TINDER-BOX
:3i
Place him on my apron, and take some money. If, however, you want gold, you can take as
much as you can carry away, by going into the third chamber. Only the dog that sits on the
money-chest in that room, has eyes as big as a tower. Believe me, he is a bad dog ! Yet you
need not mind. If you set him on my apron, he won't hurt you, and then take as much gold as
you like out of the chest."
" This is no bad job ! " said the soldier ; " but what shall I give you, you old witch ; for, of
course, you don't oblige me for nothing ? "
" Yet not a single penny of it do I require," said the witch. " The only thing I ask you to
bring me is an old tinder-box, which my
grandmother forgot last time she went
down there."
" Well, then, tie the rope round me,"
said the soldier.
" Here it is," said the witch, " and
here is my checked apron."
The soldier then climbed up the tree,
slid down through the aperture, and then
found himself as the witch had told him
he would, in a large hall below, where
many hundreds of lamps were burning.
He now opened the first door — oh,
dear ! — there stood the dog staring at him
with eyes as big as teacups.
" You are a nice fellow ! " said the
soldier, setting him on the witch's apron ;
and then he took as many pennies as his
pockets could hold ; and shutting down
the lid, he replaced the dog upon it, and
went into the other room. And, sure
enough, there sat the dog with eyes as
big as mill-wheels.
" You had better not stare at me so,"
said the soldier, " or you will have tears in
your eyes
And he then set the
AND HE SET THE DOG ON THE WITCH'S APRON.
doj, on the witch's apron. But when
he saw what a load of silver there
was in the chest, he flung away all
the copper he had taken, and filled
his pockets and knapsack with
nothing but silver. Then he went
into the third chamber. Now, that
was really hideous ! The dog had,
positively, a pair of ejes as large as
two towers, that kept turning about
like wheels.
" Good-evening," said the soldier,
touching his cap, for he had never seen such a dog before. On a closer inspection, however, he
thought he had made enough ado, and therefore lifted him on to the floor, and opened the chest.
Bless us ! what a deal of gold was there to be seen ! Enough to buy up the whole town, and
all the sugar-pigs of all the stall-women, all the lead soldiers, whips, and rocking-horses in the whole
world ! It was, indeed, a huge sight of gold ! The soldier now flung away all the silver with
which he had encumbered his pockets and his knapsack, and exchanged it for gold ; and he
crammed not only all his pockets and his knapsack, but even his cap and his boots so full that he
could hardly walk.
" Now draw me up, you old witch ! " said he.
" Have you got the tinder-box ? " asked the witch.
" Zounds ! " said the soldier, " I clean forgot it ! " And he went back and fetched it The
witch then drew him up, and he found himself once more on the highway, with his pockets, boots,
knapsack, and cap, filled with gold.
232
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
" What are you going to do with the tinder-box ? " asked the soldier.
" That's nothing to you," said the witch. " You have got plenty of money — now give me the
tinder-box."
" Do you know what ? " said the soldier. " You must either tell me at once what you mean
to do with it, or I'll draw my sword and cut your head off."
" I won't," said the witch.
The soldier immediately struck her head off — and there she lay ! Then he tied up all his
money in her apron,
and slung it at his back
like a bundle, put the
tinder - box into his
pocket, and walked to-
wards the town.
A very pretty town
it was ! He turned into
the nicest inn he could
find, asked for the best
room, and ordered his
favourite dishes for din-
ner ; for now he was
rich, having so much
money in his possession.
Ihe servant who
cleaned his boots did,
to be sure, think them
wonderfully shabby
boots for such a wealthy
gentleman ; for he had
not yet purchased new
ones. On the following
day, however, he pro-
cured proper boots and
handsome clothes. From
a mere common soldier
he had now become a
grand gentleman ; and
the people told him of
all the fine things to be
seen in their city, and
what a handsome
princess the king's
daughter was.
" VVhe'\; can she be
seen?" asked the soldier.
" She is not to be
seen at all," said they.
" She lives in a large
copper castle, flanked
with towers, and sur-
rounded by walls. No-
body but the king is allowed to go in or out ; for it has been foretold that she will marry a com-
mon soldier, and the king can't endure such an idea."
" I should like to .see her, however," said the soldier. But he could not by any means obtain
leave to do so.
He now led a very pleasant life. He visited the theatres, drove in the king's park, and gave
abundant alms to the poor ; and that was good of him, because he remembered, by his early days,
how sad it is not to possess a penny in the world. He was now rich, and had fine clothes, and
plenty of friends, who all declared that he was an excellent fellow, and a real gentleman ; and the
soldier was nothing loth to hear this said. As, however, he kept daily giving away money, and
'DO YOU KNOW WHAT?" SAID THE SOLDIER. "YOU MUST EITHER TEI.L ME AT
ONCE WHAT YOU MEAN TO DO WITH IT, OR I'LL DRAW MY SWORD
AND CUT YOUR HEAD OFF."
THE TINDER-BOX
233
never receiving any, lie at last had nothing but two pennies left, and he was obliged to give up the
elegant rooms he had inhabited, and to take a little garret, where he had to clean his own boots,
and even to mend them with a darning-needle. None of his friends came to see him, now there
were so many stairs to go up.
One dark evening, he had not enough money to buy a light ; but he happened to recollect
that there was a candle-end in the tinder-box which he had fetched out of the tree, into which the
witch had helped him to slide down. So he looked for the tinder-box and the candle-end ; but no
sooner had he struck a few sparks from the flint, than the door flew open, and the dog, whose eyes
were as big as teacups, whom he had seen down in the tree, stood before him, saying : " What
orders, master? "
" How is this ? " asked the soldier. " Well, it's a pleasant tinder-box indeed, if it can give me
all I wish for. Bring me some money ! " added he to the dog.
And away went the dog ; and back he came, in a trice, carrying a large bag of copper in his
mouth.
The soldier now knew the value of the tinder-box he had in his possession. If he struck the
flint once, there appeared the dog that sat on the lid of the copper coins ; if he struck it twice,
there came the dog belonging to the chest of silver ; and if he struck it three times, it brought
the dog that watched over the
gold. The soldier now returned
to the handsome rooms below,
and appeared once more in fine
clothes. His friends then re-
cognised him immediately, and
made a great fuss about him.
He once thought: "It is
very strange that one cannot
manage to get a sight of this
princess. People say she is so
very beautiful, but that's not of
much use to her if she is obliged
to remain shut up in a large
copper castle, flanked by turrets.
Can't I somehow get a look at
her ? Where's my tinder-box ? "
And he struck a light, \vhen lo !
there came the dog with eyes
as big as te?cups.
" Though it is in the middle
of the night," said the soldier,
" yet I have a great mind to see the princess, if it were only for a moment."
The dog was gone in a jiffy, and before the soldier could look round, had returned with the
princess. She lay asleep on the dog's back, and was so lovely that everybody might see she was a
real princess. The soldier could not help kissing her, like a true soldier that he was.
The dog then ran back with the princess. But next morning, when the king and queen were
drinking tea, the princess related what an odd dream she had had in the night about a dog and a
soldier. She had ridden upon the dog, and been kissed by the soldier
" Really, this is a pretty story," said the queen.
An elderly lady-in-waiting was set to watch that night by the princess's bed. in order to see
whether it had been a real dream, or whether there might be any truth in it.
The soldier longed excessively to see the princess once more ; so the dog was sent again in
the night to fetch her, and ran away as fast as he could. But the old lady-in-waiting put on snow-
boots, and ran after him at almost" as quick a pace. When she saw that they went into a large
house, she thought she should knew how to find it again by making a huge cross on the door with
a piece of chalk. She then went home, and lay down, and presently the dog returned with the
princess ; but when he saw the cross on the door of the house where the soldier lived, he took a
piece of chalk, and marked every door in the town with a cross, so that the lady-in-waiting should
not be able to find the right one.
Early next morning, the king and queen, and the old lady-in-waiting, and all the officers of
the household, came to see where the princess had been.
SHE LAV ASLEEP ON THE DOG 5 BACK, AND WAS SO LOVELY THAT EVERY-
BODY MIGHT SEE SHE WAS A REAL PRINCESS.
234
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
" It must be here," said the king, on perceiving the first door that was marked with a cross.
" No, there, my dear husband," said the queen, seeing the second door similarly marked.
■ BUT there's one, AND THERE'S ANOTHER," SAID ALL PRESENT ; FOR WHICHEVER WAY THEY LOOKED,
THERE WERE CROSSES ON ALL THE DOORS.
" But there's one, and there's another," said all present ; for whichever way they looked, there
were crosses on all the doors. They were then convinced that it was no use seeking any further.
THE IINDER-BOX
235
But the queen was a clever woman, who knew something beyond merely riding out in a
coach. She took up her large gold scissors, and cut out a piece of silk into small bits, and made a
pretty little bag ; having filled it with buck-wheat flour, she fastened it to the princess's back, and
then cut a small hole in the bag, so that the flour should strew the whole way the princess went.
During the night, the dog came again, and took ihe princess on his back, and ran with her to
the soldier, who had grown so fond of her, that he wished to be a prince, that he might marry her.
The dog did not remark that the flour had bestrewed the way from the castle to the soldier's
very window, as he ran up to the wall
with the princess. In the morning, the ^
king and queen found out where their
daughter had been, and they had the
soldier taken and put into prison.
And there he sat, and dark and
dull enough it was ! Besides, they said
to him : " You shall be hanged to-
morrow ! " which was not a very plea-
sant prospect, especially as he had left
his tinder-box at the inn. Next morn-
ing, he could see, through the gratings
of his little window, the crowds that
were hastening out of town to see him
hung. He heard the drums beating,
and saw the soldiers marching. Every-
body ran out to look at them, amongst
the rest a shoemaker's apprentice, in his
leather apron and slippers. He sped
away at such a rate, that one of his
slippers flew off, and hit the wall just
where the soldier sat looking through
the iron grating.
" I say, you shoemaker's 'prentice,
you needn't be in such a hurry," said
the soldier. " The execution can't take
place till I am there. But if you have
a mind to run and fetch me my tinder-
box, you shall have four shillings ; only
you must go as fast as your legs will
carry }-ou." The shoemaker's apprentice
liked the notion of earning four shillings,
so away he ran, and fetched the tinder-
box, and handed it over to the soldier.
But we shall see what came to pass.
Outside the town stood a large gib-
bet, surrounded by walls. Around these
stood the soldiers, and several thousands
of human beings. The king and queen
sat on a magnificent throne, opposite the
judges and the whole council.
The soldier stood already on the
ladder ; but, just as the rope was being put round his neck, he observed that a
always granted any innocent wish he might express before he suffered death,
smoke a pipe, as it would be the last pipe he could enjoy in this world.
The king could not refuse his request ; so the soldier took out his tinder-box, and struck the
flint once— twice— and thrice ! And there came all the dogs : the one with eyes as big as teacups,
the one with eyes like mill-wheels, and the one whose eyes were as large as the towers.
" Help me, so that I may not be hung ! " said the soldier.
And the dogs fell upon the judges and the whole council, seized some by the legs, and the
others by the nose, and flung them several feet high into the air, so that when they fell down again
they were shattered to pieces.
" I SAY, YOU shoemaker's 'pRENTICE, YOU NEEDN'T BE IN SUCH A
HURRY," SAID THE SOLDIER.
poor sinner was
Now, he wished to
I
236
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
" I order you not," said the king ; but the largest dog seized him, as well .s the queen, and
tossed them up like the others. The soldiers were then frightened, and the whole population
cried out : " Good soldier, you shall be our king, and marry the beautiful princess."
They then placed the soldier in the king's carriage, and the three dogs ran before, crying :
" Hurrah ! " And the little boys played the fife on their fingers, and the soldiers presented arms.
The princess left the copper castle, and became a queen, all of which she liked vastly. The
wedding entertainment lasted eight days, and the dogs sat at table, and stared with all their
might.
Middle Ages
which some few persons deemed far
more interesting than our own times. The council-
lor of justice, Knap, maintained this opinion so
warmly that the lady of the house immediately
went over to his side, and both fell foul of the
conclusions relative to old and modern times
drawn by Oersted in his almanack, in which the
preference, in all essential points, is given to our
age. The councillor of justice looked upon the
era of the Danish king Hans' as the noblest and
most happy of all.
While this topic forms the ground-work of
the conversation, which was only momentarily dis-
turbed by the arrival of a newspaper containing
nothing worth reading, we will go out into the
ante-room, where the mantles, sticks, and goloshes
were laid by. Here sat two maidens, a young one
and an old one, just as if they had come to ac-
company their mistresses home ; but, on a
nearer inspection, one could have perceived
that they were no common abigails. Their
' He died in 1513. He was married to Christine,
daughter of the Electoral Prince Ernest of Saxony.
The Goloshes of Happiness
I.— A BEGINNING
N a house in Copenhagen, not far from the King's New Market,
there was company. A great many persons had been invited,
probably in the hope of receiving return invitations. Half of the
company had already sat down to the card table, and the other
half was awaiting
the result of the
hostess's question :
" Well, what shall
we do ? " They
had got thus far,
and the entertain-
ment was begin-
ning to go on
smoothly enough.
Amongst other
things, the conver-
sation happened to
turn upon the
"THESE GOLOSHES HAVE THE PROPERTY
INSTANTLY TO TRANSPORT WHOMSO-
EVER SHALL PUT THEM ON TO THE PLACE AND TIME
HE BEST LIKES."
THE GOLOSHES OF HAPPINESS
237
noble figures, delicate skins, and the very cut of their clothes, forbade such a possibility. They were
a couple of fairies. The younger was not Happiness herself, but a waiting-maid of one of her
lady's-maids, who distribute the minor gifts of Happiness. The elder looked rather gloomy :
she was Care ; she always looks after her own affairs personally, and then she knows they are
properly attended to.
They related to each other where they had been that day. The messenger of Happiness had
only performed some trifling acts, coming more under the denomination of luck, such as saving
a new hat from a sliower, obtaining for an honourable man a bow from a titled nonentity, and so
forth. But what remained was something quite unusual.
" I must tell you," said she, " that it is, to-da}-, m\' birthda}-, in honour of which I have been
entrusted with a pair of goloshes that I am to introduce amongst mankind. These goloshes have
the property instantly to transport whomsoever shall put them on to the place and times he best
likes. Every wish relative to time, place, or existence will be instantly fulfilled, and one mortal,
at least, will be happy, (or the time being, here below."
" So you fancy," said Care ; " most likely he will be very unhappy, and will bless the moment
when he gets rid of the goloshes."
"What are you thinking about?" said the other. "Now, I'll place them near the door;
some one will get hold of them, and be happy."
Such was the conversation that passed between the two.
H.— WHAT BEFELL THE COUNCILLOR OF JUSTICE
T was late. Councillor Knap, who was deep in his specu-
lations about King Hans' days, now wanted to go home,
and F"ate so ordained it that he drew on the Goloshes
of Happiness instead of his own, and stepped out into
East Street. Only, being transported back to the times
of King Hans, by the magic spell of the goloshes, he
immediatel)- set his foot into the mire and swamp of
the street, which in those days boasted no pavement.
" How dreadfully dirty it is here ! " said the councillor.
"The whole pavement has vanished, and all the lamps
are out."
The moon had not risen high enough, and the air
was, besides, so thick that all the surrounding objects
were confused in the gloom. At the nearest corner
tliere hung a lantern in front of an image of the
Madonna ; but the light was as good as nothing at all,
for he on])- perceived it when he was just under it ; and
his eyes fell on the painted Child and His mother.
" Probably," thought he, " this is some curiosity-shop,
where they have forgotten to take down the sign."
A couple of men, in the dress of the Middle Ages,
passed by him.
" What odd figures ! " thought he. " Surely they
come from a masquerade."
There suddenly struck up a sound of drums and
fifes, while torches shed a brilliant light. The councillor
started back in amaze, and now beheld a most singular
procession pass before him ! First came a whole troop
of drummers, that were belabouring their instruments
amain ; these were followed by body-guards with bows
and cross-bows. The principal person in the procession was a clerical gentleman. The astonished
councillor asked what it all meant, and who the man could be ?
" The Bishop of Zealand."
" Good gracious ! What is the bishop thinking about ? " sighed the councillor, shaking his
head. " Surely it could not be the bishop ! " While trying to make out the truth, the councillor.
238
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
who could see neither to the right nor to the left, went through East Street, and across the Habro
Platz.^ The bridge leading to the square in front of the palace was not to be found, and he
perceived he was near the bank of a shallow sheet of water, and at length met two people in a
boat.
"Does his honour wish to be ferried over to the Holme ? " asked they.
" To the Holme! " echoed the councillor of justice, not knowing the age he was in. " I want
to go to Christianshaven, and to Little Market Street."
The people stared at him.
" Tell me where the bridge is," said he. " It is really shameful that the lamps are not lighted
hereabouts ; and, besides, it is as dirty as if one were wading through a swamp."
I'he more he talked with the boatmen, the more incomprehensible they appeared to him.
"I don't understand your gibberish," said he, at last, in a pet, and turned his back upon them
THE MORE HE TALKED WITH THE BOATMEN, THE MORE INCOMPKEHE.N;,! l;I,E THEY APPEAREU 10 HIM.
He could not find the bridge, and there was no parapet. " It is scandalous what a state the place
is in ! " said he. And the age he lived in had never appeared more pitiful than it did this evening.
" I think the best thing I could do would be to have a droschka," thought he. But where were
the droschkas ? Not one was to be seen. " I must go back to the stand in the King's New
Market, and find a coach, or else I shall never reach Christianshaven."
He now went to East Street, and was nearly through it, when the moon emerged from a
cloud.
" Good gracious ! what is this scaffold put up here for ? " said he, on seeing the East Gate>
which in those days stood at the end of East Street.
He managed, however, to find an opening, which led him to our New Market, but which was
then a large meadow. A few bushes stood around, and a wide canal or stream crossed right
through the meadow. A few miserable wooden booths, for the convenience of Dutch ships, stood
on the opposite shore.
" Either I am deceived by a. fata morgana, or I must be tipsy ! " said the councillor. " What's
this? What's this?"
He turned back, in the full persuasion that he must be ill ; and, on again retracing his steps
through the street, he looked more attentively at the houses. They were mostly built of boards,
and had only thatched roofs.
" I am ill, to a certainty ! " sighed he ; " and yet I only drank one glass of punch. But I
never can stand it ; and, moreover, it was quite monstrous to give us punch and hot salmon. I
must mention it to the lady. Suppose I went back, and said how I feel ? Only it looks so
ridiculous ; and then it is a question, after all, whether they are still up."
He looked for the house, but it was not to be found.
THE GOLOSHES OF HAPPINESS
239
" It is really frightful ! but I can't recognise East Street. There is not a shop to be seen,
and nothing but wretched old tumble-down houses, just as if I were in Roeskilde or Ringstedt.
Surely I must be ill ! So there's no use making any ceremony. But where, in the world, is
the house? It is no longer the same ; only there are still persons stirring in it. Oh ! I must be
very ill ! "
He now pushed against a half-open door, through a chink in which a light was streaming.
It was an inn such as existed in those times, being a kind of ale-house. The room looked like a
Dutch interior: a knot of people, composed of seamen, Copenhagen citizens, together with a
"EXCUSE ME," SAU5 THE COUNCILLOR OF JUSTICE TO THE LANDLADY; "l AM VERY ILL, AND SHOULD BE
GLAD IF YOU COULD SEND FOR A DROSCHKA TO DRIVE ME TO CHRISTIANSHAVEN."
couple of learned men, were in deep converse over their pitchers, and paid little attention to the
new-comer.
" Excuse me," said the councillor of justice to the landlady ; " I am very ill, and should be
glad if you could send for a droschka to drive me to Christianshaven."
The woman stared at him, and shook her head, and then spoke to him in German. The
councillor thought that she did not know Danish, and therefore repeated his request in German,
which, together with his clothes, confirmed her in the opinion that he must be a foreigner. She
soon understood that he was ill, and brought him a pitcher of water, which did, to be sure, smack
somewhat of salt water, though it was drawn from the well outside.
The councillor leant his head on his hand, fetched his breath, and then endeavoured to sift the
meaning of all the strange things that had befallen him.
"Is that the last number of the News of the Day 7" asked he mechanically, seeing the
landlady laying by a large piece of paper, which he took for the newspaper of his own times.
240
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY 1 ALES
She did not understand what he meant, but handed him the paper. It was a woodcut, re-
presenting a meteor tiiat had been seen in the town of Colo_:;ne.
" This is very old," said the councillor, brightening up at the sight of this isiece of antiquity.
" How did you come by this singular sheet? It is extremely interesting, although the whole is
but a fiction. Such phenomena are now accounted for as being a kind of aurora borealis ; and
they probably arise from electricity."
Those who sat near him, and heard what he said, looked at him in great astonishment, and
one of them rose, and doffed his hat respectfully, saying, with a serious face : " You must certainly
be a most learned man, monsieur."
" Oh, by no means," returned the councillor ; " I can only discuss tho.se topics that everybody
must know something about."
" Modestia is a great virtue," said the stranger; "moreover, I may add to your speech, niiki
secus videtur \ though, in this case, I willingly suspend my jHdiciiiin."
" May I ask whom I have the pleasure of addressing ? " returned the councillor.
" I am a Baccalaiireus Sci-ipturce Saci'ce" said the man.
This answer satisfied the councillor ; for in this case the title agreed with the dress. " This
is surely," thought he, " some old village
schoolmaster — one of those odd fellows
one still meets with occasionally in
Jutland."
" This is no locus docendi," observed
the stranger ; " yet, I wish you would
favour us with your conversation. You
are assuredly deeply versed in anti-
quarian lore."
" Why, yes," replied the councillor
of justice ; " I like to read all useful
old writings : but I like the modern
ones as well, with the e.xception of the
' Domestic Tales,' of which we really
have a surfeit."
