Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
In the garden all the apple-trees were in blossom. They had hastened to bring forth flowers before they got green leaves, and in the yard all the ducklings walked up and down, and the cat too: it basked in the sun and licked the sunshine from its own paws. And when one looked at the fields, how beautifully the corn stood and how green it shone, without comparison! and there was a twittering and a fluttering of all the little birds, as if the day were a great festival; and so it was, for it was Sunday. All the bells were ringing, and all the people went to church, looking cheerful, and dressed in their best clothes. There was a look of cheerfulness on everything. The day was so warm and beautiful that one might well have said: God's kindness to us men is beyond all limits. But inside the church the pastor stood in the pulpit, and spoke very loudly and angrily. He said that all men were wicked, and God would punish them for their sins, and that the wicked, when they died, would be cast into hell, to burn for ever and ever. He spoke very excitedly, saying that their evil propensities would not be destroyed, nor would the fire be extinguished, and they should never find rest. That was terrible to hear, and he said it in such a tone of conviction; he described hell to them as a miserable hole where all the refuse of the world gathers. There was no air beside the hot burning sulphur flame, and there was no ground under their feet; they, the wicked ones, sank deeper and deeper, while eternal silence surrounded them! It was dreadful to hear all that, for the preacher spoke from his heart, and all the people in the church were terrified. Meanwhile, the birds sang merrily outside, and the sun was shining so beautifully warm, it seemed as though every little flower said: God, Thy kindness towards us all is without limits. Indeed, outside it was not at all like the pastor's sermon.
The same evening, upon going to bed, the pastor noticed his wife sitting there quiet and pensive.
H. C. Andersen
FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
CONTENTS
A STORY
THE ANGEL
ANNE LISBETH
THE CONCEITED APPLE-BRANCH
BEAUTY OF FORM AND BEAUTY OF MIND
THE BEETLE WHO WENT ON HIS TRAVELS
THE BELL
THE BELL-DEEP
THE BIRD OF POPULAR SONG
THE BISHOP OF BORGLUM AND HIS WARRIORS
THE BOTTLE NECK
THE BUCKWHEAT
THE BUTTERFLY
A CHEERFUL TEMPER
THE CHILD IN THE GRAVE
CHILDREN'S PRATTLE
THE FARM-YARD COCK AND THE WEATHER-COCK
THE DAISY
THE DARNING-NEEDLE
DELAYING IS NOT FORGETTING
THE DROP OF WATER
THE DRYAD
THE DUMB BOOK
THE ELF OF THE ROSE
THE ELFIN HILL
THE EMPEROR'S NEW SUIT
THE FIR TREE
THE FLAX
THE FLYING TRUNK
THE SHEPHERD'S STORY OF THE BOND OF FRIENDSHIP
THE GIRL WHO TROD ON THE LOAF
THE GOBLIN AND THE HUCKSTER
THE GOLDEN TREASURE
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COUNSELLOR
THE WATCHMAN'S ADVENTURES
THE EVENTFUL MOMENT—A MOST UNUSUAL JOURNEY
THE CLERK'S TRANSFORMATION
THE BEST THING THE GOLOSHES DID
SHE WAS GOOD FOR NOTHING
GRANDMOTHER
A GREAT GRIEF
THE HAPPY FAMILY
