Andersen: (1805, 4, 2-1875, 8, 4)
To date, the best fairy tale master in the world is also my favorite writer. It has truly reached the state of being "suitable for reading by both six-year-olds and sixty-year-olds".
Andersen, full name Hans Christian Andersen. It comes from Odense, a small town in central Denmark. He created many types of literature, but he is famous for his fairy tales in the world. He wrote a total of 168 fairy tales in his lifetime. It was he who first developed "fairy tales" from childish and crude folk legends and stories into beautiful literary fairy tales full of the author's inner emotions, leaving behind classic examples for the creation of later generations of writers. In 1954, at the third conference of the International Children's Reading Federation, the International Andersen Award, a world children's literature award named after Andersen, was established. This award is still the highest honor in the world of children's literature. (Written by Yu Hui)
His fairy tales are not limited to the beautiful and tortuous love stories of princes and princesses like Grimm's fairy tales, but more describing the suffering life of the lower class of society.
Andersen is a famous Danish fairy tale writer in the 19th century and the founder of fairy tales in world literature. He was born in a poor shoemaker family in Odense. He studied at a charity school and worked as an apprentice in his early years. Influenced by his father and folk oral literature, he loved literature since childhood. When he was 11 years old, his father died of illness and his mother remarried. In order to pursue art, he came to Copenhagen alone at the age of 14. After eight years of hard work, he finally showed his talent in the poetic drama "Alfsol". Therefore, he was sent to Slagelsee Grammar School and Helsingo School for free by the Royal Theater of Arts. It lasted 5 years. In 1828, he entered the University of Golhagen. After graduation, he has never had a job and mainly relies on royalties to make a living. In 1838, he received a writer's bonus - the state allocated him a non-public service allowance of 200 yuan every year.
Andersen never married and died of illness on August 4, 1875 at the home of his friend, the businessman Melchor.
Andersen's literary career began in 1822. In the early days, he mainly wrote poems and plays. After entering university, his creations became increasingly mature. He has published travel notes and musical comedies, as well as poetry collections and poetry plays. In 1833, he published the novel "The Improvisational Poet", which won him international reputation and is his representative work of adult literature.
"In order to fight for the future generation", Andersen decided to write fairy tales for children and published "Stories for Children". In the following years, a collection of such fairy tales was published every Christmas. After that, he continued to publish new works until he gradually stopped writing due to cancer in 1872. In the past 40 years, he has written a total of 168 fairy tales.
Andersen's fairy tales have a unique artistic style: poetic beauty and comic humor. The former is the dominant style and is mostly reflected in eulogizing fairy tales, while the latter is mostly reflected in satirical fairy tales.
Andersen's creation can be divided into three periods: early, middle and late. Early fairy tales are mostly full of beautiful fantasy and optimistic spirit, reflecting the characteristics of a combination of realism and romanticism. His representative works include "The Tinderbox", "The Flowers of Little Ida", "Thumbelina", "The Daughter of the Sea", "The Wild Swan", "The Ugly Duckling", etc. In the middle period of fairy tales, the fantasy component is weakened and the realistic component is relatively enhanced. In lashing out the ugliness and praising the good, it expresses the persistent pursuit of a better life and also reveals the melancholy of lack of confidence. Representative works include "The Little Match Girl", "Snow Queen", "Shadow", "A Drop of Water", "Mother's Story", "The Puppet Show", etc. Fairy tales in the late period are more face to reality than those in the middle period, focusing on describing the tragic fate of the people at the bottom and exposing the coldness, darkness and injustice of social life. The tone of the work is sombre. His representative works include "Dream Under the Willows", "She's a Waste", "Bachelor's Nightcap", "Lucky Belle", etc.
Chronology of Andersen
He was born on April 2, 1805, in the small town of Odense, Fern Island, Denmark.
In 1816, when he was 11 years old, his father died.
In 1819, when he was 14 years old, he left home alone and went to Copenhagen to seek creative opportunities.
In August 1822, he published the work "A Collection of Attempts", which contains three poems, dramas and stories. This collection had no chance of being published due to its humble background, but it has attracted the attention of some people in the cultural world. In October, he entered a secondary missionary school for cultural remedial studies. He studied for six years and was deeply distressed by the educational methods. However, during these six years, he read a lot of works by famous writers and also practiced composing poems and operas. In 1827, he left school and returned to Copenhagen. Published poems and received praise from high-society critics, inspiring Andersen's confidence in writing.
