they now let him go on alone; and as he went， his breast was filled more and more withthe forest solitude; but he still heard the little bell with which the others were so satisfied，and now and then， when the wind blew， he could also hear the people singing who weresitting at tea where the confectioner had his tent; but the deep sound of the bell rose louder;it was almost as if an organ were accompanying it， and the tones came from the left hand，the side where the heart is placed. A rustling was heard in the bushes， and a little boy stoodbefore the King's Son， a boy in wooden shoes， and with so short a jacket that one could seewhat long wrists he had. Both knew each other： the boy was that one among the children whocould not come because he had to go home and return his jacket and boots to the innkeeper'sson. This he had done，and was now going on in wooden shoes and in his humble dress， forthe bell sounded with so deep a tone， and with such strange power， that proceed he must.
“Why， then， we can go together，” said the King's Son. But the poor child that had beenconfirmed was quite ashamed; he looked at his wooden shoes， pulled at the short sleeves ofhis jacket， and said that he was afraid he could not walk so fast; besides， he thought thatthe bell must be looked for to the right;for that was the place where all sorts of beautifulthings were to be found.
“But there we shall not meet，” said the King's Son， nodding at the same time to the poorboy， who went into the darkest， thickest part of the wood， where thorns tore his humbledress， and scratched his face and hands and feet till they bled. The King's Son got somescratches too; but the sun shone on his path， and it is him that we will follow， for he was anexcellent and resolute youth.
“I must and will find the bell，” said he， “even if I am obliged to go to the end of theworld.”
the ugly apes sat upon the trees， and grinned. “Shall we thrash him?” said they. “Shall wethrash him? He is the son of a king!”
But on he went， without being disheartened， deeper and deeper into the wood，wherethe most wonderful flowers were growing. There stood white lilies with blood-red stamina，skyblue tulips， which shone as they waved in the winds， and apple-trees， the apples ofwhich looked exactly like large soapbubbles： so only think how the trees must have sparkled inthe sunshine! Around the nicest GREen meads， where the deer were playing in the grass，grew magnificent oaks and beeches; and if the bark of one of the trees was cracked， theregrass and long creeping plants grew in the crevices. And there were large calm lakes there too，in which white swans were swimming， and beat the air with their wings. The King's Son oftenstood still and listened. He thought the bell sounded from the depths of these still lakes; butthen he remarked again that the tone proceeded not from there， but farther off， from outthe depths of the forest.
the sun now set： the atmosphere glowed like fire. It was still in the woods，so very still;and he fell on his knees， sung his evening hymn， and said： “I cannot find what I seek; thesun is going down， and night is coming——the dark，dark night. Yet perhaps I may be ableonce more to see the round red sun before he entirely disappears. I will climb up yonder rock.”
And he seized hold of the creeping-plants， and the roots of trees——climbed up the moiststones where the water-snakes were writhing and the toads were croaking——and he gainedthe summit before the sun had quite gone down. How magnificent was the sight from thisheight! The sea——the GREat， the glorious sea， that dashed its long waves against thecoast——was stretched out before him. And yonder， where sea and sky meet， stood thesun， like a large shining altar， all melted together in the most glowing colors. And the woodand the sea sang a song of rejoicing， and his heart sang with the rest： all nature was a vastholy church， in which the trees and the buoyant clouds were the pillars， flowers and grassthe velvet carpeting， and heaven itself the large cupola. The red colors above faded away asthe sun vanished， but a million stars were lighted， a million lamps shone; and the King's Sonspread out his arms towards heaven， and wood， and sea; when at the same moment，coming by a path to the right， appeared， in his wooden shoes and jacket， the poor boy whohad been confirmed with him. He had followed his own path， and had reached the spot justas soon as the son of the king had done. They ran towards each other， and stood togetherhand in hand in the vast church of nature and of poetry， while over them sounded theinvisible holy bell： blessed spirits floated around them， and lifted up their voices in a rejoicinghallelujah!
黄昏的时候，太阳正在下沉，烟囱上飘着的云块泛出一片金黄的光彩;这时在一个大城市的小巷里，一忽儿这个人，一忽儿那个人全都听到类似教堂钟声的奇异声音。不过声音每次持续的时间非常短。因为街上隆隆的车声和嘈杂的人声总是把它打断了。
“暮钟响起来了!”人们说，“太阳落下去了!”
城外的房子彼此之间的距离比较远，而且都有花园和草坪;因此城外的人就可以看出天还是很亮的，所以也能更清楚地听到这个钟声。它似乎是从一个藏在静寂而清香的森林里的教堂里发出来的。大家朝这声音飘来的方向望，不禁起了一种庄严的感觉。
过了好长一段时间，人们开始互相传说：“我不知道，树林里会不会有一个教堂?钟声的调子是那么奇怪和美丽，我们不妨去仔细瞧一瞧。”
于是富人坐着车子去，穷人步行去;不过路似乎怎样也走不完。当他们来到森林外面的柳树林跟前的时候，就坐下来。
他们望着长长的柳树枝，以为真的已经走进森林里来了。城里卖糕饼的人也搬到这儿来，并且搭起了帐篷。接着又来了一个卖糖果的人，这人在自己的帐篷上挂起了一口钟;这口钟上还涂了一层防雨的沥青，不过它里面却没有钟舌。
大家回到家里来以后，都说这事情很新奇，比他们吃过一次茶还要新奇得多。有三个人说，他们把整个的树林都走完了，直走到树林的尽头;他们老是听到这个奇怪的钟声，不过那时它似乎是从城里飘来的。有一位甚至还编了一支歌，把钟声比成一个母亲对一个亲爱的好孩子唱的歌——什么音乐也没有这种钟声好听。
这个国家的皇帝也听到了这件事情。他下一道圣旨，说无论什么人，只要能找出钟声的发源地，就可以被封为“世界的敲钟人”——哪怕他所发现的不是钟也没有关系。