IV. Babette · page 21 2101Yonder, behind the fir-trees, still stood his grandfather's house, his mother's father, but strangers dwelt in it now.102Children came running to him, as he had once done, and wished to sell their wares.103One of them offered him an Alpine rose.104Rudy took the rose as a good omen, and thought of Babette.105He quickly crossed the bridge where the two rivers flow into each other.106Here he found a walk over-shadowed with large walnut-trees, and their thick foliage formed a pleasant shade.107Very soon he perceived in the distance, waving flags, on which glittered a white cross on a red ground--the standard of the Danes as well as of the Swiss--and before him lay Interlachen.108"It is really a splendid town, like none other that I have ever seen," said Rudy to himself.109It was indeed a Swiss town in its holiday dress.110Not like the many other towns, crowded with heavy stone houses, stiff and foreign looking.111No; here it seemed as if the wooden houses on the hills had run into the valley, and placed themselves in rows and ranks by the side of the clear river, which rushes like an arrow in its course.112The streets were rather irregular, it is true, but still this added to their picturesque appearance.113There was one street which Rudy thought the prettiest of them all; it had been built since he had visited the town when a little boy.114It seemed to him as if all the neatest and most curiously carved toy houses which his grandfather once kept in the large cupboard at home, had been brought out and placed in this spot, and that they had increased in size since then, as the old chestnut trees had done.115The houses were called hotels; the woodwork on the windows and balconies was curiously carved.116The roofs were gayly painted, and before each house was a flower garden, which separated it from the macadamized high-road.117These houses all stood on the same side of the road, so that the fresh, green meadows, in which were cows grazing, with bells on their necks, were not hidden.118The sound of these bells is often heard amidst Alpine scenery.119These meadows were encircled by lofty hills, which receded a little in the centre, so that the most beautifully formed of Swiss mountains--the snow-crowned Jungfrau--could be distinctly seen glittering in the distance.120A number of elegantly dressed gentlemen and ladies from foreign lands, and crowds of country people from the neighboring cantons, were assembled in the town.121Each marksman wore the number of hits he had made twisted in a garland round his hat.122Here were music and singing of all descriptions: hand-organs, trumpets, shouting, and noise.123The houses and bridges were adorned with verses and inscriptions.124Flags and banners were waving.125Shot after shot was fired, which was the best music to Rudy's ears.126And amidst all this excitement he quite forgot Babette, on whose account only he had come.127The shooters were thronging round the target, and Rudy was soon amongst them.128But when he took his turn to fire, he proved himself the best shot, for he always struck the bull's-eye.129"Who may that young stranger be?" was the inquiry on all sides. "130He speaks French as it is spoken in the Swiss cantons."131"And makes himself understood very well when he speaks German," said some.132"He lived here, when a child, with his grandfather, in a house on the road to Grindelwald," remarked one of the sportsmen.133And full of life was this young stranger; his eyes sparkled, his glance was steady, and his arm sure, therefore he always hit the mark.checked by a teacher134Good fortune gives courage, and Rudy was always courageous.135He soon had a circle of friends gathered round him.136Every one noticed him, and did him homage.137Babette had quite vanished from his thoughts, when he was struck on the shoulder by a heavy hand, and a deep voice said to him in French, "You are from the canton Valais."138Rudy turned round, and beheld a man with a ruddy, pleasant face, and a stout figure.139It was the rich miller from Bex.140His broad, portly person, hid the slender, lovely Babette; but she came forward and glanced at him with her bright, dark eyes.141The rich miller was very much flattered at the thought that the young man, who was acknowledged to be the best shot, and was so praised by every one, should be from his own canton.142Now was Rudy really fortunate: he had travelled all this way to this place, and those he had forgotten were now come to seek him.143When country people go far from home, they often meet with those they know, and improve their acquaintance.144Rudy, by his shooting, had gained the first place in the shooting-match, just as the miller at home at Bex stood first, because of his money and his mill.145So the two men shook hands, which they had never done before.146Babette, too, held out her hand to Rudy frankly, and he pressed it in his, and looked at her so earnestly, that she blushed deeply.147The miller talked of the long journey they had travelled, and of the many towns they had seen.148It was his opinion that he had really made as great a journey as if he had travelled in a steamship, a railway carriage, or a post-chaise.149"I came by a much shorter way," said Rudy; "I came over the mountains.150There is no road so high that a man may not venture upon it."151"Ah, yes; and break your neck," said the miller; "and you look like one who will break his neck some day, you are so daring."152"Oh, nothing ever happens to a man if he has confidence in himself," replied Rudy.153The miller's relations at Interlachen, with whom the miller and Babette were staying, invited Rudy to visit them, when they found he came from the same canton as the miller.154It was a most pleasant visit.checked by a teacher155Good fortune seemed to follow him, as it does those who think and act for themselves, and who remember the proverb, "Nuts are given to us, but they are not cracked for us."156And Rudy was treated by the miller's relations almost like one of the family, and glasses of wine were poured out to drink to the welfare of the best shooter.157Babette clinked glasses with Rudy, and he returned thanks for the toast.158In the evening they all took a delightful walk under the walnut-trees, in front of the stately hotels; there were so many people, and such crowding, that Rudy was obliged to offer his arm to Babette.159Then he told her how happy it made him to meet people from the canton Vaud,--for Vaud and Valais were neighboring cantons.160He spoke of this pleasure so heartily that Babette could not resist giving his arm a slight squeeze; and so they walked on together, and talked and chatted like old acquaintances.161Rudy felt inclined to laugh sometimes at the absurd dress and walk of the foreign ladies; but Babette did not wish to make fun of them, for she knew there must be some good, excellent people amongst them; she, herself, had a godmother, who was a high-born English lady.162Eighteen years before, when Babette was christened, this lady was staying at Bex, and she stood godmother for her, and gave her the valuable brooch she now wore in her bosom.163Her godmother had twice written to her, and this year she was expected to visit Interlachen with her two daughters; "but they are old-maids," added Babette, who was only eighteen: "they are nearly thirty."164Her sweet little mouth was never still a moment, and all that she said sounded in Rudy's ears as matters of the greatest importance, and at last he told her what he was longing to tell.165How often he had been at Bex, how well he knew the mill, and how often he had seen Babette, when most likely she had not noticed him; and lastly, that full of many thoughts which he could not tell her, he had been to the mill on the evening when she and her father has started on their long journey, but not too far for him to find a way to overtake them.166He told her all this, and a great deal more; he told her how much he could endure for her; and that it was to see her, and not the shooting-match, which had brought him to Interlachen.167Babette became quite silent after hearing all this; it was almost too much, and it troubled her.168And while they thus wandered on, the sun sunk behind the lofty mountains.169The Jungfrau stood out in brightness and splendor, as a back-ground to the green woods of the surrounding hills.170Every one stood still to look at the beautiful sight, Rudy and Babette among them.171"Nothing can be more beautiful than this," said Babette.172"Nothing!" replied Rudy, looking at Babette.173"To-morrow I must return home," remarked Rudy a few minutes afterwards.174"Come and visit us at Bex," whispered Babette; "my father will be pleased to see you."1 2← previousIII. the Unclenext →V. on the Way Home↑ back to Fairy Tales of Hans Christian AndersenThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg27200/55/page/2/