There is a lovely little fir tree in the big forest outside. It grows in a good place, where it can get sunshine and plenty of fresh air, and there are many big friends around it-pine trees and other fir trees. However, this little fir tree is eager to grow up. It doesn't care about warm sunshine and fresh air at all. When the children on the farm came out to look for strawberries and raspberries, walked around and chatted idly, it turned a blind eye to them Sometimes they bring a bowl full of berries or a long string of berries made of grass. They sat next to the little fir tree and said, "Hey, how cute this little thing is!" " "And this tree doesn't want to hear this at all.
A year later, it grew a section; Another year passed, and it was a long time. So you only need to look at how many knots a fir tree has, and you can know how many years it has been growing.
"Oh, I wish I were a big tree like other trees!" The little fir tree sighed and said, "Then I can spread my branches around and see the vast world above me!" " Then birds can nest on my branches; When the wind blows, I can nod like a serious tree. "
It is not interested in the sun, birds and red clouds floating in the morning and evening.
It's winter, and the surrounding snow is shining with white light. Sometimes a rabbit runs over and jumps over the little fir tree. ..... ah! This is what makes him angry!
But two winters have passed. When the third winter came, the little fir tree grew so big that the rabbit had to walk around it.
Ah! Grow, grow, grow into a big tree and grow old. Only in this way is the happiest thing in the world! The little fir tree thinks so.
In winter, as usual, the woodcutter came and cut down some trees. This kind of thing always happens once a year. This little fir tree has grown quite big now; It trembled because the majestic trees crashed to the ground with a crash. Their branches were all cut off, and they were all smooth and slender-people could hardly recognize them, but they were loaded into cars and pulled out of the Woods by horses.
Where did they go? What will they become?
In spring, when swallows and storks came, the fir tree asked them, "Do you know where people dragged them?" ? Have you touched them? "
Swallows know nothing. But the stork seems to be thinking about one thing, nodding and saying, "Yes, I think so! When I flew out of Egypt, I met many new ships. There are many beautiful masts on these ships; I think they are trees. They smell of fir trees. I have seen it many times; They hold their heads high! They hold their heads high. "
"Oh, how I wish I could grow up enough to sail at sea! What is the sea like? What is it like? "
"Hey, it's hard to explain!" Said the stork and walked away.
"Enjoy your youth," said the sunshine. "Enjoy your vigorous development and fresh vitality in your body!"
The wind kissed the tree, and the dew dripped tears on it. But this tree knows nothing about these things.
When Christmas came, many very young trees were cut down Some are neither as old as fir trees, nor as big as fir trees, nor as impatient as fir trees, and always want to run away. These young trees are some of the most beautiful trees, so they all keep their branches and leaves. They were loaded into the car and the horse pulled them out of the Woods.
In western Christian countries, every Christmas, we will get a fir tree and erect it in a room. The tree is covered with small candles and small bags filled with some gifts, which will be given to children on Christmas Day, symbolically as gifts from Santa Claus.
"Where are they going?" Asked the fir tree. "They are not older than me. Yes, there is one much younger than me. Why do they keep their branches and leaves? Where were they sent? "
"We know! We know! " Sparrows are chirping. "We looked inside the window glass in the city! We know where they are going! Oh! They're going to the most magnificent place! We looked through the window. We saw them in the middle of a warm room, which was decorated with many beautiful things-gold-plated apples, honey cakes, toys and hundreds of candles! "
"What happened later?" The fir tree asked; All the branches are shaking. "What happened later? What was the result later? "
"Well, we didn't see what happened later. But it's beautiful! "
"Maybe one day I will take this glorious road!" The fir tree said happily. "This is much better than sailing at sea! I'm really tired of waiting! I just hope it's Christmas! Now I'm big and adult, just like those trees that were transported away last year! Ah, I wish I were sitting high in the car! I wish I was dressed up in that warm room! So what about the future? Yes, there will be better and more beautiful things in the future Why else would they dress me up so beautifully? There must be something greater and better to come. But what is this? Ah, I'm in pain! I really want it!
Don't know why! "
"Please enjoy life with us!" Air and sunshine say.
"Please enjoy your fresh youth in freedom!"
But fir trees can't enjoy anything. It keeps growing, growing. In winter and summer, it always stands there, green-dark green. Everyone who has seen it says, "What a beautiful tree!" "By Christmas, it was the first to be cut down. The axe went deep into the tree, so it sighed and fell to the ground: it felt a pain and fainted, and it couldn't remember any happiness at all. It is tragic to leave your home and the place where you were born. He knew that he would never see his dear old friend again, the small bushes and flowers around him-maybe even the birds. Leaving is not a pleasant thing.
