The wind was whizzing among the old willow trees!

It's like people are listening to a song; The wind sings its tunes, and the trees tell its stories. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info If you don't understand, then ask Old Johnny in the workhouse. She knew that she was born in this parish. Many years ago, when the Royal Mile crossed here, the tree was already large and noticeable. It stood in the same place it is today, outside the tailor's dilapidated wooden hut by the pond. In those days, the pond was so large that people used to scrub their cattle here. In the hot summer, the farmer's children run around naked, filming and playing in the water. Immediately at the base of the tree was a large roadmark, now collapsed and covered with vines.

On the other side of the rich landlord's estate a new Royal Avenue was built, and the old one became a road between the fields, and the pond became a puddle with duckweed; If a frog jumps down, the green weeds spread out in both directions, and people can see the black water. Surrounded by cattails, reeds and irises, these plants continue to spread.

The tailor's house was old and crooked, and the roof became a place where moss and Tibetan lotus grow. The pigeon shed collapsed, and the starlings made their nests there. A series of swallow's nests hang from the gables and under the eaves, as if this was a blessed dwelling (1).

This was the case here for a time. Now it is lonely and peaceful. Lonely, depressed, poor Rasmus, they called him to live here. He was born here, he played here. He jumped in the fields, climbed over the fence, fetched water in the pond as a child, and climbed over the old tree.

The tree was thriving and still is. But the storm had skewed it a little, and time had cut a crack in it. Now the wind and rain filled the cracks with mud, and grass and miscellaneous plants grew on them. Yes, a small flower tree has taken root here.

In the spring, the swallows come and fly around the trees and roofs, bringing in dirt to repair their old nests. Poor Rasmus didn't care about his house, it stood or collapsed, he didn't repair it, he didn't support it. What's the use! It was his mantra and his father's mantra.

He stayed in his own home. From here the swallows fly far away and back again, they are loyal birds. The starling also flew away, and it flew back again, singing its own song. Rasmus once played with it, whistling, but now he neither whistles nor sings.

The wind whizzed among the old willows. It's still whistling, and people seem to be listening to a song; The wind sings its tunes, and the trees tell its stories. If you don't understand, ask old Johnny in the workhouse! She knew that she knew everything about the past. She was like a notebook full of words and memories.

When the house was very new and beautiful, the village tailor Iva . Elser moved in with his wife, Marn. Both of them were industrious and noble people. Old Johanny, a child, was the daughter of a shoemaker, one of the poorest people in the parish. She had received a lot of butter bread from Marn, who was never short of food. Marne had a good relationship with the landlord's wife, and she was always happy and content. She never worries, she uses her mouth and her hands; She uses a sewing needle as quickly as she uses her mouth. In addition, she has to take care of her home and children; Her children almost had a dozen, eleven in all, and the twelfth was not born.

The nest of the poor is always full of children! The landlord muttered: If only they could drown them like cats. Only one or two of the sturdiest ones remained. In that way, the misfortune will be greatly reduced.

God has mercy on us! Said the tailor's wife. In any case, children are God-given, and they are the joy of the family. Every child is a gift from God! If life is tight and there are many mouths to eat, then work harder and find more ways. God will not let go, as long as we don't let up!

The landlord's wife agreed with her, nodded kindly, and touched Marn's face. She'd done it many times, yes, and kissed her. But at that time the wife was still a child, and Marn was her nurse. The two of them love each other, and this relationship has never changed.

Every year at Christmas, the landlord's estate always sent the tailor many winter provisions: a bucket of milk, a pig, two geese, a small bucket of butter, cheese and apples. It's a great help in their lives. Eva. Elser was indeed happy for a while, but soon repeated his mantra: What's the use!

