Latest / Hans Christian Andersen Fairytales & Short Stories Vol. 1 / 016 - The Garden of Paradise

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016 - The Garden of Paradise · Hans Christian Andersen Fairytales & Short Stories Vol. 1

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  Speaker 1: Section sixteen 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 Christopher Taylor. The
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  Speaker 1: Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales and Short Stories, Volume one,
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  Speaker 1: eighteen thirty five to eighteen forty two by Hans Christian Andersen,
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  Speaker 1: translated by H. P. Paul The Garden of Paradise. There
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  Speaker 1: once was a king's son who had a larger and
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  Speaker 1: more beautiful collection of books than any one else in
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  Speaker 1: the world, and full of splendid copper plate engravings. He
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  Speaker 1: could read and obtain information respecting every people of every land.
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  Speaker 1: But not a word could he find to explain the
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  Speaker 1: situation of the Garden of Paradise. And this was just
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  Speaker 1: what he most wished to know. His grandmother had told
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  Speaker 1: him when he was quite a little boy, just old
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  Speaker 1: enough to go to school, that each flower in the
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  Speaker 1: Garden of Paradise was a sweetcake, that the pistols were
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  Speaker 1: full of rich wine, That on one flower history was
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  Speaker 1: written on another, geography or tables. So those who wished
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  Speaker 1: to learn their lessons had only to eat some of
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  Speaker 1: the cakes. And the more they ate, the more history,
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  Speaker 1: geography or tables they knew. He believed it all then,
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  Speaker 1: But as he grew older and learned more and more,
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  Speaker 1: he became wise enough to understand that the splendor of
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  Speaker 1: the Garden of Paradise must be very different to all this.
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  Speaker 1: Oh why did Eve pluck the fruit from the tree
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  Speaker 1: of knowledge? Why did Adam eat the forbidden fruit? Thought
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  Speaker 1: the King's son. If I had been there, it would
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  Speaker 1: never have happened, and there would have been no sin
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  Speaker 1: in the world. The Garden of Paradise occupied all his
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  Speaker 1: thoughts till he reached his seventeenth year. One day he
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  Speaker 1: was walking alone in the wood, which was his greate
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  Speaker 1: as pleasure. When evening came on, the clouds gathered, and
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  Speaker 1: the rain poured down, as if the sky had been
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  Speaker 1: a water spout, and it was as dark as the
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  Speaker 1: bottom of a well at midnight. Sometimes he slipped over
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  Speaker 1: the smooth grass or fell over stones that projected out
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  Speaker 1: of the rocky ground. Everything was dripping with moisture, and
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  Speaker 1: the poor prince had not a dry thread about him.
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  Speaker 1: He was obliged at last to climb over great blocks
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  Speaker 1: of stone, with water spurting from the thick moss. He
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  Speaker 1: began to feel quite faint when he heard a most
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  Speaker 1: singular rushing noise, and saw before him a large cave,
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  Speaker 1: from which came a blaze of light. In the middle
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  Speaker 1: of the cave, an immense fire was burning, and a
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  Speaker 1: noble stag with its branching horns, was placed on a
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  Speaker 1: spit between the trunks of two pine trees. It was
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  Speaker 1: turning slowly before the fire, and an elderly woman, as
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  Speaker 1: large and strong as if she had been a man
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  Speaker 1: into skies, sat by, throwing one piece of wood after
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  Speaker 1: another into the flames. Come in, she said to the prince.
