THE SNOW QUEEN
AN ADVENTURE IN SEVEN STORIES
FOURTH STORY
WHICH TELLS OF A PRINCE AND A PRINCESS
"Careful, careful!" said ... "I think it might be ..., but he's forsaken ... now for a princess!"
"Is he living with a princess?" asked ....
"Yes -- hark!", said ... "but I get so hoarse talking ... language. I could tell ... so much better in Cro-atian!"
...
"Never mind! I'll tell ... as good as I can, but it'll sound a bit of a mess." And he told ... what he knew -- which should have sounded like this:
"Is he living with a princess?" asked ....
"Yes -- hark!", said ... "but I get so hoarse talking ... language. I could tell ... so much better in Cro-atian!"
...
"Never mind! I'll tell ... as good as I can, but it'll sound a bit of a mess." And he told ... what he knew -- which should have sounded like this:
"In the kingdom where we are now there lives a princess who is so amazingly clever that she has read all the newspapers in the world -- and, being so clever, she's forgotten them again. Just lately she was sitting on her throne (and that's not all that it's cracked up to be) when she started singing a song that went like this: 'Why oh why shouldn't I be a bride!' 'Well -- there's something in that,' she said, and so she decided that she would be a bride, but she'd only have a husband who knew how to answer when you talked to him -- not one who just stood there looking handsome, because that gets very boring. So she drummed up all her ladies-in-waiting, and when they heard what she had in mind they were delighted. 'What a good idea,' they said, or, 'I was only thinking the same thing the other day.'
Every word I'm saying is true, you know, I've got a ... sweetheart, who's allowed to go wherever she likes in the palace, and she's told me everything!"
"Straight away the newspapers came out with hearts and with the princess's initials all round the edge of the pages. There you could read that any good-looking young man was free to come up to the palace to have a talk with the princess; and the one who talked back so that you could tell he was at home there, and talking at his very best, he was the one the princess would have for a husband! Oh yes, believe me, it's as true as I'm sitting here -- people came streaming up, shoving and pushing and running about, but nobody had any luck on either the first day or the second. They could all talk splendidly when they were outside in the yard, but once they got inside the palace gates and saw the sentries in their silver, and the lackeys on the stairs in their gold, and the big, glittering rooms, they were dumbfounded! And when they stood in front of the throne where the princess was sitting, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything except the last word that she had said, and she didn't need to hear that again. It was just as if the people in there had taken some snuff that had gone to their stomachs and they'd fallen into a doze until they came out on the yard again, and then they could jabber away right enough. There was a queue of people from the town gate to the palace; I was there myself and saw it all. They were hungry and they were thirsty, but they didn't get so much as a glass of lukewarm water from the palace. Some of the brightest ones had brought sandwiches with them, but they wouldn't share them with the chap next door because they thought, 'If he looks hungry then the princess certainly won't have him!'"
"When did he come? Was he there in the crowd?"
"Give us a chance! Give us a chance! We're getting to him now, because on the third day up to the palace comes a little fellow marching along quite happily without a horse and without a carriage. His eyes shone like..., he had beautiful long hair, but his clothes were in a terrible state!"
"He had a little knapsack on his back," ...
"That could be so. I didn't look too closely -- but this I got from my ... sweetheart, that when he came through the palace gates and saw the sentries in their silver and the lackeys in the stairs in their gold he wasn't the least bit upset, he nodded at them and said, 'It must be very boring standing on the stairs like that, I'd sooner go inside!' The rooms glittered with lights; ministers and privy councillors walked about in bare feet carrying golden bowls; anyone would have been overawed. His boots squeaked terribly loudly, but it didn't worry him in the least."
...
"Yes, they certainly squeaked, and he went cheerfully in to where the princess was sitting on a pearl as big as a spinning wheel, and all the ladies-in-waiting with their maids and their maids' maids, and all the courtiers with their footmen and their footmen's footmen, who all had a page apiece, stood ranged in order, and the nearer they were to the door the prouder they looked. The footman's footman's page-boy who always went about in slippers was hardly to be looked at, standing there so proud in the door!"
"That must have been awful! And did he get the princess?"
"He's said to have talked as well as I do when I speak Cro-atian -- or so my ... sweetheart says. He was gay and charming; he hadn't come there as a wooer, he'd just come to hear the princess's wise words -- and he thought those were fine, and she thought he was fine too!"
