| Surely you know what
a magnifying glass is. It looks like one of the round glasses
in a pair of spectacles; but it is much stronger, and can make
things appear a hundred times larger than they are. It you look
at a drop of water from a pond through it, a thousand tiny animals
appear that you cannot see with the naked eye; but they are
there and they are real. They look like a plate of five shrimps
jumping and crowding each other. They are all so ferocious that
they tear each other's arms and legs off, without seeming to
care. I suppose that is their way of life, and they are happy
and content with it. |
Du kjender da sagtens
et Forstørrelsesglas, saadan et rundt Brilleglas, der gjør Alting
hundred Gange større end det er? Naar man tager og holder det
for Øiet og seer paa en Vanddraabe ude fra Dammen, saa seer
man over tusinde underlige Dyr, som man ellers aldrig seer i
Vandet, men de ere der og det er virkeligt. Det seer næsten
ud, som en heel Talerken fuld af Reier, der springe mellem hverandre,
og de ere saa glubende, de rive Arme og Been, Ender og Kanter
af hverandre og dog ere de glade og fornøiede, paa deres Maade.
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| Now there once was an
old man whom everybody called Wiggle-waggle, because that happened
to be his name. He always made the best of things; and when
he couldn't, he used magic. |
Nu var der engang en
gammel Mand, som alle Folk kaldte Krible-Krable, for det hedte
han. Han vilde alletider have det Bedste ud af enhver Ting og
naar det slet ikke vilde gaae, saa tog han det med Trolddom.
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| One day when he looked
through his magnifying glass at a drop of ditch water he was
shocked at what he saw. How those creatures wiggled and waggled:
hopping, jumping, pulling, pushing, and eating each other up--yes,
they were cannibals. |
Nu sidder han en Dag
og holder sit Forstørrelsesglas for Øiet og seer paa en Vanddraabe,
der var taget ude af en Pyt Vand i Grøften. Nei hvor det kriblede
og krablede der! alle de tusinde Smaadyr hoppede og sprang,
trak i hverandre og aad af hverandre. |
| "It is a revolting sight!"
exclaimed old Wiggle-waggle. "Can't one do anything to make
them live in peace, and each mind his own business?" He thought
and thought, and when he couldn't find an answer, he decided
to use magic. "I'll give them a bit of color; then they will
be easier to study," he decided. He let a drop of something
that looked like red wine fall into the ditch water--but it
wasn't red wine, it was witch's blood of the very finest type,
the one that costs two shillings a drop. All the little creatures
immediately turned pink. Now they looked like a whole town of
naked savages. |
"Ja, men det er jo afskyeligt!"
sagde gamle Krible-Krable, "kan man ikke faae dem til at leve
i Fred og Ro, og hver at passe sit!" og han tænkte og tænkte,
men det vilde ikke gaae, og saa maatte han trolde. "Jeg maa
give dem Couleur, at de kunne blive tydeligere!" sagde han,
og saa hældte han ligesom en lille Draabe rød Viin i Vanddraaben,
men det var Hexeblod, den allerfineste Slags til to Skilling;
og saa bleve alle de underlige Dyr rosenrøde over hele Kroppen,
det saae ud som en heel By af nøgne Vildmænd. |
| "What have you got there?"
asked an old troll who had come visiting. He had no name, which
among trolls is distinguished. |
"Hvad har Du der?" spurgte
en anden gammel Trold, som ikke havde Navn, og det var det Fine
ved ham. |
| "If you can guess what
it is," replied Wiggle-waggle, "then I will make you a present
of it. But it isn't easy, unless you know it." |
"Ja kan Du gjætte hvad
det er", sagde Krible-Krable, "saa skal jeg forære Dig det;
men det er ikke let at finde ud, naar man ikke veed det!" |
| The troll who had no
name looked through the magnifying glass. What he saw looked
like a city with all the inhabitants running around naked. It
was a disgusting sight, but even more disgusting to see was
the way people behaved. They kicked and cuffed each other; they
beat and bit and shoved; those who were on the bottom strove
to get to the top, and those on the top struggled to be on the
bottom. "Look, his leg is longer than mine! I will bite it off!
Away with you!" "Look, he has a lump behind his ear. It is small
but it embarrasses him and gives him pain. We will really make
him suffer!" And they pushed and pulled him; and finally they
ate him up, all because he had had a little lump behind his
ear. One little creature sat still, all by herself in a corner,
like a modest sensitive little maiden. She wanted peace and
quiet. But she was dragged out of her corner, mistreated, and
finally she was eaten up. |
Og Trolden, som intet
Navn havde, saae igjennem Forstørrelsesglasset. Det saae virkeligt
ud, som en heel By, hvor alle Mennesker løbe om uden Klæder!
det var gyseligt, men endnu mere gyseligt at see hvor den Ene
puffede og stødte den Anden, hvor de nippedes og nappedes, bed
hinanden og trak hinanden frem. Hvad der var nederst skulde
øverst og hvad der var øverst skulde nederst! "see! see! hans
Been er længer end mit! baf! væk med det! der er Een som har
en lille Knop bag Øret, en lille uskyldig Knop, men den piner
ham, og saa skal den pine meer!" og de hakkede i den, og de
trak i ham og de aad ham for den lille Knops Skyld. Der sad
Een saa stille, som en lille Jomfrue og ønskede alene Fred og
Rolighed, men saa skulde Jomfruen frem, og de trak i hende og
de sleed i hende og de aad hende! |
| "It is most instructive
and amusing," said the troll. |
"Det er overordenligt
moersomt!" sagde Trolden. |
| "But what do you think
it is?" asked Wiggle-waggle. "Have you figured it out?" |
"Ja men hvad troer Du
det er?" spurgte Krible-Krable. "Kan Du finde det ud?" |
| "That is easy," answered
the troll. "It's Copenhagen or some other big city, they are
all alike." |
"Det er da godt at see!"
sagde den anden, "det er jo Kjøbenhavn eller en anden stor By,
de ligne jo allesammen hinanden. En stor By er det!" |
| "It's ditch water,"
said Wiggle-waggle. |
"Det er Grøftevand!"
sagde Krible-Krable. |
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