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  Speaker 1: Sit down by the fire and dry yourself. There is
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  Speaker 1: a great draft here, said the prince, as he seated
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  Speaker 1: himself on the ground. It will be worse when my
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  Speaker 1: sons come home, replied the woman. You are now in
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  Speaker 1: the cavern of the winds, and my sons are the
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  Speaker 1: four winds of heaven. Can you understand that? Where are
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  Speaker 1: your sons? Asked the prince. It is difficult to answer
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  Speaker 1: stupid questions, said the woman. My sons have plenty of
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  Speaker 1: business on hand. They are playing at Shuttlecock with the
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  Speaker 1: clouds up yonder in the King's hall, and she pointed upwards. Oh, indeed,
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  Speaker 1: said the prince. But you speak more roughly and harshly,
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  Speaker 1: and are not so gentle as the women. I am
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  Speaker 1: used to. Yes, that is because they have nothing else
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  Speaker 1: to do. But I am obliged to be harsh to
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  Speaker 1: keep my boys in order. And I can do it,
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  Speaker 1: although they are so headstrong. Do you see those four
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  Speaker 1: sacks hanging on the wall, Well, they are just as
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  Speaker 1: much afraid of those sacks as you used to be
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  Speaker 1: of the rat behind them looking glass. I can bend
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  Speaker 1: the boys together and put them in the sacks without
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  Speaker 1: any resistance on their parts. I can tell you there
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  Speaker 1: they stay, and dare not attempt to come out until
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  Speaker 1: I allow them to do so. And here comes one
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  Speaker 1: of them. It was the north wind who came in,
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  Speaker 1: bringing with him a cold, piercing blast. Large hailstones rattled
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  Speaker 1: on the floor, and snowflakes were scattered around in all directions.
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  Speaker 1: He wore a bear skin dress and cloak. His seal
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  Speaker 1: skin cap was drawn over his ears. Long icicles hung
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  Speaker 1: from his beard, and one hailstone after another rolled from
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  Speaker 1: the collar of his jacket. Don't go too near the fire,
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  Speaker 1: said the prince, or your hands and face will be frostbitten.
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  Speaker 1: Frost bitden at the North Wind with a loud laugh.
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  Speaker 1: Why frost is my greatest delight. What sort of a
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  Speaker 1: little snipper you? And how did you find your way
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  Speaker 1: to the cavern of the winds. He is my guest,
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  Speaker 1: said the old woman. And if you are not satisfied
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  Speaker 1: with that explanation, you can go into the do you
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  Speaker 1: understand me? That settled the matter. So the North Wind
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  Speaker 1: began to relate his avengers. Whence he came, and where
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  Speaker 1: he had been for a whole month. I come from
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  Speaker 1: the polar seas, he said. I have been on Bear's
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  Speaker 1: Island with the Russian walrus hunters. I sat and slept
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  Speaker 1: at the helm of their ship as they sailed away
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  Speaker 1: from North Cape. Sometimes when I woke, the storm birds
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  Speaker 1: would fly about my legs. They are curious birds. They
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  Speaker 1: give one flap with their wings and then on their
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  Speaker 1: outstretched pinions so far away. Don't make such a long
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  Speaker 1: story of it, said the mother of the winds. What
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  Speaker 1: sort of a place is Bear's Island? A very beautiful
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  Speaker 1: place where the floor for dancing as smooth and flat
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  Speaker 1: as a plate half melted snow, partly covered with moss.
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  Speaker 1: Sharp stones and skeletons of walruses and polar bears lie
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  Speaker 1: all about their gigantic limbs in a state of green decay.
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  Speaker 1: It would seem as if the sun never shone. There.
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  Speaker 1: I blew gently to clear away the mist, and then
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  Speaker 1: I saw a little hut which had been built from
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  Speaker 1: the wood of a wreck, and was covered with skins
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  Speaker 1: of the walrus. The fleshy side outwards it looked green
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  Speaker 1: and red, and on the roof set a growling bear.
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  Speaker 1: Then I went to the seashore to look after birds' nests,
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  Speaker 1: and I saw the unfledged nestlings opening their mouths and
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  Speaker 1: screaming for food. I blew into the thousand little throats
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  Speaker 1: and quickly stopped their screaming. Farther onward walruses with pigs
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  Speaker 1: heads and teeth a yard long, rolling about like great worms.
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  Speaker 1: You relate your adventures very well, my son, said the mother.
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  Speaker 1: It makes my mouth water to hear you. After that
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  Speaker 1: continued the north wind. The hunting commenced. The harpoon was
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  Speaker 1: flung into the breast of the walrus, so that a
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  Speaker 1: smoking stream of blood spurted forth like a fountain, and
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  Speaker 1: besprinkled the ice. Then I thought of my own game.
