VI. THE BEST THING THE GALOSHES BROUGHT

Early in the morning of the following day, as the clerk still lay in bed,
there came a knock at his door; it was his neighbor on the same tioor, a
theological student, who came into the room.

"Will you lend me your galoshes?" he asked, "it's so wet in the
garden, but the sun is shining brightly and I should like to smoke a pipe
down there ! "

He put on the galoshes and soon found himself in the garden. There
was only a plum-tree and a pear-tree, but even such a small garden is greatly
prized in Copenhagen.

THE GALOSHES OF FORTUNE 79

The student walked up and down the path; it was only six o'clock ; he
heard the horn of the mail coach in the street.

"Ah, to travel ! to travel!" he exclaimed, "after all, that is the most
delightful thing in the world! That is the highest goal of my
ambition! Then all this restlessness which I feel would subside.
But I must go far, far away! I should like to see beautiful Switzer-
land, to travel in Italy, and — "

It was a good thing that the galoshes began to apply their
magic power at once, or else he would have gone too far away
altogether, both for his own convenience and ours. He was now on
his travels, in the midst of Switzerland, packed together with eight
other people inside a diligence, his head ached, he felt a weary pain in
his neck, and his feet, which were swollen and pressed by his boots,
had gone to sleep. He was in a half-sleeping, half-waking condition.
In his right-hand pocket he had his letter of credit, and in his left-hand
pocket his passport, and in a small leather bag, which he wore on his breast,
some louis d'or were sewed up; every time he dozed off, he thought that
one or the other of these valuable things had been lost, and would therefore
awake with a feverish start, and the first movement his hand would make
was a triangular one from the right to the left and up to his breast, to feel if
he had them still in his possession. Umbrellas, sticks, and hats were swinging
to and fro in the net above, and to a certain extent shut out the view, which
was highly impressive; he just glanced at it while his heart sang what at
least one poet whom we know, has sung in Switzerland, but which has not
as yet been printed: —

Here, 'neath the splendor of Mont Blanc,
With awe-filled heart, my love, I wander,
Were purse as full as heart — then long
And happy days we'd live and squander!

The scenery around was grand, impressive, and gloomy ; the pine forests
looked like the tops of heather on the lofty rocks, the summit of which was
hidden in clouds of mist. It began to snow and the wind blew cold.

"Ugh!" he sighed, "I wish we were on the other side of the Alps!
Then we should have summer, and I should have drawn out the money for
my letter of credit. I am so anxious about this money, that I do not enjoy
Switzerland! Oh, that I were on the other side!"

And he was on the other side, far down into Italy, between Florence
and Rome.

The lake of Thrasimene lay like a sheet of fiaming gold in the sunset
between dark-blue mountains; here, where Hannibal defeated Flaminius,
the vines now grew peacefully, clutching each other by their green fingers";
and pretty, half-naked children were tending a herd of coal-black swine

80 THE GALOSHES OF FORTUNE

under a clump of fragrant laurels near the roadside. If we could reproduce
such a picture accurately every one would exclaim: "Glorious Italy!" but
neither the theological student nor any of his traveling companions in the
diligence said anything of the kind.

Thousands ot venomous tlies and mosquitoes swarmed into the coach,
the passengers trying in vain to beat them off with sprigs of myrtle; the
flies stung in spite of all their exertions; there was not a person in the
coach whose face was not swollen and red from their bites. The poor
horses looked like carrion; the flies clung in big swarms to them, and it
was only a momentary relief when the driver got down and scraped off
the insects. The sun was now setting; a sharp, icy cold pervaded all na-
ture ; it was not at all pleasant, but all around the hills and clouds assumed
the most lovely green tint, so clear, so bright; well, take a trip there and
see for yourself; that is better than reading a description of it! It was a
glorious sight ! The travelers thought so too, but their stomachs were
empty, their bodies tired, and all that their hearts yearned for was quarters
for the night.

But what would they he like - The passengers were looking tar more
eagerly for these than for the beauties of nature.

The road passed through an olive wood ; it seemed to the student as it
he was driving between the knotty willows in his own country. Here
stood the lonely inn, outside which a dozen crippled beggars were stretched;
the strongest of them looked like "hunger's eldest son just come to the
years of manhood," as Marryat says. The others were either blind, or had
withered legs, and crept about on their hands, or gaunt arms with tinger-
less hands. It was real misery, dragged out from its rags.

" Eccellenza, miserabili ! " they moaned, as they stretched out their dis-
abled limbs. The landlady herself, with bare feet, uncombed hair, and
dressed in a dirty blouse, received the guests. The doors were tied up with
string, and the tloors in the room presented the appearance of a broken-up
roadway paved with bricks ; bats were tiying about under the ceilings, and
the stench

"She might lay the table down in the stables!" said one of the pas-
sengers, "there we should know what it was we were breathing!"

The windows were opened to let in a little fresh air, but quicker than
this came in the gaunt arms, and the everlasting whines ot "miserabili,
Eccellenza ! '

On the walls were many inscriptions, half of which were invectives
against la bella Italia.

The meal was now served; it consisted of some watery soup, seasoned
with pepper and rancid oil, the same kind of oil being also used for the
salad; musty eggs and fried cocks-combs were the principal dishes. Even
the wine had a disagreeable taste; it was like a black draught!

All the trunks were placed against the door for the night, and one of

THE GALOSHES OF FORTUNE 81

the travelers was to keep watch while the others slept. This fell to the
lot of the theological student. Oh, how suffocating the air was in the
room ! The heat was oppressive, the mosquitoes were buzzing about and
stinging, while the " miserabili " outside were heard whining in their sleep.

''Yes, traveling is all very well ! " sighed the student, "if only one was
not troubled with a body ! If that could rest and the spirit fly ! Wherever
I go I feel a void which oppresses my heart; I want something better than
the momentary, yes, something better— in fact, the best. But where and
what is it? I think, however, I know what I really want. I want to reach
a happy goal, the happiest of all! "

No sooner had he spoken these words than he was in his own home,
the long white curtains were drawn across the window, and in the middle
of the room stood a black coffin in which he was lying in his peaceful sleep
of death. His wish had been fulfilled, the body rested, the spirit had fled.
The truth of Solon's words, "Call no man happy until he is in his grave,"
were here again confirmed.

Every dead body is a sphinx of immortality. Nor did the sphinx in
this black coffin solve what the living being two days before had written:

Oh, might}- Deatli, thy silence strikt-s me dumb I
'T is but tlie churchyard graves that hear thy tread!
Our thought that scales the heavens, must it come
To naught V Is grass the only rising of the dead"?

The world knows nothing of our greatest pain:
Thou wert in solitude unto the end !
In life worse presses upon heart and brain
Than heavy clods that on thy coffin-lid tlescend!

Two figures were moving about in the room ; we know them both.
They were the two fairies. Care and the messenger of Fortune ; they were
bending over the dead body. "Do you see," said Care, "what fortune
vour galoshes brought mankind after all?"

"They brought, at least, a lasting benefit to him who sleeps here,"
answered Fortune's messenger.

"Oh, no," said Care. "He passed away by his own wish; he was not
called. His intellectual power here was not strong enough to raise the
treasures yonder, which he, according to his destiny, had to raise. I will
do him an act of kindness."

She then pulled the galoshes off his feet; the sleep of death was over,
the dead man came to life again, and raised himself.

Care vanished, and with her the galoshes ; she, no doubt, considered
them her property.

AUNTY TOOTHACHE

JRAXr. ATTACK OF TOOTHACHE WAS COMING Ot

AUNTY TOOTHACHE

WHERI^^ did we get this story?
Would you like to know ?
We got it from the tub in which the waste paper is kept.

Many a good and rare old book has found its way to the butterman's
and the grocer's, not to be read, but to be used as packing paper for starch
and coffee, or to wrap up salted herrings, butter, and cheese. Manu-
scripts and letters also lind their way to the tub.

We often throw into the waste-paper tub what ought not to go there.

I know a grocer's assistant, the son of a butterman ; he has risen from
serving in the cellar to serving in the front shop, and is a well-read person,
his reading consisting of the matter, printed and written, found on the pa-
per he used for packing. He has an interesting collection; and in this are
to be found many important official documents from the waste-paper bas-
kets ot several busy and absent-minded officials, a few confidential letters
from one lady friend to another — bits of scandal which were to go no
further, and were not to be mentioned by any one. He is a living sal-
vage-institution for not an inconsiderable portion of our literature, and his
collection covers a wide field; he has the run of his parents' shop and that
of his present master, and has there saved many a book, or leaves of a book,
well worth reading more than once.

He has shown me his collection of printed and written matter from
the waste-paper tub; the most valuable has come from the butterman's.
I noticed a couple of leaves from a large exercise book; the unusually
clear and neat handwriting attracted my attention at once.

"That 's what the student wrote," he said; "the student who lived
opposite here and died about a month ago. One can see he must have
suffered terribly from toothache. It is very interesting reading. This is
only part of what he wrote; there was a whole book and more besides;
my parents gave the student's landlady half a pound of soft soap for it.
This is all I have been able to save."

I borrowed it, I read it, and now I give it to the world.

The title was:

86 AUNTY TOOTHACHE

AUNTY TOOTHACHE

I

Auntv used to give me sweets when I was a little boy.

My teeth did not suffer; they were not injured; now I am older, and
I am a student; still she goes on spoiling me with sweets, and says I am
a poet.

I have something of the poet in me, hut not enough. Otten when I
go about the streets, it seems to me as if I am walking in a big library ;
the houses are the bookshelves; and every floor is a shelf with books.
There stands a story of everv-day life; next to it a good old comedy, and
scientific works in all branches, and here are books of good reading and
books of bad reading. Over all this wealth of literature I can dream
and philosophize.

There is something of the poet in me, but not enough. No doubt
many people have just as much of it in them as I, yet they do not carry a
badge or a necktie with the word "Poet" on it. They and I have been
endowed with a divine gift, a blessing great enough to satisfy oneself, but
altogether too insignificant to be portioned out again to others. It comes
like a ray of sunlight, and fills one's soul and thoughts; it comes like a
fragrant breeze, like a melody which one knows but without remembering
whence it comes.

The other evening I sat in mv room and felt inclined to read, but I
had no book, no paper. Just then a leaf, fresh and green, tell trom the
lime-tree, and the breeze carried it in through the window to me.

I examined the manv veins in it; a little insect was crawling across
them, as if it were making a thorough study of the leaf. This led me to
think of all the wisdom that we men lay claim to; we also crawl about
on a leaf, our knowledge being limited only to that; yet we are ready
to deliver a lecture on the whole tree — the root, the trunk, and the
crown; the great tree — God, the world, and immortality; — and ot all
this we know only the little leaf.

As I was sitting meditating thus, I received a visit from Aunty Milly.

I showed her the leaf and the insect, and told her of all the thoughts
thev had awakened in me, whereat her eyes sparkled.

"You are a poet!" she said; "perhaps the greatest we have. If I
should live to see this, I would gladly lie down and die. Ever since Ras-
mussen the brewer's funeral you have astonished me with your powerful
imagination."

This is what Aunty Milly said, and then she kissed me.

Who was Aunty Milly, and who was Rasmussen the brewer.?

AUNTY TOOTHACHE 87

II

We children always called our mother's aunt "Auntv"; we had no
other name tor her.

She gave us jam and sweets, although thev were verv injurious to our
teeth; but the dear children were her weakness, as she ut-ed to sav. It
was a shame to deny them a few sweets, when thev were so fond of them.

And that 's whv we loved auntv so much.

She was an old maid, and as tar back as I can remember she was
always old. She seemed always to be the same age.

In earlier years she had suffered a great deal from toothache, and was
always talking about it; and so it happened that her friend, Mr. Rasmussen,
the brewer, called her Aunty Toothache, just to show his wit.

He had left off brewing some years before, and was now living upon
the interest ot his money, and used to come and visit aunty. He was
older than she, and had no teeth at all — only some black stumps.

When a child he had eaten too much sugar, he told us children, and
that 's how he came to look as he did.

Auntv could surelv never have eaten sugar when she was vounsj, for
she had the most beautiful teeth.

She took great care of theni, and she did not sleep in them at night
— so Rasmussen the brewer said. The children knew that this was said in
malice, but aunty declared he did not mean anything bv it.

One morning, after breakfast, she told us of a terrible dream she had
had in the night, and that one of her teeth had fallen out.

"That means," she said, "that I shall lose a true friend! "

"Was it a false tooth?" asked the brewer with a smile; "if so, it can
only mean that you will lose a false friend!"

"You are a rude old man! " said auntv, angrier than I have ever seen
her before or since.

Afterward she told us that her old friend had only been teasing her;
he was the noblest being on earth, and when he died he would become
one ot God's angels in heaven.

I thought a good deal oi this transformation, and wondered whether
I should be able to recognize him in this new character.

When auntv and he were young people, he had proposed to her. She
had taken too long to think it over, and had settled down all by herself
and become an old maid, but always remained his true friend.

And then Rasmussen died.

He was conveyed to his grave in the most expensive hearse, and was
followed by a great number of people, many with orders and in uniform.

Aunty stood dressed in mourning by the window, together with all ot us
children, except our little brother whom the stork had brought a week ago.

88 AUNTY TOOTHACHE

The hearse and the procession had just passed, the street was empty,
and aunty wanted to go away from the window, but I did not want to ;
I was waiting for the angel, Rasmussen the brewer; for had n't he now
become one of God's bewinged children, and would n't he appear now ?

"Aunty," I said, "don't vou think he will come now? Or, when the
stork again brings us a little brother, won't he then bring us the angel
Rasmussen ?"

Aunty was quite overwhelmed by my flight of imagination, and said :
"That child will become a great poet!" And this she kept on repeating
all the time I went to school, and even after I was conhrmed and had
become a student.

She was, and is, to me the most sympathetic of friends, both in my
poetical and dental troubles, for I have attacks of both.

"Only write down your ideas," she said, "and put them in the table
drawer ! That 's what Jean Paul did ; he became a great poet, though I
don't admire him; he does not excite one. You must be exciting, and I
know you will ! "

During the night I lay awake, full of longings and anguish, full of
desire and anxiety to become the great poet that aunty saw and perceived
in me; I went through all the agonies of a poet! But there is a still
greater agony — toothache; it was grinding and crushing me, and I became
a writhing worm, with a poultice of sweet herbs and mustard plaster round
my face.

" I know all about it," said aunty. There was a sorrowful smile on
her lips, and her white teeth glistened.

Hut I must begin a new chapter in my own and my aunt's history.

Ill

I had removed to new lodgings, where I had been living a month. I
was telling aunty about them.

I live with a quiet family ; they do not trouble themselves about me,
even if I ring three times. Otherwise it is a noisy house, full of sounds
and disturbances caused by the weather, the wind, and the people. ' I live
just over the gateway ; every cart that drives out or in makes the pictures
on the walls move to and fro. The gate bangs and shakes the whole
house, as if there was an earthquake. If I am in bed the shocks go right
through all my limbs, but they say that is strengthening to the nerves. If
it blows, and it is always blowing in our country, the long window-hooks
outside swing to and fro, and strike against the wall. The bell in the
neighbor's yard rings with every gust of wind.

AUNTY TOOTHACHE 89

The people living in the house come home at all hours, from late in
the evening till far into the night; the lodger just above me, who in the
daytime gives lessons on the trombone, comes home last of all, and does
not go to bed till he has taken a short midnight promenade with heavy
steps and iron-heeled boots.

We have not double windows, but there is a brt)keii pane in my room,
over which the landlady has pasted some paper; but the wind blows
through the crack for all that, and produces a sound something like a
buzzing wasp. It is the kind of music which sends one to sleep. If at
last I fall asleep, I am soon awakened by the crowing of the cocks. From
the cellarman's hen-coop the cocks and hens announce that morning is
approaching. The small ponies, which have no stable, but are tied up in
the store-room under the staircase, kick against the door and the boarding
whenever they move their legs.

The day dawns ; the porter, who lives with his family in the garret,
comes thundering down the stairs; his clogs clatter along the passages, the
gate bangs and the house shakes, and, when all this is over, the lodger
above begins his gymnastic exercises ; he lifts a heavy iron ball in his hand,
but, as he is not able to hold it, it is constantly falling on the floor, while
at the same time the young folks in the house, who go to school, come
tearing along, screaming with all their might. I go to the window and
open it to get some fresh air, which I consider most refreshing when I can
get it, and when the young woman in the back building is not washing
gloves in soap-suds, by which work she makes a living. Otherwise it 's a
nice house, and I live with a quiet family !

This was the account I gave aunty about my lodgings, only it was in
a more lively style ; the spoken word has a fresher sound than the written.

"You are a poet ! " cried aunty. " Only put down all vou have said,
and you will be as good as Dickens. Well, to me, of course you are much
more interesting. You paint when you speak. You describe the house
you live in as if one saw it before one's eyes. It makes me shudder. Go
on with your work. Put some living beings into it — some people, beau-
tiful men and women, and — especially unhappy ones."

I wrote down my description of the house as it now stands, with all
its faults, and included only myself There was no plot in it. That comes
later on.

IV

It was in the winter, late at night, after theater hours ; it was terrible
weather ; a snow-storm was raging, so that one could hardly get along.

Aunty had gone to the theater, and I went to take her home; but it
was ditficult enough to get along by one's self, to say nothing of helping

90 AUNTY TOOTHACHE

any one else. All the carriages were engaged. Aunty lived in the out-
skirts of the town, while my lodgings were close to the theater. It" it had
not been for this, we should have had to take refuge for a time in a
sentry-box.

We trudged along in the deep 8no\\- with the snow-flakes whirling
around us. I had to lift her, support her, and push her along. Only twice
did we fall, but we fell on soft ground.

We reached my gate, where we shook off some of the snow. On the
stairs also we shook some off, but there was still enough almost to cover
the floor of the anteroom.

We took off our outer wraps and galoshes, and everything else we could
divest ourselves of The landlady lent aunty drv stockings and a night-
cap ; she would be sure to want it, said the landlady, for, as she rightly
added, it would be impossible for my aunt to get home that night; and .so
she asked her to make use of her parlor, where she would make a bed for
her on the sofa, in front of the door leading into my room, which was al-
ways kept locked.

And aunty agreed to the arrangement.

The fire burned in my stove, the tea urn came on the table, and the
little room began to look cozy, if not quite so cozy as aunty's, where in
the winter time there are thick portieres before the door, thick curtains
before the windows, and double carpets on the floor, with three layers of
thick paper underneath. One sits there as if in a well-corked bottle, full
o\' warm air; still, as I have said, my room also was pleasant and warm,
while outside the wind was whistling.

Auntv talked and talked; the davs of her youth came hack; the brewer
returned — all her old memories were revived.

She could remember when I got my first tooth, and how the family
rejoiced.

My first tooth ! The tooth of innocence, shining like a little drop of
milk — the milk-tooth!

The first had come, then came more — a whole row, side by side, at
the top and at the bottom, the prettiest of children's teeth; but only the
first ones, not the real ones, which have to last one's whole lifetime

They also appeared, and the wisdom-teeth as well, the fuglemen in the
row, born in pain and great tribulation.

They disappear again, every one of them ; thev disappear before the
time of service is up — the very last one has gone, and it is not a day for
rejoicing; it is a day for mourning.

So one begins to feel old, although one is young at heart.

Such reflections and such conversations are not pleasant. Yet we came
to talk about all this; we went back to the days of my childhood, and
talked and talked. It was twelve o'clock before aunty went to rest in the
room close by.

AUNTY TOOTHACHE 93

"Good night, my dear child," she said. " I shall sleep as if I lay in
my own four-poster."

And she slept peacefully ; but peace did not reign either within the
house or without. The storm rattled the windows, struck the wall with
the long, dangling iron hooks, and rang the neighbor's bell in the back-
yard. The lodger up-stairs had come home. He was still taking his nightly
promenade up and down the room ; he then kicked off his boots, and
went to bed and to rest; but he snores, so that anv one with good ears can
hear him through the ceiling.

I found no peace, no rest ; nor did the weather take any rest ; it was
unusually lively. The wind howled and sang in its own way ; my teeth
also began to be lively and thev hummed and sang in their way. A grand
attack of toothache was coming on.

Draughty gusts came from the window. The moon shone through
the window upon the riot)r ; the light came and went as the clouds rolled
by in the stormy weather. There was an unceasing change of light and
shadow, until at last the shadow on the floor began to take shape. I stared
at the apparition, and felt an icy cold gust against my face.

On the floor sat a thin, long flgure, just like what a child would draw
with a pencil on its slate; something like a human being — a single thin
line formed the body, another line or two made the arms, and the legs
were only indicated by a single line for each, and the head by angular
lines.

The flgure soon became more distinct; it was draped with a very thin
and flne kind of stufl^', clearly showing that the flgure was that of a woman.

I heard a buzzing sound. Was it she or the wind, which was buzzing
like a hornet through the crack in the pane?

No, it was she, Mistress Toothache ! Her terrible highness, Satauia
Infernalis ! Heaven deliver and preserve us from her visits!

"How cozy it is here!" she buzzed; "these are nice quarters —
marshy ground, boggy ground ! Here the gnats have been buzzing with
poison in their stings; I have a sting, and it must be sharpened on human
teeth. Those over in the bed shine so brightly. They have defled sweet
and sour things, heat and cold, nutshells and plum-stones; but I shall
shake them to their roots, I shall stretch them on the rack, and feed their
roots with draughty winds and chilly blasts!"

They were terrible words! — She is a terrible visitor!

"So you are a poet!" she said. "Well, I '11 coach you in all the
meters of toothache! I '11 thrust iron and steel into your body! I '11
seize all the fibers of your nerves!"

I felt as if a red-hot awl passed through my cheek-bone; I writhed
and twisted in my bed.

"A splendid row of teeth to play upon! just like an organ!" she said.
"We shall have a grand concert on jews'-harps, with kettle-drums and

94

AUNTY TOOTHACHE

trumpets, piccolo-flute, and trombone in- the wisdom-tooth ! Grand poet,
grand music! "

And then she started the performance.

She looked terrible, although one did not see more of her than her
hand, the shadowy, gray, ice-cold hand, with the long, thin, pointed fin-

gers; each of them was an instrument of torture; the thumb and the fore-
finger were pincers and wrench, the middle finger ended in a pointed awl,
the ring finger was an auger, and the little finger a squirt with gnat's
poison.

"I '11 teach you the right meter!" she said. "A great poet must
have a great toothache, a little poet a little toothache!"

AUNTY TOOTHACHE 95

"Oh, consider me then a httlc poet!" I prayed. "Consider me no-
thing at all! And I am not a poet; I have only tits of poetry like tits of
toothache. Leave me, oh leave me!"

"Will you acknowledge, then, that I am mightier than poetrv, philos-
ophy, mathematics, and all the music?" she said. "Mightier than all
these notions that are painted on canvas or hewn in marble.? I am older
than any of them. I was horn close to the Garden of Paradise, just out-
side, where the wind blew and the wet toadstools grew. It was I who
made Eve put on clothes in the cold weather, and Adam also. There
was manifestation ot power in the iirst toothache, I can tell you!"

"I believe it all," I said. "But leave me, oh leave me!"

" Ves, if you will give up being a poet, ne\er put verse on paper, slate,
or any kind of writing material, then I will let vou off; but I shall come
again, my poet ! "

"I swear!" I said; "only let me never see or teel vou anv more!"

"See me you shall, but in a more substantial shape, in a shape more
dear to you than I am at present. \'ou shall see me as Auntv Milly, and
I will say : ' Write poetry, my dear boy ! You are a great poet, perhaps
the greatest we have ! ' But if you believe me, and you begin to write
poetry, then I will set music to your verses, and play them on your mouth-
t)rgan. You dear child! Remember me, when vou see Auntv Millv !"

And then she vanished.

At parting I received something like the thrust of a red-hot awl
through my cheek-bone, but it soon subsided. I felt as if I were gliding
along the smooth water; I saw how the white water-lilies, with their
large green leaves, bent and sank down under me; how they withered and
perished, and how I sank with them; how I was set free and found peace
and rest.

"To die, to melt away like snow!" resounded in the water; "to
evaporate into air, to sail away like the clouds!"

Great shining names and inscriptions on waving banners of victory, the
letters patent of immortality, written on the wing of an ephemera, shone
down to me through the water.

The sleep was deep, a sleep without dreams. I did not hear the
whistling wind, the banging gate, the neighbor's noisy bell, or the
gymnastics of the lodger.

What happiness !

Then came a sudden gust of wind, so that the locked door to aunty's
room burst open. Aunty jumped up, got dressed, and came into my room.

I slept like one of (Jod's angels, she said, and had not the heart to
wake me.

I awoke later on and opened my eyes, but did not remember that
auntv was in the ht)use ; but I soon remembered it — and also my tooth-
ache vision.

96

AUNTY TOOTHACHE

Dream and reality were blended.

" I suppose you did not write anything last night after we said good-
night ? " she said. "I wish you had; you are mv poet, and shall remain
so!"

I thought that she smiled somewhat slyly. I did not know it" it were
the Aunty iVIilly who loved me, or the terrible one to whom I had made
the promise of last night.

"Have you written any poetry, dear child ?"

"No, no ! " I shouted. "Are you really Aunty Milly ?"

"Who else?" she said. It was really Aunty Milly.

She kissed me, got into a carriage, and drove home.

I jotted down what is written here. It is not in verse, and it shall never
be printed.

Here ended the manuscript.

My young friend, the grocer's assistant, could not find the missing
sheets; they had gone out into the world like the papers round the salted
herrings, the butter, and the soft soap; they had fulfilled their destiny !

The brewer is dead, aunty is dead, the student is dead, he whose sparks
of genius went into the tub. Nota bene — everything goes into the tub.
This is the end of the story — the story of Aunty Toothache.

THE TINDER-BOX

.{ i

-1

'^i/

=«# '. ■

THt WITCH HOISTED THE SOLDIER UP FROM THE HOLLOW TREE.

THE TINDER-BOX

A SOLDIER came marching along the high road: one, two! one,
two ! He had his knapsack, on his back and a sword by his side,
tor he had been in the wars, and he was now on his way home. He
met an old witch on the road; she was a hideous-looking creature; her
under-lip hung right down upon her breast.

"CJood evening, soldier," she said. " What a fine sword, and what a
big knapsack you have got. You are a real soldier ! You shall have as
much money as you want."

"Thank you, old witch," said the soldier.

"Do you see that tree?" said the witch, pointing at the tree which
stood beside them. " It is quite hollow inside. ^'ou must climb to the

100 THE TINDER-BOX

top, where you will see a hole through which you can let yourself slide
down, and get far down into the tree. I '11 tie a rope round your waist,
so that I can pull you up again when you call me."

"What shall I do down in the tree, then.?" asked the soldier.

"Fetch money," said the witch. "You must know that when you
get to the bottom of the tree you will rind yourself in a large corridor ;
there is plenty of light there, for over a hundred lamps are burning there.
"I'ou will then see three doors, which you can open ; the keys are in the
locks. When you get into the first chamber, you will see, in the middle
of the floor, a large chest, on the top of which a dog is sitting ; he has a
pair of eyes as large as tea-cups, but you must not mind that. I will give
you my blue-chequered apron, which you must spread out on the floor,
then go quickly and take the dog, put him on my apron, open the chest,
and take as many pennies as you like. They are all of copper ; but if you
would rather have silver, you must go into the next chamber ; there a dog
is sitting with a pair of eyes as large as mill-wheels, but you must not
mind that; put him on mv apron, and help yourself to the money. If,
however, you want gold, you can have that as well, and as much as you
can carry, if you will go into the third chamber. But the dog that sits
on the money-chest there has eyes as big as the Round Tower.' That 's
the right sort of dog, I can tell you. But you must not trouble yourself
about that. Only put the dog on my apron, and he won't harm you,
and take as much gold as you like from the chest."

"That 's not at all bad," said the soldier. "But what shall I give
you, old witch ? For you are sure to want something, I should say."

"No," said the witch, "not a single penny will I have. You shall
only bring me an old tinder-box, which mv grandmother forgot the last
time she was down there."

"Ah, indeed! Let me get the rope round my waist," said the
soldier.

"Here it is," said the witch, "and here is my blue-chequered apron."

The soldier then climbed up into the tree, let himself plump down
into the hole, and stood now, as the witch had said, in the great corridor
below, where the many hundred lamps were burning.

So he opened the first door. Ugh ! there sat the dog with eyes as
large as tea-cups, staring at him.

"You are a nice fellow," said the soldier. He put the dog on the
witch's apron, and took as many copper pennies as he had room tor
in his pocket; he then closed the chest, put the dog back again, and
went into the second chamber. Ah ! there sat the dog with eyes as big as
mill-wheels.

"You should n't look so hard at me," said the soldier; "it might hurt
your eyes." And so he put the dog on the witch's apron ; but when he

1 A well-known tower in Copenhagen.

IHE SOI.DILR

THE TINDER-BOX 103

saw all the silver money in the chest, he threw away all the copper money
he had, and filled his pocket and his knapsack with silver only.

He then went into the third chamber. But oh, how horrid ! The
dog in there had really eyes as big as the Round Tower, and they went
round in his head like two wheels !

"Gt)od evening!" said the soldier, and touched his cup, for such a
dog he had never seen before; but, after having looked at him for a while,
he thought he had had enough of that, so he lifted the dog down on the
floor and opened the chest. Great heavens ! what a lot of gold ! lie
could buy the whole of Copenhagen, and all the sugar-pigs from the
sweetstuff women out oi' it, as well as all the tin soldiers, whips, and
rocking-horses in the world. Yes, there was plenty of money, sure
enough.

The soldier now threw away all the silver shillings he had filled his
pocket and his knapsack with, and took gold coins instead; all his pockets,
his knapsack, his cap, and his boots were filled, so that he could scarcely
walk. Now he had plenty of money! He put the dog back on the
chest, slammed the door to, and cried up the tree:

"Pull me up, old witch!"

"Have you got the tinder-box with you?" asked the witch.

"Why, no!" said the soldier. "I had forgotten all about it"; and
so he went and fetched it. The witch hoisted him up, and there he
stood again on the high-road, with his pockets, boots, knapsack, and cap
full of money.

"What are you going to do with the tinder-box?" asked the soldier.

"That has nothing to do with you," said the witch; "you have got
your money! Give me the tinder-box!"

"Nonsense!" said the soldier; "just tell me at once what vou are go-
ing to do with it, or I '11 draw my sword and cut your head off!"

"No!" said the witch.

The soldier then cut her head off. There she lav. But he tied up
all his money in her apron, carried it on his back like a bundle, put the
tinder-box in his pocket, and set out straight for the town.

It was a fine town ; he put up at the best inn, ordered the verv best
rooms, and the dishes he was fond of; for now he was rich, since he had
so much money.

The servant who was going to clean his boots thought, of course, they
were funny old boots for such a rich gentleman to wear, for he had not
yet bought himself new ones. The next day, however, he got new boots
and fine clothes; and now the soldier looked like a fine gentleman, and
the people told him all about the grand things in their town, and about
the king, and what a beautiful princess his daughter was.

"Where can one get to see her?" asked the soldier.

"She is not to he seen at all," they all said; "she lives in a big palace

104 THE TINDER-BOX

of copper, with many walls and towers round about it. No one but the
king can go in and out there, because it has been predicted that she will
be married to quite a common soldier, and that the king will not hear ot."

"I should like to see her," thought the soldier; but that, of course,
he would not be permitted to do.

So he began leading a merry lite; he went to the theater, drove in the
king's park, and gave a deal of money to the poor, which was very good
of him. He knew from past experience how terrible it was to be without
a penny.

He was now rich, had fine clothes, and a number of friends who all said
he was a ' jolly fellow,' a real cavalier, and this the soldier liked much to hear.
But as he went on paying out money everyday and received none at all in
return, he was at last left with only two pennies, and was obliged to give
up the pretty rooms he had been living in, and to move to a small, tiny
garret, right under the roof, where he had to brush his own boots and to
mend them with a darning-needle; and none of his friends came to v^ee him,
for there were so many stairs to walk up!

One dark evening he found he was not even able to buy himselt a
candle, when suddenly he remembered that there was a candle-end in the
tinder-box, which he had taken out of the hollow tree into which the
witch had helped him. He brought out the tinder-box and the candle-
end, but as soon as he struck fire and the sparks tlew from the flint, the
door was burst open, and the dog, whom he had seen down under the tree,
and who had eyes as large as tea-cups, stood before him and said: " W hat
are master's orders V

" Hullo! what 'sthis? " said the soldier ; "this is a jolly tinder-box, if I
can get what I want in this way. Bring me some money! " he said to the
dog; and off the dog went; and the next minute he was back again, hold-
ing a large bag full of money in his mouth.

The soldier now knew what a splendid tinder-box it was. It he struck
it once, the dog who was sitting on the chest with the copper money
came; if he struck it twice, the one who had the silver money appeared ;
and if he struck it thrice, the one who had the gold came.

So the soldier moved down into his pretty rooms again, put on his fine
clothes, and then all his friends knew him at once, and appeared to be very
fond of him.

One day he thought to himself: it 's very strange one cannot get a
sight of that princess ! She is so very beautiful, they all say I But what can
be the good of that, when she must always sit inside that great copper
palace with the many towers. Shall I never be able to see her, I wonder.
Where is my tinder-box ? He struck a light, and there stood the dog with
eyes as large as tea-cups!

It 's in the middle of the night, I know," said the soldier, " but I should
like so much to see the princess, only tor a moment ! "

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.

THE TINDER-BOX 107

The dog was out of the room in an instant, and before the soldier could
give it a thought, he saw him returning with the princess, who was sitting
on the dog's back asleep. She was so lovely, that any one could see she
was a real princess ; the soldier could not help it, he had to kiss her, for
he was a true soldier.

The dog then ran back again with the princess, but when the morning
came and the king and queen were having their cup of tea, the princess
said she had had such a wonderful dream in the night about a dog and a
soldier. She had ridden upon the dog and the soldier had kissed her.

"That 's a pretty story, I must say !" said the queen.

One of the old court-ladies was then set to watch by the princess's bed-
side next night, to see if it really had been a dream, or what it might be.

The soldier was longing terribly to see the beautiful princess again,
and in the night the dog came for her; he took her on his back and ran
as fast as he could, but the old lady put on spring-heeled boots and ran
behind, keeping up the same pace as they. When she saw them disap-
pear in a big house, she thought to herself: "Now I know where it is,"
and made a big cross on the gate with a piece of chalk. She then went
home, and soon afterward the dog came back with the princess ; but when
he saw that a cross had been put on the gate where the soldier lived, he
took a piece of chalk and make a cross on all the gates all over town ;
this was clever of him, for now the court-ladv could not find the right
ijate, since there were crosses on all ot them.

Early next morning the king and the queen, the old court-ladv and all
the officers went to see where the princess had been to.

"There it is!" said the king, when he saw the first gate with a cross
on it.

"No, my dear, there it is!" said the queen, who saw another gate
with a cross.

"But here is one, and there is one!" said all of them ; wherever they
looked there were crosses on the gates. So they knew it would be of no
use to go on searching any farther.

But the queen was a very clever woman, who could do something
more than ride in a carriage. She took her large pair of gold scissors,
cut out a large piece of silk and made a nice little bag, which she filled
with small fine buckwheat groats. This she tied to the princess's back,
and when this was done, she cut a little hole in the bag, so that the groats
should run out along the ground the whole of the way the princess went.

In the night the dog came again; he took the princess on his back
and ran with her to the soldier, who was so deeply in love with her, and
who wished so much he had been a prince, that he might make her his
wife.

The dog did not notice that the groats were running out of the hag
all the way from the palace right up to the soldier's window, where he

108

THE TINDER-BOX

climbed up along the wall with the princess. In the morning the king
and the queen could easily see where their daughter had been, and so
they took the soldier and put him in prison.

There he sat. Ugh, how dark and miserable it was ! And the people
said to him: "To-morrow vou will be hanged." That was not pleasant
to hear, and he had forgotten his tinder-box at home in the inn. Next

THE THREE DOCS DANCED IN FRONT OF

JARKIAGE AND CRIED '-HURRAH!

morning he could see through the iron bars in the little window how the
people were hurrying out of the town to see him hanged. He heard the
drums going and saw the soldiers marching. All the inhabitants were
running about; amongst them was a shoemaker's boy with a leather apron
and with slippers on his feet ; he galloped past at such a rate, that one
of his slippers flew oft' right against the wall, where the soldier sat peering
out throuijh the iron bars.

THE TINDER-BOX

109

"Hey, you shoemaker's boy! You need not be in such a hurry,"
said the soldier to him, "there '11 be nothing going on till I come! But
won't you run across to where I have been living and fetch my tinder-
box, and I '11 give you twopence.^ But you '11 have to use your legs!"
The shoemaker's boy was glad to earn the twopence, and rushed oft' to
tetch the tinder-box; he gave it to the soldier, and — well, now you shall
hear all about it.

Outside the city a great gallows had been erected, and round abt)ut
stood the soldiers and many hundred thousand people. The king and the
queen sat in a gorgeous throne right opposite the judge and the whole
court.

The soldier was already standing at the top of the ladder, but as they
were going to place the halter round his neck, he said that they always
allowed a poor sinner to have an innocent wish granted before he sufi^ered
his punishment. He would so like to smoke a pipe of tobacco; it would
be the last pipe he would get in this world.

The king would not say no to that, and so the soldier took the tinder-
box and struck a light, once, twice, thrice ! and there stt)od all the dogs,
the one with eyes as large as tea-cups, the one with eyes like mill-wheels,
and the one who had eyes as large as the Round Tower.

"Now help me, so that I sha'n't be hanged!" said the soldier, and
then the dogs rushed at the judges and the whole court, seized one by the
legs and one by the nose, and threw them many fithoms up in the air, so
that they fell down and were dashed to pieces.

"I will not!" said the king, but the biggest dog seized both him and
the queen and threw them after all the others. Then all the soldiers grew
frightened, and all the people shouted : " Little soldier, you shall be our
king and marry the beautiful princess! '

So they placed the soldier in the king's carriage, and the three dogs
danced in front of it and cried "hurrah! " and the boys whistled through
their fingers, while the soldiers presented arms. The princess left the
copper palace and became queen, which she liked very much. The
wedding lasted eight days, and the dogs sat at the table and looked on in
astonishment with their big eyes.

LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS

MV POOR FLOWERS ARE yUITE DEAD ! " SAID 1,11 ILK IDA.

LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS

" Thev were so
are hanging down
asked the student,
could tell the most
\'ith
that

MY poor flowers are quite dead!" said little Id;
beautiful last night, and now all the leaves
quite faded! Why are they doing that?" she
who sat on the sofa. She was very fond of him ; he
beautiful stories and cut out the funniest pictures, such as heart;
little damsels who danced, and rit)wers, and large castles with doo
could be opened; he was indeed a merry student!

