[Illustration]

STORIES _FROM_HANS ANDERSEN

_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY_EDMUND DULAC

HODDER & STOUGHTONLIMITED LONDON

ILLUSTRATIONS

_THE SNOW QUEEN_ PAGEOne day he was in a high state of delight because he hadinvented a mirror 5

Many a winter's night she flies through the streets 11

Then an old, old woman came out of the house 23

She has read all the newspapers in the world, and forgottenthem again, so clever is she 37

'It is gold, it is gold!' they cried 51

Kissed her on the mouth, while big shining tears trickleddown its face 63

The Snow Queen sat in the very middle of it when she satat home 71

_THE NIGHTINGALE_

Even the poor fisherman . . . Lay still to listen to it 81

'Is it possible?' said the gentleman-in-waiting. 'I shouldnever have thought it was like that' 89

Took some water into their mouths to try and make the samegurgling, . . . Thinking so to equal the nightingale 95

The music-master wrote five-and-twenty volumes about theartificial bird 101

Even Death himself listened to the song 109

_THE REAL PRINCESS_

'I have hardly closed my eyes the whole night!Heaven knows what was in the bed. I seemed tobe lying upon some hard thing, and my whole bodyis black and blue this morning. It is terrible!' _Frontispiece_

_THE GARDEN OF PARADISE_

His grandmother had told him . . . That every flower in theGarden of Paradise was a delicious cake 117

The Eastwind flew more swiftly still 131

The Fairy of the Garden now advanced to meet them 139

The Fairy dropped her shimmering garment, drew back thebranches, and a moment after was hidden within their depths 147

_THE MERMAID_

The Merman King had been for many years a widower 155

He must have died if the little mermaid had not come tothe rescue 169

At the mere sight of the bright liquid 183

The prince asked who she was and how she came there 189

Dashed overboard and fell, her body dissolving into foam 199

_THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES_

The poor old minister stared as hard as he could, but hecould not see anything 209

Then the Emperor walked along in the procession under thegorgeous canopy, and everybody in the streets and at thewindows exclaimed, 'How beautiful the Emperor's newclothes are!' 215

_THE WIND'S TALE_

She played upon the ringing lute, and sang to its tones 225

She was always picking flowers and herbs 233

He lifted it with a trembling hand and shouted with atrembling voice: 'Gold! gold!' 241

Waldemar Daa hid it in his bosom, took his staff in hishand, and, with his three daughters, the once wealthygentleman walked out of Borreby Hall for the last time 247

THE SNOW QUEEN

A TALE IN SEVEN STORIES

FIRST STORY

WHICH DEALS WITH A MIRROR AND ITS FRAGMENTS

[Illustration: _One day he was in a high state of delight because he hadinvented a mirror with this peculiarity, that every good and prettything reflected in it shrank away to almost nothing. _]

Now we are about to begin, and you must attend; and when we get to theend of the story, you will know more than you do now about a very wickedhobgoblin. He was one of the worst kind; in fact he was a real demon. One day he was in a high state of delight because he had invented amirror with this peculiarity, that every good and pretty thing reflectedin it shrank away to almost nothing. On the other hand, every bad andgood-for-nothing thing stood out and looked its worst. The mostbeautiful landscapes reflected in it looked like boiled spinach, and thebest people became hideous, or else they were upside down and had nobodies. Their faces were distorted beyond recognition, and if they hadeven one freckle it appeared to spread all over the nose and mouth. Thedemon thought this immensely amusing. If a good thought passed throughany one's mind, it turned to a grin in the mirror, and this caused realdelight to the demon. All the scholars in the demon's school, for hekept a school, reported that a miracle had taken place: now for thefirst time it had become possible to see what the world and mankind werereally like. They ran about all over with the mirror, till at last therewas not a country or a person which had not been seen in this distortingmirror. They even wanted to fly up to heaven with it to mock the angels;but the higher they flew, the more it grinned, so much so that theycould hardly hold it, and at last it slipped out of their hands and fellto the earth, shivered into hundreds of millions and billions of bits. Even then it did more harm than ever. Some of these bits were not as bigas a grain of sand, and these flew about all over the world, gettinginto people's eyes, and, once in, they stuck there, and distortedeverything they looked at, or made them see everything that was amiss. Each tiniest grain of glass kept the same power as that possessed by thewhole mirror. Some people even got a bit of the glass into their hearts, and that was terrible, for the heart became like a lump of ice. Some ofthe fragments were so big that they were used for window panes, but itwas not advisable to look at one's friends through these panes. Otherbits were made into spectacles, and it was a bad business when peopleput on these spectacles meaning to be just. The bad demon laughedtill he split his sides; it tickled him to see the mischief he had done. But some of these fragments were still left floating about the world, and you shall hear what happened to them. 

SECOND STORY

ABOUT A LITTLE BOY AND A LITTLE GIRL

[Illustration: _Many a winter's night she flies through the streets andpeeps in at the windows, and then the ice freezes on the panes intowonderful patterns like flowers. _]

In a big town crowded with houses and people, where there is no room forgardens, people have to be content with flowers in pots instead. In oneof these towns lived two children who managed to have something biggerthan a flower pot for a garden. They were not brother and sister, butthey were just as fond of each other as if they had been. Their parentslived opposite each other in two attic rooms. The roof of one house justtouched the roof of the next one, with only a rain-water gutter betweenthem. They each had a little dormer window, and one only had to stepover the gutter to get from one house to the other. Each of the parentshad a large window-box, in which they grew pot herbs and a littlerose-tree. There was one in each box, and they both grew splendidly. Then it occurred to the parents to put the boxes across the gutter, fromhouse to house, and they looked just like two banks of flowers. The peavines hung down over the edges of the boxes, and the roses threw outlong creepers which twined round the windows. It was almost like a greentriumphal arch. The boxes were high, and the children knew they must notclimb up on to them, but they were often allowed to have their littlestools out under the rose-trees, and there they had delightful games. Ofcourse in the winter there was an end to these amusements. The windowswere often covered with hoar-frost; then they would warm coppers on thestove and stick them on the frozen panes, where they made lovelypeep-holes, as round as possible. Then a bright eye would peep throughthese holes, one from each window. The little boy's name was Kay, andthe little girl's Gerda. 

In the summer they could reach each other with one bound, but in thewinter they had to go down all the stairs in one house and up all thestairs in the other, and outside there were snowdrifts. 

'Look! the white bees are swarming, ' said the old grandmother. 

'Have they a queen bee, too?' asked the little boy, for he knew thatthere was a queen among the real bees. 

'Yes, indeed they have, ' said the grandmother. 'She flies where theswarm is thickest. She is biggest of them all, and she never remains onthe ground. She always flies up again to the sky. Many a winter's nightshe flies through the streets and peeps in at the windows, and then theice freezes on the panes into wonderful patterns like flowers. '

'Oh yes, we have seen that, ' said both children, and then they knewit was true. 

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

'Just let her come, ' said the boy, 'and I will put her on the stove, where she will melt. '

But the grandmother smoothed his hair and told him more stories. 

In the evening when little Kay was at home and half undressed, he creptup on to the chair by the window, and peeped out of the little hole. Afew snow-flakes were falling, and one of these, the biggest, remained onthe edge of the window-box. It grew bigger and bigger, till it becamethe figure of a woman, dressed in the finest white gauze, which appearedto be made of millions of starry flakes. She was delicately lovely, butall ice, glittering, dazzling ice. Still she was alive, her eyes shonelike two bright stars, but there was no rest or peace in them. Shenodded to the window and waved her hand. The little boy was frightenedand jumped down off the chair, and then he fancied that a big bird flewpast the window. 

The next day was bright and frosty, and then came the thaw--and afterthat the spring. The sun shone, green buds began to appear, the swallowsbuilt their nests, and people began to open their windows. The littlechildren began to play in their garden on the roof again. The roses werein splendid bloom that summer; the little girl had learnt a hymn, andthere was something in it about roses, and that made her think of herown. She sang it to the little boy, and then he sang it with her--

 'Where roses deck the flowery vale, There, Infant Jesus, we thee hail!'

The children took each other by the hands, kissed the roses, andrejoiced in God's bright sunshine, and spoke to it as if the Child Jesuswere there. What lovely summer days they were, and how delightful it wasto sit out under the fresh rose-trees, which seemed never tired ofblooming. 

Kay and Gerda were looking at a picture book of birds and animals oneday--it had just struck five by the church clock--when Kay said, 'Oh, something struck my heart, and I have got something in my eye!'

The little girl put her arms round his neck, he blinked his eye; therewas nothing to be seen. 

'I believe it is gone, ' he said; but it was not gone. It was one ofthose very grains of glass from the mirror, the magic mirror. Youremember that horrid mirror, in which all good and great thingsreflected in it became small and mean, while the bad things weremagnified, and every flaw became very apparent. 

Poor Kay! a grain of it had gone straight to his heart, and would soonturn it to a lump of ice. He did not feel it any more, but it was stillthere. 

'Why do you cry?' he asked; 'it makes you look ugly; there's nothing thematter with me. How horrid!' he suddenly cried; 'there's a worm in thatrose, and that one is quite crooked; after all, they are nasty roses, and so are the boxes they are growing in!' He kicked the box and brokeoff two of the roses. 

'What are you doing, Kay?' cried the little girl. When he saw her alarm, he broke off another rose, and then ran in by his own window, and leftdear little Gerda alone. 

When she next got out the picture book he said it was only fit forbabies in long clothes. When his grandmother told them stories he alwayshad a but--, and if he could manage it, he liked to get behind herchair, put on her spectacles and imitate her. He did it very well andpeople laughed at him. He was soon able to imitate every one in thestreet; he could make fun of all their peculiarities and failings. 'Hewill turn out a clever fellow, ' said people. But it was all that bit ofglass in his heart, that bit of glass in his eye, and it made him teaselittle Gerda who was so devoted to him. He played quite different gamesnow; he seemed to have grown older. One winter's day, when the snow wasfalling fast, he brought in a big magnifying glass; he held out the tailof his blue coat, and let the snow flakes fall upon it. 

'Now look through the glass, Gerda!' he said; every snowflake wasmagnified, and looked like a lovely flower, or a sharply pointed star. 

'Do you see how cleverly they are made?' said Kay. 'Much moreinteresting than looking at real flowers. And there is not a single flawin them; they are perfect, if only they would not melt. '

Shortly after, he appeared in his thick gloves, with his sledge on hisback. He shouted right into Gerda's ear, 'I have got leave to drive inthe big square where the other boys play!' and away he went. 

In the big square the bolder boys used to tie their little sledges tothe farm carts and go a long way in this fashion. They had no end of funover it. Just in the middle of their games a big sledge came along; itwas painted white, and the occupant wore a white fur coat and cap. Thesledge drove twice round the square, and Kay quickly tied his sledge onbehind. Then off they went, faster, and faster, into the next street. The driver turned round and nodded to Kay in the most friendly way, justas if they knew each other. Every time Kay wanted to loose his sledgethe person nodded again, and Kay stayed where he was, and they droveright out through the town gates. Then the snow began to fall so heavilythat the little boy could not see a hand before him as they rushedalong. He undid the cords and tried to get away from the big sledge, butit was no use, his little sledge stuck fast, and on they rushed, fasterthan the wind. He shouted aloud, but nobody heard him, and the sledgetore on through the snow-drifts. Every now and then it gave a bound, asif they were jumping over hedges and ditches. He was very frightened, and he wanted to say his prayers, but he could only remember themultiplication tables. 

The snow-flakes grew bigger and bigger, till at last they looked likebig white chickens. All at once they sprang on one side, the big sledgestopped and the person who drove got up, coat and cap smothered in snow. It was a tall and upright lady all shining white, the Snow Queenherself. 

'We have come along at a good pace, ' she said; 'but it's cold enough tokill one; creep inside my bearskin coat. '

She took him into the sledge by her, wrapped him in her furs, and hefelt as if he were sinking into a snowdrift. 

'Are you still cold?' she asked, and she kissed him on the forehead. Ugh! it was colder than ice, it went to his very heart, which wasalready more than half ice; he felt as if he were dying, but only for amoment, and then it seemed to have done him good; he no longer felt thecold. 

'My sledge! don't forget my sledge!' He only remembered it now; it wastied to one of the white chickens which flew along behind them. The SnowQueen kissed Kay again, and then he forgot all about little Gerda, Grandmother, and all the others at home. 

'Now I mustn't kiss you any more, ' she said, 'or I should kiss you todeath!'

Kay looked at her, she was so pretty; a cleverer, more beautiful facecould hardly be imagined. She did not seem to be made of ice now, as shewas outside the window when she waved her hand to him. In his eyes shewas quite perfect, and he was not a bit afraid of her; he told her thathe could do mental arithmetic, as far as fractions, and that he knew thenumber of square miles and the number of inhabitants of the country. Shealways smiled at him, and he then thought that he surely did not knowenough, and he looked up into the wide expanse of heaven, into whichthey rose higher and higher as she flew with him on a dark cloud, whilethe storm surged around them, the wind ringing in their ears likewell-known old songs. 

They flew over woods and lakes, over oceans and islands; the cold windwhistled down below them, the wolves howled, the black crows flewscreaming over the sparkling snow, but up above, the moon shone brightand clear--and Kay looked at it all the long, long winter nights; in theday he slept at the Snow Queen's feet. 

STORY THREE

THE GARDEN OF THE WOMAN LEARNED IN MAGIC

[Illustration: _Then an old, old woman came out of the house; she wasleaning upon a big, hooked stick, and she wore a big sun hat, which wascovered with beautiful painted flowers. _]

But how was little Gerda getting on all this long time since Kay lefther? Where could he be? Nobody knew, nobody could say anything abouthim. All that the other boys knew was, that they had seen him tie hislittle sledge to a splendid big one which drove away down the street andout of the town gates. Nobody knew where he was, and many tears wereshed; little Gerda cried long and bitterly. At last, people said he wasdead; he must have fallen into the river which ran close by the town. Oh, what long, dark, winter days those were!

At last the spring came and the 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. 

'We don't believe it, ' said the swallows; and at last little Gerda didnot believe it either. 

'I will put on my new red shoes, ' she said one morning; 'those Kay neversaw; and then I will go down to the river and ask it about him!'

It was very early in the morning; she kissed the old grandmother, whowas still asleep, put on the red shoes, and went quite alone, out by thegate to the river. 

'Is it true that you have taken my little playfellow? I will give you myred shoes if you will bring him back to me again. '

She thought the little ripples nodded in such a curious way, so she tookoff her red shoes, her most cherished possessions, and threw them bothinto the river. They fell close by the shore, and were carried straightback to her by the little wavelets; it seemed as if the river would notaccept her offering, as it had not taken little Kay. 

She only thought she had not thrown them far enough; so she climbed intoa boat which lay among the rushes, then she went right out to thefurther end of it, and threw the shoes into the water again. But theboat was loose, and her movements started it off, and it floated awayfrom the shore: she felt it moving and tried to get out, but before shereached the other end the boat was more than a yard from the shore, andwas floating away quite quickly. 

Little Gerda was terribly frightened, and began to cry, but nobody heardher except the sparrows, and they could not carry her ashore, but theyflew alongside twittering, as if to cheer her, 'We are here, we arehere. ' The boat floated rapidly away with the current; little Gerda satquite still with only her stockings on; her little red shoes floatedbehind, but they could not catch up the boat, which drifted away fasterand faster. 

The banks on both sides were very pretty with beautiful flowers, fineold trees, and slopes dotted with sheep and cattle, but not a singleperson. 

'Perhaps the river is taking me to little Kay, ' thought Gerda, and thatcheered her; she sat up and looked at the beautiful green banks forhours. 

Then they came to a big cherry garden; there was a little house init, with curious blue and red windows, it had a thatched roof, and twowooden soldiers stood outside, who presented arms as she sailed past. Gerda called out to them; she thought they were alive, but of coursethey did not answer; she was quite close to them, for the current drovethe boat close to the bank. Gerda called out again, louder than before, and then an old, old woman came out of the house; she was leaning upon abig, hooked stick, and she wore a big sun hat, which was covered withbeautiful painted flowers. 

'You poor little child, ' said the old woman, 'how ever were you drivenout on this big, strong river into the wide, wide world alone?' Then shewalked right into the water, and caught hold of the boat with her hookedstick; she drew it ashore, and lifted little Gerda out. 

Gerda was delighted to be on dry land again, but she was a little bitfrightened of the strange old woman. 

'Come, tell me who you are, and how you got here, ' said she. 

When Gerda had told her the whole story and asked her if she had seenKay, the woman said she had not seen him, but that she expected him. Gerda must not be sad, she was to come and taste her cherries and seeher flowers, which were more beautiful than any picture-book; each onehad a story to tell. Then she took Gerda by the hand, they went into thelittle house, and the old woman locked the door. 

The windows were very high up, and they were red, blue, and yellow;they threw a very curious light into the room. On the table werequantities of the most delicious cherries, of which Gerda had leave toeat as many as ever she liked. While she was eating, the old womancombed her hair with a golden comb, so that the hair curled, and shonelike gold round the pretty little face, which was as sweet as a rose. 

'I have long wanted a little girl like you!' said the old woman. 'Youwill see how well we shall get on together. ' While she combed her hairGerda had forgotten all about Kay, for the old woman was learned in themagic art; but she was not a bad witch, she only cast spells over peoplefor a little amusement, and she wanted to keep Gerda. She therefore wentinto the garden and waved her hooked stick over all the rose-bushes, andhowever beautifully they were flowering, all sank down into the richblack earth without leaving a trace behind them. The old woman wasafraid that if Gerda saw the roses she would be reminded of Kay, andwould want to run away. Then she took Gerda into the flower garden. Whata delicious scent there was! and every imaginable flower for everyseason was in that lovely garden; no picture-book could be brighter ormore beautiful. Gerda jumped for joy and played till the sun went downbehind the tall cherry trees. Then she was put into a lovely bed withrose-coloured silken coverings stuffed with violets; she slept anddreamt as lovely dreams as any queen on her wedding day. 

The next day she played with the flowers in the garden again--and manydays passed in the same way. Gerda knew every flower, but however manythere were, she always thought there was one missing, but which it wasshe did not know. 

One day she was sitting looking at the old woman's sun hat with itspainted flowers, and the very prettiest one of them all was a rose. Theold woman had forgotten her hat when she charmed the others away. Thisis the consequence of being absent-minded. 

'What!' said Gerda, 'are there no roses here?' and she sprang in amongthe flower-beds and sought, but in vain! Her hot tears fell on the veryplaces where the roses used to be; when the warm drops moistened theearth the rose-trees shot up again, just as full of bloom as when theysank. Gerda embraced the roses and kissed them, and then she thought ofthe lovely roses at home, and this brought the thought of little Kay. 

'Oh, how I have been delayed, ' said the little girl, 'I ought to havebeen looking for Kay! Don't you know where he is?' she asked the roses. 'Do you think he is dead and gone?'

'He is not dead, ' said the roses. 'For we have been down underground, you know, and all the dead people are there, but Kay is not among them. '

'Oh, thank you!' said little Gerda, and then she went to the otherflowers and looked into their cups and said, 'Do you know where Kay is?'

But each flower stood in the sun and dreamt its own dreams. Little Gerdaheard many of these, but never anything about Kay. 

And what said the Tiger lilies?

'Do you hear the drum? rub-a-dub, it has only two notes, rub-a-dub, always the same. The wailing of women and the cry of the preacher. TheHindu woman in her long red garment stands on the pile, while the flamessurround her and her dead husband. But the woman is only thinking of theliving man in the circle round, whose eyes burn with a fiercer fire thanthat of the flames which consume the body. Do the flames of the heartdie in the fire?'

'I understand nothing about that, ' said little Gerda. 

'That is my story, ' said the Tiger lily. 

'What does the convolvulus say?'

'An old castle is perched high over a narrow mountain path, it isclosely covered with ivy, almost hiding the old red walls, and creepingup leaf upon leaf right round the balcony where stands a beautifulmaiden. She bends over the balustrade and looks eagerly up the road. Norose on its stem is fresher than she; no apple blossom wafted by thewind moves more lightly. Her silken robes rustle softly as she bendsover and says, 'Will he never come?''

'Is it Kay you mean?' asked Gerda. 

'I am only talking about my own story, my dream, ' answered theconvolvulus. 

What said the little snowdrop?

