Once Upon a Time in Denmark

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Once Upon a Time in Denmark

If you are walking through New York’s Central Park on a fine summer day, you might come across a group of children enthusiastically listening to a story. The storyteller will be sitting beside a statue of a kindly looking man holding an open book. Although this man never actually visited New York, his fame as a writer of fairy tales and children’s stories has spread far beyond his homeland.

Along with the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen is recognized as a key figure in 19th-century romantic fiction. He is, without question, the best-known writer Denmark has ever produced. His stories continue to delight children and adults the world over. Classic tales such as “The Little Mermaid,” “The Ugly Duckling,” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes” are loved for their humor and imagination. They are also loved for the simple but significant messages they often contain.

Born on April 2, 1805, in Odense, Denmark, Andersen was an emotional, yet imaginative, child. His father, a poor shoemaker, died in 1816. With a mother who was very superstitious and unable to read or write, the boy received little education as a child.

At 14, Andersen traveled to Copenhagen. There, he hoped to become an actor or singer. He was lucky enough to spend some time with the Royal Theater, but when his voice changed, he had to leave. Luckily, one of the directors helped him by arranging his education.

Andersen gained admission to the University of Copenhagen in 1828, and his literary career began soon afterwards. He hoped to achieve success with poems and plays, and underestimated the kind of stories which have made him famous. Though not particularly fond of children, he had a gift for entertaining them. This led a friend to suggest he write down the stories he invented.

Many of Andersen’s tales are based on folklore, and many are products of his own imagination. All of them are told in a humorous and informal style that children loved from the start. Few serious critics, however, took notice of them when they first appeared.

Before his death in 1875, Andersen regularly traveled around Europe, and was enthusiastically welcomed everywhere he went. Because he had always wanted to be famous, he worked hard to gain a reputation in European literary circles. Being a rather vain man, he complained in “The Fairy Tale of My Life,” one of three autobiographies he wrote, that people were not interested in his “serious” writing.

Nowadays, of course, Hans Christian Andersen is a household name. Whether he would have liked it or not, millions of children and adults will always be grateful for the magic his stories have brought to their lives. The enchanted young listeners in Central Park are proof of that.


安徒生童话─无心插柳柳成荫

如果你在一个晴朗的夏日漫步穿过纽约中央公园，你也许会碰见一群孩子在全神贯注地听着故事。说故事的人会坐在一个和蔼可亲的男人雕像旁，他手里拿着一本翻开的书。虽然这位男士从来没有去过纽约，他作为童话及儿童故事作家的名望，却超越故土、远扬他乡。

汉斯·克里斯蒂安·安徒生与格林兄弟一起被视为十九世纪浪漫小说的主要人物。他无疑是丹麦史所产生的最负盛名的作家。他的故事至今仍不断给全世界儿童和成人带来欢乐。比如《小美人鱼》、《丑小鸭》及《皇帝的新装》等经典故事，均因其幽默和想象受到人们的喜爱。故事也因其简洁而意义深远的寓意，备受大家的喜爱。

安徒生1805年4月2日出生于丹麦欧登塞，他是一个多愁善感而富于想象力的孩子。他的父亲，一个贫困的鞋匠，在1816年去世。由于母亲非常迷信而且不会读书写字，这个男孩小时候没受过什么教育。

14岁，安徒生前往哥本哈根。他希望能在那儿成为一名演员或歌手。他有幸能在皇家剧院呆了一段时间，但当他变声以后，他不得不离开。幸运的是，一位导演帮助他，为他安排受教育。

1828年安徒生获准进入哥本哈根大学学习，随后他的文学创作生涯很快就开始了。他原本希望能在诗和戏剧的领域里获得成功，而低估了后来使他成名的那类故事。虽然他不是特别喜欢孩子，却有使孩童快乐的天分。这一点促使一位朋友建议他写下自己创造的故事。

安徒生的很多故事是以民间传说为根据，也有很多是他自己想象力的产物。所有的故事都以孩子们一听就喜欢的诙谐和口语体述说。然而这些作品最初问世时，几乎没有严肃的评论家注意到它们。

安徒生在1875年去世前，定期游历欧洲各地，所到之处他都受到了热烈的欢迎。由于安徒生长久以来一直渴望出名，于是他发奋工作以求能在欧洲文坛获得声望。安徒生是个颇为自命不凡的人，在他所著的三本自传之一的《我童话般的人生》一书中，他抱怨人们对他“严肃”的作品不感
兴趣。

现在，汉斯·克里斯蒂安·安徒生当然是个家喻户晓的名字。不管安徒生喜不喜欢，千千万万的儿童和大人会对他的故事给人生带来的魔力永远满怀感激。在中央公园心醉神迷的小听众就是最好的证明。