The Palace of the Snow Queen

The walls of the palace were of driving snow, and the windows and doors of cutting winds. There were more than a hundred halls there, according as the snow was driven by the winds. The largest was many miles in extent; all were lighted up by the powerful Aurora Borealis, and all were so large, so empty, so icy cold, and so resplendent! Mirth never reigned there; there was never even a little bear-ball, with the storm for music, while the polar bears went on their hind legs and showed off their steps. Never a little tea-party of white young lady foxes; vast, cold, and empty were the halls of the Snow Queen. The northern-lights shone with such precision that one could tell exactly when they were at their highest or lowest degree of brightness. In the middle of the empty, endless hall of snow, was a frozen lake; it was cracked in a thousand pieces, but each piece was so like the other, that it seemed the work of a cunning artificer. In the middle of this lake sat the Snow Queen when she was at home; and then she said she was sitting in the Mirror of Understanding, and that this was the only one and the best thing in the world.

Little Kay was quite blue, yes nearly black with cold; but he did not observe it, for she had kissed away all feeling of cold from his body, and his heart was a lump of ice. He was dragging along some pointed flat pieces of ice, which he laid together in all possible ways, for he wanted to make something with them; just as we have little flat pieces of wood to make geometrical figures with, called the Chinese Puzzle. Kay made all sorts of figures, the most complicated, for it was an ice-puzzle for the understanding. In his eyes the figures were extraordinarily beautiful, and of the utmost importance; for the bit of glass which was in his eye caused this. He found whole figures which represented a written word; but he never could manage to represent just the word he wanted, that word was "eternity"; and the Snow Queen had said, "If you can discover that figure, you shall be your own master, and I will make you a present of the whole world and a pair of new skates." But he could not find it out.

"I am going now to warm lands," said the Snow Queen. "I must have a look down into the black caldrons." It was the volcanoes Vesuvius and Etna that she meant. "I will just give them a coating of white, for that is as it ought to be; besides, it is good for the oranges and the grapes." And then away she flew, and Kay sat quite alone in the empty halls of ice that were miles long, and looked at the blocks of ice, and thought and thought till his skull was almost cracked. There he sat quite benumbed and motionless; one would have imagined he was frozen to death.

Suddenly little Gerda stepped through the great portal into the palace. The gate was formed of cutting winds; but Gerda repeated her evening prayer, and the winds were laid as though they slept; and the little maiden entered the vast, empty, cold halls. There she beheld Kay: she recognised him, flew to embrace him, and cried out, her arms firmly holding him the while, "Kay, sweet little Kay! Have I then found you at last?"

But he sat quite still, benumbed and cold. Then little Gerda shed burning tears; and they fell on his bosom, they penetrated to his heart, they thawed the lumps of ice, and consumed the splinters of the looking-glass; he looked at her, and she sang the hymn:

*"The rose in the valley is blooming so sweet,* *And angels descend there the children to greet."*

Hereupon Kay burst into tears; he wept so much that the splinter rolled out of his eye, and he recognised her, and shouted, "Gerda, sweet little Gerda! Where have you been so long? And where have I been?" He looked round him. "How cold it is here!" said he. "How empty and cold!" And he held fast by Gerda, who laughed and wept for joy. It was so beautiful, that even the blocks of ice danced about for joy; and when they were tired and laid themselves down, they formed exactly the letters which the Snow Queen had told him to find out; so now he was his own master, and he would have the whole world and a pair of new skates into the bargain.

Gerda kissed his cheeks, and they grew quite blooming; she kissed his eyes, and they shone like her own; she kissed his hands and feet, and he was again well and merry. The Snow Queen might come back as soon as she liked; there stood his discharge written in resplendent masses of ice.

They took each other by the hand, and wandered forth out of the large hall; they talked of their old grandmother, and of the roses upon the roof; and wherever they went, the winds ceased raging, and the sun burst forth. And when they reached the bush with the red berries, they found the Reindeer waiting for them. He had brought another, a young one, with him, whose udder was filled with milk, which he gave to the little ones, and kissed their lips. They then carried Kay and Gerda, first to the Finland woman, where they warmed themselves in the warm room, and learned what they were to do on their journey home; and they went to the Lapland woman, who made some new clothes for them and repaired their sledges.

The Reindeer and the young hind leaped along beside them, and accompanied them to the boundary of the country. Here the first vegetation peeped forth; here Kay and Gerda took leave of the Lapland woman. "Farewell! Farewell!" they all said. And the first green buds appeared, the first little birds began to chirrup; and out of the wood came, riding on a magnificent horse, which Gerda knew (it was one of the leaders in the golden carriage), a young damsel with a bright-red cap on her head, and armed with pistols. It was the little robber maiden, who, tired of being at home, had determined to make a journey to the north; and afterwards in another direction, if that did not please her. She recognised Gerda immediately, and Gerda knew her too. It was a joyful meeting.

"You are a fine fellow for tramping about," said she to little Kay; "I should like to know, faith, if you deserve that one should run from one end of the world to the other for your sake!"

But Gerda patted her cheeks, and inquired for the Prince and Princess.

"They are gone abroad," said the other.

"But the Raven?" asked little Gerda.

"Oh! The Raven is dead," she answered. "His tame sweetheart is a widow, and wears a bit of black worsted round her leg; she laments most piteously, but it's all mere talk and stuff! Now tell me what you've been doing and how you managed to catch him."