"Why do the flowers, look so poorly to-day P" she asked again, and
showed him a whole bouquet which was entirely faded.

"Don't you know what 's the matter with them?" said the student.
" The flowers were at a hall last night, and that 's why they hang their
heads ! "

"But flowers cannot dance!" said little Ida.

"Oh, yes," said the student, "when it is dark and we are asleep, they
run about quite merrily; almost every night they hold a ball!"

"Can't children go to those balls?"

"Yes," said the student, "as tiny daisies and lilies of the valley."

"Where do the prettiest flowers dance?" asked little Ida.

" Have n't you often been outside the gate of the great palace, where
the king lives in summer, and where there is a beautiful garden with many
flowers? You have seen the swans, which swim toward you when you
want to give them bread crumbs. They hold real balls out there, I can
tell you! "

"I was there in the garden yesterday with my mother," said Ida;
"but all the leaves had fallen off the trees, and there were no flowers at

ill! Wht

they? Last summer I saw so many!"

"Thev are in the palace," said the student. "You must know that
as soon as ever the king and all the court move into the town, the flowers
at once run away from the garden up to the palace and make merry. "\ ou
ought to see that! Two most beautiful roses take a seat on the throne,
and then they are king and queen. All the red cockscombs range them-
selves by their side and stand bowing; they are the chamberlains. Then
all sorts of lovely flowers arrive and then they have a great ball; the blue

113

114 LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS

violets represent little midshipmen, and dance with hyacinths and crocuses
whom they call young ladies. The tulips and the large tiger-lilies are the
old ladies; they see that the dancing is done well and that everything is
properly conducted ! "

"But," asked little Ida, "does n't any one do anything to the Howers
for dancing in the king's palace?"

"There is no one who really knows anything about that," said the
student. "Sometimes the old keeper who looks after the palace out there,
comes round at night, but he has a large bunch of keys, and as soon as the
riowers hear the keys rattle, they are quite quiet and hide themselves
behind the long curtains and peep out.

" ' I can smell that there are some flowers in here ! ' says the old keeper,
hut he cannot see them."

"That 's great fun," said little Ida, clapping her hands. "But
should n't I be able to see the flowers either?"

"Yes," said the student, "just remember when you go there again to
peep in through the window, and you are sure to see them. I did so to-
day, and there lay a long yellow daffodil on the sofa, stretching herself
and imagining herself to be one of the ladies of the court!"

"Can the flowers in the Botanical Gardens also go there? Can they go
such a long way ?"

"Yes, of course!" said the student, "for they can flv if they like.
Have n't you seen the beautiful butterflies, red, yellow, and white; they
almost look like flowers, and that is what they once were. They have
flown from the stalks right up into the air, flapping with their leaves as
if they were little wings. And as they behaved well, they were allowed
to fly about in the daytime also, and were not obliged to remain at
home and sit still on the stalk, and so the leaves became real wings at
last. You have seen that yourself! It may be, however, that the flowers
in the Botanical Gardens have never been to the king's palace, and do
not know that they have such a merry time at night out there. I
will therefore tell you something which will greatly surprise the botan-
ical professor, who lives next door — you know him, don't you ? When
you go into his garden, you must tell one of the flowers that there is
going to be a great ball at the palace, and he again will tell it to all the
others, and then they will all fly off. When the professor comes into the
garden there will not be a single flower left, and he will not be able to
make out what has become of them."

"But how can the flower tell it to the others? The flowers cannot
talk!"

"That 's true!" answered the student, "but they make signs to one
another. Have n't you seen when the wind blows a little that the
flowers nod to one another and move all their green leaves ? They under-
stand it as plainly as if they spoke!"

LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS 115

"Can the professor understand their language?" asked Ida.

"Yes, of course ! He came down into his garden one morning and
saw a big nettle making signs with its leaves to a beautiful red carnation ;
it said, 'You are so lovely, and I am so fond of you.' The professor does
not like such goings on, so he gave the nettle a slap across its leaves, tor
they are its iingers, you know ; but he stung himself, and since then he
never dares to touch a nettle."

"How funny! " said little Ida with a laugh.

"What ideas to put into the child's head!" remarked the tiresome
counselor, who had come on a visit and was sitting on the sofa. He did
not like the student and was always grumbling when he saw him cutting
out the funny, comic pictures, sometimes a man hanging on a gallows and
holding a heart in his hand, for he had been a destroyer of hearts, some-
times an old witch riding on a broom and carrying her husband on her
nose. The counselor did not like that, and so he would say as he had
dt)ne just now: "What ideas to put into the child's head! It is pure
imagination ! "

But it seemed to little Ida that what the student had told her about
her iiowers was very amusing, and she thought a great deal about it. The
flowers hung their heads, because they were tired of dancing all the night;
they must be poorly. So she carried them with her to a nice little table
where she kept all her toys and the whole drawer was full of pretty things.
In the doll's bed lay her doll Sophia, asleep, but little Ida said to her:
"You must really get up, Sophia, and be content with lying in the drawer
to-night; the poor flowers are poorly and they must lie in your bed; per-
haps they will then get well again ! " And so she took the doll, who looked
very cross but did not say a single word, because she was angry at not being
allowed to keep her bed.

Ida put the flowers in the doll's bed, pulled the little quilt over them,
and said they must lie quiet and she would make tea for them, so that they
might get well again and be able to get up in the morning. She then
drew the curtains closely round the little bed, so that the sun should not
shine in their eyes.

The whole evening she could not help thinking about what the student
had told her, and when she had to go to bed herself, she felt she must first
go behind the curtains which hung before the windows, where her mother's
lovely flowers were standing, both hyacinths and tulips, and then she whis-
pered quite softly, "I know you are going to a ball to-night! " but the
flowers appeared as if they understood nothing and did not move a leat,
but little Ida knew — what she knew.

When she had got into bed she lav for a long time thinking how nice
it would be to see the beautiful flowers dance at the king's palace.

"I wonder if my flowers really have been there.?" And so she fell
asleep. In the course of the night she awoke ; she had been dreaming about

7

116 LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS

the flowers and the student, whom the counselor used to scold for putting
silly ideas into her head. It was quite quiet in the bedroom where Ida was
lying; the night-lamp was burning on the table and her father and mother
were asleep.

"I wonder if my flowers are now lying in Sophia's bed," she said to
herself, "how I should like to know!" She raised herself a little and
looked toward the door, which was half open ; in there lay the flowers and
all her toys. She listened, and it appeared to her as if she heard some
one playing the piano in the next room, very softly, and more beautifully
than she had ever heard it before.

"I expect all my flowers are now dancing in there ! " she said, "how
I should like to see them! " But she dared not get up for fear of waking
her father and mother. "If they would only come in here," she said; but
the flowers did not come, and the music continued to play so beautifully
that she could not resist it any longer, — it was too entrancing, — so she
crept out of her little bed and went quite softly to the door and looked
into the room. Oh, what an amusing scene met her sight !

There was no night-lamp in there, but still it was quite light ; the
moon was shining through the window right into the middle of the room !
It was almost as light as day. All the hyacinths and tulips were standing
in two long rows along the floor; there were none at all in the window,
where only empty pots were to be seen. Down on the floor the flowers
were dancing most gracefullv round and round, doing the chain quite cor-
rectly and holding each other by their long green leaves as they swung
round. And over at the piano sat a large yellow lily whom little Ida was
sure she had seen last summer, for she remembered so well that the student
had said: " How she is like Miss Lina ! " but they all laughed at him then.
But now Ida really thought that the long yellow flower was like Miss
Lina, and had just the same manners when playing, putting her large yel-
low head first on one side and then on the other, and nodding it to keep
time with the music. No one noticed little Ida. She then saw a large
blue crocus jump right onto the middle of the table, where the toys were
standing, and walk straight up to the doll's bed and pull aside the curtains;
there lay the sick flowers, but they got up directly and nodded their heads
to the others to show that they also wanted to join in the dance. The old
incense-burner with the broken under-lip stood up and bowed to the pretty
flowers; they did not appear at all ill, they jumped down among the others
and looked so pleased.

Just then it seemed as if something fell down from the table. Ida
looked that way; it was the Shrove-tide rod,' which had jumped down; it
thought it also belonged to the flowers. It was really very pretty ; at the
top sat a little wax doll, which had just the same kind of broad hat on her

J The Shrove-tidc rod is generally a three-branched flower-decoration, made of paper,
about twelve to eighteen inches in height.

DOWN 0-\ IHt; KLDUk IHK bLlAVERS WERE IJAN'CING MOST GRACKBULLV ROUND AND ROUND,
HOLDING EACH OTHER BY THEIR LONG, GREEN LEAVES.

LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS

119

head as the counselor wore; the Shrove-tide rod and its three red wooden
legs jumped right into the midst of the flowers and stamped quite loudly ;
it was dancing the mazurka, and this tlie other flowers could not dance
because they were too light and could not stamp.

All at once the wax doll on the rod began to grow bigger and bigger,
whirled round above the paper flowers, and called out quite loudly: "What
ideas to put into the child's head ! It is pure imagination !" And then the
wax doll looked exactly like the counselor with the broad hat, and was
just as yellow and cross as he, but the paper flowers struck him across his

THE FLOWERS LED SOPHI
SOME

.)F THEM KORMIN(

THE FLOOR A^
IRCLE ROUND H

thin legs; and he shrank and shrank till he became a little wee bit of a wax
doll again. He looked so very tunny, little Ida could not help laughing!
The Shrove-tide rod went on dancing and the counselor had to dance as
well ; there was no help for it, he had to dance whether he made himself
big and long, or became the little yellow wax doll with the big black hat
Then the other flowers interceded for him, especially those that had been
in the doll's bed, and at last the Shrove-tide rod stopped dancing.

At that moment there was a loud knocking in the drawer where Ida's
doll Sophia lay among the other toys; the incense-burner ran to the edge
of the table, laid himself flat down upon his stomach and managed to get

120 LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS

the drawer pulled out a little; whereupon Sophia sat up and looked quite
surprised.

"There 's a ball here!" she said; "why has n't any one told me?"

"Will you dance with me?" asked the incense-burner.

"You are a nice one to dance with, I 'm sure!" she said, and turned
her back upon him. So she sat down on the drawer and thought that
one of the flowers would be sure to come and engage her, but no one
came; then she coughed, hem! hem! hem! but no one came for all that.
The incense-burner danced all by himself, and he did n't do it at all
badly !

As none of the flowers seemed to notice Sophia, she let herself fall
with a thump from the drawer right down on the floor, and caused quite
a commotion ; all the flowers came running round her asking if she had
hurt herself, and they were all so nice to her, especially the flowers that
had been lying in her bed. But she had not hurt herself at all, and all
Ida's flowers thanked her for her beautiful bed, and said they loved her
very much; they led her into the middle of the floor, where the moon
was shining, and danced with her, while the other flowers formed a circle
round them. Sophia was now very pleased and said they might keep her
bed; she did not at all mind lying in the drawer.

But the flowers said: "We are very much obliged to you, but we
cannot live very long! To-morrow we shall be quite dead, but tell little
Ida she must bury us in the garden where the canary bird is lying ; then
we shall grow up again in the summer and be prettier than ever!"

" No, you must not die!" said Sophia, and then she kissed the flowers.

Just then the door of the next room flew open, and a lot of beautiful
flowers came dancing in. Ida could not make out where they came
from ; they must be all the flowers from the king's palace. First of all
came two lovely roses, with their little golden crowns; they were the
king and the queen. Then came the most beautiful stocks and carna-
tions, bowing on all sides; they had brought music with them. Large
poppies and peonies were blowing pea-shells till they were quite red in
the face. The blue-bells and the little white snowdrops tinkled as if they
had bells on. The music was very funny! Then there came many
other flowers, and they all danced; the blue violets and the red hearts-
eases, the daisies and the lilies of the valley. And all the flowers kissed
one another; it was such a pretty sight!

At last the flowers said good night to each other and little Ida stole
back to her bed, where she dreamed of all that she had seen.

When she got up next morning, she went at once to the little table to
see if the flowers were still there. She pulled aside the curtains of the
little bed, and there they all lay, but thev were quite faded, more so than
they were the day before. Sophia lay in the drawer, where she had put
her; she looked very sleepy.

LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS

121

"Can you remember what you were to tell me?" said little Ida, hut
Sophia looked very stupid and did not say a single word.

"You are not at all kind," said Ida, "and yet they all danced with
vou." So she took a little cardboard box, on which were painted beau-
tiful birds; she opened it and put the dead flowers into it.

"That will make a pretty coffin tor vou!" she said, "and when my
Norwegian cousins come here, they shall help me to bury you in the
garden, so that you can grow up next summer and be prettier than ever ! "

Her Norwegian cousins were two tine boys, whose names were Jonas
and Adolph; their father had given them each a new cross-bow, and they
had brought these with them to show Ida. She told them about the poor
flowers that were dead, and they were allowed to bury them. Both the
boys went first with their cross-bows on their shoulders, and little Ida fol-
lowed behind with the dead flowers in the beautiful box. A little grave
was dug in the garden. Ida first kissed the flowers and then laid them in
the box in the grave, while Adolph and fonas shot with their cross-bows
over it, tor thev had neither guns nor cannons.

ELDER -TREE MOTHER

■^

THt FLOWERS OF THE ELDER-FREE SMELLED SO SWEETLY.

ELDER-TREE MOTHER

THERE was once a little hoy who had caught a cold through get-
ting his feet wet. No one could make out how he had managed
to get them wet, for the weather was quite fine. His mother
undressed him and put him to bed, and had the tea-urn brought in to
make a nice cup of elder-tea for him, for that warms the body so well !
Just then the amusing old gentleman, who lived at the top of the house,
came in through the door; he lived by himself, for he had neither wife
nor children, but he was so very fond of children and could tell so many
fairy tales and stories that it was a pleasure to listen to him.

"You must drink vour tea, now," said the mother to the little hoy,
"and then perhaps vou shall hear a fairy tale!"

"If one could only think of something new!" said the old man with
a friendly nod. "But how did the little fellow get his feet wet?" he
asked.

"Yes, where did he get them wet?" said the mother. "No one can
make it out."

"Will you tell me a story?" asked the boy.

"Yes, if you can tell me exactly how deep the gutter is in the little
street where your school is. I must know that first."

125

126

ELDER-TREE MOTHER

"Just half way up to my knee," said the boy, "but then I have to
stand in the deepest part! "

"Ah, that 's where we have got our wet feet!" said the old man; "I
ought now to tell you a fairy tale, but I don't know any more!"

"But you can make up one," said the little boy. "Mt)ther says that
you can make a story out of everything you look at or touch!"

" Yes, but those tales and stories are no good ; no, the real ones come
of themselves — they knock at my forehead and say, 'Here I am!'"

^^

THE LID GRADUALLY

IFTED ITSELF AND LARdE BRANCHES OF THE ELDER-TREE SHOT
H FROM THE URN, EVEN THROUGH THE SPOUT.

"Will one knock there soon?" asked the little hoy, and his mother
laughed, put the elder-tea into the urn and poured boiling water over it.

"Do tell me a fairy tale, do!"

"Yes, if only it would come of itself, but the real fairy tale only
comes when it is in the right humor and likes to come — But stop!"
he suddenly exclaimed. "There 's one! Mind! There's one now in
the tea-urn ! "

The little boy looked at the tea-urn ; the lid gradually lifted itself and
large branches of the elder-tree with fresh white elder flowers shot forth
from the urn, even through the spout, and spread themselves out on all

ELDER-TREE MOTHER

127

sides, always growing larger and larger, till they formed the most beau-
tiful elder-tree — in fact, a great tree, which extended right to the little
boy's bed and pushed the curtains aside. How it blossomed, and how
fragrant it was ! In the middle of the tree sat a pleasant-looking old
woman in a strange dress; it was quite green, just like the leaves of the
elder-tree, and was trimmed with large white elder flowers; one could
not see at once whether it was made of cloth or of living green plants and
flowers.

"What is the name
of the old lady?" asked
the little boy.

"Well, the Romans
and the Greeks called her
a dryad," said the old
man, "but we do not un-
derstand the meaning of
that name. In Nyboder
they have a better name
for her ; there she is called
' Elder-Tree Mother,' and
it is to her you must now
give all your attention.
Listen, and look at the
beautiful elder-tree !

" Just such a large tree
stands in full bloom out
at Nyboder! It grew
there in the corner of the
yard of a poor little cot-
tage; under this tree one
atternoon, in the most de-
lightful sunshine, sat two
old people. They were
an old, old sailor and his
old, old wife; they were
great - grandparents and
were soon to celebrate their golden wedding, but they could not quite
remember the date. Elder-tree mother sat in the tree and looked so
pleased, just as she does now. 'I know when the golden wedding is!'
she said, but they did not hear it; they were talking about the old days.

" ' Yes, do you remember,' said the old sailor, ' when we were quite
youngsters and used to run about and play together.? It was in this very
yard where we are now sitting! We put twigs into the ground and made
a garden.'

UNDER THE TREE SAT AN OLD SAILOR AND HIS OLD

WIFE. ELDER-TREE MOTHER SAT IN THE

TREE AND LOOKED SO PLEASED.

128

ELDER-TREE MOTHER

"'Yes,' said the old woman, 'I remember it well! We watered the
twigs, and one of them was from an elder-tree, and it took root, shot
forth green shoots, and has now become the great tree under which we
old people are sitting.'

" ' Yes, of course ! ' said he, ' and over in the corner stood the water-
butt, in which I used to sail my ship, which I had made myself. How
it did sail! But I soon came to sail in quite a different style!'

"'Yes, but tirst we went to school and learned something!' she said.
'And then we were confirmed; we both cried, I remember. But in the

afternoon we
went hand and
hand up the
Round Tower,
and looked out
upon the world
over Copenha-
gen and the
Sound; then we
went to Freder-
iksberg, where
the king and
queen sailed
about in the
canals in their
beautiful boats.'
"'But I soon
came to sail
about in quite
a different style,
and for many
years, far away
on long voy-
ages ! '
" ' "^'es, I often wept for you ! ' she said ; ' I thought you were dead and
gone and lying rolling about at the bottom of the sea! Many a night
have I got up to look at the weather-cock to see if the wind had shifted ;
it had shifted, of course, but you did not come. I remember so clearly
how the rain was pouring down one day, when the dustman came out-
side the house where I was in service, and I came down with the dustbin, and
was standing by the door. What terrible weather it was! Just as I was
standing there, the postman came up and gave me a letter ! It was from you.
How it had traveled about! I snatched it and read it ! I laughed and I cried !
I was so happy! You wrote that you were in the hot countries, where the
coffee grows ! How delightful it must have been there! You told me

'JUST AS I WAS STANDING THERE READING YOUR LETTER, SOME ONE
PUT HIS ARM ROUND MY WAIST — "

ELDER-TREE MOTHER 129

so much and I could see it all before me, while the rain was pouring
down and I was standing there with the dust-bin. fust then some one
put his arm round my waist '

'"^'es, and you gave him such a box on the ear, that it sent him
tlying!'

"'Well, I did n't know it was you! You had arrived as early as your
letter; and you looked so handsome, — ot course, you are so still, — you
had a long, yellow-silk handkerchief in your breast-pocket and a black,
glazed hat! You were so grand! But, gracious me, what terrible weather
it was, and what a state the streets were in ! '

"'Then we got married!' he said; 'do you remember? And then
our first little boy came, and then Marie, and Nils, and Peter, and Hans
Christian ! '

"'Yes, and all of them have now grown up and become respectable
people, whom everybody likes! '

" ' And then their children again ; and they have little ones too ! ' said
the old sailor. ' Yes, they are great-grandchildren, and chips of the
old block ! Hut it seems to me it was about this time of the year we
were married ! '

"'Yes, this is the day of your golden wedding!' said elder-tree mother,
as she put her head straight in between the two old people, and they
thought it was the neighbor's wife who nodded to them ; and they looked
at one another and took each other by the hand. Soon after came their
children and grandchildren, who all knew it was the golden-wedding day;
they had already been there in the morning to offer their congratulations,
but the old people had forgotten that, although they remembered so well
everything that had happened many years ago. The elder-tree smelled so
sweetly and the sun, which was setting, shone right into the faces of the
old people, which were quite fresh and ruddy, and the youngest of the
grandchildren danced around them and shouted gleefully that to-night
there would be great doings — that they were going to have hot potatoes!
And elder-tree mother in the tree nodded her head and shouted
'hurrah ! ' with all the others."

"But that is not a fairy tale!" said the little boy, who had been listen-
ing to it.

"Well, you ought to know!" said the old man, who had been telling
the storv ; "but let us ask elder-tree mother!"

"That was not a fairy tale!" said elder-tree mother, "but now it is
coming ! Out of real lite grow the most wonderful fairy tales ; other-
wise my beautiful elder-tree could not have sprung from the tea-urn." And
then she took the little boy out of bed and held him to her bosom, and
the elder-tree branches, which were full of blossoms, closed around them,
till at last they seemed to sit in an arbor, thickly covered with leaves and
flowers — and away it flew with them through the air. What a delightful

130

ELDER-TREE MOTHER

trip ! Elder-tree mother had suddenly become a beautiful young girl,
but her frock was of the same green stuff and was trimmed with the same
white flowers which elder-tree mother had worn ; in her bosom she had
a real elder flower and round her yellow, curly hair a whole wreath of
elder flowers; her eyes were large and blue — it was a pleasure to look at
her ! She and the boy kissed each other ; they were of the same age and
felt the same happiness. They went hand in hand out of the arbor, and
were now standing in the beautiful flower garden of their home. On the

THE ELDER-TREE BRANCHES CLOSED AROUND THEM TILL THEY SEEMED TO SIT IN AN
ARBOR, AND AWAY IT FLEW WITH THEM THROUGH THE AIR.

fresh lawn the fither's stick was tethered to a peg; to the little ones there
was life in that stick ; as soon as they set themselves astride it, the bright
knob turned into a horse's head with a long, black, flowing manej and
four strong legs shot out from the stick. The animal was powerful and
high-spirited, and they flew at full gallop round the lawn — hurrah! —
"Now we '11 ride many miles away," said the boy; "we'll ride to the old
manor-house, where we were last year!" And they rode round and round
the lawn, while the little girl, who, as we know, was no one else but
elder-tree mother, kept crying out: "Now we are in the country! Do
you see the farmer's house with the big baking-oven sticking out like a

ELDER-TREE MOTHER 131

giant egg in the wall facing the road ? The elder-tree spreads its branches
over it, and the cock struts about and scratches the ground for the hens ;
look how proudly he holds himself! Now we are near the church. It
lies high up on the hill behind the great oak-trees, one of which is half
dead ! Now we are near the smithy where the fire burns in the forge
and half-naked men strike the red-hot iron with their hammer, so that
the sparks fly all over the place. Away, away to the old manor-house!"

And everything which the little girl, who sat behind him on the stick,
spoke of, flew rapidly past them, and the boy saw it all, although they
were only galloping round the lawn. Then they played on a sidewalk
and marked the outline of a little garden in the ground, and she took the
elder flower out of her hair and planted it there; it grew up exactly like
the one which the old couple had planted in Nyboder, when they were
young, which has already been told. They went hand in hand just like
the old people had done as children, but they did not go up the Round
Tower or to Frederiksburg Garden ; no, the little girl took the boy round
the waist and flew with him all over Denmark. It was spring, and the
summer came, and it was autumn, and the winter came, and thousands of
pictures were reflected on the boy's eyes and heart, while the little girl
sang to him : " This you will never forget ! " And during their whole
flight the elder-tree smelled sweet and delicious; he noticed, of course,
the smell of the roses and the fresh beeches, but the fragrance from the
elder-tree became still sweeter, for its flowers hung near the little girl's
heart, and he often leaned his head on it during their flight.

"How beautiful it is here in the spring!", said the little girl, as they
stood in the beechwood where all the shoots were fresh and green, and
where the fragrant green woodruff lay at their feet, and the pale-pink
anemones looked so beautiful among the green. "Oh, that there might
always be spring in the fragrant Danish beechwoods ! "

"How beautiful it is here in the summer!" she said, as they flew past
the old manor house of the middle ages, the red walls and pointed gables
of which were reflected in the moats where swans were swimming about
and looking up the old shady avenue. In the fields the corn stood waving
like a sea, the ditches were full of red and yellow flowers, and the hedges
with wild hops and budding convolvuluses, and in the evening the moon
rose, large and round, while the scent from the hayricks in the meadows
filled the air with sweetness. "It can never be forgotten!"

" How beautiful it is here in the autumn ! " said the little girl, as the
heavens became loftier and of a darker blue; the forests glowed with the
most beautiful colors in red, yellow, and green ; the hounds rushed past
while whole flocks of wild birds flew screeching over the burial mounds,
where the blackberry bushes hung over the old stones. The sea was blue-
black, dotted with white sails, and in the barn sat old women, girls, and
children picking hops into a big tub; the young folks sang ditties and the

132 ELDER-TREE MOTHER

old ones told fairy tales about brownies and trolls. "It could not be
better!"

"How beautiful it is here in the winter!" said the little girl as all the
trees stood covered with hoar frost, looking like white corals. The snow
creaked under foot as if all the people were wearing new boots, and from
the sky fell one shooting star after another. In the parlor the Christ-
mas tree was lighted; there were presents, and all were in good spirits.
In the country the violin was heard in the peasant's parlor ; and there
were scrambles for slices of apples. Even the poorest child said : " It is
beautiful in winter-time!"

Yes, it was delightful ! The little girl showed the boy everything,
while the elder-tree filled the air with scent, and the red flag with the
white cross was waving, the tlag under which the old sailor in Nvboder
had sailed! And the boy grew up and was going out into the wide world,
far away to the hot countries where the coffee grows ; but when they
parted the little girl took an elder flower from her breast and gave it to
him to keep. It was placed in his hymn-book, and whenever he opened
the book in foreign lands, it always opened at the place where the flower
lay, and the more he looked at it the fresher it grew ; he seemed to breathe
the air of the Danish woods, and between the leaves of the flowers he
could plainly see the little girl peeping out with her clear blue eyes, and
then she whispered: "How beautiful it is here in spring, in summer, in
autumn, and in winter," while a hundred pictures passed before him.

Thus many vears had passed and he was now an old man and sat with
his wife under the blossoming tree; they held each other by the hand,
just as great-grandfather and great-grandmother had done out at Nyboder,
and like them, talked about the old days and of the golden wedding; the
little girl with the blue eyes and the elder flowers in her hair was sitting
up in the tree, nodding to them both, and saying: "To-day it is the golden
wedding-day!" And then she took two flowers from his wreath and kissed
them ; they shone first like silver, and then like gold, and when she placed
them on the heads of the old couple, each flower became a golden crown.
There they both sat, like a king and queen, under the fragrant tree, which
looked exactly like an elder-tree; and he told his old wife the story about
elder-tree mother, just as it had been told him, when he was a little bov,
and they both thought there was so much in it, which resembled their
own and these parts they liked best.

"Yes, that 's how it is!" said the little girl in the tree. "Some call
me elder-tree mother, others call me a dryad, but my proper name is
'Memory'; it is I who sit in the tree which goes on growing and grow-
ing. I can remember; I can relate. Let me see if you still have your
flower ! ' '

And the old man opened his hymn-book and there lav the elder flower
as fresh as if it had just been put there, and Memory nodded, and the two

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.

ELDER-TREE MOTHER

135

old people with their golden crowns sat in the red glow of the setting sun ;
they closed their eyes, and — and then the story came to an end!

The little hoy lay in his bed; he did not know whether he had been
dreaming, or whether he had been listening to the story. The tea-urn
stood on the table, but no elder-tree was growing out of it, and the old
man, who had been telling the story, was just on the point of going out
at the door, which he did.

"How beautiful it was! " said the little boy. "Mother, I have been
to the hot countries!"

"Yes, I can quite believe that!" said the mother; "when one has
drunk two brimful cups of elder-tea, one may well think one has been to
the hot countries!" And she covered him up well, so that he should not
take cold. "You must have slept while I sat disputing with him whether
it was a story or a fairy tale!"

"And where is elder-tree mother?" asked the boy.

"She is in the tea-urn," said the mother, "and there she had better
stay! "

THE BROWNIE AT THE
BUTTERMAN'S

[HE BRt.nVNli-, l.i\Kh I.
GROUND FLOOR.

THE BROWNIE AT THE BUTTERMAN'S

HK was a student of the good old sort; he lived in the garret and
possessed nothing. The butterman, who was also one of the good
old sort, lived on the ground floor and owned the whole house.
The brownie stuck to him, for he always got a dish of porridge every
Christmas eve with a big lump of butter in the middle. The butterman
could well aflbrd this, so the brownie settled down in the shop, where
there was much to learn.

One evening the student came in through the hack door to buy some
candles and cheese; he had no one to send, so he went himself. He got
what he asked for and paid for it, and the butterman and his wife nodded
"good night" to him^ — she, by the by, could do more than nod to
people, for she was gifted with a glib tongue — and the student nodded in
return, but stopped to read the piece of paper in which the cheese was

«* 139

140 THE BROWNIE AT THE BUTTERMAN'S

wrapped. It was a leaf torn out of an old book, which ought not to have
been torn to pieces; it was an old book full of poetry.

"There is more of it over there!" said the butterman. "I gave an
old woman some coffee-beans for it; if you'll give me fourpence you can
have what there is left of it."

"Thanks!" said the student, "let me have it instead of the cheese! I
can eat my bread and butter without anything to it; it would be a sin to
let the whole of the book be torn into bits and pieces. You are an excel-
lent man, a practical man, but poetry you don't understand, any more than
the tub yonder."

This was rather rude of him to sav, especially as far as the tub was con-
cerned, but the butterman and the student both laughed, for it was only
said in fun, of course. But the brownie was annoyed that any one should
dare to say such things to a butterman, who had a house oi' his own, and
sold the best butter.

As soon as it was night and the shop was closed, and all, with the ex-
ception of the student, had gone to bed, the brownie went into the bed-
room and took the wife's tongue — ^she had no use for it when she was
asleep — and whatever object in the room he put it on, received voice and
speech, and could express its thoughts and feelings just as well as the mis-
tress of the house. But only one object at a time could make use of it,
which was a blessing, for otherwise they would all have been speaking at
once.

And the brownie put the woman's tongue on the tub, in which the i>ld
newspapers were kept. "Is it really true," asked the brownie, "that you
don't know what poetry is.-'"

"Of course I do," said the tub. "It is what you find at the bottom of
the pages in newspapers and cut out. I should say I have more of it inside
of me than the student, and I am only a simple tub compared with the
butterman. "

And the brownie put the tongue on the coffee-quern; how it rattled
away! And he put it on the butter-rtrkiii aiul the money-drawer — all
were of the same opinion as the tub, and wliat all are agreed about one
must respect.

"I '11 just pay out that student!" said the brownie, as he went quietly
up the kitchen stairs to the garret, where the student lived. He had a
light burning, and the brownie peeped through the keyhole and saw "that
the student was reading in the ragged book from the shop down-stairs.
But how light it was in there! Out of the book shot forth a clear ray of
light, which grew into a trunk — into a mighty tree, which rose high in
the air and spread its branches out over the student. Kvery leaf was tresh
and every flower was a beautiful girl's head, some with dark, sparkling
eyes, others with clear blue eyes. Each fruit was a shining star ami then
there was such a wonderfully lovely sound of song and music.

THE BROWNIE AT THE BUTTERMAN'S 141

Such splendor the Httle brownie had never dreamed of, much less
seen or experienced. And so he remained standing on tip-toe, peeping
and peering through the keyhole till the light was put out. The student
had, no doubt, blown out his candle and gone to bed; but the little
brownie stood there nevertheless, tor he could still hear the beautiful soft
melody, a delightful cradle-song ior the student, who had lain down to rest.

THERE THE UTTLE V,\i
HOLDING IN HI

WNIE SAT, ILLUMINATED I'.Y THE
HANDS HIS RED CAP IN WHICH

lURNINi; HOUSE OPPOSITE,
HE TREASURE LAY.

"It is really wonderful here!" said the little brownie. "I never
should have thought it — I think I will stop with the student!" And he
began to think it over, and reasoned quite sensibly with himself, and then
he sighed: " But the student has no porridge!" and so he went away. He
went down to the butterman's shop again, and it was a good thing he did,
for the tub had quite exhausted the mistress's tongue, by discussing all it
contained from one point of view and was just about to turn round to
repeat it from another, when the brownie came to take back the tongue
to its owner. But the whole of the shop, from the money-drawer to the
firewood, had from that time the same opinion as the tub, and they re-
spected it to such an extent and had such confidence in it, that when the

142 THE BROWNIE AT THE BUTTERMAN'S

butterman afterward read about "Art" and "The Drama" in his evening
paper, they all believed it came from the tub.

But the little brownie could not sit quiet and listen any longer to all
the wisdom and arguing down in the shop. As soon as the light shone
out from the garret, he felt as if the rays were strong ropes which drew
him up there; and he had to go and peep through the keyhole, and then
a feeling of vastness came over him, such as we experience at the sight of
the rolling ocean when the storm sweeps over it, and he burst into tears.
He did not know why he cried, but he found some comfort in these tears.
How wonderfully delightful it must be to sit with the student under that
tree, but it could not be — he would have to be content with the key-
hole. There he was standing on the cold landing, while the autumn
wind blew down through the trap-door in the loft above him. It was so
cold, so very cold ; but the little brownie only felt it when the light in the
garret was put out, and when the tones of the music died away. Ugh !
How he shivered ! He then crept down again to his snug little corner
where it was so pleasant and comfortable ! And when the Christmas
porridge came with a big lump of butter in the middle — ah, then the
butterman's was the best place after all.

But in the middle of the night the brownie was awakened by a terrililc
noise against the shutters, caused by the people outside knocking and
thundering away at them, while the watchmen were blowing their
whistles. A big fire had broken out, and the whole street was enveloped
in flames. Was the fire in this house, or in the neighbor's? Where?
It was a terrible moment! The butterman's wife was so bewildered that
she took her gold earrings out of her ears and put them in her pocket, in
order to save something; the butterman ran to fetch his bonds and shares,
and the servant girl to save her silk mantilla, which she had just managed
to buy out of her savings. Every one wanted to save the best they pos-
sessed, and the brownie became possessed by the same desire; in a couple
of bounds he was up the stairs and in the student's garret. The student
was standing quite calmly at the open window, looking at the fire which
was raging in the house opposite. The little brownie seized the won-
derful book that was lying on the table, put it inside his red cap, and held
it tightly to his bosom with both hands. The most valuable treasure in
the house had been saved, and he rushed ofl^ with it, right out upon the
roof, to the top of the chimney. There he sat, illuminated by the burning
house opposite, and holding his hands on his red cap in which the treasure
lay. Now he knew where his sympathies lay, and to whom he really
belonged; but when the fire had been put out and he was himself again —
well: "I shall have to divide myself between the two," he said, " I cannot
quite give up the butterman because of the porridge!"

And, after all, it is only human! We all of us go to the butterman —
for the sake of the porridge.

THE SNOW QUEEN

THERE WERE TWO LITTLE WINDOWS OPPOSITE EACH OTHER
ON THE ROOFS OF THE HOUSES.

THE SNOW QUEEN

THE FIRST STORY

WHICH TREATS OF THE MIRROR AND THE BROKEN PIECES

WELL, now let us begin ! When we have got to the end of the
storv, we shall know more than we do at present. It is all
about a wicked troll, the worst of them all, the Devil. One day
he was in a really good humor, for he had made a mirror which had this
virtue, that everything good and beautiful which was reflected in it would

145

146 THE SNOW dUEEN

shrink to almost nothing, but all that was worthless and hideous appeared
only too distinctly, and was even magnified. The most beautiful land-
scapes looked like boiled spinach, and the best of people looked hideous, or
were seen standing on their heads with no stomach to their bodies; the
faces were so distorted that no one could recognize them, and, if one had a
freckle, in the mirror it was sure to spread all over one's nose and mouth.
"It is most amusing," said the Devil. If a good, pious thought passed
through a person's mind it was reflected so hideously in the mirror that
the chief of the trolls had to laugh at his crafty invention. All those who
went to the troll-school — for he kept such a one — went about telling
everybody that a miracle had happened ; now at last one could see what
the world and mankind really looked like. They ran about with the
mirror till at last there was not a country or a human being that had not
been reflected and distorted in it. And now they wanted to fly up to
heaven with it and mock at the angels and the Lord. The higher they
flew with the mirror the more distorted and ridiculous the reflections
became, till they could scarcely hold it for laughter. Higher and higher
they flew, nearer to God and the angels; then the mirror trembled so
violently in its distortions that it slipped from their hands and fell down
to the earth, where it broke into hundreds of millions and billions of
pieces. But just on that account it caused greater misfortune than before,
for some pieces were hardly as big as a grain of sand and these flew about
all over the world, and when they got into people's eyes they stuck there
and made everything appear to them topsy-turvy, or made them only see
the wrong side of things, for every piece had retained the same power as
the whole mirror. Some people even got a small piece into their hearts
and this was the most terrible of all; these hearts became like lumps of
ice. Some of the pieces were so large that they could be used for window-
panes, but it was scarcely worth looking at one's friend's through these
panes; other pieces were used for spectacles, and when people put on these
spectacles to see aright and be just, then things went all wrong; the Evil
One laughed till his sides ached — he felt so awfully tickled. But small
pieces of glass were still flying about in the air. Now we shall hear !

THE SNOW dUEEN

147

#f . ^Md.

KAV MANAULD

bLElJi;K FASTENED Ii
HE WENT WITH IT.

LARGE ONE, AND AWAY

THE SECOND STORY

A LITTLE BOY AND A LITTLE GIRL

In the middle of the big town, where there are so many houses and
people that there is not room enough for every one to have a Uttle garden,
and where most people must therefore be content with growing flowers in
pots, there were, however, two poor children who had a garden somewhat
bigger than a flower-pot. They were not brother and sister, but they
were just as fond of one another as if thev had been. Their parents lived
close to each other; they lived in two garrets, where the root of the one
house adjoined that of the neighboring one, with the gutter running
between them along the eaves. There were two little windows opposite
each other in the roofs of the houses; you had only to step across the gutter
to get to one window from the other.

148 THE SNOW dUEEN

Outside each window the parents had placed a large wooden box in
which they grew vegetables for their own use, and a little rose-tree, one
in each box, which thrived well. The parents had now placed the boxes
right across the gutter, so that they almost reached from one window to
the other and looked exactly like two flower beds. The creepers of the
sweet-pea hung down over the sides of the boxes, and the rose-trees shot
long branches which twined themselves around the windows while others
clustered together; it was almost like a triumphal arch of flowers and
leaves. As the boxes were very high and the children knew that they
must not climb up there, they were often allowed to step outside and sit
on their small footstools under the rose-trees, and there they could play
splendidly.

