Grethes Glæde over Sommeren
I denne Maaned flytte vi paa Landet,
Min Tante vil saa gjerne nu derud.
I Aar det bliver noget ganske Andet
End sidst. — Vi laae i Søllerød. Ved Gud!
Den hele Uge vi os maatte kjede.
Jeg fandt tilsidst, at Egnen var saa styg;
Der var om Dagen saadan Sol og Hede,
Og saa om Natten – uh! Saa mange Myg!
— Man saae jo ingen Ting, kun Mark og Enge,
Og grønne Træer og en Blomster-Plet,
Og skal man see på saadant Noget længe,
Saa bliver man tilsidst, ved Gud, saa træt!
Vi troede der just var noget Rart at finde,
Men reent paa Landet er dog slet bevendt;
Og Tante blev i Grunden helst herinde,
Men man kan ikke være det bekjendt:
Man skal jo ligge der; er man galante,
Og det er sundt, som Doctorne jo troe.
Et bedre Sted vi faae i Aar, thi Tante
Har leiet Værelser paa Vesterbro:
Der er, ved Gud! Saa nydeligt derude;
At jeg kan aldrig nævne det ved Navn;
Der seer man ogsaa Træer og Køer og Stude,
Og saa er man saa nær ved Kjøbenhavn!
Det er behageligt — især i Sommer,
Da jo Comedien skal blive ved;
Og nu de kloge Mænd til Byen kommer,
Er Vesterbro det allerbedste Sted.
Der ellers een Ting er, jeg ei kan skjønne,
Men muligviis er jeg vel lidt borneert:
Hvor Folk kan saadan sværme for det Grønne;
Man skaber sig, og man er affecteert.
Jeg var hos Modehandleren forgangen Uge,
Og nogle søde Blomster der jeg saae;
Jeg skulde nogle røde Roser bruge,
Men der var ingen grønne Blade paa.
Jeg spurgte, om der ingen skulde være?
Da sagde Modehandleren, og lo, ved Gud!
“Fy, grønne Blade, det er ækelt, Kjære”
Det er saa flaut — det ta’er sig ikke ud!”
Han har just Smag, han veed hvad der er kjønt:
Og derfor kan jeg Landet ei berømme,
Men bliver træt af alt det meget Grønt.
Nei, Broerne jeg priser mange Gange,
De har for Sindet noget frydeligt,
— O, hvor jeg glæder mig til denne Sommer,
Det er dog dejligt! Hvor jeg elsker den!
Især, naar saadan Efteraaret kommer,
For saa begynde Ballerne igjen!
Grethe’s joy at the approach of summer
This month is when we move out to the country,
My aunt’s already eager to be gone.
This move will differ greatly from the one we
Last did. To Søllerød – the back of beyond!
The whole week we were bored to our back teeth.
The region I found out was simply grim;
Throughout the day there was but sun and heath,
At night – mosquitoes spared no inch of skin!
– All that one saw was meadows and some fields
And green trees and some clumps of jaded flowers,
If you look long enough, your mind just reels,
It tires you out to gaze and gaze for hours!
We thought that country life might be less drear,
But nothing there is really on the go;
And my aunt wanted most to stay right here,
But that is socially not comme il faut:
For summer in the country’s what one does,
Good for your health too, doctors claim to know.
We’ll have a better place this year, because
My aunt has rented rooms in Vesterbro:
Out there it is, ah yes, just quite delightful,
So much so I can find no words to say;
There one sees trees and cows and lots of cattle,
With Copenhagen a stone’s throw away.
It is so pleasant, even more in summer,
Since such a bustle’s one must always face,
Now that the city sees the wise men coming,
Well, Vesterbro is quite the ideal place.
One thing, however, I can’t comprehend
It could well be I’m out of touch by far:
For all things, rural folk go round the bend
They put on airs, become so lah-de-dah.
Last week I paid my milliner a visit,
And there were flowers there that caught my eye;
Red roses I could use, they are exquisite,
But all the leaves were gone – I wondered why.
I asked him if the leaves had dropped off maybe,
My tailor laughed, remarking thereupon:
‘Ugh! green leaves are so horrid, dear young lady.
They’re so embarrassing – they’re just not on!’
He has good taste, his sense of beauty’s keen:
And therefore country life I cannot praise,
But one gets tired when all one sees is green.
No, I am often glad we have the bridges,
For they can fill one’s mind with pure delight,
– This summer I am so anticipating
It’s quite delightful! May it never end!
Especially, since autumn lies there waiting,
For balls will then be starting up again!
