安徒生童話全集英文版
安徒生童話在鞭撻丑惡、歌頌善良中，表現了對美好生活的執著追求，也是吸引讀者的原因之一。以下是小編給大家整理的安徒生童話全集英文版，歡迎育德！
安徒生童話全集英文版 1
THE PRINCESS ON THE PEA
THERE was once a Prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she was to be a real princess. So he travelled about , all through the world , to find a real one , but everywhere there was something in the way. There were princesses enough, but whether they were real princesses he could not quite make out : there was always something that did not seem quite right. So he came home again, and was quite sad; for he wished so much to have a real princess.
One evening a terrible storm came on. It lightened and thundered, the rain streamed down; it was quite fearful! Then there was a knocking at the town-gate, and the old King went out to open it .
It was a Princess who stood outside the gate . But , mercy! How she looked, from the rain and the rough weather! The water ran down her hair and her clothes; it ran in at the points of her shoes, and out at the heels; and yet she declared that she was a real princess .
“Yes , we will soon find that out , ” thought the old Queen. But she said nothing, only went into the bedchamber, took all the bedding off, and put a pea on the bottom of the bedstead ; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them upon the pea, and then twenty eider-down quilts upon the mattresses . On this the Princess had to lie all night . In the morning she was asked how she had slept .
“Oh, miserably!” said the Princess. “I scarcely closed my eyes all night long. Goodness knows what was in my bed . I lay upon something hard , so that I am black and blue all over . It is quite dreadful ! ”
Now they saw that she was a real princess, for through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down quilts she had felt the pea. No one but a real princess could be so tender-skinned.
So the Prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a true princess and the pea was put in the museum, and it is still to be seen there, unless somebody has carried it off .
Look you , this is a true story .
安徒生童話全集英文版 2
GREAT CLAUS AND LITTLE CLAUS
THERE lived two men in one village, and they had the same name ---- each was called Claus; but one had four horses, and the other only a single horse. To distinguish them from each other, folks called him who had four horses Great Claus, and the one who had only a single horse Little Claus . Now we shall hear what happened to each of them, for this is a true story .
The whole week through, Little Claus was obliged to plough for Great Claus, and to lend him his one horse; then Great Claus helped him out with all his four, but only once a week , and that was on Sunday . Hurrah ! How Little Claus smacked his whip over all five horses, for they were as good as his own on that one day. The sun shone gaily , and all the bells in the steeples were ringing; the people were all dressed in their best, and were going to church, with their hymn-books under their arms, to hear the clergyman preach, and they saw Little Claus ploughing with five horses; but he was so merry that he smacked his whip again and again, and cried, “Gee up, all my five!”
“You must not talk so,” said Great Claus, “for only one horse is yours . ”
But when any one passed Little Claus forgot that he was not to say this, and he cried, “Gee up, all my horses!”
“Now, I must beg of you to stop that,” cried Great Claus, “for if you say it again, I shall hit your horse on the head, so that it will fall down dead, and then it will be all over with him.”
“I will certainly not say it any more,” said Little Claus.
But when people came by soon afterwards , and nodded “ good day ” to him , he became very glad , and thought it looked very well, after all, that he had five horses to plough his field; and so he smacked his whip again, and cried , “Gee up , all my horses ! ”
“Ill ‘gee up’ your horses ! ” said Great Claus . And he took a mallet and hit the only horse of Little Claus on the head , so that it fell down , and was dead immediately .
“Oh , now I havent any horse at all !” said Little Claus, and began to cry.
Then he flayed the horse , and let the hide dry in the wind, and put it in a sack and hung it over his shoulder, and went to the town to sell his horses skin.
He had a very long way to go, and was obliged to pass through a great dark wood , and the weather became dreadfully bad . He went quite astray , and before he got into the right way again it was evening, and it was too far to get home again or even to the town before nightfall.
Close by the road stood a large farm-house . The shutters were closed outside the windows, but the light could still be seen shining out over them.
“I may be able to get leave to stop here through the night , ” thought Little Claus ; and he went and knocked . The farmer s wife opened the door; but when she heard what he wanted she told him to go away, declaring that her husband was not at home, and she would not receive strangers .
“Then I shall have to lie outside , ” said Little Claus . And the farmers wife shut the door in his face.
Close by stood a great haystack, and between this and the farm-house was a little outhouse thatched with straw.
“Up there I can lie,” said Little Claus, when he looked up at the roof , “that is a capital bed . I suppose the stork won t fly down and bite me in the legs . ” For a living stork was standing on the roof, where he had his nest .
Now Little Claus climbed up to the roof of the shed, where he lay, and turned round to settle himself comfortably . The wooden shutters did not cover the windows at the top, and he could look straight into the room. There was a great table, with the cloth laid, and wine and roast meat and a glorious fish upon it . The farmer s wife and the parish-clerk were seated at table, and nobody besides. She was filling his glass, and he was digging his fork into the fish, for that was his favourite dish.
“If one could only get some too ! ”thought Little Claus, as he stretched out his head towards the window. Heavens! What a glorious cake he saw standing there! Yes , certainly , that was a feast .
Now he heard some one riding along the high road. It was the womans husband, who was coming home. He was a good man enough, but he had the strange peculiarity that he could never bear to see a clerk . If a clerk appeared before his eyes he became quite wild . And that was the reason why the clerk had gone to the wife to wish her good day , because he knew that her husband was not at home ; and the good woman therefore put the best fare she had before him. But when they heard the man coming they were frightened, and the woman begged the clerk to creep into a great empty chest which stood in the comer; and he did so, for he knew the husband could not bear the sight of a clerk . The woman quickly hid all the excellent meat and wine in her baking-oven; for if the man had seen that , he would have been certain to ask what it meant .
“Oh, dear!” sighed Little Claus, up in his shed, when he saw all the good fare put away .
“Is there any one up there?” asked the farmer; and he looked up at Little Claus. “Why are you lying there? Better come with me into the room.”
And Little Claus told him how he had lost his way, and asked leave to stay there for the night.
“Yes, certainly,” said the peasant, “but first we must have something to live on .”
The woman received them both in a very friendly way , spread the cloth on a long table , and gave them a great dish of porridge . The farmer was hungry , and ate with a good appetite; but Little Claus could not help thinking of the capital roast meat, fish, and cake, which he knew were in the oven. Under the table, at his feet, he had laid the sack with the horse s hide in it ; for we know that he had come out to sell it in the town. He could not relish the porridge, so he trod upon the sack, and the dry skin inside crackled quite loudly .
“Hush,” said Little Claus to his sack; but at the same time he trod on it again, so that it crackled much louder than before .