In the winter-time these pleasant hours came to an end. The win-
dows were often frozen all over, but then they heated copper pennies on
the stove and placed the warm coin against the frozen pane, and thus got
a splendid peephole, so round, so round; and then from behind would
peep a bright gentle eye, one from each window, they were those ot' the
little boy and the little girl. He was called Kay, and she, Gerda. In the
summer-time they could get to each other with one jump; in the winter
they had first to go down many stairs and then up many stairs, while the
snow was falling outside.

"It 's the white bees that are swarming!" said the old grandmother.

"Have they also a queen-bee.?" asked the little boy, for he knew that
there was such a thing among the real bees.

"That they have! " said the grandmother; "she is generally where the
swarm is thickest. She is the largest of them all and never settles on the
ground, but flies up to the black clouds again. Many a winter night
does she fly through the streets of the town looking in through the win-
dows, and the frost on the panes then becomes most wonderful, and looks
like flowers."

"Yes, I have seen that!" said both the children, and then they knew
it was true.

"Can the Snow Queen come in here?" asked the little girl.

"Let her only come," said the boy, "1 "H put her on the warm stove
and then she '11 melt."

But the grandmother smoothed his hair and told him some other
stories.

In the evening when little Kay was at home and half-undressed, he
climbed up on the chairs by the window and looked out through the little
hole; he could see the snowflakes falling outside, and one of them, the
largest of all, settled on the edge of one of the flower-boxes. The snowflake
grew larger and larger till at last it became a full-grown woman, dressed
in the most delicate white gauze; it lookecf as if it was composed of
millions of star-like flakes. She was very beautiful and graceful, but she

THE SNOW dUEEN 149

was made of ice, dazzling, glittering ice; still, she was alive, her eyes
sparkled like two bright stars, but there was no repose or rest in them.
She nodded toward the windows and beckoned with her hand. The
little boy was frightened and jumped down from the chair, and just then
it seemed as if a large bird flew past outside the window.

Next day it was clear frosty weather, and then came the thaw, and
at last the spring; the sun shone, the green shoots burst forth, the swal-
lows built their nests, the windows were opened and the two little chil-
dren were again sitting in their little garden high up in the gutter on the
root.

The roses blossomed most beautifully that summer ; the little girl had
learned a hymn, in which there was something about roses, and that made
her think of her own roses, and so she sang it to the little boy, who also
joined in, and together they sang :

" Thf roses grow in the valley,
Where the Christ-Child we shall see."

And the little ones held each other by the hand, kissed the roses, and
looked up at God's bright sunshine, and spoke to it as if the Christ-Child
were there. What beautiful summer days they were, what a blessing to
be near the fresh rose-trees, which seemed never to cease blossoming.

Kay and Gerda sat looking in the picture book of animals and birds,
when just at that moment the clock in the great church tower struck five.
Kay exclaimed: "Oh dear! I feel as if something had stabbed my heart!
And now I 've got something into my eye ! "

The little girl put her arms round his neck ; he blinked his eye, but
no — there was nothing to be seen.

" I think it is gone!" he said; but it was not gone. It was one of the
glass pieces from the mirror, the troll-mirror, which you no doubt remem-
ber, the horrible mirror, in which everything great and good that was
reflected in it became small and ugly, while everything bad and wicked
became more distinct and prominent and every fault was at once noticed.
Poor Kay had got one of the fragments right into his heart. It would
soon become like a lump of ice. It did not cause him any pain, but it
was there.

"Why do .you cry?" he asked. "And you look so ugly! There is
nothing the matter with me! Fie!" he cried suddenly, " that rose is
worm-eaten ! And look ! why, it is quite crooked ! They are ugly roses
after all, just like the boxes they are in!" And then he kicked the box
with his foot, and knocked ofi^ two roses.

"Kay, what are you doing?" cried the girl; and when he saw her
fright he knocked off another rose and rushed through his window away
from the good little Gerda.

150 THE SNOW Q.UEEN

When afterward she brought out the picture book he said it was only
lit for babies, and if the grandmother began to tell stories he was always
sure to put in an if, and if he saw his opportunity he would go behind
her, put on a pair of spectacles, and talk like her; he could mimic her
exactly, and make people laugh at him. He could soon talk and walk
like all the people in the whole street. Everything that was peculiar and
unattractive to them he was sure to imitate, and then people said: "That
boy must have a clever head!" But it was the piece of glass he had got in
his eye and the piece of glass that had stuck in his heart that caused all
this; that was the reason he teased even little Gerda, who loved him with
all her heart.

He no longer cared for the old games, he was now onlv interested in
what he considered was more sensible, thus, one winter day, when the snow
was falling, he brought a large magnifying glass and held out the tail of
his blue coat and let the snowflakes fill upon it.

"Just look through the glass, Gerda!" he said; and everv snowtiake
was magnified and looked like a splendid Hower or star with manv points,
and a most beautiful sight it was !

"Do you see how curious it is?" said Kay, "how iiuich more inter-
esting than real flowers.? And there is not a single fault in them; thev
are quite perfect, if only they do not melt away!"

Shortly afterward Kay appeared with thick gloves on, and his sledge
on his back, and shouted into Gerda's ears : " I have got leave to go sledg-
ing in the great square, where all the bovs are plaving"; and off he went.

Many of the boldest boys on the plavground used to fasten their sledges
to the peasants' carts, and in this way they got a good ride. It was a
merry time ! While the fun was at its height a large sledge came driving
past ; it was painted all white, and a person was sitting in it wrapped in a
white fur coat and with a white fur cap. The sledge drove twice round
the square and Kay managed to get his own little sledge fastened to it,
and away he went with it. They went faster and faster right through the
next street ; the driver turned round and nodded in a friendly way to
Kay, as if they were old acquaintances. Every time Kay wanted to set
free his sledge, the driver nodded again to him, and so Kay remained on
the sledge and soon they drove out of the gate of the town. The snow
then began to fall so heavily that the little boy could hardly see a hand
before him as they rushed onward ; then suddenly he let go the rope, to
get loose from the large sledge, but it was of no use, his little sledge stuck
fast to the other and they sped on as quickly as the wind. He then
cried out aloud, but nobody heard him ; the snow fell fast and furious,
and the sledge flew onward, while now and then it gave a jump, as if
they were rushing over ditches and hurdles. He became quite frightened
and wanted to say the Lord's Prayer, hut could only remember the multi-
plication table.

THE SNOW QUEEN 151

The snowriiikes became larger and larger, till at last they looked like
big white fowls ; suddenly they ran aside and the great sledge stopped and
the person who had been driving stood up ; the coat and the cap were
entirely of snow. It was a lady, very tall and erect and dazzlingly white,
it was the Snow Queen.

" We have got on quickly ! " she said, "but you are shivering with
cold! Creep in under my bearskin ! " Then she put him beside her in
the sledge and wrapped the skin round him, and he felt as if he were sink-
ing into a snowdrift.

"Do you feel cold still?" she asked, as she kissed him on his forehead.
Ugh ! it was colder than ice, it went right through his heart, which was
already half frozen ; he felt as if he were going to die — but only for a
moment, and then he was quite well again and did not feel the cold
around him any more.

"My sledge! Don't forget my sledge!" This was the tir.st thing he
remembered; it was tied to one of the white fowls, which came rushing
on behind them with the sledge on its back. The Snow Queen kissed
Kay once more, and then little (Jerda, and the grandmother, and all at
home passed out of his mind altogether.

"I shall give you no more kisses," she said; "or I should kiss vou
to death! "

Kay looked at her; she was very beautiful; a more intelligent or
lovely face he could not imagine; she did not now appear to him to be
of ice as when she sat outside the window and beckoned to him. In his
eyes she was perfect, and he did not feel the least afraid of her; he told
her he knew mental arithmetic even in fractions, and how manv square
miles and inhabitants there were in all countries, to all of which she
smiled. But he felt he did not know enough after all, and he looked up
into the great space above, whereupon she Hew with him high up on the
black cloud, while the storm whistled and roared; it seemed as if it were
singing old ballads. They flew over forests and lakes, across the ocean
and many countries ; below them the cold blast scoured the plains, the
wolves howled and the snow sparkled, and over them flew the black,
screeching crows, while the moon shone bright and clear, and by its light
he beheld the long, dreary winter's night — by day he slept at the feet of
the Snow Queen.

152

THE SNOW dUEEN

THE THIRD STORY

B

THE WITCH'S FLOWER GARDEN

UT how did little Gerda fare when Kay did iu)t return : Where
could he be? Nobody knew; nobody could give any tidings of
him. The boys could only tell that they had seen him tie his
little sledge to another large and splendid sledge which drove down the
street and out through the town gate. No one knew where he was;
many tears flowed and little Gerda cried long and bitterly; then they said
that he was dead, that he had been drowned in the river which flowed
past close to the town; oh, they were indeed long, dark winter days.
Then came the spring with the warm sunshine
" Kay is dead and gone," said little Gerda.
•'I don't believe it!" said the sunshine.
"He is dead and gone," she said to the swallows.

THE SNOW QUEEN 153

"We don't believe it!" they answered, and at last little Gerda did not
believe it either.

"I will put on my new red shoes," she said one morning, "those
which Kav has not seen, and then I will go down to the river and ask it
about him ! "

It was cjuite earlv ; she kissed her t)ld grandmother, who was asleep,
put on the red shoes, and went out quite alone through the town gate
toward the river.

" Is it true that you have taken my little playmate ? I will make you a
present of my red shoes if you will give him back to me."

And she thought the waves nodded to her strangely. She then took
her red shoes, the most precious she had, and threw them both out into
the river, but they fell close to the bank and the little billows soon carried
them ashore to her. It seemed as if the river would not take the dearest
treasure she had because it could not give back little Kay to her; but then
she thought she had not thrown the shoes out far enough, and so she
climbed into a boat which was lying among the rushes, and went right to
the farthest end oi' it and threw the shoes into the water. But the boat
was not fastened, and its motion as she got into it sent it adrift from the
bank. As soon as she noticed this she hastened to get out, but before she
could jump ashore the boat was an arm's length from the bank and now it
drifted still faster.

Little Gerda now became quite frightened and began to cry, but no
one heard her except the sparrows, and they could not carry her ashore;
but they flew along the banks of the river, singing as if to comfort her :
" Here we are! Here we are ! " The boat drifted with the current, while
little Gerda sat quite still in her stockinged feet; her little red shoes were
floating along behind, but they did not overtake the boat, which drifted
more quickly ahead.

The banks on both sides of the river were pretty; there were beautiful
flowers, old trees, and green slopes with sheep and cows, but not a human
being was to be seen.

" Perhaps the river is carrying me to little Kay," thought Gerda; and
then she became more cheerful and stood up in the boat, looking for many
hours at the beautiful banks of the river, till she came to a large cherry
orchard where there was a little house with strange red and blue windows
and a thatched roof, and outside stood two wooden soldiers who presented
arms to all who sailed past.

Gerda called out to them ; she thought thev were living beings, but of
course they did not answer. She was drawing near to them ; the current
was driving the boat right against the shore.

Gerda called out still louder, when an old — very old — woman came
out of the house, leaning upon a crook ; she wore a big sun-bonnet with
a broad brim painted all over with the most lovely flowers.

154 THE SNOW dUEEN

" You poor little child ! '' said the old crone ; " how did you get into
the strong, rapid current, and drift so tar out into the wide world ? " And
the old woman went right out into the water, hooked her crook fast into
the boat, pulled it ashore and lifted little (Jerda out of it.

Gerda was glad to get on land again, but was a little afraid of the
strange old woman.

" Come, tell me who you are and how vou came here ! " she said.

And Gerda told her everything, the old woman shaking her head all
the time and only muttering " Hem! Hem ! " When Gerda had told her
all and asked her if she had not seen little Kay, the woman said he had
not passed by there, but he would, no doubt, be coming that way ; she
had better be of good cheer and taste her cherries and see her Howers —
they were much prettier than any picture book. Each of them had a
story to tell. She then took Gerda by the hand and went into the little
house, locking the door after her.

The windows were high up near the ceiling and the panes were red,
blue, and yellow ; the daylight shone through them in such a strange way
in all sorts of colors. On the table stood the most delicious cherries, and
Gerda ate as many as she liked, for she was not afraid to touch them.
And while she was eating, the old woman combed her hair witli a golden
comb, till the glossy hair hung in beautiful yellow curls round the pleasant
little face, which was as round and as fresh as a rose.

"I have really been longing for such a pretty little girl as you!" said
the old woman. " \'ou will soon see how well we shall get on together,
we two!" And as she went on combing little Gerda's hair, the more
(Jerda forgot her playmate, little Kay, for the old woman was learned in
witchcraft, but she was not one of the wicked witches. She only practised
witchcraft for her own amusement, and did so now because she wanted to
keep little Gerda. She therefore went out into her garden and stretched
out her crook toward all the rose-trees, and, beautifully though they blos-
somed, she caused them all to sink into the dark ground and no one could
see where they had been standing. The old woman was afraid that if
Gerda saw the roses she would think of her own and then remember little
Kay and run away.

She now led Gerda out into the flower garden. Oh, how fragrant and
lovely it was there ! Every imaginable Hovver of every season was here in
full Idoom ; no picture book could be more variegated and beautiful.
Cierda ran joyously about and played till the sun went down behind the
lofty cherry-trees. Then she was put to sleep in a splendid bed with new
silk quilts stuffed with blue violets, and there she slept and dreamed as hap-
pily as any queen on her wedding-day.

Next day she again played with the rii)wers in the warm sunshine,
and thus many days passed. Gerda knew every flower, but numerous as
they were she seemed to feel there was one missing, but she did not know

THE SNOW aUEEN 155

which it was. Then, one day, as she sat looking at the old woman's sun-
bonnet with the painted flowers, she noticed that the prettiest of them all
was a rose. The old crone had forgotten to take it ofl^ her bonnet when
she buried the rose-trees in the grt)iuid. But that is the way when yt>u
don't keep your wits about vou!

" WHiat ! are there no roses here.?" cried Gerda, as she ran among the
flower beds, looking and searching, but there were none to be found.

She then sat down and cried, but her hot tears happened to fall just
where a rose-tree had sunk into the ground, and when the warm tears
moistened the soil the tree shot up suddenly in full bloom, just as when
it had disappeared. Gerda embraced it, kissed the roses, and thought of
the lovely roses at home, and then of little Kay.

"Oh, how I have been losing my time!" said the little girl. "Why, I
was going to find Kay! Do you know where he is?" she asked the
roses. "Do you think he is dead, and lost to usr"

"He is not dead," said the roses. "We have been under the ground,
where all the dead are, but Kay was not there!"

"Thank you," said little Gerda, and she went to the other flowers and
looked into their cups and asked: " Dt) you know where little Kay is?"

Hut all the flowers were standing in the sunshine, dreaming the fairy
tale of their own lives. Gerda heard many — very many — ot these stt)ries,
but none of the flowers knew anything about Kay.

And what did the orange-lily say ?

"Do you hear the drum ? Rat! Tat! There are only two sounds — ■
always Rat ! Tat ! Listen to the women's funeral dirge ! Listen to the
priest's cry ! The Hindoo woman is standing in her long red robe on the
funeral pile, the flames are enveloping her and her husband's dead body ;
but the Hindoo woman is thinking of the living being in the circle
around her, of him whose eyes burn hotter than the flames, and the fire
which penetrates sooner to her heart than the flames which will soon burn
her body to ashes. Can the flames of the heart die in the flames of the
funeral pile ?"

"I cannot understand it all!" said little (ierda.

"That is the story of my life," said the orange-lily.

What does the convolvulus say ?

"Over the narrow mountain path looms an old castle; the ivy is
climbing, leaf by leaf, up along the old red walls and around the balcony,
on which stands a beautiful girl; she bends over the balustrade and looks
down the road. No rose is fresher than she; no apple-blossom carried
away from the tree by the wind could float more gracefully than she.
How her magnificent silk robe rustles ! She murmurs : " Will he not come ? "

"Is it Kay you mean?" asked little (Jerda.

"I am only thinking about the fairy tale of my life, my dream,"
answered the convolvulus.

156 THE SNOW ClUEEN

What does the little snowdrop say?

" Between the trees hangs a long board suspended between ropes ; it is
a swing, and two lovely little girls, in frocks white as snow, and with long
green-silk ribbons fluttering from their hats, are sitting in it, swinging to
and fro. Their brother, who is bigger than they, stands on the swing
with one arm round the rope to steady himself, for in one hand he has a
little bowl and in the other a clay pipe; he is blowing soap-bubbles.
The swing goes backward and forward and the bubbles fly about, con-
stantly changing their color. The last bubble is still hanging at the end
of the pipe, swaying to and fro in the wind. A little black dog, as light
as the bubbles, sits up on his hind legs and wants to get on the swing;
but it never stops, and the dog fills, barks, and becomes angrv ; they tease
him, the bubbles burst — a swinging board, the picture of a bursting
bubble is my song."

"It may be very pretty, all that you tell me, but you speak in such a
sad voice, and do not mention Kay at all! What do the hyacinths say?"

"There were three beautiful sisters, fair and delicate; one was dressed
in red, the other in blue, and the third in white; hand in hand they
danced near the silent lake in the bright moonshine. They were not
elfin-maidens, they were the daughters of mankind. There was a sweet
fragranc.e in the air as the maidens disappeared, into the wood; the
fragrance became stronger — three coffins, in which lav the beiuitiful
maidens, glided away from the thicket across the lake; shining glow-
worms flew about like little floating lights. Were the dancing maidens
asleep or were they dead ? The fragrance of the flowers tells us they are
corpses; the evening bell is tolling for the dead!"

"You make me quite sad," said little Gerda. "Your perfume is so
strong, I cannot help thinking of the dead maidens! Alas! is little Kay
really dead after all ? The roses have been under the ground, and they
say no! "

"Ding, dong!" rang the bells of the hyacinths. "We are not tolling
for little Kay; we do not know liirn. W^e are only singing our own
song, the only one we know! "

And Gerda wenl to the buttercup which shone forth among the bright-
green leaves.

"You are a bright little sun," said Gerda. "Tell me, if you know,
where I can find my playmate." And the buttercup shone so brightly
and looked up at Gerda. What song would the buttercup sing? It was
not to be about Kay either.

"The sun was was shining so warmly, on the first day of spring, into
a little courtyard; the rays glided down along the neighbors' white wall,
and close by grew the first yellow flowers, sparkling like gold in the
warm sunlight. The old grandmother sat outside in her chair, her grand-
daughter, the poor, good-looking servant-girl, came home from a short

THE SNOW aUEEN 157

visit; she kissed her grandmother. There was gold, the gold of the
heart, in that blessed kiss, (iold on the lips, gold on the ground, gold
high above in the early nn)rning hour! There, that is my little story!"
said the buttercup.

"My poor old grandmother!" sighed Gerda. "She must be longing
tor me, and be anxious about me, just as she was about little Kay. But
I sl-.ali soon be home again, and then I '11 bring Kay with me. It is no
use asking the Howers ; they only know their own song, they cannot give
me any tidings!" And so she fastened up her little frock, so that she
might run the faster; but the narcissus caught her by the leg as she sprang
over it. She stopped, looked at the long flower and said:

"Perhaps you know something?" And she bent down ck^e to it.
What did she say ?

"I can see myself! I can see myself!" said the narcissus. " Oh, what
a perfume ! Up in the little garret stands a little dancer, half dressed ;
sometimes she stands on one leg, and sometimes on two — she kicks at the
whole world; she is only a phantom. She pours water out of the teapot
onto a piece of cloth which she holds in her hand; it is her corset.
Cleanliness is a virtue! Her white dress hangs on a peg, and that has
also been washed in the teapot and dried on the rtnif ! She puts it on
and ties a saffron-colored handkerchief round her neck, so that her dress
should look all the whiter. How high she kicks ! Liiok how well she
poises on one stem! I can see myself! I can see myself!"

"I dt)n't care for that at all!" said Gerda; "it isn't worth telling
me!" And then she ran toward the far end of the garden.

The gate was shut, but she fumbled with the rusty latch till it gave
way and the gate Hew open, and then little Gerda ran out, barefooted,
into the wide world. She looked back three times, but no one was
pursuing her; at last she could run no longer and sat down on a large
stone, and when she looked round she discovered that the summer was
over, and that it was late in the autumn ; one could not see that in the
beautiful garden wTiere there was always sunshine, and tlowers of every
season of the year were always in full bloom.

" (Jracious goodness! how I have been delayed!" said little Gerda;
"the autumn has set in, so I dare not rest!" And she rose to proceed on
her journey.

Oh! how sore and tired her little feet were; everything looked so
bleak and damp round about; the long willow leaves were quite yellow,
and the dew dripped like water from them. Leaf after leaf fell; the
blackthorn alone bore fruit, but it was so sour and bitter that it set one's
teeth on edge. Oh, how gray and gloomy the wide world looked!

158

THE SNOW Q.UEEN

THE FOURTH STORY

THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS

GERDA was obliged to sit down and rest again, when a large crow
came hopping across the snow just opposite to wliere she was
sitting. The crow looketi at her tor some time, turniiiu; liis
head from one side to the other, and at last lie said: "Caw! Caw! (ioo'
day! Goo' day!" He could not pronounce the words any better, but he
was kindly disposed toward the little girl and asked her where she u as
going all alone out into the wide world. CJerda understood the word
"alone" very well and felt how much it meant, and so she told the cVew
the story of her life and asked him if he had not seen Kay.

The crow nodded quite thoughtfully and said: "Perhaps I have!
Perhaps I have ! "

"What? You don't say so!" cried the little girl, ami she almost
hugged the crow to death, so vit)lently did she embrace him.

"Gently, gently!" said the crow. "I dare say it may be little Kav !
But he has no doubt forgotten you by this time for the princess!"

THE SNOW dUEEN 159

"Does he live at a princess's?" asked Gerda.

"Well, yes!" said the crow; "but I find it rather difficult to speak
your language. If you understand the crows' language I shall he able to
tell it you better."

"No, I have not learned it!" said Gerda; "but grandmother knows it.
I only wish I had learned it."

"It does not matter!" said the crow. "I will tell you as well as I
can, but I am afraid it will be badlv done after all." And so he told what
he knew.

"In the kingdom where we are now sitting lives a princess who is
very wise, but then she has read all the newspapers in the world and for-
gotten them again ; so wise is she ! The other day she was sitting on
the throne, — and that is not so very pleasant, people say, — when she
happened to hum a song which began with 'Why should I not marry!'
'Yes, there is something in that,' she said, and then she made up her
mind to marry; but she wanted a husband who understood how to answer
when spoken to, not one, in fact, who could only stand and look grand,
for that was so tiresome.

"She then summoned all her maids-of-honor, and when thev heard
what was her will they were greatly pleased. 'We are so glad to hear
that!' they all said. 'We were just thinking about the same thing the
other day!' Vou can believe every word I tell you," said the crow; "I
have a tame sweetheart at the palace who goes all over the place, and she
has told me all about it ! "

His sweetheart was, of course, a crow; for birds of a feather fiock
together, so a crow wants a crow for his mate.

" The newspapers at once appeared with a border of hearts with the
princess's initials; it was there announced that every good-looking young
man would be received at the palace and allowed to speak with the
princess, and he who by his speech showed himself most at ease there and
spoke most fluently would be chosen by the princess for her husband.
Well!" said the crow, "you must believe me, it 's as true as I sit here.
Thj people came in crowds to the palace, and there was much crushing
and running to and fro; but no one was successful either on the first or
the second day. They could all speak well enough when they were out
in the street, but when they came through the palace gate and saw the
guards in silver and the lackeys in gold, standing on the staircases, and
the great illuminated halls, they lost their heads altogether. And when
they stood before the throne where the princess was sitting, they did not
know what to say except the last word she had uttered, and she did not
care to hear that said over again. It seemed as if the people, while in
the room, had partaken of some narcotic, and were in a state of stupor
till they got out into the street again ; then they could talk and no
mistake! There was a whole row of them from the town gate to the

160 THE SNOW Q.UEEN

palace. I went in myself to have a look," said the crow. "The people
were both hungry and thirsty, but they did not get as much as a glass of
luke-warm water in the palace. Some of the more prudent had taken
sandwiches with them, but they did not give any to their neighbors; they
thought: 'Let him look hungry, and then the princess will not have him ! ' "

"But Kav, little Kay!" asked Gerda. "When does he come? Was
he in the crowd?"

"Patience! patience! We are just coming to him. It was on the
third day that a small person, without horse or carriage, came marching
quite cheerfully right up to the palace, his eyes shone like vours, he had
beautiful long hair, but was otherwise poorly dressed."

"That was Kay ! " cried Gerda in great delight. "Oh, now I liave
found him!" And she clapped her hands.

"He had a little knapsack on his back!" said the crow.

"No, that must have been his sledge," said (ierda; "for he had the
sledge with him when he left home!"

"That may be," said the crow. "I did not take particular notice, but
I heard from my sweetheart that when he came in through the palace
gate and saw the life guards in silver and the lackeys in gold on the stair-
cases he was not in the least abashed; he nodded to them and said, 'It
must be very tedious to stand on the staircase; I prefer to go inside.'
The halls were all ablaze with lights. Counselors and excellencies were
walking about in their bare feet, carrying golden vessels; it was enough to
strike any one with awe. His boots creaked dreadfully, but he was not a
bit frightened."

"That must have been Kay!" said Gerda, "I knew he had new
boots; I have heard them creak in grandmother's room."

"Yes, they did creak," said the crow; "but he went boldly straight
up to the princess, who was seated on a pearl as large as a spinning-wheel,
and all the maids-of-honor with their maids and maids' maids, and all the
gentlemen-in-waiting with their servants and servants' servants, who again
kept page-boys, were standing round about the hall, and the nearer they
stood to the door the prouder they looked. One could hardly look at
the page-boys of the servants' servants, who always went about in slippers,
so proud did they look standing in the doorway."

" It must be terrible!" said little Gerda. "And did Kay get the
princess after all?"

" If I had not been a crow, I would have taken her myself-, although
I am engaged. He is said to have spoken as well as I do, when I speak
the crows' language, at least that 's what my sweetheart tells me. He
looked a bold and handsome youth as he stood there; but he had not
come to woo the princess, only to hear some of her wisdom. He was
quite pleased with her and she with him."

"Yes, that must have been Kay!" said Gerda, "he was so clever; he

THE SNOW dUEEN 161

could do mental arithmetic even in tractions! Oh, will you not take me
to the palace P"

"Well, that is easily said!" said the crow. "But how shall we
manage it ? I will speak, with my sweetheart ahout it ; she can give us
some advice, no douht, for I must tell you such a little girl as you will
never be permitted to get right inside!"

"Yes, I shall!" said Gerda. "When Kay hears I am there he will
come out at once and fetch me ! "

"Wait for me at the stile over yonder ! " said the crow, with a twist of
his head as he Hew away.

It was not till late in the evening that the crow returned.

"Caw! Caw!" he croaked. "My sweetheart sends you her kind
love, and here is a piece of bread for you; she took it from the kitchen,
there is plenty of bread there, and you must be hungry ! You cannot
possibly get into the palace — for, look, you are barefooted ! The guards in
silver and the lackeys in gold would not allow it ; but don't cry, you shall
get in somehow. My sweetheart knows a little back staircase which leads
up to the bedroom, and she knows where she can find the key !"

And they went into the garden and along the long avenue where the
leaves were falling one after the other ; and when the lights in the palace
were extinguished, one by one, the crow led little Gerda to a back door,
which stood ajar.

Oh, how Gerda's heart was beating with anxiety and longing ! She
felt as if she were about to do something wrong, while she only wanted to
know if little Kay was there. Yes, it must be he ; she could see his clever
eves, his long hair, and could even see how he smiled, just as when they
used to sit under the roses at home. He would surely be glad to see her
when he heard what a long way she had come for his sake, and how
grieved they all were at home because he did not come back . Oh, what
fear and what joy !

They were now on the stairs, where a small lamp was burning on the
top of a cupboard ; in the middle of the room stood the tame crow, turn-
ing her head in all directions and staring at Gerda, who curtseyed as her
grandmother had taught her to do.

" My sweetheart has spoken so nicely about you, my young lady," said
the tame crow ; " your vita, as they say, is really very touching ! If you
will carry the lamp, I will go o\\ in front. We will go straight ahead, for
we shall meet no one this way."

" I fancy there is somebody coming behind us," said Gerda, as she felt
something sweep past her. Shadows of horses with living manes and the
thin legs oi huntsmen, and ladies and gentlemen on horseback seemed to
glide past her on the wall.

" They are only dreams," said the crow ; " they come to fetch the
thoughts of our royal folks to go a-hunting, which is just as well, for then

[62 THE SNOW dUEEN

you can look at them in their beds all the better. But I hope, when you
have risen to a post of dignity and honor, that you will show you have a
grateful heart ! "

"Oh, it is n't worth talking about ! " said the crow from the forest.

They now entered the first room, the walls of which were hung with
rose-colored satin and artificial flowers ; the dreams were already rushing
past them, but they swept on at such a great speed that Gerda could not
see the royal personages.

Each room was more magnificent than the last ; it was enough to be-
wilder any one. They were now in the bedroom, the ceiling ot which was
like a large palm-tree with leaves of the most costly glass, and in the mid-
dle of the room hung in a silken cord two beds, resembling lilies ; the one
in which the princess lay was white, the other was red; and it was in this
that Gerda was to look for little Kay. She pulled aside one of the red
leaves and then saw a brown neck. Oh, that must be Kay ! She called
his name aloud and held the lamp over him, — the dreams came rushing
back into the room on horseback, — he awoke, turned his head, and — it
was not little Kay.

They only resembled each other about the neck, but the prince was a
young and very handsome man. The princess peeped out from her lily-
white bed and asked what was the matter. Little (Jerda then began to
cry and told them her whole story and all that the crows had done for her.

"Poor little creature!" said the prince; and the princess praised the
crows, telling them that they were not at all angry with them, but that
they must not do it again. In the meantime they should receive a reward.

" Would you like to have your freedom and fly away ? " asked the
princess, " or would vou like an appointment as crows to the court, with
all the leavings of the kitchen as your perquisites r "

And both the crows curtseved and asked for the appointments, for thev
thought of their old age, and said : " It would be so nice to know that we
are provided for," as they put it.

And the prince got out of his bed and let Gerda sleep in it, and more
he could not do. She folded her little hands and thought: " How kind men
and animals are to me ! " And then she closed her eyes and fell into a sweet
sleep.

All the dreams came flying back into the room ; they now looked like
angels, drawing a little sledge in which Kay was sitting nodding to her.
But it was only a dream, and therefore it was all gone as soon as she
awoke.

The following day she was dressed from top to toe in silk and velvet ;
she received an invitation to remain in the palace and enjoy herself, but she
only asked for a small coach and a horse, and a little pair of shoes, and she
would again set out into the wide world to find Kay.

And she not only got the shoes, but a mufl", and exquisite clothes, and

THE SNOW dUEEN 163

when she was ready to start a new coach of pure gold was waiting for her
at the door. The prince and princess's coat-of-arms on the coach shone
like a star ; the coachman, the footman, and the postillions, for there were
postillions too, wore gold crowns on their heads. The prince and princess
helped her into the coach and wished her success. The crow from the
forest, who was now married, accompanied her for the first ten miles, fie
sat hv her side, for he could not bear riding backwards ; while the other
crow stood in the gateway flapping her wings; she did not accompany
them, tor she had suffered from headache since she had been definitely
attached to the court and had too much to eat. The inside of the coach
was stocked with fancy cakes, and under the seat were fruits and ginger-
bread nuts.

" Farewell ! firewell ! " cried the prince and princess, and little Gerda
wept, and the crow wept. Thus the first miles passed, and then the crow
also bade her farewell, and this was the saddest parting of all. The crow
fiew up into a tree and flapped his black wings as long as he could see the
coach, which sparkled like bright sunbeams.

164

THE SNOW dUEEN

THE FIFTH STORY

THE LITTLE ROBBER GIRL

THE\' drove tlirough the dark forest, hut the cDach shone like a
hright Hght, the glare of which hurt the eyes oi the rohhers in
the forest, who could scarcely hear it.

" It 's gold! It 's gold ! " they cried as they rushed out and seized hold
of the horses. Thev killed the little postillions, the coachman, ami the
footman, and dragged little Gerda out ot the coach.

"She is so fat and nice ! She has been fed on nuts! " said the old rob-
ber woman, who had a long bristly beard and eyebrows, which hung down
over her eyes. " She is as good as a little fatted lamb ! Ah, how nice
she'll taste ! " And so she pulled out her bright knife, the glitter of which
was terrible to behold.

" Oh, dear !" the woman shouted just at that iinMiieiit ; she had been bit-
ten on the ear by her own little daughter, who was hanging on her back
and was as wild and ungovernable as could be. " Oh, you wicked brat ! "
said the mother, who could not find the time just then to kill Gerda.

THE SNOW dUEEN 165

"She must play with me!" said the little robber girl. "She must
give me her muff and her pretty frock, and sleep with me in my bed !"
And then she bit her mother again so that she jumped into the air and
twirled round and round, while all the robbers laughed and said :

" Look how she is dancing with her brat! "

"I want to get into the ct)ach ! " said the little robber girl; and she
would and must have her own way, for she was such a spoiled and self-
willed child. She and Gerda sat up in the coach, and away they went
over stock and stone far into the forest. The little robber girl was just
as big as Gerda, but much stronger and more broad-shouldered; her skin
was dark and her eyes quite black; they looked almost melancholy. She
took little Gerda round the waist and said: "They shall not kill you, as
long as I do not get angry with you ! You are a princess, I suppose?"

" No," said little Gerda, and told her about evervthing she had gone
through, and how fond she was of little Kay.

The robber girl looked earnestly at her, gave a little nod with her
head, and said : " They shall not kill you, even if I get angry with you,
for then I would rather do it myself" And ;o she dried Gerda's tears and
put both her hands into the beautiful muff, which was so soft and warm.

The coach now stopped ; they were in the middle of the courtyard of
a robbers' castle, the walls of which were cracked from top to bottom, and
where ravens and crows iicw in and out of the open holes, and the big
bulldogs, which looked as if they could swallow a man, jumped high in
the air, but they did not bark, for that was prohibited.

In the large old smoky hall a big fire was burning in the middle of
the stone floor ; the smoke ascended to the ceiling and had to rind a wav
out tor itself ; a large caldron of soup was boiling on the rire, and both
hares and rabbits were being roasted on spits before it.

" ^'ou shall sleep here with me and all my little animals to-night!"
said the robber girl. They had something to eat and drink, after which
they went over into a corner where there was some straw and blankets.
On some laths and poles above their heads were sitting about a hundred
pigeons, which all appeared to be asleep, but they turned their heads a lit-
tle when the little girls came into the room.

" They are all mine," said the little robber girl, and quickly seized
hold of one of the nearest, holding it by the feet and shaking it so that it
Happed its wings. "Kiss it!" she cried, and dashed it into Gerda's face.
" There are the wood-pigeons ! " she went on, and pointed to a hole high
up on the wall, with a number of laths nailed across it. " Those two are
a couple of rascals from the woods. They would fiy away directly if they
were not properly shut up ; and here is my old sweetheart Ba ! " she said,
as she tugged at the antlers of a reindeer, who had a bright copper ring
round his neck and was tied up. " We have to look closely after him, too,
else he would also run away from us. Every evening I tickle his neck

166 THE SNOW Q_UEEN

with that sharp knife of mine, of which he is terribly afraid! " And the lit-
tle girl pulled out a long knife from a crevice in the wall and drew it
across the reindeer's neck ; the poor animal kicked out with its legs, and
the robber girl laughed and then pulled Gerda into bed with her.

"Do you take the knife to bed with your" asked Gerda, looking
somewhat scared at it.

" I always sleep with a knife," said the little robber girl. " One never
knows what may happen. But tell me again what you have already told
me about little Kay and why you went out into the wide world." And
Gerda told her story over again, while the wood-pigeons were cooing up
in their cage and the other birds slept. The little robber girl put her arm
round Gerda's neck and held the knife in her other hand, and slept so
soundly that one could hear her ; but Gerda could not close her eyes at all,
for she did not know whether she was to live or die. The robbers sat
round the tire, singing and drinking, while the old woman turned somer-
saults. Oh, it was a horrible sight for the little girl !

Then the wood-pigeons suddenly cried, " Coo ! Coo ! we have seen
little Kay! A white fowl carried his sledge while he sat in the Snow
Queen's sledge as they drove through the forest and we lay in our nests ;
her icy breath killed all the young ones except us two. Coo! Coo ! "

"What are you saying up there?" cried (Jerda. "Where was the
Snow Queen gt)ing ? Do you know anything about it?"

"She was going to Lapland, no doubt, for there is always snow and ice.
Just ask the reindeer who is fastened to the rope over there."

" Yes, there is ice and snow there," said the reindeer. " It is a glo-
rious place. There you can freely roam about in the great glittering val-
leys. There the Snow Queen pitches her summer tent, but her stronghold
is near the North Pole on the island called Spitzbergen ! "

"Oh, Kay! little Kay ! " sighed (Jerda.

" You must lie quiet," said the robber girl, " else you will feel my
knife in your body ! "

In the morning Gerda told her everything that the wood-pigeons had
said, and the little robber girl looked quite serious, but nodded her head
and said, "It does n't matter ! it does n't matter! Do you know where
Lapland is r " she asked the reindeer.

" Who should know better than I ? " the reindeer said, its eyes spark-
ling with excitement. " I was born and bred there ; there I used to scour
the snow-fields."

"Just li.sten," said the robber girl to Gerda. "You see all the men
are gone, but mother is still here and will be for some time, but later in
the morning she takes a drink out of the big bottle over there, and after-
ward she takes a little nap ; then I '11 do something for you ! "

She now jumped out of bed, threw her arms round her mother, pulled
her mustache, and said, "Good morning, my own sweet nanny-goat!"

THE SNOW dUEEN 167

And the mother snapped her nose till it was both red and blue, but it was
all done out of pure love.

When the mother had had her drink out of the bottle and was taking
a little nap, the robber girl went across to the reindeer and said, "I should
like very much to tickle you a good many times still with my sharp knife,
for then you are so funny ; but never mind, I will undo your rope and set
you free so that you may set out for Lapland; but you must use your legs
and carry this little girl for me to the Snow Queen's castle, where her play-
mate is. You heard, of course, what she said, tor she spoke loud enough,
and you were listening."

The reindeer jumped for joy. The robber girl lifted little Gerda on
its back and took care to tie her fast, and even to give her a little cushion
to sit on. "I don't mind giving them back to you," she said, "but here
are your fur-lined boots, for you will find it cold up there ; I must keep
the muff, though, it is so pretty. All the same you shall not feel cold.
Here are mother's large woolen gloves, which will reach right up to your
elbows. Put your hands in ! Now they look just like my ugly mother's ! "

And Gerda wept for joy.

