70 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
70 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
THE SNOW QUEEN
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Once upon a time a magician made a magic mirror. In this mirror, a kind
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face became wicked, a look of hate was reflected as a look of love. One day,
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however, the mirror broke, and if a sliver of glass from the mirror entered
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someone's eye, that person's soul became evil, if another pierced a heart,
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that heart grew hard and cold as ice.
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In a big town two children, called Karl and Gerda were very close friends,
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and even the sweet pea that grew on Karl's window sill spread across the
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street to entwine with Gerda's little rose bush. One evening Karl was watching
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the snow drift down, when he noticed a white flake slowly turn into a
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beautiful ice maiden. Karl was startled to hear the ice maiden speak his name,
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and he was not to know he had set eyes on the Snow Queen. Winter passed, and
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one spring afternoon, as Karl and Gerda pored over a book, the little boy told
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her: "I feel a pain in my heart! And something's pricking my eye!"
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" Don t worry, said Gerda comfortingly. "I can't see anything!" But, alas,
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splinters from the shattered mirror had pierced the little boy.
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Now in the grip of the evil spell, he snapped: "You're so ugly!" And
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ripping two roses from her bush, he ran off. From that day on, Karl turned
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into a very nasty boy, and nobody could understand what had happened to him to
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cause such a change. Only Gerda still loved him, though all she got in return
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were insults and spite. 79
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Winter came round again, though earlier than usual, and bringing far more
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snow than anyone could remember.
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One day, just after going outdoors to play in the snow, Karl saw the
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beautiful maiden he had seen that night, coming towards him wrapped in a white
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fur coat. She stood in front of him and told him to tie his sledge to her own,
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drawn by a white horse. Then they sped away. Suddenly, the great sledge soared
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into the sky and through the clouds. Stretched out on his own little sledge,
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Karl didn't dare move a muscle for fear of falling into space. At last, they
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came to a halt on an immense white plain, dotted with lots of sparkling frozen
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lakes.
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"Come into my arms," said the Snow Queen, opening her soft fur coat. "Come
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and keep warm!"
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Karl allowed himself to be hugged by the unknown maiden and a chill ran up
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his spine as two icy lips touched his forehead. The Snow Queen kissed him
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again, and in an instant, the little boy forgot all about Gerda and his past
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life, as he fell into a deep sleep.
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In the meantime, Gerda was anxiously searching for Karl, but no one had
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seen him. Finally, she went down to the river.
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"Great river," she said, "please tell me if you've seen Karl or if you've
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carried him away! I'll give you these, if you do!" And she threw her shoes
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into the river. But the current paid no heed and just swept them back to the
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bank. Not far away stood an old boat, and Gerda climbed into it. As she
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drifted with the current, she pleaded: "Great river, silently flowing and
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knowing all things about men's lives, take me to Karl."
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At dusk, she stopped by a river bank carpeted with all kinds of flowers.
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After resting she went into the forest, and though she did not know how she
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would ever find her friend, a mysterious voice inside her told her to be
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brave. After wandering far and wide, she stopped, tired and hungry. A crow
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flapped out from a hollow tree.
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"If you're looking for Karl," it said, "I know where he is! I saw him with
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the Snow Queen on her sledge in the sky!"
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"And where is her kingdom?" Gerda asked the crow.
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"In Lapland, where all is icy cold. That reindeer over there might take
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you! "
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Gerda ran over to the big reindeer, threw her arms around its neck and,
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laying her cheek against its soft muzzle, said: "Please help me to find my
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friend!" The reindeer's kindly eyes told her that he would, and she climbed
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onto its back. They travelled till they came to the frozen tundra, lit by the
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fiery glow of the Northern Lights.
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"Karl! Karl! Where are you?" shouted Gerda as loudly as she could. When, at
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last, she found the little boy, Karl did not recognize her. Gerda threw her
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arms round him, and teardrops dripped onto his chest and heart. This broke the
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evil spell. Karl woke from his long sleep, and when he set eyes on Gerda, he
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too began to cry. The second cold splinter of mirror vanished. They had found
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each other again at last, thanks to Gerda's love, and the reindeer galloped
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them home. The two plants on the window sills started to blossom again and to
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twine, a sign of their everlasting friendship.
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