The house was cleaned up neatly, with curtains hanging on the windows, and flowers, which were caryophyllus and impatiens. The frame is inlaid with a piece of rusty embroidery with the name, and next to it hangs a love letter, very rhyming, it is Marn. Elser himself wrote it; She knows how to rhyme. She was proud of her surname, which in Danish was the only one that rhymed with sausages. It's good to be a little different! She said, laughing. She always kept a happy mood, and never took a bite like her husband did. Her mantra is: Rely on yourself, rely on God! That's what she did, keeping the family together very well. The children are all healthy, and the young eagles spread their wings and go far away, and they are all a little promising. Rasmus was the youngest, and he was so lovely that a painter in the city lent him as a model, and painted it as if he had just been born into the world. The painting now hangs in the palace, where the landlady's wife saw it and recognized little Rasmus, even though he was undressed.

But hard days came. The joints of the tailor's hands were inflamed and swollen so thickly that no doctor could cure them, not even the witch Stini, who had treated him.

Don't be discouraged! Marn said. It's useless to be discouraged! Now Dad's hands are useless. My hands have to be more diligent. Little Rasmus can also make needlework too!

He was already sitting at the desk, whistling and humming. He was a cheerful child.

He couldn't sit there all day, Mom said. It's unfortunate for the child, and he should also play and bounce.

Johannie of the shoemaker was his best playmate. Her home was poorer than Rasmus's. She wasn't good-looking; Barefoot, in tattered clothes, no one to help her sew, not even herself. She was a child, like a bird in God's sunshine.

Next to the monument, under the big willow tree, Rasmus and Johnny play together. He has high aspirations. He wanted to be a clever tailor and live in the city. There were a lot of masters there, and he hired a lot of apprentices to sit at the desk and work, and he heard his father say that. He wanted to be an apprentice and then a master, so Johanny could visit him. By then she should have learned to cook, she could cook for everyone, and she would have a big room of her own.

Johnny didn't really believe that, but Rasmus believed it would be true.

So they sat down under the old willow tree, and the wind whizzed in the branches, as if the wind were singing and the tree was speaking.

In autumn, all the leaves fall and rain falls from the bare branches. It's going to be green again! Mother Elser said.

What's the use! The man said. In a new year, new sorrows will come! The kitchen is full! The wife said. Thank you to our good wife! I am healthy and strong. It's not good to complain!

The landlord's family spent Christmas on a country estate. But a week after the New Year, they went into the city. In the city they spend the winter happily and comfortably; They even attend balls and banquets held in the royal palace.

The wife was given two expensive clothes bought from France. Its materials, styles, and craftsmanship were unprecedented for the tailor's wife, Marn. She begged the landowner's wife to let her take her husband to the manor to see the two garments, which she said the kind had never seen in a rural tailor.

He saw the two clothes, and he didn't say anything until he went home. Then he said what was the use of what he always said, and this time his words came true.

The landlord entered the city. The dance party and the light-hearted days in town have begun; But in the midst of the joy, the old man died, and the wife could not wear those two gorgeous clothes. She was so sad that she wore a black mourning dress from head to toe, and she could not see a single white ribbon. All the servants were dressed in mourning clothes, and even the splendid carriage was covered with delicate black veils.

It was a cold, frozen night, the snow was shining, and the stars were shining. The heavy hearse carried the body from the city back to the manor church, where the old man was to be buried to accompany his deceased ancestors. The magistrate and the prefect of the diocese rode horses and carried torches at the entrance to the church cemetery. The church was brightly lit, and the priest stood in front of the church to greet the corpse. The coffin was carried to the front of the choir, followed by the parishioners of the village. The pastor spoke and sang hymns. The wife also came to the church, and she entered in a luxurious carriage covered with black veils. The carriage was black inside and out, and no one in this parish had ever seen such a scene.

The funeral scene is what people talk about all winter. Yes, it was the scene of the burial of the landlord.

The importance of this person can be seen from here! Said the parishioner. He was born noble, and he was buried noble!

What's the use of this! The tailor said. Now his life is gone, and his possessions are gone. We finally have one more!

Don't say anything like that! Marn said he had eternal life in Heaven!

Who told you this? Marne! The tailor said. Dead people are good fertilizer! But this man seems to be too noble, and he has not even left any benefit to the land. He's lying in the tomb!

