| In the narrow streets
of the city, at dusk, just as the sun was setting and painting
the clouds above the chimney pots a fiery red, people would
sometimes hear a strange sound like the knell of a great church
bell. Only for a moment could it be heard, then the noise of
the city--the rumbling of the cam and the shouting of the peddlers
would drown it out "It is the vesper bell, calling folk to evening
prayers; the sun must be setting," was the usual explanation.
|
Om Aftenen i de snevre
Gader i den store By, naar Solen gik ned og Skyerne skinnede
som Guld oppe mellem Skorstenene, hørte tidt snart den Ene snart
den Anden en underlig Lyd, ligesom Klangen af en Kirkeklokke,
men det var kun et Øieblik den hørtes, for der var saadan en
Rumlen med Vogne og saadan en Raaben og det forstyrrer. "Nu
ringer Aftenklokken!" sagde man, "nu gaaer Solen ned!" |
| To those who lived on
the outskirts of the town, where the houses were farther away
from each other and had gardens around them some places were
even separated by a field--the sunset was much more beautiful
and the sound of the bell much louder. It seemed to come from
a church in the depth of a fragrant forest, and it made the
people who heard it feel quite solemn as they looked toward
the darkening woods. |
De, som gik udenfor
Byen, hvor Husene laae længer fra hinanden med Haver og smaa
Marker, saae Aftenhimmelen endnu prægtigere og hørte langt stærkere
Klangen af Klokken, det var som kom Lyden fra en Kirke dybt
inde i den stille, duftende Skov; og Folk saae derhen, og bleve
ganske høitidelige. |
| As time passed people
began to ask each other whether there wasn't a church in the
woods. And It was not far from that thought to the next: The
bell sounds so beautiful, why don't we go out and try to find
it?" Now the rich people got into their carriages and the poor
people walked; but to all of them the road to the forest seemed
very long. When they finally reached some weeping willows that
grew on the edge of the woods they sat down under the bran to
rest, and, looking up into the branches, believed that they
wen sitting in the middle of the forest One of the bakers from
town pitched a tent there and sold cakes. Business was good,
and soon there were two bakers. The second one to arrive hung
above his tent a bell, which was tarred on the outside to protect
it from the rain, but it had no tongue. When the people came
back to town they said that their outing had been very romantic;
and that word is not as tepid as a tea party. Three persons
claimed to have penetrated the forest and come out on the other
side. They had heard a bell, but they said that the sound seemed
to come not from the woods but from the town. One of them had
written a sonnet about the bell, in which he compared its sound
to that of a mother's voice when she speaks to her lovely, beloved
child; the last fine declared that no melody could be sweeter
than that bell's song. |
Nu gik mange Tider,
den Ene sagde til den Anden: "Mon der er en Kirke derude i Skoven?
Den Klokke har dog en underlig, deilig Klang, skulle vi ikke
tage derud og see lidt nærmere paa den". Og de rige Folk de
kjørte og de fattige de gik, men Veien blev dem saa underlig
lang, og da de kom til en heel Deel Piletræer, der voxte ved
Udkanten af Skoven, saa satte de sig der og saae op i de lange
Grene og troede, at de vare rigtigt i det Grønne; Conditoren
inde fra Byen kom derud og slog sit Telt op, og saa kom der
nok en Conditor og han hang en Klokke op ligeover sit Telt,
og det en Klokke, som var tjæret for at kunne taale Regnen,
og Knebelen manglede. Naar saa Folk toge hjem igjen, sagde de
at det havde været saa romantisk, og det betyder Noget ganske
udenfor Theevand. Tre Personer forsikkrede, at de vare trængte
ind i Skoven lige til hvor den endte, og de havde altid hørt
den underlige Klokkeklang, men det var der for dem ligesom den
kom inde fra Byen; den ene skrev en heel Vise derom og sagde,
at Mokken klang som en Moders Stemme til et kjært klogt Barn,
ingen Melodi var deiligere end Klokkens Klang. |
| At last the emperor
