Снежная королева / The Snow Queen - стр. 5

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[13].

“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[14], 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[15] 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?[16]” And with that the old woman stepped into the water and hooked her stick to the boat and