"I will explain as well as I
can, although it will be very badly done"; and he told her what he had
heard. "In this kingdom where we now are," said he, "there lives a princess who
is so wonderfully clever that she has read all the newspapers in the
world--and forgotten them too, although she is so clever. "A short time ago, as she was sitting on her throne, which people say is
not such an agreeable seat as is often supposed, she began to sing a
song which commences with these words:

          Why should I not be married? 'Why not, indeed?' said she, and so she determined to marry if she could
find a husband who knew what to say when he was spoken to, and not one
who could only look grand, for that was so tiresome. She assembled all
her court ladies at the beat of the drum, and when they heard of her
intentions they were very much pleased. "'We are so glad to hear of it,' said they. 'We were talking about it
ourselves the other day.' "You may believe that every word I tell you is true," said the crow,
"for I have a tame sweetheart who hops freely about the palace, and she
told me all this." Of course his sweetheart was a crow, for "birds of a feather flock
together," and one crow always chooses another crow. "Newspapers were published immediately with a border of hearts and the
initials of the princess among them. They gave notice that every young
man who was handsome was free to visit the castle and speak with the
princess, and those who could reply loud enough to be heard when spoken
to were to make themselves quite at home at the palace, and the one who
spoke best would be chosen as a husband for the princess. "Yes, yes, you may believe me. It is all as true as I sit here," said
the crow. "The people came in crowds. There was a great deal of crushing and
running about, but no one succeeded either on the first or the second
day. They could all speak very well while they were outside in the
streets, but when they entered the palace gates and saw the guards in
silver uniforms and the footmen in their golden livery on the staircase
and the great halls lighted up, they became quite confused. And when
they stood before the throne on which the princess sat they could do
nothing but repeat the last words she had said, and she had no
particular wish to hear her own words over again. It was just as if they
had all taken something to make them sleepy while they were in the
palace, for they did not recover themselves nor speak till they got back
again into the street. There was a long procession of them, reaching
from the town gate to the palace. "I went myself to see them," said the crow. "They were hungry and
thirsty, for at the palace they did not even get a glass of water. Some
of the wisest had taken a few slices of bread and butter with them, but
they did not share it with their neighbors; they thought if the others
went in to the princess looking hungry, there would be a better chance
for themselves." "But Kay! tell me about little Kay!" said Gerda. "Was he among the
crowd?" "Stop a bit; we are just coming to him. It was on the third day that
there came marching cheerfully along to the palace a little personage
without horses or carriage, his eyes sparkling like yours. He had
beautiful long hair, but his clothes were very poor." "That was Kay," said Gerda, joyfully. "Oh, then I have found him!" and
she clapped her hands. "He had a little knapsack on his back," added the crow. "No, it must have been his sledge," said Gerda, "for he went away with
it." "It may have been so," said the crow; "I did not look at it very
closely. But I know from my tame sweetheart that he passed through the
palace gates, saw the guards in their silver uniform and the servants in
their liveries of gold on the stairs, but was not in the least
embarrassed. "'It must be very tiresome to stand on the stairs,' he said. 'I prefer
to go in.' "The rooms were blazing with light; councilors and ambassadors walked
about with bare feet, carrying golden vessels; it was enough to make any
one feel serious. His boots creaked loudly as he walked, and yet he was
not at all uneasy." "It must be Kay," said Gerda; "I know he had new boots on. I heard them
creak in grandmother's room." "They really did creak," said the crow, "yet he went boldly up to the
princess herself, who was sitting on a pearl as large as a spinning
wheel. And all the ladies of the court were present with their maids and
all the cavaliers with their servants, and each of the maids had another
maid to wait upon her, and the cavaliers' servants had their own
servants as well as each a page. They all stood in circles round the
princess, and the nearer they stood to the door the prouder they looked. The servants' pages, who always wore slippers, could hardly be looked
at, they held themselves up so proudly by the door." "It must be quite awful," said little Gerda; "but did Kay win the
princess?" "If I had not been a crow," said he, "I would have married her myself,
although I am engaged. He spoke as well as I do when I speak the crows'
language. I heard this from my tame sweetheart. He was quite free and
agreeable and said he had not come to woo the princess, but to hear her
wisdom. And he was as pleased with her as she was with him." "Oh, certainly that was Kay," said Gerda; "he was so clever; he could
work mental arithmetic and fractions. Oh, will you take me to the
palace?" "It is very easy to ask that," replied the crow, "but how are we to
manage it? However, I will speak about it to my tame sweetheart and ask
her advice, for, I must tell you, it will be very difficult to gain
permission for a little girl like you to enter the palace." "Oh, yes, but I shall gain permission easily," said Gerda, "for when Kay
hears that I am here he will come out and fetch me in immediately." "Wait for me here by the palings," said the crow, wagging his head as he
flew away. It was late in the evening before the crow returned. "Caw, caw!" he
said; "she sends you greeting, and here is a little roll which she took
from the kitchen for you. There is plenty of bread there, and she thinks
you must be hungry. It is not possible for you to enter the palace by
the front entrance. The guards in silver uniform and the servants in
gold livery would not allow it. But do not cry; we will manage to get
you in. My sweetheart knows a little back staircase that leads to the
sleeping apartments, and she knows where to find the key." Then they went into the garden, through the great avenue, where the
leaves were falling one after another, and they could see the lights in
the palace being put out in the same manner. And the crow led little
Gerda to a back door which stood ajar. Oh! how her heart beat with
anxiety and longing; it was as if she were going to do something wrong,
and yet she only wanted to know where little Kay was. "It must be he," she thought, "with those clear eyes and that long
hair."