heard about it, and he promised that whoever found out where
the sound came from would be given the title of "Bell Ringer
of the World!" and that even if he discovered that it wasn't
a bell that made it. |
Landets Keiser blev
ogsaa opmærksom derpaa og lovede, at den som ret kunde opdage
hvorfra Lyden kom, skulde faae Titel af "Verdens Klokker" og
det selv om det ikke var en Klokke. |
| Now many people went
out in search of the bell; they did it for the tide and for
the wages that went with it. But only one returned with an answer:
an explanation of a sort. He had been no farther in the forest
than the rest--and that hadn't been very far-but he claimed
that the bell-like sound came from a great owl who was sitting
inside a hollow tree. It was the bird of wisdom and it was incessantly
knocking its head against the trunk; but whether the ringing
was caused by the bird's head or the tree bunk he had not yet
decided. The emperor bestowed upon him the title of "Bell Ringer
of the World," and every year he published a paper on the subject
without anyone becoming any wiser. |
Nu gik da mange til
Skoven for det gode Levebrøds Skyld, men der var kun Een, som
kom hjem med en Slags Forklaring, Ingen havde været dybt nok
inde, og han da ikke heller, men han sagde dog at Klokke-Lyden
kom fra en meget stor Ugle i et huult Træ, det var saadan en
Viisdoms-Ugle, som idelig slog sit Hoved mod Træet, men om Lyden
kom fra dens Hoved eller fra den hule Stamme, det kunde han
ikke endnu med Bestemthed sige, og saa blev han ansat som Verdens
Klokker og skrev hvert Aar en lille Afhandling om Uglen; men
ligemeget vidste man. |
| One Sunday in May, when
the children who had reached the age of fourteen were confirmed,
the minister preached so movingly that all the young people
present had tears in their eyes. It was a solemn occasion; after
all, it was expected that they should become grownups; and that
as soon as the ceremony was over, their child-souls would enter
the bodies of reasonable adults. It was a beautiful day, and
after the service all the children who had been confirmed walked,
in a flock, to the forest. The sound of the unknown bell was
particularly strong that day; and all of them had a great desire
to go and search for it. That is, all of them except three:
One girl had to hurry home for the find fitting of her new dress,
which had been especially sewn for a ball she was to attend
that night. Ilia dress and the hall had been her real reasons
for being confirmed. Another was a poor boy who had had to borrow
both shoes and suit from the son of his parents' landlord; and
they were to be delivered back as soon as the ceremony was over.
The third was a boy who declared that he never went anywhere
without his parents' permission. He had always been a good boy
and would continue to be one even after he was confirmed; that
is nothing to poke fun at-but all the other children did. |
Nu var det just en Confirmations-Dag,
Præsten havde talt saa smukt og inderligt; Confirmanderne havde
været saa bevægede, det var en vigtig Dag for dem, de bleve
fra Børn med eet til voxne Mennesker, Barnesjælen skulde nu
ligesom flyve over i en forstandigere Person. Det var det deiligste
Solskin, Confirmanderne gik ud af Byen, og fra Skoven klang
forunderlig stærkt den store ubekjendte Klokke. De fik lige
strax saadan en Lyst til at komme der, og det Alle paa tre nær,
den ene af dem skulde hjem og prøve sin Balkjole, for det var
just den Kjole og det Bal, der var Skyld i, at hun var blevet
confirmeret denne Gang, for ellers var hun ikke kommet med;
den anden var en fattig Dreng, som havde laant sin Confirmations
Kjole og Støvlerne hos Vertens Søn og dem maatte han levere
af paa bestemt Klokkeslæt; den tredie sagde, at han aldrig gik
noget fremmed Sted, uden hans Forældre vare med, og at han altid
havde været et artigt Barn og det vilde han blive, selv som
Confirmand, og det skal man ikke gjøre Nar af!- men det gjorde
de. |
| So three of them stayed
behind but all the rest went on. The sun was shining, the birds
