THE SILVER SHILLING

THERE was once a Shilling．He came out quite bright from the Mint，and sprang up，and rant out，"Hur-rah！Now I'm off into the wide world．"And into the wideworld he went．

The child held him with warm hands，and the miserwith cold clammy hands；the old man turned it over andover many times，while youth rolled him lightly away．The Shilling was of silver，and had very little copperabout him：he had been now a whole year in the world-that is to say，in the country in which he had beenstruck．But one day he started on his foreign travels；hewas the last native coin in the purse borne by his travel-ling master．The gentleman was himself not aware that hestill had this coin until it came among his fingers．

"Why，here's a shilling from home left to me，"hesaid．"Well，he can make me journey with me．"

And the Shilling rattled and jumped for joy as it wasthrust back into the purse．So here it lay among strangecompanions，who came and went，each making room for asuccessor；but the Shilling from home always remained inthe bag；which was a distinction for it．

Sevenal weeks had gone by，and the Shilling hadtravelled far out into the world without exactly knowingwhere he was，though he learned from the other coins thatthey were French or Italian．One said they were in suchand such a town，another that they had reached such andsuch a spot；but the Shilling could form no idea of allthis．He who has head in a bag sees nothing；and thiswas the case with the Shilling．But one day，as he laythere，he noticed that the purse was not shut，and so hecrept forward to the opening，to take a look around．Heought not to have done so；but he was inquisitive，andpeople often have to pay for that．He slipped out into thefob：and when the purse was taken out at night the Shilling remained behind，and was sent out into the pas-sage with the clothes．There he fell upon the floor：noone heard it，no one saw it．

Next morning the clothes were carried back into theroom；the gentleman put them on，and continued his jour-ney，while the Shilling remained behind．The coin was found，and was required to go into service again，so he wassent out with three other coins．

"It is a pleasant thing to look about one in the world，"thought the Shilling，"and to gat to know otherpeople and other customs．"

"What sort of a shilling is that？" was said at the samemoment；"that is not a coin of the country，it is false，it'sof no use．"

And now begins the history of the Shilling，as told byhimself．

"'Away with him，he's bad-no use．'These wordswent through and through me，"said the Shilling．"I knewI was of good silver，sounded well and had been properlycoined．The people were certainly mistaken．They couldnot mean me！but，yes，they did mean me．I was the oneof whom they said，'He's bad-he's no good．''I mustget rid of that fellow in the dark，'said the man who hadreceived me；and I was passed at night，and abused in thedaytime．'Bad-no good！'was the cry：'we must make haste and get rid of him．'

And I trembled in the fingers of the holder each timeI was to be secretly passed on as a coin of the country．

"What a miserable shilling I am！Of what use is mysilver to me，my value，my coinage，if all these things arelooked on as worthless？Ih the eyes of the world one hasonly the value the world chooses to put upon one．It mustbe terrible indeed to have a bad conscience，and to creepalong on evil ways，if I，who am quite innocent，can feelso hadly because I am only thought guilty．

"Each time I was brought out I shuddered at the

thought of the eyes that would look at me，for I knew that Ishould be rejected and flung back upon the table，like animpostor and a cheat．Onee I came into the hands of a poorold woman，to whom I was paid for a bard day's work，andshe could not get rid of me at all．No one would acceptme，and I was a perfect worry to the old dame．

"'I shall certainly be forced to deceive some onewith this shilling，'she said；'for I cannot afford to hoardup a false shilling．The rich baker shall have him；hewill be able to bear the loss-but it's wrong in me to doit，after all．'

"'And I must lie heavy on that woman's consciencetoo，'sighed I．'Am I really so much changed in my oldage？'

"And the woman went her way to the rich baker；but he knew too well what kind of shillings were current，and he threw me back at the woman，who got no bread forme．And I felt miserably low to think that I should be thecause of distress to others-I who had been in my youngdays so proudly conscious of my value and of the correct-ness of my mintage．I became as miserable as a poor shilling can be whom no one will accept；but the womantook me home again，and looked at me with a friendly，hearty face，and said，

"'No，I will not deceive any one with thee．I willbore a hole through thee，that every one may see thou arta false thing．And yet-it just occurs to me-perhaps this is a lucky shilling；and the thought comes so stronglyupon me that I am sure it must be true！I will make ahole through the shilling，and pass a string through thehole，and hang the coin round the neck of my neighbour's little boy for a lucky shilling．'

