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There is nobody in the world who knows so many stories as Ole-Luk-Oie,
or who can relate them so nicely. In the evening, while the children
are seated at the table or in their little chairs, he comes up the
stairs very softly, for he walks in his socks, then he opens the
doors without the slightest noise, and throws a small quantity of
very fine dust in their eyes, just enough to prevent them from
keeping them open, and so they do not see him. Then he creeps behind
them, and blows softly upon their necks, till their heads begin to
droop. But Ole-Luk-Oie does not wish to hurt them, for he is very
fond of children, and only wants them to be quiet that he may relate
to them pretty stories, and they never are quiet until they are in
bed and asleep. As soon as they are asleep, Ole-Luk-Oie seats
himself upon the bed. He is nicely dressed; his coat is made of
silken stuff; it is impossible to say of what color, for it changes
from green to red, and from red to blue as he turns from side to
side. Under each arm he carries an umbrella; one of them, with
pictures on the inside, he spreads over the good children, and then
they dream the most beautiful stories the whole night. But the other
umbrella has no pictures, and this he holds over the naughty
children so that they sleep heavily, and wake in the morning without
having dreamed at all.
Now we shall hear how Ole-Luk-Oie came every night during a whole
week to the little boy named Hjalmar, and what he told him. There
were seven stories, as there are seven days in the week.
MONDAY
"Now pay attention," said Ole-Luk-Oie, in the evening, when Hjalmar
was in bed, "and I will decorate the room."
Immediately all the flowers in the flower-pots became large trees,
with long branches reaching to the ceiling, and stretching along the
walls, so that the whole room was like a greenhouse. All the
branches were loaded with flowers, each flower as beautiful and as
fragrant as a rose; and, had any one tasted them, he would have
found them sweeter even than jam. The fruit glittered like gold, and
there were cakes so full of plums that they were nearly bursting. It
was incomparably beautiful. At the same time sounded dismal moans
from the table-drawer in which lay Hjalmar's school books.
"What can that be now?" said Ole-Luk-Oie, going to the table and
pulling out the drawer.
It was a slate, in such distress because of a false number in the
sum, that it had almost broken itself to pieces. The pencil pulled
and tugged at its string as if it were a little dog that wanted to
help, but could not.
And then came a moan from Hjalmar's copy-book. Oh, it was quite
terrible to hear! On each leaf stood a row of capital letters, every
one having a small letter by its side. This formed a copy; under
these were other letters, which Hjalmar had written: they fancied
they looked like the copy, but they were mistaken; for they were
leaning on one side as if they intended to fall over the
pencil-lines.
"See, this is the way you should hold yourselves," said the copy.
"Look here, you should slope thus, with a graceful curve."
"Oh, we are very willing to do so, but we cannot," said Hjalmar's
letters; "we are so wretchedly made."
"You must be scratched out, then," said Ole-Luk-Oie.
"Oh, no!" they cried, and then they stood up so gracefully it was
quite a pleasure to look at them.
"Now we must give up our stories, and exercise these letters," said
Ole-Luk-Oie; "One, two—one, two—" So he drilled them till they stood
up gracefully, and looked as beautiful as a copy could look. But
after Ole-Luk-Oie was gone, and Hjalmar looked at them in the
morning, they were as wretched and as awkward as ever.
TUESDAY
As soon as Hjalmar was in bed, Ole-Luk-Oie touched, with his little
magic wand, all the furniture in the room, which immediately began
to chatter, and each article only talked of itself.
Over the chest of drawers hung a large picture in a gilt frame,
representing a landscape, with fine old trees, flowers in the grass,
and a broad stream, which flowed through the wood, past several
castles, far out into the wild ocean. Ole-Luk-Oie touched the
picture with his magic wand, and immediately the birds commenced
singing, the branches of the trees rustled, and the clouds moved
across the sky, casting their shadows on the landscape beneath them.
Then Ole-Luk-Oie lifted little Hjalmar up to the frame, and placed
his feet in the picture, just on the high grass, and there he stood
with the sun shining down upon him through the branches of the
trees. He ran to the water, and seated himself in a little boat
which lay there, and which was painted red and white. The sails
glittered like silver, and six swans, each with a golden circlet
round its neck, and a bright blue star on its forehead, drew the
boat past the green wood, where the trees talked of robbers and
witches, and the flowers of beautiful little elves and fairies,
whose histories the butterflies had related to them. Brilliant fish,
with scales like silver and gold, swam after the boat, sometimes
making a spring and splashing the water round them, while birds, red
and blue, small and great, flew after him in two long lines. The
gnats danced round them, and the cockchafers cried "Buz, buz." They
all wanted to follow Hjalmar, and all had some story to tell him. It
was a most pleasant sail. Sometimes the forests were thick and dark,
sometimes like a beautiful garden, gay with sunshine and flowers;
then he passed great palaces of glass and of marble, and on the
balconies stood princesses, whose faces were those of little girls
whom Hjalmar knew well, and had often played with. One of them held
out her hand, in which was a heart made of sugar, more beautiful
than any confectioner ever sold. As Hjalmar sailed by, he caught
hold of one side of the sugar heart, and held it fast, and the
princess held fast also, so that it broke in two pieces. Hjalmar had
one piece, and the princess the other, but Hjalmar's was the
largest. At each castle stood little princes acting as sentinels.
