Stories from Hans Andersen | Page 9

got out into the street again, and then they had plenty to say. There was
quite a long line of them, reaching from the town gates up to the
Palace.
'I went to see them myself,' said the crow. 'They were hungry and
thirsty, but they got nothing at the Palace, not even as much as a glass
of tepid water. Some of the wise ones had taken sandwiches with them,
but they did not share them with their neighbours; they thought if the
others went in to the Princess looking hungry, that there would be more
chance for themselves.'
'But Kay, little Kay!' asked Gerda; 'when did he come? was he amongst
the crowd?'
'Give me time, give me time! we are just coming to him. It was on the
third day that a little personage came marching cheerfully along,
without either carriage or horse. His eyes sparkled like yours, and he
had beautiful long hair, but his clothes were very shabby.'
'Oh, that was Kay!' said Gerda gleefully; 'then I have found him!' and
she clapped her hands.
'He had a little knapsack on his back!' said the crow.

'No, it must have been his sledge; he had it with him when he went
away!' said Gerda.
'It may be so,' said the crow; 'I did not look very particularly; but I
know from my sweetheart, that when he entered the Palace gates, and
saw the life-guards in their silver uniforms, and the lackeys on the
stairs in their gold-laced liveries, he was not the least bit abashed. He
just nodded to them and said, "It must be very tiresome to stand upon
the stairs. I am going inside!" The rooms were blazing with lights.
Privy councillors and excellencies without number were walking about
barefoot carrying golden vessels; it was enough to make you solemn!
His boots creaked fearfully too, but he wasn't a bit upset.'
'Oh, I am sure that was Kay!' said Gerda; 'I know he had a pair of new
boots, I heard them creaking in grandmother's room.'
'Yes, indeed they did creak!' said the crow. 'But nothing daunted, he
went straight up to the Princess, who was sitting on a pearl as big as a
spinning-wheel. Poor, simple boy! all the court ladies and their
attendants; the courtiers, and their gentlemen, each attended by a page,
were standing round. The nearer the door they stood, so much the
greater was their haughtiness; till the footman's boy, who always wore
slippers and stood in the doorway, was almost too proud even to be
looked at.'
'It must be awful!' said little Gerda, 'and yet Kay has won the Princess!'
'If I had not been a crow, I should have taken her myself,
notwithstanding that I am engaged. They say he spoke as well as I
could have done myself, when I speak crow-language; at least so my
sweetheart says. He was a picture of good looks and gallantry, and then,
he had not come with any idea of wooing the Princess, but simply to
hear her wisdom. He admired her just as much as she admired him!'
'Indeed it was Kay then,' said Gerda; 'he was so clever he could do
mental arithmetic up to fractions. Oh, won't you take me to the Palace?'
'It's easy enough to talk,' said the crow; 'but how are we to manage it? I

will talk to my tame sweetheart about it; she will have some advice to
give us I daresay, but I am bound to tell you that a little girl like you
will never be admitted!'
'Oh, indeed I shall,' said Gerda; 'when Kay hears that I am here, he will
come out at once to fetch me.'
'Wait here for me by the stile,' said the crow, then he wagged his head
and flew off.
The evening had darkened in before he came back. 'Caw, caw,' he said,
'she sends you greeting. And here is a little roll for you; she got it out of
the kitchen where there is bread enough, and I daresay you are hungry!
It is not possible for you to get into the Palace; you have bare feet; the
guards in silver and the lackeys in gold would never allow you to pass.
But don't cry, we shall get you in somehow; my sweetheart knows a
little back staircase which leads up to the bedroom, and she knows
where the key is kept.'
Then they went into the garden, into the great avenue where the leaves
were dropping, softly one by one; and when the Palace lights went out,
one after the other, the crow led little Gerda to the back door, which
was ajar.
Oh, how Gerda's heart beat with fear and longing! It was just as if she
was about