| The Sweethearts |
Kjærestefolkene. |
| A top and a ball were
lying in a drawer among a lot of other toys. One day the top
said to the ball, "Shouldn't we become engaged? After all, we
are lying right next to each other in the drawer." But the ball,
who was made of morocco leather, thought of herself as a very
refined young lady and would not even answer a question like
that. |
Toppen og Bolden laae
i Skuffe sammen mellem andet Legetøi, og saa sagde Toppen til
Bolden -. "Skulle vi ikke være Kjærestefolk, siden vi dog ligge
i Skuffe sammen"; men Bolden, der var syet af Saffian, og bildte
sig ligesaa meget ind, som en fiin Frøken, vilde ikke svare
paa saadant noget. |
| The next day the little
boy, whose toys they all were, painted the top red and yellow
and hammered a brass nail in the middle of it. It looked marvelous
when it spun. |
Næste Dag kom den lille
Dreng, der eiede Legetøiet, han malede Toppen over med Rødt
og Gult, og slog et Messing-Søm midt i den; det saae just prægtigt
ud, naar Toppen svingede rundt. |
| "Look at me now!" called
the top to the ball. "What do you say, wouldn't we make a fine
pair? You can jump and I can dance! How happy we would be together."
|
"See paa mig!" sagde
den til Bolden. "Hvad siger De nu? skulde vi saa ikke være Kjærestefolk,
vi passe saa godt sammen, De springer og jeg dandser! lykkeligere
end vi to kunde Ingen blive!" |
| "That's what you think,"
replied the ball. "Are you aware that my mother and father were
a pair of morocco slippers, and that I have a cork inside me?"
|
"Saa, troer De det!"
sagde Bolden, "De veed nok ikke, at min Fader og Moder have
været Saffians-Tøfler, og at jeg har en Prop i Livet!" |
| "But I am of mahogany,"
boasted the top. "The mayor made me, himself, on a lathe he
has in his cellar. It gave him great pleasure." |
"Ja, men jeg er af Mahognitræ!"
sagde Toppen, "og Byfogden har selv dreiet mig, han har sin
egen Dreierbænk, og det var ham en stor Fornøielse!" |
| "How do I know that
what you're saying is true?" asked the ball. |
"Ja, kan jeg stole paa
det!" sagde Bolden. |
| "May I never be whipped
into a spin again if I am lying," answered the top. |
"Gid jeg aldrig faae
Pidsk om jeg lyver!" svarede Toppen. |
| "You speak well for
yourself," admitted the ball. "But I have to refuse because
I am almost engaged to a swallow. Every time I jump up into
the air, he puts his head out of the nest and asks, 'Will you?
Will you? Even though I haven't said yes, I have thought it;
and that's almost the same as being engaged. But I promise that
I shall never forget you." |
"De taler meget godt
for dem!" sagde Bolden, "men jeg kan dog ikke, jeg er saa godt
som halv forlovet med en Svale! hver Gang jeg gaaer til Veirs,
stikker den Hovedet ud af Reden og siger: "vil De?" og nu har
jeg indvortes sagt ja, og det er saa godt som en halv Forlovelse!
men jeg lover Dem, jeg skal aldrig glemme Dem!" |
| "A lot of difference
that will make," growled the top. And that was the end of their
conversation. |
"Ja, det skal stort
hjælpe!" sagde Toppen, og saa talte de ikke til hinanden. |
| The next day the ball
was taken out of the drawer, and the top watched as she was
thrown so high up into the sky that she looked like a bird and
finally all but disappeared. Every time she hit the ground she
bounced up again quite high; and the top could not make up his
mind whether she jumped up like that because she wanted to get
another glimpse of the swallow, or just because she had cork
inside her. The ninth time the ball went up into the air, it
did not return. The boy searched for it everywhere but it was
gone. |
Næste Dag blev Bolden
taget frem; Toppen saae, hvor den foer høit op i Luften, ligesom
en Fugl, man kunde tilsidst slet ikke Øine den; hver Gang kom
den tilbage igjen, men gjorte altid et høit Spring, naar den
rørte Jorden; og det kom enten af Længsel, eller fordi den havde
en Prop i Livet. Den niende Gang blev Bolden borte og kom ikke
mere igjen; og Drengen søgte og søgte, men borte var den. |
| "I know what's happened
to her," said the top, "she's up in the swallow's nest and is
getting married to the swallow." |
"Jeg veed nok, hvor
den er!" sukkede Toppen, "den er i Svalereden og er gift med
Svalen!" |
| The more the top thought
about the ball, the more in love with her he was. And because
he couldn't have her, he wanted her all the more. The strangest
part of it was that she had preferred another. The top spun
and whirled; round and round he went; and all the time he was
thinking of the ball. And in his imagination she grew prettier
and prettier. Years passed and finally she became an old love.