"Oh yes! That was ...,"said ... "... Oh, won't you take ... to the palace?"
"Well, that's easily said," said ..., "but how are we going to do it? I'll talk to my ... sweetheart, she should be able to tell us what to do, because I must tell ... this: ... wouldn't usually be allowed to come in!"
"Ooh, ...," said.... "When ... hears that ... then he'll come straight out and fetch ...!"
"Wait for me by that stile," said ..., and he waggled his head and ... away.
It wasn't till late in the afternoon that ... came back again. "She tells me to give ... all her good wishes -- and here's a little piece of bread for ... that she took from the kitchen. They've got bread enough there, and ... It just won't be possible for ... to come into the palace with those ..., the sentries in their silver and the lackeys in their gold wouldn't stand for it, but ... -- ...'ll still get in. My sweetheart knows a little back staircase that goes up to the bedroom, and she knows where she can get the key."
So they went into the garden and along the great avenue where the leaves were falling, one after another, and, as the lights in the palace went out, one after another, ... brought ... to a side door which was open just a crack.
... only wanted to see if ... was there. Surely, it must be him, his bright eyes and his long hair were so clear ...
Now they were on the stairs. A little lamp was burning on a cupboard and in the middle of the floor was ...,
"My fiancé has said a lot of nice things about ...," said .... "... 'life story,' as they call it, is very touching. Now ... take the lamp and I will lead the way. We are going straight there because we won't meet anyone."
"But someone's coming after us already!" said ..., as something rushed past ...; it was like shadows on the wall: horses with flying manes and slender legs -- huntsmen -- ladies and gentlemen on horseback.
"Those are only dreams," said .... "They come and take the gentry's thoughts out hunting -- and a good thing too! They can watch it much better in bed. But if ... come to honour and dignity I hope that ...'ll show me a grateful heart."
Now they came into the first chamber which was hung with rose-red satin and had artificial flowers on the walls. Here the dreams were already rushing past them, but they went so quickly that ... couldn't get a sight of all the gentry. Each new room was more magnificent than the one before -- it was enough to make you dizzy -- and then they got to the bed chamber. Here the ceiling was like a huge palm tree with leaves of glass, precious glass, and in the middle of the floor, hanging from a thick golden stalk, there were two beds which looked like lilies. One was white, and there lay the princess; the other was red, and there ... would have to search .... ... bent the red leaves out of the way and there -- saw the back of a brown neck -- oh, yes, that was ...! -- ... holding the lamp over him -- the dreams galloped back into the room again -- he woke up, turned his head, and -- no, it wasn't ....
It was only the prince's neck that was like ..., but he was certainly young and handsome. And then from the white-lily bed the princess looked up, blinking, and asked what was happening.
"You poor little thing!" said the prince and the princess, and they praised the ... and told them that they weren't cross with them (but not to do such things too often). Meanwhile, they would have a reward.
"Would you like to go free," asked the princess, "or would you like to have an official appointment as Court ... with the right to everything that ...?"
And both the ... bowed and requested the official appointments, ...
Then the prince got out of his bed and let ... go to sleep in it ... and he couldn't do more than that, could he? ... and thought, "How kind everyone is -- men ...,"...
The next day they dressed ... from top to toe in silk and velvet. They invited ... to stay at the palace and join in the fun, but ... just begged for a little horse, a carriage, and a little pair of boots so that ... could drive out into the wide world again to find ....
So they gave ... both boots and a small muff. ... was beautifully dressed like this, and when ... was ready to leave, a new carriage of pure gold came round to the door, with the coats of arms of the prince and princess glittering on it like stars. The coachman, the footmen, and the outriders (for ... had outriders as well) sat there with gold crowns on their heads. The prince and the princess themselves helped ... into the carriage and wished ... good luck, and ... for the first three miles. The other ... stood in the gateway ... She didn't go with them because she had a headache from getting that official appointment and then eating too much. Inside, the carriage was lined with sugarcakes, and had fruit and gingerbread nuts on the seat.
"Goodbye! Goodbye!" shouted the prince and the princess, and .... That's how they went along for the first few miles, then ... said goodbye too, and that was the saddest parting of them all. He ... as long as he could see the carriage, which shone in the distance like the brightest sunshine.
Every word I'm saying is true, you know, I've got a ... sweetheart, who's allowed to go wherever she likes in the palace, and she's told me everything!"
