| The children's room
was filled with toys; on top of the cabinet stood a piggy bank.
It was a fat clay pig with a slit in back that had been enlarged
with a knife, so that silver crowns could slide through it.
Two of those heavy coins had made that journey, besides innumerable
pennies. The piggy bank was so filled that it didn't rattle
when you shook it; and higher no piggy bank can rise. He stood
on top of the cabinet and looked down upon everything in the
room; he knew he could buy it all with the money he had in his
stomach, and that was a very comfortable feeling. |
Der var saa meget Legetøi
i Børnenes Stue; øverst paa Skabet stod Sparebøssen, den var
af Leertøi, i Skikkelse af en Griis; den havde naturlig Sprække
i Ryggen og Sprækken var med en Kniv gjort større, at der ogsaa
kunde gaae Sølvdalere ind og der var gaaet to, foruden mange
andre Skillinger. Pengegrisen var saa proppet, at han ikke længer
kunde rasle, og det er det Høieste en Pengegriis kan bringe
det til. Der stod han nu øverst paa Hylden og saae ned paa Alt
i Stuen, han vidste nok at med hvad han havde i Maven kunde
han kjøbe det Hele, og det er at have en god Bevidsthed. |
| Everything else in the
room knew it, too, though they didn't talk about it. One of
the drawers in the chest was open; in it lay a doll. She was
old and had once broken her neck, but it had been repaired.
Now she sat up and suggested, "Let us play human beings, it
is amusing." At once everything started to jump about. The paintings
on the wall turned around, in order to show that they had backs
as well as fronts. That irritated the doll, who thought they
had done it just to be contrary. |
Det tænkte de Andre
ogsaa paa, om de ikke sagde det, der var jo Andet at tale om.
Comodeskuffen stod paa Klem og der viste sig en stor Dukke,
noget gammel var hun og klinket i Halsen; hun saae ud, og sagde:
"Skal vi nu lege Mennesker, det er jo altid Noget!" og saa blev
der et Røre, selv Skilderierne vendte sig paa Væggen, de viste,
de ogsaa havde Bagside, men det var ikke for at sige imod. |
| It was the middle of
the night, but the moon was shining in through the window, giving
free illumination. All the toys were invited to join the game,
even the old baby carriage, though it didn't really belong.
"Everyone has his own good points," it said. "We can't all be
aristocrats; some have to work for a living." |
Det var midt om Natten,
Maanen skinnede ind ad Vinduet og gav fri Belysning. Nu skulde
Legen begynde og Alt var indbudt, selv Barnevognen, der dog
hørte til det grovere Legetøi. "Enhver er god for sig!" sagde
den, "man kan ikke Alle være af Adel! Nogen maa gjøre Gavn,
som man siger!" |
| The piggy bank was the
only one that had received a written invitation; the others
feared that he was so far above them that he couldn't hear a
spoken one, even if they shouted. He didn't answer. If he were
going to watch the game, then he would only do it from his own
home. He felt that everyone should comply with his wishes, even
when he hadn't expressed them; and everyone did. |
Pengegrisen var den
eneste, som fik Indbydelsen skriftligt, han stod for høit til
at de troede, at han kunde høre den mundtlig, og gav heller
ikke Svar om han kom, for han kom ikke; skulde han med, maatte
han nyde det hjemme fra, det kunde de rette sig efter og det
gjorde de. |
| The little doll theater
was erected in such a place that the piggy bank could watch
the performance. They would start the evening by giving a play;
later on there would be tea and intelligent conversation. But
the rocking horse began talking immediately about the breeding
and the breaking of horses; and the baby carriage talked about
railroads and steam engines; they were always so professional.
