"Wife, wife, what makes you
sit there staring
at other people's children,
deep in thought?
Why should we not
go out ourselves
and have some fun,
old though we be?
Let us make a snowman too!"
And sure enough,
a wave of merriment
came over the old woman as well.
"Very well, husband,
out we go. But
why make a snowman?
We already have you
in the family,
and that's enough for me.
Let us make a daughter
for ourselves, a snow maiden."
No sooner said than done.
Out they went
into the back garden
and began to mould
their snow daughter.
When they had finished,
they took two blue beads
for her eyes, and made
two little dimples
in her cheeks.
They made the mouth
out of scarlet ribbon.
How lonely she looked,
their little snow daughter,
their Snow Maiden!
The old man and his wife
gazed and gazed,
and could not take
their eyes off her.
All of a sudden, the corners
of the Snow Maiden's mouth
turned up in a smile
and her hair began to curl!
Then she stirred slightly
with her hands and feet,
started to move -
and walked
through the garden to the hut!
The old man and his wife
were so astounded
that they stood rooted
to the spot.
"Husband!"
cried the old woman.
"Just think! We have got
a real live daughter
of our own,
our darling Snow Maiden!"
And they rushed into the hut.
What a joy that was!
The Snow Maiden
grew fast, and
with every passing day
she grew lovelier
and lovelier.
The old man and his wife
would not let her
out of their sight,
they fairly
doted on her.
The Snow Maiden
was white as a snowflake,
her eyes were like
blue beads,
and her flaxen hair
fell to her waist
in a thick plait.
Yet there were no roses
in her cheeks,
not a touch of color
in her lips. Even so,
the Snow Maiden
was a beauty.
Soon the merry springtime
came, the trees
burst into leaf,
the bees flew
here and there
in the fields,
and a skylark sang.
All the lads
were glad as glad,
and the lasses
sang songs of spring.
But the Snow Maiden
grew sad and listless,
she would look
out of the window
and weep.
Then came
the bright summer days.
The flowers blossomed
in the gardens,
and the corn ripened
in the fields.
The Snow Maiden grew
more and more melancholy.
She avoided
the sunshine
and sought out
cool, shady places -
she liked to be out
in the rain best of all.
The old man and his wife
would ask her uneasily:
"Aren't you feeling well,
little daughter?"
"I'm well," would be
the reply. But
she still sat in the corner,
and wouldn't go out.
A day came when her friends,
the village girls, decided
to go berrying
in the woods,
to pick raspberries,
bilberries and
wild strawberries.
They called
to the Snow Maiden
to join them:
"Come with us,
little Snow Maiden,"
they cried. "Do come!"
The Snow Maiden
was reluctant to go
to the woods,
out there
in the sunshine. But
the old man and his wife
insisted, saying:
"Go along, Snow Maiden,
go with them, dear,
it will be jolly
with your friends."
The Snow Maiden
took a little basket
and went to the woods
with her young friends.
Her friends
walked about in the woods
and made garlands
and danced in a ring
and sang songs.
But the Snow Maiden
found a cool streamlet
to sit by, and looked
into the swift-flowing
water,
dipping her fingers
into it,
and playing
with the pearly drops.
The day was drawing to a close.
The girls disported themselves
still more merrily -
they adorned themselves
with their garlands,
built up a bonfire,
and began jumping across it.
The Snow Maiden had no desire
to join them in this pastime,
and hung back, but her friends
gave her no peace
until she walked up to the fire.
She stood there, trembling.
There was not
a drop of blood in her face,
and her flaxen hair
had come unbound
and fell loose about her...
"Jump! Jump, Snow Maiden!"
cried the girls.
The Snow Maiden
took a flying leap...
There was a hissing sound
above the fire,
a piteous moaning,
and the Snow Maiden vanished.
A white wisp of steam
rose from the fire.
It formed a little cloud
that floated
ever higher and higher
into the sky.
The Snow Maiden
had melted away.
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