the snow queen

 

 

Tale by Hans Christian Andersen

Translation by Ruth Salles

First story, which talks about the mirror and the shards

One day, the devil was in a very good mood, for he had made a formidable mirror. Everything good and beautiful that was reflected in him was shrinking until there was almost nothing left; and what was worthless grew worse and greater.

Nature's most beautiful landscapes looked like boiled spinach, and the best people were really disgusting. If anyone had a single freckle, he could be sure that in the mirror they seemed to cover his entire nose and mouth. If you looked in the mirror with a good thought, you would immediately see a bad smile reflected in it. The devil was overjoyed! Those who attended his school of magic – for he had such a school – spread the news of the great miracle. Only now was it possible to know the true appearance of the world and of men. The devil ran around with the mirror, and in the end there was no country or person left that had not been deformed by him.

The evil spirits then wanted to fly to heaven, to have fun at the expense of the angels and the good God. The higher they climbed, the more mocking laughter the mirror gave. The evil spirits could hardly hold him. And they were flying higher and higher, closer and closer to God and the angels. But the mirror, from laughing so hard, began to shake horribly. Then it slipped from the hands that held it and fell to the earth, where it broke into hundreds and hundreds of millions of pieces. It was precisely there that he caused even greater misfortunes. Small pieces the size of grains of sand flew off and scattered all over the world. If one of them got into someone's eye, it stayed there, and that person saw everything deformed, or only saw defects in everything; for each speck possessed the same power as the whole mirror.

In some people, shards were lodged in the heart, and that was the worst; the heart became like a stone of ice. A lot of shards got into glasses, and it was very difficult for someone who wore those glasses to see things as they deserved to be seen.

The bad guys almost burst their stomachs with laughter, and they thought it was great. Meanwhile, the shards of glass continued to fly around the world. And then… look what happened!

 

Second story, which tells of a boy and a girl

In a big city, there lived two poor children. They weren't sisters, but they liked each other so much, it was as if they were. His parents lived in two small attics facing each other.

In front of the windows, wooden boxes had been placed, in which the most beautiful roses grew. As the boxes were so tall, the children were allowed to go out the window and sit by the rosebushes. And there they played happily.

In winter, the game was over. The windows were often covered in ice. But the children would then heat copper coins on the stove and press them against their windowpanes. With that, the ice melted in those places, and through one of the little circles I could see Kay's eye, and Gerda's eye through the other. In the summer, the kids just jumped up, they were together, but in the winter they had to go up and down a lot of stairs, and outside the snow was falling.

“Snow falling in flakes is like a swarm of white bees,” Grandma said.

– Do these white bees also have a queen? asked little Kay.

- Yes he has! – replied the grandmother – The queen flies where the swarm of snow is densest! On some winter nights, she floats through the city streets and peers through window panes, taking strange shapes that look like flowers.

– Can the snow queen come in here? asked Gerda.

- Let her come - said the boy - just put it on the stove, and it will melt.

In the evening, when little Kay came home, he climbed into a chair by the window and looked through the little circle. Outside, some snowflakes were falling; one of them, the biggest of them all, landed on the edge of one of the flower boxes and grew and grew until she became a beautiful woman. Her dress was made of millions of star-shaped snowflakes. Looking through the windowpane, she nodded and waved her hand. Kay, startled, jumped out of his chair and thought he saw a large bird flying outside the window. The next day, the ice had melted. The plants began to sprout again, and summer arrived. The roses bloomed more beautifully than ever, and little Gerda began to sing:

“Roses are dressed in color and light!
And we are going to see Baby Jesus!”

The two stood there contentedly, holding hands. Suddenly Kay exclaimed:

– Wow! Something pricked my heart. And now something has entered my eye!

Frightened, Gerda wanted to help him, but he said:

– I don't feel anything anymore. I think it came out!

Only it didn't come out. It was one of the specks of glass in the magic mirror. In an instant, Kay's heart felt like a stone of ice.

