"Snow Queen", Gerda and Kai: characteristics and history of images.

The fairy tale of H. H. Andersen is dedicated to the very famous in the 18th century Jenny Lind, an opera actress. She had a phenomenal range. Berlin, Paris, London and Vienna applauded her. Her voice was admired, and the performances were sold out.

Andersen was subdued to the depths of her soul by her beautiful voice. Lind and the writer met in Copenhagen. Literally at first sight, he fell in love with the singer. Whether the feeling was mutual is unknown. But she greatly appreciated his writing talent.

Andersen could not speak beautifully about his love, so he decided to write about it and confess his feelings. After sending a letter confessing to Lind, he did not wait for a response. And so the famous fairy tale was born, telling about the touching love that Gerda and Kai experienced for each other.

The prototypes of heroes in a fairy tale

Two years later, Lind and Andersen met. The actress invited Andersen to become her brother. He agreed (because it's better than being nobody), thinking that Gerda and Kai were also like brother and sister.

Perhaps in search of a real feeling, Andersen spent a lot of time traveling, trying to escape from the realm of the Snow Queen, which for him was Copenhagen. Everything in life is not like in a fairy tale. The image of Kai and Gerda, invented by Andersen and personifying him and Lind, was just as pure. In life, Kai was never able to fall in love with Gerda and escape from the kingdom of the Snow Queen.

Brief analysis of the tale

G. H. Andersen is the first Danish writer whose works entered the world literature. The most famous are the fairy tales "The Little Mermaid" and "The Snow Queen". They are familiar to almost all of us. The fairy tale "The Snow Queen" tells about good and evil, love and oblivion. It also tells about devotion and betrayal.

The image of the Snow Queen in the fairy tale was taken for a reason. Andersen's father told him before he died that the Ice Maiden had come for him. In his fairy tale, the writer personified the Snow Queen precisely with the Ice Maiden, who took his dying father with her.

The tale at first glance is simple and does not contain a deep meaning. Going deeper into the process of analysis, you understand that the plot raises some of the most important aspects of life - these are love, devotion, determination, kindness, the fight against evil, religious motives.

The story of Kai and Gerda

This is a touching story of friendship and love of two fairy tales by Andersen. Gerda and Kai had known each other since childhood and spent a lot of time together. In the fairy tale, it is Gerda who has to prove the strength of friendship, who went on a long and difficult journey after the boy, who became a prisoner of the Snow Queen herself. Having charmed Kai with a piece of ice, she turned him into a callous, spoiled and arrogant boy. At the same time, Kai was not aware of his changes. Having managed to go through many difficulties, Gerda managed to find Kai and melt his icy heart. Kindness and faith in the salvation of a friend gave the girl strength and confidence. A fairy tale teaches to be devoted to your feelings, not to leave you in trouble loved one, be kind and, despite the difficulties, strive to achieve the goal.

Characteristics of Kai and Gerda

Andersen's fairy tale describes to us a kind, attentive and sympathetic Kai. But after a challenge to the Snow Queen herself, he turns into a rude and angry boy, capable of offending anyone, even Gerda and grandmother, fairy tales which he loved to listen to. One of Kai's tricks ended up being captured by the Snow Queen.

In the palace of the evil queen, he became a boy with an icy heart. Kai kept trying to put the word "eternity" out of ice cubes, but he couldn't. Then she promised him to give skates and the whole world. Kai's desire to comprehend eternity indicates his lack of understanding that this cannot be done without true feelings, without love, with only a cold mind and an icy heart.

Deprived of all human feelings, Kai in fear wanted to read a prayer, but could not. All he could think of was the multiplication table. Frozen figures of the correct geometric shape It was the only thing that fascinated him. Once beloved roses, Kai tramples, and examines snowflakes with interest through a magnifying glass.

The image of Gerda is a contrast to the character of the Snow Queen. To find Kai and rescue him from the ice castle, the girl goes on a long and difficult journey. In the name of her love, a brave little girl ventures into the unknown. The obstacles encountered on this path did not make Gerda angry and did not force him to turn back towards the house, to leave his friend as a prisoner of the Snow Queen. Friendly, kind and sweet, she remained throughout the tale. Courage, perseverance and patience help her not to lose heart, but humbly overcome all failures. Thanks to this character, she managed to find Kai. And love for him was able to melt his icy heart and cope with the spell of the evil queen.

The description of Gerda and Kai can be a prototype in life real people and similar stories. Just take a closer look around.

Characteristics of the Snow Queen

Snow Queen, Snowstorm Witch, Ice Maiden - a classic character in the folklore of Scandinavia. Lifeless and cold space, snow and eternal ice This is the realm of the Snow Queen. Tall, beautiful ruler on the throne, located on the lake, which is called the "Mirror of the Mind", she is the embodiment of a cold mind and beauty, devoid of feelings.

Growing up fairy tale characters

After visiting the realm of the Snow Queen, the heroes become adults. Moral meaning acquires the motive of growing up. Children grow older when faced with harsh life's trials, overcoming which Gerda managed to save her loved one, resisting the difficult searches and intrigues that the Snow Queen arranged for them. Kai and Gerda, despite growing up, retain their childish spiritual purity. They seem to have been born again with the goal of a new adult existence.

