The Snow Queen
Did you know? The Snow Queen was written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen and first published on 21 December 1844. Its original Danish title is "Snedronningen". It is one of Andersen's longest fairy tales, told in seven parts. Disney's movie Frozen was inspired by this story — Elsa was originally based on the Snow Queen!
Once there was a wicked troll. He made a strange magic mirror. This mirror was very odd: good things looked ugly in it. The little devils carried the mirror up into the sky. They wanted to make angels look ugly. But the mirror was too heavy. It slipped and fell, breaking into countless pieces. The pieces blew away in the wind, all over the world.
In a small town lived a little boy named Kai and a little girl named Gerda. They were next-door neighbors and the best of friends. Between their windows grew a rose bush. Every day they played together and listened to stories. The roses bloomed beautifully, and their hearts were happy too.
One day, a piece of the magic mirror flew into Kai's eye. Another piece flew into his heart. From that day on, Kai changed. He no longer played with Gerda, and often made fun of her. He laughed at other people, and even said the roses were ugly. Gerda was sad, but she still cared about Kai.
Winter came, and snow fell everywhere. One day, a white sled stopped at the corner of the street. The Snow Queen appeared. She wore a long white robe and took Kai onto the sled, flying far to the north. Gerda watched them disappear and felt very worried. She decided to set out and find her best friend.
Gerda got into a little boat and followed the river to find Kai. The boat drifted and drifted, until it reached a garden full of flowers. In the garden lived an old woman who knew magic. The old woman liked Gerda very much and wanted her to stay and keep her company. The garden was warm, and the scent of flowers was everywhere.
The old woman used magic to make Gerda forget about finding Kai. She also hid all the roses in the garden. But then Gerda saw a rose on the old woman's hat. Suddenly she remembered Kai, and the roses they had planted together. She ran out of the garden at once and continued north.
On the road, Gerda met a clever crow. The crow took her to the palace, where she met a prince and a princess. Gerda told them her story. The prince and princess were deeply moved. They gave her a carriage, warm clothes, and food, so she could keep going north to find Kai.
The carriage passed through a dark forest and was caught by a group of robbers. Among the robbers was a little girl. She felt sorry for Gerda, and her heart softened. She secretly set Gerda free and gave her own reindeer to her. She told the reindeer to take Gerda to the Snow Queen's palace.
The reindeer carried Gerda first to an old Lapland woman, and then to an old Finnish woman. The Finnish woman was very wise and knew many secrets. She said, "Gerda, your greatest power is your pure and kind heart. No magic in the world is stronger than that heart."
At last, Gerda reached the Snow Queen's ice palace. She saw Kai sitting on the frozen lake, trying to spell a word with blocks of ice. The Queen had said that if he could spell the word "eternity," he would be free. But Kai's fingers were cold and stiff, and he could not spell it at all.
Gerda ran to Kai and held him tight, crying loudly. Her tears were warm. They fell on Kai's chest and melted the ice in his heart. The piece of the magic mirror jumped out too. Kai's eyes became bright, and he recognized Gerda. The two of them cried and laughed, full of joy.
When the Snow Queen returned and saw this, she was moved too. She no longer stood in their way. Kai and Gerda rode the reindeer home together. The roses by the window bloomed again. They grew up slowly, but no matter how much time passed, they remained the best of friends.
