THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES(Page 6)

She now led Gerda into the flower-garden. Oh, what
odour and what loveliness was there! Every flower that
one could think of, and of every season, stood there in
fullest bloom; no picture-book could be gayer or more
beautiful. Gerda jumped for joy, and played till the sun set
behind the tall cherry-tree; she then had a pretty bed, with
a red silken coverlet filled with blue violets. She fell asleep,
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and had as pleasant dreams as ever a queen on her
wedding-day.
The next morning she went to play with the flowers in
the warm sunshine, and thus passed away a day. Gerda
knew every flower; and, numerous as they were, it still
seemed to Gerda that one was wanting, though she did
not know which. One day while she was looking at the
hat of the old woman painted with flowers, the most
beautiful of them all seemed to her to be a rose. The old
woman had forgotten to take it from her hat when she
made the others vanish in the earth. But so it is when
one’s thoughts are not collected. ‘What!’ said Gerda. ‘Are
there no roses here?’ and she ran about amongst the

flowerbeds, and looked, and looked, but there was not
one to be found. She then sat down and wept; but her hot
tears fell just where a rose-bush had sunk; and when her
warm tears watered the ground, the tree shot up suddenly
as fresh and blooming as when it had been swallowed up.
Gerda kissed the roses, thought of her own dear roses at
home, and with them of little Kay.
‘Oh, how long I have stayed!’ said the little girl. ‘I
intended to look for Kay! Don’t you know where he is?’
she asked of the roses. ‘Do you think he is dead and
gone?’
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‘Dead he certainly is not,’ said the Roses. ‘We have
been in the earth where all the dead are, but Kay was not
there.’
‘Many thanks!’ said little Gerda; and she went to the
other flowers, looked into their cups, and asked, ‘Don’t
you know where little Kay is?’
But every flower stood in the sunshine, and dreamed its
own fairy tale or its own story: and they all told her very
many things, but not one knew anything of Kay.
Well, what did the Tiger-Lily say?
‘Hearest thou not the drum? Bum! Bum! Those are the
only two tones. Always bum! Bum! Hark to the plaintive
song of the old woman, to the call of the priests! The
Hindoo woman in her long robe stands upon the funeral
pile; the flames rise around her and her dead husband, but
the Hindoo woman thinks on the living one in the
surrounding circle; on him whose eyes burn hotter than
the flames—on him, the fire of whose eyes pierces her
heart more than the flames which soon will burn her body
to ashes. Can the heart’s flame die in the flame of the
funeral pile?’
‘I don’t understand that at all,’ said little Gerda.
‘That is my story,’ said the Lily.
What did the Convolvulus say?
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‘Projecting over a narrow mountain-path there hangs
an old feudal castle. Thick evergreens grow on the
dilapidated walls, and around the altar, where a lovely
maiden is standing: she bends over the railing and looks
out upon the rose. No fresher rose hangs on the branches
than she; no appleblossom carried away by the wind is
more buoyant! How her silken robe is rustling!
‘‘Is he not yet come?’’
‘Is it Kay that you mean?’ asked little Gerda.
‘I am speaking about my story—about my dream,’
answered the Convolvulus.
What did the Snowdrops say?
‘Between the trees a long board is hanging—it is a
swing. Two little girls are sitting in it, and swing
themselves backwards and forwards; their frocks are as
white as snow, and long green silk ribands flutter from
their bonnets. Their brother, who is older than they are,
stands up in the swing; he twines his arms round the cords
to hold himself fast, for in one hand he has a little cup, and
in the other a clay-pipe. He is blowing soap-bubbles. The
swing moves, and the bubbles float in charming changing
colors: the last is still hanging to the end of the pipe, and
rocks in the breeze. The swing moves. The little black
dog, as light as a soap-bubble, jumps up on his hind legs to
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try to get into the swing. It moves, the dog falls down,
barks, and is angry. They tease him; the bubble bursts! A
swing, a bursting bubble—such is my song!’
