Page:Fairy tales and other stories (Andersen, Craigie).djvu/21

9 GREAT CLAUS AND LITTLE CLAUS

lived two men in one village, and they had the same name—each was called Claus; but one had four horses, and the other only a single horse. To distinguish them from each other, folks called him who had four horses Great Claus, and the one who had only a single horse Little Claus. Now we shall hear what happened to each of them, for this is a true story.

The whole week through, Little Claus was obliged to plough for Great Claus, and to lend him his one horse; then Great Claus helped him out with all his four, but only once a week, and that was on Sunday. Hurrah! how Little Claus smacked his whip over all five horses, for they were as good as his own on that one day. The sun shone gaily, and all the bells in the steeples were ringing; the people were all dressed in their best, and were going to church, with their hymn-books under their arms, to hear the clergyman preach, and they saw Little Claus ploughing with five horses; but he was so merry that he smacked his whip again and again, and cried, 'Gee up, all my five!'

'You must not talk so,' said Great Claus, 'for only one horse is yours.'

But when any one passed Little Claus forgot that he was not to say this, and he cried, 'Gee up, all my horses!'

'Now, I must beg of you to stop that,' cried Great Claus, 'for if you say it again, I shall hit your horse on the head, so that it will fall down dead, and then it will be all over with him.'

'I will certainly not say it any more,' said Little Claus.

But when people came by soon afterwards, and nodded 'good day' to him, he became very glad, and thought it looked very well, after all, that he had five horses to plough his field; and so he smacked his whip again, and cried, 'Gee up, all my horses!'

'I'll "gee up" your horses!' said Great Claus. And he took a mallet and hit the only horse of Little Claus on the head, so that it fell down, and was dead immediately.

'Oh, now I haven't any horse at all!' said Little Claus, and began to cry.