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  Speaker 1: I began to blow and set my own ships the
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  Speaker 1: great iceberg sailing, so that they might crush the boats. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: the sailors howled and cried out, but I howled louder
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  Speaker 1: than they. They were obliged to unload their cargo and
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  Speaker 1: throw their chests and the dead walruses on the ice.
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  Speaker 1: Then I sprinkled snow over them, and left them in
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  Speaker 1: their crushed boats to drift southward and to taste salt water.
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  Speaker 1: They will never return to Bear's Island. So you have
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  Speaker 1: done mischief, said the mother of the winds. I shall
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  Speaker 1: leave others to tell the good I have done, he replied.
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  Speaker 1: But here comes my brother from the west. I like
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  Speaker 1: him best of all, for he has the smell of
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  Speaker 1: the sea about him and brings in a cold, fresh
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  Speaker 1: air as he enters. Is that the little zephyr, asked
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  Speaker 1: the prince. Yes it is the little zephyr, said the
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  Speaker 1: old woman. But he is not little now. In years
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  Speaker 1: gone by he was a beautiful boy. Now that is
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  Speaker 1: all past. He came in looking like a wild man,
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  Speaker 1: and he wore a slouched hat to protect his head
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  Speaker 1: from injury. In his hand he carried a club cut
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  Speaker 1: from a mahogany tree in the American forests. Not a
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  Speaker 1: trifle to care. Whence do you come, asked the mother.
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  Speaker 1: I come from the wilds of the forests, where the
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  Speaker 1: thorny brambles formed thick hedges between the trees, where the
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  Speaker 1: water snake lies in the wet grass, and mankind seems
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  Speaker 1: to be unknown. What were you doing there? I looked
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  Speaker 1: into the deep river and saw it rushing down from
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  Speaker 1: the rocks. The water drops mounted to the clouds and
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  Speaker 1: glittered in the rainbow. I saw the wild buffalo swimming
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  Speaker 1: in the river, but the strong tide carried him away
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  Speaker 1: amidst a flock of wild ducks, which flew into the
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  Speaker 1: air as the waters dashed onwards, leaving the buffalo to
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  Speaker 1: be hurled over the waterfall. This pleased me, so I
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  Speaker 1: raised a storm, which rooted up old trees and sent
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  Speaker 1: them floating down the river. And what else have you done,
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  Speaker 1: asked the old woman. I have rushed wildly across the savannahs.
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  Speaker 1: I have stroked the wild horses and shaken the cocoanuts
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  Speaker 1: from the trees. Yes, I have many stories to relate,
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  Speaker 1: but I need not tell everything I know. You know
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  Speaker 1: it all very well, don't you, old lady. He kissed
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  Speaker 1: his mother so roughly that she nearly fell backwards. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: he was indeed a wild fellow. Now in came the
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  Speaker 1: south wind with a turban and a flowing bed wind cloak.
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  Speaker 1: How cold it is here, said he, throwing more wood
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  Speaker 1: on the fire. It's easy to feel that the north
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  Speaker 1: wind has arrived here before me. Why it is hot
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  Speaker 1: enough here to roast a bear, said the north wind.
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  Speaker 1: You are a bear yourself, said the other. Do you
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  Speaker 1: want to be put in the sack both of you,
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  Speaker 1: said the old woman. Sit down now on that stone
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  Speaker 1: yonder and tell me where you have been in Africa? Mother.
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  Speaker 1: I went out with the hottentots who were lying hunting
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  Speaker 1: in the kafir land, where the plains are covered with
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  Speaker 1: grass the color of a green olive. And here I
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  Speaker 1: ran races with the ostrich, but I soon outstripped him
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  Speaker 1: in swiftness. At last I came to the desert in
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  Speaker 1: which lie the golden sands, looking like the bottom of
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  Speaker 1: the sea. Here I met a caravan, and the travelers
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  Speaker 1: had just killed their last camel to obtain water. There
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  Speaker 1: was very little for them, and they can continued their
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  Speaker 1: painful journey beneath the burning sun and over the hot sands,
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  Speaker 1: which stretched before them a vast, boundless desert. Then I
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  Speaker 1: rolled myself in the loose sand and whirled it in
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  Speaker 1: burning columns over their heads. The dromedaries stood still in terror,
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  Speaker 1: while the merchants drew their kaftans over their heads and
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  Speaker 1: threw themselves on the ground before me, as they do
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  Speaker 1: before Allah, their god. Then I buried them beneath a
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  Speaker 1: pyramid of sand which covers them all. When I blow
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  Speaker 1: that away on my next visit, the sun will bleach
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  Speaker 1: their bones, and travelers will see that others have been
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  Speaker 1: there before them. Otherwise, in such a wild desert, they
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  Speaker 1: might not believe it possible. So you have done nothing
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  Speaker 1: but evil, said the mother. Into the sack with you,
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  Speaker 1: And before he was aware, she had seized the south
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  Speaker 1: wind round the body and popped him into the bag.
