| There once were five
peas in a pod; they were green and the pod was green, and so
they believed that the whole world was green, and that was quite
right. Now the peas grew and the pod grew, and each little pea
adjusted itself to its accommodations; they sat five in a row,
one right next to the other. The sun shone on the pod and the
rain washed it. It was warm and cozy inside, light in the daytime
and dark at night, just as it is supposed to be. As the peas
grew bigger they also reasoned better and thought much more;
after all, they had to do something to pass the time away. |
Der var fem Ærter i
en Ærtebælg, de vare grønne og Bælgen var grøn, og saa troede
de, at hele Verden var grøn, og det var aldeles rigtigt! Bælgen
voxte og Ærterne voxte; de indrettede sig efter Huusleiligheden;
lige i Rad sad de. - Solen skinnede udenfor og varmede Bælgen
op, Regnen gjorde den klar; der var luunt og godt, lyst om Dagen
og mørkt om Natten, saaledes som det skulde være, og Ærterne
bleve større og altid mere tænkende, som de der sad, for Noget
maatte de jo bestille. |
| "I wonder if we shall
sit here forever," said one of them. "I am afraid that I shall
grow hard from sitting so long. I have a notion that there is
something outside, I can feel it!" |
"Skal jeg altid blive
siddende her!" sagde de, "bare jeg ikke bliver haard af at sidde
saa længe. Er det ikke for mig ligesom om der er Noget udenfor;
jeg har en Fornemmelse af det!" |
| Weeks passed and the
peas turned yellow and the pod turned yellow. "The world is
turning yellow," they all five said; and that was not an unreasonable
thing for them to say. |
Og Uger gik; Ærterne
bleve gule og Bælgen blev guul: "Hele Verden bliver guul!" sagde
de og det havde de Lov til at sige. |
| Suddenly they felt the
pod being torn off the plants. They had fallen into the hands
of a human being. The pod was stuck down into a pocket where
a lot of other pods lay. "Soon they will open up for us," said
the peas, and that's what they were waiting for. |
Saa fornam de et Rusk
i Bælgen; den blev revet af, den kom i Menneskehænder og ned
i en Trøielomme med flere fyldte Ærtebælge. -"Nu vil der snart
blive lukket op!" sagde de og det ventede de paa. |
| "I wonder which one
of us will go farthest," said the smallest of the peas. "I am
sure something will happen soon." |
"Nu gad jeg vide hvem
af os der driver det videst!" sagde den mindste Ært. "Ja nu
vil det snart give sig." |
| "Come what will!" said
the largest. |
"Skee hvad der maa!"
sagde den største. |
| "Crack!" The pod was
opened; and all five peas rolled out into the sunshine. They
were in a little boy's hand. He inspected them and said that
they were perfect ammunition for a peashooter. One he shot off
right away. |
"Krask!" der revnede
Bælgen og alle fem Ærter trillede ud i det klare Solskin; de
laae i en Barnehaand, en lille Dreng holdt paa dem og sagde
at det var ordenlige Ærter for hans Hyldebøsse; og strax kom
den ene Ært i Bøssen og blev skudt væk. |
| "Now I fly out into
the wide world. Catch me if you can!" the pea shouted, and away
it went. |
"Nu flyver jeg ud i
den vide Verden! tag mig om Du kan!" og saa var den borte. |
| "I shall fly right up
into the sun, for that is a fitting pod for me!" shouted the
second. |
"Jeg", sagde den anden,
"flyver lige ind i Solen, det er en rigtig Ærtebælg og meget
passende for mig!" |
| |
Væk var den. |
| "Oh! We shall sleep
wherever we end up," said the next two peas. "Rolling is as
good as flying." They had fallen out of the boy's hand and were
rolling along on the floor; but they were picked up and put
in the peashooter anyway. "We will get the farthest," they shouted
as they flew. |
"Jeg sover hvor jeg
kommer," sagde de to andre, "men vi trille nok fremad!" og saa
trillede de først paa Gulvet, før de kom i Hyldebøssen, men
de kom der. "Vi bringe det videst!" |
| "Come what will!" said
the last of the peas as it soared high into the air. It hit
an old rotten board underneath the garret window. The board
was filled with cracks; in them earth had collected and moss
grew. The pea landed in one of the crevices, the moss closed
around it, and it lay hidden but not forgotten by Our Lord.
