THE DOOR-KEY
EVERY key has its story,and there are many keys;the chamberlain's key,the clock－key,St.Peter's key; we could tell about all the keys,but now we shall only tellabout the chamberlain's door－key.
It came into being at a locksmith's,but it could wellbelieve that it was at a blacksmith's,it was hammered andfiled so much.It was too big for the trousers pocket,so ithad to be carried in the coat pocket.Here it lay for themost part in the dark,but it also had its appointed placeon the wall,by the side of the chamberlain's portrait fromchildhood's days,in which he looked like a force－meatball with a frill on.
They say that every person has in his character andconduct something of the constellation he was born under,the bull,the virgin,or the scorpion,as they are called inthe almanac.The chamberlain's wife named none of these,but said her husband was born under the"sign of thewheelbarrow",because he had always to be shoved for－ward.
His father pushed him into an office,his motherpushed him into marriage,and his wife pushed him up tobe chamberlain,but she did not say so,she was an excel－lent discreet woman,who was silent in the right place,andtalked and pushed in the right place.
Now he was up in years,"well proportioned,"as hesaid himself,a man with education,good humour,and aknowledge of keys as well,something which we shall un-derstand better presently.
He was always in a good humour,every one thoughtmuch of him and liked to talk with him.If he went into thetown,it was difficult to get him home again if mother wasnot with him to push him along.He must talk with everyacquaintance he met.He had many acquaintances,andthe result was bad for the dinner.
His wife watched from the window."Now he iscoming!"said she to the servant,"put on the pot!Nowhe is stopping to talk to some one,so take off the pot,orthe food will be cooked too much!Now he is coming!Yes,put the pot on again!"But he did not come for allthat.
He would stand right under the window and nod upto her,but if an acquaintance came past,then he couldnot help it,he must say a word or two to him;if anotherone came past while he talked with the first,he held thefirst one by the button－hole and seized the other one bythe hand,whilst he shouted to another one who was pass－ing.
It was a trial of patience for his wife."Chamber－lain!Chamberlain!"she shouted then."Yes,the man isborn under the sign of the wheelbarrow,he cannot comeaway unless he is pushed!"
He liked very much to go into the book shops,tolook at the books and papers.He gave the bookseller alittle present,to be allowed to take the new books hometo read—that is to say,to have leave to cut the books upthe long way,but not along the top,because then theycould not be sold as new.He was a living journal of eti－quette,knew everything about engagements,weddings,funerals,literary talk and town gossip;he threw out mys－terious allusions about knowing things which nobodyknew.He got it from the door－key.
As young newly married people the chamberlain andhis wife had lived on their own estate,and from that timethey had the same door－key,but then they did not knowits wonderful power—they only got to know that later on.
It was in the time of Frederick Ⅵ．Copenhagen atthat time had no gas;it had oil lamps;it had no Tivolior Casino,no tramways and no railways.There were notmany amusements compared to what there are now.OnSunday people went out of the town on an excursion to thechurchyard,read the inscriptions on the graves,sat in thegrass and ate and drank,or they went to Fredericksberg,where the band played before the castle,and many peoplewatched the royal family rowing about on the little,narrowcanals where the old king steered the boat,and he and thequeen bowed to all the people without making any distinc－tions.Prosperous families came out there from the town anddrank their evening tea.They could get hot water at apeasant's little house,outside the garden,but they had tobring the other things with them.
The chamberlain's family went there one sunny Sun-day afternoon;the servant went on first with the tea－bas－ket,and a basket with eatables."Take the door－key!"saidthe wife,"so that we can slip in ourselves when we comeback;you know they lock up at dusk,and the bell－wirewas broken yesterday!We shall be late in coming home!After we leave Fredericksberg we shall go to the theatre tosee the pantomime."
And so they went to Fredericksberg,heard the music,saw the royal boat with the waving flag,saw the old king, and the white swans.After they had had a good tea,theyhurried off,but did not come in time to the theatre.
The rope-dance was over and the stilt-dance was pastand the pantomime begun:they were too late,as usual,and it was the chamberlain's fault;every minute he stoodand talked to some acquaintance on the way;in the theatrehe also found good friends,and when the performance wasover,he and his wife must necessarily go in with a family, to enjoy a glass of punch:it would only take about tenminutes,but they dragged on to an hour.They talked andtalked.Particularly entertaining was a Swedish Baron,orwas he a German?The chamberlain did not exactly remem－ber,but on the contrary,the trick he taught him with thekey he remembered for all time.It was extraordinarilyinteresting!he could get the key to answer everything he asked it about,even the most secret things.
The chamberlain's key was peculiarly fitted for this,it was heavy in the wards,and it must hang down.TheBaron let the handle of the key rest on the first finger of his right hand.Loose and easy it hung there,every pulse－ beat in the finger point could set it in motion,so that it turned,and if that did not happen,then the Baron knew how to make it turn as he wished without being noticed.
Every turning was a letter,from A,and as far down the alphabet as one wished.When the first letter was found,the key turned to the opposite side,and then one sought for the next letter,and so one got the whole word, then whole sentences;the answer to the question.It was all fabrication,but always entertaining.That was also the chamberlain's first idea,but he did not stick to it.
