月亮看见了1英文版

 WHAT THE MOON SAW

   by Hans Christian Andersen

  INTRODUCTION

ITis a strange thing,  when I feel mostfervently and most deeply,  my hands andmy tongue seem alike tied,  so that Icannot rightly describe or accurately portray the thoughts that are risingwithin me;  and yet I am a painter;  my eye tells me as much as that,  and all my friends who have seen my sketchesand fancies say the same.

Iam a poor lad,  and live in one of thenarrowest of lanes;  but I do not wantfor light,  as my room is high up in thehouse,  with an extensive prospect overthe neighbouring roofs.  During the firstfew days I went to live in the town,  Ifelt low-spirited and solitary enough.  Insteadof the forest and the green hills of former days,  I had here only a forest of chimney-pots tolook out upon.  And then I had not asingle friend;  not one familiar facegreeted me.

Soone evening I sat at the window,  in adesponding mood;  and presently I openedthe casement and looked out.  Oh,  how my heart leaped up with joy! Here was awell-known face at last- a round,  friendlycountenance,  the face of a good friend Ihad known at home.  In fact,  it was the MOON that looked in upon me.  He was quite unchanged,  the dear old Moon,  and had the same face exactly that he used toshow when he peered down upon me through the willow trees on the moor.  I kissed my hand to him over and over again,  as he shone far into my little room;  and he,  for his part,  promised me that every evening,  when he came abroad,  he would look in upon me for a few moments.  This promise he has faithfully kept.  It is a pity that he can only stay such ashort time when he comes.  Whenever heappears,  he tells me of one thing oranother that he has seen on the previous night,  or on that same evening.  "Just paint the scenes I describe to you"-this is what he said to me- "and you will have a very pretty picture-book." I have followed his injunction for many evenings.  I could make up a new "Thousand and OneNights, " in my own way,  out of thesepictures,  but the number might be toogreat,  after all.  The pictures I have here given have not beenchosen at random,  but follow in theirproper order,  just as they weredescribed to me.  Some great giftedpainter,  or some poet or musician,  may make something more of them if he likes;  what I have given here are only hasty sketches, hurriedly put upon the paper,  with some of my own thoughts,  interspersed;  for the Moon did not come to me everyevening-a cloud sometimes hid his face from me.