安徒生童话全集 英文版(5)

　　When she was in bed she lay for a long time thinking how pretty it must be to see the beautiful flowers dancing out in the king' s castle . “I wonder if my flowers have really been there?” And then she fell asleep . In the night she awoke again : she had dreamed of the flowers , and of the student with whom the councillor found fault . It was quite quiet in the bedroom where Ida lay; the night-lamp burned on the table , and father and mother were asleep .

　　“I wonder if my flowers are still lying in Sophy' s bed?” she thought to herself. “How I should like to know it!” She raised herself a little, and looked at the door, which stood ajar; within lay the flowers and all her playthings. She listened, and then it seemed to her as if she heard some one playing on the piano in the next room, but quite softly and prettily, as she had never heard it before.

　　“Now all the flowers are certainly dancing in there !” thought she . “Oh , how much I should like to see it !” But she dared not get up, for she would have disturbed her father and mother.

　　“If they would only come in !” thought she . But the flowers did not come, and the music continued to play beautifully; then she could not bear it any longer, for it was too pretty ; she crept out of her little bed , and went quietly to the door, and looked into the room. Oh, how splendid it was , what she saw!

　　There was no night-lamp burning, but still it was quite light : the moon shone through the window into the middle of the floor; it was almost like day . All the hyacinths and tulips stood in two long rows on the floor; there were none at all left at the window . There stood the empty flower-pots . On the floor all the flowers were dancing very gracefully round each other, making a perfect chain, and holding each other by the long green leaves as they swung round. But at the piano sat a great yellow lily, which little Ida had certainly seen in summer, for she remembered how the student had said, “How like that one is to Miss Lina .” Then he had been laughed at by all ; but now it seemed really to little Ida as if the long, yellow flower looked like the young lady; and it had just her manners in playing ---- sometimes bending its long yellow face to one side, sometimes to the other, and nodding in tune to the charming music ! No one noticed little Ida . Then she saw a great blue crocus hop into the middle of the table, where the toys stood, and go to the doll's bed and pull the curtains aside; there lay the sick flowers, but they got up directly , and nodded to the others , to say ; that they wanted to dance too. The old chimney-sweep doll, whose under lip was broken off, stood up and bowed to the pretty flowers: these did not look at all ill now; they jumped down among the others , and were very merry .