"Man!Man!"shouted his wife."The west gate is shut at twelve o'clock!we will not get in,we have only a quarter of an hour." They had to hurry themselves;several people who wished to get into the town went quickly past them.As they approached the last guard－house,the clock struck twelve,and the gate banged to:many people stood shut out,and amongst them the chamberlain and his wife and the girl with the tea-basket.Some stood there in great terror,others in vexation:each took it in his own way.
What was to be done? Fortunately,it had been settled lately that one of the town gates should not be locked,and through the guardhouse there,foot－passengers could slip into the town.
The way was not very short,but the weather was beautiful,the sky clear and starry,frogs croaked in ditch and pond.The party began to sing,one song after anoth－ er,but the chamberlain neither sang nor looked at the stars,nor even at his own feet,so he fell all his length, along by the ditch;one might have thought that he had been drinking too much,but it was not the punch,it was the key,which had gone to his head and was turning about there.
Finally they got to the guard－house,slipped over thebridge and into the town.
"Now I am glad again,"said the wife."Here is ourdoor!" "But where is the door－key?"said the chamberlain. It was neither in the back pocket,nor the side pocket.
"Merciful God!"shouted his wife."Have you not gotthe key?You have lost it with your key-tricks with theBaron.How can we get in now?The bell－wire was brokenyesterday,and the policeman has no key for the house.Weare in despair!"
The servant girl began to sob,the chamberlain wasthe only one who had any self－possession.
"We must break one of the chandler's window－ panes,"said he;"get him up and then slip in." He broke one pane,he broke two."Petersen!"he shouted,and stuck his umbrella handle through the panes;the cellar-man's daughter inside screamed.The cellar-manthrew open the shop door and shouted"Police!"and beforehe had seen the chamberlain's family,recognized and letthem in;the policeman whistled,and in the next street an－other policeman answered with a whistle.People ran to thewindows."Where is the fire?Where is the disturbance?"they asked,and were still asking when the chamberlain wasalready in his room;there he took his coat off,and in itlay the door－key－not in the pocket,but in the lining;ithad slipped down through a hole,which should not havebeen in the pocket.
From that evening the door－key had a particularlygreat significance,not only when they went out in theevening,but when they sat at home,and the chamberlainshowed his cleverness and let the key give answers to ques-tions.He himself thought of the most likely answer,and sohe let the key give it,till at last he believed in it himself;but the apothecary—a young man closely related to thechamberlain—did not believe.The apothecary had a goodcritical head;he had,from his schooldays,written criti-cisms on books and theatres,but without signing his name,that does so much.He was what one calls a wit,but didnot believe in spirits,and least of all in key-spirits.
"Yes,I believe,I believe,"said he,"dear cham-berlain,I believe in the door－key and all key-spirits,asfirmly as I believe in the new science which is beginningto be known,table-turning and spirits in old and new fur-niture.Have you heard about it?I have!I have doubted,you know I am a sceptic,but I have become converted byreading in a quite trustworthy foreign paper,a terriblestory.Can you imagine,chamberlain—I give you the sto－ry as I have it."Two clever children had seen their par－ents waken the spirit in a big dining-table.The little oneswere alone and would now try in the same way to rub lifeinto an old bureau.The life came,the spirit awoke,butit would not tolerate the command of the children;itraised itself,a crash sounded,it shot out its drawers andlaid each of the children in a drawer and ran with themout of the open door,down the stair and into the street,along to the canal,into which it rushed and drowned bothof them.The little ones were buried in Christian ground,but the bureau brought into the council room,triedfor child murder,and burnt alive in the market.
"I have read it!"said the apothecary,"read it in aforeign paper,it is not something that I have inventedmyself.It is,the key take me,true!now I swear a solemn oath!" The chamberlain thought that such a tale was toorude a jest.These two could never talk about the key,the apothecary was stupid on the subject of keys.
The chamberlain made progress in the knowledge ofkeys;the key was his amusement and his hobby.
One evening the chamberlain was just about to go tobed—he stood half undressed,and then he heard aknocking on the door out in the passage;it was the cellar－man who came so late;he also was half undressed,buthe had,he said,suddenly got a thought which he wasafraid he could not keep over the night.
"It is my daughter,Lotte－Lena,I must speak about.She is a pretty girl,and she is confirmed,andnow I would like to see her well placed."
"I am not yet a widower,"said the chamberlain,andsmiled,"and I have no son I can offer her!"
"You understand me,I suppose,Chamberlain,"saidthe cellar-man."She can play the piano,and sing;you might be able to hear her up here in the house.You don'tknow all that that girl can hit upon.She can imitate every-body in speaking and walking.She is made for comedy' and that is a good way for pretty girls of good family'theymight be able to marry a count,but that is not the thoughtwith me or Lotte－Lena.She can sing and she can play pi－ano!so I went with her the other day up to the musicschool.She sang,but she has not the finest kind of voicefor a woman;she has not the canary－shriek in the highestnotes which one demands in lady singers,and so they ad－vised her against that career.Then,I thought,if she can－not be a singer,she can at any rate be an actress,whichonly requires speech.Today I spoke to the instructor,asthey call him.'Has she education?'he asked.'No,'saidI,'absolutely none!''Education is necessary for anartist!'said he.She can get that yet,I thought,and so Iwent home.She can go into a lending library and read whatis there.But as I sat this evening,undressing,it occurredto me,why hire books when one can borrow them?Thechamberlain is full up with books,let her read them;thatis education enough,and she can have that free!"