" ' Domestic tales ' ? " inquired our
baccalaureus.
" Yes ; I allude to the new novels
that come out."
" And yet," said the bookworm,
smiling, " they are very witty, and are
read at court. The king is especially
fond of the romance of Sir Iwain and
Sir Gawain, which treats of King Arthur
and the Knights of the Round Table.
He joked about it with the gentlemen
of his court."
" Well, I have not read that," said
"how are you now?" said the landlady, pulling the
councillor's sleeve.
the councillor ; " it must be quite a new one, published by Heiberg
" No," said the other, " not by Heiberg, but by Godfred von Gehmen."
"Oh, is that the publisher?" said the councillor. " That's a very old name. Why, the first
printer and publisher in Denmark was called the same."
" Yes, he is our first printer," said the man.
So far, so good ; then one of the citizens spoke of the plague that raged a few years previous,
meaning 1484. The councillor thought it was the cholera that was alluded to ; and so the con-
versation got on. The buccaneers' war of 1490 was so recent that it could not fail to be touched
upon. The English buccaneers had captured ships in the road, and the councillor being versed
in the events of 1801, quite agreed with them in blaming the English. The rest of the con-
versation, however, did not turn out so well, and was continually assuming the tone of a funeral
oration. The good baccalaureus was too ignorant for him not to consider the simplest observa-
tions of the councillor as both bold and fantastical. They stared at each other, and when they
could not get on at all, the baccalaureus spoke Latin, in hopes of being better understood ; but
it was of no use.
THE GOLOSHES OF HAPPINESS
241
" How are you now ? " said the landlady, pulling the councillor's sleeve. His recollection
now returned, for, in the course of the conversation, he had clean forgotten all that had happened.
" Good gracious ! where am I ? " said he, and he grew dizzy as he thought about it.
" Let's drink claret, mead, and Bremen beer ! " cried one of the guests, " and you shall
join us."
Two maids came in and poured out the drink, and retired with a curtsey. The councillor
felt a cold shiver run through his frame.
" What is this? What is this?" repeated he. But he was forced, willy-nilly, to drink with
them, for they overpowered the good man with their kind attentions. He was in despair, and
when one of them observed that he was tipsy, he never doubted the truth of the man's words, but
begged them to procure him a droschka.
They now thought he was speaking Muscovitish.
He had never before been in such rough and vulgar company. " One would think the land
JUST AS HE WAS GOING OUT, THE COMPANY PERCEIVED HIS INTENTION AND SEIZED HIM BY THE FEET.
had returned to paganism," observed he ; " this is the most dreadful moment of my life." But
just then, it entered his head to stoop under the table, and creep from thence to the door ; which
he accordingly proceeded to do, only, just as he was going out, the company perceived his in-
tention, and seized him by the feet, when, luckily for him, the goloshes came off, and with them
vanished the whole vision.
The councillor now plainly saw a lamp, and a large building behind it ; everything looked
familiar and handsome. It was East Street, such as we know it. He lay with his legs turned
towards a door, and opposite sat the watchman asleep.
" Bless me ! have I been lying here in the street, dreaming ? " said he. " Yes, this is East
Street. How beautifully bright and gay it looks ! It is shocking to think how a glass of punch
must have upset me ! "
Two minutes after, he sat in a droschka, that drove him to Christianshaven. He thought of
all the an.xiety and misery that he had endured, and now heartily relished the happy reality of
our own age, which, with all its shortcomings, is yet far superior to the one in which he had so
lately found himself
242
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
lie
he
!?<%&
III.— THE WATCHMAN'S ADVENTURE
II, here's a pair of goloshes," said the watchman,
" which no doubt belong to the lieutenant who lives
up there. They are lying close to the door."
The worthy man would willingly have rung, and
delivered them, for there was still a hght in the upper
story ; but, not wishing to disturb the sleep of the
people in the house, he let them rest.
" Thnse sort of things must keep one nice and
warm," said he. " They are of such soft leather."
They fitted his feet exactly. " What an odd world
_ this is ! " mused he : " now there's a fellow who might
in his warm bed, yet, hang me if he does. There
walks up and down the room ! That's a happy
fellow for you ! He has neither wife nor children, and
goes into company every evening. How I wish I were
he ; I should then be a happy man indeed."
No sooner had he spoken this wish than the magic
of the goloshes, which he had put on, took effect, and the
watchman merged into the lieutenant. He now stood up
there in his room, holding a piece of pink note-paper
between his fingers, on which was penned a poem written
by the lieutenant himself — for who has not had a lyrical
fit once in their lives ? And then, if one writes down
one's thoughts, they of course flow in poetry. The follow-
ing verses were written on the paper : —
'• Were I but rich ! " I often sighed
In boyhood's days, and thought with pride,
If rich I'd be a soldier brave,
With sword and snowy plumes that wave —
A soldier's colours now I have,
But richer never shall I be,
Alas, poor me !
I niind me once, in early youth,
A little maiden kissed my mouth.
For rich was I in fairy lore.
Though still— alas ! in gold so poor ;
But she by money set no store —
.My wealth all lay in youthful glee,
Alas, poor me !
"Were I but rich !" is still my p'ayer —
The child has grown a woman fair.
Good, beautiful, and true as i^old.
Oh ! might I but my heart unfold,
Or she but read the tale untold ;
But I must ever silent be —
Alas, poor me !
Oh I were I rich in peace and rest.
Not paper should my woes attest.
May she I love but read this leaf.
And learn my youthful joys were brief,
And iTioist with tears this tale of grief,
For dark my future still must be,
Alas, p. .or uie !
One writes such verses as these when one is in love ; but a rational man does not print them
Lieutenant, love, and poverty form a triangle, or, perhaps, rather the half of the broken die of
THE GOLOSHES OF HAPPINESS
243
luck. The lieutenant felt this to be the case, and, therefore, leant his head against the window-
frame, and sighed deeply.
" The poor watchman out in the street," thought he, " is happier than I am. He does not
suffer from the same penury as I do. He has a home, a wife, and children, who weep at his
sorrows, and rejoice over his joys. I should be far happier could I exchange my existence for
his, and wander through life with no higher hopes and expectations than his. Yes, he is far
happier than I."
At the same moment, the watchman again became a watchman ; for, after having passed into
the lieutenant's existence by means of the Goloshes of
Happiness, he had found himself so much less con-
tented than he expected that he preferred the state he
had rejected a moment before. Therefore the watchman
was a watchman once more.
" It was an ugly dream," said he, " but funny enough.
I thought mvself the lieutenant up above there, and )-et
I was not satisfied. I missed my wife and my brats,
who are all leady to smother me with their kisses."
He sat down again, and began to nod. He could
not get his dream out of his head ; for he had still the
goloshes on his feet. A falling star shot across the sky.
" There goes one," said he ; " however, there are
plenty left. I should like to be able to examine them
a little closer, and particularly the moon, for that would
not slip through one's fingers. When we die, says the
student for whom my wife washes, we fly about from
one star to the other. It is not true ; but it would be
very pretty, if it were. I wish I could take a leap up
thither, while my body remained lying here on the door-
steps."
There are certain things in the world that one must
be very cautious of pronouncing aloud ; and one need
be doubly so when one has the Goloshes of Happiness
on one's feet. Now you shall hear what befell the watch-
man.
We are nearly all of us acquainted with the loco-
motive powers of steam, which we have experienced
either on a railway or in a steamer ; yet such modes of
transport are like the pace of the sloth or the snail com-
pared to the rapidity with which light journeys. It flies
nineteen million times faster than the best racer, yet
electricity is more rapid still. Death is an electric shock,
which we receive in our hearts ; and our soul, thus set
free, flies away on the wings of electricity. A sunbeam
requires only eight minutes and a few seconds to per-
form a journey of twenty millions of miles ; * but, with
the aid of an e.xpress train of electricity, the soul requires
still fewer minutes to achieve its flight. The space
between the spheres is no greater for the soul than the
distance is for us, in the same town, from one friend's
house to another, supposing them to lie in the same neighbourhood. Nevertheless, this electric
shock through our hearts costs us the use of our bodies here below, unless we happen, like the
watchman, to be wearing the Goloshes of Happiness.
In a few seconds, the watchman had cleared the 52,000 miles* up to the moon, which, as we
all know, is of a much lighter material than the earth, and as soft as new-fallen snow, as v/e should
call it. He found himself on one of the countless circular ranges of mountains that we .see in Dr.
Madler's large map of the moon. In the interior it formed a kind of caldron, of the perpendicular
depth of about half a mile. Below, there lay a town, of the appearance of which we can form a
THE I.lEUTRNANr FEI.T TIHS TO HE THE CASE,
AND, THEREFORE, LEANT HIS HEAD AGAINST^
THE WINDOW-FRAME, AND SIGHED DEEPLY.
* The Danish mile is equal to about 4I English miles.
244
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
faint idea by turning the white of an eg^ into a glass of water. The materials it was built of were
just as soft, and shadowed forth towers, with cupolas and galleries in the form of sails, quite trans-
IIE FOUND HIMSELF ON ONE OF THE COUNTLESS CIRCULAR RANGES OF MOUNTAINS THAT WE
SEE IN DR. MADLER's LARGE MAP OF THE MOON.
parent, and swimming in the thin air. Our earth floated above his head, like a large, deep red ball.
He then perceived a number of beings, that were assuredly meant for what we should call
THE GOLOSHES OF HAPPINESS
245
men ; but they looked quite different from us. A much richer imagination than the pseudo-
Herschel's had called them into existence. If they were placed in groups, and then painted, one
would say : " That is a pretty arabesque." They had, too, a language of their own ; though
nobody could require of the watchman's soul to understand it. Nevertheless, it was able to do
so ; for our souls have far greater capabilities than is generally supposed. Does it not show an
astonishing talent for dramatic composition in our dreams, where each of our acquaintances speaks
so perfectly in character, and so exactly in the voice belonging to him, that we should never be
able to mimic it half so well in our waking hours ? How well, too, our soul reminds us of persons
whom we have forgotten for years, when they suddenly start up to our recollection with the most
vivid distinctness, even to their smallest characteristics. After all, our souls' capacity
for thinking seems to place us in a somewhat ticklish position : it enables us
to recall every sin and every wicked thought we may have indulged
in ; and then the question will arise,
whether we should be in a condition
account for every guilty word that m
have been whispered in our hearts
have risen to our lips.
The watchman's soul, according
understood the language of the inhabitai
of the moon very tolerably. They
were disputing about our earth,
and doubted whether it could be
inhabited. The atmosphere, they .
contended, must be too thick for '
rational, moon-born beings to live
in it. They considered that the
moon alone was inhabited, and was
the real earth, where lived the
ancient inhabitants of the world.
They likewise talked politics iC
— but we will descend to East
Street, and see what happened to
the watchman's body.
It lay lifeless on the steps.
His star-tipped mace had fallen
from his hand, and his eyes were
turned upwards to the moon, where
his honest soul was rambling.
" What's o'clock, watchman?"
asked a passer-by. But no answer
did the watchman return. The
young fellow then filliped his nose,
which made him lose his balance.
There lay the body, sprawling at
full length : the man was dead. All his comrades were very much frightened
— dead he was, and dead he remained. Notice was given of the event ; it was
talked over ; and at dawn the body was removed to the hospital.
This was likely to prove a pretty joke for the soul, in case it returned, and, in all probability,
went to seek for its body in East Street, and could not find it. Most likely, it v ould have applied
first to the police, and ne.xt repaired to the directory office, that inquiries might be made for it
amongst other lost articles ; and, lastly, have found its way to the hospital. However, we may
comfort ourselves with the conviction that the soul is wisest when acting on its own impulse ; the
body alone makes it stupid.
As before said, the watchman's body was carried to the hospital, where it was taken into a
room to be cleaned, when, naturally, the first thing they did was to take off the goloshes, thereby
forcing his soul to return. It immediately took the straightest road to its earthly tenement, and in
a couple of seconds the poor man had revived. He assured the bystanders that this had been the
most dreadful night in his existence : he would not take two gold pieces to be obliged to undergo
such sensations over again. However, luckily, it was over now.
He was discharged that same day, but the goloshes remained in the hospital.
THE YOUNG FELLOW' THEN
FILLIPED HIS NOSE, WHICH
MADE HIM LOSE HIS BALANCE.
'.^6
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
IV.— AN EVENTFUL MOMENT— A VERY UNUSUAL JOURNEY
VKRY inhabitant of Copenhagen knows what the
entry to Frederick's Hospital is like, but as it is prob-
able that some non-residents in that town may read
this little tale, we will give a short description of its
appearance.
The hospital is divided from the street by a
rather high iron railing, the bars of which are so
wide asunder that, it is said, very slim fellows have
squeezed themselves through, and gone to pay their
visits in the town. The part of the body most
difficult to get through was the head ; so in this,
as in most cases in the world, the little heads were the best off. Thus much may serve as an
introduction to what follows.
One of the young assistants, who had, only physically speaking, a large head, was upon duty
this very evening. The rain was pouring down ; yet, in spite of these two obstacles, he positively
wanted to go out. It was only for a quarter of an hour, therefore not worth while, thought he, to
let the porter into his confidence, if he could but slip through the iron railings. There lay the
goloshes the watchman had forgotten ; and though it never occurred to him that it could be those
of Happiness, he thought the)' might do him good service in such weather, and therefore he put
them on. Now, the question was, whether he could squeeze himself through the railings, which he
had hitherto never attempted. And there he stood.
" Would to Heaven my head was on the other side ! " said he ; when, big as it was, it instantly
slipped safely through. The goloshes had contrived to effect this ; but now the body must needs
follow, and that was no easy job.
" I am too stout," said he. " I thought the head was the worst. I shall not be able to get
through ! "
He now attempted to withdraw his head suddenly, but this he found impracticable. He could
move his neck easily enough, but that was all. His first feeling was vexation ; but in a few
seconds his spirits fell below zero. The Goloshes of Happiness had brought him into this dreadful
scrape, and, unluckily, it did not occur to him to wish himself well out of it. No, instead of wish-
ing, he kept striving, but without being able to
free himself. The rain continued pouring down,
and not a being was to be seen in the street.
He could not reach the bell, and how was he to
get loose ? He foresaw that he must stand here
until dawn, when a locksmith must be sent for,
to file the iron rails. But that would be a long
job : the charity-school opposite would be astir ;
and the whole adjoining neighbourhood, that is
swarming with sailors, would come to see him
standing in the pillory, and there would be such
a crowd !
" Oh ! the blood rushes to my head so that
I shall go mad ! " cried he. " Yes ! I am crazy.
Oh ! would that I could get loose, and then it
would pass off."
He should have said so sooner. At the
very moment the wish was expressed, his head
was freed, and he started back, half distracted
by the fright the Goloshes of Happiness had
occasioned him.
But it must not be thought his trials ended
here — no ! more things were yet to come.
The night and the day following had
passed by, and the goloshes were not claimed.
THE FIRST HEART HE ENTERED WAS A LADV's, BUT
AT FIRST HE FANCIED HE HAD GOT INTO AN
ORTHOP/EDIC INSTITUTION.
THE GOLOSHES OF HAPPINESS
247
That evening there was to be a declamatory performance in an amateur theatre, situated m a
distant street The house was crowded, and amongst the spectators was the assistant from the
hospital, who seemed to have forgotten the preceding evening's adventure. He had on the
goloshes, which had not been fetched away ; and as the streets were dirty, he thought they might
do him good service. A new poem, entitled " My Cousin's Spectacles," was recited. These
spectacles, it was pretended, if put on when one sat facing a large assembly, made all the people
present look like cards, from which one could foretell all that was to happen to them in the follow-
ing year.
This idea struck him forcibly, that he would like to have had such a pair of spectacles. Perhaps,
if used properly, they miglii enable one to see into the hearts of
those present, which was far more interesting, he thought, than to
see what would happen to them next year, for that one would
learn in the end, while the other remained a sealed book. " I can
fancy myself peeping into the hearts of the gentlemen and ladies
on the first row of benches," said he to himself. "It would be
like looking into a kind of shop ; and how my eyes would rove
all over it ! I am sure I should find a large millinery establish-
ment in yonder lady's heart ; that other lady's shop is empty, but
it would be all the better for a little cleaning. But perhaps there
may be some better shops amongst the rest ? Indeed there are ! "
sighed he. " I know one in which ever)'thing is solid, only there
is a shopman in it alread)-, and that is its only fault ! From many
others, the words, ' Pray come in,' would be sure to be heard. I
wish I could step in like a little, tiny thought, and glide through
the hearts of those now present."
This was the cue for the goloshes. The assistant shrank up,
and set out on a most unusual journey through the hearts of the
front row of spectators. The first heart he entered was a lady's,
but at first he fancied he had got into an orthopaedic institution,
where plaster casts of deformed limbs were hanging on the walls,
only with this difference, that in the institution the casts were
taken when the patient comes in, while in this heart the casts had
been taken and preserved after the worthy owners had left the
place. They were casts of female friends, and their physical and
moral defects were here carefully treasured up.
A moment after he was in another female heart. Only this
one appeared to him like a spacious, holy church, where the white
dove of innocence was hovering over the high altar. He would
willingly have sunk on his knees, but he was obliged to slip into
the neighbouring heart. Yet he still heard the tones of the organ,
and he fancied himself a newer and better man. He felt himself
not unworthy to enter the next sanctuary, which showed him a
shabby garret, with a sick mother. But God's warm sunshine
streamed through the window, lovely roses were nodding their
heads in the little wooden bo.x on the roof, and two azure birds
sang of childlike joys, while the sick mother called down blessings
on her daughter's head.
He now crept on all fours through an over-loaded butcher's shop. He stumbled over meat,
and nothing but meat. This was the heart of a wealthy and respectable man, whose name stands,
beyond a doubt, in the directory.
He now entered the heart of the rich man's wife, which was an old tumble-down dovecot. Her
husband's portrait served as a weather-cock, and it was combined with the doors, so that they
opened and shut just as the husband veered about.
He next entered a cabinet lined with looking-glasses, like the one in the Rosenburg palace ;
only the glasses magnified everything to an extraordinary degree. In the middle of the floor, like
a Delhi Lama, sat the insignificant self of the owner, lost in the contemplation of his own great-
ness.
He now thought himself transported into a narrow needle-case, full of sharp needles. So he
thought : " This must be the heart of some old maid." It was not, however, the case, it was that of
HER HUSBAND S PORTRAIT SERVED
AS A WEATHERCOCK.
248
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
a young officer with several orders, of whom it was generally said that he was a man of sound
heart and intellect.
The poor assistant came out of the last heart in the row half stunned. He could not collect
his thoughts, and concluded that it was his over-vivid imagination that had led him this dance.
THE ATTENDANT UTTERED A LOUD EXCLAMATION AT THE SIGHT OF A MAN
IN ALL HIS CLOTHES.
" Good gracious ! " sighed he, " surely I have a propensity for going crazy ! It is so very hot
in this place that my blood rushes to my head." And he now called to mind the great event of
the preceding evening, when his head had stuck between the railings of the hospital. " It must
have arisen from that," thought he, "and I must see to it in time. A vapour bath would do me
good. I wish I were now lying on the upper shelf of one."
And he instantly found himself lying on the upper shelf of a vapour-bath, only with his
THE GOLOSHES OF HAPPINESS
249
clothes, boots, and goloshes still on.
countenance.
The hot drops of water
the ceiling upon
his
Dear ! dear ! " cried he, getting down to take a shower-bath.
fell from
The attendant uttered a loud
: " It is a wager." But the first
on his neck and another on his
exclamation at the sight of a man in all his clothes.
He had sufficient presence of mind to whisper to the assistant
thing he did on reaching his own room was to put a large blister
back, in order to draw out his madness.
Next morning his back was quite raw, and this was all he gained by the Goloshes of
Happiness.
v.— THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE CLERK
right were those
thought he.
HE watchman — our old friend, whom we have not for-
gotten — recollected meanwhile the goloshes he had
found and taken to the hospital. He therefore fetched
them away ; but as neither the lieutenant nor anybody
belonging to the street recognised them as their property, he
delivered them over to the police.
" They are very like my own goloshes," said one of the
clerks, looking at the foundlings, and placing them beside
his own. " It's only a shoemaker's eye that could see the
difference of a pin between them."
" Master clerk," said a servant, coming in with some
papers.
The clerk turned round to speak to the man, after which,
on looking once more at the goloshes, he felt quite uncertain
whether the pair on his left or that on his
belonging to him.
" It must be the wet ones that are mine.
It iiappened to be quite the reverse, for it was the Goloshes
of Happiness that were wet. But may not the police be
subject to err occasionally? So he drew them on, put his
papers into his pocket, and took several manuscripts under
his arm, which he was going to read through and take
minutes from at home ; but it was Sunday afternoon, and
the weather was fine. " It would do me good to take a turn
to Fredericksberg," thought he, and away he went.
There was not a quieter or less frivolous young man in
the world than he. So we will not grudge him his little
walk, which could but be good for his health after so much sitting. He went his ways at first like
a person without thought or wish ; therefore, the goloshes had no opportunity to display their
magic powers.
In one of the avenues he chanced to meet with an acquaintance, one of our younger poets,
who told him that next day he intended setting out on his summer's journey.
" Are you already about to start ? " cried the clerk. " What a free and happy man you are !
You can fly whither you please, while such as we are chained by the foot."
" Only it is fastened to a bread-tree," returned the poet. " You have no cares for the
morrow, and in your old age you will obtain a pension."
" Yours is the best life, after all," said the amanuensis. " It is a pleasure to sit and write
verses. The whole world says agreeable things to }ou, and then you are your own master ! You
should only try for once how you would like to sit in a court of justice, and be bored with the
trivial matters we have to listen to."
The poet shook his head, and the clerk shook his. They each retained their own opinion,
and thereupon they parted.