Only when this tree was unloaded with many other trees in the yard did it wake up. It heard a man say, "This is a beautiful tree; We only want this one! "
Two well-dressed servants came and carried the fir tree into a beautiful living room. There are many portraits hanging on the four walls. There is a tall porcelain vase beside a big ceramic tile stove, and a lion is carved on the lid. There are rocking chairs, silk sofas, big tables filled with picture books, and toys worth tens of millions of yuan-at least that's what the children say. Fir trees are put into a big basin filled with sand. But no one knows that this is a basin, because it is surrounded by a layer of cloth and stands on a wide variegated carpet. Oh, how the fir tree shakes! What will happen now? Servants and ladies will dress it up. They hung small net bags cut with floral paper on its branches, and each small net bag was filled with candy; Apples and walnuts painted with gold also hung on it, as if they had grown on it. In addition, there are more than 100 small red, white and blue candles on the branches. A doll exactly like a living person is swinging among the leaves. The fir tree has never seen anything like it. There is also a star made of silver paper on the top of the tree. This is really beautiful, especially beautiful.
"Tonight," everyone said, "it will shine tonight."
"Ah," thought the fir tree, "I wish it was night! Ah, I hope the candle will be lit at once! What else will there be? Maybe the trees in the Woods will come out to see me? Sparrows can fly in front of the window glass, right? Maybe I will take root here and dress like this in summer and winter? "
Yes, that's all it knows. Its uneasiness makes it get a frequent skin pain, which is as bad as our headache for trees.
Finally, the candle lit. How brilliant, how gorgeous! Every branch of the fir tree trembled, causing a candle to burn a green twig. This is the real pain.
"May God bless us!" Young girls are crying. They put out the fire in a hurry
The fir tree can't tremble now. Ah, this is really terrible! It is very afraid of losing any ornament, and the light they emit makes it dizzy. Now the two doors are pushed open, and many children come in, as if to knock down the whole tree. Older people quietly followed them in. These little guys stand and keep quiet. But this is only one minute. Then they cheered and made a mess. They danced around the tree and took the gifts hanging on the tree one by one.
"What are they going to do?" The fir tree thought. "What will happen?"
Candles are burning on the branches. When they were about to burn out, they were released and the children were allowed to plunder the tree. Ah! They rushed at it and all the branches split. If it weren't for a gold star tied to the top of the tree and the ceiling, I'm afraid it would have fallen long ago.
The children picked up beautiful toys and danced around them. No one wants to see this tree anymore, except the old nanny who looks around the branches. She just wants to know if there are any dates or apples that have not been taken away.
"Tell a story! Tell a story! " The children muttered and dragged a little fat man to the tree. He sat under the tree, "because we were in the green forest," he said. "Tree son listen to my story is also very good. But I can only tell one story. Do you like to listen to the incoherent story of Ived, or the story of rolling down the stairs and sitting on the throne to get the princess clay ball? "
① The original text is Klum PE-Dumpe, which is literally translated as "rolling mud".
"Tell the story of Ivid Jared!" Some children shouted. "Tell the story of the clay ball!" Several other children shouted. At this time, the noise and crying were mixed together.
Only the fir tree didn't say a word silently. It's thinking, "Can't I join?" Can't I do something? "But it has joined, what should be done has been done.
The fat man told the story of the clay ball-"He rolled down the stairs, sat on the throne again and got the princess." Children, clap your hands! Shouted, "go on! Go on! " Because they want to hear the story of Evid Yawed, but they only hear the story of the clay ball. The fir tree stood still, just thinking. Birds in the Woods have never told such a story. The mud ball rolled down the stairs and finally got the princess! "Yes, that's the way things are in the world!" The fir tree thought about it and thought it was completely true, because the person who told this story was such a lovely person. "Yes, yes, who knows? Maybe one day I will roll down the stairs, but I will get a princess! " So he happily looked forward to dressing up again the next night, wearing candles, toys, gold paper and fruit.
"I will never tremble again tomorrow!" It wants. "I will be proud of my gorgeous appearance. I will listen to the story of the clay ball again tomorrow. Maybe I will hear the story of Avid Arbide. "
So the fir tree was silent and thought about it all night.
In the morning, the servant and nanny came.
"Now I want to be beautiful again!" The fir tree thought. But they dragged it outside the house and went down the stairs to the top floor. They put it in a dark corner, where there is no sunshine.
"What does this mean?" The fir tree thought. "What am I doing here? What can I hear here? "
It stood against the wall, thinking. It now has plenty of time to think; Day and night passed without anyone coming to see it. Finally, a man came, but his purpose was only to move some empty boxes and put them in the corner. The fir tree is completely blocked, and people seem to have completely forgotten it.
"It's winter outside now!" The fir tree thought. "The land is hard and covered with snowflakes, so people can't plant me; That's why I'm hiding here, waiting for spring! How considerate people are! Humans are really kind! I just hope it's not too dark and lonely here! -Not even a rabbit! The Woods must be a very happy place now. It's snowing heavily and rabbits are jumping around. Yes, even if it jumped over my head, it was fine-although I didn't like it at the time. It's terribly lonely here now! "
"cheep! Hey! " Then a little mouse said and jumped out at the same time. After a while, another little mouse jumped out. They sniffed the fir tree and got into the branches.
"It's so cold!" Two little mice said. "Otherwise, it's quite comfortable to stay here. Old fir, wouldn't you say so? "
"I'm not old at all," said the fir tree. "There are many trees bigger than me!"
