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1、TheElderTreeMother接骨木树妈妈Once there was a little boy who went out and got his feet wet and caught cold. Nobody could understand how it had happened, because the weather was very dry.His mother undressed him, put him to bed, and had the tea urn brought in to make him a good cup of elder tea, for that
2、keeps one warm.At the same time there came in the door the funny old man who lived all alone on the top floor of the house. He had no wife or children of his own, but he was very fond of all children, and knew so many wonderful stories and tales that it was fun to listen to him.Now drink your tea, s
3、aid the little boys mother, and then perhaps therell be a story for you.Yes, nodded the old man kindly, if I could only think of a new one! But tell me, how did the young man get his feet wet? he asked.Yes, where did he? said the mother. Nobody can imagine how.Will you tell me a fairy tale? the litt
4、le boy asked.Yes, but I must know something first. Can you tell me as nearly as possible how deep the gutter is in the little street where you go to school?Just halfway up to my top boots, answered the little boy. That is, he added, if I stand in the deep hole.Thats how we got our feet wet, said the
5、 old man. Now, I certainly ought to tell you a story, but I dont know any more.You can make one up right away, the little boy said. Mother says that everything you look at can be turned into a story, and that you can make a tale of everything you touch.Yes, but those stories and tales arent worth an
6、ything. No, the real ones come all by themselves. They come knocking at my forehead and say, Here I am! Will there be a knock soon? the little boy asked. His mother laughed as she put the elder tea in the pot and poured hot water over it.Tell me a story! Tell me a story!I would if a story would come
7、 of itself. But that kind of thing is very particular. It only comes when it feels like it. Wait! he said suddenly. There is one! Look! Theres one in the teapot now!And the little boy looked toward the teapot. He saw the lid slowly raise itself and fresh white elder flowers come forth from it. They
8、shot long branches even out of the spout and spread them abroad in all directions, and they grew bigger and bigger until there was the most glorious elderbush - really a big tree! The branches even stretched to the little boys bed and thrust the curtains aside - how fragrant its blossoms were! And r
9、ight in the middle of the tree there sat a sweet-looking old woman in a very strange dress. It was green, as green as the leaves of the elder tree, and it was trimmed with big white elder blossoms; at first one couldnt tell if this dress was cloth or the living green and flowers of the tree.What is
10、this womans name? asked the little boy.Well, the Romans and the Greeks, said the old man, used to call her a Dryad, but we dont understand that word. Out in New Town, where the sailors live, they have a better name for her. There she is called Elder Tree Mother, and you must pay attention to her; li
11、sten to her, and look at that glorious elder tree!A great blooming tree just exactly like that stands in New Town. It grows in the corner of a poor little yard; and under that tree two old people sat one afternoon in the bright sunshine. It was an old sailor and his very old wife; they had great-gra
12、ndchildren and were soon going to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary, but they werent quite sure of the date. The Elder Tree Mother sat in the tree and looked pleased, just as she does here. I know perfectly well when the golden wedding day is, she said, but they didnt hear it - they were ta
13、lking of olden times. Yes, do you remember, said the old sailor, when we were very little, how we ran about and played together? It was in this very same yard where we are now, and we put little twigs in the earth and made a garden. Yes, replied the old woman. That I remember well; one of those twig
14、s was an elder, and when we watered them it took root and shot out other green twigs, and now it has become this great tree under which we old people are sitting. Thats right, said he. And there used to be a tub of water over in the corner, where I sailed the little boat I had made myself. How it co
15、uld sail! But pretty soon I had to sail in a different way myself. Yes, but first we went to school and learned something, said she, and then we were confirmed. Remember how we both cried? But in the afternoon we went together to the Round Tower, and looked out at the wide world over Copenhagen and
16、across the water. And then we went to Frederiksborg, where the King and Queen were sailing on the canal in their beautiful boat! But I had to sail in a different way myself, said the old man. And for many years, far away on long voyages. I often cried over you, she said. I thought you were dead and gone, and lying down in the deep ocean, with the
