The area around Chog was a desolate country.The little city is near the coast—always a beautiful location.It would have been lovelier if it hadn't been for the unremarkable fields all around it, and the distance from the forest.But when you're really used to a place, you always find something lovely, and you'd live in the loveliest place in the world, and you'd miss it too.We have to admit that on the outskirts of this small town, on both sides of a stream that flows to the sea, there are a few simple little gardens, and the summer scenery here is very beautiful.The two little neighbors, Knud and Johanne, especially feel this way.There they played together; they met each other through the gooseberry bushes.
In one such little garden grew an elder tree; in another little garden grew an old willow.The two little children were particularly fond of playing under the willow tree; and they had permission to come and play there.Although the tree grows near the stream, it is easy for them to fall into the water.But the eye of God was upon them, or they might be troubled.Moreover, they themselves are very cautious.As a matter of fact, the boy was a coward so afraid of the water that no one could persuade him to go into the sea in the summer, though the other children loved to play in the surf.Xin thus became an object of ridicule by others; he had to endure it.But once that little Johanne next door had a dream that she was sailing a boat in Chog Bay herself.Knud came wading towards her, the water was up to his neck, and finally covered the top of his head.
Ever since Knud heard the dream, he could no longer bear to be called a coward who was afraid of water.He often mentioned the dream that Joanne had had--it was one of his great prides, but he didn't go into the water.
Both their parents were poor people who often visited each other.Knud and Johanne played in the garden and on the road.A row of willows grows along the ditch along the road.The willows were not pretty, for their tops were clipped; but they were not there for ornament, but for practical use.The old willow tree in the garden was much prettier, and they often liked to sit under it.
There is a big market in the city of Chog.On market days the whole street is lined with stalls selling ribbons and boots and everything else one could want to buy.The people who come are always crowded, and the weather is always raining.Then you can smell the smell of the peasants' clothes, but you can also smell gingerbread—there's a canopy full of them.The loveliest thing is that every year during the market season the man who sells these cakes comes to live with little Knud's father.So of course they got a little gingerbread, and of course little Johnny got a share too.But the best thing was that the gingerbread man told stories: he could tell stories about anything, even about his gingerbread.One night he told a story about gingerbread.The story left a deep impression on the children and they will never forget it.For that reason, I think we'd better hear it too, especially since the story isn't too long.
He said: "There were two gingerbread pieces on the counter. One was in the shape of a man wearing a top hat, and the other was a little girl without a hat but with a gold leaf. Their faces were in the The top side of the pancakes, so that people can see them clearly at a glance, so that they can't be mistaken. Indeed, no one will look at them from the wrong side. On the man's left side is a bitter almond - this is his heart ;instead, the girls were covered all over with gingerbread. They were placed on the counter as samples. They stayed there for a long time, and finally the two of them fell in love, but neither said it. If they wanted to get a Whatever the result, they should say it.
"'He's a man, he should speak first,' she thought.
"But she's still satisfied because she knows he loves her just as much.
"He's thinking a little too much--men usually do. He dreams of being a real living street kid with four pennies by his side, and buys the girl and eats it up.
"They lay like that on the counter for days and weeks, and finally got dry. Her mind grew softer and more effeminate.
"'I'm content to lie on the counter with him!' she thought.
And—bang—she split in two.
"'If she had known my love, she might have lived a little longer!'
he thinks.
"That's the story. They're both here now!" said the baker. "What a marvel they were, for their history and their fruitless silent love! Now I'll give them to you!" So he gave Johanne the whole man, and the broken one The girl gave it to Knud.But the story moved them, and they couldn't muster up the courage to eat the lovers.
The next day they took the gingerbread to Choge Cemetery.The walls of the church were covered with the most luxuriant ivy; it hung over the walls in winter and summer like a gorgeous carpet.They put the gingerbread among the green leaves in the sun, and told a group of little children the story of this fruitless, silent love.
It's called "Love" because the story is cute - everyone agrees on that.But when they looked at the gingerbread lovers again, alas, a dismantling older child had eaten the shattered girl.The children cried a lot, and then—presumably to keep the lover from feeling lonely in the world—they ate him too.But they never forgot the story.
