said the learned man; "I am writing about the true, thebeautiful, and the good; but no one cares to hear anything about it. Iam quite in despair, for I take it to heart very much."
  "That is what I never do," said the shadow; "I am growing quitefat and stout, which every one ought to be. You do not understandthe world; you will make yourself ill about it; you ought to travel; Iam going on a journey in the summer, will you go with me? I shouldlike a travelling companion; will you travel with me as my shadow?It would give me great pleasure, and I will pay all expenses."
  "Are you going to travel far?" asked the learned man.
  "That is a matter of opinion," replied the shadow. "At all events,a journey will do you good, and if you will be my shadow, then allyour journey shall be paid."
  "It appears to me very absurd," said the learned man.
  "But it is the way of the world," replied the shadow, "andalways will be." Then he went away.
  Everything went wrong with the learned man. Sorrow and troublepursued him, and what he said about the good, the beautiful, and thetrue, was of as much value to most people as a nutmeg would be to acow. At length he fell ill. "You really look like a shadow," peoplesaid to him, and then a cold shudder would pass over him, for he hadhis own thoughts on the subject.
  "You really ought to go to some watering-place," said the shadowon his next visit. "There is no other chance for you. I will takeyou with me, for the sake of old acquaintance. I will pay the expensesof your journey, and you shall write a description of it to amuse usby the way. I should like to go to a watering-place; my beard does notgrow as it ought, which is from weakness, and I must have a beard. Nowdo be sensible and accept my proposal; we shall travel as intimatefriends."
  And at last they started together. The shadow was master now,and the master became the shadow. They drove together, and rode andwalked in company with each other, side by side, or one in front andthe other behind, according to the position of the sun. The shadowalways knew when to take the place of honor, but the learned mantook no notice of it, for he had a good heart, and was exceedinglymild and friendly.
  One day the master said to the shadow, "We have grown uptogether from our childhood, and now that we have become travellingcompanions, shall we not drink to our good fellowship, and say theeand thou to each other?"
  "What you say is very straightforward and kindly meant," saidthe shadow, who was now really master. "I will be equally kind andstraightforward. You are a learned man, and know how wonderful humannature is. There are some men who cannot endure the smell of brownpaper; it makes them ill. Others will feel a shuddering sensation totheir very marrow, if a nail is scratched on a pane of glass. I myselfhave a similar kind of feeling when I hear any one say thou to me. Ifeel crushed by it, as I used to feel in my former position withyou. You will perceive that this is a matter of feeling, not pride.I cannot allow you to say thou to me; I will gladly say it to you, andtherefore your wish will be half fulfilled." Then the shadow addressedhis former master as thou.
  "It is going rather too far," said the latter, "that I am to sayyou when I speak to him, and he is to say thou to me." However, he wasobliged to submit.
  They arrived at length at the baths, where there were manystrangers, and among them a beautiful princess, whose real diseaseconsisted in being too sharp-sighted, which made every one veryuneasy. She saw at once that the new comer was very different to everyone else. "They say he is here to make his beard grow," she thought;"but I know the real cause, he is unable to cast a shadow." Then shebecame very curious on the matter, and one day, while on thepromenade, she entered into conversation with the strange gentleman.Being a princess, she was not obliged to stand upon much ceremony,so she said to him without hesitation, "Your illness consists in notbeing able to cast a shadow."
  "Your royal highness must be on the high road to recovery fromyour illness," said he. "I know your complaint arose from being toosharp-sighted, and in this case it has entirely failed. I happen tohave a most unusual shadow. Have you not seen a person who is alwaysat my side?