Full text: Hans Andersen's fairy tales

62 Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales 
up in a withered leaf, but it gave her no warmth, she shuddereq 
with cold. 
Close outside the wood, on the skirt of which Tommelise hag 
been living, lay a large corn-field, but the corn had been carrieg 
away long ago, leaving only the dry, naked stubble standing up from 
the hard-frozen earth. It was like another wood to Tommelise 
and oh, how she shivered with cold as she made her way through | 
At last she came past the field-mouse’s door ; for the field-mouse 
wad made herself a little hole under the stubble, and there she 
dwelt snugly and comfortably, having a room full of corn, and a 
neat kitchen and store-chamber besides. Poor Tommelise stood 
At the door and begged for a little piece of a barley-corn, for she 
had had nothing to eat during two whole days. 
« Poor little thing!” said the field-mouse, who was indeed a 
thoroughly good-natured old creature, “ come into my warm room 
and dine with me.” 
She soon took a great liking to Tommelise, and said, “ You 
may dwell with me all the winter if you will, but keep my 
room clean and neat, and tell me stories, for I love stories 
dearly.” 
And Tommelise did all that the kind old field-mouse required 
of her, and was made very comfortable in her new abode. 
« We shall have a visitor presently,” observed the field-mouse 
“my next-door neighbour comes to see me once evety week. He 
is better off than I am, has large rooms in his house, and wears 
a coat of such beautiful black velvet. It would be a capital thing 
for you if you could secure him for your husband, but uf- 
fortunately he is blind, he cannot see you. You must tell him 
the prettiest stories you know.” 
But Tommelise did not care at all about pleasing their neigh- 
hour Mr. Mole, nor did she wish to marry him. He came in his 
black-velvet suit. He was very rich and learned, and the field- 
mouse declared his house was twenty times larger than hers. But 
the sun and the pretty flowers he could not endure; he wé> 
always abusing them, though he had never seen either. Tommelis® 
was called upon to sing for his amusement, and by the time she 
had sung © Lady-bird, lady-bird, fly away home !” and «The 7% 
St Orders Grey.” the mole had quite fallen in love with her tho%" 
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