“Why, what have you in your sack?” asked the farmer .
“Oh, thats a magician,” answered Little Claus. “He says we are not to eat porridge, for he has conjured the oven full of roast meat , fish , and cake . ”
“Wonderful!” cried the farmer; and he opened the oven in a hurry, and found all the dainty provisions which his wife had hidden there, but which, as he thought, the wizard had conjured forth. The woman dared not say anything, but put the things at once on the table; and so they both ate of the meat , the fish , and the cake . Now Little Claus again trod on his sack, and made the hide creak .
“What does he say now? ” said the farmer.
“He says , ” replied Claus , “ that he has conjured three bottles of wine for us, too, and that they are also standing there in the oven . ”
Now the woman was obliged to bring out the wine which she had hidden, and the farmer drank it and became very merry . He would have been very glad to own such a conjuror as Little Claus had there in the sack .
“Can he conjure the demon forth?” asked the farmer. “I should like to see him, for now I am merry.”
“Oh, yes.” said Little Claus, “my conjuror can do any thing that I ask of him. ---- Can you not?” he added, and trod on the hide , so that it crackled . He says ‘Yes . ’ But the demon is very ugly to look at : we had better not see him.”
“Oh , I m not at all afraid . Pray , what will he look like?”
“Why, hell look the very image of a parish-clerk . ”
“Ha!” said the farmer, “ that is ugly! You must know, I can t bear the sight of a clerk . But it doesnt matter now, for I know that hes a demon, so I shall easily stand it. Now I have courage, but he must not come too near me . ”
“Now I will ask my conjuror,” said Little Claus; and he trod on the sack and held his ear down .
“What does he say?”
“He says you may go and open the chest that stands in the corner, and you will see the demon crouching in it; but you must hold the lid so that he doesnt slip out . ”
“Will you help me to hold him?” asked the farmer. And he went to the chest where the wife had hidden the real clerk , who sat in there and was very much afraid . The farmer opened the lid a little way and peeped in underneath it .
“Ugh ! ” he cried , and sprang backward . “Yes , now Ive seen him, and he looked exactly like our clerk. Oh, that was dreadful ! ”
Upon this they must drink . So they sat and drank until late into the night .
“You must sell me that conjuror,” said the farmer. “Ask as much as you like for him. Ill give you a whole bushel of money directly . ”
“No, that I cant do,” said Little Claus: “only think how much use I can make of this conjuror.”
“Oh, I should so much like to have him!” cried the farmer; and he went on begging.
“Well , ” said Little Claus , at last , “as you have been so kind as to give me shelter for the night , I will let it be so . You shall have the conjuror for a bushel of money; but I must have the bushel heaped up . ”
“That you shall have,” replied the farmer. “But you must take the chest yonder away with you . I will not keep it in my house an hour. One cannot know ---- perhaps he may be there still . ”
Little Claus gave the farmer his sack with the dry hide in it, and got in exchange a whole bushel of money, and that heaped up . The farmer also gave him a big truck , on which to carry off his money and chest .
“Farewell!” said Little Claus ; and he went off with his money and the big chest , in which the clerk was still sitting.
On the other side of the wood was a great deep river. The water rushed along so rapidly that one could scarcely swim against the stream. A fine new bridge had been built over it. Little Claus stopped on the centre of the bridge, and said quite loud , so that the clerk could hear it ,
“Ho, what shall I do with this stupid chest? Its as heavy as if stones were in it . I shall only get tired if I drag it any farther, so Ill throw it into the river: if it swims home to me, well and good; and if it does not, it will be no great matter .”
And he took the chest with one hand, and lifted it up a little, as if he intended to throw it into the river.
“No ! Stop it !” cried the clerk from within the chest; “let me out first !”
“Ugh!” exclaimed Little Claus, pretending to be frightened, “he s in there still ! I must make haste and throw him into the river, that he may be drowned . ”
“Oh , no , no !” screamed the clerk . “Ill give you a whole bushel-full of money if youll let me go . ”
“Why, thats another thing!” said Little Claus; and he opened the chest .
The clerk crept quickly out, pushed the empty chest into the water, and went to his house, where Little Claus received a whole bushel-full of money . He had already received one from the farmer, and so now he had his truck loaded with money .
“See , Ive been well paid for the horse , ” he said to himself when he had got home to his own room, and was emptying all the money into a heap in the middle of the floor. “That will vex Great Claus when he hears how rich I have grown through my one horse ; but I won t tell him about it outright . ”
So he sent a boy to Great Claus to ask for a bushel measure .
“What can he want with it?” thought Great Claus . And he smeared some tar underneath the measure, so that some part of whatever was measured should stick to it . And thus it happened; for when he received the measure back, there were three new three-penny pieces adhering thereto .
“Whats this?” cried Great Claus; and he ran off at once to Little Claus. “Where did you get all that money from?”
“Oh, thats for my horses skin. I sold it yesterday evening. ”
“Thats really being well paid,” said Great Claus. And he ran home in a hurry, took an axe, and killed all his four horses; then he flayed them, and carried off their skins to the town .
“Hides ! Hides ! Wholl buy any hides?” he cried through the streets .
All the shoemakers and tanners came running, and asked how much he wanted for them.
“A bushel of money for each !” said Great Claus .
“Are you mad?” said they . “Do you think we have money by the bushel?”
“Hides! Hides!” he cried again; and to all who asked him what the hides would cost he replied, “A bushel of money . ”
“He wants to make fools of us,” they all exclaimed. And the shoemakers took their straps, and the tanners their aprons , and they began to beat Great Claus .
“Hides !Hides !” they called after him, jeeringly . “Yes , we 11 tan your hide for you till the red broth runs down . Out of the town with him !” And Great Claus made the best haste he could , for he had never yet been thrashed as he was thrashed now .
“Well,” said he when he got home, “Little Claus shall pay for this . Ill kill him for it . ”
Now, at Little Claus s the old grandmother had died. She had been very harsh and unkind to him, but yet he was very sorry , and took the dead woman and laid her in his warm bed, to see if she would not come to life again . There he intended she should remain all through the night , and he himself would sit in the corner and sleep on a chair, as he had often done before. As he sat there, in the night the door opened, and Great Claus came in with his axe . He knew where Little Claus s bed stood ; and , going straight up to it, he hit the old grandmother on the head, thinking she was Little Claus.
“Dye see , ” said he , “you shall not make a fool of me again . ” And then he went home .
“Thats a bad fellow , that man , ” said Little Claus . “He wanted to kill me . It was a good thing for my old grandmother that she was dead already . He would have taken her life . ”
And he dressed his grandmother in her Sunday clothes, borrowed a horse of his neighbour, harnessed it to a car, and put the old lady on the back seat, so that she could not fall out when he drove . And so they trundled through the wood. When the sun rose they were in front of an inn; there Little Claus pulled up, and went in to have some refreshment .