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  Speaker 1: He rolled about on the floor till she set herself
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  Speaker 1: upon him to keep him still. These boys of yours
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  Speaker 1: are very likely, said the prince. Yes, she replied, but
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  Speaker 1: I know how to correct them when necessary. And here
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  Speaker 1: comes the in came the East Wind, dressed like a Chinese.
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  Speaker 1: Oh you come from that quarter, do you? Said she.
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  Speaker 1: I thought you had been in the Garden of Paradise.
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  Speaker 1: I am going there tomorrow. He replied. I have not
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  Speaker 1: been there for one hundred years. I have just come
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  Speaker 1: from China, where I danced round the porcelain tower till
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  Speaker 1: all the bells jingled again in the streets, and official
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  Speaker 1: flogging was taking place, and bamboo keenes were being broken
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  Speaker 1: on the shoulders of men of every high position, from
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  Speaker 1: the first to the ninth grade. They cried, many thanks,
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  Speaker 1: my fatherly benefactor. But I am sure the words did
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  Speaker 1: not come from their hearts. So I ring the bells
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  Speaker 1: till they sounded ding ding dung. You are a wild boy,
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  Speaker 1: said the old woman. It is well for you that
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  Speaker 1: you are going tomorrow to the Garden of Paradise. You
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  Speaker 1: always get improved in your education there. Drink deeply from
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  Speaker 1: the fountain of wisdom while you are there, and bring
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  Speaker 1: home a bottleful for me that I will, said the
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  Speaker 1: East Wind. But why have you put my brother south
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  Speaker 1: in a bag? Let him out, for I want him
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  Speaker 1: to tell me about the phoenix bird. The Princess always
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  Speaker 1: wants to hear of this bird when I pay her
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  Speaker 1: my visit every hundred years. If you will open the sacks,
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  Speaker 1: sweetest mother, I will give you two pocketfuls of tea,
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  Speaker 1: green and fresh as when I gathered it from the
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  Speaker 1: spot where it grew well, for the sake of the tea,
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  Speaker 1: and because you are my own boy, I will open
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  Speaker 1: the bag. She did so, and the south wind crept out,
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  Speaker 1: looking quite cast down, because the prince had seen his disgrace.
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  Speaker 1: There is a palm ley for the princess, he said.
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  Speaker 1: The old Phoenix, the only one in the world, gave
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  Speaker 1: it to me himself. He has scratched on it with
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  Speaker 1: his beak the whole of his history, during the hundred
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  Speaker 1: years he has lived. She can there read how old
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  Speaker 1: Phoenix set fire to his own nest and set upon it.
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  Speaker 1: While it was burning like a hindoo widow. The dry
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  Speaker 1: twigs around the nest crackled and smoked till the flames
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  Speaker 1: burst forth and consumed the phoenix to ashes admits the
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  Speaker 1: fire lay an egg red hot, which presently burst with
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  Speaker 1: a loud report, and out flew a young bird. He
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  Speaker 1: is the only phoenix in the world, and the king
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  Speaker 1: over all the other birds. He has bitten a hole
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  Speaker 1: in the leaf, which I give you, and that is
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  Speaker 1: his greeting to the princess. Now, let us have something
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  Speaker 1: to eat, said the mother of the winds. So they
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  Speaker 1: all set down to feast on the roasted stag, and
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  Speaker 1: as the Prince sat by the side of the east wind,
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  Speaker 1: they soon became good friends. Pray, tell me, said the prince.
