Blå, en historie -- Blue, a story

     Himmelen var blå. Manden fandt sin blå trøje frem. Den var perfekt til sådan en forårsdag. Ikke for lys, ikke for mørk, ikke for skrigende eller for tam. Kort sagt perfekt himmelblå. Men, der var et hul i trøjen. Et lille et, lige foran på maven. Den lille mand tænkte: "Pyt! Det er der ikke nogen, der lægger mærke til."
     Men hele tiden følte han folks øjne på hullet. Det var oven i købet et par børn der sagde: "Se, den mand har hul i trøjen." Deres forældre tyssede på dem, men den lille mand havde hørt det.
     Den gamle mand tog hjem og spiste, medens han tænkte. Da han havde spist, tog han nål og tråd frem. Han syede så tråd og støv stod om ørene på ham Da han var færdig sad der en blomst på hans trøje i stedet for et hul.
     Så gik den lille mand glad ud i den solbeskinnede forårsverden igen. Folk og især børnene kikkede på ham. De kiggede på hans blomst på maven. De fleste smilede. Den lille mand smilede glad tilbage.
     Da det var aften, tog den lille mand smilend hjem igen. Han havde stort set nået det han var taget af sted for, og så havde han høstet en masse smil.

- o 0 o -

The sky was blue. The man found his blue shirt. It was perfect for such a Spring day. Not too light, not too dark, not too gaudy or too dull. In short, a perfect sky colour. However, there was a hole in the shirt. A small one, just in front. The little man thought: "Never mind! Nobody will pay attention to it."

But all the time he felt people's eyes to on the hole. A couple of kids even said: "Look, the man has got a hole in his shirt." Their parents shushed them, but the little man had heard it.

The old man went home and ate while he thought. When he had eaten, he found needle and thread. He sewed furiously. Threads and dust flew around him. When he had finished, a flower sat on the front of his shirt instead of a hole.

The little man happily walked out into the sunny spring world again. People and especially children looked at him. They looked at the flower on his shirt. Most people smiled. The little man smiled happily back.

When evening came, the little man went home smiling. He had dome almost all he set out to do, and he had harvested a lot of smiles.