"Lotte－Lena is a nice girl!"said the chamberlain,"apretty girl!She shall have books for her education.But hasshe that which one calls'go'in her brain－genius?And hasshe,what is of as much importance－luck?"
"She has twice won a prize in the lottery,"said thecellar－man,"once she won a wardrobe,and once six pairsof sheets;I call that luck,and she has that!"
"I will ask the key!"said the chamberlain.And heplaced the key upon his forefinger and on the cellar-man'sforefinger,let it turn itself and give letter by letter.
The key said,"Victory and Fortune!"and so Lotte－Lena's future was settled.
The chamberlain at once gave her two books to read: the play of"Dyveke"and Knigge's"Intercourse withPeople".
From that evening a kind of closer acquaintanceshipbetween Lotte-Lena and the chamberlain's family began.She came up into the family,and the chamberlain thoughtthat she was an intelligent girl;she believed in him andin the key.The chamberlain's wife saw,in the boldnesswith which she every moment showed her great ignorance,something childish and innocent.The couple,each intheir own way,thought much of her,and she of them.
"There is such a nice smell upstairs,"said Lotte－Lena.There was a smell,a scent of apples in the pas-sage,where the wife had laid out a whole barrel of"grey-stone"apples.There was also an incense smell of rosesand lavender through all the rooms.
"It is something lovely,"said Lotte－Lena.Her eyeswere delighted with the many lovely flowers,which thechamberlain's wife always had here;yes,even in winterthe lilac and cherry branches flowered here.The leaflessbranches were cut off and put in water,and in the warmroom they soon bore leaves and flowers.
"One might believe that the bare branches weredead,but,look!how they rise up from the dead."
"That has never occurred to me before,"said Lotte－Lena."Nature is charming!"
And the chamberlain let her see his"Key-book"where he had written the remarkable things the key hadsaid,even about half of an apple cake which had disap-peared from the cupboard just the evening when the ser－vant girl had a visit from her sweetheart.The chamberlainasked his key,"Who has eaten the apple cake—the cator the sweetheart?"and the door－key answered,"Thesweet－heart!"The chamberlain knew it before he asked,and the servant girl confessed:the cursed key kneweverything.
"Yes,is it not remarkable?"said the chamberlain."The key!the key!and about Lotte－Lena it predicted'Victory and Fortune!'—We shall see that yet—I answerfor it!
"That is delightful,"said Lotte－Lena.
The chamberlain's wife was not so confident,but shedid not express her doubt when her husband could hear it, but confided to Lotte－Lena that the chamberlain,when hewas a young man,had been quite given up to the theatre.If any one at that time had pushed him,he would certainlyhave been trained as an actor,but the family pushed theother way.He insisted on going on the stage,and to getthere he wrote a comedy.
"It is a great secret I confide to you,little Lotte－Lena.The comedy was not bad,it was accepted at theRoyal Theatre and hissed off the stage,so that it has neverbeen heard of since,and I am glad of it.I am his wife andknow him.Now,you will go the same way;—I wish youeverything good,but I don't believe it will happen,I donot believe in the key!"
Lotte－Lena believed in it;and the chamberlain agreedwith her.Their hearts understood each other in all virtueand honour.The girl had several abilities which the cham－berlain appreciated.Lotte－Lena knew how to make starchfrom potatoes,to make silk gloves from old silk stockingsand to cover her silk dancing－shoes,although she had hadthe means to buy everything new.She had what the chan－dler called "money in the table-drawer,and bonds in thebank".The chamberlain's wife thought she would make agood wife for the apothecary,but she did not say so anddid not let the key say it either.The apothecary was goingto settle down soon,and have his own business in one ofthe nearest and biggest provincial towns.
Lotte-Lena constantly read the books she had bor－rowed from the chamberlain.She kept them for two years,but by that time she knew by heart all the parts of"Dyveke",but she only wished to appear in one of them,that of Dyveke herself,and not in the capital where therewas so much jealousy,and where they would not have her. She would begin her artistic career(as the chamberlaincalled it)in one of the bigger provincial towns.
Now it was quite miraculous,that it was just thevery same place where the young apothecary had settledhimself as the town's youngest,if not the only,apothe－cary.
The long－looked-for evening came when Lotte－Lenashould make her first appearance and win victory and for－tune,as the key had said.The chamberlain was not
there,he was ill in bed and his wife nursed him;he hadto have warm bandages and chamomile tea;the bandageson the stomach and the tea in the stomach.
The couple were not present themselves at the per－formance of"Dyveke",but the apothecary was there andwrote a letter about it to his relative the chamberlain'swife.
"If the chamberlain's key had been in my pocket,"he wrote,"I would have taken it out and whistled in it;she deserved that,and the door－key deserved it,whichhad so shamefully lied to her with its'Victory and For-tune'."