'Between two trees a rope with a board is hanging; it is a swing. Twopretty little girls in snowy frocks and green ribbons fluttering ontheir hats are seated on it. Their brother, who is bigger than they are, stands up behind them; he has his arms round the ropes for supports, andholds in one hand a little bowl and in the other a clay pipe. He isblowing soap-bubbles. As the swing moves the bubbles fly upwards in alltheir changing colours, the last one still hangs from the pipe swayed bythe wind, and the swing goes on. A little black dog runs up, he isalmost as light as the bubbles, he stands up on his hind legs and wantsto be taken into the swing, but it does not stop. The little dog fallswith an angry bark; they jeer at it; the bubble bursts. A swingingplank, a fluttering foam picture--that is my story!'

'I daresay what you tell me is very pretty, but you speak so sadly andyou never mention little Kay. '

What says the hyacinth?

'They were three beautiful sisters, all most delicate, and quitetransparent. One wore a crimson robe, the other a blue, and the thirdwas pure white. These three danced hand-in-hand, by the edge of the lakein the moonlight. They were human beings, not fairies of the wood. Thefragrant air attracted them, and they vanished into the wood; here thefragrance was stronger still. Three coffins glide out of the woodtowards the lake, and in them lie the maidens. The fire-flies flutterlightly round them with their little flickering torches. Do thesedancing maidens sleep, or are they dead? The scent of the flower saysthat they are corpses. The evening bell tolls their knell. '

'You make me quite sad, ' said little Gerda; 'your perfume is so strongit makes me think of those dead maidens. Oh, is little Kay really dead?The roses have been down underground, and they say no. '

'Ding, dong, ' tolled the hyacinth bells; 'we are not tolling for littleKay; we know nothing about him. We sing our song, the only one we know. '

And Gerda went on to the buttercups shining among their dark greenleaves. 

'You are a bright little sun, ' said Gerda. 'Tell me if you know where Ishall find my playfellow. '

The buttercup shone brightly and returned Gerda's glance. What songcould the buttercup sing? It would not be about Kay. 

'God's bright sun shone into a little court on the first day of spring. The sunbeams stole down the neighbouring white wall, close to whichbloomed the first yellow flower of the season; it shone like burnishedgold in the sun. An old woman had brought her arm-chair out into thesun; her granddaughter, a poor and pretty little maid-servant, had cometo pay her a short visit, and she kissed her. There was gold, heart'sgold, in the kiss. Gold on the lips, gold on the ground, and gold above, in the early morning beams! Now that is my little story, ' said thebuttercup. 

'Oh, my poor old grandmother!' sighed Gerda. 'She will be longing to seeme, and grieving about me, as she did about Kay. But I shall soon gohome again and take Kay with me. It is useless for me to ask the flowersabout him. They only know their own stories, and have no information togive me. '

Then she tucked up her little dress, so that she might run the faster;but the narcissus blossoms struck her on the legs as she jumped overthem, so she stopped and said, 'Perhaps you can tell me something. '

She stooped down close to the flower and listened. What did it say?

'I can see myself, I can see myself, ' said the narcissus. 'Oh, how sweetis my scent. Up there in an attic window stands a little dancing girlhalf dressed; first she stands on one leg, then on the other, and looksas if she would tread the whole world under her feet. She is only adelusion. She pours some water out of a teapot on to a bit of stuff thatshe is holding; it is her bodice. "Cleanliness is a good thing, " shesays. Her white dress hangs on a peg; it has been washed in the teapot, too, and dried on the roof. She puts it on, and wraps a saffron-colouredscarf round her neck, which makes the dress look whiter. See how highshe carries her head, and all upon one stem. I see myself, I seemyself!'

'I don't care a bit about all that, ' said Gerda; 'it's no use telling mesuch stuff. '

And then she ran to the end of the garden. The door was fastened, butshe pressed the rusty latch, and it gave way. The door sprang open, andlittle Gerda ran out with bare feet into the wide world. She looked backthree times, but nobody came after her. At last she could run nofurther, and she sat down on a big stone. When she looked round she sawthat the summer was over; it was quite late autumn. She would never haveknown it inside the beautiful garden, where the sun always shone, andthe flowers of every season were always in bloom. 

'Oh, how I have wasted my time, ' said little Gerda. 'It is autumn. Imust not rest any longer, ' and she got up to go on. 

Oh, how weary and sore were her little feet, and everything round lookedso cold and dreary. The long willow leaves were quite yellow. The dampmist fell off the trees like rain, one leaf dropped after another fromthe trees, and only the sloe-thorn still bore its fruit; but the sloeswere sour and set one's teeth on edge. Oh, how grey and sad it looked, out in the wide world. 

FOURTH STORY

PRINCE AND PRINCESS

[Illustration: _She has read all the newspapers in the world, andforgotten them again, so clever is she. _]

Gerda was soon obliged to rest again. A big crow hopped on to the snow, just in front of her. It had been sitting looking at her for a long timeand wagging its head. Now it said, 'Caw, caw; good-day, good-day, ' aswell as it could; it meant to be kind to the little girl, and asked herwhere she was going, alone in the wide world. 

Gerda understood the word 'alone' and knew how much there was in it, andshe told the crow the whole story of her life and adventures, and askedif it had seen Kay. 

The crow nodded its head gravely and said, 'May be I have, may be Ihave. '

'What, do you really think you have?' cried the little girl, nearlysmothering him with her kisses. 

'Gently, gently!' said the crow. 'I believe it may have been Kay, but hehas forgotten you by this time, I expect, for the Princess. '

'Does he live with a Princess?' asked Gerda. 

'Yes, listen, ' said the crow; 'but it is so difficult to speak yourlanguage. If you understand "crow's language, "[1] I can tell you aboutit much better. '

'No, I have never learnt it, ' said Gerda; 'but grandmother knew it, andused to speak it. If only I had learnt it!'

'It doesn't matter, ' said the crow. 'I will tell you as well as I can, although I may do it rather badly. '

Then he told her what he had heard. 

'In this kingdom where we are now, ' said he, 'there lives a Princess whois very clever. She has read all the newspapers in the world, andforgotten them again, so clever is she. One day she was sitting on herthrone, which is not such an amusing thing to do either, they say; andshe began humming a tune, which happened to be

 "Why should I not be married, oh why?"

"Why not indeed?" said she. And she made up her mind to marry, if shecould find a husband who had an answer ready when a question was put tohim. She called all the court ladies together, and when they heard whatshe wanted they were delighted. 

'"I like that now, " they said. "I was thinking the same thing myself theother day. "

'Every word I say is true, ' said the crow, 'for I have a tamesweetheart who goes about the palace whenever she likes. She told me thewhole story. '

Of course his sweetheart was a crow, for 'birds of a feather flocktogether, ' and one crow always chooses another. The newspapers all cameout immediately with borders of hearts and the Princess's initials. Theygave notice that any young man who was handsome enough might go up tothe Palace to speak to the Princess. The one who spoke as if he werequite at home, and spoke well, would be chosen by the Princess as herhusband. Yes, yes, you may believe me, it's as true as I sit here, ' saidthe crow. 'The people came crowding in; there was such running, andcrushing, but no one was fortunate enough to be chosen, either on thefirst day, or on the second. They could all of them talk well enough inthe street, but when they entered the castle gates, and saw the guard insilver uniforms, and when they went up the stairs through rows oflackeys in gold embroidered liveries, their courage forsook them. Whenthey reached the brilliantly lighted reception-rooms, and stood in frontof the throne where the Princess was seated, they could think of nothingto say, they only echoed her last words, and of course that was not whatshe wanted. 

'It was just as if they had all taken some kind of sleeping-powder, which made them lethargic; they did not recover themselves until theygot out into the street again, and then they had plenty to say. Therewas quite a long line of them, reaching from the town gates up to thePalace. 

'I went to see them myself, ' said the crow. 'They were hungry andthirsty, but they got nothing at the Palace, not even as much as a glassof tepid water. Some of the wise ones had taken sandwiches with them, but they did not share them with their neighbours; they thought if theothers went in to the Princess looking hungry, that there would be morechance for themselves. '

'But Kay, little Kay!' asked Gerda; 'when did he come? was he amongstthe crowd?'

'Give me time, give me time! we are just coming to him. It was on thethird day that a little personage came marching cheerfully along, without either carriage or horse. His eyes sparkled like yours, and hehad beautiful long hair, but his clothes were very shabby. '

'Oh, that was Kay!' said Gerda gleefully; 'then I have found him!' andshe clapped her hands. 

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

'No, it must have been his sledge; he had it with him when he wentaway!' said Gerda. 

'It may be so, ' said the crow; 'I did not look very particularly; but Iknow from my sweetheart, that when he entered the Palace gates, and sawthe life-guards in their silver uniforms, and the lackeys on the stairsin their gold-laced liveries, he was not the least bit abashed. He justnodded to them and said, "It must be very tiresome to stand upon thestairs. I am going inside!" The rooms were blazing with lights. Privycouncillors and excellencies without number were walking about barefootcarrying golden vessels; it was enough to make you solemn! His bootscreaked fearfully too, but he wasn't a bit upset. '

'Oh, I am sure that was Kay!' said Gerda; 'I know he had a pair of newboots, I heard them creaking in grandmother's room. '

'Yes, indeed they did creak!' said the crow. 'But nothing daunted, hewent straight up to the Princess, who was sitting on a pearl as big as aspinning-wheel. Poor, simple boy! all the court ladies and theirattendants; the courtiers, and their gentlemen, each attended by a page, were standing round. The nearer the door they stood, so much the greaterwas their haughtiness; till the footman's boy, who always wore slippersand stood in the doorway, was almost too proud even to be looked at. '

'It must be awful!' said little Gerda, 'and yet Kay has won thePrincess!'

'If I had not been a crow, I should have taken her myself, notwithstanding that I am engaged. They say he spoke as well as I couldhave done myself, when I speak crow-language; at least so my sweetheartsays. He was a picture of good looks and gallantry, and then, he had notcome with any idea of wooing the Princess, but simply to hear herwisdom. He admired her just as much as she admired him!'

'Indeed it was Kay then, ' said Gerda; 'he was so clever he could domental arithmetic up to fractions. Oh, won't you take me to the Palace?'

'It's easy enough to talk, ' said the crow; 'but how are we to manage it?I will talk to my tame sweetheart about it; she will have some advice togive us I daresay, but I am bound to tell you that a little girl likeyou will never be admitted!'

'Oh, indeed I shall, ' said Gerda; 'when Kay hears that I am here, hewill come out at once to fetch me. '

'Wait here for me by the stile, ' said the crow, then he wagged his headand flew off. 

The evening had darkened in before he came back. 'Caw, caw, ' he said, 'she sends you greeting. And here is a little roll for you; she got itout of the kitchen where there is bread enough, and I daresay you arehungry! It is not possible for you to get into the Palace; you have barefeet; the guards in silver and the lackeys in gold would never allow youto pass. But don't cry, we shall get you in somehow; my sweetheart knowsa little back staircase which leads up to the bedroom, and she knowswhere the key is kept. '

Then they went into the garden, into the great avenue where the leaveswere dropping, softly one by one; and when the Palace lights went out, one after the other, the crow led little Gerda to the back door, whichwas ajar. 

Oh, how Gerda's heart beat with fear and longing! It was just as if shewas about to do something wrong, and yet she only wanted to know if thisreally was little Kay. Oh, it must be him, she thought, picturing toherself his clever eyes and his long hair. She could see his very smilewhen they used to sit under the rose-trees at home. She thought he wouldbe very glad to see her, and to hear what a long way she had come tofind him, and to hear how sad they had all been at home when he did notcome back. Oh, it was joy mingled with fear. 

They had now reached the stairs, where a little lamp was burning on ashelf. There stood the tame sweetheart, twisting and turning her head tolook at Gerda, who made a curtsy, as grandmother had taught her. 

'My betrothed has spoken so charmingly to me about you, my little miss!'she said; 'your life, "_Vita_, " as it is called, is most touching! Ifyou will take the lamp, I will go on in front. We shall take thestraight road here, and we shall meet no one. '

'It seems to me that some one is coming behind us, ' said Gerda, as shefancied something rushed past her, throwing a shadow on the walls;horses with flowing manes and slender legs; huntsmen, ladies andgentlemen on horseback. 

'Oh, those are only the dreams!' said the crow; 'they come to take thethoughts of the noble ladies and gentlemen out hunting. That's a goodthing, for you will be able to see them all the better in bed. But don'tforget, when you are taken into favour, to show a grateful spirit. '

'Now, there's no need to talk about that, ' said the crow from the woods. 

They came now into the first apartment; it was hung with rose-colouredsatin embroidered with flowers. Here again the dreams overtook them, butthey flitted by so quickly that Gerda could not distinguish them. Theapartments became one more beautiful than the other; they were enough tobewilder anybody. They now reached the bedroom. The ceiling was like agreat palm with crystal leaves, and in the middle of the room two beds, each like a lily hung from a golden stem. One was white, and in it laythe Princess; the other was red, and there lay he whom Gerda had come toseek--little Kay! She bent aside one of the crimson leaves, and she sawa little brown neck. It was Kay. She called his name aloud, and held thelamp close to him. Again the dreams rushed through the room onhorseback--he awoke, turned his head--and it was not little Kay. 

It was only the Prince's neck which was like his; but he was young andhandsome. The Princess peeped out of her lily-white bed, and asked whatwas the matter. Then little Gerda cried and told them all her story, andwhat the crows had done to help her. 

'You poor little thing!' said the Prince and Princess. And they praisedthe crows, and said that they were not at all angry with them, but theymust not do it again. Then they gave them a reward. 

'Would you like your liberty?' said the Princess, 'or would you preferpermanent posts about the court as court crows, with perquisites fromthe kitchen?'

Both crows curtsied and begged for the permanent posts, for they thoughtof their old age, and said 'it was so good to have something for the oldman, ' as they called it. 

The Prince got up and allowed Gerda to sleep in his bed, and he couldnot have done more. She folded her little hands, and thought 'how goodthe people and the animals are'; then she shut her eyes and fell fastasleep. All the dreams came flying back again; this time they lookedlike angels, and they were dragging a little sledge with Kay sitting onit, and he nodded. But it was only a dream; so it all vanished when shewoke. 

Next day she was dressed in silk and velvet from head to foot; theyasked her to stay at the Palace and have a good time, but she onlybegged them to give her a little carriage and horse, and a little pairof boots, so that she might drive out into the wide world to look forKay. 

They gave her a pair of boots and a muff. She was beautifully dressed, and when she was ready to start, there before the door stood a newchariot of pure gold. The Prince's and Princess's coat of arms wereemblazoned on it, and shone like a star. Coachman, footman, andoutrider, for there was even an outrider, all wore golden crowns. ThePrince and Princess themselves helped her into the carriage and wishedher joy. The wood crow, who was now married, accompanied her for thefirst three miles; he sat beside Gerda, for he could not ride with hisback to the horses. The other crow stood at the door and flapped herwings; she did not go with them, for she suffered from headache sinceshe had become a kitchen pensioner--the consequence of eating too much. The chariot was stored with sugar biscuits, and there were fruit andginger nuts under the seat. 'Good-bye, good-bye, ' cried the Prince andPrincess; little Gerda wept, and the crow wept too. At the end of thefirst few miles the crow said good-bye, and this was the hardest partingof all. It flew up into a tree and flapped its big black wings as longas it could see the chariot, which shone like the brightest sunshine. 

[1] Children have a kind of language, or gibberish, formed by addingletters or syllables to every word, which is called 'crow's language. '

FIFTH STORY

THE LITTLE ROBBER GIRL

[Illustration: _'It is gold, it is gold!' they cried. _]

They drove on through a dark wood, where the chariot lighted up the wayand blinded the robbers by its glare; it was more than they could bear. 

'It is gold, it is gold!' they cried, and darting forward, seized thehorses, and killed the postilions, the coachman, and footman. They thendragged little Gerda out of the carriage. 

'She is fat, and she is pretty; she has been fattened on nuts!' said theold robber woman, who had a long beard, and eyebrows that hung down overher eyes. 'She is as good as a fat lamb, and how nice she will taste!'She drew out her sharp knife as she said this; it glittered horribly. 'Oh!' screamed the old woman at the same moment, for her little daughterhad come up behind her, and she was biting her ear. She hung on herback, as wild and as savage a little animal as you could wish to find. 'You bad, wicked child!' said her mother, but she was prevented fromkilling Gerda on this occasion. 

'She shall play with me, ' said the little robber girl; 'she shall giveme her muff, and her pretty dress, and she shall sleep in my bed. ' Thenshe bit her mother again and made her dance. All the robbers laughed andsaid, 'Look at her dancing with her cub!'

'I want to get into the carriage, ' said the little robber girl, and shealways had her own way because she was so spoilt and stubborn. She andGerda got into the carriage, and then they drove over stubble and stonesfurther and further into the wood. The little robber girl was as big asGerda, but much stronger; she had broader shoulders, and darker skin, her eyes were quite black, with almost a melancholy expression. She puther arm round Gerda's waist and said--

'They shan't kill you as long as I don't get angry with you; you mustsurely be a Princess!'

'No, ' said little Gerda, and then she told her all her adventures, andhow fond she was of Kay. 

The robber girl looked earnestly at her, gave a little nod, and said, 'They shan't kill you even if I am angry with you. I will do it myself. 'Then she dried Gerda's eyes, and stuck her own hands into the prettymuff, which was so soft and warm. 

At last the chariot stopped: they were in the courtyard of a robber'scastle, the walls of which were cracked from top to bottom. Ravens andcrows flew in and out of every hole, and big bulldogs, which each lookedready to devour somebody, jumped about as high as they could, but theydid not bark, for it was not allowed. A big fire was burning in themiddle of the stone floor of the smoky old hall. The smoke all went upto the ceiling, where it had to find a way out for itself. Soup wasboiling in a big caldron over the fire, and hares and rabbits wereroasting on the spits. 

'You shall sleep with me and all my little pets to-night, ' said therobber girl. 

When they had something to eat and drink they went along to one cornerwhich was spread with straw and rugs. There were nearly a hundredpigeons roosting overhead on the rafters and beams. They seemed to beasleep, but they fluttered about a little when the children came in. 

'They are all mine, ' said the little robber girl, seizing one of thenearest. She held it by the legs and shook it till it flapped its wings. 'Kiss it, ' she cried, dashing it at Gerda's face. 'Those are the woodpigeons, ' she added, pointing to some laths fixed across a big hole highup on the walls; 'they are a regular rabble; they would fly awaydirectly if they were not locked in. And here is my old sweetheart Be, 'dragging forward a reindeer by the horn; it was tied up, and it had abright copper ring round its neck. 'We have to keep him close too, or hewould run off. Every single night I tickle his neck with my brightknife, he is so frightened of it. ' The little girl produced a long knifeout of a hole in the wall and drew it across the reindeer's neck. Thepoor animal laughed and kicked, and the robber girl laughed and pulledGerda down into the bed with her. 

'Do you have that knife by you while you are asleep?' asked Gerda, looking rather frightened. 

'I always sleep with a knife, ' said the little robber girl. 'You neverknow what will happen. But now tell me again what you told me beforeabout little Kay, and why you went out into the world. ' So Gerda toldher all about it again, and the wood pigeons cooed up in their cageabove them; the other pigeons were asleep. The little robber girl puther arm round Gerda's neck and went to sleep with the knife in her otherhand, and she was soon snoring. But Gerda would not close her eyes; shedid not know whether she was to live or to die. The robbers sat roundthe fire, eating and drinking, and the old woman was turningsomersaults. This sight terrified the poor little girl. Then the woodpigeons said, 'Coo, coo, we have seen little Kay; his sledge was drawnby a white chicken, and he was sitting in the Snow Queen's sledge; itwas floating low down over the trees, while we were in our nests. Sheblew upon us young ones, and they all died except we two; coo, coo. '

'What are you saying up there?' asked Gerda. 'Where was the Snow Queengoing? Do you know anything about it?'

'She was most likely going to Lapland, because there is always snow andice there! Ask the reindeer who is tied up there. '

'There is ice and snow, and it's a splendid place, ' said the reindeer. 'You can run and jump about where you like on those big glitteringplains. The Snow Queen has her summer tent there, but her permanentcastle is up at the North Pole, on the island which is calledSpitzbergen!'

'Oh Kay, little Kay!' sighed Gerda. 

'Lie still, or I shall stick the knife into you!' said the robber girl. 

In the morning Gerda told her all that the wood pigeons had said, andthe little robber girl looked quite solemn, but she nodded her head andsaid, 'No matter, no matter! Do you know where Lapland is?' she askedthe reindeer. 

