THE LITTLE ELDER-TREE MOTHER

                                  1872

                 FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

                      THE LITTLE ELDER-TREE MOTHER

                       by Hans Christian Andersen



THERE was once a little boy who had caught cold; he had gone out

and got wet feet. Nobody had the least idea how it had happened; the

weather was quite dry. His mother undressed him, put him to bed, and

ordered the teapot to be brought in, that she might make him a good

cup of tea from the elder-tree blossoms, which is so warming. At the

same time, the kind-hearted old man who lived by himself in the

upper storey of the house came in; he led a lonely life, for he had no

wife and children; but he loved the children of others very much,

and he could tell so many fairy tales and stories, that it was a

pleasure to hear him.

"Now, drink your tea," said the mother; "perhaps you will hear a

story."

"Yes, if I only knew a fresh one," said the old man, and nodded

smilingly. "But how did the little fellow get his wet feet?" he then

asked.

"That," replied the mother, "nobody can understand."

"Will you tell me a story?" asked the boy.

"Yes, if you can tell me as nearly as possible how deep is the

gutter in the little street where you go to school."

"Just half as high as my top-boots," replied the boy; "but then

I must stand in the deepest holes."

"There, now we know where you got your wet feet," said the old

man. "I ought to tell you a story, but the worst of it is, I do not

know any more."

"You can make one up," said the little boy. "Mother says you can

tell a fairy tale about anything you look at or touch."

"That is all very well, but such tales or stories are worth

nothing! No, the right ones come by themselves and knock at my

forehead saying: 'Here I am.'"

"Will not one knock soon?" asked the boy; and the mother smiled

while she put elder-tree blossoms into the teapot and poured boiling

water over them. "Pray, tell me a story."

"Yes, if stories came by themselves; they are so proud, they

only come when they please.- But wait," he said suddenly, "there is

one. Look at the teapot; there is a story in it now."

And the little boy looked at the teapot; the lid rose up

gradually, the elder-tree blossoms sprang forth one by one, fresh

and white; long boughs came forth; even out of the spout they grew

up in all directions, and formed a bush- nay, a large elder tree,

which stretched its branches up to the bed and pushed the curtains

aside; and there were so many blossoms and such a sweet fragrance!

In the midst of the tree sat a kindly-looking old woman with a strange

dress; it was as green as the leaves, and trimmed with large white

blossoms, so that it was difficult to say whether it was real cloth,

or the leaves and blossoms of the elder-tree.

"What is this woman's name?" asked the little boy.

"Well, the Romans and Greeks used to call her a Dryad," said the

old man; "but we do not understand that. Out in the sailors' quarter

they give her a better name; there she is called elder-tree mother.

Now, you must attentively listen to her and look at the beautiful

elder-tree.

"Just such a large tree, covered with flowers, stands out there;

it grew in the corner of an humble little yard; under this tree sat

two old people one afternoon in the beautiful sunshine. He was an old,

old sailor, and she his old wife; they had already

great-grandchildren, and were soon to celebrate their golden

wedding, but they could not remember the date, and the elder-tree

mother was sitting in the tree and looked as pleased as this one here.

'I know very well when the golden wedding is to take place,' she said;

but they did not hear it- they were talking of bygone days.

"'Well, do you remember?' said the old sailor, 'when we were quite

small and used to run about and play- it was in the very same yard

where we now are- we used to put little branches into the ground and

make a garden.'

"'Yes,' said the old woman, 'I remember it very well; we used to

water the branches, and one of them, an elder-tree branch, took

root, and grew and became the large tree under which we are now

sitting as old people.'

"'Certainly, you are right,' he said; 'and in yonder corner

stood a large water-tub; there I used to sail my boat, which I had cut

out myself- it sailed so well; but soon I had to sail somewhere else.'

"'But first we went to school to learn something,' she said,

'and then we were confirmed; we both wept on that day, but in the

afternoon we went out hand in hand, and ascended the high round

tower and looked out into the wide world right over Copenhagen and the

sea; then we walked to Fredericksburg, where the king and the queen

were sailing about in their magnificent boat on the canals.'

"'But soon I had to sail about somewhere else, and for many

years I was travelling about far away from home.'

