People said “the Evening Bell is sounding， thesun is setting.” For a strange wondrous tone washeard in the narrow streets of a large town. It waslike the sound of a church-bell： but it was onlyheard for a moment， for the rolling of the carriagesand the voices of the multitude made too GREat anoise.
Those persons who were walking outside thetown， where the houses were farther apart， withgardens or little fields between them， could see the evening sky still better， and heard thesound of the bell much more distinctly. It was as if the tones came from a church in the stillforest; people looked thitherward， and felt their minds attuned most solemnly.
A long time passed， and people said to each other——“I wonder if there is a church out inthe wood? The bell has a tone that is wondrous sweet; let us stroll thither， and examinethe matter nearer.” And the rich people drove out，and the poor walked， but the way seemedstrangely long to them; and when they came to a clump of willows which GREw on the skirts ofthe forest， they sat down， and looked up at the long branches， and fancied they were nowin the depth of the green wood. The confectioner of the town came out， and set up his booththere; and soon after came another confectioner， who hung a bell over his stand， as a signor ornament， but it had no clapper， and it was tarred over to preserve it from the rain.When all the people returned home， they said it had been very romantic， and that it wasquite a different sort of thing to a pic-nic or tea-party. There were three persons who assertedthey had penetrated to the end of the forest， and that they had always heard the wonderfulsounds of the bell， but it had seemed to them as if it had come from the town. One wrote awhole poem about it， and said the bell sounded like the voice of a mother to a good dearchild， and that no melody was sweeter than the tones of the bell. The king of the country wasalso observant of it， and vowed that he who could discover whence the sounds proceeded，should have the title of “Universal Bell-ringer，” even if it were not really a bell.
Many persons now went to the wood， for the sake of getting the place， but one onlyreturned with a sort of explanation; for nobody went far enough， that one not further thanthe others. However， he said that the sound proceeded from a very large owl， in a hollowtree; a sort of learned owl， that continually knocked its head against the branches. Butwhether the sound came from his head or from the hollow tree， that no one could say withcertainty. So now he got the place of “Universal Bell-ringer，” and wrote yearly a shorttreatise“On the Owl”; but everybody was just as wise as before.
It was the day of confirmation. The clergyman had spoken so touchingly， the childrenwho were confirmed had been GREatly moved; it was an eventful day for them; fromchildren they become all at once grown-up-persons; it was as if their infant souls were now tofly all at once into persons with more understanding. The sun was shining gloriously; thechildren that had been confirmed went out of the town; and from the wood was bornetowards them the sounds of the unknown bell with wonderful distinctness. They allimmediately felt a wish to go thither; all except three. One of them had to go home to try on aball-dress; for it was just the dress and the ball which had caused her to be confirmed thistime， for otherwise she would not have come; the other was a poor boy， who had borrowedhis coat and boots to be confirmed in from the innkeeper's son， and he was to give themback by a certain hour; the third said that he never went to a strange place if his parentswere not with him——that he had always been a good boy hitherto， and would still be so nowthat he was confirmed， and that one ought not to laugh at him for it： the others，however， did make fun of him， after all.
there were three， therefore， that did not go; the others hastened on. The sun shone，the birds sang， and the children sang too， and each held the other by the hand; for as yetthey had none of them any high office， and were all of equal rank in the eye of God.
But two of the youngest soon GREw tired， and both returned to town; two little girls satdown， and twined garlands， so they did not go either; and when the others reached thewillow-tree， where the confectioner was， they said， “Now we are there! In reality the belldoes not exist; it is only a fancy that people have taken into their heads!”
At the same moment the bell sounded deep in the wood， so clear and solemnly that five orsix determined to penetrate somewhat further. It was so thick，and the foliage so dense，that it was quite fatiguing to proceed. Woodroof and anemonies GREw almost too high;blooming convolvuluses and blackberry-bushes hung in long garlands from tree to tree，where the nightingale sang and the sunbeams were playing： it was very beautiful， but it wasno place for girls to go; their clothes would get so torn. Large blocks of stone laythere，overgrown with moss of every color; the fresh spring bubbled forth， and made astrange gurgling sound.
“That surely cannot be the bell，” said one of the children， lying down and listening. “Thismust be looked to.” So he remained， and let the others go on without him.
they afterwards came to a little house， made of branches and the bark of trees; a largewild apple-tree bent over it， as if it would shower down all its blessings on the roof， whereroses were blooming. The long stems twined round the gable， on which there hung a smallbell.
Was it that which people had heard? Yes， everybody was unanimous on the subject，except one， who said that the bell was too small and too fine to be heard at so GREat adistance， and besides it was very different tones to those that could move a human heart insuch a manner. It was a king's son who spoke;whereon the others said， “Such people alwayswant to be wiser than everybody else.”