And Gerda and Kay both told their story.

And "Schnipp-schnapp-schnurre-basselurre," said the robber maiden; and she took the hands of each, and promised that if she should some day pass through the town where they lived, she would come and visit them; and then away she rode. Kay and Gerda took each other's hand: it was lovely spring weather, with abundance of flowers and of verdure. The church-bells rang, and the children recognised the high towers, and the large town; it was that in which they dwelt. They entered and hastened up to their grandmother's room, where everything was standing as formerly. The clock said "tick! tack!" and the finger moved round; but as they entered, they remarked that they were now grown up. The roses on the leads hung blooming in at the open window; there stood the little children's chairs, and Kay and Gerda sat down on them, holding each other by the hand; they both had forgotten the cold empty splendour of the Snow Queen, as though it had been a dream. The grandmother sat in the bright sunshine, and read aloud from the Bible: "Unless ye become as little children, ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." And Kay and Gerda looked in each other's eyes, and all at once they understood the old hymn:

*"The rose in the valley is blooming so sweet,* *And angels descend there the children to greet."*

There sat the two grown-up persons; grown-up, and yet children; children at least in heart; and it was summer-time; summer, glorious summer!

---VOCABULARY---

**a sprite** — a small supernatural creature, similar to a fairy or an elf; often mischievous

**mischievous** — causing minor trouble or harm in a playful way; fond of playing tricks

**distorted** — changed in shape so that something looks unnatural or ugly; twisted out of its true form

**perverted** — twisted away from what is right or true; made to seem wrong or ugly

**a splinter** — a very small, sharp fragment broken off from glass, wood, or another hard material

**a garret** — a small room at the very top of a house, just under the roof; an attic room

**tendrils** — thin, thread-like parts of a climbing plant that curl around things for support

**unwonted** — unusual; not expected or normal (an old, literary word)

**cankered** — diseased; rotting from the inside (used here of a flower or plant)

**to beckon** — to make a gesture with the hand or head to signal someone to come closer

**a gutter** — a channel along the edge of a roof for carrying away rainwater; also the channel at the side of a street

**a peddler** — a person who travels from place to place selling small goods

**a muff** — a warm tube-shaped covering, usually made of fur, into which both hands are placed to keep them warm

**abashed** — embarrassed and unsure of oneself, especially in an impressive or grand situation

**a lackey** — a servant, especially one who waits on a wealthy or powerful person; used here to describe palace servants

**tethered** — tied to a fixed point with a rope so that an animal cannot escape

**a haberdine** — a dried, salted fish; the Lapland woman uses it as paper to write a message

**a potion** — a liquid with magical or medicinal properties, drunk to produce a special effect

**the Aurora Borealis** — the Northern Lights; a natural display of coloured light in the night sky near the North Pole

**benumbed** — unable to think or move properly; made numb and motionless, here by cold and enchantment

**resplendent** — impressively bright, colourful, or magnificent in appearance

**eternity** — time without beginning or end; a state that lasts forever

---QUESTIONS---

**Chapter : The Mirror and Its Splinters** . What was special about the sprite's mirror, and what did it do to beautiful things? . What happened when the sprites tried to carry the mirror up to the sky? . What were the three different ways the splinters of the mirror caused harm to people?

**Chapter : A Little Boy and a Little Girl** . How did Kay and Gerda manage to visit each other in winter when the windows were frozen? . What did Kay's grandmother say about the Snow Queen? How did Kay react? . What happened to Kay the afternoon the splinter got into his eye and heart? . How did Kay's behaviour change after the splinter entered him? Give two examples. . How did Kay end up in the Snow Queen's sledge? Why could he not get free? . What did the Snow Queen's kiss do to Kay?

**Chapter : The Flower Garden of the Old Woman** . What did Gerda offer the river, and why did she end up drifting away in a boat? . What did the old woman in the cottage do to make Gerda forget about Kay? . How did Gerda finally remember Kay and escape from the garden? . The flowers all tell Gerda their own stories instead of answering her question. What does this suggest about the flowers? . What time of year was it when Gerda finally escaped from the garden? Why is this significant?

**Chapter : The Prince and Princess** . What had the Raven heard about a boy who came boldly to the Princess's palace? . How did the Raven and his sweetheart help Gerda enter the palace at night? . What did Gerda discover when she bent over the red bed? How did she feel? . What did the Prince and Princess give Gerda when she left, and why did she refuse to stay?

**Chapter : The Little Robber Maiden** . How did the robber maiden save Gerda's life? . What did the Wood-pigeons tell Gerda, and what did the Reindeer add? . Why did the robber maiden decide to help Gerda in the end? . How would you describe the robber maiden's character? Is she good or bad?

**Chapter : The Lapland Woman and the Finland Woman** . What did the Finland woman say was the true source of Gerda's power? . Why did the Finland woman refuse to give Gerda a magic potion? . What protected Gerda when the living snow-flakes attacked her on the way to the palace?

**Chapter : The Palace of the Snow Queen** . What was Kay trying to do with the pieces of ice in the Snow Queen's palace? . What word was Kay trying to spell, and what had the Snow Queen promised if he succeeded? . How did Gerda finally break the Snow Queen's power over Kay? . The story ends with Kay and Gerda sitting in their old chairs, "grown-up, and yet children at heart." What do you think Andersen means by this? . The hymn about roses and angels appears three times in the story. What do you think it represents?