Children often played by the elder trees and under the willows.The little girl sang the most beautiful song with a voice like a silver bell.But Knud had no talent for singing; he just knew the words—but that wasn't bad either.While Joanne sang, the inhabitants of Chog, even the wife of the smithy, stood still and listened. "That little girl has a sweet voice!" she said.
This is the most beautiful time of life, but it cannot be like this forever.Neighbors have moved out.The little girl's mother has passed away; her father intends to move to the capital and find a new wife, because there he can find a job—he will be a messenger in an institution, which is a well-paid job. errand.So the two neighbors parted with tears.The children especially cried for a while; but the elders of the two families agreed to correspond at least once a year.
Knud was apprenticed to a shoemaker, for a grown boy could not waste his days; besides, he was already confirmed!
Oh, how he wished he could go to Copenhagen and see Johanny on a festival day!But he didn't go, he had never been there, although it was only more than seventy miles away from Choge.But when the weather was clear, Knud could see the top of the tower in the distance from the bay; and on the day of his confirmation, he had clearly seen the shining cross of Notre-Dame church.
Oh, how he missed Johnny!Maybe she remembered him too?Yes, at Christmas time, her father sent a letter to Knud's father and mother.The letter said that they were doing well in Copenhagen, especially Johanne, who, because of her beautiful voice, could hope for a bright future.
She has a contract with an opera house in which she plays, and has begun to make some money.She now saves an ocean from her earnings to send to her dear neighbors in Chog for this merry Christmas.In the "Postscript" she added herself, offering them a glass of wine to her health; and also: "Knud with kind regards."
The whole family wept, but it was pleasant—they shed happy tears.Knud's thoughts haunted Johanne every day; now he knew she was thinking of him too.As he neared the end of his trade it became clearer to him that he loved Johnny.She must be his dear wife.A smile played on his lips when he thought of this; and he worked on his shoes twice as fast, clasping his feet to the leather cushions on his knees.His awl sank into his finger, but he didn't care.He made up his mind not to play the part of a mute lover, like the Gingerbread couple; he got a good lesson from that story.
Now he is a shoemaker.He packed his pack; he was finally going to Copenhagen for the first time in his life.He's already approached a master there.Hi Johnny must be very strange and delighted!She was seventeen now, and he was nineteen.
When he was still in Choge, he wanted to buy her a gold ring.But he thought he could get a nicer ring in Copenhagen.So he said goodbye to his parents.It was a rainy day in late autumn, and he set off in a light drizzle.The leaves were rustling from the trees; by the time he arrived at the house of his new owners in Copenhagen, he was drenched.
On the following Sunday he went to see Johnny's father.
He put on a new suit of craftsman's clothes and a choker hat.The attire suited Knuckle now; formerly he had only worn a beanie.
He found the house he wanted to visit.He climbed several flights of stairs, and his head was almost dizzy.In this densely populated city, people live on top of each other.
There was a look of happiness in the room; Johnny's father was very kind to him.His new wife was a stranger to him, but she shook hands with him and offered him coffee.
"Johnny will be glad to see you!" said the father; "you're a very handsome young man now...you'll see her right away! She's a child who makes me happy, God bless her, I want her to be happier. She lives in a small room to herself and pays us rent!"
So the father knocked very politely on a door, as if he were a guest.Then they walked in.Hi, what a beautiful room this is!No room like this can be found in all of Chogue; not even the Queen has a lovelier room!It has a carpet on the floor, curtains that hang down to the floor, velvet chairs, flowers and pictures all around, and a mirror - it's as big as a door, and people can easily walk towards it without looking Go in; Knud sees these things at once; but only Johanne is in his eyes.She is now a grown lady.She was not at all what Knud had imagined, but more beautiful.She is no longer a queer girl, how elegant she is!How strange and unfamiliar she looked at Knud!But this lasted only a moment; presently she ran towards him as if she wanted to kiss him.She didn't actually do it, but she almost did.Yes, she was so happy to see her childhood friend!Tears glistened in her eyes.She had a lot to say, and she had a lot to ask—from Knud's parents all the way to the elder and willow—which she called mother elder and father willow, as if they were like people.Indeed, like gingerbread, they can also be seen as people.She talked about gingerbread too, and about their silent love, how they lay on the counter and broke in two--and she laughed.But Knud's blood was rushing to his face, and his heart was beating faster than ever.