The clock on the wall talked politics; it declared that it knew
the time, but the other toys said it was slow. The walking cane
just stood about admiring its own silver knob, and the two embroidered
pillows on the sofa, who were pretty but stupid, giggled. Finally
the play could begin. |
Det lille Dukketheater
blev strax stillet op saaledes at han kunde see lige ind i det;
de vilde begynde med Comedie, og saa skulde der være Thee og
Forstandsøvelse, og med den begyndte de strax; Gyngehesten talte
om Training og Fuldblod, Barnevognen om Jernbaner og Dampkraft
- det var jo altsammen Noget der hørte til deres Fag og som
de kunde tale om. Stue-Uhret talte om Politik - tik - tik! det
vidste hvad Klokken var slaaet, men man sagde at det gik ikke
rigtigt. Spanskrørsstokken stod og var stolt af sin Dubsko og
Sølvknap, han var jo beslaaet for oven og for neden; i Sophaen
laae to broderede Puder, de vare nydelige og dumme - og saa
kunde Comedien begynde. |
| Everyone had been told
that they could applaud or make any noise they wished, such
as banging, rumpling, or whistling. The riding whip said it
would "crack" for the young people in the play but not for the
old: they were so boring. "I will bang away for anyone," said
the firecracker. The spittoon stood humbly in the corner and
mumbled, "One has to be somewhere." The play was terrible but
the acting was marvelous. All the players played in the center
of the stage, to make sure their performances were seen. The
doll who once had broken her neck almost lost her head, she
was so moved. The piggy bank was touched too, but in his own
way; he thought of doing "something" for one of them, such as
leaving him a small sum in his will. |
Alle sad de og saae
til, og der blev bedet om at man vilde smelde, knalde og rumle,
ligesom man var fornøiet til. Men Ridepisken sagde, at han aldrig
smeldede for de Gamle, men kun for de Uforlovede. "Jeg knalder
for Alt!" sagde Knaldperlen. "Eet Sted skal man jo være!" meente
Spyttebakken; det var nu saadan Enhvers Tanke ved at være paa
Comedie. Stykket duede ikke, men det blev godt givet; alle de
Spillende vendte den malede Side udad, de vare kun til at see
paa een Led, ikke paa Vrangen; og Alle spillede de udmærket,
heelt forud af Theatret, Traaden var for lang i dem, men saa
bleve de mere mærkbare. Den klinkede Dukke blev saa betaget,
at hun blev løs i Klinken og Pengegrisen blev paa sin Maade
saa betaget at han besluttede at gjøre Noget for En af dem,
sætte ham i sit Testament, som den, der skulde ligge i aaben
Begravelse med ham naar den Tid kom. |
| All enjoyed themselves
so much that they decided to skip the tea and just have the
"intelligent conversation." They all felt "just like human beings,"
and that was not meant satirically. All of them thought their
own opinions cleverer than their neighbors', and they all wondered
what the piggy bank was thinking about. He was thinking very
seriously about wills and funerals: long, slow-moving thoughts.
But death and funerals have a habit of coming before one wishes
them to come. . . . "Crash!" Down fell the piggy bank and broke
into hundreds of pieces, while the money rolled all over the
floor. One of the silver crowns rolled all the way to the door;
it wanted to get out into the world and it did, and so did the
pennies. The broken pieces of the piggy bank were thrown in
the trash can. It wasn't the kind of funeral he had expected.
The next day a new piggy bank stood on the cabinet. He looked
just like the other one; and he too couldn't rattle but that
was because he was empty. He had just started his career; and
with those words we will end our story. |
Det var en sand Nydelse,
saa at man opgav Theevandet og blev ved Forstands-Øvelsen, det
kaldte man at lege Mennesker og der var ingen Ondskab deri,
for de legede kun - og hver tænkte paa sig og paa hvad Pengegrisen
tænkte, og Pengegrisen tænkte længst, han tænkte jo paa Testament
og Begravelse og naar kom det istand - altid før man venter
det. - Knak! der laae han fra Skabet - laae paa Gulvet i Stumper
og Stykker, mens Skillingerne dandsede og sprang; de mindste
snurrede, de store trillede, især den ene Sølvdaler, han vilde
ordenlig ud i Verden. Og det kom han og det kom de Allesammen;
og Skaarene af Pengegrisen kom i Bøtten, men paa Skabet selv
stod igjen næste Dag en ny Pengegriis af Leertøi, der var endnu
ikke en Skilling i den, derfor kunde den heller ikke rasle,
deri lignede han den anden, det var altid en Begyndelse - og
med den vil vi ende! |
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