{"id":2231,"date":"2012-03-23T08:22:29","date_gmt":"2012-03-23T07:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hcandersen-homepage.dk\/?page_id=2231"},"modified":"2013-09-25T21:46:34","modified_gmt":"2013-09-25T19:46:34","slug":"the-shirt-collar","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hcandersen-homepage.dk\/?page_id=2231","title":{"rendered":"The Shirt-Collar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Shirt-Collar –\u00a0Illustration<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Hans Christian Andersen (1848)<\/strong><\/p>\n

There was once a fine gentleman who possessed among other things a boot-jack and a hair-brush; but he had also the finest shirt-collar in the world, and of this collar we are about to hear a story. The collar had become so old that he began to think about getting married; and one day he happened to find himself in the same washing-tub as a garter. \u201cUpon my word,\u201d said the shirt-collar, \u201cI have never seen anything so slim and delicate, so neat and soft before. May I venture to ask your name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI shall not tell you,\u201d replied the garter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do you reside when you are at home?\u201d asked the shirt-collar. But the garter was naturally shy, and did not know how to answer such a question.<\/p>\n

\u201cI presume you are a girdle,\u201d said the shirt-collar, \u201ca sort of under girdle. I see that you are useful, as well as ornamental, my little lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must not speak to me,\u201d said the garter; \u201cI do not think I have given you any encouragement to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, when any one is as beautiful as you are,\u201d said the shirt-collar, \u201cis not that encouragement enough?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGet away; don\u2019t come so near me,\u201d said the garter, \u201cyou appear to me quite like a man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a fine gentleman certainly,\u201d said the shirt-collar, \u201cI possess a boot-jack and a hair-brush.\u201d This was not true, for these things belonged to his master; but he was a boaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t come so near me,\u201d said the garter; \u201cI am not accustomed to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAffectation!\u201d said the shirt-collar.<\/p>\n

Then they were taken out of the wash-tub, starched, and hung over a chair in the sunshine, and then laid on the ironing-board. And now came the glowing iron. \u201cMistress widow,\u201d said the shirt-collar, \u201clittle mistress widow, I feel quite warm. I am changing, I am losing all my creases. You are burning a hole in me. Ugh! I propose to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou old rag,\u201d said the flat-iron, driving proudly over the collar, for she fancied herself a steam-engine, which rolls over the railway and draws carriages. \u201cYou old rag!\u201d said she.<\/p>\n

The edges of the shirt-collar were a little frayed, so the scissors were brought to cut them smooth. \u201cOh!\u201d exclaimed the shirt-collar, \u201cwhat a first-rate dancer you would make; you can stretch out your leg so well. I never saw anything so charming; I am sure no human being could do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI should think not,\u201d replied the scissors.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ought to be a countess,\u201d said the shirt collar; \u201cbut all I possess consists of a fine gentleman, a boot-jack, and a comb. I wish I had an estate for your sake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat! is he going to propose to me?\u201d said the scissors, and she became so angry that she cut too sharply into the shirt collar, and it was obliged to be thrown by as useless.<\/p>\n

\u201cI shall be obliged to propose to the hair-brush,\u201d thought the shirt collar; so he remarked one day, \u201cIt is wonderful what beautiful hair you have, my little lady. Have you never thought of being engaged?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might know I should think of it,\u201d answered the hair brush; \u201cI am engaged to the boot-jack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEngaged!\u201d cried the shirt collar, \u201cnow there is no one left to propose to;\u201d and then he pretended to despise all love-making.<\/p>\n

A long time passed, and the shirt collar was taken in a bag to the paper-mill. Here was a large company of rags, the fine ones lying by themselves, separated from the coarser, as it ought to be. They had all many things to relate, especially the shirt collar, who was a terrible boaster. \u201cI have had an immense number of love affairs,\u201d said the shirt collar, \u201cno one left me any peace. It is true I was a very fine gentleman; quite stuck up. I had a boot-jack and a brush that I never used. You should have seen me then, when I was turned down. I shall never forget my first love; she was a girdle, so charming, and fine, and soft, and she threw herself into a washing tub for my sake. There was a widow too, who was warmly in love with me, but I left her alone, and she became quite black. The next was a first-rate dancer; she gave me the wound from which I still suffer, she was so passionate. Even my own hair-brush was in love with me, and lost all her hair through neglected love. Yes, I have had great experience of this kind, but my greatest grief was for the garter\u2014the girdle I meant to say\u2014that jumped into the wash-tub. I have a great deal on my conscience, and it is really time I should be turned into white paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the shirt collar came to this at last. All the rags were made into white paper, and the shirt collar became the very identical piece of paper which we now see, and on which this story is printed. It happened as a punishment to him, for having boasted so shockingly of things which were not true. And this is a warning to us, to be careful how we act, for we may some day find ourselves in the rag-bag, to be turned into white paper, on which our whole history may be written, even its most secret actions. And it would not be pleasant to have to run about the world in the form of a piece of paper, telling everything we have done, like the boasting shirt collar.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Indeks over H.C. Andersens eventyr \u2014\u00a0Index of Hans Christian Andersen Fairy tales<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Shirt-Collar –\u00a0Illustration By Hans Christian Andersen (1848) There was once a fine gentleman who possessed among other things a boot-jack and a hair-brush; but he had also the finest shirt-collar in the world, and of this collar we are about to hear a story. The collar had become so old that he began to … L\u00e6s mere The Shirt-Collar<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2231","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hcandersen-homepage.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hcandersen-homepage.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hcandersen-homepage.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hcandersen-homepage.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hcandersen-homepage.dk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2231"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.hcandersen-homepage.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53375,"href":"https:\/\/www.hcandersen-homepage.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2231\/revisions\/53375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hcandersen-homepage.dk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}