Christian motives in a fairy tale

Andersen's fairy tale is saturated with Christian motives. In Russian publications, this is rarely seen. In the episode, when Gerda tries to enter the Queens, the guards do not let her in. She was able to get into it thanks to the fact that she began to read the prayer “Our Father”. After that, the guards, turning into angels, paved the way for the girl.

At the time when Gerda and Kai are returning to their home, the grandmother is reading the Gospel. After the meeting, the children all together begin to dance around the rose bush and sing a Christmas carol, which ended the instructive tale.

And this mysterious journey from the world of good to the country of evil began with a fragment that fell into Kai's eye. The mirror broke due to the fact that the trolls (that is, demons) reflected in it everything in the world in a distorted form. Andersen explains this by the fact that the demons in the lying mirror wanted to reflect the Creator. God, not allowing this, made it so that the mirror escaped from the hands of the demons and broke.

The image of Hell is reflected in the word "eternity", which the Snow Queen instructed Kai to compose. Icy, not created by the Creator, eternity is an image of hell.

In the episode where the deer asks the sorceress to help Gerda and give her the power of twelve heroes, she replies that she cannot make the girl stronger than she is. Her strength is a small loving heart. And God helps her anyway.

The opposition of cold and heat

From the prologue of the fairy tale, Andersen begins to write that for some people, fragments of ice fall into the heart, which freezes, becomes cold and insensible. And at the end of the tale, he describes how Gerda's hot tears fall on Kai's chest and a piece of ice melts in his heart.

Cold in a fairy tale is the personification of evil, everything bad on earth, and heat is love.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Snow Queen, Andersen sees the absence of warmth, the presence of cold and insensibility.

Also in early childhood my mother read me fairy tales by the wonderful Danish storyteller G. K. Andersen. It was very interesting for me when the most ordinary things came to life on the pages of my favorite book, flowers, animals, toys began to talk. Most of all I liked the fairy tale "The Snow Queen", where the little girl Gerda saves her named brother Kai, who was bewitched by the Snow Queen.

Despite the fact that the main adventures fall to the lot of Gerda, Kai is the second main character of the fairy tale, because it was because of him and for his sake that the girl had to endure so much.

At the beginning of the tale, we get to know Kai as a kind, sympathetic boy. She and Gerda were long and strong friends and "loved each other like brother and sister." The guys often went to visit each other, together they started funny Games, grew beautiful roses. They were very good together, they loved to listen to the tales of their grandmother, who often told them all sorts of entertaining stories. From their grandmother, they first heard about the Snow Queen.

Once Kai was hit in the eye and in the heart by fragments of the devil's mirror, in which "everything great and good seemed insignificant and ugly, and evil and evil was reflected even brighter." Since then, Kai has changed dramatically. He became angry, rude, and even used to offend Gerda and grandmother. It seems to me that it was from that moment that he became subject to the spells of the Snow Queen, because his heart had already begun to turn into a piece of ice.

How beautiful the Snow Queen appears before us from the pages of the book! This is not an evil and ugly old woman, but "tall, slender, dazzling white woman". She seems “charming” and “gentle” to Kai, because she is a real queen! However, in her eyes "there was neither warmth nor meekness", she was so cold that when Kai wrapped himself in her white fur coat, he "as if sank into a snowy snow-robe." With her kisses, the Snow Queen bewitched the boy, turning his heart into ice and making him forget "Gerda, and grandmother, and all the household."

It seems to me that Kai himself is a little to blame for what happened.

He rode on his sleigh far beyond the city gates, and after meeting the Snow Queen, he did not run away, but allowed himself to be bewitched and taken to the palace. Of course, there were two devil shards in his heart and in his eye, but Kai did nothing to get rid of them, although he could, I'm sure of it. After all, Gerda managed to save her friend from these spells!

In the palace of the Snow Queen, a blizzard blew, evil winds whistled. It was "cold, deserted, dead." However, Kai did not notice any of this - after all, he was enchanted. The boy was engaged in folding various figures from flat pointed ice floes. Only one thing did not work out for him: to compose the word "eternity" from the ice floes. The Snow Queen promised him: "If you add this word, you will be your own master, and I will give you the whole world and a pair of new skates." Kai did not yet understand that this was his only chance to get rid of the evil sorcery on his own. material from the site

When Gerda came to the palace, having overcome all the difficulties of the journey, Kay did not recognize her, but sat "immovable and cold." But the hot tears of Gerda, falling on his chest, "melted the ice crust" of the heart and "melted the fragment." Having recognized his named sister, the boy woke up as if, and the cherished word “eternity” formed by itself. So Kai was saved.

This tale tells us that only true and self-sacrificing love can destroy witchcraft spells and melt the cold and evil of an icy heart, as it helped a little girl to overcome many obstacles along the way.