‘What you relate may be very pretty, but you tell it in
so melancholy a manner, and do not mention Kay.’
What do the Hyacinths say?
‘There were once upon a time three sisters, quite
transparent, and very beautiful. The robe of the one was
red, that of the second blue, and that of the third white.
They danced hand in hand beside the calm lake in the
clear moonshine. They were not elfin maidens, but mortal
children. A sweet fragrance was smelt, and the maidens
vanished in the wood; the fragrance grew stronger—three
coffins, and in them three lovely maidens, glided out of
the forest and across the lake: the shining glow-worms
flew around like little floating lights. Do the dancing
maidens sleep, or are they dead? The odour of the flowers
says they are corpses; the evening bell tolls for the dead!’
‘You make me quite sad,’ said little Gerda. ‘I cannot
help thinking of the dead maidens. Oh! is little Kay really
dead? The Roses have been in the earth, and they say no.’
‘Ding, dong!’ sounded the Hyacinth bells. ‘We do not
toll for little Kay; we do not know him. That is our way
of singing, the only one we have.’
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And Gerda went to the Ranunculuses, that looked
forth from among the shining green leaves.
‘You are a little bright sun!’ said Gerda. ‘Tell me if you
know where I can find my playfellow.’
And the Ranunculus shone brightly, and looked again
at Gerda. What song could the Ranunculus sing? It was
one that said nothing about Kay either.
‘In a small court the bright sun was shining in the first
days of spring. The beams glided down the white walls of
a neighbor’s house, and close by the fresh yellow flowers
were growing, shining like gold in the warm sun-rays. An
old grandmother was sitting in the air; her grand-daughter,
the poor and lovely servant just come for a short visit. She
knows her grandmother. There was gold, pure virgin gold
in that blessed kiss. There, that is my little story,’ said the
Ranunculus.
‘My poor old grandmother!’ sighed Gerda. ‘Yes, she is
longing for me, no doubt: she is sorrowing for me, as she
did for little Kay. But I will soon come home, and then I
will bring Kay with me. It is of no use asking the flowers;
they only know their own old rhymes, and can tell me
nothing.’ And she tucked up her frock, to enable her to
run quicker; but the Narcissus gave her a knock on the
leg, just as she was going to jump over it. So she stood
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still, looked at the long yellow flower, and asked, ‘You
perhaps know something?’ and she bent down to the
Narcissus. And what did it say?
‘I can see myself—I can see myself I Oh, how odorous
I am! Up in the little garret there stands, half-dressed, a
little Dancer. She stands now on one leg, now on both;
she despises the whole world; yet she lives only in
imagination. She pours water out of the teapot over a
piece of stuff which she holds in her hand; it is the bodice;
cleanliness is a fine thing. The white dress is hanging on
the hook; it was washed in the teapot, and dried on the
roof. She puts it on, ties a saffron-colored kerchief round
her neck, and then the gown looks whiter. I can see
myself—I can see myself!’
‘That’s nothing to me,’ said little Gerda. ‘That does not
concern me.’ And then off she ran to the further end of
the garden.
The gate was locked, but she shook the rusted bolt till
it was loosened, and the gate opened; and little Gerda ran
off barefooted into the wide world. She looked round her
thrice, but no one followed her. At last she could run no
longer; she sat down on a large stone, and when she
looked about her, she saw that the summer had passed; it
was late in the autumn, but that one could not remark in
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the beautiful garden, where there was always sunshine, and
where there were flowers the whole year round.
‘Dear me, how long I have staid!’ said Gerda. ‘Autumn
is come. I must not rest any longer.’ And she got up to go
further.
Oh, how tender and wearied her little feet were! All
around it looked so cold and raw: the long willow-leaves
were quite yellow, and the fog dripped from them like
water; one leaf fell after the other: the sloes only stood full
of fruit, which set one’s teeth on edge. Oh, how dark and
comfortless it was in the dreary world!