"'And I often cried about you, for I was afraid lest you were

drowned and lying at the bottom of the sea. Many a time I got up in

the night and looked if the weathercock had turned; it turned often,

but you did not return. I remember one day distinctly: the rain was

pouring down in torrents; the dust-man had come to the house where I

was in service; I went down with the dust-bin and stood for a moment

in the doorway, and looked at the dreadful weather. Then the postman

gave me a letter; it was from you. Heavens! how that letter had

travelled about. I tore it open and read it; I cried and laughed at

the same time, and was so happy! Therein was written that you were

staying in the hot countries, where the coffee grows. These must be

marvellous countries. You said a great deal about them, and I read all

while the rain was pouring down and I was standing there with the

dust-bin. Then suddenly some one put his arm round my waist-'

"'Yes, and you gave him a hearty smack on the cheek,' said the old

man.

"'I did not know that it was you- you had come as quickly as

your letter; and you looked so handsome, and so you do still. You

had a large yellow silk handkerchief in your pocket and a shining

hat on. You looked so well, and the weather in the street was

horrible!'

"'Then we married,' he said. 'Do you remember how we got our first

boy, and then Mary, Niels, Peter, John, and Christian?'

'Oh yes; and now they have all grown up, and have become useful

members of society, whom everybody cares for.'

"'And their children have had children again,' said the old

sailor. 'Yes, these are children's children, and they are strong and

healthy. If I am not mistaken, our wedding took place at this season

of the year.'

"'Yes, to-day is your golden wedding-day,' said the little

elder-tree mother, stretching her head down between the two old

people, who thought that she was their neighbour who was nodding to

them; they looked at each other and clasped hands. Soon afterwards the

children and grandchildren came, for they knew very well that it was

the golden wedding-day; they had already wished them joy and happiness

in the morning, but the old people had forgotten it, although they

remembered things so well that had passed many, many years ago. The

elder-tree smelt strongly, and the setting sun illuminated the faces

of the two old people, so that they looked quite rosy; the youngest of

the grandchildren danced round them, and cried merrily that there

would be a feast in the evening, for they were to have hot potatoes;

and the elder mother nodded in the tree and cried 'Hooray' with the

others."

"But that was no fairy tale," said the little boy who had listened

to it.

"You will presently understand it," said the old man who told

the story. "Let us ask little elder-tree mother about it."

"That was no fairy tale," said the little elder-tree mother;

"but now it comes! Real life furnishes us with subjects for the most

wonderful fairy tales; for otherwise my beautiful elder-bush could not

have grown forth out of the teapot."

And then she took the little boy out of bed and placed him on

her bosom; the elder branches, full of blossoms, closed over them;

it was as if they sat in a thick leafy bower which flew with them

through the air; it was beautiful beyond all description. The little

elder-tree mother had suddenly become a charming young girl, but her

dress was still of the same green material, covered with white

blossoms, as the elder-tree mother had worn; she had a real elder

blossom on her bosom, and a wreath of the same flowers was wound round

her curly golden hair; her eyes were so large and so blue that it

was wonderful to look at them. She and the boy kissed each other,

and then they were of the same age and felt the same joys. They walked

hand in hand out of the bower, and now stood at home in a beautiful

flower garden. Near the green lawn the father's walking-stick was tied

to a post. There was life in this stick for the little ones, for as

soon as they seated themselves upon it the polished knob turned into a

neighing horse's head, a long black mane was fluttering in the wind,

and four strong slender legs grew out. The animal was fiery and

spirited; they galloped round the lawn. "Hooray! now we shall ride far

away, many miles!" said the boy; "we shall ride to the nobleman's

estate where we were last year." And they rode round the lawn again,

and the little girl, who, as we know, was no other than the little

elder-tree mother, continually cried, "Now we are in the country! Do

you see the farmhouse there, with the large baking stove, which

projects like a gigantic egg out of the wall into the road? The

elder-tree spreads its branches over it, and the cock struts about and

scratches for the hens. Look how proud he is! Now we are near the

church; it stands on a high hill, under the spreading oak trees; one

of them is half dead! Now we are at the smithy, where the fire roars

and the half-naked men beat with their hammers so that the sparks

fly far and wide. Let's be off to the beautiful farm!" And they passed

by everything the little girl, who was sitting behind on the stick,

described, and the boy saw it, and yet they only went round the

lawn. Then they played in a side-walk, and marked out a little

garden on the ground; she took elder-blossoms out of her hair and

planted them, and they grew exactly like those the old people

planted when they were children, as we have heard before. They

walked about hand in hand, just as the old couple had done when they

were little, but they did not go to the round tower nor to the

Fredericksburg garden. No; the little girl seized the boy round the

waist, and then they flew far into the country. It was spring and it

became summer, it was autumn and it became winter, and thousands of

pictures reflected themselves in the boy's eyes and heart, and the

little girl always sang again, "You will never forget that!" And

during their whole flight the elder-tree smelt so sweetly; he

noticed the roses and the fresh beeches, but the elder-tree smelt much

stronger, for the flowers were fixed on the little girl's bosom,

against which the boy often rested his head during the flight.

