Page:Fairy tales and stories (Andersen, Tegner).djvu/364

332 the chimney, where they sat down, for they were really tired, and no wonder.

The sky with all its stars was just above their heads, and below them lay all the roofs of the city. They could see far around them, far out into the wide world. The poor shepherdess had never thought it was anything like this. She leaned her little head against her chimney-sweep, and cried till the gilding was washed off her girdle.



"Oh, this is too much for me!" she said; "I cannot bear it. The world is too big. I wish I were back again in the little table under the mirror. I shall never be happy until I am there again. Now that I have followed you out into the wide world, you may as well go back with me if you care at all for me."

And the sweep tried to reason with her; he spoke of the old Chinaman and the major-and-lieutenant-general-war-commander-sergeant of the