The Complete Fairy Tales & Other Stories
By Hans Christian Andersen - online book

Oxford Complete Illustrated Edition all his stories written between 1835 and 1872.

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	THE STORM SHIFTS THE SIGNS           895 next moment. Little boys and girls fell over their own toes into the gutter, old women dispensed digs with their elbows, and looked sour, and scolded. One laughed, another chatted ; the people thronged the windows and door-steps, and even all the roofs. The sun shone ; and although they had a little rain too, that was good for- the farmer ; and when they got wetted thoroughly, they only thought what a blessing it was for the country. And what stories Grandpapa could tell! As a little boy
	he had seen all these fine doings in their greatest pomp. The oldest member of the guild used to make a speech from the platform on which the shield was hung up, and the speech was in verses, as if it had been made by a poet, as, indeed, it had ; for three people had concocted it together, and they had first drunk a good bowl of punch, so that the speech might turn out well. And the people gave a cheer for the speech, but they shouted much louder for the Harlequin, when he appeared in front of the platform, and made a grimace at them. The fool played the fool most admirably, and drank mead out of spirit-glasses, which he then flung among the crowd, by whom they were caught up. Grandfather was the possessor of one of these glasses, which had been given him