Don't say such blasphemous words! Marn said. I say to you again, He is eternal!

Who told you this, Marn? The tailor repeated.

Marn put his cloak over little Rasmus's head, and he shouldn't have heard such a thing.

She carried him to the hut and began to cry.

Little Rasmus, what you heard over there was not from your father, but from the devil walking through the house in your father's voice! Recite your prayers! Let's read it together! She put the child's hands together.

Now I'm fine again! She said. Rely on yourself and rely on God! The year of mourning is over. The widow was only half-dressed, and her heart was happy.

Legend has it that someone proposed to her, and she was already thinking about the wedding. Marne knew a little, and the priest knew a little more.

On Palm Sunday (2), after Mass, the marriage of the widow and her chosen partner is announced. He was a carver, or rather a carver, and what he should be called, everyone knows not so accurately. At that time, Cao Walsen (3) and his art were not often on the minds of ordinary people. The new landlord was not of noble origin, but he was still a decent person. People say that he is a person that everyone does not understand, that he can carve portraits, that he is very skilled, that he is young and handsome.

What's the use! Tailor Elsor said.

On Palm Sunday, the priest announced the marriage at the altar, followed by hymns and communion. The tailor, his wife, and little Rasmus were all in the church. Father and mother went to the altar to receive communion. Rasmus sat on a pews in the church, and he had not yet participated in the ceremony of showing his conviction to God. During that time, the tailors' families were short of clothes to wear, and all their clothes were repeatedly remodeled, mended and sewn. Today, the three of them were wearing new clothes, but black, as if they were attending a funeral. The garments were made of the same black cloth that covered the carriage. The men made blouses and trousers, Marn made a high-necked gown, and Rasmus wore a garment that he could wear until the conviction. No one had to know what the cloth had been used for, but it wasn't long before everyone knew. Stinney, the witch, and one or two other women who, like her, were diviners but did not make a living from them, said that the clothes would bring disaster to the family, and that they should not wear clothes made of cloth covering the hearse unless they were going to the cemetery.

Johnny of the shoemaker's house wept when she heard this. Then came the way, and from that day on, the tailor's body deteriorated day by day. Now who is about to survive, everyone knows very well.

The thing is already clear.

On the Sunday after Trinity Sunday (4), Urser, the tailor, died. Now Marne was the only one to support the family; She stood up, on her own, on God.

The following year, Rasmus participated in a ceremony to show his faith in God. Now he was going to the city to learn the trade from a great tailor, but not a master with twelve apprentices sitting at the desk, but only one; Rasmus Jr. can be counted as half. He was happy and seemed to be very lively. But Johnny cried, and she liked him more than she expected. The tailor's wife still lives in the old house and continues to run her own business.

At that time, the new Royal Mile was opened; The old road, which passed by the old willow trees and the tailor's house, became a field path. The pond has also changed, and the remaining stagnant water is overgrown with duckweed. The monument had fallen, and there was no reason for it to stand there. But the tree is still strong and beautiful, and the wind is rustling in the branches.

The swallows fly away, the starlings fly away, but they fly back in the spring. On their fourth return, Rasmus also returned. His apprenticeship ended, and he became a very beautiful but thin young man. Now he was going to pack his bags and go to a foreign country to see, and he longed for this day. But his mother wouldn't let him go; Hometown is always the best place anyway! Her other children were scattered, he was the youngest, and his home was his. He has a job to do, as long as he wants to stay in the area. He can be an itinerant tailor and work for two weeks in one village and two weeks in another. It's also a trip. Rasmus listened to his mother's advice.

So he went back to the house where he was born, and sat down again under the old willow tree, and listened to its clatter.

He was beautiful and could whistle like a bird and sing old and new songs. He was treated very well in the Great Zhuangzi, especially in Claus. The Hansen family, who was the second wealthy farmer in the diocese.