" I don't like to see you whimpering," said the little robber girl. "You
must look pleased and happy now. Here are two loaves and a ham for
you, so that you shall not starve."

The provisions were fastened to the reindeer's back, and the little
robber girl opened the door and called all the big dogs into the room,
after which she cut the rope with her knife and said to the reindeer, "Be
off! But look well after the little girl."

And Gerda stretched out her hands with the large gloves toward the
robber girl and said, "Farewell." And the reindeer set off and flew across
bushes and logs of trees, through the big forest, over bogs and steppes, as
fast as ever he could. The wolves howled and the ravens croaked.
"Whizz ! Whizz! " was heard in the sky, which was covered with fiery-
red streaks.

"They are my old friends the Northern lights!" said the reindeer.
"Look how they shine ! " And so he ran still faster, by night and by day.
The loaves were eaten, and the ham too, when they came to Lapland.

168

THE SNOW Q.UEEN

THE SIXTH STORY

THE LAPWOMAN AND THE FINWOMAN

They stopped before a miserable little hut ; the roof went right down
to the ground, and the door was so low that the family had to creep on
all fours when thev wanted to go out or in. There was nobody at home
except an old Lapwoman, who was cooking Hsh over a train-oil lamp.
The reindeer told her the whole of Gerda's story, but only after having
first told his own, which he considered was more important, and (ierda
was so benumbed with cold that she was not able to speak.

"Ah, poor creature!." said the Lapwoman, "then you still have far
to go ! You must travel four hundred miles into Finmark, tor that is
where the Snow Queen spend." her summer and burns blue lights every
evening. I will write one or two lines on a dried codfish, as I have no
paper, and give it to you for the Finwoman up there ; she can give you
better information than I."

THE SNOW QUEEN 169

And when Gerda had become warm and had had something to eat and
drink, tlie Lapwoman wrote a tew words on a dried codfish, told (ierda
to look, well after it, and tied her fast to the reindeer again, and off he
went at tidl speed. " Whizz ! whizz ! " was heard, while up in the
heavens the most beautiful blue Northern lights were blazing the whole
night ; and then they came to Finmark and knocked at the chimney of
the Finwoman's hut, tor it had not even a door.

It was so terribly hot inside that the Finwoman herself went about
almost naked ; she was small and dirty-looking. She loosened little Gerda's
clothes at once, took off' her big gloves and boots, or else it would have
been too hot for her in the hut, put a piece of ice on the reindeer's head,
and then began to read what was written on the codfish. She read it
three times and then she knew it by heart, after which she put the fish
into the pot, which was boiling on the fire, for it could very well be eaten,
and she never wasted anything.

The reindeer first told his own story and then little (Jerda's, and the
F'inwoman blinked with her knowing eyes, but did not say anything.

"You are st) wise," said the reindeer; "I know you can bind all the
winds in the world with a piece of thread; when the skipper loosens one
knot he gets fair wind, if he loosens the second a stiff gale springs up, and
if he loosens the third and the fourth it will raise such a storm that the
forests are blown down. Will you not give the little girl a potion so that
she will get twelve men's strength and be able to overcome the Snow
Queen r "

"Twelve men's strength!" said the F'inwoman. "Well, that
would n't be of much use ! " And then she went to a shelf and took down
a large roll of skin, which she unrolled; it was inscribed with strange
characters, which the Finwoman began reading, and went on with it till
the perspiration fell in drops from her forehead.

But the reindeer begged again so hard for little Gerda, and Gerda,
with tears in her eyes, looked so entreatingly at the Finwoman, that the
eyes of the latter again began to blink, and, leading the reindeer into a
corner, the Finwoman put some fresh ice on his head and whispered:

" Little Kay is with the Snow Queen sure enough, and finds everything
there acctirding to his mind and liking, believing it is the finest place in
the world; but that comes of his having a glass splinter in his heart and a
little speck of glass in his eye. They must be got out or he will never be
himself again, and the Snow Queen will retain her power over him ! "

" But can't you give little Gerda something to drink so that she may
become strong enough to overcome all this.?"

" I cannot give her greater power than she already possesses. Do you
not see how great it is ? Do you not see how men and animals must serve
her, how she, barefooted, has got on so safely through the world? She
must not be told by us of her power; it is seated in her heart, where it will

170 THE SNOW dUEEN

remain ; it consists in her being such a sweet and innocent child. If she
cannot obtain access herself to the Snow Queen, and remove the bits of
glass from little Kay, we cannot help her. Two miles from here the
Snow Queen's garden begins; carry the little girl there and put her down
by the great bush which stands full of rich berries in the snt)\\ . Don't
stop there long gossiping, but make haste back here." And the Fin-
woman lifted little Gerda up on the reindeer, wht) set out as fast as he
could.

" Oh, I have n't got my boots ! I hiue n"t got my gloves! " cried little
Gerda as soon as she felt the biting cold ; hut the reindeer dared not stop ;
he ran till he came to the great bush with the red berries. There he put
Gerda down and kissed her mouth, while big bright tears ran down the
animal's cheeks, and then he trotted back as quicklv as he could. There
stood poor Gerda without shoes and without ghnes in the midst of the
terrible ice-cold Finmark.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, when she encountered a
whole regiment ot snowHakes; but they did n't hill down from the sky,
which was quite bright and full of shining Northern lights. The snow-
Hakes ran along the ground and grew larger the nearer they came; Gerda
well remembered how big and weird they had appeared to her when she
looked at them through the magnifying glass, but now thev were certainly
much bigger and more terrible ; they were alive and were the outposts of
the Snow Queen. They had the most wonderful shapes: some of them
looked like great, ugly porcupines, others like coils of snakes putting forth
their heads, and others again like small fat bears with bristling hairs; all
were dazzlingly white, all were living snowHakes.

Little Gerda then said the Lord's Prayer ; the cold was so great that
she could see her own breath, it seemed like a jet of steam issuing from
her mouth; her breath grew thicker and thicker and formed itself into
little bright angels, who grew larger and larger as soon as they touched the
ground. Thev all had helmets on their heads, and spears and shields in
their hands; their numbers increased every moment, and when Gerda had
finished her prayer there was a whole legion around her. They struck at
the terrible snowHakes with their spears and shattered them into a hundred
pieces, and little Gerda could then proceed safely and cheerfully on her
way. The angels patted her feet and hands so that' she did not feel the
cold so much, and she walked on rapidlv toward the Snow Queen's castle.

But we will now first see how Kay is faring. He certainly was not
thinking of little Gerda, and least of all tbat sbe might be standing outside
the castle.

THE SNOW dUEEN

171

THE SEVENTH STORY

WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN THE SNOW QUEEN'S CASTLE
AND WHAT HAPPENED LATER ON

Tl^K walls of the castle were made of the drifting sncnv, and the
windows and doors ot" the CLitting winds; there were over a hun-
dred halls, according to how the snow had been drifting, the
largest of which extended i'or many miles. All were lighted by the
bright Northern lights; but how vast and empty, iiow icy cold and
dazzling white they all were! There were ne\er anv amusements here,
not even a little bears' ball, for which the storm could have supplied the
music, and at which the ice bears could ha\e danced on their hind legs
and shown their elegant manners; there were never anv little card parties,
with slaps on the snout and pattings of paws; never any cozy little coffee
parties and gossiping at Miss White-Fox's. The vast halls of the Snow
Queen's castle were cold and deserted. The Northern lights shone so
brightlv, and the ravs could be seen so distinctly, that they might be

172 THE SNOW dUEEN

t

counted both when they were highest in the heavens and when they were
at their lowest. In the middle of" the empty and endless snow-hall was a
frozen lake, which had cracked into a thousand pieces, but every piece
was so exactly like the other that it formed a complete work of art. In
the center of the lake sat the Snow Queen when she was at home; she
used to say that she sat in the "mirror of reason," and that it was the
only one and the best in this world.

Little Kay was quite blue, almost black with cold, but he did not
feel it, for had she not kissed away his susceptibility to cold, and was
not his heart almost a lump of ice ? He was dragging some flat pieces
of ice which he placed in all manner of wavs, as he wanted to form
something out of them; just like when we arrange small pieces of wood
into figures, which we call a Chinese puzzle. Kay was forming some
very intricate figures: it was the ice game of reason. In his eyes the
figures were very remarkable and of the highest importance; the cause of
this was the piece of glass which stuck in his eye! He formed complete
figures which represented a written word, but he was never able to form
the word he most wanted. It was the word " Eternity," and the Snow
Queen had said: "If you can solve that figure, vou shall be your own
master, and I will make you a present of the whole world and a pair of
new skates." But he could not.

"I will now Ay away to the hot countries!" said the Snow Queen.
"I want to peep down into the black caldrons!" They were the vol-
canoes, Etna and Vesuvius, as they are called. " I want to whiten them
a little! It 's quite necessary; it will do good on the top of lemons and
grapes!" And awav flew the Snow Queen, and Kay sat quite alone in
the large empty hall, which was many miles long, and looked at the
pieces of ice and pondered and pondered till he groaned; he sat quite
stiff and motionless, one would have thought he was frozen.

Just then little (Jerda entered the castle through the great gate where
a biting wind was raging, but she said her evening prayers, and the wind
went down, as if it wanted to go to sleep. She stepped into the great,
empty, cold rooms, — when suddenly she saw Kay; she knew him, flew
to him, threw her arms round his neck and held him fast as she cried :

I "

" Kay ! dear little Kay I So I have found you at last

But he sat quite motionless, stiff and cold. Then little Gerda began
to cry and wept hot tears which fell upon his breast ; they penetrated to
his heart, and thawed the lump of ice and consumed the little piece of
glass in there. He looked at her, and she sang :

Tfie roses grow in the valley.
Where the Christ-Child we shall see !

Then Kav burst into tears; he cried so that the splinter of glass
rolled out of his eye; he recognized her and shouted joyfully: "Gerda!

THE SNOW aUEEN 173

dear, little Gerda ! Where have vou been so long? And where have I
heenr" And lie Umked all around Iiini. "How cold it is here! How
great and eniptv it all seems here!" And he clung to Gerda, while she
laughed and cried tor joy. Their delight was so great that even the
blocks oi' ice began to dance about for joy, and when they were tired and
settled down they formed themselves into the very word which the Snow
Queen had said that he must find out if he were to become his own
master, and that she would tlien make him a present of the whole world
and a pair of new skates.

And Gerda kissed his cheeks and their bloom came back again ; she
kissed his eves and they shone like her own ; she kissed his hands and feet
and he became hale and hearty. The Snow Queen might return when
she chose; his warrant ot release sttH)d written there in sparkling blocks
ot ice.

And thev took each t)ther by the hand and wandered out of the great
castle; they talked ot grandmother and of the roses on the roof, and
wherever thev went the winds lay down to rest, and the sun shone forth.
When they came to the bush with the red berries they found the reindeer
waiting for them ; he had a young reindeer cow with him, whose udders
were full of milk; she gave the young folks a warm drink, and kissed
them on the mouth. They then carried Kav and (Jerda, first to the
FinwiMnan, where they warmed themselves in her hot room and where
they got to know everything about the journey home; then to the Lap-
woman, who had made new clothes tor them and got her sledge ready
for them.

And the two reindeer ran side by side and accompanied them to the
border ot the district ; here the first green shoots were to be seen, and here
they took leave of the reindeer and the Lapwoman, and they all said,
"Farewell." And then the first little bird began to twitter, and the forest
was full of green shoots. Out of the forest came a young girl with a
bright red cap on her head and pistols in front of her, riding on a beauti-
ful horse, which Gerda knew at once; it was one of the team which had
been harnessed to the golden coach. It was the little robber girl, who
had got tired of staying at home, and was now going first to the North,
and afterward in some other direction if it was not to her liking; she
knew Gerda at once and Gerda knew her, and thev were both delighted.

""^\iu are a nice fellow to be running after!" she said to little Kay;
" I should like to know whether you deserve that anvbody should run to
the end of the world for your sake! "

But Gerda patted her cheeks and asked about the prince and princess.

"They have gone to foreign lands," said the robber girl.

"And where is the crow?" asked little Gerda.

"The crow is dead," she answered. "The tame sweetheart is now
a widow and goes about with a bit of black worsted round her leg, com-

174 THE SNOW dUEEN

plaining and wailing most pitifully, but it is all humbug! But tell me
now how you fared and how you got hold of him ! "

And Gerda and Kay both told her all that had happened.

"And snipp-snapp-snurr-bassellurr ! " said the robber girl, taking them
both by the hand and promising them that should she ever pass through
their town, she would be sure to pay them a visit, and then she rode oft
into the wide world. But Kay and (ierda walked on hand in hand, and
as they proceeded the spring became more and more lovely with ftt)wers
and green foliage; the church bells were ringing and they recognized the
lofty steeple and the big town — it was the one in which they lived.
They entered the town and found their way to their grandmother's door;
they went up the stairs, and into the parlor, where everything was in the
same place as before. The clock said, "Tick! tick!" and the hands
moved on as usual; but as they passed in at the door they discovered that
they had become grown-up people. The roses on the roof could be seen
in full bloom through the open windows, and there were the little foot-
stools; Kay and Cierda sat down, holding each other by the hand; they
had forgotten the cold, empty splendor of the Snow Queen's castle as if
it were a distressing dream of the past.

Grandmother was sitting in the bright sunshine, reading aloud from
the Bible: "Except ye become as little children, ve shall in no wise enter
into the Kingdom of God."

And Kay and Gerda looked into each other's eyes, and all at once
thev understood the old hymn:

The roses grow in the valley.
Where the Christ-Child vvc 'shall see I

There thev both sat, grown up, vet children in heart, and it was sum-
mer— the warm, blessed summer.

THE SWINEHERD

rHE PRINCE MADE A PRETTY CALDRuN WITH BELLS ALL AROUND IJ

THE SWINEHERD

THERE was once upon a time a poor prince who had a kingdom
which was very small, but quite big enough to get married upon,
and married he would be.

It was rather bold of him, to be sure, that he should dare to say to
the emperor's daughter: "Will you have me?" But he did do it, tor
his name was renowned far and wide, and hundreds of princesses would
have said, "Yes," and thanked him into the bargain; but do you think
she did?

Now you shall hear.

On the grave of the prince's father there grew a rose-tree — oh, such a
lovely rose-tree ! It blossomed only every fifth year, and then it bore
only a single rose, the fragrance of which was so sweet that every one who
smelled it forgot all his cares and troubles. And then he had a nightingale
which could sing as if every possible melodv was fixed in its little throat.
This rose and this nightingale the princess should have, and they were
therefore both put into two large silver caskets and sent to her.

The emperor ordered the presents to be carried into the large hall,
where the princess was playing at "receiving visitors" with her maids of
honor, — they had nothing else to do, — and when she saw the large silver
caskets with the presents she clapped her hands with joy.

177

178 THE SWINEHERD

" If it were only a little pussy cat ! " she exclaimed — but it was only
the lovely rose.

" Oh, how beautit'ully it is made ! " said the maids of honor.

" It is more than beautiful ! " said the emperor; " it is pretty ! "

But when the princess put out her hand to feel it she very nearly burst
out crying.

" Fie, papa ! " she said. " Why, it is not an artihcial one, it is a real one ! "

" Fie," said all the court, " it is a real rose ! "

" Let us first see what there is in the t)ther casket before we get
angry ! " remarked the emperor, and so the nightingale was brought out.
It sang so beautifully that no one could have anything to say against it at
the time.

" Super he ! Charmant ! " exclaimed the maids of honor ; thev all spoke
French, the one worse than the otiier.

" How that bird reminds me of our kite bchned empress's musical
box ! " said an old cavalier. " Ah, ves ! it is tpiite the same tone, the
same execution."

"Yes! " said the emperor, and he began to cry like a little child.

" I should n't have thought it was a real bird! " said the princess.

"Yes, it is a real bird," said they who had brought it.

" Well, you may let that bird fly," said the princess, and she would on
no account allow the prince to come and present himself.

Hut he did ncU let himself be disheartened ; he blackened his face,
pulled his cap down over his eyes, and knocked at the gate.

" Good day. Emperor ! " he said ; " can you find something tor me to
dt) here in the palace.?"

" Well, there are so many that come here to ask for a place! " said the
emperor; "but wait a bit — I want some one \\\\o can look at'ter pigs. We
have got a good many of them.'

And so the prince was engaged as imperial swineherd. He got a
miserable little room near the pigsty, and there he had to remain. He
sat working all day and toward evening he had made a pretty little caldron,
with bells all round it, and as soon as the caldron boiled the bells rang out
so prettily and playctl the old melodv :

" Oh, thou darling Augustin,
All 's lost and gone I '"

But the most remarkable thing altout it was that, when one put one's
fingers into the steam that came from the caldron, one could at once smell
what kind of dinner was being prepared in every kitchen in the town.
That was quite a difl^erent thing to the rose.

The princess soon came walking past with all her maids ot honor, and
when she heard the melody she stopped and looked quite pleased, for she

THE SWINEHERD 181

could also play "Oh, thou darling Augustiu "; it was the only tune she
could play, and that she played with one Hnger.

"Why, that 's the one I play!" she said. "This must he a well
hrought up swineherd. Just go and ask hiin the price of the instru-
nient."

And so one ot the maids of honor had to run in, hut first she put on
her wooden clogs.

" What will you take for that caldron ?" asked the maid ot honor.

" I want ten kisses from the princess for it ! " said the swineherd.

"Gracious goodness!" said the maid of honor.

" Well, I sha'n't take less! " said the swineherd.

"Well, what does he say?" said the princess.

" I really cannot tell vou," said the maid of honor, " it is too
dreadful ! "

"Then you may whisper it!" said the princess, and the maid of
honor whispered it.

" He is very rude!" said the princess, and walked away at once. But
when she had gone some distance the hells rang again so prettily :

"Oh, thou darling Augustin,
All 's lost and gonr I "

" Listen!" said the princess; "just ask him if he will take ten kisses
from mv maids of honor."

"No, thank you," replied the swineherd; "ten kisses from the
princess, or I keep my caldron."

" How tiresome! " said the princess; "hut you ladies will have to stand
in front of me, so that nobody can see me."

And the maids of honor stood round her and spread out their skirts,
and so the swineherd got the ten kisses and she got the caldron.

Well, now they had a merry time of it ! The pot was kept boiling
the whole evening and all day long ; there was not a kitchen in the whole
town hut what they knew what was being cooked there, at the chamber-
lain's as well as at the shoemaker's.

The maids of honor danced about and clapped their hands.

" We know who is going to have sweet soup and pancakes. We know
who is going to have porridge and cutlets. How interesting it is ! "

" Highly interesting !" said the first lady of honor.

"Yes, yes, but hold your tongues, for I am the emperor's daughter!"

" Gracious goodness!" said all of them.

The swineherd, that is to say the prince — but of course they did not
know he was anything but a real swineherd— did not let a day pass without
doing something, and so he made a rattle, which, on being swung round.

182

THE SWINEHERD

played all the waltzes, galops, and polkas known from the creation of the
world.

"That is supcrbc!'' said the princess as she passed bv ; " I have never
heard a more beautiful composition! Listen! |ust 'go in and ask him the
price of the instrument; but I sha'n't kiss him."

"He wants a hundred kisses from the princess!'' said the maid ot
honor who had been in to ask him.

" I think he is crazy!" said the princess, and so she walked away, but
when she had gone some distance she stopped. " We ought to encourage

)H, WHAT A MISKKABLK IKKATI' KK I AM

I HE I'RINCESS.

art," she said, "and I am the emperor's daughter. TeM him he shall
have ten kisses like yesterday, and the rest he can have tVom my maids of
honor ! "

"But we would rather not!" said the maids of honor.

" That 's all nonsense," said the princess; "if I can kiss him, surely \nu
can do so as well. Remember I give you your board and wages." And so
the maid of honor had to go in to the swineherd again.

"A hundred kisses from the princess," he said, "i>r each keeps his
own! "

" Stand before me ! " she said, and all the maids of honor placed them-
selves around while he kissed the princess.

"What is that crowd doing down there by the pigsty.?" asked the

THE SWINEHERD

183

emperor, as he stepped out on the balcony ; he rubbed his eyes and put
on liis spectacles. " Why, it is the maids of ]ioni)r at some of their
tricks. I shall have to go down there!" And so he pidled up his slippers
at the back; for they were shoes which were trodden down at the heel.

Gracious goodness ! what a hurry he was in !

As soon as he came down into the ct)urtyard, he began to walk quietly ;
the maids of honor were so taken up with counting the kisses in order
that there might be fair play — that he should not get too many, but at
the same time not too few — they did not notice the emperor. He
raised himselt on the tips of his toes.

"What does this mean?" he exclaimed, when he saw them kissing,
and he hit them on the head with liis slipper, just as the swineherd
got his eightieth kiss. "Otf you go! ' shouted the emperor, for he was
angry, and both the princess and the swineherd were expelled from his
empire.

There she was sitting, crying, while the swineherd was scolding and
the rain pouring down.

"Oh, what a miserable creature I am!" cried the princess; "if only I
had taken that handsome prince ! Oh, how unhappy I am ! "

And the swineherd went behind a tree, rubbed the blacking off his
face, threw aside the dirty clothes, and stepped out in his princely dress,
looking so handsome and grand that the princess ct)uld not help
courtesying to him.

"I have learned to despise you!" he said, "You would not have an
honest prince ! You did not understand the rose and the nightingale, but
you could kiss the swineherd for the sake of a musical toy ! Now you
can make the best ot it ! "

And so he went into his kingdom, shut the door after him, and bolted
it ; slie could now stand outside and sing :

"Oh, thou tiarling Augustin,
Ail 's lost and gone ! "

THE SWEETHEARTS

THK TOP COULD SEE THE liAI.L FLYING HIGH UP IN THE AIR LIKE A 1!IK

^':1;^'Ql-<M^if

' —T-W

THE SWEETHEARTS

ATOP and a hall were lying together in a drawer among some othor
toys, and the top said to the ball : " Shall we not be sweethearts,
since we are together in the same drawer ? "' But the ball,
which was made of morocco, and thought just as much of herself as any
fine lady, would not give any answer to such a proposal.

Next day the little boy who owned the toys came and painted the top

187

188 THE SWEETHEARTS

red and yellow, and knocked a brass nail into the middle of it ; the top
looked quite splendid as it was spinning round.

"Look at me!" he said to the ball. "What do you say now? Shall
we not be sweethearts ? We should suit one another so well ; vou could
jump and I dance. No one could be happier than we two !"

" Do you think si).?" said the ball; "you know, I suppose, that nn
father and mother were morocco slippers and I have a cork in my
body?"

"Yes, but I am made of mahogany," said the top, "ami the sheriff
himself turned me; he has a lathe of his own, and he took great pleasure
in making me."

"But can I depend on that?" said the ball.

"May I never be whipped again if I tell a lie!" answered the top.

"You speak very well for yourself!" said the ball, "but I cannot
accept you; I am as good as engaged to a swallow. Every time I fly up
in the air he puts his head out of his nest and says: 'Will you?
Will your' And in my heart I have already answered, 'Yes,' so that
it is as good as a betrothal ; but I will promise you that I shall never
forget you ! "

"Well, there is n't much comfort in that!" said the top; and so they
did not speak to each other again.

Next day the ball was taken out; the top could see her ri\ ing high
up in the air like a bird, till at last he could not see her at all. Each
time she came back, but as she touched the ground she always made a
high bound; that was done either because she longed to jump again or
because she had a cork in her body. The ninth time the ball disappeared
and did not return ; the boy looked and searched for her, but she was
gone.

" I know where she is," sighed the top ; "she is in the swallow's nest,
and has married the swallow."

The more the top thought about her the more he became infatuated
with her; just because he could not get her his love increased — that
she should have chosen another made it only the more annoying. So the
top whirled round and hummed, but was always thinking of the ball,
who in his imagination became more and more beautiful. Thus several
years passed by, and so it was now an old love.

And the top was no longer young. But one day he was gilded all
over; never before had he looked so splendid — he was now a golden
top, and whirled about till you could hear him humming far off. Yes,
it was a grand sight ! liut suddenly he bounded too high and — he was
gone I

They looked and searched everywhere, even down in the cellar, but
the top could not be found.

Where could he be ?

THE SWEETHEARTS

189

He had jumped into the dust-bin, where there were all sorts of rubbish
— cabbage-stalks, sweepings, and gravel that had been washed down
through the gutter.

" W^ell, I seem to have got into a nice place ! My gilding will soon
come off here. But what wretched creatures have I fallen amongst?"
he said, looking askance at a long cabbage-stalk which had been plucked
of all its green, and a curious round thing which looked like an old
apple. But it was not an apple; it was an old ball which had been lying
for many years up in the gutter under the roof, and through which the
water had been oozing.

" Thank Heaven, here is one ot one's own class, whom one can speak
to!" said the ball, looking at the gilt top. "I am, strictly speaking, of
morocco, sewed by maidenly hands, and have a cork in my body, but no
one would think it, to look at me. I was very near getting married to a
swallow, but then I fell into the gutter, and there I have been lying for live
years with the water oozing through me. It is a long time, believe me,
for a maiden ! "

But the top did not say anything. He was thinking of his old sweet-
heart, and the more he heard, the clearer it became to him that it was she.

fust then the servant girl came to emptv the dust-bin : " Hullo !
there 's the gilt top ! " she exclaimed.

And the top was again brought into the house and became an object
oi' esteem and appreciation. But nothing more was heard of the ball, and
the top never spoke ot his old love ; love soon dies when one's sweetheart
has been King tor (i\e vears in a gutter with the water oozing through
her; in tact, one would never know her again when one met her in the
dust-bin.

THE PINE-TREE

FAR IN THE FOREST STOOD A PRETTY PINE-TREE.

THE PINE-TREE

FAR ill the forest stood ;i very pretty pine-tree; it had plenty ot space;
the sunshine could reach it and it had plenty of air. Round about
grew many bigger companions, both pines and firs; but the little
pine-tree was in such a hurry to grow, it did not think of the warm sun-
shine and the fresh air. It did not even trouble itself about the peasant
children who ran about chattering when thev came tt) gather wild straw-
berries and raspberries.

They would often ct)me with a whole jar full of berries, or with the
strawberries threaded on a straw, and sit down bv the little tree and ex-
claim: "Oh, what a prettv little one!" The pine did not at all like
this. The next year it was a long joint taller, and the following year it

193

194 THE PINE-TREE

had grown still a joint longer, for you can always tell by the joints on a
pine-tree how many years it has been growing.

"Oh, if I were only such a big tree as the others!" sighed the little
tree, "then I might spread my branches out tar around me, and from the
top look out over the whole world ! The birds would then build their
nests among my branches, and when the wind was blowing I could make
my bow just as grandly as the others over there!"

It took no pleasure in the sunshine, in the birds, or the red clouds
which sailed over it morning and evening.

If it happened to be winter, and the snow lay glittering white all
around it, a hare would often come running along and jump right over the
little tree — oh, it was irritating! But two winters passed, and in the third
the tree had grown so big that the hare had to run round it. " Oh, to
grow, to grow, to become big and old, that is the only thing worth living
for in this world!" thought the tree.

In the autumn the wood-cutters always came and felled some of the
largest trees. This was done every year, and the young pine-tree, which
had now grown fairly big, trembled at the thought of it ; for the big noble
trees fell to the ground with a crash and a groan, the branches were cut
off, the trees looked quite naked, long, and lanky — they could hardly be
recognized. Thev were then put on carts and drawn by horses out ot the
forest.

Where were they going r What was going to be done with them .?

In the spring, when the swallows and the storks came, the tree asked
them: "Do you know where they have been taken to? Did you meet
them r "

The swallows did not know anything, but the stork, looking serious,
nodded his head and said: "Yes, I think so. I met many new ships on
my way from Egypt. They had stately masts. I think I may say the\-
were your trees, for there was a smell of the pine about them. I bring
you greetings from them; they looked stately, quite stately."

"Oh, if I were only big enough to fly across the ocean! But what
is the ocean and what is it like?"

"Well, that 's too long a story to explain," said the stork, and walked
away.

"Rejoice in your youth," said the sunbeams; "rejoice in your fresh
growth and the young life you possess."

And the wind kissed the tree and the dew wept tears over it; but the
pine-tree did not understand that.

As Christmas-time was drawing near, many young trees were cut
down ; some of them were not even as big or as old as the pine-tree which
was so restless and impatient, and always wanting to get away. These
young trees, which were always the most beautiful, were not denuded of
their branches; they were placed on a cart and drawn by horses out of
the forest.

THE PINE-TREE 195

"Where are they going to?" asked the pine-tree. "They are not
bigger than I ; there was even one which was much smaller. Why
were they allowed to keep all their branches? Where are they being
taken to?"

"We know! we know!" twittered the sparrows. "We have looked
in at the windows down in the town ! We know where they are going
to! Ah! they are going to the greatest glory and splendor one can think
of. We have looked in at the windows and seen that they are placed in
the middle of the warm room and decorated with most beautiful things —
gilt apples, honey-cakes, toys, and many hundreds of candles."

" And then?" asked the pine-tree, trembling in all its branches. "And
then? What happens then ?"

"Well, we have n't seen anything else. It was really wonderful!"

"I wonder if I came into existence to have such a glorious career?"
cried the pine-tree in exultation. "That would be even better than going
across the ocean. How painful this longing is ! If only it were
Christmas! Now I am tall and have big branches like those which
were taken away last year. Oh, how I wish that I was already in the
cart, that I was in the warm parlor with all that glory and splendor
around me ! And then? Well, then something still better must follow,
something still more glorious. But what? Oh, how I suffer! How I am
longing! I do not know myself what has taken possession of me."

" Rejoice in us," said the air and the sunshine; "rejoice in your fresh
youth in the open ! "

But the tree did not at all rejoice. It grew and grew ; green, dark
green, it stood there winter and summer; people who saw it said:
"There 's a tine tree! " And at Christmas-time it was the first to be felled.
The ax cut deeply into its marrow ; the tree fell to the ground with a
sigh; it felt a pain, a faintness ; it was unable to think of any happiness;
it was sad at parting from its home, from the spot where it had sprung
up ; it knew it would never again see the dear old comrades, the little
bushes and the flowers round about, perhaps not even the birds. To take
leave of all this was not at all pleasant. The tree came to itself only
when it was being unloaded in the yard and heard a man sav : "That 's a
beauty! That 's the one we '11 use!"

Two grandly dressed servants then came and carried the pine-tree into
a large, beautiful room. On the walls around hung portraits, and near the
great stove stood Chinese vases with lions on the lids. There were
rocking-chairs, silken sofas, large tables covered with picture-books and
toys, — -many hundred dollars' worth, — at least that's what the children
said. And the tree was placed in a great tub filled with sand, but nobody
could see it was a tub, for it was covered up with some green cloth and
was standing on a large, brightly colored carpet. How the tree trembled !
What was going to take place ? Both the servants and the ladies of the
house were busy decorating it. On the branches they hung little nets cut

196 THE PINE-TREE

out of colored paper; each net they filled with sweets; gilt apples and
walnuts hung from it as if they had grown there, and over a hundred red,
blue, and white little candles were fastened to the branches. Dolls, which
looked exactly like live beings — the tree had never seen any before —
hung suspended from the green branches, and at the very top of the tree
was fixed a great star of tinsel gold; it was splendid, it was quite mag-
nificent.

"To-night," they all said; "to-night it will look glorious'"

"Oh," thought the tree, "I wish it were evening ! It only the
candles could be lighted soon ! And what will happen then r Will the
trees from the forest come and look at mep Will the sparrows fiy past
the window? I wonder if I shall grt)\v fast here and remain decorated
winter and summer."

Yes, it seems to know all about it ; but it sufl^ered from a terrible bark-
ache from all the longing, and barkache is just as bad for a tree as a
backache is to us.

The candles were now lighted. What jov, \\hat splendor' the tree
trembled in all its branches at the sight ot it, so that one of the candles set
fire to a branch and singed it badly.

"Goodness gracious!" cried the young ladies, and set to \\'ork in all
haste to put out the fire.

The tree did not even dare to tremble. Oh, it was terrible! It was
so afraid of losing any of its finery that it was quite beside itself in all
this splendor, when suddenly the folding doors were opened and a crowd
of children rushed into the room as if they were going to upset the tree;
the older people followed in a more dignified manner. The little ones
stood quite silent, but only for a moment, then they shouted again till the
room rang; they danced round the tree, and one present after another was
plucked from it.

"What are they dcnng r " thought the tree. "What 's going to
happen?" The candles were begiiniing to burn down to the branches,
and were then put out one after the other. The children were now
allowed to strip it ; they rushed at it so that all its branches creaked, and
had it not been fastened to the ceiling by the top and the golden star, it
would have been overturned.

The children danced round the room w itli their pretty toys ; -nobody
looked at the tree except the old nurse who was looking about between
the branches, but it was only to see if a fig or an apple had been forgotten.

"A story! a story!" cried the children, and dragged a fat little man
toward the tree. He sat down just under it. " For then we shall be in the
greenwood," he said, "and it may please the tree to listen to the story;
but I will tell you only one story. Will you have the one about Ivede-
Avede, or that one about Lumpy-Dumpy, who fell dou n the stairs, but
after all came on the throne and married the princess?"

THE FOLDING DOORS WERE OPENED AND A CROWD OF CHILDREN RUSHED INTO THE ROOM :
THE OLDER PEOPLE FOLLOWED IN A MORE DIGNIFIED MANNER.

THE PIXE-TREE 199

" Ivede-Avede ! " cried some, "Lumpy-Dumpy ! " cried others. There
was such a crying and shouting, only the pine-tree remained quite silent
and thought: "Am I not to join in it, not do anything at all-" It had
already been in it and had done all it should do.

And the man told them about Lumpv-Dumpv, who tell down the
stairs, and after all came on the throne and married the princess. " The
princess!" The children clapped their hands and cried: " Cio on! go
on!" Thev wanted to hear "Ivede-Avede" also, but they got onlv
" Lumpy-Dumpv." The pine-tree stood quite silent and thoughtful : the
birds in the forest had never told such stories. " Lumpv-Dumpy fell down
the stairs and got the princess after all. Ah, well ! that 's the way of the
world," thought the pine-tree, believing it was all true because it was such
a nice old man who had told it. "Ah, well, who knows ! perhaps I may
fall down the stairs too and marrs' a princess." And it looked forward
with pleasure to being decorated again next day with lights and tovs, with
gold and fruits.

"To-morrow I shall not tremble," it thought. " I "11 enjoy myself
thoroughly in the midst of all my glorv. To-morrow I shall again hear the
story about Limipy-Dumpy and perhaps the one about Ivede-Avede."

And the tree remained quiet and thoughtful the whole night.

In the morning the man-servant and the chambermaid came into the
room.

"Now the fun is going to begin again ! " thought the tree; but they
dragged it out of the room, up the stairs and into the garret, and there
they put it away in a dark corner where the daylight could not reach.
"What is the meaning of this .^' thought the tree ; " I wonder what I am
going to do here, and what I shall hear?" And it leaned against the wall
and stood thinking and thinking. It had plenty of time to do so, for
days and nights passed and nobodv came near it, and when somebody at
last came it was only to put some big boxes away in the corner. The tree
stood quite hidden and one would think it had been quite forgotten.

"Now it 's winter outside !" thought the tree. "The ground is hard
and covered with snow and they cannot plant me; therefore I suppose I
must stand here in the shelter till the spring. How thoughttul ! How
kind people are! If it were only not so dark here and so terribly lonely !
Not even a little hare ! It was so jolly out there in the forest, when the
snow was on the ground, and the hare was running about; ves, even when
he jumped over me, but I did not like it at the time. I'p here it is ter-
ribly lonely! "

"Squeak, squeak ! " said a tiny mouse just then, and crept out of its hole:
and then came another. They sniffed at the pine-tree and crept up
among its branches.

" It is terribly cold ! " said the little mice. "Otherwise it 's ver\- nice
here! Don't you think so, vou old pine-tree?"

200 THE PINE-TREE

"I am not at all old!" said the pine-tree; "there are manvmuch older
than I."

"Where do vou come from?" asked the mice, "and what do vou
know?" They were so dreadhillv inquisitive. "Tell us about the pretti-
est spot on earth. Have you been there ? Have you been in the larder,
where there are cheeses on the shelves and hams hanging from the ceiling,
where one can dance on tallow candles, and where one goes in thin and
comes out fat?"

"I don't know anything about that," said the tree; "but I know the
forest, where the sun shines and where the birds sing." And then it told
them everything from its youth onward, and the little mice had never
heard anything like it before ; they listened attentively and said :

" Dear, dear ! How much you must have seen ! How happy you must
have been ! "

"I?" said the pine-tree, and thought over what it had been telling
them. "Well, they were very jolly times, after all ! " And then it went on
to tell them about Christmas Eve, when it was decorated with cakes and
candles.

"Ah ! " said the little mice, " how happy you must have been, you old
pine-tree ! "

" I am not at all o]d," said the tree; " it is only this winter that I came
from the forest. I am in my full prime, I am only a little stunted in my
growth."

" How delightfully you do tell stories! " said the little mice, and the
next night they came with four other little mice, to hear the tree tell
stories; and the more it went on telling the more distinctly it remembered
everything, and it thought to itself: "They were very jolly times, after
all ! But they may come again, they may come again ! Lumpy-Dumpy fell
down the stairs and still got the princess ; perhaps I can get a princess
too." And the pine-tree thought of a pretty little birch-tree which
grew out in the forest and which to the pine-tree was as good as a real
princess.

"Who is Lumpy-Dumpy?" asked the little mice. And then the
pine-tree told them the whole story ; it remembered every single word of
it, and the little mice were so delighted with it that they were ready to
jump to the top of the tree. The following night there came a great
many more mice and on the Sunday even two rats; but they said the story
was not funny, and the little mice were sorry to hear this, for now they
also thought less of it.

" Do you know only that one story ?" asked the rats.

"Only that one," answered the tree. "I heard it on the happiest
evening of my life, but I did not then know how happy I was."

" It 's a very poor story ! Don't you know any one with bacon and
tallow candles in it — any story trom the larders ? "

THE PINE-TREE 201

"No," said the tree.

" Ah, well, thanks all the same," answered the rats, and went off to
their holes.

The little mice also disappeared at last, and the tree sighed: "It was
rather pleasant to have the tiny little mice sitting round me and listening
to what I told them ! Now that 's all over as well ! hut I shall take care to
enjoy myself when I am brought out again !"

But when did that happen ? Well, early one morning some people
came and rummaged about in the garret ; the boxes were moved about and
the tree was dragged out of its corner and thrown somewhat roughly
on the rtoor, but one of the men dragged it toward the staircase where
there was bright sunshine.

