In the great square the boldest among the boys would often tie their
sledges to the wagons of the country people and so get a ride. This was
capital. But while they were all amusing themselves, and Kay with them,
a great sledge came by; it was painted white, and in it sat some one
wrapped in a rough white fur and wearing a white cap. The sledge drove
twice round the square, and Kay fastened his own little sledge to it, so
that when it went away he went with it. It went faster and faster right
through the next street, and the person who drove turned round and
nodded pleasantly to Kay as if they were well acquainted with each
other; but whenever Kay wished to loosen his little sledge the driver
turned and nodded as if to signify that he was to stay, so Kay sat
still, and they drove out through the town gate. Then the snow began to fall so heavily that the little boy could not see
a hand's breadth before him, but still they drove on. He suddenly
loosened the cord so that the large sledge might go on without him, but
it was of no use; his little carriage held fast, and away they went like
the wind. Then he called out loudly, but nobody heard him, while the
snow beat upon him, and the sledge flew onward. Every now and then it
gave a jump, as if they were going over hedges and ditches. The boy was
frightened and tried to say a prayer, but he could remember nothing but
the multiplication table. The snowflakes became larger and larger, till they appeared like great
white birds. All at once they sprang on one side, the great sledge
stopped, and the person who had driven it rose up. The fur and the cap,
which were made entirely of snow, fell off, and he saw a lady, tall and
white; it was the Snow Queen. "We have driven well," said she; "but why do you tremble so? Here, creep
into my warm fur." Then she seated him beside her in the sledge, and as
she wrapped the fur about him, he felt as if he were sinking into a
snowdrift. "Are you still cold?" she asked, as she kissed him on the forehead. The
kiss was colder than ice; it went quite through to his heart, which was
almost a lump of ice already. He felt as if he were going to die, but
only for a moment--he soon seemed quite well and did not notice the cold
all around him. "My sledge! Don't forget my sledge," was his first thought, and then he
looked and saw that it was bound fast to one of the white birds which
flew behind him. The Snow Queen kissed little Kay again, and by this
time he had forgotten little Gerda, his grandmother, and all at home. "Now you must have no more kisses," she said, "or I should kiss you to
death." Kay looked at her. She was so beautiful, he could not imagine a more
lovely face; she did not now seem to be made of ice as when he had seen
her through his window and she had nodded to him. In his eyes she was perfect, and he did not feel at all afraid. He told
her he could do mental arithmetic as far as fractions, and that he knew
the number of square miles and the number of inhabitants in the country. She smiled, and it occurred to him that she thought he did not yet know
so very much. He looked around the vast expanse as she flew higher and higher with him
upon a black cloud, while the storm blew and howled as if it were
singing songs of olden time. They flew over woods and lakes, over sea
and land; below them roared the wild wind; wolves howled, and the snow
crackled; over them flew the black, screaming crows, and above all shone
the moon, clear and bright--and so Kay passed through the long, long
winter's night, and by day he slept at the feet of the Snow Queen. THIRD STORY

THE ENCHANTED FLOWER GARDEN

But how fared little Gerda in Kay's absence? What had become of him no one knew, nor could any one give the slightest
information, excepting the boys, who said that he had tied his sledge to
another very large one, which had driven through the street and out at
the town gate. No one knew where it went. Many tears were shed for him,
and little Gerda wept bitterly for a long time. She said she knew he
must be dead, that he was drowned in the river which flowed close by
the school. The long winter days were very dreary. But at last spring
came with warm sunshine. "Kay is dead and gone," said little Gerda. "I don't believe it," said the sunshine. "He is dead and gone," she said to the sparrows. "We don't believe it," they replied, and at last little Gerda began to
doubt it herself. "I will put on my new red shoes," she said one morning, "those that Kay
has never seen, and then I will go down to the river and ask for him." It was quite early when she kissed her old grandmother, who was still
asleep; then she put on her red shoes and went, quite alone, out of the
town gate, toward the river. "Is it true that you have taken my little playmate away from me?" she
said to the river. "I will give you my red shoes if you will give him
back to me." And it seemed as if the waves nodded to her in a strange manner. Then
she took off her red shoes, which she liked better than anything else,
and threw them both into the river, but they fell near the bank, and
the little waves carried them back to land just as if the river would
not take from her what she loved best, because it could not give her
back little Kay. But she thought the shoes had not been thrown out far enough. Then she
crept into a boat that lay among the reeds, and threw the shoes again
from the farther end of the boat into the water; but it was not
fastened, and her movement sent it gliding away from the land. When she
saw this she hastened to reach the end of the boat, but before she could
do so it was more than a yard from the bank and drifting away faster
than ever. Little Gerda was very much frightened. She began to cry, but no one
heard her except the sparrows, and they could not carry her to land, but
they flew along by the shore and sang as if to comfort her: "Here we
are! Here we are!" The boat floated with the stream, and little Gerda sat quite still with
only her stockings on her feet; the red shoes floated after her, but she
could not reach them because the boat kept so much in advance. [Illustration: There came a very old woman out of the house]

The banks on either side of the river were very pretty. There were
beautiful flowers, old trees, sloping fields in which cows and sheep
were grazing, but not a human being to be seen. "Perhaps the river will carry me to little Kay," thought Gerda, and then
she became more cheerful, and raised her head and looked at the
beautiful green banks; and so the boat sailed on for hours. At length
she came to a large cherry orchard, in which stood a small house with
strange red and blue windows. It had also a thatched roof, and outside
were two wooden soldiers that presented arms to her as she sailed past. Gerda called out to them, for she thought they were alive; but of course
they did not answer, and as the boat drifted nearer to the shore she saw
what they really were.