His daughter Elser looked like the most beautiful flower, and she was always happy. You know, there are always people who have bad intentions and say that she laughs to show off her beautiful teeth. She is easily amused and is often in the mood to joke with people, which is natural to her.

She liked Rasmus, and he liked her, but neither of them said it directly.

And his heart was filled with more things; He inherited more from his father than from his mother. He was only in a better mood when Elser was around, and then the two of them laughed together, telling jokes and jokes. But even though he had the right opportunity, he never spit out a word of love hidden in his heart. What's the use! That's what he thinks. Her father and mother found rich people for her, and I had no money. The smartest thing to do is to get out of here! But he couldn't do without the manor, just as Elser had tied him to him with a thread. To her he was like a tamed bird, and he jumped or whistled at her will. He obeyed her wishes.

Johanny, the shoemaker's daughter, worked as a servant in that village, and her work was lowly; She drove the milk cart to the field, where she milked the cows with the other maids. Yes, she also had to drive to fatten if needed. She never went to the halls, and didn't see Rasmus or Elser very often, but she had heard that the two were like lovers.

Rasmus is going to have good luck! She said. I envy him! Her eyes were moist, but there was no reason to cry.

There is a bazaar in the city. Klaus. Hansen drove into town, and Rasmus followed. He sat next to Elser. This is true when you go and when you come back. He was entangled in love, but he didn't show his love at all.

But he had to tell me about it! The girl thought so. She was right. If he doesn't want to speak, I can scare him!

Soon it became rumored in Zhuangzi that the richest landowner in the diocese had proposed to Elser. He did propose, but no one knew what she would do to him.

Rasmus's mind fluctuated.

One night, Elser wears a ring on her finger, and Rasmus asks her what it means.

You're engaged! He said.

Who do you say you are talking to? She asked.

Is it with the rich landlord? He said.

You guessed it! She said, nodded, and ran away.

He ran away too. He returned to his mother's house like a man who had lost his soul. He packed his bags and wanted to go to the vast world, and his mother's crying was useless. He sharpened a cane from the branch of an old willow tree, and whistled as if he were in a good mood, and he wanted to see all the sights of the world.

Call me so sad! Mother said. But for you, it's the right and best way to leave here, so I have to put up with it. Rely on yourself and rely on God, then I will definitely see you again, and you will still be so happy and happy. He walked along the new avenue, where he saw Johnny coming in with a cart of fat. She didn't notice him, and he didn't want her to find out; He hid in the bushes by the ditch when Johnny drove over.

He walked out into the middle of nowhere, and no one knew where he was going. His mother thought he would be back by the end of the year. Now he can see new things, he can think of new things, and then he will go back to old things, which cannot be ironed with a tailor's iron. He was so influenced by his father, I wish he had been a little more like me, poor boy! But he'll come back, and he'll not leave me and this house behind.

Mother was willing to wait year after year, but Elser only waited a month. She secretly goes to the daughter of the witch Stinnie Maz, who can heal, who can tell fortunes with coffee and cards, and knows more than her God. She knew where Rasmus was, she could see it in the dregs at the bottom of the coffee cup. He was in a foreign city, but she couldn't tell the name of the city, there were soldiers and beautiful girls in the city. He was thinking about whether he should pick up the musket or find a girl.

Elser didn't listen to these words. She was willing to redeem him with the pocket money she had saved, but she couldn't let anyone know that it was her money.

Old Stynie was sure he would be back. She knows a spell. It's dangerous for those who receive the Dharma, but this is the last resort. She was going to put the pot on the fire and boil something for him, so that he would move, and wherever he was in the world, he would return to the place where the pot was, to the place where his sweetheart was waiting for him. It may take a few months, but as long as the person is still around, he will definitely come back.

He must have felt uneasy, and he would walk day and night over the mountains, whether it was good or bad, whether he was tired or not. He's going home, he's going to come back. The crescent moon is like an eyebrow. Old Stinney said that such a day was the time to do magic. One day, a storm broke an old willow branch. Stinney cut a branch and tied it with a knot, which would help bring Rasmus back to his mother's house. Then she plucked the moss and Tibetan lotus from the roof, put them in a pot, and put them on the fire. Elser was about to tear a page from the Book of Hymns, and she accidentally tore off the last page with the errata printed on it. The same spirit! Stinney said, throwing it into the pot.

