The Pine Tree

The Pine Tree (or, The Fir Tree, if you like) was an especially depressing read for me.  I find it nearly impossible to summarize the moral of this tale without spoiling it completely, so I won't try.  I encourage you to read it yourself - a recommendation that I make startlingly seldom on this blog.

Thus, without further ado, I give you my chosen quote (taken entirely out of context of course, just to be silly, and because it mentions bacon - [what's more popular than bacon these days, eh?])

"It is a particularly uninteresting story.  Don't you know any about bacon or candle stumps?"

[Graphite. Paper. 7x4.5"]

The Steadfast Tin Soldier

I read the Haugaard translation of Andersen's The Steadfast Tin Soldier (a.k.a. The Brave Tin Soldier), but I have yet to read the older translation.  (Though I can tell you right now I prefer the decision to use the word "brave" rather than "steadfast" in a fairy tale / children's story - not because it is a word that children are more likely to know, I just think it's warmer and more evocative of an emotion.)   I feel the need to mention this, as this blog has become nearly as much a study of the differences between the older and newer translations as it is a place for my little drawings.  As often is the case, the part of the story that screamed out to me to be illustrated was not necessarily a vital part of the story.  Nonetheless...

"Have you got a passport?  Give me your passport!"