cried the children, when they saw thewhite bird, as it dived into the sea, and rose again into the clearsunlight, white and glittering. But no one could tell whither itwent then although some declared it flew straight to the sun.
  THE END.
  1872
  THE GOBLIN AND THE HUCKSTER
  by Hans Christian Andersen
  THERE was once a regular student, who lived in a garret, and hadno possessions. And there was also a regular huckster, to whom thehouse belonged, and who occupied the ground floor. A goblin lived withthe huckster, because at Christmas he always had a large dish fullof jam, with a great piece of butter in the middle. The huckster couldafford this; and therefore the goblin remained with the huckster,which was very cunning of him.
  One evening the student came into the shop through the back doorto buy candles and cheese for himself, he had no one to send, andtherefore he came himself; he obtained what he wished, and then thehuckster and his wife nodded good evening to him, and she was awoman who could do more than merely nod, for she had usually plenty tosay for herself. The student nodded in return as he turned to leave,then suddenly stopped, and began reading the piece of paper in whichthe cheese was wrapped. It was a leaf torn out of an old book, abook that ought not to have been torn up, for it was full of poetry.
  "Yonder lies some more of the same sort," said the huckster: "Igave an old woman a few coffee berries for it; you shall have the restfor sixpence, if you will."
  "Indeed I will," said the student; "give me the book instead ofthe cheese; I can eat my bread and butter without cheese. It wouldbe a sin to tear up a book like this. You are a clever man; and apractical man; but you understand no more about poetry than thatcask yonder."
  This was a very rude speech, especially against the cask; butthe huckster and the student both laughed, for it was only said infun. But the goblin felt very angry that any man should venture to saysuch things to a huckster who was a householder and sold the bestbutter. As soon as it was night, and the shop closed, and every one inbed except the student, the goblin stepped softly into the bedroomwhere the huckster's wife slept, and took away her tongue, which ofcourse, she did not then want. Whatever object in the room he placedhis tongue upon immediately received voice and speech, and was able toexpress its thoughts and feelings as readily as the lady herself coulddo. It could only be used by one object at a time, which was a goodthing, as a number speaking at once would have caused great confusion.The goblin laid the tongue upon the cask, in which lay a quantity ofold newspapers.
  "Is it really true," he asked, that you do not know what poetryis?"
  "Of course I know," replied the cask: "poetry is something thatalways stand in the corner of a newspaper, and is sometimes cut out;and I may venture to affirm that I have more of it in me than thestudent has, and I am only a poor tub of the huckster's."
  Then the goblin placed the tongue on the coffee mill; and how itdid go to be sure! Then he put it on the butter tub and the cashbox, and they all expressed the same opinion as the waste-paper tub;and a majority must always be respected.
  "Now I shall go and tell the student," said the goblin; and withthese words he went quietly up the back stairs to the garret where thestudent lived. He had a candle burning still, and the goblin peepedthrough the keyhole and saw that he was reading in the torn book,which he had brought out of the shop. But how light the room was!