[…] in the middle of the night, the goblin was awoke by a terrible noise and knocking against the window shutters and the house doors, and by the sound of the watchman’s horn; for a great fire had broken out, and the whole street appeared full of flames. Was it in their house, or a neighbor’s? No one could tell, for terror had seized upon all. The huckster’s wife was so bewildered that she took her gold ear-rings out of her ears and put them in her pocket, that she might save something at least. The huckster ran to get his business papers, and the servant resolved to save her blue silk mantle, which she had managed to buy. Each wished to keep the best things they had. The goblin had the same wish; for, with one spring, he was up stairs and in the student’s room, whom he found standing by the open window, and looking quite calmly at the fire, which was raging at the house of a neighbor opposite. The goblin caught up the wonderful book which lay on the table, and popped it into his red cap, which he held tightly with both hands. The greatest treasure in the house was saved; and he ran away with it to the roof, and seated himself on the chimney. The flames of the burning house opposite illuminated him as he sat, both hands pressed tightly over his cap, in which the treasure lay; and then he found out what feelings really reigned in his heart, and knew exactly which way they tended. And yet, when the fire was extinguished, and the goblin again began to reflect, he hesitated, and said at last, “I must divide myself between the two; I cannot quite give up the huckster, because of the jam.”
Tag: Hans Christian Andersen
The Marsh King’s Daughter (II)
She had nothing but a branch of a tree and her two hands, between the fingers of which the webbed skin stretched, and they were torn by the work, while the blood ran down her hands. She saw at last that her work would be useless, more than she could accomplish; so she fetched more water, and washed the face of the dead, and then covered it with fresh green leaves; she also brought large boughs and spread over him, and scattered dried leaves between the branches. Then she brought the heaviest stones that she could carry, and laid them over the dead body, filling up the crevices with moss, till she thought she had fenced in his resting-place strongly enough.
La reine des neiges Hans Christian Andersen
A few snowflakes were falling, and the largest flake of all alighted on the edge of one of the flower boxes. This flake grew bigger and bigger, until at last it turned into a woman, who was dressed in the finest white gauze which looked as if it had been made from millions of star-shaped flakes. She was beautiful and she was graceful, but she was ice-shining, glittering ice. She was alive, for all that, and her eyes sparkled like two bright stars, but in them there was neither rest nor peace. She nodded toward the window and beckoned with her hand.
Hans Christian Andersen The Marsh King’s Daughter
The days and months went by. He saw at last one day that right from the bottom of the marsh a green stalk pushed up till it reached the surface of the water. Out of it grew a leaf, that grew wider and wider, and close to it a bud put out. Then one morning, as the stork was flying over it, it opened, with the sun’s warmth, into a full-blown flower, in the middle of which lay a beautiful child, a little girl, as if she were fresh from the bath. So like was the child to the princess from Egypt, that at first the stork believed it to be herself turned a child again. But when he thought it over, he decided that it was more likely to be the child of the princess and the Marsh King, and that was why she was lying in a water lily.
H. Ch. Andersen La petite fille aux allumettes
…c’est qu’ils ne savaient pas toutes les belles choses qu’elle avait vues pendant la nuit du nouvel an…
Le Rossignol d’Andersen
“En Chine, vous devez bien le savoir, l’empereur est un Chinois, et tous ceux qui l’entourent sont aussi des Chinois. Il y a bien des années, — hâtez-vous donc d’écouter cette histoire qui sera bientôt oubliée, — le château de l’empereur était le plus magnifique du monde, tout entier de porcelaine si précieuse, si fragile, si délicate qu’il fallait prendre bien garde d’y toucher. Dans le jardin, on voyait les fleurs les plus merveilleuses ; les plus belles portaient de petites clochettes d’argent qui sonnaient toutes les fois que quelqu’un passait, pour qu’il n’oubliât pas de regarder les fleurs. Oui, tout ce qu’il y avait dans le jardin de l’empereur était bien joliment disposé, et ce jardin s’étendait si loin, que le jardinier lui-même n’en avait jamais vu le bout. En avançant toujours, on arrivait dans une forêt superbe, remplie d’arbres élevés et coupée de lacs ; cette forêt s’étendait jusqu’à la mer, qui était, sur les bords même, bien bleue et bien profonde. De grands navires pouvaient aborder presque sous les arbres. Un rossignol avait établi sa demeure dans une des branches suspendues, au-dessus des flots, et il chantait si délicieusement que les pauvres pêcheurs, préoccupés pourtant de bien d’autres choses, s’arrêtaient pour l’écouter pendant la nuit, au lieu de marcher pour retirer leurs filets.”
…
H. CH. Andersen Sous le saule
Vous avez déjà entendu parler de Hans Christian Andersen? Si oui, alors vous êtes privilégiés.
La plupart des personnes de moins de 35 ans pensent que la petite sirène a été créée par Disney, pensent que le Vilain Petit Canard est écrit par les Frères Grimm, que la Reine des Neiges est une autre façon d’appeler Blanche-neige et n’ont même pas entendu parler des Cygnes sauvages et Le Stoïque soldat de plomb. Et pourtant ce sont des titres qui ont accompagné l’enfance de milliers d’enfants depuis XIX siècle quand Andersen les a écrits.
C’est peut être vrai que aujourd’hui l’enfance se laisse emporter par des nouvelles émotions et vision du monde parce que, oui, c’est aussi le monde qui est changé. Mais l’homme dans son âme et sa sensibilité est moins « moderne » de ce que la société prétend. Nous pleurons et rions de la même façon des mêmes situations comme à l’époque quand Andersen a écrit une histoire comme Les habits neufs de l’empereur dont aujourd’hui encore on se sert en tant que métaphore.
Andersen a repris, adapté et inventé des contes dont la finesse et la perspicacité frappent le lecteur presque sans pitié.
C’est ainssi une source d’images inépuisable. Je me donne ici la liberté d’interprétation de ses histoires magiques.
Sous la saule
clementineTe 
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