| Once upon a time there
was a fine gentleman whose only worldly possessions were a bootjack,
a comb, and a loose collar; but that was such a fine one that
it would have enhanced the best shirt in the world; and this
story is about the collar. He was old enough to begin thinking
about marriage when, by chance, he found himself being washed
in the same tub as a lady's garter. |
Der var en Gang en fiin
Cavaleer, hvis hele Bohave var en Støvleknægt og en Redekam,
men han havde de deiligste Flipper i Verden og det er om Flipperne
vi skulle høre en Historie. - De vare nu saa gamle at de tænkte
paa at gifte sig, og saa traf det at de kom i Vadsk med et Strømpebaand. |
| "Ah," sighed the collar.
"Never have I met anyone so soft and dainty, with so slender
and lovely a figure. May I ask your name?" |
"Nei!" sagde
Flipperne, "nu har jeg aldrig seet nogen saa slank og saa
fiin, saa blød og saa nysselig. Maa jeg ikke spørge om deres
Navn?" |
| "I won't tell you,"
snapped the garter. |
"Det siger jeg ikke!"
sagde Strømpebaandet. |
| "Where exactly do you
. . . belong?" asked the collar. |
"Hvor hører de hjemme?"
spurgte Flipperne. |
| The garter, who was
by nature shy, found the question indiscreet and didn't answer. |
Men Strømpebaandet var
saa undseelig af sig og syntes at det var noget underligt at
svare paa. |
| "I think you must be
a kind of waistband," continued the collar. "Something that
is worn on the inside. I see that you are both useful and decorative,
Miss . . . Miss . . ." |
"De er nok Livbaand!"
sagde Flipperne, "saadan indvortes Livbaand! jeg seer nok de
er baade til Nytte og Stads, lille Jomfru!" |
| "Please don't talk to
me!" said the garter. "I have given you neither cause nor permission
to do so." |
"De maa ikke tale til
mig!" sagde Strømpebaandet, "jeg synes jeg har slet ikke givet
Anledning!" |
| "Your beauty is cause
enough and gives its own permission," replied the collar, who
thought himself not only gallant but also witty. |
"Jo, naar man er saa
deilig som de!" sagde Flipperne, "det er Anledning nok!" |
| "Don't come near Me!"
screamed the garter. "There is something... something masculine
about you." |
"Lad være at komme mig
saa nær!" sagde Strømpebaandet. "De seer saa mandfolkeagtig
ud!" |
| "I am a gentleman. I
own both a bootjack and a comb," boasted the collar, but he
was lying: the comb and bootjack belonged to his master. |
"Jeg er ogsaa fiin Cavaleer!"
sagde Flipperne, "jeg har Støvleknægt og Redekam!" og det var
nu ikke sandt, det var jo hans Herre, der havde dem, men han
pralede. |
| "Don't come near me!"
moaned the garter. "I am not used to such treatment." |
"Kom mig ikke nær!"
sagde Strømpebaandet, "det er jeg ikke vant til!" |
| "Prude!" snapped the
collar. Just at that moment he was taken out of the tub; then
he was starched and hung over a chair out in the sunshine. A
little bit later he was taken in and put on an ironing board. |
"Snærpe!" sagde Flipperne
og saa blev de tagne af Vadsken; de fik Stivelse, hang paa Stolen
i Solskin og blev saa lagt paa Strygebrædt; der kom det varme
Jern. |
| "Madam," began the collar
as soon as he saw the warm iron, "I assume that you are a widow.
The very sight of you makes me warm, and all my wrinkles disappear.
Be careful not to burn a hole in me. . . . Please, will you
marry me?" |
"Frue!" sagde Flipperne,
"lille Enkefrue! jeg bliver ganske varm! jeg bliver en anden
En, jeg kommer reent ud af Folderne, de brænder Hul i mig! uh!
- Jeg frier til dem!" |
| "Rag!" snarled the iron
as it passed proudly over the collar, imagining that it was
a steam engine drawing a whole string of railway cars behind
it. |
"Las!" sagde Strygejernet
og gik stolt hen over Flipperne; for det bildte sig ind det
var en Dampkjædel, der skulde ud paa Jernbanen og trække Vogne. |
| "Rag!" repeated the
iron on its return journey. |
"Las!" sagde det. |
| The collar was found
to be just a little frayed on the edges and the maid took a
pair of scissors to cut off the few loose threads. |
Flipperne flossede lidt
i Kanterne, og saa kom Papirs-Saxen og skulde klippe Flosset
af. |
| "Oh!" exclaimed the
collar when he saw the scissors. "You must be a prima ballerina.
What leg movement! Never have I seen anything so elegant; no
human being could surpass you!" |
"0!" sagde Flipperne!
