Chapter 1
Preface
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN'f
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SPtCIAL IC FAIRY TACES
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http://www.archive.org/details/fairytalesstorieOOande
3fair^ tlales
Stories
HE FAk.MliK IIFIEI) IHfc. L1L> A LUTLE AND PliEPKU UNDER.
Copyright, 1900, by
The Century Co.
PROPERTY OF THE Q. 5l o 9.-|3>
CITY OF :.EW YORK
TO
H. R. H. THE PRINCESS OF WALES
BY SPECIAL PERMISSION.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION xvii
THE NIGHTINGALE i
THE JUMPERS ,5
THE TRAVELING COMPANION 21
THE MONEY-PIG 43
THE GALOSHES OF FORTUNE 49
I The Be.m.nmn.: 51
II Wh.-\t Hai'Pe.ned to the Councilor ........ 53
HI The Watchman's Ad\enture .......... 60
IV A Head in Difficulty. A Recitation. A Most Unusual Journey ... 65
V The Transformation of the Clerk . . . . . . . . .71
VI The Best Thing the Galoshes Brought ....... 78
AUNTY TOOTHACHE 83
THE TINDER-BOX 97
LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS in
ELDER-TREE MOTHER 123
THE BROWNIE AT THE BUTTERMAN'S 137
THE SNOW OUEEN 143
The First Story — Which Treats of the Mirror and the Broken Pieces . . . 145
The Second Story — A Little Boy and a Little Girl ...... 147
The Third Story — The Witch's Flower Garden ....... 152
The Fourth Story — The Prince and Princess . . . . . . . 158
The Fifth Story — The Little Robber Girl . . . . . . . .164
The Si.xth Story — The Lapwoman and the Finwoman ...... 168
The Seventh Story — What had Happened in the Snow Oueen's Castle and what Hap-
pened Later on . . . . . . . . . . . . • '71
THE SWINEHERD 175
THE SWEETHEARTS . . .' 185
THE PINE-TREE 191
"THE WILL-O'-THE-WISPS ARE IN TOWN," SAID THE WOMAN FROM
THE MARSH 203
THE UGLY DUCKLING 219
THE FLYING TRUNK 235
THE STORKS 245
CONTENTS
PAGE
SILLY HANS 255
THE WILD SWANS 263
WHAT THE OLD MAN DOES IS ALWAYS RIGHT 283
THE OLD HOUSE 293
THUMBELINE 307
THE STORM SHIFTS THE SIGN-BOARDS 319
THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE CHIMNEY-SWEEP 327
•DADDY DUSTMAN (Ole Lukoie) 335
Monday . . . . . . . . . ■ . -339
Tuesday ..........-••• 341
Wednesday .............. 343
Thursday .............. 345
Friday 347
Saturday .............. 349
Sunday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -351
LITTLE CLAUS AND BIG CLAUS 353
THE SHIRF COLLAR ... 367
THE LITTLE MERMAID' 373
IT IS gUITE TRUE! 397
THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 403
TWELVE BY THE MAIL 409
THE GARDEN OF PARADISE 4'9
THE WIND TELLS ABOUT VALDEMAR D.\A AND HIS DAUGHTERS . . 437
THE GALLANT TIN SOLDIER 453
THE STORY OF A MOTHER 46'
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES 47'
THE SNOW MAN 479
"EVERYTHING IN ITS PROPER PLACE" ....... 487
THE HAPPY FAMILY .... 499
THE SHADOW 505
THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA 5z>
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The NicHTiNGA
The Emperor Feet as if Some One was Sittim. on his Chest. He Oi'Eneo his Ev
Saw it was Death ....... . .
The [umper's Arrive at the King's Palace .........
The Grasshopper Jumped right onto the King's Face .......
The Spring-Goose Sprang right into the Princess's Lap .......
Johannes Lay on his Knees by the Bed and Kissed his Dead Father's Hand ....
They Sat down under a Big Tree to Eat their Breakfast .......
The King Led Johannes Out into the Princess's Garden. In Every Tree Hung Three or Four
Skeletons of Princes who had Wooed the Princess .......
The Queen Went down on her Knees and Held up her Crown, Begging, " Take it, oh, take it! '
The Traveling Companion Flew behind the Princess and Kept on Whipping her with his Rod
Johannes Untied his Handkerchief and Showed the Princess the Ugly Head of the Troll
The Money-Box was Made in the Shape of a Pig, and Had the Usual Slit in its Back .
Crash! There he Lay on the Floor, all in Bits and Pieces, while the Money Rolled about
The Galoshes Had the Property of Instantly Transporting .Any One who Put Them On, to
Whatever Place, or Time he Wished .........
The Councilor Saw a Large Field before him, with a Few Bushes here and there, and a Broad
Stream Flowing through it ...........
It was One of the Taverns of those Days. A Number of People, Consisting of Skippers, Citi-
zens, and Learned Personages were Sitting There .......
"Bless me!" Said the Councilor, "Have I Been Lying Here in the Street, Dreaming?"
The Watchman Sat down again and Began Nodding. He Had Still the Galoshes on his
Feet .............
"The Upper Window is Open," Said the Canary. " Fly! Fly .Awai!''
The Next Mo.ment he Was the Clerk once more, but he Found Hi.mself Sitting on the Table
in his Room .............
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
A Grand Attack of Toothache was Coming On ........ 84
It Was Mistress Toothache, her Terrible Highness! ... I Felt as if a Red Hot Awl
Passed through my Cheekbone .......... 91
The Witch Hoisted the Soldier Up from the Hollow Tree ..... g8
The Soldier Lifted the Don Down on the Floor and Opened the Chest . . . . 101
The Soldier could See Through the Window How the People were Hurrying Out of the
Town to See him Hanged. He Heard the Drums Going and Saw the Soldiers Marching 105
The Three Dogs Danced in Front of the King's Carriage and Cried " Hurrah!" . . 108
" My Poor Flowers Are Quite Dead! " Said Little Ida . . . . . 112
Down on the Floor the Flowers were Dancing Most Gracefully Round and Round, Holding
Each Other by their Long, Green Leaves . . .117
The Flowers Led Sophia into the Middle of the Floor and Danced with her, Some of them
Forming a Circle round her . . . . . . . 119
The Flowers of the Elder-Tree Smelled so Sweetly . . . . . . .124
The Lid Gradually Lifted Itself and Large Branches of the Elder-Tree Shot Forth from the
Urn, Even through THE Spout 126
Under the Tree Sat an Old Sailor and hi^ Oi n Wnv. Elder-Tree Mother S.at in the Tree
AND Looked so Pleased . . • • • • • • -127
"Just as I was Standing There Readinc; volr Lettkr, Some One Put his Arm Round my
Waist — " "28
The Elder-Tree Branches Closed Around Them till They Seemed to Sit in an Arbor, and
Away it Flew with Them through the Air ■ '3°
Elder-Tree Mother Took Two Flowers from her Wreath and Placed them on the Heads of
THE Old Couple, When Each Flower Became a Golden Crown . . • '33
The Student Lived in the Garret ....■••••• ^i^
The Brownie Lived on the Ground Floor . . • • • • • • '3^
There the Little Brownie S.^t, Illumin.ated by the Burning House Opposite, Holding in his
Hands his Red Cap in which his Treasure Lay . . • ■ • • '4'
There Were Two Little Windows Opposite E.ach Other on the Roofs of the Houses . -144
Kay Managed to Get his Sledge Fastened to the Large One, and Away he Went with it . 147
The Prince Made a Pretty Caldron WITH Bells all Around it 1 76
The Maids of Honor Were so Taken L'p with Counting the Kisses that they did not Notice
THE Emperor ............. 1 79
"Oh, What a Miserable Creature I Am!" Cried the Princess ...... 182
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PACE
The Top could See the Ball Fi.ving High LJi' in the Air Like a Biro . . . . i 86
Far in the Forest Stood a Pretty Pine-Tree . . . . . . .192
The Folding Doors were Opened and a Crowd oe Children Rushed Into ihe Room ; the
Older People Followed in a More Dignified Manner . . . . . . 197
"The Will-o'-the-Wisi's are IN Town ! Take Care of Yourselves! " ..... 204
The Window Flew Open of itself, and an Old Woman Looked Right in A r the Man . 209
" 1 Had All THE Twelve New-Born Wii.L-o'-THE-Wisps IN MY Lap" . . . . ■ zij
A Duck was Sitting On her Nest to Hatch her Little Ducklings . . . . . 220
" Make H.^ste and Bow Your Heads to the Old Duck. She Is the Oldest of them All Here.
She Is of Spanish Blood!" . . . . . . . . . . . .223
" Peep, Peep!" Said the Youngster as he Rolled Out of the Shell .... 225
Things Got Worse and Worse, and the Poor Duckling was Chased and Bitten by them All . 226
Suddenly a Terrible Dog, with his Tongue Hanging Out, Stood Right in Front of him . 227
In this House Lived an Old Woman with a Cat and a Hen . . . "What's This.?"
