The Dragon of the North

Dragon of the North was not far

off, and might shortly be expected in the country. The King announced

publicly that he would give his daughter in marriage, as well as a

large part of his kingdom, to whosoever should free the country from

the monster. The youth then went to the King and told him that he had

good hopes of subduing the Dragon, if the King would grant him all he

desired for the purpose. The King willingly agreed, and the iron

horse, the great spear, and the chains were all prepared as the youth

requested. When all was ready, it was found that the iron horse was so

heavy that a hundred men could not move it from the spot, so the youth

found there was nothing for it but to move it with his own strength

by means of the magic ring. The Dragon was now so near that in a

couple of springs he would be over the frontier. The youth now began

to consider how he should act, for if he had to push the iron horse

from behind he could not ride upon it as the sorcerer had said he

must. But a raven unexpectedly gave him this advice: ‘Ride upon the

horse, and push the spear against the ground, as if you were pushing

off a boat from the land.’ The youth did so, and found that in this

way he could easily move forwards. The Dragon had his monstrous jaws

wide open, all ready for his expected prey. A few paces nearer, and

man and horse would have been swallowed up by them! The youth trembled

with horror, and his blood ran cold, yet he did not lose his courage;

but, holding the iron spear upright in his hand, he brought it down

with all his might right through the monster’s lower jaw. Then quick

as lightning he sprang from his horse before the Dragon had time to

shut his mouth. A fearful clap like thunder, which could be heard for

miles around, now warned him that the Dragon’s jaws had closed upon

the spear. When the youth turned round he saw the point of the spear

sticking up high above the Dragon’s upper jaw, and knew that the other

end must be fastened firmly to the ground; but the Dragon had got his

teeth fixed in the iron horse, which was now useless. The youth now

hastened to fasten down the chains to the ground by means of the

enormous iron pegs which he had provided. The death struggle of the

monster lasted three days and three nights; in his writhing he beat

his tail so violently against the ground, that at ten miles’ distance

the earth trembled as if with an earthquake. When he at length lost

power to move his tail, the youth with the help of the ring took up a

stone which twenty ordinary men could not have moved, and beat the

Dragon so hard about the head with it that very soon the monster lay

lifeless before him.

You can fancy how great was the rejoicing when the news was spread

abroad that the terrible monster was dead. His conqueror was received

into the city with as much pomp as if he had been the mightiest of

kings. The old King did not need to urge his daughter to marry the

slayer of the Dragon; he found her already willing to bestow her hand

upon this hero, who had done all alone what whole armies had tried in

vain to do. In a few days a magnificent wedding was celebrated, at

which the rejoicings lasted four whole weeks, for all the neighbouring

kings had met together to thank the man who had freed the world from

their common enemy. But everyone forgot amid the general joy that they

ought to have buried the Dragon’s monstrous body, for it began now to

have such a bad smell that no one could live in the neighbourhood, and

before long the whole air was poisoned, and a pestilence broke out

which destroyed many hundreds of people. In this distress, the King’s

son-in-law resolved to seek help once more from the Eastern magician,

to whom he at once travelled through the air like a bird by the help

of the ring. But there is a proverb which says that ill-gotten gains

never prosper, and the Prince found that the stolen ring brought him

ill-luck after all. The Witch-maiden had never rested night nor day

until she had found out where the ring was. As soon as she had

discovered by means of magical arts that the Prince in the form of a

bird was on his way to the Eastern magician, she changed herself into

an eagle and watched in the air until the bird she was waiting for

came in sight, for she knew him at once by the ring which was hung

round his neck by a ribbon. Then the eagle pounced upon the bird, and

the moment she seized him in her talons she tore the ring from his

neck before the man in bird’s shape had time to prevent her. Then the

eagle flew down to the earth with her prey, and the two stood face to

face once more in human form.

‘Now, villain, you are in my power!’ cried the Witch-maiden. ‘I

favoured you with my love, and you repaid me with treachery and theft.

You stole my most precious jewel from me, and do you expect to live

happily as the King’s son-in-law? Now the tables are turned; you are

in my power, and I will be revenged on you for your crimes.’

‘Forgive me! forgive me!’ cried the Prince; ‘I know too well how

deeply I have wronged you, and most heartily do I repent it.’

The maiden answered, ‘Your prayers and your repentance come too late,

and if I were to spare you everyone would think me a fool. You have

doubly wronged me; first you scorned my love, and then you stole my

ring, and you must bear the punishment.’

With these words she put the ring upon her left thumb, lifted the

young man with one hand, and walked away with him under her arm. This

time she did not take him to a splendid palace, but to a deep cave in

a rock, where there were chains hanging from the wall. The maiden now

chained the young man’s hands and feet so that he could not escape;

then she said in an angry voice, ‘Here you shall remain chained up

until you die. I will bring you every day enough food to prevent you

dying of hunger, but you need never hope for freedom any more.’ With

these words she left him.