No, she wasn't getting proud at all!He noticed that her parents invited him to play for an evening just because of her gesture.She poured the tea herself and handed him the cup.Then she took out a book and read it aloud to them.Knud seemed to think that what she was reading was about his own love, because that just matched his thoughts.Then she sang a simple song; and in her voice it seemed to be a piece of history, like words poured out of her heart.
Yes, she must have liked Knud.Tears were streaming down his face—he couldn't hold it back, and he couldn't utter a word.He felt foolish; but she squeezed his hand, and said:
"You have a good heart, Knud—I hope you always will!"
It was a night of supreme happiness for Knud.It was impossible to sleep; in fact Knud did not sleep either.
At the time of parting, Johnny's father had said: "Well, you won't forget us right away! Let's see! You won't let the whole winter go by without seeing us again?" So he set off He could go again next Sunday, and he decided to go.
Every evening, when the work was done—they worked by candlelight—Knud walked across the city, through the streets, to where Johanne lived.He looked up at her window, which was almost always lit.One night he saw her face clearly reflected in the curtains--it was the loveliest night ever!His landlady didn't like him "hanging out" every night - to quote her - so she shook her head a lot.But the boss just smiled.
"He's a young lad!" he said.
"We shall meet on Sunday. I shall tell her that she is the only one in my whole mind, and that she must be my dear wife. I know I am but a cobbler, but I may be a master , at least to be an independent master. I'll work and fight—yes, I'll tell her that. Silent love will never come to fruition: I've learned my lesson from those two gingerbreads .”
Sunday came.Knud strode away.However, unfortunately!The whole family was going out and had to tell him to his face.Johnny shook his hand and asked:
"Have you ever been to the theater? You should. I'm going to sing on the stage on Wednesday. If you have time that evening, I'll send you a ticket. My father knows your boss's address."
What good intentions she had!At noon on Wednesday, he received a sealed envelope with nothing written on it, but a ticket inside.In the evening Knud went to the theater for the first time in his life.What did he see?He saw Johnny - she was so beautiful, so lovely!She's married to a stranger, but it's a play—Knud knows it's a play, or she never would have had the courage to send him a ticket to see it. She is married!The audience is cheering and applauding.Knud shouted: "Good!"
Even the King smiled at Johnny, as if he liked her too.
Oh, God!How small Knud felt!But he loved her so passionately, and she liked him too.But the man should speak first—that's what the gingerbread girl thought.The meaning of this story is profound.
When Sunday came, Knud went again.He was in the same mood as when he was going to communion.Johnny was home alone.She received him--there is nothing more fortunate in the world.
"You've come just in time," she said, "I meant to send my father to tell you, but I have a presentiment that you'll be here tonight. I'll tell you that I'm going to France on Friday: if I want I have to do it if I'm going to get anywhere."
Knud felt the whole room spinning and his heart seemed to burst.
But no tears welled up in his eyes, and one could clearly see how sad he felt.
Johnny almost cried when she saw this.
"You honest, faithful man!" she said.
Her words made Knud dare to speak.He told her how passionately he loved her that she must be his dear wife.As he said this, he saw Johnny's face turn pale.She let go of her hand, and at the same time answered solemnly and mournfully:
"Knud, please don't make yourself and me miserable. I'll always be a good sister to you—you can trust me. But I can't do anything else!"
So she pressed her tender hand to his burning forehead. "God will give us the courage to deal with everything, as long as people have the will."
At that moment her stepmother came into the room.
"Knud is very sad because I'm leaving!" she said, "be manly!" She put her hand on his shoulder, as if they were talking about travel and nothing else like something. "You're still a child!"
She said: "But now you have to be obedient and sensible, just like we were under the willow tree when we were young."