Asked the Woman. She could not See Well, and so she Belihed the Duckling Was a
Fat Duck 229
The Duckling had to Keep his Legs Constantly Moving, So Th.vf the Hole in the Ice
should not Close Up . . . . . . ■ • • • ■ • 231
"Only Kill Me!" Said the Poor Creature as he Bent his Head Down .Against the Surface of
the Water . . . . . . . . . • • • • -^33
It Was a Wonderful Trunk! As Soon as you Pressed the Lock the Trunk could Fly . 236
The King, the Queen, and the Whole Court Were Taking Tea with the Princess . . 239
He Put the Fireworks on his Trunk and Flew up into the Air with it. Crack ! Off Went the
Fireworks, Spurting in All Directions ....•■••• 243
On the Last House in a Little Village a Pair of Storks had Built their Nest . . .246
Father Stork Came Flying Home Fvery Day with Nice Frogs, Little Snakes, and All Kinds of
Dainties for Storks .......••••• 249
" Now You Must Learn to Fly! " Said Mother Stork One Day . . . -251
The Princess had Publicly Announced that She would MarrV the Person who could Speak
Best for Himself ............. 256
"Hullo!" Shouted Silly Hans. "Just Look what I have Found!" and he Showed Them a
Dead Crow he had Found . . . • • . . • . .258
"Here's my Cooking .Apparatus," Said Silly Hans, and so he Pulled Out the Old Wooden
Clog and Placed the Crow On it ......... . 259
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The Princes were Turned into Eleven Beautiful Wild Swans ...... 264
Elisa Saw her Brothers Standing Round her. Arm in Arm, While the Sea Dashed Against
THE Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Elisa Saw a Palace Almost a Mile Long, with One Colonnade Daringly Piled Above Another 273
There, on One of the Largest Tombstones, Elisa Saw Some Uglv Witches Busy Taking off
THEIR Rags .............. 277
Eleven Wild Swans came Flying and Settled Down Around her on the Cart, Flapping thei
Large Wings .............. 281
The Farmer Changed his Horse for a Cow, and So On Down to a Bag of Rotten Apples . 284
•' Shall We Have A Bet.'" Said the Englishman to the Farmer, " W'e Have Gold by the Barrel!" 287
" Well, Now I Must Kiss You!" Said the Woman; "Thank You, My Own Husband,"
AND She Kissed him Right on the Mouth ......... 290
Round the Corner in the Next Street Stood an Old, Old House ..... 294
" Thank You for the Tin Soldier, My Little Friend!" Said the Old Man, " And Thanks for
Coming to See Me "............ 297
In the Evening a Carriage Stopped at the Door, Into which They Put the Old Man's Coffin 301
In the Middle of the Flower Sat a Tiny Little Girl ....... 308
The Toad Took the Walnut Shell in which Thumbeline was Sleeping . . . .310
The Old Toad Courtesied to Thumbeline and Said, " Here Is My Son ! " . . . 31c
He Flew Up With her Into a Tree . . . . . . . • 3 ' '
The Mole had Dug a Passage from his House to theirs, and the Field-Mouse and Thumbeline
HAD Permission TO Take THEIR Walks There . . . . . . . . 313
The Field-Mouse Hired Four Spiders to Spin and Weave, and the Mole Came Every Evening
ON A Visit . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 3 ' 5
Thumbeline Seated Herself on the Swallow's Back, and Then the Bird Flew High Up in the
Air with her . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Such a Storm has Never Raged in Our Day . . . . . . . . .320
The People Shouted and Cheered Still More When the Harlequin Came on the Scaffolding and
Made Faces at them . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Close to Them Stood Another Figure, an Old Chinaman who could Nod his Head . . 328
They Reached the Top of the Chimney, Where They Sat down and Looked Around them. Far
Out Into the Wide World . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Nobody in the Whole World Knows so Many Stories as Daddy Dustman . . . .336
There Were Two Men in a Town who Had the Same Name . . . . . . 354
xiv
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ACI
E OK THH Sea Li\E THE MtRMtN AND THE Mermaids
.■ TO Make Greater Headway; Large Clouds were Gatherinx
; AN
IN(
i were Seen. — The Little Mermaid Now Understood that THt
; Shi
Little Claus Climbed Up to the Top of the Shed, VV'hence He could See Into the Room . 356
The Innkeeper Threw the Mead Rk^ht Into the Dead Woman's Face, and She Fell Backward
IN the Cart ............. 36 1
Down Below the Surface ok the Sea Li\e the Mermen and the Mermaids .... 374
Flashes of Lightn
Was in Danger
There the Sea-Witch was Sitting, While a Toad was Eating Out of her Mouth and the
\\'ater-Snakes WERE Crawling Over her Bosom ........ 387
There is a Hen who has Plucked out all her Feathers for the Sake of the Cock ! . . 398
The Goose Jumped from the Dish with Knife and Fork in its Back ..... 404
She Lighted a New Match. Then She was Sitting under a Beautiful Christmas Tree, with
Thousands of Candles Burning upon the Green Branches ..... 407
The Weather was Sharp and Frosty, the Sky Glittered with Sparkling Stars . . .410
They were Keeping New Year's Eve, and were Drinking Success to the New Year . . 412
Then a Lady Stepped Out of the Coach. " Miss May," She Said, Announcing Herself 415
"We Shall Soon Reach the Garden of Paradise," Said the East Wind .... 420
Then the Fairy of Paradise .Appeared. She Was Young and Beautiful, and was .Accompanied
BY the Most Beautiful Maidens .......••■ 429
There She Lay, .Already Asleep, and Looking as Beautiful as Only the Fairy in the Garden
OF Paradise can Look . . . . . . ■ - • • • • +.i3
By the Shore of the Great Belt Stands an Old Mansion with Thick Red Walls . . 438
A Fire was Always Burning on the Hearth ; the Door to his Chamber was Locked, ^nd
There He Worked for Days and Nights ......... 443
They Walked Along the Road Where They Used to Drive in their Carriage; Now They
Went Forth with their Father as Beggars ........ 447
All the Tin Soldiers were Made From the Same Old Tin Spoon . .... 454
A Little Lady was Standing Right Outside the Open Gate of the Castle with Both her
Arms Outstretched ............ 457
"Stop Him! Stop Him!" Shouted the Rat, Gnashing his Teeth, "He has n't Shown his
Over in the Corner the Old Clock was Whirring Round ...... 462
On the Other Side of the Lake Stood a \\'onderful House, — It was Death's Large Hot-
House ............... 467
The E.mperor was so Fond of New Clothes that He Spent .All his Money on Dresses . . 472
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PACE
Then the Emperor Went in the Procession Under the Splendid Canopv. " But He has n't
Got Anything On! " Cried a Little Child . .475
"It's so Delightfully Cold !" Said the Snow Man ....... 480
"Go! Go!" Barked the Old Yard-Dog. The Sun will Soon Teach You to Run. I Noticed
That with Your Predecessor Last Year " ......... 483
They Were the Portraits of the Peddler and the Goose-Girl, from whom the Whole
Family Descended ............ 488
It Was a Wonderful Flute! It was Heard All Over the Mansion, in the Garden, in the
Forest, and for Many Miles Into the Country . . . . . . -495
The Snails Live on Burdock Leaves, and That Is Why Burdocks were Planted . . . 500
" I AM Glad We Have Our Own House," Said the Mother Snail, " .And the Little One has
Also his " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502
The Shadow of the Stranger Fell Upon the Wall of the House Opposite . 506
He Then Opened the Door, and There Stood Before him Such an Exceedingly Thin Person
That He Felt Quite Uncomfortable . . . . . . . . .511
The Princess and the Shadow Stepped Out Upon the Balcony to Show Themselves and to Hfar
the People Shout " Hurrah! " Once More . . . . . . . 51;
INTRODUCTION
Such an original species of writing as that in which Andersen excelled
does not burst full-hlown upon the world. It is the result of many ex-
periments, many accidents, even, perhaps, of some hlunderings. Andersen
did not set out deliberately to be a teller of fairy stories, much less did he
expect or desire to be mainly known as the composer of these smaating,
as he called them, of these trirfes or bagatelles. He set out in life intend-
ing to be a serious poet, a writer ot five-act dramas, a novelist of passion
and society. Almost to the very last he persisted in believing that the
critics and the public had made a mistake, and that his ambitious works,
in the conventional branches of the profession, were what he would really
li\e by. " Don't you think," he said to me in a sort of coaxing whisper,
toward the very close of his life — "don't you think that people will
really come back to ' The Two Baronesses ' when these smaating have
had their day?" "The Two Baronesses" is an old niwel ot Andersen's,
which I had not read, so I could only bend mv eves politely. But that
was in i 874, and people have neither come back to " The Two Baron-
esses " nor forgotten "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Snow Queen."
Unwilling as he was to admit it, however, Andersen could not fail to
be aware that the Fairy Tales were his real possession and treasure-trove.
In 1862 he deigned to recollect how these stories came into existence,
and his notes, — which I do not happen to have seen translated or even
referred to, — although tantalizingly scanty, are very valuable. He put
back the germ of his fairy-story telling to the year 1829, when he pub-
lished, along with a little collection of his poems, a tale in prose called
■' The Dead Man." This was a treatment of one oi the disquieting,
half-humorous, half-melancholy legends which Andersen had heard when
in his childhood he haunted the Odense workhouse and its old women.
He deliberately tried to tell it in the tone of Musaus, a German author of
the eighteenth century, who began by being an imitator of Richardson,
and who ended as the first man to collect and retell, after a somewhat
over-genteel fashion, the folk-tales of Germany. Musaus possessed no
great talent, but it is interesting to see him, who set the Brothers Grimm
and all the multitude of modern folk-lorists in motion on the one hand,
giving the start-word in a very different direction to Andersen. For
INTRODUCTION
"The Dead Man" — which was quite a faikire — was the story which,
entirely rewritten, appeared in 1831 as "The Traveling Companion."
In Andersen's account ot" his journey in the Harz Mountains, pub-
lished in 1831, there is to be found a story of" an old king, who believed
that he had never heard a lie, and therefore promised that the man who
should first successfully tell him a falsehood should receive the princess,
his daughter, and half his royal kingdom. Here the fairy-tale tone is
clearly perceptible, but it has not yet discovered its form or its final
character. But in 1835 there appeared a little pamphlet, — the originality
and importance of which it would be difficult to appraise too highly, —
"Fairy Tales Told for Children." This precious pamphlet of sixty-one
pages contained four tales, " The Tinder-Box," " Little Claus and Big
Claus," "The Princess and the Pea," and "Little Ida's Flowers." These
four stories are included in the present collection, and the reader may
find it interesting to detach these, with a view to observing what we
may call Andersen's primitive manner in the evolution of a fairy tale.
There was one peculiarity in these stories which startled a Danish ear,
and led at first to almost universal reproof by the critics, and neglect by
cultivated readers. Like the other literatures of Europe, and more than
some, — more than our own, for instance, — the poetry and prose of Den-
mark were held at that time in the bondage of the proprieties. An author
still had to consider not merely what he should, but also what he should
not say. There was little attempt to reproduce, even in comedy, the
actual daily speech ot' citizens, but something more polished, more
rhetorical, more literary, in fact, was put into the lips of even vulgar
persons before they could be permitted to speak in public. It would not
be easy to make an Englishman or a Frenchman understand how startlingly
lax and puerile the conversations in these little stories of Andersen's ap-
peared; perhaps a German would realize it more. It was the first time
that children and uneducated people of the lower middle class had been
allowed to speak in Danish literature, and their naivetes and their innocent
picturesqueness were at first an absolute scandal. Conceive what Johnson
and Burke would have thought of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,"
and you have a parallel to the effect oi "Little Claus and Big Claus"
upon academic Denmark.
But in this first typical specimen there were differences to be observed.
"The Tinder-Box" and "The Princess and the Pea" are not of the
same class as "Little Ida's Flowers." Nothing of its kind could be more
exquisite than the last, and Andersen never excelled its lightness and
brightness of fancy, its intimate recognition of the movement of a child's
imagination. Only a great poet could have written it — only the great
pt)et who subsequently wrote so many other pure fairy tales of the same
enchanting innocence and ebullience. But that poet needed not to have
had Andersen's peculiar training. .^s a matter of fact, "Little Ida's
INTRODUCTION
Flowers" was composed in consequence ot liearing the small daughter of
Thiele make remarks about the plants in the Botanic (iardens of Copen-
hagen ; remarks the delicious artlessness ot which so delighted Andersen
that he noted them down, and reproduced them in the setting which we
all know so well. This is an example ot the side of Andersen's genius on
which he most closely approaches Lewis Carroll.
If from this lovely fantasia we turn to the other three stories, we see
something ditferent, something more entirely original, and suggestive of a
more surprising departure. These also were suggested to Andersen by
matters lurking in his recollection. He never, perhaps, absolutely in-
vented the material of his tales. But these were legends the crude germ
or kernel oi' each of which he had heard long ago, in his unparalleled
childhood — fragments of the prejudice and ignorance and mother-wit of
the untaught peasant mind. These were atoms of folk-lore left sticking
to his memory from the days when he went weeding in the garden of the
lunatic asylum, or strolled along among the hop-pickers at Bogense. These
worn tragments ot a primitive age, shapeless and unsuggestive to any less
penetrating imagination than his, Andersen redeemed from their low uses,
and clothed again with his fancy and his humanity.
The next little collection, that of 1836, contained three, and that ot
1837 only two stories. It appeared in these that Andersen had become a
little shy of his old, direct folk-lore. He had put forth his discovery, and
the world had proved averse to it. Here was "The Traveling Com-
panion," in its remodeled form, which, indeed, was actual folk-lore; but
the others belonged to the modern, the invented, or, as we English may
roughly call it, the Alice section of the stories. "The Naughty Boy"
came out oi' Anacreon; "The Emperor's New Clothes," remarkable as
showing the tirst complete development of Andersen's satiric irony, from
Spanish sources. In "Thumbeline" and "The Little Mermaid" we
have pure fairy tales, works of literary fancy, unattached to any genuine
folk-lore. The last mentioned, however, was the earliest of all Andersen's
tales to become widely popular. It was in "The Wild Swans," of 1838,
that he tirst dared to come back to actual Danish legend. By this time he
had begun to conquer his public, and he now went on writing as it hap-
pened to please him best. Oddly enough, he himself was never perfectly
converted. To the last, and in the presence of his immortal little master-
pieces, he continued to be slightly scandalized at the liberties he had
persuaded himself to take with classical Danish.
