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018 - The Storks · Hans Christian Andersen Fairytales & Short Stories Vol. 1

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  Speaker 1: Section eighteen of Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales and Short Stories,
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  Speaker 1: Volume one. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
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  Speaker 1: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
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  Speaker 1: please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Tony Russell. Hans
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  Speaker 1: Christian Andersen, Fairy Tales and Short Stories, Volume one, eighteen
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  Speaker 1: thirty five to eighteen forty two by Hans Christian Andersen,
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  Speaker 1: translated by H. P. Paul. The Storks on the last
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  Speaker 1: house in a little village, the storks had built a nest,
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  Speaker 1: and the mother stork sat in it with her four
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  Speaker 1: young ones, who stretched out their necks and pointed their
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  Speaker 1: black beaks, which had not yet turned red like those
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  Speaker 1: of the parent birds. A little way off, on the
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  Speaker 1: edge of the room stood the father stork, quite upright
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  Speaker 1: and stiff. Not liking to be quite idle, he drew
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  Speaker 1: up one leg and stood on the other, so still
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  Speaker 1: that it seemed almost as if he were carved in wood.
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  Speaker 1: It must look very grand, thought he for my wife
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  Speaker 1: to have a sentry guarding her nest. They do not
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  Speaker 1: know that I am her husband. They will think I
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  Speaker 1: have been commanded to stand here which is quite aristocratic.
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  Speaker 1: And so he continued standing on one leg. In the
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  Speaker 1: street below were a number of children at play, and
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  Speaker 1: when they caught sight of the storks, one of the
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  Speaker 1: boldest among the boys began to sing a song about them,
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  Speaker 1: and very soon he was joined by the rest. These
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  Speaker 1: are the words of the song, but each only sang
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  Speaker 1: what he could remember of them in his own way. Stork, stork,
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  Speaker 1: fly away, stand not on one leg, I pray. See
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  Speaker 1: your wife is in her nest with her little ones
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  Speaker 1: at rest. They will hang one and fry another. They
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  Speaker 1: will shoot a third and roast his brother. Just hear
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  Speaker 1: what those boys are singing, said the young storks. They
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  Speaker 1: say we shall be hanged and roasted. Never mind what
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  Speaker 1: they say. You need not listen, said the mother. They
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  Speaker 1: can do no harm. But the boys went on singing
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  Speaker 1: and pointing at the storks and mocking at them, excepting
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  Speaker 1: one of the boys, whose name was Peter. He said
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  Speaker 1: it was a shame to make fun of animals, and
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  Speaker 1: would not join with them at all. The mother stork
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  Speaker 1: comforted her young ones and told them not to mind. See,
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  Speaker 1: she said, how quiet your father stands, although he is
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  Speaker 1: only on one leg. But we are very much frightened,
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  Speaker 1: said the young storks, and they drew back their heads
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  Speaker 1: into the nests. The next day, when the children were
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  Speaker 1: playing together and saw the storks, they sang the song again.
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  Speaker 1: They will hang one and roast another. Shall we be
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  Speaker 1: hanged and roasted? Asked the young storks. No, certainly not,
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  Speaker 1: said the mother. I will teach you to fly, and
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  Speaker 1: when you have learnt, we will fly into the meadows
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  Speaker 1: and pay a visit to the frogs, who will bow
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  Speaker 1: themselves to us in the water and cry, croak, croak,
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  Speaker 1: and then we shall eat them up. That will be fun.
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  Speaker 1: And what next, asked the young storks, then, replied the mother.
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  Speaker 1: All the storks in the country will assemble together and
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  Speaker 1: go through their autumn maneuvers, so that it is very
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  Speaker 1: important for every one to know how to fly properly.
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  Speaker 1: If they do not, the general will thrust them through
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  Speaker 1: with his beak and kill them. Therefore, you must take
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  Speaker 1: pains and learn so as to be ready when the
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  Speaker 1: drilling begins. Then we may be killed after all. As
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  Speaker 1: the boys say and hark, they are singing again. Listen
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  Speaker 1: to me and not to them, said the mother stork.