"Straight away the newspapers came out with hearts and with the princess's initials all round the edge of the pages. There you could read that any good-looking young man was free to come up to the palace to have a talk with the princess; and the one who talked back so that you could tell he was at home there, and talking at his very best, he was the one the princess would have for a husband! Oh yes, believe me, it's as true as I'm sitting here -- people came streaming up, shoving and pushing and running about, but nobody had any luck on either the first day or the second. They could all talk splendidly when they were outside in the yard, but once they got inside the palace gates and saw the sentries in their silver, and the lackeys on the stairs in their gold, and the big, glittering rooms, they were dumbfounded! And when they stood in front of the throne where the princess was sitting, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything except the last word that she had said, and she didn't need to hear that again. It was just as if the people in there had taken some snuff that had gone to their stomachs and they'd fallen into a doze until they came out on the yard again, and then they could jabber away right enough. There was a queue of people from the town gate to the palace; I was there myself and saw it all. They were hungry and they were thirsty, but they didn't get so much as a glass of lukewarm water from the palace. Some of the brightest ones had brought sandwiches with them, but they wouldn't share them with the chap next door because they thought, 'If he looks hungry then the princess certainly won't have him!'"
"When did he come? Was he there in the crowd?"
"Give us a chance! Give us a chance! We're getting to him now, because on the third day up to the palace comes a little fellow marching along quite happily without a horse and without a carriage. His eyes shone like..., he had beautiful long hair, but his clothes were in a terrible state!"
"He had a little knapsack on his back," ...
"That could be so. I didn't look too closely -- but this I got from my ... sweetheart, that when he came through the palace gates and saw the sentries in their silver and the lackeys in the stairs in their gold he wasn't the least bit upset, he nodded at them and said, 'It must be very boring standing on the stairs like that, I'd sooner go inside!' The rooms glittered with lights; ministers and privy councillors walked about in bare feet carrying golden bowls; anyone would have been overawed. His boots squeaked terribly loudly, but it didn't worry him in the least."
...
"Yes, they certainly squeaked, and he went cheerfully in to where the princess was sitting on a pearl as big as a spinning wheel, and all the ladies-in-waiting with their maids and their maids' maids, and all the courtiers with their footmen and their footmen's footmen, who all had a page apiece, stood ranged in order, and the nearer they were to the door the prouder they looked. The footman's footman's page-boy who always went about in slippers was hardly to be looked at, standing there so proud in the door!"
"That must have been awful! And did he get the princess?"
"He's said to have talked as well as I do when I speak Cro-atian -- or so my ... sweetheart says. He was gay and charming; he hadn't come there as a wooer, he'd just come to hear the princess's wise words -- and he thought those were fine, and she thought he was fine too!"
"Oh yes! That was ...,"said ... "... Oh, won't you take ... to the palace?"
"Well, that's easily said," said ..., "but how are we going to do it? I'll talk to my ... sweetheart, she should be able to tell us what to do, because I must tell ... this: ... wouldn't usually be allowed to come in!"
"Ooh, ...," said.... "When ... hears that ... then he'll come straight out and fetch ...!"
"Wait for me by that stile," said ..., and he waggled his head and ... away.
It wasn't till late in the afternoon that ... came back again. "She tells me to give ... all her good wishes -- and here's a little piece of bread for ... that she took from the kitchen. They've got bread enough there, and ... It just won't be possible for ... to come into the palace with those ..., the sentries in their silver and the lackeys in their gold wouldn't stand for it, but ... -- ...'ll still get in. My sweetheart knows a little back staircase that goes up to the bedroom, and she knows where she can get the key."
So they went into the garden and along the great avenue where the leaves were falling, one after another, and, as the lights in the palace went out, one after another, ... brought ... to a side door which was open just a crack.
... only wanted to see if ... was there. Surely, it must be him, his bright eyes and his long hair were so clear ...
Now they were on the stairs. A little lamp was burning on a cupboard and in the middle of the floor was ...,
"My fiancé has said a lot of nice things about ...," said .... "... 'life story,' as they call it, is very touching. Now ... take the lamp and I will lead the way. We are going straight there because we won't meet anyone."
"But someone's coming after us already!" said ..., as something rushed past ...; it was like shadows on the wall: horses with flying manes and slender legs -- huntsmen -- ladies and gentlemen on horseback.