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FOURTH STORY. The Prince and Princess
Gerda was obliged to rest herself again, when, exactly
opposite to her, a large Raven came hopping over the
white snow. He had long been looking at Gerda and
shaking his head; and now he said, ‘Caw! Caw!’ Good
day! Good day! He could not say it better; but he felt a
sympathy for the little girl, and asked her where she was
going all alone. The word ‘alone’ Gerda understood quite
well, and felt how much was expressed by it; so she told
the Raven her whole history, and asked if he had not seen
Kay.
The Raven nodded very gravely, and said, ‘It may be—
it may be!’
‘What, do you really think so?’ cried the little girl; and
she nearly squeezed the Raven to death, so much did she
kiss him.
‘Gently, gently,’ said the Raven. ‘I think I know; I
think that it may be little Kay. But now he has forgotten
you for the Princess.’
‘Does he live with a Princess?’ asked Gerda.
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‘Yes—listen,’ said the Raven; ‘but it will be difficult for
me to speak your language. If you understand the Raven
language I can tell you better.’
‘No, I have not learnt it,’ said Gerda; ‘but my
grandmother understands it, and she can speak gibberish
too. I wish I had learnt it.’
‘No matter,’ said the Raven; ‘I will tell you as well as I
can; however, it will be bad enough.’ And then he told all
he knew.
‘In the kingdom where we now are there lives a
Princess, who is extraordinarily clever; for she has read all
the newspapers in the whole world, and has forgotten
them again—so clever is she. She was lately, it is said,
sitting on her throne—which is not very amusing after
all—when she began humming an old tune, and it was
just, ‘Oh, why should I not be married?’ ‘That song is not
without its meaning,’ said she, and so then she was
determined to marry; but she would have a husband who
knew how to give an answer when he was spoken to—
not one who looked only as if he were a great personage,
for that is so tiresome. She then had all the ladies of the
court drummed together; and when they heard her
intention, all were very pleased, and said, ‘We are very
glad to hear it; it is the very thing we were thinking of.’
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You may believe every word I say, said the Raven; ‘for I
have a tame sweetheart that hops about in the palace quite
free, and it was she who told me all this.
‘The newspapers appeared forthwith with a border of
hearts and the initials of the Princess; and therein you
might read that every good-looking young man was at
liberty to come to the palace and speak to the Princess;
and he who spoke in such wise as showed he felt himself
at home there, that one the Princess would choose for her
husband.
‘Yes, Yes,’ said the Raven, ‘you may believe it; it is as
true as I am sitting here. People came in crowds; there was
a crush and a hurry, but no one was successful either on
the first or second day. They could all talk well enough
when they were out in the street; but as soon as they came
inside the palace gates, and saw the guard richly dressed in
silver, and the lackeys in gold on the staircase, and the
large illuminated saloons, then they were abashed; and
when they stood before the throne on which the Princess
was sitting, all they could do was to repeat the last word
they had uttered, and to hear it again did not interest her
very much. It was just as if the people within were under a
charm, and had fallen into a trance till they came out again
into the street; for then—oh, then—they could chatter
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enough. There was a whole row of them standing from
the town-gates to the palace. I was there myself to look,’
said the Raven. ‘They grew hungry and thirsty; but from
the palace they got nothing whatever, not even a glass of
water. Some of the cleverest, it is true, had taken bread
and butter with them: but none shared it with his
neighbor, for each thought, ‘Let him look hungry, and
then the Princess won’t have him.‘‘
‘But Kay—little Kay,’ said Gerda, ‘when did he come?
Was he among the number?’
‘Patience, patience; we are just come to him. It was on
the third day when a little personage without horse or
equipage, came marching right boldly up to the palace; his
eyes shone like yours, he had beautiful long hair, but his
clothes were very shabby.’
‘That was Kay,’ cried Gerda, with a voice of delight.
‘Oh, now I’ve found him!’ and she clapped her hands for
joy.
‘He had a little knapsack at his back,’ said the Raven.
‘No, that was certainly his sledge,’ said Gerda; ‘for
when he went away he took his sledge with him.’