Perhaps there never existed a more remarkable instance of the adapta-
tion of extraordinary circumstances to the purposes of a unique genius
than was seen in the case of the early training of Andersen. His childish
days had been spent in strange places, in still stranger company. He must
have been about live years of age when he went with his parents to dine with
the jailer of the common prison in Odense. Two prisoners waited at table,
INTRODUCTION
but Hans Christian could eat nothing ; his brain was full of all the stories
of robbers and dungeons and enchanted castles that he had ever heard of,
and he had to be put to bed. But when he was left alone, he character-
istically tells us, he forgot to be frightened, for he turned the whole inci-
dent into a wonderful fairy tale. How he played about in the corridors
of the madhouse, and how a beautiful lunatic nearly frightened him to
death, is well known ; but this is an incident which could have happened,
one is inclined to say, to no poet but Andersen. He has given us a most
curious account of the long hours he used to spend in the old women's
ward of the poorhouse at Odense, and how he offered to sketch the
internal economy of any one of the ancient ladies, with chalk, on the
door of the room. With these and other ingenuities he so diverted them
that they declared with one voice that so clever a child was not long for
this world. But, in their turn, to this ignorant, freakish, wild little boy,
the old women told stories, legends of troll and water-sprite, ghost and
goblin and wizard, such as in those davs the uninstructed imagination of
the Scandinavian peasant teemed with.
When the child was eleven, his father, the gentle, consumptive young
cobbler, fell deadly sick. Already Andersen had gained a reputation as a
clever, uncanny boy'/" he is cracked, like his grandfather," people said in
Odense); accordingly when his father was very ill, his mother sent him
out at night to walk by the river, " for," she said, " if thy father is to die
this time, thou wilt meet his ghost.^' The poor frightened child came
home, having seen nothmg, and his mother's superstition was assuaged ;
but the third day after that her husband did die. Little Andersen and his
inother watched with the corpse, and all night long a cricket chirped ;
till at last the mother sat up and cried to it, " You need not call to him ;
he is dead ! ' In this amazing old-world atmosphere of terror and
spiritual bewilderment was the delicate and nervous brain of this great
modern poet nurtured, and we must not forget it if we would understand
in what manner he was prepared for the composition of the Fairy Tales.
It may be said that in his address to his imaginary audience Andersen
never advanced beyond what he recalled of his own childhood in those
loose, undisciplined and fruitful years when it was doubtful whether he
would become a tailor's apprentice or a super at a provincial theater. It
is to what he recollected of his own dimlv-luminous mind before he set out
for Copenhagen, in 1819, that he addressed, in later life, the ingenuous
language of his tales. Hence he uses the simplest words, the most con-
crete images, is occupied with the rudest tastes and the humblest am-
bitions. If he wishes to conjure up power, it is always in the person of
an old king, generally a peasant in intelligence and experience, but
known to be a king by his wearing a golden crown and an ermine robe,
■and by his carrying a scepter. So, if he wishes to suggest wealth, he
uses none of its symbols or evidences, but quantities of bullion — bars of
INTRODUCTION
gold, or bags of minted money. The child's want of clear distinction
between the seen and the unseen, the experienced and the impossible ;
its naive acceptance of animals and rlt)wers, and even of the winds and the
stars and the inanimate domestic objects around it, as creatures allied to
itselt, with which it may be in mutual comprehension, the dullest of
which, in tact, is more in sympathy with it than an ordinary " grown-up
person," — all this was realized by Andersen with a clairvoyance which
becomes almost supernatural when we recollect that no previous writer
had ever seriously dreamed ot it, and that this was a little chamber of
literature into which even Shakspere had never forced his way.
It has taken the world sixty years to become perfectly assured that
Andersen, in his own best line, is an author of the very highest originality,
that — given the particular genre — he is as great in it as Milton or — shall
we say? — Moliere in his. Nothing less than this can be claimed for
Andersen, — absolute supremacy in his own special field. Only one man
perceived this fact, however, at first. This was the Dane, Johan Ludvig
Heiberg, the acutest critic of Northern P^urope in those years, who, though
hitherto not well affected to Andersei,i's writings, told him bluntly as soon
as he had read "The Princess and the Pea," that here he had struck at
last into the road that leads to immortality. But the excellent Frederika
Bremer could only wish that "The Little Mermaid" had been brought
down to the level of a young child's apprehension, and most of what were
considered the "best judges" of that age were shocked at the humor which
gives the very salt of life to the fairy tale, which, without it, is apt to be a
little mawkish. Andersen's autobiography is full, perhaps over full, of
instances of want of appreciation of his writings by those from whose praise
he anticipated the most pleasure. But the children soon took up the mat-
ter themselves, and paid him an abundant and -enthusiastic devotion which
dragged their elders along with it.^
There can be little doubt that one peculiarity of Andersen's imagina-
tion especially endeared him to the minds of the children. A child is
like a savage in its calm acceptance ot incongruous elements, in the ease
with which it passes over essential difficulties of tone and plane. Andersen's
art consists largely of the adroitness with which he blends together ideas
which in the real world cannot be conceived of in combination or even in
relation. He is unique, for instance, in his mingling of images from the
Christian religion and from primitive forms of superstition. When "The
Traveling Companion," for example, opens, Johannes is at the parish
church, and the people are singing a hymn. But in the tower of the
old church a brownie or nisse is squatting, and it waves its red cap at him.
He follows the bells through the forest, and with a good conscience enters
another little church, listening to the word of God. This does not pre-
1 For the facts of Andersen's life, the reader may be referred to Mr. R. Nisbet Bain's excellent
"Biography," 1895, a work collected entirely from Danish sources.
INTRODUCTION
vent him from presently enjoying the gambols of the elves in the wood-
land. He is a good little modern boy, living in a quiet parish, among
God-fearing people, but the mountain opens before him and he enters
without surprise the great hall where the king of the trolls sits under a
canopy of pink spiders' webs, and listens to the choir of great black grass-
hoppers playing on Jews' harps. But he is the same sober Christian lad
as ever, and in due time overthrows all his enemies bv his honesty and
sagacity. Here the mixture of spiritual ideas is bewildering, if we only
persuade ourselves to realize it, and involves an incongruity which no other
teller of fairy stories allows himself to undertake. In one of Grimm's
stories, for instance, or of Asbjornsen's, we have trolls, and wicked prin-
cesses, and imps with enormous noses, but they are not mixed up w ith the
singing of hymns in church and preparing for a first communion. But in
the mind of a child this or any incongruity is possible, and the mind of
Andersen was exactly like that of a child. Hence, even when his topsy-
turvy world is most startling, we are never scandalized. Probably no one
was ever found to accuse Andersen of profanity.
A somewhat similar moral incongruity would not be quite so easy to
condone, if we were inclined to take a very high ground. The soldier
in "The Tinder-Box" cuts off" the head of the old woman and steals her
treasures with shocking ingratitude, yet with complete impunity. His
ultimate good fortune even springs directly from his crime. The behavior
of the merchant's son to the Turkish princess in "The F^lying Trunk"
was deplorable, but Andersen does not seem to regret it. Little Claus can
hardly be said to live up to any recognized standard of morals in his rela-
tion to Big Claus. But all this is very characteristic of the childish
instinct. Life to a child is a phantasmagoria, and thanklessness and rapine
and murder are amusing shadows which the unsubstantial human figures
throw as they dance in the flicker of the firelight. It is precisely the
absence of any priggishness in this respect, and the daring with which he
sets himself against all the obvious school-room axioms of conduct that
help to make up the astounding fascination of Andersen. His very sav-
agery endears him to the little innocent barbarians of the nursery.
It was a favorite exercise with .\ndersen to read aloud his fairy tales,
soon after they were written, to some fortunate friend. The number of
those who can 'say that they have enjoyed this privilege must now be
growing small. In England it must be extremely small, for Andersen's
latest visit to this country was paid in 1857. The present writer, there-
fore, is tempted to believe that there is some little rarity, at least, in the
experience which he is able to relate, and the more so from a particular
which will be presently mentioned. Only on a single occasion did Hans
Christian Andersen read to me one of his unpublished fairy tales, and,
indeed, I had not the honor of knowing him until he had given to the
world the main bulk of his productions. But in the summer of i8-'2 I
INTRODUCTION
had the happiness of listening to "The Cripple." At that time Andersen
had a suite of rooms in Copenhagen, but he was much more frequently
to be found at the mansion of some friends just outside the fortifications,
called Rolighed t)r " Quietude." This house had been the residence ot
several interesting people, among others ot no less a person than Orsted.
It was now owned by a wealthy and liberal merchant, Mr. Moritz Mel-
chior, who had rebuilt it, and who had turned it into a miniature of
Rosenborg Castle, with a tower, and with high balconies overlooking the
Sound.
In this house Andersen was so constantly welcome that a portion ot
it — three or four charming rooms — was set apart entirely for his service,
and he came and went in them without constraint. " Rolighed " is the
subject of Andersen's latest poem, in which he savs : —
"My home of homes, where behind the slope of elder-bushes
My life regained its sunshine and my harp its tone.
To thee I bring with gratitude this blithe song ot mine ! "
It was here, in his bright room open to the east, with the long caravan of
ships going by in the Sound below, " like a Hock ot wild swans," as he
said, with the white towns of Malmo and Landskrona sparkling on the
Swedish coast, and the sunlight falling on Tycho Brahe's island, that
Andersen proposed to recite to me a new tairy tale. He read in a low
voice, which presently sank to almost a hoarse whisper ; he read slowly, out
of mercy to my imperfect apprehension, and as he read he sat beside me,
with his amazingly long and bony hand — a great brown hand, almost
like that of a man of the woods — grasping my shoulder. As he read,
the color of everything, the twinkling sails, the sea, the opposite Swedish
coast, the burnished sky above, kindled with sunset. It seemed as it
Nature herself were flushing with ecstasy at the sound of Andersen's voice.
When he had finished, he talked to me a little about the story, and
confided to me that he intended this, " The Cripple," to be his last.
He was very much pleased with it ; he thought it summed up all his
methods, and that in a certain sense it presented symbolically his lesson,
his imaginative message, to mankind. The reader may -not recollect this
storv, since it is far from being the best known of Andersen's tales ; nor
is it really one of the most characteristic, for there is nothing supernatural
or fantastic about it. It has, therefore, not been included in this collec-
tion. It presents a little complicated episode of humble manners. A
• gardener and his wife have five children, of whom the eldest, a fine boy,
has the misfortune to be a bed-ridden cripple. The parents, worthy,
narrow people, live engrossed in their materialistic interests, and when
some one from whom a present is expected gives the cripple a book, they
ungraciously say to one another, " He won't get fat on that." Hut it is
INTRODUCTION
a book of fairy tales, and the boy's whole spiritual life is awakened by the
vistas these open for him in every direction. He finds two simple and
direct parables, which he reads over and over again to his parent>, and
their hearts, too, are humanized and melted. Finallv, a little dark bird,
like the Emperor of China's nightingale, is presented to him, and in a
supreme nervous effort to save its life the cripple regains the use of his
own limbs. In this story Andersen intended to sum up the defense of
fairy tales and of their teller. It was to be a sort of apologia for his
whole poetical career, and he told me that it would be the latest of his
writings. In this matter his mind afterward changed, for later in the
same year, 1872, he composed " Auntie Toothache," inspired by his own
sufferings, and it is with this story that the long series of his tairy tales
ultimately closed with the original.
He gradually realized that his work was done. In a most pathetic
letter to me, on New Year's Day, 1875, ^^ admitted that we must look
for nothing more, that his bag of magic was emptied. After a long
illness, however, his physical health seemed in large measure restored, and
at the completion of his seventieth year, great festivities were arranged at
Copenhagen and at Odense. The whole nation, from the Roval family
down to the peasants in the country villages, kept Andersen's birthdav as a
holiday, and this attention soothed and pleased him. But his vital energv
was now fast ebbing. He began to suffer great torture from an obscure
complaint which puzzled the doctors. It was interesting that when he
was dying Andersen expressed a curiosity to study the ancient Indian
fables which are identified with the mythical name of Bidpai, and the
death-bed of the greatest modern fabulist was strewn with translations and
commentaries of his earliest fellow-craftsman of Hindustan. At last, on the
4th of August, 1875, he fell asleep in the room at Rolighed, where we
were sitting when he read me "The Cripple" three years before. And
out of that peaceful slumber he never woke again. His laborious and
beautiful life had been the most enchanting of his fairy tales. It closed at
last in honor and serenity. It will probably be centuries before Europe
sees again a man in whom the same peculiar qualities ot imagination are
blended. She can never see one more blameless in his life, or inspired by
an aim more delicate and guileless.
Edmund Gosse.
