Branches Book

BRANCHES

“It’s the Northern Lights! Look how wonderfully they glow!” said the reindeer as he continued to run.

Chapter 6: About the Laplandian and Finnish Old Women The reindeer stopped at some poor hut, in which lived an old Laplandian woman. The reindeer told her Gerda’s unfortunate story. “Oh you poor thing! You two will have to ride another hundred miles before you reach Finland. That is where the Snow Queen lives. I’ll write down a couple words for you on this dried fish because I don’t have any paper. When you reach Finland, hand this to the old Finnish woman. She will know how to get there,” said the old Laplandian woman. Onward, the reindeer rode to faraway Finland. He made it to the Finnish woman’s hut. It was hot inside and Gerda quickly warmed herself up from the cold outside. She gave the Finnish woman the fish with the mysterious words. “You must be a very wise woman to be able to help this girl defeat the Snow Queen,” said the reindeer. “This girl is very strong. She has been able to cross half the world barefoot. Her strength comes from her kind heart. The entrance to Snow Queen’s dwelling is not far from here. You will take her there, but she must enter alone,” she said to the reindeer. The Finnish woman seated the girl on the back of the deer and he galloped with all his might. He soon reached the frozen white palace of the Snow Queen. Following the instructions of the Finnish woman, he let the girl down then ran back. Poor Gerda was left alone in the freezing cold without a warm coat and gloves. This did not stop her. She bravely moved forward despite the strong winds fighting her every step. The snow fell harder and harder as Gerda made her way to the castle. Chapter 7: About What Happened in the Snow Queen’s Castle What was Kay doing all this time in the palace of the Snow Queen? He spent his days collecting pointed shards of ice and spelling out words with them. Now, he was attempting to spell out the word “eternity” but just couldn’t get it right. The Snow Queen said to him, “If you ever manage to spell this word correctly, then I will give you freedom as well as the whole world, and a new pair of skates. Right now though, I need to fly to warm countries.” Like that, Kay was left alone. He continued to mindlessly put the sharp ice shards together. At this time, Gerda burst through the huge gates of the castle. Suddenly, everything grew slightly warmer, even the wind seemed to calm down. The girl saw Kay and jumped to hug him. She began to cry. “My poor Kay! Have I

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