|
Jo mere Toppen tænkte
derpaa, desmere indtaget blev han i Bolden; just fordi han ikke
kunde faae hende, derfor tog Kjærligheden til; at hun havde
taget en Anden, det var det aparte ved det; og Toppen dandsede
rundt og snurrede, men altid tænkte den paa Bolden, der i Tankerne
blev kjønnere og kjønnere. Saaledes gik mange Aar - - og saa
var det en gammel Kjærlighed. |
| The top was not young
any more; but then one day he was painted all over with gold
paint. Now he was a golden top; and he spun and leaped up into
the air. . . . Oh, that was something! But then it sprang too
high and was gone! |
Og Toppen var ikke ung
mere men saa blev den en Dag heel og holden forgyldt; aldrig
havde den seet saa deilig ud; den var nu en Guldtop og sprang,
saa det snurrede efter. Jo, det var noget! men med et sprang
den for høit og, - borte var den! |
| Everyone looked for
it everywhere, even in the cellar, but it was not to be found. |
Man søgte og søgte,
selv nede i Kjælderen, den var dog ikke at finde. |
| Where was it? |
- - Hvor var den? |
| It had jumped into the
garbage bin. There all kinds of things were lying: gravel, a
cabbage stalk, dirt, dust, and a lot of leaves that had fallen
down from the gutter under the roof. |
Den var sprunget i Skarnfjerdingen,
hvor der laae alle Slags, Kaalstokke, Feieskarn og Gruus, der
var faldet ned fra Tagrenden. |
| "This is a fine place
to be!" thought the top. "I wonder how long my gilding will
last here. What a lot of riffraff!" The top glanced at the cabbage
stalk and then at a funny round thing that looked like a rotten
apple. But it wasn't an apple; it was the old ball who had lain
for years in the gutter, where the water had oozed through it.
|
"Nu ligger jeg rigtignok
godt! her kan snart Forgyldningen gaae af mig! og hvad det er
for nogle Prakkere jeg er kommet imellem!" og saa skjævede den
til en lang Kaalstok, der var pillet altfor nær, og til en underlig
rund Ting, der saae ud som et gammelt Æble; - men det var intet
Æble, det var en gammel Bold, der i mange Aar havde ligget oppe
i Tagrenden, og som Vandet havde sivet igjennem. |
| "Thank God! At last
someone of one's own kind has come, someone I need not be ashamed
to talk to," said the ball, and looked at the golden top. "I
was made from morocco leather by the hand of a fine young lady,
and have a cork inside me. Although, I admit, it's hard to see
it now. I was just about to marry a swallow when I fell into
the gutter under the roof. There I have lain and oozed for five
years; that's a long time for a young girl." |
"Gud skee Lov, der dog
kommer een af Ens Lige, som man kan tale med!" sagde Bolden
og betragtede den forgyldte Top. "Jeg er egentlig af Saffian,
syet af Jomfru-Hænder, og har en Prop i Livet, men det skulde
Ingen see paa mig! jeg var lige ved at holde Bryllup med en
Svale, men saa faldt jeg i Tagrenden, og der har jeg ligget
i fem Aar og sivet! Det er en lang Tid, kan De troe, for en
Jomfru!" |
| The top didn't say anything.
He was thinking of his old sweetheart; and the more he heard,
the more certain he was that it was she. |
Men Toppen sagde ikke
noget, han tænkte paa sin gamle Kjæreste, og jo mere han hørte,
desto klarere blev det ham, at det var hende. |
| At that moment a maid
came to throw something away. "Hurrah! There's the golden top!"
she cried. |
Da kom Tjenestepigen
og vilde vende Fjerdingen: "heisa, der er Guldtoppen!" sagde
hun. |
| The golden top was brought
back to the living room, where he was honored and respected.
There no one ever talked about the ball, and the top never mentioned
his old love again. You get over it when your beloved has lain
in a gutter and oozed for five years. You never recognize her
when you meet her in the garbage bin. |
Og Toppen kom igjen
i Stuen til stor Agt og Ære, men Bolden hørte man intet om,
og Toppen snakkede aldrig meer om sin gamle Kjærlighed; den
gaaer over, naar Kjæresten har ligget fem Aar i en Vandrende
og sivet, ja man kjender hende aldrig igjen, naar man møder
hende i Skarnfjerdingen. |