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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Sleepy Stories. I'm your host, Lucy,

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and my friends and I will be reading you a

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sleepy bedtime story every week to relax you and to

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help you to drift off into a RESTful sleep. From

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time to time, we will also read you a relaxing,

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peaceful meditation that will take you somewhere beautiful and calming.

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Once we have read the stories, we will then read

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them a second time, but this time they will be

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ready even slower. This will help you to relax even more.

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Before we begin, I would like you to close your

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eyes and breathe in and out nice and deeply. Take

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a few seconds to inhale, and then hold your breath

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for a few seconds more and then release and breathe out.

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Do this a few times if you need to. While

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you listen to the music and you listen to my voice,

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give yourself time to let your body relax and your

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mind settle. It's important that we allow time for us

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to feel safe, cozy, and completely at ease. And now

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it's time for this week's story.

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Speaker 2: The Elderbush. Once upon a time, there was a little

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boy who had taken cold. He had gone out and

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got his feet wet, though nobody could imagine how it happened,

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for it was quite dry weather. So his mother undressed him,

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put him to bed, and had the teapot brought in

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to make him a good cup of elderflower tea. Just

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at that moment, the merry old man came in, who

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lived up atop the house all alone, for he had

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neither wife nor children, but he liked children very much

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and knew so many fairy tales that it was quite delightful.

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Now drink your tea, said the boy's mother. Then perhaps

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you may hear a fairy tale if I had but

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something new to tell, said the old man. But how

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did the child get his feet wet? That is the

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very thing that nobody can make out, said his mother.

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Am I to hear a fairy tale? Asked the little boy. Yes,

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if you can tell me exactly, for I must know

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that first how deep the gutter is in the little

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street opposite that you pass through in going to school.

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Just up to the middle of my boot, said the child.

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But then I must go into the deep hole. Ah ah,

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that is where the wet feet came from, said the

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old man. I ought now to tell you a story,

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but I don't know any more. You can make one

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in a moment, said the little boy. My mother says

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that all you look at can be turned into a

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fairy tale, and that you can find a story in everything. Yes,

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but such tales are stories and good for nothing. The

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right sort come of themselves. They tap at my forehead

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and say, here we are. Won't there be a tap soon?

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Asked the little boy. And his mother laughed and put

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some elder flowers in the teapot and poured boiling water

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upon them. Do tell me something, pray do, yes, if

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a fairy tale would come of its own accord. But

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they are proud and haughty, and come only when they choose. Stop,

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said he, on all a sudden, I have it. Pay attention,

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there is one in the teapot. And the little boy

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looked at the teapot. The cover rose more and more,

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and the elder flowers came forth so fresh and white,

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and shot up long branches out of the spout. Even

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did they spread themselves on all sides, and grew larger

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and larger. It was a splendid elder bush, a whole tree,

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and it reached into the very bed and pushed the

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curtains aside, how it bloomed, and what an odor. In

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the middle of the bush sat a friendly looking old

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woman in a most strange dress. It was quite green,

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like the leaves of the elder, and was trimmed with

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large white elder flowers, so that at first one could

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not tell whether it was a stuff or a natural

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green and real flowers. What's that woman's name, asked the

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little boy. The Greeks and the Romans said the old

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man called her a dryad, but that we do not understand.

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The people who live in the New Booths, which a

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row of buildings for seamen in Copenhagen, have a much

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better name for her. They call her old Granny, and

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she it is to whom you are to pay attention.

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Now listen and look at the beautiful elderbush. Just such,

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another large blooming elder tree stands near the New Booths.

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It grew there in the corner of a little miserable courtyard,

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and under it sat of an afternoon in the most

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splendid sunshine, two old people, an old old seaman and

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his old old wife, and they had great grandchildren and

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were soon to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage.

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They could not exactly recollect the date, and old Granny

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sat in the tree and looked as pleased as now

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I know the date, said she. But those below did

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not hear her, for they were talking about old times. Yes,

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can't you remember when we were very little, said the

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old seaman, and ran and played about. It was the

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very same courtyard where we are now, and we stuck

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slips in the ground and made a garden. I remember

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it well, said the old woman. I remember it quite well.

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We watered the slips, and one of them was an

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elder bush. It took root, put forth green shoots, and

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grew up to be the large tree under which we

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old folks are now sitting. To be sure, said he.

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And there in the corner stood a water pail where

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I used to swim my boats. True, but first we

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went to school to learn somewhat, said she. And then

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we were confirmed. We both cried. But in the afternoon

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we went up the round tower and looked down on

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Copenhagen and far far away over the water. Then we

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went to Fredericksburg, where the King and the Queen were

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sailing about in their splendid barges. But I had a

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different sort of sailing to that later, and that too

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for many a year, a long way off on great voyages. Yes,

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many a time I have wept for your sake, said she.

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I thought you were dead and gone, and lying down

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in the deep waters. Many a night I have got

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up to see if the wind had not changed, And

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changed it had, sure enough. But you never came. I

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remember so well. One day, when the rain was pouring

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down in Torrents. The scavengers were before the house where

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I was in service, and I had come up with

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the dust and remained standing at the door. It was

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dreadful weather, when just as I was there, the postman

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came and gave me a letter. It was from you.