It seemed to Knud that a piece of the world had collapsed.His thoughts drifted like a thread to nowhere in the wind.He stayed and didn't go, he didn't know if they asked him to sit down, but they were very kind and kind.Johnny poured him tea and sang to him.Her song was not the same as before, but it sounded so beautiful that it would break his heart to pieces.Then they say goodbye.Knud didn't hold out his hand to her.But she took his hand and said:
"Brother I played with when I was young, you will definitely shake your sister's hand as farewell!"
She was smiling and tears were streaming down her face.She said "brother" one more time - yes, that should have worked out well - and that was their farewell.
She sailed to France, and Knud walked through muddy Copenhagen.Others in the shoe store asked him why he was walking around so preoccupied all the time. He should go out with everyone, because he was still a young man after all.
They took him to the dancing place.There were many beautiful women there, but none like Jonny.He tried to forget her in these places, but she loomed more vividly in his thoughts. "God will give us the courage to deal with everything, as long as people have the will!" she once said.At this moment he had a pious feeling, and he folded his hands and played nothing.The violins were playing music, and the young girls were dancing in a circle.He froze, because it seemed to him that he shouldn't have brought Jonny here—because she was in his heart.So he just walked out.He ran through many streets and passed the house where he lived.It was dark there—darkness and emptiness and solitude everywhere.The world goes its own way, and Knud goes his own way.
winter is here.The water froze.Everything seemed to be preparing for burial.
But when spring came, when the first steamer sailed, he had a desire to travel far, far into the world, but he didn't want to go into France.So he packed his knapsack and wandered off to Germany.
He went from city to city without rest or peace. Only when he came to the beautiful old city of Nuremberg did his restless mood settle down.He decided to stay.
Nuremberg is a rare ancient city.It looks like it was cut out of an old picture book.Its streets stretch out randomly; its houses are not arranged in rigid straight lines.Pendant windows, adorned with pylons, arabesques, and statues, hang over the pavement; spouts jut from oddly pointed roofs, in the form of wyverns or long-waisted dogs, high above the streets below. .
Knud stands in a market here with his backpack on his back.He stands beside an old fountain tower. A historically majestic bronze statue of biblical times stands between the two jets of water.A beautiful maid is drawing water from a bucket.She gave Knud a sip of cool water.Since she had a bouquet of roses full in her hand, she gave him one too.He took it as a good omen.
The sound of the organ came to him from a neighboring church; its tune was as dear to him as the tune of the Chog organ in his native land.He went into a large chapel.Daylight shines through the painted window panes and between the tall and slender columns.There was a pious feeling in his heart, and his soul became quiet.
He found a good boss in Nuremberg; so he settled down; learning the language of the country at the same time.
The old trenches around the city have been turned into small vegetable gardens, but the high walls and towers above them still remain.Inside the city walls, rope twisters are twisting rope on a wooden porch or sidewalk.Elder bushes grew out of the cracks in the ramparts, spreading their green branches over the low cottages below them.Knud's boss lived in such a hut.On the garret where he slept—the elder tree hung its boughs just in front of his bed.
He lived here one summer and one winter.But when summer came, he couldn't take it anymore.The elder tree was in blossom, and the scent reminded him of home.He seemed to be back in Chog's garden.Knud therefore left his master, and moved to work in the house of a master who lived farther from the city walls; this house had no elder tree on it.
His workshop was near an old stone bridge, facing a humming water mill.Outside there was a torrent rushing between the houses.There are many decayed balconies hanging from these houses; they seem to be poured into the water at any moment.There's no elderberry here--not even a pot with a little green plant in it.But there is a tall old willow tree here.It clings to a house there so that it won't be washed away by the water.Like the willow tree in the garden by the Chog, it spreads its branches over the rapids.
Yes, he's moved from "Mother Elder Tree" to near "Father Willow."There was something about the tree that moved, especially on moonlit nights.
This Danish mood was revealed under the moonlight.But it wasn't the moonlight that touched him, no, it was the old willow tree.
He can't live.Why can't you live?Please ask the willow tree, ask the blooming elder tree!So he said goodbye to his master, to Nuremberg, and went further afield.
