And he beat a thundering roll-call on the instrument, and the Drumfelt so highly honored that the parchment burst with exultation.
  "He has a splendid touch!" said the Drum. "I've a remembrance ofhim now that will last. I expect that the same thing will happen tohis mother, from pure joy over her golden treasure."
  And this is the story of the Golden Treasure.
  THE END.
  1872
  FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
  THE GOLOSHES OF FORTUNE
  by Hans Christian Andersen
  A BEGINNING
  IN a house in Copenhagen, not far from the king's new market, avery large party had assembled, the host and his family expecting,no doubt, to receive invitations in return. One half of the companywere already seated at the card-tables, the other half seemed to bewaiting the result of their hostess's question, "Well, how shall weamuse ourselves?"
  Conversation followed, which, after a while, began to prove veryentertaining. Among other subjects, it turned upon the events of themiddle ages, which some persons maintained were more full ofinterest than our own times. Counsellor Knapp defended this opinion sowarmly that the lady of the house immediately went over to his side,and both exclaimed against Oersted's Essays on Ancient and ModernTimes, in which the preference is given to our own. The counsellorconsidered the times of the Danish king, Hans, as the noblest andhappiest.
  The conversation on this topic was only interrupted for a momentby the arrival of a newspaper, which did not, however, contain muchworth reading, and while it is still going on we will pay a visit tothe ante-room, in which cloaks, sticks, and goloshes were carefullyplaced. Here sat two maidens, one young, and the other old, as if theyhad come and were waiting to accompany their mistresses home; but onlooking at them more closely, it could easily be seen that they wereno common servants. Their shapes were too graceful, theircomplexions too delicate, and the cut of their dresses much tooelegant. They were two fairies. The younger was not Fortune herself,but the chambermaid of one of Fortune's attendants, who carriesabout her more trifling gifts. The elder one, who was named Care,looked rather gloomy; she always goes about to perform her ownbusiness in person; for then she knows it is properly done. Theywere telling each other where they had been during the day. Themessenger of Fortune had only transacted a few unimportant matters;for instance, she had preserved a new bonnet from a shower of rain,and obtained for an honest man a bow from a titled nobody, and soon; but she had something extraordinary to relate, after all.
  "I must tell you," said she, "that to-day is my birthday; and inhonor of it I have been intrusted with a pair of goloshes, tointroduce amongst mankind. These goloshes have the property ofmaking every one who puts them on imagine himself in any place hewishes, or that he exists at any period. Every wish is fulfilled atthe moment it is expressed, so that for once mankind have the chanceof being happy."
  No," replied Care; "you may depend upon it that whoever puts onthose goloshes will be very unhappy, and bless the moment in whichhe can get rid of them."
  "What are you thinking of?" replied the other. "Now see; I willplace them by the door; some one will take them instead of his own,and he will be the happy man."
  This was the end of their conversation.COUNSELLOR
  WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COUNSELLOR
  IT was late when Counsellor Knapp, lost in thought about the timesof King Hans, desired to return home; and fate so ordered it that heput on the goloshes of Fortune instead of his own, and walked out intothe East Street. Through the magic power of the goloshes, he was atonce carried back three hundred years, to the times of King Hans,for which he had been longing when he put them on. Therefore heimmediately set his foot into the mud and mire of the street, which inthose days possessed no pavement.
  "Why, this is horrible; how dreadfully dirty it is!"