There were many, many things to put in the pot, and they had to be boiled until Rasmus came home. The big black rooster in Old Stynie's house had to give up the red crown and go to the pot too. Elser's thick ring was also inside, and she could never take it back again, as Stynie had told her beforehand. Stine is smart. Many things whose names we don't know are thrown into the pot. The pot is always placed on the fire, or on charcoal with an open flame still burning, or on hot ash. This was only known to her and Elser.

The moon rose and went down. Elser often came to ask: Did you see him come back?

I know many things! Stinney said, "I've seen a lot, too." But I can't see how long he has walked. Now he's starting to climb the mountain! Now the sea crossing has begun again, and it is in the midst of a storm! The road through the woods was long, his feet were blistered, he had a fever, but he had to move on.

No! No! Elser said. I feel so sorry for him!

Now he can't stop! If we let him stop, he'll fall to his death on the road!

A long time has passed. The moon was round and the earth hung in the sky, shining with moonlight; The wind rustled among the old willows, and a long rainbow appeared in the moonlight. This is a confirmed signal! Stynie said. Rasmus is coming back. However, he did not return.

The wait is long! Stynie said.

Now I'm tired of it! Elser said. She went to Stinney less and less, and she didn't give her new gifts.

Her mood was relaxed, and one morning all the people in the parish knew that Elser had promised the richest landowner.

She went to see the estates, the fields, the livestock, and the belongings. Everything went smoothly and there was no need to wait any longer for the wedding to take place.

The grand wedding banquet took place over three days. People dance to the beat of clarinets and fiddles. Everyone in the parish was invited, and none of them were pulled down, and Mother Elser went. When the solemn scene was over, the people who had eaten and drunk had thanked them, and the horns had stopped, she went home with what was left of the feast.

She only used a stick to tie the door. Now the stick was removed, the door was open, and Rasmus sat in the room. He's back, he's back at this time. Oh my God, all he's left is skin and bones, he's thin and yellow!

Rasmus! Mother said, "Is it really you in front of me?" How ugly you look! But with you, I'm happy from the bottom of my heart!

She handed him a piece of steak and wedding pie, the good food she had brought back from the feast.

He said that lately he has been missing his mother, his hometown and the old willow trees. It was very strange how often he saw the tree and the barefoot Johnny in his dreams.

As for Elser, he didn't mention her at all. He was sick and had to go to bed. But we don't believe it's because of the pot, or the pot of soup, that some kind of magic was done on him. Only old Stynie and Elser believed it, but they didn't mention it.

Rasmus lay in bed with a fever, and his illness was contagious, so no one came to the tailor's house except Johnny, the shoemaker's daughter. When she saw Rasmus's tragic picture, she cried.

The doctor prescribed him medicine and went to the pharmacy to buy it, but he refused to take it. What's the use! He said.

Some. Take the medicine and you'll be fine! Mother said. Rely on yourself and on God! If only I could see your flesh grow on you again, and hear you whistle and sing, then I would give up my life!

Rasmus was less ill, but his mother contracted it. God called her, not him.

The family was lonely, and they were getting poorer and poorer. He's down! The people of the diocese say so. Poor Rasmus.

He lived an inhuman life during his journey. It was the kind of life that was not boiling over the fire that sucked his marrow dry and made him uneasy. His hair was thinning and graying; He couldn't get down to business. What's the use? He said. He doesn't go to church, preferring to go to small hotels.

One autumn evening, in the wind and rain, he staggered out of the hotel and down the muddy road towards his home. His mother was long gone, lying in her grave, and the swallows and starlings, the faithful birds, had flown away. Only the carpenter's daughter, Johanny, did not leave. She caught up with him on the way and followed him for a while.

Cheer up, Rasmus!