THE NIGHTINGALE
t >"
THE NIGHTINGALE WAS INDEl-.l) A (.KEAT SUCCES
THE NIGHTINGALE
IN China, ycu know, the emperor is a Cliinanian, and all those he has
about him are Chinamen. The stt)ry I am going to tell you hap-
pened many years ago, but just on that account it is worth hearing,
before it is forgotten. The emperor's palace was the most magnifi-
cent in the world, built entirely of the finest porcelain. It was very ct)stlv,
but St) fragile that it would hardly stand being touched, so one had to be
caret ul.
In the garden were to be seen the most wonderful flowers ; to the most
beautiful of them were fastened silver bells, which tinkled all the time, so
that no one should pass by without noticing the flowers. Indeed, every-
thing in the emperor's garden was cleverly thought out ; and it was so
big that the gardener himself did not know where it ended. If you kept
on walking, you came to a most beautiful forest, with lofty trees and deep
lakes. The forest went right down to the deep blue sea ; great ships could
sail right in under its branches, and in these hved a nightingale, which
sang so exquisitely that even the poor fisherman, who had so many other
things to attend to, would rest on his oars and listen to him when he went
out at night to pull in his nets. "How beautiful it is!" he would say;
but he had to look after his nets, and forgot the bird. Yet, when he was
singing again next night, and the fisherman came there, he said the same
thing: " How beautiful it is ! "
Visitors came from all parts of the world to the emperor's city, and
admired it, as well as the palace and the garden ; but when they came to
hear the nightingale, they all said : " He is the best of all ! "
And on their return home they spoke of all they had seen, and the
learned wrote many books about the city, the palace, and the garden, but
they did not forget the nightingale, which they praised beyond everything;
and those who could write poetry wrote the most beautiful poems, all about
the nightingale in the forest by the deep blue sea.
These books went all over the world, and at last some of them reached
the emperor. He sat in his golden chair and read and read ; every
moment he nodded his approval, for it pleased him to read the splendid
descriptions of the citv, the palace, and the garden. " But the nightingale
is the best of all!" said the books.
THE NIGHTINGALE
"What's this?" said the emperor, "the nightingale! I don't know
anything at all about him ! Is there such a bird in my empire, and, fancy !
in my garden, too. I have never heard of him. To think one has to find
out such things from books."
And so he called his chamberlain, who was such a grand personage
that when any one inferior to himself in rank ventured to speak to him or
ask him a question, he only answered " P," and that really did not mean
anything.
"There is, I hear, a most remarkable bird here, called a nightingale!"
said the emperor; "they say he is the best thing in mv great empire.
Why have I never been told anything about him?"
"I have never heard him mentioned before," said the chamberlain; "he
has never been presented at court !"
" It is my wish that he shall appear here this evening and sing before
me!" said the emperor. "It seems the whole world knows what I
possess, and I know nothing about him!"
"I have never heard him mentioned before," said the chamberlain; "I
shall look for him, I shall find him !"
But where was he to be found? The chamberlain ran up and down all
the staircases, through the halls and corridors ; not one of those he met
had heard of the nightingale; and the chamberlain ran back to the emperor
again, and said it must all be a fable, invented by those who wrote the
book. "Your Imperial Majesty must not believe all that is written. It is
fiction, or what is called the black art!"
"But the book in which I have read it," said the emperor, "has been
sent me by the great and mighty Emperor of Japan, and it cannot
therefore be a falsehood. I will hear the nightingale! He must be here
this evening! He shall have my most gracious patronage. And if he does
not come, the whole of the court shall ha\c their stomachs punched alter
they have had their supper! "
"Tsing-pe!" said the chamberlain, and again he ran up and down all
the staircases, and through all the halls and corridors ; and half the court
ran after him, for they did not like the idea of having their stomachs
punched.
And inquiries were made right and left after the wonderful nightingale
which all the world knew of, but of which the court knew nothing.
At last they came across a poor little girl in the kitchen. She
said: "Oh, yes! the nightingale! I know him well. How he can sing!
Every evening they let me take home some leavings from the table for
my poor sick mother, who lives down by the shore; and when I feel
tired on my way back, and rest in the forest, I hear the nightingale
sing. He brings tears to my eyes; it is just as if mv mother was kissing
me! "
" My little kitchen-maid," said the chamberlain, " I will get you a
THE NIGHTINGALE
permanent place in the kitchen,
and permission to see the em-
peror eat, it" only you can take ns
to the nightingale. He has been
commanded to appear at court
this evening."
And so they all set out for
the forest, where the nightingale
used to sing, and half the court
went with them. As they walked
along a cow began lowing.
" Ah ! " said one of the cour-
tiers, " there he is ! What won-
derful strength for such a small
creature to possess ! I have cer-
tainly heard him before ! "
" No, that 's the cows lowing ! "
said the little kitchen-maid. " We
are still far from the place."
Some frogs now began croak-
ing in a pool.
"Beautiful!" said the palace-
dean ; " now I hear him ; it sounds
just like tiny church bells! "
" No, that 's the frogs ! " said
the little kitchen-maid. " But I
think we shall soon hear him ! "
just then the nightingale be-
gan to sing.
"There he is ! " said the little
girl. " Listen, listen ! and there
he sits!" and she pointed at a
little gray bird up among the
branches.
"Is it possible? "said the
chamberlain ; " I never imagined
he would be like that! How
common he looks ! He must
have lost his color at seeing so
many grand folks here ! "
"Little nightingale! " cried
the little kitchen-maid quite
loudly, " our gracious emperor
before him."
would like so much to hear you sing
6 THE NIGHTINGALE
" With the greatest pleasure ! " said the nightingale, and began to sing
in good earnest.
" It sounds like crystal bells," said the chamberlain ; " and how he does
use his little throat ! It is most remarkable that we have never heard him
before. He will be a great success at court ! "
" Shall I sing once more before the emperor r " said the nightingale,
believing that the emperor was present.
" My excellent little nightingale ! " said the chamberlain, " I have great
pleasure in commanding you to appear at a court festival this evening, where
you shall enchant his Imperial Majesty with your charming singing ! "
" It sounds best in the greenwood," said the nightingale ; but he was
quite willing to go when he heard that the emperor wished it.
At the palace everything had been polished and smartened up. The
walls and floors, which were all of porcelain, shone in the light of many
thousands of golden lamps. The most beautiful flowers with tinkling bells
were placed along the corridors ; there was such a running to and fro, and
such a draught, that all the bells were set tinkling, until at last one could
not hear one's selt speak.
In the middle of the great hall, where the emperor sat, a golden perch
had been fixed, and on this the nightingale was to sit. The whole court
was present, and the little kitchen-maid had got permission to stand behind
the door, for she was now a real kitchen-maid by title. All were dressed
in their best finery, and all were looking at the little gray bird, at which the
emperor was nodding his head.
And the nightingale sang so beautifully that tears came into the
emperor's eyes, and rolled down his cheeks, and then the nightingale sang
still more beautifully ; his song went straight to every one's heart, and the
emperor was so happy, and said that the nightingale should have his
golden slipper to wear round his neck. But the nightingale declined the
honor with thanks ; he had already received sufficient reward.
" I have seen tears in the emperor's eyes," the nightingale said ; " that
is the greatest reward you can give me. An emperor's tears possess
wonderful virtue. Heaven knows I have been sufficiently rewarded ! "
And so he sang again with his sweet, blessed voice.
"That's the most lovely coquetry I know of!" said the ladies all
around ; and so they took water in their mouths so that they might make a
warbling sound when anybody spoke to them, believing that they also were
nightingales ; even the footmen and chamber-maids made it known that
they too were satisfied — and that is saying a great deal, for they are the
most difficult of all to please. Yes, the nightingale was indeed a great
success.
He was now to remain at court, to have his own cage, with liberty
to take a walk twice a day, and once at night. He had twelve footmen to
attend upon him, all of wht)m had a silk ribbon which was fastened to his
THE NIGHTINGALE
leg, and which they all held tightly. There was no pleasure at all in that
kind of outing.
The whole city was talking of the wonderful hird, and when two of
the inhabitants met, one would merely say " Nightin — ," and the other
" gale," and then they sighed and understood each other. ^'es, the
children of eleyen buttermen were named after him, but not one of them
could sing a note.
One day a large parcel arrived for tlie empert)r, and on the outside was
written: "Nightingale."
" Here we have a new book about our celebrated bird ! " said the
emperor; but it was not a book, it was a small mechanical toy, which lay in
a box — an artificial nightingale, which had been made to look exactly like
the living one, but was set with diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. As soon
as the artificial bird had been wound up, it began to sing one of the songs
of the real bird, while the tail moved up and down, sparkling with silver
and gold. Around its neck hung a small ribbon on which was written :
The Enipt'ror of "Jupan' s nightingaU' is poor compared with the Emperor of
CJii?his.'^
"It is beautitul ! " exclaimed all; and he who had brought the artificial
bird received at once the title ot "Imperial Nightingale-Carrier-in-Chiet."
"Now they must sing together! What a duet it will be!"
And so they had to sing together; but they did not get on well, for
the real nightingale sang in his own way, while the artificial bird was
dependent upon its barrels.
"It 's not its fault," said the musical director; "it keeps time beauti-
fully, and sings quite in my style." So the artificial bird was to sing alone.
It had just as much success as the real bird, and then it was so much
prettier to look at; it glittered like diamond bracelets and brooches.
It sang the same piece thirty-three times over, and still it was not tired;
the audience would have liked to hear it from the beginning again, but the
emperor thought that the living nightingale ought also to sing a little —
but where was he? Nobody had noticed that he had flown out through the
open window, away into his green forest.
"But what 's the meaning of this?" said the emperor; and all the
courtiers began abusing the nightingale, saying he was a most ungrateful
creature.
"But we have the best bird after all!" they said; and so the artificial
bird had to sing again, and they heard the same piece tor the thirty-fourth
time, but still they did not know it, for it was rather diflicult to learn, and
the musical director was loud in his praises of the bird; nay, he even
protested that it was better than the real nightingale, not only as regards
its attire, and its many beautiful diamonds, but also with regard to its
internal arrangements.
" For you must know, ladies and gentlemen, and, above all, your
8 THE NIGHTINGALE
Imperial Majesty, that with the real nightingale you carr never be sure of
what is coming; but with the artificial bird everything has been arranged
beforehand. So what is coming, will come, and nothing else. Every-
thing can be accounted for; it may be ripped open and will show what
human thought and skill can do; you may see how the barrels are placed,
how they are worked, and how one thing is the result of another."
"That 's exactly what we have been thinking!" they all said. And the
musical director got permission to show the bird to the people on the
following Sunday. "They should also hear it sing," said the emperor. And
they heard it, and were as pleased as if they had got too merry on strong
tea, for that 's quite Chinese, you know. They all exclaimed, "Oh!" and
held up their forefingers and nodded their heads; but the poor fisherman,
who had heard the real nightingale, said: "It sounds pretty enough,
and it is very like the other; but there 's something wanting, I can't tell
exactly what!"
The real nightingale was banished from the land.
The artificial bird was placed on a silk cushion close to the emperor's
bed; all the presents which it had received, the gold and the precious stones,
lav round about it, and its title had been raised to "Singer of the Imperial
Toilet-table," to rank number One on the left side, for the emperor con-
sidered that the side nearest the heart was of most importance — for even an
emperor has his heart on the left side.
And the musical director wrote five-and-twenty volumes about the
artificial bird ; they were very learned and long, and full of the most
difficult Chinese words, and everybody said that they had read them and
understood them, for otherwise they would, of course, have been stupid,
and would then have had their stomachs punched.
In this way a whole year passed by; the emperor, the court, and all
the other Chinamen knew by heart every little note in the artificial bird's
song, but just on that account they liked it best; they could now join in
the song themselves, which they did. The boys in the street sang
" Ze-ze-ze ! Cluck-cluck-cluck!" and the emperor sang the same. — Yes,
it was really delightful !
But one evening, when the artificial bird was singing its best, and
the emperor lay in bed listening to it, something inside the bird went
" pop"; a spring had broken, and, " whir-r-r," round went all the wheels,
and then the music stopped.