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What a tour that letter had made. I opened it

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instantly and read. I laughed and I wept. I was

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so happy in it. I read that you were in

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warm lands where the coffee tree grows. What a blessed

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land that must be. You related so much, and I

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saw it all while the rain was pouring down, and

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I was standing there with the dust box. At the

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same moment came some one who embraced me. Yes, but

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you gave him a good box on his ear that

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made it tingle but I did not know it was you.

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You arrived as soon as your letter, and you were

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so handsome that you still are, and had a long

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yellow silk handkerchief round your neck and a brand new

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hat on. Oh you were so dashing. Good heavens, what

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weather it was, and what a state the street was in.

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And then we were married, said he, don't you remember.

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And then we had our first little boy, and then

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Mary and Nicholas and Peter and Christian. Yes, and how

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they all grew up to be honest people and were

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beloved by everybody. And their children also have children, said

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the old sailor. Yes, those are our our grandchildren, full

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of strength and vigor. It was methinks about this season

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that we had our wedding. Yes, this very day is

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the fiftieth anniversary of the marriage, said old Granny, sticking

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her head between the two old people, who thought it

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was their neighbor who nodded to them. They looked at

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each other and held one another by the hand. Soon

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after came their children and their grandchildren, for they knew

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well enough that it was the day of the fiftieth anniversary,

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and had come with their gratulations that very morning. But

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the old people had forgotten it, although they were able

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to remember all that happened many years ago. And the

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elder bush sent forth a strong odor in the sun

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that was just about to set, and shone right in

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the old people's face. They both looked so rosy cheeked,

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and the youngest of the grandchildren danced around them and

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called out, quite delighted that there was to be something

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very splendid that evening. They were all to have hot potatoes,

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And old Nanny nodded in the bush and shouted hurrah

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with the rest. But that is no fairy tale, said

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the little boy, who was listening to the story. The

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thing is, you must understand it, said the narrator. Let

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us ask Old Nanny. That was no fairy tale, tis true,

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said old Nanny. But now it's coming. The most wonderful

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fairy tales grow out of that which is reality. Were

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that not the case, you know, my magnificent elder bush

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could not have grown out of the teapot. And then

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she took the little boy out of bed, laid him

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on her bosom, and the branches of the elder tree

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full of flowers, closed around her. They sat in an

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aerial dwelling and it flew with them through the air. Oh,

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it was wondrous, beautiful. Old Nanny had grown all of

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a sudden, young and pretty maiden. Old Nanny had grown

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all of a sudden, a young and pretty maiden. But

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her robe was still the same green stuff with white flowers,

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which she had worn before. On her bosom, she had

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a real elder flower, and in her yellow waving hair

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a wreath of the flowers. Her eyes were so large

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and blue that it was a pleasure to look at them.

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She kissed the boy, and now they were of the

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same age and felt alike. Hand in hand, they went

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out of the bower, and they were standing in the

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beautiful garden of their home, near the green lawn. Papa's

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walking stick was tied, and for the little ones it

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seemed to be endowed with life. For as soon as

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they got astride it, the round polished knob was turned

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into a magnificent neighing head. A long black mane fluttered

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in the breeze, and four slender yet strong legs shot out.

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The animal was strong and handsome, and away they went

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at full gallop round the lawn. Huzzah, now we are

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riding miles off, said the boy, we are riding away

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to the castle where we were last year. And on

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they rode round the grass plot, and the little maiden,

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who we know was no one else but old Nanny,

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kept crying out. Now we are in the country. Don't

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you see the farmhouse yonder? And there is an elder

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tree standing beside it, and the cock is scraping away

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the earth for the hens. Look how he struts. And

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now we are close to the church. It lies high

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upon the hill between the large oak trees, one of

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which is half decayed. And now we are by the smithy,

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where the fire is blazing, and where the half naked

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men are banging with their hammers till the sparks fly

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about away away to the beautiful country seat. And all

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that the little maiden, who sat behind on the stick

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spoke of, flew by. In reality, the boy saw it all,

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and yet they were only going around the grass plot.

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Then they played in a side avenue and marked out

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a little garden on the earth, and they took elder

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blossoms from their hair planted them, and they grew just

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like those old people planted when they were children. As

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related before, they went hand in hand as the old

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people had done when they were children, but not to

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the round Tower or to Fredericksburg.

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Speaker 1: No.

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Speaker 2: The little damsel wound her arms round the boy, and

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then they flew far away through all Denmark, and spring came,

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and summer, and then it was autumn, and then winter,

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and a thousand pictures were reflected in the eye and

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the heart of the little boy, and the little girl

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always sang to him, this you will never forget. And

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during their whole flight the elder tree smelt so sweet

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and odorous. He remarked the roses and the fresh beaches,

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But the elder tree had a more wondrous fragrance, for

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its flowers hung on the breast of the little maiden,

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and there too did he often lay his head during

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the flight. It is lovely here in spring, said the

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young maiden, And they stood in a beech wood that

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had just put on its first green, where the wood

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roof at their feet sent forth its fragrance, and the

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pale red anemone looked so pretty among the verdure. Oh,

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would it were always spring in the sweetly smelling Danish

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beech forests. It is lovely here in summer, said she,

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and she flew past old castles of by gone days

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of chivalry, where the red walls and the embattled gables

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were mirrored in the canal, where the swans were swimming

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and peered up into the old cool avenues. In the fields,