'Who should know better than I, ' said the animal, its eyes dancing. 'Iwas born and brought up there, and I used to leap about on thesnowfields. '

'Listen, ' said the robber girl. 'You see that all our men folks areaway, but mother is still here, and she will stay; but later on in themorning she will take a drink out of the big bottle there, and afterthat she will have a nap--then I will do something for you. ' Then shejumped out of bed, ran along to her mother and pulled her beard, andsaid, 'Good morning, my own dear nanny-goat!' And her mother fillipedher nose till it was red and blue; but it was all affection. 

As soon as her mother had had her draught from the bottle and haddropped asleep, the little robber girl went along to the reindeer, andsaid, 'I should have the greatest pleasure in the world in keeping youhere, to tickle you with my knife, because you are such fun then;however, it does not matter. I will untie your halter and help yououtside so that you may run away to Lapland, but you must put your bestfoot foremost, and take this little girl for me to the Snow Queen'spalace, where her playfellow is. I have no doubt you heard what she wastelling me, for she spoke loud enough, and you are generallyeavesdropping!'

The reindeer jumped into the air for joy. The robber girl lifted littleGerda up, and had the forethought to tie her on, nay, even to give her alittle cushion to sit upon. 'Here, after all, I will give you your furboots back, for it will be very cold, but I will keep your muff, it istoo pretty to part with. Still you shan't be cold. Here are my mother'sbig mittens for you, they will reach up to your elbows; here, stick yourhands in! Now your hands look just like my nasty mother's!'

Gerda shed tears of joy. 

'I don't like you to whimper!' said the little robber girl. 'You oughtto be looking delighted; and here are two loaves and a ham for you, sothat you shan't starve. '

These things were tied on to the back of the reindeer; the little robbergirl opened the door, called in all the big dogs, and then she cut thehalter with her knife, and said to the reindeer, 'Now run, but take careof my little girl!'

Gerda stretched out her hands in the big mittens to the robber girl andsaid good-bye; and then the reindeer darted off over briars and bushes, through the big wood, over swamps and plains, as fast as it could go. The wolves howled and the ravens screamed, while the red lights quiveredup in the sky. 

'There are my old northern lights, ' said the reindeer; 'see how theyflash!' and on it rushed faster than ever, day and night. The loaveswere eaten, and the ham too, and then they were in Lapland. 

SIXTH STORY

THE LAPP WOMAN AND THE FINN WOMAN

[Illustration: _The reindeer did not dare to stop. It ran on till itcame to the bush with the red berries. There it put Gerda down, andkissed her on the mouth, while big shining tears trickled down itsface. _]

They stopped by a little hut, a very poverty-stricken one; the roofsloped right down to the ground, and the door was so low that the peoplehad to creep on hands and knees when they wanted to go in or out. Therewas nobody at home here but an old Lapp woman, who was frying fish overa train-oil lamp. The reindeer told her all Gerda's story, but it toldits own first; for it thought it was much the most important. Gerda wasso overcome by the cold that she could not speak at all. 

'Oh, you poor creatures!' said the Lapp woman; 'you've got a long wayto go yet; you will have to go hundreds of miles into Finmark, for theSnow Queen is paying a country visit there, and she burns blue lightsevery night. I will write a few words on a dried stock-fish, for I haveno paper. I will give it to you to take to the Finn woman up there. Shewill be better able to direct you than I can. '

So when Gerda was warmed, and had eaten and drunk something, the Lappwoman wrote a few words on a dried stock-fish and gave it to her, bidding her take good care of it. Then she tied her on to the reindeeragain, and off they flew. Flicker, flicker, went the beautiful bluenorthern lights up in the sky all night long;--at last they came toFinmark, and knocked on the Finn woman's chimney, for she had no door atall. 

There was such a heat inside that the Finn woman went about almostnaked; she was little and very grubby. She at once loosened Gerda'sthings, and took off the mittens and the boots, or she would have beentoo hot. Then she put a piece of ice on the reindeer's head, and afterthat she read what was written on the stock-fish. She read it threetimes, and then she knew it by heart, and put the fish into the pot fordinner; there was no reason why it should not be eaten, and she neverwasted anything. 

Again the reindeer told his own story first, and then little Gerda's. The Finn woman blinked with her wise eyes, but she said nothing. 

'You are so clever, ' said the reindeer, 'I know you can bind all thewinds of the world with a bit of sewing cotton. When a skipper untiesone knot he gets a good wind, when he unties two it blows hard, and ifhe undoes the third and the fourth he brings a storm about his head wildenough to blow down the forest trees. Won't you give the little girl adrink, so that she may have the strength of twelve men to overcome theSnow Queen?'

'The strength of twelve men, ' said the Finn woman. 'Yes, that will beabout enough. '

She went along to a shelf and took down a big folded skin, which sheunrolled. There were curious characters written on it, and the Finnwoman read till the perspiration poured down her forehead. 

But the reindeer again implored her to give Gerda something, and Gerdalooked at her with such beseeching eyes, full of tears, that the Finnwoman began blinking again, and drew the reindeer along into a corner, where she whispered to it, at the same time putting fresh ice on itshead. 

'Little Kay is certainly with the Snow Queen, and he is delighted witheverything there. He thinks it is the best place in the world, but thatis because he has got a splinter of glass in his heart and a grain ofglass in his eye. They will have to come out first, or he will never behuman again, and the Snow Queen will keep him in her power!'

'But can't you give little Gerda something to take which will give herpower to conquer it all?'

'I can't give her greater power than she already has. Don't you see howgreat it is? Don't you see how both man and beast have to serve her? Howshe has got on as well as she has on her bare feet? We must not tell herwhat power she has; it is in her heart, because she is such a sweetinnocent child. If she can't reach the Snow Queen herself, then we can'thelp her. The Snow Queen's gardens begin just two miles from here; youcan carry the little girl as far as that. Put her down by the big bushstanding there in the snow covered with red berries. Don't standgossiping, but hurry back to me!' Then the Finn woman lifted Gerda onthe reindeer's back, and it rushed off as hard as it could. 

'Oh, I have not got my boots, and I have not got my mittens!' criedlittle Gerda. 

She soon felt the want of them in that cutting wind, but the reindeerdid not dare to stop. It ran on till it came to the bush with the redberries. There it put Gerda down, and kissed her on the mouth, while bigshining tears trickled down its face. Then it ran back again as fast asever it could. There stood poor little Gerda, without shoes orgloves, in the middle of freezing icebound Finmark. 

She ran forward as quickly as she could. A whole regiment of snow-flakescame towards her; they did not fall from the sky, for it was quiteclear, with the northern lights shining brightly. No; these snow-flakesran along the ground, and the nearer they came the bigger they grew. Gerda remembered well how big and ingenious they looked under themagnifying glass. But the size of these was monstrous. They were alive;they were the Snow Queen's advanced guard, and they took the mostcurious shapes. Some looked like big, horrid porcupines, some likebundles of knotted snakes with their heads sticking out. Others, again, were like fat little bears with bristling hair, but all were dazzlingwhite and living snow-flakes. 

Then little Gerda said the Lord's Prayer, and the cold was so great thather breath froze as it came out of her mouth, and she could see it likea cloud of smoke in front of her. It grew thicker and thicker, till itformed itself into bright little angels, who grew bigger and bigger whenthey touched the ground. They all wore helmets, and carried shields andspears in their hands. More and more of them appeared, and when Gerdahad finished her prayer she was surrounded by a whole legion. Theypierced the snow-flakes with their spears and shivered them into ahundred pieces, and little Gerda walked fearlessly and undauntedlythrough them. The angels touched her hands and her feet, and then shehardly felt how cold it was, but walked quickly on towards the Palace ofthe Snow Queen. 

Now we must see what Kay was about. He was not thinking about Gerda atall, least of all that she was just outside the Palace. 

SEVENTH STORY

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE SNOW QUEEN'S PALACE AND AFTERWARDS

[Illustration: _The Snow Queen sat in the very middle of it when she satat home. _]

The Palace walls were made of drifted snow, and the windows and doors ofthe biting winds. There were over a hundred rooms in it, shaped just asthe snow had drifted. The biggest one stretched for many miles. Theywere all lighted by the strongest northern lights. All the rooms wereimmensely big and empty, and glittering in their iciness. There wasnever any gaiety in them; not even so much as a ball for the littlebears, when the storms might have turned up as the orchestra, and thepolar bears might have walked about on their hind legs and shown offtheir grand manners. There was never even a little game-playing party, for such games as 'touch last' or 'the biter bit'--no, not even a littlegossip over the coffee cups for the white fox misses. Immense, vast, and cold were the Snow Queen's halls. The northern lights came and wentwith such regularity that you could count the seconds between theircoming and going. In the midst of these never-ending snow-halls was afrozen lake. It was broken up on the surface into a thousand bits, buteach piece was so exactly like the others that the whole formed aperfect work of art. The Snow Queen sat in the very middle of it whenshe sat at home. She then said that she was sitting on 'The Mirror ofReason, ' and that it was the best and only one in the world. 

Little Kay was blue with cold, nay, almost black; but he did not knowit, for the Snow Queen had kissed away the icy shiverings, and his heartwas little better than a lump of ice. He went about dragging some sharp, flat pieces of ice, which he placed in all sorts of patterns, trying tomake something out of them; just as when we at home have little tabletsof wood, with which we make patterns, and call them a 'Chinese puzzle. '

Kay's patterns were most ingenious, because they were the 'Ice Puzzlesof Reason. ' In his eyes they were first-rate and of the greatestimportance: this was because of the grain of glass still in his eye. Hemade many patterns forming words, but he never could find out the rightway to place them for one particular word, a word he was most anxious tomake. It was 'Eternity. ' The Snow Queen had said to him that if he couldfind out this word he should be his own master, and she would give himthe whole world and a new pair of skates. But he could not discover it. 

'Now I am going to fly away to the warm countries, ' said the Snow Queen. 'I want to go and peep into the black caldrons!' She meant the volcanoesEtna and Vesuvius by this. 'I must whiten them a little; it does themgood, and the lemons and the grapes too!' And away she flew. 

Kay sat quite alone in all those many miles of empty ice halls. Helooked at his bits of ice, and thought and thought, till something gaveway within him. He sat so stiff and immovable that one might havethought he was frozen to death. 

Then it was that little Gerda walked into the Palace, through the greatgates in a biting wind. She said her evening prayer, and the winddropped as if lulled to sleep, and she walked on into the big emptyhall. She saw Kay, and knew him at once; she flung her arms round hisneck, held him fast, and cried, 'Kay, little Kay, have I found you atlast?'

But he sat still, rigid and cold. 

Then little Gerda shed hot tears; they fell upon his breast andpenetrated to his heart. Here they thawed the lump of ice, and meltedthe little bit of the mirror which was in it. He looked at her, and shesang:

 'Where roses deck the flowery vale, There, Infant Jesus, we thee hail!'

Then Kay burst into tears; he cried so much that the grain of glasswas washed out of his eye. He knew her, and shouted with joy, 'Gerda, dear little Gerda! where have you been for such a long time? And wherehave I been?' He looked round and said, 'How cold it is here; how emptyand vast!' He kept tight hold of Gerda, who laughed and cried for joy. Their happiness was so heavenly that even the bits of ice danced for joyaround them; and when they settled down, there they lay! just in thevery position the Snow Queen had told Kay he must find out, if he was tobecome his own master and have the whole world and a new pair of skates. 

Gerda kissed his cheeks and they grew rosy, she kissed his eyes and theyshone like hers, she kissed his hands and his feet, and he became welland strong. The Snow Queen might come home whenever she liked, his orderof release was written there in shining letters of ice. 

They took hold of each other's hands and wandered out of the big Palace. They talked about grandmother, and about the roses upon the roof. Wherever they went the winds lay still and the sun broke through theclouds. When they reached the bush with the red berries they found thereindeer waiting for them, and he had brought another young reindeerwith him, whose udders were full. The children drank her warm milk andkissed her on the mouth. Then they carried Kay and Gerda, first to theFinn woman, in whose heated hut they warmed themselves and receiveddirections about the homeward journey. Then they went on to the Lappwoman; she had made new clothes for them and prepared her sledge. Boththe reindeer ran by their side, to the boundaries of the country; herethe first green buds appeared, and they said 'Good-bye' to the reindeerand the Lapp woman. They heard the first little birds twittering and sawthe buds in the forest. Out of it came riding a young girl on abeautiful horse, which Gerda knew, for it had drawn the golden chariot. She had a scarlet cap on her head and pistols in her belt; it was thelittle robber girl, who was tired of being at home. She was ridingnorthwards to see how she liked it before she tried some other part ofthe world. She knew them again, and Gerda recognised her with delight. 

'You are a nice fellow to go tramping off!' she said to little Kay. 'Ishould like to know if you deserve to have somebody running to the endof the world for your sake!'

But Gerda patted her cheek, and asked about the Prince and Princess. 

'They are travelling in foreign countries, ' said the robber girl. 

'But the crow?' asked Gerda. 

'Oh, the crow is dead!' she answered. 'The tame sweetheart is a widow, and goes about with a bit of black wool tied round her leg. She pitiesherself bitterly, but it's all nonsense! But tell me how you got onyourself, and where you found him. '

Gerda and Kay both told her all about it. 

'Snip, snap, snurre, it's all right at last then!' she said, and shetook hold of their hands and promised that if she ever passed throughtheir town she would pay them a visit. Then she rode off into the wideworld. But Kay and Gerda walked on, hand in hand, and wherever they wentthey found the most delightful spring and blooming flowers. Soon theyrecognised the big town where they lived, with its tall towers, in whichthe bells still rang their merry peals. They went straight on tograndmother's door, up the stairs and into her room. Everything was justas they had left it, and the old clock ticked in the corner, and thehands pointed to the time. As they went through the door into the roomthey perceived that they were grown up. The roses clustered round theopen window, and there stood their two little chairs. Kay and Gerda satdown upon them, still holding each other by the hand. All the cold emptygrandeur of the Snow Queen's palace had passed from their memory like abad dream. Grandmother sat in God's warm sunshine reading from herBible. 

'Without ye become as little children ye cannot enter into the Kingdomof Heaven. '

Kay and Gerda looked into each other's eyes, and then all at once themeaning of the old hymn came to them. 

 'Where roses deck the flowery vale, There, Infant Jesus, we thee hail!'

And there they both sat, grown up and yet children, children at heart;and it was summer--warm, beautiful summer. 

THE NIGHTINGALE

[Illustration: _Among these trees lived a nightingale, which sang sodeliciously, that even the poor fisherman, who had plenty of otherthings to do, lay still to listen to it, when he was out at nightdrawing in his nets. _]

In China, as you know, the Emperor is a Chinaman, and all the peoplearound him are Chinamen too. It is many years since the story I am goingto tell you happened, but that is all the more reason for telling it, lest it should be forgotten. The emperor's palace was the most beautifulthing in the world; it was made entirely of the finest porcelain, verycostly, but at the same time so fragile that it could only be touchedwith the very greatest care. There were the most extraordinary flowersto be seen in the garden; the most beautiful ones had little silverbells tied to them, which tinkled perpetually, so that one should notpass the flowers without looking at them. Every little detail in thegarden had been most carefully thought out, and it was so big, that eventhe gardener himself did not know where it ended. If one went onwalking, one came to beautiful woods with lofty trees and deep lakes. The wood extended to the sea, which was deep and blue, deep enough forlarge ships to sail up right under the branches of the trees. Amongthese trees lived a nightingale, which sang so deliciously, that eventhe poor fisherman, who had plenty of other things to do, lay still tolisten to it, when he was out at night drawing in his nets. 'Heavens, how beautiful it is!' he said, but then he had to attend to his businessand forgot it. The next night when he heard it again he would againexclaim, 'Heavens, how beautiful it is!'

Travellers came to the emperor's capital, from every country in theworld; they admired everything very much, especially the palace and thegardens, but when they heard the nightingale they all said, 'This isbetter than anything!'

When they got home they described it, and the learned ones wrote manybooks about the town, the palace and the garden; but nobody forgot thenightingale, it was always put above everything else. Those among themwho were poets wrote the most beautiful poems, all about the nightingalein the woods by the deep blue sea. These books went all over the world, and in course of time some of them reached the emperor. He sat in hisgolden chair reading and reading, and nodding his head, well pleased tohear such beautiful descriptions of the town, the palace and the garden. 'But the nightingale is the best of all, ' he read. 

'What is this?' said the emperor. 'The nightingale? Why, I know nothingabout it. Is there such a bird in my kingdom, and in my own garden intothe bargain, and I have never heard of it? Imagine my having todiscover this from a book?'

Then he called his gentleman-in-waiting, who was so grand that when anyone of a lower rank dared to speak to him, or to ask him a question, hewould only answer 'P, ' which means nothing at all. 

'There is said to be a very wonderful bird called a nightingale here, 'said the emperor. 'They say that it is better than anything else in allmy great kingdom! Why have I never been told anything about it?'

'I have never heard it mentioned, ' said the gentleman-in-waiting. 'Ithas never been presented at court. '

'I wish it to appear here this evening to sing to me, ' said the emperor. 'The whole world knows what I am possessed of, and I know nothing aboutit!'

'I have never heard it mentioned before, ' said the gentleman-in-waiting. 'I will seek it, and I will find it!' But where was it to be found? Thegentleman-in-waiting ran upstairs and downstairs and in and out of allthe rooms and corridors. No one of all those he met had ever heardanything about the nightingale; so the gentleman-in-waiting ran back tothe emperor, and said that it must be a myth, invented by the writers ofthe books. 'Your imperial majesty must not believe everything that iswritten; books are often mere inventions, even if they do not belong towhat we call the black art!'

'But the book in which I read it is sent to me by the powerful Emperorof Japan, so it can't be untrue. I will hear this nightingale; I insistupon its being here to-night. I extend my most gracious protection toit, and if it is not forthcoming, I will have the whole court trampledupon after supper!'

'Tsing-pe!' said the gentleman-in-waiting, and away he ran again, up anddown all the stairs, in and out of all the rooms and corridors; half thecourt ran with him, for they none of them wished to be trampled on. There was much questioning about this nightingale, which was known toall the outside world, but to no one at court. At last they found a poorlittle maid in the kitchen. She said, 'Oh heavens, the nightingale? Iknow it very well. Yes, indeed it can sing. Every evening I am allowedto take broken meat to my poor sick mother: she lives down by the shore. On my way back, when I am tired, I rest awhile in the wood, and then Ihear the nightingale. Its song brings the tears into my eyes; I feel asif my mother were kissing me!'

'Little kitchen-maid, ' said the gentleman-in-waiting, 'I will procureyou a permanent position in the kitchen, and permission to see theemperor dining, if you will take us to the nightingale. It is commandedto appear at court to-night. '

Then they all went out into the wood where the nightingale usually sang. Half the court was there. As they were going along at their best pace acow began to bellow. 

'Oh!' said a young courtier, 'there we have it. What wonderful powerfor such a little creature; I have certainly heard it before. '

'No, those are the cows bellowing; we are a long way yet from theplace. ' Then the frogs began to croak in the marsh. 

'Beautiful!' said the Chinese chaplain, 'it is just like the tinkling ofchurch bells. '

'No, those are the frogs!' said the little kitchen-maid. 'But I think weshall soon hear it now!'

Then the nightingale began to sing. 

'There it is!' said the little girl. 'Listen, listen, there it sits!'and she pointed to a little grey bird up among the branches. 

'Is it possible?' said the gentleman-in-waiting. 'I should never havethought it was like that. How common it looks! Seeing so many grandpeople must have frightened all its colours away. '

'Little nightingale!' called the kitchen-maid quite loud, 'our graciousemperor wishes you to sing to him!'

'With the greatest of pleasure!' said the nightingale, warbling away inthe most delightful fashion. 

'It is just like crystal bells, ' said the gentleman-in-waiting. 'Look atits little throat, how active it is. It is extraordinary that we havenever heard it before! I am sure it will be a great success at court!'

'Shall I sing again to the emperor?' said the nightingale, who thoughthe was present. 

'My precious little nightingale, ' said the gentleman-in-waiting, 'I havethe honour to command your attendance at a court festival to-night, where you will charm his gracious majesty the emperor with yourfascinating singing. '

'It sounds best among the trees, ' said the nightingale, but it went withthem willingly when it heard that the emperor wished it. 