- Do not Cry! - He exclaimed angrily - So you look ugly. I'm not feeling anything! And that rose over there was gnawed by some worm, and the other one is crooked. Frankly, these roses are horrible!
And he kicked the boxes and plucked the roses.

Days passed, weeks passed, and Kay became more and more changed. She no longer wanted to play with little Gerda and even made fun of her, who was such a friend of hers. One winter day he appeared with his sled and exclaimed:

– I'm going to the square, where the other boys play!

And it was.

It was so much fun out there in the square. The bravest boys would tie their sled to some peasant's cart and let themselves be pulled for a long time. Suddenly, a large sled appeared, and inside was someone wrapped in a white woolen fur. This sleigh circled the square twice. Kay soon managed to tie her little sled onto it and off she went. At the same moment, the big sleigh turned into a nearby street and then out through the city gates. The snow began to fall hard. Kay tried to release her sled, but nothing came of it. Then he shouted aloud, but the big sled was flying at the highest speed. It finally stopped, and the person driving it stood up. She was a tall, elegant woman of gleaming whiteness: the Snow Queen.

– We travel a lot! - She said, sitting the boy next to her and wrapping him in her fur coat.

– Are you still very cold? she asked and then gave him a kiss on the forehead.

Oh, that kiss was colder than ice and it reached her heart, which by the way was already half turned into a stone of ice. The Snow Queen gave her another kiss, and Kay then forgot about Gerda, her grandmother, and everyone else in her household. The big sled went flying over forests and lakes, over lands and seas; below, the icy wind whistled, and above the moon shone, big and clear, and it was from there that Kay watched the long winter night pass. By day, he slept at the Snow Queen's feet.

 

Third story. The garden of the woman understood in magic.

Kay didn't come home, and Gerda cried all winter. Everyone said he had died, surely drowned in the river.

When spring came, Gerda said:

- Kay died.

- I do not believe this! replied the sunlight.

– He left and died! – said Gerda to the swallows.

– We don't believe it! – they replied.

And Gerda ended up not believing it either.

One fine morning she said:

“I'm going to put on my new red shoes and I'm going to ask the river where Kay is.

Then she kissed her grandmother, went alone to the water's edge and asked:

– Is it true that you took away the friend I played with? Look, I give you my little red shoes, and you give me back Kay!

And so Gerda took off her shoes and threw them into the river, but the waves brought the shoes back to the shore. Gerda thought she had played too close, so she climbed into a boat that was stranded among the reeds. He went to the end and, right from the edge, threw his shoes back into the water. But with the jolt, the boat broke free and drifted downstream. Little Gerda got really scared and started screaming and crying, but nobody heard it except the sparrows. And off the boat went down the river…

“Maybe the river will take me to Kay,” the girl said a little later, and that made her happier.
Then he came to a large cherry orchard and saw a little house there with strange red and blue windows. The roof was thatched, and standing in front of the house were two wooden soldiers saluting everyone who passed by. Gerda called out to them and waved her hand, and at last an old woman leaning on a cane came out of the house.

- Poor child! – She exclaimed – How did you end up in this river with such strong current?
And the old woman came to the water's edge and pulled the boat ashore with her cane.
Gerda was quite glad to be back on solid ground, though she was a little afraid of this stranger. The old woman then said:

- Come and tell me who you are and how you got to my house!

Gerda told everything. The old woman, however, shook her head and said that she had not seen little Kay. And added:

– Who knows, he might still be here! Do not be sad. Taste these cherries and enjoy my flowers.

While Gerda ate, the old woman combed her hair with a golden comb, and with that Gerda forgot about her friend Kay. The old woman knew about magic, but she wasn't a bad person. He just wanted to take Gerda's memory away so she could be with him. So he also went into the garden and touched the roses with his cane. Immediately, they all plunged into the dark earth. The old woman was afraid that Gerda, seeing those roses, would think of the ones that grew in her own house and remember little Kay. She might then want to run away. So Gerda spent days and days in the wonderful garden. Once, however, Gerda noticed that the old woman's bonnet had a rose painted on it. Leaping among the beds, she searched and searched, but found no roses and began to cry. Her tears fell right where a rosebush had sunk into the earth. That rose bush has sprouted again, as beautiful as it was before. Gerda kissed the roses, thinking about the roses in her house, and then she thought of little Kay again.