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  Speaker 1: Who is that princess of whom you have been talking,
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  Speaker 1: And where lies the garden of Paradise? Ho, Ho, said
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  Speaker 1: the east wind. Would you like to go there? Well,
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  Speaker 1: you can fly off with me tomorrow. But I must
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  Speaker 1: tell you one thing. No human being has been there
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  Speaker 1: since the time of Adam and Eve. I suppose you
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  Speaker 1: have read of them in your Bible. Of course I have,
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  Speaker 1: said the prince, Well, continued the east Wind. When they
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  Speaker 1: were driven out of the Garden of Paradise, it sunk
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  Speaker 1: into the earth, but it retained its warm sunshine, air
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  Speaker 1: and all its splendor. The fairy Queen lives there in
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  Speaker 1: the island of happiness, where death never comes and all
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  Speaker 1: is beautiful. I can manage to take you there tomorrow
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  Speaker 1: if you will set on my back. But now don't
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  Speaker 1: talk any more, for I want to go to sleep.
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  Speaker 1: And then they all slept. When the Prince awoke in
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  Speaker 1: the early morning, he was not a little surprised at
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  Speaker 1: finding himself high up above the clouds. He was seated
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  Speaker 1: on the back of the East Wind, who held him faithfully,
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  Speaker 1: And they were so high in the air that woods
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  Speaker 1: and fields, rivers and lakes, as they lay beneath them,
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  Speaker 1: looked like a painted map. Good morning, said the East Wind.
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  Speaker 1: You might have slept on a while, for there is
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  Speaker 1: very little to see in that flat country over which
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  Speaker 1: we are passing, unless you like to count the churches.
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  Speaker 1: They looked like spots of chalk on a green board.
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  Speaker 1: The green board was the name he gave to the
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  Speaker 1: green fields and meadows. It was very rude to me
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  Speaker 1: not to say goodbye to your mother and your brothers,
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  Speaker 1: said the Prince. They will excuse you, as you were asleep,
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  Speaker 1: said the east Wind. And then they flew on on
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  Speaker 1: faster than ever. The leaves and branches of the trees
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  Speaker 1: rustled as he passed. When they flew over seas and lakes,
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  Speaker 1: the waves rose higher, and the large ships dipped into
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  Speaker 1: the water like diving swans. As darkness came on towards evening.
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  Speaker 1: The great towns looked charming. Lights were sparkling, now seen,
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  Speaker 1: now hidden, just as the sparks go out one after
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  Speaker 1: another on a piece of burnt paper. The prince clapt
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  Speaker 1: his hands with pleasure, but the east wind advised him
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  Speaker 1: not to express his admiration in that manner, or he
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  Speaker 1: might fall down and find himself hanging on a church steeple.
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  Speaker 1: The eagle in the dark forests flies swiftly, but faster
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  Speaker 1: than he flew the east wind. The Cossack, on a
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  Speaker 1: small horse, rides lightly over the plains, but lighter still
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  Speaker 1: past the prints on the wings of the wind. There
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  Speaker 1: are the Homalias, the highest mountains in Asia, said the
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  Speaker 1: east wind. We shall soon reach the garden of Paradise.
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  Speaker 1: Now then they turned southward, and the air became fragrant
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  Speaker 1: with the perfume of spices and flowers. Here, figs and
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  Speaker 1: pomegranates grew wild, and the vines were covered with clusters
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  Speaker 1: of blue and purple grapes. Here they both descended to
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  Speaker 1: the earth and stretched themselves on the soft grass, while
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  Speaker 1: the flowers bowed to the breath of the wind, as
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  Speaker 1: if to welcome it. Are we now in the garden
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  Speaker 1: of Paradise, asked the Prince. No, indeed, replied the east wind.
