Andrew Lan's Twelve-Color Fairy Tale Series: Pink Fairy Tale Books

Chapter 19 The Ice Queen (2)
The witch made all the roses in the garden disappear into the ground, but she forgot to make the roses on the hat disappear too.It's hard to think of everything, sometimes!
"There are no roses here, why?" cried Gerda, who searched all over the garden, but found none.The girl sat on the ground and began to cry. Her tears fell on the field where the roses used to grow, and the warm tears moistened the soil there!All of a sudden, all those rose trees that had disappeared popped up out of the ground, and they were all right there, full of roses, and just as beautiful as before!Gerda kissed the roses, and then she thought of the lovely roses at home, and of little Kay!

"Oh, what have I done!" said the little girl, "Didn't I want to find Kay?"

She ran out of the garden, but the door was locked. She knocked hard on the rusty lock, and finally knocked the door open.

The little girl ran out the door with bare feet, but fortunately, no one chased after her.She ran and ran, and at last she couldn't run anymore, so she sat down on a big rock.She looked around, only to realize that summer had passed long ago, and it was late autumn now.But that beautiful garden hasn't changed at all, it's always full of warm sunshine and beautiful flowers blooming!
"Oh, my God, I'm too late!" said Gerda, "it's autumn! I can't rest!" She jumped up and ran on.

The girl kept running and running, her little feet were tired and sore, and it was getting colder and colder.

She had to stop to rest when she saw a big crow on the snow.

The crow had been paying attention to her for a long time, and he nodded and said, "Wow! Wow! Hello!" Then he asked little Gerda why she came here alone, and the girl told him what had happened, and asked if he had seen Been to Kay.

The crow thought for a while, then nodded and said to her, "Maybe I've seen it! Maybe I've seen it!"

"Really? Do you think you've seen him?" cried the little girl, who was so excited that she hugged the crow and kissed it so hard that the crow couldn't breathe and almost suffocated!
"Easy, easy!" said the crow with difficulty. "I think—I think I know—it might be Kay, but now he has forgotten you because of a princess!"

"He was with a princess?" asked Gerda.

"Yes, listen," said the crow.

Then he told the girl everything he knew.

"In this kingdom where we are now, there is a very wise princess who has read all the newspapers in the world and knows a lot! She just inherited the throne not long ago, but this is what the people don't want to see So she said: 'Then why don't I get married?' But she wanted her future husband to be able to communicate with her freely, instead of standing stiffly and looking very respectful - how boring that is!

"She told this to all the ladies-in-waiting in the palace, and they were very happy to hear it. You must believe everything I say!" said the crow. "My tender love is in the palace, and she Tell me everything!"

Of course, his lover was also a crow.

"The next morning, the paper came out, and it had hearts all over the edge, with the princess's initials intertwined in a beautiful pattern! Every handsome young man, said the paper, was allowed to come to the palace Talk to the princess, and anyone who speaks loud enough will be well fed and well looked after. And whoever talks to the princess best will be her husband! It's true," said the crow, "You have to believe me, this is indeed true, just like I am sitting in front of you right now!
"Young people came in droves, and the palace was full of people everywhere! However, there was no news on the first day, and nothing on the second day. These young people are very talkative in the street, but they can walk into the palace. Looking at the gate, the guards there were all wearing shiny silver guard uniforms, and the attendants upstairs were all dressed in golden light. The whole palace was brightly lit, and they immediately became at a loss! When they stood In front of the throne, facing the princess sitting there, these young people's minds went blank. They just kept repeating the last sentence the princess said, and couldn't remember anything else. How could the princess have the patience to listen? There, they seemed to be sleepwalking, and they couldn't talk normally until they came out of the palace and returned to the street. And the people waiting to enter the palace to talk to the princess lined up for a long, long time. From the gate of the palace to the gate of the city.

"They were so hungry and thirsty that they couldn't even drink a glass of water when they entered the palace.

"Some bright young men brought bread and butter, but they wouldn't give it to the people around them, thinking, 'If he looks hungry, the princess won't talk to him!'"

"But what about Kay?" Gerda asked eagerly. "When did he go? Was he also in line?"

"Don't worry, that's all about him! On the third day, a young man came, without horse and cart, and he came to the palace merrily. His eyes were as bright as yours, and he had lovely curly hair. , but his clothes are shabby."

"It's Kay!" Gerda said excitedly. "Oh, I finally found him!" She clapped her hands excitedly.

"What is he carrying on his back?" said the crow.

"It must be his sleigh, for he was going in it when he went!"

"Very likely," said the crow, "I didn't see it with my own eyes. I heard from my lover that when he went to the gate of the palace, he saw the royal guards in silver guard uniforms, and the attendants upstairs in golden clothes, Not nervous at all. He nodded at them and said, 'It's so boring to stand here, I'd better go in!'

"The lights in the palace are bright, and the civil and military officials are walking around in the palace wearing shoes that don't make a little noise and holding golden wat boards in their hands. That's enough to make people feel very nervous! And his boots are still walking on the ground. It was loud, but he wasn't afraid at all!"

"It must be Kay!" said Gerda. "I know he's wearing new boots. He creaked in his new boots in his grandmother's room. I've heard them!"

"Oh, yes, it was creaking!" said the crow, "but he was not in the least afraid, and he went straight to the princess, who sat on her great pearl throne as round as a spinning wheel. The female courtiers and all other civil and military officials have their own entourage beside them. The closer to the palace gate, the more honorable the status!"