"Now life is beginning again ! " thought the tree as it felt the fresh
air and the first sunbeam — and then it found itself in the yard. Every-
thing happened so quickly that the tree forgot to take a look at itself.
There was so much to see all round. The yard adjoined the garden,
where everything was in full bloom; the roses hung so fresh and fragrant
over the little palings ; the linden-trees were in blossom, and the swallows
flew about and said: " Quirre-virre-vit, my husband 's come home!" but
it was not the pine-tree they meant.

"Now I shall enjoy life!" it shouted joyously, spreading its branches
far out; alas! they were all withered and yellow, and it was lying in a
corner amongst weeds and nettles. The tinsel star was still fixed on the
top and glittered in the sunshine.

Two of the merry children who had danced round the tree at
Christmas and been so fond of it were playing in the yard. The smallest
rushed at it and tore off the golden star.

" Just look what is still sticking to the ugly old Christmas-tree ! " he
said, and began trampling upon the branches till they crackled under his
feet.

And the tree looked at all the splendor and freshness of the Howers in
the garden and then at itself, and wished it had remained in its dark
corner in the garret. It thought of its bright young days in the forest, of
the merry Christmas Eve, and of the little mice which had listened so
pleased to the story about Lumpy-Dumpy.

" It 's all over! " said the poor tree. " If I had onlv enjoyed myself
when I had the chance ! It 's all over ! All over ! "

And the servant man came and chopped the tree into small pieces ; it
made quite a large bundle. It blazed up brightly under the large copper
kettle, and sighed so deeply that every sigh was like the report of a small
gun, and the children who were at play came in and seated themselves
in front of the fire, looked at it and shouted, "Pop ! pop!" But at each
report, which was really a deep sigh, the tree was thinking of a summer
day in the forest, or a winter night out there while the stars were shining.

202

THE PINE-TREE

It thought of Christmas Eve and Lumpy-Dumpy, the only story it had
heard and knew how to tell — and so the tree was burned to ashes.

The boys were playing in the yard, and the youngest was wearing the
tinsel star on his breast, which the tree had worn on the happiest evening
of its existence. Now all that had come to an end, and so had the tree ;
and the story as well came to an end, to an end — and so do all stories !

THE WILL-O'-THE-WISPS ARE IN TOWN," SAID
THE WOMAN FROM THE MARSH

'THE \VlI.L-(> -I HK-W ISrS AKl IN

1 AKK 1 AkI UK \ nt K>l LVES I

x^>.

THEWILL-O^-THE-WISPS ARE IN TOWN," SAID
THE WOMAN FROM THE MARSH

THERE was a man who cMice knew very many new fairy tales, hut
now they had slipped from his memory, he said. The fairy tales
which used to come of themselves and visit him. did not come any
more and knock at his door, and why did they not come? True enough,
the man had not been thinking of them for years and days, and had not
been expecting they would come and knock again ; but most probably
they had not been near him at all, for abroad there was war, and in his
country the sorrow and distress which war carries with it.

The storks and the swallows came back from their long journey; they
had not been thinking of any danger, but when they arrived they found
their nests were burned, the dwellings of men and the wicket-gates out of
order or even gone, the horses of the enemy trampling over the old
graves. They were hard and gloomy times; but even they must come to
an end.

And now they had come to an end, the people said ; still the fairy
tales did not knock at the door or give any sign of themselves.

"They are dead and gone, I suppose, with all the others," said
the man.

But fairy tales never die.

And more than a year passed and he began to long sorely after them.

" I wonder if the fairy tales will ever come back and knock at my

205

206 "THE WILL-O'-THE-WISPS ARE IN TOWN

door?" And he remembered so vividly in how many forms they had
come to him, sometimes young and fair, like the spring itself, as a beautiful
young maiden with a wreath of woodruff in her hair and a branch of the
beech in her hand, while her eyes shone like deep forest lakes in the
bright sunlight; at other times they had come in the shape of a peddler
who had opened his box of wares and let the silken ribbons fly about with
their verses and inscriptions of old memories; but most delightful of all,
however, were the occasions when they came as "old Granny," with
silver-white hair and eyes so large and clear, who could tell so well about
the times of old, long before the princesses spun yarn upon golden spindles,
about the times when dragons and serpents lay outside the maidens' bowers
and kept guard. She would then tell her stories so vividly that all who
listened to her saw black spots dancing before their eyes, the tloor became
black with human blood ; it was terrible to behold and listen to, and yet
so fascinating, for it was such a long time since it had all happened.

"Will she ever knock at my door again?" said the man, and stared at
the door till black spots appeared before his eyes and on the floor ; he
did not know if it was blood or the black crape from the dark, gloomy
days gone by.

And as he sat there the thought struck him that the fairv tales
might have hidden themselves somewhere, like the princess in the very
old fairy tales, and were waiting to be discovered ; if she were found,
she would arise and shine with renewed splendor, more glorious than
ever.

"Who knows? Perhaps she has hidden herself among the straw that
was thrown near the brink of the well. Take care! Be careful ! Perhaps
she has hidden herself inside a dried flower which has been put inside one
of the large books on the shelf"

And the man went and opened one of the newest books, full of
information and knowledge, but no flowers lay there. There one could
read about Holger Danske; and the man read that the story was invented
and composed by a monk in France, that it was a romance which had
been "translated and printed in the Danish language," that Holger Danske
had never existed, and could consequently never come back again, as we
have so long been singing and would so gladly believe. As with William
Tell, so with Holger Danske — they were only myths, which could not be
depended upon ; and all this was set forth in the book with great wisdom.

"Well, I shall believe what I believe," said the man; "no plantain
grows where no foot has trodden."

And he shut the book, put it back on the shelf, and went over to the
fresh flowers in the window ; perhaps the fairy tales had hidden them-
selves inside the red tulips with the golden-yellow edges, or in the fragrant
rose, or in the highly colored camellia. There was sunlight among the
leaves, but no fairy tales.

SAID THE WOMAN FROM THE MARSH 207

The flowers which stood here in the time of sorrow were far more
beautiful ; but they were cut ofl, every one of them, and made into
wreaths and placed in the coffins, and over them the flag was spread.

Perhaps the fairy tales were buried with those flowers ! But the
flowers must have known of it, and the coffin would have been aware of it,
the soil around it would have noticed it, every little blade of grass that
shot forth would have told of it. P"or fairy tales never die!

" Perhaps they have been here and knocked at my door, but who
had ears or eyes for them in those times?" People looked gloomily,
sadly, and almost angrily at the spring sunshine, at the twittering birds,
and all the budding foliage; yes, even the tongue could no longer sing the
old, popular, ever-fresh melodies — they were consigned to oblivion with
so many other things that were dear to our hearts. The fairy tales may
have been here and knocked, but no one has heard them; they were not
welcomed, and so they have gone away.

" I will set out to find them. Out into the country. Out into the
woods by the open shore."

Out in the country lies an (.ild manor-house with red walls, pointed
gables, and with a flag waving from the tower. The nightingale is
singing under the delicately fringed beech leaves, while he looks at the
blossoming apple-trees and believes that they are bearing roses. Here in
the summer sun the bees are busily fluttering about, and swarming and
humming round their queen.

The autumn storms have much to tell about the wild chase, about the
generations of mankind, and the leaves of the forest which sweep over the
land. At Christmas time the wild swans sing from the open lake, while
in the old manor-house the folks are gathering round the fireside to listen
to songs and legends.

Down in the old part of the garden, where the great avenue of wild
chestnut-trees allures one with its twilight, the man who was looking for
the fairy tales was walking about. Here the wind had some time ago
whispered into his ears the story of " Valdemar Daa and his Daughters."
Here the dryad in the tree, the mother of fairy tales, had herself told him
"The Last Dream of the Old Oak-Tree." Here in grandmother's time
there were only clipped hedges; now only ferns and nettles grow there,
spreading themselves over scattered fragments of old statues of stone ; moss
was growing in their eyes, but they could see just as well as before, while
the man who was in search of the foiry tales could not ; he could not see
the fairy tales. Where were they ?

Hundreds of crows flew over his head and the old trees, screaming
" Kra ! Kra!"

And he went from the garden across the moat into the alder-grove,
where there was a little six-sided cottage with poultry- and duck-yards. In
the middle of the room sat the old woman who looked after everything

208 "THE WILL-O'-THE-WISPS ARE IN TOWN"

and knew exactly when each egg was laid, and knew every chicken that
came out of the eggs. But she was not the fairy tales which the man was
in search of; that she could prove by her certificate of Christian baptism
and of vaccination, both of which were lying in her chest of drawers.

Some distance off, though not far from the house, is a hill with red
hawthorn and laburnum ; there lies an old tombstone, which was brought
there many years ago from the churchyard in the town, in memory of one
of the honorable councilors of the town, his wife, and his five daughters,
all with folded hands and in ruffs, standing round him, hewed in stone.
One could look so long at these figures that they seemed to have an effect
upon one's thoughts, and these again seemed to influence the stone, so that
it began telling stories about old times; at least, that is what happened to
the man who was in search of the fairy tales. As he now came upon the
spot, he saw a living butterfly sitting right on the forehead of the coun-
cilor's effigy in stone; the butterfly flapped its wings, flew some little
distance, and settled down again close to the tombstone, as if to show
what was growing there. Four-leaved clovers grew there; there were
altogether seven of them, close to one another. If luck comes, it comes
in abundance. He gathered the clovers and put them in his pocket.
Luck is as good as ready money, but a new, delightful fairy tale would be
much better, thought the man; but he did not find it there.

The sun went down, large and red; in the meadows vapors were
rising; the woman from the marsh was brewing.

Later on in the evening the man was standing alone in his room,
looking out into the garden over the meadows, the marshes, and the
strand; the moon shone brightly, a mist was lying over the meadow,
making it look like a great lake, which it had really been at one time.
There were legends about it, and in the moonlight the legends seemed to
take shape. The man then thought of what he had been reading when
in town, that William Tell and Holger Danske had not existed; but still
they remain in the traditions of the people, just like the lake over yonder
— living evidence of the legends. Yes, Holger Danske will come back
again. As he was standing there, buried in thought, something struck
heavily against the window. Was it a bird, a bat, or an owl ? One
does n't open windows for such visitors when they knock.

The window flew open of itself, and an old woman looked right in at
the man.

"Hullo!" he exclaimed. "Who are you? How can you look
through a window on the first floor? Are you standing on a ladder?"

"You have got a four-leaved clover in your pocket," she said ; "in fact,
you have seven in all, and one of them is a six-leaved one."

"Who are you?" asked the man.

"The woman from the marsh," she said, — "the woman from the
marsh, who brews. I was busy brewing, the tap was in the barrel, but one

SAID THE WOMAN FROM THE MARSH 209

of the little imps from the marsh pulled out the tap for mischief, and I
threw it right up here against the house and it struck against the window.
Now the heer is running out of the barrel, and that won't do anybody any
good."

"But do tell me," said the man.

"Yes, yes, only wait a little," said the woman from the marsh.
"I have got something else to look after nt)w," and then she was gone.

|i,.*ii.,,.i,ii,|.j|P||Pjj|l|

THE WINDOW FLEW OPEN OF ITSELF, AND AN OLD WOMAN LOOKED RIGHT IN
AT THE MAN.

The man was just closing the window when the woman again
appeared.

"Now I am done," she said ; "but half the heer I shall have to brew
over again to-morrow, it the weather is suitable. Well, what was it you
wanted to ask about r I came back again, because I always keep my word,
and you have in your pocket seven four-leaved clovers, one of which is a
six-leaved one ; that commands respect ; it is a decoration which grows by
the roadside, but which cannot be found by every one. What is it you
want to ask about? Don't stand there like a silly dolt. I must be off
soon, to look after my tap and my barrel."

210 "THE WILL-O'-THE-WISPS ARE IN TOWN"

And the man asked after the fairy tales — whether the woman from
the marsh had seen them on her way.

"By the big brew!" said the woman, "have you not had en(>ugh of
fairy tales? I thought most people had had enough of them. There are
other things to be looked after, and other things to mind. Even children
have got beyond them. Give the little boys a cigar and the little girls a
new crinoline — they care much more for these. Listen to fairy tales!
No, indeed, there are other things to be looked after, much more
important things to be done!"

"What do you mean by that?" asked the man. "And what do vou
know about the world? You see only frogs and will-o'-the-wisps."

"You had better beware of the will-o'-the-wisps," said the woman;
"they are out. They have been let loose. Let's talk about them!
Come and see me in the marsh, where I am wanted ; there I '11 tell you
all about it, but make haste, while your seven four-leaved clovers, with
the six-leaved one, are fresh, and while the moon still stands high."

And away went the woman from the marsh.

The clock struck twelve in the clock-tower; before it struck a quarter
past the man was down in the yard, and had passed through the garden
and stood in the meadow. The mist had disappeared, and the woman
from the marsh had stopped brewing.

"You 've been a long time coming,"
marsh. "Witches get on faster than men,
witch."

"What have you got to tell me now?" ;
thing about the fairv tales?"

"Can you never get firther than to ask about them?" said the
woman.

"Then is it about the poelrv of the future that you can tell mc.-"
asked the man.

"Don't begin with any of your grand phrases," said the woman,
"and I '11 be sure to answer you. You think only of poetry, — you ask
only about fairy tales, as if they were the mistress of everything. She is
the oldest, but she is generally taken for the youngest. I know her well
enough ! I have also been young, and that 's no child's complaint. I
was once a pretty elfin maid, and have danced with the others in the
moonlight. I have listened to the nightingale and have walked in the
woods, and met the fairy-tale maiden who was always gadding about.
Sometimes she would take up her quarters for the night in a half-blown
tulip, or in a globe-flower. At other times she would steal into the
church and wrap herself up in the black crape which hung round the
candles on the altar."

" ^'ou seem to be well informed," said the man.

"Weil, I should say I know as much as you!" said the woman from

said
and

the
I am

woman
glad I

frc
was

)m the
born a

isked

the man. "

Is i

t some-

SAID THE WOMAN FROM THE MARSH 21:

the marsh. "Fairy tales and poetry — well, they are Hke two yards of
the same piece ot stuff; they may go and bury themselves where they
like! All their ideas and talk can be brewed over again and be had
much better and cheaper. You shall have them from me for nothing. I
have a whole cupboard full of poetry in bottles. It is the essence, the best
part of it; both the sweet and the bitter herb. I keep everything that
people want of poetry in bottles, so that I can put a little on my hand-
kerchief on Sundays to smell."

" Vou speak of very wonderful things," said the man. "Have you
poetry in bottles?"

"More than you can stand," said the woman. ' '^^Hl know, I sup-
pose, the story of 'The Ciirl Who Trod on the Loaf so that She Might
not Dirty Her New Shoes'.? It is both written and printed."

"I have told it myself," said the man.

"Well, then you must know it," said the woman; "and you must
know that the little girl sank straight into the ground to the woman from
the marsh, just as the devil's great-grandmother came on a visit to see the
brewery. She saw the girl as she was sinking, and asked if she might
have her to put on a pedestal, in remembrance of the visit. She got her,
and I got a present which is of no use to me — a medicine-chest, a whole
cupboard tilled with poetry in bottles. Great-grandmother told me where
the cupboard should stand, and there it is still standing. Just look! You
have your seven four-leaved clovers in your pocket, of which one is a six-
leaved one, so you wilj be sure to see it."

And sure enough, in the middle of the marsh was lying something
like the stump of a big alder-tree; it was great-grandmother's cupboard.
It was open to the woman from the marsh and to everybody from all
countries, and at all times, she said, if they only knew where the cupboard
was standing. It could be opened at the front and at the back, and at
every side and all the corners,-^a most ingenious piece ofwork, — and yet
it only looked like the stump of an old alder-tree. The poets of all
countries, especially of our own country, were re-manufactured here.
Their minds were elaborated, criticized, renovated, concentrated, and then
put into bottles. With great instinct, as it is called when you do not want
to say genius, great-grandmother had seized upon that in nature which
seemed to partake of the flavor of this or of that poet, had put a little
devilry to it, and then she had his poetry in bottles for all time to come.

" Let me have a look," said the man.

"Yes, but there are more important things to listen to," said the
woman from the marsh.

"But now we are at the cupboard," said the man, and looked into
it. " Here are bottles of all sizes. What is there in this one? And in
this?"

"This is what they call May-dew," said the woman. "I have not

212 "THE WILL-O'-THE-WISPS ARE IN TOWN"

tried it, but I know that if you pour only a small drop of it on the floor,
you have at once before you a beautiful woodland lake, with water-lilies,
flowering rushes, and wild mint. You need pour only two drops upon an
old exercise-book, even on those from the lowest class in the school, and
the book becomes a sentimental comedy which is good enough to be
performed, and over which people would be sure to tall asleep, so strong is
the perfume of it. It is supposed to be out of compliment to me that the
label on the bottle bears the inscription, 'The Hrew ot the Woman from
the Marsh.'

"Here stands the bottle of 'Scandal." It looks as if there were only
dirty water in it; and it is dirty water, Init with effervescing powder of
town gossip, three ounces of falsehood, and two grains of truth, stirred
about with a birch-twig, not taken from a rod that has been in pickle or
fresh from the bleeding back of sinners; no, taken right from the broom
which has been used to sweep the gutter with.

"Here is the bottle with 'Pious Poetrv,' set to psalm tunes. Every
drop has a ring about it, like the slamming of the gates of hell, and has
been prepared from the blood and sweat of the penitent. Some sav it is
only the gall of the dove, but doves are the gentlest of creatures; they have
no gall, people say who do not know their natural history.

" Here stood the bottle of all bottles, — it took up half the cupboard, —
the bottle with 'Stories of Every-dav Life.' It was covered over both
with bladder and hogskin, for it would n't do to lose any of its strength.
Every nation could here get its own soup; it all depended on how you
turned and shifted the bottle. Here was old German blood-soup, w ith
robber-dumplings; also thin cottagers' -soup, with real court officials, who
lay like carrots at the bottom, while philosophical fat floated on the top.
There was English governess-soup, and the Prench potagc a la coq, made
from cocks' legs and sparrows' eggs, in Danish called cancan-soup ; but the
best of all the soups was Copenhagen-soup. That 's what the family said.

"Here, in a champagne-bottle, 'Tragedy' used to stand; it could go off
with grand effect, and that was necessary. 'Comedy' looked just like
fine sand to throw in people's eyes — that is to say, the refined comedy ; the
coarser was also to be found in bottle, but consisted only of play-bills of
future productions, the most attractive of which were the titles of the
pieces. There were capital titles for comedies, such as : ' Dare You Spit
on the Watchworks? ' 'One On the Jaw,' ' The Darling Ass,' and 'She
is Dead Drunk.' "

The man stood musing, but the thoughts of the woman from the marsh
went further; she wanted to put an end to it all.

"I suppose you have seen enough now of the medicine-chest," she
said, "now you know what there is in it; but there is something more
important that you ought to know, and which you don't know — the
will-o'-the-wisps are in town. That is of far greater importance than

I HAD ALL THE TWELVE NEW-BORN WILL-O -THE-WISPS IN MV LAL

"THE WILL-O'-THE-WISPS ARE IN TOWN" 215

poetry and fairy tales. I ought to hold my tongue about it, but this must
be the work of Providence, or fate — something which has taken possession
of me, something that sticks in my throat; it must come out. The
will-o'-the-wisps are in town. They have been let loose. You mortals
had better beware! "

"I don't understand a word of it," said the man.

"Be good enough to sit down on the cupboard," she said; "but don't
fall into it and break the bottles — you know what there is in them. I will
tell you of the great event ; it happened only yesterday, and it has happened
before. This one has still three hundred and sixty-four days to riui. You
know, of course, how many days there are in the year ? "

And the woman from the marsh began her story.

" There were grand doings out here in the marsh yesterday. There was
a children's party. A little will-o'-the-wisp was born here — in fact, there
were twelve of them born to the same family, and to them it is given to
become mortals if they choose, and to appear, act, and command as if they
were human beings. It is a great event in the marsh, and therefore all the
will-o'-the-wisps, male and female, — for there are also females amongst
them, but they are never mentioned, — were dancing like little lights all
over the marshes and meadows. I sat on the cupboard there and had
all the twelve new-born will-o'-the-wisps in my lap ; they shone like
glow-worms, and were already beginning to jump and increase in size
every minute, so that before a quarter of an hour had passed they all began
to look just as large as if they were fathers or uncles. Now it is an old
established law and privilege that when the moon stands in the sky just
as she did yesterday, and the same wind blows which blew yesterday, it is
decreed and granted to all the will-o'-the-wisps who are born in that hour
and in that minute to become mortals, and through the whole year to
exercise their power everywhere, one and all of them. The will-o'-the-
wisp may run at large all round the country and the whole world as well,
if he is not afraid of falling into the sea or being blown out in a heavy
gale. He can enter into a human being, talk to him, and make any
movement he likes. The will-o'-the-wisp can assume any form whatever,
man or woman, and can talk and act in their spirit, but according to his
own notions of extremes, so that he arrives at any result he wishes. But
in the course of the year he must know and understand how to lead three
hundred and sixty-five mortals astray, — and that he must do in grand style,
— to lead them astray from truth and righteousness; then he will rise to
the highest position a will-o'-the-wisp can attain — that of becoming fore-
runner to the devil's state chariot, with a fiery-yellow coat and the fiames
shooting out of his throat. That 's enough to make the mouths of the
common will-o'-the-wisps water !

" But there is some danger and a good deal of work to be done by
an ambitious will-o'-the-wisp who intends to play such a role. If a mortal

216 "THE WILL-O'-THE-WISPS ARE IN TOWN"

discovers who he is, and can blow him away, he is done for, and has to
return to the marsh; and if a will-o'-the-wisp is seized with a longing to
return to his family and abandon his mission, then he is also done for, and
can no longer burn brightly, he will soon go out and cannot be lighted
again. And if the year comes to an end and he has not by that time led
three hundred and sixty-five mortals astray from the path of truth, and
from everything that -s good and beautiful, he is condemned to take up
his abode in decayed wood and shine without being able to move, and that
is the most terrible punishment that can befall a sprightly will-o'-the-wisp.
I knew all this, and I told it all to the twelve little will-o'-the-wisps whom
I had on my lap, and they became wild with joy. I told them that the
easiest and most comfortable way was to give up all ambition and not to
think of doing anything; but the young lights would not listen to this —
they already saw themselves arrayed in the fierv-vellow coats, with the
flames shooting out of their throats.

" 'Remain with us!' said some ot the elder ones.

'"Go and play your tricks on mankind,' said the others. 'They dry
up our meadows; thev have invented a system of drainage. What will
become of our descendants r '

"'We want to shine, to dazzle ! ' said the new-born will-o'-the-wisps;,
and so the matter was settled.

"And now they gave a hall which was to last only a minute; it could
not very well be less. The elfin maidens whirled round three times with
all the others, so that they should not be thought proud, for they generally
prefer to dance by themselves. Then the christening presents were
distributed — playing at 'ducks and drakes' as it was called. Presents
were thrown about like pebbles across the marsh lake. The elfin maidens
gave the end of their veils. ' Take it,' they said, ' and then you will
know all the higher dances, the most difficult figures and turns ; when you
are in a dilemma you will know how to deport yourself correctly, and can
show yourself in the very best society.' The night raven taught each ot
the young will-o'-the-wisps to say : ' Bravo, bravo, bravo ! ' and to say
it at the right moment, and that is a great gift which brings its own
reward. The owl and the stork had also something to say, but it was not
worth talking about, they said, and so we shall not mention it. ' King
Waldemar's wild chase ' was just flying past across the marsh, and when
the grand company heard of the goings on they sent as a present a couple
of fine dogs which could run as fast as the wind, and could easily carry
from one to three of the will-o'-the-wisps. Two old witches, who got
their living bv riding, were also present at the feast ; they taught the young
will-o'-the-wisps the trick of slipping in through the keyholes; when you
know this it is the same as if all doors are open to you. They offered to
take the young will-o'-the-wisps to town, which they knew well. They

SAID THE WOMAN FROM THE MARSH 217

usually rode through the air on their own long black hair, in which they
had made 4 knot in order to sit firmly, but now they sat astride the dogs
from the wild chase, and took in their laps the young will-o'-the-wisps
which were going to town to beguile and lead mortals astray. Whist !
Off they went ! All this happened last night. Now the will-o'-the-wisps
are in town, now thev have begun, but how and in what way ? Ay !
Can you tell me that .? I have a weather prophet in my big toe, which
always has something to tell me."

"Why, it is a regular fairy tale !" said the man.

"Yes, but it is only the beginning of one," said the woman. "Can
you tell me how the will-o'-the-wisps are now behaving and disporting
themselves, and what shape they have assumed to lead mortals astray ? "

"I think," said the man, "that a whole romance might be written
about the will-o'-the-wisps — a romance in twelve volumes, one about each
will-o'-the-wisp; or perhaps a popular drama would be still better."

" "\'ou ought to write it," said the woman, "or, rather, leave it
alone."

" Yes, that is more pleasant and comfortable," said the man ; "and then
one does not run the risk of being sat upon by the papers, which is often
as unpleasant for us as for the will-o'-the-wisp to lie in decayed wood,
shining and not daring to say a word."

" It is all the same to me," said the woman; "but rather let the others
write — those who can write, and those who cannot. I will give them an
old tap from my barrel, which will open the cupboard with the bottles ot
poetry ; in these they may find whatever they are short of. But you,
my good man, seem to have inked your fingers quite sufficiently and to
have arrived at that time of life and maturity when you should not be running
after fairy tales every year. There are now far more important things to
be done. You understand, of course, that there is mischief brewing?"

"The will-o'-the-wisps are in town," said the man. "I have heard
it and I understand it, but what do you want me to do? I should get
an overhauling if I said to people: 'Look, there goes a will-o'-the-wisp in
a respectable coat ! ' "

"They also go about in petticoats," said the woman. "The will-o'-
the-wisp can assume all kinds of shapes and appear in all sorts of places.
He goes to church, but not for religious reasons; perhaps he has taken up
his quarters in the parson. He speaks on election days, not for the sake
of the state or the country, but for his own sake; he is an artist, both in
the color-pot and in the theatrical pot, but if he comes into power, there
will be an end to it. I go on talking and talking, but I must say and
speak out what is sticking in my throat, even to the detriment of my own
family, though I am supposed to be the woman who is to save mankind.
It is not of my own free will, or for the sake of the medal, I can assure

218 "THE WILL-O'-THE-WISPS ARE IN TOWN

you. I do the maddest thing I can : I tell it to a poet and then the whole
town soon gets to know it."

"The town will not take it to heart," said the man. "It will not
affect a single person. They will believe that I am telling them a fairy tale
when I tell them with the most serious face: 'The will-o'-the-wisps are
in town, as the woman from the marsh says. Take care of yourselves !' "

THE UGLY DUCKLING

A DUCK WAS SllllSr. ON HKK M'.sl K) HAH K 1 I J ILH DUCKLINGS.

THE UGLY DUCKLING

IT was beautitul out in the countrv, tor it was summer-time. The corn
was yellow, the oats green ; the hay had been made up into ricks down
in the green meadows, where the stork was walking about on his long
red legs and talking away in Egyptian, tor that was the language he had
learned from his mother. Round about the corn-fields and meadows were
large woods, and in the middle of the woods were deep lakes. Oh, it was
indeed beautitul out in the country !

In the midst ot the sunny landscape lav an old manor-house with a
deep moat around it, and between the wall and the water grew large bur-
docks, which had attained such a height that little children could stand
upright under the tallest of them. It was just as wild there as in the depths
of the wood. A duck was sitting on her nest to hatch her little ducklings,
but she was almost getting tired oi it, tor it took such a IcMig time, and she

222 THE UGLY DUCKLING

seldom received any visitors. The other ducks preferred swimming about
in the moat to climbing up and sitting under a burdock gabbling to her.

At last one egg after another began to crack, and "Peep I peep ! " said
the little ducklings; all the yolks had become living creatures and were
popping out their heads.

" Quack ! quack ! " said the duck, and away they rushed as fast as they
could, looking about them on all sides under the green leaves ; their
mother let them look around as much as they liked, for green is good for
the eyes.

" How big the world is ! " said all the young ones, for they had now
more space to move about in than when they lay in the egg.

" Do you think this is the whole world ?" said the mother. " It stretches
far awav on the other side of the garden, right up to the parson's field,
though I have never been there. I hope you are all here," she said, as
she stood up. " No, I have n't got you all ; the biggest egg is still
there. How long is this going to last? I am getting tired ot it." And
so she settled down again.

"Well, how are vou getting on ?" said an old duck, wht) came to pay
a visit.

"This egg takes such a long time ! " said the duck on the nest ; " it
won't break ! But now you must look at the others. They are the finest
ducklings I have seen. They are all like their father, the wretch ! He
never comes to see me."

"Let me see the egg that won't break," said the old duck. " ^'ou '11
find it is a turkey's egg. That was the way I was once deceived, and I
had a lot of worry and anxiety with those youngsters, for they are afraid
of the water. I may tell you, I could not get them to take to it.
I quacked and snapped, but it was all of no use. Let me see the egg ;
yes, it's a turkey egg! Leave it, and teach your other children to
swim."

"I'll sit on it just a little longer," said the duck. "I have now
been sitting on it so long that 1 may as well go on tor some days
longer."

"Just as you like," said the old duck, and away she went.

At last the large egg broke. " Peep ! peep ! " said the youngster
as he rolled out of the shell ; he was very big and ugly. The duck
looked at him: "You are a terribly big duckling, to be sure," she said;
"none o( the others look like you. I wonder if it is a young turkey,
after all. Well, we shall soon find that out. Into the water he shall
go, even if I have to push him in myself"

The next day the weather was most beautiful; the sun was shining
upon all the green burdocks. The mother of the ducklings went down to
the moat with all her little ones. Splash! and into the water she jumped.
"Quack, quack!" she called out, and in the ducklings jumped, one after

MAKE HASIE AXD BOW YOUR HEADS TO THE OLD DUCK. SHE IS THE OLDEST OF THEM
ALL HERE. SHE IS OF SPANISH BLOOD !"

THE UGLY DUCKLING

225

igJ

the other. The water closed over their heads, but the next moment they
came up again and were swimming about most beautifully, their legs
going of themselves. They were all in the water; even the ugly gray
youngster was swimming about with them.

"No, he is not a turkey," she said; "look how well he uses his legs,
and how erect he carries himself He is one of my own ducklings. He
is not so ugly, after all, when vou look at him properly. Quack, quack !
Come along with me and I will take you all out into the world and
present you in the duck-yard; but keep close to me, so that no one shall
tread upon you, and beware of the cat ! "

"And then they came into the duck-V'^rd, where there was a terrible
noise; two families were tiuhtins); over the head of an eel, which the cat
got, after all.

"Ah, just look!
that 's the way of
the world," said the
mother, licking her
beak, for she would
have liked to have
the eel's head herself

" Now use your
legs," she said; "just
try and make haste
and bow your heads
to the old duck
yonder. She is the
grandest of them all
here. She is of Span-
ish blood; that is
why she is so fat, and you see she has a red rag round her leg. That 's
something particularly fine and the greatest distinction that any duck can
get; it means that they don't want to lose her. Be quick! don't turn in
your toes! A well-bred duckling places his legs well apart from each
other, just like your father and mother. Now then. Just like this. Now
bow with your neck and say. Quack ! "

And this they did; but the other ducks round about looked at them
and said quite loudly : " Hem ! Now we shall have to put up with that
riff-raff as well. Just as if there were not enough of us already : and, fie !
what an ugly duckling! We sha'n't stand him!" And a duck fiew
right at him and bit him in the neck.

"Leave him alone," said rhe mother; "he won't hurt anybody."

"No, but he is too big, and is so different from the others," said the
duck who had bitten the duckling; "and therefore he must be pecked."

"These are pretty children of yours," said the old duck with the rag

'E£P, PEEP!

YOUNGSTER AS HE ROLLED OUT
IHE SHELL.

226

THE UGLY DUCKLING

round her leg; "all of them are pretty, except that one; he has not
turned out a success. I wish you would try again."

"That can't be done, vour grace," said the mother of the duckling.
" He is not pretty, but he is very good-natured, and swims as beautifully

[HINOS GOT WORSE AND

AND THE POOR DUCKLING WAS CHASED AND BITTEN
BY THEM ALL.

as any of the others, and even a little better, I venture to say. I think he
will grew pretty, or in time he may grow smaller. He has been lying
too long in the egg, and that 's why he has n't got a proper figure." And
she nipped him in the neck, and smartened up his downy coat a bit with
her beak. "Besides, he is a drake," she said; "and so it does n't matter
much. I think he '11 be a strong bird, and that he '11 manage to get on
in the world."

"The other ducklings are very nice," .said the old duck; "now just
make yourselves at home, and if you find an eel's head, you may bring
it to me."

And so they made themselves quite at hiime.

But the poor duckling who had come out of his shell last of all and
looked so ugly was bitten, pushed, and jeered at both by the ducks and
the fowls. "He is too big," they all said; and the turkey-cock, who was
born with spurs and therefore believed he was an emperor, pufi^ed himself
out like a vessel in full sail, went straight for him, and began gobbling till
he grew quite red in the face. The poor duckling did not know which
way to turn or go; he felt very miserable becau.se he was so ugly and was
the laughing-stock of the whole duck-yard.

In this way the first day passed, and afterward things got worse and

THE UGLY DUCKLING

227

worse. The poor duckling was chased by them all. Even his brothers
and sisters behaved badly to him, and were always saying: "If the cat
would only catch you, you ugly fright ! " And the mother wished him far
away, while the ducks snapped at him, and the fowls pecked at him, and
the girl who fed the poultry kicked him with her foot.

So he ran away and Hew t)ver the hedge. The little birds among the
bushes riew up in great fright. "That 's because I am so ugly," thought
the duckling, and shut his eyes; but he ran and ran till he came out on the
great marsh where the wild ducks lived. Here he remained the whole
night, he was so very tired and miserable.

In the morning the wild ducks dew up and then saw their new
comrade. "Who are you?" they asked. The duckling turned round in
all directions, and bowed to them the best he could.

"You are terribly ugly," said the wild ducks, "but that is all the same
to us, so long as you do not marry into our family. "

Poor thing, he was not likely to think of getting married ! If he
could only be allowed to lie among the rushes and drink a little of the
marsh water !

There he remained for two whole days; then there came two wild
geese, or, rather, wild ganders, for they were two male birds. It could not
have been long since they came
out of the egg, and that 's why
they were so frisky.

"Just listen, comrade," said
they. " You are so ugly that
we are almost inclined to like
you. Will you come along
with us and be a bird of pas-
sage? Close by, in another
marsh, there are some sweet,
darling wild geese, all of them
spinsters, who can say, ' Quack ! '
You may be able to make your
fortune there, ugly as you are."

" Pop ! pop ! " was heard just
above them at this moment, and
both the wild ganders fell down
dead among the rushes, and col-
ored the water red. " Pop !
pop ! " was heard again, and
whole docks of wild geese flew
up from the rushes and then there

were more reports. A great shooting party had arrived on the spot, and
the sportsmen were lying all over the moor; some were even sitting in the

SUDDENLY
HANCI.Ni

■.RRIBLE DOG,

TONGUE
HIM.

228 THE UGLY DUCKLING

trees which stretched out their branches far over the rushes. The bkie
smoke Hoated in the air like clouds between the dark trees, and extended
far over the water; the dogs bounded right into the mud, splash, splash!
Rushes and reeds swayed to and fro in all directions; the poor duckling
was in a terrible fright ; he turned his head to put it under his wing, when
suddenly a terrible big dog, with his tongue hanging far out of his mouth
and his eyes glaring wildly, stood right in front of him ; he thrust his open
jaws right against the duckling, showing his sharp teeth, when, splash ! oft
he went without touching him.

"Thank Heaven," said the duckling, "1 am so ugly that even the dog
does not care to touch me."

And so he lay quite still, while the shots were whistling through the
rushes and report after report went off.

It was late in the day before everything became quiet, but the poor
youngster did not as yet venture to move; he still waited tor some hours
before he looked around him, and then he hurried off from the moor as
fast as he could. He ran across fields and meadows in the face of such a
wind that he had great difficulty in getting on.

Toward evening he came to a poor little farm-house; it was in such a
miserable state that it did not know to what side it would tumble down,
and therefore it remained standing. The wind blew so hard against the
duckling that he was obliged to sit down to keep up against it, but it grew
worse and worse. He then noticed that one of the hinges of the door had
given way, and that in consequence the door hung in such a slanting
position that he was able to slip through the opening into the room, which
he did.

In this house lived an old woman with a cat and a hen. The cat,
which she called Sonny, could raise his back and purr, and his coat would
even bristle with sparks, but then one had to stroke him the wrong way.
The hen had quite small, short legs, and was therefore called Henny
Shortlegs; she laid good eggs, and the woman loved her as if she were her
own child.

In the morning they at once noticed the stranger duckling, and the
cat began to purr and the hen to cluck.

"What 's this?" said the woman, looking around her; but she could
not see well, and so she believed the duckling was a fat duck that had lost
her way.

" VVhy, what a rare catch!" she said; " I can now get duck's eggs, it
only it is n't a drake. I must find out."

And so the duckling was taken on trial for three weeks, but there
came no eggs. The cat was the master of the house and the hen was the
mistress, and they always used to say, " We and the world," tor they
believed that they were one half of it, and by far the better half The
duckling thought it might be possible to hold a different opinion, but the
hen would not stand that.

IN THIS HOUSE LIVED AN OLD WOMAN WITH A CAT AND A HEN. ..." WHAT'S THIS f ASKED THE
WOMAN. SHE COULD NOT SEE WELL, AND SO SHE BELIEVED THE DUCKLING WAS A FAT DUCK.

THE UGLY DUCKLING

231

^:tC-

"Can you lay egS2;sr" she asked.

"No."

"Well, you must hold your tongue, then."

And the cat asked : " Can you raise your back, or purr, or make
sparks?"

"No."

"Well, then, you must n't have any opinion when sensible folk are
talking."

And the duckling sat in a corner, very much dispirited. He began
thinking about the fresh air and the sunshine, and got such a wonderful
longing to be floating on the water that at last he could not help telling it
to the hen.

" What is the matter with
you?" she asked. "You have no-
thing to do, and that 's why you
get such silly ideas. Lay eggs, or
purr, and they will pass away."

" But it is so delightful to swim
about in the water ! " said the duck-
ling; "so delightful to get in over
your head and dive down to the
bottom."

"That must be a great pleasure,
indeed ! " said the hen. " You must
be going mad! Ask the cat — he
is the wisest creature I know — if he
likes to float on the water, or dive
under it, to say nothing of myself.
Just ask our mistress, the old woman,
who is wiser than any other person
in the world. Do you think she
would like to float about and get
the water over her head?"