The host had very, very much money; he was also a very good man , but exceedingly hot-tempered , as if he had pepper and tobacco in him.
“Good morning,” said he to Little Claus. “Youve put on your Sunday clothes early today .”
“Yes,” answered Little Claus; “I m going to town with my old grandmother: she s sitting there on the car without. I cant bring her into the room ---- will you give her a glass of mead? But you must speak very loud , for she cant hear well.”
“Yes , that I will ,” said the host . And he poured out a great glass of mead, and went out with it to the dead grandmother, who had been placed upright in the carriage.
“Here s a glass of mead from your son , ” quoth the host. But the dead woman replied not a word, but sat quite still. “Dont you hear?” cried the host, as loud as he could, “here is a glass of mead from your son!”
Once more he called out the same thing, but as she still made not a movement, he became angry at last, and threw the glass in her face, so that the mead ran down over her nose, and she tumbled backwards into the car, for she had only been put upright, and not bound fast.
“Hallo!” cried Little Claus, running out at the door, and seizing the host by the breast; “youve killed my grandmother now ! See , there s a big hole in her forehead . ”
“Oh, heres a misfortune!” cried the host, wringing his hands. “That all comes of my hot temper. Dear Little Claus, Ill give you a bushel of money, and have your grandmother buried as if she were my own; only keep quiet , or I shall have my head cut off, and that would be so very disagreeable !”
So Little Claus again received a whole bushel of money , and the host buried the old grandmother as if she had been his own . And when Little Claus came home with all his money, he at once sent his boy to Great Claus to ask to borrow a bushel measure .
“Whats that?” said Great Claus . “Have I not killed him? I must go myself and see to this . ” And so he went over himself with the bushel to Little Claus .
“Now , where did you get all that money from?” he asked; and he opened his eyes wide when he saw all that had been brought together.
“You killed my grandmother, and not me,” replied Little Claus; “and Ive sold her, and got a whole bushel of money for her.”
“Thats really being well paid,” said Great Claus; and he hastened home, took an axe, and killed his own grandmother directly. Then he put her on a carriage, and drove off to the town with her, to where the apothecary lived, and asked him if he would buy a dead person.
“Who is it, and where did you get him from?” asked the apothecary .
“Its my grandmother, ” answered Great Claus . “Ive killed her to get a bushel of money for her.”
“Heaven save us!” cried the apothecary, “youre raving! Don t say such things, or you may lose your head.” And he told him earnestly what a bad deed this was that he had done, and what a bad man he was, and that he must be punished . And Great Claus was so frightened that he jumped out of the surgery straight into his carriage, and whipped the horses, and drove home. But the apothecary and all the people thought him mad, and so they let him drive whither he would.
“You shall pay for this!” said Great Claus, when he was out upon the high road: “yes, you shall pay me for this, Little Claus!” And directly he got home he took the biggest sack he could find, and went over to Little Claus and said, “Now, youve tricked me again! First I killed my horses, and then my old grandmother! Thats all your fault; but you shall never trick me any more . ” And he seized Little Claus round the body, and thrust him into the sack, and took him upon his back, and called out to him, “Now I shall go off with you and drown you . ”
It was a long way that he had to travel before he came to the river, and Little Claus was not too light to carry. The road led him close to a church: the organ was playing, and the people were singing, so beautifully! Then Great Claus put down his sack, with Little Claus in it, close to the church door, and thought it would be a very good thing to go in and hear a psalm before he went farther; for Little Claus could not get out, and all the people were in church; and so he went in.
“Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” sighed Little Claus in the sack, And he turned and twisted, but he found it impossible to loosen the cord . Then there came by an old drover with snow-white hair, and a great staff in his hand: he was driving a whole herd of cows and oxen before him, and they stumbled against the sack in which Little Claus was confined. so that it was overthrown.
“Oh, dear!” sighed Little Claus, “Im so young yet, and am to go to heaven directly!”
“And I, poor fellow,” said the drover, “am so old, already , and can t get there yet!”
“Open the sack,” cried Little Claus; “creep into it instead of me , and you will get to heaven directly . ”
“With all my heart,” replied the drover; and he untied the sack, out of which Little Claus crept forth immediately .
“But will you look after the cattle?” said the old man; and he crept into the sack at once, whereupon Little Claus tied it up , and went his way with all the cows and oxen.
Soon afterwards Great Claus came out of the church . He took the sack on his shoulders again, although it seemed to him as if the sack had become lighter; for the old drover was only half as heavy as Little Claus.
“How light he is to carry now! Yes, that is because I have heard a psalm .”
So he went to the river, which was deep and broad, threw the sack with the old drover in it into the water, and called after him, thinking that it was little Claus, “You lie there ! Now you shant trick me any more ! ”
Then he went home ; but when he came to a place where there was a cross-road, he met Little Claus driving all his beasts.
“Whats this?” cried Great Claus . “Have I not drowned you?”
“Yes,” replied Little Claus, “you threw me into the river less than half an hour ago.”
“But wherever did you get all those fine beasts from?” asked Great Claus .
“These beasts are sea-cattle,” replied Little Claus. “Ill tell you the whole story ---- and thank you for drowning me , for now Im at the top of the tree . I am really rich! How frightened I was when I lay huddled in the sack, and the wind whistled about my ears when you threw me down from the bridge into the cold water! I sank to the bottom immediately; but I did not knock myself, for the most splendid soft grass grows down there. Upon that I fell; and immediately the sack was opened, and the loveliest maiden, with snow-white garments and a green wreath upon her wet hair, took me by the hand, and said, ‘Are you come, Little Claus? Here you have some cattle to begin with. A mile farther along the road there is a whole herd more , which I will give to you . ’ And now I saw that the river formed a great highway for the people of the sea . Down in its bed they walked and drove directly from the sea, and straight into the land, to where the river ends . There it was so beautifully full of flowers and of the freshest grass; the fishes, which swam in the water, shot past my ears, just as here the birds in the air. What pretty people there were there, and what fine cattle pasturing on mounds and in ditches!”
“But why did you come up again to us directly?” asked Great Claus. “I should not have done that, if it is so beautiful down there . ”
“Why,” replied Little Claus, “just in that I acted with good policy. You heard me tell you that the sea-maiden said ‘A mile farther along the road’ ---- and by the road she meant the river, for she cant go anywhere else ---- ‘there is a whole herd of cattle for you . ’ But I know what bends the stream makes ---- sometimes this way, sometimes that; theres a long way to go round: no, the thing can be managed in a shorter way by coming here to the land, and driving across the Gelds towards the river again. In this manner I save myself almost half a mile, and get all the quicker to my sea-cattle !”