" These poets are a peculiar race," thought the clerk. " I should like to try the experiment of
becoming identified with a poet's being. I am certain I should not write such wretched verses as
250
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
the rest of them ! Here's a true spring day for your poet! The air is so unusually clear, the
clouds are so beautiful, and the trees and grass are quite fragrant. For j-ears I have never felt as
I do at this moment ! "
We may already perceive that he had become a poet. To chronicle such a fact would, in
most cases, be highly absurd; for it is a foolish idea to imagine a poet to be different from other
men, since far more poetical natures may frequently be met with amongst the crowd than we often
find in many a professed poet. The only difference is, that a poet's intellectual memory is
better : he can keep hold of an idea or a feeling, till it is clearly and plainly embodied in words,
which the others cannot do. Nevertheless, the transition from a humdrum, every-day sort of
nature, to a more gifted one, is a great transition, and could but strike the clerk.
" What a delicious perfume ! " said he ; " it reminds me of my Aunt Lone's violets. Ay,
that was when I was a little boy. Dear me ! how long it is since I have thought of those times.
She is a good old maid ! She
lives yonder behind the Exchange
— and she used always to have a
sprig, or a few green shoots, in
water, let the winter be ever so
severe. The violets used to scent
the room, while I would lay warm
copper pennies on the frozen
window-panes, to make holes to
peep through. And a pretty view
it was that I looked upon. There
lay the ships, ice-bound in the
canal, and deserted by their crews ;
a croaking raven alone manned
one of the vessels. Then when
came the spring breezes, everything
grew animated ; the ice was sawed
through amidst songs and cheers,
the ships were tarred and tackled,
and they sailed for foreign shores.
I remained here, and here I am
likely to remain, nailed to my seat
in the police-office, and condemned
to see others taking out their pass-
ports to go abroad. Such is my
lot — alas! that it should be so!" said he, with
a deep sigh. He then paused a moment. " My
goodness ! what has come to me ? " cried he,
presently ; " I have never thought or felt any-
thing of the kind before. It must be the spring-
time air. It makes one quite uneasy, yet it is
very agreeable." He felt in his pocket for his
papers. " These ■ will afford food for very
different ideas," said he, glancing his eye over
the first page, when he read : Mistress Sigbritii ;
an Original Tragedy, in five Acts. What is this ?
— and in my own handwriting too. Can I have written this tragedy ? An Intrigue on the Ramparts,
or Fast-dav : a Vaudeville. But how, in the name of fortune, did I come by them ? They must
have been put into my pocket — but here is a letter." This was from the manager of the theatre,
who refused the pieces, and had not taken the trouble to couch his epistle in the most courteous
terms either. " Hem— hem " — said the clerk, sitting down on a bench, while his thoughts grew
quite elastic, and his heart waxed vastly soft. He involuntarily seized hold of the nearest flower,
which proved to be a little common daisy. This tiny flower tells us in a moment that which a
botanist takes many lectures to expound. It related the myth of its birth, and told the power of
the sunshine, which expands its delicate leaves, and compels it to yield a perfume. He then
reflected on the struggles of life that likewise awaken sensations in our bosoms. Light and air
are the flower's lovers, but light is the favoured swain. The flower turns towards the light, and,
CLOSE BV
^TOOD A BOY, STRIKING WITH A STICK IN
A SWAMPy DITCH.
THE GOLOSHES OF HAPPINESS
2K1
as soon as it disappears, rolls up its leaves, and sleeps in the embraces of the air. " It is light
that adorns me," said the flower. " But the air gives you life," whispered the poet's voice.
Close by stood a boy, striking with a stick in a swampy ditch ; and as drops of water splashed
through the green boughs, the clerk thought what millions of animalcules were thrown up into
the air in each single drop, and to a distance as great for them, in proportion to their size, as it
would be for us to be whirled up above the clouds. While these reflections crossed the clerk's
mind, and as he mused upon the change that had come over him, he smiled, and said to himself:
" I am sleeping and dreaming ! Still, it is remarkable how naturally we can dream, and yet be
aware all the time that it is nothing but a dream. I hope I shall be able to remember it to-
morrow when I wake. I seem to be most unusually capable of doing so. I have a clear percep-
tion of everything, and feel quite awake, yet I am sure that if 1 retain any of it to-morrow, it will
seem most stupid stuff — this has happened to me before ! It fares just the same with all the wise
and witty things one says and hears in dreams, as with the money of the underground folk — which
is rich and splendid when one receives it, but turns to stones and dried leaves by daylight. Ah ! "
sighed he sorrowfully, as he gazed at the
birds that were warbling, and hopping from
branch to branch, " they are far better off
than I. Flying is a splendid gift! Happy
he who is born with it ! Yes ; if I could
transform myself into any other shape, I
would assume that of a little lark ! "
At the same moment the skirts and
sleeves of his coat became wings, his clothes
turned to feathers, and his goloshes to claws.
On perceiving thi.^ metamorphosis, he smiled
inwardly, observing : " This is the finishing
stroke to convince me that I am dreaming.
But I never before dreamt such foolish things."
And he flew uo into a green branch and
sang — but there was no poetry in his song,
for the poetical element had left him. The
goloshes, like all those who do things
thoroughly , could only attend to one thing
at a time. He wanted to be a poet, and he
was one. Now he wanted to be a little bird,
and in order to become a bird, he must
abdicate his former individuality.
" This is delightful ! " said he. " By day
I sit in the police-office, amongst the most
matter-of-fact deeds ; and by night I can
dream that I am flying about as a lark in
the Fredericksberg garden. Really, a whole comedy might be written on the subject."
He now flew down to the grass, twisted his head about in all directions, and pecked at the
pliant blades, that appeared to him, in proportion to his present size, like the palm-trees of
Northern Africa.
In another moment it was as dark as pitch all round him. An enormous object seemed to
be thrown over him, which was in reality only a large cap that a sailor boy flung over the bird.
A hand was thrust under the cap, which seized the clerk by the back and wings, till he screeched
again. In his first alarm he cried out : " You shameless scapegrace ! I'm a clerk in the police-
office." But to the boy it only sounded like " tweat-tweat ! " He gave the bird a knock on its
bill, and took him awaj-.
In the avenue he met a couple of schoolboys, belonging to the educated class ; that is to say,
in a social point of view ; for as regards intellect the\' might be reckoned as appertaining to the
lowest class of the school. They purchased the bird'for eightpence, and so the clerk returned to
Copenhagen.
" It is well that I am only dreaming," said the clerk, " or else I should be quite angry. I
was first a poet, and now I'm a lark. It was the poetical element, to a certainty, that trans-
formed me into this little animal. It is a lamentable story, especially when one falls into boys'
hands. I shall like to know how it will end."
AT THE SAME MOMENT
THE SKIR'IS AM)
SLEEVES OF HIS
COAT BECAME WINGS,
HIS CLOTHES TURNED
TO FEATHERS, AND HIS
-GOLOSHES TO CLAWS
252
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
The boys took him into a most elegant room, where they were received by a stout, smiling
lady. But she was not very well pleased that a common field-bird, as she termed the lark, should
be introduced into the house. She would only put up with it just for this one day, provided,
however, the bird were placed in the empty cage near the window. " It will perhaps please Poll,"
added she, smiling at a large, green parrot, who was rocking himself very majestically on his
swinging perch, in the pretty brass-wired cage. "It is Poll's birthda)'," said she tenderly, "and
therefore the field-bird begs to offer his congratulations."
Poll did not answer a word, but continued see-sawing in dignified silence ; on the other hand
a pretty canary-bird that had been brought last summer from the sunny, fragrant land of his
birth, began singing loudly.
" You little screamer ! " said the lady, throwing a white handkerchief over the cage.
" Tweat ! tweat ! " sighed he, " what a dreadful snow-storm ! " And so saying he was silent.
The clerk, or, as the lady would have called him, the field-bird, was placed in a little cage,
close to the canary-bird, and not far from the
parrot. The only human sentence that Poll
could chatter, and which sometimes made a very
droll effect, was : " Now, let us be men." All
the rest of the noise he screamed was just as
unintelligible as the twittering of the canary-
bird ; but not to the clerk, who was now himself
a bird, and consequently understood his comrades
perfectly.
" I used to fly beneath green palm-trees and
blooming almond-trees," sang the canary-bird.
" I used to fly with my brothers and sisters over
lovely flowers, and across the limpid surface of
the lake, where plants were waving to and fro in
the waters below. I used to see many pretty
parrots, who told the most entertaining stories
— and they knew so many stories, and such long
ones ! "
" Those were wild birds," returned the parrot,
" who were wholly uneducated. Now, let us be
men ! Why do you not laugh ? Since the lady
and all her visitors laugh at this, you surely
might. It is a great defect not to be able to
appreciate what is witty. Now, let us be men ! "
" Do you remember the pretty girls who
used to dance beneath the tent, beside the trees
in full blossom ? Do you remember the de-
licious fruit, and the cooling sap of the wild
herbs?"
"Oh yes," said the parrot, "but I'm much
better off here. I am well fed, and treated with
distinction. I know that I am intellectual, and I desire nothing better. Now, let us be men !
You have what is called a poetical soul. I have solid acquirements and wit, while you have genius,
but no discretion. You raise your natural tones to so high a pitch that you get covered over.
That is never done to me — oh, dear me, no ! for I cost them a great deal more. I overawe them
with my beak, and can utter witty sayings. Now, let us be men ! "
" O my warm and blooming country ! " sang the canary-bird, " I will sing your dark green
trees, and your calm gulf, where the boughs kiss the clear surface of the water — and I will sing the
joys of my glittering brothers and sisters, who are frolicking in the land where grows the cactus."
" Do leave alone these elegiac strains," said the parrot, " and sing something to make one
laugh. Laughter is the sign of the highest point of all intellect. You never see a dog or a horse
laughing. No — they can cry, but to man alone is given the faculty of laughter. Ho-ho-ho ! "
laughed the parrot, adding his oft-repeated witty saying : " Now, let us be men."
" You little grey Danish bird," said the canary-bird, " you, too, have become a prisoner. It
must be very cold in your forests, but still there's liberty to be found in them. Fly away ! The\-
have forgotten to close your cage, and the window is open at the top. Fly away ! fly away ! "
THEY PURCHASED THE BIRI>
FOR EIGHTPEN'CE, AND SO
THE CI.ERK RETURNED TO COPENHAGEN.
THE GOLOSHES OF HAPPINESS
253
The clerk instinctively obeyed and left the cage ; at the same moment the half-open door
leading to the adjoining room creaked on its hinges, and the cat, with its green, sparkling eyes,
stole in and began to pursue him. The canary-bird fluttered in its cage, while the parrot flapped
his wings, crying : " Now, let us be men ! " The poor clerk experienced the most deadly fright, and
flew out of the window, over the houses and across the streets, till at last he was obliged to rest.
A house that stood opposite to him looked familiar. He flew in at the open window, and
found himself in his own room. He perched upon the table.
" Now, let us be men ! " said he, involuntarily mimicking the parrot, and at the same moment
he was the clerk once more — only he was sitting on the table.
" Heaven help me ! " said he, " how did I get up here, and fall asleep in this manner ? It was
an uneasy dream that I had anyhow. The whole of it was most nonsensical stuff."
VI.— THE BEST THING THE GOLOSHES BROUGHT
following day, as the clerk still lay a-bed, some one
tapped at his door. It was a neighbour of his, a
young theologian, living on the same storey as himself,
who walked in.
" Pray lend me your goloshes," said he ; " it is so,
wet in the garden, although the sun is shining brightly,
and I want to go down and smoke a pipe."
He drew on the goloshes, and was presently down
in the garden, that contained one plum-tree and one
apple-tree. Yet even so small a garden as that is a
treasure in the midst of a town.
The theologian sauntered up and down the walk.
It was now six o'clock, and he heard a postman's
horn in the street.
" O travelling — travelling ! " cried he, " there is no
greater delight in the world ! That is the height of
all my wishes ! My restless feelings would then find a
vent and be appeased, provided I went far enough. I
should wish to see beautiful Switzerland, and Italy, and "
It was well the goloshes took immediate effect, or else he would have travelled rather too far,
both for himself and for us. He was now journeying through Switzerland, only packed inside a
diligence with eight fellow-passengers. His head ached, his neck was stiff, and the blood had
rushed downwards to his feet, which were swollen, and sorely pinched by his boots. He was in a
dreamy state between waking and sleeping. In his right-hand pocket was a letter of credit, in his
left-hand pocket his passport, and a small leather purse, in which a few louis-d'ors were carefully
stitched up. Every dream pictured forth the loss of one or other of these valuables, and he would
awake from his naps with a feverish start, when the first evolution his hand described was a
triangular one from right to left, and to the top of his breast, to feel whether his goods were still
in his possession. Umbrellas, sticks, and hats were swinging about in the net above his head, and
quite spoiled the prospect, which was a most imposing one. He just peeped at it, while his heart
sang the lines, which a poet, whom we know, sang in Switzerland, though hitherto he has not had
them printed : —
'■ 'Tis lovely here beyond compare,
I see Mont Blanc's white finger —
And till my money melts to air,
I gladly here would linger."
The landscape around was grand, dark, and gloomy. The forests of fir-trees appeared like so
much heath on the high rocks, whose summits were lost in clouds of mist. It now snowed, and a
cold wind began to blow.
" Oh, dear ! " sighed he ; "I wish we were on the other side of the Alps, and then it would be
-54-
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
summer, and I should have taken out the money for my letter of credit. I am so uneasy about its
safety that I cannot enjoy Switzerland. Oh, how I wish I were on the other side ! "
LOVELY, HALF-NAKED CHILDREN WERE TENDING A HERD OF COAL-BLACK SWINE, UNDER A
KNOT OF FRAGRANT LAURELS.
Accordint^ly, he was on the other side, and far away into Italy, between Florence and Rome.
The Lake of Thrasymene lay like a sheet of flaming gold, in the glowing sunset, between the dark
THE GOLOSHES OF HAPPINESS
25-7
blue mountains. Here, where Hannibal defeated Flaminius, the tendrils of the vines were peace-
fully clasping each other's green fingers ; while lovely, half-naked children were tending a herd of
coal-black swine, under a knot of fragrant laurels. If we could but picture forth this scene
correctly, every one would e.xclaim : " Delightful Italy ! " But neither the theologian nor any of
his fellow-travellers in the coach felt inclined to say anything of the kind.
Thousands of venomous flies and gnats were swarming in the coach. It was in vain they
drove them away with a sprig of myrtle : the flies stung them in spite of all their efforts. There
was not a person in the coach whose face was not swollen and bleeding from numerous bites,
i'he poor horses looked like skeletons : vast armies of flies were encamped on their backs, and they
only obtained a temporary relief by the coachman getting down, and rubbing their tormentors off.
fhe sun now set. An icy coldness, though but of short duration, pervaded all nature : it was
like the cold air of a vault after a hot summer's day ; but the surrounding mountains and the
clouds displayed that peculiar green tint which we find in old pictures, arj^ which we look upon as
unnatural, unless we have seen nature's own colouring in the south. It was a splendid sight, but —
their stomachs were empty, and their bodies tired ; and all their longings tended towards a lodging
for the night, though they did not yet know where that
might be. But everj'body was far more eagerly on the
look-out for that than inclined to admire the beauties of
nature.
The road ran through a wood of olives : it was like
driving through a grove of knotty willows in his o\\ n coun-
try. Here stood the lonely inn. A dozen crippled beggars
were encamped in front, the most vigorous amongst whom
looked, to use an expression of Marryat's, like " hunger's
eldest son, just come to the years of manhood." The others
were either blind, or had withered legs, that obliged them
to creep about on their hands ; or shrivelled arms, with
fingerless hands. It was squalid poverty, peeping out from
its tatters. " Eccelenza ! ini.serabdi ! " sighed they, holding
out their diseased limbs. The landlady herself with bare
feet, uncombed hair, and huddled up in a dirty blouse, came
forward to receive her guests. The doors were fastened up
with twine ; the rooms presented floors made of bricks, half
of which were scattered about in all directions ; bats were
flying under the ceilings ; and as to the odour !
" Let's have dinner served up in the stable," said one of
the travellers, " and then, at least, we shall know what we
are breathing."
The windows were opened to let in a little fresh air ; but
the shrivelled arms and the monotonous whines of " Aliser-
abili ! eccelenza ! " came in much faster than the breezes.
On the walls were penned inscriptions, most of them railing at /a bella Italia.
The meal was now served up. It consisted of water soup, seasoned with pepper and rancid
oil, which latter played a conspicuous part in the salad. Addled eggs and fried cocks'-combs were
the best dishes on the table : even the wine had a strong taste, for it was finely adulterated.
At night the trunks were all placed against the door. One of the travellers was to keep
watch while the others slept. It fell to the lot of the theologian. Oh, how sultry it was in that
stifling room ! The heat was oppressive, the gnats were bu/.zing about and stinging, while the
nnsenibili outside were whining even in their dreams.
" Travelling is all very fin.," observed the theologian, " if one could but get rid of one's body.
What a pity the body can't rest while the spirit would fly I 'Wherever 1 go, I feel a void that
oppresses my heart — a longing for something better than the present moment — yes, for something
better, and even for the best of all. But wTiere is that to be found ? In point of fact, I don't my-
self exactly know what 1 want; but I wish to attain a happy goal — ay, the happiest of all."
And no sooner had he spoken these words than he was transported home. The long white
curtains were drawn over the windows, and in the middle of the floor stood a black coffin, in which
he lay wrapped in the sleep of death. His wish was fulfilled : his body was at rest and his spirit
was travelling. " Call no man happy till he is in his grave," were Solon's words ; and the case in
point offered a fresh proof of their truth.
THI! SHRIVKI.LliO ARMS AND IHK MONOIONOUS.
WHIjNKS of " MIShKABILI I eccelenza i" CPM^
I.N MUCH FASTER THAN THE BREEZES.
2C-56
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
Every corpse is a sphinx of immortality. Thus, the present sphinx, in its black sarcophagus,
recalled in the lines that the living man had penned only two days before : —
" Oh, mighty death ! thy silence fills with awe,
>• 'Tis churchyard graves alone that mark thy traces —
But by a ladder, such as Jacob saw,
Shall not our spirit inount to brighter places?
The greatest sorrows oft remain unknown !
Thou who wert lonely till thy day of dying,
By duties stern thy heart was more weighed down
Than by the earth upon thy coil now lying!"
Two figures were moving about the room. They are both known to us. One was the fairy
named Care, and the other the ambassadress of Happiness.
" Look there," said Care. " What happiness did your goloshes afford mankind ? "
" They have, at least, wrought a lasting good for him who is slumbering here," answered Joy.
" Not so," said Care. " He went away of himself, without being called. His intellectual
powers were not strong enough to dig up the treasures he was destined to discover. I will confer
a benefit upon him."
And she drew the goloshes off his feet, when the sleep of death ended, and he once more
revived. Care disappeared, and with her the goloshes ; she doubtless considered them to be her
own property.
SHE DREW THE GOLOSHES OFF HIS FEET, WHEN THE SLEEP OF DEATH EKDEO,
AND HE ONCE MORE REVIVED.
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
257
Holo;er Danske
enters. He
his head on
over the marble table, in which it has taken root. He
he sees everything that takes place up ab(jve here in
an an<:ei comes to tell him that all he has dreamed
Denmark there stands an old castle called Kronen-
burg. It lies near the Sound of Elsinore, Avhere
arge ships, both English, Russian, and Prussian, daily
sail past by hundreds. And they salute the old
fortress with cannons that say, " Boom ! " And the
fortress answers with its cannons, ' Boom ! " which
is the way cannons say, " Good-morning," and " Your
servant." In winter no ships sail by, for all is covered
with ice as far as the Swedish coast ; but it looks
quite like a high road, and Danish and Swedish
flags are waving, and Danes and Swedes say to
each other, " Good-morning," and " Your servant."
But not with cannons — no, indeed ! but with a
friendly shake of the hand ; and they mutually pur-
chase white bread and cracknels of each other, be-
cause foreign goods taste the nicest. But finest of
all is the old castle of Kronenburg, where Holger
Danske sits in a deep, dark cellar, which nobody
is clad in iron and steel, and supports
his strong arm : his long beard hangs
sleeps and dreams ; but in his dreams
Denmark. Every Christmas evening
s true, and that he may go to sleep again
in peace, for that Denmark is as yet in no real peril ; but should danger ever occur, then will
old Holger Danske rise, and shiver the table to pieces as he withdraws his beard. And then
he will come forth in his might, and lay about him, till all the world shall ring with his fame.
An old grandfather sat telling all these particulars about Holger Danske to his little grand-
son ; and the little boy knew that what his grandfather said was true. And as the old man sat
talking, he was carving a large wooden figure representing Holger Danske, which was to ornament
the prow of a vessel ; for the old grandfather was a carver of images, whose trade it was to make
figures for ship-heads, according as each ship might be named ; and, in the present case, he had
carved Holger Danske, who stood proud and erect, with his long beard, holding in one hand his
broad battle-sword, while he supported himself with the other against the Danish coat-of-arms.
And the old grandfather related so manj' histories about distinguised Danish men and
women that at length his little grandson fancied that he knew as much as Holger Danske himself,
who only dreams about things ; and when the little fellow" went to bed, he kept thinking and
thinking, till he pressed his chin against the counterpane, and then imagined that he had a long
beard that became rooted to it.
But the old grandfather still sat at his work, carving the last portion of it, namely, — the
Danish arms. At last he completed them, and then looked at the whole, and thought over all
he had read and heard, and what he had related that evening to the little boy ; and he nodded his
head, wiped his spectacles, put them on again, and said : " Ay, Holger Danske won't make his
appearance in my lifetime, but that boy in bed there will perhaps be able to see him, and will be
present when it really comes to pass." And the old grandfather nodded again ; and the more he
looked at his Holger Danske, the more obvious it was to him that he had carved a good figure, —
nay, it even seemed to him as if it assumed the colour of life, and as if the armour glittered like
iron and steel : the nine hearts in the Danish arms seemed redder and redder, while the lions, with
their gold crowns on their heads, were actually leaping.
