From the window of the old bachelor § От прозореца на стария ерген

monsieur avec son chat a la fenetre3.jpg

Тhere is a street in Copenhagen which bears the extraordinary name of “Hyskenstrœde.” And why is it so called? and what is the meaning of that name? It is German; but the German has been corrupted. “Häuschen” it ought to be called, and that signifies “small houses.” Those which stood there formerly—and, indeed, for several years—were not much larger than the wooden booths that we see now-a-days erected at fairs. Yes, only a little larger, and with windows; but the panes were of horn or stretched bladder, for in these days it was too expensive to have glass windows in all houses; but the time in question was so far back that our grandfathers’ grandfathers, when they mentioned it, also spoke of it as “in ancient days,” for it was several hundred years ago.

The Old Bachelor’s Nightcap, by Hans Christian Andersen

Шапката на стария ерген, от Ханс Кристиан Андерсен

 

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