The old King and his daughter waited anxiously for many weeks for the

Prince’s return, but no news of him arrived. The King’s daughter often

dreamed that her husband was going through some great suffering; she

therefore begged her father to summon all the enchanters and

magicians, that they might try to find out where the Prince was and

how he could be set free. But the magicians, with all their arts,

could find out nothing, except that he was still living and undergoing

great suffering; but none could tell where he was to be found. At last

a celebrated magician from Finland was brought before the King, who

had found out that the King’s son-in-law was imprisoned in the East,

not by men, but by some more powerful being. The King now sent

messengers to the East to look for his son-in-law, and they by good

luck met with the old magician who had interpreted the signs on King

Solomon’s ring, and thus was possessed of more wisdom than anyone else

in the world. The magician soon found out what he wished to know, and

pointed out the place where the Prince was imprisoned, but said: ‘He

is kept there by enchantment, and cannot be set free without my help.

I will therefore go with you myself.’

So they all set out, guided by birds, and after some days came to the

cave where the unfortunate Prince had been chained up for nearly seven

years. He recognised the magician immediately, but the old man did not

know him, he had grown so thin. However, he undid the chains by the

help of magic, and took care of the Prince until he recovered and

became strong enough to travel. When he reached home he found that the

old King had died that morning, so that he was now raised to the

throne. And now after his long suffering came prosperity, which lasted

to the end of his life; but he never got back the magic ring, nor has

it ever again been seen by mortal eyes.

Now, if you had been the Prince, would you not rather have stayed

with the pretty witch-maiden?

[Illustration: ‘Here You Shall Remain Chained Up Until You Die’]

STORY OF THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES[4]

Many years ago there lived an Emperor who was so fond of new clothes

that he spent all his money on them in order to be beautifully

dressed. He did not care about his soldiers, he did not care about the

theatre; he only liked to go out walking to show off his new clothes.

He had a coat for every hour of the day; and just as they say of a

king, ‘He is in the council-chamber,’ they always said here, ‘The

Emperor is in the wardrobe.’

In the great city in which he lived there was always something going

on; every day many strangers came there. One day two impostors arrived

who gave themselves out as weavers, and said that they knew how to

manufacture the most beautiful cloth imaginable. Not only were the

texture and pattern uncommonly beautiful, but the clothes which were

made of the stuff possessed this wonderful property that they were

invisible to anyone who was not fit for his office, or who was

unpardonably stupid.

‘Those must indeed be splendid clothes,’ thought the Emperor. ‘If I

had them on I could find out which men in my kingdom are unfit for the

offices they hold; I could distinguish the wise from the stupid! Yes,

this cloth must be woven for me at once.’ And he gave both the

impostors much money, so that they might begin their work.

They placed two weaving-looms, and began to do as if they were

working, but they had not the least thing on the looms. They also

demanded the finest silk and the best gold, which they put in their

pockets, and worked at the empty looms till late into the night.

[Footnote 4: Andersen.]

‘I should like very much to know how far they have got on with the

cloth,’ thought the Emperor. But he remembered when he thought about

it that whoever was stupid or not fit for his office would not be able

to see it. Now he certainly believed that he had nothing to fear for

himself, but he wanted first to send somebody else in order to see how

he stood with regard to his office. Everybody in the whole town knew

what a wonderful power the cloth had, and they were all curious to see

how bad or how stupid their neighbour was.

‘I will send my old and honoured minister to the weavers,’ thought the

Emperor. ‘He can judge best what the cloth is like, for he has

intellect, and no one understands his office better than he.’

Now the good old minister went into the hall where the two impostors

sat working at the empty weaving-looms. ‘Dear me!’ thought the old

minister, opening his eyes wide, ‘I can see nothing!’ But he did not

say so.

Both the impostors begged him to be so kind as to step closer, and

asked him if it were not a beautiful texture and lovely colours. They

pointed to the empty loom, and the poor old minister went forward

rubbing his eyes; but he could see nothing, for there was nothing

there.

‘Dear, dear!’ thought he, ‘can I be stupid? I have never thought that,

and nobody must know it! Can I be not fit for my office? No, I must

certainly not say that I cannot see the cloth!’

‘Have you nothing to say about it?’ asked one of the men who was

weaving.

‘Oh, it is lovely, most lovely!’ answered the old minister, looking

through his spectacles. ‘What a texture! What colours! Yes, I will

tell the Emperor that it pleases me very much.’

‘Now we are delighted at that,’ said both the weavers, and thereupon

they named the colours and explained the make of the texture.

The old minister paid great attention, so that he could tell the same

to the Emperor when he came back to him, which he did.

The impostors now wanted more money, more silk, and more gold to use

in their weaving. They put it all in their own pockets, and there came

no threads on the loom, but they went on as they had done before,

working at the empty loom. The Emperor soon sent another worthy

statesman to see how the weaving was getting on, and whether the cloth

would soon be finished. It was the same with him as the first one; he

looked and looked, but because there was nothing on the empty loom he

could see nothing.

