“the church bell hangs high， and looks far around， and sees the birds around it， andunderstands their language. The wind roars in upon it through windows and loopholes; andthe wind knows everything， for he gets it from the air， which encircles all things， and thechurch bell understands his tongue， and rings it out into the world， 'Ding-dong! ding-dong!'
“But it was too much for me to hear and to know; I was not able any longer to ring it out.I became so tired， so heavy， that the beam broke， and I flew out into the gleaming Au，where the water is deepest， and where the Au-mann lives， solitary and alone; and year byyear I tell him what I have heard and what I know. Ding-dong! ding-dong”
Thus it sounds complainingly out of the bell-deep in the Odense-Au. That is whatgrandmother told us.
But the schoolmaster says that there was not any bell that rung down there， for that itcould not do so; and that no Au-mann dwelt yonder， for there was no Au-mann at all! Andwhen all the other church bells are sounding sweetly， he says that it is not really the bells thatare sounding， but that it is the air itself which sends forth the notes; and grandmother saidto us that the Bell itself said it was the air who told it to him， consequently they are aGREedon that point， and this much is sure.
“Be cautious， cautious， and take good heed to thyself，” they both say.
the air knows everything. It is around us， it is in us， it talks of our thoughts and of ourdeeds， and it speaks longer of them than does the Bell down in the depths of the Odense-Auwhere the Au-mann dwells. It rings it out in the vault of heaven， far， far out， forever andever， till the heaven bells sound “Ding-dong! ding-dong!”
“叮噹!叮噹!”奥登斯钟渊那边传来了清脆的声音——是一条甚么样的河?——奥登斯城的孩子们个个都知道，它绕着花园流过，从木桥下边，经过水闸流到水磨。河里生长着黄色的水浮莲，带棕色绒毛的芦苇，像绒一样的深褐色香蒲，又高又大;老朽绽裂的柳树，摇摇晃晃，歪歪扭扭，枝叶垂到水面修道院沼泽这边，垂到漂洗人的草地1旁边。但是正对面却是一个挨着一个的花园，花园与花园又各不相同。有的有盛开的美丽花朵和供乘凉的亭子，整洁漂亮，就像玩具娃娃的小屋。有的园子里又全是白菜、青菜，或者根本就看不见园子，一大片接骨木丛的枝叶垂着盖住了流水，有些很深的河段，用桨都够不着底。老修女庵的外面最深，这地方叫做钟渊，河爷爷就住在那底下;白天太阳穿过水面射来的时候他睡大觉，到了月明星稀的夜里，他便出来了。他已经很老很老了;外祖母说，她从她的外祖母那儿就听说过他，他过着孤寂的生活，除了那口古老的大钟之外，连个和他说话的人都没有。那钟一度曾经挂在教堂顶上，现在，那座被叫做圣阿尔巴尼的教堂以及那钟塔，都已经不见踪影了。“叮噹!叮噹!”，钟塔还在的时候，钟就这样响。有一天傍晚，太阳落下去的时候，钟摇晃得厉害极了，挣断了索子，穿过天空飞了出去;那亮闪闪的铁在猩红的晚霞中十分耀眼。“叮噹!叮噹!现在我要去睡觉了!”钟唱着，飞到了奥登斯河，落进了最深的河段，那块地方因此便被称做钟渊。可是在那儿它并没有入睡，没有能得到休息。在河爷爷那里它仍在鸣响，这样，上面的许多人听到水下传来的钟声时，便说，这意思是有人要死掉了。可是，它鸣响并不是因为那个，不是的，是为了给河爷爷讲故事。河爷爷现在不再寂寞了。钟讲些甚么呢?它老极了，老极了。有人说，外祖母的外祖母出生前许久许久就有它了。但是，按年龄，它在河爷爷面前还只不过是个孩子。河爷爷很老很老，安详、奇怪。他穿的是鳗鱼皮做的裤子，有鳞的鱼皮做的上衣。衣服上缀着黄色水浮莲的钮子，头发里有苇子，胡须上有浮萍，实在不好看。
钟讲了些甚么，要花整整一年才能重讲一遍。它总是滔滔不绝，常常在讲同一件事，一时长、一时短，全看它高兴。它讲古时候，讲艰难的世道，讲愚昧黑暗的时代。“圣阿尔巴尼教堂那口钟悬在钟塔里，一位年轻英俊的修士爬上去了，他不像别人，他沉思着。他从钟楼空窗洞朝奥登斯河那边望去，那时河面很宽，沼泽还是湖，他朝那边望去，望着那绿色的护堤墙，望着那边的那”修女坝子“，那儿有个修女庵，从庵里修女住的那间屋子的窗口透出了亮光。他先前对她很熟悉——他常常忆起往事，他的心因此便跳得特别厉害，——叮噹!叮噹!”