The emperor jumped out of bed at once and called for his physician;
but how could he be of any help r Then they fetched the watchmaker,
and after a great deal of talking and a long and careful examination he got
the bird into something like order, but he said it must not be used so much,
for the pinions were so worn — and it was not possible to put in new ones —
that one could not be sure of the music. This caused a great deal of
sorrow in the land. Only once a year did they venture to let the
THE NIGHTINGALE 11
artificial bird sing, and that was almost too often ; but then the musical
director made a little speech, full of ditHcuIt words, and said it was just as
good as ever — and so it was, of course, just as good as ever.
Five years had passed, when the whole of the country was threatened
with a very great affliction, for the people were really fond of their
emperor, and now he was ill, and it was said he was not expected to live.
A new emperor had already been chosen, and the people stood outside
in the street and asked the chamberlain how it fared with their emperor.
" P ! " he said, and shook his head. The emperor lay pale and cold in
his large and gorgeous bed. .AH the court thought he was dead, and every
one ran off to greet the new emperor ; the footmen rushed out to gossip
about it, and the chamber-maids gave a great coffee-party at the palace.
All the floors of the halls and the corridors had been covered with
carpets, so that no footsteps should be heard, and therefore it was so
silent, so quiet there. But the emperor was not dead yet ; pale and stiff
he lay in his splendid bed, with the long velvet curtains and the heavy
golden tassels ; high above, a window stood open and the moon shone in
upon the emperor and the artificial bird.
The poor emperor could scarcely breathe ; he felt as if some one was
sitting on his chest. He opened his eyes, and then he saw it was Death,
who was sitting on his chest and had put on his golden crown, and held in
one hand the emperor's golden saber and in the other his gorgeous banner,
while round about were strange faces peering forth from among the folds
of the large velvet bed-curtains; some of them were horrible, others kind
and gentle-looking — they were the emperor's evil and good deeds, which
were looking at him, now that Death sat over his heart.
"Do you remember that.?" whispered one after the other. " Do you
remember that?" And then they told him of so many things that the
perspiration stood out on his brow.
"That I never knew!" said the emperor. "Music, music! The
big Chinese drum ! " he cried, " so that I may not hear all they say ! "
And they went on, while Death sat nodding just like a Chinaman to
everything they said.
"Music, music !" cried the emperor. "You blessed, little golden bird!
Sing, do sing ! I have given vou gold and precious things, I have mvself
hung mv golden slipper round your neck. Sing, do sing! "
But the bird remained silent; there was no one to wind it up, and it
could not sing until this was done; but Death kept on staring at the
emperor with his great hollow eyes, and everything was so still, so
terribly quiet around them.
Suddenly the most lovely song was heard close to the window ; it was
the little, living nightingale, which sat outside on a branch ; he had heard
of the emperor's illness, and had therefore come to sing to him of life and
hope ; and as he sang the specters grew paler and paler, the blood began to
12
THE NIGHTINGALE
course more and more rapidly through the emperor's weak body, and
Death himself listened and said: "Go on, you little nightingale, go on! "
"Yes, if you will give me that splendid golden saber! Yes, if you will
give me that costly banner ! Will you give me the emperor's crown ? "
And Death gave each of the precious things for a song, and still the
nightingale went on singing. He sang of the quiet churchyard, where
the white roses grow, where the elder-tree perfumes the air, and where
the fresh grass is moistened by the tears of those left behind ; then Death
began to long for his garden, and floated like a cold white mist out
through the window.
"Thanks, thanks!" said the emperor. "You heavenly little bird, I
knew you well ! I banished you from land and realm, and vet you
have driven away with your song the horrible visions from my bed, and
Death from my heart! HOw shall I reward you.?"
"You have rewarded me !" said the nightingale. " I drew tears from
your eyes the first time I sang before you ; I shall never forget that !
Those are the jewels that bring joy to a singer's heart; but go to sleep
now, and grow well and strong. I will sing to you."
And he sang — and the emperor fell into a sweet sleep; so gentle and
refreshing was that sleep.
The sun was shining in through the windows at him, when he awoke
hale and hearty; none of his servants had as yet returned, for they
thought he was dead, but the nightingale still sat and sang.
"You must stay with me always !" said the emperor. " ^'ou shall
only sing when you please, and the artificial bird I will break into a
thousand pieces."
THE NIGHTINGALE 13
"Do not do that!" said the nightingale. "It has done what it could.
Keep it as before. I cannot settle down and live in the palace ; let me
come when I like; I will then sit on the branch outside the window in
the evenings and sing to you, so that you can be happy and be inspired with
fruitful thoughts. I will sing to you about those who are happy and
about those who suffer; I will sing about the good and the evil around
you which are kept hidden from you, for the little song-bird flies far
around to the poor fisherman, to the peasant's roof, to every one, far away
from you and your court. I love your heart better than your crown, and
yet the crown has a fragrance of sanctity about it ! — I will come, I will
sing to you! — But one thing you must promise me."
"Everything!" said the emperor, as he stood there in his imperial
robes, which he had himself put on, pressing the golden saber to his heart.
" One thing I beg of you ! Do not tell any one that you have a little
bird that tells you everything, and then all will go still better with you! "
And then the nightingale flew away. The servants came in to look
after the dead emperor — yes, there they stood, and the emperor said :
" Good morning ! "
THE JUMPERS
THi: JUMPERS ARKIVK AT THIi KING'S PALACL.
THE JUMPERS
THE flea, the grasshopper, and the spring-goose' once wanted to see
which ot them could jump highest, and so they invited the whole
world and everybody else who might care to see that kind of
sport. When the three entered the room, all thought they were splendid
specimens of jumpers.
" Well, I '11 give my daughter to the one who jumps highest ! " said the
king; " for it would look so mean to let these people jump for nothing ! "
The flea stepped forward flrst ; he had such nice manners and bowed on
every side, for he had the blood of grand ladies in his veins, and had been
accustomed to associate only with human beings, which means a great deal.
Next came the grasshopper; he was certainly very much bigger, but
he bore himself fairly well for all that, and wore a green uniform, the one
he was born with. Moreover, as he said, he was connected with a very
old family in the land ot Egypt, and was highly esteemed here at home.
An old-fashioned tov t'ormerlv much used in Denmark. It is made from the breast-bone ot
and, with the aid of a peg, some string, and cobblers' wax, can be made to jump.
17
18
THE JUMPERS
He had been taken straight from the fields and put into a house of cards,
three storeys high, all made with court-cards, with the colored side turned
in; there were both doors and windows, all cut out in the waist of the
C;^een of Hearts. " I sing so well," he said," that, on hearing me, sixteen
native crickets, that had been chirping since they were born, but never
had a house of cards, fretted themselves even thinner than they were!"
Both the flea and the grasshopper were thus able to give a good account
of themselves, and saw no reason why they should not marry a princess.
The spring-goose did not say anything ; people said of him that he
thought all the more, and as the palace-dog only sniffed at him, it was a
guarantee that the spring-goose
was of good family. The old
alderman, who had got three
orders for holding his tongue,
assured them that he knew
the spring-goose pt)ssessed the
gift of prophesying ; one could
tell by his back, whether the
winter would be mild or severe,
and that was more than you could
see by the back of the man who
writes the almanacs.
"Well, I sha 'n't say any-
thing!" said tbc old king; "but
I generally go about and have
my own opinion of things."
Everything now depended
upon the jumping. The flea
jumped so high that no one could
see him, so they said he had not
jumped at all, which was rather
mean.
The grasshopper jumped only half as high, but he jumped right onto
the king's face, which, the king declared, was most disagreeable.
The spring-goose stood still a long time, thinking to himself; the
people at last began to believe that he could not jump at all.
" I only hope he is n't ill ! " said the palace-dog, and siiifl^ed at him
again, when — wh 'st ! with a jump, a little sideways, he sprang right into
the lap of the princess, who was sitting on a low, golden footstool.
Then the king said; "The highest jump is to jump at my daughter,
for that's just the clever part of it. It requires brains to get an idea like
that, and the spring-goose has shown that he has brains. He has a mind
of his own ! "
And so he got the princess.
the grasshoppiir ju.mi'kd right
king's face.
THE JUMPERS
19
" I jumped highest after all!" said the tiea. "But it doesn't matter I
Let her keep that stuck-up hit oi' a goose with the peg and the cohhlers'
wax! I jumped highest, anyhow; but I find it is necessary in this world to
have substance, if one is to be noticed!"
And so the flea went abroad and enlisted, and there they say he was
killed. The grasshopper settled down in a ditch just outside, and pondered
over the way things were really managed in this world, and he also said :
"Yes, substance is the thing, substance is the thing ! " And then he went
on singing his own melancholy ditty ; and it is from that we have taken
this story, which may not he true, although it is printed.
THE SPRING-GOOSE SPRANG RIGHT INTO THE PRINCESS S LAP.
THE TRAVELING COMPANION
JOIIANNKS I.AV ON MIS KNKKS 1!Y THE BED A^
FA I HERS HANI
THE TRAVELING COMPANION
POOR Johannes was in great distress, for his father was very ill and
was not expected to live. There was no one in the Httle room
but the two; the lamp on the table was on the point of gt'ing out,
and it was getting late in the evening.
"You have been a good son, Johannes," said the sick father; "God
will help you on in the world " ; and he looked at him with his mild,
earnest eyes, drew a deep breath and died — it seemed as if he had only
gone to sleep. But Johannes wept ; he had now no one dear to him in
the whole world, neither father nor mother, sister nor brother. Poor
Johannes ! He lay on his knees by the bed and kissed his dead father's
hand, and wept many bitter tears ; but at last his eyes closed and he fell
asleep with his head resting on the hard edge of the bedstead.
Then he dreamed a strange dream ; he saw how the sun and the moon
were courtesying to him and he saw his father hale and hearty again and
heard him laugh, as he always laughed, when he was in really good
humor. A beautiful maiden with a golden crown on her long, lovely
hair, held out her hand to Johannes, and his father said : " Do you see
what a lovely bride you have got ? She is the most beautiful in all the
world." Then he awoke and the beautiful vision vanished; his father lay
dead and cold on the bed and poor Johannes was left all by himself!
The following week the dead man was buried and Johannes walked
close behind the cotfin. He could no longer see the kind father who had
loved him so much ; he heard how they shoveled the earth down upon the
coffin, of which he could now only see the last corner, but the next shovel-
ful of earth which was thrown down into the grave hid that also from his
view, and then he felt as if his heart would break under the weight of his
great sorrow. Around him they were singing a hymn ; it sounded so
beautiful, and the tears came into his eyes ; he wept, and this was a relief
to him in his distress. The sun shone brightly on the green trees just as
if it wanted to say : " You must not be so sad, Johannes ! Do you see
how beautiful the blue sky is ? Your father is now up there, and is
praying to the kind God that it may always fare well with you."
"I will always be good," said Johannes, "and then I shall go to
23
24 THE TRAVELING COMPANION
heaven to my father. What joy it will be when we see each other again !
How much I shall have to tell him, and he will show me so many things
and teach me all about the glories of heaven, just as he taught me here
on earth. Oh, what a joy that will be ! "
Johannes pictured it so vividly to himself that he smiled while the
tears were still running down his cheeks. The little birds sat in the
chestnut-trees, twittering: " quivit, quivit ! " They were so pleased and
happy, although they had come to the funeral, but they seemed to know
that the dead man was in heaven, that he had wings larger and much
more beautiful than theirs, and that he was now happy, for he had been
a good man here on earth, and all this made them happy. Johannes saw
how they flew away from the green trees far out into the world, and then
he felt a longing to fly away with them also. But first he made a large
wooden cross to put on his father's grave, and when he brought it there
in the evening he found the grave was strewn with sand and decked with
flowers ; this had been done by people who, although strangers to him,
had greatly respected his dear father, who was now dead.