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the corn is waving like the sea. In the ditches,

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red and yellow flowers were growing, while wild drone flowers

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and blooming convalvulses were creeping in hedges. And towards evening,

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the moon rose round and large, and the haycocks in

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the meadows smelt so sweetly. This one never forgets. It

239
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,960
is lovely here in autumn, said the little maiden. And

240
00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:54,960
suddenly the atmosphere grew as blue again as before. The

241
00:19:55,079 --> 00:19:59,920
forest grew red and green and yellow colored. The dog

242
00:20:00,279 --> 00:20:04,599
came leaping along, and whole flocks of wild fowl flew

243
00:20:04,759 --> 00:20:08,799
over the cairn, where black berry bushes were hanging round

244
00:20:08,839 --> 00:20:13,759
the old stones. The sea was dark blue, covered with

245
00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:18,519
ships full of white sails. And in the barn, old women,

246
00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:24,359
maidens and children were sitting picking hops into a large cask.

247
00:20:25,519 --> 00:20:30,039
The young sang songs, but the old told fairy tales

248
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:35,480
of mountain sprites and soothsayers. Nothing could be more charming.

249
00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:41,240
It is delightful here in winter, said the little Maiden,

250
00:20:42,079 --> 00:20:46,079
And all the trees were covered with hoar frost. They

251
00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:51,680
looked like white corals. The snow crackled underfoot as if

252
00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:56,279
one had new boots on, and one falling star after

253
00:20:56,359 --> 00:21:00,880
the other was seen in the sky. The Christmas tree

254
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:05,400
was lighted in the room, presents were there, and good

255
00:21:05,519 --> 00:21:09,640
humor reigned in the country. The violin sounded in the

256
00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:14,000
room of the peasant, the newly baked cakes were attacked.

257
00:21:15,039 --> 00:21:20,359
Even the poorest child said, it is really delightful here

258
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:27,240
in winter. Yes, it was delightful, And the little Maiden

259
00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:33,319
showed the boy everything, and the elder tree still was fragrant,

260
00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,839
and the red flag with the white cross was still waving,

261
00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,319
the flag under which the old seaman and the new

262
00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:46,480
booths had sailed. And the boy grew up to be

263
00:21:46,559 --> 00:21:50,440
a lad and was to go forth in the wide world,

264
00:21:50,559 --> 00:21:56,319
far far away, to warm lands where the coffee tree grows.

265
00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,839
But at his departure, the little Maiden took an elder

266
00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:05,240
blossom from her bosom and gave it to him to keep,

267
00:22:06,599 --> 00:22:09,599
and it was placed between the leaves of his prayer book.

268
00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:14,279
And when in foreign lands he opened the book. It

269
00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,599
was always at the place where the keepsake flower lay,

270
00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:22,480
and the more he looked at it, the fresher it became.

271
00:22:23,799 --> 00:22:30,200
He felt, as it were the fragrance of the Danish groves.

272
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,960
And from among the leaves of the flowers, he could

273
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:38,119
distinctly see the little maiden peeping forth with her bright

274
00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:44,319
blue eyes. And then she whispered, it is delightful here

275
00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:51,680
in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and a hundred visions

276
00:22:52,160 --> 00:23:00,440
glided before his mind. Thus passed many years. He was

277
00:23:00,519 --> 00:23:05,480
now an old man and sat with his old wife

278
00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:10,559
under the blooming tree. They held each other by the hand,

279
00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:15,400
as the old grandfather and grandmother Yonder and the new

280
00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:19,680
Booths did, and they talked exactly like them, of old

281
00:23:19,759 --> 00:23:25,240
times and of the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding. The

282
00:23:25,279 --> 00:23:29,880
little maiden, with the blue eyes and with elder blossoms

283
00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:34,680
in her hair, sat in the tree, nodded to both

284
00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:41,240
of them and said, today is the fiftieth anniversary. And

285
00:23:41,319 --> 00:23:45,039
then she took two flowers out of her hair and

286
00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:52,559
kissed them. First they shone like silver, then like gold,

287
00:23:53,799 --> 00:23:55,960
And when they laid them on the heads of the

288
00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:02,799
old people, each flower became a golden crown. So there

289
00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:07,960
they both sat, like a king and a queen, under

290
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:14,039
the fragrant tree that looked exactly like an elder. The

291
00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:18,000
old man told his wife the story of Old Nanny

292
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,319
as it had been told him when a boy, and

293
00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:27,240
it seemed to both of them it contained much that

294
00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:32,039
resembled their own history, and those parts that were like

295
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:37,359
it pleased them best. Thus it is said the little

296
00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:43,359
maiden in the tree. Some call me Old Nanny, others

297
00:24:43,519 --> 00:24:51,519
a dryad. But in reality my name is Remembrance. Tis

298
00:24:51,559 --> 00:24:54,599
I who sit in the tree that grows and grows.