" You don't understand me,"
said the duckling.

"Well, if we don't understand vou, who is likely to understand
you ? I don't suppose you think that you are wiser than the cat or the
old woman, not to speak of myself? Don't be conceited, child, and
be thankful to Heaven for all the kindness you have received. Have
you not got a warm room, and nice company, where you can learn some-

DIJCKLING HAD TO KEEP HIS LEGS CONSTANTLY
MOVING, SO THAT THE HOLE IN THE ICE
SHOULD NOT CLOSE UP.

th

mgi

But

are a chatterer, and it is n't pleasant to be in your

company. Believe me, I only speak for your own good. I say unpleasant
things to you, but by that you may know your true friends. Now just
set about laying eggs and learning to purr or make sparks!"

12>2 THE UGLY DUCKLING

"I think I '11 go out into the wide world," said the duckling.

"Yes, do by all means," said the hen.

And off went the duckling; he swam about on the water and he dived,
but he was shunned by all other creatures on account of his ugliness.

Autumn was now setting in ; the leaves of the forest were turning
yellow and brown, and the wind caught them up and set them dancing
and whirling about.

The air was turning cold and the clouds hung heavily laden with hail
and snow. On the fence sat the raven and cawed, "Caw! caw! " from
sheer cold. It made one shiver at the mere thought of it ; the poor
duckling was indeed in bad straits.

One evening, as the sun was setting in all its beautv, a whole Hock of
large beautitul birds came out ot the bushes; the duckling had never seen
such lovely birds before. They were dazzlinglv white, with long, curved
necks ; they were swans. They uttered quite a strange sound, and
spreading out their splendid broad wings, they dew away from those cold
regions to warmer climes, to the open lakes; they mounted higher and
higher, and a feeling of sadness came over the ugly little duckling ; he
turned round and round in the water like a wheel, stretched his neck high
up in the air after them, and uttered a cry so loud and strange that he
became frightened at it himself. Oh ! could he ever forget these beautiful,
happy birds? As soon as they were out of sight he dived straight down to
the bottom, and when he came up again he was quite beside himself He
did not know what the birds were called, or whither they were dying, but
still he loved them as he had never loved anything before; he was not at
all envious of them ; how could he think of wishing for such beauty for
himself.? He would have been quite happy if only the ducks would have
allowed him to remain with them; poor, ugly little thing!

And the winter was growing cold — oh, so cold ! The duckling had to
swim about in the water to prevent it from being frozen over; but every
night the opening in which he was swimming grew smaller and smaller.
It was freezing so hard that the ice creaked and cracked; the duckling
had to keep his legs constantly moving so that the hole should not close
up. At last he became exhausted; he lay quite still, and soon became
frozen in the ice.

Early in the morning a peasant came by and saw him; he went out on
the ice and broke it in pieces with his wooden shoe, and carried "the
duckling home to his wife. There he came to himself again.

The children wanted to play with him, but the duckling thought they
would hurt him, and rushed in a great fright straight into the milk-bowl,
so that the milk splashed all over the room. The woman screamed and
held up her hands when the duckling dew into the trough where the
butter was kept, and then into the flour-barrel and out of it again.
What a sight he was! The woman screamed and tried to hit him with

THE UGLY DUCKLING

233

the fire-tongs, and the children tumbled against one another in trying
to catch the duckling, while they laughed and screamed. It was lucky
that the door stood open ; he slipped out and rushed in among the bushes
in the new-fallen snow, and here he lay down almost insensible.

But it would be too sad to tell you about all the sufferings and misery
he had to endure during the severe winter. He was lying among the
rushes on the marsh when the sun again began to send forth its warm
larks were singin";, and evervthintr around told ot a beautiful

rays ; th
spring.

'only kill me!" said the poor creature as he bent his head down against
surface of the water.

Then all at once he lifted his wings; they beat the air more strongly
than before and carried him rapidly away, and before he knew of it he
found himself in a large garden where the apple-trees were in bloom, and
where the fragrant lilacs were hanging on their long green boughs right
down to the winding canals. Oh, how lovely everything looked in the
freshness of the spring! And out of the thicket right in front of the
duckling came three beautiful white swans; they rustled with their
feathers as they gracefully floated past on the water. The duckling recog-
nized the beautiful creatures and was seized with a strange fit of sadness.

" I will fly over to these royal birds and they will kill me because I,
who am so ugly, dare to approach them. But I do not care! It is better
to be killed by them than to be snapped at by the ducks, pecked by the
hens, kicked by the girl who looks after the poultry-yard, and to sufler
hardships in the winter." And he jumped into the water and swam
toward the beautiful swans. As soon as they saw him they rushed at him
with rustling wings.

"Only kill me!" said the poor creature as he bent his head down
against the surface of the water, waiting for death — but what did he see
in the clear water? He saw under him his own image in the water, but

234

THE UGLY DUCKLING

he was no longer a clumsy dark-gravish bird, ugly and hideous to behold,
but a beautiful swan !

It matters but little to be born in the duck-yard when one comes from
a swan's egg !

He felt extremely happy at having gone through all the sufferings and
hardships he had endured ; now he fully understood his good fortune, and
all the loveliness he saw around him. The big swans swam round him
and stroked him with their beaks.

Some little children came into the garden and threw bread and corn
into the water. The youngest of them cried out :

"There is a new one!" and the other children shouted for joy. "Yes,
a new one has come!" and they clapped their hands and danced about,
and ran to fetch their father and mother. Bread and cakes were thrown
into the water, and thev all said: "The new one is the prettiest! so
young and so beautiful!" and the old swans bowed their heads to him.

He felt quite bashful, and hid his head under his wings ; he did not
know what to do; he was extremelv happv, but not at all proud, for a
good heart is never proud. He was thinking how he had been persecuted
and despised, and now he heard all say that he was the most beautiful of
all beautiful birds. And the lilac-trees bent their branches right into the
water to him, and the sun shone so warm and so pleasantly. Then
he rustled his feathers and curved his graceful neck, and with joy he
shouted: "So much happiness I did not dream ot' when I was an ugly
duckling ! "

THE FLYING TRUNK

IT WAS A WONDERFUL TRUNK: A^. SOON AS YOU rRESSED THK LOCK
THE TRUNK COULU FLY.

THE FLYING TRUNK

THERE was once upon a time a merchant who was so rich that he
could have paved the whole street with silver coins, and even have
enough over for a narrow lane ; but he did not do anything oi the
kind. He knew how to make use of his money in quite a different way ;
if he paid out a shilling, he got back a dollar. That was the kind of
merchant he was — and then he died.

and began to lead a merry life; he

e paper kites out ot dollar notes, and

The son ni)w got all this money
went to masquerades every nighty m:
played ducks and drakes
across the lakes with gold
coins instead of stones, and
money soon comes to an
end in this way, which it
did. At last he had only
four pennies left, and no
other clothes than a pair of
slippers and an old dressing-
gt)wn. His friends no longer
cared for him, as they could
not very well be seen with
him in the streets; but one
of them, who was oi a kind
disposition, sent him an old
trunk with the message,
"Pack up." That was all
very well, but he had no-
thing to pack, and so he sat
down in the trunk.

It was a wonderttd trunk !
As soon as you pressed the lock, the trunk could Hy. He pressed the
lock, and off^ the trunk flew with him, up through the chimney and high
above the clouds, farther and farther away. The bottom of the trunk
began to creak, and he was afraid it would go tt> pieces. What a curious
descent that would be! Heaven preserve him !

237

238 THE FLYING TRUNK

And so he came to the land of the Turks. He hid the trunk in the
forest under some dried leaves and then went into the town. He could
very well do that, for in Turkey everybody goes about in dressing-gowns
and slippers, just as he did

He then met a nurse with a little child. "I say, you Turkish nurse!"
he said, "what big palace is that close to the town, with the windows
placed so high? "

"The princess lives there," she said. "It has been foretold that she
will be unfortunate in love. And therefore nt)bod\' is alUn\ cd to ct)nie
near her unless the king and the queen are present."

"Thank you," said the merchant's son; and so he went back to the
forest, sat down in the trunk, Hew to the roof of the palace, and crept
through the window into the princess's room.

She was lying asleep on the sofa ; she was so beautiful that the
merchant's son could not resist kissing her. She awoke, and was very
much frightened, but he said he was the god of the Turks, who had
come down to her through the air, at which she was much pleased.

So they sat down, side by side, and he began telling her stories about
her eyes: they were the most beautiful dark lakes, in which her thoughts
were swimming about like mermaids. And he told her almiit her fore-
head: it was a siiowv mountain with tlie most mugnihcent halls ami
pictures. And he toUl her about the stork who brings the sweet little
children.

Yes, they were reallv delightful stories. And so he asked the princess
if she would marry him, and she said "^'cs" at once.

"But you must come here on Saturday," she said; "the king and
queen will then be here to tea. They will be very proud to hear that 1
am going to marry the god of the Turks, but mind you are prepared with
a really beautiful fairy tale, for my parents are particularly fond of stories.
My mother prefers those with a moral and some romance, and inv father
the merry ones which make one laugh."

"Very well. I shall bring no other wedding present than a fairy tale,"
he said, and then they parted; but the princess gave him a saber which
was mounted with gold coins, and these especialK' would come in very
useful.

He then tlew away, bought a new dressing-gown, and then sat in the
forest, making up the fairy tale. It had to be ready by Saturday, so it was
not an easy task.

By the time he had finished it, it was Saturday.

The king, the queen, and the whole court were at tea with the
princess, waiting for him. He was most graciously received.

"I hope you will tell us a fairv tele," said the queen — "one that is
profound and instructive."

"But one that we can laugh at," said the king.

THE KING, THE QUEEN, AND THE WHOLE COURT WERE TAKlNll TEA WITH THE PRINCESS.

THE FLYING TRUNK 241

"With pleasure," he said, and so he began. We must now Hsten
attentively.

"There was once a bundle of matches that were exceedingly proud
because of their high degree. Their genealogical tree — that is to say, the
big fir-tree of which each was a little piece — had been a big old tree in
the forest. The matches were now lying on the shelf between a tinder-
box and an old iron pot, to whom they were telling all about their early
days. 'Yes, when we were green branches,' they said, 'we were indeed
well off. Every morning and evening we had diamond tea, — that 's what
we called the dew, — and all day we had sunshine whenever the sun was
shining, while all the little birds had to tell us stories. We could easily
tell that we were well off, for the other trees wore leaves only in the
summer, while our family could afford green clothes both summer and
winter. But then came the wood-cutter, like the great revolution, and
our family was split up. The head of the family got an appointment as
mainmast on a splendid ship, which could sail round the whole world if
it liked; and the other branches of the family came to different places,
and we were now consigned to the task of providing light for the lower
classes; that 's the reason we people of high degree came to he here in
the kitchen.'

'"Well, my fate has been quite a different one,' said the iron pot,
near which the matches were lying. ' From the very first I have been
scoured and have cooked ever so many meals. I look after the material
welfare of the household and am really of first importance in the house.
My only pleasure is, when dinner is over, to lie clean and bright on my
shelf and have a good talk with my comrades. With the exception of
the water-pail, which now and then is taken down into the yard, we all
spend our lite indoors. Our only messenger that brings news from the
outer world is the market-basket, but she talks so violently about the
government and the people ! Why, the other day an old pot became so
frightened at her talk that he fell down and broke in pieces ! She is very
outspoken, I must tell you — '

"'You talk a good deal too much ! ' said the tinder-box, and the steel
struck the Hint a blow so that the sparks fiew about. Come, let us have
a merry evening.'

" ' Yes, let us discuss who is of the best family, ' said the matches.

'"No, I don't like to talk about myself,' said the earthen pot; 'let us
get up an entertainment. I will begin — I will tell you about something
which has happened to all oi' you, so that you can easily enter into it, and
then it is all the more amusing: On the shores of the Baltic, in the
shelter of the Danish beeches — '

"'That 's a very pretty beginning!' said all the plates; 'that is sure to
be a story we shall like.'

'"Well, there I spent my youth with a quiet fiimily ; the furniture

242 THE FLYING TRUNK

was polished and the floors washed, and clean curtains were put up every
fortnight.'

"'What an interesting way vou have ot telling stories!' said the
broom. 'One can hear at once it is a lady who is telling stories, there
is something so true about it all.'

"'Yes, one can feel that,' said the water-pail; and in his joy he made
a jump and the water splashed all over the floor.

"And the pot went i)n with her story and the end was as good as the
beginning.

"All the plates rattled with delight, and the broom took green parsley
from the sand-hole and crowned the pot with it, for he knew it would
amuse the others, and ' If I crown her tt)-day,' he thought, ' she will
crown me to-morrow.'

"'I want to have a dance,' said the hre-tongs, and began dancing.
Good heavens ! How the tongs kicked high in the air ! The o\d chair-
cover over in the corner split at the sight. ' Ought I not to be crowned
too ? ' said the rtre-tongs, and so this was done.

"'They are a common lot, after all!' thought the matches.

"The tea-urn was now going to sing, but she had a cold, she said, and
could not sing except when she was at boiling-point ; but it \vas only
afl^ectation. She would not sing unless she was standing on the table in
the parlor.

"Over in the window lay an old quill pen which the servant-girl used
to write with ; there was nothing remarkable about him except that he
had been dipped too far into the inkstand, but of this he was very proud.
'If the tea-urn won't sing,' he said, 'she may leave it alone! Outside
in a cage hangs a nightingale who can sing; he has not learned much,
but we won't say anything disparaging about that this evening.'

"'I think it most improper,' said the tea-kettle, who was singer to
the kitchen utensils and half-sister to the tea-urn, 'that a foreign bird
should be allowed to sing. Is it patriotic ? I shall let the market-basket
decide the point."

'"I am very much annoyed,' said the market-basket; 'I am more
annoyed than any one can imagine. Is this the proper way to spend an
evening? Would it not be more sensible to put the house in order?
Every one should then be in his proper place, and I would manage the
whole affair. Then things would be quite different.'

"'Yes, let us make a disturbance,' they all cried. Just at that
moment the door opened. It was the servant-girl, and so they all became
silent; no one muttered a sound. But there was not a pot among them who
did not know what he could have done and how grand he was. ' It I had
had my way,' they all thought, 'we should have had a really merry evening.'

"The servant-girl took the matches and lighted the fire with them.
Gracious me! How they sputtered and blazed up!

THE FLYING TRUNK

243

"'Well, now,' they thought, 'all can now see that we are of the first
hnpo'taiKe. How we shine! What a light we give! ' — and then thev
went out."

"What a capital story!" said the cpiecn, "I felt just as if I were in
the kitchen with the matches. Well, thoLi shalt lia\e our daughter."

"Yes, ot course!" said the king. "Thou shalt marry our daughter
on Monday." They called him " thou " now that he was going to be
one ot the family.

HE PUT THE KIKEWOKKS ON HIS TKIINK AND FLKW VV INK) THE Alk Wl,
WENT THE FIREWORKS, SPURTINi; IN ALL DIRECTIONS.

The wedding was thus settled, and the evening before the whole town
was illuminated. Buns and fancy bread were thrown among the people ;
the street hoys stood on tiptoe and shouted, " Hurrah ! " and whistled through
their fingers. It was altogether very fine.

" Well, I suppose I shall have to do something as well," said the
merchant's son, and so he bought some rockets, crackers, and all the fire-
works he could think ot, put them on his trunk and then fiew up into
the air with it.

Crack! Ofi-" went the fireworks, spurting and fiashing in all direc-

244

THE FLYING TRUNK

tions. All the Turks were delighted and -jumped so high that their
slippers flew about their ears. Such a vision in the sky they had never
seen before. Now they could understand that it was the god of the
Turks himself who was going to marry the princess.

As soon as the merchant's son had descended into the wood with his
trunk he thought to himself: " I will go into the town and hear what
people think of it all!" And it was only natural he should like to know.

How the people were talking ! Every one he inquired of had seen it
in his own way, but all thought it was a splendid sight. " I saw the god
of the Turks myself," said one; "his eyes were like glittering stars, and
his beard like a falling waterfall."

"He flew away in a cloak of Are," said another; "the loveliest
cherubs were peeping out from among its folds."

Yes, he heard the most wonderful things, and the following day he
was to be married.

He then went back to the forest to sit in his trunk — but where was
it? The trunk was burned. A spark from the fireworks had set fire to
the trunk, which was burned to ashes. He could not flv any more and
could not get to his bride any more.

She stood the whole day on the roof waiting tor him. She is still
waiting for him; but he goes about all over the world telling stories,
though they are no longer as funny as that he told about the matches.

THE STORKS

ON THK LAST HOUSE IN A LITTLE VILLAGE A PAIR OK SI'ORKS
HAD liUILT THEIR NEST.

THE STORKS

ON the last house in a little village a pair of storks had built their
iiest. Mother Stork sat in it with her tour little young ones,
who stretched out their heads and their little black beaks, for they
had not vet become red. A little way off on the ridge of the root stood
Father Stork, erect and stiff; he had drawn up one of his legs, in order to
show he was putting himself to some inconvenience in standing as sentrv.
One would think he was carved out of wood, so still did he stand. "I
think it must look quite grand for my wife to have a sentry by her nest,"
thought he; "they can't know that I am her husband; thev must think
I have been ordered to stand here. It looks quite grand." And so he
continued to stand on one leg.

In the street below a lot ot children were plaving about, and when
they saw the storks one of the boldest of the boys began to sing the old
verse about the stork, and afterward all the others joined in, but thev sang
it just as he could remember it:

" Storkey. storkey, sty dh I
Swiftly homeward Ay, oh !
For your wite lies safe at rest.
With tour fledglings in the nest :
The first, he shall be hangeii !
The second shall be spitted through I
The third, he shall be roasted brown I
Tlie tourth shall be turned upside down !"

"Just listen to what those boys are singing," said the voung storks;
"thev say we shall be hanged and roasted."

"Never mind what they are singing," said Mother Stork; "don't
listen to them, and then it won't matter."

But the bovs went on singing, and pointed their fingers at the storks.
Only one ot the boys, whose name was Peter, said it was a shame to
make fun ot the birds, and would not join in with the others. Mother
Stork comforted her young ones and said: "Don't mind them! Just
look how quietly your tather takes it, standing there on one leg."

"We are so trightened ! " said the young ones, and drew back their
heads into the nest.

14* 247

248 THE STORKS

Next day, when the children came again to play and saw the stork,
they began their song again :

" The first, he shall be hanged I
The second shall be spitted through I "

"But we are not going to be hanged and spitted through, are we?"
asked the young ones.

"No, of course not!" said the mother. "You are going to learn to
fly, and I '11 look after your training ! Then we shall go into the fields
and pay visits to the frogs; they will make their bow to us in the water,
and sing, 'Croak, croak!' And then we shall eat them. It will be great
fun!"

"iYnd what then?" asked the young storks.

"Then all the storks all over the country will assemble, and the
autumn manoeuvers will commence. Every one must be able to fly prop-
erly; that is of great importance, for the general will kill with his beak
all those who cannot fly. So mind you learn as well as you can when
the training begins!"

"Then we shall be killed, after all, just as the boys said; and just listen,
now they are singing it again!"

"Listen to me, and not to them," said Mother Stork. "After the
great manoeuvers we fly to the hot countries — oh, ever so far from here,
across mountains and forests. We shall fly to Egypt, where there are
three-cornered stone houses which end in a point above the clouds; they
are called pyramids, and are older than any stork can imagine. And
there is a river there, which overflows its banks and leaves the land
covered with mud. You walk about in the mud and eat frogs."

"Oh, my!" said all the young ones.

"Yes, it is so delightful! One does nothing but eat all day, and
while we are enjoying ourselves down there, there is not in this country a
green leaf on the trees, and it is so cold here that the clouds freeze to
pieces and fall down in little white rags." It was the snow she referred
to, but she could not explain it any better.

"Do the naughty little boys also freeze to pieces?" asked the yoimg
storks.

" No, they do not freeze to pieces. But they are not very far from it ;
they have to sit indoors in dark rooms, and mope and shiver. You, how-
ever, can fly about in foreign countries, where there are flowers and warm
sunshine."

Some time had now passed, and the young storks were already so big
that they could stand up in the nest and look around, and Father Stork
came flying home every day with nice frogs, little snakes, and all kinds
of dainties for storks which he could find. And how he amused them
with all sorts of tricks! He would twist his head right round his tail,

KATHKR STI

r, IIOMK K\ KKV DAY WH H NICE FROGS, LITTLE SNAKES,
,L KINDS OF DAINTIES FOR STORKS.

THE STORKS

251

and clatter with his beak as if it were a rattle, and then he would tell
them stories all about the swamps.

"Now yt)u must learn to Hy ! " said Mother Stork one day; and so all
the four young ones had to go out on the ridge of the roof How thev
reeled ! They had to balance themselves with their wings, and yet they
were nearly fallinj); down.

NOW YOU MUST LEARN' T(

MOTHER STORK ONE DAY.

"Look at me!" said the mother. "This is the way to hold your
head. And your feet this way. One, two ! one, two ! That 's the way
to help yourselves on in the world." And then she Hew a little way. The
young storks made a little clumsy jump, when — bump ! — there they lav,
tor they were too heavy in the body.

"I don't want to fly," said one of the young storks, and crept back
into the nest; "I don't care to go to the hot countries."

" Do you want to freeze to death here when the winter comes ? Do

252 THE STORKS

you want the boys to come and hang you and spit vou and roast vou ? I
will just call them ! "

"Oh, no!" said the young stork; and then he hopped out on the
roof again to the others. On the third day they were able to fly a little,
and then they thought they could also soar into the air, and this thev tried
to do, but — bump! — down they fell, and so they had to use their wings
again. The boys down in the street began singing their song :

"Storkey, storkey — "'

"Shall we fly down and peck their eves out?" said the young storks.

"No, leave them alone," said the mother; "only listen to me — that 's
more important. One, two, three ! Now to the left round the chimney.
That was well done. The last stroke with the wings was done so
beautifully and correctly that vou shall have permission to come with me
to the swamp to-morrow. There are several nice stork families coming
there with their children. Let them see that mine are the nicest; so
mind you hold vourselves erect ; it looks well and commands respect."

"But are we not going to have our revenge on those naughty boys .^ "
asked the young storks.

"Let them scream as much as thev like. "\'ou are going to fly up to
the clouds, and will come to the land of the pyramids, while they have to
remain here shivering, without seeing a green leaf or a sweet apple."

"Yes, we will be revenged," thev whispered tt) one another; and so
they went on practising.

Of all the boys in the street no one was more persistent in singing the
mocking verse than the one who had begun it, and he was quite a little
fellow, not more than six years old. The young stork thought of course he
was a hundred vears old, for he was so much bigger than their mother and
father, and what did thev know about children's ages and how big human
beings can be ?

All their revenge was to fall upon this boy; he had first begun it, and
he was always going on with it. The young storks were verv angry, and
as they grew bigger they were less likely to tolerate it ; their mother had
at last to promise them that they should have their revenge, but not till the
last day when they were leaving the country.

"We must see, first, how you get on at the great manceuver. If vou
don't acquit yourselves well, the general will run you through with' his
beak, and then the boys will be right, after all, at least in one respect.
Now let me see you try."

"That vou shall ! " said the young ones ; and so they set to work with
a good will and practised every day till they could fly so nicely and lightlv
that it was a pleasure to look at them.

Then the autumn came. All the storks began to assemble before they
flew away to the hot countries for the winter.

THE STORKS

253

The manoeuver was a trial of strength ; the young storks had to Hy
over forests and towns to see how well they could tly, for it was a long
journey they had before them. The young storks did so well that they
got " exxellent " as their mark, and frogs and snakes as prizes. This was
the very highest award, and as tor the frogs and snakes, they were to eat
them, which the young storks did.

"Now we '11 be revenged ! " they said.

"Yes, of course," said Mother Stork. "What I have been thinking
over is just the right thing. I know where the pond is in which all the
little children are lying till the storks come to fetch them to their parents.
There the pretty little babies lie sleeping and dreaming so sweetly as they
never will again. All parents like to have a little child, and all children
like to have a sister or brother. We will now fly over to the pond and
fetch one to each ot the children wht) have not sung the wicked song and
made fun of the storks. None of the other children shall have any."

"But the boy who began the song — that naughty, wicked boy," cried
the young storks, "what shall we do to him .?"

" In the pond there lies a little dead baby, who has dreamed itself to
death. We will take this baby to him, and then he will cry because we
have brought him a dead little brother. But what about the good boy .?
Surely you have not forgotten him who said, ' It is a shame to make tun
of the birds.' We will bring him both a brother and a sister, and as his
name was Peter, all of vou shall also be called Peter."

And what she said came to pass, and all the storks were called " Peter,"
and that is what they are still called.

SILLY HANS

THI-: PRINCESS HAD I'L'liLICLY ANNOUNCKD THAT SHE WOULD MARRY
THE PERSON WHO COULD SPEAK BEST FOR HIMSEr.F.

SILLY HANS

OUT in the country there was an o\d mansion, and in it lived an old
squire and his two sons, who were so witty that they were really
too clever by half; they wanted to woo the king's daughter,
which they were quite at liberty to do, for she had publicly announced
that she would marry the person who could speak best for himself

The two brothers took eight days to prepare themselves — that was all
the time they could give to it ; but that was quite sufficient, for they pos-
sessed a good deal of elementary knowledge, and that comes in useful.
One of them knew the whole of the Latin dictionary, and the contents of
the newspaper of the city for the last three years, by heart ; in fact, he
could say it just as well backward as forward. The other one had studied
the rules and regulations of all the guilds and everything that an alderman
ought to know, so he thought he should be able to talk of the affairs of
the state; and besides this he could also embroider braces, for he was of a
gentle nature and very nimble with his fingers.

"I shall win the king's daughter," said both of them; and then their
father gave each of them a beautiful horse: the one who knew the dic-
tionary by heart got a coal-black horse, and he who knew all about the
guilds and the aldermen and could embroider received a milk-white horse.
And then they rubbed the corners of their mouths with cod-liver oil, so
that they might be able to talk more glibly. All the servants were in the
courtyard to see them mount their horses, and just then came the third
brother, — for there were three, — but no one took him into account as
one of the brothers, for he did not know as much as they, and he was only
called "Silly Hans."

"Where are you going to, since you have got vour fine clothes on?"
he asked.

"To the palace to woo the king's daughter. Have n't you heard what
the drummer is announcing all over the country?" And then they told
him.

"My w(,)rd ! then I '11 gt) too," said Silly Hans; and the brothers
laughed at him and rode away.

"Father, let me have a horse," said Silly Hans. "I should like so

257

258

SILLY HANS

much to get married. If she takes me, she takes me; and if she does n't
take me, I will take her for all that."

" What nonsense ! " said his father ; " I sha'n't give vou a horse, ^^'hv,
you can't talk properly. No; vour brothers are fine specimens of what
young fellows ought to be."

"If I can't have a horse," said Silly Hans, "I '11 take the billy-goat;
he 's mine, and he carries me very well." And so he jumped astride the
billy-goat, stuck his heels into its side, and set off along the highroad.
"Heigh! what a pace ! I am coming," said Silly Hans, and sang away till
you heard him far and wide.

But the brothers rode quietly on in front; they did not speak a word;
they were thinking over all the clever sayings with which they would have
to be prepared, for they intended to be so very smart, vou know.

hullo!" shouted silly HANS. "JUST LOOK WHAT I HAVE FOUND!" AND HE
SHOWED THEM A DEAD CROW HE HAD FOUND.

"Hullo!" shouted Silly Hans, "here I am. Just look what I have
found in the highroad!" and he showed them a dead crow which he
had found.

"Blockhead!" they said, "what are you gcMiig to do with that?"

"I '11 make a present of it to the king's daughter."

"Yes, do so by all means," they said, as they laughed and rode on.

"Hullo! here I am! Just look what I have found now; you don't
find that every day in the highroad."

And the brothers turned round again to see what it was.

"Blockhead!" they said, "that 's an old wooden clog, and the upper
leather is gone. Is the king's daughter going to have that as well?"

"That she shall," said Silly Hans; and the brothers laughed and rode
on, and got a long way ahead.

here's my cooking apparatus," said silly HANS, AND SO HE PULLED OUT THE OLD
WOODEN CLOG AND PLACED THE CROW ON IT.

SILLY HANS 261

" Hullo ! here T am ! " shouted Silly Hans ; " I am really in luck's
way. Heigh-ho! This is really wonderful ! "

"What have you found now?" asked the brothers.

" Oh," said Silly Hans, " it is hardly worth mentioning, but how
pleased the king's daughter will be ! "

"Ugh ! " said the brothers ; "why ; that 's mud just thrown up from the
ditch."

" Yes, that 's what it is," said Silly Hans ; "and it is of the finest sort
— so fine that you can't hold it between yourfingers;" and so he filled his
pocket with it.

But the brothers rode on as fast as their horses' legs could carry them,
and thus they arrived at the city gate an hour earlier than Hans. Here
the suitors received numbers in the order in which they arrived, and were
then placed in rows of six each, and placed so closely that they could
not even move their arms, which was a very good thing, for otherwise
they would have cut each other's backs to pieces, for the one was standing
in front of the other.

All the other inhabitants of the country stood round about the palace,
right up to the windows, to see che king's daughter receive the suitors.
As they entered the room, one by one, the power of speech seemed to
desert them.

"No good," said the king's daughter. "Away with you!"

Now came the turn of the brother who knew the dictionary by heart,
but he had forgotten it all while standing in the row; the floor creaked at
each step he took, and the ceiling was of looking-glass, so that he could
see himself standing on his head, and at every window there were three
clerks and an alderman, who wrote down everything that was said, so that
it could get into the papers at once, and be sold for a penny at the street
corner. It was really terrible, and, moreover, they had put so much fire in
the stove that the drum was red-hot.

"It 's dreadfully hot in here," said the suitor.

"Yes, that 's because my father is roasting chickens to-day," said the
king's daughter.

Bah ! there he stood ; he had not expected to be spoken to in that
way; he did not know what to say, although he wanted to say something
clever. Bah!

" No good," said the king's daughter. " Go away ; " and so he had to go.

Next came his brother.

"There 's a dreadful heat in here," he said.

" Yes, we are roasting chickens to-day," said the king's daughter.

"Beg your par — " he said; and all the clerks wrote down "Beg
your par — ."

" No good," said the king's daughter. " Go away."

Then came Silly Hans, riding his billy-goat right into the room.
" W'hat a sweltering heat ! " he said.

262

SILLY HANS

" That 's because I am roasting chickens," said the king's daughter.

"That 's lucky," said Silly Hans. "I suppose I can get a crow
roasted here, then ? "

"That you may," said the king's daughter; "hut have you got any-
thing to roast it in, for I have neither pot nor pan."

"That I have," said Silly Hans. " Here 's a cooking apparatus with a tin
handle; " and so he pulled out the old wooden clog and placed the crow on it.

"That 's enough for one meal," said the king's daughter; "but where
shall you get the dripping from ? "

" I have it in my pocket," said Silly Hans. " I have got so much
that I don't mind if I spill some of it ; " and so he ti>ok a little of the mud
out of his pocket and basted the crow with it.

" That 's what I like," said the king's daughter. " You can give one
an answer, at any rate, and you can speak; and so I will have you for my
husband. But do you know that every word we say and have said is
written down, and will appear in the paper to-morrow r At every
window you will see three clerks and an old alderman, and the alderman
is the worst of all, for he does n't understand anything." She said this to
frighten Hans, and all the clerks giggled and upset the ink on the floor.

" Oh, these are the gentlemen, are they?" said Silly Hans; "then 1
suppose I must give the alderman the best;" and so he turned out his
pocket and flung the mud right into his face.

"That was clever," said the king's daughter; "I could not have done
it. But I shall learn it right enough."

And so Silly Hans was made king, and got a wife and a crown, and
sat on a throne, all of which we have read about in the alderman's paper —
and that 's one you can't depend upon.

THE WILD SWANS

THE WILD SWANS

FAR away from here, in the land where the swallows flv to when we
have winter, lived a king who had eleven sons and one daughter,
whose name was Elisa. The eleven brothers, who were all princes,
went to school with a star on their breast and a saber by their side; they
wrote on golden slates with diamond pencils, and knew their lessons by
heart just as well as if they had read them from a book. One could see at
once that they were princes. Elisa, the sister, sat on a small footstool of
plate glass and had a picture-book which cost as much as half the kingdom.
Yes, those children led indeed a happy life, but it was not always to
be so.

266 THE WILD SWANS

Their father, who was king of the whole country, married a wicked
queen, who was not at all kind to the poor children. On the very first
day this became apparent to them. There were great festivities all over
the palace, and the children were playing at "having company," but
instead of their getting, as usual, all the cakes and roasted apples that could
be had, the queen gave them only sand in a tea-cup and said they might
pretend it was something nice.

The following week she sent their little sister, Elisa, away to some
peasants in the country, and before long she succeeded in getting the king
to believe all sorts of things about the poor princes, so that he did not
trouble himself any more about them.

"Fly out into the world and shift for yourselves!" said the wicked
queen; " Hy away like great birds without the power of speech ! " but she
could not, however, carry out her bad intentions as far as she wished, for
the princes were turned into eleven beautiful wild swans. With a strange
cry thev flew out through the palace windows and away over the park
and the forest.

It was still quite early in the morning when they passed the peasant's
cottage where their sister lay asleep ; here they hovered over the roof,
twisting their long necks and flapping their wings, but nobody heard or
saw them; they had to set out again, high up toward the clouds, till they
came to a great,, gloomy forest which reached right down to the shore.

Poor little Elisa was standing in the peasant's parlor, playing with a
green leaf, the only plaything she had; she made a hole in the leaf,
looked up at the sun through it, and fancied she saw the bright eyes of
her brothers, and every time the warm sunbeams shone upon her cheek
she thought of all their kisses.

One day passed just like another. When the wind blew through the
big hedges of roses outside the cottage, it would whisper to the roses,
"Who can be more beautiful than you?" But the roses shook their
heads and said, "Elisa!" And when the old woman on a Sunday sat
in the doorway reading her hymn-book, the wind would turn over the
leaves and say to the book, "Who can be better than you?" "Elisa!"
answered the hymn-book; and it was the real truth that the roses and the
hymn-book had said.

When she was fifteen years old she was to return home; and when
the queen saw how beautiful she was, she became filled with anger" and
hatred against her. She would have liked to turn her into a wild swan
like her brothers, but she dared not do so at once, as the king would, of
course, want to see his daughter.

Early in the morning the queen went into the bath, which was
built of marble and adorned with soft cushions and the most beautiful
carpets, and she took three toads, kissed them, and said to one of
them, " Sit on Elisa's head when she gets into her bath, so that

THE WILD SWANS 267

she may become lazy like yourself! " "Sit upon her forehead," she
said to the other, " so that she may become ugly like yourself, and
her father will not recognize her ! " " Rest close to her heart," she
whispered to the third ; " let her heart become wicked, so that she may
suffer through it!" She then put the toads into the clear water, which
at once turned a greenish color. She called Elisa, undressed her, and let
her go into the water, and as she ducked her head, one of the toads settled
itself in her hair, the other on her forehead, and the third on her breast;
but Elisa did not seem to notice them. As soon as she stood up, three
red poppies were floating on the water; had the animals not been poisonous
and had they not been kissed by the queen, they would have been turned
into red roses; but they became flowers, however, through resting on her
head and near her heart. She was too good and innocent tor the witch-
craft to have any power over her.

When the wicked queen saw this, she took some walnut juice and
rubbed Elisa with it till she became quite brown, besmeared her pretty
face with a nasty-smelling salve, and ruffled her lovely hair, so that it was
impossible to recognize the beautiful Elisa.

When her father saw her he became quite frightened and said that she
was not his daughter. Nobody but the bandog and the swallows would
acknowledge her; but they were only humble animals and were of no
importance.

Poor Elisa then began to cry and think of her eleven brothers, who
were all lost to her. Greatly distressed in mind, she stole out of the palace
and walked the whole day across fields and moors till she came to the big
forest. She did not know where she wanted to go, but she felt so sad
and longed so much for her brothers. No doubt they, like herself, had
also been driven out into the world, and she made up her mind she would
try to find them.

She had been only a short time in the forest when night set in; she
had strayed away from the roads and paths, and so she lay down on the soft
moss, said her evening prayers, and leaned her head up against the stump
of a tree. All was still and quiet, the air was so mild ; and round about,
in the grass and on the moss, hundreds of glow-worms were shining like
green fire. When she gently touched one of the branches above her, the
shining insects fell down to her like shooting-stars.

The whole night long she dreamed about her brothers. They were
again playing as children, writing with diamond pencils on golden slates,
and looking at the most beautiful picture-book, which cost as much as
half the kingdom. But they did not write strokes and pot-hooks as before
— no, they wrote about the most valiant deeds which they had performed,
and about evervthing they had seen and gone through. In the picture-
book everything was alive — the birds were singing and the people came
walking out oi' the book and spoke to Elisa and her brothers, but when

268 THE WILD SWANS

she turned over the leaf, they ran back to their places, so that the pictures
should not be disarranged.

When she awoke the sun was already high in the heavens; she could
not exactly see it, as the lofty trees spread their branches closely and firmly
above her, but its beams were playing through them like a fluttering veil
of gold. There came a fragrance from the verdure around her, and the
birds almost perched on her shoulder. She heard the splashing of the
water from the many springs, which all fell into a lake that had the most
beautiful sandy bottom. There were thick bushes growing all round the
lake, but in one place the stags had dug out a large opening, and here
Elisa got to the water, which was so clear that had not the wind put the
branches and bushes into motion, she must have believed that thev had
been painted on the bottom of the lake, so plainly were all the leaves
reflected, both those through which the sun shone and those which were
quite in the shade.

As soon as she saw her own face she became quite frightened, so
brown and ugly was it; but on wetting her little hand and rubbing her
eyes and forehead, the white skin soon shone through. She then took ofl-"
all her clothes and went into the fresh water, and a lovelier royal child
than she could not be found in this world.

When she was dressed again and had plaited her long hair, she went to
the sparkling spring, drank out of the hollow of her hand, and wandered
farther into the forest, without knowing whither she went. She thought
of her brothers and of the kind God, who surely would not desert her.
He let the wild forest apples grow, so that the hungry might be satisfied ;
he showed her such a tree, the branches of which were bent beneath the
weight of the fruit, and there she made her midday meal. After having
propped up the branches of the tree she walked ofl^" into the darkest parts of
the forest. It was so quiet that she heard her own footsteps, heard every
little dry leaf being crushed under her foot ; not a bird was to be seen, nor
could any sunbeam penetrate through the great close branches of the trees.
The lofty trunks stood so close to one another that when she looked straight
before her it appeared as if one barrier of logs close upon another encircled
her. Oh, such a solitude she had never known before !

