The Drop Of Water

: Hans Andersens Fairy Tales

YOU know, surely, what the microscope is--that wonderful little glass

which makes everything appear a hundred times larger than it really is.



If you look through a microscope at a single drop of ditch water, you

will see a thousand odd-looking creatures, such as you never could

imagine dwelled in water. They do not look unlike a whole plateful of

shrimps, all jumping and crowding upon each other. So fierce are these
/>
little creatures that they will tear off each other's arms and legs

without the least mercy, and yet after their fashion they look merry and

happy.



Now there was once an old man, whom his neighbors called Cribbley

Crabbley--a curious name, to be sure, which meant something like

"creep-and-crawl." He always liked to make the most of everything, and

when he could not manage it in the ordinary way, he tried magic.



One day he sat looking through his microscope at a drop of water that

had been brought from a neighboring ditch. What a scene of scrambling

and swarming it was, to be sure! All the thousands of little imps in the

water jumped and sprang about, devouring each other, or tearing each

other to bits.



"Upon my word this is really shocking. There must surely be some way to

make them live in peace and quiet, so that each attends only to his own

concerns." And he thought and thought, but still could not hit upon any

plan, so he must needs have recourse to conjuring.



"I must give them color so that they may be seen more plainly," said he.

Accordingly he poured something that looked like a drop of red wine--but

which in reality was witch's blood--upon the drop of water. Immediately

all the strange little creatures became red all over, and looked for all

the world like a whole town full of naked red Indians.



"Why, what have you here?" asked another old magician, who had no name

at all, which made him even more remarkable than Cribbley Crabbley.



"If you can find out what it is," replied Cribbley Crabbley, "I will

give it you; but I warn you you'll not do so easily."



The conjurer without a name looked through the microscope, and it seemed

to him that the scene before him was a whole town, in which the people

ran about naked in the wildest way. It was quite shocking! Still more

horrible was it to see how they kicked and cuffed, struggled and fought,

pecked, bit, tore, and swallowed, each his neighbor. Those that were

under wanted to be at the top, while those that chanced to be at the top

must needs thrust themselves underneath.



"And now look, his leg is longer than mine, so off with it!" one seemed

to be saying. Another had a little lump behind his ear,--an innocent

little lump enough,--but it seemed to pain him, and therefore the others

seemed determined that it should pain him more. So they hacked at it,

and dragged the poor thing about, and at last ate him up, all on account

of the little lump. One only of the creatures was quiet, a modest

little maid, who sat by herself evidently wishing for nothing but peace

and quietness. The others would not have it so, however. They soon

pulled the little damsel forward, cuffed and tore her, and then ate her

up.



"This is uncommonly droll and amusing!" said the nameless magician.



"Yes. But what do you think it is?" asked Cribbley Crabbley. "Can you

make it out?"



"It is easy enough to guess, to be sure," was the reply of the nameless

magician; "easy enough. It is either Paris or Copenhagen, or some other

great city; I don't know which, for they are all alike. It is some great

city, of course."



"It is a drop of ditch-water," said Cribbley Crabbley.

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