The chamberlain read the letter.The whole thingwas malice,said he—hatred of the key—which venteditself on the innocent girl.
And as soon as he rose from his bed,and was him－self again,he sent a short but venomous letter to theapothecary,who answered it as if he had not found any-thing but jest and good humour in the whole epistle.
He thanked him for that as for every future,benevo－lent contribution to the publication of the key's incompa-rable worth and importance.Next,he confided to thechamberlain,that he,besides his work as apothecary,was writing a great key romance,in which all the charac－ters were keys;without exception,keys."The door-key"was naturally the leading person,and the chamberlain'sdoor－key was the model for him,endowed with propheticvision and divination.All the other keys must revolveround it;the old chamberlain's key,which knew thesplendor and festivities of the court;the clock－key,little, fine,and elegant,costing three-pence at the iron-mon-ger's;the key of the pulpit,which reckons itself amongthe clergy,and has,by sitting through the night in thekey－hole,seen ghosts.The dining－room,the wood－houseand the wine－cellar keys all appear,curtsy,and revolvearound the door-key.The sunbeams light it up like silver; the wind,the spirit of the universe,rushes in on it,sothat it whistles.It is the key of all keys,it was the cham－berlain's door-key,now it is the key of the gate of Heav-en,it is the Pope's key,it is"infallible".
"Malice,"said the chamberlain,"colossal malice!"
He and the apothecary did not see each other againexcept at the funeral of the chamberlain's wife.
She died first.
There was sorrow and regret in the house.Even thebranches of cherry－tree,which had sent out fresh shootsand flowers,sorrowed and withered;they stood forgotten,she cared for them no more.
The chamberlain and the apothecary followed her cof－fin,side by side,as the two nearest relations;here was notime or inclination for wrangling.
Lotte－Lena sewed the mourning-band round the cham-berlain's hat.She was here in the house,come back longago without victory and fortune in her artistic career.But itwould come;Lotte-Lena had a future.The key had said it,and the chamberlain had said it.
