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THE ELF OF THE ROSE
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
Showing posts with label Short Stories by Hans Christian Andersen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Short Stories by Hans Christian Andersen. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Hans Christian Andersen / The Storks
THE STORKS
The Old God is Still Alive)
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
In the last house in a little village the storks had built a nest, and the mother stork sat in it with her four young ones, who stretched out their necks and pointed their black beaks, which had not yet turned red like those of the parent birds. A little way off, on the edge of the roof, stood the father stork, quite upright and stiff; not liking to be quite idle, he drew up one leg, and stood on the other, so still that it seemed almost as if he were carved in wood. “It must look very grand,” thought he, “for my wife to have a sentry guarding her nest. They do not know that I am her husband; they will think I have been commanded to stand here, which is quite aristocratic;” and so he continued standing on one leg.
Hans Christian Andersen / The Flying Trunk
THE FLYING
TRUNK
(The Old God is Still Alive)
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
Here was once a merchant who was so rich that he could have paved the whole street with gold, and would even then have had enough for a small alley. But he did not do so; he knew the value of money better than to use it in this way. So clever was he, that every shilling he put out brought him a crown; and so he continued till he died. His son inherited his wealth, and he lived a merry life with it; he went to a masquerade every night, made kites out of five pound notes, and threw pieces of gold into the sea instead of stones, making ducks and drakes of them. In this manner he soon lost all his money. At last he had nothing left but a pair of slippers, an old dressing-gown, and four shillings. And now all his friends deserted him, they could not walk with him in the streets; but one of them, who was very good-natured, sent him an old trunk with this message, “Pack up!” “Yes,” he said, “it is all very well to say ‘pack up,’” but he had nothing left to pack up, therefore he seated himself in the trunk. It was a very wonderful trunk; no sooner did any one press on the lock than the trunk could fly. He shut the lid and pressed the lock, when away flew the trunk up the chimney with the merchant’s son in it, right up into the clouds. Whenever the bottom of the trunk cracked, he was in a great fright, for if the trunk fell to pieces he would have made a tremendous somerset over the trees. However, he got safely in his trunk to the land of Turkey. He hid the trunk in the wood under some dry leaves, and then went into the town: he could so this very well, for the Turks always go about dressed in dressing-gowns and slippers, as he was himself. He happened to meet a nurse with a little child. “I say, you Turkish nurse,” cried he, “what castle is that near the town, with the windows placed so high?”
Monday, March 23, 2026
Hans Christian Andersen / God Can Never Die
GOD CAN NEVER DIE
(The Old God is Still Alive)
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
It was a Sunday morning. The bright, warm sun was shining into the room; the mild, refreshing air was streaming in through the open window and outside beneath God’s blue sky, where field and meadow stood green and in flower, all the small birds were rejoicing. While everything outside was joy and happiness, inside the house sorrow and misery resided. Even the wife, who was otherwise always of good heart, sat there at her breakfast and gazed down despondently, finally she got up and, without having tasted a bite, dried her eyes and went over towards the door.
And it really seemed as there was a curse upon this house. It was a time of scarcity in the land; trade was doing badly; taxes were becoming more and more oppressive; year by year housekeeping money grew less, and finally the only prospect left was poverty and misery. All of this had for some time depressed the man, who was otherwise an industrious and law-abiding citizen; now thinking of the future made him despair utterly, indeed, he even stated frequently that he would do himself a mischief and put an end to this miserable, hopeless life. Nothing helped, neither what his good-humoured wife said, nor the worldly and spiritual consolations of his friends – these only made him all the more taciturn and dismal. It is easy to grasp that his poor wife also ended up by losing heart. Although her despondency was of a completely different nature, as we shall soon hear.
When the man saw that his wife too was sorrowful and wanted to leave the room, he held her back and said: ‘I will not let you go out before you tell me what’s wrong with you!’
She remained silent a while longer, after which she gave a deep sigh and said: ‘Ah, dear husband, last night I dreamt that the old God was dead, and that all the angels followed him to the grave!’