" They are certainly the finest arms in the world," said the old man. " The lions stand for
strength, and the hearts for mercy and love." And he gazed at the uppermost lion, and thought
of King Knut, who chained illustrious England to the Danish throne ; and he looked at the
second lion, and thought of Waldemar, who united Denmark, and conquered the Vandal states.
258
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
Then he looked at the third lion, and thought of Margaret, who was the bond of union between
Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. But while he was gazing at the red hearts, they glowed yet more
AS THE OLD MAN SAT TALKING, HE WAS CARVING A LARGE WOODEN FIGURE
REPRESENTING HOLGER DANSKE.
brightly than before, and became flames that moved, and his mind followed each of them in
turn.
HOLGER DANSKE
259
The first flame led him into a dark and narrow prison, where sat captive a beautiful woman,
Eleonor Ulfeld,* daughter to Christian IV. ; and the flame alighted on her bosom like a rose,
and bloomed, and seemed to make one with the heart of the best and noblest of all Danish
women.
" A)', that is, indeed, a heart in Denmark's arms," said the old grandfather.
And his spirit followed the second flame, that carried him out to sea, where cannons were
roaring, and ships lay wrapped in smoke ; and the flame shaped itself into the ribbon of an order
on Hvitfeldt's breast, as he blew up himself and his ship, in order to save the whole fleet.f
And the third flame led him to Greenland's miserable huts, where the missionary, Hans
Egede, I held his sway by words and deeds of Christian love.
The flame that was a star on his breast became one of the
hearts in the Danish arms.
And the old grandfather's spirit followed the hovering
flame, for his spirit knew whither it was about to lead him. In
a peasant woman's poverty-stricken room stood Frederick VI.,
writing his name, in chalk, upon a beam ; t? the flame was flick-
ering on his breast and in his heart, and it was in the peasant's
house that his heart became one of the hearts in the Danish
coat-of-arms. And the old grandfather wiped his eyes, for he
had known King Frederick, with his silvery locks and his
' honest blue eyes, and had lived under him ; and he claspad
his hands, and gazed stedfastly before him. The old grand-
father's daughter-in-law then came to remind him that it was
late, that he ought to take some rest, and that supper was
ready.
" But what you have carved is very fine, grandfather,"
said she ; " Holger Danske, and our complete old coat-of-
arms ! It seems to me as if I had seen that face before."
" No, you can't have seen it," said the old grandfather ;
" but I have, and I have endeavoured to carve it in wood, such
as it remained impressed on my memory. A long tima ago,
when the English fleet lay in the roadstead, and when we
showed, on the memorable second of April, j that we were true
ancient Danes, I was on the deck of the Denmark, for I
served in Steen Billes' squadron, and there I stood beside a
man, whom the very cannon-balls seemed to be afraid of
He sang old ditties in a cheerful voice, and fired and
fought as if he were something more than a human being.
I still recollect his countenance, but whence he came, or
whither he went, neither I nor anybody else ever knew. I
have often thought it might be old Holger Danske himself,
who had swam down to us from Kronenburg to help us in
the hour of danger. That was my notion and there is his
likeness."
THE FIRST FLAME LED HIM INTO A DARK AND
NARROW PRISON, WHERE SAT CAPTIVE A
BEAUTIFUL WOMAN.
* This highly gifted princess (wife of the Corfitz Ulfeld, who was accused of betraying his country), whose only
crime was her faithful attachment to her unfortunate husband, languished for twenty-two years in an abominable
dungeon, till her persecutor. Queen Sophia Amelia, was dead.
t In the naval battle in the Kjbge Gulf, between the Danes and Swedes, in 1710, Hvitfeldt's ship, the Danebrog,
caught fire. In order to save the town of Kjbge and the Danish fleet from the flames of his ship, which was driven
towards them by the wind, he blew up his vessel with himself and the whole crew.
+ Hans Egede went to Greenland in 1721, where he followed his calling during fifteen years, amidst incredible
privations and hardships. Not only did he spread the lights of Christianity, but was himself a pattern of the noblest
Christian virtues.
§ During a journey to the western coast of Jutland, the king visited a poor woman, who, on his leaving her house,
ran after him to request him to write his name on a beam ; the king accordingly turned back and complied with her
wish. Through the whole course of his life he displayed a great anxiety to better the condition of the peasantry.
Hence it was that Danish peasants begged for the privilege of carrying his cotfin to its last resting-place, in the royal
vault at Roeskilde, a distance of four miles from Copenh.igen.
II It was on the 2nd April, iSoi, that thij bloody naval battle took place between the Danes and the English,
under Parker and Nelson.
26o
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
The wooden image cast its giant shadow upon the wall, and even on a part of the ceiling. It
seemed to be the real Holger Danske himself standing there ; for the shadow moved, though it
might only be the flickering light of the lamp that caused such an illusion. And his daughter-in-law
kissed the old grandfather, and led him to the great arm-chair before the table ; and she and her
husband, the son of the old grandfather, and father to the little boy who lay in bed, supped with
him, while the old man descanted upon the Danish lions and the Danish hearts, the emblems
of strength and mercy, and expounded very clearly that there was another kind of strength, that
lay not in the sword, and pointed to a shelf
containing some old books, amongst which
might be found a complete set of Holberg's
comedies, that have been so much read, be-
cause they are so amusing, and one can fancy
one recognises all the characters of bygone ages
delineated in their pages.
" You see, he, too, knew how to fight," said
the old grandfather ; " he scourged people's
follies and failings as long as he could." And
the grandfather nodded in the direction of the
looking-glass, near which stood an almanack
with a print of the round tower,* saying :
" Tycho Brahe was another of those who used
the sword not to hack and hew flesh, but to
clear a simpler road between all the stars in
heaven. And then he, whose father belonged
to my craft — he, the son of the old image-
carver— he, whom we have ourselves seen, with
his white locks and broad shoulders, and whose
name is celebrated throughout all the lands of
the world — ay, he is a sculptor, while I am only
an image-carver ! Yes ; Holger Danske can
come in many shapes, so that Denmark's
strength shall be manifest through all the lands
of the earth. Now, shall we drink Bertel's t
health ? "
But the little boy in bed saw old Kronen-
burg and the Sound of Elsinore quite plainly,
and the real Holger Danske, who sat below in
the cellar, with his beard rooted to the table,
dreaming of all that happens up above here.
Holger Danske likewise dreamed of the humble
little room where sat the carver of images :
he heard the conversation that took place, and
nodded in his dream, saying : " Ay, do but
remember me, you Danish people ! Bear me in
your memory ! I will come in the hour of need ! "
And the bright daylight now shone outside Kronenburg, and the wind bore the sound of the
huntsmen's bugles from the neighbouring land. The ships sailed past, and saluted the fortress —
"Boom! boom!" And Kronenburg answered, "Boom! boom!" But Holger Danske did not
wake, loud as the cannons had roared ; for they meant nothing but — " Good-morning ! " and
" Your servant ! " They must fire in another sort of manner before he awakes ; but wake he will,
if necessary, for there is plenty of strength yet in Holger Danske.
'but what you have carved is very fine, grandfather,
SAID SHE.
* The astronomical observatory in Copenhagen,
t Bertel Thorwaldsen.
«gr
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
261
The Fir-Tree
NCE upon a time, there stood in the depths of a forest a pretty little
fir-tree. It was placed very nicely, for it could get as much sunshine
and air as it wanted, and it was surrounded by a number of taller
companions, both firs and pines. But the Httle fir-tree did so long
to grow taller ! It thought nothing of the warm sun and the fresh
air, and cared still less for the peasant children who strolled about
and chattered, whenever they came to gather wild strawberries and
raspberries. They would often bring a pipkin full of berries, or lay
them out on a handful of straw, and then seat themselves near the
little fir-tree, saying : " Well, this is a sweet little tree ! " But the
tree was quite insensible to any such praise.
In the following year it had grown a notch taller, and the
year after it was taller still by another notch ; for with fir-trees it
is easy to ascertain, by the number of notches, how many years old
they are.
" Oh ! how I wish I were as tall as the other trees ! " sighed the
diminutive fir; "and then I should spread my branches all around,
and my top would overlook the wide world. Birds would then build nests in my branches, and
when the wind blew I should be able to bow with as much dignity as the rest of my companions."
n the
m
It took no delight
sunshine, or the birds, or the rosy
clouds that sailed over its head
morning and evening. When it
was winter, and the white snow
lay in dazzling sheets upon the
ground, a hare would frequently
jump right over the little tree,
and that vexed it so sorely !
But after two more winters, the
tree had grown so tall, that by
the time it had reached the third,
the hare was obliged to run be-
side it. " Oh ! could I but grow
and grow, and become tall and
old ! That is the only thing
worth caring for in this world,"
tliought the tree.
In the autumn the wood-
cutters always came and felled
several of the tallest trees. As
this happened regularly every
year, the young fir-tree, who was
now grown up, shuddered at the
fate that perhaps awaited him ;
for the fine large trees fell with
a loud crashing and creaking to
the ground. Their branches were
lopped off, and the trunks looked
so naked, so lank, and so narrow,
that they were scarcely to be re-
THEY WOULD OFTEN BRING A PIPKIN FULL OP BERRTES . .
SEAT THEMSELVES NEAR THE LITTLE FIR-TREE, SAYING :
" WELL, THIS IS A SWEET LITTLE TREE ! "
262
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
cognised. Then they were placed on wagons, and the horses drew them out of the forest. Whither
were they bound ? What was to be their fate ?
In spring, when the swallows and storks made their appearance, the tree inquired of them :
" Do you know where they have been taken to ? Did you not meet them ? "
The swallows knew nothing of the matter ; but the stork, after due reflection, nodded his head,
saying: "Yes, I think I did ; for I met a great many new ships as I flew out of Egypt, and the
ships had very handsome masts ; so I conclude that it must have been they, particularly as they
smelt like firs. I congratulate you upon your friends ; really, they are very shining characters."
'■ Oh ! were I but tall enough to cross the sea I What is this sea, and what does it look like?"
" Why, it would take too much time to explain," replied the stork, going away.
" Enjoy your youth," said the sunbeams ; "enjoy your fresh growth, and your young existence,
while it lasts."
And the wind kissed the tree, and the dew shed tears over it ; but the fir-tree could not under-
stand either of them.
When Christmas was drawing near, some very young trees were felled ; several trees, indeed,
that were neither so tall nor so old as this particular fir-tree, which could not rest for longing to
get away from its native place. These young trees, that were chosen as being the prettiest of all,
were not deprived of their branches, and were laid upon
wagons, and taken away from the forest.
" Whither can they be going ? " asked our fir-tree.
" They are not taller than 1 am ; on the contrary, there
was one much smaller than myself And why are they
allowed to retain their branches? What is to be done
with them ? "
" We know — we know," twittered the sparrows, " for
we have looked in at the windows in yonder town ! We
know what is to be done with them. Oh, they are raised
to the very highest honours, I promise you I We saw
through the windows how they were stuck up in a warm
room, and ornamented with a host of fine things, such as
gilt apples, gingerbread, and playthings, besides hundreds
of tapers."
" And then — " asked the fir-tree with trembling eager-
ness— "and then — what next?"
" Why, we saw nothing further — but it was an incom-
parable sight ! "
" I wonder whether I am destined to so brilliant a
career!" exclaimed the fir-tree, in ecstasy. "That is
even better than crossing the seas. How I do long for Christmas to come round again !
I am now grown as tall as the others that were taken away last year. Oh, how I wish I were
already placed on the wagon ! How I wish I were in the warm room with all the fine things about
me! And then — why, surely something still better must be in store, something far finer still, or
else they would not deck me out so smartly I There must be something much grander and more
magnificent yet to come — only what can it be? Oh ! I am so weary with longing — I can't tell
how I feel ! "
" Enjoy our gifts," said the air and the sunbeams ; " enjoy your bright young days in the
open air."
But the tree would not enjoy himself, and kept growing and growing. Through both winter
and summer he stood clothed in dark green, and all who saw him said, "That is a beautiful
tree." So towards Christmas he was felled before any of the others. The axe clove right through
his pith, and down he fell with a groan ; it was like a pang, or a fainting fit, and the tree ceased to
think of the honours that awaited him, in his affliction at leaving his home and the spot where he
had grown into beauty ; for he knew but too well that he would never see his old companions
again, nor the little rushes and flowers that once surrounded him ; nor, perhaps, even the birds.
Moreover, the journey was far from pleasant.
The tree revived a little when he was unpacked, together with the other trees, in a courtyard,
and he heard a man observe : " This is a beauty. We only want one."
Two well-dressed servants now came and carried off the fir-tree to a fine, large room. The
walls were adorned with pictures, and beside the earthenware stove stood large china vases, with
■ WE KNOW — WE KNOW," TWITTERED THE
SPARROWS, " FOR WE HAVE LOOKED IN
AT THE WINDOWS IN YONDER TOWN ! "
THE FIR-TREE
263
lions on their lids ; and there were rocking-chairs, silk sofas, large tables loaded with books full of
prints, and playthings, to the amount of a hundred times a hundred dollars — at least, so said the
children. The fir-tree was placed in a large barrel filled with sand ; but nobody could perceive it
was a barrel, as it was covered round with green baize and stood on a handsome carpet. Oh ! how
the tree quaked !
What was going to be done ? Both the servants and the young ladies helped to adorn it.
On one branch they hung little nets cut out of coloured paper, and each net was filled with
sweetmeats ; gilt apples and walnuts hung down from others, as if they had grown there ; and
above a hundred tapers — white, blue, and red — were fastened to the branches. Beneath the green
leaves were placed dolls, that looked, for all the world, like living creatures. The tree had never
seen any such before ; and on the topmost summit was fastened a star, all over spangles, that was
right royally splendid to behold.
" This evening it will shine most gloriously 1 " they all said.
" Oh ! " thought the tree, " if it were
but evening! If the tapers could but
be lighted ! And then what is to be
done next? I wonder whether the
trees from our forest will come and
admire me? And whether the sparrows
will peep in through the window-panes?
And whether I have taken root here,
and shall remain decked out in this
fashion through both winter and sum-
mer ? "
These reflections were all very well,
only the tree's longings were so intense,
that his bark ached again through
impatience; and barkache is just as bad
for a tree as headache is with us.
At length the tapers were lit ; and
a grand sight it was, to be sure. The
tree trembled so in all his branches, that
one of the tapers set fire to the leaves
and regularly singed them.
" Help ! help ! " shrieked the young
ladies, as they hastily extinguished the
flame.
So the tree endeavoured not to
tremble again, frightened as he was —
for he was most anxious not to lose any
of his ornaments — and though be-
wildered by so brilliant a scene. And
now the folding-doors were thrown open, and in rushed a whole troop of children, as though they
would overturn the tree, while their elders followed in a more leisurely manner. The little ones
stood dumb-struck for a moment, and then directly after set up such shouts of joy that the room
rang with the sound. They danced round the tree, and one present after another was plucked off
from its branches.
" What are they about ? " thought the tree. " What will come next ? " And as each taper
burnt down to the branches, it was put out, and then the children had leave given them to rifle the
tree. Oh, how they did set u])on it, to be sure ! And how its branches cracked ! Had it not been
fastened by the gold star at the top to the ceiling, it would have been overturned to a certainty.
The children danced about with their pretty toys, and nobody took any further notice of the
tree, except the old nurse, who came and rummaged amongst the branches to see if a fig or an
apple had not been left there by chance.
" A story ! let's have a story ! " cried the children, pulling a little thick-set man towards the
tree, under which he took his seat, saying — " Now we are in the shade, and of course the tree will
reap great advantage by listening to what we say. But, mind ! I shall only tell one story, so which
shall it be? Ivede-Avede, or Humpty-Dumpty, who fell downstairs, and yet was raised to high
honours, and obtained the princess's hand ? "
AT LENGTH THE TAPEKS WERE LIT; AND A GKAND SIGHT
IT WAS, TO BE SURE.
264
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
" Ivede-Avede ! " cried some. " Humpty-Dumpty ! " cried others. And a fine screaming and
squalling there was ! The fir-tree alone was silent, though he said to himself — " Am I not to have
TOLD THE STORY OF HUMPTY-DUMPTY WHO FELL DOWNSTAIRS, AND YET WAS RAISED TO HIGH
HONOURS AND OBTAINED THE PRINCESS'S HAND.
a finger in the pie?" For he had played his part as well as anybody else that evening.
And the man told the story of Humpty-Dumpty, who fell downstairs, and yet was raised to
THE FIR-TREE
265
high honours, and obtained the princess's
I'.and. And the children clapped their hands
and cried : " Go on ! go on ! " for they wanted
to hear the story of Ivede-Avede besides ;
but they only got Humpty-Dumpty. The
fir-tree stood in pensive silence. The birds
in the wood had never told him anything of
the kind.
" Humpty-Dumpty fell downstairs, and
yet obtained a princess
the way of the world,"
thinking it must be a true
was told by such a well-dressed
who knows but what I may fall
and obtain a princess?" And he rejoiced
to think that next day he would again be
decked out with tapers, playthings, gold,
and fruit.
" To-morrow I will not tremble," thought
the tree. " I will enjoy my grandeur. To-
morrow I shall hear the story of Humpty-
Dumpty again, and perhaps that of Ivede-Avede."
throughout the whole night.
Next morning the man-servant and the maid
again in all my finery ! " thought the tree.
' Yes, yes ! that's
argued the fir-tree,
story, because it
man : "so
downstairs
THE LITTLE .MICE WERE FIT TO JUMP TO THE TOP OF
THE TREE WITH DELIGHT.
And the tree remained silent and thoughtful
came in. ' Now I'm going to be tricked out
But they dragged him out of the room, and upstairs,
and then flung him on the floor in a dark corner, where daylight never shone. " What's the meaning
of this ? " thought the tree. " What shall I do here ? And what can I hear in such a place ? " And
he leaned against the wall, still thinking and thinking. And he had plenty of time for reflection,
as days and nights passed by, and nobody came up ; and when at length somebody did come, it
was only to stow away some large chests in the corner. So the tree was now as completely con-
cealed as though his existence had been entirely forgotten.
"It is winter abroad," thought the tree ; "the ground must now be hard and covered with snow,
so they can't plant me ; therefore, 1 am to be kept safe here until spring. That is no bad plan.
Really, people are very kind ! I only wish it was not so dark, and so terribly lonely here ! There's
not even a little hare to enliven one ! How nice it was to be in the forest when the snow was lying
on the ground, and the hare used to jump past me — or even when he leaped over me, though I was
peep !
They sniffed at the fir-tree, and then
-shouldn't we,
not well pleased at the time, I remember. It is so dreadfully lonely up here ! " " Peep !
squeaked a little mouse, stealing forth, followed by another.
ensconced themselves between its branches.
" It is bitterly cold," said the little mice, "or else we should be very well off here-
you old fir-tree ? "
" I'm not old,' said the fir-tree ; " there are many a great deal older than I."
"Where do you come from ?" inquired the mice, " and what's your name? "for they were
vastly curious. " Tell us something about the prettiest place in the world. Have you been there?
Have you been in the store-room, where there is cheese lying on the shelves, and hams hanging to
the ceiling ; where one may dance
upon tallow-candles, and whence
one may come out twice as fat as
one goes in ? "
" I don't know of any such
place," said the tree ; " but I know
of our forest, where the sun shines,
and the birds sing." And then he
related the story of his youth ; and
the mice, who had never heard the
like before, listened very attentively,
and then observed : " How much
you have seen, and how happy you
have been 1 "
'YOUR SERVANT," ANSWERED THE RATS, AND THEY RETURNED
BACK TO THEIR OWN SET.
PT. XII.
266
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
" I happy ! " exclaimed the fir-tree ; and then he thought over all he had told. " Well ! those
were, to be sure, rather pleasant times." And then he related all about Christmas-eve, and how he
was decked out with cakes and tapers.
" Oh ! " cried the little mouse, " how happy you have been, )ou old fir-tree ! "
" I am not old," said the tree. " It's only this winter that I have come from the forest, and so
I have been thrown back in my growth."
I "What pretty things you do relate !" said the little mice. And the following night, they re-
turned with four other little mice, that they might hear the tree tell his story ; and the oftener he
told it, the more distinctly he remembered everything ; and he could not help thinking, " Those
were right pleasant times, but they will not come over again. Still, as Humpty-Dumpty fell
downstairs, and yet obtained the princess, perhaps I may still have a princess m\'self" And the
fir-tree fondly recollected an elegant little birch that grew in the forest, and that was a beautiful
princess for a fir-tree.
" Who is Humpty-Dumpty ? " inquired the little mice.
The fir-tree then related the whole story, ever}- word of which he remembered ; and the little
mice were fit to jump to the top of the tree with delight. Next night there came a great many
more mice, and by Sun-
day they were joined by a
couple of rats ; but the
latter said the story was
not a pretty one, which
vexed the little mice, be-
cause it made them think
less of it themselves.
" Do you know noth-
ing but this one story ? "
inquired the rats.
" Only this one," re-
plied the tree. " I heard
it on the happiest evening
of my life. I did not
think then how happy I
was."
" It is a pitiful story
any way. Don't you know
any stories about lard or
tallow? Can't you tell us
some store-room tales ? "
" No," said the tree.
" Your servant," answered the rats, and they returned back to their own set.
The little mice finished by staying away likewise, and then the tree said, with a sigh, " It was
very nice when those sympathizing little mice used to sit all round me, and listen to my story.
Now that is over too. But I shall think of those times, and enjoy the recollection of them, when I
shall be removed once more from this place."
But what, think you, happened ? Wh}-, one morning there came some people, who made a
great to-do upon the floor; the chests were shoved aside, and the tree was drawn forth. It's true
they flung it somewhat roughly on the floor ; but a servant immediately dragged it towards the
stairs, on which shone the daylight.