"Where are you from?" Asked the mouse. "What do you know?" They are curious now. "Please tell us something about the most beautiful place in the world! Have you ever been there? Have you been to the storage room? There are many milk cakes on the shelf and many hams hanging under the ceiling; There, we danced on candles; There, we were thin when we went in and fat when we came out. "
"I don't know," said the fir tree. "But I am familiar with this forest-it is sunny and the birds are singing."
So it tells some stories about its childhood. Mice have never heard of such a thing. They listened and said:
"Hey, have you seen so many things! How happy you used to be! "
"Me?" Said the fir tree, thinking about what he had said, "Yes, it was a very happy time!" " "So it tells the story of Christmas Eve-it was covered with candy and candles.
"Ah," said the little mouse, "how happy you are, you old fir tree!"
"I am not old!" The fir tree said. "I just left the Woods this winter. I am a young man, although I am no longer growing up at the moment! "
"How beautiful your story is!" Said the little mouse.
The next night, they brought four other mice to listen to the story told by the fir tree. The more it talks, the more clearly it recalls everything in the past. So it thought, "That was indeed a very happy period!" " But it will come back! It will come back again! The mud ball rolled down the stairs and caught the princess. Maybe I will get a princess, too! At this time, the fir tree remembered a lovely little alder that grew in the forest: for the fir tree, this alder was really a beautiful princess.
"Who is the clay ball?" Asked the little mouse.
The fir tree told the whole story, remembering every word clearly. These little mice are so happy that they want to somersault at the top of the tree. More mice came the next night, and even two big mice appeared on Sunday. But they think this story is not good; The mice are also sorry, because their interest in this story has faded.
"Can you only tell this story?" Asked the big mouse.
"Only this one!" Answered the fir tree. "This story is the happiest night I have ever heard in my life. I didn't feel how happy I was at that time! "
"This is a very lame story! Can't you tell a story about bacon and candles? Can't you tell a story about a storage room? "
"no!" The fir tree said.
"Thank you!" Replied the big mouse. So they walked away.
At last the mouse walked away, too. The fir tree sighed and said:
"When these happy little mice sat beside me and listened to my story, everything was fine. Now it's all over! But when others move me out again, I will remember what happiness is! "
But what about the result? Hey, one morning people came to clean the top floor: all the boxes were removed and the fir tree was dragged out-people rudely threw it on the floor, but a servant immediately dragged it up the stairs. The sun shines here.
"Life can start again now!" The fir tree thought.
It feels the fresh air and the morning sunshine. It is lying in the yard now. Everything passed so fast that the fir tree forgot to look at itself-there were so many things worth seeing around. The yard is near a garden; All the flowers here are in bloom. Roses hung on the small fence, tender and fragrant. The bodhi tree has also blossomed. Swallows fly around and say, "cheep-smell-smell!" " Our lover is back! "But they don't mean this fir tree.
"Now I want to live!" The fir tree said happily, spreading its branches at the same time. But, alas! These branches are all yellow. It is now lying in a corner full of thorns and weeds. Stars made of silver paper are still hanging on it and shining in the clear sun.
There are some happy children playing in the yard. At Christmas, they danced around the Christmas tree and had a good time with it. The youngest child came and picked a gold star.
"Look, what's hanging on this ugly old fir tree!" The child said. He stepped on the branch with his boots until it broke.
The fir tree looked at the blooming flowers and beautiful scenery in the garden, and then at itself. It wants it to stay in a dark corner on the top floor. He remembered his fresh youth in the Woods, the happy Christmas Eve, and the little mice who happily listened to his story about the mud ball.
"It's over! It's over! " Said the poor fir tree. "When I can be happy, I should be happy! It's over! It's over! "
The servant came and cut the tree into pieces. It turned into a big bundle of firewood and burned under a big hip flask. It sighs deeply; Every sigh is like a small gunshot. The children playing there came running, sat by the fire, looked inside and shouted, "burn!" " Burn it! "Every crack is a deep sigh. When it makes every sigh, it recalls the summer in the Woods and the winter night when the stars shine; It recalls the story it heard and told on Christmas Eve-the story of the clay ball. At this time, the fir trees have all been burned to ashes.
The children are all playing in the yard. The youngest child hung the golden star that the tree wore on its happiest night on his chest. Now it's all over, the life of the fir tree is over, and the story is over; It's over! It's over! -All stories are like this. ( 1845)
This story is included in the second part of New Fairy Tales. These trees were moved to the "beautiful living room" in the green forest, where the sun was shining and the birds were singing. As a Christmas tree, the tree is covered with shiny silver, blue and white candles and small gift bags. This is an extraordinary and glorious experience. It can be said that I have reached the peak of my life, but I am afraid and can't enjoy this unexpected glory and happiness. After Christmas, when its function is over, it will be thrown into the waste pile and finally burned as firewood. "When I can be happy, I should be happy! It's over! It's over! " When it woke up, it was too late. This is also a common phenomenon in our lives. It is said that Andersen wrote this story not to illustrate this problem, but to reveal the uneasiness of his middle-aged soul-he was just 40 years old when he published this story. What's bothering you? He didn't answer. Only from this moment on, his writing style entered a turning point: from romantic fantasy and poetic sentiment to calm and slightly sad realistic life description.