| There once was a big
wax candle that knew who it was. |
Der var et stort Voxlys,
det vidste nok hvad det var. |
| "I am made of wax and
have been cast, not dipped," it said. "My light is clearer and
I burn longer than other candles. I belong in a chandelier or
a silver candlestick." |
"Jeg er født i Vox og
støbt i Form!" sagde det. "Jeg lyser bedre og brænder i længere
Tid end andre Lys; min Plads er i Lysekrone eller Sølvstage!"
|
| "That must be lovely,"
said a tallow candle. "I am only made from tallow, but I have
been dipped eight times and have a decent-sized waistline; some
tallow candles are only dipped twice. I am satisfied! Though
I admit it is better to be born in wax than in tallow; but you
cannot decide yourself how and where to be born. Wax candles
are put in the living room and I have to stay in the kitchen,
but that is a good place too, all the food for the whole house
is made there." |
"Det maa være en deilig
Tilværelse!" sagde Tællelyset. "Jeg er kun af Tælle, kun Spiddelys,
men jeg trøster mig ved, at det altid er lidt Mere end at være
en Praas; den dyppes kun to Gange, jeg er dyppet otte Gange
for at faae min anstændige Tykkelse. Jeg er tilfreds! det er
vistnok finere og lykkeligere stillet at være født i Vox og
ikke i Tælle, men man stiller sig jo ikke selv i denne Verden.
De kommer i Storstuen i Glaskrone, jeg bliver i Kjøkkenet, men
det er ogsaa et godt Sted, derfra faaer hele Huset Maden!" |
| "There is something
more important than food," said the wax candle, "and that is
social life. To shine while others shine. There is going to
be a ball tonight, any moment they will come for me and my whole
family." |
"Men der er Noget, der
er vigtigere end Maden!" sagde Voxlyset: "Selskabeligheden!
see den straale og selv at straale! Her er Bal i Aften, nu bliver
jeg og hele min Familie snart afhentede!" |
| Hardly had this been
said when the lady of the house came to get the wax candles,
but she took the little tallow candle too. She brought it out
into the kitchen. There stood a little boy with a basket on
his arm; it was filled with potatoes, and a few apples had been
put in it, too. All this the kind mistress had given to the
poor boy. |
Neppe var det sagt,
saa bleve alle Voxlysene afhentede, men ogsaa Tællelyset kom
med. Fruen selv tog det i sin fine Haand og bar det ud i Kjøkkenet;
der stod en lille Dreng med en Kurv, den blev fyldt med Kartofler,
ogsaa et Par Æbler kom deri. Alt det gav den gode Frue den fattige
Dreng. |
| "Here, my little friend,"
she said, and she put the tallow candle into his basket. "I
know that your mother often works so late into the night." |
"Der har Du et Lys til,
min lille Ven!" sagde hun. "Din Moder sidder og arbeider heelt
ud paa Natten, hun kan bruge det!" |
| Her little daughter,
who was standing nearby, smiled when she heard her mother say
"so late into the night." "We are going to have a party, a ball,
and my dress has red bows on it, and I will be allowed to be
up, so late into the night," she said joyfully. |
Husets lille Datter
stod tæt ved, og da hun hørte de Ord: "ud paa Natten", sagde
hun med inderlig Glæde: "Jeg skal ogsaa være oppe til ud paa
Natten! vi skal have Bal, og jeg faaer de store, røde Sløifer
paa!" |
| Her eyes sparkled with
expectation, she was so happy. No wax candles can shine like
the eyes of a child. |
Hvor straalede hendes
Ansigt! det var Glæde! Intet Voxlys kan straale som to Barnøine!
|
| "That was a blessed
sight," thought the tallow candle. "I shall never forget it,
nor am I likely ever to see such happiness again." |
"Det er velsignet at
see!" tænkte Tællelyset, "det glemmer jeg aldrig, og det seer
jeg vist aldrig meer!" |
| The boy went on his
way and the tallow candle went with him. |
Og saa blev det lagt
i Kurven under Laaget, og Drengen gik med det. |
| "I wonder where I am
going," it thought. "Probably to people so poor that they don't
even have a brass candlestick; while the wax candle sits in
silver and is in the finest company. Well, it was my lot to
be tallow and not wax." |
"Hvor skal jeg nu hen!"
tænkte Lyset; "jeg skal til fattige Folk, faaer maaskee ikke
engang en Messingstage, mens Voxlyset sidder i Sølv og seer
de fineste Folk. Hvor det maa være deiligt at lyse for de fineste
Folk! det blev nu min Lod at være Tælle og ikke Vox!" |
| And the tallow candle
was brought to a poor home where a widow lived with her three
children. From their rooms, with their low ceilings and narrow
windows, one could look across the street into the great house.
|
Og Lyset kom til Fattigfolk,
en Enke med tre Børn i en lille lav Stue lige overfor det rige
Huus. |
| "God bless her who gave
you this," said the boy's mother when she saw the candle. "It
will burn, late into the night." |
"Gud velsigne den gode
Frue for hvad hun gav!" sagde Moderen, "det er jo et deiligt
Lys! det kan brænde til ud paa Natten." |
| And the candle was lit. |
Og Lyset blev tændt.
|
| "Phew!" it said. "Those
sulphur matches smell awful. I am sure they don't dare light
the wax candle with such things." |
"Fut-foi!" sagde det.