299
00:24:55,240 --> 00:25:00,480
I can remember, I can tell things. Let me see

300
00:25:00,559 --> 00:25:04,680
if you have my flower still. And the old man

301
00:25:04,839 --> 00:25:09,119
opened his prayer book, and there lay the elder blossom,

302
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,839
as fresh as it had been placed there but a

303
00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:19,000
short time before. And Remembrance nodded, and the old people,

304
00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:22,799
decked with crowns of gold, sat in the flush of

305
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:30,480
the evening sun. They closed their eyes, and and yes,

306
00:25:31,839 --> 00:25:37,680
that's the end of the story. The little boy lay

307
00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,839
in his bed. He did not know if he had

308
00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:44,480
dreamt or not, nor if he had been listening while

309
00:25:44,559 --> 00:25:48,799
someone told him the story. The teapot was standing on

310
00:25:48,839 --> 00:25:52,880
the table, but no elder tree was growing out of it,

311
00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:58,240
and the old man who had been talking, was just

312
00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:01,720
on the point of going out the door, and he

313
00:26:01,839 --> 00:26:08,839
did go. How splendid that was, said the little boy. Mother.

314
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:14,079
I have been to warm countries, so I should think,

315
00:26:14,519 --> 00:26:18,480
said his mother, when one has drunk two good cupfuls

316
00:26:18,519 --> 00:26:24,160
of elderflower tea, tis likely enough one goes into warm climates.

317
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:28,640
And she tucked him up nicely lest he should take cold.

318
00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:35,920
You have had. You have had a good sleep while

319
00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:39,240
I have been sitting here and arguing with him whether

320
00:26:39,319 --> 00:26:44,119
it was a story or a fairy tale? And where

321
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:48,920
is old nanny, asked the little boy in the teapot,

322
00:26:49,240 --> 00:27:00,680
said his mother, And there she may remain the elder bush.

323
00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:04,720
Once upon a time there was a little boy who

324
00:27:04,759 --> 00:27:08,720
had taken cold. He had gone out and got his

325
00:27:08,799 --> 00:27:13,759
feet wet, though nobody could imagine how it happened, for

326
00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:19,440
it was quite dry weather. So his mother undressed him,

327
00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:23,359
put him to bed, and had the teapot brought in

328
00:27:24,039 --> 00:27:26,880
to make him a good cup of elder flower tea.

329
00:27:28,519 --> 00:27:31,480
Just at that moment, the merry old man came in,

330
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:36,640
who lived up atop the house all alone, for he

331
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:42,240
had neither wife nor children. But he liked children very much,

332
00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:50,200
and knew so many fairy tales that it was quite delightful. Now,

333
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:55,200
drink your tea, said the boy's mother. Then perhaps you

334
00:27:55,319 --> 00:28:00,920
may hear a fairy tale if I had but something

335
00:28:01,079 --> 00:28:05,920
new to tell, said the old man. But how did

336
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:10,920
the child get his feet wet? That is the very

337
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:16,720
thing that nobody can make out, said his mother. Am

338
00:28:16,759 --> 00:28:21,839
I to hear a fairy tale? Asked the little boy. Yes,

339
00:28:22,559 --> 00:28:26,279
if you can tell me exactly, For I must know

340
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:30,440
that first how deep the gutter is in the little

341
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:36,400
street opposite that you pass through in going to school.

342
00:28:37,039 --> 00:28:40,519
Just up to the middle of my boot, said the child.

343
00:28:41,079 --> 00:28:46,960
But then I must go into the deep hole. Ah ah,

344
00:28:47,279 --> 00:28:50,400
that is where the wet feet came from, said the

345
00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:54,759
old man. I ought now to tell you a story,

346
00:28:55,759 --> 00:29:00,400
but I don't know any more. You can make one

347
00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:04,960
in a moment, said the little boy. My mother says

348
00:29:05,039 --> 00:29:08,039
that all you look at can be turned into a

349
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:15,119
fairy tale, and that you can find a story in everything. Yes,

350
00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:19,759
but such tales are stories and good for nothing. The

351
00:29:19,839 --> 00:29:24,559
right sort come of themselves. They tap at my forehead

352
00:29:24,559 --> 00:29:29,640
and say, here we are. Won't there be a tap soon,

353
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:34,720
asked the little boy, and his mother laughed and put

354
00:29:34,759 --> 00:29:38,839
some elder flowers in the teapot and poured boiling water

355
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:46,680
upon them. Do tell me something, pray, do yes, if

356
00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,000
a fairy tale would come of its own accord. But

357
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:55,160
they are proud and haughty, and come only when they choose. Stop,

358
00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:58,920
said he, on all of a sudden, I have it.

359
00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:03,400
Pay attention. There was one in the teapot, and the

360
00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:07,799
little boy looked at the teapot. The cover rose more

361
00:30:07,839 --> 00:30:13,279
and more, and the elderflowers came forth, so fresh and white,

362
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:18,640
and shot up long branches out of the spout. Even

363
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:22,799
did they spread themselves on all sides, and grew larger

364
00:30:22,839 --> 00:30:29,480
and larger. It was a splendid elder bush, a whole tree,

365
00:30:30,559 --> 00:30:35,200
and it reached into the very bed and pushed the

366
00:30:35,279 --> 00:30:41,680
curtains aside. How it bloomed, and what an odor. In

367
00:30:41,759 --> 00:30:45,119
the middle of the bush sat a friendly looking old

368
00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:51,160
woman in a most strange dress. It was quite green,

369
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:55,880
like the leaves of the elder, and was trimmed with

370
00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:01,440
large white elder flowers, so that at first first one

371
00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:05,359
could not tell whether it was a stuff or a

372
00:31:05,559 --> 00:31:12,119
natural green and real flowers. What's that woman's name, asked

373
00:31:12,119 --> 00:31:17,720
the little boy. The Greeks and the Romans said the

374
00:31:17,799 --> 00:31:22,279
old man called her a dryad, but that we do

375
00:31:22,359 --> 00:31:27,000
not understand. The people who live in the New Booths,

376
00:31:27,559 --> 00:31:32,440
which are a row of buildings for Seamen and Copenhagen,

377
00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:36,319
have a much better name for her. They call her

378
00:31:37,039 --> 00:31:41,240
Old Granny, and she it is to whom you are

379
00:31:41,279 --> 00:31:48,240
to pay attention. Now listen and look at the beautiful elderbush.

