Have you ever heard of a mirror so naughty, it loved to play tricks? This wasn't just any mirror. It was made by a mischievous hobgoblin, and its special power was to make everything good and beautiful look twisted and ugly. If a lovely smile looked into it, the mirror showed a grumpy frown. If a sunny day peeked in, the mirror showed a stormy mess.

One day, the hobgoblin and his impish friends tried to carry this mirror up to the sky, to make fun of the angels. But they were clumsy, and CRASH! The mirror dropped and shattered into millions and billions of tiny, sparkly pieces, some no bigger than a grain of sand. These tiny pieces flew all over the world. If a speck got into someone's eye, they started to see everything crooked and mean. If a speck flew into someone's heart, their heart would turn cold, like a little lump of ice.

Now, in a big town, lived two best friends, a little boy named Kai and a little girl named Gerda. They weren't brother and sister, but they loved each other just as much. Their families lived in attics opposite each other, and they had built a little bridge of flower boxes between their windows. In summer, these boxes were full of the most beautiful roses. Kai and Gerda would sit there, under the roses, and play for hours.

One winter day, as snowflakes danced outside, Kai’s grandmother told them stories about the Snow Queen. "She flies where the snow is thickest," she said, "and sometimes she peeks through windows, and then the glass freezes in icy flower patterns."
"Can the Snow Queen come in here?" asked Gerda.
"Let her try!" boasted Kai. "I'd put her on the warm stove, and she'd melt!"

Later, as they were looking at a picture book, Kai suddenly cried out, "Ouch! Something pricked my eye!" And then, "Ouch! Something pricked my heart!"
Poor Kai! A tiny, invisible sliver of the hobgoblin's mirror had flown into his eye, and another into his heart. Instantly, his heart began to turn to ice.
"Why are you crying?" he snapped at Gerda. "You look silly." He pulled at their beautiful roses, saying, "Look, this one has a worm in it! These roses are ugly!"
From that day on, Kai was different. He became grumpy and clever in a mean way. He made fun of everyone, even Gerda. He loved to look at snowflakes under a magnifying glass, saying they were more perfect than any flower.

One very cold day, Kai went to the big town square with his little sled. Suddenly, a huge, magnificent white sleigh appeared, driven by someone wrapped in a sparkling white fur coat. It was the Snow Queen! She beckoned to Kai. He, feeling bold and a bit chilly in his heart, tied his little sled to hers.
Whoosh! They sped off, faster and faster, out of the town gates. The Snow Queen turned to Kai. She was dazzlingly beautiful, but made of ice, glittering, cold ice. She kissed him on the forehead. Oh! It was colder than any ice. It went straight to his heart, which was already half ice. He forgot all about Gerda and his grandmother. She kissed him again, and he forgot everything and everyone. He felt no cold; he just snuggled into her fur. Then they flew up into the dark, stormy clouds.

Gerda waited and waited for Kai. When he didn't come back, everyone said he must have drowned in the river. Gerda cried and cried. Her heart ached.
When spring came, Gerda decided she had to find Kai. She went to the river. "Dear river," she whispered, "did you take my Kai? I'll give you my new red shoes if you tell me." She threw her precious shoes into the water, but the river didn't answer. She found an old boat and climbed in, hoping it would take her to Kai. The boat drifted away, carrying little Gerda on her big adventure.

The boat took her to a beautiful garden full of talking flowers and sunshine. An old woman with a cherry-red hat and a staff painted with flowers came out. She was very kind, but she was also a bit of a magician. She wanted Gerda to stay with her forever, so she combed Gerda's hair with a magic comb, and Gerda forgot all about Kai. The old woman even made all the rose bushes sink under the ground so Gerda wouldn't be reminded of him. But one day, Gerda saw a rose painted on the old woman's hat. Suddenly, she remembered Kai! She cried, and her warm tears made one rose bush pop back up. The roses told her Kai was not dead, and Gerda ran away from the enchanted garden as fast as she could.