The night was very dark, and not one single little glow-worm glittered
in the moss. Quite distressed, she lay down to sleep. She then thought
she saw the branches part above her and our Lord looking down upon
her with eyes full of tenderness, while little angels peeped out above his
head and from under his arms.

When she woke in the morning she did not know whether she had
been dreaming, or whether it had all really happened.

She had not gone many steps when she met an old woman with a
basket of berries, of which the woman gave her some. Elisa asked her if
she had not seen eleven princes riding through the forest.

THE WILD SWANS 269

" No," said the old woman ; " but yesterday I saw eleven swans, with
golden crowns on their heads, swimming down the river close by."

And she led Elisa some distance farther till they came to a slope, at
the bottom of which a river wound its way. The trees on its banks
stretched their long, leafy branches across the water to each other, and
where they, according to their natural growth, could not reach the other
side, the roots had been torn up from the soil, and hung out over the
water, with the branches entwined in each other.

Elisa bade farewell to the old woman, and walked along the river till it
riowed out into the great, open sea.

The great, glorious ocean lay before the young maiden ; but not a sail
was to be seen out there, not a boat was in sight. How was she to con-
tinue her journey? She looked at the countless little pebbles on the
shore; the water had worn them quite round. Glass, iron, stones, every-
thing that had been washed up by the sea had been shaped by the water,
and this was even far softer than her delicate hand.

"It rolls on and on persistently, and the hardest substance must in the
end yield to it. I will be just as persistent. Thanks for the lesson you
have given me, you clear, rolling waves! One day, my heart tells me,
you will carry me to my dear brothers."

Among the sea-weeds that had been washed ashore lay eleven white
swans' feathers, which she gathered into a bunch. There were drops of
water on them, but whether they were dew-drops or tears, no one could
say. It was very lonely there on the shore, but she did not feel it, for the
sea was perpetually changing, and presented, in fact, a greater variety of
aspects in a few hours than the fresh-water lakes could show in a whole
year. If a large black cloud appeared, it was as if the sea meant to say,
"I too can look black,' and then the wind would begin to blow and the
waves to show their white crests; but if the clouds were bathed in the
red sunlight and the winds had gone to rest, the sea was like a rose-leaf;
now it was green, now white, but however calmly it might rest, there
was always a slight motion near the shore; the sea heaved gently, like the
breast of a sleeping child.

Just as the sun was setting, Elisa saw eleven wild swans with golden
crowns on their heads flying toward land, one behind the other; they
looked like a long white sash. Elisa went up the slope and hid herself
behind a bush; the swans settled down close to her, and began flapping
with their large white wings.

The moment the sun sank below the water's edge the swans' plumage
fell off the birds, and there stood eleven handsome princes, Elisa's brothers.
She uttered a loud cry, for although they had changed greatly, she knew
it was they, she felt it must be they; she ran into their arms and called
them by their names, and they became so happy and delighted when
they saw her and recognized their little sister, who was now so tall and

270 THE WILD SWANS

beautiful. Thev laughed and they cried, and they soon came to under-
stand how cruel their stepmother had been to them all.

"We brothers," said the eldest, "must riy about as wild swans as long
as the sun is in the heavens; when it has gone down we resume our
human shape; at sunset we must therefore always take care to be near a
resting-place, for if at that time we were to fly toward the clouds, we
should, as human beings, be plunged into the depths of the sea. We do
not live here; yonder, across the sea, lies a countr)^ just as beautiful as
this, but the way thither is long; we have to cross the wide sea, and there
is no island on the way, on which we could rest for the night; only a
lonely little rock which rears its head in the midst of the ocean out there,
but it is only just large enough for us all to rest upon it when we sit side
by side. If the sea goes high, the water splashes high over us ; still we are
thankful to the Lord for it. There we pass the night in our human form ;
without it we should never be able to visit our beloved country, for it takes
two of the longest days in the year to accomplish the journey. Only once
a year are we allowed to visit our paternal home, and then we can re-
main here for only eleven days, when we fly over this big forest, from
which we can see the palace where we were born and where our father
lives, and the lofty tower of the church where our mother lies buried.
Here we feel as if we were related to every tree and bush, here the \sild
horses are running across the plains, just as we saw them in our child-
hood; here the charcoal-burners are singing the old songs to which we
danced as children; here is our native country, to which we are drawn;
and here we have found you, our dear little sister. Only two more days
can we remain here, and then we must cross the sea to a beautiful
country, but it is not our own country. How shall we take you with us.?
We have neither ship nor boat."

"How shall I be able to save your" asked the sister.

And so thev went on talking together nearly the whole night, and
only for a few hours did they get any sleep.

Elisa awoke at the sound of the rustling of the wings as the swans
were soaring above her. Her brothers had again been turned into swans
and were flying in large circles above her head, till at last they flew far
away and out of sight. But one of them, the youngest, remained behind;
he laid his head on her lap, while she stroked his white wings, and thus
they remained together the whole day. Toward evening the others came
back, and when the sun had disappeared they assumed their natural shape.

"To-morrow we must fly away from here, and we dare not return for
a whole year; but we cannot leave vou thus. Have you the courage to
accompany us? My arm is strong enough to carry you through the forest.
Should not, then, all our wings be strong enough to fly with you across
the sea?"

"Yes, take me with you," said Elisa. _

THE WILD SWANS

271

"They spent the whole night in making a hig, strong net of the pliant
willow hark and the tough sedges; on this Elisa lay down, and when
the sun rose and her hrothers had heen changed into wild swans, they
seized the net with their heaks and Hew high up toward the clouds with
their dear sister, who was still asleep. The sunbeams fell right on her
face, and one of the swans therefore Hew over her head, so that his broad
wings could afford her shade.

They were far away from land when Elisa awoke; she thought she
was still dreaming, so strange did it seem to her to be carried high up in
the air across the sea. By her side lay a branch with delicious ripe berries

BROTHERS S'lANDING ROUND

DASHED A(;AINST THE ROC

RM IN ARA

WHILE THE SEA

and a hunch of savory roots, which her youngest brother had gathered
and placed at her side. She smiled gratefully to him, for she knew it was
he who flew right over her head and shaded her with his wings.

They were so high up that the first ship they saw below them looked
like a white sea-gull lying upon the water. A great cloud stood behind
them, just like a big mountain, and across it Elisa saw the shadow of
herself and the eleven swans, quite gigantic in size, as they sailed through
the air. It was quite a picture, prettier than any she had ever seen ; but
as the sun rose higher, and the cloud was left further and further behind,
the floating shadow-picture gradually vanished.

Like a whizzing arrow they shot through the air the whole day.

272 THE WILD SWANS

although their progress was somewhat slower than usual, as they now had
their sister to carry. Dark clouds began gathering toward the evening,
and Elisa anxiously saw the sun sinking, and yet there was no sign of the
lonely rock in the ocean. It appeared to her as if the swans were making
greater efforts with their wings. Alas ! she was the cause of their not
being able to get on fast enough ; when the sun had gone down they
would become human beings and fall into the sea and be drowned. She
then prayed to our Lord from the bottom of her heart, but no rock could
as yet be seen. The black cloud came nearer ; the violent gusts of wind
foretold a storm ; the clouds gathered in one great, threatening wave,
which moved forward like a solid mass ot lead, while one Hash oi light-
ning followed upon another.

The sun was now close to the edge of the ocean. Elisa's heart
trembled ; the swans then darted downward so suddenly that she thought
she must fall out of the net, but soon they sailed on again through the air.
The sun was half-way under the horizon, and just then she caught sight
of the little rock below them; it did not appear larger than the head of a
seal above water. The sun was sinking rapidly; now it seemed no larger
than a star, and then her foot touched the firm ground; the sun went
out like the last spark in a piece of burning paper. She saw her brothers
standing round her, arm in arm, but there was only just room enough for
them all. The sea dashed against the rock and descended upon them like
a heavy shower of rain ; the heavens were continually lighted up with
flashes of fire, and peal after peal of thunder followed each other ; but
sister and brothers held each other by the hands and sang a psalm, from
which they received both comfort and courage.

At daybreak the air was pure and quite still. As soon as the sun rose
the swans flew away with Elisa from the rock. The sea was still high,
and, to them, who were so high up in the air, the white foam on the dark
green waves appeared like millions of swans swimming on the waters.

When the sun had risen higher Elisa saw before her, half floating in
the air, an alpine country with glittering masses of ice on the mountains,
in the midst of which lay a palace almost a mile long, with one colonnade
daringly piled above another, while below were forests of waving palms
and luxurious flowers as large as mill-wheels. She asked if this was the
country whither she was going, but the swans shook their heads, for what
she saw was nothing but the magnificent and ever-changing aerial castle of
Fata Morgana ; thither they dared not bring any human being. Elisa
was still gazing at it when the mountains, forests, and palace all tumbled
together, and in their place stood twenty stately churches, all alike, with
high steeples and pointed windows. She thought she heard the sound of
an organ, but it was the sea she heard. Now she was quite close to the
churches, when they changed into a whole fleet of ships that were sailing
below her. She looked down and found it was only clouds of sea-mist

PALACE ALJKIST A MILE LONG, WITH ONE
PILED ABOVE ANOTHER.

ILONNADE DARINGL'

THE WILD SWANS 275

floating over the ocean. Yes, she saw continual changes before her eyes,
and now, at last, she saw the real country she was going to, with its
beautiful blue mountains, cedar-woods, cities, and palaces. Long before the
sun had set she was sitting on the mountain before a large cave which was
overgrown with delicate green creepers looking like embroidered carpets.

"Now we shall see what you will dream about here to-night," said
the youngest brother, and showed her to her bedchamber.

"Heaven grant I may dream how I shall be able to save you!" she
said, and this thought took entire possession of her mind.

She prayed so fervently to God for help that even in her sleep she
went on praying. She thought she was flying high up in the air to Fata
Morgana's palace ; the fairy herself came to meet her ; she was so beauti-
ful and gorgeously attired, and yet she was very much like the old woman
who had given her the berries in the forest, and told her about the swans
with the golden crowns.

"Your brothers can be saved," she said; "but have you the courage
and perseverance ? Water, as you know, is softer than your delicate hands,
but still it can change the shape of the hardest stones ; but it does not feel
the pain that your fingers will feel ; it has no heart and does not sufl^er
from the anxiety and anguish that you will have to endure. Do you see
the nettle which I hold in my hand ? Of this kind a great many grow
round about the cave in which you sleep, but, mark you, only those which
grow there and on the graves of the churchyards can be used ; these you
must gather, although they will blister your hands ; tread the nettles with
your feet and they will turn into flax, and this you rnust twist and then knit
eleven shirts of mail with long sleeves. Throw these over the eleven
swans, and the spell will be broken. But you must remember particularly
that from the moment you begin your task till it is finished, even though
it may take you years, you must not speak; the first word you speak will
go like a deadly dagger to your brothers' hearts and kill them ; on your
silence depend their lives. Remember all this ! "

And then she touched Elisa's hand with the nettle, which was like
burning fire, and caused her to wake. It was broad daylight, and close to
where she had slept lay a nettle like the one she had seen in her dream.
She then fell on her knees, thanked the Lord, and went out of the cave to
begin her task.

With her delicate hands she took hold of the nasty nettles, which were
like fire and blistered her hands and arms ; yet she was quite willing to
sufl^er it all, it only she were able to save her dear brothers. She trod everv
nettle with her bare feet and twisted the green flax from it.

When the sun had gone down her brothers came back ; thev grew
frightened when they found her so silent, and thought it was some new
witchery of the wicked stepmother's ; but when they saw her hands they
understood what she was doing for their sake. The youngest brother

276 THE WILD SWANS

wept, and where his tears fell on her hands the pain ceased and the burning
blisters vanished.

She worked all night, for she could not rest till she had set free her dear
brothers. During the whole of the following day, while the swans w ere
away, she sat all alone, and the time had never llown so quicklv. One
shirt was already finished, and now she had begun another.

Just then a hunting-horn was heard among the mountains and startled
Elisa. The sound came nearer ; she heard the barking of dogs. She took
refuge in the cave in great fright, tied the nettles she had gathered and
hackled into a bundle, and sat down on it.

At that moment a big dog jumped out from the thicket, and immedi-
ately afterward he was followed bv another, and still another ; they barked
loudly, ran back, and then returned again. In a few minutes all the
huntsmen were there outside the cave, and the handsomest among them
was the king of the country. He went up to Elisa, for he had never seen
a more beautiful girl in his life.

" How did vou come here, you lovely child .? " he said. Elisa shook
her head ; she dared not speak, for her brothers' deliverance and lives
depended upon it. She hid her hands under her apron, so that the king
should not see what she had to suffer.

"Come with me," he said; "you must not remain here. If you are
as good as vou are beautiful I will dress you in silks and velvet, and
place the golden crown upon your head and you shall live in my grandest
palace ! " And he lifted her on to his horse. She wept and wrung her
hands, but the king said : " I think only of your happiness. One day
vou will thank me for it all." And so he dashed off across the moun-
tains, holding her before him on his horse, and the huntsmen came
rushing on behind.

Toward sunset the magnificent royal city with its churches and
cupolas lay before them. The king led her into the palace, where large
fountains were playing in the lofty marble halls, and where walls and
ceilings were resplendent with paintings, but she had no mind for such
things. She wept and mourned and passively allowed the women to dress
her in regal robes, plait pearls in her hair, and put delicate gloves on her
blistered fingers.

As she stood there in all her splendor, she was so dazzlingly beautiful
that all the court bowed still lower before her. And the king chose her
for his bride, although the archbishop shook his head and whispered that
the pretty maiden from the forest was, in all probability, a witch who had
dazzled their eyes and bewitched the king's heart.

But the king would not listen to this ; he ordered the music to
strike up, the most costly dishes to be served, and the loveliest girls to
dance around her. She was conducted through fragrant gardens to most
magnificent halls, but not a smile could be seen on her lips or in her

ON (_)XE OF THE LARGEST TOJIBSTONES. ELISA S.A
BUSY TAKING OFF THEIR RAGS.

).ME LC.LV WITCHES

THE WILD SWANS 279

eyes. Sorrow seemed to he imprinted upon her as her everlasting
heritage.

The king now opened the door to a small chamher close to the
one in which she was to sleep ; the Hoor was decked with costly green
carpets, hut the room was otherwise exactly like the cave in which she
had been living ; on the floor lay the bundle of flax which she had spun
out of the nettles, and from the ceiling hung the shirt of mail which she
had finished, — all of which one of the huntsmen had brought with him as
curiosities.

" Here you can imagine yourself back in your late home," said the
king. " Here is the work you were busy with there; and now in the midst
of all the splendor around you it will amuse you to recall that time to
vour mind."

When Elisa saw that which was so dear to her heart, a smile played
round her mouth, and the blood came back into her cheeks ; she thought
of her brothers' deliverance, and kissed the king's hand ; he pressed her to
his heart and ordered all the church bells to be rung to announce their
wedding festivities. The beautiful dumb maiden from the forest was to
be the queen of the land.

The archbishop then whispered wicked words into the king's ears, hut
they did not penetrate to his heart; the wedding was to take place, and
the archbishop himself had to place the crown on her head. He mali-
ciously pressed the narrow ring so tightly down upon her forehead that it
hurt her, but a heavier ring lay around her heart, and that was the grief
for her brothers, so that she did not feel the bodily pain. Her mouth
was sealed, — one single word would cost her brothers their lives; but her
eves told of the deep love she bore for the kind, handsome king, who did
everything to make her happy. She loved him with her whole heart and
became more and more fond of him every day. Oh, if she only could
have dared to confide in him, to tell him of her suff^erings! But she must
remain dumb, and as dumb she must complete her task. She therefore
stole away from his side at night, went into the little private room which
was fitted up like the cave, and knitted one shirt of mail after another;
but when she began the seventh she had no flax.

She knew that the nettles which she had to use grew in the church-
yard, but she herself must gather them; how should she be able to get
there ?

"Oh, what is the pain in my fingers compared to the anguish which
my heart sufi-ers .? " she thought; "I must venture upon it. The Lord
will not forsake me." With a heart heavy with fear and anxiety, as if
she were bent upon some evil deed, she stole down into the garden in the
clear moonlight night, walked through the long avenues of trees and along
the lonely streets to the churchyard. There, on one of the largest tomb-
stones, she saw some ugly witches sitting in a ring and busy taking off

280 THE WILD SWANS

their rags, as if they were going to bathe, whereupon they began digging
up the freshly made graves with their long, bony fingers, pulling out the
corpses and eating their flesh. Elisa had to pass close by them, and they
glared at her with their evil eyes, but she said her prayers, gathered the
stinging nettles, and carried them home to the palace.

Only one human being had seen her, and that was the archbishop ; he
had been up while the others -slept. Now he was convinced that there
was something wrong with the queen : she was a witch, and that explained
how she had been able to bewitch the king and the whole of the
people.

He told the king in the confessional what he had seen and what he
feared, but as the terrible words came from his lips the carved images of
saints shook their heads as if they wanted to say: "It is not true; Elisa is
innocent." The archbishop, however, had quite a different explanation:
he said that they bore witness against her, and that they shook their heads
at her sins. A couple of bitter tears rolled down the king's cheeks, and
he went home with doubt in his heart. That night he pretended to
sleep, but no peaceful slumber closed his eyes; he saw how Elisa got up
from her bed, and every night afterward she did the same. Every time he
followed quietly after her, and saw her disappear in her private room.

Day by day his brow became darker. Elisa noticed this, but she could
not understand the reason. It made her anxious, however, and increased
the suffering she endured on her brothers' account. Her hot tears flowed
down upon the royal velvet and purple, and lay there like sparkling
diamonds, and all who saw the splendor that surrounded her wished to be
a queen. She would soon be finished with her work: only one shirt was
wanting; but she had no more tlax, and not a single nettle. Once more,
and only this once, would she have to go to the churchyard and gather a
few handfuls of nettles. She thought with dread of the lonely walk and
the horrible witches, but her will was as firm as was her trust in the Lord.

Elisa went, but was followed by the king and the archbishop. They
saw her disappear through the iron gate of the churchyard, and when they
came up to it they saw the witches sitting on the tombstone, just as Elisa
had seen them. The king turned away at the thought that she, whose
head had rested on his breast that very evening, might be amongst them.

"The people must judge her," he said. And the people gave judgment
that "she was to be burned by the devouring fire."

From the magnificent halls of the royal palace she was conducted to a
dark, damp dungeon, into which the wind whistled through the grated
windows ; instead of velvet and silks they gave her the bundle of nettles
she had gathered to rest her head upon. The hard, stinging shirts of
mail which she had knitted were to serve her as mattress and coverlet,
but they could not have given her anything she could have prized more.
She began her work again and prayed to God, while outside the boys in

THE WILD SWANS

281

the street were singing mocking ditties ahcnit her. Not a soul came near
her to comfort her with a kind word.

Toward evening she heard the rustling of a swan's wings near tlie
window grating ; it was the youngest of her brothers who had discovered
his sister. She sobbed loudly for joy, although she knew that the coming
night would probably be her last, but now her work was almost com-
pleted, and her brothers were near her.

FLAPPliNU THEIR LARGE WINGS.

The archbishop came to remain with her during her last hour — this he
had promised the king ; but she shook her head — yes ! — and begged him by
looks and signs to go away. She must finish her work that night, other-
wise everything would be in vain — everything — her sufferings, her tears,
and her sleepless nights. The archbishop left her with angry words, but
poor Elisa knew that she was innocent, and went on with her work.

The little mice ran about on the floor and dragged the nettles to her
feet, wanting to be of some help to her, and a thrush settled itself near
the window grating and sang the whole night as merrily as it could, so
that she should not lose courage.

The day was only just breaking ; it was about an hour before
sunrise when the eleven brothers appeared at the gate of the palace and
asked to be conducted to the king, but they were told it could not be

282 THE WILD SWANS

done. It was still night, the king was asleep, and they dared not wake
him. The brothers begged and prayed and threatened ; the guard
appeared, and even the king came out and asked what was the matter.
But just at that moment the sun rose and there were no princes to be seen,
but over the palace eleven wild swans were seen flying awav.

All the inhabitants were streaming out through the gate of the town
to see the witch being burned. A miserable horse drew the carton which
Elisa sat; she had been given a gown of coarse sackcloth to wear, her
beautiful long hair hung loosely about her lovely head; her cheeks were as
pale as death, her lips moved slowly, while her fingers were twisting the
green flax: even on her way to death she would not give up the work
she had begun. The ten shirts of mail lay at her feet, and she was now
busy knitting the eleventh, while the mob was scoffing at her.

"Look at the witch, how she is mumbling to herself! She has n't
got a hymn-book in her hand, — no! There she sits with some of her
wicked witchery. Let us tear it into a thousand pieces!"

And all the people rushed at her and wanted to tear the shirts to
pieces, when the eleven wild swans came flying and settled down around
her on the cart, flapping their large wings. At th'\> the crowd drew
back in terror.

"It 's a sign from heaven! She must be innocent!" many whispered;
but they did not venture to say it aloud.

The executioner now took her by the hand, when suddenly she threw
the eleven shirts over the swans, and there stood eleven handsome princes;
but the youngest had a swan's wing instead of one of his arms, because
one of the sleeves, which she had not been able to finish, was missing in
his shirt.

"Now I may speak!" she said. "I am innocent!"

And the people, who had seen what had taken place, bowed before
her as before a saint; but she sank insensible into her brothers' arms,
overcome by all the excitement, anxiety, and grief she had gone through.

"Yes, she is innocent!" said the eldest brother; and now he related
everything that had happened, and while he spoke a perfume as from
millions of roses filled the air, for every log in the pile had taken root and
put forth branches till they formed a fragrant hedge, broad and high,
with red roses, above which bloomed a white, bright flower that shone
like a star. This the king plucked and placed in Elisa's bosoin when
she awoke with peace and happiness in her heart.

And all the church bells began ringing of themselves, and the birds
came flying into the town in great flocks. Such a wedding procession as
that which returned to the palace no king had ever seen.

WHAT THE OLD MAN DOES IS
ALWAYS RIGHT

THE FARMER CHANGED HIS HdRSK EoR A COW
OF ROTTEN APPLES.

DOWN lO A BAG

WHAT THE OLD MAN DOES IS ALWAYS RIGHT

I WILL now tell you a story which I heard when I was a little lad, and
every time I have thought of it since it seems to become more and
more delightful, for it is with stories as with many people — they
become more and more delightful the older thev grow ; and that is so
pleasant.

You have been in the country, of course. You have seen a real old
farm-house with thatched roof, where moss and grass grow of themselves ;
there is a stork's nest on the ridge of the roof, for one cannot do without
the stork. The walls are crooked and the windows low ; only one of them
can be opened ; the baking-oven projects far into the room, and the elder
bush leans over the hurdle, where there is a little pool of water with a

285

286 WHAT THE OLD MAN DOES

duck and some ducklings under the knotty willow tree. And then there
is a yard dog, which barks at everybody.

There was just such a farm-house out in the country, and in it lived an
old couple, a farmer and his wife. Although they did not possess much,
there was one of their belongings which they thought they could do with-
out, and that was a horse which managed to live upon the grass that
grew in the ditch beside the highroad. The old man used to ride it
to town, and the neighbors borrowed it, and for this they rendered
him services in return ; but the old couple thought it would be more ser-
viceable for them to sell the horse, or change it for something or other
which would be more useful to them. But what should it be ?

" You understand that best, father," said the woman ; " there is a fair in
Copenhagen now ; ride there and get money for the horse, or change it
for something good. What you do is always right, so ride to the fair."

And she tied his neckerchief for him, for she understood that better
than he; she tied it in a double bow and made him look quite smart.
Then she brushed his hat with her flat hand and gave him a hearty kiss,
and so he set out on the horse which was to be sold or changed. Yes, her
old man understood that all right.

The sun shone hotly; there were no clouds to be seen. The road was
dusty, for a number of people were on the way to the fair, either driving,
riding, or walking. The heat from the sun was terrible, and there was
no shelter to be found on the way.

Just then a man came along the road, driving a cow to the fiir. The
cow was as tine a creature as any cow could be.

" She is sure to give good milk," thought the farmer ; " it would be a
good thing if I could get her in exchange for the horse."

"I say, you with the cow!" he shouted; "we two ought to have a
talk. You see, a horse costs more than a cow, as you know, but that does
not matter. I have more use for the cow; shall we change?"

"All right," said the man with the cow ; and so they changed animals.

The farmer had now done his business, and he might just as well have
turned back; but since he had made up his mind to go to the fair, he
would go there, if only to look on, and so he set out with his cow. Both
he and the cow walked at a brisk pace, and soon they came up to a man
who was driving a sheep. It was a fine sheep, in good condition and with
plenty of wool on its back.

" I should like to have it," thought the farmer. " There would be
enough grass for it on the sides of the road, and in the winter we could
keep it in the room with us. It would really be better for me to keep a
sheep than a cow. Shall we changer"

Yes, the man with the sheep would not mind that, and so they changed
animals, and the farmer set out with his sheep along the highroad.
Over by the stile he saw a man with a big goose under his arm.

SHALL \VK HAVE A BET?" SAID THE ENGLISHMEN TO THE FARMER.
"WE HAVE GOLD BY THE BARREL!"

IS ALWAYS RIGHT 289

" That is a big bird you have there," said the farmer; "it has a lot ot'
feathers and plenty ot fat. She would look well in our little pool at
home. That would be something for mother to save up her parings for.
She has often said: ' If only we had a goose!' Now she can get it and
she shall have it. Will you change with me? I give you the sheep for
the goose and my thanks into the bargain."

Yes, the man was quite willing, and so they changed animals, and the
farmer got the goose. He was close to the town and the road was getting
more and more crowded. It swarmed with people and cattle. They
walked along the road and in the ditch alongside it, and right up into the
tt)ll-keeper's potato-field, where his hen was tied up so that she should not
lose herself if she took fright and wanted to run away. She was a bob-
tailed hen, and stood winking with one eye, but looked in good condition.
"Cluck, cluck!" she said. What she meant by it I cannot say, but the
farmer, when he saw her, thought: "She is the finest hen I have ever seen.
She is finer than the parson's brood hen. I should like to have her. A
hen can always find a grain or two. She can almost keep herself I think
it would be a good thing it I could get it for the goose."

" Shall we change?" he asked. " Change! " said the toll-keeper ; "yes,
that would n't be a bad thing," and so they changed animals and the toll-
keeper got the goose and the farmer got the hen.

He had now got through a good deal of business on his wav to town.
It was warm and he was beginning to feel tired. He wanted a dram and
a mouthful of bread. He had now arrived at the inn, and he was just
about to enter it when the potman, who was coming out, ran up against
him in the doorway, carrying a bagful of something on his back.

"What have you got there?" asked the farmer.

"Rotten apples," answered the potman ; "a whole sackful for the pigs."

"That 's a terrible lot. I should like mother to see this sight. Last
year we had only one apple on the old tree by the turf-shed. That apple
was to be kept, and it was left on the cupboard till it went bad. ' It 's
always a sign of prosperity,' mother said. Now, here she could see plentv
of prosperity. Yes, I would like her to see it."

"Well, what will you give?" asked the potman.

"Give? I '11 give you my hen for it," and so he gave him the hen
for the apples and went into the inn right up to the bar. The bag of
apples he placed against the stove, but he did not notice that it was lighted.
There were many strangers in the room — horse-dealers, cattle-dealers, and
two Englishmen. The latter are generally so rich that their pockets are
bursting with gold money and they are always making bets. Now you
shall hear.

"Hiss — s — s! hiss — s — s!" What noise was that near the stove? The
apples were beginning to frizzle.

"What 's that?" they all asked. Well, they soon got to know, as

290

WHAT THE OLD MAX DOES

well as the whole stor\' about the horse, which had been changed for the
cow and so on down to the rotten apples.

"Well, your old woman will give it you when you get home," said
the Englishmen; "there will be a row in the house."

" She '11 give me kisses, not kicks," said the farmer; " mother will say
that what the old man does is the right thing."

"Shall we have a bet?" they said; "we have gold by the barrel. A
hundred pounds to a hundredweight."

tvlsb \..L . ?A1LJ IHh "LlMA.S ; ■• IHANk V< if, MY OWN HUSBAND,"
AND SHE KISSED HIM RIGHT ON THE MOUTH.

"That will fill a bushel," said the farmer; "I can only fill it with
apples, but I will throw in mvself and the old woman. That 's piling up
the measure, I should say."

" Done! We agree," they said, and so the bet was made.

The innkeeper's carriage was brought out, and the Englishmen and the
farmer got into it, taking with them the bag of rotten apples, and so they
arrived at the farmer's house.

"Good morning, mother."

" The same to vou, father."

" Well, I have changed the horse."

"Ah, vou know what vou are about," said the woman, and put her
arm round his waist, forgetting both the strangers and the bag.

"I changed the horse for a cow."

IS ALWAYS RIGHT 291

"Heaven be praised for the milk we shall get !" said the woman;
" now we can have milk, butter, and cheese on the table. That was well
done."

"Yes, but I changed the cow tor a sheep."

"Ah, that s better still," said the woman. "You are always very
thoughtful. We have just enough of grass for a sheep. Now we can have
sheep's milk, and sheep's cheese, and woolen stockings, and even woolen
shirts. The cow could not give us that; her hairs are not good for
anvthing. \^'ell, vou are a thoughtful man!"

"But I changed the sheep for a goose!"

" Shall we, then, reallv have goose for Michaelmas this year, father
dear? You alwavs think of pleasing me. It 's so very kind of you ! The
goose we can keep in tether and let her get still fatter for Michaelmas."

"But I have changed the goose for a hen," said the man.

"A hen! Well, that was a good exchange," said the woman; "the hen
lays eggs and hatches them; we shall have a regular poultry -yard — ^_just
what I have been wishing for so long."

"Yes, but I changed the hen for a bag of rotten apples."

"\^'ell, now I must kiss you!" said the woman. "Thank you,
mv own husband; I have got something to tell you. \\'hen you were
gone I thought of making a nice little dish for you, a savory omelet
with chives. So I went over to the schoolmistress's, where I know they
have chives. I asked her to lend me some. ' Lend vou ? ' she said.
'Nothing grows in our garden, not even a rotten apple,' which I could
lend her. Now I can lend her ten — aye, a bagful ! Well, it is great
fun, father!" and she kissed him right on the mouth.

"That 's what I like!" said both the Englishmen. "Always going
down hill, and still be just as content. That 's worth the money!" and
so they paid a hundredweight oi' gold to the farmer who got kisses and
no kicks.

Yes, it is alwavs best that a wife should maintain that her husband is
the wisest, and that what he does is the right thing.

Well, this is the storv I heard when I was a little lad, and now you
have heard it too, and know that what the old man does is alwavs right.

THE OLD HOUSE

__._.. 'il^';^!'' '. V"' -"^ '"r:^ i^

ROUND THE CORNER IN THE NEXT STREET STOOD AN OLD, OLD HOUSE,

THE OLD HOUSE

ROUND the corner in the next street stood an old, old house ; it was
almost three hundred years old, as any one might read on the
beam, where the date was carved out, together with hyacinths and
branches ot hop vine; there were whole verses spelled as in olden days, and
over the windows were carved faces making all sorts of grimaces. One
story projected considerably over the other, and just under the roof was a
leaden gutter with a dragon's head; the rain-water should have run out of
its mouth, but it ran out of its stomach, for there was a hole in the
gutter.

All the other houses in the street were quite new and fresh, with large
window-panes and smooth walls. One could see they did not want to
have anything to do with the old house. They were no doubt thinking:
" How long is that ramshackle thing going to stand there as a disgrace to
the street.? And the bow-window projects so far into the street that no
one can see from our windows what is going on in that direction ; the
door-steps are as broad as the staircase of a palace and as high as the stairs

295

296 THE OLD HOUSE

of a church tower. The iron railing looks like the gate of an old family
vault, and has brass knobs as well. It makes one feel quite ashamed."

Just opposite were also some new and fresh-looking houses, and they
were of the same opinion as the others, but here at the window of one
of them sat a little boy with fresh, rosy cheeks and clear, bright eyes.
He liked the old house best of all, both by sunshine and by moonlight,
and when he looked over at the wall where the plaster had fallen otf,
he would sit and imagine the most wonderful pictures of what the street
had looked like in former days, with steps, bow-windows, aad pointed
gables; he could see soldiers with halberds, and gutters and spouts that
looked like dragons and serpents. That was certainly a house worth
looking at ! Over there lived an old man who wore shag trousers,
a coat with large brass buttons, and a wig which any one could see was
a real one. Every morning an old man came to the house to clean the
rooms and go errands, otherwise the old man in the shag trousers was
quite alone in the old house. Sometimes he would come to the windows
and look out, when the little boy would nod to him, and the old man
nodded in return, and thus they were acquainted and became friends,
although they had never spoken to each other ; but that was of no
consequence.

The little boy heard his parents say: "The old man over there is very
well off, but he must be terribly lonely."

Next Sunday the little boy wrapped up something in a piece of paper,
went down to the gate, and when the man who went errands came past
he said to him, "Here ! will you give this to the old man over there from
me ? I have two tin soldiers, and this is one of them ; he shall have it,
for I know he is so terribly lonely."

And the old man looked quite pleased, nodded his head, and carried
the tin soldier across to the old house. Afterward a message came asking
if the little boy would not like to come across himself on a visit ; and this
he got permission from his parents to do, and thus it was he came to
enter the old house.

And the brass knobs on the railing leading up the steps shone much
brighter than usual ; one would think they had been polished in honor of
the visit, and it seemed as if the trumpeters standing on tulips which
were carved on the door were blowing with all their might, their cheeks
looking much rounder than usual. They blew: " Taratantarra ! the little
boy is coming! taratantarra!" — and then the door was opened. The
whole of the hall was hung with old portraits — knights in armor and
ladies in silk gowns; the armor rattled and the silk gowns rustled. And
then came some more steps which led up, and then a few steps which led
down, and then one came to a balcony which was in rather a rickety
condition with large holes and long crevices, through all of which grass
and leaves were growing, for the wall and the whole of the balcony which

THE OLD HOUSE 299

projected from the house into the yard were covered with so much foUage
that it looked hke a garden, but it was only a balcony. Old flower-pots
with faces and asses' ears stood round about, and the flowers grew just as
they pleased. In one pot with carnations the sprouts were hanging all
over the sides, and seemed plainly to say :

"The breeze has patted us, the sun has kissed us and promised us a
little flower on Sunday — a little flower on Sunday."

And so the little boy came into a room where the walls were covered
with pigskin on which flowers were stamped in gold.

''Gilding soon may perish,
But pigskin forever will flourish,"
said the walls.

Round the room stood chairs with high backs and arms on both sides,
all beautifully carved. "Sit down, sit down!" they said. "Ugh, how I
am creaking! I suppose I shall get rheumatism, just like the old cup-
board. Rheumatism in the back, ugh!"

And then the little boy came into the parlor with the bow- window,
where the old man was sitting.

"Thank you for the tin soldier, my little friend," said the old man.
"And thanks for coming over to see me."

"Thanks, thanks!" or "Creak, creak!" groaned all the furniture;
there was so much ot it that the various pieces got into each other's way
in trying to see the little boy.

And in the middle of the wall hung a picture of a beautiful lady, quite
young and cheerful in appearance, but dressed like people in the olden
times with powdered hair and stiff" clothes. She said neither "Thanks"
nor "Creak," but looked with her mild eyes at the little boy, who at once
asked the old man, "Where have you got her from?"

"From the old-furniture dealer round the corner," said the old man.
" Many pictures are hanging there which no one knows or cares anything
about, because the persons are all buried, but many years ago I knew this
lady; she has now been dead and gone half a century."

And below the picture, under glass, hung a bouquet of withered
flowers; they also seemed to be half a century old, so old did they look.
And the pendulum of the big clock went to and fro, and the hand went
round, and everything in the room began to look still older, but they did
not seem to notice it.

"They say at home," said the little boy, "that you are so terribly
lonely."

"Well," was the answer, "old memories, and what they can carry
with them, come and visit me, and now you have also come! I am very
comfortable."

And then he took from the shelf a book with pictures; there were

300 THE OLD HOUSE

great long processions with the most wonderful carriages, which one does
not see nowadays, with soldiers dressed like the knave of clubs and
citizens with flying banners; the tailors had one with a pair of shears
supported by two lions, and the shoemakers had one without a boot, but
with an eagle that had two heads, as the shoemakers must have everything
so arranged that thev can sav, " Here is a pair." Yes, it was a wonderful
picture-book !

And the old man went into the other room to fetch sweetmeats, apples,
and nuts; it was really very pleasant in the old house.

"I cannot stand it," said the tin soldier, who stood on the chest of
drawers; "it is so lonely and dull here. When one has been accustomed
to family life one cannot get used to this state of things. I cannot stand
it ! The day itself is long enough, but the evening is still longer. It is
not at all like your house, where your father and mother were always
talking so pleasantly together, and where you and all the other dear
children were making such a delightful noise. How lonelv the old man
is here! Do you think he gets any kisses? Do you think he gets any
kind looks or a Christmas tree? He '11 get nothing, except a funeral.
I cannot stand it!"

"You must not take things so sadly," said the little boy. "I think
it is lovely here ; and, besides, old memories and what they can carry with
them come and visit you."

"But I don't see them, and I don't know them," said the tin soldier.
" I can't stand it ! "

"But you must!" said the little boy.

And the old man came back with the pleasantest of faces, with the
most lovely sweetmeats, apples, and nuts; and then the little boy thought
no more of the tin soldier.

The little bov went home happy and delighted ; days and weeks passed
by, and the nodding went on to and from the old house, and so the little
boy went over there again.

And the carved trumpeters blew their " Taratantarra ! Here is the
little boy! Taratantarra!" And the swords and armor on the pictures
of the old knights rattled, and the silk gowns rustled, the pigskin talked,
and the old chairs had rheumatics in their back and said, " Ugh ! " It was
just like the first occasion, for over there one day or one hour was Just like
another.

"I cannot stand it !" said the tin soldier; " I have wept tears of tin!
It is really too melancholy here. Rather let me go to the wars and lose
my arms and legs! That would be a change, at any rate. I cannot stand
it ! Now I know what it is to receive visits from one's old memories and
what they can carry with them. I have had visits from mine, and I
can tell you it 's no pleasure in the long run ; I was just on the point
of jumping from the chest of drawers. I saw all of you in the house

THE EVENING A CARRIAGE STOPPED AT THE DOOR, INTO WHICH THEY PUT
THE OLD man's COFFIN.