Didn't find what you were looking for? Use the search

On this page, material on the topics:

• description of kai from a fairy tale The Snow Queen
• eternity in the fairy tale snow queen
• most summary snow queen book
• prove that the snow queen is a fairy tale
• popular expressions based on the fairy tale snow queen

Tales of Andersen

Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen" is one of the best and most famous fairy tales all times and peoples. The plot of this fairy tale formed the basis of many animated and feature films, performances. The very name "Snow Queen" has long become a household name. The tale about Kai, Gerda and the Snow Queen is very popular. It tells about the adventures of two small children who were friends, their names were Kai and Gerda. An evil troll concocted a magic mirror that distorted everything good to incredibly bad. At first, the troll looked at the reflections of all people in this mirror and laughed angrily, and then he thought of looking at the sky in this mirror. But the mirror shattered at a high altitude and a huge number of fragments scattered around the world. Whoever got this devilish fragment in the eye or heart - he instantly began to see everything and feel distorted and very negative. Little Kai got 2 fragments from this mirror - in the eye and in the heart. And then Kai was kidnapped by the Snow Queen and taken to her castle in Lapland. His girlfriend Gerda traveled half the world in search of her beloved Kai, going through many different trials and adventures. All the same, Gerda managed to find the Snow Queen's castle and drag Kai out of there, pitying him with their common favorite song. Kai shed a tear, a piece of the devil's mirror washed away with tears, and he and Gerda fled from the Snow Queen's castle.

8613985ec49eb8f757ae6439e879bb2a

History first.

Which talks about the mirror and its fragments

So, once upon a time there was a troll, evil, wicked - it was the devil himself. Once he was in a great mood: he made a mirror that had amazing property. Everything good and beautiful, reflected in it, almost disappeared, but everything insignificant and disgusting was especially striking and became even uglier. Wonderful landscapes seemed in this mirror boiled spinach, and the best of people - freaks; it seemed as if they were standing upside down, without bellies, and their faces were so distorted that they could not be recognized.

If someone had a single freckle on his face, this person could be sure that in the mirror it would blur into his entire nose or mouth. The devil was terribly amused by all this. When a good pious thought came into a man's head, the mirror immediately made a face, and the troll laughed, rejoicing at his funny invention. All the students of the troll - and he had his own school - said that a miracle had happened.

They rushed everywhere with a mirror, and in the end there was not a single country and not a single person left who would not be reflected in it in a distorted form. And so they wanted to get to heaven in order to laugh at the angels and at the Lord God. The higher they climbed, the more the mirror grimaced and grimaced; it was difficult for them to keep him: they flew higher and higher, closer and closer to God and the angels; but suddenly the mirror was so warped and trembled that it escaped from their hands and flew to the ground, where it shattered into smithereens. Millions, billions, a myriad of fragments have done much more harm than the mirror itself. Some of them, the size of a grain of sand, scattered around the wide world and, it happened, fell into people's eyes; they stayed there, and people from that time on saw everything upside down or noticed only the bad side in everything: the fact is that each tiny fragment had the same power as a mirror. For some people, the fragments hit right in the heart - this was the worst thing - the heart turned into a piece of ice. There were also fragments so large that they could be inserted into the window frame, but through these windows it was not worth looking at your friends. Other fragments were inserted into glasses, but as soon as people put them on in order to take a good look at everything and make a fair judgment, disaster struck. And the evil troll laughed to the point of colic in his stomach, as if he was being tickled. And many fragments of the mirror were still flying around the world. Let's hear what happened next!

Story two

Do they have a queen? the boy asked, because he knew real bees had it.

Yes, Grandma replied. - The queen flies where the snow swarm is thickest; it is larger than all snowflakes and never lies on the ground for a long time, but flies away again with a black cloud. Sometimes at midnight she flies through the streets of the city and looks into the windows - then they are covered with wonderful ice patterns, like flowers.

“We saw, we saw,” the children said and believed that all this was the absolute truth.

Or maybe the Snow Queen will come to us? - asked the girl.

Just let him try! - said the boy. - I'll put it on a red-hot stove, and it will melt.

But the grandmother stroked his head and started talking about something else.

In the evening, when Kai returned home and had almost undressed, about to go to bed, he climbed onto a bench by the window and looked into the round hole where the ice had thawed. Snowflakes fluttered outside the window; one of them, the largest, landed on the edge of the flower box. The snowflake grew, grew, until at last it turned into a tall woman wrapped in the thinnest white veil; it seemed to be woven from millions of snow stars. This woman, so beautiful and majestic, was all of ice, of dazzling, sparkling ice, - and yet alive; her eyes shone like two clear stars, but there was neither warmth nor peace in them. She leaned over to the window, nodded to the boy, and beckoned him with her hand. The boy was frightened and jumped off the bench, and something like a huge bird flashed past the window.

Hand in hand, the children sang, kissed the roses, looked at the clear rays of the sun and talked to them - in this radiance they seemed to be the infant Christ himself. How beautiful were these summer days how nice it was to sit next to each other under bushes of fragrant roses - it seemed that they would never stop blooming.

Kai and Gerda sat and looked at a picture book - different animals and birds. And suddenly, just on the tower clock struck five - Kai cried out:

- It hit me right in the heart! Now there's something in my eye! The girl wrapped her arms around his neck. Kai blinked his eyes; no, nothing was visible.

“Probably jumped out,” he said; but the fact of the matter is that it didn't pop up. It was just a tiny shard of the devil's mirror; after all, we, of course, remember this terrible glass, in which everything great and good seemed insignificant and ugly, while evil and evil stood out even more sharply, and every flaw was immediately evident. A tiny fragment hit Kai right in the heart. Now it was supposed to "turn into a piece of ice." The pain was gone, but the shard remained.

