In a Thousand Years

by Hans Christian Andersen · from Collected Fairy Tales

fairy tale speculative fiction whimsical Ages 8-14 749 words 4 min read

Adapted Version

CEFR A1 Age 5 296 words 2 min Canon 95/100

Think a time far, far away. A thousand years from now! People will fly in big, big ships.

Young Kids will come from far away. They will visit Europe. Europe has very old places. They want to see these places.

Big rivers still flow. Tall mountains stand firm. Their snow tops are white. People's buildings get very old. Nature stays for a long time.

"To Europe!" cried the Young Kids. "To the land of old stories! To big, old things!" They were very happy.

The big flying ship came. It was full of people. People knew it was coming. All watched the sky.

The ship came to England. People woke up. This land had a famous writer. They saw many old houses. They stayed for one day.

Then they went under the sea. A long tunnel took them. They came to France. France had old kings. It had brave leaders.

The ship flew to Spain. Brave sailors lived there. They sailed on big ships. Spain had many old songs.

Next they flew to Rome. Rome was very, very old. It had many old buildings. A big church was old too. They saw its old walls.

They went to Greece. They slept on a tall mountain. Then they saw a busy water place. It had many old stories.

They flew over a big river. It was called the Danube. They saw more old places. At times the ship went down.

They spent a day in Germany. That land had smart thinkers. Music makers played songs. Then they went to the North. They saw Ice land. Hot water springs were quiet now.

"We saw so much!" said a Young Kid. "All of Europe in one week! Things change. But big mountains stay. They stay for a long time.

Original Story 749 words · 4 min read

In a thousand years

A fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

Yes, in a thousand years people will fly on the wings of steam through the air, over the ocean! The young inhabitants of America will become visitors of old Europe. They will come over to see the monuments and the great cities, which will then be in ruins, just as we in our time make pilgrimages to the tottering splendors of Southern Asia.

In a thousand years they will come!

The Thames, the Danube, and the Rhine still roll their course, Mont Blanc stands firm with its snow-capped summit, and the Northern Lights gleam over the land of the North; but generation after generation has become dust, whole rows of the mighty of the moment are forgotten, like those who already slumber under the hill on which the rich trader, whose ground it is, has built a bench, on which he can sit and look out across his waving corn fields.

"To Europe!" cry the young sons of America; "to the land of our ancestors, the glorious land of monuments and fancy– to Europe!"

The ship of the air comes. It is crowded with passengers, for the transit is quicker than by sea. The electro-magnetic wire under the ocean has already telegraphed the number of the aerial caravan. Europe is in sight. It is the coast of Ireland that they see, but the passengers are still asleep; they will not be called till they are exactly over England. There they will first step on European shore, in the land of Shakespeare, as the educated call it; in the land of politics, the land of machines, as it is called by others.

Here they stay a whole day. That is all the time the busy race can devote to the whole of England and Scotland.

Then the journey is continued through the tunnel under the English Channel, to France, the land of Charlemagne and Napoleon. Moliere is named, the learned men talk of the classic school of remote antiquity. There is rejoicing and shouting for the names of heroes, poets, and men of science, whom our time does not know, but who will be born after our time in Paris, the centre of Europe, and elsewhere.

The air steamboat flies over the country whence Columbus went forth, where Cortez was born, and where Calderon sang dramas in sounding verse. Beautiful black-eyed women live still in the blooming valleys, and the oldest songs speak of the Cid and the Alhambra.

Then through the air, over the sea, to Italy, where once lay old, everlasting Rome. It has vanished! The Campagna lies desert. A single ruined wall is shown as the remains of St. Peter's, but there is a doubt if this ruin be genuine.

Next to Greece, to sleep a night in the grand hotel at the top of Mount Olympus, to say that they have been there; and the journey is continued to the Bosphorus, to rest there a few hours, and see the place where Byzantium lay; and where the legend tells that the harem stood in the time of the Turks, poor fishermen are now spreading their nets.

Over the remains of mighty cities on the broad Danube, cities which we in our time know not, the travellers pass; but here and there, on the rich sites of those that time shall bring forth, the caravan sometimes descends, and departs thence again.

Down below lies Germany, that was once covered with a close net of railway and canals, the region where Luther spoke, where Goethe sang, and Mozart once held the sceptre of harmony. Great names shine there, in science and in art, names that are unknown to us. One day devoted to seeing Germany, and one for the North, the country of Oersted and Linnaeus, and for Norway, the land of the old heroes and the young Normans. Iceland is visited on the journey home. The geysers burn no more, Hecla is an extinct volcano, but the rocky island is still fixed in the midst of the foaming sea, a continual monument of legend and poetry.

"There is really a great deal to be seen in Europe," says the young American, "and we have seen it in a week, according to the directions of the great traveller" (and here he mentions the name of one of his contemporaries) "in his celebrated work, 'How to See All Europe in a Week.'"

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Story DNA

Moral

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Plot Summary

The narrator imagines a future a thousand years hence, where advanced technology allows American youth to fly to Europe. They embark on a rapid, week-long tour of the continent, observing how natural landmarks endure while human achievements and great cities have largely fallen into ruin. The travelers quickly visit England, France, Spain, Italy (where Rome is almost gone), Greece, and the Nordic countries, marveling at the past but experiencing it superficially. The story concludes with a young American proudly stating they've seen all of Europe in a week, highlighting the contrast between the grandeur of history and the fleeting nature of future tourism.

Themes

Emotional Arc

curiosity to wonder

Writing Style

Voice: third person omniscient

Pacing: brisk

Descriptive: lush

Techniques: prophecy/future-gazing, listing of historical figures and places, contrast between past and future

Narrative Elements

Conflict: person vs time

Ending: cyclical

Magic: prophetic vision of the future

Cultural Context

Origin: Danish

Era: timeless fairy tale

Written in the mid-19th century, reflecting contemporary fascination with technological advancements (steam power, telegraph, future air travel) and the burgeoning tourism industry. It also reflects a romanticized view of European history and a nascent awareness of American cultural identity.

Plot Beats (13)

Narrator introduces the premise: in a thousand years, people will fly and travel extensively.
American youth will visit old Europe, which will be in ruins, much like current pilgrimages to Asia.
Natural landmarks like the Thames and Mont Blanc endure, but human generations and their achievements fade into dust.
Young Americans cry out to visit Europe, the land of their ancestors and monuments.
An airship, crowded with passengers, flies across the Atlantic, its arrival telegraphed by undersea cable.
Passengers awaken over England, the land of Shakespeare and industry, where they spend one day.
They travel through an undersea tunnel to France, celebrating Charlemagne, Napoleon, and future Parisian heroes.
The journey continues over Spain, noting Columbus, Cortez, and Calderon, and the enduring beauty of its women and old songs.
They fly to Italy, finding ancient Rome vanished, with only a doubtful ruin of St. Peter's remaining.
They spend a night on Mount Olympus in Greece and a few hours at the Bosphorus, where Byzantium once stood.
Travelers pass over the remains of unknown future cities on the Danube, occasionally descending.
They spend a day in Germany, recalling Luther, Goethe, and Mozart, and then visit the Nordic countries, including Iceland, where geysers are extinct.
A young American concludes they have seen all of Europe in a week, following a famous travel guide.

American tourists visit the ruins of Rome.

ruined wall desert Campagna