" Now I am going to begin life anew," thought the tree, as he felt the fresh air and the welcome
sunbeams on reaching the court below. It was all done so fast, that the tree forgot entirely to think
of himself ; besides, there was so much to be seen all about him. The court led to a garden, where
everything was in full bloom. The roses hung over the little trellis, and looked so fresh, and smelt
so sweet ; while the lime-trees were in blossom, and the swallows were flying about, saying, " Twit
— twit — twit — my mate is coming.' 3ut it was ^lot the fir-tree they meant.
" Now I shall really live ! " cried the latter, rejoicing and spreading out his branches, that were,
alas ! all withered and yellow ; and there he lay in a corner amongst weeds and nettles. The gilt-
paper star W"as still stuck in the top of the tree, and sparkled in the bright sunshine.
Two of the li\el\- children, who had danced round the tree and taken such delight in it at
Christmas, happened to be playing in the court. The youngest ran and tore off the gold star.
THE YOUNGKSr RAN AND TORE OFF THE GOLD STAR. " SF.E WHAT IS
STICKING TO THE UGLY OLD FIR-TREE," SAID THE CHILD.
THE FIR-TREE
267
"See what is still sticking to the ugly old fir-tree," said the child, as he trampled on the branches
till they cracked beneath his boots.
And the tree looked upon the blooming flower-garden, and then thought of himself, and wished
he had been left in his dark corner on the floor. He recalled his early youth in the forest, the
merry Christmas-evening, and the little mice who were so pleased at hearing the story of Humpty-
Dumpty.
" It's all gone and past," said the old tree. " Would that I had known my own happiness
while it lasted ! It's past — past for ever ! "
A lad now came and chopped the tree into small fagots, which were then made into a bundle.
It now burned up briskly under a large brewing-copper, and the tree sighed so deeply that every
sigh was like a little pistol-shot. So the children left off playing, and came and sat near the fire,
and looked at it, saying, " Pop — pop ! " But at every pop — which was a deep sigh — the tree was
so THE CHILDREN LEh r UFK I'l.AVIM.. A.O. CAME AM) .-.A I .\EAK IHE IIKE,
AND LOOKED AT IT, SAYING, " POP ! POP!"
thinking of some summer's day in the forest, or of some winter's night when the stars .shone brightly ;
he thought, too, of Christmas, and of Humpty-Dumpty, the only story he had ever heard, or knew
how to tell ; and then the tree was burnt to ashes.
The boys played in the garden, and the youngest wore upon his breast the gilt star that the
tree had worn on its happiest evening, which was long since over, as all was over with the tree, and
must now be with the story ; for all stories must finish at last.
•5?
;b8
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
Little Tuk
ES, he was called Little Tuk — not that it was really
hi.s name, but he called himself so before he could
speak plainly ; he meant it for Charles, and it was
all very well when one did but know it. Little Tuk
was left to take care of his sister Gustave, who
was much younger than himself; and at the same time he
had to learn his lesson, only the two things could not very
well be carried on simultaneously. The poor little fellow
sat with his sister on his knee, and sang her all the songs
he knew, while ever and anon he gave a look at his
geography-book that lay open before him ; for he had to
get by heart the names of all the towns in Zealand, and to
know all that could be known about them by the next
morning.
His mother, who had been out, novv came home, and
took little Gustave in her arms ; then Tuk ran to the
window, and read and read so zealously, that he nearly
read his eyes out, for it grew darker and darker ; and his
mother had no money to buy a light.
"There goes tlie old washerwoman, opposite, down the street," said the mother, looking out of
window. " The poor woman can hardly drag herself along ; and now she has to drag a bucket
from the well into the bargain. Now, do just step over, Tuk, and help the old woman, there's a
good boy."
And Tuk ran off and helped her ; but when he returned it was quite dark in the room, and
as there was no talk about having a candle, he was obliged to go to bed, and he lay in his old
crib thinking of his geography lesson, and of Zealand, and of all the things his schoolmaster had
told him. He need have read a good deal more, but this he could not do. So he placed the
geography-book under his bolster, because he had heard that it was a great help towards learning
one's lessons — though it must not be too much depended upon.
There he lay thinking and thinking — when it suddenly seemed to him as if some one kissed
him on his mouth and eyes.
He was asleep, and yet he was not ; it was as if the old washerwoman looked at him with
her mild eyes, saying : " It would be a sin, indeed, if you did not know your lesson early to-
morrow morning ! You helped me, and now I will help you, and the Almighty will always
befriend you."
And the book began to move about like a live thing under Tuk's bolster.
"Cluck! cluck! cluck!" said a hen, creeping out of it, "I am a Kioge hen." And then
she told all about the little town of Kioge, how many inhabitants it numbered ; besides relating
the battle that had taken place there between the English and the Danes, though it was scarcely
worth mentioning.
Scratch! scratch! and down fell something with a heavy lump! It was a wooden bird, — the
popinjay used as a shooting-mark at Prastoe. He had reckoned that the number of its inhabitants
was equal to the nails in his body ; so he was very proud. " Thorwaldsen lived close to me," said
he ; "and — lump ! — here am I, all safe and sound ! "
And now Little Tuk ceased to be lying down, and found himself on a horse.
Gallop ! gallop ! Away he went. A richly dressed warrior in a helmet with waving plume,
held him before him on his horse, and they rode through the wood to the old city of Vordingborg ;
and a large, animated town it was : stately turrets surmounted the royal castle, and lights gleamed
from all its windows ; the sounds of music and dancing were heard from within, and King
Waldemar was dancing with the richly-attired young ladies of his court.
Morning now dawned, and, with the rising sun, the whole town and the royal castle sank to
ruins — one turret falling after another, till only one remained standing on the hill where the castle
formerly reared its head ; and the town had shrunk to such poverty and insignificance, that the
LITTLE TUK
269
schoolboys came with their books under their arms, saying: "Two thousand inhabitants"; and even
this was a boast, for tiiere were not anything like so many.
And Little Tuk lay in his bed ; he seemed to be dreaming, and yet not dreaming. But some
one seemed close by him.
" Little Tukky ! Little Tukky ! " said a voice that proceeded from a seaman, quite a little
fellow, no bigger than a middy, though he was not one — " I bring you greetings from Corsor. It
is a rising town, and a very lively one, possessing both steamers and stage coaches. People used to
call it an ugly and tiresome place ; because, formerly, travellers had to wait in its port for a favour-
able wind, before the introduction of steamers ; but now, it no longer deserves such an epithet.
" ' i am situated on the coast,' said Corsor, ' but I have roads, and pleasure-gardens ; and I
have given birth to a poef, both witty and entertaining, which all are not. I once formed the pro-
ject of fitting out a ship to sail round
the world, but I did not carry it out,
though I could have done so ; and be-
sides all the rest, I am fragrant with
perfume ; for the loveliest roses bloom
outside my gates.' "
Little Tuk looked before him, and
saw a mass of red and green ; but when
the confusion of colours had somewhat
.subsided, he perceived it was a cliff,
near the bay, all overgrown with roses ;
at the top of which towered a fine old
church with a couple of high Gothic
turrets. Large streams of water sprang
from the cliff, and close by sat an aged
king with a gold crown on his white
hair ; this was King Hroar-o'-the-
Streams, near which stands the town of
Roeskilde, as it is now called. And all
the kings and queens of Denmark, with
all their gold crowns on their heads,
went hand-in-hand into the old church,
while the organ was playing, and the
streams were flowing. For nearly all
the sovereigns of Denmark lie buried in
this beautiful church.
Little Tuk saw and heard every-
thing that was passing. " Do not forget
the provinces," said King Hroar.
Then all vanished — though where it
went to, he knew not ; but it was just as
if the leaf of a book had been turned over.
And now there stood before him an old peasant woman, from Soroe, a quiet little town, where
grass grows in the market-place. Her head and shoulders were covered with a gray linen apron
that was as wet as if it had been drenched by the rain.
" And so it has," said she. And she told a great many interesting things, from Holberg's
comedies, and about Waldemar and Absalon. For Holberg had founded a military academy in
her native town.
On a sudden, however, she shrivelled up, and wagged her head as if she were going to take a leap.
" Croak ! " quoth she, " it is wet — it is wet ; and it is as comfortablj- still as the grave in Sorce."
And she at once became a frog. " Croak ! " cried she, and again she changed to an old woman.
" One must dress according to the weather," said she. " It is wet — it is wet. My native place
is like a bottle — one must come in at the corking, and go out at the corking. Formerly we had
the finest fish ; and now we have healthy, rosy-cheeked brats at the bottom of the bottle, and
they learn philosophy, Greek and Hebrew. Croak ! "
It sounded exactly as if frogs were squeaking, or as if somebody was walking over a swamp
with heavy boots ; her tone was so monotonous and so tiresome, that Little Tukky fell fast asleep,
which was the best thing for him.
AND TUK RAN OFF AND HELPED HER.
270
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
But even in this sleep there came a dream, or whatever else it may be called. His little sister
Gustave, with her blue eyes and flaxen ringlets, had suddenly grown into a tall and beautiful girl,
LARGE STREAMS OF WATER SPRANG FROM THE CLIFF, AND CLOSE BY SAT AN AGED KING WITH A
GOLDEN CROWN ON HIS WHITE HAIR.
who could fly, thoujh she had no wings ; and they now flew over Zealand, and over the green
forests, and across the blue sea.
WHAT THE MOON SAW
271
" Do you hear the cock crowing, Little Tukky ? Cock-a-doodle-doo I The hens are flying
hither from Kioge ! And you shall have a farmyard, such a large one too ! you shall never know
hunger nor want ! And the golden goose shall be yours, and you shall become a rich and happy
man. Your house shall rise like King Waldemar's tower, and be richly adorned with marble
pillars, like those that come from Priistoe. You understand me. Your name shall travel round
the earth like the ship that was to sail from Corsor, and in Roeskilde "
" Do not forget the provinces ! " said King Hroar — "and there will you speak wisely and well.
Little Tukky ; and when at length you sink into your grave, you will sleep in peace "
"As if I lay in Soroe," interrupted Tuk, and then he awoke.
It was a bright morning, and he could not recollect his dream. But it was not necessary he
should ; for one has no need of knowing that which one will live to see.
And he now jumped out of bed, and read his book, and immediately knew his whole lesson
by heart.
And the old washerwoman popfjed her head in at the door, and said with a friendly nod :
" Thank you, my good boy for your kind help. May the Lord fulfil your brightest dreams !"
Little Tukky no longer knew what he had dreamt ; but the Almighty did.
^
What the Moon Saw
an artist, as my own eyes tell me, and as those admit who have
seen the creations of my fancy. But here is a strange thing. Just
hen my feelings are deepest and fullest, hands and tongue alike
seem languid, and my thoughts refuse to shape themselves either in
words or in pictures.
Young I am, and poor I am, and I live in a little narrow
street. Not that I want for light, for my room is the attic,
with a glorious view of roofs and gables. After I came to
live in the city I was depressed and lonely at first as one
could be. Hitherto I had had forest and hill to look at :
here only a thicket of chimney-stacks I Not a friend, not
even a face I knew ! So it was gloomily enough that I was
sitting one night at my window, and gloomily, by-and-by,
I opened it and looked out. My heart just leapt ! A friendly
face at last — a round, pleasant face, the face of an old home-
friend ! There was the Moon looking in at me, not a bit
changed, with just the same countenance that I had often
seen peeping at me through the trees that line the moor.
I kissed my hand to her, as she cast her beams right into my
garret, and in return she pre mised to give me a glance, though a brief one, every night that she
was out. And everf night possible she has come since then, though for only a few moments, I am
sorry to say, and every visit she has told me of something or other seen by her that night or
before. If I did what she told me, she said, and let my pencil draw the scenes she described for
me, I should have a delightful sketch-book, and so I have ; why, I could make another " Arabian
Nights " out of them, if the number were not too great. Evening after evening I have put down
the Moon's stories, and those here given are just as they were told me. Some genius in painting
or poetry or music may make works of art out of them if he will. These are only the outlines,
rough jottings with my own thoughts cropping up every now and then, the evenings when the
Moon did not visit me.
Night the First
" Last n.ght," said the Moon, " I was gliding through the cloudless eastern sky. The waters
of Ganges miriored my orb; my light struggled to find a way through the dense leafage of the
banana^ curved like the plates of a tortoise. A Hindoo girl stole from the grove, her step like the
272
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
gazelle's, her beaut}' like Eve's. A dream is not more vanishing, more elusive and ethereal, than
was this eastern maiden, and yet she was clear to see against the background of shade. The pur-
pose of her coming shone in
her delicate features. Swiftly
she pressed on, despite the
thorny tangle that tore her
shoes. The deer that was
quenching his thirst at the
river-side started and leapt
away from the gleam of a
lamp which shone in the
girlish hand. Her taper fin-
gers were edged with crimson
against the light, as with
them she screened the flicker-
ing flame. Arriving at the
river bank, she set the lamp
afloat upon the current, and
watched it drift away. Up
and down danced the flame
as if on the point of going
out, but yet it kept alight,
and the dark eyes, behind the
silken veil of their long lashes,
dwelt longingly upon it as it
went. Did the lamp burn so
long as the eye could follow
it, the maiden knew her lover
lived ; but should it suddenly
fail, so too had the flame of
his life. Still the lamp burned. She knelt in prayer. The serpent lurked beside her in the grass,
but her thoughts were on the gods and her beloved. ' He is alive ! ' she cried, and the echo came
back to her : ' Alive ! ' "
nOWN DANCED THE FLAME . . . BUT YET KEPT ALICHT, AND THE
DARK EYES DWELT LONGINGLY UPON IT AS IT WENT.
Said
upon a smal
Night the Second
the Moon : " I was looking down yesterday
court with houses all around it, and in it
clucked a hen and her brood, while around them danced
a pretty little girl. The hen was terrified, and made a
great to-do, spreading her wings to protect her chicks,
till the child's father came out and scolded the cause of
it. Then I moved on, and the affair slipped out of my
mind. A few minutes ago,
however, I looked down into
the same yard. All was still.
By-and-by the same little girl
came out, and creeping to the
fowl house, drew the bolt, and
entered the coop of the hen and
her chickens. They fluttered
down from tha perch with noisy
outcries, and ran to and fro in
terror, the child after them.
Looking through a hole in the
wall, I could see all that went
on, and was so angry with the
headstrong child that I was de-
lighted when her father came
THE HEN WAS TERRIFIED, AND MADE A GREAT TO-DO, SPREADING
HER WINGS TO PROTECT HER CHICKS.
WHAT THE MOON SAW
273
out and gave her a worse scolding than before, with a good shaking this time. She dropped
her head, and her eyes brimmed with tears. ' What are you doing ? ' he asked. She burst out
crying, and answered : ' I wanted to give the hen a kiss, and tell
her how sorry I am for frightening her yesterday, but I didn't like
to tell you.' The father kissed the innocent childish brow, and
I kissed her mouth and eyes."
Night the Thh^d
" There is a narrow lane over there, round the corner, so nar-
row that onl>- for a moment can my rays fall on the house wall ;
but a moment is enough to show some ways in which the world
goes. In that lane I saw a woman. Si.xteen years before I had
seen her, a child at play in an old vicarage garden among the
fields. Old rose bushes straggled in hedges with faded flowers ;
they rioted over the paths ; they pushed their ragged briars up
among the apple boughs. Here and there a rose struggled to
bloom without a rose's beauty, but yet with some trace of colour
and perfume. A rosebud lovelier than thcni all to me .seemed the
vicar's little daughter, as she sat in the shade of the untended
hedgerow, and nursed and petted her battered rag doll.
" After ten years I saw her again — a rich man's lovely bride,
in a splendid room. Happy in her happiness, I would steal to her
on calm evenings. How few think of m)' silent watching and all-
seeing gaze ! But ah ! poor flower, like the hedgerows of her
home, my rose ran wild. Even our workaday life has its tragedies,
and to-night I saw the curtain fall on this one. Smitten with the
last sickness, she lay in a house in that narrow lane. She had but
a tattered coverlet to shield her from the cold, and the wretch who
kept the house came up, and tore it off her. ' Up with you,'
said he; 'your face would give one the horrors! (iet up and
dress. Out you go into the street if I don't have m>- money I Hurry up!' She begged him
to let her rest, for the hand of death was on her heart, but he drove her from her bed, forced her
to deck her face, and wreathed ro.ses in her hair. Then he made her sit by the window with
a light by her, and left her. Motionless she sat, as I looked at
her, her hands in her lap. The wind dashed to the open case-
ment with a crash, and the glass fell noisily : .she did not stir. The
flame caught the curtain, and the light played on her face, and
then I saw that she was dead. Poor faded rose from the old
garden — there she sat, dead ! What a lesson against vice ! "
Night the Foikth
"To-night," said the Moon, " I saw a play acted. It was in a
little German town. They had turned a stable into a theatre
by making the stalls boxes, and using coloured paper to hide the
wood. From the ceiling hung an iron sconce set with candles.
In big theatres, you know, the chandelier vanishes through the
ceiling at the tinkle of the prompter's bell, and that this might
do the same, a big tub had been placed upside down over it. The
bell rang, and the chandelier rose quite a foot, and vanished in the
tub. The pla>' was going to begin. The house was crowded, for a
baron and his dame chanced to be passing through the little town,
and honoured the performance with their presence. But for all the
crowd there was a gap left under the chandelier, from which
dripped the tallow in streams. It was so warm that they opened
every chink, and I could see everything. The .serving-men and
maids stood peeping in, though threatened by a police officer inside with his staff. The baron
and baroness sat close by the orchestra, in a couple of old high-backed chairs generally kept for
SHE DROPPED HER HEAD, AND HER
EYES BRIMMED WITH TEARS.
MOTIONLESS SHE SAT, AS I LOOKED
AT HER, HER HANDS IN HER LAP.
2 74
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
the worshipful mayor and mayoress. These, however, had for once to be ordinary citizens and sit
on the wooden forms. Said the good dame under her breath : ' One sees now that rank has ranl<
above it.' The fact .seemed to make the evening still more a festival. The chandelier swung,
the crowd got its knuckles rapped, and I saw the whole comedy."
Night the Fh'th
Said the Moon : " Yesterday I was looking down upon the bustle of Paris, and saw into an
apartment of the Louvre. A poorly dressed old woman of the ouvrier class was being brought by
a menial into the great vacant Throne-room This was the room she had longed and was deter-
mined to see, and to get to it had cost her many a little bribe and much entreaty. She clasped her
skinny hands, looking round her with the reverence she would have shown in church. ' .And it
was here — here,' she said. She went up
to the throne draped in rich velvet with
heavy fringes of bullion. ' Here,' she
exclaimed, ' here ! ' She knelt down
and kissed the purple. She was weep-
ing. ' But this was not the velvet,' said
the lackey, with a sus]3icion of a smile
hovering round his mouth. ' No,' said
the old woman, ' but this was the place,
and it must have looked like it does
now.' ' L.ike and not like,' said the
other, ' for the windows were shattered,
the doors beaten in, and the floor ran
blood.' ' In spite of all that,' said the
old woman, ' my grand.son died on the
Throne of France ! Ah, died ! ' she
repeated sadly. They did not speak
again, and soon left the room. The
dusk deepened, and my beams flooded
Who do you think the poor woman
SHE KNELT DOWN AND KISSED THE PURPLE.
the rich velvet hangings round the Throne of France,
was ? Listen.
" It was the evening of the mo.st succe.ssful day in the Revolution of July. The people stormed
the Tuileries ; they forced their way into hall and salon ; even women and children fought
there. Among the older rioters was a poor lad in a ragged blouse, who fought to the Throne-
room, where he sank, wounded to the death by repeated bayonet thrusts. They laid him in his
blood on the throne of France, and wrapped the velvet round him. His blood dyed the purple
u-ith a deeper stain. Think of the scene — the va.st hall, the groups of combatants, a torn flag on
the ground, with the red, white and blue above the bayonets, and on the throne, the dying boy,
his white ecstatic face turned heavenwards, his breast bare, his rags hidden by the purple velvet
sown with silver lilies ! At his birth it had been foretold of him : he will die on the throne of
France ! His mother treasured it in her heart, and dreamed of a second Napoleon. My beams
have silvered the white inunortelks on his grave, and touched the brow of the old grandame. She
dreamed of the dead boy on the throne of F"rance."
Night the Sixth
Said the Moon : " I come from Upsala, from the rolling plain rough witn stubbly grass, from
the barren fields, from the river Tyris that reflected my image, while the paddle-wheel frightened
the fish into the reeds. Beneath me hung the clouds, whose long shadows raced over the graves of
Odin, and Thor, and Freya. The turf on the hill is thin, and many have cut names in it, for there
is no building here for the tourist to scratch his name upon, no rock-cliff on which to paint it.
Through the cuts in the turf the brown earth shows, and names so graved enmesh the hill with an
immortality that lasts till the springing of the new turf ! On the hill a man stood. He drained
the horn of mead with its deep silver rim, and whispered a name to the winds. But I heard it and
knew it. He did not speak it aloud, for it bears the lustre of an earl's coronet. I smiled, for his
has the glory of a poet's crown. The noble rank of Eleanora d'Este is in her link with Tasso's
name. And where the Rose of Beauty blooms, I know."
The Moon ended, for a cloud severed us.
WHAT THE MOON SAW
275
Night the Seventh
"A wood of firs and beeches fringes the edge of the shore, a fresh and fragrant wood, very
pleasant, and the haunt of myriad nightingales in spring. Hard by rolls the shifting sea, separated
from the wood only by the broad high road, over which rolls coach after coach, unfollowed by me,
who love to gaze at one spot best of all. It is the Barrow of the Hun, among whose stones the
wild plum and the thorn run riot. Here if anywhere can be felt the soul of Nature.
