Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 13, 2025
There wave the Danish flag and the Swedish flag, and Danes and Swedes say 'Good day' and 'Thank you! to each other, not with cannons, but with a friendly grasp of the hand; and one gets white bread and biscuits from the other for strange fare tastes best. "But the most beautiful of all is the old Kronenburgh; and here it is that Holger Danske sits in the deep, dark cellar, where nobody goes.
Do you not think that the little Danish boy, by his dreaming about Holger Danske, might have come to be the very one to aid his country most? Is it worth while for each of us to try to be a Holger? By Hans Christian Andersen I will tell you the story which was told to me when I was a little boy.
Then came the daughter-in-law of the old grandfather, and said it was late, and he ought now to rest; for the supper table was spread. "But it is beautiful, what you have done, grandfather!" said she. "Holger Danske, and all our old coat of arms! It seems to me just as if I had seen that face before!"
Thus he came to India, where he ate a fruit which made his body imperishable. When Denmark is near ruin, and all her young men have been slain in defending her, then Holger Danske will appear, and, gathering round him all the young boys and aged men, will lead them on to victory, routing the enemy, and thus saving the country.
But should danger ever come, then Holger Danske will rouse himself, and the table will burst asunder as he draws out his beard. Then he will come forth in all his strength, and strike a blow that shall sound in all the countries of the world." Holger Danske was the son of the Danish King Gotrick. While he was a youth his father sent him to Carolus Magnus, whom he served during all his wars.
As the old man related this story, he was carving an image in wood to represent Holger Danske, to be fastened to the prow of a ship; for the old grandfather was a carver in wood, that is, one who carved figures for the heads of ships, according to the names given to them.
The old grandfather told the little boy a great deal about Danish men and women who had distinguished themselves in olden times, so that he fancied he knew as much even as Holger Danske himself, who, after all, could only dream; and when the little fellow went to bed, he thought so much about it that he actually pressed his chin against the counterpane, and imagined that he had a long beard which had become rooted to it.
"They ride point blank after us," answered the Cornet, "and gain more and more upon us." "Heavens! if they overtake us, I fear my father will kill you, dearest Holger! but I will shield you with my weak body, for I cannot outlive you." During these painful, interrupted conversations, they had travelled about two miles from the rivulet, across the western heath.
Does the grandfather believe that such heroes can do other things than fight? What do you know about Thorwaldsen? Did you ever see a picture of his beautiful statue of Christ? Did the little boy see any other Holger Danske than the one whose beard was grown into the marble table? Has a Holger ever come to save this United States from great danger?
Can you find out anything more about Waldemar and Margaret? Do you think the man whose face was carved into a figurehead was really Holger Danske? Do you think it possible that the grandfather could mean that every brave man who fights for his country is a Holger Danske? Can you imagine the great figure of Holger Danske throwing its shadow on the wall and seeming to move about in the candle light?
Word Of The Day
Others Looking