"Those are only dreams," said .... "They come and take the gentry's thoughts out hunting -- and a good thing too! They can watch it much better in bed. But if ... come to honour and dignity I hope that ...'ll show me a grateful heart."
Now they came into the first chamber which was hung with rose-red satin and had artificial flowers on the walls. Here the dreams were already rushing past them, but they went so quickly that ... couldn't get a sight of all the gentry. Each new room was more magnificent than the one before -- it was enough to make you dizzy -- and then they got to the bed chamber. Here the ceiling was like a huge palm tree with leaves of glass, precious glass, and in the middle of the floor, hanging from a thick golden stalk, there were two beds which looked like lilies. One was white, and there lay the princess; the other was red, and there ... would have to search .... ... bent the red leaves out of the way and there -- saw the back of a brown neck -- oh, yes, that was ...! -- ... holding the lamp over him -- the dreams galloped back into the room again -- he woke up, turned his head, and -- no, it wasn't ....
It was only the prince's neck that was like ..., but he was certainly young and handsome. And then from the white-lily bed the princess looked up, blinking, and asked what was happening.
"You poor little thing!" said the prince and the princess, and they praised the ... and told them that they weren't cross with them (but not to do such things too often). Meanwhile, they would have a reward.
"Would you like to go free," asked the princess, "or would you like to have an official appointment as Court ... with the right to everything that ...?"
And both the ... bowed and requested the official appointments, ...
Then the prince got out of his bed and let ... go to sleep in it ... and he couldn't do more than that, could he? ... and thought, "How kind everyone is -- men ...,"...
The next day they dressed ... from top to toe in silk and velvet. They invited ... to stay at the palace and join in the fun, but ... just begged for a little horse, a carriage, and a little pair of boots so that ... could drive out into the wide world again to find ....
So they gave ... both boots and a small muff. ... was beautifully dressed like this, and when ... was ready to leave, a new carriage of pure gold came round to the door, with the coats of arms of the prince and princess glittering on it like stars. The coachman, the footmen, and the outriders (for ... had outriders as well) sat there with gold crowns on their heads. The prince and the princess themselves helped ... into the carriage and wished ... good luck, and ... for the first three miles. The other ... stood in the gateway ... She didn't go with them because she had a headache from getting that official appointment and then eating too much. Inside, the carriage was lined with sugarcakes, and had fruit and gingerbread nuts on the seat.
"Goodbye! Goodbye!" shouted the prince and the princess, and .... That's how they went along for the first few miles, then ... said goodbye too, and that was the saddest parting of them all. He ... as long as he could see the carriage, which shone in the distance like the brightest sunshine.
FIFTH STORY
WHICH TELLS OF A LITTLE ROBBER GIRL
They drove onwards through the dark forest, but the carriage shone out like a flame and it dazzled the robbers' eyes so that they couldn't stand it. "That's gold! That's gold!" they shouted, rushing out, seizing the horses, killing the postillions, the coachman, and all the servants ...
SEVENTH STORY
... WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS
And ..., the forest bore green buds -- and out of it there came riding a splendid horse that ... knew (it had been harnessed to the gold carriage) ...
...
But ... asked after the prince and the princess.
"They've gone off to foreign parts," said the robber-girl.
"But what about the ...?" asked ....
"Oh, the ...'s dead," was the answer. "His ... sweetheart is now a widow and goes about with a bit of wool round her leg. She's dreadfully sorry for herself, but it's all pretence. ..."
"But what about the ...?" asked ....
"Oh, the ...'s dead," was the answer. "His ... sweetheart is now a widow and goes about with a bit of wool round her leg. She's dreadfully sorry for herself, but it's all pretence. ..."
AFTERWORD BY THE TRANSLATOR
Many of Andersen's stories were published as eventyr, a word that has usually been translated as 'fairy tale' and has regularly led to them being anthologised as such, especially in compendia such as The Fairy Tales of Grimm and Andersen. For the most part though, they were nothing of the sort. Traditional tales have no author, and versions of them can be found higgledy-piggledy all over the place. In contrast, Andersen's tales were the invention of Andersen himself, set down in a way that reflected the manner of a speaking voice -- his voice. That was specific in a way that the language of traditional tales was not. However, in some cases, especially early on in their publication, Andersen did draw on a memory or even a knowledge of tales in the folk tradition, elements of which he incorporated in the story he was inventing.