‘How can you possibility believe or think such utter rubbish!’ the man replied. ‘Don’t you know that God can never die!’
Then the good woman’s face lit up with joy, and as she affectionately pressed both her husband’s hands, she exclaimed: ‘So the old God is still alive, then!’
‘Of course!’ the man answered, ‘Who could possibly doubt it!’
Then she embraced him, looked at him with gracious eyes that gleamed with trust, peace and happiness, while saying: ‘But oh, dead husband! if the old God is still alive, why do we not trust in him and rely on him! he has counted every single hair on our heads, not one strand falls out without his willing it, he clothes the lilies in the field, gives the sparrows their food and the ravens their prey!’
At these words the man felt as if scales had fallen from his eyes, and as if all the heavy bands around his heart had been loosened; for the first time in a long while he smiled and thanked his devout, dear wife for the ruse she had used to revive his dead belief in God and called back his trust. Then the sun shone in an even friendlier fashion into the room onto contented human faces, the air wafted even more refreshingly around the smiles on their cheeks, and the birds rejoiced even more loudly in their heartfelt gratitude to God.
1836
Andersen's Fairy Tales
005 Thumbelina006 The Saucy Boy009 The Talisman014 The Daisy016 The Wild Swan018 The Flying Trunk 019 The Storks
034 The Snow Queen
005 Thumbelina
006 The Saucy Boy
009 The Talisman
014 The Daisy
016 The Wild Swan
018 The Flying Trunk
019 The Storks
034 The Snow Queen
Hans Christian Andersen / This Fable Is Intended for You
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THIS
FABLE IS INTENDED
FOR YOU
(It’s You the Fable has in Mind!)
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
The wise men of ancient times have cleverly discovered how, without being rude to their faces, one could tell people the truth. For they held up to them a mysterious mirror in which all kinds of animals and remarkable things came into view and produced a spectacle that was as amusing as it was edifying. This they called a fable, and whatever stupid or wise things the animals happened to perform there, humans could transfer these to themselves and thereby realise: It’s you the fable has in mind! In that way, no one could feel vexed. Let us take an example:
There were once two mountains, and on top of each stood a castle. Down in the valley a dog was running, it sniffed the ground in front of it as if, to allay its hunger, it was in search of a mouse or partridge. Suddenly, from one of the castles the sound of a trumpet rang out, announcing that dinner was ready. The dog immediately hurried up the mountain so as to get a little food too, but when it had got halfway, the trumpet stopped blowing, and a trumpet from the other castle began. Then the dog thought, they’ll have already finished eating by the time I arrive, but over there they are only getting ready to eat at the moment; so it ran down again and up the other mountain. But then the trumpet from the first place started up again, while the other one stopped. The dog ran down again, and up again, and kept on doing this until finally both trumpets fell silent, and the meal was over no matter which place the dog arrived at.
Just guess what the ancient wise men would want to say by means of this fable, and who the fool is that tires himself out running without ever winning anything, either here or there.
1836
Andersen's Fairy Tales
005 Thumbelina006 The Saucy Boy008 This Fable Is Intended for You009 The Talisman010 God Can Never Die014 The Daisy016 The Wild Swan034 The Snow Queen
005 Thumbelina
006 The Saucy Boy
008 This Fable Is Intended for You
009 The Talisman
010 God Can Never Die
014 The Daisy
016 The Wild Swan
034 The Snow Queen
Sunday, March 22, 2026
Hans Christian Andersen / The Garden of Paradise
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THE GARDEN OF PARADISE
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
HERE was once a king’s son who had a larger and more beautiful collection of books than any one else in the world, and full of splendid copper-plate engravings. He could read and obtain information respecting every people of every land; but not a word could he find to explain the situation of the garden of paradise, and this was just what he most wished to know. His grandmother had told him when he was quite a little boy, just old enough to go to school, that each flower in the garden of paradise was a sweet cake, that the pistils were full of rich wine, that on one flower history was written, on another geography or tables; so those who wished to learn their lessons had only to eat some of the cakes, and the more they ate, the more history, geography, or tables they knew. He believed it all then; but as he grew older, and learnt more and more, he became wise enough to understand that the splendor of the garden of paradise must be very different to all this. “Oh, why did Eve pluck the fruit from the tree of knowledge? why did Adam eat the forbidden fruit?” thought the king’s son: “if I had been there it would never have happened, and there would have been no sin in the world.” The garden of paradise occupied all his thoughts till he reached his seventeenth year.