They presented arms, and had golden swords, and made it rain plums
and tin soldiers, so that they must have been real princes.
Hjalmar continued to sail, sometimes through woods, sometimes as it
were through large halls, and then by large cities. At last he came
to the town where his nurse lived, who had carried him in her arms
when he was a very little boy, and had always been kind to him. She
nodded and beckoned to him, and then sang the little verses she had
herself composed and set to him,—
"How oft my memory turns to thee,
My own Hjalmar, ever dear!
When I could watch thy infant glee,
Or kiss away a pearly tear.
'Twas in my arms thy lisping tongue
First spoke the half-remembered word,
While o'er thy tottering steps I hung,
My fond protection to afford.
Farewell! I pray the Heavenly Power
To keep thee till thy dying hour."
And all the birds sang the same tune, the flowers danced on their
stems, and the old trees nodded as if Ole-Luk-Oie had been telling
them stories as well.
WEDNESDAY
How the rain did pour down! Hjalmar could hear it in his sleep; and
when Ole-Luk-Oie opened the window, the water flowed quite up to the
window-sill. It had the appearance of a large lake outside, and a
beautiful ship lay close to the house.
"Wilt thou sail with me to-night, little Hjalmar?" said Ole-Luk-Oie;
"then we shall see foreign countries, and thou shalt return here in
the morning."
All in a moment, there stood Hjalmar, in his best clothes, on the
deck of the noble ship; and immediately the weather became fine.
They sailed through the streets, round by the church, and on every
side rolled the wide, great sea. They sailed till the land
disappeared, and then they saw a flock of storks, who had left their
own country, and were travelling to warmer climates. The storks flew
one behind the other, and had already been a long, long time on the
wing. One of them seemed so tired that his wings could scarcely
carry him. He was the last of the row, and was soon left very far
behind. At length he sunk lower and lower, with outstretched wings,
flapping them in vain, till his feet touched the rigging of the
ship, and he slided from the sails to the deck, and stood before
them. Then a sailor-boy caught him, and put him in the hen-house,
with the fowls, the ducks, and the turkeys, while the poor stork
stood quite bewildered amongst them.
"Just look at that fellow," said the chickens.
Then the turkey-cock puffed himself out as large as he could, and
inquired who he was; and the ducks waddled backwards, crying,
"Quack, quack."
Then the stork told them all about warm Africa, of the pyramids, and
of the ostrich, which, like a wild horse, runs across the desert.
But the ducks did not understand what he said, and quacked amongst
themselves, "We are all of the same opinion; namely, that he is
stupid."
"Yes, to be sure, he is stupid," said the turkey-cock; and gobbled.
Then the stork remained quite silent, and thought of his home in
Africa.
"Those are handsome thin legs of yours," said the turkey-cock. "What
do they cost a yard?"
"Quack, quack, quack," grinned the ducks; but, the stork pretended
not to hear.
"You may as well laugh," said the turkey; "for that remark was
rather witty, or perhaps it was above you. Ah, ah, is he not clever?
He will be a great amusement to us while he remains here." And then
he gobbled, and the ducks quacked, "Gobble, gobble; Quack, quack."
What a terrible uproar they made, while they were having such fun
among themselves!
Then Hjalmar went to the hen-house; and, opening the door, called to
the stork. Then he hopped out on the deck. He had rested himself
now, and he looked happy, and seemed as if he nodded to Hjalmar, as
if to thank him. Then he spread his wings, and flew away to warmer
countries, while the hens clucked, the ducks quacked, and the
turkey-cock turned quite scarlet in the head.
"To-morrow you shall be made into soup," said Hjalmar to the fowls;
and then he awoke, and found himself lying in his little bed.
It was a wonderful journey which Ole-Luk-Oie had made him take this
night.
Click Here for Part 2 of Ole-Luk-Oie, the Dream God
Ole-Luk-Oie, the Dream God
A Classic Children's Short Story
by
Hans Christian Andersen |