– Where is Kay? Did he die? she asked.

– No – replied the roses – We were inside the earth; all the dead pass by, but we didn't see Kay.

Gerda then opened the garden gate and ran out barefoot. Outside, it was already autumn. She hadn't even noticed it when she was inside the magic garden.

 

Fourth Story. The prince and the princess.

The world was gray and cold, and Gerda had to stop to rest because her feet were sore. At that moment, a crow landed in the snow, right in front of her, wanting to know what she was doing there alone. Gerda then told his sad story and asked if he had seen Kay.

The crow shook his head thoughtfully and said:

– I may have seen it! It might be…

– Oh, do you really think so? - exclaimed the girl, and almost suffocated the crow with her kisses.

- Calm! Calm! - protested the crow - I think I know him, at least I think. But surely he's already forgotten about you, because of the princess.

– Does he live in a princess' house? asked Gerda.

- Yes, he does. In this kingdom where we are, lives a princess of great intelligence. She read all the books in the world and forgot what she read again, she is so smart. Finally, he decided to get married. But the groom must not only look elegant and noble; above all, he had to know how to converse like an intelligent person. When the whole country heard the news, suitors rushed to the palace in droves. While they waited outside in the street, they all knew how to speak well, but as soon as they saw themselves in front of the princess's throne, they were confused and could not say a word.

– And what does that have to do with Kay? – asked the girl impatiently – Did he go there too?

- Hang on! Hang on! On the third day, a young man arrived, without horse or carriage, walking happily towards the castle. His eyes were bright, he had beautiful long hair, but he was poorly dressed.

- That could only be Kay! exclaimed Gerda, all happy.

“He had a small backpack on his back,” added the crow.

– No, it was definitely your sled! - explained Gerda.

- It's quite possible - agreed the crow - I didn't look very carefully. But the result is that the boy, when he spoke, showed so much animation and intelligence, that the princess chose him for her husband.

'It was Kay, I have no doubt about it,' said Gerda, 'he was always smart. Oh, help me into the castle!

With the greatest goodwill, the crow did as the girl asked. He went to the castle to get a female crow who was his bride, and who was also tame, to help them. Through a secret staircase at the back, the two led Gerda to the princess's chambers. In the middle were two beds that looked like lilies hanging from thick rods. One was white, the other red. On the white one, the princess was lying; in the red one, little Gerda saw the back of her head.

– Kay! She called out loudly.

But it wasn't Kay; was a young prince. Gerda then wept in grief and told her sad story to the prince and princess.

- Poor child! - Said the two, and the prince left the room and let the girl sleep in his bed.

The next day, Gerda was given beautiful new clothes, a golden carriage, with horses, a coachman, and another servant. So she was on her way, again looking for her friend Kay.

 

Fifth Story. The Robbers' Daughter.

On the way, a dark wood appeared through which the carriage entered. She shone like gold, and that caught the attention of the thieves. These jumped onto the road, held the horses, killed the coachman and servant, pulled little Gerda out and took her away.

- You're chubby! It must have been fed with nuts,” said the old thief, “and it looks very appetizing to me!

But the daughter of the robbers soon protested:

- She's meant to play with me! You'll have to give me your pretty clothes and your muff and sleep with me in my bed!

And he screamed and insisted so much that his will was done. And so the robbers' daughter embraced little Gerda and said:

“No one has orders to kill you until I get mad at you. Are you some princess?

“No,” Gerda said, and told her everything that had happened to her and how much she liked Kay.

The robbers' daughter shook her head and said, very seriously:

“Oh, they won't be able to kill you even if you make me angry.

