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4. 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 beenlooking at Gerda and shaking his head,
and now he said, ka! ka! good day! good day! Hecould not say it better, but he felt a sympathy
for the little girl, and asked her where she wasgoing 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 ka. The raven noddedvery gravely, and said,
it may be, it may be. What, do you really thinkso? cried the little girl,
and she nearly squeezed the raven to death, somuch did she kiss him.
Gently, gently, said the raven. I think I know, Ithink that it may be little ka.
But now he has forgotten you for the princess.Does he live with a princess? asked Gerda.
Yes, listen, said the raven, but it will bedifficult for me to speak your language.
If you understand the raven language I can tellyou better.
No, I have not learned it, said Gerda, but mygrandmother understands it,
and she can speak gibberish too. I wish I hadlearnt it.
No matter, said the raven, I will tell you as wellas I can, however, it will be bad enough.
And then he told all he knew. In the kingdom wherewe now are there lives a princess,
who is extraordinarily clever, for she has readall 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 shebegan humming an old tune, and it was just,
oh why should I not be married? That song is notwithout its meaning, said she, and so then she
was determined to marry, but she would have ahusband who knew how to give an answer when he
was spoken to, not one who looked only as if hewere a great personage, for that is so tiresome.
She then had all the ladies of the court drumtogether, and when they heard her intention,
all were very pleased, and said, we are very gladto hear it, it is the very thing we were
thinking of. 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 itwas she who told me all this. The newspapers
appeared forthwith with a border of hearts and theinitials of the princess, and therein you
might read that every good-looking young man wasat liberty to come to the palace and speak to the
princess, and he who spoke in such wise as showedhe 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, therewas a crush and a hurry, but no one was successful
either on the first or second day. They could alltalk well enough when they were out in the street,
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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 thelarge illuminated saloons,
then they were abashed, and when they stood beforethe throne on which the princess was sitting,
all they could do was to repeat the last word theyhad uttered, and to hear it again did not
interest her very much. It was just as if thepeople within were under a charm, and had fallen
into a trance till they came out again into thestreet, for then, oh, then, they could chatter
enough. There was a whole row of them standingfrom the town gates to the palace. I was there
myself to look," said the raven. They grew hungryand thirsty, but from the palace they got
nothing whatever, not even a glass of water. Someof the cleverest, it is true, had taken bread and
butter with them, but none shared it with hisneighbour, for each's thought, let him look
hungry, and then the princess won't have him. ButK, little K, said Gerda, when did he come?
Was he among the number? Patience, patience, weare just come to him.
It was on the third day when a little personagewithout horse or equipage,
K marching right boldly up to the palace, his eyesshone like yours, he had beautiful long hair,
but his clothes were very shabby. That was K,cried Gerda, with a voice of delight.
Oh, now I've found him! And she clapped her handsfor joy.
He had a little knapsack at his back, said the raven.
No, that was certainly his sledge, said Gerda, forwhen he went away he took his sledge with him.
That may be, said the raven, I did not examine himso minutely, but I know from my tame
sweetheart, that when he came into the courtyardof the palace, and saw the bodyguard in silver,
the lackeys on the staircase, he was not the leastabashed, 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 lusters, privy counsellors and excellencies were walking
about barefooted, and wore gold keys, it wasenough to make any one feel uncomfortable.
His boots creaked, too, so loudly, but still hewas not at all afraid.
That's K for certain, said Gerda. I know he had onnew boots,
I have heard them creaking in Grandmama's room.
Yes, they creaked, said the raven. And on he wentboldly up to the princess,
who was sitting on a pearl as large as a spinningwheel. 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 nearerthey stood to the door, the prouder they
looked. It was hardly possible to look at thegentlemen's gentlemen, so very haughtily did he
stand in the doorway. It must have been terrible,said little Gerda. And did K get the princess?
Were I not a raven, I should have taken theprincess myself, although I am promised.
It is said he spoke as well as I speak when I talkraven language, this I learned from my tame
sweetheart. He was bold and nicely behaved, he hadnot come to woo the princess, but only to hear
her wisdom. She pleased him, and he pleased her.Yes, yes, for certain that was K, said Gerda.
He was so clever, he could reckon fractions in hishead. Oh, you take me to the palace!
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That is very easily said, answered the raven. Buthow are we to manage it?
I'll speak to my tame sweetheart about it, shemust advise us, for so much I must tell you,
such a little girl as you are will never getpermission to enter.
Oh, yes I shall, said Gerda, when K hears that Iam 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 ravenreturned.
