And now we're on to Chapter Four. When was the last time I covered a short story on this channel? I really don't remember.
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...all the ladies' gossip. ...recently saw a little boy walking through the forest that ..., but by now he's ... to be with the princess.
... to take ... to the princess' castle.
... to ask ... fiancée, because apparently she liked to hang out around the castle, and was better informed on such matters.
... that while ... definitely won't get into the entrance of the castle, there is a back door that leads to a stairwell that leads to the royal bedroom, and ... fiancée knows where the key is.
... sneak out into the property, meet up with the fiancée, who already has the key, and enter the stairwell. They pass by several corridors before reaching the royal bedroom, where the mysterious princess and prince are sleeping in white and red lilies, respectively.
(At this point, Jon Solo puts the image above of a bouquet of white and red lilies.)
... up to the prince's bed and shrieked with excitement when ... . Only that shriek woke the prince up, and, when he opened his eyes, ...
You might be thinking that ... are in for it now. They just trespassed on royal grounds, broke and entered the royal castle, and woke up the prince and princess from their slumber.
But it turns out these royals aren't the typical evil king and queen that you see in fairytales (at this point, Jon Solo inserts a pic of Tenniel's King and Queen of Hearts!). They ask ... what ...'s doing there, ... . And not only does ... earn their sympathy; they actually reward ... for helping ... . They give them positions as royal court ..., ... . Pretty sweet deal.
The prince let ... sleep in his bed that night, and the next morning he and the princess helped ... prepare for ... journey ... .
(At this point, Jon Solo inserts Wilhelm Pedersen's chapter heading illustration -the first one ever yet one where, to be fair, the prince and princess are nothing but white faceless silhouettes waving from the entrance of the castle, only vaguely sexed because the one on the proper right wears petticoats and the one on the proper left wears trousers!).
(See what I mean? The royal castle and the prince and princess -framed in blue- are nothing but white vague outlines, while the fricking horses and coachman and postillion soldier -framed in red- get to be faaaar more detailed figures! It's not like these servants of the attelage are mere one-note redshirts used as flintlock fodder, right? ;) )
They gave ... new boots, a muff, and some warm clothes, a carriage of pure gold, and a coachman, as well as servants riding on the back, and two soldiers riding in front. (Out with the Pedersen drawing, and back to Jon Solo's face. Ps. Don't grow attached to the coachman, the servants riding on the back, or the two soldiers riding in front.)
Although they wanted ... to stay, the royal couple ... wished ... luck and saw ... off.
The Fifth Story, Which is About the Robber Girl
So this is kind o' awkward, but apparently travelling abroad with a golden carriage basically screams ROB ME (the message appears in all caps on screen as Jon says it out loud) to any ne'er-do-wells in your proximity.
(See what I mean?)
While ... was travelling at night, ... carriage was shining in the moonlight, and that attracted the attention of some nearby robbers. The group of miscreants attacked the carriage all at once, and dispatched of the soldiers, servants, and coachman. And by "dispatched," I mean (Pause) they killed them.
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The Seventh Story: What Happened in the Snow Queen's Palace and Afterward
The final chapter opens with a description of the ice queen's castle. ...
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... asked her what happened to the royal couple ..., and she said the royal couple went travelling into foreign lands, ...
MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
There is a little critique I make on this Solo summary. The subplot on the royal couple was not really elaborated upon by Jon Solo - which is a shame since the princess in this tale is one of the first bluestockings in children's literature, and the closest thing to Portia I have heard of in children's fairytale; while the prince is one of the most sensitive and humane, not overly masculine male characters. Yes, Solo got the finale right... "that the royal couple went travelling into foreign lands," but it feels empty to me, for these are my favourite Andersen characters, upon listening to an account where nothing is told about her quest for a worthy spouse, and the fateful test-interview where he won her through his clever liveliness...
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PS. From the titles of the Stories, it appears that Jon Solo has been reading the translation by Erik Christian Haugaard (though in that version the chapter titles are in ALL CAPS), a praiseworthy version by a born and bred Dane, so let's take a peek at it!
THE FOURTH STORY, IN WHICH APPEAR A PRINCE AND A PRINCESS
Now in this kingdom, where we are at present, there lives a princess who is immensely clever; she has read all the newspapers in the whole world and forgotten what was written in them and that is the part that proves how intelligent she is. A few weeks ago, while she was sitting on the throne--and that, people say, is not such an amusing place to sit--she happened to hum a song which has as its chorus line 'Why shouldn't I get married?' 'Why not, indeed?' thought the princess. 'But if I am to get married it must be to a man who can speak up for himself.' She didn't want anyone who just stood about looking distinguished, for such a fellow is boring. She called all her ladies in waiting and told them of her intention. They clapped their hands, and one of them said, 'Oh, how delightful. I had such an idea myself just the other day.'
The newspapers were printed with a border of hearts and the princess' name on the front page. Inside there was a royal proclamation: any good-looking man, regardless of birth, could come to the castle and speak with the princess, and the one who seemed most at home there and spoke the best she would marry. That proclamation got people out of their houses. They came thick and fast, you have never seen such a crowd. But neither the first nor the second day did the princess find anyone who pleased her. They could all speak well enough as long as they were standing in the street; but as soon as they had entered the castle gates and saw the royal guards, in their silver uniforms, the young men lost their tongues. They didn't get them back, either, when they had to climb the marble stairs, lined with lackeys dressed in gold; or when they finally arrived in the grand hall with the great chandeliers and had to stand in front of the throne on which the princess sat. All they could do was repeat whatever she said; and that she didn't want to hear once more. One should think every one of them had had his tummy filled with snuff or had fallen into a trance. But as soon as they were down in the streets again they got their tongues back, and all they could do was talk. There was a queue, so long that it stretched from beyond the town gate all the way up to the castle. ... into town to have a look at it. Most of the men got both hungry and thirsty while they waited; the princess didn't even offer them a glass of lukewarm water. Some of the more clever ones had brought sandwiches, but they didn't offer any to their neighbours, for they thought: 'Let him look hungry and the princess won't take him.'
