What the Whole Family Said by Hans Christian Andersen. Short summary

5 seconds

There was a little girl Mania, her brothers 9 and 11, cousins who were young men 17 to 25, and their parents in the family. The godfather, the oldest member of the family, lived in the attic. They said life was good, but in their own way.

1 minute

On Mania’s birthday, a little girl, she was given a lot of nice things. She was dressed in a dress that her grandmother had managed to make before she flew off to God in heaven. Manya rejoiced over the gifts and the fact that many more such birthdays awaited her. Life is the most wonderful of fairy tales,» she decided.

Her brothers held the same view. They loved to read chivalrous novels and dreamed of being pioneers.

That life was a wonderful thing was also known by her cousins, young men of 17, 21, and 25. The young men dreamed of erasing all the old barriers and making the world a better place. They sincerely believed they could do it.

Their parents assumed that the world would remain the same, but their hearts melted when they saw the youthful fervor in their sons’ eyes. Middle-aged people also believed that life was beautiful and wonderful.

And in the attic lived the godfather. He knew a lot about the world, told wonderful stories and read the Bible. He believed that if you carried God in your heart, life would indeed be the most wonderful of fairy tales.