‘That may be,’ said the Raven; ‘I did not examine him
so minutely; but I know from my tame sweetheart, that
when he came into the court-yard of the palace, and saw
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the body-guard in silver, the lackeys on the staircase, he
was not the least abashed; he nodded, and said to them, ‘It
must be very tiresome to stand on the stairs; for my part, I
shall go in.’ The saloons were gleaming with lustres—
privy councillors and excellencies were walking about
barefooted, and wore gold keys; it was enough to make
any one feel uncomfortable. His boots creaked, too, so
loudly, but still he was not at all afraid.’
‘That’s Kay for certain,’ said Gerda. ‘I know he had on
new boots; I have heard them creaking in grandmama’s
room.’
‘Yes, they creaked,’ said the Raven. ‘And on he went
boldly up to the Princess, who was sitting on a pearl as
large as a spinning-wheel. All the ladies of the court, with
their attendants and attendants’ attendants, and all the
cavaliers, with their gentlemen and gentlemen’s
gentlemen, stood round; and the nearer they stood to the
door, the prouder they looked. It was hardly possible to
look at the gentleman’s gentleman, so very haughtily did
he stand in the doorway.’
‘It must have been terrible,’ said little Gerda. ‘And did
Kay get the Princess?’
‘Were I not a Raven, I should have taken the Princess
myself, although I am promised. It is said he spoke as well
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as I speak when I talk Raven language; this I learned from
my tame sweetheart. He was bold and nicely behaved; he
had not come to woo the Princess, but only to hear her
wisdom. She pleased him, and he pleased her.’
‘Yes, yes; for certain that was Kay,’ said Gerda. ‘He was
so clever; he could reckon fractions in his head. Oh, won’t
you take me to the palace?’
‘That is very easily said,’ answered the Raven. ‘But
how are we to manage it? I’ll speak to my tame sweetheart
about it: she must advise us; for so much I must tell you,
such a little girl as you are will never get permission to
enter.’
‘Oh, yes I shall,’ said Gerda; ‘when Kay hears that I am
here, he will come out directly to fetch me.’
‘Wait for me here on these steps,’ said the Raven.He
moved his head backwards and forwards and flew away.
The evening was closing in when the Raven returned.
‘Caw —caw!’ said he. ‘She sends you her compliments;
and here is a roll for you. She took it out of the kitchen,
where there is bread enough. You are hungry, no doubt.
It is not possible for you to enter the palace, for you are
barefooted: the guards in silver, and the lackeys in gold,
would not allow it; but do not cry, you shall come in still.
My sweetheart knows a little back stair that leads to the
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bedchamber, and she knows where she can get the key of
it.’
And they went into the garden in the large avenue,
where one leaf was falling after the other; and when the
lights in the palace had all gradually disappeared, the
Raven led little Gerda to the back door, which stood half
open.
Oh, how Gerda’s heart beat with anxiety and longing!
It was just as if she had been about to do something
wrong; and yet she only wanted to know if little Kay was
there. Yes, he must be there. She called to mind his
intelligent eyes, and his long hair, so vividly, she could
quite see him as he used to laugh when they were sitting
under the roses at home. ‘He will, no doubt, be glad to
see you—to hear what a long way you have come for his
sake; to know how unhappy all at home were when he
did not come back.’
Oh, what a fright and a joy it was!
They were now on the stairs. A single lamp was
burning there; and on the floor stood the tame Raven,
turning her head on every side and looking at Gerda, who
bowed as her grandmother had taught her to do.
‘My intended has told me so much good of you, my
dear young lady,’ said the tame Raven. ‘Your tale is very
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affecting. If you will take the lamp, I will go before. We
will go straight on, for we shall meet no one.’
‘I think there is somebody just behind us,’ said Gerda;
and something rushed past: it was like shadowy figures on
the wall; horses with flowing manes and thin legs,
huntsmen, ladies and gentlemen on horseback.
‘They are only dreams,’ said the Raven. ‘They come to
fetch the thoughts of the high personages to the chase; ‘tis
well, for now you can observe them in bed all the better.
