童话故事：The Snow Maiden

The Snow Maiden

Long, long ago, in the far northern, coldest part of old Russia, there lived a
woodcutter and his daughter, Sonya. Her mother had died when she was very young,
and she was left alone in their tiny hut for days on end while her father went
into the forest to cut wood, and to deliver it to the other villagers. So she
became very independent, and her father raised her as he would a son, because
that was all he knew.
Sonya wore her hair twisted back in a ponytail with a bit of twine, and she
hunted as well as any boy or man, using traps and an old rifle. She could find
her way anywhere in the woods, using the sun by day and the stars by night as
her guide. She could fish from the river, and would swim in it even when it was
very cold. Her father was very proud of her, and loved her very much. But their
lives had little beauty or learning, other than the kinds of learning required
to survive in such a harsh wilderness. There were no pictures on the walls of
the hut, or curtains at the windows, and they had only one book - an old Bible,
in Russian, of course. Her mother had been able to read, but her father could
not. But they valued the book more than anything else they owned, because it was
the Bible, and because it was a book. But to Sonya, it had no more meaning than
a lump of clay, for she had never learned to read.
Sonya was happy, but when she turned twelve, she began to feel a great longing
to find other children, especially girls, with whom she could play. But the
nearest village was miles away. One morning, in September, when thick snow lay
on the ground - for it snowed much of the year this far north - she decided to
make a girl all out of snow: a snow maiden, for a pretend friend. Once again,
her father was away for several days. She worked all day at this, making a girl
a full head taller than herself, as if she were an older sister. That night, she
dreamt that she had wished the snow maiden alive. But even in her dream, part of
her knew that such miracles could not happen, for she was a realistic child. And
yet....
The next morning she awoke, and went out to find her snow maiden. But nothing
was there! And then she heard strange sounds around the back of the house. A
bear, she thought, and ran in to get the rifle. For a bear could break through
the hut walls, if it was hungry enough. And quietly, she crept around the house,
rifle in hand, ready to fight for her life.
But instead of a bear, she saw a beautiful young woman, a few years older than
her, dressed in a fine gown of blue and red, with an apron in bright orange,
handkerchiefs in yellow, a bright purple shawl around her head, with long yellow
braids down her back woven with green ribbons. And the young woman - the snow
maiden come to life - held out her arms to Sonya. \"Welcome, little sister,\" said
the Snow Maiden. \"You have brought me to life, in this cold land, and the world
I find here is all golden with the sun, and all silver with the ice.\"
Sonya brought the Snow Maiden into the plain hut, where her beautiful clothes
filled the small room like a rainbow come to earth. \"Well,\" said the Snow
Maiden, looking around, \"not all is golden here. But we will set to work, you
and I, for there is much to be done. But first, I am absolutely starving, having
just come to life with an empty belly, and that squirrel stew looks delicious.\"
So Sonya served the two of them a breakfast of left-over squirrel stew, which is
a wonderful thing to eat for breakfast, and she began to get acquainted with her
new older sister.
\"First,\" said the snow maiden, \"because I am half-way magical, no one else will
be able to see me alive. So when your father returns, I must once again become a
maiden of snow - you did rather a good job on that, by the way. And when he
leaves, which is all too often in my opinion, I can become a living girl again.
The back and forth may be a bit wearing, but I intend to get used to it.\"
The first week, the snow maiden did was to cut her apron into four strips,
hanging two at each window in the hut as curtains. Sonya thought it looked
wonderful, like the colors of the sunset brought into the hut all day long.
And in return, Sonya took the maiden into the forest, and showed her how to find
her way using the sun as a guide, no matter where she went.
The third week the snow maiden took her long purple shawl, and cut it this way
and that, and sewed it with a needle she had kept in her sleeve, and threads
taken from her hem, into a beautiful dress for Sonya, which she could wear when
she wasn't in the woods. And in return, Sonya took the maiden into the forest,
and showed her how to find her way in the dark purple night, using the stars as
a guide, so she would never be lost.
Many days later, the snow maiden took the green ribbons from her braids, and
taught Sonya how to braid her hair in twelve different ways, each more beautiful
than before, and how to weave ribbons through her hair. And in return, Sonya
taught the maiden how to make snares to trap food to eat, and how to make a
fishing line that would outlast the strongest fish in the river. The snow maiden
especially liked to fish, so they ate very well when the woodcutter was gone.
Christmas eve drew near, and the Snow maiden began to teach Sonya to read, using
the old Bible as their text. She took her yellow handkerchiefs, and using them
as paper, and ink made from plants, taught Sonya how to write her name, and a
few words. And in return, Sonya taught her how to shoot the rifle, which the
Snow Maiden thought an extremely useful skill. And on Christmas eve, Sonya read
part of the Christmas story from the Bible to her father, making up the words
she couldn't quite figure out, but getting it mostly right. And he cried, for it
seemed such a miracle to him, and so beautiful.
As spring came, and the weather turned warmer, the Snow Maiden removed her
dress, till she was running wild in the forest with Sonya dressed just in her
slip and petticoat. And she made the dress into a beautiful blue and red quilt
for Sonya, although Sonya did much of the sewing herself, now that she had
learned how. And in return, Sonya had nothing else to teach her, and she
understood that it would soon be time to say goodby.
Snow was melting everywhere - the river ran wild with all the melted water, and
one day, the Snow Maiden laid down her fishing pole, hugged Sonya, and told her
she had to leave. \"Build me again,\" she said, \"next September, and I will return
with new gifts. And you learn more to teach me, and we will become as wise
together as the land, and the river, and the sky all combined.\" And with a final
hug, the snow maiden walked off into the forest, into the spring sun.