were singing, and the young people who had just been confirmed
were singing too. They walked hand in hand, for they hadn't
become anything in the world yet, and they could afford to be
friendly. |
Tre af dem gik altsaa
ikke med; de Andre travede afsted; Solen skinnede og Fuglene
sang og Confirmanderne sang med og holdt hverandre i Hænderne,
for de havde jo ikke faaet Embeder endnu og vare alle Confirmander
for vor Herre. |
| Soon two of the smallest
became tired and turned back toward the town; and a couple of
girls sat down in a meadow to braid wreaths of wild flowers;
so they were four fewer. When the rest of the group reached
the weeping willow trees, where the baker's tent was pitched,
most of them said, "Well, here we are; you can see that the
bell doesn't really exist. It is just something one imagines." |
Men snart blev to af
de mindste trætte og saa vendte de to om til Byen igjen; to
Smaapiger satte sig og bandt Krandse, de kom heller ikke med,
og da de Andre naaede Piletræerne, hvor Conditoren boede, saa
sagde de: "see saa, nu ere vi herude; Klokken er jo egentlig
ikke til, den er bare saadant noget man bilder sig ind!" |
| But from deeper in the
woods came the sound of the bell: sweet and solemn; and five
of the children decided to go on, just a little farther. It
was not easy to make ones way through the forest; the trees
grew close together, blackberry brambles and other thorny bushes
were everywhere. But it was beautiful; the sun rays played and
they heard the nightingale sing. It was glorious, but it was
no place for girls; their dresses would be torn. They came to
great boulders covered with different kinds of moss. They hand
the gurgling of a spring: "Gluck, gluck." |
Da lød i det samme dybt
i Skoven Klokken saa sødt og høftideligt, at fire, fem bestemte
sig til dog at gaae noget længere ind i Skoven. Den var saa
tæt, saa løvfuld, det var ordentligt besværligt at komme frem,
Skovmærker og Anemoner voxte næsten altfor høit, blomstrende
Convolvoli og Brombær-Ranker hang i lange Guirlander fra Træ
til Træ, hvor Nattergalen sang og Solstraalerne legede; o det
var saa velsignet, men det var ingen Vei at gaae for Pigerne,
de vilde faaet Klæderne revet itu. Der laae store Klippeblokke
begroede med Mos af alle Farver, det friske Kildevand piblede
frem og underligt sagde det ligesom "kluk, kluk!" |
| "I wonder if that isnt
the bell," said one of the five, and lay down on the ground
In order to hear the bubbling of the water better. "I think
I ought to Investigate this some mom" he added, and let the
other four go on without him. |
"Det skulde dog ikke
være Klokken!" sagde een af Confirmanderne, og lagde sig ned
og hørte efter. "Det maa man rigtigt studere!" og saa blev han
og lod de Andre gaae. |
| They came to a house
made of branches and bark. A huge wild apple tree towered above
it and roses grew in such abundance up its walls that they covered
the roof of the little cottage. On one of the ramblers hung
a little silver bell. Was that the bell that they had heard?
All but one of the boys agreed that it was. He claimed that
this bell was too small and delicate to be heard so far away;
besides, it did not produce the kind of music that could touch
a man's heart. "No," he said. "It Is an entirely different bell
that we heard before ." But the youth who had spoken was a king's
son, and one of his comrades remarked, "Oh, his kind always
wants to think themselves cleverer than the rest of us." |
De kom til et Huus af
Bark og Grene, et stort Træ med vilde Æbler hældede sig hen
over det, som vilde det ryste hele sin Velsignelse ud over Taget,
der blomstrede med Roser; de lange Grene laae lige hen om Gavlen,
og paa den hang en lille Klokke. Skulde det være den, man havde
hørt. Ja, derom vare de Alle enige, paa Een nær, han sagde,
at den Klokke var for lille og fiin til at kunne høres saa langt
borte, som de havde hørt den, og at det var ganske andre Toner,
som saaledes rørte et Menneske-Hjerte; han som talte var en
Kongesøn, og saa sagde de Andre "saadan Een vilde nu altid være
klogere." |
| They let him go on alone.
