Exercises

1.1. Translate into Russian.

attention, attic, blossom, copper, frosty, gutter, herbs, immense, mankind, sledge, snowflake, splinter, temper, to creep, to distort, to grimace, to judge, to swarm, to twine, troll

1.2. Answer the questions.

1. What is the looking-glass?

2. What happened to the looking-glass?

3. What were the names of the boy and the girl?

4. Were the children brother and sister?

5. Which flowers did the parents grow in their boxes?

6. Who told the children about the Snow Queen?

7. When did the pieces of looking glass got into the boys, eye and heart?

8. What was the boy going to do at the big square?

9. Who drove the large white sledge?

10. When did the boy meet the Snow Queen for the first time?

1.3. Insert the right prepositions (about, after, at, for, in, into, on, to, with).

1. Everyone spread the news all ______ the miracle looking glass.

2. It was very amusing _________ him.

3. And _____________ that, he didn’t notice the cold anymore.

4. Everything good and pretty that was reflected _________ it became bad and ugly.

5. They would heat copper pennies _____________ the stove.

6. Kay and Gerda were sitting looking _____________ a picture book.

7. She nodded towards the window and beckoned _____________ her hand.

8. It broke _____________ millions of tiny pieces.

9. There isn’t enough room ___________ everybody to have a little garden.

10. Now we are going to hear all _____________ it.

1.4. Complete the sentences using the words below.

millions • high • bees • excellent • wicked • window • boxes • wonderful • swallows • stricking

1. Those are white _______ swarming.

2. It was _____________ fun.

3. It broke into _____________ of tiny pieces.

4. Once there was a __________ troll.

5. You could get from one ____________ to the other in one step.

6. The pea plants hung down over the _____________.

7. They freeze into ___________ patterns.

8. The ____________ built their nests.

9. The clock in the great church tower was _____________ five.

10. They flew _____________ among the dark clouds.

1.5. True or false?

1. The troll broke the magic looking-glass.

2. Kay got pieces of the looking-glass in his eye and in his heart.

3. Gerda lived far away from Kay.

4. Gerda saw the Snow Queen first.

5. Kay tied his sledge to the Snow Queen’s.

6. The children’s parents had a garden where they grew roses.

7. The Snow Queen kissed Kay twice.

8. The wicked troll kept a school.

9. The children weren’t allowed to play under the roses.

10. The glass made Kay tease everyone but Gerda.

Story the Third

The Flower Garden of the Old Woman who knew Magic

But how fared little Gerda when Kay didn’t came back? Nobody knew where he was, nobody could tell. The boys could only say they had seen him tie his little sledge to another large one which had driven down the street and out at the town gate. Many tears were shed. Then they said he was dead, drowned in the river. Dark indeed and long were those winter days.

Then came spring with warmer sunshine.

“Kay is dead and gone,” said little Gerda.

“I don’t believe it,” said the Sunshine.

“He’s dead and gone,” said she to the swallows.

“We don’t believe it,” they answered, and at last little Gerda didn’t believe it either.

“I’ll put on my new red shoes,” she said one morning early, “the ones Kay has never seen, and I’ll go down to the river and ask about him.”

It was quite early. She kissed her old grandmother as she slept, put on the red shoes, and went out of the gate to the river, quite alone.

“Is it true that you have taken Kay? I’ll give you my red shoes if you’ll give him back to me.”

The waves, she thought, nodded to her; so she took her red shoes, the most precious thing she had, and threw them into the river, but they fell close to the bank, and the waves carried them back to her. It seemed that the river would not take them because it didn’t have little Kay. But Gerda thought she hadn’t thrown the shoes far enough, so she climbed into a boat that lay near the water, and went out to the further end of it and threw out the shoes. But the boat wasn’t tied down, and with the movement she made it floated away from the shore. She noticed this and tried to get out, but before she could get back the boat was too far away, and began to drift quickly. Little Gerda was very much frightened and began to cry; but nobody heard her except the sparrows, and they couldn’t carry her ashore; but they flew along the bank and sang, as if to comfort her: “Here we are, here we are!” The boat was carried downstream; little Gerda sat still; her little red shoes floated behind, but couldn’t reach the boat, which was now travelling faster.

Both banks were very pretty, with beautiful flowers, old trees, and sloping fields with sheep and cows; but there weren’t any people to be seen.

“Perhaps the river will carry me to Kay,” thought Gerda. At last the boat came to a large cherry orchard, in which was a little house with blue and red windows, and outside two wooden soldiers, who were protecting it. Gerda called to them, thinking they were alive: but very naturally they didn’t answer. The river carried the boat straight towards the shore. Gerda called out louder, and out of the house came a very old woman with a walking stick. She had a large sun-hat on, painted with the most splendid flowers.

“Poor dear little child,” said the old woman, “how ever did you get out here on this great big river, far out into the wide world?” And with that the old woman stepped into the water and hooked her stick to the boat and pulled it ashore and lifted little Gerda out. Gerda was glad to be on dry land again, but she was a little afraid. “Come now, and tell me who you are, and how you got here,” said the old woman. When Gerda had told her everything and asked if she had seen little Kay, the woman said he hadn’t passed that way, but he would come, sure enough, and she wasn’t to be worried, but must taste her cherries, and look at her flowers. Then she took Gerda by the hand, and they went into the little house, and the old woman locked the door.

The windows in the house were placed very high up, and the glass in them was red and blue and yellow. The daylight shone very oddly through them; but on the table were the most beautiful cherries, and Gerda ate as many as she liked; and while she was eating, the old woman combed her hair with a gold comb.