" And what do men feel of this soul ? This is what I heard last night. Two rich squires came
riding by. ' Splendid trees, those,' said the one. ' Rather : ten loads of firewood in each,' said the
other ; ' a hard winter ahead of us, and three pounds a load we got last year ' — and off they
went.
" ' Vile road here,' said another, driving past. ' All the fault of those wretched trees,' answered
his companion ; ' there's no breeze possible, save from the sea ' ; and on they went. Next came
the stage coach, with all its passengers asleep. The guard blew his horn, but all he thought was
of his good playing, and how well it sounded under the trees, and whether it was appreciated
by the people inside the coach. Then up galloped two lads. Ah, youth and the fire in the blood,
thought I, and as a matter of fact, they did give a smile at forest and grassy hill. ' I should like
a walk here with a girl,' said one, and off they v/ent.
"The air was full of the scent of flowers, but not the lightest breeze moved. The sky that
arched over the deep vale, seemed to unite with the blue sea. A carriage with six people in it
drove by. Four were asleep : one was in a reverie — about his latest suit ; the other one turned
and asked the coachman whether there was any story connected with the mound over there.
'No,' said the driver, 'it's just a heap of stones; but the trees are worth noting.' 'Why?'
' Oh, very well worth noting. In winter, you know, the snow gets very deep and hides all the
road, and these trees give me my
direction. I steer by them so as not
to drive into the sea ; that's why
they're so remarkable.'
" The next comer was an artist.
He didn't say anything, but he
looked pleased, and began to
whistle. The nightingales redoubled
their song. ' Oh, be quiet,' he cried,
in a temper. He noted carefully
the colour effects and passing of
one hue into another. ' It will be
a capital picture,' he thought, but
he received it to reproduce it with
no more feeling than a mirror has in
reflecting a view, and he whistled
Rossini as he worked.
" Then came a poor girl, who
dropped her load, and sat down to
rest on the Grave of the Hun. Her
sweet white face was turned to the
wood, as if she listened to a mes-
sage. Her eyes grew bright ; she
looked at sea and sky ; I think
she prayed, for her hands were
folded. The emotions that passed
through her she did not comprehend,
but the moment, the lovely glimp.se
of Nature, will abide with her for
years more vividly and really than
the painter's [)encil can limn on can-
vas I followed her with my beams then came a poor girl, who dropped her load, and sat
till dawn grew bright above her. down to rest on the grave ok the hun.
276
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
Night the Eighth
The sky was black with masses of cloud, and I did not see the Moon. Lonelier than ever I
stood in my garret and gazed at the place in the sky where she should have been shining. Far
away with the Moon flew my thoughts. Hers, indeed, has been an experience. With just the
same smile that lately lighted upon me, she shone upon the waters of the Flood as the)- bore up
the Ark, with comfort and the assurance of the birth of a new world from the old. Sorrowfully
fell her light upon the willows on which hung the untouched harps around the waters of
Babylon, where wept the Chosen People. When Romeo climbed the balcony, and love's hovering
wings o'ershadowed him, the clear air was bright with the beams of this sellsame orb of the
Moon, barred by the funeral boughs of the cypress trees. In the little isle of St. Helena
she looked upon the imprisoned Titan, whose soul was stirred by the tempest of ambition as he
gazed from his lonely eyrie over the waste of waters. What tales could the Moon tell, for the
life of man is an open book to her ! Not to-night shall I see thee, friend of mine ! Not
to-night shall the remembrance of thy visitation inspire my pencil. But at the moment of my
reverie, a brightening of the sky, a rush of light, and a ray of the Moon upon me ! Quickly the
dark wrack drove on, and the light vanished — the friend's greeting, the Moon's good night.
Night the Ninth
Several evenings passed ; the sky was clear, the Moon a slender crescent. Again she spoke :
" I followed the gull of the north and the wallowing whale to the shores of Greenland. Above
a valley green with stunted willow and bilberry bush, towered bleak rocks, clad with ice and veiled
with dark cloud. My beams were faint, my disk wan as the water lily uprooted and long drifting
on the current, for the diadem of the Northern Lights glowed fiercely in the sk\-. Now green,
now red, the fiery arrows shot from the
broad ring far across the heavens. Wei!
used to the lovely sight, the dwellers in
that region scarcely glanced at it, as they
gathered for their tribal dance. ' It is
ihe spirits plaj-ing ball with walrus' heads,'
they thought, in superstitious fancy ;
' leave them alone,' and they turned to
their dancing. In the middle of the
ring stood a native, his seal-skin cloak
tossed aside, and a small pipe in his hand.
First he plajed, then he sang about the
seal hunt, while those around joined in
the refrain, and danced in a ring, till,
with their fur dresses, you might have
fancied it a dance of white bears. Then
a Doom Ring was formed, and those who
had a feud came forward. The injured
one broke out into a song reciting his
foeman's offence, and heaping ridicule
upon him, while the pipe sounded and the
dance went on. His opponent answered
in like fashion, and the listeners laughed,
and gave the Doom.
" It was a splendid night of the short
northern summer. The rocks split,
streams ran from the melting glaciers,
and avalanches of ice and snow crashed
down in splinters at the mountain fort.
A little way off, under a skin tent, lay a
dying man. Life yet was warm in his
veins, but he was doomed ; he knew it,
and those around him knew it too. A shroud of skins was already being sewed upon him by
his wife, that she might avoid touching his body after death. ' Where wilt thou be buried ? ' she
asked. 'If on land, in the frozen snow, I will set thy boat above it, with thy spears, and the
A SHROUD OF SKINS WAS ALREADY BEING SEWED UION
HIM BY HIS WIFE.
WHAT THE MOON SAW
277
medicine man shall dance round it. Or wouldst thou the sea ? ' ' The sea,' he answered, smiling
sadly. ' Yes, a pleasant tent is the sea,' said the wife. ' There sports the seal in his thousands ;
in thy track shall the sea-horse lie, and merry shall be the hunt ! ' With loud outcries the children
tore the skin covering from the opening of the tent, that the dead' might be borne to the waves of
ocean, the sea that had nourished him living, and now should take him, dead, to its peaceful
embrace. Above him
glittering pinnacles for
should float the seal-hunted, ever-changing bergs of ice, around whose
ever wails the stormy sea-mew."
Night the Tenth
" Once upon a time," said the Moon, " I knew an old maid. In winter she wore a yellow
satin gown, never altering its fashion, and summer after summer saw her with the same straw hat,
and the selfsame dress of bluish-gray. She never left her room, save to visit an old friend across
the way, and as years went on, and the friend died, even this visit ceased. Left to her loneliness,
my spinster busied herself with her window-garden which was gay with flowers in summer, and in
winter green with mustard and cress sown upon flannel. For the last few months of her life I
did not see her at the window, but I knew her to be living, for I had not yet seen her start on that
' long journey ' of which she had so often spoken to her friend. ' Yes, yes,' she would say, ' when
my death comes, I shall take a longer journey than at any
time in my life. Our family grave lies six miles away, and
there I shall be carried, to sleep among my kith and kin.'
" Last night a hearse stopped at the house ; a shell was
carried out, and I knew that she was dead. They set straw
round the coffin, and the hearse drove off, and in it, resting
quietly, the old dame who had not left her house these last
twelve months. Out through the town gate rolled the
hearse as 'oriskly as if to a picnic, and once out on the
high road, the pace was faster still. Every now and then the
driver glanced round nervously, as if in fear of seeing her
sitting on the coffin, yellow gown and all, and, being
nervous, he flicked his horses, at the same time hauling
at the reins, till the poor beasts were all in a lather, for
they were young and skittish. A hare darted across the
road, and made them shy. Then they fairly bolted. The
staid old spinster, who, for year after year, had lived her
quiet humdrum life, was now, in her death, jolted over rut
and stone of the high road. The straw-packed coffin fell
out, and was left lying in the road. Horses, driver, hearse
rushed wildly on. Up from the meadow fluttered the lark
singing her morning hymn above the coffin, on which
[presently she lit, and pecked at the covering straw. Soon
she rose again, with joyous song, and I vanished in the rosy morning clouds."
TIIF, DXIVER GLANCED ROUND NliRVOUSLY.
Night the Eleventh
" It was Pompeii," said the Moon. " I shone upon the Street of Tombs, where, centuries ago
glad youth and lovely maiden danced garlanded with flowers. Now all was still as death. A
guard of Germans in the army of Naples played cards and rattled the dice. Travellers from over
the hills came to visit the city, which they wished to see by my light, the city risen from the tomb.
1 showed them the streets [Daved with lava blocks, and still scored with the wheel ruts ; I showed
the names above the doors, the shop signs swinging still, the fountain basins, with shell patterns
round, but no water jet danced up, no song rang from the painted rooms where the bronze watch-
dog 1-ept the threshold.
" A City of the Dead I yet still Vesuvius thundered with that mighty voice a h}'mn whose
verses are to man but outbursts of the hidden fires. There was the temple of Venus, marble
snow-white, its broad steps leading up to the altar, but through the stones and among the columns
the green trees sprang. Far away Vesuvius stood up black in the deep-blue, crystalline sky,
while from the summit rose in pine-tree shape the pillar of smoke, lit ever by the fires ber.eath.
Among the travellers was a singer, a woman of power which I have seen honoured in all the cities
of Europe. The party came to the theatre, and sat there on the stone benches, a tiny audience
278
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
where crowds had thronged ages ago. There was the stage ; the walls still stood at the wings, and
through the double arches behind showed the same background, the mountains stretching from
Sorrento to Amalfi. The singer stood upon the time-worn
stage, and sang. Now her song had the rush and power of the
wild street ; now its mournful notes recalled the S/udat Mater.
Again, after a thousand j'ears, the sound of applause filled the
theatre. A few minutes more and the stage was deserted ; the
party was gone, and all was still. But there stood the ruins, as
they will stand when centuries more have vanished, when the
singer and her moment are forgotten, and I alone brood over
the past."
Night the Twelfth
THE SINGER STOOD UPON THE TIME-
WORN STAGE AND SANG.
" It was in Germany," said the Moon, " and I was peeping
through the window of a newspaper office. Good furniture,
books, a litter of papers, some young men of the staff, and
the editor at his desk, were what I saw. Two new books
by young writers were to be reviewed. ' I've not read this
one yet,' said the chief; 'what do you think of it?' The one
addressed was himself a poet. ' It's well enough,' he answered ;
' the faults of youth, and the verse might be improved. Thoughts
all right, but plenty of commonplace. But there, you can't always
get originality. He'll never be great, but you're safe in praising him — well-read, knows Eastern
languages, has good judgment, and so forth. He wrote a capital review of my Home Thoughts.
We must let him down gently.' ' But he's the merest rhymer,' argued another. ' Poetry must be
very good, or it's nothing, and mediocrity " is his highest flight.' 'Poor chap,' said a third, ' and
his aunt is so delighted about him, and it was she who got so many names to subscribe for the
chief's latest' ' Good for her,' said the editor, ' so she did. Well, I've given him a line or two.
" Well-marked-talent — a welcome production — another flower in the field of poetry — well got up,"
and the rest. But what about this other? I hear it well spoken of, and there's a touch of genius
in it. Eh ? ' ' Well, yes,' said the first speaker, ' everybody says so, but he's rather apt to kick
over the traces. Look at his wild stopping, for instance.' ' Do him good to pull him to bits,
then stir him up a little. Your genius gets too good an opinion of himself ' But,' said
the one who objected to the first book, ' that's hardly fair, you
know. Don't let's pick holes in it, but look at the lot of good
work it contains, and be thankful for it. He's head and
shoulders over the others.' ' Not a bit of it,' said another,
'genius can stand running down. Plenty will praise him.
We won't help turn his head.' ' Real talent,' wrote the
editor, 'with the usual slip-shod work. Two false quantities
He had better study
' and peeped in at the
on one page show bad versification.
the classics,' etc.
" I went off," the Moon continued,
aunt's house. The log-rolling poet was sitting in a ring of
admiring guests, praised and happy. The other, the genius,
I found at a patron's big At Home, where his rival's book
was on every lip. ' I shall read yours, too,' said the great
man, ' but, truth to tell — and you know I pride myself on
always speaking my mind- -I'm not looking for much from
it. Too wild, my friend, too much license, though I admit
the same can't be said of you personally.'
" Away in a corner sat a girl reading a book ; these were
the words : —
'Wit and renown go down, go down.
Where your commonplace talent will take the crown :
The tale is old, but each day re-told.
Your respectable noodle will rake the gold.'"
AWAY IN A CORNER SAT A GIRL
READING A BOOK.
WHAT THE MOON SAW
279
Night the Thirteenth.
"There is a path through the wood," said the Moon, " and two small cottages beside it, with low
doors, and irregularly set windows, some high up, some near the ernund. Around each house grow
"'A 1
A LITTLE BOY CAME OUT AND STOOD BY HIS SISTER. "WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING?" SAID HE.
thickets of thorn and wild berry bushes, and on each roof lies moss, and the stonecrop with its
yellow flowers, and the wild house-leek. Only a flowerless kitchen-garden is round the cottage.
28o
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
but the hedge can boast a
an angel brings them under
h:s cloak.
nodded to each other ; the\-
die babv' was come."
willow-tree Under this a little girl was sitting, watching the old oak
between the hou.'^es. It was an old, sapless trunk, sawn off at the
top, and on it a stork had built. He was standing in it clattering
his beak. A little bo\- came out and stood by his sister.
" ■ \\"hat are you watching ? ' said he.
" ■ The stork,' she answered. ' The neighbour said he'd bring
us a baby brother or sister to-day ; let's wait and see him
bring it'
■■ ' Nonsense,' said the boy, ' the stork does nothing of the sort.
The neighbour said the same thing to me, but she laughed, and
when I asked her if she would say " Really and truly " she
wouldn't : so I know the stork story isn't true. They only tell it
us in fun.'
" ■ Where do ba-
bies come from,
tlien ? ' said his sis-
ter.
'" Anangelbrings
them under his cloak,'
was the reply.
"Just then the wil-
low branches rustled ;
the children clasped
hands and looked at
each other. It must
be the angel bringing
the bab\- ! The cot-
tage door opened and
a neighbour came
out.
'■ ' Come in, both
of you,' she said,
' and see the little
brother tlie stork
brought'
■' The children
had known already that
Night the Fourteenth
" I was shining in my path over the desolate
German moorland," said the .Moon. " By the road-
side stood a lonely cabin, with a few straggling bushes
round, in which a belated nightingale sang sweetly.
The bird died in the frost that night : I was listening
to its death song. Dawn broke red upon a group of
peasants on their way to the seaport, there to em-
bark for America, where they fondly hoped fortune
would smile upon them. The wives bore the babies
on tlieir backs, while the older ones trotted unsteadily
at their sides, and a gaunt, wretched nag dragged a
cart with tlieir few poor belongings. The wind whistled chill, and the child pressed closer to the
mother. She looked up at my waning disk, and thought of the griping want at home, the cruel
load of taxation they could not pay. All were th nking her thoughts, and so the daybreak
seemed the harbinger of success that should shine upon them. The doomed nightingale was
singing, a prophecy of fortune in its notes ! The wind's voice was too loud for them to hear that
what the nightingale really sang was : ' Far, far awaj-. All he had he gave to earn,' him across the
sea, far away, and poor, unfriended he shall enter the land of promise. It shall cost him wife and
COME IN, BOTH OF VOL', ' SHE SAID, " AND SEE
THE LITTLE BROTHER THE STORK BROUGHT."
WHAT THE MOON SAW
281
Death waits for him, and welcome shall be the
child and self. But short shall the sorrow be.
fever of Death's kiss,
far away, far, far
away.' But the troop
of emigrants listened
h.-ippily to the bird's
song, for they thought
it a promise of good
fortune.
"The dawn
brightened into morn-
ing ; countryfolk
moved churchwards
across the moor; with
their black gowns and
white coifs the women
looked as if they had
stepped down from
some old painting.
As far as eye could
see stretched the bar-
ren plain, brown wiih withered broom, black where the bumt-up hollows lay between
white of the sand-hills. Hymn-book in hand the peasant women entered the church,-
for those who leave their home to find a grave beyond the sea."
Night the Fifteenth
u, mmi^
THE WIVES BOEE THE BABIES OX THEIR BACKS, WHILE THE OLI.ilK
TltOTTElJ UNSTEAI/ILY AT THEIR SIDE?.
the I
-ah
glaring
! pray
" Once I knew a clown," said the Moon. " Every time he appears he gets rounds of anolause
He can't move a finger without being funny, and throwing the audience into convulsions of
laughter. Not that he tries to do it :
it comes natural to him, for as a child
among children Nature marked him
out for Punch's part A hi.mp on his
back, a bunch on his brea. t — and in
contrast a native wit unsurpassable
for depth of feeling and qu'ckness of
apprehension. The world of his ideal
lay behind the scenes ; he was pos-
sessed by the heroic. With a grace-
ful, well-knit figure he might have
reached the heights of tragic power :
and he had to play buffoon ! The
melancholy stamped on his clear-cut
features only accentuated the dry
irony of their expression, and won
fresh applause from his audience
Columbine, indeed, was beautiful and
kind to him, but she chose Harlequin
for husband. For beauty to wed
deformit>- would have been the height
of the absurd.
" Columbine was the only one
who could bring even a smile, much
more a laugh, from our clown when he
was out of spirits. She would share
his sadness first, and then lead him
out of it by degrees quite to cheerful-
ness. ' I know what ails you,' she
would say. ' You're in love I ' and he
breath with me ? Absurd I How the
aj a -K;ld AiioNi; childiiex .v.atujle marked him out for
PONCH'S PART. A HUMP OS HIS BACK, A BUNCH OS HIS BREAST.
would burst into laughter. ' Lx>ve named in the same
282
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
gallery would roar!' 'Ah,' she would
COLUMBINE INDEED WAS BEAUTIFUL AND KIND TO HIM.
nsist, with pathetic badinage, 'but you are in love,
and in love with ine ! ' One can speak
like that of the impossible. Then the
clown would laugh again, and turn a
somersault, and his grief would be for-
gotten.
" But she spoke truth ; he did love
her, heart and soul, with an ideal love.
He was the gayest of the guests at her
bridal, but in the depth of the night the
benches would have roared again to see
the writhing of his face as he wept.
" Columbine died a day or two ago,
and Harlequin had leave of absence from
the stage on the day of her funeral, becau.se
of his bereavement. The manager had
to make up for the loss of Columbine's
beauty and Harlequin's agility by a farce-
in which the clown had to take his paif
more vehemently than ever. So our Pun h
inello danced, with hopeless grief at Jieai i.
and danced so well that they called h in
before the curtain afterwards.
" But last night the misshapen dwarf
went alone to the lonely churchyard.
There he sat, a study for a painter, on
Columbine's grave, where the flowers were
already fading. His chin on his hands, his
eyes turned up to me, he looked liked a
grotesque sculpture — a headstone Punch,
eerie and fantastic. Could his audience
have seen him they would have applauded
to the echo."
Night the Sixteenth
"I have told you of Pompeii," said the Moon, "the dead city dragged before the gaze of the living
There is another sight still stranger — not a dead, a spectre city ! As the fountain-jet plashes into
its basin, to my ears it sings the story of the city of the sea. Falling water tells it, the breaking
wave reverberates it. The mists that lie on the ocean-levels are the veil of a widowed bride, for the
city that espoused the sea is dead, and its palaces are its tomb ! No hoof-beat or roll of wheels
has ever sounded in that city's streets. The fish swim down those highways, and the black
gondola moves shadow-like over the clear water. It is a fairy city. In the largest square the rank
grass grows at will between the broad flag-stones, and round the lofty tower flutter thousands of
pigeons. Cloistered walks line three sides of the square, and there sits the impassive Turk, his
long hookah in his hand ; there the Greek leans against the column, and gazes at mast and
blazon, tokens of a vanished power. The pennons droop like mourning scarves. Against one
mast of victory bends a girl. She is resting, and has set down her heavy pails, with the yoke that
bore them. Yonder lies a church : did you think it a palace of the fairy-court, whose gilded dome
and ball reflect my rays? These noble bronze horses up there have journe)-cd to and fro like the
horse of bronze in Eastern m>-th — hither, hence, and hither again. Look at the splendour of wall
and casement ; its varied loveliness seems the fancy of a child embodied by genius. There stands
St. Mark's winged lion on the pillar. His gilt glitters still, but his wings are clipped. Dead, the
Lord of the Sea is dead ! Desolate lie the vast halls ; where rich tapestrj' once hung, the bare
wall shows gaunt ; the beggar rests beneath the arches that rang aforetime to the tread of the
proud and great. All is changed, save that from the prison of the Bridge of Sighs rises the same
faint, mournful echo as when music throbbed from the light gondola, and Adria, Queen of Seas,
was wedded with the ring cast from the Doge's galley of state. Veil thyself in mist, bereaved
WHAT THE MOON SAW
283
Adria ; wrap thyself in the dark weeds of widowhood, and drape with sable folds the marble
tomb of thine espoused Venice, the desolate, haunted Venice ! "
Night the Seventeenth
" I have seen the schoolboy put on his ensign's uniform for the first time ; I have seen the
bride in her orange blossom, the young Queen in her robes of state, but never have I seen in any
\¥^^^Z:
Km I j^p^
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r 1^ \ ^^l 'n
»«i"'
HIS CHIN OiN HIS HANU3, HIS EVES TURNED TO ME, HE LOOKED LIKE A GROTESQUE SCULPTURE —
A HEADSTONE PUNCH — EERIE AND FANTASTIC.
of these a joy to match that of a child of four to-night. Her new dress and hat had just come home-
blue and pink were the colours— and she had just got them on. But my light was not enough ; they
284
ANDERSEN'S FAIHY TALES
must have a candle.
THERE STOOD THE LITTLE THING,
STIFF AND STARCHED.
There stood the little thing, stiff and starched, her arms held away from the
dress, and her fingers separate. Her face glowed with delight.
