Yes, to findthat out was the right thing. Father was right, and mother wasright- truth holds the world together. The younger brother was quieter, and buried himself entirely inhis books. When he read about Jacob dressing himself in sheep-skins topersonify Esau, and so to usurp his brother's birthright, he wouldclench his little fist in anger against the deceiver; when he readof tyrants and of the injustice and wickedness of the world, tearswould come into his eyes, and he was quite filled with the thoughtof the justice and truth which must and would triumph. One evening he was lying in bed, but the curtains were not yetdrawn close, and the light streamed in upon him; he had taken his bookinto bed with him, for he wanted to finish reading the story of Solon.His thoughts lifted and carried him away a wonderful distance; itseemed to him as if the bed had become a ship flying along underfull sail. Was he dreaming, or what was happening? It glided overthe rolling waves and across the ocean of time, and to him came thevoice of Solon; spoken in a strange tongue, yet intelligible to him,he heard the Danish motto: "By law the land is ruled." The genius of the human race stood in the humble room, bent downover the bed and imprinted a kiss on the boy's forehead: "Be thoustrong in fame and strong in the battle of life! With truth in thyheart fly toward the land of truth!" The elder brother was not yet in bed; he was standing at thewindow looking out at the mist which rose from the meadows. Theywere not elves dancing out there, as their old nurse had told him;he knew better- they were vapours which were warmer than the air,and that is why they rose. A shooting star lit up the sky, and theboy's thoughts passed in a second from the vapours of the earth upto the shining meteor. The stars gleamed in the heavens, and it seemedas if long golden threads hung down from them to the earth. "Fly with me," sang a voice, which the boy heard in his heart. Andthe mighty genius of mankind, swifter than a bird and than an arrow-swifter than anything of earthly origin- carried him out into space,where the heavenly bodies are bound together by the rays that passfrom star to star. Our earth revolved in the thin air, and thecities upon it seemed to lie close to each other. Through thespheres echoed the words: "What is near, what is far, when thou art lifted by the mightygenius of mind?" And again the boy stood by the window, gazing out, whilst hisyounger brother lay in bed. Their mother called them by their names:"Anders Sandoe" and "Hans Christian." Denmark and the whole world knows them- the two brothers Oersted. THE END.
1872 FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN TWO MAIDENS by Hans Christian Andersen HAVE you ever seen a maiden? I mean what our pavers call a maiden,a thing with which they ram down the paving-stones in the roads. Amaiden of this kind is made altogether of wood, broad below, andgirt round with iron rings. At the top she is narrow, and has astick passed across through her waist, and this stick forms the armsof the maiden. In the shed stood two Maidens of this kind. They had their placeamong shovels, hand-carts, wheelbarrows, and measuring-tapes; and toall this company the news had come that the Maidens were no longerto be called "maidens," but "hand-rammers," which word was thenewest and the only correct designation among the pavers for the thingwe all know from the old times by the name of "the maiden." Now, there are among us human creatures certain individuals whoare known as "emancipated women," as, for instance, principals ofinstitutions, dancers who stand professionally on one leg,milliners, and sick-nurses; and with this class of emancipated womenthe two Maidens in the shed associated themselves. They were "maidens"among the paver folk, and determined not to give up this honorableappellation, and let themselves be miscalled "rammers. "Maiden is a human name, but hand-rammer is a thing, and wewon't be called things- that's insulting us." "My lover would be ready to give up his engagement," said theyoungest, who was betrothed to a paver's hammer; and the hammer is thething which drives great piles into the earth, like a machine, andtherefore does on a large scale what ten maidens effect in a similarway. "He wants to marry me as a maiden, but whether he would have mewere I a hand-rammer is a question, so I won't have my name changed." "And I," said the elder one, "would rather have both my armsbroken off." But the Wheelbarrow was of a different opinion; and theWheelbarrow was looked upon as of some consequence, for heconsidered himself a quarter of a coach, because he went about uponone wheel. "I must submit to your notice," he said, "that the name 'maiden'is common enough, and not nearly so refined as 'hand-rammer,' or'stamper,' which latter has also been proposed, and through whichyou would be introduced into the category of seals; and only thinkof the great stamp of state, which impresses the royal seal that giveseffect to the laws!