Poultry Meg's Family · page 21 2 3101Soon she was weary of her life with him, but that did not make it better.102One day the table was spread, and the dishes grew cold.103Palle Dyre was out hunting foxes, and the gracious lady was nowhere to be found.104Towards midnight Palle Dyre came home, but Dame Dyre came neither at midnight, nor next morning.105She had turned her back upon Norrebak, and had ridden away without saying good-bye.106It was gray, wet weather; the wind grew cold, and a flight of black screaming birds flew over her head.107They were not so homeless as she.108First she journeyed southward, quite down into the German land.109A couple of golden rings with costly stones were turned into money; and then she turned to the east, and then she turned again and went towards the west.110She had no food before her eyes, and murmured against everything, even against the good God himself, so wretched was her soul.111Soon her body became wretched too, and she was scarcely able to move a foot.112The peewit flew up as she stumbled over the mound of earth where it had built its nest.113The bird cried, as it always cried, "You thief! you thief!"114She had never stolen her neighbor's goods; but as a little girl she had caused eggs and young birds to be taken from the trees, and she thought of that now.115From where she lay she could see the sand-dunes.116By the seashore lived fishermen; but she could not get so far, she was so ill.117The great white sea-mews flew over her head, and screamed as the crows and daws screamed at home in the garden of the manor house.118The birds flew quite close to her, and at last it seemed to her as if they became black as crows, and then all was night before her eyes.119When she opened her eyes again, she was being lifted and carried.120A great strong man had taken her up in his arms, and she was looking straight into his bearded face.121He had a scar over one eye, which seemed to divide the eyebrow into two parts.122Weak as she was, he carried her to the ship, where he got a rating for it from the captain.123The next day the ship sailed away.124Madame Grubbe had not been put ashore, so she sailed away with it.125But she will return, will she not?126Yes, but where, and when?127The clerk could tell about this too, and it was not a story which he patched together himself.128He had the whole strange history out of an old authentic book, which we ourselves can take out and read.129The Danish historian, Ludwig Holberg, who has written so many useful books and merry comedies, from which we can get such a good idea of his times and their people, tells in his letters of Marie Grubbe, where and how he met her.130It is well worth hearing; but for all that, we don't at all forget Poultry Meg, who is sitting cheerful and comfortable in the charming fowl-house.131The ship sailed away with Marie Grubbe.132That's where we left off.133Long years went by.134The plague was raging at Copenhagen; it was in the year 1711.135The Queen of Denmark went away to her German home, the King quitted the capital, and everybody who could do so hurried away.136The students, even those who had board and lodging gratis, left the city.137One of these students, the last who had remained in the free college, at last went away too.138It was two o'clock in the morning.139He was carrying his knapsack, which was better stacked with books and writings than with clothes.140A damp mist hung over the town; not a person was to be seen in the streets; the street-doors around were marked with crosses, as a sign that the plague was within, or that all the inmates were dead.141A great wagon rattled past him; the coachman brandished his whip, and the horses flew by at a gallop.142The wagon was filled with corpses.143The young student kept his hand before his face, and smelt at some strong spirits that he had with him on a sponge in a little brass scent-case.144Out of a small tavern in one of the streets there were sounds of singing and of unhallowed laughter, from people who drank the night through to forget that the plague was at their doors, and that they might be put into the wagon as the others had been.145The student turned his steps towards the canal at the castle bridge, where a couple of small ships were lying; one of these was weighing anchor, to get away from the plague-stricken city.146"If God spares our lives and grants us a fair wind, we are going to Gronmud, near Falster," said the captain; and he asked the name of the student who wished to go with him.147"Ludwig Holberg," answered the student; and the name sounded like any other.148But now there sounds in it one of the proudest names of Denmark; then it was the name of a young, unknown student.149The ship glided past the castle.150It was not yet bright day when it was in the open sea.151A light wind filled the sails, and the young student sat down with his face turned