Afterwards, she took Gerda to a corner where there was straw and rugs. More than a hundred doves were perched on wooden slats. Two wild doves were, however, trapped in a cage, and a reindeer was tied to a stake, which had a polished copper ring around its neck.

- All these animals are mine - said the girl - but tell me again the story of little Kay.

And Gerda told. It didn't take long, and the robbers' daughter fell asleep. Poor Gerda, however, could not sleep, for fear of the robbers, who were outside around the fire.
At this, the doves of the bush said:

– Gru! Gru! We saw Kay. A white hen was carrying his sled, and he was sitting on the Snow Queen's sleigh, which flew over the treetops.

– What are you saying? – asked Gerda, brightening up – Where did the Snow Queen go?

“Perhaps to Lapland,” replied the reindeer, “for that is where she spends her summer; his castle is at the north pole.

In the morning, Gerda told the robbers' daughter what had happened, and the girl, after some thought, said:

– All the men left. Only the mother is at home, but around noon she sleeps a little. At that time, I will do something for you.

No sooner said than done. The robbers' daughter talked a lot with the reindeer. Then he turned to Gerda and explained:

– My reindeer will take you to Lapland, she knows the way; but I'll take your muff, which is very cute. In exchange, you get my mother's gloves. Also take these two buns with ham.

Gerda thanked the girl, mounted the reindeer, and off they went over hills and valleys, through forests, swamps and villages, until they reached Lapland.

 

Sixth Story. The Lapland Woman and the Finnmark Woman

They stopped beside a very poor little house. Inside it was an old Lapland woman cooking fish by the light of an oil lamp.

The reindeer then told Gerda's sad story.

- Ah, poor things - said the Lapland - you will travel for a long time yet. You'll have to walk over a hundred miles across Finnmark land to get to where the Snow Queen lives. I don't have any paper, but I'll write a few words on some dried cod, for you to give to the wife of Finnmark. She'll be able to explain the way better than I can.

Gerda warmed herself in the heat of the poor little house and, after drinking water and eating a lot, she tied the cod to the reindeer, thanked the old Lapland woman and continued on her way. The two traveled high through the air, and the entire night shone the wonderful aurora borealis. Then they arrived in Finnmark and knocked on the chimney of the Finnish woman who lived there, for the house had no door.

The finesse, who was short and dirty, made them both go in and read what was written on the dried cod. He read it three times, until he had memorized it, and then he put the cod in the pan, as he never wasted anything. The reindeer then told the story of little Gerda; The Finese blinked her shrewd little eyes, but didn't say a word.

- You, who are so intelligent - asked the reindeer - don't you want to give little Gerda the strength of twelve men, so that she can dominate the Snow Queen?

The finesse, without saying anything, took a large rolled skin and unrolled it. On it were written some strange letters. The reindeer asked again, and Gerda, too, looked at the Finn with eyes so pleading that she began to blink and, pulling the reindeer into a corner, whispered in her ear:

– Little Kay really is with the Snow Queen. There he has everything he wants, and he thinks it is the best place in the world. This is because he has a speck of glass in his heart and also a speck of glass in his eye. First, the shard and speck must come out, so he can be a man again and rid himself of the Snow Queen's power. I can't give Gerda more power than she already has. Don't you realize your strength? Men and animals serve her! This is the strength that comes from a pure heart. If she can't get the bottle out of little Kay, we're not the ones who can help. Two miles from here begins the Snow Queen's garden. You can take Gerda there. Leave it by a big bush that has red berries and come back immediately!

So saying, the fine lady mounted little Gerda on the reindeer, who ran as fast as she could.

– Oh, I ran out of my boots! And I ran out of my gloves! exclaimed little Gerda.

But the reindeer did not dare to stop. He ran to the big red berry bush, left Gerda there, and ran back as fast as he could.

