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No doubt I shallstill go forward. I have always progressed hitherto, as I know quitewell."
Now it happened one day that all the paper in the tub was takenout, and laid on the hearth to be burnt. People said it could not besold at the shop, to wrap up butter and sugar, because it had beenwritten upon. The children in the house stood round the stove; forthey wanted to see the paper burn, because it flamed up so prettily,and afterwards, among the ashes, so many red sparks could be seenrunning one after the other, here and there, as quick as the wind.They called it seeing the children come out of school, and the lastspark was the schoolmaster. They often thought the last spark hadcome; and one would cry, "There goes the schoolmaster;" but the nextmoment another spark would appear, shining so beautifully. How theywould like to know where the sparks all went to! Perhaps we shall findout some day, but we don't know now.
The whole bundle of paper had been placed on the fire, and wassoon alight. "Ugh," cried the paper, as it burst into a brightflame; "ugh." It was certainly not very pleasant to be burning; butwhen the whole was wrapped in flames, the flames mounted up into theair, higher than the flax had ever been able to raise its littleblue flower, and they glistened as the white linen never could haveglistened. All the written letters became quite red in a moment, andall the words and thoughts turned to fire.
"Now I am mounting straight up to the sun," said a voice in theflames; and it was as if a thousand voices echoed the words; and theflames darted up through the chimney, and went out at the top. Thena number of tiny beings, as many in number as the flowers on theflax had been, and invisible to mortal eyes, floated above them.They were even lighter and more delicate than the flowers from whichthey were born; and as the flames were extinguished, and nothingremained of the paper but black ashes, these little beings danced uponit; and whenever they touched it, bright red sparks appeared.
"The children are all out of school, and the schoolmaster wasthe last of all," said the children. It was good fun, and they sangover the dead ashes,-
"Snip, snap, snurre,
Basse lure:
The song is ended."
But the little invisible beings said, "The song is never ended;the most beautiful is yet to come."
But the children could neither hear nor understand this, norshould they; for children must not know everything.
THE END.
1872
FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
THE FLYING TRUNK
by Hans Christian Andersen
THERE was once a merchant who was so rich that he could have pavedthe whole street with gold, and would even then have had enough fora small alley. But he did not do so; he knew the value of money betterthan to use it in this way. So clever was he, that every shilling heput out brought him a crown; and so he continued till he died. His soninherited his wealth, and he lived a merry life with it; he went toa masquerade every night, made kites out of five pound notes, andthrew pieces of gold into the sea instead of stones, making ducksand drakes of them. In this manner he soon lost all his money. At lasthe had nothing left but a pair of slippers, an old dressing-gown,and four shillings. And now all his friends deserted him, they couldnot walk with him in the streets; but one of them, who was verygood-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 hadnothing 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 lockthan the trunk could fly. He shut the lid and pressed the lock, whenaway 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, hewas in a great fright, for if the trunk fell to pieces he would havemade a tremendous somerset over the trees. However, he got safely inhis trunk to the land of Turkey. He hid the trunk in the wood undersome dry leaves, and then went into the town: he could so this verywell, for the Turks always go about dressed in dressing-gowns andslippers, as he was himself. He happened to meet a nurse with a littlechild. "I say, you Turkish nurse," cried he, "what castle is that nearthe town, with the windows placed so high?"