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  Speaker 1: After the great review is over, we shall fly away
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  Speaker 1: to warm countries, far from Hence, where there are mountains
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  Speaker 1: and forests, to Egypt, where we shall see three cornered
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  Speaker 1: houses built of stone, with pointed tops that reach nearly
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  Speaker 1: to the clouds. They are called pyramids and are older
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  Speaker 1: than a stork could imagine. And in that country there
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  Speaker 1: is a river that overflows its banks and then goes back,
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  Speaker 1: leaving nothing but mire. There we can walk about and
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  Speaker 1: eat frogs and abundance. Oh oh, cried the young storks. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: it is a delightful place. There is nothing to do
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  Speaker 1: all day long but eat. And while we are so
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  Speaker 1: well off out there, in this country, there will not
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  Speaker 1: be a single green leaf on the tree, and the
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  Speaker 1: weather will be so cold that the clouds will freeze
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  Speaker 1: and fall on the earth in little white rags. The
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  Speaker 1: stork meant snow, but she could not explain it in
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  Speaker 1: any other way. Will the naughty boys freeze and fall
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  Speaker 1: in pieces? Asked the young storks. No, they will not
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  Speaker 1: freeze and fall into pieces, said the mother. But they
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  Speaker 1: will be very cold and be obliged to sit all
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  Speaker 1: day in a dark, gloomy room, while we shall be
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  Speaker 1: flying about in foreign lands where there are blooming flowers
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  Speaker 1: and warm sunshine. Time passed on, and the young storks
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  Speaker 1: grew so large that they could stand upright in the
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  Speaker 1: nest and look about them. The father brought them every
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  Speaker 1: day beautiful frogs, little snakes, and all kinds of stork
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  Speaker 1: dainties that he could find. And then how funny it
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  Speaker 1: was to see the tricks he would perform to amuse them.
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  Speaker 1: He would lay his head quite round over his tail
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  Speaker 1: and clatter with his beak as if it had been
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  Speaker 1: a rattle, and then he would tell them stories all
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  Speaker 1: about the marshes and fins. Come, said the mother one day.
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  Speaker 1: Now you must learn to fly, and all the four
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  Speaker 1: young ones were obliged to come out on the top
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  Speaker 1: of the roof. Oh how they tottered at first, and
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  Speaker 1: were obliged to balance themselves with their wings, or they
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  Speaker 1: would have fallen to the ground below. Look at me,
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  Speaker 1: said the mother. You must hold your heads in this
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  Speaker 1: way and place your feet so once twice, once twice.
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  Speaker 1: That is it. Now you will be able to take
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  Speaker 1: care of yourselves in the world. Then she flew a
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  Speaker 1: little distance from them, and the young ones made a
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  Speaker 1: spring to follow her, but down they fell, plump for
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  Speaker 1: their bodies were still too heavy. I don't want to fly,
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  Speaker 1: said one of the young storks, creeping back into the nest.
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  Speaker 1: I don't care about going to warm countries. Would you
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  Speaker 1: like to stay here and freeze when the winter comes,
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  Speaker 1: said the mother, Or till the boys comes to hang
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  Speaker 1: you or to roast you. Well, then I'll call them.
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  Speaker 1: Oh no, no, said the young stork, jumping out on
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  Speaker 1: the roof with the others. And now they were all attentive,
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  Speaker 1: and by the third day could fly a little. Then
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  Speaker 1: they began to fancy they could soar, so they tried
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  Speaker 1: to do so, resting on their wings, But they soon
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  Speaker 1: found themselves falling and had to flap their wings as
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  Speaker 1: quickly as possible. The boys came again in the street,
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  Speaker 1: singing their song stork, stork, fly away. Shall we fly
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  Speaker 1: down and pick their eyes out? Asked the young storks. No,
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  Speaker 1: leave them alone, said the mother. Listen to me. That
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  Speaker 1: is much more important now then one, two, three, Now
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  Speaker 1: to the right, one unto three, now to the left
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  Speaker 1: round the chimney there. Now, that was very good. That
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  Speaker 1: last flap of the wings was so easy and graceful
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  Speaker 1: that I shall give you permission to fly with me
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  Speaker 1: tomorrow to the marshes. There will be a number of
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  Speaker 1: very superior storks there with their families, and I expect
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  Speaker 1: you to show them that my children are the best
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  Speaker 1: brought up of any who may be present. You must
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  Speaker 1: strut about proudly. It will look well and make you respected.