“Oh , you are a fortunate man ! ” said Great Claus . “Do you think I should get some sea-cattle too if I went down to the bottom of the river?”
“Yes , I think so , ” replied Little Claus . “But I cannot carry you in the sack as far as the river; you are too heavy for me ! But if you will go there , and creep into the sack yourself, I will throw you in with a great deal of pleasure . ”
“Thanks ! ” said Great Claus ; “but if I don t get any sea-cattle when I am down there, I shall beat you, you may be sure !”
“Oh, no; dont be so fierce! ”
And so they went together to the river. When the beasts, which were thirsty, saw the stream, they ran as fast as they could to get at the water.
“See how they hurry ! ” cried Little Claus . “They are longing to get back to he bottom.”
“Yes , but help me first ! ” said Great Claus , “or else you shall be beaten .”
And so he crept into the great sack, which had been laid across the back of one of the oxen .
“Put a stone in, for Im afraid I shant sink else,” said Great Claus .
“That will be all right,” replied Little Claus; and he put a big stone into the sack, tied the rope tightly, and pushed against it . Plump! There lay Great Claus in the river, and sank at once to the bottom.
“I m afraid he won t find the cattle !” said Little Claus and then he drove homeward with what he had.
安徒生童話全集英文版 3
LITTLE IDAS FLOWERS
“MY poor flowers are quite dead ! ” said little Ida. “They were so pretty yesterday evening, and now all the leaves hang withered . Why do they do that?” she asked the student, who sat on the sofa; for she liked him very much. He knew the prettiest stories, and could cut out the most amusing pictures ---- hearts, with little ladies in them who danced , flowers , and great castles in which one could open the doors : he was a merry student . “Why do the flowers look so faded today?” she asked again, and showed him a whole bouquet , which was quite withered .
“Do you know whats the matter with them?” said the student . “The flowers have been at a ball last night , and that s why they hang their heads . ”
“But flowers cannot dance ! ” cried little Ida.
“Oh, yes,” said the student, “when it grows dark, and we are asleep, they jump about merrily. Almost every night they have a ball .”
“Can no children go to this ball?”
“Yes,” said the student, “quite little daisies, and lilies of the valley . ”
“Where do the most beautiful flowers dance?” asked little Ida.
“Have you not often been outside the town-gate, by the great castle, where the king lives in summer, and where the beautiful garden is, with all the flowers? You have seen the swans, which swim up to you when you want to give them bread crumbs? There are capital balls there, believe me.”
“I was out there in the garden yesterday, with my mother,” said Ida ; “but all the leaves were off the trees, and there was not one flower left . Where are they? In the summer I saw so many .”
“They are within, in the castle,” replied the student. “You must know, as soon as the king and all the court go to town, the flowers run out of the garden into the castle , and are merry. You should see that . The two most beautiful roses seat themselves on the throne , and then they are king and queen; all the red coxcombs range themselves on either side, and stand and bow; they are the chamberlains . Then all the pretty flowers come , and there is a great ball. The blue violets represent little naval cadets: they dance with hyacinths and crocuses, which they call young ladies; the tulips and the great tiger-lilies are old ladies who keep watch that the dancing is well done , and that everything goes on with propriety .”
“But , ” asked little Ida , “does nobody do anything to the flowers , for dancing in the king s castle?”
“There is nobody who really knows about it , ” answered the student . “ Sometimes , certainly , the old steward of the castle comes at night, and he has to watch there. He has a great bunch of keys with him; but as soon as the flowers hear the keys rattle they are quite quiet, hide behind the long curtains, and only poke their heads out. Then the old steward says, “I smell that there are flowers here , ” but he cannot see them .
“That is famous !” cried little Ida , clapping her hands . “But should not I be able to see the flowers?”
“Yes,” said the student; “only remember, when you go out again, to peep through the window; then you will see them. That is what I did today. There was a long yellow lily lying on the sofa and stretching herself . She imagined herself to be a court lady . ”
“Can the flowers out of the Botanical Garden get there? Can they go the long distance?”
“Yes, certainly,”replied the student; “if they like they can fly. Have you not seen the beautiful butterflies, red, yellow, and white? They almost look like flowers; and that is what they have been. They have flown off their stalks high into the air, and have beaten it with their leaves, as if these leaves were little wings, and thus they flew. And because they behaved themselves well, they got leave to fly about in the daytime too, and were not obliged to go home again and to sit still upon their stalks; and thus at last the leaves became real wings. That you have seen yourself. It may be, however, that the flowers in the Botanical Garden have never been in the kings castle, or that they dont know of the merry proceedings there at night . Therefore I will tell you something : he will be very much surprised, the botanical professor, who lives close by here . You know him, do you not? When you come into his garden, you must tell one of the flowers that there is a great ball yonder in the castle. Then that flower will tell it to all the rest , and then they will fly away : if the professor then comes out into the garden, there will not be a single flower left , and he wont be able to make out , where they are gone . ”
“But how can one flower tell it to another? For, you know , flowers cannot speak . ”
“That they cannot , certainly , ” replied the student ; “but then they make signs . Have you not noticed that when the wind blows a little, the flowers nod at one another, and move all their green leaves? They can understand that just as well as if they talked . ”
“Can the professor understand these signs?” asked Ida.
“Yes , certainly . He came one morning into his garden, and saw a great stinging-nettle standing there, and making signs to a beautiful red carnation with its leaves . It was saying , ‘You are so pretty , and I love you so much . ’ But the professor does not like that kind of thing, and he directly slapped the stinging-nettle upon its leaves, for those are its fingers; but he stung himself, and since that time he has not dared to touch a stinging-nettle . ”
“That was funny,” cried little Ida ; and she laughed.
“How can any one put such notions into a childs head?” said the tiresome privy councillor, who had come to pay a visit, and was sitting on the sofa. He did not like the student , and always grumbled when he saw him cutting out the comical funny pictures ---- sometimes a man hanging on a gibbet and holding a heart in hishand , to show that he stole hearts; sometimes an old witch riding on a broom, and carrying her husband on her nose . The councillor could not bear this, and then he said, just as he did now, “How can any one put such notions into a childs head? Those are stupid fancies!”
