Andersen's Tales, Selected, and Tr. , for Use in Schools

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1876 edition. Excerpt: ... the silver shilling. there-was a Shilling that came bright from the mint; it sprang and rang, --' Hurrah, now I am to go out into the wide world '--and so it did. The child held it fast with his warm hands, and the miser with cold, damp hands; the old turned it over and over again, whilst the young made it pass on further at once. The Shilling was of silver, with very little copper in it; it had already been a whole year out in the world, that is to say in the country where it was coined, when it went on a journey abroad. It was the last piece of home-money left in the purse of its owner, who was travelling. He did not know that he still had it until it turned up in his fingers. 'Why, here is a shilling from home ' said he; 'well, then, it can go on its travels, too.' And the Shilling chinked and jumped for joy as he put it back into his purse. There it lay with foreign companions, who came and went; the one gave place to the other, but the Shilling from home was always left in the purse;that was a distinction. Several weeks had passed; the Shilling was far out in the world, it did not exactly know where; it heard from the other coins that they were French and Italian; they said now that they were in this town, now in that; but the Shilling could not understand the difference--one does not see the world when one is shut up in a purse, as it was. But, as one day it lay there, it noticed that the purse was not closed, and so crept up to the opening to peep out a little. This it should not have done, it was curiosity, and brought its own punishment; it slipped out into the breeches-pocket, and when in the evening the purse was laid aside, the Shilling remained behind, and was carried with the clothes into the passage; there it fell out upon..