"Det var en fæl lugtende Svovlstikke, hun tændte mig med! Sligt
byder man neppe et Voxlys ovre i det rige Huus!" |
| In the rich house also
the candles were lit. From the windows their light fell out
into the street. Coaches rumbled along the cobblestones as they
arrived, bringing the elegantly dressed guests, and soon music
could be heard. |
Ogsaa der tændtes Lysene;
de straalede ud over Gaden; Vognene rumlede med de pyntede Balgjester,
Musiken klang. |
| "Now the ball is starting,"
thought the tallow candle, and recalled the little rich girl
and how her eyes had sparkled even brighter than wax candles.
"I shall never see eyes like those again." |
"Nu begynde de derovre!"
fornam Tællelyset og tænkte paa den lille, rige Piges straalende
Ansigt, mere straalende end alle Voxlysene. "Det Syn seer jeg
aldrig meer!" |
| The youngest of the
poor woman's children was a girl too. She put her arms around
her brother and sister and whispered to them, "We are going
to have hot potatoes for dinner." |
Da kom det Mindste af
Børnene i det fattige Huus, en lille Pige var det; hun tog Broder
og Søster om Halsen, hun havde noget meget Vigtigt at fortælle,
det maatte hviskes: "Vi skal i Aften - tænk! - vi skal i Aften
have varme Kartofler!" |
| Her eyes looked bright
and happy too, just as happy as the little girl's across the
street had looked when she said, "We are going to have a ball
tonight, and my dress has red bows on it." |
Og hendes Ansigt straalede
af Lyksalighed; Lyset skinnede lige ind deri, det saae en Glæde,
en Lykke saa stor som ovre i det rige Huus, hvor den lille Pige
sagde: "Vi skulle have Bal i Aften, og jeg skal have de støre
røde Sløifer paa!" |
| "I wonder," thought
the tallow candle, "whether to get hot potatoes for dinner is
as good. The two little ones seem equally pleased." The tallow
candle sneezed; that is to say, it sputtered, for a tallow candle
can't do much to express itself. |
"Er det at faae varme
Kartofler ligesaa meget!" tænkte Lyset. "Her er jo lige stor
Glæde hos de Smaa!" Og det nøs derpaa; det vil sige, det spruttede,
mere kan et Tællelys ikke. |
| The table was set. The
potatoes were eaten. How good they tasted! |
Bordet blev dækket,
Kartoflerne spiste. 0, hvor de smagte! |
| And then there were
apples for dessert. The youngest child recited a little verse:
|
det var et heelt Festmaaltid,
og saa fik hver et Æble ovenpaa, og det mindste Barn fremsagde
det lille Vers: |
"Dear God, thanks to Your will, I once more my stomach
did fill. Amen.
|
"Du gode Gud, jeg takker Dig, At Du igjen har mættet mig!
Amen."
|
| "Did I say it nicely?"
the girl asked her mother. The mother smiled and shook her head.
"That you mustn't ask or think about. What is important is to
be thankful to God for what He does for us." |
"Var det ikke peent
sagt, Moder!" udbrød derpaa den Lille. "Det maa Du ikke spørge
om, eller sige!" sagde Moderen. "Du skal alene tænke paa den
gode Gud, som har mættet Dig!" |
| The children were put
to bed and each given a kiss, and they fell right to sleep.
The mother stayed up and sewed late into the night. She had
to earn a living for herself and her children. Over in the house
of the rich the candles were still burning and the music played.
Above in the sky the stars shone, and they shone as brightly
on the poor home as on the rich one. |
De Smaa kom i Seng,
fik et Kys og sov lige strax, og Moder sad og syede til ud paa
Natten for at faae sit Udkomme til dem og sig. Og ovre fra det
rige Huus skinnede Lysene og Musiken klang. Stjernerne blinkede
over alle Huse, over de Riges og over de Fattiges, lige klare,
lige velsignede. |
| "That was a nice evening,"
thought the tallow candle. "I wonder if the wax candle has had
a better time in the silver candlesticks? That is a question
I would like to have answered before I am burned out." |
"Det var i Grunden en
rar Aften!" meente Tællelyset. "Mon Voxlysene havde det bedre
i Sølvstage? Det gad jeg nok vide før jeg er brændt ud!" |
| Then it thought of the
two equally happy faces: one shining in the light of a wax candle
and the other in the light of a tallow one. |
Og det tænkte paa de
to lige Lykkelige, den Ene bestraalet af Voxlys, den Anden af
et Tællelys! |
| Well, that is really
the end of the story, there is no more, just as there is no
more left of either the wax or the tallow candle. |
Ja, det er hele Historien!
|