"So she bored a hole through me．It is certainly notagreeable to have a hole bored through one；but manythings can be borne when the intention is good．At threadwas passed through the hole，and I became a kind of medal，and was hung round the neck of the little child；and the child smiled at me，and kissed me，and I sleptall night on its warm，innocent neck．

"When the morning came，the child's mother tookme up in her fingers and looked at me，and she had herown thoughts about me，I could feel that very well．Shebrought out a pair of scissors，and cut the string through．

"'A lucky shilling！she said．'Well，we shall soonsee that．'

"And she laid me in vinegar，so that I turned quitegreen．Then she pluggedup the hole，rubbed me a little，and carried me，in the evening twilight，to the lottery col-lector，to buy a lottery ticket that should bring her luck．

"How miserably wretched I felt！There was a heavyfeeling in me，as if I should break in two．I knew that Ishould be called false and thrown down-and before a crowd of shillings and other coins，too，who lay there withan image and superscription of which they might be proud．But I escaped，for there were many people in the collector's room-he had a great deal to do，and I wentrattling down into the box among the other coins．Whethermy ticket won anything or not I don't know；but this I do know，that the very next morning I was recognized as a badshilling，and was sent out to deceive and deceive again．That is a very trying thing to bear when one knows one hasa good character，and of that I am conscious．

"For a year and a day I thus wandered from house tohouse and from hand to hand，always abused，always un-welcome；no one trusted me；and I lost confidence in theworld and in myself．It was a heavy time．At last，one daya traveller，a strange gentleman，arrived，and I was passedto him，and he was innocent enough to accept me for cur-rent coin；but he wanted to pass me on，and again I heardthe cry，No use-false！

"'I received it as a good coin，'said the man，and helooked closely at me：suddenly he smiled all over his faceand I had never seen that expression before on any face thatlooked at me．'Why，whatever is that？'he said．'That'sone of our own country coins，a good honest shilling frommy home，and they've bored a hole through him，and theycall him false．Now，this is a curious circumstance．I mustkeep him and take him home with me．'

"A glow of joy thrilled through me when I beard my-self called a good honest shilling；and now I was to be tak-en home，where each and every one would know me，andbe sure that I was real silver and properly coined．I couldhave thrown out sparks for very gladness；but，after all，it's not in my nature to throw out sparks，for that's theproperty of steel，not of silver．

"I was wrapped up in clean white paper，so that Ishould not be confounded with the other coins，and spent； and on festive occasions， when fellow countrymenmet together， Iwas shownabout， and they spoke verywell of me：they saidI was interesting——and it is wonder－ful how interesting one can be without saying a singleword．

"And at lastI got home again． All my troubles wereended， joy cameback tome， forIwasofgoodsilver，and had the right stamp，and I had no moredisagreeablesto endure， though aholehad beenbored through me，as through afalse coin；but that does not matter if one is notreally false． One must wait for the end， and one will berighted at last——that's my belief．"said the Shilling．

 一枚银毫

 

从前有一枚银毫；当他从造币厂里走出来的时候，他容光焕发，又跳又叫：“万岁！我现在要到广大的世界上去了！”于是他就走到这个广大的世界上来了。

孩子用温暖的手捏着他，守财奴用又粘又冷的手抓着他。老年人翻来覆去地看他，年轻人一把他拿到手里就花掉。这枚钱是银子做的，身上铜的成分很少；他来到这个世界上已经有一年的光阴了——这就是说，在铸造他的这个国家里。但是有一天他要出国旅行去了。他是他旅行的主人的钱袋中最后一枚本国钱。这位绅士只有当这钱来到手上时才知道有他。

“我手中居然还剩下一枚本国钱！”他说。“那么他可以跟我一块去旅行了。”

当他把这枚银毫仍旧放进钱袋里去的时候，毫子就发出当啷的响声，高兴得跳起来。他现在跟一些陌生的朋友在一起；这些朋友来了又去，留下空位子给后来的人填。不过这枚本国毫子老是呆在钱袋里；这是一种光荣。