"It is beautiful here in spring," said the little girl, and they

were again in the green beechwood, where the thyme breathed forth

sweet fragrance at their feet, and the pink anemones looked lovely

in the green moss. "Oh! that it were always spring in the fragrant

beechwood!"

"Here it is splendid in summer!" she said, and they passed by

old castles of the age of chivalry. The high walls and indented

battlements were reflected in the water of the ditches, on which swans

were swimming and peering into the old shady avenues. The corn waved

in the field like a yellow sea. Red and yellow flowers grew in the

ditches, wild hops and convolvuli in full bloom in the hedges. In

the evening the moon rose, large and round, and the hayricks in the

meadows smelt sweetly. "One can never forget it!"

"Here it is beautiful in autumn!" said the little girl, and the

atmosphere seemed twice as high and blue, while the wood shone with

crimson, green, and gold. The hounds were running off, flocks of

wild fowl flew screaming over the barrows, while the bramble bushes

twined round the old stones. The dark-blue sea was covered with

white-sailed ships, and in the barns sat old women, girls, and

children picking hops into a large tub; the young ones sang songs, and

the old people told fairy tales about goblins and sorcerers. It

could not be more pleasant anywhere.

"Here it's agreeable in winter!" said the little girl, and all the

trees were covered with hoar-frost, so that they looked like white

coral. The snow creaked under one's feet, as if one had new boots

on. One shooting star after another traversed the sky. In the room the

Christmas tree was lit, and there were song and merriment. In the

peasant's cottage the violin sounded, and games were played for

apple quarters; even the poorest child said, "It is beautiful in

winter!"

And indeed it was beautiful! And the little girl showed everything

to the boy, and the elder-tree continued to breathe forth sweet

perfume, while the red flag with the white cross was streaming in

the wind; it was the flag under which the old sailor had served. The

boy became a youth; he was to go out into the wide world, far away

to the countries where the coffee grows. But at parting the little

girl took an elder-blossom from her breast and gave it to him as a

keepsake. He placed it in his prayer-book, and when he opened it in

distant lands it was always at the place where the flower of

remembrance was lying; and the more he looked at it the fresher it

became, so that he could almost smell the fragrance of the woods at

home. He distinctly saw the little girl, with her bright blue eyes,

peeping out from behind the petals, and heard her whispering, "Here it

is beautiful in spring, in summer, in autumn, and in winter," and

hundreds of pictures passed through his mind.

Thus many years rolled by. He had now become an old man, and was

sitting, with his old wife, under an elder-tree in full bloom. They

held each other by the hand exactly as the great-grandfather and the

great-grandmother had done outside, and, like them, they talked

about bygone days and of their golden wedding. The little girl with

the blue eyes and elder-blossoms in her hair was sitting high up in

the tree, and nodded to them, saying, "To-day is the golden

wedding!" And then she took two flowers out of her wreath and kissed

them. They glittered at first like silver, then like gold, and when

she placed them on the heads of the old people each flower became a

golden crown. There they both sat like a king and queen under the

sweet-smelling tree, which looked exactly like an elder-tree, and he

told his wife the story of the elder-tree mother as it had been told

him when he was a little boy. They were both of opinion that the story

contained many points like their own, and these similarities they

liked best.

"Yes, so it is," said the little girl in the tree. "Some call me

Little Elder-tree Mother; others a Dryad; but my real name is

'Remembrance.' It is I who sit in the tree which grows and grows. I

can remember things and tell stories! But let's see if you have

still got your flower."

And the old man opened his prayer-book; the elder-blossom was

still in it, and as fresh as if it had only just been put in.

Remembrance nodded, and the two old people, with the golden crowns

on their heads, sat in the glowing evening sun. They closed their eyes

and- and-

Well, now the story is ended! The little boy in bed did not know

whether he had dreamt it or heard it told; the teapot stood on the

table, but no elder-tree was growing out of it, and the old man who

had told the story was on the point of leaving the room, and he did go

out.

"How beautiful it was!" said the little boy. "Mother, I have

been to warm countries!"

"I believe you," said the mother; "if one takes two cups of hot

elder-tea it is quite natural that one gets into warm countries!"

And she covered him up well, so that he might not take cold. "You have

slept soundly while I was arguing with the old man whether it was a

story or a fairy tale!"

"And what has become of the little elder-tree mother?" asked the

boy.

"She is in the teapot," said the mother; "and there she may

remain."

                        THE END

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