What's the use! He said.

Your mantra is terrible! She said. Remember your mother's words, rely on yourself, and rely on God. You didn't do that, Rasmus! It should and should be done. Don't say what's the use, you'll eradicate your faults!

She followed him to his door before leaving. He did not enter the house, he went under the old willow tree and sat down on the fallen roadpost.

The wind whipped from branch to branch, like a song, like a speech. Rasmus answered it, and he spoke loudly. But no one heard him say anything but the tree and the rustling wind.

I'm chilling! It must be time to go to bed. Sleep, sleep! He got up, but not toward the house, but toward the pond. He staggered and fell there. The rain was pouring down, and the wind was biting and cold, but he didn't feel it. When the sun rose and the crows flew over the reeds in the pond, he woke up, his body almost losing sense. If his head fell to his feet, he would never get up, and the green duckweed would become his shroud. During the day, Johnny came to the tailor's house. She helped him a lot; She took him to the hospital.

We have known each other since childhood, and she said, "Your mother gave me beer and food, and I will never be able to repay her!" You will be healthy again. You're going to be a human being again!

God wants him to live. But he suffered a setback, both physically and mentally. The swallows and starlings came and went, and went and came; Rasmus is decrepit before he gets old. He was lonely at home, and the house was getting more and more dilapidated! He was poor, and now he was poorer than Johnny.

You don't have faith, she said, if we don't have God, then what do we have! You should go to the altar there! She said, "You haven't been there since you took part in the ceremony of faith in God!" yes, what's the use! He said.

If you say that, then think, then forget it. God does not see a reluctant guest at his table. But think of your mother and your childhood! You were a good, pious boy then. I'll recite you a hymn, okay?

What's the use! He said.

It always gives me comfort! She replied.

Johnny, you've become a saint! He looked at her with tired eyes.

Johnny read the hymn, not according to the book, she didn't have a book, she would memorize it.

These are good words! He said, but I couldn't fully understand it, my head was heavy!

Rasmus became an old man, but Elser was no longer young if we were to speak of her again. Rasmus never mentioned her again. She became a grandmother, and her granddaughter was a well-spoken little girl, and the little one played in the town with the other children. Rasmus came, with a stick. He stood there watching the children frolic and smile at them, old scenes passing through his mind. Elser's granddaughter pointed at him, poor Rasmus! She shouted. The other little girls imitate her, poor Rasmus! They shouted and followed the old man.

It was a gray, heavy day, and it was like that for many days to come. But after the gray, heavy days, there was also a day when the sun was shining.

It was a wonderful Pentecost morning, and the church was decorated with green birch branches, and you could smell the smell of the woods. The sun shines on the church benches. The candles on the altar are burning, and the priest is distributing communion. Among the kneeling were Johnny, but Rasmus was not present. On that very day, God called him away.

There is mercy and grace around God.

Many years have passed. The tailor's house is still there, but it is no longer inhabited. As soon as a strong wind blows at night, it will collapse. The pond is overgrown with reeds and cattails. The wind rustled among the old willows, as if hearing a song. The wind is singing it, the trees are talking about it. If you don't understand, ask old Johnny in the workhouse.

She lived there and sang hymns, the one she sang to Rasmus. She misses him and prays to God for him, and she has a faithful heart. She would talk about the days that had passed, and the old stories when the wind was rustling among the old trees.

CaptionThis story was first published in The New Fairy Tales (Three Series 2 Episodes), 1872, published on November 23, 1872, and was the last fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen.

(1) The Danes believe that the swallow is a lucky bird.

(2) The Sunday before Easter (the first Sunday after the full moon of the spring equinox) is called Palm Sunday.

(3) The great sculptor of Denmark. See note 17 of Holger the Dane.

(4) On the Sunday after Pentecost (50 days after Easter), observe this feast in honor of the Trinity of God.

(5) 50 days after Christ's resurrection, the Holy Spirit descends, also known as Pentecost. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support, is my biggest motivation. (To be continued.) )