‘Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth?’ asked the two impostors, and

they pointed to and described the splendid material which was not

there.

‘Stupid I am not!’ thought the man, ‘so it must be my good office for

which I am not fitted. It is strange, certainly, but no one must be

allowed to notice it.’ And so he praised the cloth which he did not

see, and expressed to them his delight at the beautiful colours and

the splendid texture. ‘Yes, it is quite beautiful,’ he said to the

Emperor.

Everybody in the town was talking of the magnificent cloth.

Now the Emperor wanted to see it himself while it was still on the

loom. With a great crowd of select followers, amongst whom were both

the worthy statesmen who had already been there before, he went to the

cunning impostors, who were now weaving with all their might, but

without fibre or thread.

‘Is it not splendid!’ said both the old statesmen who had already been

there. ‘See, your Majesty, what a texture! What colours!’ And then

they pointed to the empty loom, for they believed that the others

could see the cloth quite well.

‘What!’ thought the Emperor, ‘I can see nothing! This is indeed

horrible! Am I stupid? Am I not fit to be Emperor? That were the most

dreadful thing that could happen to me.’ ‘Oh, it is very beautiful,’ he

said. ‘It has my gracious approval.’ And then he nodded pleasantly,

and examined the empty loom, for he would not say that he could see

nothing.

His whole Court round him looked and looked, and saw no more than the

others; but they said like the Emperor, ‘Oh! it is beautiful!’ And

they advised him to wear these new and magnificent clothes for the

first time at the great procession which was soon to take place.

‘Splendid! Lovely! Most beautiful!’ went from mouth to mouth; everyone

seemed delighted over them, and the Emperor gave to the impostors the

title of Court weavers to the Emperor.

Throughout the whole of the night before the morning on which the

procession was to take place, the impostors were up and were working

by the light of over sixteen candles. The people could see that they

were very busy making the Emperor’s new clothes ready. They pretended

they were taking the cloth from the loom, cut with huge scissors in

the air, sewed with needles without thread, and then said at last,

‘Now the clothes are finished!’

The Emperor came himself with his most distinguished knights, and each

impostor held up his arm just as if he were holding something, and

said, ‘See! here are the breeches! Here is the coat! Here the cloak!’

and so on.

‘Spun clothes are so comfortable that one would imagine one had

nothing on at all; but that is the beauty of it!’

‘Yes,’ said all the knights, but they could see nothing, for there was

nothing there.

[Illustration: The Emperor comes to see his new clothes]

‘Will it please your Majesty graciously to take off your clothes,’

said the impostors, ‘then we will put on the new clothes, here before

the mirror.’

The Emperor took off all his clothes, and the impostors placed

themselves before him as if they were putting on each part of his new

clothes which was ready, and the Emperor turned and bent himself in

front of the mirror.

‘How beautifully they fit! How well they sit!’ said everybody. ‘What

material! What colours! It is a gorgeous suit!’

‘They are waiting outside with the canopy which your Majesty is wont

to have borne over you in the procession,’ announced the Master of the

Ceremonies.

‘Look, I am ready,’ said the Emperor. ‘Doesn’t it sit well!’ And he

turned himself again to the mirror to see if his finery was on all

right.

The chamberlains who were used to carry the train put their hands near

the floor as if they were lifting up the train; then they did as if

they were holding something in the air. They would not have it noticed

that they could see nothing.

So the Emperor went along in the procession under the splendid canopy,

and all the people in the streets and at the windows said, ‘How

matchless are the Emperor’s new clothes! That train fastened to his

dress, how beautifully it hangs!’

No one wished it to be noticed that he could see nothing, for then he

would have been unfit for his office, or else very stupid. None of the

Emperor’s clothes had met with such approval as these had.

‘But he has nothing on!’ said a little child at last.

‘Just listen to the innocent child!’ said the father, and each one

whispered to his neighbour what the child had said.

‘But he has nothing on!’ the whole of the people called out at last.

This struck the Emperor, for it seemed to him as if they were right;

but he thought to himself, ‘I must go on with the procession now.’ And

the chamberlains walked along still more uprightly, holding up the

train which was not there at all.

THE GOLDEN CRAB[5]

Once upon a time there was a fisherman who had a wife and three

children. Every morning he used to go out fishing, and whatever fish

he caught he sold to the King. One day, among the other fishes, he

caught a golden crab. When he came home he put all the fishes together

into a great dish, but he kept the Crab separate because it shone so

beautifully, and placed it upon a high shelf in the cupboard. Now

while the old woman, his wife, was cleaning the fish, and had tucked

up her gown so that her feet were visible, she suddenly heard a voice,

which said:

 ‘Let down, let down thy petticoat

  That lets thy feet be seen.’

She turned round in surprise, and then she saw the little creature,

the