And poor Gerda, without boots and gloves, was left in that terrible cold of Finnmark land. She advanced through the garden. At that, a platoon of snowflakes came towards him, which were the Snow Queen's advance guard. They grew bigger and scarier, looking like hedgehogs or enchanted birds or dreadful spirits with claws.

Little Gerda didn't know what else to do and so, faced with that danger, she began to pray. It was so cold, she could see her own breath coming out of her mouth like smoke. This breath became more and more compact and took the form of little angels, and the angels grew as soon as they touched the earth.

They advanced with their spears against the terrible snowflakes, which broke into a thousand pieces. Faced with this, little Gerda mustered up the courage and became more confident to keep walking. The angels stroked her hands and feet, and she felt less cold. He then ran to the Snow Queen's castle.

And Kay? What would you be doing? In fact, he didn't even think about Gerda nor did he know she was coming to the castle.

 

Seventh Story. About the Snow Queen's Castle – and what happened next.

The castle walls were made of falling snow, and the windows and doors were hollowed out by the biting wind. Inside were over a hundred halls, the largest of which stretched for many miles. Everything was empty and lit by the icy glare of the northern lights. In the midst of these immense and empty snow halls was a frozen lake, broken into a thousand pieces. The pieces were so similar to each other that they formed a true work of art. Kay was sitting there alone; her skin was blue with the cold, but she didn't even notice it, because the Snow Queen had kissed her, and her heart was like a block of ice. He had pieces of ice in his hands and was trying to put them together to form figures. I looked at those pieces of ice and thought and thought. He was so still and hard he looked frozen. It was at that moment that Gerda entered the castle, passing through the great portal, and thus arrived at the immense, cold hall. She saw Kay, recognized him, put her arms around his neck, and exclaimed:

– Kay! Dear Kay! I finally found you here!

But he remained still and cold, and then little Gerda began to shed hot tears, which fell into her chest and penetrated her heart. They melted the block of ice and the little piece of mirror that was inside it. And Gerda sang:

“Roses are dressed in color and light!
And we are going to see Baby Jesus!”

That's when Kay burst into tears. He cried so much that the little mirror speck slipped out of his eyes, and he recognized Gerda and was very, very happy.

– Gerda! Dear Gerda! Where have you been all this time? And me, where have I been? - Kay exclaimed, looking around - But what a cold and empty place is this! It even scares me!

He embraced Gerda, and she laughed and cried for joy; it was all so beautiful that the pieces of ice around them began to dance. Gerda kissed Kay's cheek, and her good colors returned; kissed her eyes, and they shone like her own; kissed her hands and feet, and Kay was strong and healthy again.
Hand in hand, the two left the castle. They talked about the grandmother and the roses on the roof; wherever they went, the wind calmed down and the sun shone. By the berry bush, the reindeer was waiting for them and took them to the house of the Finnish woman, where they warmed up, and then to the house of the Lapland woman, who made new clothes for them and got them a sled. And then Gerda and Kay were off again. On the way, they also found the daughter of the robbers, mounted on a beautiful horse. It was a joy!

- You seem to me a very nice fellow to be wandering around! - She said to Kay - Because I would like to know if you deserve someone to run to the end of the world because of you.
Shaking their hands, she promised to visit them as soon as she got to the town where they lived.
Kay and Gerda continued their journey hand in hand. Spring was at its height, the land all green and covered with flowers; the bells tolled, and they recognized their own city; they went to their grandmother's house, entered the living room, and everything was there as before. The clock was ticking, and its hands were turning.

But as soon as they walked through the door, Kay and Gerda noticed that they had grown up, that they were adults. The roses were blooming, coming through the window, and there were the chairs from when they were children. Kay and Gerda sat down and continued to hold hands. They had forgotten the snow queen's grand, deserted, icy palace, as one forgets a nightmare. Looking into each other's eyes, they understood the old song once more:

“Roses are dressed in color and light!
And we are going to see Baby Jesus!”

And there the two of them stayed, adults yes, but also children, children at heart, and around them it was summer, a warm and blessed summer.

 

 

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