In this revised version ..., the stories selected for the first edition of 1976 have been retained. However, by placing them in the chronological order of their original Danish publication we can show something of the growing originality of his writing. The following notes provide both the title and the date of their first Danish appearance and a note where a traditional source may play some part in the composition. Acknowledgement must be made to Elias Bredsdorff for identifying some of these sources in his biography of Andersen, published in 1975. In one instance only have we departed from the chronological ordering. The story of 'The Snow Queen' is deemed by both translator and publisher to be of such beauty and distinction that it has been placed at the end of the collection.
Brian Alderson
Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire
February 2013
In this revised version ..., the stories selected for the first edition of 1976 have been retained. However, by placing them in the chronological order of their original Danish publication we can show something of the growing originality of his writing. The following notes provide both the title and the date of their first Danish appearance and a note where a traditional source may play some part in the composition. Acknowledgement must be made to Elias Bredsdorff for identifying some of these sources in his biography of Andersen, published in 1975. In one instance only have we departed from the chronological ordering. The story of 'The Snow Queen' is deemed by both translator and publisher to be of such beauty and distinction that it has been placed at the end of the collection.
Brian Alderson
Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire
February 2013
THE STORY OF THE TRANSLATOR
Brian Alderson
Many years ago, Brian Alderson got the sack from a job in the book trade. Recently married and with a small son yowling in his cradle, he seized the first job offer and went to work for a bookseller who specialised in children's books. It didn't seem a very big decision at the time, but it more or less determined the rest of his working life.
At root, he supposes, Brian found himself drawn to the way in which children's books offered their small customers such a feast of experiences, whether showing you what can be done with an apple pie or what might happen to you if you fell down a rabbit hole. There were riches here for everyone, opening a way to a lifetime of reading. So Brian left the bookshop and followed the example of the man who 'jumped on a horse and rode off in all directions.' He edited books; lectured on 'Children's Literature in both England and the United States; organised several national exhibitions on the subject; and worked as Children's Books Editor at The Times for over 30 years.
In all this though it was never far from his mind that storytellers represented the very source of a free and unhampered children's literature -- after all, were not Sheherazade and Mother Goose and Mother Bunch present when children's books were born? Brian took great pleasure in telling traditional tales to his own and to other children and, having a passable knowledge of German and Danish, he set about bringing the tales made famous by the Brothers Grimm and by Hans Christian Andersen into storyteller's English. As he says in his Afterword here, he owes it to those old folk, sat round their firesides, to do justice to their speaking voices. Whether he has done so or not, the readers or listeners must decide.
The Snow Queen: an adventure in seven stories Sneedronningen; et Eventyr i syv Historier (1845). (Lang Pink)
At root, he supposes, Brian found himself drawn to the way in which children's books offered their small customers such a feast of experiences, whether showing you what can be done with an apple pie or what might happen to you if you fell down a rabbit hole. There were riches here for everyone, opening a way to a lifetime of reading. So Brian left the bookshop and followed the example of the man who 'jumped on a horse and rode off in all directions.' He edited books; lectured on 'Children's Literature in both England and the United States; organised several national exhibitions on the subject; and worked as Children's Books Editor at The Times for over 30 years.
In all this though it was never far from his mind that storytellers represented the very source of a free and unhampered children's literature -- after all, were not Sheherazade and Mother Goose and Mother Bunch present when children's books were born? Brian took great pleasure in telling traditional tales to his own and to other children and, having a passable knowledge of German and Danish, he set about bringing the tales made famous by the Brothers Grimm and by Hans Christian Andersen into storyteller's English. As he says in his Afterword here, he owes it to those old folk, sat round their firesides, to do justice to their speaking voices. Whether he has done so or not, the readers or listeners must decide.
NOTES ON THE TEXT
The Tinderbox Fyrtoiet (1835), owing elements (but not the dogs) to both Aladdin and the Grimms' The Blue Light. This translation first pubished in a new edition of Andrew Lang's Yellow Fairy Book (1980). Other translations here by Brian Alderson in either that book or the Pink Fairy Book (1982) are simply designed below as either 'Lang Yellow' or 'Lang Pink'The Snow Queen: an adventure in seven stories Sneedronningen; et Eventyr i syv Historier (1845). (Lang Pink)
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