Early next morning Johannes packed his little bundle and hid his
whole inheritance, which consisted of fifty dollars and a couple of smaller
silver coins, in his belt, with which he was now going to set out into the
world. But first he went to his father's grave in the churchyard, repeated
the Lord's Prayer and said : " Farewell, my dear father ! I will always
try to be a good man, and so you may well ask the kind God that it may
go well with me ! "
Out in the fields, through which Johannes passed, all the flowers were
standing so fresh and lovely in the warm sunshine, and they nodded with
the wind just as if they wished to say : " Welcome into the green fields !
Isn 't it beautiful here ? " But Johannes turned round once more to have a
look at the old church where he was christened when quite a little child,
and where he had gone every Sunday with his old father to worship and
sing hymns. Then, high up in one of the openings of the church tower,
he saw the little brownie with his pointed red cap standing, shading his
face with his uplifted arm, so that the sun should not shine in his eyes.
Johannes nodded farewell to him, and the little brownie waved his red
cap, laid his hand on his heart, and kissed his hand to him many times to
show him that he wished him all possible good and a safe and prosperous
journey.
Johannes then began to think of all the fine things he would now get
to see in the great and glorious world, and walked on farther and farther,
farther than he had ever been before ; he did not know any of the towns
through which he passed, or the people he met ; he was now far away
among strangers.
The first night he had to lay down and sleep under a haystack out in
the fields ; he had no other bed. But he thought it was quite grand ;
THE TRAVELING COMPANION 25
the king could not ha\e it much riner. The whole of the field with the
rivulet, the haystack, and the blue heavens above, made a most beautiful
bedchamber. The green grass, with the little red and white fiowers, was
the carpet, the elder bushes and the wild rose hedges were bouquets of
Howers, and for a wash-hand basin he had all the rivulet with the clear,
fresh water, where the rushes courtesied to him and said both " Good
evening " and " Good morning." The moon was a fine, big lamp, high
up under the blue vault, without any risk of setting fire to the curtains,
fohannes might sleep on in peace, which he did ; he did not wake up till
the sun rose and all the little birds were singing all around him : " Good
morning ! Good morning ! Are you not up yet ? "
The bells were ringing tor church ; it was Sunday. The people were
on their way to hear the sermon and Johannes went with them, sang a
hymn, and listened to the word of God ; it seemed to him as if he were in
his own church, where he had been christened, and had sung hymns with
his fiither.
In the churchyard there were many graves, and on some of them the
grass had grown high. Johannes then thought of his father's grave, which
in time would look like these, now that he could not weed it and keep it
in order. He sat down and plucked the grass from the graves, raised up
the wooden crosses which had fallen down, and put back in their places
the wreaths which the wind had blown away trom the graves, for he
thought: "Perhaps some one will do the same to my father's grave now
that I cannot do it ! "
Outside the churchyard gate stood an old beggar, leaning upon his
crutch ; Johannes gave him the small silver coins he had, and proceeded
on his way, happy and pleased, into the wide world.
Toward evening the weather became terribly bad, and Johannes hur-
ried on to get under shelter, but very soon the dark night set in; just then
he at last reached a little church which lay quite by itself on the top of a
hill. The door was fortunately ajar and he stole inside; here he would
remain till the bad weather was over.
"I '11 sit down here in a corner! " he said, " I am quite tired and sorely
in want of a little rest!" And so he sat down, folded his hands and said
his evening prayer, and in less than no time he was asleep and had begun
to dream, while it thundered and lightened outside.
When he awoke it was midnight ; the bad weather was over and the
moon shone in upon him through the windows. In the middle of the
aisle stood an open coffin with a dead man in it, for he had not yet been
buried. Johannes was not afraid, for he had a good conscience, and knew
that the dead do not harm anybody ; it is living, wicked people who mo-
lest their fellow-creatures. Two such wicked men were standing close to
the dead man, who had been placed inside the church before he was
buried; they were evilly disposed toward him, and would not let him lie
26 THE TRAVELING COMPANION
in peace in his coffin, but wanted to throw him outside the church door
— poor, dead man!
"Why do you do that?" asked Johannes; "it is very bad and wicked!
Let him rest in Christ's name ! "
"What nonsense!" said the two wicked men; "he has made a fool of
us ! He owes us money, which he could not pay, and now that he is dead,
we shall not get a penny. Therefore we will have our revenge; he shall
lie like a dog outside the church door!"
"I have no more than fifty dollars," said Johannes, "that is the whole
of my inheritance; but I will willingly give you the money if you will
promise me on your honor to leave the poor dead man in peace. I shall
be able to get on without the money ; I have strong and sound limbs, and
God will always help me."
"Well," said the horrible men, "if you will pay his debt, we shall not
do anything to him, that you may be sure ot ! " And so they took the
money that Johannes gave them, laughed quite loudly at his good-hearted-
ness and went their way; but Johannes put the dead body right again in
the coffin, folded its hands, took leave of it, and went away quite con-
tentedly through the great forest.
Round about him, where the moon shone in between the trees, he
saw graceful little elves playing about quite merrily; they did not let them-
selves be disturbed, for they knew he was a good, unoffending creature.
It is only wicked people who are not allowed to see the elves. Some ot
them were not bigger than one's finger, and had their long, golden hair
fastened up with golden combs; they were rocking, two and two, on the
large dewdrops, which had settled on the leaves and the long grass. Some-
times the dewdrops rolled off, when the elves would fall down between the
stalks of the long grass, and then there was a regular outburst of laughter
and merriment among the tiny little people. It was a rare frolic ! They
were singing, and Johannes plainly recognized all the pretty songs which
he had learned when a little boy. Large and gaudy-colored spiders, with
silver crowns on their heads, were spinning from one hedge to another
long, hanging bridges and palaces which, when the fine mist settled on
them, looked like shining crystal in the clear moonlight. This lasted un-
til the sun rose. Then the little elves crept into the flower buds, and the
wind caught hold of their bridges and palaces, which then sailed off
through the air like big cobwebs.
Johannes had just got out of the forest when a strong, manly voice
called out just behind him, "Hullo, comrade! Where are you going?"
"Out into the wide world," said Johannes. "I have neither father
nor mother; I am only a poor boy, but God will help me."
"I 'm also going out into the wide world," said the strange man.
"Shall we two keep each other company?"
"Yes, certainly!" said Johannes, and so they went on together. They
THE TRAVELING COMPANION
27
soon came to like one another very much, for they were both good people.
But Johannes found that the stranger was much wiser than he. He had
been nearly all over the world, and could tell him about every possible
thing in existence.
The sun stood high in the heavens when they sat down under a big
tree to eat their breakfast. fust then an old woman came along the road.
She was very old and walked quite bent, leaning upon a crutch, and carry-
ing on her back a bundle of hrewood, which she had gathered in the
forest. Her apron was fastened up, and Johannes saw three big rods,
made of ferns and willow-twigs, projecting from it. Just when she was
quite close to them, her foot slipped; she fell and gave a loud scream, for
she had broken her leg — the poor old woman.
Johannes proposed at once that they should carry her home to where
she lived, but the stranger opened his bag, took out a jar and said he had
a salve in it which could at once make her leg sound and well, so that she
could walk home herself, just as if she never had broken it. But in return he
wanted her to make him a present of the three rods she had in her apron.
"That's being well paid!" said the old woman, nodding her head quite
strangely ; she did not like very
much to part with her rods; ^
but im the other hand it was
not very pleasant to lie there
with a broken leg, so she gave ^
him the rods, and as soon as he
had rubbed the salve on her
leg the old crone got on her
legs and was able to walk even
better than before. That was
a proof of what the salve could
do ; but then it was not to be
got at a chemist's either.
" What are you going to do
with those rods ?" asked JoTian-
nes of his traveling companion.
" They '11 make three Hne
nosegays," said he, " just the
sort I like, for I am a tunny
fellow, you know ! "
And so they walked on for
some distance.
" How the clouds are gather-
ing ! " said Johannes, pointing
straight before them ; " what
awful, heavy clouds ! "
'*^^
THEY SAT DOWN UNDER A BIG TREE TO
EAT THEIR BREAKFAST
28 THE TRAVELING COMPANION
" No, they are not clouds," said his traveling companion, " they are
mountains, beautiful, great mountains, where vou can get high up above
the clouds into the pure air ! It is delightful, I can assure you ! To-morrow
we shall be a good bit on our way out into the world ! "
They were not so near to them as they thought ; thev had to walk a
whole day before they reached the mountains, where the dark forests grew
straight up toward the heavens, and where there were stones as big as a
whole town ; it certainly was hard work to get right across them, and
therefore Johannes and his traveling companion went into an inn to get a
good rest and gather strength for the journey on the morrow.
Down in the large bar parlor in the inn a great many people were
assembled, tor there was a man there with a puppet-show; he had just put
up his little theater, and the people sat all round the room to see the play,
but right in front of all an old fat butcher had taken a seat, the best of all ;
his big bulldog (ugh! how tierce he looked) sat bv his side and stared like
everybody else.
Now the play began ; it was a pretty piece with a king and a queen in
it ; they sat on a velvet throne and had golden crowns on their heads and
long trains to their robes, which, of course, they could very well afford.
The most beautiful wooden dolls with glass eyes and big mustaches were
standing at all the doors, and were opening and shutting them, so that some
fresh air could get into the room. It was a beautiful play, and it was not
at all tragic, but just as the queen stood up and walked across the floor, the
big bulldog, — goodness knows what he could have been thinking about, —
but as he was not kept back by the fat butcher, he made a spring right on
to the stage, seized the queen round her slender waist, and one could hear
her going " crick-crack ! " It was really terrible !
The poor man, who managed the whole show, became very frightened,
and was so sorry for his queen, for she was the most beautiful doll he had,
and now that ugly bulldog had bitten her head off; but afterward when
the people had gone away, the stranger, who was in Johannes's company,
said he would soon put her right, and so he brought out his jar and rubbed
the doll with the salve, with which he helped the poor old woman that
broke her leg. No sooner had the doll been rubbed than she was all right
again ; yes, she could even move all her liinbs of her own accord ; it was
not at all necessary to pull her by the string; the doll was just like a living
being, except that she could not speak. The man who owned the little
puppet-show was greatly pleased; now he need not hold this doll at all hv
the string, for she could dance by herself. None of the other dolls could
do that.
Afterward, when night came on and all the people had gone ti) bed,
some one began to sigh so heavily, and continued sighing so long, that
everybody got up to see who it could be. The man who had the show
went to his little theater, for it was from there ttie sighing came. All
FOUR SKKLETONS OK PRINCES WHO HAD WOOED THE PRINCESS.
^
THE TRAVELING COMPANION
31
the wooden dolls lay mixed up together, the king and all his yeomen
were sighing most pitifully, and staring with their big glass eyes, for they
wanted so much to be rubbed a little, just like the queen, so that they too
might be able to move about of themselves. The queen went down at
once on her knees and held up her beautiful crown, while she begged :
"Take it, oh, take it ! But rub my consort and my courtiers!" The poor
man who owned the theater and all the dolls could not help weeping, for
"1^^ /I '^■
THE QUEEN WENT DOWN ON HER KNEES AND HELD UP HER CROWN, BEGGING,
" TAKE IT, OH, TAKE IT ! "
he really felt sorry for them; he promised the traveling companion at
once that he would give him all the money he took at his show the next
evening if he would only rub four or five of his finest dolls, but the travel-
ing companion said he would not ask for anything but the big saber which
the man wore by his side, and when he got it he rubbed six of the dolls,
who at once began dancing, which they did so beautifully that all the
girls, the real, living girls, who were looking on, took to dancing as well.
The coachman and the cook, the footmen and the chamber-maid, and all
the strangers danced ; even the fire-shovel and the tongs wanted to join in
32 THE TRAVELING COMPANION
the dance, but they toppled over at the very first jump they made — yes, it
was indeed a merry sight !
Next morning Johannes and his traveling companion went away from
all of them and continued their journey across the lofty mountains and
through the large pine-forests. They got so high up that the church
towers far down below them looked at last like small red berries among
all the green, and they could see a long way off, for many, many miles
off, far away to places where they had never been. Johannes had never
before seen so much of the beauties of this lovely world all at once; the
sun shone so warm through the fresh blue air, he heard the huntsmen
blow their bugles among the mountains, so beautifully and gaily, that the
tears came into his eyes with joy and he could not help saying: "I feel as
if I could kiss you, dear Lord, because you are so kind to us all, and have
given us all the loveliness there is in the world!"
