theRE was once a shilling， which came forthfrom the mint springing and shouting， Hurrah!now I am going out into the wide world. And truly itdid go out into the wide world. The children held itwith warm hands， the miser with a cold andconvulsive grasp， and the old people turned itabout， goodness knows how many times， whilethe young people soon allowed it to roll away fromthem. The shilling was made of silver， it contained very little copper， and considered itselfquite out in the world when it had been circulated for a year in the country in which it had beencoined. One day， it really did go out into the world， for it belonged to a gentleman who wasabout to travel in foreign lands. This gentleman was not aware that the shilling lay at thebottom of his purse when he started， till he one day found it between his fingers. Why， criedhe， here is a shilling from home; well， it must go on its travels with me now! and theshilling jumped and rattled for joy， when it was put back again into the purse.
Here it lay among a number of foreign companions， who were always coming and going，one taking the place of another， but the shilling from home was always put back， and had toremain in the purse， which was certainly a mark of distinction. Many weeks passed， duringwhich the shilling had travelled a long distance in the purse， without in the least knowing wherehe was. He had found out that the other coins were French and Italian; and one coin said theywere in this town， and another said they were in that， but the shilling was unable to make outor imagine what they meant. A man certainly cannot see much of the world if he is tied up in abag， and this was really the shilling's fate. But one day， as he was lying in the purse， henoticed that it was not quite closed， and so he slipped near to the opening to have a little peepinto society. He certainly had not the least idea of what would follow， but he was curious，and curiosity often brings its own punishment. In his eagerness， he came so near the edge ofthe purse that he slipped out into the pocket of the trousers; and when， in the evening，the purse was taken out， the shilling was left behind in the corner to which it had fallen. As theclothes were being carried into the hall， the shilling fell out on the floor， unheard andunnoticed by any one. The next morning the clothes were taken back to the room， thegentleman put them on， and started on his journey again; but the shilling remained behindon the floor. After a time it was found， and being considered a good coin， was placed withthree other coins. Ah， thought the shilling， this is pleasant; I shall now see the world，become acquainted with other people， and learn other customs.
Do you call that a shilling? said some one the next moment. That is not a genuine coin ofthe country，—it is false; it is good for nothing.
Now begins the story as it was afterwards related by the shilling himself.
‘False! good for nothing!' said he. That remark went through and through me like adagger. I knew that I had a true ring， and that mine was a genuine stamp. these peoplemust at all events be wrong， or they could not mean me. But yes， I was the one they called'false， and good for nothing.'
‘then I must pay it away in the dark，' said the man who had received me. So I was to begot rid of in the darkness， and be again insulted in broad daylight.
‘False! good for nothing!' Oh， I must contrive to get lost， thought I. And I trembledbetween the fingers of the people every time they tried to pass me off slyly as a coin of thecountry. Ah! unhappy shilling that I was! Of what use were my silver， my stamp， and myreal value here， where all these qualities were worthless. In the eyes of the world， a man isvalued just according to the opinion formed of him. It must be a shocking thing to have aguilty conscience， and to be sneaking about on account of wicked deeds. As for me，innocent as I was， I could not help shuddering before their eyes whenever they brought meout， for I knew I should be thrown back again up the table as a false pretender. At length Iwas paid away to a poor old woman， who received me as wages for a hard day's work. But shecould not again get rid of me; no one would take me. I was to the woman a most unluckyshilling. 'I am positively obliged to pass this shilling to somebody，' said she; 'I cannot， withthe best intentions， lay by a bad shilling. The rich baker shall have it，—he can bear the lossbetter than I can. But， after all， it is not a right thing to do.'
‘Ah!' sighed I to myself， 'am I also to be a burden on the conscience of this poorwoman? Am I then in my old days so completely changed?' The woman offered me to the richbaker， but he knew the current money too well， and as soon as he received me he threw mealmost in the woman's face. She could get no bread for me， and I felt quite grieved to theheart that I should be cause of so much trouble to another， and be treated as a cast-off coin.I who， in my young days， felt so joyful in the certainty of my own value， and knew so wellthat I bore a genuine stamp. I was as sorrowful now as a poor shilling can be when nobodywill have him. The woman took me home again with her， and looking at me very earnestly，she said， 'No， I will not try to deceive any one with thee again. I will bore a hole throughthee， that everyone may know that thou art a false and worthless thing; and yet， whyshould I do that? Very likely thou art a lucky shilling. A thought has just struck me that it isso， and I believe it. Yes， I will make a hole in the shilling，' said she， 'and run a stringthrough it， and then give it to my neighbor's little one to hang round her neck， as a luckyshilling.' So she drilled a hole through me.
‘It is really not at all pleasant to have a hole bored through one， but we can submit to aGREat deal when it is done with a good intention. A string was drawn through the hole， and Ibecame a kind of medal. They hung me round the neck of a little child， and the child laughedat me and kissed me， and I rested for one whole night on the warm， innocent breast of achild.