The Garden of Paradise Page #2

"The Garden of Paradise" is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a young, curious prince who goes on a quest to find the Garden of Paradise, which his grandmother had told him about. On his journey, he comes across the four elements - the East, West, North and South Winds and discovers varied life experiences. After tasting all that life has to offer, he still yearns for the ultimate beauty and eternal happiness in the Garden of Paradise. The story conveys morals about the dangers of succumbing to temptations and the importance of humility.

• Children

								

past."

He came in, looking like a wild man, and he wore a slouched hat to
protect his head from injury. In his hand he carried a club, cut
from a mahogany tree in the American forests, not a trifle to carry.

"Whence do you come?" asked the mother.

"I come from the wilds of the forests, where the thorny brambles
form thick hedges between the trees; where the water-snake lies in the
wet grass, and mankind seem to be unknown."

"What were you doing there?"

"I looked into the deep river, and saw it rushing down from the
rocks. The water drops mounted to the clouds and glittered in the
rainbow. I saw the wild buffalo swimming in the river, but the
strong tide carried him away amidst a flock of wild ducks, which
flew into the air as the waters dashed onwards, leaving the buffalo to
be hurled over the waterfall. This pleased me; so I raised a storm,
which rooted up old trees, and sent them floating down the river."

"And what else have you done?" asked the old woman.

"I have rushed wildly across the savannahs; I have stroked the
wild horses, and shaken the cocoa-nuts from the trees. Yes, I have
many stories to relate; but I need not tell everything I know. You
know it all very well, don't you, old lady?" And he kissed his
mother so roughly, that she nearly fell backwards. Oh, he was, indeed,
a wild fellow.

Now in came the South Wind, with a turban and a flowing Bedouin
cloak.

"How cold it is here!" said he, throwing more wood on the fire.
"It is easy to feel that the North Wind has arrived here before me."

"Why it is hot enough here to roast a bear," said the North Wind.

"You are a bear yourself," said the other.

"Do you want to be put in the sack, both of you?" said the old
woman. "Sit down, now, on that stone, yonder, and tell me where you
have been."

"In Africa, mother. I went out with the Hottentots, who were
lion-hunting in the Kaffir land, where the plains are covered with
grass the color of a green olive; and here I ran races with the
ostrich, but I soon outstripped him in swiftness. At last I came to
the desert, in which lie the golden sands, looking like the bottom
of the sea. Here I met a caravan, and the travellers had just killed
their last camel, to obtain water; there was very little for them, and
they continued their painful journey beneath the burning sun, and over
the hot sands, which stretched before them a vast, boundless desert.
Then I rolled myself in the loose sand, and whirled it in burning
columns over their heads. The dromedarys stood still in terror,
while the merchants drew their caftans over their heads, and threw
themselves on the ground before me, as they do before Allah, their
god. Then I buried them beneath a pyramid of sand, which covers them
all. When I blow that away on my next visit, the sun will bleach their
bones, and travellers will see that others have been there before
them; otherwise, in such a wild desert, they might not believe it
possible."

"So you have done nothing but evil," said the mother. "Into the
sack with you;" and, before he was aware, she had seized the South
Wind round the body, and popped him into the bag. He rolled about on
the floor, till she sat herself upon him to keep him still.

"These boys of yours are very lively," said the prince.

"Yes," she replied, "but I know how to correct them, when
necessary; and here comes the fourth." In came the East Wind,
dressed like a Chinese.

"Oh, you come from that quarter, do you?" said she; "I thought you
had been to the garden of paradise."

"I am going there to-morrow," he replied; "I have not been there
for a hundred years. I have just come from China, where I danced round
the porcelain tower till all the bells jingled again. In the streets
an official flogging was taking place, and bamboo canes were being
broken on the shoulders of men of every high position, from the
first to the ninth grade. They cried, 'Many thanks, my fatherly
benefactor;' but I am sure the words did not come from their hearts,
so I rang the bells till they sounded, 'ding, ding-dong.'"

"You are a wild boy," said the old woman; "it is well for you that
you are going to-morrow to the garden of paradise; you always get
improved in your education there. Drink deeply from the fountain of
wisdom while you are there, and bring home a bottleful for me."

"That I will," said the East Wind; "but why have you put my
brother South in a bag? Let him out; for I want him to tell me about
the phoenix-bird. The princess always wants to hear of this bird
when I pay her my visit every hundred years. If you will open the
sack, sweetest mother, I will give you two pocketfuls of tea, green
and fresh as when I gathered it from the spot where it grew."

"Well, for the sake of the tea, and because you are my own boy,
I will open the bag."

She did so, and the South Wind crept out, looking quite cast down,
because the prince had seen his disgrace.

"There is a palm-leaf for the princess," he said. "The old
phoenix, the only one in the world, gave it to me himself. He has
scratched on it with his beak the whole of his history during the
hundred years he has lived. She can there read how the old phoenix set
fire to his own nest, and sat upon it while it was burning, like a
Hindoo widow. The dry twigs around the nest crackled and smoked till
the flames burst forth and consumed the phoenix to ashes. Amidst the
fire lay an egg, red hot, which presently burst with a loud report,
and out flew a young bird. He is the only phoenix in the world, and
the king over all the other birds. He has bitten a hole in the leaf
which I give you, and that is his greeting to the princess."

"Now let us have something to eat," said the mother of the
Winds. So they all sat down to feast on the roasted stag; and as the
prince sat by the side of the East Wind, they soon became good
friends.

"Pray tell me," said the prince, "who is that princess of whom you
have been talking! and where lies the garden of paradise?"

"Ho! ho!" said the East Wind, "would you like to go there? Well,
you can fly off with me to-morrow; but I must tell you one thing--no
human being has been there since the time of Adam and Eve. I suppose
you have read of them in your Bible."

"Of course I have," said the prince.

"Well," continued the East Wind, "when they were driven out of the
garden of paradise, it sunk into the earth; but it retained its warm
sunshine, its balmy air, and all its splendor. The fairy queen lives
there, in the island of happiness, where death never comes, and all is
beautiful. I can manage to take you there to-morrow, if you will sit
on my back. But now don't talk any more, for I want to go to sleep;"
and then they all slept.

When the prince awoke in the early morning, he was not a little
surprised at finding himself high up above the clouds. He was seated
on the back of the East Wind, who held him faithfully; and they were
so high in the air that woods and fields, rivers and lakes, as they
lay beneath them, looked like a painted map.
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