Hans Christian Andersen Quotes

Danish writer and poet1805–1875 10 quotes

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish writer of plays, travelogues, novels and poems, best remembered for his literary fairy tales. His 156 stories, collected across nine volumes, have been translated into more than 125 languages and are read by children and adults alike.

His most famous tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Little Mermaid," "The Nightingale," "The Snow Queen," "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Match Girl" and "Thumbelina." His stories have inspired ballets, plays and both animated and live-action films. Alongside The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling, his autobiography The Fairy Tale of My Life is among his most quoted works in our library.
Most quoted works
  • The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography 4
  • The Little Mermaid 2
  • The Ugly Duckling 2
Danish writer and poet

To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote, To travel is to live.

— The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography

Danish writer and poet

But these are small troubles, people will say. Yes, but they are drops which wear hollows in the rock.

— The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography

Danish writer and poet

But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more.

— The Little Mermaid

Danish writer and poet

Never had she danced so beautifully; the sharp knives cut her feet, but she did not feel it, for the pain in her heart was far greater.

— The Little Mermaid

Danish writer and poet

Grant not my prayers, when they are contrary to Thy will, which at all times must be the best. Oh, hear them not;

— The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen

Danish writer and poet

Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.

— The Complete Fairy Tales

Danish writer and poet

Death walks faster than the wind and never returns what he has taken.

— The Story of a Mother

Danish writer and poet

His own image; no longer a dark, gray bird, ugly and disagreeable to look at, but a graceful and beautiful swan. To be born in a duck's nest, in a farmyard, is of no consequence to a bird, if it is hatched from a swan's egg.

— The Ugly Duckling