But let me find, when you enjoy honor and distinction,
that you possess a grateful heart.’
‘Tut! That’s not worth talking about,’ said the Raven
of the woods.
They now entered the first saloon, which was of rosecolored
satin, with artificial flowers on the wall. Here the
dreams were rushing past, but they hastened by so quickly
that Gerda could not see the high personages. One hall
was more magnificent than the other; one might indeed
well be abashed; and at last they came into the
bedchamber. The ceiling of the room resembled a large
palm-tree with leaves of glass, of costly glass; and in the
middle, from a thick golden stem, hung two beds, each of
which resembled a lily. One was white, and in this lay the
Princess; the other was red, and it was here that Gerda was
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to look for little Kay. She bent back one of the red leaves,
and saw a brown neck. Oh! that was Kay! She called him
quite loud by name, held the lamp towards him—the
dreams rushed back again into the chamber—he awoke,
turned his head, and—it was not little Kay!
The Prince was only like him about the neck; but he
was young and handsome. And out of the white lily leaves
the Princess peeped, too, and asked what was the matter.
Then little Gerda cried, and told her her whole history,
and all that the Ravens had done for her.
‘Poor little thing!’ said the Prince and the Princess.
They praised the Ravens very much, and told them they
were not at all angry with them, but they were not to do
so again. However, they should have a reward. ‘Will you
fly about here at liberty,’ asked the Princess; ‘or would you
like to have a fixed appointment as court ravens, with all
the broken bits from the kitchen?’
And both the Ravens nodded, and begged for a fixed
appointment; for they thought of their old age, and said,
‘It is a good thing to have a provision for our old days.’
And the Prince got up and let Gerda sleep in his bed,
and more than this he could not do. She folded her little
hands and thought, ‘How good men and animals are!’ and
she then fell asleep and slept soundly. All the dreams flew
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in again, and they now looked like the angels; they drew a
little sledge, in which little Kay sat and nodded his head;
but the whole was only a dream, and therefore it all
vanished as soon as she awoke.
The next day she was dressed from head to foot in silk
and velvet. They offered to let her stay at the palace, and
lead a happy life; but she begged to have a little carriage
with a horse in front, and for a small pair of shoes; then,
she said, she would again go forth in the wide world and
look for Kay.
Shoes and a muff were given her; she was, too, dressed
very nicely; and when she was about to set off, a new
carriage stopped before the door. It was of pure gold, and
the arms of the Prince and Princess shone like a star upon
it; the coachman, the footmen, and the outriders, for
outriders were there, too, all wore golden crowns. The
Prince and the Princess assisted her into the carriage
themselves, and wished her all success. The Raven of the
woods, who was now married, accompanied her for the
first three miles. He sat beside Gerda, for he could not
bear riding backwards; the other Raven stood in the
doorway,and flapped her wings; she could not accompany
Gerda, because she suffered from headache since she had
had a fixed appointment and ate so much. The carriage
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was lined inside with sugar-plums, and in the seats were
fruits and gingerbread.
‘Farewell! Farewell!’ cried Prince and Princess; and
Gerda wept, and the Raven wept. Thus passed the first
miles; and then the Raven bade her farewell, and this was
the most painful separation of all. He flew into a tree, and
beat his black wings as long as he could see the carriage,
that shone from afar like a sunbeam.
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FIFTH STORY. The Little Robber Maiden
They drove through the dark wood; but the carriage
shone like a torch, and it dazzled the eyes of the robbers,
so that they could not bear to look at it.
‘‘Tis gold! ‘Tis gold!’ they cried; and they rushed
forward, seized the horses, knocked down the little
postilion, the coachman, and the servants, and pulled little
Gerda out of the carriage.
‘How plump, how beautiful she is! She must have been
fed on nut-kernels,’ said the old female robber, who had a
long, scrubby beard, and bushy eyebrows that hung down
over her eyes. ‘She is as good as a fatted lamb! How nice
she will be!’ And then she drew out a knife, the blade of
which shone so that it was quite dreadful to behold.
