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© Walking by the Way

Hans Christian

Andersen

Copywork Pages

"But he has nothing on at all," said a little child at last. "Good

heavens! listen to the voice of an innocent child," said the

father, and one whispered to the other what the child had

said. "But he has nothing on at all," cried at last the whole

people. That made a deep impression upon the emperor, for it

seemed to him that they were right; but he thought to

himself, "Now I must bear up to the end." And the chamber-

lains walked with still greater dignity, as if they carried the train

which did not exist. from “The Emperor’s New Clothes”

Autumn came, and the leaves in the forest turned to orange

and gold. Then, as winter approached, the wind caught

them as they fell. from “The Ugly Duckling”

He now felt glad at having suffered sorrow and trouble,

because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all the

pleasure and happiness around him. from “The Ugly Duckling”

His own image; no longer a dark, gray bird, ugly and

disagreeable to look at, but a graceful and beautiful swan.

To be born in a duck's nest, in a farmyard, is of no

consequence to a bird, if it is hatched from a swan's egg.

from “The Ugly Duckling”

Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the

prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very

deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it:

many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not

reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water

above. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects.

from “The Little Mermaid”

Each little princess had her own little plot of garden where

she could dig and plant just as she liked. One made her

flower-bed in the shape of a whale, another thought it nice

to have hers like a little mermaid; but the youngest made

hers quite round like the sun, and she would only have

flowers of a rosy hue like its beams. from “The Little Mermaid”

She made her old grandmother tell her all she knew of the

ships and of the towns, the people and the animals. To her it

seemed most wonderful and beautiful to hear that the

flowers of the land had fragrance, while those below the sea

had none; that the trees of the forest were green; and that

the fishes among the trees could sing so sweetly that it was a

pleasure to listen to them. Her grandmother called the birds

fishes, or the little mermaid would not have understood what

was meant, for she had never seen birds.

from “The Little Mermaid”

Death continued to stare at the emperor with his cold,

hollow eyes, and the room was fearfully still. Suddenly there

came through the open window the sound of sweet music.

Outside, on the bough of a tree, sat the living nightingale.

She had heard of the emperor’s illness, and was therefore

come to sing to him of hope and trust. And as she sung, the

shadows grew paler and paler; the blood in the emperor’s

veins flowed more rapidly, and gave life to his weak limbs;

and even Death himself listened, and said, “Go on, little

nightingale, go on.” from “The Nightingale”

She is flying there where the swarm is thickest. She is the

largest of them all and never remains on the earth, but flies

up to the dark clouds. Often at midnight she flies through the

streets of the town and breathes with her frosty breath upon

the windows; then the ice freezes on the panes into

wonderful forms that look like flowers and castles.

from “The Snow Queen”

The swallow rose in the air and flew over forest and over

sea—high above the highest mountains, covered with

eternal snow. Thumbelina would have been frozen in the

cold air, but she crept under the bird’s warm feathers,

keeping her little head uncovered, so that she might admire

the beautiful lands over which they passed. At length they

reached the warm countries, where the sun shines brightly

and the sky seems so much higher above the earth.

from “Thumbelina”

The birches, waving in the wind, looked as full of life as in

summer and as wondrously beautiful. Where the sun shone,

everything glittered and sparkled as if diamond dust had

been strewn about; and the snowy carpet of the earth

seemed covered with diamonds from which gleamed

countless lights, whiter even than the snow itself.

from “The Snowman”

How it blazed and burned! It gave out a warm, bright flame

like a little candle, as she held her hands over it. A wonderful

little light it was. It really seemed to the little girl as if she sat

before a great iron stove with polished brass feet and brass

shovel and tongs. from “The Little Match Girl”

The matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the

noon-day, and her grandmother had never appeared so

large or so beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and

they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the

earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for

they were with God. from “The Little Match Girl”

Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have

sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”

from “The Butterfly”

One evening, just as the sun was setting amid radiant clouds,

there came a large flock of beautiful birds out of the bushes.

The duckling had never seen any like them before. They

were swans; and they curved their graceful necks, while their

soft plumage shone with dazzling whiteness. They uttered a

singular cry as they spread their glorious wings and flew

away from those cold regions to warmer countries across the

sea. from “The Ugly Duckling”

They could see she was a real Princess and no question

about it, now that she had felt one pea all the way through

twenty mattresses and twenty more feather beds. Nobody

but a Princess could be so delicate.

from “The Princess and the Pea”