ANNE LISBETH was a beautiful young woman，with a red and white complexion， glittering whiteteeth， and clear soft eyes; and her footstep waslight in the dance， but her mind was lighter still. Shehad a little child， not at all pretty; so he was putout to be nursed by a laborer's wife， and hismother went to the count's castle. She sat insplendid rooms， richly decorated with silk andvelvet; not a breath of air was allowed to blow upon her， and no one was allowed to speak toher harshly， for she was nurse to the count's child. He was fair and delicate as a prince， andbeautiful as an angel; and how she loved this child! Her own boy was provided for by being atthe laborer's where the mouth watered more frequently than the pot boiled， and where ingeneral no one was at home to take care of the child. Then he would cry， but what nobodyknows nobody cares for; so he would cry till he was tired， and then fall asleep; and while weare asleep we can feel neither hunger nor thirst. Ah， yes; sleep is a capital invention.
As years went on， Anne Lisbeth's child GREw apace like weeds， although they said hisgrowth had been stunted. He had become quite a member of the family in which he dwelt; theyreceived money to keep him， so that his mother got rid of him altogether. She had becomequite a lady; she had a comfortable home of her own in the town; and out of doors， whenshe went for a walk， she wore a bonnet; but she never walked out to see the laborer： thatwas too far from the town， and， indeed， she had nothing to go for， the boy now belongedto these laboring people. He had food， and he could also do something towards earning hisliving; he took care of Mary's red cow， for he knew how to tend cattle and make himselfuseful.
the GREat dog by the yard gate of a nobleman's mansion sits proudly on the top of hiskennel when the sun shines， and barks at every one that passes; but if it rains， he creepsinto his house， and there he is warm and dry. Anne Lisbeth's boy also sat in the sunshine onthe top of the fence， cutting out a little toy. If it was spring-time， he knew of threestrawberry-plants in blossom， which would certainly bear fruit. This was his most hopefulthought， though it often came to nothing. And he had to sit out in the rain in the worstweather， and get wet to the skin， and let the cold wind dry the clothes on his backafterwards. If he went near the farmyard belonging to the count， he was pushed and knockedabout， for the men and the maids said he was so horrible ugly; but he was used to all this，for nobody loved him. This was how the world treated Anne Lisbeth's boy， and how could it beotherwise. It was his fate to be beloved by no one. Hitherto he had been a land crab; the landat last cast him adrift. He went to sea in a wretched vessel， and sat at the helm， while theskipper sat over the grog-can. He was dirty and ugly， half-frozen and half-starved; he alwayslooked as if he never had enough to eat， which was really the case.
Late in the autumn， when the weather was rough， windy， and wet， and the coldpenetrated through the thickest clothing， especially at sea， a wretched boat went out to seawith only two men on board， or， more correctly， a man and a half， for it was the skipperand his boy. There had only been a kind of twilight all day， and it soon GREw quite dark， andso bitterly cold， that the skipper took a dram to warm him. The bottle was old， and the glasstoo. It was perfect in the upper part， but the foot was broken off， and it had therefore beenfixed upon a little carved block of wood， painted blue. A dram is a great comfort， and twoare better still， thought the skipper， while the boy sat at the helm， which he held fast in hishard seamed hands. He was ugly， and his hair was matted， and he looked crippled andstunted; they called him the field-laborer's boy， though in the church register he wasentered as Anne Lisbeth's son. The wind cut through the rigging， and the boat cut throughthe sea. The sails， filled by the wind， swelled out and carried them along in wild career. It waswet and rough above and below， and might still be worse. Hold! what is that? What hasstruck the boat? Was it a waterspout， or a heavy sea rolling suddenly upon them?
“Heaven help us!” cried the boy at the helm， as the boat heeled over and lay on its beamends. It had struck on a rock， which rose from the depths of the sea， and sank at once， likean old shoe in a puddle. “It sank at once with mouse and man，” as the saying is. There mighthave been mice on board， but only one man and a half， the skipper and the laborer's boy. Noone saw it but the skimming sea-gulls and the fishes beneath the water; and even they did notsee it properly， for they darted back with terror as the boat filled with water and sank. Thereit lay， scarcely a fathom below the surface， and those two were provided for， buried， andforgotten. The glass with the foot of blue wood was the only thing that did not sink， for thewood floated and the glass drifted away to be cast upon the shore and broken; where andwhen， is indeed of no consequence. It had served its purpose， and it had been loved，which Anne Lisbeth's boy had not been. But in heaven no soul will be able to say， “Neverloved.”
Anne Lisbeth had now lived in the town many years; she was called “Madame，” and feltdignified in consequence; she remembered the old， noble days， in which she had driven inthe carriage， and had associated with countess and baroness. Her beautiful， noble child hadbeen a dear angel， and possessed the kindest heart; he had loved her so much， and shehad loved him in return; they had kissed and loved each other， and the boy had been herjoy， her second life. Now he was fourteen years of age， tall， handsome， and clever. Shehad not seen him since she carried him in her arms; neither had she been for years to thecount's palace; it was quite a journey thither from the town.
“I must make one effort to go，” said Anne Lisbeth， “to see my darling， the count'ssweet child， and press him to my heart. Certainly he must long to see me， too， the youngcount; no doubt he thinks of me and loves me， as in those days when he would fling hisangel-arms round my neck， and lisp 'Anne Liz.' It was music to my ears. Yes， I must make aneffort to see him again.” She drove across the country in a grazier's cart， and then got out，and continued her journey on foot， and thus reached the count's castle. It was as GREat andmagnificent as it had always been， and the garden looked the same as ever; all the servantswere strangers to her， not one of them knew Anne Lisbeth， nor of what consequence shehad once been there; but she felt sure the countess would soon let them know it， and herdarling boy， too： how she longed to see him!
Now that Anne Lisbeth was at her journey's end， she was kept waiting a long time; andfor those who wait， time passes slowly. But before the GREat people went in to dinner， shewas called in and spoken to very graciously. She was to go in again after dinner， and then shewould see her sweet boy once more. How tall， and slender， and thin he had grown; but theeyes and the sweet angel mouth were still beautiful. He looked at her， but he did not speak，he certainly did not know who she was. He turned round and was going away， but she seizedhis hand and pressed it to her lips.