-What are you whining about? Kai asked. - How ugly you are now! Because it doesn't hurt me at all! . . . Ugh! he shouted suddenly. - This rose is sharpened by a worm! Look, she's really crooked! What ugly roses! No better than the boxes they're in!

And suddenly he pushed the box with his foot and plucked both roses.

Kai! What are you doing? the girl screamed.

Seeing how frightened she was, Kai broke another branch and ran away from cute little Gerda through his window.

If the girl brought him a picture book after that, he said that these pictures are good only for babies; whenever grandmother told something, he interrupted her and found fault with words; and sometimes he had such a feeling that he imitated her walk, put on glasses and imitated her voice. It turned out very similar, and people rolled with laughter. Soon the boy learned to mimic all the neighbors. He so deftly exposed all their oddities and shortcomings that people were only amazed:

What a head this little boy has!

I was allowed to ride in the big square with the other boys! - And running.

There were many children on the square. The bravest boys tied their sledges to the peasant sleigh and rode quite a distance. The fun went on and on. In the midst of it, large white sledges appeared in the square; a man was sitting in them, wrapped in a fluffy, white fur coat, he had the same hat on his head. The sleigh circled the square twice, Kai quickly tied his little sleigh to it and drove off. lane. The one who was sitting in them turned around and nodded affably to Kai, as if they had known each other for a long time. Every time Kai wanted to untie the sled, the rider in a white coat nodded to him, and the boy rode on. Here they drove out of the city gates. Snow suddenly he threw down thick flakes, so that the boy could not see anything a step ahead of him, and the sleigh kept rushing and rushing.

She put the boy next to her on a big sledge and wrapped him in her fur coat; Kai seemed to fall into a snowdrift.

-Are you still cold? she asked and kissed him on the forehead. Wu! kiss her was colder than ice, he pierced through it and reached the very heart, and it was already half ice. For a moment, it seemed to Kai that he was about to die, and then he felt good, and he no longer felt the cold.

-My sleds! Don't forget about my sled! said the boy. A sleigh was tied on the back of one of the white hens, and she flew with them after the big sleigh. The Snow Queen kissed Kai again, and he forgot both little Gerda and his grandmother, all those who stayed at home.

"I won't kiss you again," she said. "Or I'll kiss you to death!"

Kai looked at her, she was so pretty! He could not imagine a smarter, more charming face. Now she did not seem icy to him, as she had when she sat outside the window and nodded to him. In his eyes, she was perfection. Kai no longer felt fear and told her that he could count in his head and even knew fractions, and he also knew how many square miles and inhabitants each country had... And the Snow Queen only smiled. And it seemed to Kai that he really knew so little, and he fixed his eyes on the endless air space. The Snow Queen picked up the boy and soared with him onto the black cloud.

The storm wept and groaned, as if singing old songs. Kai and the Snow Queen flew over forests and lakes, over seas and land. Cold winds whistled under them, wolves howled, snow sparkled, and black crows circled with a cry above their heads; but high above shone a big clear moon. Kai looked at him all the long, long winter night - during the day he slept at the feet of the Snow Queen.

Story three

And what happened to little Gerda after Kai did not return? Where did he disappear to? No one knew this, no one could tell anything about him. The boys only said that they saw him tying his sledge to a large magnificent sleigh, which then turned into another street and sped away through the city gates. Nobody knew where he had gone. Many tears were shed: little Gerda wept bitterly and for a long time. Finally, everyone decided that Kai was no longer alive: maybe he drowned in the river that flowed near the city. Oh, how these gloomy winter days dragged on! But then spring came, the sun shone.

“Kai is dead, he won’t come back,” said little Gerda.

I don't believe it! Sunlight retorted.

He died and will never return! she said to the swallows.

We don't believe! - they answered, and, finally, Gerda herself stopped believing it.

I'll put on my new red shoes, she said one morning. Kai has never seen them before. And then I'll go down to the river and ask about him.

It was still very early. The girl kissed her sleeping grandmother, put on her red shoes, went out alone through the gate and went down to the river:

Is it true that you took my little friend? I'll give you my red shoes if you return it to me.

The stream carried the boat farther and farther away, Gerda sat very still in her stockings - the red shoes floated behind the boat, but they could not catch up with her: the boat sailed much faster.

The banks of the river were very beautiful: century-old trees grew everywhere, wonderful flowers were full of flowers, sheep and cows grazed on the slopes, but people were nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe the river is taking me straight to Kai?" thought Gerda. She cheered up, got to her feet and admired the picturesque green shores for a long, long time; the boat sailed up to a large cherry orchard, in which there was a small house with wonderful red and blue windows and a thatched roof. Two wooden soldiers stood in front of the house and gave guns honor all who sailed by. Gerda thought they were alive, and called out to them, but the soldiers, of course, did not answer her; the boat swam even closer - she almost came close to the shore.

The girl screamed even louder, and then a decrepit, decrepit old woman in a wide-brimmed straw hat painted with wonderful flowers came out of the house, leaning on a stick.

The girl was glad, dear, that she finally got ashore, although she was a little afraid of an unfamiliar old woman.

Well, let's go; tell me who you are and how you got here,” said the old woman.

