Once upon a time, there were two children who loved each other as much as if they had been brother and sister. They lived in two small, neighbouring houses, separated only by a narrow alley. The boy was named Kay, and the girl, Gerda. In summer, they would sit together in the little garden between their homes, where beautiful roses grew, playing from morning to night, their laughter filling the air like music.
But one winter, everything changed.
That year, the snow came early and swept over the town in thick, swirling clouds, covering everything in a blanket of white. Gerda and Kay would press their faces against the frosty windows, watching the delicate snowflakes drift down. The latter loved the snow, but the former always felt a shiver deep in her heart whenever she saw it.
One evening, as they sat by the fire, Kay’s grandmother told them of the Snow Queen in her low and serious voice: “She rules the cold; she rides through the skies in her white sleigh; her icy breath freezes everything in its path; her palace is made of snow and glittering ice; and none who enter ever return.”
Kay laughed at the story, shaking his head, “I’m not afraid of the Snow Queen,” he boasted. “If she ever came near me, I’d melt her with the warmth of the fire.”
However, later that night, as the wind howled outside and the snow piled high against the windows, something strange happened. Kay stood by the window, looking out into the night when suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his eye as if something had struck him. Then, he felt a second pain – this time in his heart. He rubbed his eye, but the pain wouldn’t go away; he clutched his chest and felt something cold settle there. From that moment, Kay was different.
The next day, Gerda found him in the garden, kicking snow into the air with an angry scowl on his face. When she smiled and called to him, he turned and glared at her: “What do you want? You’re so childish, Gerda. Can’t you see that the world is cold and ugly?” he snapped.
Gerda was hurt but didn’t understand what had happened. She thought Kay must be in a bad mood, and even tried to cheer him up, but the more she tried, the crueler he became. The warm friendship between them grew colder with each passing day, until one afternoon, Kay disappeared altogether.
Weeks passed, and there was no sign of him. Gerda asked everyone in town if they had seen her friend, but no one knew where he had gone. Some said he had fallen into the river, but she refused to believe it – feeling deep in her heart that he was still alive – somewhere.
So, with nothing but her love for Kay to guide her, Gerda set out on a journey to find him.
She wandered far and wide, through snowy forests and across frozen lakes, asking everyone she met if they had seen a boy with bright eyes and a mischievous grin. She also faced many dangers along the way: hungry wolves that prowled the woods; fierce winds that nearly swept her off her feet, but she never gave up.
One day, trudging through a snowstorm, Gerda came upon a woman dressed all in white, her face as pale as the snow itself; nevertheless, her eyes sparkled like ice, and her long, flowing cloak shimmered in the cold light. It was the Snow Queen!
Without a word, the queen stretched out her hand, and suddenly Gerda saw an image flash before her eyes: Kay, sitting in the Snow Queen’s sleigh, staring blankly ahead with a heart as cold as the ice around him.
“Where is he?” Gerda cried, her voice trembling with fear.
The Snow Queen smiled, but it wasn’t a polite smile; instead, it was a cold, cruel one. “He belongs to me now,” she said softly, “His heart has turned to ice, and he will stay in my palace forever.”
“No!” shouted Gerda, clenching her small fists, “I will find him, and I will bring him home!”
The Snow Queen laughed with a sound as sharp as the wind. “If you can find your way to my palace, perhaps you will have a chance, but no one has ever made it through the endless winter that surrounds it.”
And with that, she vanished, leaving Gerda standing alone in the swirling snow.
But Gerda wasn’t afraid. Her love for Kay gave her the strength to continue even as the winter grew fiercer. So, she continued her journey through deep drifts and biting winds, while her feet froze and her hands went numb. At last, she reached the Snow Queen’s palace, which was nothing less than a glittering fortress of ice towering high into the sky.
Inside, the halls were silent; the walls glistened with frost. And in the great throne room, there was Kay, sitting on a bench, staring down at a puzzle of sharp ice shards in his lap. It was him, but Gerda couldn’t believe her eyes, for his face was pale and his eyes cold and empty.
“Kay!” Gerda cried, rushing to him, but he didn’t move – didn’t even look at her. His heart was frozen, and he had forgotten everything: his home, his grandmother, and Gerda.
Tears streamed down Gerda’s cheeks. She hugged him tightly, her warm tears falling onto his icy face. Just when her tears touched his skin, something magical happened: the ice in Kay’s heart began to melt! Slowly, his eyes flickered with recognition, and he blinked as if waking from a long dream.
“Gerda?” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “Is it really you?”
“It IS me,” Gerda said, her heart swelling with joy. “I’ve come to bring you home.”
Kay stared at her for a long moment, and then the warmth returned to his face, his smile breaking through the cold. The two friends embraced, and at that moment, the spell of the Snow Queen was broken, causing the ice palace around them to crumble, melting into water that shimmered in the morning sun.
Hand in hand, Kay and Gerda left the Snow Queen’s domain, finally putting the winter behind them. The snow melted; the flowers bloomed again, and they returned home, where they lived happily – their hearts forever warmed by the love that had saved them.