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  Speaker 1: But we shall be there very soon. Do you see
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  Speaker 1: that wall of rocks and the cavern beneath it, over
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  Speaker 1: which the grape vines hang like a green curtain. Through
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  Speaker 1: that cavern we must pass. Wrap your cloak round you,
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  Speaker 1: for while the sun scorches you. Hear, a few steps
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  Speaker 1: farther it will be icy cold. The bird flying past
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  Speaker 1: the entrance to the cavern feels as if one wing
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  Speaker 1: were in the region of summer and the other in
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  Speaker 1: the depths of winter. So this, then, is the way
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  Speaker 1: to the garden of Paradise, asked the Prince. As they
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  Speaker 1: entered the cavern. It was indeed cold, but the cold
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  Speaker 1: soon passed where the east wind spread his wings and
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  Speaker 1: they gleamed like the brightest fire. As they passed on
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  Speaker 1: through this wonderful cave, the Prince could see great blocks
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  Speaker 1: of stone from which water trickled, hanging over their heads
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  Speaker 1: in fantastic shapes. Sometimes it was so narrow that they
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  Speaker 1: had to creep on their hands and knees, while at
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  Speaker 1: other times it was lofty and wide, like the free air.
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  Speaker 1: It had the appearance of a chapel for the dead,
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  Speaker 1: with petrified organs and silent pipes. We seemed to be
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  Speaker 1: passing through the valley of Death to the garden of Paradise,
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: said the prince. But the east wind answered not a word,
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: only pointed forwards to a lovely blue light which gleamed
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: in the distance. The blocks of stone assumed a misty appearance,
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: till at last they looked like white clouds and moonlight.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: The air was fresh and balmy, like a breeze from
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: the mountains, perfumed with flowers from a valley of roses.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: A river clear as the air itself sparkled at their feet,
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: while in its clear depths could be seen gold and
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: silver fish sporting in the bright water, and purple eels
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: amidia sparks of fire at every moment, while the broad
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: leaves of the water lilies that floated on its surface
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: flickered with all the colors of the rainbow. The flower,
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: in its color of flame, seemed to receive its nourishment
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: from the water, as a lamp is sustained by oil.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: A marble bridge of such exquisite workmanship that it appeared
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: as if formed of lace and pearls led to the
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: island of happiness, in which blossomed the garden of Paradise.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: The east wind took the Prince in his arms and
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: carried him over, while the flowers and the leaves sang
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: the sweet songs of his childhood, in tones so full
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: and soft that no human voice could venture to imitate.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: Within the garden grew large trees full of sap. But
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: whether they were palm trees or gigantic water plants, the
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: Prince knew not. The climbing plants hung in garlands of
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: green and gold, like the illuminations on the margins of
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: old missiles, or twined among the initial letters, birds, flowers,
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: and festoons appeared intermingled in singing confusion. Close by on
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: the grass stood a group of peacocks with radiant tails
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: outspread to the sun. The Prince touched them and found,
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: to his surprise that they were not really birds, but
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: the leaves of the bird dock tree, which shone the
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: colors of a peacock's tail. The lion and the tiger,
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: gentle and tame, were springing about like playful cats among
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: the green bushes, whose perfume was like the fragrant blossom
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: of the olive. The plumage of the woodpigeon glistened like
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: pearls as it struck the lion's mane with its wings,
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: while the antelope, usually so shy, stood near, nodding its
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: head as if it wished to join in the frolic.
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: The fairy of Paradise next made her appearance. Her raiment
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: shone like the sun, and her serene countenance beamed with happiness,
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: like that of a mother rejoicing over her child. She
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: was young and beautiful, and a train of lovely maidens
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: followed her, each wearing a bright star in her hair.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: The east wind gave her the palm leaf on which
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: was written his Tree of the Phoenix, and her eyes
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: sparkled with joy. She then took the prince by the
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: hand and led him into her palace, the walls of
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: which were richly colored like a tulip leaf when it
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: is turned to the sun. The roof had the appearance
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: of an inverted flower, and the colors grew deeper and
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: brighter to the gazer. The prince walked to a window
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: and saw what appeared to be the Tree of Knowledge
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: of good and evil, with Adam and Eve standing by,
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: and the serpent near them. I thought they were banished
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: from paradise, he said. The princess smiled and told him
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: that Time had engraved each event on a window pane
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: in the form of a picture. But unlike other pictures,
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: all that it represented lived and moved. The leaves rustled,
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: and the persons went and came, as in a looking glass.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: He looked through another pane and saw the latter in
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: Jacob's dream, on which the angels were ascending and descending
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: with outspread wings. All that had ever happened in the
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: world here lived and moved on the panes of glass,
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: in pictures such as time alone could produce. The fairy
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: now led the prince into a large, lofty room with
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: transparent walls through which the lights shone. Here were portraits,
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: each one appearing more beautiful than the other. Millions of
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: happy beings whose laughter and song mingled in one sweet melody.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: Some of these were in such an elevated position that
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: they appeared smaller than the smallest rosebud, or like pencil
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: dots on paper. In the center of the hall stood
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: a tree with drooping branches from which hung golden apples,
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: both great and small. Looking like oranges among the green leaves.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: It was the tree of knowledge of good and evil,
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: from which Adam and Eve had plucked and eaten the
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: forbidden fruit. And from each leaf trickled the bright red dewdrop,
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: as if the tree were weeping tears of blood for
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: their sin. Let us now take the boat, said the fairy.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: A sail on the cool waters will refresh us. But
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: we shall not move from the spot. Although the boat
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: may rock on the swelling water. The countries of the
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: world would glide before us, but we shall remain still.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: It was indeed wonderful to behold. First came the lofty Alps,
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: snow clad and covered with clouds and dark pines. The
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: horn resounded, and the shepherds sang merrily. In the valleys.