towards the fresh wind, and went to sleep, which was not exactly the most prudent thing he could have done.152Already on the third day the ship lay by the island of Falster.153"Do you know any one here with whom I could lodge cheaply?"154Holberg asked the captain.155"I should think you would do well to go to the ferry-woman in Borrehaus," answered the captain. "156If you want to be very civil to her, her name is Mother Soren Sorensen Muller.157But it may happen that she may fly into a fury if you are too polite to her.158The man is in custody for a crime, and that's why she manages the ferry-boat herself--she has fists of her own."159The student took his knapsack and betook himself to the ferry-house.160The house door was not locked--it opened, and he went into a room with a brick floor, where a bench, with a great coverlet of leather, formed the chief article of furniture.161A white hen, who had a brood of chickens, was fastened to the bench, and had overturned the pipkin of water, so that the wet ran across the floor.162There were no people either here or in the adjoining room; only a cradle stood there, in which was a child.163The ferry-boat came back with only one person in it.164Whether that person was a man or a woman was not an easy matter to determine.165The person in question was wrapped in a great cloak, and wore a kind of hood.166Presently the boat lay to.167It was a woman who got out of it and came into the room.168She looked very stately when she straightened her back; two proud eyes looked forth from beneath her black eyebrows.169It was Mother Soren, the ferry-wife.170The crows and daws might have called out another name for her, which we know better.171She looked morose, and did not seem to care to talk; but this much was settled, that the student should board in her house for an indefinite time, while things looked so bad in Copenhagen.172This or that honest citizen would often come to the ferry-house from the neighboring little town.173There came Frank the cutler, and Sivert the exciseman.174They drank a mug of beer in the ferry-house, and used to converse with the student, for he was a clever young man, who knew his "Practica," as they called it; he could read Greek and Latin, and was well up in learned subjects.175"The less one knows, the less it presses upon one," said Mother Soren.176"You have to work hard," said Holberg one day, when she was dipping clothes in the strong soapy water, and was obliged herself to split the logs for the fire.177"That's my affair," she replied.178"Have you been obliged to toil in this way from your childhood?"179"You can read that from my hands," she replied, and held out her hands, that were small indeed, but hard and strong, with bitten nails. "180You are learned, and can read."181At Christmas-time it began to snow heavily.182The cold came on, the wind blue sharp, as if there were vitriol in it to wash the people's faces.183Mother Soren did not let that disturb her; she threw her cloak around her, and drew her hood over her head.184Early in the afternoon--it was already dark in the house--she laid wood and turf on the hearth, and then she sat down to darn her stockings, for there was no one to do it for her.185Towards evening she spoke more words to the student than it was customary with her to use; she spoke of her husband.186"He killed a sailor of Dragor by mischance, and for that he has to work for three years in irons.187He's only a common sailor, and therefore the law must take its course."188"The law is there for people of high rank, too," said Holberg.189"Do you think so?" said Mother Soren; then she looked into the fire for a while; but after a time she began to speak again. "190Have you heard of Kai Lykke, who caused a church to be pulled down, and when the clergyman, Master Martin, thundered from the pulpit about it, he had him put in irons, and sat in judgment upon him, and condemned him to death?191Yes, and the clergyman was obliged to bow his head to the stroke.192And yet Kai Lykke went scot-free."193"He had a right to do as he did in those times," said Holberg; "but now we have left those times behind us."194"You may get a fool to believe that," cried Mother Soren; and she got up and went into the room where the child lay.195She lifted up the child, and laid it down more comfortably.196Then she arranged the bed-place of the student.197He had the green coverlet, for he felt the cold more than she, though he was born in Norway.198On New Year's morning it was a bright sunshiny day.199The frost had been so strong, and was still so strong, that the fallen snow had become a hard mass, and one could walk upon it.200The bells of the little town were tolling for church.1 2 3← previousThe Porter's Son, part 3next →The Princess and the Pea↑ back to Fairy Tales of Hans Christian AndersenThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg27200/149/page/2/