But to little Ida , what the student told about her flowers seemed very entertaining; and she thought much about it. The flowers hung their heads, for they were tired because they had danced all night; they were certainly ill. Then she went with them to all her other toys, which stood on a pretty little table, and the whole drawer was full of beautiful things . In the dolls bed lay her doll Sophy , asleep; but little Ida said to her,
“You must really get up, Sophy, and manage to lie in the drawer for tonight. The poor flowers are ill, and they, must lie in your bed; perhaps they will then get well again . ”
And she at once took the doll out ; but the doll looked cross, and did not say a single word; for she was angry because she could not keep her own bed.
Then Ida laid the flowers in the dolls bed, pulled the little coverlet quite up over them, and said they were to lie still and be good, and she would make them some tea, so that they might get well again, and be able to get up tomorrow . And she drew the curtains closely round the little bed , so that the sun should not shine in their eyes .
The whole evening through she could not help thinking of what the student had told her. And when she was going to bed herself, she was obliged first to look behind the curtain which hung before the windows where her mothers beautiful flowers stood ---- hyacinths as well as tulips; then she whispered quite softly , “I know you re going to the ball tonight!” But the flowers made as if they did not understand a word, and did not stir a leaf; but still little Ida knew what she knew .
When she was in bed she lay for a long time thinking how pretty it must be to see the beautiful flowers dancing out in the king s castle . “I wonder if my flowers have really been there?” And then she fell asleep . In the night she awoke again : she had dreamed of the flowers , and of the student with whom the councillor found fault . It was quite quiet in the bedroom where Ida lay; the night-lamp burned on the table , and father and mother were asleep .
“I wonder if my flowers are still lying in Sophy s bed?” she thought to herself. “How I should like to know it!” She raised herself a little, and looked at the door, which stood ajar; within lay the flowers and all her playthings. She listened, and then it seemed to her as if she heard some one playing on the piano in the next room, but quite softly and prettily, as she had never heard it before.
“Now all the flowers are certainly dancing in there !” thought she . “Oh , how much I should like to see it !” But she dared not get up, for she would have disturbed her father and mother.
“If they would only come in !” thought she . But the flowers did not come, and the music continued to play beautifully; then she could not bear it any longer, for it was too pretty ; she crept out of her little bed , and went quietly to the door, and looked into the room. Oh, how splendid it was , what she saw!
There was no night-lamp burning, but still it was quite light : the moon shone through the window into the middle of the floor; it was almost like day . All the hyacinths and tulips stood in two long rows on the floor; there were none at all left at the window . There stood the empty flower-pots . On the floor all the flowers were dancing very gracefully round each other, making a perfect chain, and holding each other by the long green leaves as they swung round. But at the piano sat a great yellow lily, which little Ida had certainly seen in summer, for she remembered how the student had said, “How like that one is to Miss Lina .” Then he had been laughed at by all ; but now it seemed really to little Ida as if the long, yellow flower looked like the young lady; and it had just her manners in playing ---- sometimes bending its long yellow face to one side, sometimes to the other, and nodding in tune to the charming music ! No one noticed little Ida . Then she saw a great blue crocus hop into the middle of the table, where the toys stood, and go to the dolls bed and pull the curtains aside; there lay the sick flowers, but they got up directly , and nodded to the others , to say ; that they wanted to dance too. The old chimney-sweep doll, whose under lip was broken off, stood up and bowed to the pretty flowers: these did not look at all ill now; they jumped down among the others , and were very merry .
Then it seemed as if something fell down from the table . Ida looked that way . It was the Shrovetide birch rod which was jumping down ! It seemed almost as if it belonged to the flowers . At any rate it was very neat ; and a little wax doll, with just such a broad hat on its head as the councillor wore , sat upon it . The birch rod hopped about among the flowers on its three red legs, and stamped quite loud, for it was dancing the mazurka; and the other flowers could not manage that dance, because they were too light , and unable to stamp like that .
The wax doll on the birch rod all at once became quite great and long, turned itself over the paper flowers, and said, “How can one put such things in a childs head? Those are stupid fancies!” and then the wax doll was exactly like the councillor with the broad hat, and looked just as yellow and cross as he. But the paper flowers hit him on his thin legs, and then he shrank up again, and became quite a little wax doll . That was very amusing to see; and little Ida could not restrain her laughter. The birch rod went on dancing, and the councillor was obliged to dance too; it was no use whether he might make him self great and long, or remained the little yellow wax doll with the big black hat . Then the other flowers put in a good word for him, especially those who had lain in the dolls bed, and then the birch rod gave over . At the same moment there was a loud knocking at the drawer, inside where Ida s doll , Sophy , lay with many other toys . The chimney-sweep ran to the edge of the table, lay flat down on his stomach, and began to pull the drawer out a little. Then Sophy raised herself, and looked round quite astonished .
“There must be a ball here,” said she; “why did nobody tell me?”
“Will you dance with me?” asked the chimneysweep.
“You are a nice sort of fellow to dance!” she replied, and turned her back upon him.
Then she seated herself upon the drawer, and thought that one of the flowers would come and ask her; but not one of them came . Then she coughed , “Hem ! Hem! Hem!” but for all that not one came. The chimneysweep now danced all alone, and that was not at all so bad .
As none of the flowers seemed to notice Sophy , she let herself fall down from the drawer straight upon the floor, so that there was a great noise. The flowers now all came running up, to ask if she had not hurt herself; and they were all very polite to her, especially the flowers that had lain in her bed . But she had not hurt herself at all ; and Idas flowers all thanked her for the nice bed, and were kind to her, took her into the middle of the floor, where the moon shone in, and danced with her; and all the other flowers formed a circle round her. Now Sophy was glad, and said they might keep her bed; she did not at all mind lying in the drawer.
But the flowers said , “We thank you heartily , but we cannot live so long . Tomorrow we shall be quite dead . But tell little Ida she is to bury us out in the garden, where the canary lies; then we shall wake up again in summer, and be far more beautiful . ”
“No, you must not die,” said Sophy; and she kissed the flowers .
At that moment the door opened , and a great number of splendid flowers came dancing in. Ida could not imagine whence they had come; these must certainly all be flowers from the kings castle yonder. First of all came two glorious roses , and they had little gold crowns on ; they were a king and a queen . Then came the prettiest stocks and carnations; and they bowed in all directions. They had music with them. Great poppies and peonies blew upon pea-pods till they were quite red in the face . The blue hyacinths and the little white snowdrops rang just as if they had bells on them. That was wonderful music ! Then came many other flowers, and danced all together; the blue violets and the pink primroses, daisies and the lilies of the valley. And all the flowers kissed one another. It was beautiful to look at !
At last the flowers wished one another good night ; then little Ida, too, crept to bed, where she dreamed of all she had seen.
When she rose next morning, she went quickly to the little table, to see if the flowers were still there. She drew aside the curtains of the little bed; there were they all, but they were quite faded, far more than yesterday. Sophy was lying in the drawer where Ida had laid her; she looked very sleepy.
