The Snow Queen

Sixth story — The SámiLappExplanation: Lapp is an older name for a Sámi person, now often considered offensive. The modernized version uses Sámi, the people’s own name, while keeping the original in the source view. woman and the Finn woman.

They stopped at a tiny house. It was so pitiful. Thehouse; it was so pitiful; the roof went right down to the ground, and the door was so low that the family had to crawlcreep on their stomachs to getwhen they wanted to go in or out. No one was homeThere was no one at home here except an old SámiLappExplanation: Lapp is an older name for a Sámi person, now often considered offensive. The modernized version uses Sámi, the people’s own name, while keeping the original in the source view. woman, who was frying fish byin the light of a lamp burning oil from sea animals. Thetrain-oil lamp; and the reindeer told her Gerda’s whole story—butentire story, but first its own, for it thought thatfelt that it was much more important.important, and Gerda was so terriblyperishing with cold that she couldn’t speak.

‘Oh, you poor things!’ the SámiLappExplanation: Lapp is an older name for a Sámi person, now often considered offensive. The modernized version uses Sámi, the people’s own name, while keeping the original in the source view. woman said, ‘in that case you still have a long way to go! You have to travel about 600 miles into Finnmark. Therecover 600 miles or so into Finnmark, for there the Snow Queen has her country home, where she burnsresidence, burning blue lights every single evening. I’ll write a few words on some dried cod, since I haven’t any paper.I haven’t any paper, I’ll give it to you for the Finn woman up there;there, she can give you better directions than I can!’

When Gerda was warmAnd when Gerda had been warmed up and had something to eat and drink, the SámiLappExplanation: Lapp is an older name for a Sámi person, now often considered offensive. The modernized version uses Sámi, the people’s own name, while keeping the original in the source view. woman wrote a few words on some dried cod. Shecod, told Gerda to take good care of it, tiedbound her to the reindeer once more,more and off it leapt. ‘Whoosh! Whoosh!’whoosh!’ it said up in the sky. Thesky, all night long the loveliest blue northern lights gleamed all night long. Thengleamed; – and then they came to Finnmark and knocked on the Finn woman’s chimney,chimney of the Finn woman, for she didn’t even have a door.

It was so hot inside that the Finn woman went around almost naked. She was tiny, with a dull-looking complexion. Shenaked; she was tiny and her complexion muddy; she immediately loosened little Gerda’s clothes andclothes, took off her mittens and boots, for otherwise Gerdashe would have been too hot. Shehot, placed a piece of ice on the reindeer’s head and then read what had been written on the dried cod. She; she read it three times, thentimes and then she knew it by heart. Sheheart and put the fish in the cooking pot, for it was edible and she never wasted anything.

First the reindeer told its story, then little Gerda’s, and the Finn woman blinked her wise eyes, but didn’t say anything.

‘You are so wise,’ the reindeer said; ‘I know you can tie up all the winds in the world on a piece of sewing thread. If the skipper, the ship’s captain, undoes the firstthread; if the skipper undoes the one knot, he gets a wind that helps him sail. Iffair wind, if he undoes the next, it blows hard. Ifother, it blows hard, and if he undoes the third and fourth, there is such a gale that the forests blow down. Won’t you give the little girl a potion, so she can have the strength of twelve men and overpower the Snow Queen?Queen.’

‘The strength of twelve men!’ the Finn woman said; ‘Yes,yes, that should do the trick!’ She wentand she went over to a shelf, took out a large rolled-up animal skin and unrolled it. Strange letters were written on it,hide and unrolled it; on it strange letters were written, and the Finn woman read untilaway till sweat poured down her forehead.

But the reindeer begged the woman to help Gerda yet again.entreated the woman on Gerda’s behalf yet again, and Gerda looked at the Finn woman with such pleading,imploring, tear-filled eyes that the woman blinked her own once more. Shemore and drew the reindeer into a corner andover into a corner, where she whispered to it, while puttinggiving it a fresh piece of ice on its head:

‘It’s true that little Kay is with the Snow Queen. HeQueen, and finds everything perfect there and believes it is the best place in the world. Butworld, but that is because he has has got a shard of glass in his heart and a small speck of glass in his eye. Theyeye; they must be removed, orotherwise he can never become a human being again,again and the Snow Queen will keepretain her power over him!’

‘But can’t you find something for little Gerda that will give her power over everything?’

‘I can’t give her greater power than she already has! Can’tcan’t you see how great that is? Can’t you see how humans and animals have to serve her? Howher, how she has managed to get so far in the world on her own bare feet? We must not tell her about her power. It isfeet. She must not be told of her power by us, it resides in her heart, heart, it exists because she is a sweet,sweet innocent child. If she is unable on her own to get to the Snow Queen and remove the glass from little Kay, we cannot help her do soto! TheA dozen miles from here the Snow Queen’s garden starts twelve miles from here. Youstarts, you can carry the little girl that far. Setup to that point; set her down by the large bush with red berries standing in the snow. Don’t stand there chatting—hurrythat stands in the snow with its red berries, don’t stand there chatting away and hurry back here!’ And then the Finn woman lifted little Gerda up onto the reindeer, who sped off as swiftly as it could.

‘Oh, I’ve forgotten my boots! I’ve forgotten my mittens!’ little Gerda cried out. Sheout, she could feel this in the biting cold. Butcold, but the reindeer didn’t dare stop. Itstop, it ran until it reachedcame to the large bush with red berries. Therethe red berries; there it set Gerda down anddown, kissed her on the lips. Large,lips, and large, glistening tears ran down its cheeks. Thencheeks, after which it ran back back again, as swiftly as it could. There stood poor Gerda, without any shoes, without any mittens, in the middle of the frightful cold of Finnmark.

She ran forward as fast as she could and metwas met by a whole regiment of snowflakes. Butsnowflakes, but they did not fall from the sky, which was perfectly clear and gleaming with northern lights. They moved along the ground, growing larger as they came closer.lights; the snowflakes followed the ground, and the closer they came, the larger they became; Gerda rememberedrecalled how large and odd they had looked through the magnifying glass. Butwhen she had gazed at them through the burning-glass, but here they were really large and frightening in a completely different way. They were alive:way, they were alive, they were the Snow Queen’s outposts, her guards outside the palace. Theyoutposts; they had the strangest shapes:shapes; some looked like large, ugly hedgehogs, others like whole coils of snakes that stuck out their heads; and stillyet others like small fat bears with bristling hairs: all gleaming white, all livingof them gleaming white, all of them were live snowflakes.

Then little Gerda said the Lord’s Prayer. Theher Lord’s Prayer, and the cold was so severe that she could see her own breath, coming out ofbreath; it stood out from her mouth like a great cloud of smoke. It grew thicker and formed small,smoke; her breath became increasingly dense and formed itself into small bright angels that grew larger and larger when they touched the ground. They all wore helmets and held spears and shields. More and more appeared, until a whole army stood around her when she finished the Lord’s Prayer.ground; and all of them were wearing helmets on their heads and were holding spears and shields in their hands; they grew in number, and when Gerda had finished her Lord’s Prayer, there was a whole legion around her; Theythey jabbed at the horrible snowflakes with their spears. Thespears and the snowflakes broke into a hundred pieces, and little Gerda went forward safely and cheerfully. The angels patted her feet and hands so that she felt the cold less,hands, so she should feel less how cold it was, and walked briskly on towards the Snow Queen’s palace.

But now we must first have a look at how Kay is getting on. He certainly wasn’t thinking of little Gerda, let alone imagining that she stoodIt is true that he wasn’t thinking of little Gerda, least of all that she was standing outside the palace.