Her mother told her that to-morrow she should wear the new
clothes out of doors, and the child glanced first at the hat and
then at the dress, and smiled her pleasure. ' Why, mother,"
she cried, ' what will all the little dogs say to see me in these
fine new things ! ' "
Night the Eighteenth.
" It was a crowded night at a large theatre," said the
Moon, " and a new actor was to make his first appearance. As
I shone upon a little window in the wall I could see a face
pressed against the panes. The rouged cheeks and curled beard
showed that evening's debutant, but the eyes glistened with
tears. He had been hissed off, a pronounced failure. Poor
fellow ! but there is no room in the world for failures, even
though this one had deep emotions and strong love for the art
he essayed, and essayed in vain. The bell rang ; he entered,
' the hero, with a resolute air,' as the stage direction ran, only
to meet with ridicule.
" At the end of the play his form, closely muffled up,
sneaked down the steps among the whispers of the attendants,
and I followed him to his attic. The noose is a dog's death,
and poison is not always to hand : he had both in mind, for
he looked at his white cheeks in the glass, and half shut his
eyes, to see if he would make a handsome corpse ! Even at
his most unhappy moments a man may remain a coxcomb.
This one was very sorry for himself, and wept bitterly. Your
suicide doesn't cry.
" A year passed, and again a play was announced, this time
a strolling company. A face I remembered, with rouged cheeks
me and smiled. Yet, a few
in a small provincial theatre, by
and curling beard, looked up at
minutes before, he had again been hissed off, and from a
wretched stage by the poorest of poor audiences ! To-night a
rusty hearse passed the town gate, bearing one slain by his own
hand — our poor failure of an actor. The only human being
there was the driver, and I was sole mourner. The dead man
lies rudely cast into a corner of the churchyard. Nettles will
grow rank above him and on his dishonoured earth will be
cast the weeds and brambles cleared from other graves."
Night the Nineteenth
" In the Eternal City, on one of the Seven Hills, stand the
ruins of the Caesars' palace. The broad, dusky leaves of the
wild fig, sprouting from the crannies of the wall, cover the bare
stones above green bays and rank thistles in the rubbish below.
From this place once the ravening eagles of Rome flew forth
victorious ; now the festoons of tendrilled creepers hang like
funeral wreaths over the crazy window of a mud hovel plastered
between two shattered columns. In it live an old crone and
her daughter's child, to keep the palace. The hall of audience
and its imperial chair have vanished. A crumbling wall marks
the place of the one, and the shadow of funereal cypress falls on knee-deep dust where once
the other stood. There the child sits of evenings when the bells ring vespers, and thence, through
a cranny of the door, she can see the city crowned by St. Peter's massive dome.
" One still evening the little maiden climbed the steep stairway, roughly built from shattered
marble blocks and a fallen pillar-capital. She bore upon her head a water-jar of ancient shape ;
HE LOOKED AT HIS WHITE CHEEK;
IN THE GLASb.
WHAT THE MOON SAW
285
her feet were bare, her scanty dress ragged. Round shoulder, dark eye, and lustrous hair — I
kissed them all. Before her feet gay-coloured lizards darted
unheeded. Raising her hand to the latch-string — a string with
a wooden piece admitted to the palace — she paused a moment,
thinking, it may be, of the bright-robed Christ-Child in the
chapel below, where she and her playmates sang the hymn in
the gleam of the silver candlesticks. As she started to move,
she tripped, and from her head the jar fell in a hundred pieces
on the marble. She burst into tears over the worthless shards.
There she stood, barefoot, weeping, daring not to lift the latch
to her palace home."
Night the Twentieth
" It was a caravan, from a town in Morocco, that halted
at the desert edge, by a salt sea sparkling like frost, with
patches here and there of sand-drift upon it. The leader, his
water-gourd at his girdle, and bearing his few thin cakes of
flour, drew a figure in the sand with his staff, traced it in some
characters of the Koran, and then the whole cavalcade stepped
from the hallowed spot into the unknown. One )'outh, with
the dark eye and slender figure of the Oriental, rode on his
impatient horse. His thoughts were with the fair bride that,
but two days ago, the camel, loaded with rich furs and shawls,
had borne to his home, while the clamour of trumpet and tam-
bour, the bridal song of the women, and the din of musket-
shots, rang round the city wall ; now he, the bridegroom, was
journeying across the desert.
" Night after night I fol-
owed the caravan. They
rested by the palm-grown
oasis ; flesh meat they did
not lack — the flesh of the
fallen camel ; beneath my
cold beams the hot sand
cooled and the rocks rose
black. They journeyed safely
— no on.set of Bedouin ma-
rauder, no whirling sand-
storm— and at home the fair
bride's pra\'ers rose for hus-
band and father. ' Dead or
alive ? ' she murmured, as my
crescent rose, and as my orb
rounded to its full brilliance.
To-night the}' have reached
the desert's further edge. The palm rises above them, and
tropical birds watch them from the trees, at whose foot the lush
grass is trodden down by the elephant herd. A group of
I nati\-es is approaching from the re-
gions farther in. The slow, laden oxen
bear the blaclc babies ; ^ the women,
-;~ decked in d}'ed calico, walk by the
side ; one leads a lion cub by a leash.
The\' are near, but the bridegroom sits
thinking of his bride, left far across
t .e ocean of sand."
The story ended, for cloud after cloud
THE LEADER . . . DREW A FIGURE IN THE SAND WITH HIS STAFF. rUshcd aCrOSS the MoOU.
THERE SHE STOOD BAREFCOT, WEEPING,
DARING NOT TO LIFT THE LATCH
TO HER PALACE HOME.
286
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
Night the Twenty-Fh^st
"Shining on Tyrol," said the Moon, " my beams cast long shadows from the pine trees down
the crags, and lit up the pictures on the
house walls — huge figures, from gable to
ground, of Christopher bearing the Christ-
Child, Florian quenching the flames, and of
the Saviour hanging on the Cross. Old pic-
tures are they all to-day, but I saw them
painted one after another. High up on
the mountain crest is perched a lonely
convent, like a martin's nest clinging to
the rock. In the bell-tower stood two of
the sisters, still young, and looked out over
the world beyond the hill. The dUige7ice
rattled by, the driver blew his horn. A
tear shone in the eye of the younger nun ;
both followed the coach with wistlul looks,
hainter and fainter the horn died away in
the clanging of the convent bell."
I.N rilE BEI.L-IOWKK STOOD TWO
AND LOOKED OUT OVER THE
the child, 'I'll stay too.
crowded with elves in
steeple hats, and along
the path tall ghosts
seemed to move sha-
dowy, nearer and nearer
to the doll's tree, and
pointing their fingers at
the poor thing ! They
gibbered, and gibed, and
laughed ; she could hear
them, and how terrified
she felt ! ' But then,'
she said to b.crself, ' you
needn't be afraid if
you've been good. I
wonder if I've been
naughty.' She thoiigiit
for a moment. ' Oh,
I have : I laughed at
NicHT the Twkmv-Second
"A child was cr\-ing over the cruelty
of life. She had had a lovely doll for a
I icsent, a doll of dolls, beautiful beyond
w ords, too frail for the rough usage of the
world, and those big, bad boys had put
her high up in the tree-branches and run
off. The child wept, for she cculd neither
reach her doll nor could the doll be helped
down, and it seemed as if she, too, must
be crying, with her outsti etched arms and
sad looks. Ah, the child had heard of
life's troubles, and now she was tasting
them. The night was coming on, and
what would become of dolly if it got
quite dark ? She would have to stay in
the tree all night ! ' Never mind,' said
But she was far from happy. The bushes seemed, to her fancy,
OF THE SISTERS, STILL YOUNG,
WORLD BEYOND THE HILL.
ILD WEFT, FOR SHE COULD NEIIHEH REACH HER DuLL
NOR COULD THE DOLL BE HELPED DOWN.
WHAT THE MOON SAW
287
the duck with her leg tied up ; she did limp so funnily. But it's naughty to laugh at it' Then
she looked up at her doll.
' And did you laugh at the
duck, dolly ? ' she said. And
the doll nodded its head."
Night the Twentv-Third
" I was looking through
the window of a poor garret
in Copenhagen years ago.
Mother and father were
asleep, but not the little one.
The print bed-curtain stirred,
and he peeped out. There
was the big clock, daubed
with red and green, with a
cuckoo at the top and the
heavy weights below, where
the pendulum's bright face
swung backwards and for-
wards— tick, tock ; tick, tock
But he did not want to see
that. He wanted to see the
spinning-wheel, the thing he
loved best in the room, though
he dared not touch it, for that
meant a rap. As his mother
spun he would sit for hour
after hour, watching the hum-
ming and whirring wheel, and
thinking to himself how he
would like just to turn the
wheel with his own hand.
His father and mother were
asleep. He glanced from
them to the wheel, and then a little bare foot peeped out of bed, then the other, followed by
two little legs, and there he was ! One more glance to see if father
and mother were asleep, and then, in his little shift, he stole to the
wheel and set it going. Faster and faster flew the wheel, and the
thread whirled off, and I kissed the golden hair and blue eyes for the
pretty picture it all made.
" Just then his mother woke. She moved the curtain aside, and
there she saw an elf or tiny fairy being. ' Good heavens ! ' she ex-
claimed, and shook her husband in a fright. He rubbed his eyes, and
looked at the busy little fellow. ' Why, it's Bertel,' he said, and I
moved on to other sights. I shone upon the
Vatican, in whose gallery sit the gods in marble.
I shone upon Laocoon, and the stone seemed to
breathe and struggle. I kissed the lips of the
music, and they seemed to stir ; but I dwelt
longest about the group of Father Nile, where,
under the shadow of the Sphinx, he lies impas-
sive, ponderi'-g the rolling )-ears, and the tiny
loves, his tributaries, sport with the creatures of
the flood. In the cornucopia at his hand sits
one little love gazing at the majestic river-god,
the very image of the boy at the spinning-wheel.
I LAUGHID AT THE DUCK WIIH HER LEG TIED UP: c . c r , ,.\
SHE DID LIMP SO FUNNILY. feature for feature the same.
THE BUSHES SEEMED TO HER FANCY CROWDED WITH ELVES IN STEEPLE HATS.
288
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
" More than a thousand times has the year turned throu^^h its seasons since that baby shape
emerged from the bloci-c, yet there it stands, in semblance of life. A thousand times whirled the
spinning - wheel under
the child's hand, and a
thousand times the circle
of the year moved round
between the shaping of
the Vatican marbles and
those, their peers, that
the boy afterwards
wrought.
" All this was years
ago, but only yesterday
I shone upon an eastern
bay of Denmark, where
rolling woods sloped to
the water's edge, with
an old, brown feudal
castle, and farther back
a little town set in or-
chards. Torch-lit boats
glided over the still
water — not for fishing,
but for festival, for music
floated over the deep
In one of them stood a
man, well - built, tall,
whom the others waited
on reverently. I knew
the blue eyes, though
the hair was white, and
to my mind recurred the
Vatican, and the Nile
group, and the marble forms of the gods, while, mingled with them, came the vision of the
garret, and little Bertel sitting in his shirt by the spinning-
wheel. Yes, Bertel, Bertel Thorwaldsen, for the wheel has
run full circle, and the gods again emerge from the stone."
Night the Twenty-Fourth
"Of all the buildings of Frankfort I noticed chiefly
one — not Goethe's birthplace, nor the Stadhaus, with its
barred windows and the great horns of oxen roasted
whole at coronations ; but a plain, citizen's house, near
the old Jewry^the house of the Rothschild family. The
stairway was lit up ; bowing footmen, carrying wax tapers
in massive silver candelabra, lined the stairs, while an
old lady was carried down in a chair. Their master
stood bareheaded, and reverently kissed her hand, his
mother's hand. She nodded to the servants' greetings
and to his, and was carried to a tiny house, where still
she lived, where her sons had been born, where first for-
tune came to them. Should she leave the little house in
its narrow lane, fortune, she believed, would leave her sons :
and the belief was fixed."
There was no more of the Moon's story, but I thought
of it afterwards. A word, and a London West-End
■ .,, iU U1 AT J-i. IJ 1 THEIR MASTER STOOD BAREHEADED, AND
mansion, a villa on the blue Mediterranean, would have ^n-vc-fr-^.T, v 1-,=^,.,^ u..-^ u.^ti
• 1.1 REVERENTLY KISSED HER HAND,
been the old dame's, but no ; a superstition stood in the his mother's hand.
JUST THEN HIS MOTHER AWOKE. SHE MOVED THE CURTAIN ASIDE.
WHAT THE MOON SAW
289
way. " Should she leave the house, fortune, she believed, would desert her sons." A super-
stition, but one of a mother's heart.
Night the T\vi;\tv-Fifth
" Yesterday, at the break of day," said the Moon, " no fire yet was lit
in the city, and no wreath of smoke rose up. As I looked, out from a
chimney-pot popped a little head, followed by the shoulders, supported by
the arms on the edge of the stack. ' Swe-e-ep,' cried a voice — the little
chimney-sweeper's, who had just climbed the chimney
and stuck his head out. ' Swe-e-ep, swee-ep.' Ever so
much better than crawling about the dark, narrow flues,
to have the keen fresh air blowing on you, and a
glimpse of the green wood over the chimney-tops. The
sun rose and shone full on his face, radiant with triumph
through its cake of soot. ' Every one can see me now,'
he shouted, ' and so can the sun and the moon 1
Swe-e-e-ep ! ' And he waved his broom."
Night the Twenty-Sixth
" My beams shone over China," said the Moon,
" and were thrown back from the bare, unbroken walls
of the city streets there. A door here and there to
be seen, but bolted, for a Chinaman thinks nothing
of the world outside. Heavy shutters hid the windows
of the houses ; only from the temple came a glimmer
of light. Within, from floor to roof rose glaring pictures,
gaudy with gilding, to represent the exploits of the
gods. Metal idols, half hidden by folds of hangings
and banners, stood with a little altar before each, decked
with flowers and burning joss-sticks. Above them all
stood the greatest god, Fo, dressed in silk of the sacred
yellow. By his altar sat a young priest, apparently
engaged in his ritual ; but he had
fallen into a train of thought which
lis cheeks flush, and bowed his
It was not the thought of the
ir, and the little flower-garden
the high wall, that held him,
lade irksome the vigil before
the lamps in the temple. It was not the thought of the rich man's
table, with its luxuries, that passed through his mind, nor such a one
that, if uttered, the laws of his nation would have visited with death.
\or did his fancy roam across the sea with the foreign barbarians
to their homes in England. Not so far as that, but \et, even in the
presence of the holy gods, his fancy strayed, and the wandering
thought was sin. Whitlier it wandered I knew. Across the city rose
a roof with china tiles, flat, bright with splendid vases of painted
porcelain, and there sat a maiden. The small, sparkling eyes, the
full lips, the tiny feet, made a Chinese beauty. The silken dress
rustled as she raised her plump arm. She was sitting by a bowl of
goldfish, and stirred the water with a stick of lacquer, stirred slowly,
deep in thought. The bandaged foot pained her ; but she felt only
her pain of heart. The fish were bright with gold ; they lived their
undisturbed life in their globe, and were fed regularly. But what was
' that to freedom ! She could feel that herself Her fancy fled to the
temple, but dwelt not on things concerning the gods. Poor lover,
poor beloved ! Their thoughts were with each other, but my cold
STIRRED SLOWLY, DEEP IN }• i ^ j u <. i.1, ri 1' J "
THouGHi'. light made severance between them like an angels sword.
pt. xiii.
" SWE-E-EP ! " CRIED A VOICE — THE LITTLE
chimney-sweeper's, who had just CLIMBED
THE CHIMNEY, AND STUCK HIS HEAD OUT.
290
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
Night the Twenty-Seventh
"A still night," said the Moon, "and the clear depths of space through which I moved were
not more transparent than the sleeping lake below. Far down at the bottom were visible strange
water-plants, whose branches waved upwards like great forest-trees, while through their tops
darted the fish, the birds of the water- world. In the air, high up, a flight of wild swans sped
swiftly. One of them was weary ; lower and lower he sank, in failing flight, following with
longing eyes his comrades' troop as it was lost in the distance. Slowly he sank, as a feather in
still air, and at last floated lilj'-like upon the water, sleeping, his head beneath his wing. A breeze
sprang up, and ruffled the calm water, till it gleamed with broken lights like the rushing cloud.s.
The swan woke, and the glittering wavelets broke in fire against his breast. The clouds flushed
red at the coming of morning, and he rose refreshed from the lake, and flew eastwards towards the
blue cloud on the horizon, which was the goal of his flock. Lonely and longing he flew ; longing
and lonely over the sea."
Night the Twenty-Eighth
" Far away among dusk pine woods lies an ancient monastery, upon a gloomy river-bank of
Sweden. Through the gratings of its church shone my raj-s, far into the spreading vaults, where
each great stone sarcophagus holds a sleeping monarch. Above each is nailed to the wall a regal
crown, the emblem of earthly greatness ; but the crown is of painted lath, hung on a wooden nail.
The gilded wood is worm-eaten, and from it swings the long banner of the spider's weaving, frail
as the remembrance of man. How still their sleep, those men I recall so well, with the smile of
kingly pride upon their lips ! To-day the steamer moves like a magic shell over the fjords, and
the stranger visits the vault. He asks the names of the kings, and they have an old world, un-
familiar sound. He marks the worm-pierced crowns with a smile, mingled with melancholy, if he
is a man whose mind has a thoughtful bent. And the dead sleep quietly, remembered only by
the moon whose beams shine nightly into the silent realm that is theirs, the narrow kmgdom with
the crown of lath I "
Night the Twenty-Ninth
An inn stands by the main road, with a great
THE WHITE-FACED CHILI) DREAMED, TOO, HER LASHES WET
WITH UNSHED TEARS.
barn opposite, where the thatchers are
repairing the roof of straw. Between
the open rafters I could look down
through the trap into the bare, com-
fortless space below. The great cock
slept on the rafter ; a saddle lay in
the manger, and in the middle of the
shed stood a travelling - carriage, its
owner asleep within it, while a change
of hor.ses was made. The coachman
stretched himself; he had slept well for
half the stage preceding. The ostler's
room had the door open, and the bed
was tumbled. The candle on the floor
had guttered down to the socket. The
night was far advanced to morning, and
the wind whistled cold through the shed.
In it slept a troupe of strolling musi-
cians, the harp at their head and the
dog at their feet. The man and woman
dreamed of the fiery spirit they had
yet in the flask : the white-faced child
dreamed, too, her lashes wet with unshed
tear.s."
Night the Thirtieth
The Moon was seen but in glimpses, for the wind was bitter and boisterous, and storm-
clouds rushed wildly by. " On just such a night," she said, " I looked down at the cloud-shadows
WPIAT THE MOON SAW
291
chasing each other over the
fields. A closed carriage
stood at a prison-gate, and a
prisoner was to be taken
away. Through the barred
window of his cell I looked,
and saw him scratching some
lines of farewell upon the
wall — not words, but notes
of music. The great gate
opened, and he came out,
gazing at my disc. I did not
see his face, for a cloud in-
tervened. The carriage-door
closed, and the horses went
off full-speed into a dark
wood where my rays could
not pierce ; but through the
prison-window I could see his
farewell on the wall. Not all
could I light up, but here and
there a note, so most of what
lie wrote is unknown to me,
whether a dirge or a paean.
Was he going to his death, or
to freedom and the arms he
loved? Not all the history
of mortal man do I, the Moon,
decipher."
THEY CREPT INTO CORNERS OF THE ROOM, BUT HE f'inii EACH ONE,
AND SNUFFED AT THEM, AND DID NO H/»8M.
Night the Thirty-First
"This took place a year ago, in a little count"-" town, and
The papers had it in to-day, and not we
told either. The bear-ward sat in the bar
of the inn, at supper, and behind the wood-
pile his bear was chained, poor old fellow, f^ ,(
who looked fierce enough, but never did
any harm. In the attic three little chil-
dren, the olde:t not
more than six, the
youngest barely two,
were playing in my
light, when Tramp,
Tramp ! somebody com-
ing upstairs ! Who was
it ? The door burst
open, and there was the
great, rough bear !
Hruin had got tired of
the yard, ancl had made
his way upstairs, much
to the terror of the
cnilaren. iney crept .^^j, gj,^^ ^ay down, and the baby climbed
into corners or the j^md hid his head in the shaggy fu
ON him,
R.
big city strcets Wandered lb of the moor.
IB AND LITTLE CHRISTINE
307
The night before the day he had fixed for his return, lb missed his way, and took a different
turning from the one he meant. He got down into a poor lane in the suburb of Christianshaven.
No one was in sight. At last a tiny little girl came out of one of the miserable houses, and lb
asked her the way to the street he wanted. She looked timidly at him and began to cry violently.
He asked her what was the matter, but could not make out her answer. However, as they went
along the street, and stood together under a lamp, the light lit up the child's face, and a wave
of deep emotion swept over him, for there stood little Christine's very self before his eyes, just
as he remembered her from childhood. He entered the miserable house with the little girl,
climbed the shaky narrow stairs, which led into a little garret under the tiles. The air in the room was
heavy and stifling ; there was no light burning, but from a corner came the sound of deep-drawn
sighs. lb struck a light with a match. It was the child's mother that lay groaning on the
miserable pallet. "Can I help at all?" asked lb. "The little one brought me up here, but I am
a stranger in the city. Is there no neighbour, no one else I could call ? " He raised the sick
woman's head, and adjusted the pillow. It was Christine of the moor!
For years her name had not been spoken, for it would have disturbed Ib's peace of mind,
and what true report had to tell of her was not good. The fortune that came to her husband from
his people had made him overweening. He had given up his sure position, had travelled abroad
for six months, and on his return, had run into debt, and lived in grand style. He drove his
coach closer and closer to the ditch, till at last over he went. The scores of boon companions
who frequented his table said he had his deserts for keeping house like a madman. One morning
his dead body had been found in the canal.