“Do you remember what you were to say to me?” asked little Ida.
But Sophy looked quite stupid, and did not say a single word .
“You are not good at all!”said Ida. “And yet they all danced with you.”
Then she took a little paper box, on which were painted beautiful birds, and opened it, and laid the dead flowers in it.
“That shall be your pretty coffin,” said she, “and when my Norwegian cousins come to visit me by and by, they shall help me to bury you outside in the garden, so that you may grow again in summer, and become more beautiful than ever.”
The Norwegian cousins were two smart boys. Their names were Jonas and Adolphe; their father had given them two new crossbows, and they had brought these with them to show to Ida. She told them about the poor flowers which had died, and then they got leave to bury them. The two boys went first, with their crossbows on their shoulders , and little Ida followed with the dead flowers in the pretty box. Out in the garden a little grave was dug. Ida first kissed the flowers, and then laid them in the earth in the box, and Adolphe and Jonas shot with thei
安徒生童話全集英文版 4
THUMBELINA
THERE was once a woman who wished for a very little child; but she did not know where she should procure one. So she went to an old witch, and said,
“I do so very much wish for a little child! Can you not tell me where I can get one?”
“Oh! That could easily be managed,” said the witch. “There you have a barleycorn: that is not of the kind which grows in the countrymans field, and which the chickens get to eat. Put it into a flower-pot, and you shall, see what you shall see.”
“Thank you, ” said the woman; and she gave the witch a groat.
Then she went home and planted the barleycorn, and immediately there grew up a great handsome flower, which looked like a tulip; but the leaves were tightly closed, as though it were still a bud.
“It is a beautiful flower,” said the woman; and she kissed its beautiful yellow and red leaves. But just as she kissed it the flower opened with a loud crack. It was a real tulip, as one could now see; but in the middle of the flower there sat upon the green stamens a little maiden, delicate and graceful to behold. She was scarcely half a thumbs length in height, and therefore she was called Thumbelina.
A neat polished walnut-shell served Thumbelina for a cradle, blue violet-leaves were her mattresses, with a roseleaf for a coverlet. There she slept at night; but in the daytime she played upon the table, where the woman had put a plate with a wreath of flowers around it, whose stalks stood in water; on the water swam a great tulip-leaf, and on this the little maiden could sit, and row from one side of the plate to the other, with two white horse-hairs for oars. That looked pretty indeed! She could also sing, and, indeed, so delicately and sweetly, that the like had never been heard.
One night as she lay in her pretty bed, there came a horrid old Toad hopping in at the window, in which one pane was broken. The Toad was very ugly, big, and damp; it hopped straight down upon the table, where Thumbelina lay sleeping under the red rose-leaf.
“That would be a handsome wife for my son, ” said the Toad; and she took the walnut-shell in which Thumbelina lay asleep, and hopped with it through the window down into the garden .
There ran a great broad brook; but the margin was swampy and soft, and here the Toad dwelt with her son. Ugh! He was ugly , and looked just like his mother. “Croak! croak! Brek kek-kex!” that was all he could say when he saw the graceful little maiden in the walnutshell.
“Dont speak so loud, or she will awake,” said the old Toad . “She might run away from us yet , for she is as light as a bit of swans-down. We will put her out in the brook upon one of the broad water-lily leaves . That will be just like an island for her, she is so small and light. Then she cant get away, while we put the state-room under the mud in order, where you are to live and keep house together.”
Out in the brook there grew many water-lilies with broad green leaves, which looked as if they were floating on the water. The leaf which lay farthest out was also the greatest of all, and to that the old Toad swam out and laid the walnut-shell upon it with Thumbelina. The poor little thing woke early in the morning, and when she saw where she was, she began to cry very bitterly; for there was water on every side of the great green leaf, and she could not get to land at all. The old Toad sat down in the mud, decking out her room with sedges and yellow waterlilies----it was to be made very pretty for the new daughter-in-law; then she swam out, with her ugly son, to the leaf on which Thumbelina was. They wanted to take her pretty bed, which was to be put in the bridal chamber before she went in there herself. The old Toad bowed low before her in the water, and said,
“Here is my son; he will be your husband, and you will live splendidly together in the mud.”
“Croak! croak! Brek-kek-kex!” was all the son could say.
Then they took the elegant little bed, and swam away with it; but Thumbelina sat all alone upon the green leaf and wept, for she did not like to live at the nasty Toads, and have her ugly son for a husband. The little fishes swimming in the water below had both seen the Toad, and had also heard what she said; therefore they stretched forth their heads, for they wanted to see the little girl. So soon as they saw her they considered her so pretty that they felt very sorry she should have to go down to the ugly Toad. No, that must never be! They assembled together in the water around the green stalk which held the leaf on which the little maiden stood, and with their teeth they gnawed away the stalk, and so the leaf swam down the stream; and away went Thumbelina far away . where the Toad could not get at her.
Thumbelina sailed by many places, and the little birds which sat in the bushes saw her, and said, “What a lovely little girl!” The leaf swam away with her, farther and farther; so Thumbelina travelled out of the country.
A graceful little white butterfly continued to flutter round her, and at last alighted on the leaf. Thumbelina pleased him, and she was so delighted, for now the Toad could not reach her; and it was so beautiful where she was floating along---- the sun shone upon the water, it was just like shining gold. She took her girdle and bound one end of it round the butterfly, fastening the other end of the ribbon to the leaf. The leaf now glided onward much faster, and Thumbelina too, for she stood upon the leaf.
There came a big Cockchafer flying up; and he saw her, and immediately clasped his claws round her slender waist, and flew with her up into a tree. The green leaf went swimming down the brook, and the butterfly with it; for he was fastened to the leaf, and could not get away from it.
Mercy! How frightened poor little Thumbelina was when the Cockchafer flew with her up into the tree! But especially she was sorry for the fine white butterfly whom she had bound fast to the leaf, for, if he could not free himself from it, he would be forced to starve to death. The Cockchafer, however, did not trouble himself at all about this. He seated himself with her upon the biggest green leaf of the tree, gave her the sweet part of the flowers to eat, and declared that she was very pretty, though she did not in the least resemble a cockchafer. After wards came all the other cockchafers who lived in the tree to pay a visit : they looked at Thumbelina, and the lady cockchafers shrugged their feelers and said,
“Why , she has not even more than two legs! ----That has a wretched appearance.”
“She has not any feelers!” cried another.
“Her waist is quite slender----fie! She looks like a human creature----how ugly she is!” said all the lady cockchafers.