Gerda began to tell about everything that had happened to her, and the old woman shook her head and said: “Hm! Hm!” But then Gerda finished and asked her if she had seen little Kai.The old woman replied that he had not yet passed here, but probably would come here soon, so the girl had nothing to grieve - let her taste her cherries and look at the flowers that grow in the garden, these flowers are more beautiful than any picture books, and each flower tells its own tale.The old woman took Gerda by the hand, led her to her house and locked the door with a key.

The windows in the house were high from the floor and all of different glasses: red, blue and yellow, so the whole room was lit with some amazing rainbow light. There were wonderful cherries on the table, and the old woman allowed Gerda to eat as much as she liked. And while the girl ate, the old woman combed her hair with a golden comb, it shone like gold, and curled so wonderfully around her delicate face, round and ruddy, like a rose.

I have long wanted to have such a pretty girl! - said the old woman. - Here you will see how nicely we will live with you!

And the longer she combed Gerda's hair, the faster Gerda forgot her named brother Kai: after all, this old woman knew how to conjure. But she was not an evil sorceress and conjured only occasionally, for her own pleasure; and now she really wanted little Gerda to stay with her. And so she went into the garden, waved her stick over each rose bush, and as they stood in bloom, they all went deep into the ground - and there was no trace of them. The old woman was afraid that Gerda, when she saw the roses, would remember her own, and then Kai, and run away.

Having done her job, the old woman took Gerda to the flower garden. Oh, how beautiful it was, how fragrant the flowers were! All the flowers that are in the world, of all seasons, bloomed magnificently in this garden; no picture book could be more colorful and beautiful than this flower garden. Gerda jumped for joy and played among the flowers until the sun disappeared behind the tall cherry trees. Then they put her in a wonderful bed with red silk feather beds, and those feather beds were stuffed with blue violets; the girl fell asleep, and she had such wonderful dreams as only a queen sees on her wedding day.

The next day, Gerda was again allowed to play in the sun in a wonderful flower garden. So many days passed. Gerda now knew every flower, but although there were so many of them, it still seemed to her that some flower was missing; just what is it? One day she was sitting and looking at the old woman's straw hat, painted with flowers, and among them the rose was the most beautiful of all. The old woman forgot to wipe it off her hat when she bewitched living roses and hid them underground. This is what distraction leads to!

-How! Are there any roses here? - exclaimed Gerda and ran to look for them in the flower beds. I searched and searched, but I couldn't find it.

Then the girl sank to the ground and wept. But her hot tears fell right on the spot where the rose bush was hidden, and as soon as they wet the ground, it instantly appeared in the flower bed as blooming as before. Gerda wrapped her arms around him and began to kiss the roses; then she remembered those wonderful roses that bloomed at home, and then about Kai.

- How did I hesitate! - said the girl. - After all, I need to look for Kai! Do you know where he is? she asked the roses. - Do you believe that he is not alive?

- No, he's not dead! roses answered. - We visited underground, where all the dead lie, but Kai is not among them.

Thank you! - said Gerda and went to other flowers. She looked into their cups and asked:

Do you know where Kai is?

Do you hear the drum beat? "Boom Boom!". The sounds are very monotonous, just two tones: "Boom!", "Boom!". Listen to the mournful singing of women! Listen to the cries of the priests... In a long scarlet robe, an Indian widow stands at the stake. Tongues of flame cover her and the body of her dead husband, but the woman thinks of a living person who is standing right there - about the one whose eyes burn brighter than the flame, whose eyes burn the heart of the hot fire that is about to incinerate her body. Can the flame of the heart go out in the flame of a fire!

- I don't understand anything! Gerda said.

This is my fairy tale,” explained the fiery lily. What did the bindweed say?

An ancient knight's castle rises above the rocks. A narrow mountain path leads to it. The old red walls are covered with thick ivy, its leaves cling to each other, the ivy wraps around the balcony; a lovely girl is standing on the balcony. She leans over the railing and looks down the path: no rose can match her freshness; and the blossom of an apple-tree plucked by a gust of wind does not tremble as she does. How her marvelous silk dress rustles! "Won't he come?"

Are you talking about Kai? asked Gerda.

I'm talking about my dreams! This is my fairy tale, - the bindweed answered. What did the little snowdrop say?

A long board hangs between the trees on thick ropes - this is a swing. On them are two little girls; their dresses are white as snow, and their hats have long green silk ribbons that flutter in the wind. The brother, older than them, stands on a swing, wrapping his arm around the rope so as not to fall; in one hand he has a cup of water, and in the other a tube - he blows soap bubbles; the swing swings, bubbles fly through the air and shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow. The last bubble still hangs at the end of the tube and sways in the wind. A black dog, light as a soap bubble, gets up on its hind legs and wants to jump onto the swing: but the swing takes off, the dog falls, gets angry and yelps: the children tease her, the bubbles burst... my song!

- Well, she's very sweet, but you say all this in such a sad voice! And again, not a word about Kai! What did the hyacinths say?

- Three sisters lived in the world, slender, airy beauties. One dress was red, the other blue, the third completely white. Hand in hand, they danced by the still lake in clear moonlight. They were not elves, but real living girls. A sweet fragrance filled the air, and the girls disappeared into the forest. But now the smell was even stronger, even sweeter - three coffins floated out of the forest thicket onto the lake. There were girls in them; fireflies swirled in the air like tiny flickering lights. Sleeping young dancers or dead? The scent of the flowers says they are dead. The evening bell tolls for the dead!