When the cottage and his friends were lost from eight, the great
loneliness of the forest engulfed the prince, He could still
hem the little bell, which had pleased his friends, tingle merrily;
and from farther away--borne on the wind's back--came the sound
of the people at the baker's tent singing as they drank their
tea. But the knell of the great bell of the forest grew stronger
and stronger; then it seemed to be accompanied by an organ;
he thought the sound of it came from the left when the heart
is. |
Saa lod de ham gaae
alene, og altsom han gik blev hans Bryst mere og mere opfyldt
af Skov-Eensomheden; men endnu hørte han den lille Klokke, som
de Andre vare saa fornøiede med, og imellem, naar Vinden bar
fra Conditoren, kunde han ogsaa høre, hvorledes der blev sjunget
til Theevand; men de dybe Klokkeslag lød dog stærkere, det var
snart ligesom et Orgel spillede dertil, Lyden kom fra Venstre,
fra den Side, paa hvilken Hjertet sidder. |
| Leaves rustled, twigs
snapped; someone du was making his way ,through the woods. The
prince turned; in front of him stood another boy. He had wooden
shoes on his feet, and the sleeves of his tunic were too short
because he had outgrown it He was the youth who had had to return
the clothes be had worn, at confirmation, as soon as the ceremony
was ova. The landlord's son had got his finery back, and the
poor lad had put on his own old clothes, stuck his feet into
his clogs, and set off in search of the great bell whose deep
clang had called on him so powerfully that he had had to follow
it. |
Nu raslede det i Busken
og der stod en lille Dreng foran Kongesønnen, en Dreng i Træskoe
og med en Trøie saa kort, at man ret kunde see hvor lange Haandled
han havde. De kjendte begge hinanden, Drengen var just den af
Confirmanderne, som ikke kunde komme med, fordi han skulde hjem
og levere Trøie og Støvler af til Vertens Søn; det havde han
gjort og var nu i Træskoe og de fattige Klæder gaaet afsted
alene, thi Klokken klang saa stærkt, saa dybt, han maatte derud. |
| "Let us go on together,"
proposed the prince. But the poor boy looked down at his wooden
shoes and pulled at the sleeves of his tunic to make them a
little longer. His poverty made him shy, and he excused himself
by saying that he feared he could not walk as fast as the prime.
Besides, he thought that the bell was to be found on the other
side of the forest; on the right, where everything great and
marvelous is. |
"Saa kunne vi jo gaae
sammen!" sagde Kongesønnen. Men den fattige Confirmand med Træskoene
var ganske undseelig, han trak paa de korte Trøie-Ærmer og sagde:
han var bange for, at han ikke kunde gaae saa rask med, desuden
meente han, at Klokken maatte søges til Høire, thi den Plads
havde jo alt Stort og Herligt. |
| Then I suppose we shall
not meet again," said the prince, and nodded to the poor boy,
who walked into the densest part of the forest, where brambles
and thorns would tea his worn-out clothes to shreds and scratch
his face, legs, and hands till blood streamed down them. Ile
prince did not escape being scratched, but the sun did shine
on the path he took, and we shall follow him, for he was a good
and courageous boy. |
"Ja, saa mødes vi slet
ikke!" sagde Kongesønnen og nikkede til den fattige Dreng, der
gik ind i den mørkeste, meest tætte Deel af Skoven, hvor Tornene
reve hans fattige Klæder itu og Ansigt, Hænder og Fødder til
Blods. Kongesønnen fik ogsaa nogle gode Rifter, men Solen skinnede
dog paa hans Vei, og det er ham vi nu følge med, for en rask
Knøs var han. |
| "I will find the bell,"
he declared, "if I have to go to the and of the world to do
it" |
"Klokken" vil og maa
jeg finde!" sagde han, "om jeg saa skal gaae til Verdens Ende!" |
| On the limbs of a tree
sat ugly monkeys; they grinned and screamed to each other: "Throw
something at him! Throw something at him. He is a royal child!"
|
De ækle Abekatte sad
oppe i Træerne og grinte med alle deres Tænder. "Skal vi dænge
ham!" sagde de; "skal vi dænge ham; han er en Kongesøn!" |
| But the prince did not
am notice them; he walked on deeper and deeper into the forest.
Here grew the strangest flowers: lilies shaped like white stars,
with blood-red stamens; tulips as blue a the sky; and apple
trees, whose fruit looked like soap bubbles.--How such a tree
would have glittered in the sunlight!--He passed green meadows
when deer played in the grass underneath solitary oak trees.
In every crack and credo of their trunks grew grass and moss.
Them were many lakes in which white swans swam; he could hew
the beating of their great wings. He lingered and listened.