In 1829, he wrote a long fantasy travelogue "A Wanderings on the Island of Amager" and published it. The first edition sold out. The publisher immediately bought the second edition at favorable terms, and Andersen was freed from the oppression of hunger. The comedy "Love on Nikolayev Towers" is performed at the Royal Opera House. In the same year, he also published his first collection of poems.
In 1830, first love failed. Began traveling; second book of poems published.
From 1831 to 1834, love failed again and his mother died. Soon after, he published a long autobiographical novel "The Improvisational Poet".
In 1835, when he was 30 years old, he started writing fairy tales and published his first collection of fairy tales. It was a 61-page booklet, including "Tinderbox", "Little Claus and Big Claus", "The Princess on the Pea" and "Little Ida's Flowers" *** four chapters. The work did not receive unanimous praise. Some people even thought that he did not have the talent to write fairy tales and suggested that he give up. But Andersen said: "This is my immortal work!"
In 1844, he wrote his autobiography Sexual work "The Ugly Duckling".
In 1846, he wrote "The Little Match Girl".
In 1867, he was elected as an honorary citizen by his hometown of Odense.
At 11 a.m. on August 4, 1875, he died of liver cancer at his friend's country house. The funeral was extremely sad and honorable. He died at the age of 70.
Catalogue of Andersen's works:
Novel (6): "The Improvisational Poet" (1835), "O.T." (1836), "Just a Fiddler" (1837) , "The Two Baronesses" (1848), "Alive?" "Death" (1857), "The Lucky One" (1870).
Library (25): poetic drama "Afsol" (1822?), "Love in the Bell Tower of St. Nicholas Church" (1829), opera "The Bride of Lammermoor" (1832) ), the opera "The Raven" (1832), the verse drama "The Mermaid of Egnat" (1834), the vaudeville "Farewell and Reunion" (1835), the opera "The God of Sproo" (1839), " "Mulatto" (1840), "The Moor's Daughter" (1840), "The Flower of Happiness" (1844), one-act poetic drama "The King's Dream" (1844), "The Bird in the Pear Tree" (1845) , "Little Kirsten" (1846), "A Wedding on the Como River" (1848), a comedy in four acts "More Precious than Jewels" (1850), an opera "The Nordic Goddess" (1850), "New Property" "(1850), "The Sandman" (1850), comedy "Heldmore" (1851), comedy "Eldermother" (1851), comedy "Not of Highborn" (1863), comedy "Long Bridge" (1863) , the three-act play "The Spanish Guest" (1865), the one-act play "The Newcomers" (date unknown), "Nights of Rosquirida" (date unknown).
Travel Notes (6): "A Walk from the Holmen Canal to the East Point of Amager Island in 1828 and 1829" (1829), "A Journey to Sweden" (1851), "Scenery of Spain" ( 1863), "Visit to Portugal" (1866).
Autobiography (3): "Biography" (1832), "The True Story of My Life" (1847), "My Fairy Tale Life" (1855).
Poetry (4): "Collected Poems" (I, 1829), "Collected Poems" (II, 1830), Collected Poems "Fantasy and Reality" (1830), Collected Poems "Twelve Months of the Year" (1832).
168 Fairy Tales
The Daughter of the Sea
In the distance of the sea, the water is so blue, like the most beautiful cornflower petals , and at the same time so clear, like the brightest
glass. However, it is very deep, so deep that no anchor chain can reach the bottom. In order to reach the water from the bottom of the sea, there must be many church spiers connected one after another. The people at the bottom of the ocean live down here.
But people must not think that it is just a seabed covered with white sand. No, the most bizarre trees and plants grow there. Their branches and leaves are so soft that they sway with the slightest movement of water as if they are alive. All kinds of fish, big and small, swim among these branches, like birds in the sky. The deepest place in the sea is where Neptune's palace is located. Its walls are built of coral, and its tall, pointed windows are of the brightest amber; but the roof is paved with black clam shells, which follow the flow of the water. Can
open and close automatically. It is very beautiful, because every clam shell contains a sparkling pearl. Any pearl
can become the main decoration on the queen's hat.