A LEAF FROM HEAVEN
HOLGER DANSKE
IB AND LITTLE CHRISTINA
II. THE JOURNEY TO THE NEW HOME
III. THE UNCLE
IV. BABETTE
V. ON THE WAY HOME
VI. THE VISIT TO THE MILL
VII. THE EAGLE'S NEST
VIII. WHAT FRESH NEWS THE PARLOR-CAT HAD TO TELL
IX. THE ICE MAIDEN
X. THE GODMOTHER
XI. THE COUSIN
XII. EVIL POWERS
XIII. AT THE MILL
XIV. NIGHT VISIONS
XV. THE CONCLUSION
THE JEWISH MAIDEN
THE JUMPER
THE LAST DREAM OF THE OLD OAK
THE LAST PEARL
LITTLE CLAUS AND BIG CLAUS
THE LITTLE ELDER-TREE MOTHER
LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS
THE LITTLE MATCH-SELLER
THE LITTLE MERMAID
LITTLE TINY OR THUMBELINA
LITTLE TUK
THE LOVELIEST ROSE IN THE WORLD
THE MAIL-COACH PASSENGERS
THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER
THE METAL PIG
THE MONEY-BOX
FIRST EVENING
SECOND EVENING
THIRD EVENING
FOURTH EVENING
FIFTH EVENING
SIXTH EVENING
SEVENTH EVENING
EIGHTH EVENING
NINTH EVENING
TENTH EVENING
ELEVENTH EVENING
TWELFTH EVENING
THIRTEENTH EVENING
FOURTEENTH EVENING
FIFTEENTH EVENING
SIXTEENTH EVENING
SEVENTEENTH EVENING
EIGHTEENTH EVENING
NINETEENTH EVENING
TWENTIETH EVENING
TWENTY-FIRST EVENING
TWENTY-SECOND EVENING
TWENTY-THIRD EVENING
TWENTY-FOURTH EVENING
TWENTY-FIFTH EVENING
TWENTY-SIXTH EVENING
TWENTY-SEVENTH EVENING
TWENTY-EIGHTH EVENING
TWENTY-NINTH EVENING
THIRTIETH EVENING
THIRTY-FIRST EVENING
THIRTY-SECOND EVENING
THE NEIGHBOURING FAMILIES
THE NIGHTINGALE
THERE IS NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
IN THE NURSERY
THE OLD BACHELOR'S NIGHTCAP
THE OLD GRAVE-STONE
THE OLD HOUSE
WHAT THE OLD MAN DOES IS ALWAYS RIGHT
THE OLD STREET LAMP
OLE-LUK-OIE, THE DREAM-GOD
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
OLE THE TOWER-KEEPER
FIRST VISIT
SECOND VISIT
THIRD VISIT
OUR AUNT
THE GARDEN OF PARADISE
THE PEA BLOSSOM
THE PEN AND THE INKSTAND
THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE
THE PHOENIX BIRD
THE PORTUGUESE DUCK
THE PORTER'S SON
POULTRY MEG'S FAMILY
THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA
THE PSYCHE
THE PUPPET-SHOW MAN
THE RACES
THE RED SHOES
EVERYTHING IN THE RIGHT PLACE
A ROSE FROM HOMER'S GRAVE
THE SNAIL AND THE ROSE-TREE
A STORY FROM THE SAND-HILLS
THE SAUCY BOY
THE SHADOW
THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE SHEEP
THE SILVER SHILLING
THE SHIRT-COLLAR
THE SNOW MAN
STORY THE FIRST
THE SNOWDROP
SOMETHING
SOUP FROM A SAUSAGE SKEWER
WHAT THE FIRST LITTLE MOUSE SAW AND HEARD ON HER TRAVELS
WHAT THE SECOND MOUSE HAD TO TELL
WHAT THE FOURTH MOUSE, WHO SPOKE BEFORE THE THIRD, HAD TO TELL
HOW IT WAS PREPARED
THE STORKS
THE STORM SHAKES THE SHIELD
THE STORY OF A MOTHER
THE SUNBEAM AND THE CAPTIVE
THE SWAN'S NEST
THE SWINEHERD
THE THISTLE'S EXPERIENCES
THE THORNY ROAD OF HONOR
IN A THOUSAND YEARS
THE BRAVE TIN SOLDIER
THE TINDER-BOX
THE TOAD
THE TOP AND BALL
THE TRAVELLING COMPANION
TWO BROTHERS
TWO MAIDENS
THE UGLY DUCKLING
UNDER THE WILLOW-TREE
IN THE UTTERMOST PARTS OF THE SEA
WHAT ONE CAN INVENT
THE WICKED PRINCE
THE WILD SWANS
THE WILL-O-THE WISP IS IN THE TOWN, SAYS THE MOOR WOMAN
THE STORY OF THE WIND
THE WINDMILL
THE STORY OF THE YEAR