She came up to him.They talked of the dead,andthey wept,Lotte-Lena was tender;they talked of art,andLotte－Lena was strong.
"The theatre life is charming,"said she,"but thereis so much quarrelling and jealousy!I would rather go myown way.First myself,then art!"
Knigge had spoken truly in his chapter about actors;she saw that the key had not spoken truly,but she did notspeak about that to the chamberlain;she thought too muchof him.
The door-key was his comfort and consolation all theyear of mourning.He asked it questions and it gave an－swers.And when the year was ended,and he and Lotte－Lena sat together one evening,he asked the key,
"Shall I marry,and whom shall I marry?"
There was no one to push him,he pushed the key, and it said"Lotte－Lona".So it was said,and Lotte-Lenabecame the chamberlain's wife.
"Victory and Fortune!"These words had been saidbeforehand—by the door－key.
开门的钥匙
每一把钥匙都有自己的故事，而钥匙的种类却是不少：有家臣的钥匙，有开钟的钥匙，有圣彼得大教堂的钥匙。我们可以谈到种种钥匙，不过现在我们只谈谈家臣的那把开门的钥匙。
它是在一个锁匠店里出世的；不过人们在它身上锤和锉得那么厉害，人们可能相信它是一个铁匠的产品。就裤袋说来，它是太大了，因此人们只好把它装在上衣袋里。它在这个袋里经常待在黑暗之中；不过它在墙上也有一个固定的位置；这个位置是在家臣的一张儿时画像的旁边——在这张像里，他的一副样儿倒颇像衬衫皱褶包着的肉丸。
人们说，在某些星宿下出生的人，会在自己的性格和品行中带有这些星宿的某些特点——如历书上所写的金牛宫啦、处女宫啦、天蝎宫啦。家臣的太太没有提起任何这类星宿的名字，而只是说她的丈夫是在“手车星”下面出生的，因为他老是要人向前推几下才能动。
他的父亲把他推到一个办公室里去，他的母亲把他推到结婚的路上去，他的太太把他推到家臣的职位上去——不过最后这件事她不讲出来，因为她是一个非常有分寸的女人：她在适当的场合下沉默，在适当的场合下讲话和向前推进。
现在他的年事渐长了，正如他自己所说的“肥瘦适中”；他是一个有教养、有幽默感的人，对于钥匙，具有丰富的知识——关于钥匙的问题，我们待一会儿就会知道。他老是心情愉快；大家都喜欢他，愿意和他谈话。他上城里去的时候，要不是他的妈妈在后面推着，是很难把他弄回家里来的。他必然会跟他碰到的每一个熟人谈一通，而他的熟人却是多如过江之鲫。这弄得他总是把吃饭的时间耽误了。
家臣太太坐在窗口盼望他。“现在他来了！”她对女佣人说，“快把锅放上！……现在他又停下来了，跟一个什么人在谈话，快把锅拿下来吧，不然菜就煮得太烂了！……现在他来了！
是的，把锅再放上吧！”
不过他还是没有来。
他可以站在窗子下面对她点头，但是只要有一个熟人走过，他就控制不住自己；要跟这人说一两句话。假如他在跟这个人谈话时而又有另一个熟人走过，那么他就抓住这个人的扣子洞，握住那个人的手，而同时大声地对快要经过的第三个熟人打招呼。
对于太太的耐心说来，这真是一个考验。
“家臣！家臣！”她于是就这样喊起来。“是的， 此人是在手车星宿下出生的，不把他推一下，他就走不动！”
他非常喜欢到书店里去，翻翻书和杂志。
他送给书商一些小礼物，为的是要得到许可把新书借回家里来看——这就是说，得到许可把书的直边裁开，而不是把书的顶上横边裁开， 因为如果这样做，就不能当做新书出卖了。他是一本活的礼仪规范杂志：他知道一切关于订婚、结婚、入葬、书本子上的闲话和街头巷尾的闲话等事情。许多人们所不知道的东西，他能做出神秘的暗示叫人知道。这一套本领他是从开门钥匙那里得来的。
家臣和他的太太从还是一对年轻的新婚夫妇的时候起，就住在自己的公馆里。那时，他们就有了这把钥匙，不过那时他们不知道它出奇的能力——他们只是后来才知道的。