The Neptune who lives down there has been a widower for many years, but he has an old mother who manages the housework for him. She is a smart woman, but she always feels arrogant about her noble origin, so she always wears a dozen oysters on her tail - the rest The dignitaries could only wear half a dozen each. Apart from this, she deserves great praise, especially
because she loved those little sea princesses - her granddaughters - very much. They were six beautiful children, and among them, the youngest was the most beautiful. Her skin is smooth and tender, like rose petals, and her eyes are as blue as the deepest lake. However, like other princesses, she has no legs: the lower part of her body is a fish tail.
They could spend the whole long days in the palace, in the halls with the flowers on the walls.
The large amber-encrusted windows were open, and fish swam towards them, just as swallows would fly in when we opened the windows.
But the fish kept swimming towards these little princesses, looking for food in their hands and letting them touch themselves.
There is a large garden outside the palace, with many fiery red and dark blue trees growing in it; the fruits on the trees are as bright as gold
and the flowers bloom like burning ones. The fire, flower branches and leaves are constantly shaking. The ground was covered with the finest sand,
but it was as blue as the blaze of sulfur. There was a strange, blue light everywhere. It is easy
to think that you are high in the air instead of at the bottom of the sea, with the blue sky above and below you. When the sea is very still, you can catch a glimpse of the sun: it is like a purple flower, shooting out various colors of light from its calyx.
In the garden, each little princess has her own small area where she can plant whatever she wants. Some arranged their flower beds to look like a whale, while others thought it would be better to arrange their flower beds to look like a little mermaid. But
the youngest arranged her flower bed to be round, like a sun, and she only planted flowers that were as red as the sun
. She is a weird child who doesn't like to talk much and is always thinking about something quietly. While the other sisters
decorated their gardens with the strangest things they had found from shipwrecks, she had nothing but flowers as red as the sun high in the sky
Besides, I just want to have a beautiful marble statue. This stone statue represents a beautiful man. It was carved from a piece of pure white stone and sank to the bottom of the sea together with a shipwrecked ship. She planted a weeping willow tree as red as a rose next to the stone statue. The tree grew very luxuriantly. Its fresh branches and leaves hang down to the stone statue and all the way to the blue sandy bottom. Its reflection has a purplish-blue hue. Like its branches, the shadow is never still.
The roots and top of the tree seem to be playing a kissing game.
Her greatest pleasure was hearing stories about the human world above. Her old grandmother had to tell her all she knew about ships and cities, people and animals. One thing that especially made her feel beautiful was that the flowers on the ground could emit fragrance, but the flowers on the seabed could not; the forests on the ground were green, and people
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The fish you see swimming between the branches will sing so crisply and beautifully, which makes people feel happy. The "fish" the old grandmother said was actually a little bird, but if she hadn't said it this way, the little princess wouldn't have understood her story, because
She had never seen a bird.
"When you are fifteen years old," said the old grandmother, "I will allow you to float to the surface of the sea. Then you can
sit on the stone under the moonlight Up above, watch the great ships sail by you. You can also see the woods and the city."
In this coming year, one of these sisters turns fifteen; but the rest. Well - meet, they
One is one year younger than the other. Therefore, the youngest princess has to wait a full five years before she can rise from the bottom of the sea to see our world.
But each one promised the next one that she would tell everyone what she saw and discovered on the first day, because what their grandmother told them was not enough—— There are so many things they hope to know
!
None of them was as eager as the younger sister, who had to wait the longest, and who was so
silent and thoughtful. Countless nights she stood by the open window, staring up through the dark blue water, watching the fish waving their tails and wings. She also saw the moon and the stars - of course, they emitted a faint
light, but through a layer of water they looked much larger than they appear to us. If something like a black cloud passed beneath them, she knew it was either a whale swimming above her or a boat carrying many passengers. The ship is sailing. But these passengers could no longer imagine that there was a beautiful little mermaid below them, stretching out her white hands towards the keel of their ship.
The eldest princess is now fifteen years old and can rise to the surface of the water.
When she came back, she had countless things to tell: but she said that the most beautiful thing was lying on a beach under the moonlight when the sea was calm
, stick close to the coast and gaze at the lights in the big city that are as bright as countless stars
Listen to the music, noise, and the sounds of carriages and people, watch the domes and spires of the churches, and listen to the jingle bells
The bell. It was precisely because she could not go there that she longed for these things most.