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: The banana trees bent their drooping branches over the boat.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: Black swans floated on the water, and singular animals and
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: flowers appeared on the distant shore. New Holland, the fifth
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: division of the world, now glided by, with mountains in
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: the background looking blue. In the distance. They heard the
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: song of the priests, and saw the wild dance of
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: the savage to the sound of the drums and trumpets
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: of bone, the pyramids of Egypt rising to the clouds,
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: columns and sphinxes overthrown and buried in the sand, followed
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: in their turn, while the Northern lights flashed out over
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: the extinguished volcanoes of the north in fireworks none could imitate.
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: The Prince was delighted, and yet he saw hundreds of
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: other wonderful things, more than could be described. Can I
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: stay here forever? Asked he? That depends upon yourself, replied
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: the fairy. If you do not like adam long for
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: what is forbidden, you can remain here always. I should
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: not touch the fruit on the tree of knowledge, said
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: the prince. There is abundance of fruit equally beautiful. Examine
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: your own heart, said the princess, and if you do
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: not feel sure of its strength, return with the east
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: wind who brought you. He is about to fly back,
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: and will not return here for a hundred years. The
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: time will not seem to you more than a hundred hours.
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: Yet even that is a long time for temptation and resistance.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: Every evening, when I leave you, I shall be obliged
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: to say, come with me, and to beckon to you
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: with my hand. But you must not listen, nor move
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: from your place to follow me, for with every step
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: you will find your power to resist weaker. If once
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: you attempted to follow me, you would soon find yourself
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: in the hall or grows the Tree of Knowledge. For
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: I sleep beneath its perfume branch. If you stooped over me,
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: I should be forced to smile. If you then kissed
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: my lips, the garden of Paradise would sink into the earth,
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: and to you it would be lost. A keen wind
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: from the desert would howl around you, cold rain would
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: fall on your head, and sorrow and woe would be
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: your future lot. I will remain, said the prince. So
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: the east wind kissed him on the forehead and said,
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: be firm. Then shall we meet again when a hundred
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: years have passed. Farewell, farewell. Then the east wind spread
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: his broad pinions, which shone like the lightning and harvest,
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: or as the northern lights in a cold winter. Farewell, farewell,
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: echoed the trees and the flowers. Storks and pelicans flew
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: after him in feathery bands to accompany him to the
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: boundaries of the garden. Now we will commence dancing, said
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: the fairy, and when it is nearly over at sunset,
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: while I am dancing with you, I shall make a
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: sign and ask you to follow me, but do not obey.
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: I shall be obliged to repeat the same thing for
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: a hundred years, and each time when the trial is passed.