And yet Thumbelina was very pretty. Even the Cockchafer who had carried her off thought so; but when all the others declared she was ugly, he believed it at last, and would not have her at all----she might go whither she liked. Then they flew down with her from the tree, and set her upon a daisy, and she wept, because she was so ugly that the cockchafers would not have her; and yet she was the loveliest little being one could imagine, and as tender and delicate as a rose-leaf.
The whole summer through poor Thumbelina lived quite alone in the great wood. She wove herself a bed out of blades of grass, and hung it up under a large burdock leaf, so that she was protected from the rain; she plucked the honey out of the flowers for food, and drank of the dew which stood every morning upon the leaves. Thus summer and autumn passed away; but now came winter, the cold long winter. All the birds who had sung so sweetly to her flew away; trees and flowers shed their leaves; the great burdock leaf under which she had lived shrivelled up, and there remained nothing of it but a yellow withered stalk; and she was dreadfully cold, for her clothes were torn, and she herself was so frail and delicate---- poor little Thumbelina! She was nearly frozen. It began to snow, and every snow-flake that fell upon her was like a whole shovelfull thrown upon one of us, for we are tall, and she was only an inch long. Then she wrapped herself in a dry leaf, but that would not warm her----she shivered with cold.
Close to the wood into which she had now come lay a great corn-field, but the corn was gone long ago; only the naked dry stubble stood up out of the frozen ground. These were just like a great forest for her to wander through; and, oh! How she trembled with cold. Then she arrived at the door of the Field Mouse. This mouse had a little hole under the stubble. There the Field Mouse lived, warm and comfortable, and had a whole corn---- full of corn a glorious kitchen and larder. Poor Thumbelina stood at the door just like a poor beggar girl, and begged for a little bit of a barleycorn, for she had not had the smallest morsel to eat for the last two days.
“You poor little creature,” said the Field Mouse----for after all she was a good old Field Mouse---- “come into my warm room and dine with me.”
As she was pleased with Thumbelina, she said, “If you like you may stay with me through the winter, but you must keep my room clean and neat, and tell me stories, for I am very fond of them.”
And Thumbelina did as the kind old Field Mouse bade her, and had a very good time of it.
“Now we shall soon have a visitor,” said the Field Mouse. “My neighbour is in the habit of visiting me once a week. He is even better off than I am, has great rooms, and a beautiful black velvety fur. If you could only get him for your husband you would be well provided for; but he cannot see at all. You must tell him the very prettiest stories you know. ”
But Thumbelina did not care about this; she would not have the neighbour at all, for he was a Mole . He came and paid his visits in his black velvet coat. The Field Mouse told how rich and how learned he was, and how his house was more than twenty times larger than hers; that he had learning, but that he did not like the sun and beautiful flowers, and said nasty things about them. for he had never seen them.
Thumbelina had to sing, and she sang “Cockchafer, fly away,” and “When the parson goes afield. “Then the Mole fell in love with her, because of her delicious voice; but he said nothing, for he was a sedate man.
A short time before, he had dug a long passage through the earth from his own house to theirs; and Thumbelina and the Field Mouse obtained leave to walk in this passage as much as they wished. But he begged them not to be afraid of the dead bird which was lying in the passage. It was an entire bird, with wings and a beak. It certainly must have died only a short time before, when the winter began, and was now buried just where the Mole had made his passage.
The Mole took a bit of decayed wood in his mouth, for that glimmers like fire in the dark; and then he went first and lighted them through the long dark passage. When they came where the dead bird lay, the Mole thrust up his broad nose against the ceiling and pushed the earth, so that a great hole was made, through which the daylight could shine down. In the middle of the floor lay a dead Swallow, his beautiful wings pressed close against his sides, and his head and feet drawn in under his feathers: the poor bird had certainly died of cold. Thumbelina was very sorry for this; she was very fond of all the little birds, who had sung and twittered so prettily for her through the summer; but the Mole gave him a push with his short legs, and said, “Now he doesnt pipe any more. It must be miserable to be born a little bird. Im thankful that none of my children can be that: such a bird has nothing but his ‘tweet-tweet’, and has to starve in the winter”
“Yes, you may well say that, like a sensible man,” observed the Field Mouse. “Of what use is all this ‘tweet-tweet’ to a bird when the winter comes? He must starve and freeze. But they say thats very aristocratic.”
Thumbelina said nothing; but when the two others turned their backs on the bird, she bent down, put the feathers aside which covered his head, and kissed him upon his closed eyes.
“Perhaps it was he who sang so prettily to me in the summer,” she thought. “How much pleasure he gave me, the dear beautiful bird! ”
The Mole now closed up the hole through which the daylight shone in, and accompanied the ladies home. But at night Thumbelina could not sleep at all; so she got up out of her bed, and wove a large beautiful carpet of hay, and carried it and spread it over the dead bird, and laid soft cotton, which she had found in the Field Mouses room, at the birds sides, so that he might lie warm in the cold ground.
“Farewell, you pretty little bird!” said she. “Farewell! And thanks to you for your beautiful song in the summer, when all the trees were green, and the sun shone down warmly upon us. “And then she laid her head on the birds breast, but at once was greatly startled, for it felt as if something were beating inside there. That was the birds heart. The bird was not dead; he was only lying there torpid with cold; and now he had been warmed, and came to life again .
In autumn all the swallows fly away to warm countries but if one happens to be belated, it becomes so cold that it falls down as if dead, and lies where it falls, and then the cold snow covers it.
Thumbelina fairly trembled, she was so startled; for the bird was large, very large, compared with her, who was only an inch in height. But she took courage , laid the cotton closer round the poor bird, and brought a leaf of mint that she had used as her own coverlet, and laid it over the birds head.
The next night she crept out to him again----and now he was alive, but quite weak; he could only open his eves for a moment, and look at Thumbelina, who stood before him with a bit of decayed wood in her hand, for she had no other lantern.
“I thank you, you pretty little child,” said the sick Swallow; “I have been famously warmed. Soon I shall get my strength back again, find I shall be able to fly about in the warm sunshine.”
“Oh,” she said, “it is so cold without. It snows and freezes. Stay in your warm bed, and I will nurse you. ”
Then she brought the Swallow water in the petal of a flower; and the Swallow drank, and told her how he had torn one of his wings in a thorn bush, and thus hadnot been able to fly as fast as the other swallows, which had sped away, far away, to the warm countries. So at last he had fallen to the ground, but he could remember nothing more, and did not know at all how he had come where she had found him.