"de er nok første Dandserinde! hvor de kan strække Been! det
er det Yndigste jeg har seet! det kan intet Menneske gjøre dem
efter!" |
| "I know that,"
said the scissors. |
"Det veed jeg!" sagde
Saxen. |
| "You deserve to be a
countess!" declared the collar. "All I have is a bootjack, a
comb, and a gentleman to wait upon me; I wish I were a count!" |
"De fortjente at være
Grevinde!" sagde Flipperne, "Alt hvad jeg har, er en fiin Cavaleer,
en Støvleknægt og en Redekam-! bare jeg havde Grevskab!" |
| "Is he proposing?" snarled
the scissors; she was angry, so she really cut the collar and
then it was spoiled. |
"Frier han!" sagde Saxen,
for den blev vred og saa gav den ham et ordenligt Klip, og saa
var han kasseret. |
| "I suppose I'd better
propose to the comb!" thought the collar, and said, "How pretty
your teeth look, miss, and you have not lost one of them. Tell
me, have you never thought of marriage?" |
"Jeg maa nok frie til
Redekammen! Det er mærkeligt hvor de beholder alle deres Tænder
lille Frøken!" sagde Flipperne. "Har de aldrig tænkt paa Forlovelse!" |
| "Didn't you know," said
the comb, and blushed, "that I am engaged to the bootjack?" |
"Jo det kan de vel nok
vide!" sagde Redekammen, "jeg er jo forlovet med Støvleknægten!" |
| "Engaged indeed!" sneered
the collar. Now that there was no one to propose to, he had
decided to become a cynic. |
"Forlovet!" sagde Flipperne;
nu var der ingen flere at frie til og saa foragtede han det. |
| Time passed and finally
the collar ended in the rag pile of the paper mill. There was
a big rag party, and the fine linen stayed in one bunch and
the coarse in another, as is the custom in this world. All the
rags liked to talk and had a lot to tell, but the collar talked
more than anyone else because he so loved to brag. |
En lang Tid gik, saa
kom Flipperne i Kasse hos Papirmølleren; der var stort Klude-Selskab,
de fine for sig, de grove for sig, saaledes som det skal være.
De havde alle meget at fortælle, men Flipperne mest, det var
en ordenlig Pralhans. |
| "I have had so many
sweethearts! Women couldn't leave me alone! But then, I was
a gentleman and so well starched. I had both a comb and a bootjack
though I never used either of them. You should have seen me
then, when I was buttoned and lying on my side. I shall never
forget my first fiancee. She was a waistband: so soft, so refined
and beautiful, I was the cause of her death; she drowned herself
in a washtub for my sake. Then there was the widow, she was
red hot with passion but I abandoned her. My wound, which you
can still see, was given me by a prima ballerina; she was infatuated
and fierce. My own comb loved me. She lost all of her teeth
because of it--I believe she cried them out. Oh yes, I have
lived! And I have a great deal on my conscience. But what troubles
me most is to think of the garter--I mean the waistband--and
her unhappy end in the washtub. I deserve to be made into paper,
that will atone for it." |
"Jeg har havt saa frygtelig
mange Kjærester!" sagde Flipperne, "jeg kunde ikke gaae i Ro!
jeg var nu ogsaa fiin Cavaleer, med Stivelse! jeg havde baade
Støvleknægt og Redekam, som jeg aldrig brugte! - de skulde have
seet mig den Gang, seet mig naar jeg laae paa Siden! Aldrig
glemmer jeg min første Kjæreste, hun var Livbaand, saa fiin,
saa blød og saa nydelig, hun styrtede sig i en Vandballe for
min Skyld! - Der var ogsaa en Enkefrue, som blev gloende, men
jeg lod hende staae og blive sort! Der var den første Dandserinde,
hun gav mig den Flænge jeg nu gaaer med, hun var saa glubsk!
min egen Redekam var forliebt i mig, hun tabte alle sine Tænder
af Kjærestesorg. Ja jeg har oplevet meget af den Slags! men
det gjør mig meest ondt for Strømpebaandet, -jeg mener Livbaandet
der gik i Vandballen. Jeg har meget paa min Samvittighed, jeg
kan trænge til at blive til hvidt Papir!" |
| All the rags were made
into paper, but the collar became the particular piece of paper
that this story is printed on. This was his punishment for having
bragged so much and told so many lies. The collar's fate is
worth remembering. How can you be sure that you won't end in
the rag pile, be made into paper, and have your whole life's
story--even the most intimate and secret parts--printed on you;
and then, like the rag, have to run around the world telling
everyone about it? |
Og det blev de, alle
Kludene bleve hvidt Papir, men Flipperne bleve netop til dette
Stykke hvide Papir vi her see, hvorpaa Historien er trykt, og
det var fordi at de pralede saa frygteligt bagefter af hvad
der aldrig havde været; og det skal vi tænke paa, at vi ikke
bære os ligesaadan ad, for vi kunne saamæn aldrig vide, om vi
ikke ogsaa engang komme i Klude-Kassen og blive gjort til hvidt
Papir og faae vor hele Historie trykt for paa, selv den allerhemmeligste
og maa saa selv løbe om og fortælle den, ligesom Flipperne.
|