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: If you resist, you will gain strength till resistance becomes easy,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: and at last the temptation will be quite overcome this evening,
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: as it will be the first time I have warned you.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: After this, the fairy led him into a large hall
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: filled with transparent lilies. The yellow stamina from each flower
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: formed a tiny golden harp, from which came four strains
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: of music, like the mingled tones of flute and lyre.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: Beautiful maidens, slender and graceful in form and robed in
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: transparent gauze, floated through the dance and sang of the
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: happy life in the garden of Paradise, where death never entered,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: and where all would bloom forever in immortal youth. As
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: the sun went down, the whole heavens became crimson and
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: gold and tinted the lilies with the hue of roses.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: Then the beautiful maidens offered to the prince's sparkling wine,
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: and when he had drank he felt happiness greater than
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: he had ever known before. Presently, the background of the
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: hall opened, and the Tree Acknowledge appeared, surrounded by a
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: halo of glory that almost blinded him. Voices soft and
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: lovely as his mother's, sounded in his ears, as if
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: she were singing to him, My child, my beloved child.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: Then the fairy beckoned to him and said, in sweet accents,
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: come with me, Come with me, forgetting his promise, forgetting it,
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: even on the very first evening. He rushed towards her,
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: while she continued to beckon to him and to smile.
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: The fragrance around him overpowered his senses. The music from
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: the harp sounded more entrancing, while around the tree appeared
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: millions of smiling faces, nodding and singing. Man should know everything.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: Man is the lord of the earth, the tree of Knowledge.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: No longer wept tears of blood, for the dewdrop shone
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: like glittering stars. Come Come, continued that thrilling voice, and
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: the prince followed the call. At every step, his cheeks
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: glowed and the blood rush wildly through his veins. I
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: must follow, he cried, it is not a sin. It
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: cannot be to follow beauty and joy. I only want
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: to see her sleep, and nothing will happen unless I
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: kiss her, and that I will not do, for I
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: have strength to resist and a determined will. The fairy
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: threw off her dazzling attire, bent backed the bows, and
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: in another moment, was hidden among them. I have not
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: sinned yet, said the prince, and I will not. And
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: then he pushed aside the bows to follow the princess.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: She was lying already asleep, beautiful as only a fairy
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: in the garden a paradise could be. He smiled as
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: he bent over her, and he saw tears trembling out
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: of her beautiful eyelashes. Do you weep for me? He whispered,
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: Oh weep not, thou loveliest of women. Now do I
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: begin to understand the happiness of paradise? I feel it
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: to my inmost soul, in every thought, A new life
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: is born within me. One moment of such happiness is
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: worth an eternity of darkness and woe. He stooped and
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: kissed the tears from her eyes, and touched her lips
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: with his A clap of thunder loud and awful resounded
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: through the trembling air. All around him fell into ruin.
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: The lovely fairy, the beautiful garden sunk deeper and deeper.
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: The Prince saw it sinking down into the dark night,
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: till it shone only like a star in the distance
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: beneath him. Then he felt a coldness like death creeping
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: over him. His eyes closed, and he became insensible. When
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: he recovered, a chilling rain was beating upon him, and
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: a sharp wind blew on his head. Alas, what have
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: I done, he sighed, I have sinned like Adam, and
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: the guard of Paradises sunk into the earth. He opened
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: his eyes and saw the star in the distance, but
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: it was the morning star in heaven, which glittered in
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: the darkness. Presently he stood up and found himself in
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: the depths of the forest, close to the cavern of
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: the Winds, and the mother of the wind said by
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: his side. She looked angry and raised her arm in
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: the air. As she spoke. The very first evening, she said,
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: well I expected it. If you were my son, you
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: should go into the sack, and there he will have
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: to go. At last, said a strong old man with
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: large black wings and a scythe in his hand, whose
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: name was death. He shall be laid in his coffin.
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: But not yet. I will allow him to wander about
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: the world for a while, to atone for his sin,
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: and to give him time to become better. But I
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: shall return when he least expects me. I shall lay
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: him in a black coffin, place it on my head,
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: and fly away with it. Beyond the stars there also
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: blooms a garden of Paradise. And if he is good impious,
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: he will be admitted. But if his thoughts are bad,
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: and his heart full of sin, he will sink with
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: his coffin deeper than the Garden of Paradise is sunk.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: Once in every thousand years, I shall go and fetch him.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: When he it will either be condemned to sink still deeper,
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: or be raised to a happier life in the world
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: beyond the stars. End of the Garden of Paradise recording
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: by Christopher Taylor,