‘Oh!’ cried the woman at the same moment. She had
been bitten in the ear by her own little daughter, who
hung at her back; and who was so wild and unmanageable,
that it was quite amusing to see her. ‘You naughty child!’
said the mother: and now she had not time to kill Gerda.
‘She shall play with me,’ said the little robber child.
‘She shall give me her muff, and her pretty frock; she shall
sleep in my bed!’ And then she gave her mother another
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bite, so that she jumped, and ran round with the pain; and
the Robbers laughed, and said, ‘Look, how she is dancing
with the little one!’
‘I will go into the carriage,’ said the little robber
maiden; and she would have her will, for she was very
spoiled and very headstrong. She and Gerda got in; and
then away they drove over the stumps of felled trees,
deeper and deeper into the woods. The little robber
maiden was as tall as Gerda, but stronger, broadershouldered,
and of dark complexion; her eyes were quite
black; they looked almost melancholy. She embraced little
Gerda, and said, ‘They shall not kill you as long as I am
not displeased with you. You are, doubtless, a Princess?’
‘No,’ said little Gerda; who then related all that had
happened to her, and how much she cared about little
Kay.
The little robber maiden looked at her with a serious
air, nodded her head slightly, and said, ‘They shall not kill
you, even if I am angry with you: then I will do it
myself"; and she dried Gerda’s eyes, and put both her
hands in the handsome muff, which was so soft and warm.
At length the carriage stopped. They were in the midst
of the court-yard of a robber’s castle. It was full of cracks
from top to bottom; and out of the openings magpies and
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rooks were flying; and the great bull-dogs, each of which
looked as if he could swallow a man, jumped up, but they
did not bark, for that was forbidden.
In the midst of the large, old, smoking hall burnt a
great fire on the stone floor. The smoke disappeared under
the stones, and had to seek its own egress. In an immense
caldron soup was boiling; and rabbits and hares were being
roasted on a spit.
‘You shall sleep with me to-night, with all my animals,’
said the little robber maiden. They had something to eat
and drink; and then went into a corner, where straw and
carpets were lying. Beside them, on laths and perches, sat
nearly a hundred pigeons, all asleep, seemingly; but yet
they moved a little when the robber maiden came. ‘They
are all mine,’ said she, at the same time seizing one that
was next to her by the legs and shaking it so that its wings
fluttered. ‘Kiss it,’ cried the little girl, and flung the pigeon
in Gerda’s face. ‘Up there is the rabble of the wood,
continued she, pointing to several laths which were
fastened before a hole high up in the wall; ‘that’s the
rabble; they would all fly away immediately, if they were
not well fastened in. And here is my dear old Bac"; and
she laid hold of the horns of a reindeer, that had a bright
copper ring round its neck, and was tethered to the spot.
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‘We are obliged to lock this fellow in too, or he would
make his escape. Every evening I tickle his neck with my
sharp knife; he is so frightened at it!’ and the little girl
drew forth a long knife, from a crack in the wall, and let it
glide over the Reindeer’s neck. The poor animal kicked;
the girl laughed, and pulled Gerda into bed with her.
‘Do you intend to keep your knife while you sleep?’
asked Gerda; looking at it rather fearfully.
‘I always sleep with the knife,’ said the little robber
maiden. ‘There is no knowing what may happen. But tell
me now, once more, all about little Kay; and why you
have started off in the wide world alone.’ And Gerda
related all, from the very beginning: the Wood-pigeons
cooed above in their cage, and the others slept. The little
robber maiden wound her arm round Gerda’s neck, held
the knife in the other hand, and snored so loud that
everybody could hear her; but Gerda could not close her
eyes, for she did not know whether she was to live or die.
The robbers sat round the fire, sang and drank; and the old
female robber jumped about so, that it was quite dreadful
for Gerda to see her.
Then the Wood-pigeons said, ‘Coo! Cool We have
seen little Kay! A white hen carries his sledge; he himself
sat in the carriage of the Snow Queen, who passed here,
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