Did he stand in the queue too?
Now the third day a little fellow arrived, he didn't have a carriage nor did he come on horseback. No, he came walking straight up to the castle. He was poorly dressed but had bright shining eyes, and the most beautiful long hair.
He had a little knapsack on his back.
... or knapsack, it doesn't matter much. Didn't look too closely at him. But: when he entered the castle and saw the royal guards and all the lackeys, they didn't make him the least bit fainthearted. He nodded kindly to them and said, ‘It must be boring to spend your life waiting on the stairs, I think I will, go inside.' The big hall with its lighted candles, its servants carrying golden bowls, while courtiers stood around dressed in their very best was impressive enough to take away the courage of even the bravest--and, on top of all that, the young man's boots squeaked something wicked--but he did not seem to notice either the elegant hall or his noisy boots.
Well, squeak they did. But he walked right up to the princess, who was sitting on a pearl as big as a spinning wheel. Behind her stood all her ladies in waiting with their maids and their maids' maids; and all the gentlemen of the court with their servants and their servants' servants, each of whom, in turn, kept a boy for a valet. And the servant's servant's boy-valet, who stood next to the door, always wore slippers and was so proud that one hardly dared look at him!
It must have been horrible! But he got the princess anyway?
He talks as well as ... He said that he hadn't come to propose marriage but only to find out whether she was as clever as everybody said she was. He was satisfied that what he heard was true; and the princess was satisfied with him.
"... to get into the castle."
"... in the kitchen where them is bread enough, ... It is quite impossible for ... to enter the castle. ... the guards in their silver uniforms and the lackeys in their golden ones won't allow it. ... My fiancée knows where the key is kept to the back stairs, and they lead right up to the royal bedchamber."
They entered the royal garden and watched the lights in the castle being extinguished, one by one. At last ... led her to a little door in the rear of the castle that was half open.
... whether it was ... who had won the princess. ... saw his lively, clever eyes, his long hair; he was smiling as he did ...
They had reached the stairs; a little lamp burned on a chest. In the middle of the floor stood ...
"I think someone is coming," There was a whirling, rushing sound; and on the wall were strange shadows of horses with flying manes, dogs and falcons, servants and hunters.
"Oh, they are only dreams. They have come to fetch their royal masters. That is only lucky for us; the easier it will be for one to have a good look at them while they are sleeping. But remember, when you gain honor and position, to be grateful and not forget those who helped you get it."
Now they entered the first of the great halls. The walls were covered with pink satin and decorated with artificial flowers. The shadows of the dreams reappeared, but they flew past so quickly that one did not even get a chance to see whether one was mounted on one of the horses. Each hall they passed through was more magnificent than the one before it. At last they came to the royal bedchamber. The ceiling looked like the top of a large palm tree with glass leaves; from the center of it eight ropes of pure gold hung down, attached to them were the two little beds that the royal couple slept in. Each bed was shaped like a lily; in the white lily slept the princess, and in the red lily the young man who had won her. ... peeped into it and saw a head of long brown hair. ... The dreams returned as fast as the wind and the young boy awoke.
It was only the long brown hair they had in common, although he was young and handsome too. From the white lily bed the princess raised her head and asked what the commotion was about.
"You poor thing!" said the prince. The princess said the same and they did not scold ... , on the contrary they praised them; although they warned them not to do it again. Still, they were to have a reward.
"Would you rather be free," asked the princess, "or receive permanent positions as royal court ... ?"
The prince got out of his bed and let ... sleep in it; he could hardly do more. ... and thought, "How good all ... human beings are."
In the morning ... was dressed from head to toe in silk and velvet; and the little prince and princess begged ... to stay with them. But ... asked only for a little carriage and a horse and some boots, so that ... could continue on ... journey out in the wide world ...
... was given not only new boots but a muff as well, and good warm clothes. When ... was ready to leave, a fine carriage of the purest gold drove up in front of the castle. The coat of arms of the princess was on the door, and not only was there a coachman to drive ... , but a servant stood on the back of the carriage and two little soldiers rode in front. The prince and the princess themselves helped ... into the carriage and wished ... luck. ... The carriage was lined with candy, and on the seat across from ... was a basket of fruit.
"Good-by, good-by!" shouted the little prince and princess; and ... , for ... had grown fond of them, ... until ... could no longer see the carriage that glistened as though it were made of sunlight.
THE FIFTH STORY, WHICH IS ABOUT THE ROBBER GIRL
They were driving through a great dark forest, and the golden carriage shone like a flame right in the robbers' eyes, and they couldn't bear it.
"Gold! Gold!" they screamed as they came rushing out of the woods. They grabbed hold of the horses and killed the coachman, the servant, and the soldiers; ...
THE SEVENTH STORY: WHAT HAPPENED ... AFTERWARD
... and asked her if she knew what had happened to the prince and the princess.
"They have gone traveling in foreign lands," answered the robber girl.
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