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Main > Fairy tale > All authors > Andersen Hans Christian > Fairy tale "Little Tuck"

Little Tuck

You helped me, and now I'll help you; and our Lord will help us both."

Then all at once the book under his pillow began to wriggle and squirm around!

"Kekelikee! Cluck, cluck!" It was a hen that came crawling out-and she was from Kjöge. "I'm a Kjöge hen," she said. And then she told him all about her town, and how many people there were in it, and about a battle that had taken place there once, though that wasn't really worth mentioning.

"Krible, kragle, bang!" Something dropped down. And a wooden bird appeared; it was the parrot from the shooting match at Praestö. The bird told the little boy very proudly that there were just as many inhabitants in its town as there were nails in its body. "Thorvaldsen used to live around the corner from me! Bang! Here I lie comfortably!"

But little Tuck was no longer lying in bed-all of a sudden he was on horseback! Gallopy, gallopy, it went! He was sitting in front of a splendidly dressed knight, with shining helmet and nodding plume. On through the woods they galloped to the old town of Vordingborg, and that was a big and lively town. High towers rose above the royal castle, and radiant lights streamed from its windows; inside there was singing and dancing, and King Valdemar led the lovely court ladies in the dance. But soon morning came, and as the sun rose the town seemed to melt away, and the King's castle sank down, one tower after another, until at last only one tower was left standing on the hill where the castle had been, and the town had become very small and very poor. The schoolboys came along with their books under their arms, and said, "Two thousand inhabitants," but that wasn't true. There were not so many as that.

And still little Tuck lay in his bed, as if he were dreaming and not dreaming at the same time, but there seemed to be someone standing close beside him.

"Little Tuck, Little Tuck!" someone said. It was a sailor, a very little fellow, small enough to have been a midshipman, although he wasn't a midshipman.

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