Passage 3 In Copenhagen, Hans Christian lived in an attic(阁楼) in an old house, where he had a good view of the city. But there was one big fact that he could not see right under his own nose. The play and poetry that he wrote were not very good. Hans Christian made friends with a few kind people. Among them was Jonas Collin of the Royal Theater. This kind man collected funds(资金) from friends to send the young writer to school. Hans fell most ease(安逸) with children. He ate his dinner in turn(依次) at the homes of six friends. In each home the children begged him for stories. Hans told a tale so vividly that you could see and hear toy soldiers marching and toy horses galloping. And he could make the most wonderful papercuts. These are kept today in the Andersen Museum, which is in the house where he was born in Odense. Andersen remained single all his life. The good Collin family—three generations of them—became all the family he was ever to have. They all loved him, but they advised him not to write any more poetry and plays, and to try to get a government job. They talked as he later made the animals talk in his stories: “I tell you this for your own good,” said the Hen to the Ugly Duckling, “you should learn to lay eggs like me.” In The Ugly Duckling Hans Christian told the story of his own life. When his first book of fairy tales was published in 1835, Andersen didn’t think it would be successful, but children read the stories and wanted more. So, encouraged by their interest, he began what we know today as his great work. For 37 years, a new book of Andersen’fairy tales came out each Christmas. The books were full of everyday truth, of wonder, of sad beauty, of humor(幽默). Children and their parents had never read such tales before.At first, who sponsored Hans Christian to go to school?