Page:Hans Andersen's fairy tales (Robinson).djvu/315



THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE CHIMNEY-SWEEPER

AVE you never seen an old-fashioned oaken-wood cabinet, quite black with age and covered with varnish and carving- work? Just such a piece of furniture, an old heir-loom that had been the property of its present mistress's great-grandmother, once stood in a parlour. It was carved from top to bottom—roses, tulips, and little stags' heads with long, branching antlers, peering forth from the curious scrolls and foliage surrounding them. Moreover, in the centre panel of the cabinet was carved the full-length figure of a man, who seemed to be perpetually grinning, perhaps at himself, for in truth he was a most ridiculous figure; he had crooked legs, small horns on his forehead, and a long beard. The children of the house used to call him 'the crooked-legged Field-marshal-Major-General-Corporal-Sergeant,' for this was a long, hard name, and not many figures, whether carved in wood or in stone, could boast of such a title. There he stood, his eyes always fixed upon the table under the pier-glass, for on this table stood a pretty little porcelain shepherdess, her mantle gathered 263