那是在国王腓特烈六世统治的时代。哥本哈根在那时还没有煤气。那时还只用油灯，还没有提佛里或者卡新诺；还没有电车，没有铁路。比起现在来，娱乐的地方并没有多少。星期天，人们只是走出城外，到“互助教堂”去游览，读坟上刻的字，坐在草地上，吃装在篮子里的东西，喝点烧酒；不然就到佛列得里克斯堡公园去，这儿有一个乐队在宫殿面前奏乐。许多人到这儿来专门看皇室的人在那又小又狭窄的运河上划船。老国王在船上掌舵；他和皇后对众人不分等级上下，一律点头。有钱的人家特别从城里到这里来吃晚茶。他们可以从花园外面的农舍里得到开水，至于其他东西，他们就得自己准备了。
家臣的一家人在一个阳光很好的星期天下午也到这儿来。他们的女佣人提着茶壶和一篮子食物［及“一滴斯本得路普浓酒”］走在前面。
“把开门钥匙带着吧！”太太说，“好叫我们回来时可以进来。你知道，他们天一擦黑就把门锁上了，而门铃绳子昨天又断了！……我们要很晚才回家！而且游了佛列得里克斯堡以后，还要到西桥的加索蒂戏院去看哑剧［《收获人的头目哈列金》；他们从云块上降下来；每张票价是两个马克。”］这样，他们就到佛列得里克斯堡去，听了音乐，看了飘着国旗的御船，瞧见了老国王和雪白的天鹅。他们痛痛快快地吃了一顿茶点以后就匆匆地走了，但是到戏院里仍然没有按时。
踩绳这个节目已经完了，高跷舞也告一结束，哑剧早已开始；他们照例是迟到了；这应该怪这位家臣。他在路上每分钟要停一下，跟某个熟人谈几句，在戏院里他又碰见很多好朋友。等这个节目演完以后，他和他的太太又非得陪一家熟人回到西桥的家里去喝一杯潘趣酒不可；本来这只须10分钟就可以喝完的，但是他们却拉长到一个钟头。他们简直谈不完。特别有趣的是瑞典的一位男爵——也可能是一位德国的男爵吧？这位家臣记不太清楚。可是相反，这位男爵教给他的关于钥匙的花样，他却一直记得清清楚楚。这真是了不起！他可以叫钥匙回答他的一切问题，甚至最秘密的事情。
家臣的钥匙特别适合于这个目的。它的头特别沉重，所以非倒悬着不可。男爵把钥匙的把手放在右手的食指上。它轻松愉快地悬在那儿；他指尖上每一次脉搏的跳动都可以使它动，使它摆，如果它不动，男爵就知道怎样叫它按照他的意志转，而不被人察觉。每一次转动代表一个字母，从A开始，直到我们所希望的任何字母。第一个字母出现以后，钥匙就朝相反的方向转，于是我们就可以找下一个字母。这样我们就可以得出整个字，整个句，整个问题的答案。这完全是虚构的，但是有趣。这位家臣最初的看法也是这样，但是他没有坚持下去。［他被钥匙迷住了。］“先生！先生！”他的太太喊起来。“西城门在12点钟就要关呀！我们进不去了，现在只剩下一刻钟了。”
他们得赶快。有好几位想回到城里去的人匆匆在他们身旁走过。当他们快要走近最后一个哨所的时候，钟正在敲12下，门于是就砰的一声关上了。一大堆人被关在外面，包括这对家臣夫妇和那位提着茶壶和一个空篮子的女佣人。有的人站在那儿感到万分惶恐，有的人感到非常烦恼。每个人的心情都不同。究竟怎么办呢？
很幸运的是：最近曾经决定过，有一个城门——北门——不关，步行的人可以通过那儿的哨所钻进城里去。
这一段路可不很短，不过天气非常可爱；天空是清净无尘，布满了星星；水沟和池塘里是一片蛙声。这一行人士开始唱起歌来——一个接着一个地唱。不过这位家臣既不唱歌，也不看星星，甚至还不看自己的腿。因此他就一个倒栽葱，在水沟旁跌了一交，人们可能以为他的酒喝得太多了一点；不过钻到他脑袋里去，在那儿打转的东西倒不是潘趣酒，而是那个钥匙。
最后他们来到了北门的哨所，走过桥，进入城里去。
“我现在算是放心了！”太太说。“到了我们的门口了！”
“但是开门的钥匙在什么地方呢？”家臣问。它既不在后边的衣袋里，也不在侧边的衣袋里。
“我的天！”他的太太喊着。“你把钥匙丢掉了吗？你一定是在跟那位男爵玩钥匙花样时遗失了的。我们现在怎样进去呢？门铃绳子昨天断了，更夫又没有开我们房子的钥匙。这简直叫我们走投无路！”
女佣人开始呜咽地哭起来。只有这位家臣是唯一能保持镇静的人。
“我们得把那个杂货商人的窗玻璃打破！”他说；“把他喊起来，然后走进去。”
他打破了一块玻璃，接着又打破了两块。“比得生！”他喊着；同时把阳伞的把手伸进窗子里去。地下室的人的女儿在里面尖叫起来。这人把店门打开，大声喊：“更夫！”但是他一看到家臣一家人，马上就认出来了，让他们进来。更夫吹着哨子；附近街上的另一个更夫也用哨子来回答。许多人都挤到窗子这边来。
“什么地方火烧起来了？什么地方出了乱子？”大家都问。等这位家臣回到了他的房间里去，他们还在问。他把上衣脱掉……他的钥匙恰恰就在那里面——不在衣袋里，却在衬布里。原来它从衣袋里不应该有的一个洞溜到那儿去了。
从那天晚上开始，钥匙就有了一种特殊的巨大意义，不仅是他们晚上出去的时候，就是他们坐在家里的时候都是如此。这家臣表现出他的聪明，让钥匙来回答一切问题。他自己想出最可能的答案，而却让钥匙讲出来，直到后来他自己也把答案信以为真了。不过一个药剂师——他是和家臣太太有亲戚关系的一个年轻人——不相信这一套。
药剂师有一个聪明的头脑；他从学生时代起就写过书评和剧评，但是他从来没有署过自己的名字——这是一件重要的事情。他是我们所谓的有精力的人，可是他不相信精灵，也不相信钥匙精。
“是的，我相信，我相信，”他说，“亲爱的家臣，我相信钥匙和一切钥匙精，正如我相信现在开始为大家所明了的新科学：灵动术和新旧家具的精灵。你听到人们说过没有？我听到过！我曾经怀疑过。你知道，我是一个怀疑论者，但是我在一个相当可信的外国杂志上读到一个可怕的故事——而我被说服了。家臣，你能想象得到吗？我把我所知道的这个故事讲给你听吧。