[Illustration: _'Is it possible?' said the gentleman-in-waiting. 'Ishould never have thought it was like that. How common it looks. Seeingso many grand people must have frightened all its colours away. '_]

The palace had been brightened up for the occasion. The walls and thefloors, which were all of china, shone by the light of many thousandgolden lamps. The most beautiful flowers, all of the tinkling kind, werearranged in the corridors; there was hurrying to and fro, and a greatdraught, but this was just what made the bells ring; one's ears werefull of the tinkling. In the middle of the large reception-room wherethe emperor sat a golden rod had been fixed, on which the nightingalewas to perch. The whole court was assembled, and the little kitchen-maidhad been permitted to stand behind the door, as she now had the actualtitle of cook. They were all dressed in their best; everybody's eyeswere turned towards the little grey bird at which the emperor wasnodding. The nightingale sang delightfully, and the tears came into theemperor's eyes, nay, they rolled down his cheeks; and then thenightingale sang more beautifully than ever, its notes touched allhearts. The emperor was charmed, and said the nightingale shouldhave his gold slipper to wear round its neck. But the nightingaledeclined with thanks; it had already been sufficiently rewarded. 

'I have seen tears in the eyes of the emperor; that is my richestreward. The tears of an emperor have a wonderful power! God knows I amsufficiently recompensed!' and then it again burst into its sweetheavenly song. 

'That is the most delightful coquetting I have ever seen!' said theladies, and they took some water into their mouths to try and make thesame gurgling when any one spoke to them, thinking so to equal thenightingale. Even the lackeys and the chambermaids announced that theywere satisfied, and that is saying a great deal; they are always themost difficult people to please. Yes, indeed, the nightingale had made asensation. It was to stay at court now, and to have its own cage, aswell as liberty to walk out twice a day, and once in the night. Italways had twelve footmen, with each one holding a ribbon which was tiedround its leg. There was not much pleasure in an outing of that sort. 

The whole town talked about the marvellous bird, and if two people met, one said to the other 'Night, ' and the other answered 'Gale, ' and thenthey sighed, perfectly understanding each other. Eleven cheesemongers'children were called after it, but they had not got a voice among them. 

One day a large parcel came for the emperor; outside was written theword 'Nightingale. '

'Here we have another new book about this celebrated bird, ' said theemperor. But it was no book; it was a little work of art in a box, anartificial nightingale, exactly like the living one, but it was studdedall over with diamonds, rubies and sapphires. 

When the bird was wound up it could sing one of the songs the real onesang, and it wagged its tail, which glittered with silver and gold. Aribbon was tied round its neck on which was written, 'The Emperor ofJapan's nightingale is very poor compared to the Emperor of China's. '

Everybody said, 'Oh, how beautiful!' And the person who brought theartificial bird immediately received the title of ImperialNightingale-Carrier in Chief. 

'Now, they must sing together; what a duet that will be. '

Then they had to sing together, but they did not get on very well, forthe real nightingale sang in its own way, and the artificial one couldonly sing waltzes. 

'There is no fault in that, ' said the music-master; 'it is perfectly intime and correct in every way!'

Then the artificial bird had to sing alone. It was just as great asuccess as the real one, and then it was so much prettier to look at; itglittered like bracelets and breast-pins. 

[Illustration: _Then it again burst into its sweet heavenly song. ]

'That is the most delightful coquetting I have ever seen!' said theladies, and they took some water into their mouths to try and make thesame gurgling, thinking so to equal the nightingale. _

It sang the same tune three and thirty times over, and yet it wasnot tired; people would willingly have heard it from the beginningagain, but the emperor said that the real one must have a turn now--butwhere was it? No one had noticed that it had flown out of the openwindow, back to its own green woods. 

'But what is the meaning of this?' said the emperor. 

All the courtiers railed at it, and said it was a most ungrateful bird. 

'We have got the best bird though, ' said they, and then the artificialbird had to sing again, and this was the thirty-fourth time that theyheard the same tune, but they did not know it thoroughly even yet, because it was so difficult. 

The music-master praised the bird tremendously, and insisted that it wasmuch better than the real nightingale, not only as regarded the outsidewith all the diamonds, but the inside too. 

'Because you see, my ladies and gentlemen, and the emperor before all, in the real nightingale you never know what you will hear, but in theartificial one everything is decided beforehand! So it is, and so itmust remain, it can't be otherwise. You can account for things, you canopen it and show the human ingenuity in arranging the waltzes, how theygo, and how one note follows upon another!'

'Those are exactly my opinions, ' they all said, and the music-master gotleave to show the bird to the public next Sunday. They were also to hearit sing, said the emperor. So they heard it, and all became asenthusiastic over it as if they had drunk themselves merry on tea, because that is a thoroughly Chinese habit. 

Then they all said 'Oh, ' and stuck their forefingers in the air andnodded their heads; but the poor fishermen who had heard the realnightingale said, 'It sounds very nice, and it is very like the realone, but there is something wanting, we don't know what. ' The realnightingale was banished from the kingdom. 

The artificial bird had its place on a silken cushion, close to theemperor's bed: all the presents it had received of gold and preciousjewels were scattered round it. Its title had risen to be 'ChiefImperial Singer of the Bed-Chamber, ' in rank number one, on the leftside; for the emperor reckoned that side the important one, where theheart was seated. And even an emperor's heart is on the left side. Themusic-master wrote five-and-twenty volumes about the artificial bird;the treatise was very long and written in all the most difficult Chinesecharacters. Everybody said they had read and understood it, forotherwise they would have been reckoned stupid, and then their bodieswould have been trampled upon. 

[Illustration: _The music-master wrote five-and-twenty volumes about theartificial bird; the treatise was very long and written in all the mostdifficult Chinese characters. _]

Things went on in this way for a whole year. The emperor, the court, andall the other Chinamen knew every little gurgle in the song of theartificial bird by heart; but they liked it all the better for this, andthey could all join in the song themselves. Even the street boyssang 'zizizi' and 'cluck, cluck, cluck, ' and the emperor sang it too. 

But one evening when the bird was singing its best, and the emperor waslying in bed listening to it, something gave way inside the bird with a'whizz. ' Then a spring burst, 'whirr' went all the wheels, and the musicstopped. The emperor jumped out of bed and sent for his privatephysicians, but what good could they do? Then they sent for thewatchmaker, and after a good deal of talk and examination he got theworks to go again somehow; but he said it would have to be saved as muchas possible, because it was so worn out, and he could not renew theworks so as to be sure of the tune. This was a great blow! They onlydared to let the artificial bird sing once a year, and hardly that; butthen the music-master made a little speech, using all the most difficultwords. He said it was just as good as ever, and his saying it made itso. 

Five years now passed, and then a great grief came upon the nation, forthey were all very fond of their emperor, and he was ill and could notlive, it was said. A new emperor was already chosen, and people stoodabout in the street, and asked the gentleman-in-waiting how theiremperor was going on. 

'P, ' answered he, shaking his head. 

The emperor lay pale and cold in his gorgeous bed, the courtiers thoughthe was dead, and they all went off to pay their respects to their newemperor. The lackeys ran off to talk matters over, and the chambermaidsgave a great coffee-party. Cloth had been laid down in all the rooms andcorridors so as to deaden the sound of footsteps, so it was very, veryquiet. But the emperor was not dead yet. He lay stiff and pale in thegorgeous bed with its velvet hangings and heavy golden tassels. Therewas an open window high above him, and the moon streamed in upon theemperor, and the artificial bird beside him. 

The poor emperor could hardly breathe, he seemed to have a weight on hischest, he opened his eyes, and then he saw that it was Death sittingupon his chest, wearing his golden crown. In one hand he held theemperor's golden sword, and in the other his imperial banner. Roundabout, from among the folds of the velvet hangings peered many curiousfaces: some were hideous, others gentle and pleasant. They were all theemperor's good and bad deeds, which now looked him in the face whenDeath was weighing him down. 

'Do you remember that?' whispered one after the other; 'Do you rememberthis?' and they told him so many things that the perspiration poureddown his face. 

'I never knew that, ' said the emperor. 'Music, music, sound the greatChinese drums!' he cried, 'that I may not hear what they are saying. 'But they went on and on, and Death sat nodding his head, just like aChinaman, at everything that was said. 

'Music, music!' shrieked the emperor. 'You precious little golden bird, sing, sing! I have loaded you with precious stones, and even hung my owngolden slipper round your neck; sing, I tell you, sing!'

But the bird stood silent; there was nobody to wind it up, so of courseit could not go. Death continued to fix the great empty sockets of hiseyes upon him, and all was silent, so terribly silent. 

Suddenly, close to the window, there was a burst of lovely song; it wasthe living nightingale, perched on a branch outside. It had heard of theemperor's need, and had come to bring comfort and hope to him. As itsang the faces round became fainter and fainter, and the blood coursedwith fresh vigour in the emperor's veins and through his feeble limbs. Even Death himself listened to the song and said, 'Go on, littlenightingale, go on!'

'Yes, if you give me the gorgeous golden sword; yes, if you give me theimperial banner; yes, if you give me the emperor's crown. '

And Death gave back each of these treasures for a song, and thenightingale went on singing. It sang about the quiet churchyard, whenthe roses bloom, where the elder flower scents the air, and where thefresh grass is ever moistened anew by the tears of the mourner. Thissong brought to Death a longing for his own garden, and, like a coldgrey mist, he passed out of the window. 

'Thanks, thanks!' said the emperor; 'you heavenly little bird, I knowyou! I banished you from my kingdom, and yet you have charmed the evilvisions away from my bed by your song, and even Death away from myheart! How can I ever repay you?'

'You have rewarded me, ' said the nightingale. 'I brought the tears toyour eyes, the very first time I ever sang to you, and I shall neverforget it! Those are the jewels which gladden the heart of asinger;--but sleep now, and wake up fresh and strong! I will sing toyou!'

Then it sang again, and the emperor fell into a sweet refreshing sleep. The sun shone in at his window, when he woke refreshed and well; none ofhis attendants had yet come back to him, for they thought he was dead, but the nightingale still sat there singing. 

'You must always stay with me!' said the emperor. 'You shall only singwhen you like, and I will break the artificial bird into a thousandpieces!'

[Illustration: _Even Death himself listened to the song and said, 'Goon, little nightingale, go on!'_]

'Don't do that!' said the nightingale, 'it did all the good it could!keep it as you have always done! I can't build my nest and live in thispalace, but let me come whenever I like, then I will sit on the branchin the evening, and sing to you. I will sing to cheer you and to makeyou thoughtful too; I will sing to you of the happy ones, and of thosethat suffer too. I will sing about the good and the evil, which are kepthidden from you. The little singing bird flies far and wide, to the poorfisherman, and the peasant's home, to numbers who are far from you andyour court. I love your heart more than your crown, and yet there is anodour of sanctity round the crown too!--I will come, and I willsing to you!--But you must promise me one thing!--

'Everything!' said the emperor, who stood there in his imperial robeswhich he had just put on, and he held the sword heavy with gold upon hisheart. 

'One thing I ask you! Tell no one that you have a little bird who tellsyou everything; it will be better so!'

Then the nightingale flew away. The attendants came in to see aftertheir dead emperor, and there he stood, bidding them 'Good morning!'

THE REAL PRINCESS

There was once a prince, and he wanted a princess, but then she must bea _real_ Princess. He travelled right round the world to find one, butthere was always something wrong. There were plenty of princesses, butwhether they were real princesses he had great difficulty indiscovering; there was always something which was not quite right aboutthem. So at last he had to come home again, and he was very sad becausehe wanted a real princess so badly. 

One evening there was a terrible storm; it thundered and lightened andthe rain poured down in torrents; indeed it was a fearful night. 

In the middle of the storm somebody knocked at the town gate, and theold King himself went to open it. 

It was a princess who stood outside, but she was in a terrible statefrom the rain and the storm. The water streamed out of her hair and herclothes; it ran in at the top of her shoes and out at the heel, but shesaid that she was a real princess. 

'Well we shall soon see if that is true, ' thought the old Queen, but shesaid nothing. She went into the bedroom, took all the bedclothes off andlaid a pea on the bedstead: then she took twenty mattresses and piledthem on the top of the pea, and then twenty feather beds on the top ofthe mattresses. This was where the princess was to sleep that night. Inthe morning they asked her how she had slept. 

'Oh terribly badly!' said the princess. 'I have hardly closed my eyesthe whole night! Heaven knows what was in the bed. I seemed to be lyingupon some hard thing, and my whole body is black and blue this morning. It is terrible!'

They saw at once that she must be a real princess when she had felt thepea through twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds. Nobody but a realprincess could have such a delicate skin. 

So the prince took her to be his wife, for now he was sure that he hadfound a real princess, and the pea was put into the Museum, where it maystill be seen if no one has stolen it. 

Now this is a true story. 

THE GARDEN OF PARADISE

There was once a king's son; nobody had so many or such beautiful booksas he had. He could read about everything which had ever happened inthis world, and see it all represented in the most beautiful pictures. He could get information about every nation and every country; but as towhere the Garden of Paradise was to be found, not a word could hediscover, and this was the very thing he thought most about. Hisgrandmother had told him, when he was quite a little fellow and wasabout to begin his school life, that every flower in the Garden ofParadise was a delicious cake, and that the pistils were full of wine. In one flower history was written, in another geography or tables; youhad only to eat the cake and you knew the lesson. The more you ate, themore history, geography and tables you knew. All this he believed then;but as he grew older and wiser and learnt more, he easily perceived thatthe delights of the Garden of Paradise must be far beyond all this. 

[Illustration: _His grandmother had told him, when he was quite alittle fellow and was about to begin his school life, that every flowerin the Garden of Paradise was a delicious cake, and that the pistilswere full of wine. _]

'Oh, why did Eve take of the tree of knowledge? Why did Adam eat theforbidden fruit? If it had only been I it would not have happened! neverwould sin have entered the world!'

This is what he said then, and he still said it when he was seventeen;his thoughts were full of the Garden of Paradise. 

He walked into the wood one day; he was alone, for that was his greatestpleasure. Evening came on, the clouds drew up and it rained as if thewhole heaven had become a sluice from which the water poured in sheets;it was as dark as it is otherwise in the deepest well. Now he slipped onthe wet grass, and then he fell on the bare stones which jutted out ofthe rocky ground. Everything was dripping, and at last the poor Princehadn't got a dry thread on him. He had to climb over huge rocks wherethe water oozed out of the thick moss. He was almost fainting; just thenhe heard a curious murmuring and saw in front of him a big lighted cave. A fire was burning in the middle, big enough to roast a stag, which wasin fact being done; a splendid stag with its huge antlers was stuck on aspit, being slowly turned round between the hewn trunks of two firtrees. An oldish woman, tall and strong enough to be a man dressed up, sat by the fire throwing on logs from time to time. 

'Come in, by all means!' she said; 'sit down by the fire so that yourclothes may dry!'

'There is a shocking draught here, ' said the Prince, as he sat down onthe ground. 

'It will be worse than this when my sons come home!' said the woman. 'You are in the cavern of the winds; my sons are the four winds of theworld! Do you understand?'

'Who are your sons?' asked the Prince. 

'Well that's not so easy to answer when the question is stupidly put, 'said the woman. 'My sons do as they like; they are playing rounders nowwith the clouds up there in the great hall, ' and she pointed up into thesky. 

'Oh indeed!' said the Prince. 'You seem to speak very harshly, and youare not so gentle as the women I generally see about me!'

'Oh, I daresay they have nothing else to do! I have to be harsh if I amto keep my boys under control! But I can do it, although they are astiff-necked lot! Do you see those four sacks hanging on the wall? Theyare just as frightened of them as you used to be of the cane behind thelooking-glass. I can double the boys up, I can tell you, and then theyhave to go into the bag; we don't stand upon ceremony, and there theyhave to stay; they can't get out to play their tricks till it suits meto let them. But here we have one of them. ' It was the Northwind whocame in with an icy blast; great hailstones peppered about the floor andsnow-flakes drifted in. He was dressed in bearskin trousers and jacket, and he had a sealskin cap drawn over his ears. Long icicles werehanging from his beard, and one hailstone after another dropped downfrom the collar of his jacket. 

'Don't go straight to the fire, ' said the Prince. 'You might easily getchilblains!'

'Chilblains!' said the Northwind with a loud laugh. 'Chilblains! theyare my greatest delight! What sort of a feeble creature are you? How didyou get into the cave of the winds?'

'He is my guest, ' said the old woman, 'and if you are not pleased withthat explanation you may go into the bag! Now you know my opinion!'

This had its effect, and the Northwind told them where he came from, andwhere he had been for the last month. 

'I come from the Arctic seas, ' he said. 'I have been on Behring Islandwith the Russian walrus-hunters. I sat at the helm and slept when theysailed from the north cape, and when I woke now and then the stormypetrels were flying about my legs. They are queer birds; they give abrisk flap with their wings and then keep them stretched out andmotionless, and even then they have speed enough. '

'Pray don't be too long-winded, ' said the mother of the winds. 'So atlast you got to Behring Island!'

'It's perfectly splendid! There you have a floor to dance upon, as flatas a pancake, half-thawed snow, with moss. There were bones of whalesand Polar bears lying about; they looked like the legs and arms ofgiants covered with green mould. One would think that the sun had nevershone on them. I gave a little puff to the fog so that one could see theshed. It was a house built of wreckage and covered with the skins ofwhales; the flesh side was turned outwards; it was all red and green; aliving Polar bear sat on the roof growling. I went to the shore andlooked at the birds' nests, looked at the unfledged young ones screamingand gaping; then I blew down thousands of their throats and they learntto shut their mouths. Lower down the walruses were rolling about likemonster maggots with pigs' heads and teeth a yard long!'

'You're a good story-teller, my boy!' said his mother. 'It makes mymouth water to hear you!'

'Then there was a hunt! The harpoons were plunged into the walruses'breasts, and the steaming blood spurted out of them like fountains overthe ice. Then I remembered my part of the game! I blew up and made myships, the mountain-high icebergs, nip the boats; whew! how theywhistled and how they screamed, but I whistled louder. They were obligedto throw the dead walruses, chests and ropes out upon the ice! I shookthe snow-flakes over them and let them drift southwards to taste thesalt water. They will never come back to Behring Island!'

'Then you've been doing evil!' said the mother of the winds. 

'What good I did, the others may tell you, ' said he. 'But here we havemy brother from the west; I like him best of all; he smells of the seaand brings a splendid cool breeze with him!'

'Is that the little Zephyr?' asked the Prince. 

'Yes, certainly it is Zephyr, but he is not so little as all that. Heused to be a pretty boy once, but that's gone by!'

He looked like a wild man of the woods, but he had a padded hat on so asnot to come to any harm. He carried a mahogany club cut in the Americanmahogany forests. It could not be anything less than that. 

'Where do you come from?' asked his mother. 

'From the forest wildernesses!' he said, 'where the thorny creepers makea fence between every tree, where the water-snake lies in the wet grass, and where human beings seem to be superfluous!'

'What did you do there?'

'I looked at the mighty river, saw where it dashed over the rocks indust and flew with the clouds to carry the rainbow. I saw the wildbuffalo swimming in the river, but the stream carried him away; hefloated with the wild duck, which soared into the sky at the rapids; butthe buffalo was carried over with the water. I liked that and blew astorm, so that the primæval trees had to sail too, and they were whirledabout like shavings. '

'And you have done nothing else?' asked the old woman. 

'I have been turning somersaults in the Savannahs, patting the wildhorse, and shaking down cocoanuts! Oh yes, I have plenty of stories totell! But one need not tell everything. You know that very well, oldwoman!' and then he kissed his mother so heartily that she nearly fellbackwards; he was indeed a wild boy. 

The Southwind appeared now in a turban and a flowing bedouin's cloak. 

'It is fearfully cold in here, ' he said, throwing wood on the fire; 'itis easy to see that the Northwind got here first!'

'It is hot enough here to roast a polar bear, ' said the Northwind. 

'You are a polar bear yourself!' said the Southwind. 

'Do you want to go into the bag?' asked the old woman. 'Sit down on thatstone and tell us where you have been. '

'In Africa, mother!' he answered. 'I have been chasing the lion with theHottentots in Kaffirland! What grass there is on those plains! as greenas an olive. The gnu was dancing about, and the ostriches ran races withme, but I am still the fastest. I went to the desert with its yellowsand. It looks like the bottom of the sea. I met a caravan! They werekilling their last camel to get water to drink, but it wasn't much theygot. The sun was blazing above, and the sand burning below. There wereno limits to the outstretched desert. Then I burrowed into the fineloose sand and whirled it up in great columns--that was a dance! Youshould have seen how despondently the dromedaries stood, and themerchant drew his caftan over his head. He threw himself down before meas if I had been Allah, his god. Now they are buried, and there is apyramid of sand over them all; when I blow it away, sometime the sunwill bleach their bones, and then travellers will see that people havebeen there before, otherwise you would hardly believe it in the desert!'