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  Speaker 1: But may we not punish those naughty boys, asked the
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  Speaker 1: young storks. No, let them scream away as much as
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  Speaker 1: they like. You can fly from them now up high
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  Speaker 1: amid the skies, and will be in the land of
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  Speaker 1: the pyramids when they are freezing and have not a
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  Speaker 1: green leaf on the trees or an apple to eat.
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  Speaker 1: We will revenge ourselves, whispered the young storks to each other,
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  Speaker 1: as they again joined the exercising. Of all the boys
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  Speaker 1: in the street who sang the mocking song about the storks,
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  Speaker 1: not one was so determined to go on with it
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  Speaker 1: as he who first began it. Yet he was a
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  Speaker 1: little fellow, not more than six years old. To the
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  Speaker 1: young storks, he appeared at least a hundred, for he
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  Speaker 1: was so much bigger than their father and mother. To
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  Speaker 1: be sure, storks cannot be expected to know how old
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  Speaker 1: children and grown up people are, so they determined to
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  Speaker 1: have their revenge on this boy, because he began the
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  Speaker 1: song first and would keep on with it. The young
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  Speaker 1: storks were very angry and grew worse as they grew older.
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  Speaker 1: So at last their mother was obliged to promise that
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  Speaker 1: they should be revenged, but not until the day of
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  Speaker 1: their departure. We must see first how you acquit yourselves
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  Speaker 1: at the grand review, said she. If you get on
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  Speaker 1: badly there, the general will thrust his beak through you,
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  Speaker 1: and you will be killed, as the boys said, though
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  Speaker 1: not exactly in the same manner. So we must wait
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  Speaker 1: and see. You shall see, said the young birds. And
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  Speaker 1: then they took such pains and practiced so well every
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  Speaker 1: day that at last it was quite a pleasure to
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  Speaker 1: see them fly so lightly and prettily. As soon as
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  Speaker 1: the autumn arrived, all the storks began to assemble together
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  Speaker 1: before taking their departure for warm countries during the winter.
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  Speaker 1: Then the review commenced. They flew over forests and villages
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  Speaker 1: to show what they could do, for they had a
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  Speaker 1: long journey before them. The young storks performed their parts
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  Speaker 1: so well that they received a mark of honor, with
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  Speaker 1: frogs and snakes as a present. These presents were the
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  Speaker 1: best part of the affair, for they could eat the
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  Speaker 1: frogs and snakes, which they very quickly did. Now let
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  Speaker 1: us have our revenge, they cried. Yes, certainly, cried the
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  Speaker 1: mother stork. I have thought upon the best way to
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  Speaker 1: be revenged. I know the pond in which all the
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  Speaker 1: little children lie waiting till the storks come to take
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  Speaker 1: them to their parents. The prettiest little babies lie there,
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  Speaker 1: dreaming more sweetly than they will ever dream in the
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  Speaker 1: time to come. All parents are glad to have a
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  Speaker 1: little child, and children are so pleased with a little
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  Speaker 1: brother or sister. Now we will fly to the pond
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  Speaker 1: and fetch a little baby for each of the children
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  Speaker 1: who did not sing that naughty song to make game
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  Speaker 1: of the storks. But the naughty boy who began the
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  Speaker 1: song first, What shall we do to him, cried the
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  Speaker 1: young storks. There lies in the pond a little dead
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  Speaker 1: baby who has dreamed itself to death, said the mother.
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  Speaker 1: We will take it to the naughty boy, and he
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  Speaker 1: will cry because we have brought him a little dead brother.
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  Speaker 1: But you have not forgotten the good boy who said
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  Speaker 1: it was a shame to laugh at animals. We will
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  Speaker 1: take him a little brother and sister too. Because he
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  Speaker 1: was good. He is called Peter, and you shall all
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  Speaker 1: be called Peter in future. So they all did what
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  Speaker 1: their mother had arranged, and from that day even till now,
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  Speaker 1: all the storks have been called Peter and of the Storks.
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  Speaker 1: Recording by Tony Russell, Ben, Oregon,