“I’ve always wanted a sweet little girl like you,” said the old woman, “you’ll see how well we two shall get on,” and all the time she was combing little Gerda’s hair Gerda was forgetting more and more about Kay: for the old woman was skilled in witchcraft. She wasn’t a wicked witch, she only used witchcraft a little, for her own pleasure, and she wanted very much to keep little Gerda.

Later, the old woman went out into the garden and stretched out her stick towards all the rose bushes: and though they were all blooming beautifully, they all sank down into the earth and you couldn’t see where they had been. The old woman was afraid that when Gerda saw the roses she would think of her own roses, and then remember little Kay and run away.

Then she took Gerda out into the flower garden. What beauty was there! All the flowers one could think of stood there in their full bloom. Gerda jumped with joy and played till the sun set behind the tall cherry trees. Then she went to sleep in a lovely bed with red silk pillows.

Next day she played among the flowers again in the hot sunshine; and so many days went by. Gerda knew every flower, but even thought there were so many of them in the garden, she thought that one was missing, but she didn’t know which. Then, one day she was sitting looking at the old woman’s sun-hat with the flowers painted on it, and the prettiest of all that were there was a rose. The old woman forgot to take it away from her hat. “Why!” said Gerda, “aren’t there any roses?” And she ran around the garden and looked and looked, but there were none to be found. Then she sat down and cried; but her tears fell exactly on the spot where a rose bush was, and when the tears wetted the ground, it rose up all at once, blossoming.

“Oh, what am I doing?” said the little girl. “I was to find Kay—do you know where he is?” she asked the roses, “do you think he’s dead and gone?” “Dead he isn’t,” said the roses. “We’ve been down in the ground where all the dead people are, but Kay wasn’t there.”

“Thank you,” said little Gerda, and went off to the other flowers and looked into their cups and asked: “Do you know where little Kay is?”

But every flower was standing in the sun and dreaming its own story; none of them knew anything about Kay.

What said the tiger lily?

“Do you hear the drum! Boom! Boom! An Indian woman stands on the pyre in her long red robe, and the flames rise round her and her dead husband. But the woman is thinking of the living one who stands there in the circle. His eyes burn hotter than the flames, their fire pierces closer to her heart. Can the heart’s flame perish in the flames of the pyre?”

“I don’t understand,” said little Gerda.

“That’s my story,” said the tiger lily.

What says the bindweed?

“High above the narrow field-path stands an ancient castle. Thick vines grow over the old red walls, leaf on leaf, up to the balcony, and there stands a fair maiden. She bends over and looks down upon the road. There is no one more beautiful and graceful than she. How her silken skirt rustles! Is he coming?”

“Are you talking about Kay?” asked little Gerda.

“I’m only talking of my story, my dream,” the bindweed answered.

What says the little snowdrop?

“Between the trees a swing hangs on the ropes. Two pretty little girls—their clothes white as snow, and long green silk ribbons on their hats—are sitting and swinging. Their brother, who is bigger than they, is standing up in the swing, with his arm round the ropes to steady himself. In one hand he has a little saucer and in the other a clay pipe, and he’s blowing soap bubbles. The bubbles float with lovely changing colours. The little black dog wants to get into the swing too; it flies past, he falls down, and barks, and is angry. They laugh at him. The bubbles burst. That is my song.”

“I suppose it’s very pretty, but you say it so sadly, and you never mention Kay.”

What do the hyacinths say?

“There were three fair sisters, delicate and fine. The robe of one was red, the second’s robe was blue, and the third’s robe was white. They danced by the lake in the bright moonlight. Then came a waft of a smell, and the maidens vanished in the forest. The smell grew stronger. Three coffins glided over the lake, and in them lay the maidens. Fireflies flew around them like tiny evening lamps. Are the maidens dead or are they asleep? The scent of the flowers tells that they are dead.”

“Ugh!” said little Gerda. “Your scent is so strong, I can’t help thinking of the dead maidens. Oh, dear! Is little Kay really dead? The roses have been down in the ground and they say ‘No’.”

“Ding, dong!” rang out the hyacinth bells. “We’re not ringing for little Kay, we don’t know him, we’re only singing our own song, the only one we know.”

So Gerda went to the buttercup. “You’re a bright little sun,” said Gerda; “tell me if you know where I can find Kay.” The buttercup looked back at Gerda.

“In a little yard the sun was shining warm on the first day of spring; its beams crept down the neighbour’s white wall. The old grandmother was in her chair; her pretty granddaughter, the poor servant maid, came home to visit, and gave her grandmother a kiss. There was gold, beautiful gold in that kiss, gold on the lips, gold in the heart. Look, that’s my little story,” said the buttercup.

“Oh, my poor old granny!” sighed Gerda. “Yes, she must miss me, and she must be unhappy about me, as she was about little Kay. But I’ll soon be home again and bring Kay with me. It’s no good asking the flowers; they tell me nothing.”

Gerda ran to the border of the garden; the door was locked, but she twisted at the rusty staple till it came away, and the door flew open, and Gerda ran out barefoot into the wide world. She looked back, but there was nobody coming after her. Eventually she could run no further, and sat down on a big stone, and when she looked about her, she saw, that summer was over and it was late autumn.

“Good heavens!” said the Gerda. “It’s autumn now. I shouldn’t rest a minute!” So she got up and went on.

He little feet were bruised and tired, and it was cold and raw all round! How grey and dismal it was out in the wide world!