The traveling companion also stood with folded hands, looking out
over the forest and the cities that lay bathed in the warm sunshine. Just
then they heard the most wonderful and lovely music over their heads;
they looked up and saw a large white swan soaring above them in the air;
it was very beautiful, and it sang as they never before had heard a bird
sing; but the song grew fiiinter and fainter, the bird bent its head and
dropped quite slowlv down at their feet, where it lav dead — poor, beauti-
ful bird !
"Two such beautiful wings," said the companion, "as white and large
as those which this bird has, are worth a deal of money ! I '11 take them
with me! You can now see it was a good thing I took the saber!" and
with one blow he cut off both wings of the dead swan, which he wanted
to keep.
They nt)w traveled for many, manv miles across the mountains, till at
last they saw before them a great city, with over a hundred steeples, which
shone like silver in the sunshine. \n the middle of the city was a splendid
marble palace, with a roof of red gold, and here lived the king.
Johannes and his companion would not go straight into the city, but
stopped at the inn outside it, so that they might make themselves tidv, for
they wanted to look respectable when they got into the streets. The
landlord told them that the king was such a good man, that he never did
any injustice or harm to any one, either in one way or another, but as for
his daughter — -well, heaven preserve us, she was a very wicked princess
indeed! Beauty she possessed enough, — no one could be more beautiful
and fascinating than she, — but what good could that be.? She was a
wicked witch, who was the cause of so many handsome princes having
lost their lives. She had given permission to all men to woo her; every-
body might come and try his luck, whether he was a prince or a beggar,
that did not matter as far as she was concerned; the suitor would only
have to guess three things which she would ask him. If he guessed
THE TRAVELING COMPANION 33
rightly she would marry him, and he should be king of the whole country
when her father died ; but if he could not guess the three things she would
order him to be hanged or beheaded — so cruel and wicked was this beau-
tiful princess! Her fither, the king, was much distressed at all this, but
he could not forbid her wicked proceedings, for he had once said he would
have nothing at all to do with her love affairs; she might do just as she
pleased. Every prince who came and tried his luck at guessing, in order
to win the princess, was sure to tail, and so he was hanged or beheaded ;
they had all been warned in time, and, of course, they need not have gone
a-courting. The old king was so grieved at all this misery and wretched-
ness that he lay on his knees a whole day every year with all his soldiers,
and prayed that the princess might mend her wicked ways; but she was
not at all in the humor for that ! All the old women, who were fond of
spirits, colored it quite black before they drank it. That was the way in
which they mourned, and what more could they do r
"What a terrible princess!" said Johannes; "she really t)ught to be
birched, that might do her some good. If only I were the old king, I
would whip her till she was sore all over her body!"
fust then they heard the people outside shouting "hurrah ! " The prin-
cess was on her way past the house ; she was really so beautiful that every-
body forgot how wicked she was, and therefore they cried " hurrah ! "
Twelve beautiful maidens, all dressed in white silk dresses and with golden
tulips in their hands, rode by her side on coal-black horses. The princess
herself had a snow-white horse, decked with diamonds and rubies ; her
riding habit was woven of pure gold, and the whip she held in her hand
looked like a sunbeam. The golden crown on her head glittered as if it
were set with small stars from the heavens, and her mantle was made of
thousands of beautiful butterflies' wings, but nevertheless she herself was
much more beautiful than all her clothing.
As soon as Johannes saw the princess his face became as red as blood,
and he could scarcely utter a word, for the princess was the exact image ot
the beautiful maiden with a golden crown about whom he had dreamed the
night his father died. He thought her so beautiful that he could not help
falling in love with her. Surely it could not be true that she was a wicked
witch who would hang or behead people if they could not guess what she
was thinking about. "Everyone is allowed to woo her," he said, "even
the poorest beggar. I will go up to the palace; I cannot help myself! "
They all said he should not do it; it was sure to go with him as with
all the others. His traveling companion dissuaded him from it also, but
Johannes thought he would be all right, so he brushed his boots and coat,
washed his hands and face, combed his beautiful yellow hair, and went all
by himself into the city and up to the palace.
"Come in!" said the old king, when Johannes knocked at the door.
Johannes opened it, and the old king in his dressing-gown and em-
34 THE TRAVELING COMPANION
broidered slippers came to meet him ; he had the crown on his head and
carried the scepter in one hand, and the golden apple in the other.
"Wait a bit," he said, and put the apple under his arm, so that he could
hold out his hand to Johannes. But as soon as he heard he was a suitor
for his daughter's hand he began to crv so violently that both the scepter
and the apple fell on the floor, and he had to drv his tears on his dressing-
gown — poor old king !
"Do n't think of it," he said, "you '11 fare as badly as all the others.
Now just come and see ! " and so he led Johannes out into the princess's plea-
sure garden. There a terrible sight met his eyes. In every tree hung
three or four princes, who had wooed the princess, but had not been able
to guess what she had been thinking of. Every gust of wind made the
skeletons rattle, so that the little birds were frightened away and never
dared to come into the garden ; all the flowers were fastened up to human
bones, and in the flower-pots were placed grinning skulls. That was cer-
tainly a strange garden for a princess.
" Here you can see ! " said the old king, " it will fare with you as with
all the others you see here. Let it therefore be! You really make me un-
happy, for I take it so much to heart! "
Johannes kissed the hand of the good old king and said that things
WQuld come all right, for he was very much in love with the lovely
princess.
At this moment the princess herself came riding into the palace yard
with all her ladies ; they therefore went out to meet her and say " Good
morning" to her. She was really very beautiful ; she held out her hand to
Johannes, who now could not help loving her more than ever ; she could
not be the cruel, wicked witch that all the people said she was. They all
went into the hall, where little pages offered them sweetmeats and ginger-
nuts, but the old king was so distressed that he could not touch anything
at all ; besides, the ginger-nuts were too hard tor him.
It was then arranged that Johannes should come up to the palace again
next morning ; the judges and the whole council would then be assembled
and hear how clever he was at guessing. If he got on well the first time,
he was to come twice more, but as yet no one had ever succeeded in guess-
ing right the first time, and so they lost their lives.
Johannes was not at all anxious as to how he would fare ; he was quite
pleased and only thought of the beautiful princess, and believed firmly that
God would help him, but how, he did not know, nor did he want to think
of it either. He went dancing along the high road on his way back to
the inn, where his companion was waiting for him.
Johannes never tired of telling him how nice the princess had been to
him and how beautiful she was ; he was already longing greatly for the
next day, when he was to go to the palace and try his luck at guessing.
But his companion shook his head and was greatly troubled. " I am
THE TRAVELING COMPANION
35
very fond of you ! " he said, " we might still have kept together for a long
time, and now I am going to lose you already ! Poor, dear Johannes ! I
could almost cry, hut I will not disturb your happiness on the last evening,
perhaps, we are to be together. We will be merry, quite merry ! To-
morrow when you are gone, I can cry ! "
All the people in the city had soon got to know that a new suitor for
the princess's hand had arrived, and there was therefore great sorrow among
•^^^^^^"'^^'^^P^^^^^^^'^?^^^
them. The playhouse was closed, all the women who sold cakes and
sweets in the streets tied black crape round their sugar-pigs, and the king
and the parsons lay on their knees in the church ; there was such lamenta-
tion, for Johannes would surely not fare better than all the other suitors.
In the evening the traveling companion brewed a large bowl of punch
and told Johannes that now they were going to be really merry and drink
the health of the princess. But when Johannes had drunk two glasses,
he became so sleepy that it was not possible for him to keep his eyes open,
and at last he fell asleep. His companion then lifted him quite gently
from the chair and laid him on the bed, and when it was quite dark he
36 THE TRAVELING COMPANION
took the two large wings which he had cut off the swan, tied them fast
to his shoulders, and the biggest rod which he had got from the old woman
who fell and broke her leg, he put in his pocket ; he then opened the
window and flew over the city straight to the palace, where he hid himself
in a corner up under the window which led into the princess's bedchamber.
Everything was quiet all over the town; the clock now struck a quar-
ter to twelve, the window was opened and the princess, with long black
wings on her shoulders and dressed in a large white cloak, flew away over
the city to a great mountain; but the traveling companion, who had made
himself invisible so that she could not see him, flew behind her and kept
on whipping her with his rod till there were actually signs of blood where
he had struck her. Ugh! what a journey through the air! The wind
caught hold of her cloak so that it spread out on all sides just like a big
sail on a ship, and the moon shone through it.
, "How it hails! How it hails!" the princess said at every blow she got
from the rod, and well she deserved them all. At last she reached the
mountain and knocked tor admission. There was a rumbling sound like
the roll of thunder, and then the mountain opened and the princess went
in. The traveling companion followed her, for no one could see him as
he was invisible. They went through a great long passage where strange
lights were seen sparkling on the walls; over a thousand glowing spiders
were running up and down the walls, shining like Are. They then came
to a great hall, built of silver and gold; red and blue flowers as large as
sun-flowers shone from the walls, but no one could pluck any of these
flowers, for the stems were horrible poisonous snakes, and the flowers were
fiery flames, which blazed out of their mouths. The whole of the ceiling
was covered with shining glow-worms and azure blue bats, which were
flapping awav with their thin wings; it was quite a wonderful sight. In
the middle ot the hall was a throne, supported by the skeletons of tour
horses with harness made of red, fiery spiders; the throne itself was of
milk-white glass, and the cushion for sitting on consisted of little black
mice biting each other's tails. Above it was a canopy of rose-colored
spiders' webs, studded with beautiful little green flies, which sparkled like
diamonds. On the throne sat an old troll with a crown on his uglv head
and a scepter in his hand. He kissed the princess on the forehead and let
her sit by his side on the costly throne, and then the music began. Great
black grasshoppers played on Jews' harps, and the owl struck herself on
the stomach, for she had no drum. It was a funny concert! Little
brownies with will-o'-the-wisps in their caps danced round the hall. No-
body could see the traveling companion; he had taken a place just behind
the throne and could hear and see everything. The courtiers, who now
came into the hall, looked nice and grand enough, but any one with his
wits about him could see what they really were. They were nothing
more or less than broomsticks with cabbage heads on their ends to which
JOHANNES UNTIED HIS HANDKERCHIEF AND SHOWED THE PRINCESS THE UGLV HEAD OK IHE
THE TRAVELING COMPANION 39
the troll had given life, as well as their embroidered clothes. But this did
not matter much after all, for they were only used tor show.
After there had been some dancing the princess told the troll that she
had got a new suitor, and asked therefore what she should think of tor the
suitor to guess when he came to the palace next morning.
"Just listen," said the troll, "I '11 tell you something. You must think
of something very easy, for then he won't guess it at all! Think ot one
of your shoes. He won't guess that. Then have his head cut off, but
don't forget when vou come here to-morrow night to bring his eyes with
you, for I want to eat them!"
The princess courtesied quite low, and said she would not forget the
eves. The troll then opened the mountain for her and she flew home
again, but the traveling companion followed behind and whipped her so
hard with the rod that she groaned heavily at the severe hailstorm, as she
thought, and made all the haste she could to get back to her bedchamber
through the window, but the traveling companion flew back to the inn,
where Johannes was still asleep, took off his wings and lay down on his
bed, for he might well be tired.
It was quite early in the morning when Johannes awoke; his com-
panion also got up and told him he had had a very wonderful dream in
the night about the princess and one of her shoes, and he therefore begged
Johannes to be sure to ask her if she might not have been thinking of one
of her shoes. For that was what he had heard from the troll in the
mountain, but he would not tell Johannes anything about that; he begged
him only to ask if she had been thinking of one of her shoes.
"I may as well ask about one thing as another," said Johannes; "it
may be quite true what you have dreamt, for I always believe that God
will be sure to help me ! But still I will say farewell to you, for if I guess
wrong I shall never see you any more!"