"It must have been a scary scene!" said little Gerda. "Then Kay won the princess at last?"

"I heard from my sweetheart that the conversation between him and the princess was breezy and full of wisdom! He also told the princess that he didn't come to propose marriage, but to see the princess's superhuman wisdom. But in the end, they both fell in love with each other .”

"Ah, yes, that's Kay!" cried Gerda. "Kay is indeed very clever. He can even add fractions, and he does it well! Oh, please take me into the Let's go to the palace!"

"That's easy to say!" said the crow, "but how shall we get in? I must consult with my tender love, and perhaps she can give us some advice. Let me tell you, a little girl like you, It will never be allowed to enter the palace!"

"Yes, I will get permission!" said Gerda. "If Kay hears that I am coming, he will come out and take me in!"

"Okay, you are waiting for me at the fence." After the crow finished speaking, he nodded and flew away.

It was already night when he came back.

"Wow, wow!" he said, "My wife is sending you hello. These are the spring rolls she brought you. She took them from the kitchen. There are many more there. You must be hungry! You can't enter the palace." Yes, the guards in silver and the squires in gold won't let you in. But don't you cry! We can figure it out! My sweetheart knows there are stairs to the bedroom at the back door, and she knows Where are the keys?"

They went into the garden, and when all the lights in the palace were extinguished, the crow led Gerda to the back door.

Oh, Gerda is nervous and full of anticipation, her heart is about to jump out!She felt as if she was doing something bad, but she really wanted to know if it was little Kay!Yes, it must be him!She clearly remembered his bright eyes and curly hair.She even saw him smiling at her, just like he always smiled at her under the rose tree at home!He would be very glad to see him, and would love to hear her tell all that had happened since he was gone!

They reached the flight of stairs, where a little light was burning, and the crow, his dear lover, was waiting for them at the foot of the stairs.She tilted her head to look at Gerda.The little girl bowed to her politely, which was taught by her grandma.

"My fiancé has told me many stories about you, dear little lady," said the crow's lover, "I'll go ahead, will you take the light? Let's go this way so we don't run into anyone !"

After passing through many beautiful rooms, they came to the bedroom.A thick gold cane hung on the wall of the bedroom, and there were two beds that looked like water lilies.One was white, on which the princess was lying, and the other was red, and Gerda hoped that it was Kay lying there!She drew back the curtain and saw the man's bronzed neck.Oh, it's Kay!She called his name and brought the lamp to his bedside.

He woke up, turned his head, but—it wasn't Kay!

He's just like Kay's neck, but it's not Kay, and he's a very handsome young man.The princess sat up from her water-lily bed, and asked who was there.

Gerda wept, and she told the princess her story, and all that the two crows had done for him.

"Poor child!" said the princess and prince.They also praised the two crows, saying that they were not angry with them at all, but they could not do it again.Then they said they would reward two crows.

"Would you like to fly around unimpeded?" asked the princess, "or would you rather have a permanent residence in the palace, like all other court crows, and eat from the kitchen?"

The two crows bowed to the princess, and said they wished to have a permanent home, because they had to think about their old age.

The princess and the prince carried little Gerda to the bed.Gerda clasped her hands, thinking: "The people and animals here are so kind to me!" Thinking about it, she fell asleep.

The next day, they dressed the little girl in a beautiful silk dress and hoped that she would stay in the palace.But she begged the princess to prepare her a carriage, a horse, and a pair of shoes, so that she could look for Kay again.

So they prepared a muff and some shoes for Gerda, and she was warmly dressed and ready to go.When she came to the door, she saw a solid gold carriage parked there, with a coachman and some attendants, all wearing golden hats!
The prince and princess helped little Gerda into the carriage and wished her good luck.

The crow, who had become the bridegroom, saw her off three miles away, but his beloved was unable to see the girl off because of a headache.

"Good-bye, good-bye!" cried the prince and princess, waving their hands.Little Gerda cried, and the crow cried too.

Saying good-bye, the crow flew up to a tree, and kept waving his black wings at the sun-golden carriage until it was out of sight.

Gerda came to a dark forest in a carriage, but the carriage illuminated the surroundings like a torch.When the robbers saw the light, they rushed out, shouting, "Gold! Gold!"

They seized the horse, killed the coachman and all his attendants, and dragged Gerda out of the carriage.

"Oh, she's so fat and tender! I'm going to eat her!" said the old bandit woman.She drew out her long knife that was shining with a terrifying cold light.

"Don't kill her!" said the bandit's youngest daughter. "She can play with me! She will give me her muff and beautiful clothes, and she can sleep in my bed!"

The robber's youngest daughter was as old as Gerda, but she was stronger and larger, with black hair and dark eyes.She held out her arms to Gerda and said: "They will not kill you, if you obey. Are you a princess?"

"No," said Gerda.Then she told all her experiences to the robber's little daughter, and told her how much she loved little Kay!

The robber's daughter looked at her seriously, nodded and said, "They won't kill you, even if you are naughty and disobedient!"

She wiped away Gerda's tears and put her hands in the warm and pretty muff.

Then she took Gerda into a corner of the tent where she slept.

There were about 100 wooden pigeons around, and they seemed to be asleep, but when the two little girls walked by, they all moved.

(End of this chapter)