'Then you have only been doing harm!' said the mother. 'Into the bag yougo!' And before he knew where he was she had the Southwind by the waistand in the bag; it rolled about on the ground, but she sat down upon itand then it had to be quiet. 

'Your sons are lively fellows!' said the Prince. 

'Yes, indeed, ' she said; 'but I can master them! Here comes the fourth. '

It was the Eastwind, and he was dressed like a Chinaman. 

'Oh, have you come from that quarter?' said the mother. 'I thought youhad been in the Garden of Paradise. '

'I am only going there to-morrow!' said the Eastwind. 'It will be ahundred years to-morrow since I have been there. I have just come fromChina, where I danced round the porcelain tower till all the bellsjingled. The officials were flogged in the streets, the bamboo caneswere broken over their shoulders, and they were all people ranging fromthe first to the ninth rank. They shrieked "Many thanks, Father andbenefactor, " but they didn't mean what they said, and I went on ringingthe bells and singing "Tsing, tsang, tsu!"'

'You're quite uproarious about it!' said the old woman. 'It's a goodthing you are going to the Garden of Paradise to-morrow; it always has agood effect on your behaviour. Mind you drink deep of the well ofwisdom, and bring a little bottleful home to me. '

'That I will, ' said the Eastwind, 'But why have you put my brother fromthe south into the bag? Out with him. He must tell me about thephoenix; the Princess always wants to hear about that bird when I callevery hundred years. Open the bag! then you'll be my sweetest mother, and I'll give you two pockets full of tea as green and fresh as when Ipicked it!'

'Well, for the sake of the tea, and because you are my darling, I willopen my bag!'

She did open it and the Southwind crept out, but he was quitecrestfallen because the strange Prince had seen his disgrace. 

'Here is a palm leaf for the Princess!' said the Southwind. 'The oldphoenix, the only one in the world, gave it to me. He has scratchedhis whole history on it with his bill, for the hundred years of hislife, and she can read it for herself. I saw how the phoenix set fireto his nest himself and sat on it while it burnt, like the widow of aHindoo. Oh, how the dry branches crackled, how it smoked, and what asmell there was! At last it all burst into flame; the old bird was burntto ashes, but his egg lay glowing in the fire; it broke with a loud bangand the young one flew out. Now it rules over all the birds, and it isthe only phoenix in the world. He bit a hole in the leaf I gave you;that is his greeting to the Princess. '

'Let us have something to eat now!' said the mother of the winds; andthey all sat down to eat the roast stag, and the Prince sat by the sideof the Eastwind, so they soon became good friends. 

'I say, ' said the Prince, 'just tell me who is this Princess, and whereis the Garden of Paradise?'

'Oh ho!' said the Eastwind, 'if that is where you want to go you mustfly with me to-morrow. But I may as well tell you that no human beinghas been there since Adam and Eve's time. You know all about them Isuppose from your Bible stories?'

'Of course, ' said the Prince. 

'When they were driven away the Garden of Eden sank into the ground, butit kept its warm sunshine, its mild air, and all its charms. The queenof the fairies lives there. The Island of Bliss, where death neverenters, and where living is a delight, is there. Get on my backto-morrow and I will take you with me; I think I can manage it! But youmustn't talk now, I want to go to sleep. '

When the Prince woke up in the early morning, he was not a littlesurprised to find that he was already high above the clouds. He wassitting on the back of the Eastwind, who was holding him carefully; theywere so high up that woods and fields, rivers and lakes, looked like alarge coloured map. 

'Good morning, ' said the Eastwind. 'You may as well sleep a littlelonger, for there is not much to be seen in this flat country below us, unless you want to count the churches. They look like chalk dots on thegreen board. '

He called the fields and meadows 'the green board. '

'It was very rude of me to leave without saying good-bye to your motherand brothers, ' said the Prince. 

'One is excused when one is asleep!' said the Eastwind, and they flew onfaster than ever. You could mark their flight by the rustling of thetrees as they passed over the woods; and whenever they crossed a lake, or the sea, the waves rose and the great ships dipped low down in thewater, like floating swans. Towards evening the large towns were amusingas it grew dark, with all their lights twinkling now here, now there, just as when one burns a piece of paper and sees all the little sparkslike children coming home from school. The Prince clapped his hands, butthe Eastwind told him he had better leave off and hold tight, or hemight fall and find himself hanging on to a church steeple. 

The eagle in the great forest flew swiftly, but the Eastwind flew moreswiftly still. The Kossack on his little horse sped fast over theplains, but the Prince sped faster still. 

[Illustration: _The eagle in the great forest flew swiftly, but theEastwind flew more swiftly still. _]

'Now you can see the Himalayas!' said the Eastwind. 'They are thehighest mountains in Asia; we shall soon reach the Garden of Paradise. '

They took a more southerly direction, and the air became scented withspices and flowers. Figs and pomegranates grew wild, and the wild vineswere covered with blue and green grapes. They both descended here andstretched themselves on the soft grass, where the flowers nodded to thewind, as much as to say, 'Welcome back. '

'Are we in the Garden of Paradise now?' asked the Prince. 

'No, certainly not!' answered the Eastwind. 'But we shall soon be there. Do you see that wall of rock and the great cavern where the wild vinehangs like a big curtain? We have to go through there! Wrap yourself upin your cloak, the sun is burning here, but a step further on it is icycold. The bird which flies past the cavern has one wing out here in theheat of summer, and the other is there in the cold of winter. '

'So that is the way to the Garden of Paradise!' said the Prince. 

Now they entered the cavern. Oh, how icily cold it was; but it did notlast long. The Eastwind spread his wings, and they shone like thebrightest flame; but what a cave it was! Large blocks of stone, fromwhich the water dripped, hung over them in the most extraordinaryshapes; at one moment it was so low and narrow that they had to crawlon hands and knees, the next it was as wide and lofty as if they were inthe open air. It looked like a chapel of the dead, with mute organ pipesand petrified banners. 

'We seem to be journeying along Death's road to the Garden of Paradise!'said the Prince, but the Eastwind never answered a word, he only pointedbefore them where a beautiful blue light was shining. The blocks ofstone above them grew dimmer and dimmer, and at last they became astransparent as a white cloud in the moonshine. The air was alsodeliciously soft, as fresh as on the mountain-tops and as scented asdown among the roses in the valley. 

A river ran there as clear as the air itself, and the fish in it werelike gold and silver. Purple eels, which gave out blue sparks with everycurve, gambolled about in the water; and the broad leaves of thewater-lilies were tinged with the hues of the rainbow, while the floweritself was like a fiery orange flame, nourished by the water, just asoil keeps a lamp constantly burning. A firm bridge of marble, asdelicately and skilfully carved as if it were lace and glass beads, ledover the water to the Island of Bliss, where the Garden of Paradisebloomed. 

The Eastwind took the Prince in his arms and bore him over. The flowersand leaves there sang all the beautiful old songs of his childhood, butsang them more wonderfully than any human voice could sing them. 

Were these palm trees or giant water plants growing here? The Princehad never seen such rich and mighty trees. The most wonderful climbingplants hung in wreaths, such as are only to be found pictured in goldand colours on the margins of old books of the Saints or entwined amongtheir initial letters. It was the most extraordinary combination ofbirds, flowers and scrolls. 

Close by on the grass stood a flock of peacocks with their brillianttails outspread. Yes, indeed, it seemed so, but when the Prince touchedthem he saw that they were not birds but plants. They were big dockleaves, which shone like peacocks' tails. Lions and tigers sprang likeagile cats among the green hedges, which were scented with the blossomof the olive, and the lion and the tiger were tame. The wild dove, glistening like a pearl, beat the lion's mane with his wings; and theantelope, otherwise so shy, stood by nodding, just as if he wanted tojoin the game. 

The Fairy of the Garden now advanced to meet them; her garments shonelike the sun, and her face beamed like that of a happy mother rejoicingover her child. She was young and very beautiful, and was surrounded bya band of lovely girls, each with a gleaming star in her hair. 

When the Eastwind gave her the inscribed leaf from the Phoenix hereyes sparkled with delight. She took the Prince's hand and led him intoher palace, where the walls were the colour of the brightest tulips inthe sunlight. The ceiling was one great shining flower, and the longerone gazed into it the deeper the calyx seemed to be. The Prince went tothe window, and looking through one of the panes saw the Tree ofKnowledge, with the Serpent, and Adam and Eve standing by. 

'Are they not driven out?' he asked, and the Fairy smiled, and explainedthat Time had burned a picture into each pane, but not of the kind oneusually sees; they were alive, the leaves on the trees moved, and peoplecame and went like the reflections in a mirror. 

Then he looked through another pane, and he saw Jacob's dream, with theladder going straight up into heaven, and angels with great wings werefluttering up and down. All that had ever happened in this world livedand moved on these window panes; only Time could imprint such wonderfulpictures. 

[Illustration: _The Fairy of the Garden now advanced to meet them; hergarments shone like the sun, and her face beamed like that of a happymother rejoicing over her child. _]

The Fairy smiled and led him into a large, lofty room, the walls ofwhich were like transparent paintings of faces, one more beautiful thanthe other. These were millions of the Blessed who smiled and sang, andall their songs melted into one perfect melody. The highest ones were sotiny that they seemed smaller than the very smallest rosebud, no biggerthan a pinpoint in a drawing. In the middle of the room stood a largetree, with handsome drooping branches; golden apples, large and small, hung like oranges among its green leaves. It was the Tree ofKnowledge, of whose fruit Adam and Eve had eaten. From every leafhung a shining red drop of dew; it was as if the tree wept tears ofblood. 

'Now let us get into the boat, ' said the Fairy. 'We shall findrefreshment on the swelling waters. The boat rocks, but it does not movefrom the spot; all the countries of the world will pass before oureyes. '

It was a curious sight to see the whole coast move. Here came loftysnow-clad Alps, with their clouds and dark fir trees. The horn echoedsadly among them, and the shepherd yodelled sweetly in the valleys. Thenbanian trees bent their long drooping branches over the boat, blackswans floated on the water, and the strangest animals and flowersappeared on the shore. This was New Holland, the fifth portion of theworld, which glided past them with a view of its blue mountains. Theyheard the song of priests, and saw the dances of the savages to thesound of drums and pipes of bone. The pyramids of Egypt reaching to theclouds, with fallen columns, and Sphynxes half buried in sand, nextsailed past them. Then came the Aurora Borealis blazing over the peaksof the north; they were fireworks which could not be imitated. ThePrince was so happy, and he saw a hundred times more than we havedescribed. 

'Can I stay here always?' he asked. 

'That depends upon yourself, ' answered the Fairy. 'If you do not, likeAdam, allow yourself to be tempted to do what is forbidden, you can stayhere always. '

'I will not touch the apples on the Tree of Knowledge, ' said the Prince. 'There are thousands of other fruits here as beautiful. '

'Test yourself, and if you are not strong enough, go back with theEastwind who brought you. He is going away now, and will not come backfor a hundred years; the time will fly in this place like a hundredhours, but that is a long time for temptation and sin. Every eveningwhen I leave you I must say, "Come with me, " and I must beckon to you, but stay behind. Do not come with me, for with every step you take yourlonging will grow stronger. You will reach the hall where grows the Treeof Knowledge; I sleep beneath its fragrant drooping branches. You willbend over me and I must smile, but if you press a kiss upon my lipsParadise will sink deep down into the earth, and it will be lost to you. The sharp winds of the wilderness will whistle round you, the cold rainwill drop from your hair. Sorrow and labour will be your lot. '

'I will remain here!' said the Prince. 

And the Eastwind kissed him on the mouth and said: 'Be strong, then weshall meet again in a hundred years. Farewell! Farewell!' And theEastwind spread his great wings; they shone like poppies at the harvesttime, or the Northern Lights in a cold winter. 

'Good-bye! good-bye!' whispered the flowers. Storks and pelicans flewin a line like waving ribbons, conducting him to the boundaries of theGarden. 

'Now we begin our dancing!' said the Fairy; 'at the end when I dancewith you, as the sun goes down you will see me beckon to you and cry, "Come with me", but do not come. I have to repeat it every night for ahundred years. Every time you resist, you will grow stronger, and atlast you will not even think of following. To-night is the first time. Remember my warning!'

And the Fairy led him into a large hall of white transparent lilies, theyellow stamens in each formed a little golden harp which echoed thesound of strings and flutes. Lovely girls, slender and lissom, dressedin floating gauze, which revealed their exquisite limbs, glided in thedance, and sang of the joy of living--that they would never die--andthat the Garden of Paradise would bloom for ever. 

The sun went down and the sky was bathed in golden light which gave thelilies the effect of roses; and the Prince drank of the foaming winehanded to him by the maidens. He felt such joy as he had never knownbefore; he saw the background of the hall opening where the Tree ofKnowledge stood in a radiancy which blinded him. The song proceedingfrom it was soft and lovely, like his mother's voice, and she seemed tosay, 'My child, my beloved child!'

Then the Fairy beckoned to him and said so tenderly, 'Come with me, 'that he rushed towards her, forgetting his promise, forgettingeverything on the very first evening that she smiled and beckoned tohim. 

The fragrance in the scented air around grew stronger, the harps soundedsweeter than ever, and it seemed as if the millions of smiling heads inthe hall where the Tree grew nodded and sang, 'One must know everything. Man is lord of the earth. ' They were no longer tears of blood which fellfrom the Tree; it seemed to him that they were red shining stars. 

'Come with me, come with me, ' spoke those trembling tones, and at everystep the Prince's cheeks burnt hotter and hotter and his blood coursedmore rapidly. 

'I must go, ' he said, 'it is no sin; I must see her asleep; nothing willbe lost if I do not kiss her, and that I will not do. My will isstrong. '

The Fairy dropped her shimmering garment, drew back the branches, and amoment after was hidden within their depths. 

'I have not sinned yet!' said the Prince, 'nor will I'; then he drewback the branches. There she lay asleep already, beautiful as only theFairy in the Garden of Paradise can be. She smiled in her dreams; hebent over her and saw the tears welling up under her eyelashes. 

[Illustration: _The Fairy dropped her shimmering garment, drew back thebranches, and a moment after was hidden within their depths. _]

'Do you weep for me?' he whispered. 'Weep not, beautiful maiden. Ionly now understand the full bliss of Paradise; it surges through myblood and through my thoughts. I feel the strength of the angels and ofeverlasting life in my mortal limbs! If it were to be everlasting nightto me, a moment like this were worth it!' and he kissed away the tearsfrom her eyes; his mouth touched hers. 

Then came a sound like thunder, louder and more awful than any he hadever heard before, and everything around collapsed. The beautiful Fairy, the flowery Paradise sank deeper and deeper. The Prince saw it sink intothe darkness of night; it shone far off like a little tiny twinklingstar. The chill of death crept over his limbs; he closed his eyes andlay long as if dead. 

The cold rain fell on his face, and the sharp wind blew around his head, and at last his memory came back. 'What have I done?' he sighed. 'I havesinned like Adam, sinned so heavily that Paradise has sunk low beneaththe earth!' And he opened his eyes; he could still see the star, thefar-away star, which twinkled like Paradise; it was the morning star inthe sky. He got up and found himself in the wood near the cave of thewinds, and the mother of the winds sat by his side. She looked angry andraised her hand. 

'So soon as the first evening!' she said. 'I thought as much; if youwere my boy, you should go into the bag!'

'Ah, he shall soon go there!' said Death. He was a strong old man, witha scythe in his hand and great black wings. 'He shall be laid in acoffin, but not now; I only mark him and then leave him for a time towander about on the earth to expiate his sin and to grow better. I willcome some time. When he least expects me, I shall come back, lay him ina black coffin, put it on my head, and fly to the skies. The Garden ofParadise blooms there too, and if he is good and holy he shall enterinto it; but if his thoughts are wicked and his heart still full of sin, he will sink deeper in his coffin than Paradise sank, and I shall onlygo once in every thousand years to see if he is to sink deeper or torise to the stars, the twinkling stars up there. '

THE MERMAID

Far out at sea the water is as blue as the bluest cornflower, and asclear as the clearest crystal; but it is very deep, too deep for anycable to fathom, and if many steeples were piled on the top of oneanother they would not reach from the bed of the sea to the surface ofthe water. It is down there that the Mermen live. 

Now don't imagine that there are only bare white sands at the bottom; ohno! the most wonderful trees and plants grow there, with such flexiblestalks and leaves, that at the slightest motion of the water they movejust as if they were alive. All the fish, big and little, glide amongthe branches just as, up here, birds glide through the air. The palaceof the Merman King lies in the very deepest part; its walls are of coraland the long pointed windows of the clearest amber, but the roof is madeof mussel shells which open and shut with the lapping of the water. Thishas a lovely effect, for there are gleaming pearls in every shell, anyone of which would be the pride of a queen's crown. 

The Merman King had been for many years a widower, but his old motherkept house for him; she was a clever woman, but so proud of her noblebirth that she wore twelve oysters on her tail, while the other grandeeswere only allowed six. Otherwise she was worthy of all praise, especially because she was so fond of the little mermaid princesses, hergrandchildren. They were six beautiful children, but the youngest wasthe prettiest of all; her skin was as soft and delicate as a roseleaf, her eyes as blue as the deepest sea, but like all the others she had nofeet, and instead of legs she had a fish's tail. 

All the livelong day they used to play in the palace in the great halls, where living flowers grew out of the walls. When the great amber windowswere thrown open the fish swam in, just as the swallows fly into ourrooms when we open the windows, but the fish swam right up to the littleprincesses, ate out of their hands, and allowed themselves to be patted. 

[Illustration: _The Merman King had been for many years a widower, buthis old mother kept house for him; she was a clever woman, but so proudof her noble birth that she wore twelve oysters on her tail, while theother grandees were only allowed six. _]

Outside the palace was a large garden, with fiery red and deep bluetrees, the fruit of which shone like gold, while the flowers glowed likefire on their ceaselessly waving stalks. The ground was of the finestsand, but it was of a blue phosphorescent tint. Everything was bathed ina wondrous blue light down there; you might more readily have supposedyourself to be high up in the air, with only the sky above and belowyou, than that you were at the bottom of the ocean. In a dead calm youcould just catch a glimpse of the sun like a purple flower with astream of light radiating from its calyx. 

Each little princess had her own little plot of garden, where she coulddig and plant just as she liked. One made her flower-bed in the shape ofa whale; another thought it nice to have hers like a little mermaid; butthe youngest made hers quite round like the sun, and she would only haveflowers of a rosy hue like its beams. She was a curious child, quiet andthoughtful, and while the other sisters decked out their gardens withall kinds of extraordinary objects which they got from wrecks, she wouldhave nothing besides the rosy flowers like the sun up above, except astatue of a beautiful boy. It was hewn out of the purest white marbleand had gone to the bottom from some wreck. By the statue she planted arosy red weeping willow which grew splendidly, and the fresh delicatebranches hung round and over it, till they almost touched the blue sandwhere the shadows showed violet, and were ever moving like the branches. It looked as if the leaves and the roots were playfully interchangingkisses. 

Nothing gave her greater pleasure than to hear about the world of humanbeings up above; she made her old grandmother tell her all that she knewabout ships and towns, people and animals. But above all it seemedstrangely beautiful to her that up on the earth the flowers werescented, for they were not so at the bottom of the sea; also that thewoods were green, and that the fish which were to be seen among thebranches could sing so loudly and sweetly that it was a delight tolisten to them. You see the grandmother called little birds fish, or themermaids would not have understood her, as they had never seen a bird. 

'When you are fifteen, ' said the grandmother, 'you will be allowed torise up from the sea and sit on the rocks in the moonlight, and look atthe big ships sailing by, and you will also see woods and towns. '

One of the sisters would be fifteen in the following year, but theothers, --well, they were each one year younger than the other, so thatthe youngest had five whole years to wait before she would be allowed tocome up from the bottom, to see what things were like on earth. But eachone promised the others to give a full account of all that she had seen, and found most wonderful on the first day. Their grandmother could nevertell them enough, for there were so many things about which they wantedinformation. 

