作者简介

安徒生，1805年4月2日生于 丹麦菲英岛欧登塞的贫民区，父亲是个穷鞋匠。安徒生童年丧父，母亲改嫁。他从小为贫困折磨，先后在几家店铺学徒，没有受过正规教育。1819年后开始学习写作。他写的作品不适合演出，没有被采用。后来他得到资助上学，写了一些作品。他的第一部重要作品《1828和1829年从霍尔门运河至阿迈厄岛东角步行记》于1829年问世，受到社会的初步承认。1833年写了《埃格内特和美人鱼》（诗剧）、《 即兴诗人》（小说，1835），两部作品出版后，他的名字开始享誉国际。

他的第一部《讲给孩子们听的故事集》包括《 打火匣》、《小克劳斯和大克劳斯》、《 豌豆上的公主》、《小意达的花儿》等。

安徒生的作品大多带有自传的性质。

他一生坚持不懈地进行创作，把他的天才和生命献给了“未来的一代”，共写了168篇 童话和 故事。作品被译成80多种语言。

1875年8月4日，安徒生在 哥本哈根去世。

原文

IN the nursery a unmber of toys lay strewn about：high up，on the ward robe，stood the Money-box，it was of clay in the shape of a little pig；of course the pig had a slit in its back，and this slit had been so enlarged with a knife that whole dollar-pieces could slip through；and，indeed，two such had slipped into the box，besides a number of pence．The Money-pig was stuffed so full that it could no longer rattle，and that is the highest point a Money-pig can attain．There it stood upon the cupboard，high and lofty，looking down upon everything else in the room．It knew very well that what it had in its stomach would have bought all the toys，and that's what we call having self-respect．

The others thought of that too，even if they did not exactly express it，for there were many other things to speak of．One of the drawers was half pulled out， and there lay a great handsome Doll，though she was somewhat old，and her neck had been mended．She looked out and said，

“Shall we now play at men and women，for that is al-ways something？”

And now there was a general uproar，and even the framed prints on the walls turned round and showed that there was a wrong side to them；but they did not do it to protest against the proposal．

It was late at night；the moon shone through the window-frames and gave free light．Now the game was about to begin，and all，even the children's Go-Cart，Which certainly belonged to the coarser playthings，were invited to take part in the sport．

“Each one has his own peculiar value，”said the Go-Cart：“we cannot all be noblemen．There must be some who do the work，as the saying is．”

The Money-pig was the only one who received a writ-ten invitation，for he was of high standing，and they were afraid he would not accept a verbal message．

Indeed，he did not answer to say whether he would come，nor did he come：if he was to take a part，he must enjoy the sport from his own home；they were to arrange accordingly，and，so they did．

The little toy theatre was now put up in such a way that the Money-pig could look directly in．They wanted to begin with a comedy，and afterwards there was to be a tea party and a discussion for mental improvement，and with this latter part they began immediately．The Rocking-Horse spoke of training and race，the Go-Cart of railways and steam power，for all this belonged to their profession，and it was something they could talk about．The Clock talked politics-ticks-ticks-and knew what was the time of day，though it was whispered he did not go correctly；the Bamboo Cane stood there，stiff and proud，for he was conceited about his brass ferrule and his silver top，for being thus bound above and below；and on the sofa lay two worked Cushions，pretty and stupid．And now the play began．

All sat and looked on，and it was requested that the audience should applaud and crack and stamp according as they were gratified．But the Riding-Whip said he never cracked for old people，only for young ones who were not yet married．

“I crack for everything，”said the Cracker．