“两个聪明的孩子看到过他们的父母把一张大餐桌的精灵叫醒。当这两个小家伙单独在房间里的时候，他们想用同样的方法把一个柜子叫醒。它有了生命了，它的精灵醒了，但是它却不理两个孩子的命令。它自己立起来，发出一个破裂声，把抽屉都倒出来了，接着用它的两只木腿把这两个孩子各抱进一个抽屉里去。柜子装着他们跑出敞开的门，跑下楼梯，跑到街上，一直冲到运河里去，把两个孩子都淹死了。这两具小尸体被埋在基督徒的坟地里，但是柜子却被带到市府的会议厅里去，作为孩子的谋杀犯而判处死刑，在市场上活活地烧死了。
“我读到过这个故事！”药剂师说，“在一本外国杂志上读到过，这并不是我自己捏造的。凭这把钥匙作证，这是真事！我庄严地发誓！”
家臣认为这类故事简直是一种粗暴的玩笑。关于钥匙的事儿，两个人永远谈不到一起；在钥匙问题上，药剂师完全是一个糊涂虫。
对于钥匙的知识，家臣不断地获得进步。钥匙成了他的娱乐和智慧的源泉。
有一天晚上，家臣上床去睡觉；当他把衣服脱了一半的时候，忽然听到走廊上有人敲门。这是那个杂货商人。他的来访真是迟了。他的衣服也脱了一半，不过他说他忽然想起了一件事情，只怕过了一夜就会忘记。
“我所要说的是关于我的女儿洛特·伦的事情。她是一个美丽的女孩子，她已经受了坚信礼，现在我想把她好好地安顿一下。”
“我的太太还没有死呀，”家臣说，同时微笑了一下，“而我又没有儿子可以介绍给她。”
“我想您懂得我的意思，家臣！”杂货商人说。“她能弹钢琴，也能唱歌。您也许在这屋子的楼上听到过。您不知道这个女孩能做些什么事情。她能够模仿各种人说话和走路的样子。她是一个天生的演员，这对于出身良家的女孩子是一条好出路。她们可能嫁给伯爵，不过这并不是我，或者洛特·伦的想法。她能唱歌，能弹钢琴！所以前天我陪她一起到声乐学校去过一次。她唱了一下，但是她缺乏那种女子所必须有的浊音，也没有人们对于一个女歌唱家所要求的那种金丝鸟般的最高的尖嗓子。因此他们都建议她别干那一行。后来我想，如果她不能成为一个歌唱家，她无论如何可以成为一个演员——一个演员只要能背台词就行。今天我跟教师——人们这样叫他——谈过话。‘她的书读得多吗？’他问。‘不多’，我说。‘什么也没有读过！’他说：‘多读书对于一个艺术家是必要的！’我想这件事还不难办；所以我就回到家里来。我想，她可以到一个租阅图书馆去，读那里所有的书。不过，今天晚上当我坐着正在脱衣服的时候，我忽然想起：当我想要借书的时候，为什么要去租书呢？家臣有的是书，让她去读吧。她读也读不完，而且她一文不花就能读到。”
“洛特·伦是一个可爱的女子！”家臣说，“一个漂亮的女子！她应该有书读。不过她脑子里有没有人们所谓的‘精气’——即天才——呢？更重要的是：她有没有——福气呢？”
“她中过两次彩票，”杂货商人说。“有一次她抽到一个衣柜，另一次抽到六条床单。我把这叫做幸运，而她是有这种幸运的！”
“我要问问钥匙看，”家臣说。他把钥匙放在右手的食指上和商人的食指上，让它转动起来，接二连三地标出一系列的字母。
钥匙说：“胜利和幸运！”所以洛特·伦的未来就这么确定了。
家臣立刻给她两本书读：
关于“杜威克”的剧本和克尼格的《处世与交友》。
从这天晚上开始，洛特·伦和家臣家庭间的一种亲密的关系就开始了。她常来拜访这家；
家臣认为她是一个聪明的女子。她也相信他和钥匙。家臣太太从她时时刻刻在不知不觉中所表现出来的无知中，发现了她有某种孩子气和天真。这对夫妇，每人根据自己的一套看法来喜爱她，而她也是一样地喜爱他们。
“楼上有一阵非常好闻的香气，”洛特·伦说。
走廊上飘着一种香味，一种芬芳的气味，一种苹果的香味——家臣太太曾经在走廊上放了整整一桶“格洛斯登苹果”，所有的房间里也飘着一种喷香的玫瑰花和薰衣草的气味。
“这真是可爱！”洛特·伦说。
家臣太太经常在这儿陈设着许多美丽的花儿，洛特·伦真是把眼睛都看花了。是的，甚至在冬天，这儿都有紫丁香和樱桃的枝子在开着花。插在水里的这些枝子，在温暖的房间里，很快地就冒出叶，开出花来。
“人们可能以为这些光赤的枝子已经没有生命了。可是，请看它们怎样起死回生吧。”
“我以前从来没有看见过这样的东西，”洛特·伦说。“大自然真是美妙！”
于是家臣就让她看看他的“钥匙书”。这书里记载着钥匙所讲过的一切奇异的事情——甚至一天晚上，当他的女佣人的爱人来看她时，橱柜里的半块苹果饼不见了的这类事情也被记载下来了。
家臣问他的钥匙：“谁吃了那块苹果饼——
猫儿呢，还是她的爱人？”钥匙回答说：“她的爱人！”家臣在没有问它以前心里早就有数了。女佣人只得承认：这该死的钥匙什么都知道！
“是的，这不是很稀奇吗？”家臣说。“钥匙！
钥匙！
它对洛特·伦作了这样的预言：‘胜利和幸运！’——我们将会看到它实现的——我敢负责！”
“那真是好极了，”洛特·伦说。
家臣太太并不轻易相信这种话，但是她不当面表示怀疑，因为她怕丈夫听见。不过后来她告诉洛特·伦说，家臣在年轻的时候曾经是一个戏迷。如果那时有人推他一把，他一定可以成为一个演员；不过他的家庭把他推到另一方面去了。他曾经坚持要进入戏剧界；为了达到这个目的，他曾经写过一部戏。
