Snow Queen

“ As they went through the door into the room they perceived that they were grown up. The roses clustered round the open window, and there stood their two little chairs. Kay and Gerda sat down upon them still holding each other by the hand. All the cold empty grandeur of the Snow Queen's palace had passed from their memory like a bad dream. Grandmother sat in God's warm sunshine reading from her Bible.
"Without ye become as little children ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." ”

“ It was in winter, too, when the children could not play together on the balcony, that Gerda’s grandmother told them stories of the Snow Queen.
One night, as Kay was undressing to go to bed, he climbed on a chair and peeped out of one of his little round holes, and there, on the edge of the window-box, were a few big snowflakes. And as the little boy watched them, the biggest grew bigger and bigger, until it grew into a white lady of glittering, dazzling ice. Her eyes shone like two bright stars. ”

“ He thought each was most beautiful, but that was because of the splinter of glass in his eye. He fitted them into a great many shapes, but he wanted to make them spell the word ‘Love.’ The Snow-queen had said, ‘If you can spell out that word you shalt be your own master. I will give you the whole world and a new pair of skates.’
But he could not do it.
‘Now I must fly to warmer countries,’ said the Snow-queen. ‘I must go and powder my black kettles!’ (This was what she called Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius.) ”

“ And the red looked so lovely on the white that she thought to herself: ‘If only I had a child as white as snow and as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window frame!’ Soon after, she had a daughter, whose hair was black as ebony, while her cheeks were red as blood, and her skin as white as snow; so she was called Snowdrop. But when the child was born the Queen died. A year after the King took another wife. She was a handsome woman, but proud and overbearing, and could not endure that any one should surpass her in beauty. ”

“ Christabel. Princess Snow White!
Guinivere. Princess Snow White!
[Still no answer. Rosalys runs behind the throne. Rosalys. Oh, she's crying! Oh, dear Princess!
[They all run to Snow White, and find her hiding her face and sobbing silently. Maids of Honour. [Surrounding and embracing her.] Oh, what's the matter? Please don't cry! We can't bear to see you unhappy! If you cry we shall cry, too!
Snow White. I didn't mean to cry. I won't! A princess should never cry. [She smiles resolutely, though her eyes are full of tears.] There! But I did so want to see Prince Florimond again. ”

“ During the spring they would ride through the world, scattering sunshine, laughter, and hope; mortals would see them, but they would not know who they were. During the summer and the autumn they would be invisible to mortals, and during the winter they would slumber in the Diamond Palace of his mother, the Snow Queen.
They waited to see Blue Boy and Cherry-Ripe married, and Blue Eyes gave them as a wedding present a little glass pipe, which, whenever he played it, brought the spring into the hearts of all who heard it. ”

“ Unnipped by daintiest frosts, in every field
Flowers crowded thick; and trees, not tall nor rude,
With slender stems upholding feathery shade,
Nodded their heads and hung their pliant limbs
In natural bowers, sweet with delicious gloom.
Queen Oene sent her luminous glance afar:
Fine rays of tintless light played round her head,
Crowning her beauty with mysterious glory.
She gazed away, beyond the tranquil sea,
To distant mountains of unchanging snow,
And still beyond, to where full many a tower
And fortress reared their walls of gleaming ice
On the dim verges of her vast domains. ”

“ But the reindeer again implored her to give Gerda something, and Gerda looked at her with such beseeching eyes, full of tears, that the Finn woman began blinking again, and drew the reindeer along into a corner, where she whispered to it, at the same time putting fresh ice on its head.
"Little Kay is certainly with the Snow Queen, and he is delighted with everything there. He thinks it is the best place in the world, but that is because he has got a splinter of glass in his heart and a grain of glass in his eye. ”

“ Who in this land is the fairest of all?”
it answered—
“Thou art fairer than all who are here, Lady Queen.”
But more beautiful still is Snow-white, as I ween.”
Then the Queen was shocked, and turned yellow and green with envy. From that hour, whenever she looked at Snow-white, her heart heaved in her breast, she hated the girl so much.
And envy and pride grew higher and higher in her heart like a weed, so that she had no peace day or night. She called a huntsman, and said, “Take the child away into the forest; I will no longer have her in my sight. ”

“ The Queen.
Mirror, Mirror, in my hand. Who's the fairest in the land? [What the Mirror answers will never be known for hardly has it begun to speak when, with a cry of rage, the Queen dashes it into a thousand pieces on the floor. Suddenly she clasps her hands over her face, sinks to her knees with a moan, and draws her veil close. [And now there is a gasp of wonder from the Courtiers, and Rosalys voice cries. Rosalys. Oh, look ! Snow White !
[The group parts, and Snow White, half supported by the Dwarfs, is seen to stir. The Prince. [Rushing to her.] Snow White! My beloved! She lives! ”