好几个星期过去了。毫子在这世界上已经跑得很远，弄得连他自己也不知道究竟到了什么地方。他只是从别的银毫那里听说，他们不是法国造的，就是意大利造的。一个说，他们到了某某城市；另一个说，他们是在某某地方。不过毫子对于这些说法完全摸不着头脑。一个人如果老是呆在袋子里，当然是什么也看不见的。毫子的情形正是这样。

不过有一天，当他正躺在钱袋里的时候，他发现袋子没有扣上。因此他就偷偷地爬到袋口，朝外面望了几眼。他不应该这样做，不过他很好奇——人们常常要为这种好奇心付出代价的。他轻轻地溜到裤袋里去；这天晚上，当钱袋被取出的时候，毫子却在他原来的地方留下来了。他和其他的衣服一道，被送到走廊上去了。他在这儿滚到地上来，谁也没有听到他，谁也没有看到他。

第二天早晨，这些衣服又被送回房里来了。那位绅士穿上了，继续他的旅行，而这枚银毫却被留在后面。他被发现了，所以就不得不又出来为人们服务。他跟另外三块钱一起被用出去了。

“看看周围的事物是一桩愉快的事情，”银毫想。“认识许多人和知道许多风俗习惯，也是一桩愉快的事情。”

“这是一枚什么银毫？”这时有一个人说。“它不是这国家的钱，它是一枚假钱，一点用也没有。”

银毫的故事，根据他自己所讲的，就从这儿开始。

“假货——一点用也没有！这话真叫我伤心！”银毫说。“我知道我是上好的银子铸成的，敲起来响亮，官印是真的。这些人一定是弄错了。他们决不是指我！不过，是的，他们是指我。他们特地把我叫做假货，说我没有一点用。‘我得偷偷地把这家伙使用出去！’得到我的那个人说；于是我就在黑夜里被人转手，在白天被人咒骂。——‘假货——没有用！我得赶快把它使用出去。’”

每次当银毫被偷偷地当作一枚本国银毫转手的时候，他就在人家的手中发抖。

“我是一枚多么可怜的银毫啊！如果我的银子、我的价值、我的官印都没有用处，那么它们对于我又有什么意义呢？在世人的眼中，人们认为你有价值才算有价值，我本来是没有罪的；因为我的外表对我不利，就显得有罪，于是我就不得不在罪恶的道路上偷偷摸摸地爬来爬去。我因此而感到心中不安；这真是可怕！——每次当我被拿出来的时候，一想起世人望着我的那些眼睛，我就战栗起来，因为我知道我将会被当作一个骗子和假货退回去，扔到桌子上的。

“有一次我落到一个穷苦的老太婆的手里，作为她一天辛苦劳动的工资。她完全没有办法把我扔掉。谁也不要我，结果我成了她的一件沉重的心事。

“‘我不得不用这银毫去骗一个什么人，’她说，‘因为我没有力量收藏一枚假钱。那个有钱的面包师应该得到它，他有力量吃这点亏——不过，虽然如此，我干这件事究竟还是不对的。’

“那么我也只好成了这老太婆良心上的一个负担了，”银毫叹了一口气。“难道我到了晚年真的要改变得这么多吗？

“于是老太婆就到有钱的面包师那儿去。这人非常熟悉市上一般流行的银毫；我没有办法使他接受。他当面就把我扔回给那个老太婆。她因此也就没有用我买到面包。我感到万分难过，觉得我居然成了别人苦痛的源泉——而我在年轻的时候却是那么快乐，那么自信：我认识到我的价值和我的官印。我真是忧郁得很；一枚人家不要的银毫所能有的苦痛，我全有了。不过那个老太婆又把我带回家去。她以一种友爱和温和的态度热情地看着我。‘不，我将不用你去欺骗任何人，’她说。‘我将在你身上打一个眼，好使人们一看就知道你是假货。不过——而且——而且我刚才想到——你可能是一枚吉样的银毫。我相信这是真的。这个想法在我脑子里的印象很深。我将在这银毫上打一个洞，穿一根线，把它作为一枚吉样的银毫挂在邻居家一个小孩的脖子上。’

“因此她就在我身上打了一个洞。被人敲出一个洞来当然不是一桩很痛快的事情；不过，只要人们的用意是善良的，许多苦痛也就可以忍受得下了。我身上穿进了一根线，于是我就变成了一枚徽章，挂在一个小孩子的脖子上。这孩子对着我微笑，吻着我；我整夜躺在他温暖的、天真的胸脯上。

