第235章
《安徒生童话英文版 全TXT版》章节:第235章,宠文网网友提供全文无弹窗免费在线阅读。!
- the last!"
Then Helga stood again in the verandah. But the marriage lampsin the festive hall had been all extinguished, and the torches outsidehad vanished. The storks were gone; not a guest could be seen; nobridegroom- all in those few short moments seemed to have died. Then agreat dread fell upon her. She stepped from the verandah through theempty hall into the next chamber, where slept strange warriors. Sheopened a side door, which once led into her own apartment, but now, asshe passed through, she found herself suddenly in a garden which shehad never before seen here, the sky blushed red, it was the dawn ofmorning. Three minutes only in heaven, and a whole night on earthhad passed away! Then she saw the storks, and called to them intheir own language.
Then stork-papa turned his head towards here, listened to herwords, and drew near. "You speak our language," said he, "what doyou wish? Why do you appear,- you- a strange woman?"
"It is I- it is Helga! Dost thou not know me? Three minutes ago wewere speaking together yonder in the verandah."
"That is a mistake," said the stork, "you must have dreamed allthis."
"No, no," she exclaimed. Then she reminded him of the Viking'scastle, of the great lake, and of the journey across the ocean.
Then stork-papa winked his eyes, and said, "Why that's an oldstory which happened in the time of my grandfather. There certainlywas a princess of that kind here in Egypt once, who came from theDanish land, but she vanished on the evening of her wedding day,many hundred years ago, and never came back. You may read about ityourself yonder, on a monument in the garden. There you will findswans and storks sculptured, and on the top is a figure of theprincess Helga, in marble."
And so it was; Helga understood it all now, and sank on her knees.The sun burst forth in all its glory, and, as in olden times, the formof the frog vanished in his beams, and the beautiful form stoodforth in all its loveliness; so now, bathed in light, rose a beautifulform, purer, clearer than air- a ray of brightness- from the Source oflight Himself. The body crumbled into dust, and a faded lotus-flowerlay on the spot on which Helga had stood.
"Now that is a new ending to the story," said stork-papa; "Ireally never expected it would end in this way, but it seems a verygood ending."
"And what will the young ones say to it, I wonder?" saidstork-mamma.
"Ah, that is a very important question," replied the stork.
THE END.
1872
FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
THE METAL PIG
by Hans Christian Andersen
IN the city of Florence, not far from the Piazza del Granduca,runs a little street called Porta Rosa. In this street, just infront of the market-place where vegetables are sold, stands a pig,made of brass and curiously formed. The bright color has beenchanged by age to dark green; but clear, fresh water pours from thesnout, which shines as if it had been polished, and so indeed ithas, for hundreds of poor people and children seize it in theirhands as they place their mouths close to the mouth of the animal,to drink. It is quite a picture to see a half-naked boy clasping thewell-formed creature by the head, as he presses his rosy lipsagainst its jaws. Every one who visits Florence can very quicklyfind the place; he has only to ask the first beggar he meets for theMetal Pig, and he will be told where it is.
It was late on a winter evening; the mountains were covered withsnow, but the moon shone brightly, and moonlight in Italy is like adull winter's day in the north; indeed it is better, for clear airseems to raise us above the earth, while in the north a cold, gray,leaden sky appears to press us down to earth, even as the cold dampearth shall one day press on us in the grave. In the garden of thegrand duke's palace, under the roof of one of the wings, where athousand roses bloom in winter, a little ragged boy had been sittingthe whole day long; a boy, who might serve as a type of Italy,lovely and smiling, and yet still suffering. He was hungry andthirsty, yet no one gave him anything; and when it became dark, andthey were about to close the gardens, the porter turned him out. Hestood a long time musing on the bridge which crosses the Arno, andlooking at the glittering stars, reflected in the water which flowedbetween him and the elegant marble bridge Della Trinita. He thenwalked away towards the Metal Pig, half knelt down, clasped it withhis arms, and then put his mouth to the shining snout and drank deepdraughts of the fresh water. Close by, lay a few salad-leaves andtwo chestnuts, which were to serve for his supper. No one was in thestreet but himself; it belonged only to him, so he boldly seatedhimself on the pig's back, leaned forward so that his curly head couldrest on the head of the animal, and, before he was aware, he fellasleep.
It was midnight. The Metal Pig raised himself gently, and theboy heard him say quite distinctly, "Hold tight, little boy, for Iam going to run;" and away he started for a most wonderful ride.First, they arrived at the Piazza del Granduca, and the metal horsewhich bears the duke's statue, neighed aloud. The paintedcoats-of-arms on the old council-house shone like transparentpictures, and Michael Angelo's David tossed his sling; it was as ifeverything had life. The metallic groups of figures, among whichwere Perseus and the Rape of the Sabines, looked like livingpersons, and cries of terror sounded from them all across the noblesquare. By the Palazzo degli Uffizi, in the arcade, where the nobilityassemble for the carnival, the Metal Pig stopped. "Hold fast," saidthe animal; "hold fast, for I am going up stairs."
The little boy said not a word; he was half pleased and halfafraid. They entered a long gallery, where the boy had been before.The walls were resplendent with paintings; here stood statues andbusts, all in a clear light as if it were day. But the grandestappeared when the door of a side room opened; the little boy couldremember what beautiful things he had seen there, but to-nighteverything shone in its brightest colors. Here stood the figure of abeautiful woman, as beautifully sculptured as possible by one of thegreat masters. Her graceful limbs appeared to move; dolphins sprang ather feet, and immortality shone from her eyes. The world called herthe Venus de' Medici. By her side were statues, in which the spirit oflife breathed in stone; figures of men, one of whom whetted his sword,and was named the Grinder; wrestling gladiators formed anothergroup, the sword had been sharpened for them, and they strove forthe goddess of beauty. The boy was dazzled by so much glitter; for thewalls were gleaming with bright colors, all appeared living reality.
As they passed from hall to hall, beauty everywhere showed itself;and as the Metal Pig went step by step from one picture to theother, the little boy could see it all plainly. One glory eclipsedanother; yet there was one picture that fixed itself on the littleboy's memory, more especially because of the happy children itrepresented, for these the little boy had seen in daylight. Manypass this picture by with indifference, and yet it contains a treasureof poetic feeling; it represents Christ descending into Hades. Theyare not the lost whom the spectator sees, but the heathen of oldentimes. The Florentine, Angiolo Bronzino, painted this picture; mostbeautiful is the expression on the face of the two children, whoappear to have full confidence that they shall reach heaven at last.They are embracing each other, and one little one stretches out hishand towards another who stands below him, and points to himself, asif he were saying, "I am going to heaven." The older people stand asif uncertain, yet hopeful, and they bow in humble adoration to theLord Jesus. On this picture the boy's eyes rested longer than on anyother: the Metal Pig stood still before it. A low sigh was heard.Did it come from the picture or from the animal?