None of them was so full of longings as the youngest, the very one whohad the longest time to wait, and who was so quiet and dreamy. Many anight she stood by the open windows and looked up through the dark bluewater which the fish were lashing with their tails and fins. She couldsee the moon and the stars, it is true; their light was pale, but theylooked much bigger through the water than they do to our eyes. When shesaw a dark shadow glide between her and them, she knew that it waseither a whale swimming above her, or else a ship laden with humanbeings. I am certain they never dreamt that a lovely little mermaid wasstanding down below, stretching up her white hands towards the keel. 

The eldest princess had now reached her fifteenth birthday, and was toventure above the water. When she came back she had hundreds of thingsto tell them, but the most delightful of all, she said, was to lie inthe moonlight, on a sandbank in a calm sea, and to gaze at the largetown close to the shore, where the lights twinkled like hundreds ofstars; to listen to music and the noise and bustle of carriages andpeople, to see the many church towers and spires, and to hear the bellsringing; and just because she could not go on shore she longed for thatmost of all. 

Oh, how eagerly the youngest sister listened! and when, later in theevening she stood at the open window and looked up through the dark bluewater, she thought of the big town with all its noise and bustle, andfancied that she could even hear the church bells ringing. 

The year after, the second sister was allowed to mount up through thewater and swim about wherever she liked. The sun was just going downwhen she reached the surface, the most beautiful sight, she thought, that she had ever seen. The whole sky had looked like gold, she said, and as for the clouds! well, their beauty was beyond description; theyfloated in red and violet splendour over her head, and, far faster thanthey went, a flock of wild swans flew like a long white veil over thewater towards the setting sun; she swam towards it, but it sank and allthe rosy light on clouds and water faded away. 

The year after that the third sister went up, and, being much the mostventuresome of them all, swam up a broad river which ran into the sea. She saw beautiful green, vine-clad hills; palaces and country seatspeeping through splendid woods. She heard the birds singing, and the sunwas so hot that she was often obliged to dive, to cool her burning face. In a tiny bay she found a troop of little children running about nakedand paddling in the water; she wanted to play with them, but they werefrightened and ran away. Then a little black animal came up; it was adog, but she had never seen one before; it barked so furiously at herthat she was frightened and made for the open sea. She could neverforget the beautiful woods, the green hills and the lovely children whocould swim in the water although they had no fishes' tails. 

The fourth sister was not so brave; she stayed in the remotest part ofthe ocean, and, according to her account, that was the most beautifulspot. You could see for miles and miles around you, and the sky abovewas like a great glass dome. She had seen ships, but only far away, sothat they looked like sea-gulls. There were grotesque dolphins turningsomersaults, and gigantic whales squirting water through their nostrilslike hundreds of fountains on every side. 

Now the fifth sister's turn came. Her birthday fell in the winter, sothat she saw sights that the others had not seen on their first trips. The sea looked quite green, and large icebergs were floating about, eachone of which looked like a pearl, she said, but was much bigger than thechurch towers built by men. They took the most wonderful shapes, andsparkled like diamonds. She had seated herself on one of the largest, and all the passing ships sheered off in alarm when they saw her sittingthere with her long hair streaming loose in the wind. 

In the evening the sky became overcast with dark clouds; it thunderedand lightened, and the huge icebergs glittering in the bright lightning, were lifted high into the air by the black waves. All the shipsshortened sail, and there was fear and trembling on every side, but shesat quietly on her floating iceberg watching the blue lightning flash inzigzags down on to the shining sea. 

The first time any of the sisters rose above the water she was delightedby the novelties and beauties she saw; but once grown up, and at libertyto go where she liked, she became indifferent and longed for her home;in the course of a month or so they all said that after all their ownhome in the deep was best, it was so cosy there. 

Many an evening the five sisters interlacing their arms would rise abovethe water together. They had lovely voices, much clearer than anymortal, and when a storm was rising, and they expected ships to bewrecked, they would sing in the most seductive strains of the wonders ofthe deep, bidding the seafarers have no fear of them. But the sailorscould not understand the words, they thought it was the voice of thestorm; nor could it be theirs to see this Elysium of the deep, for whenthe ship sank they were drowned, and only reached the Merman's palace indeath. When the elder sisters rose up in this manner, arm-in-arm, in theevening, the youngest remained behind quite alone, looking after them asif she must weep; but mermaids have no tears, and so they suffer all themore. 

'Oh! if I were only fifteen!' she said, 'I know how fond I shall be ofthe world above, and of the mortals who dwell there. '

At last her fifteenth birthday came. 

'Now we shall have you off our hands, ' said her grandmother, the oldqueen-dowager. 'Come now, let me adorn you like your other sisters!' andshe put a wreath of white lilies round her hair, but every petal of theflowers was half a pearl; then the old queen had eight oysters fixed onto the princess's tail to show her high rank. 

'But it hurts so!' said the little mermaid. 

'You must endure the pain for the sake of the finery!' said hergrandmother. 

But oh! how gladly would she have shaken off all this splendour, andlaid aside the heavy wreath. Her red flowers in her garden suited hermuch better, but she did not dare to make any alteration. 'Good-bye, 'she said, and mounted as lightly and airily as a bubble through thewater. 

The sun had just set when her head rose above the water, but the cloudswere still lighted up with a rosy and golden splendour, and the eveningstar sparkled in the soft pink sky, the air was mild and fresh, and thesea as calm as a millpond. A big three-masted ship lay close by withonly a single sail set, for there was not a breath of wind, and thesailors were sitting about the rigging, on the cross-trees, and at themast-heads. There was music and singing on board, and as the eveningclosed in hundreds of gaily coloured lanterns were lighted--they lookedlike the flags of all nations waving in the air. The little mermaid swamright up to the cabin windows, and every time she was lifted by theswell she could see through the transparent panes crowds of gailydressed people. The handsomest of them all was the young prince withlarge dark eyes; he could not be much more than sixteen, and all thesefestivities were in honour of his birthday. The sailors danced on deck, and when the prince appeared among them hundreds of rockets were let offmaking it as light as day, and frightening the little mermaid so muchthat she had to dive under the water. She soon ventured up again, and itwas just as if all the stars of heaven were falling in showers roundabout her. She had never seen such magic fires. Great suns whirledround, gorgeous fire-fish hung in the blue air, and all was reflectedin the calm and glassy sea. It was so light on board the ship that everylittle rope could be seen, and the people still better. Oh, how handsomethe prince was! how he laughed and smiled as he greeted his guests, while the music rang out in the quiet night. 

It got quite late, but the little mermaid could not take her eyes offthe ship and the beautiful prince. The coloured lanterns were put out, no more rockets were sent up, and the cannon had ceased its thunder, butdeep down in the sea there was a dull murmuring and moaning sound. Meanwhile she was rocked up and down on the waves, so that she couldlook into the cabin; but the ship got more and more way on, sail aftersail was filled by the wind, the waves grew stronger, great cloudsgathered, and it lightened in the distance. Oh, there was going to be afearful storm! and soon the sailors had to shorten sail. The great shiprocked and rolled as she dashed over the angry sea, the black waves roselike mountains, high enough to overwhelm her, but she dived like a swanthrough them and rose again and again on their towering crests. Thelittle mermaid thought it a most amusing race, but not so the sailors. The ship creaked and groaned; the mighty timbers bulged and bent underthe heavy blows; the water broke over the decks, snapping the main mastlike a reed; she heeled over on her side, and the water rushed into thehold. 

Now the little mermaid saw that they were in danger, and she had forher own sake to beware of the floating beams and wreckage. One moment itwas so pitch dark that she could not see at all, but when the lightningflashed it became so light that she could see all on board. Every manwas looking out for his own safety as best he could; but she moreparticularly followed the young prince with her eyes, and when the shipwent down she saw him sink in the deep sea. At first she was quitedelighted, for now he was coming to be with her, but then she rememberedthat human beings could not live under water, and that only if he weredead could he go to her father's palace. No! he must not die; so sheswam towards him all among the drifting beams and planks, quiteforgetting that they might crush her. She dived deep down under thewater, and came up again through the waves, and at last reached theyoung prince just as he was becoming unable to swim any further in thestormy sea. His limbs were numbed, his beautiful eyes were closing, andhe must have died if the little mermaid had not come to the rescue. Sheheld his head above the water and let the waves drive them whithersoeverthey would. 

By daybreak all the storm was over, of the ship not a trace was to beseen; the sun rose from the water in radiant brilliance, and his rosybeams seemed to cast a glow of life into the prince's cheeks, but hiseyes remained closed. The mermaid kissed his fair and lofty brow, andstroked back the dripping hair; it seemed to her that he was like themarble statue in her little garden; she kissed him again and longed thathe might live. 

At last she saw dry land before her, high blue mountains on whosesummits the white snow glistened as if a flock of swans had settledthere; down by the shore were beautiful green woods, and in theforeground a church or temple, she did not quite know which, but it wasa building of some sort. Lemon and orange trees grew in the garden, andlofty palms stood by the gate. At this point the sea formed a little baywhere the water was quite calm, but very deep, right up to the cliffs;at their foot was a strip of fine white sand to which she swam with thebeautiful prince, and laid him down on it, taking great care that hishead should rest high up in the warm sunshine. 

The bells now began to ring in the great white building, and a number ofyoung maidens came into the garden. Then the little mermaid swam furtheroff behind some high rocks and covered her hair and breast with foam, sothat no one should see her little face, and then she watched to see whowould discover the poor prince. 

[Illustration: _His limbs were numbed, his beautiful eyes were closing, and he must have died if the little mermaid had not come to therescue. _]

It was not long before one of the maidens came up to him. At first sheseemed quite frightened, but only for a moment, and then she fetchedseveral others, and the mermaid saw that the prince was coming to life, and that he smiled at all those around him, but he never smiled at her. You see he did not know that she had saved him. She felt so sadthat when he was led away into the great building she dived sorrowfullyinto the water and made her way home to her father's palace. 

Always silent and thoughtful, she became more so now than ever. Hersisters often asked her what she had seen on her first visit to thesurface, but she never would tell them anything. 

Many an evening and many a morning she would rise to the place where shehad left the prince. She saw the fruit in the garden ripen, and thengathered, she saw the snow melt on the mountain-tops, but she never sawthe prince, so she always went home still sadder than before. At homeher only consolation was to sit in her little garden with her armstwined round the handsome marble statue which reminded her of theprince. It was all in gloomy shade now, as she had ceased to tend herflowers, and the garden had become a neglected wilderness of long stalksand leaves entangled with the branches of the tree. 

At last she could not bear it any longer, so she told one of hersisters, and from her it soon spread to the others, but to no one elseexcept to one or two other mermaids who only told their dearest friends. One of these knew all about the prince; she had also seen thefestivities on the ship; she knew where he came from and where hiskingdom was situated. 

'Come, little sister!' said the other princesses, and, throwing theirarms round each other's shoulders, they rose from the water in a longline, just in front of the prince's palace. 

It was built of light yellow glistening stone, with great marblestaircases, one of which led into the garden. Magnificent gilded cupolasrose above the roof, and the spaces between the columns which encircledthe building were filled with life-like marble statues. Through theclear glass of the lofty windows you could see gorgeous halls adornedwith costly silken hangings, and the pictures on the walls were a sightworth seeing. In the midst of the central hall a large fountain played, throwing its jets of spray upwards to a glass dome in the roof, throughwhich the sunbeams lighted up the water and the beautiful plants whichgrew in the great basin. 

She knew now where he lived, and often used to go there in the eveningsand by night over the water. She swam much nearer the land than any ofthe others dared; she even ventured right up the narrow channel underthe splendid marble terrace which threw a long shadow over the water. She used to sit here looking at the young prince, who thought he wasquite alone in the clear moonlight. 

She saw him many an evening sailing about in his beautiful boat, withflags waving and music playing; she used to peep through the greenrushes, and if the wind happened to catch her long silvery veil and anyone saw it, they only thought it was a swan flapping its wings. 

Many a night she heard the fishermen, who were fishing by torchlight, talking over the good deeds of the young prince; and she was happy tothink that she had saved his life when he was drifting about on thewaves, half dead, and she could not forget how closely his head hadpressed her breast, and how passionately she had kissed him; but he knewnothing of all this, and never saw her even in his dreams. 

She became fonder and fonder of mankind, and longed more and more to beable to live among them; their world seemed so infinitely bigger thanhers; with their ships they could scour the ocean, they could ascend themountains high above the clouds, and their wooded, grass-grown landsextended further than her eye could reach. There was so much that shewanted to know, but her sisters could not give an answer to all herquestions, so she asked her old grandmother, who knew the upper worldwell, and rightly called it the country above the sea. 

'If men are not drowned, ' asked the little mermaid, 'do they live forever? Do they not die as we do down here in the sea?'

'Yes, ' said the old lady, 'they have to die too, and their lifetime iseven shorter than ours. We may live here for three hundred years, butwhen we cease to exist we become mere foam on the water and do not haveso much as a grave among our dear ones. We have no immortal souls; wehave no future life; we are just like the green sea-weed, which, oncecut down, can never revive again! Men, on the other hand, have a soulwhich lives for ever, lives after the body has become dust; it risesthrough the clear air, up to the shining stars! Just as we rise from thewater to see the land of mortals, so they rise up to unknown beautifulregions which we shall never see. '

'Why have we no immortal souls?' asked the little mermaid sadly. 'Iwould give all my three hundred years to be a human being for one day, and afterwards to have a share in the heavenly kingdom. '

'You must not be thinking about that, ' said the grandmother; 'we aremuch better off and happier than human beings. '

'Then I shall have to die and to float as foam on the water, and neverhear the music of the waves or see the beautiful flowers or the red sun!Is there nothing I can do to gain an immortal soul?'

'No, ' said the grandmother; 'only if a human being so loved you that youwere more to him than father or mother, if all his thoughts and all hislove were so centred in you that he would let the priest join your handsand would vow to be faithful to you here, and to all eternity; then yourbody would become infused with his soul. Thus, and only thus, could yougain a share in the felicity of mankind. He would give you a soul whileyet keeping his own. But that can never happen! That which is yourgreatest beauty in the sea, your fish's tail, is thought hideous up onearth, so little do they understand about it; to be pretty there youmust have two clumsy supports which they call legs!'

Then the little mermaid sighed and looked sadly at her fish's tail. 

'Let us be happy, ' said the grandmother; 'we will hop and skip duringour three hundred years of life; it is surely a long enough time; andafter it is over we shall rest all the better in our graves. There is tobe a court ball to-night. '

This was a much more splendid affair than we ever see on earth. Thewalls and the ceiling of the great ballroom were of thick buttransparent glass. Several hundreds of colossal mussel shells, rose redand grass green, were ranged in order round the sides holding bluelights, which illuminated the whole room and shone through the walls, sothat the sea outside was quite lit up. You could see countless fish, great and small, swimming towards the glass walls, some with shiningscales of crimson hue, while others were golden and silvery. In themiddle of the room was a broad stream of running water, and on this themermaids and mermen danced to their own beautiful singing. No earthlybeings have such lovely voices. The little mermaid sang more sweetlythan any of them, and they all applauded her. For a moment she felt gladat heart, for she knew that she had the finest voice either in the seaor on land. But she soon began to think again about the upper world, shecould not forget the handsome prince and her sorrow in not possessing, like him, an immortal soul. Therefore she stole out of her father'spalace, and while all within was joy and merriment, she sat sadly in herlittle garden. Suddenly she heard the sound of a horn through the water, and she thought, 'Now he is out sailing up there; he whom I love morethan father or mother, he to whom my thoughts cling and to whose hands Iam ready to commit the happiness of my life. I will dare anything to winhim and to gain an immortal soul! While my sisters are dancing in myfather's palace I will go to the sea-witch, of whom I have always beenvery much afraid; she will perhaps be able to advise and help me!'

Thereupon the little mermaid left the garden and went towards theroaring whirlpools at the back of which the witch lived. She had neverbeen that way before; no flowers grew there, no seaweed, only the baregrey sands, stretched towards the whirlpools, which like rushingmill-wheels swirled round, dragging everything that came within reachdown to the depths. She had to pass between these boiling eddies toreach the witch's domain, and for a long way the only path led over warmbubbling mud, which the witch called her 'peat bog. ' Her house stoodbehind this in the midst of a weird forest. All the trees and busheswere polyps, half animal and half plant; they looked like hundred-headedsnakes growing out of the sand, the branches were long slimy arms, withtentacles like wriggling worms, every joint of which, from the root tothe outermost tip, was in constant motion. They wound themselves tightlyround whatever they could lay hold of and never let it escape. Thelittle mermaid standing outside was quite frightened, her heart beatfast with terror and she nearly turned back, but then she remembered theprince and the immortal soul of mankind and took courage. She bound herlong flowing hair tightly round her head, so that the polyps should notseize her by it, folded her hands over her breast, and darted like afish through the water, in between the hideous polyps, which stretchedout their sensitive arms and tentacles towards her. She could see thatevery one of them had something or other, which they had grasped withtheir hundred arms, and which they held as if in iron bands. Thebleached bones of men who had perished at sea and sunk below peepedforth from the arms of some, while others clutched rudders andsea-chests, or the skeleton of some land animal; and most horrible ofall, a little mermaid whom they had caught and suffocated. Then she cameto a large opening in the wood where the ground was all slimy, and wheresome huge fat water snakes were gambolling about. In the middle of thisopening was a house built of the bones of the wrecked; there sat thewitch, letting a toad eat out of her mouth, just as mortals let a littlecanary eat sugar. She called the hideous water snakes her littlechickens, and allowed them to crawl about on her unsightly bosom. 

'I know very well what you have come here for, ' said the witch. 'It isvery foolish of you! all the same you shall have your way, because itwill lead you into misfortune, my fine princess. You want to get rid ofyour fish's tail, and instead to have two stumps to walk about upon likehuman beings, so that the young prince may fall in love with you, andthat you may win him and an immortal soul. ' Saying this, she gave such aloud hideous laugh that the toad and the snakes fell to the ground andwriggled about there. 

'You are just in the nick of time, ' said the witch; 'after sunriseto-morrow I should not be able to help you until another year had runits course. I will make you a potion, and before sunrise you must swimashore with it, seat yourself on the beach and drink it; then your tailwill divide and shrivel up to what men call beautiful legs. But ithurts; it is as if a sharp sword were running through you. All who seeyou will say that you are the most beautiful child of man they have everseen. You will keep your gliding gait, no dancer will rival you, butevery step you take will be as if you were treading upon sharp knives, so sharp as to draw blood. If you are willing to suffer all this I amready to help you!'

'Yes!' said the little princess with a trembling voice, thinking of theprince and of winning an undying soul. 

'But remember, ' said the witch, 'when once you have received a humanform, you can never be a mermaid again; you will never again be able todive down through the water to your sisters and to your father's palace. And if you do not succeed in winning the prince's love, so that for yoursake he will forget father and mother, cleave to you with his wholeheart, let the priest join your hands and make you man and wife, youwill gain no immortal soul! The first morning after his marriage withanother your heart will break, and you will turn into foam of the sea. '

'I will do it, ' said the little mermaid as pale as death. 

'But you will have to pay me, too, ' said the witch, 'and it is no triflethat I demand. You have the most beautiful voice of any at the bottom ofthe sea, and I daresay that you think you will fascinate him with it;but you must give me that voice; I will have the best you possess inreturn for my precious potion! I have to mingle my own blood with it soas to make it as sharp as a two-edged sword. '

'But if you take my voice, ' said the little mermaid, 'what have I left?'

'Your beautiful form, ' said the witch, 'your gliding gait, and yourspeaking eyes; with these you ought surely to be able to bewitch a humanheart. Well! have you lost courage? Put out your little tongue, and Iwill cut it off in payment for the powerful draught. '

'Let it be done, ' said the little mermaid, and the witch put on hercaldron to brew the magic potion. 'There is nothing like cleanliness, 'said she, as she scoured the pot with a bundle of snakes; then shepunctured her breast and let the black blood drop into the caldron, andthe steam took the most weird shapes, enough to frighten any one. Everymoment the witch threw new ingredients into the pot, and when it boiledthe bubbling was like the sound of crocodiles weeping. At last thepotion was ready and it looked like the clearest water. 

'There it is, ' said the witch, and thereupon she cut off the tongue ofthe little mermaid, who was dumb now and could neither sing nor speak. 