She walked and walked until she met a clever crow. Gerda asked if he had seen Kai. The crow thought for a moment. "Caw! Perhaps! There's a new prince in the palace, very clever, and he arrived alone. Maybe it's your Kai!"
The crow and his tame sweetheart crow helped Gerda sneak into the palace. But the prince wasn't Kai. He and the princess were very kind, though. When they heard Gerda's story, they gave her warm clothes, boots, a muff, and a golden carriage to help her on her journey.

But oh dear! As the golden carriage drove through a dark forest, it was attacked by robbers! A wild Robber Girl, about Gerda's age, with sharp eyes and a dagger, claimed Gerda as her own playmate. The Robber Girl was fierce, but she had a soft spot. She had many pet doves and a reindeer named Bae. The doves cooed that they had seen Kai with the Snow Queen, flying towards Lapland. Bae the reindeer knew the way.
The Robber Girl, seeing how much Gerda missed Kai, decided to help. She gave Gerda back her warm clothes, untied Bae, and said, "Go on, run! Take her to Lapland and the Snow Queen's palace!"

Bae ran like the wind, carrying Gerda north, where it was very, very cold. They stopped at the hut of a kind Lapp woman. She wrote a message for Gerda on a dried codfish and told Bae to take her to a Finn woman, who knew even more magic.
The Finn woman lived in a smoky hut. She read the codfish message. Bae asked her to give Gerda the strength of twelve men. "Her strength is already great," said the Finn woman. "It comes from her pure, innocent heart and her love for Kai. She doesn't need more power from me. If she cannot reach the Snow Queen's palace herself, nothing can help her."

So Gerda and Bae continued. It was freezing! Gerda’s hands and feet were almost numb. Suddenly, the Snow Queen's guards, giant, scary snowflakes shaped like polar bears and porcupines, attacked them. Gerda was so scared, but she remembered to say her prayers. As she prayed, her breath turned into tiny, bright angels. These angels fought off the snowflake monsters, warming Gerda's hands and feet so she could go on.

At last, Gerda reached the Snow Queen's palace. It was enormous, made of glittering ice, and terribly cold and empty. In the middle of a vast, frozen lake, she saw Kai. He was blue with cold, almost frozen stiff. He was trying to arrange sharp pieces of ice into patterns. The Snow Queen had told him if he could spell the word "Eternity" with the ice, he would be his own master and she would give him the whole world and a new pair of skates. But he couldn't do it. The shard in his eye made him see only the cold logic of the ice, and the shard in his heart kept him frozen.

"Kai! My dear Kai!" cried Gerda, running to him. She threw her arms around his neck.
Kai sat still, cold and unresponsive.
Gerda wept. Her hot tears fell onto Kai's chest. They streamed right into his heart, melting the ice splinter. Kai looked at her. Then, he too burst into tears, and as he cried, the little piece of mirror glass washed out of his eye.
"Gerda! My sweet little Gerda!" he cried. "Where have you been for so long? And where have I been?" He shivered and looked around the empty, icy hall. "It's so cold and empty here!" He clung to Gerda, and they both cried and laughed with joy.
The pieces of ice around them danced with happiness and formed the word "Eternity" all by themselves. Kai was free!

Hand in hand, they walked out of the ice palace. Bae the reindeer was waiting for them, along with another reindeer who had milk for them. They journeyed south, meeting the Finn woman and the Lapp woman, who helped them on their way. They even met the Robber Girl, who was now traveling and was happy to see them.
Finally, Kai and Gerda reached their town. Everything looked the same, yet different. They walked up the stairs to their attics. They were grown up now, young adults, but in their hearts, they were still children. The roses in the window boxes were blooming beautifully. Grandmother was sitting in the sunshine, reading from her Bible.
Kai and Gerda sat down on their little stools, holding hands. The cold, empty splendor of the Snow Queen's palace was like a distant dream. The wicked mirror's power was broken, at least for them. And the roses bloomed, just as lovely as ever.

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