“You upset me completely,” said Gerda. - You smell so strong too. Now I can't get dead girls out of my head! Is Kai dead too? But the roses have been underground, and they say he's not there.

- Ding dong! hyacinth bells rang out. - We didn't call over Kai. We don't even know him. We sing our own song.

Gerda went up to the buttercup, which was sitting among the brilliant green leaves.

Little bright sunshine! Gerda said. - Tell me, do you know where I can look for my little friend?

Buttercup shone even brighter and looked at Gerda. What song did the buttercup sing? But even in this song there was not a word about Kai!

-It was the first spring day, the sun shone amiably on a small courtyard and warmed the earth. Its rays glided over the white wall of the neighboring house. The first yellow flowers bloomed near the wall itself, as if golden they sparkled in the sun; the old grandmother was sitting on her chair in the yard;here her granddaughter, a poor, charming maid, returned home from the guests. She kissed her grandmother; her kiss is pure gold, it comes straight from the heart. Gold on the lips, gold in the heart, gold in the sky in the morning hour. Here it is, my little story! Buttercup said.

- My poor grandmother! Gerda sighed. - She, of course, yearns and suffers because of me; how she grieved for Kai! But I'll be back home soon with Kai. There is no need to ask the flowers any more, they know nothing but their own songs - anyway they will not advise me anything.

And she tied up her dress higher so that it would be more convenient to run. But when Gerda wanted to jump over the narcissus, he whipped her on the leg. The girl stopped, looked at the long yellow flower and asked:

- Maybe you know something?

And she bent over the daffodil, waiting for an answer.

What did the narcissist say?

I see myself! I see myself! Oh, how I smell! High under the roof, in a small closet, stands a half-dressed dancer. She now stands on one leg, then on both, she tramples the whole world, - after all, she is only an optical illusion. Here she is pouring water from a kettle onto a piece of cloth that she is holding in her hands. This is her corsage. Cleanliness is the best beauty! White dress hangs on a nail driven into the wall; it, too, was washed with water from the kettle and dried on the roof. Here the girl dresses and ties a bright yellow handkerchief around her neck, and it sets off the whiteness of the dress even more sharply. One more leg in the air! See how straight it rests on another, like a flower on its stalk! I see myself in her! I see myself in her!

-What do I care about all this! Gerda said. - There is nothing to tell me about it!

And she ran to the end of the garden. The gate was locked, but Gerda loosened the rusty bolt for so long that it gave way, the gate swung open, and now the girl ran barefoot along the road. Three times she looked back, but no one was chasing her. Finally, she got tired, sat down on a large stone and looked around: summer had already passed, late autumn had come. This was not noticeable to the old woman in the magic garden - after all, the sun shone all the time and flowers of all seasons bloomed.

-God! How I hesitated! - said Gerda. - It's already autumn! No, I can't rest!

Oh, how her tired legs ached! How unfriendly and cold it was around! The long leaves on the willows were completely yellowed, the dew flowed down from them in large drops. The leaves fell to the ground one by one. Only the blackthorn still had berries, but they were so astringent and tart.

Oh, how gray and dull the whole world seemed!

Fourth story

Prince and Princess

Gerda had to sit down again and rest. A large raven jumped in the snow in front of her; for a long, long time he looked at the girl, nodding his head, and finally said:

- Carr-carr! Dobrry day!

The raven did not know how to speak better, but with all his heart he wished the girl well and asked her where she was wandering all alone in the wide world. Gerda understood the word "one" well, she felt what it meant. So she told the raven about her life and asked if he had seen Kai.

The raven shook his head in thought and croaked:

Very probable! Very probable!

How? Truth? - exclaimed the girl; she showered the raven with kisses and hugged him so tightly that she almost strangled him.

-Be prudent, be prudent! - said the raven. - I think it was Kai! But he must have completely forgotten you because of his princess!

-Does he live with the princess? asked Gerda.

Yes, listen! - said the raven. “Only I find it terribly difficult to speak human language. Now, if you understood like a crow, I would have told you much better!
“No, I haven’t learned that,” Gerda sighed. - But my grandmother, she understood, she even knew the “secret” language*.

“Well, nothing,” said the raven. I'll tell you what I can, even if it's bad. And he told everything he knew.

In the kingdom where we are with you, there lives a princess - such a clever woman that it is impossible to say! She read all the newspapers in the world, and immediately forgot what was written in them - what a clever girl! Somehow recently she was sitting on the throne - and people say that this is mortal boredom! - and suddenly she began to sing this song: “So that I don’t get married! So that I don’t get married!”. “And why not!” - she thought, and she wanted to get married. But she wanted to take as her husband such a man who could answer if they spoke to him, and not one who only knows how to put on airs - it's so boring. She ordered the drummers to strike their drums and call all the ladies of the court; and when the ladies of the court assembled and learned of the intentions of the princess, they were very glad.

-That's good! they said. We've been thinking about this recently. . .

Believe me, everything I tell you is the true truth! - said the raven. I have a bride at court, she is tame, and she can walk around the castle. So she told me all about it.

Stop, stop! Now we just got to it! On the third day came small man- neither in a carriage, nor on horseback, but simply on foot and bravely walked straight to the palace; his eyes shone like yours, he had beautiful long hair but he was very poorly dressed.