'If the polyps should seize you, when you go back through my wood, ' saidthe witch, 'just drop a single drop of this liquid on them, and theirarms and fingers will burst into a thousand pieces. ' But the littlemermaid had no need to do this, for at the mere sight of the brightliquid, which sparkled in her hand like a shining star, they drew backin terror. So she soon got past the wood, the bog, and the eddyingwhirlpools. 

She saw her father's palace; the lights were all out in the greatballroom, and no doubt all the household was asleep, but she did notdare to go in now that she was dumb and about to leave her home forever. She felt as if her heart would break with grief. She stole intothe garden and plucked a flower from each of her sisters' plots, waftedwith her hand countless kisses towards the palace, and then rose upthrough the dark blue water. 

[Illustration: _But the little mermaid had no need to do this, for atthe mere sight of the bright liquid which sparkled in her hand like ashining star, they drew back in terror. _]

The sun had not risen when she came in sight of the prince's palaceand landed at the beautiful marble steps. The moon was shining brightand clear. The little mermaid drank the burning, stinging draught, andit was like a sharp, two-edged sword running through her tender frame;she fainted away and lay as if she were dead. When the sun rose on thesea she woke up and became conscious of a sharp pang, but just in frontof her stood the handsome young prince, fixing his coal black eyes onher; she cast hers down and saw that her fish's tail was gone, and thatshe had the prettiest little white legs any maiden could desire; but shewas quite naked, so she wrapped her long thick hair around her. Theprince asked who she was and how she came there. She looked at himtenderly and with a sad expression in her dark blue eyes, but could notspeak. Then he took her by the hand and led her into the palace. Everystep she took was, as the witch had warned her beforehand, as if shewere treading on sharp knives and spikes, but she bore it gladly; led bythe prince, she moved as lightly as a bubble, and he and every one elsemarvelled at her graceful gliding gait. 

Clothed in the costliest silks and muslins she was the greatest beautyin the palace, but she was dumb, and could neither sing nor speak. Beautiful slaves clad in silks and gold came forward and sang to theprince and his royal parents; one of them sang better than all theothers, and the prince clapped his hands and smiled at her; that madethe little mermaid very sad, for she knew that she used to sing farbetter herself. She thought, 'Oh! if he only knew that for the sake ofbeing with him I had given up my voice for ever!' Now the slaves beganto dance, graceful undulating dances to enchanting music; thereupon thelittle mermaid, lifting her beautiful white arms and raising herself ontiptoe, glided on the floor with a grace which none of the other dancershad yet attained. With every motion her grace and beauty became moreapparent, and her eyes appealed more deeply to the heart than the songsof the slaves. Every one was delighted with it, especially the prince, who called her his little foundling; and she danced on and on, notwithstanding that every time her foot touched the ground it was liketreading on sharp knives. The prince said that she should always be nearhim, and she was allowed to sleep outside his door on a velvet cushion. 

He had a man's dress made for her, so that she could ride about withhim. They used to ride through scented woods, where the green branchesbrushed her shoulders, and little birds sang among the fresh leaves. Sheclimbed up the highest mountains with the prince, and although herdelicate feet bled so that others saw it, she only laughed and followedhim until they saw the clouds sailing below them like a flock of birds, taking flight to distant lands. 

[Illustration: _The prince asked who she was and how she came there; shelooked at him tenderly and with a sad expression in her dark blue eyes, but could not speak. _]

At home in the prince's palace, when at night the others wereasleep, she used to go out on to the marble steps; it cooled herburning feet to stand in the cold sea-water, and at such times she usedto think of those she had left in the deep. 

One night her sisters came arm in arm; they sang so sorrowfully as theyswam on the water that she beckoned to them, and they recognised her, and told her how she had grieved them all. After that they visited herevery night, and one night she saw, a long way out, her old grandmother(who for many years had not been above the water), and the Merman Kingwith his crown on his head; they stretched out their hands towards her, but did not venture so close to land as her sisters. 

Day by day she became dearer to the prince; he loved her as one loves agood sweet child, but it never entered his head to make her his queen;yet unless she became his wife she would never win an everlasting soul, but on his wedding morning would turn to sea-foam. 

'Am I not dearer to you than any of them?' the little mermaid's eyesseemed to say when he took her in his arms and kissed her beautifulbrow. 

'Yes, you are the dearest one to me, ' said the prince, 'for you have thebest heart of them all, and you are fondest of me; you are also like ayoung girl I once saw, but whom I never expect to see again. I was onboard a ship which was wrecked; I was driven on shore by the waves closeto a holy Temple where several young girls were ministering at aservice; the youngest of them found me on the beach and saved my life; Isaw her but twice. She was the only person I could love in this world, but you are like her, you almost drive her image out of my heart. Shebelongs to the holy Temple, and therefore by good fortune you have beensent to me; we will never part!'

'Alas! he does not know that it was I who saved his life, ' thought thelittle mermaid. 'I bore him over the sea to the wood where the Templestands. I sat behind the foam and watched to see if any one would come. I saw the pretty girl he loves better than me. ' And the mermaid heaved abitter sigh, for she could not weep. 

'The girl belongs to the holy Temple, he has said; she will never returnto the world, they will never meet again. I am here with him; I see himevery day. Yes! I will tend him, love him, and give up my life to him. '

But now the rumour ran that the prince was to be married to thebeautiful daughter of a neighbouring king, and for that reason wasfitting out a splendid ship. It was given out that the prince was goingon a voyage to see the adjoining countries, but it was without doubt tosee the king's daughter; he was to have a great suite with him. But thelittle mermaid shook her head and laughed; she knew the prince'sintentions much better than any of the others. 'I must take thisvoyage, ' he had said to her; 'I must go and see the beautiful princess;my parents demand that, but they will never force me to bring her homeas my bride; I can never love her! She will not be like the lovely girlin the Temple whom you resemble. If ever I had to choose a bride itwould sooner be you with your speaking eyes, my sweet, dumb foundling!'And he kissed her rosy mouth, played with her long hair, and laid hishead upon her heart, which already dreamt of human joys and an immortalsoul. 

'You are not frightened of the sea, I suppose, my dumb child?' he said, as they stood on the proud ship which was to carry them to the countryof the neighbouring king; and he told her about storms and calms, aboutcurious fish in the deep, and the marvels seen by divers; and she smiledat his tales, for she knew all about the bottom of the sea much betterthan any one else. 

At night, in the moonlight, when all were asleep, except the steersmanwho stood at the helm, she sat at the side of the ship trying to piercethe clear water with her eyes, and fancied she saw her father's palace, and above it her old grandmother with her silver crown on her head, looking up through the cross currents towards the keel of the ship. Thenher sisters rose above the water; they gazed sadly at her, wringingtheir white hands. She beckoned to them, smiled, and was about to tellthem that all was going well and happily with her, when the cabin-boyapproached, and the sisters dived down, but he supposed that the whiteobjects he had seen were nothing but flakes of foam. 

The next morning the ship entered the harbour of the neighbouring king'smagnificent city. The church bells rang and trumpets were sounded fromevery lofty tower, while the soldiers paraded with flags flying andglittering bayonets. There was a _fête_ every day, there was asuccession of balls, and receptions followed one after the other, butthe princess was not yet present; she was being brought up a long wayoff, in a holy Temple they said, and was learning all the royal virtues. At last she came. The little mermaid stood eager to see her beauty, andshe was obliged to confess that a lovelier creature she had neverbeheld. Her complexion was exquisitely pure and delicate, and hertrustful eyes of the deepest blue shone through their dark lashes. 

'It is you, ' said the prince, 'you who saved me when I lay almostlifeless on the beach?' and he clasped his blushing bride to his heart. 'Oh! I am too happy!' he exclaimed to the little mermaid. 

'A greater joy than I had dared to hope for has come to pass. You willrejoice at my joy, for you love me better than any one. ' Then the littlemermaid kissed his hand, and felt as if her heart were broken already. 

His wedding morn would bring death to her and change her to foam. 

All the church bells pealed and heralds rode through the townproclaiming the nuptials. Upon every altar throughout the land fragrantoil was burnt in costly silver lamps. Amidst the swinging of censers bythe priests the bride and bridegroom joined hands and received thebishop's blessing. The little mermaid dressed in silk and gold stoodholding the bride's train, but her ears were deaf to the festal strains, her eyes saw nothing of the sacred ceremony; she was thinking of hercoming death and of all that she had lost in this world. 

That same evening the bride and bridegroom embarked, amidst the roar ofcannon and the waving of banners. A royal tent of purple and gold softlycushioned was raised amidships where the bridal pair were to reposeduring the calm cool night. 

The sails swelled in the wind and the ship skimmed lightly and almostwithout motion over the transparent sea. 

At dusk lanterns of many colours were lighted and the sailors dancedmerrily on deck. The little mermaid could not help thinking of the firsttime she came up from the sea and saw the same splendour and gaiety; andshe now threw herself among the dancers, whirling, as a swallow skimsthrough the air when pursued. The onlookers cheered her in amazement, never had she danced so divinely; her delicate feet pained her as ifthey were cut with knives, but she did not feel it, for the pain at herheart was much sharper. She knew that it was the last night that shewould breathe the same air as he, and would look upon the mighty deep, and the blue starry heavens; an endless night without thought andwithout dreams awaited her, who neither had a soul, nor could win one. The joy and revelry on board lasted till long past midnight; she went onlaughing and dancing with the thought of death all the time in herheart. The prince caressed his lovely bride and she played with hisraven locks, and with their arms entwined they retired to the gorgeoustent. All became hushed and still on board the ship, only the steersmanstood at the helm; the little mermaid laid her white arms on the gunwaleand looked eastwards for the pink-tinted dawn; the first sunbeam, sheknew, would be her death. Then she saw her sisters rise from the water;they were as pale as she was; their beautiful long hair no longerfloated on the breeze, for it had been cut off. 

[Illustration: _Once more she looked at the prince, with her eyesalready dimmed by death, then dashed overboard and fell, her bodydissolving into foam. _]

'We have given it to the witch to obtain her help, so that you may notdie to-night! She has given us a knife; here it is, look how sharp itis! Before the sun rises, you must plunge it into the prince's heart, and when his warm blood sprinkles your feet they will join together andgrow into a tail, and you will once more be a mermaid; you will be ableto come down into the water to us, and to live out your three hundredyears before you are turned into dead, salt sea-foam. Make haste! you orhe must die before sunrise! Our old grandmother is so full of grief thather white hair has fallen off as ours fell under the witch's scissors. Slay the prince and come back to us! Quick! Quick! do you not seethe rosy streak in the sky? In a few minutes the sun will rise and thenyou must die!' saying this they heaved a wondrous deep sigh and sankamong the waves. 

The little mermaid drew aside the purple curtain from the tent andlooked at the beautiful bride asleep with her head on the prince'sbreast. She bent over him and kissed his fair brow, looked at the skywhere the dawn was spreading fast, looked at the sharp knife, and againfixed her eyes on the prince, who, in his dream called his bride byname. Yes! she alone was in his thoughts! For a moment the knifequivered in her grasp, then she threw it far out among the waves, nowrosy in the morning light, and where it fell the water bubbled up likedrops of blood. 

Once more she looked at the prince, with her eyes already dimmed bydeath, then dashed overboard and fell, her body dissolving into foam. 

Now the sun rose from the sea and with its kindly beams warmed thedeadly cold foam, so that the little mermaid did not feel the chill ofdeath. She saw the bright sun, and above her floated hundreds ofbeauteous ethereal beings, through which she could see the white shipand the rosy heavens; their voices were melodious, but so spirit-likethat no human ear could hear them, any more than earthly eye could seetheir forms. Light as bubbles they floated through the air without theaid of wings. The little mermaid perceived that she had a form liketheirs; it gradually took shape out of the foam. 'To whom am I coming?'said she, and her voice sounded like that of the other beings, sounearthly in its beauty that no music of ours could reproduce it. 

'To the daughters of the air!' answered the others; 'a mermaid has noundying soul, and can never gain one without winning the love of a humanbeing. Her eternal life must depend upon an unknown power. Nor have thedaughters of the air an everlasting soul, but by their own good deedsthey may create one for themselves. We fly to the tropics where mankindis the victim of hot and pestilent winds; there we bring coolingbreezes. We diffuse the scent of flowers all around, and bringrefreshment and healing in our train. When, for three hundred years, wehave laboured to do all the good in our power, we gain an undying souland take a part in the everlasting joys of mankind. You, poor littlemermaid, have with your whole heart struggled for the same thing as wehave struggled for. You have suffered and endured, raised yourself tothe spirit-world of the air, and now, by your own good deeds you may, inthe course of three hundred years, work out for yourself an undyingsoul. '

Then the little mermaid lifted her transparent arms towards God's sun, and for the first time shed tears. 

On board ship all was again life and bustle. She saw the prince with hislovely bride searching for her; they looked sadly at the bubbling foam, as if they knew that she had thrown herself into the waves. Unseen shekissed the bride on her brow, smiled at the prince, and rose aloft withthe other spirits of the air to the rosy clouds which sailed above. 

'In three hundred years we shall thus float into Paradise. '

'We might reach it sooner, ' whispered one. 'Unseen we flit into thosehomes of men where there are children, and for every day that we find agood child who gives pleasure to its parents and deserves their love Godshortens our time of probation. The child does not know when we flythrough the room, and when we smile with pleasure at it one year of ourthree hundred is taken away. But if we see a naughty or badly disposedchild, we cannot help shedding tears of sorrow, and every tear adds aday to the time of our probation. '

THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES

Many years ago there was an Emperor, who was so excessively fond of newclothes that he spent all his money on them. He cared nothing about hissoldiers, nor for the theatre, nor for driving in the woods except forthe sake of showing off his new clothes. He had a costume for every hourin the day, and instead of saying, as one does about any other king oremperor, 'He is in his council chamber, ' here one always said, 'TheEmperor is in his dressing-room. '

Life was very gay in the great town where he lived; hosts of strangerscame to visit it every day, and among them one day two swindlers. Theygave themselves out as weavers, and said that they knew how to weave themost beautiful stuffs imaginable. Not only were the colours and patternsunusually fine, but the clothes that were made of the stuffs had thepeculiar quality of becoming invisible to every person who was not fitfor the office he held, or if he was impossibly dull. 

'Those must be splendid clothes, ' thought the Emperor. 'By wearing themI should be able to discover which men in my kingdom are unfitted fortheir posts. I shall distinguish the wise men from the fools. Yes, Icertainly must order some of that stuff to be woven for me. '

He paid the two swindlers a lot of money in advance so that they mightbegin their work at once. 

They did put up two looms and pretended to weave, but they had nothingwhatever upon their shuttles. At the outset they asked for a quantity ofthe finest silk and the purest gold thread, all of which they put intotheir own bags, while they worked away at the empty looms far into thenight. 

'I should like to know how those weavers are getting on with the stuff, 'thought the Emperor; but he felt a little queer when he reflected thatany one who was stupid or unfit for his post would not be able to seeit. He certainly thought that he need have no fears for himself, butstill he thought he would send somebody else first to see how it wasgetting on. Everybody in the town knew what wonderful power the stuffpossessed, and every one was anxious to see how stupid his neighbourwas. 

'I will send my faithful old minister to the weavers, ' thought theEmperor. 'He will be best able to see how the stuff looks, for he is aclever man, and no one fulfils his duties better than he does!'

So the good old minister went into the room where the two swindlers satworking at the empty loom. 

'Heaven preserve us!' thought the old minister, opening his eyes verywide. 'Why, I can't see a thing!' But he took care not to say so. 

Both the swindlers begged him to be good enough to step a little nearer, and asked if he did not think it a good pattern and beautiful colouring. They pointed to the empty loom, and the poor old minister stared as hardas he could, but he could not see anything, for of course there wasnothing to see. 

'Good heavens!' thought he, 'is it possible that I am a fool. I havenever thought so, and nobody must know it. Am I not fit for my post? Itwill never do to say that I cannot see the stuffs. '

'Well, sir, you don't say anything about the stuff, ' said the one whowas pretending to weave. 

'Oh, it is beautiful! quite charming!' said the old minister, lookingthrough his spectacles; 'this pattern and these colours! I willcertainly tell the Emperor that the stuff pleases me very much. '

'We are delighted to hear you say so, ' said the swindlers, and then theynamed all the colours and described the peculiar pattern. The oldminister paid great attention to what they said, so as to be able torepeat it when he got home to the Emperor. 

[Illustration: _They pointed to the empty loom, and the poor oldminister stared as hard as he could, but he could not see anything, forof course there was nothing to see. _]

Then the swindlers went on to demand more money, more silk, andmore gold, to be able to proceed with the weaving; but they put it allinto their own pockets--not a single strand was ever put into the loom, but they went on as before weaving at the empty loom. 

The Emperor soon sent another faithful official to see how the stuff wasgetting on, and if it would soon be ready. The same thing happened tohim as to the minister; he looked and looked, but as there was only theempty loom, he could see nothing at all. 

'Is not this a beautiful piece of stuff?' said both the swindlers, showing and explaining the beautiful pattern and colours which were notthere to be seen. 

'I know I am not a fool!' thought the man, 'so it must be that I amunfit for my good post! It is very strange, though! However, one mustnot let it appear!' So he praised the stuff he did not see, and assuredthem of his delight in the beautiful colours and the originality of thedesign. 'It is absolutely charming!' he said to the Emperor. Everybodyin the town was talking about this splendid stuff. 

Now the Emperor thought he would like to see it while it was still onthe loom. So, accompanied by a number of selected courtiers, among whomwere the two faithful officials who had already seen the imaginarystuff, he went to visit the crafty impostors, who were working away ashard as ever they could at the empty loom. 

'It is magnificent!' said both the honest officials. 'Only see, yourMajesty, what a design! What colours!' And they pointed to the emptyloom, for they thought no doubt the others could see the stuff. 

'What!' thought the Emperor; 'I see nothing at all! This is terrible! AmI a fool? Am I not fit to be Emperor? Why, nothing worse could happen tome!'

'Oh, it is beautiful!' said the Emperor. 'It has my highest approval!'and he nodded his satisfaction as he gazed at the empty loom. Nothingwould induce him to say that he could not see anything. 

The whole suite gazed and gazed, but saw nothing more than all theothers. However, they all exclaimed with his Majesty, 'It is verybeautiful!' and they advised him to wear a suit made of this wonderfulcloth on the occasion of a great procession which was just about to takeplace. 'It is magnificent! gorgeous! excellent!' went from mouth tomouth; they were all equally delighted with it. The Emperor gave each ofthe rogues an order of knighthood to be worn in their buttonholes andthe title of 'Gentlemen weavers. '

[Illustration: _Then the emperor walked along in the procession underthe gorgeous canopy, and everybody in the streets and at the windowsexclaimed, 'How beautiful the Emperor's new clothes are!'_]

The swindlers sat up the whole night, before the day on which theprocession was to take place, burning sixteen candles; so that peoplemight see how anxious they were to get the Emperor's new clothes ready. They pretended to take the stuff off the loom. They cut it out in theair with a huge pair of scissors, and they stitched away withneedles without any thread in them. At last they said: 'Now theEmperor's new clothes are ready!'

The Emperor, with his grandest courtiers, went to them himself, and boththe swindlers raised one arm in the air, as if they were holdingsomething, and said: 'See, these are the trousers, this is the coat, here is the mantle!' and so on. 'It is as light as a spider's web. Onemight think one had nothing on, but that is the very beauty of it!'

'Yes!' said all the courtiers, but they could not see anything, forthere was nothing to see. 

'Will your imperial majesty be graciously pleased to take off yourclothes, ' said, the impostors, 'so that we may put on the new ones, along here before the great mirror?'

The Emperor took off all his clothes, and the impostors pretended togive him one article of dress after the other of the new ones which theyhad pretended to make. They pretended to fasten something round hiswaist and to tie on something; this was the train, and the Emperorturned round and round in front of the mirror. 

'How well his majesty looks in the new clothes! How becoming they are!'cried all the people round. 'What a design, and what colours! They aremost gorgeous robes!'

'The canopy is waiting outside which is to be carried over your majestyin the procession, ' said the master of the ceremonies. 

'Well, I am quite ready, ' said the Emperor. 'Don't the clothes fitwell?' and then he turned round again in front of the mirror, so that heshould seem to be looking at his grand things. 

The chamberlains who were to carry the train stooped and pretended tolift it from the ground with both hands, and they walked along withtheir hands in the air. They dared not let it appear that they could notsee anything. 

