Page:The fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen (c1899).djvu/195

 THE FELLOW-TRAVELLER

173

THE HKil MGHI

WAm um.lGlill lu LIL UN A HAVCuCK

lllL ulEN MKLDS.

stream into his

eyes. Johannes

nodded farewell to

him ; and the little

goblin waved his

red cap, laid his

Ijand on his heart,

and then kissed his

hand to him, to

show that he was

kindly disposed to- wards him, and

wished him a happy

journey.

Johannes now

thought of how

many beautiful

things he should

see in the wide

world, so large and

so magnificent as it was ; and he went on and on much further than he had ever been before. He

did not know the places through which he passed, nor the people whom he met. He was now

abroad in a foreign land.

The first night he was obliged t ' lie on a haycock in the open fields, for he had no other bed.

But this he thought was so nice a bed that the king himself could not be better off. The field, and the haycock, with the blue sky above, certainly formed a very pretty bedchamber. The green grass, dotted with little red and white flowers, was the carpet ; the elder bushes and hedges of wild roses were the nosegays that decor- ated the room ; and his washing- basin was the brook, with its clear, pure waters, where the reeds were nodding to bid him good-night and good-morning. The moon was a large lamp, high up in the blue ceiling, and one that could not set fire to the curtains. Johannes might sleep in peace, and he did so ; nor did he wake till the sun rose, and all the little birds around were singing: "Good- morrow ! Good-morrow ! Are you not yet up ? "

The bells were ringing for church, for it was Sunday. The people were going to hear the preacher, and Johannes followed them, sang a psalm, and heard the word of God. He felt just as if he were in his own parish church, in which he had been christened, and where he sang psalms with his father.

BEFORE THE CHURCH DOOR STOOD AN AGED BEGGAR, LEANIiNG ON A CRUTCH. I" tile churchyard WCrC Several