|
"Skee hvad der maa!"
sagde den sidste og blev skudt iveiret, og den fløi op mod det
gamle Bræt under Tagkammer-Vinduet, lige ind i en Revne, hvor
der var Mos og blød Jord fløi den; og Mosset lukkede sig om
den; der laae den gjemt, men ikke glemt af vor Herre. |
| "Come what will!" it
repeated. |
"Skee hvad der maa!"
sagde den. |
| In the little garret
room lived a very poor woman who did heavy work. She cleaned
and polished stoves or chopped wood; she was willing to do anything
she could. Strength she had, and hard-working she was; and poor
as a church mouse she remained. Living with her was her daughter,
who had been lying in bed ill for more than a year. The little
girl was thin and delicate; it was as if she could neither live
nor die. |
Inde paa det lille Tagkammer
boede en fattig Kone, der om Dagen gik ud at pudse Kakkelovne,
ja save Brænde og gjøre svært Arbeide, for Kræfter havde hun
og flittig var hun, men lige fattig blev hun; og hjemme paa
det lille Kammer laae hendes halvvoxne eneste Datter, der var
saa fiin og spinkel; et heelt Aar havde hun ligget tilsengs
og syntes hverken at kunne leve eller døe. |
| "She will soon be going
up to her sister," the woman would say. "I had two children
once and God saw how difficult it was for me to provide for
them; therefore He decided to share the work with me and took
one. I would like to keep the other one, but God probably thinks
it was a shame to separate them, and now she will be going up
to her sister." |
"Hun gaaer til sin lille
Søster!" sagde Konen. "Jeg havde de to Børn, det var svært nok
for mig at sørge for de to, men saa deelte vor Herre med mig
og tog den ene til sig; nu vilde jeg nok beholde den anden,
jeg har tilbage, men han vil nok ikke have dem skilte ad, og
hun gaaer op til sin lille Søster!" |
| But the little sick
girl stayed on; patiently, she lay in her bed all alone, while
her mother went out to earn money for their keep. |
Men den syge Pige blev;
hun laae taalmodig og stille den lange Dag, medens Moderen var
ude at fortjene Noget. |
| It was spring. Early
one morning the sun shone brightly in through the little window
and across the floor. The little girl happened to notice something
on the other side of the lowest windowpane. She called to her
mother, who was just about to leave. |
Det var nu Foraars-Tid,
og tidlig en Morgenstund, just som Moderen vilde gaae til sit
Arbeide, skinnede Solen saa smukt ind ad det lille Vindue hen
ad Gulvet og den syge Pige saae hen mod den nederste Glasrude.
|
| "Mother, what's that
bit of green? There in the lower pane, it moves in the breeze."
|
"Hvad er dog det Grønne,
der pipper frem ved Ruden? Det rører sig i Vinden!" |
| Her mother walked over
to the window and opened it. "My!" she said. "It is a little
pea. I wonder how that has got up here? Look, it already has
green leaves. It will be a little garden for you to look at." |
Og Moderen gik hen til
Vinduet og aabnede det paa Klem. "Ih!" sagde hun, "det er saamæn
en lille Ært, der er skudt frem med fine grønne Blade. Hvor
er den kommen her ud i Sprækken? Der har Du jo en lille Have
at see paa!" |
| She moved the girl's
bed closer to the window so that she could watch the little
plant and then she left. |
Og den Syges Seng blev
flyttet nærmere til Vinduet, hvor hun kunde see den spirende
Ært, og Moderen gik til sit Arbeide. |
| "I think I am getting
well, Mother," said the little girl that evening. "The sun has
shone so warmly down upon me all day. The little pea has been
growing. I think I will soon be out in the sunshine too." |
"Moder, jeg troer jeg
kommer mig!" sagde om Aftenen den lille Pige. "Solen har idag
skinnet saa varmt ind til mig. Den lille Ært trives saa godt!
og jeg vil ogsaa nok trives og komme op og ud i Solskinnet!"
|
| "If only that would
happen," said the mother, but she did not believe that it would.