380
00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:55,680
Just such, another large blooming elder tree stands near the

381
00:31:55,759 --> 00:31:59,559
New Booths. It grew there in the corner of a

382
00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:05,559
little miserable courtyard, and under it sat of an afternoon

383
00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:12,839
in the most splendid sunshine, two old people, an old

384
00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:19,759
old seaman and his old old wife, and they had

385
00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:25,480
great grandchildren and were soon to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary

386
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:30,839
of their marriage. But they could not exactly recollect the date.

387
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,680
And old Granny sat in the tree and looked as

388
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:41,480
pleased as now I know the date, said she. But

389
00:32:41,599 --> 00:32:44,680
those below did not hear her, for they were talking

390
00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:50,279
about old times. Yes, can't you remember when we were

391
00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:55,359
very little, said the old seaman, and ran and played about.

392
00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:59,720
It was the very same courtyard where we are now,

393
00:33:00,799 --> 00:33:03,799
and we stuck slips in the ground and made a garden.

394
00:33:05,519 --> 00:33:09,519
I remember it well, said the old woman. I remember

395
00:33:09,599 --> 00:33:13,960
it quite well. We watered the slips, and one of

396
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:18,759
them was an elder bush. It took root, put forth

397
00:33:18,799 --> 00:33:22,559
green shoots, and grew up to be the large tree

398
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:27,400
under which we old folks are now sitting. To be sure,

399
00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:31,720
said he. And there in the corner stood a water

400
00:33:31,799 --> 00:33:37,519
pail where I used to swim my boats. True, but

401
00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:40,559
first we went to school to learn somewhat, said she,

402
00:33:41,759 --> 00:33:45,519
And then we were confirmed. We both cried. But in

403
00:33:45,559 --> 00:33:48,920
the afternoon we went up the round tower and looked

404
00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:53,799
down on Copenhagen and far far away over the water.

405
00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:58,640
Then we went to Fredericksburg, where the King and the

406
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:05,039
Queen were sailing in their splendid barges. But I had

407
00:34:05,079 --> 00:34:09,519
a different sort of sailing to that later, and that too,

408
00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:16,679
for many a year, a long way off on great voyages. Yes,

409
00:34:17,039 --> 00:34:20,400
many a time I have wept for your sake, said she.

410
00:34:21,599 --> 00:34:24,599
I thought you were dead and gone, and lying down

411
00:34:24,679 --> 00:34:27,920
in the deep waters. Many a night I have got

412
00:34:28,039 --> 00:34:31,000
up to see if the wind had not changed, And

413
00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:36,159
changed it had, sure enough, But you never came. I

414
00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:40,239
remember so well. One day, when the rain was pouring

415
00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:44,679
down in Torrents, the scavengers were before the house where

416
00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:47,800
I was in service, and I had come up with

417
00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:54,000
the dust and remained standing at the door. It was

418
00:34:54,159 --> 00:34:58,880
dreadful weather, when just as I was there, that postman

419
00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:03,440
came and gave me letter. It was from you. What

420
00:35:03,599 --> 00:35:07,760
a tour that letter had made. I opened it instantly

421
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,920
and read. I laughed and I wept. I was so

422
00:35:12,039 --> 00:35:16,159
happy in it. I read that you were in warm

423
00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:20,440
lands where the coffee tree grows. What a blessed land

424
00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:25,119
that must be. You related so much, and I saw

425
00:35:25,159 --> 00:35:28,440
it all while the rain was pouring down, and I

426
00:35:28,519 --> 00:35:32,000
was standing there with the dust box. At the same

427
00:35:32,119 --> 00:35:37,880
moment came someone who embraced me. Yes, but you gave

428
00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:40,320
him a good box on his ear that made it tingle.

429
00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:44,519
But I did not know it was you. You arrived

430
00:35:44,519 --> 00:35:47,840
as soon as your letter, and you were so handsome

431
00:35:48,559 --> 00:35:51,880
that you still are, and had a long yellow silk

432
00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:56,000
handkerchief round your neck and a brand new hat on. Oh,

433
00:35:56,039 --> 00:36:01,840
you were so dashing. Good heavens where it was, and

434
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:05,679
what a state the street was in. And then we

435
00:36:05,679 --> 00:36:09,679
were married, said he don't you remember? And then we

436
00:36:09,719 --> 00:36:13,599
had our first little boy, and then Mary and Nicholas

437
00:36:13,639 --> 00:36:17,559
and Peter and Christian. Yes, and how they all grew

438
00:36:17,639 --> 00:36:21,679
up to be honest people and were beloved by everybody.