He didn't tell anyone about Johnny—he just kept his worries to himself.The story of the two gingerbreads was especially meaningful to him.
Now he understood why the man had a bitter almond on his chest—he tasted the bitterness himself now.Johnny was always so gentle and smiling, but she was just a piece of gingerbread.
The straps of his backpack seemed to constrict him tightly, making it difficult for him to breathe.He let it go, but it still didn't feel good.There is only half the world around him; the other half lies in his heart, and that is his situation!
Only when he saw a group of high mountains did the world seem to expand a little to him.Only then did his thoughts flow outward; tears welled up in his eyes.
The Alps seemed to him a pair of folded wings of the earth.What if the wings spread out to reveal a plumage of springs, clouds, and snow?
At the end of the world, the earth will spread its huge wings and fly towards God, and at the same time it will burst like a blister in its clear light!Ah, if only now were the last days! "
He walked across the land in silence.The land looked to him like a grassy orchard.From the wooden balconies of many houses, girls weaving ribbons nodded to him.Many peaks glow red in the setting sun.When he saw the green lake in the deep woods, he thought of the coast of Chog Bay.At this moment he felt a pang of desolation, but there was no pain in his heart.
The Rhine rolls like a long billow, churning, crashing, turning into white clouds, as if the clouds were made here.The rainbow floated above it like an untied ribbon.He couldn't help thinking now of Chog's water mill and the crashing, noisy running water.
He would have liked to live in this quiet city on the Rhine, but there were too many elder trees and willows here.So he walked on again.He climbed huge mountains, crossed stone canyons, and walked along the mountain roads that were like swallows' nests and stuck to the mountains.Water was gurgling in the gorge, and clouds were flying below him.In the warm summer sun he walked over the shining thistles and the heather and the snow.He bid farewell to the northern countries, and came to the shade of the chestnut trees between the vineyards and the cornfields.The mountains are a wall between him and his memories—and as they should be.
Now there appeared before him a beautiful, majestic city--the people called it Milan.Here he found a German boss and a job at the same time.They were a nice old couple; he was working in their workshop now.The old couple liked this quiet worker.
He spoke little, but worked hard, and at the same time had a devout, Christian disposition.As for himself, it seemed to him that God had lifted a burden from his heart.
His favorite pastime was to visit now and then the majestic marble cathedral.It seemed to him that the cathedral had been fashioned from the snow of his native land, a combination of statues, steeples, and ornate halls.The white marble statue seemed to smile at him from every corner, from every point, from every arch.Above him was the blue sky, and below him the city and the vast plain of Rombard.A little further north is the high mountain covered with snow all the year round.He couldn't help but think of Chog's church and its red walls covered with red ivy.He didn't miss it though, he wanted him to be buried behind these mountains.
He lived here for a year.Three years have passed since he left home.One day his boss took him into town--not to a circus to see a jockey's show, no, but to a grand opera house.It's a big building and worth seeing.It has seven floors, and silk curtains are hung on each floor.From the first floor to the top floor, which makes people dizzy at first glance, it is full of luxurious ladies.They held bouquets in their hands as if they were at a ball.The gentlemen were all in frock coats, many with gold or silver medals.The place was very bright, as in the brightest sun.Loud and melodious music played.This is indeed much more gorgeous than the theater in Copenhagen!But that was where Joanne lived; and here—yes, it was like magic—the curtain parted and Joanne appeared in silks and gold and a crown.Her singing is comparable only to the Angel of God.She came as close to the front of the stage as she could, smiling the way only Jonny could.Her eyes were on Knud.
Poor Knud clasped his master's hand, and cried out, "Johnny!" but no one heard him.The musicians are playing loud music.The boss just nodded and said, "Yes, yes, her name is Johnny!"
So he brought out a program, and he pointed to her name—her full name.
No, this is not a dream!Everyone was applauding her and throwing flowers and garlands at her.Every time she went backstage, the cheers called her out again, so she kept going in and out.
