kiss the hen and beg her pardon for frightening her yesterday, but she does not understand."
"'I do now,' said her father. And he kissed her on the forehead and on the mouth and on the eyes. 'You are my own sweet little daughter. The hen will understand best if you let her alone.'"
—Hans Christian Andersen
THE ELF WHO STAYED OUT TOO LATE
In a beautiful rose there dwelt a little elf. With a fairy microscope you could see his wings reaching from his shoulders to his feet. Without it you couldn't see him at all.
One day when he went out into the sunshine to play he had such fun that he forgot all about getting home in time. He flew from flower to flower. He danced on the wings of the passing butterfly. Best of all, he measured how many steps it would take to cross all the roads made of veins on the geranium leaf.
It was this that delayed him so long. Before he knew it the sun was down, dewdrops sprinkled the leaf, and the night began to darken. The poor little elf was very much frightened. He began to shiver, too, with the cold. Indeed, he grew so numb that he could hardly spread his wings to fly back to the rosebush. But he managed it.