439
00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:27,280
And their children also have children, said the old sailor. Yes,

440
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:32,440
those are our grandchildren, full of strength and vigor. It

441
00:36:32,639 --> 00:36:36,920
was methinks about this season that we had our wedding. Yes,

442
00:36:37,719 --> 00:36:42,039
this very day is the fiftieth anniversary of the marriage,

443
00:36:42,079 --> 00:36:46,000
said old Granny, sticking her head between the two old people,

444
00:36:46,519 --> 00:36:49,440
who thought it was their neighbor who nodded to them.

445
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:52,960
They looked at each other and held one another by

446
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:58,639
the hand. Soon after came their children and their grandchildren,

447
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,360
for they knew well enough that it was the day

448
00:37:02,559 --> 00:37:07,440
of the fiftieth anniversary, and had come with their gratulations

449
00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:12,119
that very morning. But the old people had forgotten it,

450
00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:16,159
although they were able to remember all that happened many

451
00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:20,400
years ago. And the elder bush sent forth a strong

452
00:37:20,559 --> 00:37:24,199
odor in the sun that was just about to set,

453
00:37:25,079 --> 00:37:29,960
and shone right in the old people's faces. They both

454
00:37:30,039 --> 00:37:34,480
looked so rosy cheeked, and the youngest of the grandchildren

455
00:37:34,599 --> 00:37:39,400
danced around them and called out, quite delighted that there

456
00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:43,840
was to be something very splendid that evening. They were

457
00:37:44,039 --> 00:37:49,360
all to have hot potatoes, and Old Nanny nodded in

458
00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:55,280
the bush and shouted hurrah with the rest. But that

459
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:59,119
is no fairy tale, said the little boy, who was

460
00:37:59,199 --> 00:38:03,679
listening to the story. The thing is, you must understand it,

461
00:38:04,239 --> 00:38:10,199
said the narrator. Let us ask Old Nanny. That was

462
00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:15,199
no fairy tale, tis true, said Old Nanny, But now

463
00:38:15,239 --> 00:38:20,159
it's coming. The most wonderful fairy tales grow out of

464
00:38:20,199 --> 00:38:24,960
that which is reality. Were that not the case, you know,

465
00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:29,400
my magnificent elder bush could not have grown out of

466
00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:33,519
the teapot. And then she took the little boy out

467
00:38:33,519 --> 00:38:38,559
of bed, laid him on her bosom, and the branches

468
00:38:38,599 --> 00:38:42,880
of the elder tree, full of flowers, closed around her.

469
00:38:44,199 --> 00:38:48,119
They sat in an aerial dwelling, and it flew with

470
00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:54,199
them through the air. Oh, it was wondrous, beautiful. Old

471
00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:57,880
Nanny had grown all of a sudden, young and pretty maiden.

472
00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:02,800
Old name Annie had grown all of a sudden, a

473
00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:07,480
young and pretty maiden. But her robe was still the

474
00:39:07,519 --> 00:39:12,599
same green, stuffed with white flowers, which she had worn before.

475
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:18,119
On her bosom she had a real elder flower, and

476
00:39:18,199 --> 00:39:22,239
in her yellow waving hair a wreath of the flowers.

477
00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:25,880
Her eyes were so large and blue that it was

478
00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:29,920
a pleasure to look at them. She kissed the boy,

479
00:39:30,599 --> 00:39:34,519
and now they were of the same age and felt alike.

480
00:39:36,039 --> 00:39:39,159
Hand in hand, they went out of the bower, and

481
00:39:39,199 --> 00:39:42,159
they were standing in the beautiful garden of their home,

482
00:39:43,559 --> 00:39:48,039
near the green lawn. Papa's walking stick was tied, and

483
00:39:48,119 --> 00:39:51,280
for the little ones it seemed to be endowed with life.

484
00:39:52,519 --> 00:39:55,639
For as soon as they got astride it, the round

485
00:39:55,719 --> 00:40:00,400
polished knob was turned into a magnificent neighing head. A

486
00:40:00,559 --> 00:40:05,239
long black mane fluttered in the breeze, and four slender

487
00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:10,719
yet strong legs shot out. The animal was strong and handsome,

488
00:40:11,599 --> 00:40:16,639
and away they went at full gallop round the lawn. Huzzah,

489
00:40:17,039 --> 00:40:20,280
Now we are riding miles off, said the boy. We

490
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:23,559
are riding away to the castle where we were last year.

491
00:40:26,079 --> 00:40:29,719
And on they rode round the grass plot, and the

492
00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:33,480
little maiden, who we know was no one else but

493
00:40:33,559 --> 00:40:37,960
old Nanny, kept crying out. Now we are in the country.

494
00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:41,679
Don't you see the farm house yonder? And there is

495
00:40:41,719 --> 00:40:45,440
an elder tree standing beside it, and the cock is

496
00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:50,960
scraping away The earth for the hens. Look how he struts.

497
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:54,320
And now we are close to the church. It lies

498
00:40:54,440 --> 00:40:59,440
high upon the hill, between the large oak trees, one

499
00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:03,400
of which is half decayed. And now we are by

500
00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:07,039
the smithy, where the fire is blazing, and where the

501
00:41:07,079 --> 00:41:09,840
half naked men are banging with their hammers, till the

502
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:15,559
sparks fly about away away to the beautiful country seat.