Ah, the youngest sister listened so intently! When she stood by the open window at night and looked up through the dark blue water, she thought of the great city and its bustling sounds. So she seemed to be able to hear the church bells drifting towards her.
The second year the second sister got permission to surface and swim wherever she wanted. When she jumped out of the water, the sun had just set; she thought the scene was really beautiful. She said that the whole sky looked like a piece of gold at this time, and the clouds - well, she really couldn't describe their beauty! They flew over her head, sometimes red, sometimes purple. However, what flies faster than them, like a long and free veil, is a group of wild swans skimming across the water. They were flying towards the sun, and she was swimming towards the sun. But the sun sets. A rose-colored sunset
slowly disappeared between the sea and the clouds.
Another year passed, and the third sister floated up. She was the boldest of them all, so she swam to a large river that
went into the sea. She saw some beautiful green hills covered with rows of grapes. The palace and the farmland were faintly exposed among the lush woods; she heard how beautifully the various birds sang and how warm the sun shone.
She sometimes couldn't help but Not sinking into the water, so that her burning face could get some coolness. In a small bay she encountered a group of human children; they were naked and swimming in the water. She wanted to play with them for a while, but they were frightened and ran away. Then a small black animal came over - it was a puppy, a puppy she had never seen before. It barked at her so fiercely that she became frightened and fled to the sea
. But she will never forget the magnificent forest, the green mountains, and those cute babies that can swim in the water - although they don't have tails like fish.
The fourth sister is not so bold. She stayed on the desolate sea. She said that the most beautiful thing is
stopping on the sea: because you can look far and far away from here, while the sky hangs above like a giant
Big glass clock. She had seen ships, but they were far away from her and looked like seagulls. She saw overly happy dolphins turning somersaults, and huge whales spurting water from their nostrils, as if there were countless fountains surrounding them.
Now comes the fifth sister. Her birthday happened to be in the winter, so she could see things that the other sisters had not seen when they first emerged from the sea. The sea was dyed green, and huge icebergs were moving around.
She said that each iceberg looks like a bead, but is much larger than the church tower built by humans. They appear in
all kinds of strange shapes; they shine like diamonds. She once sat on the largest iceberg,
letting the sea breeze blow her slender hair. All the ships circled the place where she sat, staying away in panic. However, at dusk, a dark cloud suddenly appeared in the sky. Lightning flashed and thunder roared. The huge black waves lifted up whole pieces of ice, causing them to shine in the blood-red thunder and lightning. All the ships had lowered their sails, creating an atmosphere of panic and terror, but she sat quietly on the floating iceberg, looking at the blue power grid, twisting and turning< /p>
The ground shot into the reflective sea.
Any one of these sisters who rises to the surface of the sea for the first time is always very happy to watch these
new and beautiful things. But now, they are already grown girls and can go anywhere they like, so these things no longer interest them much. They longed to return home. After a month, they said: After all, it is better to live in the sea - how comfortable it is at home!
At dusk, these five sisters often come up arm in arm and line up on the water. They can sing
beautifully—more beautiful than any human voice. When a storm was coming and they thought some ships were about to be in trouble, they would float in front of these ships and sing a very beautiful song, saying how dangerous it was under the sea.
Love, while telling these sailors not to be afraid of sinking to the bottom of the sea; however, these people did not understand their lyrics. They thought
it was the sound of a huge wind. They also didn't expect that they would see anything beautiful on the bottom of the sea, because if the ship sank, the people on it would also drown, and they could only reach the palace of the Sea King as dead people.
One night, when the sisters emerged from the sea arm in arm like this, the youngest sister stayed alone
behind and looked at them.
It looked like she wanted to cry, but mermaids don't have tears, so she felt even more uncomfortable.
"Oh, how I wish I were fifteen!" she said. "I knew I was going to like the world above, and the people who lived in that world." Finally, she really turned fifteen.
"You know, you can leave our hands now," said her grandmother, the old Queen Mother. "Come on, let me dress you up like your sisters." So she put a wreath of lilies on the little girl's hair. , but each petal of this flower is half a pearl. The old lady ordered eight big oysters to attach tightly to the princess's tail to show her noble status.
