She could fancy she saw him smiling at her as he used to at home when
they sat among the roses. He would certainly be glad to see her, and to
hear what a long distance she had come for his sake, and to know how
sorry they had all been at home because he did not come back. Oh, what
joy and yet what fear she felt! They were now on the stairs, and in a small closet at the top a lamp was
burning. In the middle of the floor stood the tame crow, turning her
head from side to side and gazing at Gerda, who curtsied as her
grandmother had taught her to do. "My betrothed has spoken so very highly of you, my little lady," said
the tame crow. "Your story is very touching. If you will take the lamp,
I will walk before you. We will go straight along this way; then we
shall meet no one." "I feel as if somebody were behind us," said Gerda, as something rushed
by her like a shadow on the wall; and then it seemed to her that horses
with flying manes and thin legs, hunters, ladies and gentlemen on
horseback, glided by her like shadows. "They are only dreams," said the crow; "they are coming to carry the
thoughts of the great people out hunting. All the better, for if their
thoughts are out hunting, we shall be able to look at them in their beds
more safely. I hope that when you rise to honor and favor you will show
a grateful heart." "You may be quite sure of that," said the crow from the forest. They now came into the first hall, the walls of which were hung with
rose-colored satin embroidered with artificial flowers. Here the dreams
again flitted by them, but so quickly that Gerda could not distinguish
the royal persons. Each hall appeared more splendid than the last. It
was enough to bewilder one. At length they reached a bedroom. The
ceiling was like a great palm tree, with glass leaves of the most costly
crystal, and over the center of the floor two beds, each resembling a
lily, hung from a stem of gold. One, in which the princess lay, was
white; the other was red. And in this Gerda had to seek for little Kay. She pushed one of the red leaves aside and saw a little brown neck. Oh,
that must be Kay! She called his name loudly and held the lamp over him. The dreams rushed back into the room on horseback. He woke and turned
his head round--it was not little Kay! The prince was only like him;
still he was young and pretty. Out of her white-lily bed peeped the
princess, and asked what was the matter. Little Gerda wept and told her
story, and all that the crows had done to help her. "You poor child," said the prince and princess; then they praised the
crows, and said they were not angry with them for what they had done,
but that it must not happen again, and that this time they should be
rewarded. "Would you like to have your freedom?" asked the princess, "or would you
prefer to be raised to the position of court crows, with all that is
left in the kitchen for yourselves?" Then both the crows bowed and begged to have a fixed appointment; for
they thought of their old age, and it would be so comfortable, they
said, to feel that they had made provision for it. [Illustration: The prince and princess themselves helped her into the
coach.] And then the prince got out of his bed and gave it up to Gerda--he could
not do more--and she lay down. She folded her little hands and thought,
"How good everybody is to me, both men and animals"; then she closed
her eyes and fell into a sweet sleep. All the dreams came flying back
again to her, looking like angels now, and one of them drew a little
sledge, on which sat Kay, who nodded to her. But all this was only a
dream. It vanished as soon as she awoke. The following day she was dressed from head to foot in silk and velvet
and invited to stay at the palace for a few days and enjoy herself; but
she only begged for a pair of boots and a little carriage and a horse to
draw it, so that she might go out into the wide world to seek for Kay. And she obtained not only boots but a muff, and was neatly dressed; and
when she was ready to go, there at the door she found a coach made of
pure gold with the coat of arms of the prince and princess shining upon
it like a star, and the coachman, footman, and outriders all wearing
golden crowns upon their heads. The prince and princess themselves
helped her into the coach and wished her success. The forest crow, who was now married, accompanied her for the first
three miles; he sat by Gerda's side, as he could not bear riding
backwards. The tame crow stood in the doorway flapping her wings. She
could not go with them, because she had been suffering from headache
ever since the new appointment, no doubt from overeating. The coach was
well stored with sweet cakes, and under the seat were fruit and
gingerbread nuts. "Farewell, farewell," cried the prince and princess, and little Gerda
wept, and the crow wept; and then, after a few miles, the crow also said
farewell, and this parting was even more sad. However he flew to a tree
and stood flapping his black wings as long as he could see the coach,
which glittered like a sunbeam. FIFTH STORY

THE LITTLE ROBBER GIRL

The coach drove on through a thick forest, where it lighted up the way
like a torch and dazzled the eyes of some robbers, who could not bear to
let it pass them unmolested. "It is gold! it is gold!" cried they, rushing forward and seizing the
horses. Then they struck dead the little jockeys, the coachman, and the
footman, and pulled little Gerda out of the carriage. "She is plump and pretty. She has been fed with the kernels of nuts,"
said the old robber woman, who had a long beard, and eyebrows that hung
over her eyes. "She is as good as a fatted lamb; how nice she will
taste!" and as she said this she drew forth a shining knife, that
glittered horribly. "Oh!" screamed the old woman at the same moment, for
her own daughter, who held her back, had bitten her in the ear. "You
naughty girl," said the mother, and now she had not time to kill Gerda. "She shall play with me," said the little robber girl. "She shall give
me her muff and her pretty dress, and sleep with me in my bed." And then
she bit her mother again, and all the robbers laughed. "I will have a ride in the coach," said the little robber girl, and she
would have her own way, for she was self-willed and obstinate. She and Gerda seated themselves in the coach and drove away over stumps
and stones, into the depths of the forest. The little robber girl was
about the same size as Gerda, but stronger; she had broader shoulders
and a darker skin; her eyes were quite black, and she had a mournful
look. She clasped little Gerda round the waist and said:

"They shall not kill you as long as you don't make me vexed with you. I
suppose you are a princess." "No," said Gerda; and then she told her all her history and how fond she
was of little Kay. The robber girl looked earnestly at her, nodded her head slightly, and
said, "They shan't kill you even if I do get angry with you, for I will
do it myself."