Then the Emperor walked along in the procession under the gorgeouscanopy, and everybody in the streets and at the windows exclaimed, 'Howbeautiful the Emperor's new clothes are! What a splendid train! And theyfit to perfection!' Nobody would let it appear that he could seenothing, for then he would not be fit for his post, or else he was afool. 

None of the Emperor's clothes had been so successful before. 

'But he has got nothing on, ' said a little child. 

'Oh, listen to the innocent, ' said its father; and one person whisperedto the other what the child had said. 'He has nothing on; a child sayshe has nothing on!'

'But he has nothing on!' at last cried all the people. 

The Emperor writhed, for he knew it was true, but he thought 'theprocession must go on now, ' so held himself stiffer than ever, and thechamberlains held up the invisible train. 

THE WIND'S TALE

ABOUT WALDEMAR DAA AND HIS DAUGHTERS

When the wind sweeps across a field of grass it makes little ripples init like a lake; in a field of corn it makes great waves like the seaitself: this is the wind's frolic. Then listen to the stories it tells;it sings them aloud, one kind of song among the trees of the forest, anda very different one when it is pent up within walls with all theircracks and crannies. Do you see how the wind chases the white fleecyclouds as if they were a flock of sheep? Do you hear the wind downthere, howling in the open doorway like a watchman winding his horn?Then, too, how he whistles in the chimneys, making the fire crackle andsparkle. How cosy it is to sit in the warm glow of the fire listening tothe tales it has to tell! Let the wind tell its own story! It can tellyou more adventures than all of us put together. Listen now:--

'Whew!--Whew!--Fare away!' That was the refrain of his song. 

'Close to the Great Belt stands an old mansion with thick red walls, 'says the wind. 'I know every stone of it; I knew them before when theyformed part of Marsk Stig's Castle on the Ness. It had to come down. Thestones were used again, and made a new wall of a new castle in anotherplace--Borreby Hall as it now stands. 

'I have watched the highborn men and women of all the various races whohave lived there, and now I am going to tell you about Waldemar Daa andhis daughters!

'He held his head very high, for he came of a royal stock! He knew morethan the mere chasing of a stag, or the emptying of a flagon; he knewhow to manage his affairs, he said himself. 

'His lady wife walked proudly across the brightly polished floors, inher gold brocaded kirtle; the tapestries in the rooms were gorgeous, andthe furniture of costly carved woods. She had brought much gold andsilver plate into the house with her, and the cellars were full ofGerman ale, when there was anything there at all. Fiery black horsesneighed in the stables; Borreby Hall was a very rich place when wealthcame there. 

'Then there were the children, three dainty maidens, Ida, Johanna andAnna Dorothea. I remember their names well. 

'They were rich and aristocratic people, and they were born and bred inwealth! Whew!--whew!--fare away!' roared the wind, then he went on withhis story. 

'I did not see here, as in other old noble castles the highborn ladysitting among her maidens in the great hall turning the spinning-wheel. No, she played upon the ringing lute, and sang to its tones. Her songswere not always the old Danish ditties, however, but songs in foreigntongues. All was life and hospitality; noble guests came from far andwide; there were sounds of music and the clanging of flagons, so loudthat I could not drown them!' said the wind. 'Here were arrogance andostentation enough and to spare; plenty of lords, but the Lord had noplace there. 

'Then came the evening of May-day!' said the wind. 'I came from thewest; I had been watching ships being wrecked and broken up on the westcoast of Jutland. I tore over the heaths and the green wooded coasts, across the island of Funen and over the Great Belt puffing and blowing. I settled down to rest on the coast of Zealand close to Borreby Hall, where the splendid forest of oaks still stood. The young bachelors ofthe neighbourhood came out and collected faggots and branches, thelongest and driest they could find. These they took to the town, piledthem up in a heap, and set fire to them; then the men and maidens dancedand sang round the bonfire. I lay still, ' said the wind, 'but I softlymoved a branch, the one laid by the handsomest young man, and his billetblazed up highest of all. He was the chosen one, he had the name ofhonour, he became 'Buck of the Street!' and he chose from among thegirls his little May-lamb. All was life and merriment, greater far thanwithin rich Borreby Hall. 

'The great lady came driving towards the Hall, in her gilded chariotdrawn by six horses. She had her three dainty daughters with her; theywere indeed three lovely flowers. A rose, a lily and a pale hyacinth. The mother herself was a gorgeous tulip; she took no notice whatever ofthe crowd, who all stopped in their game to drop their curtsies and maketheir bows; one might have thought that, like a tulip, she was ratherfrail in the stalk and feared to bend her back. The rose, the lily, andthe pale hyacinth--yes, I saw them all three. Whose May-lambs were theyone day to become, thought I; their mates would be proudknights--perhaps even princes!

'Whew!--whew!--fare away! Yes, the chariot bore them away, and thepeasants whirled on in their dance. They played at "Riding the Summerinto the village, " to Borreby village, Tareby village, and many others. 

'But that night when I rose, ' said the wind, 'the noble lady laidherself down to rise no more; that came to her which comes to everyone--there was nothing new about it. Waldemar Daa stood grave and silentfor a time; "The proudest tree may bend, but it does not break, " saidsomething within him. The daughters wept, and every one else at theCastle was wiping their eyes; but Madam Daa had fared away, and I faredaway too! Whew!--whew!' said the wind. 

[Illustration: _She played upon the ringing lute, and sang to itstones. _]

'I came back again; I often came back across the island of Funen andthe waters of the Belt, and took up my place on Borreby shore close tothe great forest of oaks. The ospreys and the wood pigeons used to buildin it, the blue raven and even the black stork! It was early in theyear; some of the nests were full of eggs, while in others the youngones were just hatched. What a flying and screaming was there! Then camethe sound of the axe, blow upon blow; the forest was to be felled. Waldemar Daa was about to build a costly ship, a three-deckedman-of-war, which it was expected the king would buy. So the wood fell, the ancient landmark of the seaman, the home of the birds. The shrikewas frightened away; its nest was torn down; the osprey and all theother birds lost their nests too, and they flew about distractedly, shrieking in their terror and anger. The crows and the jackdaws screamedin mockery, Caw! caw! Waldemar Daa and his three daughters stood in themiddle of the wood among the workmen. They all laughed at the wild criesof the birds, except Anna Dorothea, who was touched by their distress, and when they were about to fell a tree which was half-dead, and onwhose naked branches a black stork had built its nest, out of which theyoung ones were sticking their heads, she begged them with tears in hereyes to spare it. So the tree with the black stork's nest was allowed tostand. It was only a little thing. 

'The chopping and the sawing went on--the three-decker was built. Themaster builder was a man of humble origin, but of noble loyalty; greatpower lay in his eyes and on his forehead, and Waldemar Daa liked tolisten to him, and little Ida liked to listen too, the eldestfifteen-year-old daughter. But whilst he built the ship for her father, he built a castle in the air for himself, in which he and little Ida satside by side as man and wife. This might also have happened if hiscastle had been built of solid stone, with moat and ramparts, wood andgardens. But with all his wisdom the shipbuilder was only a poor bird, and what business has a sparrow in a crane's nest? Whew! whew! I rushedaway, and he rushed away, for he dared not stay, and little Ida got overit, as get over it she must. 

'The fiery black horses stood neighing in the stables; they were worthlooking at, and they were looked at to some purpose too. An admiral wassent from the King to look at the new man-of-war, with a view topurchasing it. The admiral was loud in his admiration of the horses. Iheard all he said, ' added the wind. 'I went through the open door withthe gentlemen and scattered the straw like gold before their feet. Waldemar Daa wanted gold; the admiral wanted the black horses, and so hepraised them as he did; but his hints were not taken, therefore the shipremained unsold. There it stood by the shore covered up with boards, like a Noah's Ark which never reached the water. Whew! whew! get along!get along! It was a miserable business. In the winter, when the fieldswere covered with snow and the Belt was full of ice-floes which I droveup on to the coast, ' said the wind, 'the ravens and crows came inflocks, the one blacker than the other, and perched upon the desolate, dead ship by the shore. They screamed themselves hoarse about the forestwhich had disappeared, and the many precious birds' nests which had beendevastated, leaving old and young homeless; and all for the sake of thisold piece of lumber, the proud ship which was never to touch the water!I whirled the snow about till it lay in great heaps round the ship. Ilet it hear my voice, and all that a storm has to say, I know that I didmy best to give it an idea of the sea. Whew! whew!'

'The winter passed by; winter and summer passed away! They come and gojust as I do. The snow-flakes, the apple blossom, and the leaves fall, each in their turn. Whew! whew! they pass away, as men pass too!

'The daughters were still young. Little Ida, the rose, as lovely to lookat as when the shipbuilder turned his gaze upon her. I often took holdof her long brown hair when she stood lost in thought by the apple-treein the garden. She never noticed that I showered apple-blossom over herloosened hair; she only gazed at the red sunset against the goldenbackground of the sky, and the dark trees and bushes of the garden. Hersister Johanna was like a tall, stately lily; she held herself asstiffly erect as her mother, and seemed to have the same dread ofbending her stem. She liked to walk in the long gallery where the familyportraits hung. The ladies were painted in velvet and silk, with tinypearl embroidered caps on their braided tresses. Their husbands were allclad in steel, or in costly cloaks lined with squirrel skins and stiffblue ruffs; their swords hung loosely by their sides. Where wouldJohanna's portrait one day hang on these walls? What would her noblehusband look like? These were her thoughts, and she even spoke themaloud; I heard her as I swept through the long corridor into thegallery, where I veered round again. 

'Anna Dorothea, the pale hyacinth, was only a child of fourteen, quietand thoughtful. Her large blue eyes, as clear as water, were verysolemn, but childhood's smile still played upon her lips; I could notblow it away, nor did I wish to do so. I used to meet her in the garden, the ravine, and in the manor fields. She was always picking flowers andherbs, those she knew her father could use for healing drinks andpotions. Waldemar Daa was proud and conceited, but he was also learned, and he knew a great deal about many things. One could see that, and manywhispers went about as to his learning. The fire blazed in his stoveeven in summer, and his chamber door was locked. This went on for daysand nights, but he did not talk much about it. One must deal silentlywith the forces of nature. He would soon discover the best ofeverything, the red, red gold!

'This was why his chimney flamed and smoked and sparkled. Yes, I wasthere, too, ' said the wind. 

[Illustration: _I used to meet her in the garden, the ravine, and inthe manor fields. She was always picking flowers and herbs, those sheknew her father could use for healing drinks and potions. _]

'Away with you, away! I sang in the back of the chimney. Smoke smoke, embers and ashes, that is all it will come to! You will burn yourself upin it. Whew! whew! away with it! But Waldemar Daa could not let it go. 

'The fiery steeds in the stable, where were they? The old gold andsilver plate in cupboard and chest, where was that? The cattle, theland, the castle itself? Yes, they could all be melted down in thecrucible, but yet no gold would come. 

'Barn and larder got emptier and emptier. Fewer servants; more mice. Onepane of glass got broken and another followed it. There was no need forme to go in by the doors, ' said the wind. 'A smoking chimney means acooking meal, but the only chimney which smoked here swallowed up allthe meals, all for the sake of the red gold. 

'I blew through the castle gate like a watchman blowing his horn, butthere was no watchman, ' said the wind. 'I twisted round the weather-cockon the tower and it creaked as if the watchman up there was snoring, only there was no watchman. Rats and mice were the only inhabitants. Poverty laid the table; poverty lurked in wardrobe and larder. The doorsfell off their hinges, cracks and crannies appeared everywhere; I wentin and out, ' said the wind, 'so I know all about it. 

'The hair and the beard of Waldemar Daa grew grey, in the sorrow of hissleepless nights, amid smoke and ashes. His skin grew grimy and yellow, and his eyes greedy for gold, the long expected gold. 

'I whistled through the broken panes and fissures; I blew into thedaughters' chests where their clothes lay faded and threadbare; they hadto last for ever. A song like this had never been sung over the cradlesof these children. A lordly life became a woeful life! I was the onlyone to sing in the castle now, ' said the wind. 'I snowed them up, forthey said it gave warmth. They had no firewood, for the forest was cutdown where they should have got it. There was a biting frost. Even I hadto keep rushing through the crannies and passages to keep myself lively. They stayed in bed to keep themselves warm, those noble ladies. Theirfather crept about under a fur rug. Nothing to bite, and nothing toburn! a lordly life indeed! Whew! whew! let it go! But this was whatWaldemar Daa could not do. 

'"After winter comes the spring, " said he; "a good time will come aftera time of need; but they make us wait their pleasure, wait! The castleis mortgaged, we are in extremities--and yet the gold will come--atEaster!"

'I heard him murmur to the spider's web. --"You clever little weaver! Youteach me to persevere! If your web is broken, you begin at the beginningagain and complete it! Broken again--and cheerfully you begin it overagain. That is what one must do, and one will be rewarded!"

'It was Easter morning, the bells were ringing, and the sun was at playin the heavens. Waldemar Daa had watched through the night with hisblood at fever pitch; boiling and cooling, mixing and distilling. Iheard him sigh like a despairing soul; I heard him pray, and I felt thathe held his breath. The lamp had gone out, but he never noticed it; Iblew up the embers and they shone upon his ashen face, which took atinge of colour from their light; his eyes started in their sockets, they grew larger and larger, as if they would leap out. 

'Look at the alchemist's glass! something twinkles in it; it is glowing, pure and heavy. He lifted it with a trembling hand and shouted with atrembling voice: "Gold! gold!" He reeled, and I could easily have blownhim over, ' said the wind, 'but I only blew upon the embers, and followedhim to the room where his daughters sat shivering. His coat was powderedwith ash, as well as his beard and his matted hair. He drew himself upto his full height and held up his precious treasure, in the fragileglass: "Found! won! gold!" he cried, stretching up his hand with theglass which glittered in the sunbeams: his hand shook, and thealchemist's glass fell to the ground shivered into a thousand atoms. Thelast bubble of his welfare was shattered too. Whew! whew! fare away! andaway I rushed from the goldmaker's home. 

[Illustration: _He lifted it with a trembling hand and shouted with atrembling voice: 'Gold! gold!'_]

'Late in the year, when the days were short and dark up here, and thefog envelops the red berries and bare branches with its cold moisture, I came along in a lively mood clearing the sky and snapping off the deadboughs. This is no great labour, it is true, yet it has to be done. Borreby Hall, the home of Waldemar Daa, was having a clean sweep of adifferent sort. The family enemy, Ové Ramel from Basness, appeared, holding the mortgage of the Hall and all its contents. I drummed uponthe cracked window panes, beat against the decaying doors, and whistledthrough all the cracks and crannies, whew! I did my best to prevent HerrOvé taking a fancy to stay there. Ida and Anna Dorothea faced itbravely, although they shed some tears; Johanna stood pale and erect andbit her finger till it bled! Much that would help her! Ové Ramel offeredto let them stay on at the Castle for Waldemar Daa's lifetime, but hegot no thanks for his offer; I was listening. I saw the ruined gentlemanstiffen his neck and hold his head higher than ever. I beat against thewalls and the old linden trees with such force that the thickest branchbroke, although it was not a bit rotten. It fell across the gate like abroom, as if some one was about to sweep; and a sweeping there wasindeed to be. I quite expected it. It was a grievous day and a hard timefor them, but their wills were as stubborn as their necks were stiff. They had not a possession in the world but the clothes on their backs;yes, one thing--an alchemist's glass which had been bought and filledwith the fragments scraped up from the floor. The treasure whichpromised much and fulfilled nothing. Waldemar Daa hid it in hisbosom, took his staff in his hand, and, with his three daughters, theonce wealthy gentleman walked out of Borreby Hall for the last time. Iblew a cold blast upon his burning cheeks, I fluttered his grey beardand his long white hair; I sang such a tune as only I could sing. Whew!whew! away with them! away with them! This was the end of all theirgrandeur. 

'Ida and Ana Dorothea walked one on each side of him: Johanna turnedround in the gateway, but what was the good of that? nothing could maketheir luck turn. She looked at the red stones of what had once beenMarsk Stig's Castle. Was she thinking of his daughters?

 '"The elder took the younger by the hand, And out they roamed to a far-off land. "

Was she thinking of that song? Here there were three and their fatherwas with them. They walked along the road where once they used to ridein their chariot. They trod it now as vagrants, on their way to aplastered cottage on Smidstrup Heath, which was rented at ten marksyearly. This was their new country seat with its empty walls and itsempty vessels. The crows and the magpies wheeled screaming over theirheads with their mocking "Caw, caw! Out of the nest, Caw, caw!" just asthey screamed in Borreby Forest when the trees were felled. 

'Herr Daa and his daughters must have noticed it. I blew into theirears to try and deaden the cries, which after all were not worthlistening to. 

'So they took up their abode in the plastered cottage on SmidstrupHeath, and I tore off over marshes and meadows, through naked hedges andbare woods, to the open seas and other lands. Whew! whew! away, away!and that for many years. '

What happened to Waldemar Daa? What happened to his daughters? This iswhat the wind relates. 

'The last of them I saw, yes, for the last time, was Anna Dorothea, thepale hyacinth. She was old and bent now; it was half a century later. She lived the longest, she had gone through everything. 

'Across the heath, near the town of Viborg, stood the Dean's new, handsome mansion, built of red stone with toothed gables. The smokecurled thickly out of the chimneys. The gentle lady and her fairdaughters sat in the bay window looking into the garden at the droopingthorns and out to the brown heath beyond. What were they looking atthere? They were looking at a stork's nest on a tumble-down cottage; theroof was covered, as far as there was any roof to cover, with moss andhouse-leek; but the stork's nest made the best covering. It was the onlypart to which anything was done, for the stork kept it in repair. 

[Illustration: _Waldemar Daa hid it in his bosom, took his staff in hishand, and, with his three daughters, the once wealthy gentleman walkedout of Borreby Hall for the last time. _]

'This house was only fit to be looked at, not to be touched. I had tomind what I was about, ' said the wind. 'The cottage was allowed tostand for the sake of the stork's nest; in itself it was only ascarecrow on the heath, but the dean did not want to frighten away thestork, so the hovel was allowed to stand. The poor soul inside wasallowed to live in it; she had the Egyptian bird to thank for that; orwas it payment for once having pleaded for the nest of his wild blackbrother in the Borreby Forest? Then, poor thing, she was a child, adelicate, pale hyacinth in a noble flower-garden. Poor Anna Dorothea;she remembered it all! Ah, human beings can sigh as well as the windwhen it soughs through the rushes and reeds. 

'Oh dear! oh dear! No bells rang over the grave of Waldemar Daa. Noschoolboys sang when the former lord of Borreby Castle was laid in hisgrave. Well, everything must have an end, even misery! Sister Ida becamethe wife of a peasant, and this was her father's sorest trial. Hisdaughter's husband a miserable serf, who might at any moment be orderedthe punishment of the wooden horse by his lord. It is well that the sodcovers him now, and you too, Ida! Ah yes! ah yes! Poor me! poor me! Istill linger on. In Thy mercy release me, O Christ!'

'This was the prayer of Anna Dorothea, as she lay in the miserable hovelwhich was only left standing for the sake of the stork. 

'I took charge of the boldest of the sisters, ' said the wind. 'She hadclothes made to suit her manly disposition, and took a place as a ladwith a skipper. Her words were few and looks stubborn, but she waswilling enough at her work. But with all her will she could not climbthe rigging; so I blew her overboard before any one discovered that shewas a woman, and I fancy that was not a bad deed of mine!' said thewind. 

'On such an Easter morning as that on which Waldemar Daa thought he hadfound the red gold, I heard from beneath the stork's nest a psalmechoing through the miserable walls. It was Anna Dorothea's last song. There was no window; only a hole in the wall. The sun rose in splendourand poured in upon her; her eyes were glazed and her heart broken! Thiswould have been so this morning whether the sun had shone upon her ornot. The stork kept a roof over her head till her death! I sang at hergrave, ' said the wind, 'and I sang at her father's grave. I know whereit is, and hers too, which is more than any one else knows. 

'The old order changeth, giving place to the new. The old high-road nowonly leads to cultivated fields, while peaceful graves are covered bybusy traffic on the new road. Soon comes Steam with its row of waggonsbehind it, rushing over the graves, forgotten, like the names upon them. Whew! whew! Let us be gone! This is the story of Waldemar Daa and hisdaughters. Tell it better yourselves, if you can, ' said the wind, as itveered round. Then it was gone. 

[Illustration]

Printed in Great Britain

Text printed by T. And A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty, Edinburgh

Illustrations by Henry Stone and Son, Ltd. , Banbury