- It's Kai! Gerda rejoiced. - I finally found it! She clapped her hands in joy.

He had a knapsack behind his back, said the raven.

No, it was a skid! Gerda objected. - He left the house with a sled.

Or maybe a sledge, - the raven agreed. I didn't take a good look. But my fiancee, a tame crow, told me that when he entered the palace and saw the guards in uniforms embroidered with silver, and the lackeys in gold liveries on the stairs, he was not at all embarrassed, but only nodded affably to them and said: “It must be it's boring to stand on the stairs! I'd better go to the rooms!" The halls were flooded with light; Privy Councilors and their Excellencies went about without boots and carried golden dishes - after all, one must behave with dignity!

And the boy's boots creaked terribly, but this did not bother him at all.

It must have been Kai! - said Gerda. - I remember he had new boots, I heard how they creaked in my grandmother's room!

“Yes, they creaked in order,” continued the raven. - But the boy boldly approached the princess, who was sitting on a pearl the size of a spinning wheel. Around stood all the ladies of the court with their maids and with the maids of their maids, and all the gentlemen with their valets, the servants of their valets and the servants of the valet servants; and the closer they stood to the door, the more arrogantly they held themselves. It was impossible to look at the servant of the valet servants, who always wears shoes, without trembling, he stood at the threshold with such solemnity!

- Oh, it must have been very scary! Gerda said. - Well, so what, Kai married the princess?

If I weren't a raven, I'd marry her myself, even though I'm engaged! He began to talk with the princess and spoke as well as I do when I speak crow. So said my dear bride, the pet crow. The boy was very brave and at the same time sweet; he said that he did not come to the palace to woo, - he just wanted to talk with a smart princess; Well, so, he liked her, and she liked him.

Yes, of course it's Kai! Gerda said. - He's terribly smart! He knew how to count in his mind, and even knew fractions! Oh, please take me to the palace!

-Easy to say! - answered the raven, - Yes, how to do it? I will talk about it with my dear bride, a pet crow; maybe she will advise something; I must tell you that a little girl like you will never be allowed into the palace!

- They'll let me in! Gerda said. - As soon as Kai hears that I'm here, he will immediately come for me.

Wait for me at the bars! - croaked the raven, shook his head and flew away. He returned only late in the evening.

Carr! Carr! he shouted. - My fiancee sends you best wishes and a piece of bread. She stole it from the kitchen - there is a lot of bread there, and you must be hungry. You can't get into the palace, because you're barefoot. Guards in silver uniforms and lackeys in gold livery will never let you through. But don't cry, you'll still get there! My fiancée knows the little back staircase that leads straight to the bedroom, and she can get the key.

They entered the garden, went along a long avenue, where one by one fell from the trees autumn leaves. And when the lights went out in the windows, the raven led Gerda to the back door, which was slightly ajar.

Oh, how the girl's heart beat with fear and impatience! It was as if she was going to do something bad - but she only wanted to make sure it was Kai! Yes, yes, of course he's here! She imagined his intelligent eyes and long hair so vividly. The girl could clearly see him smiling at her, as if in the days when they sat side by side under the roses. He, of course, will be delighted as soon as he sees her and finds out in what a long way she went because of him and how all his relatives and friends grieved for him. She was beside herself with fear and joy!

But here they are on the landing of the stairs. There was a small lamp on the closet. On the floor in the middle of the landing stood a tame crow, she turned her head in all directions and looked at Gerda. The girl sat down and bowed to the crow, as her grandmother had taught her.

“My fiancé told me so many good things about you, dear lady,” said the tame crow. -Your "vita" **, as they say, is also very touching. Would you like to take a lamp, and I will go ahead. We will go straight, here we will not meet a soul.

“It seems to me that someone is following us,” said Gerda, and at that moment some shadows rushed past her with a slight noise: horses on slender legs, with flowing manes, hunters, ladies and gentlemen on horseback.

-These are dreams! - said the crow. “They have come to take the thoughts of high-ranking persons to the hunt. So much the better for us, at least no one will prevent you from taking a closer look at the sleeping ones. But I hope that you, having taken a high position at court, will show your best side and will not forget us!

-There is something to talk about! It goes without saying, - said the forest raven. Here they entered the first room. Its walls were upholstered with satin, and marvelous flowers were woven on that satin; and then dreams flashed past the girl again, but they flew so fast that Gerda could not see the noble horsemen. One room was more magnificent than the other; This luxury completely blinded Gerda. Finally, they entered the bedroom; its ceiling resembled a huge palm tree with leaves made of precious crystal; from the middle of the floor a thick golden trunk rose to the ceiling, and on it hung two beds in the form of lilies; one was white - the princess lay in it, and the other red - Gerda hoped to find Kai in it. She moved one of the red petals aside and saw the blond back of her head. Oh it's Kai! She called out to him loudly and held the lamp up to his very face—the dreams rushed away with a roar; The prince woke up and turned his head. . . Ah, it wasn't Kai!

The prince looked like Kai only from the back of his head, but he was also young and handsome. A princess looked out of a white lily and asked what happened. Gerda burst into tears and told about everything that had happened to her, she also mentioned what the raven and his bride had done for her.

-Oh, you poor thing! - the prince and princess took pity on the girl; they praised the ravens and said that they were not at all angry with them - but only in the future let them not do this! And for this act, they even decided to reward them.

