Andersen\'s Fairy Tales
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES CONTENTS The Emperor's New Clothes The Swineherd The Real Princess The Shoes of Fortune The Fir Tree The Snow Queen The Leap-Frog The Elderbush The Bell The Old House The Happy Family The Story of a Mother The False Collar The Shadow
"The dickens she does! Careless little beggar! Yes, she writes to
me--pages. She's awfully gone on me, really. She'd marry me if it wasn't
for the Johnnie with the dibs. She doesn't care for HIM: she wants his
money. He dresses badly, don't you see; and, after all, the clothes make
the man! I'D like to get at him. I'D spoil his pretty face for him." And
he assumed a playfully pugilistic attitude.
"You really want to get rid of this other fellow?" I asked, seeing my
chance.
"Get rid of him? Why, of course! Chuck him into the river some nice dark
night if I could once get a look at him!"
"As a preliminary step, would you mind letting me see one of Miss
Montague's letters?" I inquired.
He drew a long breath. "They're a bit affectionate, you know," he
murmured, stroking his beardless chin in hesitation. "She's a hot 'un,
Sissie is. She pitches it pretty warm on the affection-stop, I can tell
you. But if you really think you can give the other Johnnie a cut on the
head with her letters--well, in the interests of true love, which never
DOES run smooth, I don't mind letting you have a squint, as my friend,
at one of her charming billy-doos."
He took a bundle from a drawer, ran his eye over one or two with a
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES CONTENTS The Emperor's New Clothes The Swineherd The Real Princess The Shoes of Fortune The Fir Tree The Snow Queen The Leap-Frog The Elderbush The Bell The Old House The Happy Family The Story of a Mother The False Collar The Shadow