"This makes me so sad!" said the little mermaid.
"Of course, in order to be beautiful, a person should endure some hardships," the old grandmother said.
Why, she wished she could get rid of these decorations and throw this heavy garland aside! The red flowers in her garden looked much better on her, but she didn't dare to do so. "Goodbye!" she said. So she was as light and bright as a bubble rising out of the water.
When she raised her head out of the sea, the sun had already set, but all the clouds were still shining like roses and gold
; at the same time, in this pale In the red sky, the big white star is already blinking beautifully and brightly. The air is
mild and fresh. The sea is very calm, and there is a big ship with three masts parked here. There was only one sail on the boat,
because there was no wind blowing. The sailors were sitting around the shrouds and on top of the yard.
There is music and singing here. When dusk gradually becomes dark, various lanterns light up together
. They look like flags from all over the world flying in the sky. The little mermaid swam toward the ship's window. Every time
when the waves lifted her up, she could see through the mirror-like window glass that there were many men in gorgeous clothes
standing inside; but among them The most beautiful of them all was the prince with the big black eyes: no doubt he was not yet sixteen. Today is his birthday, which is why it is so lively today.
The sailors were dancing on the deck. When the prince came out, more than a hundred rockets were shot into the sky.
The sky was illuminated as if it were daylight, so the little mermaid became very frightened and quickly sank to the bottom of the water. But after a while, she stuck out her head. At this time, she felt as if all the stars in the sky were falling towards her. She had never seen such flames.
fire. Many huge suns were making hissing sounds all around, and dazzling big fish were leaping into the blue sky.
Everything is reflected on this clear and calm sea. The whole body of the ship was so brightly illuminated that even every small rope could be seen. Of course, the people on the ship could see clearly. Oh, how beautiful this young prince is! When
the music slowly faded away in this glorious night, he shook hands with the sailors, laughed and smiled...
The night was already very late, but the little mermaid There was no way she could take her eyes off the ship and the beautiful prince.
The colorful lanterns went out, the rockets stopped shooting into the air, and the sound of cannons stopped. But there was a buzzing and rumbling sound in the depths of the sea. She sat on the water, bobbing up and down, so that she could see the contents of the cabin. But
the ship sped up: its sails were all unfurled one after another. The waves got bigger, heavy dark clouds floated up, and lightning struck in the distance. Ah, the terrible storm is coming soon! The sailors therefore lowered their sails. This huge ship swayed forward in the violent sea.
The waves rose like huge black mountains. It wants to break the mast.
But the boat was like a swan, one moment it fell into the waves, and the next moment it raised its head on the high waves.
The little mermaid thought this was a very interesting voyage, but the sailors thought otherwise. The ship made a splintering sound now; its thick planks were bent by the incoming waves. The mast was broken in the middle like a reed.
Then the boat began to tilt and water rushed into the cabin. Only then did the little mermaid realize that they were in danger. She also had to be careful
of the beams and wreckage of ships floating on the water.
The sky immediately became dark and she could not see anything. But when the lightning started, the sky became very bright, allowing her to see everyone on the ship. Now everyone is trying their best to find a way out for themselves. She paid special attention
to the prince. She saw him as the ship split open and sank deeper into the sea. She immediately became very happy that he was now coming to her.
But she also remembered that humans cannot live in water, and he could not enter her father's palace unless he became a dead person.
No, we must not let him die! So she swam between the floating beams and planks, without the slightest thought that they might crush her to death. She sank deeply into the water, and then surfaced high in the waves. Finally she reached the prince. In this violent sea, he would never have the strength to float up again. His arms and legs began to fail. His beautiful eyes were closed. If the little mermaid hadn't arrived in time, he would have drowned.
She lifted his head out of the water and let the waves carry her and drift wherever he wanted.
At dawn, the storm had passed. Not a single piece of the ship was left. The bright red sun rose, shining brightly on the water. It seemed to breathe life into the prince's face. But his eyes were still closed.
The little mermaid kissed his delicate forehead and cut his long, soaked hair back. She thought he looked a lot like the marble statue she had in her little undersea garden. She kissed him again, hoping he would wake up.