THE OLD HOUSE 303

opposite as plainly as if you had been really here; it was that Sunday
morning — vou know which I mean. All you children were standing
in front of the table singing the hymn you sing every morning; you were
standing devotedly with folded hands, and your father and mother were
just as solemn. Then the door was opened and your little sister Maria,
who is n't two years old yet, and who always will dance when she hears
music or singing, no matter what kind, was brought into the room, —
which ought not to have been done, — and then she began to dance, but
she could not keep the right time, for the music was too slow, and then
she stood first on one leg and bent her head right forward, and then on
the other leg with her head in the same position, but she could not get
into right time. You all looked very serious, although it was difficult
enough to keep from laughing, but I laughed inwardly till I fell down
from the table and got a bump which I still have, for it was n't right of
me to laugh. All of it stands again vividly before me, as well as
everything else I have gone through ; and those must be the old memories
and what they can carry with them. Tell me if you still sing on Sun-
days. And tell me something about little Maria. And how is my
comrade, the other tin soldier? Ah, he is really happy! I cannot stand
it any longer."

"But you have been given away as a present," said the little boy;
"you must remain where you are; don't you understand that.?"

And the old man came in with a drawer, in which there were many
things to look at: there was "the white house," and "the balsam-box,"
and old playing-cards, so large and richly gilt as one never sees nowa-
days. And many other drawers were opened. Later on the old man
opened the piano. It was one of those with a landscape on the inside of
the lid. He sat down to play on it, hut it was very much out of tune, and
then he hummed a song.

"Yes, she could sing that," he said, and nodded to the portrait he had
bought of the old-furniture dealer, and the old man's eyes shone brightly.

" I want to go to the wars! I want to go to the wars!" cried the tin
soldier as loud as he could, and threw himself down on the floor.

What had become of him .? Both the old man and the little boy
searched for him, but he was lost and gone. "I shall find him," said the
old man, but he never found him. The flooring was so open and full of
holes that the tin soldier had fallen through one of the chinks, and there he
lay in an open grave.

And the day passed, and the little boy went home ; and the week
passed, and many more weeks passed. The windows were quite frozen
over, and the little boy had to sit and breathe on the panes to get a peep-
hole through which he could look over at the old house. The snow had
covered up all the ornaments and inscriptions and the steps were full of
snow, just as if there was no one at home.

304 THE OLD HOUSE

Neither was there any one at home, for the old man was dead.

In the evening a carriage stopped at the door, into which thev put his
coffin. He was to be laid out at some place in the country before being
buried. And so he was driven away, but there was no one to follow him;
for all his friends were dead. The little boy kissed his hand after the
coffin as the carriage drove away.

Some days later the old house was sold by auction. From his window
the little boy could see how they carried away the old knights and the old
ladies, the flower-pots with the long ears, the old chairs and ancient cup-
boards. Some things went one way and some another way. Her portrait,
which the old man had bought at the old-furniture dealer's, came back to
him again, and there it remained, for no one knew her any more, and no
one cared tor the old picture.

In the spring the house itself was pulled down, for it was a tumble-
down shanty, people said. One could see from the street right into the
parlor with the pigskin on the walls, which was slashed and torn in all
directions; and the green foliage on the balcony hung in wild disorder
round the falling beams. And then the ground was cleared. "What a
good riddance ! " said the neighbors.

And a tine house was built, with large windows and white, smooth
walls ; but in front ot it, on the site where the old house had really stood,
a small garden was laid out, and up against the walls of the neighboring
house grew wild vines. Before the garden was a large iron railing with an
iron gate, which looked quite stately. People stopped before it and looked
through the railings. The sparrows hung by the score on to the vine and
chattered away to each other as fast as they could, but it was not about
the old house, for they could not remember that. So many years had
passed that the little boy had grown into a man, and had proved himself
to be a tine fellow whom his parents might well be proud of. He had
just been married and had moved with his little wife into this house with
the garden round it. He was now standing by her while she was planting
a wild flower which she considered so pretty. She planted it with her
little hands and pressed the soil up against it with her fingers. Ah, what
was that ? She had pricked herself There was something sharp sticking
up out of the soft soil.

Only think ! It was the tin soldier, the one that was lost in the old
man's house, and had been tumbling about between the timbers and the
rubbish, and finally had been buried in the ground, where he had been
lying for many years.

And the young wife dried the soldier, first with a green leat and then
with her soft handkerchief, which was so delicately perfumed. It seemed
to the tin soldier as if he came out of a trance.

THE OLD HOUSE

305

" Let me see him," said the young man, with a smile and a shake of
the head. " Well, I don't suppose it can be he, but I remember an
adventure I had with a tin soldier when I was a little boy." And so he
told his wife about the old house and the old man, and about the tin
soldier which he had sent across to him because he was so terribly lonely.
And he told it exactly as it had happened, so that the young wife had
tears in her eves over the story of the old house and the old man.

" It may be that it is the same tin soldier," she said; " I should like
to keep it and remember all you have told me. But you must show me the
old man's grave."

"I don't know where it is," he said, " and no one knows. All his
friends were dead, nobody looked after it, and I was only a little boy."

"How terribly lonely he must have been!" she said.

"Terribly lonely!" said the tin soldier; "but it is delightful not to be
forgotten ! "

"Delightful!" something close by exclaimed, but nobody except the
tin soldier saw that it was a bit ot the pigskin hangings. All the gilding
had gone off it, so that it looked like wet soil ; but it had one opinion, and
that it expressed:

"Gilding soon may perish,
But pigskin will forever flourish."

But the tin soldier did not believe it.

THUMBELINE

IN THE MIDDLL OF THE FLOWER SAT A TINY LITTLE GIRL.

THUMBELINE

THERE was once upon a time a wonvan wln) wanted so much to
have a tiny child, but she did not know where she could get one,
so she went to an old witch and said to her : " I would like so very
much to have a little child! Will you tell me where I can get one?"

Oh, yes! that can easily be managed!" said the witch.

Ht

barleycorn, but it is not of the sort that grows in the farmers' fields or the
fowls get to eat. Put that into a fiower-pot, and then you will see
something! "

"Thank you!" said the woman, and gave the witch sixpence. She
then went home and planted the barleycorn, and immediately a large,
beautiful fiower grew up, which was quite like a tulip, but its petals were
tightly closed, just as it it were still a bud.

"What a beautiful Hower ! " said the woman, and kissed its lovely red
and yellow petals; but just as she kissed the flower, it gave a loud report
and opened its petals. It was a real tulip, — one could see that, — but in the
middle of the flower, on the green stamens, sat a tiny little girl, most deli-
cate and beautiful to look at. She was scarcely half the size of one's
thumb, and therefore she was called Thumbeline.

For a cradle she had a pretty, lacquered walnut shell, for mattresses
blue violet leaves, and lor a coverlet a rose leaf. There she slept at night,
but in the daytime she played about on the table where the woman had
put a plate with a wreath of flowers around it, their stalks reaching down
into the water. On this a large tulip leaf was floating about, and on this
Thumbeline sat and sailed from one side of the plate to the other. She
used two white horse-hairs to row with. It was a prettv sight! She
could also sing, and her song was so sweet and beautiful that nothing like
it had ever been heard before.

One night as she lay in her pretty bed an uglv toad jumped in through
the window, in which there was a broken pane. The toad, a very ugly,
big, and wet creature, jumped down on the table where Thumbeline lay
asleep under the red rose leaf.

"That would be a beautiful wife for my son!" said the toad, and so
she took the walnut shell in which Thumbeline was sleeping, and jumped
through the window down into the garden with her.

'7* 309

310

THUMBELINE

Through the garden
was marshy and muddy,

THE TOAD TOOK THL UALNUT SHELL
IN WHICH IHUMBELINK WAS

SLEEPINc;.

ran a broad stream ; near its banks the ground
and here the toad lived with her son. Ugh !
How ugly and, hideous he was, just like his
mother! "Croak, croak!" was all he could
say when he saw the lovely little girl in the
walnut shell.

" Don't talk so loud, or else she will wake
up," said the old toad; "she might easily .run
away from us, for she is as light as swan's-down.
We will put her in the stream on one of the
large leaves of the water-lily. It will be like
an island to her, for she is so small and light.
She cannot run away from there while w^ are
getting the best room readv under the marsh,
where you two shall settle down and keep
house."

Out in the stream there grew a great

many water-lilies, with the large green leaves

which appeared to be floating on the water.

The leaf which was farthest out was also the largest of all, and to this

the old toad swam out and put the walnut shell with Thumbelinc (."in it.

The tiny little creature awoke quite earlv next morning, and w hen
she saw where she was she began to cry most bitterly, for there was water
on all sides of the great green leaf, so that she could not get ashore.

The old toad was sitting down in the mud decorating her room with
rushes and the yellow brandy-bottle, for she wanted to make the place look
pretty for her new daughter-in-law. She then swam out with her ugly
son to the leaf where Thumbeline was standing; they had come to fetch
her pretty bed, which was to he placed in the bridal chamber before she
went there herself. The old toad courtesicd deeply in the water before
her and said: "Here is my

son ! He is going to be
your husband, and you two
will be very comfortable
down there in the mud!"

"Croak, croak!" was
all that her son could say.

They then took the
pretty little bed and swam
away with it ; but Thum-
beline sat quite alone on
the green leaf and cried,
for she did not want to
live with the ugly old toad

OLD TOAD COURTESIED TO THUMBKLINE AND SAID,
"HERE IS MV son! "

THUMBELINE

311

or have her hideous son for a husband. The small fishes which were
swimming about in the water must have seen the toad and heard what she
said, and so thev put their heads above the water, just to have a look at
the little girl. As soon as they saw how beautiful she was, they felt sorry
that she should have tt) go down to the ugly toad. No, that should
never happen. They assembled round the green stalk which supported
the leaf on which she stood, and gnawed it through with their teeth, so
that the leaf drifted down the stream, carrying Thumbeline along with it,
far away where the toad could not reach her.

Thumbeline sailed past many places, and the little birds who sat on the
bushes and saw her sang, "What a lovely little maiden!" The leaf
carried her farther and farther awav, and thus Thumbeline came to for-
eign lands.

A beautiful little white butterfly kept fluttering round about her, and
at last he settled down on the leaf, because he had taken such a fancy to
Thumbeline, who was also much pleased, for now the toad could not reach
her, and everything around her
where she sailed was so beautiful ;
the sun was shining on the water,
which glittered like the brightest
gold. She then took her girdle and
tied one end to the butterfly and the
other she fastened to the leaf, which
then glided onward much faster
with Thumbeline standing on it.

Just then a big cockchafer came
flying past and saw her; the next
moment he had caught hold of her
round her slender waist with his
claws and flew up with her into a
tree, while the green leaf floated
down the stream and the butterfly
flew with it, for he was fastened to
the leaf and could not get away.

Oh, how frightened poor Thumbeline was when the cockchafer flew
up into the tree with her ! But she was greatly distressed about the
beautiful white butterfly, whom she had tied fast to the leaf. If he could
not get away from it, he must starve to death. But the cockchafer did
not trouble himself about that. He sat down with her on the largest
green leaf on the tree, gave her the sweet part of a flower to eat, and told
her she was very beautiful, although she was not at all like a cockchafer.
Later on the other cockchafers who lived in the tree came to pay a visit
and to have a look at Thumbeline. The young lady cockchafers turned
up their feelers and said, "She has got onlv two legs. What a miserable

HE FLEW UP

312 THUMBELINE

thing ! " " She has no feelers," some said. " How thin her waist is 1 Fie !
she looks like a human being. How ugly she is!" said all the lady
cockchafers. And yet Thumbeline was very beautiful. That is what the
cockchafer who had caught her thought, but as all others said that she was
ugly, he at last also believed it, and would have nothing more to do with
her. She might go where she liked. They Aew down with her from
the tree and put her on a daisy, where she began to cry, because she was
so ugly that the cockchafers would not have her, and yet she was the most
beautiful being one could imagine, as delicate and tender as the loveliest
rose leaf.

Poor Thumbeline lived quite alone in the great forest all through the
summer. She plaited a bed with blades of grass for herself, and hung it
under a large burdock leaf to protect herself from the rain. She sucked
the honey from the flowers and drank the dew which she found on the
leaves every morning, and in this way the summer and the autumn passed ;
but now came the winter — the cold, long winter. All the birds who had
sung so beautifully to her Hew away, and the trees and the flowers began
to wither. The large burdock leaf under which she had lived shriveled
up and there was only a yellow, withered stalk left. She felt the cold
terribly, for her clothes were in tatters, and she herself was so tender and
small — poor Thumbeline ! — that she might easily freeze to death. It began
to snow, and every flake that fell on her was to her the same as a whole
shovelful would be w hen thrown over us, for we are great, big people,
and she was onlv an inch in height. She then w rapped herself in a dry
leaf, but it did not keep her warm, and she shivered with cold.

Just outside the forest she came to a large corn-held, but the corn had
been harvested long ago; only the bare, dry stubble was left on the frozen
ground. It looked to her like a big forest which she had to struggle
through. Oh, how she trembled with cold ! Then she came to the door
of a fleld-mouse's house. It was a little hole under the stubble, where the
field-mouse lived in comfort and ease. She had the whole parlor full of
corn, and had, besides, a nice kitchen and larder. Poor Thumbeline stood
at the door like any poor beggar-girl and asked ior a small piece of barlev-
corn, for she had not had any food for two days.

" Poor little creature!" said the field-mouse, who was really a kind old
creature, " come inside my warm room and have some food with mc. "

As she took a liking to Thumbeline, she said, "You may stop with
me this winter, but you must keep my room neat and clean, and tell me
stories, for I am very fond of them;" and Thumbeline did what the kind
old field-mouse asked her, and had a very pleasant time of it.

"We shall soon have visitors," said the field-mouse; "my neighbor
generally visits me once a week. He is even better off than I ; he has
large rooms and goes about in such a beautiful black, velvety fur coat.
If only you could get him for a husband, you would lie well provided

THUMBELINE

313

for. But he cannot see you. You will have to tell him all the prettiest
stories you know."

But Thumheline did not care for all this. She would not have the
neighbor, for he was a mole. He came on a visit in his black, velvety
fur coat. "He is very rich and very learned," said the field-mouse; "his
house is twenty times bigger than mine, and he possesses a great deal
of knowledge, but he does not like the sun and beautiful flowers. He
speaks contemptuously of them, for he has never seen them." Thumheline
had to sing, and she sang both "Cockchafer, i\y, fiy away" and "The
monk goes in the meadows," so that the mole fell in love with her all on
account of her beautiful voice, but he did not say anything, he was such
a prudent person.

He had just dug a long passage through the ground from his house to
theirs, and the field-mouse and Thumheline had permission to take their
walks there whenever they liked. But he asked them not to be atraid ot
the dead bird which lay in the passage. It must have died quite lately,
when the winter began, and had been buried just where the mole had dug
his passage.

The mole took a piece of decayed wood in his mouth, for this shines
like fire in the
dark, and went
before them,
lighting them
on their way
through the

long, dark pas-
sage. When
they came to
where the dead
bird lay, the
mole put his
broad nose up
against the roof
and pushed the
soil up, so that
he made a great
hole, through
which the day-
light could fall. In the middle of the \\oor lay a dead swallow, with his
beautiful wings firmly pressed to his sides, while his legs and the head
were drawn up under his feathers. The poor bird must have died of cold.
Thumheline was very sorry for this, for she loved little birds so much;
they had sung and twittered for her so beautifully all the summer. But
the nn)le pushed him aside with his short legs and said : " He won't sing

THE M(1LE HAD HUG A PASSAGE FROM HIS HOUSE '
MOUSE AND THUMBKLINE HAD PERMISSION TO I'.

ND THE FIELD-
ALKS THERE.

314 THUMBELINE

any more now. It must be a hard fate to be born a little bird. Heaven
be praised that none of my children have become that ! Such a bird has
nothing but his 'Tweet, tweet !' and must starve to death in the winter."

"Yes, you, who are a sensible person, may well say that," said the
held-mouse. " What does a bird get in return for all his ' Tweet, tweet '
when the winter comes? He has to starve and freeze, but perhaps that
is considered grand, too ! "

Thumbeline did not say anything, but when the other two turned away
from the bird, she bent down, pushed aside the feathers which covered his
head, and kissed his closed eyes. " Perhaps he is the bird who sang so
prettily to me during the summer," she thought. "How much pleasure
he gave me, the dear, pretty bird!"

The mole now stopped up the hole through which the sun shone, and
accompanied the ladies home. But Thumbeline could not sleep that
night, so she got up from her bed and plaited a large beautiful coverlet of
hay, which she carried down into the passage and wrapped round the dead
bird, and put some cotton-wool, which she had found in the tield-mouse's
room, on each side of the bird, so that it might keep him warm as he lav
on the cold ground.

"Good-by, you pretty little bird!" she said; "good-by, and thanks
for your beautiful song last summer, when all the trees were green and the
sun shone so warmly upon us." She then put her head close to the bird's
breast, but the next moment she was startled at hearing something beating
inside the bird. It was his heart. The bird was not dead; he lay in a
torpor, and now that he began to feel warm he soon revived. The swal-
lows always fly away to the hot countries in the autumn, but if any of
them are prevented from following the others, they will feel the cold so
much that they fall to the ground as if thev were dead, and the cold snow
covers them up where they fall.

Thumbeline was so frightened that she trembled all over, for the bird
was, of course, much bigger than she, who was only an inch long; but she
took courage, put the cotton-wool still closer round the poor swallow, and
brought a mint leaf that she had used as coverlet, and put it over the
bird's head.

The next night she again stole down to the bird, and he was then alive,
but so weak that he could open his eyes only a moment, when he saw
Thumbeline, who stood there with a piece of decayed wood in her hand,
for she had no other light.

"Many thanks, you pretty little child!" said the sick swallow; "I feel
so beautifully warm. I shall soon get back my strength and be able to
fly again out into the warm sunshine."

"Oh," she said, " it is so cold outside ! It is snowing and freezing. Stay
in your warm bed and I will nurse you."

She then brought the swallow some water in the petal of a flower.

THUMBELINE

315

and he drank it and told her how he had torn one of his wings in a
bramble-bush, and therefore could not fly as fast as the other swallows,
who were soon far on their way to the hot countries. He had at last
fallen to the ground, but he could not remember anything more, and did
not know in the least how he had got there.

The swallow remained down there the whole winter, and Thumbeline
was kind to him and came to love him very much. Neither the mole nor
the field-mouse knew anything about it, for they did not care in the least
for the poor swallow.

THE FIELD-MDUSE HIRED FOUR SPIDERS TO SPI>
CAME EVERY EVENING ON

AND WEAVE, AND THE MOLE
. VISIT.

As soon as the spring came and the sun began to warm the ground, the
swallow said good-by to Thumbeline, who opened the hole which the
mole had made in the ground above the passage. The sun shone in upon
them so brightly, and the swallow asked Thumbeline if she would not go
away with them. She could sit on his back, and they would fiy away
far into the green forest. But Thumbeline knew the old field-mouse
would be much grieved if she left her in this way.

"No, I cannot," said Thumbeline.

"Farewell, farewell, you kind and pretty girl!" said the swallow,
and flew out into the sunshine. Thumbeline stood looking after him,
and the tears came into her eyes, for she was very fond of the poor
swallow.

"Tweet, tweet!" sang the bird as he flew away into the green
forest.

Thumbeline was very sad at heart. She was not allowed to go out

316 THUMBELINE

into the warm sunshine. Besides, the corn that had been sown in the field
over the field-mouse's house had grown to a great height. It seemed
quite a thick forest to the poor little girl, who was only an inch high.

"You must begin and get your outfit ready this summer," said the
field-mouse to her; fi^r their neighbor, the tiresome mole in the black,
velvety fur coat had now asked for Thumbeline's hand. "You must have
both woolen and linen clothes. You must have things to wear and things
to lie upon when vou are the mole's wife."

Thumbeline had to spin on the distaff, and the field-mouse hired four
spiders to spin and weave day and night. Every evening the mole came
on a visit, and he was always saying that when the summer came to an
end the sun would not shine nearly so hot, while now it was baking the
earth almost to a hard stone. Yes, when the summer was over, then he
and Thumbeline should get married. But she was not at all contented,
for she did not care in the least for the tiresome mole. Every morning
when the sun rose, and every evening when it set, she stole out to the door,
and when the wind blew the corn aside, so that she could see the bright
sky above, she thought how light and beautiful it would be out there, and
wished so much that she ccndd see her dear swallow again. But he never
came back — he must have fiown far away into the beautiful green forest.

\\ hen the autumn came Thumbeline had the whole oi her outfit
ready.

" III four weeks the wedding will take place," said the field-mouse.
But rhumbeline cried, and said she would not have the tiresome old
mole.

" W'liat nonsense !" said the field-mouse ; "don't be obstinate, or I
shall bite you with my white tooth. Why, you will have a fine fellow
for a husband ! Even the queen has not a black, velvety fur coat like his !
His kitchen and his cellar are well stored. You ought to be thankful tt)
get him ! "

And so the wedding was to take place. The mole had already arrived
to fetch Thumbeline. She was to live with him far under the ground, and
would never be allowed to go out into the warm sunshine, for he did not
like it. The poor child was so distressed at the thought of having to say
farewell to the beautiful sun, which she, at any rate, had been allowed to
]ot)k at from the door-steps while she was with the field-mouse.

" Good-by, you bright sun ! " she said, and stretched her arms toward
it as she went a few steps away from the field-mouse's house, for the corn
had now been reaped and only the dry stubble was left. " Good-by,
good-by!" she said, and threw her little arms around a small red flower
close by her. " Give mv love to the dear swallow, if you should
see him."

Just then she heard the twittering of a bird over her head, and she
looked up; it was the swallow, who happened to be Hying past. He was

THUMBELINE

317

so pleased at seeing Thumbeline, who now told him how unwilling she
was to marry the ugly old mole, and that she would have to live far under
the ground, where the sun never shone. She could not help crving at the
thought of it.

"The cold winter is now approaching," said the swallow; "I am
going to fly away to the hot countries. Will you come with me? You
can sit on my back.
You need only tie
yourself fast with
your girdle, and then
we will fly away
from the ugly old
mole and his dark
room, tar away
over the mountains
to warmer climes,
w here the sun shines
more brightly than
here, where there is
always summer and
beautiful flowers.
Only fly with me,
sweet little Thum-
beline,— you who
saved my life when
I lay frozen in the
dark cellar under
the ground."

" Yes, I will go
with you," said
Thumbeline, and

seated herself on the bird's back with her teet on his outstretched wing, and
tied her girdle fast to one of his strongest feathers, and then the swallow
flew high up in the air over forests and lakes, high over the big mountains,
which are always covered with snow. And Thumbeline then began to
sufl^er from the cold, but she crept in under the bird's warm feathers and
only put out her little head to look at all the splendor below her.

And so they came to the hot countries. There the sun shone much
brighter than here, the sky was twice as lofty, and in the ditches and the
hedges grew the most lovely green and purple grapes. In the woods hung
lemons and oranges, and the air was fragrant with myrtle and mint, and
on the roads pretty children ran about, playing with big, gay butterflies.
Hut the swallow flew on still farther, and everything became more and more
beautiful. Under the magnificent green trees bv the blue sea stood a

THUMBELINE SEATED HERSELF ON THE SWALLDw's BACK, ANIl THEN THE
BIRD FLEW HIGH UP IN THE AIR WITH HER.

318 THUMBELINE

dazzling white marble palace of the olden times; the vines clustered round
its high pillars and on the top were a number of swallows' nests, and in
one of these lived the swallow who had carried Thumbeline.

"This is my home," said the swallow; "but if you vvill choose one of
the prettiest flowers which grow down there I will put you on it, and
you shall be as happy as you wish."

" How splendid ! " she said, and clapped her little hands.

Down in the garden lay a great white marble pillar which had fallen
to the ground and was broken in two places; but between the pieces grew
the most lovely white flowers. The swallow flew down with Thumbeline
and put her on one of the large petals of one of the flowers; but what a
surprise awaited her ! She saw a little man sitting in the middle of the
flower, so white and transparent, as if he had been made of glass, with
the most lovely golden crown on his head, and the most beautiful, clear
wings on his shoulders, while he himself was no bigger than Thumbeline.
He was the angel of the flower. In every flower there lived such a little
man or woman, but this one was the king of them all.

"Oh! How beautiful he is!" whispered Thumbeline to the swallow.
The little prince became greatly frightened at the swallow, tor he was, of
course, quite a gigantic creature compared to him, who was so small and
tender; but when he saw Thumbeline he became so pleased, for she was
the most beautiful girl he ever had seen. He therefore took ofi^ his
golden crown and placed it on her head, and asked her what her name
was, and if she would become his wife, and she should be queen over all
the flowers- He was indeed a husband for her, quite different to the son
of the toad and to the mole with the black, velvety fur coat. She there-
fore said "Yes" to the lovely prince, and out of every flower came a lady
and a cavalier so beautiful that it was a pleasure to look at them. All ot
them brought Thumbeline a present, but the best of them all was a pair
of lovely wings of a large white fly. These were fistened to Thumbeline's
back, and then she was able to fly from flower to flower. There was
much rejoicing, and the swallow sat up in his nest and sang to them as
well as he could, although at heart he was very sorry, for he was very
fond of Thumbeline and would have liked never to part from her.

" You must not be called Thumbeline," said the angel of the flower
to her; "it is an ugly name, and you are beautiful. We will call you
Maja."

" (iood-by, good-by ! " said the swallow, and he flew away from the hot
countries back to Denmark, where he had a little nest over the window in
the house where the man lives who can write fairy tales. To him he
sang, "Tweet, tweet !" and from him we have the whole story.

THE STORM SHIFTS THE
SIGN BOARDS

lOKM HAS NEVER RAGED IN OUR DAY.

THE STORM SHIFTS THE SIGN-BOARDS

IN the old days, when grandfather was quite a Uttle hoy and wore red
trousers and a red jacket, a scarf around his waist and a feather in his
cap (for that was the way in which httle boys were dressed in the
days of his childhood when they wore their best clothes) — at that time so
many things were different from what they are now. There were otten
grand sights in the streets which we do not see, for they have all been done

■S 321

322 THE STORM SHIFTS THE SIGN-BOARDS

away with, as they were getting so old-fashioned ; but it is delightful to
hear grandfather tell about them.

It must have been a great sight to see the shoemakers change their
signs when they moved into their new guild-hall.

On their silk banner, which was waving in the air, was painted a large
boot and an eagle with two heads; the youngest of the journeymen car-
ried the "cup of welcome" and the "casket" of their guild, and wore
flowing red and white ribbons on their shirt-sleeves; the older ones carried
drawn swords with a lemon stuck on the point. There was a full band of
music, and the finest of the instruments was the "bird," as grandfather
called the great pole with the half-moon at the top, and all kinds of jin-
gling gewgaws — quite Turkish music. It was lifted aloft and swung to
and fro, and it jingled and tinkled, and it hurt one's eyes to look at all the
gold and silver and brass on which the sun was shining.

In front of the procession ran a harlequin dressed in clothes made of
patches of every possible color, with a black face, and bells on his head
like a sledge-horse." He struck the people with his wand, which made a
loud noise without hurting them, and the people crushed against each
other in trying to get backward or forward ; little boys and girls tumbled
over one another and fell right into the gutter ; old women pushed their
way with their elbows, looked cross, and kept on scolding. Some laughed
and others talked; there were people on all the door-steps and in the
windows, and even on the roofs. The sun was shining brightly ; then it
began to rain a little also, but that was good for the farmers, and when
the people were thoroughly drenched the rain was a blessing to the country.

Ah, how grandfather could tell stories ! As a little boy he had seen
all these grand sights in their greatest splendor. The oldest journeyman
of the guild made a speech from the scaffolding where the sign was to be
hung up, and the speech was a versified one, just as if it had been poetry,
which it was ; in fact, there had been three people busy composing it, and
they had first drunk a whole bowl of punch in order to make the speech
really got>d. And the people shouted and cheered the speech, but they
shouted and cheered still more when the harlequin came on the scaffolding
and made faces at them. The buffoon was great at playing the fool, and
drank mead out of dram-glasses, which he threw among the people, who
caught them in the air.

Grandfather had one of these glasses, w hich the mason who mixed the
mortar had caught and presented to him. It was all very amusing, and
the sign on the new guild-hall was hung with flowers and foliage.

"Such a sight one never forgets, no matter how old one gets," said
grandfather ; nor did he forget it, although he had seen many other sights
and splendors, which he told us about. But what amused us most was to
hear him telling about the shifting of sign-boards in the big town where he
went to live.

THK PEOPLE SHOUTED AND CHEERED STILL MORE WHEN IHL HA
THE SCAFbOLDlNU AND .MADE !• M I >, AT IHEM.

THE STORM SHIFTS THE SIGN-BOARDS 325

Grandfather had remained there with his parents when he was a Uttle
boy ; he had never before seen the biggest town in the country. There
were so many people in the street that he thought they were going to
move the sign-boards, and there were a good many to move : a hundred
rooms could have been filled with pictures, if they had been hung indoors
instead of outside. Thus there were all sorts ot clothes painted on the
tailors' sign-boards : they could make shabbily dressed people into quite
grand folks; there were sign-boards outside the tobacco manufacturers' with
the most delightful little boys smoking cigars, just as in real life; there
were sign-boards on which were painted butter and salted herrings, parsons'
ruffs and coffins, with inscriptions and announcements of all kinds. One
could easily spend a whole day in going up and down the streets, looking
at the pictures till one got tired of it, and at the same time one could learn
what sort of people lived in those houses where they had hung out sign-
boards ; and, as grandfather said, it was a good thing, and very instructive
as well, to know who lived in all the houses in a big town.

But just as grandfather came to town what I am about to tell you
happened to the sign-boards. He has told me all about it himself, and he
was not chaffing me, as mother said he always did when he wanted to
"palm off" anything upon me ; he looked as if you could rely upon every
word he said.

The night he arrived in the big town the weather was the most
terrible one had ever read about in the papers — such weather as no one
within the memory of man had experienced. The air was filled with
tiles ; old palings were blown down ; there was even a wheelbarrow which
ran up the street just to save itself The wind howled in the air; it
whined and shook everything it came in contact with. It was indeed a
terrible storm. The water in the canals splashed over the sides; it did
not know what to do with itself. The storm swept over the town,
carrying the chimneys along with it. More than one of the noble old
church steeples had to lean over, and has never got straight since.

Outside the house of the old, respected captain of the fire brigade,
who always arrived at a fire with the last engine, stood a sentry-box.
The storm begrudged the captain this little box and blew it off its pivot.
It rolled down the street, and, strange to say, it righted itself and was left
standing outside the house of the foolish carpenter who had saved three
lives in the last fire. But the sentry-box did not give that a thought.

The barber's sign, the great brazen dish, was torn off and thrown right
into the window recess of the judge's, and it seemed almost as if it was
done out of malice, said the whole neighborhood, for they and the most
intimate friends of the judge's wife called her " the razor," she was so
sharp. She knew more about people than they knew themselves.

Then flew a sign-board with a dried codfish painted on it. It stuck
over the door of a house where there lived a man who wrote in a

326 THE STORM SHIFTS THE SIGN-BOARDS

newspaper. It was a foolish joke on the part of the storm. It did not
recollect that a newspaper writer is not at all to be triHed with. He is
king in his own paper and in his own opinion.

The weathercock flew across to the neighbor's roof opposite, and
there it stood, the very picture of blackest malice, said the neighbors.

The cooper's barrel got fixed under a sign, "Ladies' trimmings."

The bill of fare at the cookshop, which hung near the door in a heavy
frame, was pitched by the storm above the entrance of the theater, which
nobody went to. It was a funny bill: "Horse-radish soup and stuffed
cabbage." But then plenty of people came to the theater.

The fox-skin of the furridr, the honorable sign of his trade, was shifted
to the bell-pull of a young man who always went to early church service,
and who looked like a shut-down umbrella, and was always searching for
truth, and was a "model young man," as his aunt said.

The inscription, "Institute for Higher Education," was blown over to
the billiard club, and the institute itself got another sign-board in exchange:
"Children reared here by the bottle." This was not at all witty, only
rude ; but the storm had done it, and one cannot control the storm.

It was a terrible night, and in the morning — just fancy! — nearly all
the sign-boards in the town had been shifted, and at some places it was
done with such malice that grandfather would not talk about it; but, I
noticed, he laughed to himself, and it is possible he was up to some
mischief.

The unft)rtunate inhabitants of the big town, and especially the
strangers, went wrong altogether when they tried to find people. Nor
could they do otherwise, since they went by the sign-boards. Some people
were going to a very solemn meeting of elders, where most important
things were to be settled, and they found themselves in a noisy boys'
school, where the boys were just about to jump on the tables.

There were people who mistook the church for the theater, and that
was really too terrible !

Such a storm has never raged in our days. It is only grandfiither who
has experienced such a one, and that was when he was quite a little bt)y.
Such a storm may not occur in our time, but perhaps it may in that
of our grandchildren, and we can only hope and pray that they will keep
indoors while the storm is shifting the sign-boards.

THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE
CHIMNEY-SWEEP

CLOSE TO THEM STOOD ANOTHER FIGURE, AN OLD CHINAMAN WHO COULD
NOD HIS HEAD.

' 1^4 H

THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE
CHIMNEY-SWEEP

HAVE you ever seen a really old wooden cupboard, quite black with
age, and covered with carvings of scrolls and foliage ? Just such
a cupboard was standing in a parlor; it had been left to the family
by the great-grandmother. It was ornamented with carved roses and
tulips from top to bottom, and between these quaint ornaments protruded
small stags' heads and antlers, but in the middle of the cupboard was
carved the full-length figure ot a man which made one grin to look at
it; he, at any rate, was grinning, for it could not be called laughing. He
had goat's legs, small horns on his head, and a long beard. The children
always called him "Major-and-lieutenant-general-war-commander-sergeant
of the Billy-goat-legs," which was a difficult name to pronounce, besides
being a title which many did not receive; but to get him carved must
have been a difficult piece of work.

But there he was, and he was always looking toward the table under
the mirror, for there stood a lovely little shepherdess of porcelain. Her
shoes were gilt and her dress was fastened up with a rose, and then she
had a gilt hat and shepherd's crook. She was really lovely. Close to
her stood a little chimney-sweep, black as coal, but also made of porcelain.
He was quite as clean and nice as anybody. As to his being a sweep, that

329

330 THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE

was of course because he had been made to represent one; the workmen
might just as well have made a prince of him at once.

There he stood with his ladder, looking quite handsome, with a face
as white and red as a girl's, which, of course, was really a mistake, for he
might as well have been a little blackened. He was standing close to the
shepherdess. Thev had both been placed where they stood, and having
been so placed, they became engaged, for they suited each other very well,
and they were both young people and were made of the same porcelain,
and equally liable to be broken.

Close to them stood another figure which was three times as big as
thev; it was an old Chinaman who could nod his head. He was also
made of porcelain, and used to say that he was grandfather ot the little
shepherdess; but I don't think he could prove that. He would, however,
insist that he had some influence over her, and that was the reason he had
been nodding to the Major-and-lieutenant-general-war-commander-sergeant
of the Billy-goat-legs, who was courting the little shepherdess.

"Now there is a husband for you," said the old Chinaman; " a man,
who, I think, is actually made of mahogany. He can make you Lady-
major-and-lieutenant-general-war-commander-sergeant of the Billy-goat-
legs. He has got the whole cupboard full of silver, besides what he has
in his secret drawers."

" I don't want to go into the dark cupboard," said the little shepherdess.
"I have heard say he has eleven porcelain wives in there!"

"Then you can be the twelfth," said the Chinaman. "To-night, as
soon as the old cupboard begins to creak, you two shall be married, as
true as I am a Chinaman ! " And then he nodded his head and fell
asleep.

But the little shepherdess wept and looked at the beloved of her heart,
the porcelain chimney-sweep.

"I think I must ask von," she said, "to go with me out into the wide
world, for we cannot remain here."

"I will do everything you want me to do," said the little sweep. " Let
us go at once. I think I shall be able to make a living by my profession."

"I wish we were safely down from the table," she said. "I shall not
be happy till we are out in the wide world."

And he comforted her and showed her how she could place her little
foot on the carved edges and the gilt foliage down along the leg of the
table, and he also made use of his ladder; but when they looked in the
direction of the old cupboard everything seemed to be in a state of
confusion. All the carved stags stretched their heads still farther out,
rearing their antlers aloft and twisting their heads. The Major-and-lieu-
tenant-general-war-commander-sergeant of the Billy-goat-legs jumped into
the air and shouted across to the old Chinaman : " They are running
away! they are running away!"

CHIMNEY-SWEEP 331

This frightened them, and they jumped up into the drawer of the
window seat.

Here were three or four packs of cards which were not complete, and
a small toy theater which had been put up as well as could be; a play was
being acted, and all the queens of diamonds and hearts, clubs, and spades
were sitting in the first row, fanning themselves with their tulips, and
behind them stood all the knaves, showing they had heads both at top
and bottom, as playing-cards generally have. The play was about two
lovers who were not allowed to marry, and the shepherdess cried because
it was just like her own story.

" I cannot bear it," she said ; " I must get out of this drawer." But
when they got down on the floor and looked up at the table, the old
Chinaman had awakened and all his body was rocking to and fro, although
the bottom of him was a heavy lump.

"The old Chinaman is coming!" cried the little shepherdess, and fell
down on her porcelain knees, so great was her distress.

" I have an idea," said the sweep; "let us creep into the great jar with
potpourri, which stands in the corner; there we can lie on roses and
lavender, and throw salt in his eyes when he comes."

"That will not do," she said; "besides, I know that the old Chinaman
and the potpourri jar were once engaged, and there always remains a little
kindly feeling between those who have stood in this relation to one
another. No, there is no help for it; we must go out into the wide
world."

"Have you really courage to go with me out into the wide world?"
asked the sweep. " Have you considered how big it is, and that we can
never come back here again?"

"Yes, I have," she said.

And the sweep looked fixedly at her, and then said: "My way lies
through the chimnev. Have you really courage to creep with me through
the stove, both through the drum and the pipe? Then we get into the
chimnev, and there I know my way well. We shall climb up so high
that they cannot reach us, and at the top there is a hole leading out to the
wide world."

And he led her to the door of the stove. " It looks dark in there,"
she said, but she went with him for all that, both through the drum of
the stove and through the pipe, where it was pitch dark.

"Now we are in the chimney," he said; "and see! look at the
beautiful star that is shining just above us! "

And it was a real star in the sky which shone down on them, as if it
wanted to show them the way. And they crawled and crept on, and a
terrible way it was, so high, so very high ; but he lifted her and supported
her. He held her and showed her the best places where she should put
her little porcelain feet, and thus thev reached right up to the top of

2>2>1

THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE

the chimney, where they sat down, for they were really tired, and no
wonder.