“ The snow-flakes grew bigger and bigger, till at last they looked like big white chickens. All at once they sprang on one side, the big sledge stopped and the person who drove got up, coat and cap smothered in snow. It was a tall and upright lady all shining white, the Snow Queen herself.
'We have come along at a good pace,' she said; 'but it's cold enough to kill one ”

“ There Snow-drop is hiding her head; and she
Is lovelier far, O queen! than thee."
Then the queen was very much frightened; for she knew that the glass always spoke the truth, and was sure that the servant had betrayed her. And she could not bear to think that any one lived who was more beautiful than she was; so she dressed herself up as an old pedlar, and went her way over the hills, to the place where the dwarfs dwelt. Then she knocked at the door, and cried, "Fine wares to sell!" Snow-drop looked out at the window, and said, "Good day, good woman! what have you to sell?" ”

“ The Snow Queen kissed Kay again, and then he forgot all about little Gerda, grandmother, and all the others at home.
"Now I mustn't kiss you any more," she said, "or I should kiss you to death!"
Kay looked at her, she was so pretty; a cleverer, more beautiful face could hardly be imagined. She did not seem to be made of ice now, as she was outside the window when she waved her hand to him. In his eyes she was quite perfect, and he was not a bit afraid of her ”

“ Where cruel Oene hast my Bertho hidden?
What do'est thou here? It must be thou art come
In search of wife or child,—what other fate
Could lead thee to such barren heights as these?"
"Alas! dear child! there are other springs than love
To move the human heart. Ambition, may be;
Or better, a desire to serve my Queen
And my illustrious country, led me here."
He paused and sighed. She saw his locks were thin;
Some white with years, but more with troubled toil;
And that he stood barefooted in the snow. ”

“ The Finn woman blinked with her wise eyes, but she said nothing.
'You are so clever,' said the reindeer, 'I know you can bind all the winds of the world with a bit of sewing cotton. When a skipper unties one knot he gets a good wind, when he unties two it blows hard, and if he undoes the third and the fourth he brings a storm about his head wild enough to blow down the forest trees. Won't you give the little girl a drink, so that she may have the strength of twelve men to overcome the Snow Queen?'
'The strength of twelve men,' said the Finn woman. ”

“ Not long after that, towards evening, the seven dwarfs came home, and were terrified to see their dear Snow-white lying on the ground, without life or motion; they raised her up, and when they saw how tightly she was laced they cut the lace in two; then she began to draw breath, and little by little she returned to life. When the dwarfs heard what had happened they said,
"The old pedlar woman was no other than the wicked queen; you must beware of letting any one in when we are not here!" ”

“ Snow White. Oh, my brothers, call me just Snow White—always and always!
Blick. Snow White, may we go now?
Snow White. Go? Where?
Blick. To fetch you our wedding present—all our gold and jewels. We'll make you the richest Queen in the whole world.
Snick. And then back to our lonely house.
Flick. And those suppers! Glick. And those beds!
Snow White. No, no! You must stay with me always—always, my brothers.
Blick. [Hanging his head.] But as we are—dwarfs.
Snow White. There are no nobler men in my kingdom! You shall be my bodyguard, and Berthold shall be your Captain. ”

“ Then we slip and we slide, as we try to proceed;
Tottering and trembling, like a wind-waving reed.
This icy mud-mixture makes traveling so slow;
All on account of the “Beautiful Snow.”
The soot and the slush, the mud and the smoke,
Make that pure, pretty poem a dark, dirty joke;
With a nature poetic, we certainly know
No “Queen City” bard wrote “Beautiful Snow.”
[91]
BETRAYED.
I knew a rustic beauty once,
A happy-hearted maiden,
Whose life seemed bright as summer days,
And as she watched the autumn rays,
With love of nature’s works and ways,
Her heart seemed always laden. ”

“ One winter's day, when the snow was falling fast, he brought in a big magnifying glass; he held out the tail of his blue coat, and let the snowflakes fall upon it.
"Now look through the glass, Gerda!" he said; every snowflake was magnified, and looked like a lovely flower, or a sharply pointed star.
"Do you see how cleverly they are made?" said Kay. "Much more interesting than looking at real flowers, and there is not a single flaw in them, they are perfect; if only they would not melt." ”

“ Rosalys. And Snow White is really almost like a kitchen-maid, and sleeps in a little closet under the stairs where we keep the umbrellas and overshoes.
Astolaine. [Springing up.] I think it's outrageous! Why does Princess Snow White stand it? I wouldn't?
Maids of Honour. [Apprehensively.] Oh, ssh!
Astolaine. Why "ssh"? I never heard anything so "sshy" as this Palace.
Rosalys. [Whispering.] But what can she do? The Queen...
Astolaine. I don't want to hear any more about that hateful Queen.
Rosalys. But you must. It isn't safe that you shouldn't. We'll have to tell her. [To Christabel.] ”