THE HAPPY FAMILY | Andersen's story for kids |

THE HAPPY FAMILY
Really, the largest green leaf in this country is a dock-leaf; if oneholds it before one, it is like a whole apron, and if one holds it overone's head in rainy weather, it is almost as good as an umbrella, forit is so immensely large. The burdock never grows alone, but where theregrows one there always grow several: it is a great delight, and all thisdelightfulness is snails' food. The great white snails which persons ofquality in former times made fricassees of, ate, and said, "Hem,hem! how delicious!" for they thought it tasted so delicate--lived ondock-leaves, and therefore burdock seeds were sown.
Now, there was an old manor-house, where they no longer ate snails, theywere quite extinct; but the burdocks were not extinct, they grew andgrew all over the walks and all the beds; they could not get the masteryover them--it was a whole forest of burdocks. Here and there stood anapple and a plum-tree, or else one never would have thought that it wasa garden; all was burdocks, and there lived the two last venerable oldsnails.
They themselves knew not how old they were, but they could remembervery well that there had been many more; that they were of a familyfrom foreign lands, and that for them and theirs the whole forest wasplanted. They had never been outside it, but they knew that there wasstill something more in the world, which was called the manor-house, andthat there they were boiled, and then they became black, and were thenplaced on a silver dish; but what happened further they knew not; or, infact, what it was to be boiled, and to lie on a silver dish, they couldnot possibly imagine; but it was said to be delightful, and particularlygenteel. Neither the chafers, the toads, nor the earth-worms, whom theyasked about it could give them any information--none of them had beenboiled or laid on a silver dish.
The old white snails were the first persons of distinction in theworld, that they knew; the forest was planted for their sake, and themanor-house was there that they might be boiled and laid on a silverdish.
Now they lived a very lonely and happy life; and as they had no childrenthemselves, they had adopted a little common snail, which they broughtup as their own; but the little one would not grow, for he was of acommon family; but the old ones, especially Dame Mother Snail, thoughtthey could observe how he increased in size, and she begged father,if he could not see it, that he would at least feel the little snail'sshell; and then he felt it, and found the good dame was right.
One day there was a heavy storm of rain.
"Hear how it beats like a drum on the dock-leaves!" said Father Snail.
"There are also rain-drops!" said Mother Snail. "And now the rain poursright down the stalk! You will see that it will be wet here! I am veryhappy to think that we have our good house, and the little one hashis also! There is more done for us than for all other creatures, sureenough; but can you not see that we are folks of quality in the world?We are provided with a house from our birth, and the burdock forest isplanted for our sakes! I should like to know how far it extends, andwhat there is outside!"
"There is nothing at all," said Father Snail. "No place can be betterthan ours, and I have nothing to wish for!"
"Yes," said the dame. "I would willingly go to the manorhouse, beboiled, and laid on a silver dish; all our forefathers have been treatedso; there is something extraordinary in it, you may be sure!"
"The manor-house has most likely fallen to ruin!" said Father Snail. "Orthe burdocks have grown up over it, so that they cannot come out. Thereneed not, however, be any haste about that; but you are always in such atremendous hurry, and the little one is beginning to be the same. Has henot been creeping up that stalk these three days? It gives me a headachewhen I look up to him!"
"You must not scold him," said Mother Snail. "He creeps so carefully; hewill afford us much pleasure--and we have nothing but him to live for!But have you not thought of it? Where shall we get a wife for him? Doyou not think that there are some of our species at a great distance inthe interior of the burdock forest?"
"Black snails, I dare say, there are enough of," said the old one."Black snails without a house--but they are so common, and so conceited.But we might give the ants a commission to look out for us; they runto and fro as if they had something to do, and they certainly know of awife for our little snail!"
"I know one, sure enough--the most charming one!" said one of the ants."But I am afraid we shall hardly succeed, for she is a queen!"
"That is nothing!" said the old folks. "Has she a house?"
"She has a palace!" said the ant. "The finest ant's palace, with sevenhundred passages!"
"I thank you!" said Mother Snail. "Our son shall not go into anant-hill; if you know nothing better than that, we shall give thecommission to the white gnats. They fly far and wide, in rain andsunshine; they know the whole forest here, both within and without."
"We have a wife for him," said the gnats. "At a hundred human paces fromhere there sits a little snail in her house, on a gooseberry bush; sheis quite lonely, and old enough to be married. It is only a hundredhuman paces!"
"Well, then, let her come to him!" said the old ones. "He has a wholeforest of burdocks, she has only a bush!"
And so they went and fetched little Miss Snail. It was a whole weekbefore she arrived; but therein was just the very best of it, for onecould thus see that she was of the same species.
And then the marriage was celebrated. Six earth-worms shone as well asthey could. In other respects the whole went off very quietly, for theold folks could not bear noise and merriment; but old Dame Snail madea brilliant speech. Father Snail could not speak, he was too muchaffected; and so they gave them as a dowry and inheritance, the wholeforest of burdocks, and said--what they had always said--that it wasthe best in the world; and if they lived honestly and decently, andincreased and multiplied, they and their children would once in thecourse of time come to the manor-house, be boiled black, and laid onsilver dishes. After this speech was made, the old ones crept into theirshells, and never more came out. They slept; the young couple governedin the forest, and had a numerous progeny, but they were never boiled,and never came on the silver dishes; so from this they concluded thatthe manor-house had fallen to ruins, and that all the men in the worldwere extinct; and as no one contradicted them, so, of course it was so.And the rain beat on the dock-leaves to make drum-music for their sake,and the sun shone in order to give the burdock forest a color for theirsakes; and they were very happy, and the whole family was happy; forthey, indeed were so.