Hans Christian Andersen / The Emperor's New Clothes
THE
EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
Many years ago, there was
an Emperor, who was so excessively fond of new clothes, that he spent all his
money in dress. He did not trouble himself in the least about his soldiers; nor
did he care to go either to the theatre or the chase, except for the
opportunities then afforded him for displaying his new clothes. He had a
different suit for each hour of the day; and as of any other king or emperor,
one is accustomed to say, "he is sitting in council," it was always
said of him, "The Emperor is sitting in his wardrobe."Hans Christian Andersen / The travelling companion
THE
TRAVELLING COMPANION
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
Poor John was very sad; for his father was so ill, he had no hope of his recovery. John sat alone with the sick man in the little room, and the lamp had nearly burnt out; for it was late in the night.
Saturday, March 21, 2026
Hans Christian Andersen / The Brave Tin Soldier
THE
BRAVE TIN SOLDIER
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
There were once
five-and-twenty tin soldiers, who were all brothers, for they had been made out
of the same old tin spoon. They shouldered arms and looked straight before
them, and wore a splendid uniform, red and blue. The first thing in the world
they ever heard were the words, "Tin soldiers!" uttered by a little
boy, who clapped his hands with delight when the lid of the box, in which they
lay, was taken off. They were given him for a birthday present, and he stood at
the table to set them up. The soldiers were all exactly alike, excepting one,
who had only one leg; he had been left to the last, and then there was not
enough of the melted tin to finish him, so they made him to stand firmly on one
leg, and this caused him to be very remarkable.1222Hans Christian Andersen / The goloshes of fortune
THE
GOLOSHES OF FORTUNE
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
A Beginning
In a house in Copenhagen, not far from the king's new market, a very large party had assembled, the host and his family expecting, no doubt, to receive invitations in return. One half of the company were already seated at the card-tables, the other half seemed to be waiting the result of their hostess's question, "Well, how shall we amuse ourselves?"
Hans Christian Andersen / The Little Mermaid
THE
LITTLE MERMAID
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
Far out in the ocean, where
the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it
is very, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it: many church
steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to
the surface of the water above. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects. We
must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow
sand. No, indeed; the most singular flowers and plants grow there; the leaves
and stems of which are so pliant, that the slightest agitation of the water
causes them to stir as if they had life. Fishes, both large and small, glide
between the branches, as birds fly among the trees here upon land. In the
deepest spot of all, stands the castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of
coral, and the long, gothic windows are of the clearest amber. The roof is
formed of shells, that open and close as the water flows over them. Their
appearance is very beautiful, for in each lies a glittering pearl, which would
be fit for the diadem of a queen.
Hans Christian Andersen / The daisy
THE
DAISY
A fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
Now listen! In the country, close by the high road, stood a farmhouse; perhaps you have passed by and seen it yourself. There was a little flower garden with painted wooden palings in front of it; close by was a ditch, on its fresh green bank grew a little daisy; the sun shone as warmly and brightly upon it as on the magnificent garden flowers, and therefore it thrived well. One morning it had quite opened, and its little snow-white petals stood round the yellow centre, like the rays of the sun. It did not mind that nobody saw it in the grass, and that it was a poor despised flower; on the contrary, it was quite happy, and turned towards the sun, looking upward and listening to the song of the lark high up in the air.
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