Hans Christian Andersen

“ It gave such a light, and in its luster stood the old grandmother—so clear, so bright, so mild, so blessed!
"Grandmother," cried the little one, "oh, take me with you! I know you will be gone when the match goes out—gone, just like the warm stove, the beautiful roast goose, and the great, beautiful Christmas tree." And she rubbed quickly all the remaining matches in the bundle,—she would not lose her grandmother,—and the matches burned with such a splendor that it was brighter than in the middle of the day. Grandmother had never before been so beautiful, so grand. ”

“ I will sing about the good and the evil around you which are kept hidden from you, for the little song-bird flies far around to the poor fisherman, to the peasant's roof, to every one, far away from you and your court. I love your heart better than your crown, and yet the crown has a fragrance of sanctity about it!—I will come, I will sing to you!—But one thing you must promise me."
"Everything!" said the emperor, as he stood there in his imperial robes, which he had himself put on, pressing the golden saber to his heart. ”

“ The evening before the third trial Johannes went early to bed, said his prayers, and slept quite peacefully; but his companion fastened the wings to his back, and the sword to his side, and took all the three rods with him and flew off to the palace.
The night was pitch dark and a storm was raging, so that the tiles flew off the houses, and the trees in the garden, on which the skeletons were hanging, swung to and fro like reeds before the wind; every moment there were flashes of lightning and the thunder rolled as if in one continuous clap which lasted the whole of the night. ”

“ She then sat down and cried, but her hot tears happened to fall just where a rose-tree had sunk into the ground, and when the warm tears moistened the soil the tree shot up suddenly in full bloom, just as when it had disappeared. Gerda embraced it, kissed the roses, and thought of the lovely roses at home, and then of little Kay.
"Oh, how I have been losing my time!" said the little girl. "Why, I was going to find Kay! Do you know where he is?" she asked the roses. "Do you think he is dead, and lost to us?"
"He is not dead," said the roses. ”

“ The swallow flew down with Thumbeline and put her on one of the large petals of one of the flowers; but what a surprise awaited her ! She saw a little man sitting in the middle of the flower, so white and transparent, as if he had been made of glass, with the most lovely golden crown on his head, and the most beautiful, clear wings on his shoulders, while he himself was no bigger than Thumbeline. He was the angel of the flower. In every flower there lived such a little man or woman, but this one was the king of them all. ”

“ One could see they did not want to have anything to do with the old house. They were no doubt thinking: "How long is that ramshackle thing going to stand there as a disgrace to the street? And the bow-window projects so far into the street that no one can see from our windows what is going on in that direction; the door-steps are as broad as the staircase of a palace and as high as the stairs of a church tower. The iron railing looks like the gate of an old family vault, and has brass knobs as well. It makes one feel quite ashamed." ”

“ No, the most wonderful trees and plants grow there, the stalks and leaves of which are so pliable that the least movement of the water sets them in motion, just as if they were alive. All the fishes, big and small, glide in and out among the branches, just as the birds do up above in the air. In the deepest place of all lies the palace of the Sea King, the walls of which are of corals and the long, pointed windows of clearest amber, but the roof is made of mussel shells, which open and shut with the motion of the water. ”

“ Indeed, everything in the emperor's garden was cleverly thought out; and it was so big that the gardener himself did not know where it ended. If you kept on walking, you came to a most beautiful forest, with lofty trees and deep lakes. The forest went right down to the deep blue sea; great ships could sail right in under its branches, and in these lived a nightingale, which sang so exquisitely that even the poor fisherman, who had so many other things to attend to, would rest on his oars and listen to him when he went out at night to pull in his nets. "How beautiful it is!" ”

“ I shall not hear the music of the billows, or see the beautiful flowers and the red sun! Can I, then, do nothing at all to win an immortal soul?"
"No," said the old queen-dowager. "Only if a man came to love you so much that you were more to him than his father or mother, if he clung to you with all his heart and all his love, and let the parson put his right hand into yours with a promise to be faithful to you here and for all eternity, then his soul would flow into your body, and you would also partake of the happiness of mankind. He would give you his soul and still retain his own. ”