Mom than once he wondered whether the knell might not come from
somewhere deep inside am of the lakes; but then, when he strained
his ears, he understood that the sound came from far away, from
the very depth of the forest. |
Men han gik ufortrøden
dybere og dybere ind i Skoven, hvor der voxte de forunderligste
Blomster, der stod hvide Stjerne-Lilier med blodrøde Støvtraade,
himmelblaae Tulipaner, som gnistrede i Vinden, og Æbletræer,
hvor Æblerne ganske og aldeles saae ud som store skinnende Sæbebobler,
tænk bare hvor de Træer maatte straale i Solskinnet. Rundt om
de deiligste grønne Enge, hvor Hjort og Hind legede i Græsset,
voxte prægtige Ege og Bøge, og var eet af Træerne revnet i Barken,
saa voxte her Græs og lange Ranker i Revnen; der var ogsaa store
Skovstrækninger med stille Indsøer, hvori hvide Svaner svømmede
og sloge med Vingerne. Kongesønnen stod tidt stille og lyttede,
ofte troede han, at det var fra een af disse dybe Søer Klokken
klang op til ham, men saa mærkede han dog nok, at det var ikke
derfra, men endnu dybere inde i Skoven at Klokken klang. |
| The sun was setting
and the sky turned red as fire. The forest becon so still that
the prince sank down an his knees and said, "I shall never find
what I seek! The sun is setting,- soon the night will comedic
dark, dark night ... But maybe I can still get another glimpse
of the sun, see it once more before it disappears, by climbing
that cliff, over there, which is higher than the tallest trees." |
Nu gik Solen ned, Luften
skinnede rød, som Ild, der blev saa stille, saa stille i Skoven,
og han sank paa sine Knæe, sang sin Aftenpsalme og sagde: "Aldrig
finder jeg hvad jeg søger! nu gaaer Solen ned, nu kommer Natten,
den mørke Nat; dog eengang kan jeg maaskee endnu see den runde,
røde Sol, før den ganske synker bag Jorden; jeg vil stige op
paa Klipperne der, de reise sig i Høide med de største Træer!" |
| His hands grabbed the
brambles the grow among the wet stones, and he pulled himself
upward. So eager was he to reach the top of the cliff that he
noticed neither the slimy snakes not ft toads who barked like
dogs. Just before the sun set he reached the summit. Oh, what
splendor! Below him stretched the ocean, that great sea that
was flinging its long waves toward the shore. Like a shining
red altar the sun stood where sea and sky met All nature became
one in the golden sunset: the song of the forest and the song
of the sea blended and -his hem seemed to be part of their harmony.
All nature was a great cathedral: the flowers and the grass
were the mosaic Boors, the tall trees and swaying clouds wet
its pillars and heaven itself was the dome. High above the red
color was disappearing for the sun had at The millions of sun
were lighted: the millions of little diamond lamps. The prince
spread out his arms toward it all: the forest the ocean, and
the ft. But just at that moment, from the right side of the
cliff came the poor bay with his ragged tunic. and his wooden
shoes. He had arrived there almost as quickly by going his own
way. The two boys ran to meet each other Them they stood, hand
in hand, in the midst of nature's and poetry's great cathedral;
and far above the great Invisible holy bell was heard in loud
hosanna. |
Og han greb i Ranker
og Rødder, klattrede op af de vaade Stene, hvor Vandslangerne
snoede sig, hvor Skrubtudsen ligesom gjøede af ham; - men op
kom han før Solen endnu ganske var nede, seet fra denne Høide;
o, hvilken Pragt! Havet, det store herlige Hav, der væltede
sine lange Bølger mod Kysten, strakte sig ud foran ham, og Solen
stod som et stort skinnende Alter derude, hvor Hav og Himmel
mødtes, alt smeltede sammen i glødende Farver, Skoven sang og
Havet sang og hans Hjerte sang med; den hele Natur var en stor
hellig Kirke, hvori Træer og svævende Skyer vare Pillerne, Blomster
og Græs det vævede Fløiels Klæde og Himlen selv den store Kuppel:
deroppe slukkedes de røde Farver, idet Solen forsvandt, men
Millioner Stjerner tændtes, Millioner Diamant-Lamper skinnede
da, og Kongesønnen bredte sine Arme ud mod Himlen, mod Havet
og Skoven, - og i det samme, fra den høire Sidegang, kom med
de korte Ærmer og med Træskoe den fattige Confirmand; han var
kommen der ligesaa tidlig, kommen der ad sin Vei, og de løb
hinanden imøde og holdt hinanden i Hænderne i Naturens og Poesiens
store Kirke, og over dem klang den usynlige hellige Klokke,
salige Aander svævede i Dands om den til et jublende Halleluja!
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