Now she saw before her a stretch of land and a group of blue mountains, the shining white snow on the tops of which looked
like sleeping swans. Along the coast was a beautiful green forest, and in front of it was a church or a monastery -
She didn't know what it was called, but it was just a building anyway. There are some lemon and orange trees growing in its garden, and a tall palm stands in front of the door. The sea forms a small bay here. The water is very calm, but it is very deep from here to there
near the rocky cliffs where there is a lot of fine sand. She carried the beautiful prince and swam there. She laid him
on the sand, very carefully resting his head high in the warm sunlight.
The bells rang from the majestic white building, and many young women came out through the garden. The little man
The fish swam far into the sea and swam behind several large rocks on the sea. She covered her hair and breasts with lots of sea foam so that no one could see her little face. Here she stared to see who would come to the poor prince.
After a while, a young woman came over. She seemed very surprised, but it didn't take long, so she found many people. The little mermaid saw that the prince gradually came to life and smiled at the people around him. But he didn't smile at her: of course, he had no idea that she was the one who saved him. She felt very sad. So when he was being carried into the tall house, she threw herself sadly into the sea and returned to her father's palace.
She has always been a quiet and thoughtful child, and now she has become even more so. Her sisters all asked her what she had seen when she first rose to the sea, but she could not tell them anything.
Many nights and mornings she emerged from the water and swam toward the place where she had left her prince. She saw the fruits in the garden being ripe and picked; she saw the snow on the top of the mountain melting; but she could not see the prince.
So every time she came home, she always felt more painful. Her only comfort was to sit in her little garden, holding in her hands a beautiful marble statue resembling the prince. But she no longer tended her flowers. These flowers seemed
to be things growing in the wilderness, and were spread all over the ground: their long stems and leaves were intertwined with the branches, making the place look
square. Very dark.
Finally she couldn't bear it anymore. But as long as she told one of her sisters what was on her mind, everyone else would soon know. But except for them and one or two other mermaids (they only told this secret to a few close friends), no one else knew. One of them knew who the prince was. She also saw
the celebration held on the ship. She knew where the prince came from and where his kingdom was.
"Come on, little sister!" said the other princesses. They put their hands on each other's shoulders, and rose up to the surface in a long row until they reached what they thought was the prince's palace.
This palace is built with a kind of luminous light yellow stone. There are many wide marble steps inside - one of them
stretches all the way to the sea. Ornate, golden round towers stretch into the sky from the rooftops. Among the columns surrounding the entire building, there are many marble statues. They look like living people.
Through the bright glass of the tall windows one could see splendid halls, hung with precious silk curtains and brocades, and with large pictures on the walls. ——Just looking at these things is a very pleasant thing. In the center of the largest hall
there is a huge fountain spraying water. The water strands shoot towards the glass dome above, and the sun shines down through the glass, onto the water, and onto the plants growing in the large pool.
Now she knew where the prince lived. Here on the water she spent many evenings and nights. She swam far
toward the land, farther than any other sister dared to go. Indeed, she even swam down into the narrow river,
right under the magnificent marble balcony, whose long shadow was reflected in the water. She sat here, looking at the young prince, who thought he was the only one in the moonlight.
Several nights she saw him sailing in that gorgeous ship with many flags flying to the sound of music. She peeked up from the green grass. When the wind blows her long silver mask, if anyone sees it, they always think it is a swan spreading its wings.
For several nights, when the fishermen went out to sea with torches to catch fish, she heard them saying
many words of praise to the prince. She became happy, feeling that she had saved his life when the waves knocked him half to death; she remembered how his head lay tightly in her arms, How passionately she kissed him. But he himself didn't know any of these things, and he wouldn't even think of her in his dreams.
She gradually began to love humans and gradually began to look forward to living among them. She felt that their world was much bigger than hers. Indeed, they could travel the seas in ships and climb mountains soaring into the sky, while their lands, with their forests and fields, stretched as far as she could see. There was so much she wished to know
But none of her sisters could answer all her questions. So she had to ask her grandmother. She did know quite well about the "upper world," as she aptly called her maritime country.
"If humans don't drown," asked the little mermaid, "will they live forever? Will they die like us
those who live in the sea? ?”
“That’s true,” the old lady said, “They will die too, and their lives are even shorter than ours. ?”
We can live to be three hundred years old, but when we are