-Do you want to be free birds? the princess asked. - Or do you want to take the position of court ravens on the full content of the kitchen leftovers?

Raven and crow bowed and asked permission to remain at court. They thought of old age and said:

-It's good to have a sure piece of bread in old age!

Story five

Little Robber

They rode through a dark forest, the carriage burned like a flame, the light cut the eyes of the robbers: they did not tolerate this.

Gold! Gold! they shouted, jumped out onto the road, grabbed the horses by the bridle, killed the little postilions, the coachman and the servants, and pulled Gerda out of the carriage.

- Look, how plump! Nuts fed! - said the old robber with a long stiff beard and bushy overhanging eyebrows.

-Like a fattened lamb! Let's see how it tastes? And she drew her sharp knife; he was so sparkling that it was scary to look at him.

-Ay! - the robber suddenly shouted: it was her own daughter, who was sitting behind her, who bit her on the ear. She was so wayward and mischievous that it was a pleasure to look at.

- Oh, you mean girl! - screamed the mother, but she did not have time to kill Gerda.

Let her play with me! - said the little robber. - Let her give me her muff and her pretty dress, and she will sleep with me in my bed!

Then she bit the robber again, so much so that she jumped up in pain and spun in one place.

The robbers laughed and said:

Look how she dances with her girl!

I want a carriage! - said the little robber girl and insisted on her own, - she was so spoiled and stubborn.

The little robber girl and Gerda got into the carriage and rushed over the snags and stones, straight into the thicket of the forest. The little robber was as tall as Gerda, but stronger, broader in her shoulders, and much darker; her hair was dark, and her eyes were completely black and sad. She hugged Gerda and said:

"They won't dare kill you until I get angry with you myself." Are you a princess?

The little robber looked at her seriously and said:

They won't dare to kill you, even if I get angry with you - I'd rather kill you myself!

She wiped Gerda's tears and thrust her hands into her beautiful, soft and warm muff.

Here the carriage stopped; they entered the courtyard of the robber's castle. The lock was cracked from top to bottom; crows and crows flew out of the cracks. Huge bulldogs, so ferocious as if they were eager to swallow a man, jumped around the yard; but they did not bark - it was forbidden.

In the middle of a huge, old, smoke-blackened hall, a fire burned right on the stone floor. The smoke rose to the ceiling and had to find its own way out; stew was cooked in a large cauldron, and hares and rabbits were roasted on skewers.

- This night you will sleep with me, next to my little animals, - said the little robber.

The girls were fed and watered, and they went to their corner, where lay the straw, covered with carpets. Above this bed, on perches and poles, sat about a hundred pigeons: it seemed that they were all sleeping, but when the girls approached, the pigeons stirred slightly.

I always sleep with a knife! - answered the little robber. - Is there anything that can happen? Now tell me again about Kai and how you wandered around the wide world.

Gerda told everything from the very beginning. Wood pigeons cooed softly behind bars, and the rest were already asleep. The little robber girl threw one arm around Gerda's neck - she had a knife in the other - and began to snore; but Gerda could not close her eyes: the girl did not know whether they would kill her or let her live. The robbers sat around the fire, drinking wine and singing songs, and the old robber woman tumbled. The girl looked at them in horror.

Suddenly wild pigeons cooed:

Kurr! Kurr! We saw Kai! The white hen carried his sleigh on his back, and he himself sat next to the Snow Queen in her sleigh; they raced over the forest while we were still in the nest; she breathed on us, and all the chicks, except for me and my brother, died. Kurr! Kurr!

-What are you talking about? exclaimed Gerda. Where did the Snow Queen go? Do you know anything else?

It can be seen that she flew to Lapland - after all, there is eternal snow and ice. Ask the reindeer what is leashed here.

Yes, there is ice and snow! Yes, it's wonderful! - said the deer. - It's good there! Ride at will across the vast sparkling snowy plains! There the Snow Queen pitched her summer tent, and her permanent palaces North Pole on the island of Svalbard!

- Oh Kai, my dear Kai! Gerda sighed.

Lie still! grumbled the little robber. - I'll stab you with a knife!

In the morning Gerda told her everything that the wood pigeons had said. The little robber looked at her seriously and said:

-Okay, okay... Do you know where Lapland is? she asked the reindeer.

Who knows if not me! - answered the deer, and his eyes sparkled. - There I was born and raised, there I rode on the snowy plains!

-Listen! said the little robber girl to Gerda. - You see, all of us left, only the mother remained at home; but after a while she will take a sip from a large bottle and take a nap, - then I will do something for you.

Then she jumped out of bed, hugged her mother, pulled her beard and said:

Hello my cute goat!

And her mother pinched her nose, so that he blushed and turned blue - it was they, loving, caressing each other.

Then, when the mother took a sip from her bottle and dozed off, the little robber went up to the deer and said:

I would tickle you with that sharp knife again and again! You're so funny trembling. Anyway! I will untie you and set you free! You can go to your Lapland. Just run as fast as you can and take this girl to the Snow Queen's palace to her sweet friend. Did you hear what she said? She spoke quite loudly, and you are always eavesdropping!

The reindeer jumped for joy. The little robber put Gerda on him, tied her tightly just in case, and even slipped a soft pillow under her so that she could sit comfortably.