Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Kai and a girl named Gerda. They were best friends, loved each other like siblings, and spent every day together. In the summer, they would play among the flowers in the garden, and in the winter, they would watch the snow fall outside the window.
They also loved listening to the fairy tales their grandmother told them every day. One evening, she told them the story of the Snow Queen, who rules over winter and whose gaze is as cold as ice. She said that sometimes she draws strange patterns on the windows. Kai laughed and said that no queen could scare him.
But everything changed on the day when the wind scattered the shards of a magic mirror created by an evil wizard across the world. He wanted to use it to do evil, but he dropped it and it broke. The mirror made everything beautiful look ugly and turned good into evil. When the mirror broke, its shards flew out into the world, and some ended up in the eyes and hearts of people. One such shard also hit Kai. Suddenly, he was no longer cheerful, he no longer liked flowers or Gerda. He saw everything as ugly, his heart hardened, and his gaze was cold as ice.
And then winter came. The Snow Queen came to town—a beautiful, ice-white figure riding a sleigh pulled by white horses. When she saw Kai, she longed for someone to be with her and be forever devoted to her. She kissed him, the shard of the mirror settled in Kai’s heart, and he forgot about Gerda. He sat down on the sleigh with the Snow Queen and disappeared into the white blizzard…
When Gerda found out that Kai had disappeared, she did not hesitate for a moment. She set out to find him – alone, without a map, only with faith in friendship and love. Her journey was long and full of trials.
First, she came across a kind old woman who grew magical flowers and wanted Gerda to stay with her. But the roses in the garden reminded Gerda of Kay, and she remembered her mission. She continued on her way.
In the forest, she met a wise raven who told her about a prince and princess who could be Kai and the Snow Queen. Gerda went to the castle, but when she saw the prince, she knew it wasn’t him. Nevertheless, she found friends there who gave her beautiful clothes, a horse, and warm boots so she could continue on her way.
On the way, she was kidnapped by robbers, but even among them she found help. A little robber girl, wild but fair, befriended Gerda and eventually released her. She sent her further north on a reindeer, where the Snow Queen’s ice palace was supposed to be. After a long, freezing journey, Gerda finally arrived at the palace.
She found Kai sitting quietly on the ground, his eyes empty, his heart frozen. Gerda ran to him and hugged him. Her tears of love fell on Kai—and the magic shard melted. Kai’s memories returned, his eyes lit up, and he recognized his dear friend again.
They held hands and hurried home, where it was warm and safe and the flowers were blooming again. Although they both seemed older, their hearts remained pure and kind as before.
And the fairy tale ends as it began – with the friendship of children playing together and listening to fairy tales.