“ When the sun had risen higher Elisa saw before her, half floating in the air, an alpine country with glittering masses of ice on the mountains, in the midst of which lay a palace almost a mile long, with one colonnade daringly piled above another, while below were forests of waving palms and luxurious flowers as large as mill-wheels. She asked if this was the country whither she was going, but the swans shook their heads, for what she saw was nothing but the magnificent and ever-changing aerial castle of Fata Morgana; thither they dared not bring any human being. ”

“ She had been only a short time in the forest when night set in; she had strayed away from the roads and paths, and so she lay down on the soft moss, said her evening prayers, and leaned her head up against the stump of a tree. All was still and quiet, the air was so mild; and round about, in the grass and on the moss, hundreds of glow-worms were shining like green fire. When she gently touched one of the branches above her, the shining insects fell down to her like shooting-stars. ”

“ The roses on the roof could be seen in full bloom through the open windows, and there were the little foot- stools; Kay and Gerda sat down, holding each other by the hand; they had forgotten the cold, empty splendor of the Snow Queen's castle as if it were a distressing dream of the past.
Grandmother was sitting in the bright sunshine, reading aloud from the Bible: "Except ye become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of God."
And Kay and Gerda looked into each other's eyes, and all at once they understood the old hymn:
The roses grow in the valley. ”

“ Every one who sees you will say you are the most beautiful human child they have seen. You will keep your graceful walk, no dancer will be able to float about like you; but at every step you take you will feel as if you stepped on a sharp knife, and as if your blood must flow. If you will suffer all this, I will help you."
"Yes," said the little mermaid, in a trembling voice, thinking only of the prince and of winning an immortal soul.
"But remember," said the witch, "when once you have assumed the human form, you can never become a mermaid again. ”

“ Ah, well! that's the way of the world," thought the pine-tree, believing it was all true because it was such a nice old man who had told it. "Ah, well, who knows! perhaps I may fall down the stairs too and marry a princess." And it looked forward with pleasure to being decorated again next day with lights and toys, with gold and fruits.
"To-morrow I shall not tremble," it thought. "I'll enjoy myself thoroughly in the midst of all my glory. To-morrow I shall again hear the story about Lumpy-Dumpy and perhaps the one about Ivede-Avede." ”

“ The snow man stood the whole day looking in through the window. When the twilight had set in the room looked still more inviting; the stove threw out such a pleasant light—more pleasant than the moon, or even the sun, could throw out; such as only a stove can do when there is anything in it. When the door of the room was opened, the flame would dart out through the opening, as was its custom; the snow man's white face blushed crimson, while a red glare shone out from his bosom. ”

“ Little Andersen and his mother watched with the corpse, and all night long a cricket chirped; till at last the mother sat up and cried to it, "You need not call to him; he is dead!" In this amazing old-world atmosphere of terror and spiritual bewilderment was the delicate and nervous brain of this great modern poet nurtured, and we must not forget it if we would understand in what manner he was prepared for the composition of the Fairy Tales. ”

“ Nothing gave her greater joy than to hear about the world above and its people. Her old grandmother had to tell her all she knew about ships and towns, about human beings and animals. What seemed to her particularly strange and beautiful was that up on the earth the flowers gave out a fragrance which they did not do at the bottom of the sea, and that the woods were green, and the fish, which were to be seen there among the branches, could sing so loudly and beautifully that it did one's heart good to hear them. ”

“ Just as we rise up out of the sea and see the countries of the world, so do they ascend to unknown beautiful places which we shall never see."
"Why did we not receive an immortal soul?" asked the little mermaid in a sad tone. "I would give all the hundreds of years I have to live to be a human being only for a day, and afterward share the joys of the upper world!"
"You must not go on thinking of that," said the old lady; "we are much happier and better off than the human beings up there."
"So I must die and float as foam upon the sea! ”

“ And if the year comes to an end and he has not by that time led three hundred and sixty-five mortals astray from the path of truth, and from everything that's good and beautiful, he is condemned to take up his abode in decayed wood and shine without being able to move, and that is the most terrible punishment that can befall a sprightly will-o'-the-wisp. I knew all this, and I told it all to the twelve little will-o'-the-wisps whom I had on my lap, and they became wild with joy. ”

