Fairy tales and stories (Andersen, Tegner)/The Shepherdess and the Chimney-sweep

by Hans Christian Andersen

For other English-language translations of this work, see The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep.

THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE
CHIMNEY-SWEEP

CLOSE TO THEM STOOD ANOTHER FIGURE, AN OLD CHINAMAN WHO COULD NOD HIS HEAD.

THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE CHIMNEY-SWEEP

HAVE you ever seen a really old wooden cupboard, quite black with age, and covered with carvings of scrolls and foliage? Just such a cupboard was standing in a parlor; it had been left to the family by the great-grandmother. It was ornamented with carved roses and tulips from top to bottom, and between these quaint ornaments protruded small stags' heads and antlers, but in the middle of the cupboard was carved the full-length figure of a man which made one grin to look at it; he, at any rate, was grinning, for it could not be called laughing. He had goat's legs, small horns on his head, and a long beard. The children always called him "Major-and-lieutenant-general-war-commander-sergeant of the Billy-goat-legs," which was a difficult name to pronounce, besides being a title which many did not receive; but to get him carved must have been a difficult piece of work.

But there he was, and he was always looking toward the table under the mirror, for there stood a lovely little shepherdess of porcelain. Her shoes were gilt and her dress was fastened up with a rose, and then she had a gilt hat and shepherd's crook. She was really lovely. Close to her stood a little chimney-sweep, black as coal, but also made of porcelain. He was quite as clean and nice as anybody. As to his being a sweep, that was of course because he had been made to represent one; the workmen might just as well have made a prince of him at once.

There he stood with his ladder, looking quite handsome, with a face as white and red as a girl's, which, of course, was really a mistake, for he might as well have been a little blackened. He was standing close to the shepherdess. They had both been placed where they stood, and having been so placed, they became engaged, for they suited each other very well, and they were both young people and were made of the same porcelain, and equally liable to be broken.

Close to them stood another figure which was three times as big as they; it was an old Chinaman who could nod his head. He was also made of porcelain, and used to say that he was grandfather of the little shepherdess; but I don't think he could prove that. He would, however, insist that he had some influence over her, and that was the reason he had been nodding to the Major-and-lieutenant-general-war-commander-sergeant of the Billy-goat-legs, who was courting the little shepherdess.

"Now there is a husband for you," said the old Chinaman; "a man, who, I think, is actually made of mahogany. He can make you Lady-major-and-lieutenant-general-war-commander-sergeant of the Billy-goat-legs. He has got the whole cupboard full of silver, besides what he has in his secret drawers."

"I don't want to go into the dark cupboard," said the little shepherdess. "I have heard say he has eleven porcelain wives in there!"

"Then you can be the twelfth," said the Chinaman. "To-night, as soon as the old cupboard begins to creak, you two shall be married, as true as I am a Chinaman!" And then he nodded his head and fell asleep.

But the little shepherdess wept and looked at the beloved of her heart, the porcelain chimney-sweep. "I think I must ask you," she said, "to go with me out into the wide world, for we cannot remain here."

"I will do everything you want me to do," said the little sweep. "Let us go at once. I think I shall be able to make a living by my profession."

"I wish we were safely down from the table," she said. "I shall not be happy till we are out in the wide world."

And he comforted her and showed her how she could place her little foot on the carved edges and the gilt foliage down along the leg of the table, and he also made use of his ladder; but when they looked in the direction of the old cupboard everything seemed to be in a state of confusion. All the carved stags stretched their heads still farther out, rearing their antlers aloft and twisting their heads. The Major-and-lieutenant-general-war-commander-sergeant of the Billy-goat-legs jumped into the air and shouted across to the old Chinaman: "They are running away! they are running away!"

This frightened them, and they jumped up into the drawer of the window seat.

Here were three or four packs of cards which were not complete, and a small toy theater which had been put up as well as could be; a play was being acted, and all the queens of diamonds and hearts, clubs, and spades were sitting in the first row, fanning themselves with their tulips, and behind them stood all the knaves, showing they had heads both at top and bottom, as playing-cards generally have. The play was about two lovers who were not allowed to marry, and the shepherdess cried because it was just like her own story.

"I cannot bear it," she said ; "I must get out of this drawer." But when they got down on the floor and looked up at the table, the old Chinaman had awakened and all his body was rocking to and fro, although the bottom of him was a heavy lump.