503
00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:19,519
And all that the little maiden, who sat behind on

504
00:41:19,599 --> 00:41:24,719
the stick spoke of, flew by. In reality, the boy

505
00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:29,239
saw it all, and yet they were only going around

506
00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:33,320
the grass plot. Then they played in a side avenue

507
00:41:34,239 --> 00:41:37,679
and marked out a little garden on the earth, and

508
00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:42,840
they took elder blossoms from their hair planted them, and

509
00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:47,119
they grew just like those old people planted when they

510
00:41:47,119 --> 00:41:52,559
were children. As related before. They went hand in hand

511
00:41:53,239 --> 00:41:55,800
as the old people had done when they were children.

512
00:41:56,880 --> 00:42:00,960
But not to the round tower or to Fredburg. No,

513
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:05,840
the little damsel wound her arms round the boy, and

514
00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:10,800
then they flew far away through all Denmark, and spring

515
00:42:10,920 --> 00:42:16,519
came and summer, and then it was autumn, and then winter,

516
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:21,519
and a thousand pictures were reflected in the eye and

517
00:42:21,599 --> 00:42:25,960
the heart of the little boy and the little girl

518
00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:32,079
always sang to him, this you will never forget. And

519
00:42:32,199 --> 00:42:37,039
during their whole flight the elder tree smelt so sweet

520
00:42:37,119 --> 00:42:42,280
and odorous. He remarked the roses and the fresh beaches,

521
00:42:43,079 --> 00:42:48,079
But the elder tree had a more wondrous fragrance, for

522
00:42:48,239 --> 00:42:51,079
its flowers hung on the breast of the little maiden,

523
00:42:52,199 --> 00:42:56,119
and there too did he often lay his head during

524
00:42:56,159 --> 00:43:00,760
the flight. It is lovely here in spring, said the

525
00:43:00,840 --> 00:43:05,119
young maiden, And they stood in a beech wood that

526
00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:08,679
had just put on its first green, where the wood

527
00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:13,440
roof at their feet sent forth its fragrance, and the

528
00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:18,960
pale red anemone looked so pretty among the verdure. Oh,

529
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:22,800
would it were always spring in the sweetly smelling Danish

530
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:28,079
beech forests. It is lovely here in summer, said she.

531
00:43:29,039 --> 00:43:32,519
And she flew past old castles of by gone days

532
00:43:32,559 --> 00:43:37,239
of chivalry, where the red walls and the embattled gables

533
00:43:37,280 --> 00:43:41,400
were mirrored in the canal where the swans were swimming,

534
00:43:42,119 --> 00:43:47,000
and peered up into the old cool avenues. In the fields,

535
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:50,920
the corn is waving like the sea. In the ditches,

536
00:43:51,039 --> 00:43:56,119
red and yellow flowers were growing, while wild drone flowers

537
00:43:56,159 --> 00:44:01,360
and blooming convalvulses were creeping in hedges, and towards evening,

538
00:44:01,519 --> 00:44:06,599
the moon rose round and large, and the haycocks in

539
00:44:06,639 --> 00:44:13,760
the meadows smelt so sweetly. This one never forgets. It

540
00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:17,840
is lovely here in autumn, said the Little Maiden, And

541
00:44:18,079 --> 00:44:22,840
suddenly the atmosphere grew as blue again as before. The

542
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:28,039
forest grew red and green and yellow colored. The dogs

543
00:44:28,119 --> 00:44:32,519
came leaping along, and whole flocks of wild fowl flew

544
00:44:32,639 --> 00:44:36,679
over the cairn, where black berry bushes were hanging round

545
00:44:36,719 --> 00:44:41,639
the old stones. The sea was dark blue, covered with

546
00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:46,400
ships full of white sails. And in the barn, old women,

547
00:44:47,239 --> 00:44:52,239
maidens and children were sitting picking hops into a large cask.

548
00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:57,920
The young sang songs, but the old told fairy tales

549
00:44:58,079 --> 00:45:03,360
of mountain sprites, and sooth says nothing could be more charming.

550
00:45:05,239 --> 00:45:09,159
It is delightful here in winter, said the Little Maiden,

551
00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:13,960
And all the trees were covered with hoar frost. They

552
00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:19,559
looked like white corals. The snow crackled underfoot as if

553
00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:24,159
one had new boots on, and one falling star after

554
00:45:24,239 --> 00:45:28,760
the other was seen in the sky. The Christmas tree

555
00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:33,320
was lighted in the room, presents were there, and good

556
00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:37,519
humor reigned in the country, the violin sounded in the

557
00:45:37,599 --> 00:45:41,920
room of the peasant, the newly baked cakes were attacked.

558
00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:48,280
Even the poorest child said, it is really delightful here

559
00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:55,119
in winter. Yes, it was delightful. And the little maiden

560
00:45:55,239 --> 00:46:01,199
showed the boy everything, and the elder trees still was fragrant,

561
00:46:02,079 --> 00:46:05,719
and the red flag with the white cross was still waving,

562
00:46:07,079 --> 00:46:10,239
the flag under which the old seaman and the new

563
00:46:10,280 --> 00:46:14,360
booths had sailed. And the boy grew up to be

564
00:46:14,480 --> 00:46:18,320
a lad, and was to go forth in the wide world,

565
00:46:18,440 --> 00:46:24,199
far far away, to warm lands where the coffee tree grows.