The whole winter the Swallow remained there, and Thumbelina nursed and tended him heartily. Neither the Field Mouse nor the Mole heard anything about it, for they did not like the poor Swallow . So soon as the spring came, and the sun warmed the earth, the Swallow bade Thumbelina farewell, and she opened the hole which the Mole had made in the ceiling. The sun shone in upon them gloriously, and the Swallow asked if Thumbelina would go with him; she could sit upon his back. and they would fly away far into the green wood. But Thumbelina knew that the old Field Mouse would be grieved if she left her.
“No, I cannot!” said Thumbelina.
“Farewell, farewell, you good, pretty girl” said the Swallow; and he flew out into the sunshine. Thumbelina looked after him, and the tears came into her eyes, for she was so fond of the poor Swallow.
“Tweet-weet! Tweet-weet!” sang the bird, and flew into the green forest. Thumbelina felt very sad. She did not got permission to go out into the warm sunshine. The corn which was sown in the field over the house of the Field Mouse grew up high into the air; it was quite a thick wood for the poor girl, who was only an inch in height.
“Now you must work at your outfit this summer,” said the Field Mouse to her; for her neighbour, the tiresome Mole with the velvet coat, had proposed to her. “You shall have woolen and linen clothes both; you will lack nothing when you have become the Moles wife. ”
Thumbelina had to turn the spindle, and the Mole hired four spiders to spin and weave for her day and night. Every evening the Mole paid her a visit; and he was always saying that when the summer should draw to a close, the sun would not shine nearly so hot, for that now it burned the earth almost as hard as a stone. Yes, when the summer should have gone, then he would keep his wedding day with Thumbelina. But she was not glad at all, for she did not like the tiresome Mole. Every morning when the sun rose, and every evening when went down, she crept out at the door: and when the wind blew the corn ears apart, so that she could see the blue sry , she thought how bright and beautiful it was out here, and wined so much to see her dear Swallow again. But the Swallow did not come back; he had doubiless flown far away, in the fair green forest. When autumn came on, Thumbelina had all her outfit ready.
“In four weeks you shall celebrate your wedding,” said the Field Mouse to her.
But Thumbelina wept, and declared she would not have the tiresome Mole.
“Nonsense,” said the Field Mouse; “dont be obstinate, or I will bite you with my white teeth. He is a very fine man whom you will marry. The queen herself has not such a black velvet fur; and his kitchen and cellar are full. Be thankful for your good fortune.”
Now the wedding was to be held. The Mole had already come to fetch Thumbelina; she was to live with him, deep under the earth, and never to come out into the warm sunshine, for that he did not like. The poor little thing was very sorrowful; she was now to say farewell to the glorious sun, which, after all, she had been allowed by the Field Mouse to see from the threshold of the door.
“Farewell, thou bright sun!” she said, and stretched out her arms towards it, and walked a little way forth from the house of the Field Mouse, for now the corn had been reaped, and only the dry stubble stood in the fields. “Farewell!” she repeated, and threw her little arms round a little red flower which still bloomed there. “Greet the dear Swallow from me, if you see her again. ”
“Tweet-weet! Tweet-weet!” a voice suddenly, sounded over her head. She looked up; it was the Swallow, who was just flying by. When he saw Thumbelina he was very glad; and Thumbelina told him how loth she was to have the ugly Mole for her husband, and that she was to live deep under the earth, where the sun never shone. And she could not refrain from weeping.
“The cold winter is coming now,” said the Swallow;“I am going to fly far away into the warm countries. Will you come with me? You can sit upon my back, only tie yourself fast with your sash, then we shall fly from the ugly Mole and his dark room----away, far away, over the mountains, to the warm countries, where the sun shines more beautifully than here, where it is always summer, and there are lovely flowers. Only fly with me, you dear little Thumbelina, you who saved my life when I lay frozen in the dark earthy passage.”
“Yes, I will go with you!” said Thumbelina, and she seated herself on the birds back, with her feet on his out-spread wings, and bound her girdle fast to one of his strongest feathers; then the Swallow flew up into the air over forest and over sea, high up over the great mountains, where the snow always lies; and Thumbelina felt cold in the bleak air, but then she crept under the birds warm feathers, and only put out her little head to admire all the beauties beneath her.
At last they came to the warm countries. There the sun shone far brighter than here; the sky seemed twice as high; in ditches and on the hedges grew the most beautiful blue and green grapes; lemons and oranges hung in the woods; the air was fragrant with myrtles and balsams, and on the roads the loveliest children ran about, playing with the gay butterflies. But the Swallow flew still farther, and it became more and more beautiful. Under the most glorious green trees by the blue lake stood a palace of dazzling white marble, from the olden time. Vines clustered around the lofty pillars; at the top were many swallows nests, and in one of these the Swallow lived who carried Thumbelina.
“Here is my house,” said the Swallow. “But if you will select for yourself one of the splendid flowers which grow down yonder, then I will put you into it, and you shall have everything as nice as you can wish.”
“That is capital,”cried she, and clapped her little hands.
A great marble pillar lay there, which had fallen to the ground and had been broken into three pieces; but between these pieces grew the most beautiful great white flowers. The Swallow flow down with Thumbelina, and set her upon one of the broad leaves. But how great was the little maids surprise! There sat a little man in the midst of the flower, as white and transparent as if he had been made of glass; he wore the daintiest of gold crowns on his head, and the brightest wings on his shoulders; he himself was not bigger than Thumbelina. He was the angel of the flower. In each of the flowers dwelt such a little man or woman, but this one was king over them all. “Heavens! How beautiful he is!” whispered Thumbelina to the Swallow.
The little prince was very much frightened at the Swallow; for it was quite a gigantic bird to him, who was so small. But when he saw Thumbelina, he became very glad; she was the prettiest maiden he had ever seen. Therefore he took off his golden crown, and put it upon her, asked her name, and if she would be his wife, and then she should be queen of all the flowers . Now this was truly a different kind of man to the son of the Toad, and the Mole with the black velvet fur. She therefore said “Yes” to the charming prince. And out of every flower came a lady or a lord , so pretty to behold that it was a delight: each one brought Thumbelina a present; but the best gift was a pair of beautiful wings which had belonged to a great white fly; these were fastened to Thumbelinas back, and now she could fly from flower to flower. Then there was much rejoicing; and the Swallow sat above them in her nest, and sung for them as well as she could: but yet in her heart she was sad, for she was so fond of Thumbelina, and would have liked never to part from her.
“You shall not be called Thumbelina!” said the Flower Angel to her; “that is an ugly name, and you are too fair for it---- we will call you Maia.”
“Farewell , farewell!” said the Swallow, and she flew away again from the warm countries, far away back to Denmark. There she had a little nest over the window of the man who can tell fairy tales. To him she sang “Tweet-weet! Tweet-weet” and from him we have the whole story.
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