"The old Chinaman is coming!" cried the little shepherdess, and fell down on her porcelain knees, so great was her distress.

"I have an idea," said the sweep; "let us creep into the great jar with potpourri, which stands in the corner; there we can lie on roses and lavender, and throw salt in his eyes when he comes."

"That will not do," she said; "besides, I know that the old Chinaman and the potpourri jar were once engaged, and there always remains a little kindly feeling between those who have stood in this relation to one another. No, there is no help for it; we must go out into the wide world."

"Have you really courage to go with me out into the wide world?" asked the sweep. " Have you considered how big it is, and that we can never come back here again?"

"Yes, I have," she said.

And the sweep looked fixedly at her, and then said: "My way lies through the chimney. Have you really courage to creep with me through the stove, both through the drum and the pipe? Then we get into the chimney, and there I know my way well. We shall climb up so high that they cannot reach us, and at the top there is a hole leading out to the wide world."

And he led her to the door of the stove. " It looks dark in there," she said, but she went with him for all that, both through the drum of the stove and through the pipe, where it was pitch dark.

"Now we are in the chimney," he said; "and see! look at the beautiful star that is shining just above us!"

And it was a real star in the sky which shone down on them, as if it wanted to show them the way. And they crawled and crept on, and a terrible way it was, so high, so very high ; but he lifted her and supported her. He held her and showed her the best places where she should put her little porcelain feet, and thus they reached right up to the top of the chimney, where they sat down, for they were really tired, and no wonder.

The sky with all its stars was just above their heads, and below them lay all the roofs of the city. They could see far around them, far out into the wide world. The poor shepherdess had never thought it was anything like this. She leaned her little head against her chimney-sweep, and cried till the gilding was washed off her girdle.

THEY REACHED THE TOP OF THE CHIMNEY, WHERE THEY SAT DOWN AND LOOKED AROUND THEM, FAR OUT INTO THE WIDE WORLD.

"Oh, this is too much for me!" she said; "I cannot bear it. The world is too big. I wish I were back again in the little table under the mirror. I shall never be happy until I am there again. Now that I have followed you out into the wide world, you may as well go back with me if you care at all for me."

And the sweep tried to reason with her; he spoke of the old Chinaman and the major-and-lieutenant-general-war-commander-sergeant of the Billy-goat-legs, but she sobbed so bitterly and kissed her little chimney-sweep, so that he could not do anything but humor her, although it was wrong.

And so, with great difficulty, they crawled down the chimney again; they crept through the drum and the pipe, which was anything but pleasant, and at last they stood inside the dark stove. They stopped behind the door to listen to what was going on in the room. They peeped out — alas! there, in the middle of the floor, lay the old Chinaman. He had fallen down from the table when he tried to run after them, and lay there broken into three pieces. The whole of his back had come off in one piece, and the head had rolled over into a corner. The major-and-lieutenant-general-war-commander-sergeant of the Billy-goat-legs stood where he had always stood, and seemed to be buried in thought. "It is terrible," said the little shepherdess; "my old grandfather is broken to pieces and it is all our fault! I shall never survive it!" And then she wrung her tiny little hands.

"He can still be mended," said the sweep. "He can very well be riveted — only take things quietly. If they cement his back and give him a strong rivet in the neck, he will be as good as new, and be able to say a good many unpleasant things to us."

"Do you think so," she said. And they climbed up again on to the table where they had stood before.

"Well, this is as far as we have got," said the chimney-sweep; "we might as well have saved ourselves all the trouble."

"If only we had old grandfather mended!" said the shepherdess. "Would it be very expensive?"

And he was mended. The people in the house had his back cemented and he got a strong rivet in the neck, and he was as good as new, but he could no longer nod.

"You seem to have become rather proud since you broke in pieces," said the major-and-lieutenaut-general-war-commander-sergeant of the Billy-goat-legs; "but I don't think it is anything to be so proud of. Shall I have her, or shall I not?"

And the chimney-sweep and the little shepherdess looked so pathetically at the old Chinaman. They were afraid he would nod his assent; but he could not, and besides it was unpleasant to him always to have to tell strangers that he had a rivet in his neck, and so the little porcelain people were left to themselves, and they blessed the rivet in grandfather's neck and loved one another till they broke to pieces.