Page:Fairy tales and stories (Andersen, Tegner).djvu/275

Rh "'Well, now,' they thought, 'all can now see that we are of the first importance. How we shine! What a light we give!'—and then they went out."

"What a capital story!" said the queen, "I felt just as if I were in the kitchen with the matches. Well, thou shalt have our daughter."

"Yes, of course!" said the king. "Thou shalt marry our daughter on Monday." They called him "thou" now that he was going to be one of the family.



The wedding was thus settled, and the evening before the whole town was illuminated. Buns and fancy bread were thrown among the people; the street boys stood on tiptoe and shouted, "Hurrah!" and whistled through their fingers. It was altogether very fine.

"Well, I suppose I shall have to do something as well," said the merchant's son, and so he bought some rockets, crackers, and all the fireworks he could think of, put them on his trunk and then flew up into the air with it.

Crack! Off went the fireworks, spurting and flashing in all