Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tale, ‘The Traveling Companion’

A young man gives away all the money he has in an act of kindness and finds an equal share in a mysterious fellow traveler.

“Two Guides,” 1877, by Winslow Homer. Oil on canvas. A young man is helped in many ways by a kind fellow traveler in this fairy tale. Clark Art Institute

Everyone’s actions, whether positive or negative, influence the world around them. In his fairy tale, “The Traveling Companion,” Hans Christian Andersen tells how good deeds can impact the world in wonderful ways.

As his father is buried, John remembered how kind his father was and wanted to be like him. He says, “I'll always be good. ... Then I shall go to join my father in heaven.” With this promise in his heart, John takes his meager inheritance and sets out into the world.