566
00:46:25,599 --> 00:46:28,719
But at his departure, the little Maiden took an elder

567
00:46:28,800 --> 00:46:33,079
blossom from her bosom and gave it to him to keep,

568
00:46:34,519 --> 00:46:37,480
and it was placed between the leaves of his prayer book.

569
00:46:38,599 --> 00:46:42,199
And when in foreign lands he opened the book, it

570
00:46:42,360 --> 00:46:45,480
was always at the place where the keepsake flower lay.

571
00:46:46,840 --> 00:46:50,360
And the more he looked at it, the fresher it became.

572
00:46:51,679 --> 00:46:58,079
He felt, as it were the fragrance of the Danish groves.

573
00:46:58,119 --> 00:47:00,840
And from among the leaves of the flogs, he could

574
00:47:00,880 --> 00:47:06,039
distinctly see the little maiden peeping forth with her bright

575
00:47:06,119 --> 00:47:12,239
blue eyes. And then she whispered it is delightful here

576
00:47:12,280 --> 00:47:19,559
in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and a hundred visions

577
00:47:20,039 --> 00:47:28,079
glided before his mind. Thus passed many years, and he

578
00:47:28,239 --> 00:47:32,159
was now an old man and sat with his old

579
00:47:32,239 --> 00:47:37,920
wife under the blooming tree. They held each other by

580
00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:42,840
the hand, as the old grandfather and grandmother yonder and

581
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:47,159
the new boothstead, and they talked exactly like them of

582
00:47:47,280 --> 00:47:51,880
old times and of the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding.

583
00:47:53,039 --> 00:47:57,079
The little maiden, with the blue eyes and with elder

584
00:47:57,199 --> 00:48:02,199
blossoms in her hair, sat in the tree, nodded to

585
00:48:02,280 --> 00:48:07,559
both of them, and said, today is the fiftieth anniversary.

586
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:11,920
And then she took two flowers out of her hair

587
00:48:12,800 --> 00:48:20,440
and kissed them. First they shone like silver, then like gold,

588
00:48:21,679 --> 00:48:23,880
and when they laid them on the heads of the

589
00:48:23,920 --> 00:48:30,719
old people, each flower became a golden crown. So there

590
00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:35,880
they both sat like a king and a queen, under

591
00:48:35,880 --> 00:48:41,920
the fragrant tree that looked exactly like an elder. The

592
00:48:42,079 --> 00:48:45,880
old man told his wife the story of Old Nanny

593
00:48:46,880 --> 00:48:51,199
as it had been told him when a boy, and

594
00:48:51,320 --> 00:48:55,119
it seemed to both of them it contained much that

595
00:48:55,280 --> 00:48:59,880
resembled their own history, and those parts that were like

596
00:49:00,119 --> 00:49:05,239
it pleased them best. Thus it is said the little

597
00:49:05,280 --> 00:49:11,239
maiden in the tree. Some call me old nanny, others

598
00:49:11,400 --> 00:49:19,360
a dryad. But in reality my name is Remembrance. Tis

599
00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:21,960
I who sit in the tree that grows and grows.

600
00:49:23,159 --> 00:49:28,239
I can remember, I can tell things. Let me see

601
00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:32,559
if you have my flower still. And the old man

602
00:49:32,719 --> 00:49:37,000
opened his prayer book, and there lay the elder blossom,

603
00:49:37,880 --> 00:49:40,719
as fresh as it had been placed there but a

604
00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:46,880
short time before. And Remembrance nodded, and the old people,

605
00:49:47,039 --> 00:49:50,719
decked with crowns of gold, sat in the flush of

606
00:49:50,760 --> 00:49:58,360
the evening sun. They closed their eyes, and and yes,

607
00:49:59,679 --> 00:50:05,559
that's the end of the story. The little boy lay

608
00:50:05,599 --> 00:50:08,719
in his bed. He did not know if he had

609
00:50:08,840 --> 00:50:12,360
dreamt or not, nor if he had been listening while

610
00:50:12,440 --> 00:50:16,519
some one told him the story. The teapot was standing

611
00:50:16,559 --> 00:50:20,519
on the table, but no elder tree was growing out

612
00:50:20,519 --> 00:50:25,000
of it, And the old man who had been talking,

613
00:50:25,719 --> 00:50:28,039
was just on the point of going out the door,

614
00:50:29,320 --> 00:50:34,800
and he did go. How splendid that was, said the

615
00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:41,239
little boy mother. I've been to warm countries, so I

616
00:50:41,280 --> 00:50:45,400
should think, said his mother. When one has drunk two

617
00:50:45,440 --> 00:50:49,760
good cupfuls of elderflower tea, tis likely enough one goes

618
00:50:49,800 --> 00:50:54,960
into warm climates, and she tucked him up nicely, lest

619
00:50:55,000 --> 00:51:02,440
he should take cold. You have had a you have

620
00:51:02,559 --> 00:51:05,039
had a good sleep, while I have been sitting here

621
00:51:05,599 --> 00:51:08,360
and arguing with him whether it was a story or

622
00:51:08,400 --> 00:51:13,639
a fairy tale. And where is old Nanny? Asked the

623
00:51:13,679 --> 00:51:19,079
little boy in the teapot, said his mother, And there

624
00:51:19,239 --> 00:52:33,719
she may remain