anxious not to hurt any of the beautiful ornaments, even while their
brilliancy dazzled him. And now the folding doors were thrown open, and a
troop of children rushed in as if they intended to upset the tree; they were
followed more silently by their elders. For a moment the little ones stood
silent with astonishment, and then they shouted for joy, till the room rang,
and they danced merrily round the tree, while one present after another was
taken from it.
“What are they doing? What will happen next?” thought the fir. At last
the candles burnt down to the branches and were put out. Then the children
received permission to plunder the tree.
Oh, how they rushed upon it, till the branches cracked, and had it not
been fastened with the glistening star to the ceiling, it must have been
thrown down. The children then danced about with their pretty toys, and no
one noticed the tree, except the children’s maid who came and peeped
among the branches to see if an apple or a fig had been forgotten.
“A story, a story,” cried the children, pulling a little fat man towards the
tree.
“Now we shall be in the green shade,” said the man, as he seated himself
under it, “and the tree will have the pleasure of hearing also, but I shall only
relate one story; what shall it be? Ivede-Avede, or Humpty Dumpty, who
fell down stairs, but soon got up again, and at last married a princess.”
“Ivede-Avede,” cried some. “Humpty Dumpty,” cried others, and there
was a fine shouting and crying out. But the fir-tree remained quite still, and
thought to himself, “Shall I have anything to do with all this?” but he had
already amused them as much as they wished. Then the old man told them
the story of Humpty Dumpty, how he fell down stairs, and was raised up
again, and married a princess. And the children clapped their hands and
cried, “Tell another, tell another,” for they wanted to hear the story of
“Ivede-Avede;” but they only had “Humpty Dumpty.” After this the fir-tree
became quite silent and thoughtful; never had the birds in the forest told