“亲爱的洛特·伦，这是我告诉你的一件大秘密。那个戏写得并不坏，皇家剧院接受了它，但是它却被观众嘘下了台。因此后来就没有人提起过它了。这种结果倒使我感到很高兴。我是他的太太，我了解他。嗯，你将要走同样的道路——我希望你万事如意，不过我不相信这会成为事实——我不相信钥匙！”
洛特·伦相信它；在这个信仰上，她和家臣的看法一致。他们是诚心诚意地心心相印。
这位小姐有好几种才能，家臣非常欣赏。洛特·化知道怎样用土豆做出淀粉来，怎样用旧丝袜子织出丝手套，怎样把舞鞋上的绸面子补上——虽然她有钱买新衣服。她像那个杂货商人所说的，“抽屉里有的是银元，钱柜里有的是股票。”家臣太太认为她可以成为那个药剂师的理想的妻子，但是她没有说出口来，也没有让那个钥匙讲出来，药剂师不久就要成家了，而且自己在离这儿最近的一个大城镇里开了药店。
洛特·伦经常读着《杜威克》和克尼格的《处世与交友》。她把这些书保留了两年，其中《杜威克》这本书她记得烂熟；她记得里面所有的人物，不过她只希望成为其中之一——杜威克这个角色——同时她不愿在京城里演出，因为那里的人都非常嫉妒，而且也都不欢迎她演出。照家臣的说法，她倒很想在一个较大的乡镇里开始她的艺术事业呢。
这也真是神奇：那个年轻的药剂师就正是在这个乡镇里开业了——如果说他不是这城里唯一的一个年轻的药剂师，却是一个最年轻的药剂师。
那个等待了很久的伟大的一晚终于到来了。洛特·伦要登台了，正如钥匙所说的，要获得胜利和财富了。家臣不在这儿；他病倒在床上，他的太太在看护他。他得用温暖的绷带，喝甘菊茶；他肚子外面是绷带，他肚子里面是茶。
《杜威克》演出的时候，这对夫妇不在场；不过药剂师却在那儿。他把这次演出的情形写了一封信给他的亲戚——家臣太太。
［“最像个样子的是杜威克的绉领！”］他写道，“假如家臣的钥匙在我的衣袋里的话，我一定要把它取出来，嘘它几下；她应受这种待遇，开门的钥匙也应受这种待遇——因为它曾经那么无耻地用什么‘胜利和幸运’这类话儿来骗她。”
家臣读了这封信。他说这是一种恶意诽谤——对钥匙的仇恨——而同时却把这仇恨发泄在这个天真女子的身上。
他一能够起床，恢复了健康以后，就马上写了一封简短而恶毒的信给那个药剂师。药剂师也回了一封，其语调好像他在家臣的信里没有读到什么，只看到了玩笑和幽默的话似的。
他感谢他那封信，正如他要感谢家臣以后每次替钥匙的无比价值和重要性所作的宣传一样。接着，他告诉家臣说，他除了做药剂师的工作外，还正在写一部伟大的钥匙传奇。在这部书里，所有的人物毫无例外地都是钥匙。“开门钥匙”当然是里面的主人公，而家臣的开门钥匙就是他的模特儿，具有未卜先知的特性。一切其他的钥匙都围绕着它发展：如那个知道宫廷的豪华和喜庆场面的老家臣的钥匙啦；那个细小、精致、华丽、在铁匠店里值三个铜板的开钟的钥匙啦；那个经常跟牧师打交道的，因为有一夜呆在钥匙孔里而曾经看到过鬼的讲道坛的钥匙啦。储藏室的、柴草房的、酒窖的钥匙都出了场，都在敬礼，并且在开门钥匙的周围活动着。阳光把开门钥匙照得像银子一样亮；风——宇宙的精气——吹进它的身体，使它发出哨子声。它是钥匙王，它是家臣的开门钥匙，现在它是开天国之门的钥匙，它是教皇的钥匙，它是‘永远不会错’的！
“恶意！”家臣说，“骇人的恶意！”
他和药剂师不见面了……是的，只有在家臣的太太安葬时他们才碰头。
她先死了。
屋子里充满了悲哀和惋惜之情。甚至那些开了花、冒了芽的樱桃枝子也由于悲哀而萎谢了。它们被人遗忘了，因为她不能再照料它们。
家臣和药剂师，作为最亲近的亲属，在棺材后面并排地走着。现在他们没有时间，也没有心情来吵嘴了。
洛特·伦在家臣的帽子上围了一条黑纱。她早就回到这儿来了，并没有从她的艺术事业中得到胜利和幸运。不过将来她可能得到胜利和幸运的。洛特·伦有她的前途。钥匙曾经这样说过，家臣也这样说过。
她来看他。他们谈起死者，他们哭起来；洛特·伦是一个软心肠的人。他们谈到艺术；洛特·伦是坚定的。
“舞台生活真是可爱得很！”她说，“可是无聊和嫉妒的事儿也真够多！我宁愿走我自己的道路。先解决我自己的问题，然后再谈艺术！”
克尼格曾经在他关于演员的一章书里说过真话；她知道钥匙并没有说真话，但是她不愿意在家臣面前揭穿它；她太喜欢他了。
在他居丧的这一年中，开门钥匙是他唯一的慰藉。他问它许多问题，它都一一作出回答。这一年完结了以后，有一天晚上他和洛特·伦情意绵绵地坐在一起。他问钥匙：
“我会结婚吗？我会和谁结婚？”
现在没有谁来推他；所以他就只好推这钥匙。它说：“跟洛特·伦。”
话既然是这么说了，洛特·伦也就成了家臣的太太。
“胜利和幸运！”这句话以前已经说过—
是开门的钥匙说的。
这篇作品最初发表在1872年哥本哈根出版的《新的童话和故事集》第3卷第2部。关于这篇故事安徒生写道：“没有多少年以前，由桌子产生的灵动术，在哥本哈根的社交生活中扮演着一定的角色。有许多人相信它。甚至某些有头脑和在精神界有一定地位的人也相信，桌子和一些其他的家具都具有灵性，可以与一切精灵交流。我在德国拜访住在一个大庄园里的几位知识界的人士时，结识了一个‘钥匙精’——一只能预卜吉凶祸福的钥匙。许多人都相信它。”安徒生又写道：“那个杂货商人对家臣的拜访以及洛特·伦的艺术生涯都在现实生活中确有其人。”