Yet she did tie the plant to a stick which she had fastened
to the board, so the wind could not break the little pea plant;
then she ran a string from the top of the window down to the
bottom, giving it something to cling to as it grew. And it certainly
did grow; you could see the difference from one day to the next.
|
"Gid det var saa vel!"
sagde Moderen, men hun troede ikke at det skete; dog, den grønne
Spire, som havde givet Barnet glade Livstanker, satte hun en
lille Pind ved, for at den ei skulde knækkes af Vinden; hun
bandt et Seglgarns Baand fast til Brættet, og til det øverste
af Vindues-Karmen for at Ærteranken kunde have Noget at helde
sig til og snoe sig om, naar den løb op, og det gjorde den;
man kunde for hver Dag see, at den tog til. |
| "I think it is going
to flower," said the woman one morning, and now she, too, began
to hope and believe that her little sick girl would get well.
She had been aware that the child spoke more lively, and the
last few mornings she had sat up in bed by herself in order
to see her little garden that consisted of one solitary pea
plant. A week went by and the sick girl was up for the first
time; she sat for a whole hour in a chair. The window was opened.
Outside in the warm sunshine grew the little pea plant; the
flower had opened its red and white petals. The little girl
bent down and kissed its fine leaves. That day was a very special
day for her, like a birthday. |
"Nei, den sætter jo
Blomst!" sagde Konen en Morgen og nu fik ogsaa hun det Haab
og den Tro, at den lille, syge Pige kom sig; det randt hende
isinde, at i den sidste Tid havde Barnet talt livligere, de
sidste Morgener havde det selv reist sig op i Sengen og siddet
der og seet med straalende Øine paa sin lille Ærtehave af een
eneste Ært. Ugen efter var den Syge første Gang oppe i over
en Time. Lyksalig sad hun i det varme Solskin; Vinduet var aabnet,
og udenfor stod der fuldt udsprungen en hvidrød Ærteblomst.
Den lille Pige bøiede sit Hoved ned og kyssede ganske sagte
de fine Blade. Det var ligesom en Festdag den Dag. |
| "God Himself planted
that pea and made it thrive for your sake, to give you back
your health, my sweet little girl, and to give me joy and hope,"
the mother said, and smiled toward the flower as though it were
an angel sent from God. |
"Vor Herre har selv
plantet den og ladet den trives for at give Haab og Glæde til
Dig, mit velsignede Barn og til mig med!" sagde den glade Moder
og smiilte til Blomsten, som til en god Engel fra Gud. |
| But the other peas,
what happened to them? The one who had shouted, "Catch me who
can," was swallowed by a pigeon. There it lay in the bird's
gizzard, like Jonah in the whale. The two lazy peas had not
fared any better, they had become pigeon food too. But that
is after all a useful and respectable end for a pea. The fourth
one, the one that wanted to fly right up to the sun, fell down
into a gutter and there it lay for weeks and days in the stagnant
water. It grew fat and soggy. |
Men nu de andre Ærter!
- ja den, som fløi ud i den vide Verden: "Tag mig, om Du kan!"
faldt i Tagrenden og kom i Due-Kro, og der laae den som Jonas
i Hvalfisken. De to dovne dreve det ligesaavidt, de bleve ogsaa
ædt af Duerne, og det er at gjøre solid Nytte; men den fjerde,
som vilde op i Solen - den faldt i Rendestenen og laae Uger
og Dage der, i det sure Vand, hvor den rigtigt bovnede. |
| "I am getting nice and
plump," it said. "I will get so fat that I burst and that is
more than any pea has ever done. I certainly am the most remarkable
of the five peas that were in the pod." |
"Jeg bliver saa deilig
tyk!" sagde Ærten. "Jeg revner af det, og videre troer jeg ingen
Ært kan drive det, eller har drevet det. Jeg er den mærkeligste
af de fem fra Ærtebælgen!" |
| And the gutter agreed!
|
Og Rendestenen gav den
Medhold. |
| The girl stood at the
garret window; her eyes were bright and the color of health
was in her cheeks. She folded her hands above the pea flower
and thanked God for it. |
Men den unge Pige ved
Tagvinduet stod med lysende Øine, med Sundheds Skjær paa Kinderne,
og hun foldede sine fine Hænder over Ærteblomsten og takkede
vor Herre for den. |
| "I'll stick to, my own
pea!" said the gutter. |
Jeg holder paa min Ært!
sagde Rendestenen! |