“早晨到来的时候，孩子的母亲就把我拿到手上，研究我。她对我有她自己的一套想法——这一点我马上就能感觉出来。她取出一把剪刀来，把这根线剪断了。

“‘一枚吉祥的银毫！’她说。‘唔，我们马上就可以看得出来。’

“她把我放进醋里，使我变得全身发绿。然后她把这洞塞住，把我擦了一会儿；接着在傍晚的黄昏中，把我带到一个卖彩票的人那儿去，用我买了一张使她发财的彩票。

“我是多么痛苦啊！我内心有一种刺痛的感觉，好像我要破裂似的。我知道，我将会被人叫做假货，被人扔掉——而且在一大堆别的银毫和银毫面前扔掉。他们的脸上都刻着字和人像，可以因此觉得了不起。但是我溜走了。卖彩票的人的房里有许多人；他忙得很，所以我当啷一声就跟许多其他的银毫滚进匣子里去了。究竟我的那张彩票中了奖没有，我一点也不知道。不过有一点我是知道的，那就是：第二天早晨人们将会认出我是一个假货，而把我拿去继续不断地欺骗人。这是一种令人非常难受的事情，特别是你自己的品行本来很好——我自己不能否认我这一点的。

“有好长一段时间，我就是从这只手里转到那只手里，从这一家跑到那一家，我老是被人咒骂，老是被人瞧不起。谁也不相信我；我对于自己和世人都失去了信心。这真是一种很不好过的日子。

“最后有一天一个旅客来了。我当然被转到他的手中去，他这人也天真得很，居然接受了我，把我当作一枚通用的货币。不过他也想把我用出去。于是我又听到一个叫声：‘没有用——假货！’

“‘我是把它作为真货接受过来的呀，’这人说。然后他仔细地看了我一下，忽然满脸露出笑容——我以前从没有看到，任何面孔在看到我的时候会露出这样的表情。‘嗨，这是什么？’他说。‘这原来是我本国的一枚钱，一个从我家乡来的、诚实的、老好的毫子：而人们却把它敲出一个洞，还要把它当作假货。嗯，这倒是一件妙事！我要把它留下来，一起带回家去。’”

“我一听到我被叫做老好的、诚实的毫子，我全身都感到快乐。现在我将要被带回家去。在那儿每个人将会认得我，会知道我是用真正的银子铸出来的，并且盖着官印，我高兴得几乎要冒出火星来；然而我究竟没有冒出火星的性能，因为那是钢铁的特性，而不是银子的特性。

“我被包在一张干净的白纸里，好使得我不要跟别的银毫混在一起而被用出去。只有在喜庆的场合、当许多本国人聚集在一起的时候， 我才被拿出来给大家看。大家都称赞我，他们说我很有趣——说来很妙，一个人可以不说一句话而仍然会显得有趣。

“最后我总算是回到家里来了。我的一切烦恼都告一结束。我的快乐又开始了，因为我是好银子制的，而且盖有真正的官印。我再也没有苦恼的事儿要忍受了，虽然我像一枚假银毫一样，身上已经穿了一个孔。但是假如一个人实际上并不是一件假货，那又有什么关系呢？

一个人应该等到最后一刻，他的冤屈总会被伸雪的——这是我的信仰，”毫子说。

这篇故事安徒生1861年5月在意大利的立佛尔诺省，是他在那里住了几天写成的，发表在1862年哥本哈根出版的《丹麦大众历书》上。一枚货真价实的银毫，像人一样，在不同的情况下，在不同人的眼里，成了假货，处处受到排挤、批判，并且戴上帽子（被打穿了一个孔），最后转到识货人的手中才得到平反。“假如一个人实际上并不是一件假货，那又有什么关系呢？一个人应该等到最后一刻，他的冤屈总会被伸雪的——这是我的信仰。”这个信仰使他没有寻短见，活下来了。关于这个故事的背景，安徒生在手记中写道：“我从齐卫塔乘轮船，在船上我用一杖斯古夺（意大利币名）换几个零钱，对方给了我两枚假法郎。谁也不要它。我觉得受了骗，很恼火。但是很快我觉得可以用这写一篇童话……”在他 1861年 5月 31日的日记中，他补充写道：“我把这枚钱送给了立佛尔诺车站的一位搬运夫。”