“ THEY drove through the dark forest, but the coach shone like a bright light, the glare of which hurt the eyes of the robbers in the forest, who could scarcely bear it.
"It's gold! It's gold!" they cried as they rushed out and seized hold of the horses. They killed the little postillions, the coachman, and the footman, and dragged little Gerda out of the coach.
"She is so fat and nice! She has been fed on nuts!" said the old robber woman, who had a long bristly beard and eyebrows, which hung down over her eyes." She is as good as a little fatted lamb! ”

“ But the little shepherdess wept and looked at the beloved of her heart, the porcelain chimney-sweep. "I think I must ask you," she said, "to go with me out into the wide world, for we cannot remain here."
"I will do everything you want me to do," said the little sweep. "Let us go at once. I think I shall be able to make a living by my profession."
"I wish we were safely down from the table," she said. "I shall not be happy till we are out in the wide world." ”

“ Soon after came their children and grandchildren, who all knew it was the golden-wedding day; they had already been there in the morning to offer their congratulations, but the old people had forgotten that, although they remembered so well everything that had happened many years ago. The elder-tree smelled so sweetly and the sun, which was setting, shone right into the faces of the old people, which were quite fresh and ruddy, and the youngest of the grandchildren danced around them and shouted gleefully that to-night there would be great doings — that they were going to have hot potatoes! ”

“ You need only tie yourself fast with your girdle, and then we will fly away from the ugly old mole and his dark room, far away over the mountains to warmer climes, where the sun shines more brightly than here, where there is always summer and beautiful flowers. Only fly with me, sweet little Thumbeline,—you who saved my life when I lay frozen in the dark cellar under the ground. ”

“ No one noticed little Ida. She then saw a large blue crocus jump right onto the middle of the table, where the toys were standing, and walk straight up to the doll's bed and pull aside the curtains; there lay the sick flowers, but they got up directly and nodded their heads to the others to show that they also wanted to join in the dance. The old incense-burner with the broken under-lip stood up and bowed to the pretty flowers; they did not appear at all ill, they jumped down among the others and looked so pleased. ”

“ The autumn storms have much to tell about the wild chase, about the generations of mankind, and the leaves of the forest which sweep over the land. At Christmas time the wild swans sing from the open lake, while in the old manor-house the folks are gathering round the fireside to listen to songs and legends.
Down in the old part of the garden, where the great avenue of wild chestnut-trees allures one with its twilight, the man who was looking for the fairy tales was walking about. ”

“ A ray of sunlight takes eight minutes and some seconds for its journey over ninety-five millions of miles; with the express speed of electricity a soul needs some minutes less to do the same journey. The distance between the planets is no greater for the soul than the distance between the houses of friends in the same town, even if they are quite close to one another. But this electric shock to the heart costs us the use of our body here below, unless, like the watchman, we happen to have the galoshes of fortune on our feet. ”

“ Old flower-pots with faces and asses' ears stood round about, and the flowers grew just as they pleased. In one pot with carnations the sprouts were hanging all over the sides, and seemed plainly to say : "The breeze has patted us, the sun has kissed us and promised us a little flower on Sunday — a little flower on Sunday." And so the little boy came into a room where the walls were covered with pigskin on which flowers were stamped in gold. ”

“ She said: "Oh, yes! the nightingale! I know him well. How he can sing! Every evening they let me take home some leavings from the table for my poor sick mother, who lives down by the shore; and when I feel tired on my way back, and rest in the forest, I hear the nightingale sing. He brings tears to my eyes; it is just as if my mother was kissing me!"
"My little kitchen-maid," said the chamberlain, "I will get you a permanent place in the kitchen, and permission to see the emperor eat, if only you can take us to the nightingale. He has been commanded to appear at court this evening." ”

“ Dustman," said an old portrait, which was hanging on the wall in Hjalmar's bedroom, "I am Hjalmar's great-grandfather. I am much obliged to you for telling the boy stories, but you must not confuse his ideas of things. The stars cannot be taken down and polished. The stars are planets, like our globe, and that's just the beauty of them."
"Thank you, old great-grandfather," said Daddy Dustman; "I am much obliged to you. You are the head of the family — an 'old head,' in fact. But I am older than you. I am an old heathen. The Romans and the Greeks called me the Dream God. ”