ON one of the Danish islands where the old places of assembly are found in the fields， and great trees tower in the beech woods，there lies a little town，whose low houses are covered with red tiles．in one of these houses wondrous things were brewed over glowing coals on the open hearth；there was a boiling in glasses，a mixing and a distilling，and herbs were being bruised in mortars，and an elderly man attended to all this．
“One must only do the night thing，said he；“yes，the right thing．One must learn the truth about every created particle，and keep close to this truth．”
In the room with the good housewife sat her two sons，still small，but with grown－up thoughts．The mother had always spoken to them of right and justice，and had exhorted them to hold truth fast， declaring that it was as the countenance of the almighty in this world．
The elder of the boys looked roguish and enterprising．It was his delight to read of the forces of nature，of the sun and of the stars；no fairy tale pleased him so much as these．Oh！How glorious it must be，to go out on voyages of discovery，or to find out how the wings of birds could be imitated，and then to fly through the air！Yes，to find that out would be the right thing：father was right，and mother was right——truth keeps the world together．
The younger brother was quieter，and quite lost him self in books．When he read of Jacob clothing himself in sheepskins，to be like Esau and to cheat his brother of his birth－right，his little fist would clench in anger against the deceiver：when he read of tyrants，and of all the wickedness and wrong that is in the world， the tears stood in his eyes，and he was quite filled with the thoughts of the right and truth which must and will at last be triumphant．
One evening he already lay in bed，but the curtains were not yet drawn close，and the light streamed in upon him：he had taken the book with him to bed，because he wanted to finish reading the story of Solon．
And his thoughts lifted and carried him away marvellously，and it seemed to him that his bed became a ship，under full sail．Did he dream？ Or what was happening to him？It glided onward over the rolling waters and the great ocean of time，and he heard the voice of Solon．In a strange tongue，and yet intelligible to him，he heard the Danish motto，“With law the land is ruled．”
And the Genius of the human race stood in the humble room，and bent down over the bed，and printed a kiss on the boy's forehead．
“Be thou strong in fame，and strong in the battle of life！With the truth in thy breast，fly thou towards the land of truth！”
The elder brother was not yet in bed；he stood at the window gazing out at the mists that rose from the meadows．They were not elves dancing there，as the old nurse had told him；he knew better：they were vapors，warmer than the air，and consequently they mounted．A shooting star gleamed athwart the sky，and the thoughts of the boy were roused from the mists of the earth to the shining meteor．The stars of heaven twinkled，and golden threads seemed to hang from them down upon the earth．
“Fly with me！it sang and sounded in the boy’ s heart；and the mighty genius，swifter than the bird，than the arrow，than anything that flies with earthly means，carried him out into space where rays stretching from star to star bind the heavenly bodies to each other；our earth revolved in the thin air；its cities seemed quite close together；and through the sphere it sounded，“What is near，what is far to men，when the mighty genius of mind lifts them up？”
And again the boy stood at the window and gazed forth，and the younger brother lay in his bed，and their mother called them by their names，“Anders and“Hans Christian．
Denmark knows them，and the world knows the two brothers—OERSTED．
两兄弟
丹麦有一个岛，岛上的麦田里露出古代法庭的遗迹，山毛榉林中冒出高大的树。在这些东西中间有一个小市镇；镇上的房子都很矮，屋顶上盖的全是红瓦。在这样的一座屋子里有一个敞口灶；在灶里白热的炭火上熬着一些稀奇的东西。有的东西在玻璃杯里煮，有的东西在混合，有的东西在蒸发，有的草药在研钵里被捣碎。一个老人在做这些事情。
“一个人只能做正确的事情，”他说。“是的，只能做正确的事情。我们应该认识一切造物的本来面目，同时坚持真理。”
那个贤德的主妇这时和她的两个男孩子正坐在房间里。这两个孩子的年纪虽小，但是思想已经很像成年人。妈妈常常和他们谈起真理和正义，同时也教育他们坚持真理，因为真理就是上帝在这世界上的一面镜子。
较大的孩子看起来既淘气又富于想象力。
他最大的兴趣是阅读关于大自然的威力、关于太阳和星星这类的事情——什么童话也没有比这更使他感兴趣。啊，如果他能出去作探险的旅行，或发明一种办法来模仿鸟儿的翅膀在空中飞行，那将是多么愉快的事情啊！是的，发明这些东西是正当的事情！爸爸说得对，妈妈也说得对：真理使世界前进。
弟弟比较安静些，整天跟书本在一起。当他读到雅各穿上羊皮伪装成为以扫，以便骗取他哥哥的继承权的时候，他的小手就捏成一个拳头，表示出他对于欺骗者的愤怒。当他读到关于暴君、世上的罪恶和不义的事情的时候，他的眼睛里就冒出眼泪。他的心中有这么一个强烈的思想：正义和真理最后一定会胜利的。
有一天晚上，他已经上床去睡了，不过窗帘还没有拉拢；一道亮光射到他身上来：他在抱着书睡觉，因为他想把索龙 的故事读完。
他的思想领着他作奇异的航行；他的床简直就像一个鼓满了风的船。他在做梦吗，这是怎么回事儿？他在波涛汹涌的海上，在时间的大洋中航行。他听到索龙的声音。他听见有人以一种奇怪、但是易懂的方言，念出这样一个丹麦的谚语：“国家是应该以法治理的！”
人类的智慧之神现在就在这个贫寒的屋子里面。他向床上弯下腰，在这个孩子的额上亲吻了一下：“愿你坚强地保持你的荣誉！愿你坚强地参加生活的斗争！愿你拥抱着真理。向真理的国度飞去！”
哥哥还没有上床。他站在窗旁，望着草原上升起的白雾。这并非像老保姆所说的那样，是小鬼在跳舞。他现在知道得很清楚，这是水蒸气：因为它比空气还要温暖，所以它能上升。一颗流星把天空照亮，于是这孩子的思想就马上从地上的雾气飞到闪烁的流星上去。天上的星星在眨着眼睛，好像在向地上放下许多金丝。
“跟我一起飞吧！”这孩子的心里发出这样的一个歌声。人类伟大的智慧带着他向太空飞去——飞得比雀子、比箭、比地上所有能飞的东西还要快。星星射出的光线，把太空中的球体彼此联系在一起。我们的地球在稀薄的空气中旋转：它上面所有的城市似乎都连接在一起。有一个声音在这些天体之间响着：“当伟大的精神智慧把你带到太空中去的时候，什么是远，什么是近呢？”
这个孩子又站在窗子旁边朝外望，弟弟睡在床上，妈妈喊着他们的名字：安得尔斯和汉斯·克利斯仙。
丹麦知道他们，全世界也知道他们——他们是奥尔斯得兄弟。
这篇小品发表于1859年12月25日出版的《新闻画报》。它是在丹麦两位世界知名的学者奥尔斯得兄弟的感召下而写的。从小这两兄弟的“妈妈常常和他们谈起真理和正义，同时也教育他们坚持真理。”这就是他们在学问上取得成就的基础。