Christine already felt death's hand on her heart. Her baby, a few weeks old, conceived in
prosperity and born in poverty, lay already in its grave, and it had come to this with Christine
herself, that, sick to death, she lay deserted in a poor garret, in poverty that she would have been
able to bear with patience in her younger days, but now, after the taste of prosperity, she felt
deeply. It was her elder child, also named " little Christine," who was enduring want and hunger
with her, and had now brought lb to her.
" My great grief is at d3'ing and leaving the poor child," she groaned ; " ah, poor child ! what
will she do?" Not a sound more could she utter.
lb took out another match, and lit a candle-end he found in the room,
the poor home. He looked at the little girl, and thought of Christine as a
he could love this child that did not know him.
The dying woman gazed at him ; her eyes
opened wider — did she recogni.se him? He
knew not ; never a word passed her lips.
« « » « «
It was in the wood by the river Gude-
nan, in the moorland. The air was thick and
dark, the heather bore no flowers ; the autumn
storms whirled the )^ellow leaves from the wood-
land down into the stream across the moor
where the fisherman's hou.se stood, tenanted by
strangers. But covered by the ridge, under
shelter of the trees, stood the farmhouse, white-
washed and painted. Within, the peat glowed
up the chimney ; within was sunshine, the laugh-
ing gleam of a child's eyes, and the lark's spring
notes sang in the tones from the child's red,
smiling lips. Life and joy reigned there, for
there was little Christine. She sat on Ib's knee,
and lb was father and mother both to her.
Her own parents were vanished from her mind
as the dream of child or grown man vanishes
away. lb sat within, in the pretty, tidy house,
a well-to-do man. The little girl's mother lay
in her grave in Copenhagen, dead in want. lb
had wealth, and what was more, he had his l,pe and joy reigned there, for there was
little Christine. little christine.
and the flame lit up
child. For her sake
3o8
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
The Cripple
HERE was an old mansion, where dwelt a generous young
couple. Rich and prosperous themselves, they enjoyed life to
the full, and freely bestowed their charity on others, wishing
every one to be as happy as they were themselves.
On Christmas Eve, a beautifully decked Christmas tree stood
in the old hall, where the fire blazed on the hearth, and fir
branches were hung about the old pictures. The master and
mistress met their guests, and mirth and revelry prevailed.
Earlier in the evening there was merry-making in the servants'
hall. Here also stood a great fir-tree, lighted up with red and white
candles, and tricked out with small Danish flags, swans and fishing
nets of coloured paper filled with sweetmeats. The poor children
of the parish were invited, and their mothers came with them.
They did not look much at the tree — they looked at the Christmas
tables where lay flannel and linen, and materials for warm winter
clothing. Yes, that is where the mothers and the bigger children
looked ; only the wee mites stretched out their hands towards the
candles, the tinsel ornaments, and the flags.
The whole party assembled early in the afternoon and ate their Christmas pudding, and
roast goose with red cabbage. When the Christmas tree had been seen, and the presents dis-
tributed, each person received a small glass of punch and some dough-nuts.
When they came home into their own poor rooms, they talked of the good fare they had
enjoyed, and the gifts were once more admired.
We must now speak of Have-Kirsten and Hav6-01e. When they married they had their
house and daily bread for weeding and digging in the garden of the mansion. Every Christmas
they received their good share of presents ; they had also five children, all of w horn were clothed
by the master and mistress.
" They are charitable people, our master and mistress ! " they said. " But then they have
enough and to spare, and outvie each other in kindly deeds ! "
" Here are good clothes for the four children to wear out ! "said Have-Ole. " But why is there
nothing for the cripple? They always used to remember him, although he was not at the feast."
It was their eldest child they called " the cripple " ; his
name was Hans. When he was little, he was the quickest and
liveliest of children ; but his limbs in time so wasted away, and
lost all strength, that he could no longer stand or walk, and now
he had been confined to his bed from his fifth year.
" Yes, I received something for him also," said the mother.
" But that is nothing much, it is only a book for him to read."
" Books are but poor things to nourish him on," said the
father.
But Hans was pleased with it.
He was a very intelligent boy, and
was fond of reading ; but he em-
ployed his time industriously, by
working as far as he could, so as to
be of some use although he was
obliged always to keep his bed. He
was deft, and kept his hands busy
knitting woollen stockings, and even
making patchwork quilts ; the lady
at the house had praised and pur-
chased them.
It was a story book that Hans
had received ; full of good things for
him to read and think about. but hans was pleased with it.
THE CRIPPLE
309
" It is no kind of use here in the house ! " said his parents,
time ; he can't always be knitting stockings ! "
" But let him read to pass the
The spring came ;■ flowers and green leaves began to shoot forth, together with weeds — as
one may certainly call the nettles, although we all know what the old song says : —
" Thouyh kings, in all their might arrayed,
Set forth to prove their mettle.
They could not make the smallest blade
To grow upon a nettle."
There was much to do in the garden of the mansion ; not only for the gardener and his
apprentices, but also for Have-Kirsten and Have-016.
" It is utter drudgery ! " they said ; " and when we have raked the paths, and made them quite
neat, they are immediately trodden down again. Here are a lot of visitors and strangers at the
mansion ! What an expense that is! but the master and mistress are rich people."
" Things are strangely distributed ! " said Ole. " We are all the Lord's children, the priest
says. Why is there such a difference ? "
" That is a consequence of the fall," said Kirsten.
And they talked about it again in the evening, in the room where Hans the cripple lay with
his story-book.
Poverty, toil, and drudgerj' had made the parents hard in the hands, and also hard in their
judgments ; they could not grasp the fact or comprehend it, and they talked till they became
quite discontented and angry.
" Some people meet with prosperity and good fortune, others only with poverty ! Why
should our first jsarents' disobedience and curiosity be visited upon us ? We had not behaved as
they did ! "
" Don't be too sure about that ! " immediately said Hans the cripple.
" Listen to what my book
says."
" What does it say in the
book ? " asked his parents.
And Hans read them the old
tale of " The Woodcutter and his
Wife " ; they blamed Adam and
Eve's curiosity, because that fault
had caused their misfortune. Just
then the King of that country
came by. " Come home with me,"
he said, " and you shall receive
just the same as I — seven dishes
of food, and one for show. That
one is a covered tureen which you
must not touch, or your lu.xurious
life will be at an end." " What
can be in that tureen ? " said the
wife. " That does not concern us,"
said the man. " I am not inquisi-
tive," said the wife, "but I should
dearly like to know why we may
not raise the cover ; there must
certainly be something delicious
underneath ! " " Perchance there
is some mechanical contrivance
there 1 " said the husband ; " such
as a pistol, that goes off and
arouses the whole house !
"Alas!" said the woman, "you
are right," and she did not touch
the tureen. •■good night," said the king, "now you can go home
Rut in the night she dreamt and curse your folly."
3IO ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
that the cover raised itself, and there came an odour of the most delicious punch, h'ke one makes
for very special occasions. Inscribed on a great silver medal were these words: "Drink this
punch and you will become the richest couple in the world, and all other men shall be beggars " ;
and the woman awoke at that instant, and told the man her dream. " You are thinking too much
about it," said he. " But we could lift it gently," said the woman. " Very gently, then ! " said the
man. And the woman very gently raised the cover. Then two lively little mice sprang out and
were off into a mousehole. " Good night ! " said the king. " Now you can go home and curse your
own folly ; but cease finding fault with Adam and Eve, for you yourselves have been quite as
inquisitive and ungrateful."
"Where does that story come from?" said Have-Ole. "It seems as if it must applj- to us.
It does indeed furnish us all with food for reflection !"
The next day they went to work again ; they were scorched by the sun, and wet to the skin
with the rain ; they were full of discontented thoughts.
It was still the twilight of early evening at home, and they had eaten their porridge.
" Read us again the story of the Woodcutter," said Have-OI6.
" There are so many delightful things in the book ! " said Hans. " You don't know how
many ! "
" Yes ! but I don't trouble myself about them," said Have-Ole. " I will hear this one which I
know."
And he and his wife listened to it again.
More than one evening they came back to that story.
" Yes, yes," pondered the old man; "the more I think, the clearer things seem tome; but
still I am puzzled, for it seems with men, as with sweet milk when it curdles — some become fine
cheese, and others thin, watery whey. Some people have good fortune in everything, sit at the
head of the table everj' day, and know neither grief nor want."
Hans the cripple heard that. He was incapable in the legs, but clever in the head. He read
to them out of the story-book about " The Man without Grief or Want."
" The King," so he read, " lay ill and could not be cured, except by being dressed in the shirt
which had been worn by a man who could truly say that he had never known grief or want.
" Messengers were sent to all the countries in the world, to all palaces and mansions, to all
prosperous and happy people ; but when they were thoroughly questioned, they had all of them
experienced grief and want.
" ' That I have not I ' said the swineherd, who sat in the ditch, and laughed, and sang. ' I arn
that most fortunate man.'
" ' Then give us your shirt,' said the messengers, ' and you shall receive half of the kingdom.'
" But he had no shirt ! and yet he called himself the most fortunate of mankind."
" He was a fine fellow ! " shouted Hav^-Ole ; and he and his wife laughed as they had not done
for a twelvemonth.
At that moment the schoolmaster came by.
" How pleased you are ! " he said ; " j-ou have received good news. Have you won a prize in
the lottery ? "
"No, it is not of that kind," said Have-Ole. " It is Hans, who has been reading to us out of his
story-book. He read about " The Man without Grief or Want," and the fellow had no shirt ! It
does one good to hear of such a jovial beggar ; and it is out of a printed book. Ever}' one has his
own load to bear ; one is not alone in that. There is always that consolation."
" Where did you get this book ?" asked the schoolmaster.
" It was given to our Hans at Christmas more than a year ago. The master and mistress
gave it him. They know he is so fond of reading, and that he is a cripple. We should have been
better pleased if he had got two linen shirts. But it is a wonderful book, it seems to answer one's
thoughts."
The schoolmaster took the book and opened it.
" Let us have the same story again," said Havc-Olc. " I don't quite understand it j-et. And
then let him also read the other about the Woodcutter."
These two stories seemed to be enough for Ole. They were like two sunbeams in that poor
room, in that stunted mind which seemed so sullen and discontented.
Hans had read the whole book, he had read it many times over. The tales seemed to take
him out into the world, where he himself could not go — where his legs could not carry him.
The schoolmaster sat by his bed ; they talked together, and they both enjoyed doing so.
From that day the schoolmaster came more frequently to Hans, when his parents were at
THE CRIPPLE
311
their work. It was like a festival for the boy every time he came. How he listened to what the
old man told him — about the great world and its many countries, and that the sun was almost half
THE SWINEHERD SAT IN THE DITCH, AND LAUGHED, AND SANG. I AM TH.i^T MOST FORTUNATE MAN.
a million* times larger than the earth, and so far off that a cannon-ball, in its flight from the sun to
the earth, would take fiye-and-twenty years, whilst the rays of light could reach the earth in eight
minutes.
' The schoolmaster's mistake. The sun is more than 1,300,000 times as large as the earth.
312
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
outside the cottage.
Every intelligent school-boy now knows these things, but for Hans it was new and more
wonderful than anything which he found in his story-book.
The schoolmaster came twice a year to dine with the master and mistress, and on one such
occasion told them how acceptable the story-book was in that poor house, where only two stories in
it had given a wise motto to live by and proved such a blessing. That weakly but clever little boy
had by reading it brought reflection and joy into the house.
Then the schoolmaster took home from the mansion — for the mistress pressed them upon him
— a couple of bright silver coins in his hand for little Hans.
" Father and Mother must have them," said the boy, when the schoolmaster brought him the
money.
And Have-Ole and Have-Kirsten said : "Then Cripple Hans is also of some use, and a bless-
ing to us."
A couple of days later, while the parents were at work at the mansion, the carriage stopped
It was the kind-hearted lady who had come, delighted that her Christmas
present had been such a comfort and
delight to the boy and his parents.
She brought with her some white
bread, fruit, and a bottle of cordial ; but,
what was still more delightful, she
brought him a little blackbird that
could whistle beautifully in a gilt cage.
The cage with the bird was put on the
old chest of drawers near the boy's bed,
where he could see and hear the bird ;
even people quite out on the high road
could hear it singing.
Have-Ole and Have-Kirsten came
home soon after the lady had driven
away ; they noticed how pleased Hans
was, but they thought there would only
be trouble with the present he had re-
ceived.
" Rich people don't think about
it ! " they said. " Now we shall have
that also to attend to. Cripple Hans is
not able to do it. The end of it will
be that the cat gets it 1 "
A week passed, and a .second week ;
the cat had often been in the room during that time without even frightening the bird, let alone
hurting it. Then a great event occurred. It was in the afternoon, the parents and the other
children were at work, and Hans was quite alone. He had the story-book in his hand, and was
reading about the Fisherman's Wife who had all her wishes gratified — she wished to be a queen,
and she was one ; she wished to be an empress, and she was one ; but when she wished to be a
goddess, she found herself seated again in the muddy ditch from which she had been raised.
Now this story had no application to the bird or the cat, but he was just reading this very
story when the event happened ; he always remembered that afterwards.
The cage stood on the chest of drawers, the cat stood on the floor and look fixedly with its
greenish-yellow eyes at the bird. There was something in the cat's look as if it wished to say to
the bird : " How charming you are ! I should like to eat }'ou."
Hans could understand that ; he read it in the cat's face.
" Be off, puss ! " he shouted. " Get out of the room ! "
Then it seemed to be making ready to spring.
Hans could not reach it ; he had nothing else to throw at it but his dearest treasure — the
story-book. He threw it ; but the binding was loose, it flew to one side and the book itself with
all its leaves flew to the other side. The cat slowly moved a little back into the room and looked
at Hans, as if it would say : —
" Don't interfere in this affair, little Hans ! I can walk and I can spring ; you can do neither."
Hans fixed his eyes on the cat and was in great an.xiety ; the bird also was restless. There
PEOPLE QUITE OUT ON THE HIGH ROAD COULD
HEAR IT SINGING.
THE CRIPPLE
3^3
joy there was in the house of
" We shall not live to see a
was no one he could call to, and it seemed as if the cat, seeminq- to know this, crouched down ready
to spring again. Hans shook his counterpane — he could use his hands — but thecal did not trouble
about the counterpane ; and when that also was thrown at it without avail the cat sprang on the
chair and into the window-sill, where it was nearer the bird.
Hans could feel his own hot blood in his veins, but he did not think of that, he only thought
of the cat and the bird ; the boy could not get out of bed by himsjlf, he could not stand on his
legs, still less could he walk. It was as if his heart changed within him when he saw the cat spri: g
from the window right on to the chest of drawers and push against the cage and upset it. The
bewildered bird fluttered about inside.
Hans gave a scream, he felt a wrench within him, and, without thinking, he sprang out of his
bed towards the chest of drawers, pulled the cat down, and caught firm hold of
the cage where the terrified bird was. He held the cage in his hands and ran
with it out of the door into the road.
Then the tears welled to his eyes ; he shouted with joy, and cried aloud :
" I can walk ! I can walk ! "
He had recovered his strength ; such a thing can happen, and it had
happened to him.
The schoolmaster lived close by ; he ran to him with bare feet, with
only his shirt and jacket on and with the bird in the cage.
" I can walk ! " he shouted. " O Lord, I thank Thee !" and he wept
tears of joy.
Conceive if you can what
Hav^-Old and Have-Kirsten.
happier day ! " they both said.
Hans was summoned to the mansion ; he had not gone
that way for many a year ; and it seemed as if the trees and
hazel-bushes which he remembered so well nodded to him,
and said : " Good-day, Hans ; you are welcome here ! " The
sun shone on his face and right into his heart.
The master and mistress, the kind young couple at the
great house, let him sit with them and looked as pleased as if
he had been one of their own family.
No one was more pleased than the lady who had given him
the story-book and the little bird : the bird had died of fright,
but it seemed to have proved his salvation, and the book had
quickened the spirit within him and his parents ; ///af he still
had, he would keep it and read it if he were ever so old. And
now he, al.so, would be of some use at home. He would learn a trade, perhaps be a bookbinder ;
" for then," he said, " I can get all the new books to read."
In the afternoon the lady sent for both his parents. She and her husband had been talking
together about Hans ; he was a gentle and clever boy, and was quick and fond of reading.
That evening his parents came home from the mansion well pleased, especially Kirsten, but
the ne.\t da)- she wept because little Hans had to leave home ; he was dressed in good clothes, and
he was a dutiful boy, but he must now go to school to learn Latin, far away beyond the sea, and
many years must pass before they would see him again.
He did not take the story-book with him, his parents wished to have it as a keepsake. And
his father often read in it, but only the two stories, because he knew them.
And they had letters from Hans, each happier than the last. He was with excellent people
who were in easy circumstances, and it was most delightful to go to school, there was so much to
learn ; he now only wished to be a hundred years old that he might become a schoolmaster.
" Oh, that we might live to sec it ! " said his parents ; and they pressed each other's hands as
at the communion.
" What good fortune has happened to Hans ! " saiJ. Ole. " The Lord remembers the poor
man's child ; we have had proof of that with our cripple! Has it not come true even as our Hans
read it to us out of the story-book ? "
HE HELD THE CAGE IN HIS HANDS, AND
RAN WriH IT OUT OF THE DOOR
INTO THE ROAD.
PT. XIV.
3-4
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES
The Old Bachelor's Nightcap
iHERE is a street in Copenhagen oddly named Hysken Strride,
and one naturally asks what Hysken signifies, and why Hysken
at all. Common report says it is a German word, but in justice
to the German tongue this is not the case, since it would then
have been Hauschen, of which Hysken is the Danish corruption, and
it means " the street of tiny houses."
For many a year it consisted of nothing but wooden booths,
such as may be seen to this day in the market-place ; possibly they
were a little larger. The window-panes were not of glass, but horn,
for at that time glass was too expensive for general use. Remember,
we are speaking of many years ago. Your great-grandfather would
have called them " the olden times." Yes, several hundred years ago.
Trade in Copenhagen was entirely, or nearly so, in the hands of
wealthy Bremen and Liibeck merchants, whose clerks (for they them-
selves stayed at home) lived in the Hysken Strade, in the booths of
this street of tiny houses, and sold beer and groceries. Delicious
German beer it was too, and all kinds for sale — Bremen, Prussian,
and Brunswick, and spices of every variety — saffron, aniseed, ginger,
and above all pepper. Indeed, this was the staple commodity —
hence the German clerks in Denmark acquired the nickname Pepper-
folk — and since they were bound not to marry whilst in that country,
many grew old and grey in .service, and, as they performed their own
domestic services themselves, they became crabbed old fellows with
whimsical ideas. This being so, it became usual to dub all crotchety
old bachelors " pepper-fogeys," an expression now naturalised into
t'.i; German language. This must be borne in mind if \t)u would
understand what follows.
These pepper-fogeys used to be unmercifully ridiculed, and told to pull down a nightcap over
their ears and toddle off to bed, and many are the doggerel verses in which the nightcap figures.
Yes, fun was poked at the pepper-fogeys with their nightcaps, just because they were so little
known. And why should not one wish for a nightcap? you may ask. Listen, and I will tell you.
Hauschen Street was in those days unpaved, and wayfarers stumbled along as if it were a little
side-alley. So narrow indeed was it, and so huddled together the booths, that in summertime a
sail would be stretched from side to side, and strong was the fragrance of saffron and ginger per-
vading the stalls, behind which there served for the most part old men. They were not, however,
clothed, as in the portraits of our ancestors, with peruke, knee-breeches, elegant waistcoat and tunic
of ample cut, as \'ou might suppose.
No, these old pepper-fogeys were no dandies to be portrayed on canvas, though one could
well wish to have a picture of one as he stood at the counter, or betook himself with leisurely
gait to church on holy days. A broad-brimmed hat, high in the crown, in which maybe the
younger among them would sport a feather, a woollen shirt beneath a wide flapping collar, a close-
fitting jacket, a loose cloak worn over it, and the trousers tucked into the broadl}'-peaked shoes,
for stockings had they none. At his belt a knife and fork, and a larger knife for self-defence — a
necessary precaution in those days.
Such was the costume of old Anthony, one of the oldest of the pepper-fogeys, only in place
of the broad-brimmed, high-crowned hat he always wore a sort of bonnet, under which was a
knitted skullcap, a veritable nightcap, which never left his head. One or other, for he had two,
was always on his head day and night. He formed a perfect study for an artist, so lean and
wizened was he, so wrinkled his brow, his fingers so skinny, his eyebrows so bush}-. He was
said to be a native of Bremen ; but in truth, though his master was, old Anthony was born at
Eisenach, hard by the Wartburg. He never told the others, but pondered over it the more.
The old fellows did not often come together. He stayed in his own room, a dim light
penetrating the opaque window-panes. Seated on the bed, he chanted his evening psalm. Theirs
was not a happy lot — strangers in a strange land, heeded by none, save to be brushed aside
when in the way.
THE OLD BACHELOR'S NIGHTCAP
315
On black nights, when the rain was
pelting down outside, it was far from
cosy within. Not a lamp- visible, save
that which threw a h'ght on a picture of
the Virgin painted on the wall. Hark
to the rain beating in torrents on the
masonry of the castle-wharf! Such even-
ings were long and dreary without some
task. To arrange and rearrange things
in the house, to make paper bags, to
polish scales, is not work for everyday.
One must find other things to do, as did
old Anthony. He would darn his clothes,
and patch up his boots. And when at
last he went to bed, true to his habit,
down he would draw his nightcap, but
soon raised it to see the candle was
quite e.xtinguishcd. He would snuff out
th; wick between finger and thumb, pull down
his nightcap, and turn over to sleep. But it
occurred to him to see if the ashes on the little
hearth in the corner were quite burnt out ; if they
were damped enough, lest a stray spark should
l