They then kissed each other and Johannes went into the city and
thence straight to the palace. The whole hall was hlled with people; the
judges sat in their easy chairs, with eider-down cushions at the back of
their heads, for thev had so much to think about. The old king stood up
and dried his eves with a white handkerchief. The princess now entered
the hall; she was still more lovely than the day before and greeted every-
body in the most friendly manner, but to Johannes she gave her hand and
said: "Good morning to you!"
Johannes was now to guess what she had been thinking of. Good-
ness, what a kind look she gave him 1 But no sooner had she heard him
say the one word "shoe," than she turned as pale as death and trembled
all over ; but that could not help her, for he had guessed right.
My gracious ! How glad the old king was ! He turned a somersault
that made every one stare, and all the people clapped their hands at him
and Johannes, who had now guessed right the first time.
40 THE TRAVELING COMPANION
The traveling companion was beaming with delight when he got to
know how successful Johannes had been; but Johannes folded his hands
and thanked God, who, no doubt, would also help him on the second and
third occasions. Next day the guessing was to begin again.
In the evening things happened in just the same way as on the pre-
vious one. When Johannes was asleep, the traveling companion flew be-
hind the princess to the mountain and birched her still more than on the
last occasion, for now he had taken two of the rods with him. No one
saw him, while he heard everything. This time the princess \\'as going to
think of her glove, and this he told to Johannes, just as if it had come to
him in a dream. Johannes was thus once more able to guess right, and
there were in consequence great rejoicings at the palace. The whole court
began turning somersaults, just as they had seen the king do on the hrst
day, but the princess lay on a sofa and would not speak a word. All now
depended on whether Johannes could guess right the third time. If all
went well he would have the beautiful princess and inherit the whole
kingdom when the old king was dead ; if he guesiied wrong he would lose
his life, and the troll would eat his beautiful blue eyes.
The evening before the third trial Johannes went early to bed, said his
prayers, and slept quite peacefully ; but his companion fastened the wings
to his back, and the sword to his side, and took all the three rods with
him and flew off to the palace.
The night was pitch dark and a storm was raging, so that the tiles flew
off the houses, and the trees in the garden, on which the skeletons were
hanging, swung to and fro like reeds before the wind ; every moment there
were flashes of lightning and the thunder rolled as if in one continuous
clap which lasted the whole of the night. The window was now thrown
open and the princess flew out; she was as pale as death, but she laughed
at the bad weather and thought it was not bad enough; her white cloak
whirled round in the air like a large sail, but the traveling companion
whipped her so hard with his three rods that the blood trickled down on
the ground, and at last- she was scarcely able to fly any farther. But at
length she got to the mountain.
"It is hailing and blowing," she said; "never have I been out in such
weather."
"Yes, one can have too much of a good thing," said the troll. The
princess then told him that Johannes had guessed right again the second
time; if he should succeed again the next day he would win, and she
would never be able to come to him in the mountain any more, and never
be able to try her hand at witchcraft as before; and therefore she was quite
distressed in her mind.
"He shall not guess it," said the troll; "I will think of something that
has never entered his head, or else he must be a greater troll than I. But
now we will make merrv ! " And so he took the princess by both hands,
and thev danced round with all the little brownies and will-o'-the-wisps in
THE TRAVELING COMPANION 41
the room; the red spiders ran quite merrily up and down the walls, and
the fiery flowers seemed to throw out sparks of fire. The owl beat the
drum, the crickets chirped, and the grasshoppers played on the Jews' harp.
It was, indeed, a merry ball !
After they had danced enough, the princess had to think of getting
home, or else she might be missed at the palace. The troll said he would
go with her, and they would then be together for a little while longer.
So away they flew in the bad weather, while the traveling companion
lashed their backs with all his three rods till they were worn into shreds;
never before had the troll been out in such a hail-storm. Outside the
palace he said farewell to the princess and whispered to her at the same
time: "Think of my head"; but the traveling companion heard it sure
enough, and just at the moment when the princess was slipping through
the window into her bed-chamber, and when the troll was going to turn
back, he seized him by his long black beard, and with his saber cut off
the ugly head of the troll close to the shoulders, so quickly that the troll
did not even see him. The body he threw into the sea to the fishes, but
the head he only dipped into the water and then tied it up in his silk
handkerchief, took it with him home to the inn and lay down to sleep.
Next morning he gave Johannes the handkerchief, but told him that
he must not open it till the princess asked him what she was thinking of.
There were so many people in the large hall of the palace that they
were standing up against one another like radishes tied up in a bundle.
The council sat in their chairs with their soft cushions, and the old king
had put on new clothes, and the gold crown and scepter had been polished
up, till everything looked quite grand; but the princess was quite pale and
wore a coal-black dress, as if she were going to a funeral.
"What have I been thinking of?" she said to Johannes, who at once
untied the handkerchief and became quite frightened himself when he saw
the ugly head of the troll. All the people shuddered, for it was a terrible
sight, but the princess sat like an image in stone, and could not utter a single
word. At last she rose and gave Johannes her hand, for he had now guessed
right enough. She did not look at anybody, but sighed quite deeply:
"Now you are my master! This evening we will celebrate our wedding!"
"That 's what I Hke!" cried the old king, "that 's what we like to
see!" All the people shouted "hurrah!" the military band played in the
streets, the bells were rung, and the women who sold cakes took the black
crape off their sugar-pigs, for now there was joy in the land. Three
whole roasted oxen, filled with ducks and fowls, were placed in the
middle of the market-place, where every one might cut a piece tor him-
self; the fountains ran with the finest wine, and all who bought a penny
cake at the bakers' got six large buns into the bargain, and they were
buns with raisins in them.
In the evening the whole town was illuminated, and the soldiers fired
salutes with guns and the boys with percussion caps, and there was eating
42 THE TRAVELING COMPANION
and drinking, and clinking of glasses, and a running about at the palace,
and a long way off one could hear them singing :
So many pretty girls I see.
All ready for a swing about,
The drummer's march they wait with glee;
Come, tiiir one, trip it in or out.
Trip it and dance — ankle and knee —
Till shoe and sole part company.
But the princess was still a witch, and did not at all care for Johannes.
This the traveling companion was aware of, and he therefore gave Johan-
nes three feathers from the swan's wings and a little bottle with a few
drops of some liquid in it, and told him that he should let a large tub,
filled with water, he placed near the bridal bed, and when the princess
was about to get into bed he should give her a gentle push so that she
should fall into the water, and he should then duck her three times, after
having first thrown in the feathers and the drops from the little bottle, and
she would be freed from the spell ot witchcraft she was under and come
to love him very much.
Johannes did all that his ci)mpanit)n had advised him to do. The
princess screamed loudly when he ducked her under the water, sprawled
about in his grip, and was turned into a large coal-black swan with flash-
ing eyes; the second time, when she came up above the water, the swan
had become white, with the exception of a single black ring round the
neck. Johannes muttered a pious prayer and ducked the bird for the
third time under the water, and the next moment it was changed into
the most beautiful princess. She was more lovely than ever, and she
thanked him with tears in her beautiful eyes for having freed her from the
spell of the troll.
Next morning the old king and the whole court came to offer their
congratulations, which lasted till far into the day. Last of all came the
traveling companion; he had his stick in his hand and his knapsack on his
back. Johannes kissed him many times and asked him not to go away;
he must remain with him, for he was the cause of all his good fortune.
But the traveling companion shook his head and said in a kind and friendly
tone: "No, my time is now up. I have only paid my debt to you. Do
you remember the dead man whom the wicked men wanted to disturb .?
You gave everything you possessed that he might have peace in his grave.
The dead man was I!"
And the next moment he was gone. The wedding lasted a whole
month. Johannes and the princess loved one another very much, and the
old king lived to see many happy days, and he let his wee little grand-
children ride on his knee and play with his scepter ; but Johannes was king
over the whole country.
THE MONEY-PIG
^^liJ-r^P^^^^'d ,-^;
^^'-^'Z^^-^l #^^
V\r^
<' i;>
THE MONEY-PIG
THERE was such a lot of toys in the nursery; on the top of the chest
of drawers stood the money-box. It was made ot clay in the
shape of a pig, and had the usual slit in its back, but this slit had
been made bigger with a knife, so that silver dollars could also be put into
it; two of these had already passed through, besides many other kinds of
money. The money-pig was so stuffed that he could not rattle any longer,
and that is the highest a money-pig can attain to. There he stood on top
of the chest of drawers and looked down upon everything in the room ;
he knew well enough that with what he had in his stomach he could buy
the whole lot of them, and that 's what is called having confidence in
oneself.
45
46
THE MONEY-PIG
The other toys thought the same, although they did not say so; there
were other things to talk about. The top drawer was partly open, and
there a large doll appeared; she was rather old, and had had her neck
riveted. She looked round and said : " Shall we play men and women ?
It '11 be something for a change." And then there was a commotion!
Even the pictures on the wall turned themselves round; they knew that
thev had another side as well, but they did not turn round Just for the sake
of contradicting.
crash! there he lay i)n the floor, all in bits and pieces, while the
MONEY rolled ABOUT.
It was midnight; the moon shone through the window and provided
lighting for nothing. Now the fun was going to begin; everything in the
room had been invited, even the perambulator, which, after all, only be-
longed to the commoner kind of toys. " Everyone is good enough in
his own estimation," it said; "we cannot all be of noble birth! Somebody
must make himself useful, as they say."
The money-pig was the only one who got a written invitation ; he stood
too high, they all thought, to hear them if they spoke to him. He did
not send word, either, whether he was coming, for he did not turn up.
If he was to take any part in it he would have to enjoy it up there from
THE MONEY-PIG 47
his own point of view. They would make their arrangements accordingly,
and so they did.
The little toy-theater was at once placed so that he could look straight
into it; they wanted to hegin with a play, and afterward there were to he
tea and mental exercises, hut they commenced with the latter. The rock-
ing-horse talked ahout training and thoroughbreds, the perambulator about
railways and steam power — all of which were matters connected with their
occupations, and which they could discuss. The parlor clock talked about
politics — tick-tick! it knew the time of the day, but it was said that it
did not go correctly. The bamboo cane stood there, proud of its ferrule
and silver button, because it was mounted both at top and toe; in the sofa
lay two embroidered cushions; they looked very pretty and stupid.
And then the play was to begin.
All were seated and looked on ; they had been requested to rap, crack,
and rattle, according as they were pleased. But the riding-whip said he
would never rap to old people, only to those who were not engaged to be
married.
"I '11 crack to all and everything!" said the percussion cap. "One
has to be in some place, after all! "■ thought the spittoon; this was the
kind of thoughts they had in their minds as they sat at the play. The
piece was not of much account, but it was well performed ; all the actors
turned their colored side to the audience, for they had only been made to
be seen on the one side and not on the other. They all played excel-
lently; they came right out in front of the stage; their strings were too
long, but this made them all the more noticeable. The doll with the
riveted neck became so excited that the rivets got loose, and the money-
pig became so excited in his way that he made up his mind to do something
for one of them, to put him in his will as the one who should be publicly
buried with him, when the time came.
It was such a treat that they gave up tea and went on with mental
exercises, which they called playing men and women, and there was no
harm in that, for they were only playing- — -and everyone was thinking
about himself and what the money-pig thought; but the money-pig's
thoughts went farthest, for he was thinking about his will and burial and
when it would come to pass — always sooner than you expect it ! Crash !
— and there he lay on the floor, all in bits and pieces, while the
money danced and rolled about; the smaller pieces whirled round and
round, and the bigger ones rolled along the floor, particularly one of the
silver dollars, who wanted to see the world in earnest. And so he did,
and so did all the rest ; the pieces of the money-pig were thrown into the
pail, but next day on the top of the chest of drawers stood a new money-
pig of clay; as yet there was not a penny in him and so he could not
rattle. In this respect he was like the other, and this was at any rate a
beginning, so with this we will come to an end.
THE GALOSHES OF FORTUNE
THE GALOSHES HAD THE PROPERTY OF INSTANTLY TRANSPORTING ANY ONE %VHO
PUT THEM ON, TO WHATEVER PLACE, OR TIME, HE WISHED.
THE GALOSHES OF FORTUNE