The Prince and Princess · page 21 2101Then the princess peeped out of her white-lily bed, and asked what was the matter.102Then little Gerda wept and told her story, and all that the crows had done to help her.103"You poor child," said the prince and princess; then they praised the crows, and said they were not angry for what they had done, but that it must not happen again, and this time they should be rewarded.104"Would you like to have your freedom?" asked the princess, "or would you prefer to be raised to the position of court crows, with all that is left in the kitchen for yourselves?"105Then both the crows bowed, and begged to have a fixed appointment, for they thought of their old age, and said it would be so comfortable to feel that they had provision for their old days, as they called it.106And then the prince got out of his bed, and gave it up to Gerda,--he could do no more; and she lay down.107She folded her little hands, and thought, "How good everyone is to me, men and animals too;" then she closed her eyes and fell into a sweet sleep.108All the dreams came flying back again to her, and they looked like angels, and one of them drew a little sledge, on which sat Kay, and nodded to her.109But all this was only a dream, and vanished as soon as she awoke.110The following day she was dressed from head to foot in silk and velvet, and they invited her to stay at the palace for a few days, and enjoy herself, but she only begged for a pair of boots, and a little carriage, and a horse to draw it, so that she might go into the wide world to seek for Kay.111And she obtained, not only boots, but also a muff, and she was neatly dressed; and when she was ready to go, there, at the door, she found a coach made of pure gold, with the coat-of-arms of the prince and princess shining upon it like a star, and the coachman, footman, and outriders all wearing golden crowns on their heads.112The prince and princess themselves helped her into the coach, and wished her success.113The forest crow, who was now married, accompanied her for the first three miles; he sat by Gerda's side, as he could not bear riding backwards.114The tame crow stood in the door-way flapping her wings.115She could not go with them, because she had been suffering from headache ever since the new appointment, no doubt from eating too much.116The coach was well stored with sweet cakes, and under the seat were fruit and gingerbread nuts. "117Farewell, farewell," cried the prince and princess, and little Gerda wept, and the crow wept; and then, after a few miles, the crow also said "Farewell," and this was the saddest parting.118However, he flew to a tree, and stood flapping his black wings as long as he could see the coach, which glittered in the bright sunshine.1 2← previousThe Flower Garden of the Woman Who Could Conjurenext →Little Robber-girl↑ back to Fairy Tales of Hans Christian AndersenThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg27200/173/page/2/