Ca, ca, said he. She sends you her compliments,and here is a roll for you. She took it out of the
where there is bread enough. You are hungry, nodoubt. It is not possible for you to enter the
palace, for you are barefooted, the guards insilver and the lackeys in gold, would not allow
it, but do not cry you shall come in still. Mysweetheart knows a little back stair that leads
to the bedchamber, and she knows where she can getthe key of it. And they went into the garden
in the large avenue, where one leaf was fallingafter the other, and when the lights in the
palace had all gradually disappeared, the ravenled little Gerda to the back door, which stood
half open. Oh, Gerda's heart beat with anxiety andlonging. It was just as if she had been about
to do something wrong, and yet she only wanted toknow if little Ca 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 sittingunder the roses at home. He will, no doubt,
be glad to see you, to hear what a long way youhave come for his sake, to know how unhappy all
were when he did not come back. Oh, what a frightand a joy it was.
They were now on the stairs. A single lamp wasburning there, and on the floor stood the tame
raven, turning her head on every side and lookingat Gerda, who bowed as her grandmother had taught
her to do. My intended has told me so much good ofyou, my dear young lady, said the tame raven.
Your tale is very affecting. If you will take thelamp, I will go before. We will go straight on,
for we shall meet no one. I think there issomebody just behind us, said Gerda,
and something rushed past, it was like shadowyfigures on the wall, horses with flowing manes
and thin legs, huntsmen, ladies and gentlemen onhorseback. 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 mefind, when you enjoy honour and distinction,
that you possess a grateful heart. Tut! That's notworth talking about, said the raven of the
woods. They now entered the first saloon, whichwas of rose-coloured satin, with artificial
flowers on the wall. Here the dreams were rushingpast, but they hastened by so quickly that Gerda
could not see the high personages. One hall wasmore magnificent than the other, one might indeed
well be abashed, and at last they came into thebedchamber. The ceiling of the room resembled a
large palm-tree with leaves of glass, of costlyglass, 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,
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the other was red, and it was here that Gerda wasto look for little K. She bent back one of the
red leaves, and saw a brown neck. Oh! That was K.She called him quite loud by name, held the
lamp towards him, the dreams rushed back againinto the chamber, he awoke, turned his head,
and, it was not little K. The prince was only likehim about the neck, but he was young and
handsome. And out of the white lily leaves theprincess peeped, too, and asked what was the
matter. Then little Gerda cried, and told her herwhole history, and all that the ravens had done
for her. Poor little thing, said the prince andthe princess. They praised the ravens very much,
and told them they were not at all angry withthem, but they were not to do so again.
However, they should have a reward. Will you flyabout here at liberty,
asked the princess, or would you like to have afixed appointment as court ravens,
with all the broken bits from the kitchen? Andboth 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 letGerda sleep in his bed, and more than this he
could not do. She folded her little hands andthought, how good men and animals are. And she
then fell asleep and slept soundly. All the dreamsflew in again, and they now looked like the
angels, they drew a little sledge, in which littleKay sat and nodded his head, but the whole
was only a dream, and therefore it all vanished assoon as she awoke. The next day she was dressed
from head to foot in silk and velvet. They offeredto let her stay at the palace, and lead a happy
life, but she begged to have a little carriagewith a horse in front, and for a small pair of
shoes, then, she said, she would again go forth inthe wide world and look for Kay. Shoes and a
dress very nicely, and when she was about to setoff, a new carriage stopped before the door.
It was of pure gold, and the arms of the princeand princess shone like a star upon it, the
coachmen, the footmen, and the outriders, for outriders were there, too, all wore golden
crowns. The prince and the princess assisted herinto the carriage themselves, and wished her all
success. The raven of the woods, who was nowmarried, accompanied her for the first three
miles. He sat beside Gerda, for he could not bearriding backwards, the other raven stood in the
doorway, and flapped her wings, she could notaccompany Gerda, because she suffered from
headaches since she had had a fixed appointmentand ate so much. The carriage was lined inside
with sugar-plums, and in the seats were fruits andgingerbread. 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 painfulseparation of all. He flew into a tree, and beat
his black wings as long as he could see thecarriage, that shone from afar like a sunbeam.
Fifth Story.
The Little Robber Maiden.
They drove through the dark wood, but the carriageshone like a torch, and it dazzled
the eyes of the robbers, so that they could notbear to look at it. Tis gold! Tis gold! Theycried,
and they rushed forward, seized the horses,knocked down the little postillion, the coachmen,
and the servants, and pulled little Gerda out ofthe carriage. How plump, how beautiful she is!
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She must have been fed on nut kernels, said theold female robber, who had a long,
scrubby beard, and bushy eyebrows that hung downover her eyes. She is as good as a fatted lamb.
How nice she will be! And then she drew out aknife, the blade of which shone so that it
was quite dreadful to behold. Oh, cried the womanat the same moment. She had been bitten in the
ear by her own little daughter, who hung at herback, and who was so wild and unmanageable,
that it was quite amusing to see her. You naughtychild, said the mother,
and now she had not time to kill Gerda.