On the street, people surrounded her car and pulled her along.Knud was at the front and the happiest.When everyone came to her dazzling house, Knud squeezed tightly to the door of her car.The door opened; she stepped out.The light was shining on her happy face, she was smiling, she was thanking everyone tenderly, she was very touched.Knud looked in her face, but she did not recognize him.A gentleman with a star on his breast put out his arm to support her—they were engaged, it was said, to be married.
Knud came home, packed his knapsack, and decided to go back to his old home, to the elder and willow—oh, back to the willow!
The old couple asked him to stay, but nothing could keep him.
They told him that winter was coming, and that the mountains were about to snow.
But with a backpack on his back and a cane, he had to walk in the rut behind the slow-moving carriage—because it was the only way to go.
So he walked up the hill, climbing up and downhill for a while.His strength was gone, but he could not see a village or a house yet.He went on and on to the north, and the ancient stars appeared above his head, and his feet were shaking, and his head was fainting.In the deep valley, there are also stars shining; the sky seems to stretch below him.He thinks he is sick.There were more and more stars below him, brighter and brighter, and they were still moving back and forth.It turned out to be a small city; every house was lit.When he learned of this, he mustered what little of his remaining strength he had, and at last reached a rough inn.
He stayed there for a day and a night because his body needed rest and recovery.In the valley is snowmelt and frost.In the morning an accordion player came and played a Danish home tune, which made Knud unable to live again.
He walked for days, and days, and he walked in a hurry, as if he wanted to get back before the family died.But he told no one what he wanted, and no one would believe his sorrow—the deepest sorrow a man can feel.This kind of sadness does not need the world to understand, because it is not interesting; nor does it need friends to understand-and he has no friends at all.He is a stranger, traveling in some strange countries, going to his hometown, to the Northland.In the only letter he received from his parents many years ago, he had these words: "You are not like our family, you are not a pure Dane. We are too Danish! You just Love strange countries!" It was handwritten by his parents - yes, they know him best!
It is dusk now.He walked forward on the wild road.It's starting to get cold.Gradually the place became very flat, a field and a meadow.There is a big willow tree beside the road.Everything is so homely, so Danish!He sat down under the willow tree.He was tired, his head drooped, and his eyes were closed to rest.But he felt in the dark that the willow tree was hanging down its branches towards him.Like a majestic old man, a "Willow Father," the tree took its weary son in its arms and sent him back to the Danish homeland with its wide white coast, to Chog, to his childhood garden.
Yes, this is the willow tree in Choge.The old tree was running around the world looking for him, and now it found him, and brought him back to the little garden by the brook—and here Joanne appeared; Wearing a gold crown, just as he had seen her last.
She shouted to him: "You are welcome!"
Before him stood two strange human figures, but they seemed more human than the ones he had seen as a child.They've changed a bit, too, but they're still two gingerbread pieces, a man and a woman.They are now face up, looking very happy.
"We thank you!" they both said to Knud. "You have given us courage to speak: you have taught us that one must speak freely of what is in one's mind, or nothing will come of it! Now there is a result at last--we are engaged .”
So they walked arm in arm through the streets of Chog; their opposites even look alike; you can't find a thing wrong with them!
They went straight to the church in Choge.Knud and Johanne followed them; they too were arm in arm.The church is still as it used to be, with red walls covered with green ivy.The church doors parted and the organ began to play.Both men and women went in through the aisle of the church.
"Go ahead, master!" said the gingerbread lovers, stepping back to let Knud and Johanne go first.
They knelt down.Johanne bowed her head to Knud; cold tears rolled from her eyes.It was ice; his passionate love now melted it in her heart; it dripped now on his burning face.So he woke up.It turned out that he was sitting under an old exotic willow tree on a severe winter night.A hailstone was coming down from the cloud and hitting him in the face.
"This is one of the sweetest moments of my life!" he said, "and it's a dream! God, let me dream it!"
So he closed his eyes again, fell asleep, and dreamed.
At dawn, a snow fell.Snow rolled to his feet and he fell asleep.The villagers went to the church to worship, and found a craftsman sitting by the roadside.He was dead, frozen to death under this willow tree.
