e
loosened Gerda's clothes and drew off her fur gloves and boots. She laid
a piece of ice on the reindeer's head, and then read what was written on
the stock-fish. She read it over three times till she knew it by heart,
and then put the fish in the saucepan, for she never wasted anything.

Then the reindeer told his story, and afterwards little Gerda's and the
Finland woman blinked her eyes but said nothing.

'You are very clever,' said the reindeer. 'I know. Cannot you give the
little girl a drink so that she may have the strength of twelve men and
overcome the Snow-queen?'

'The strength of twelve men!' said the Finland woman; 'that would not
help much. Little Kay is with the Snow-queen and he likes everything
there very much and thinks it the best place in the world. But that is
because he has a splinter of glass in his heart and a bit in his eye.
If these do not come out, he will never be free, and the Snow-queen will
keep her power over him.'

'But cannot you give little Gerda something so that she can have power
over her?'

'I can give her no greater power than she has already; don't you see
how great it is? Don't you see how men and beasts must help her when she
wanders into the wide world with her bare feet? She is powerful already,
because she is a dear little innocent child. If she cannot by herself
conquer the Snow-queen and take away the glass splinters from little
Kay, we cannot help her! The Snow-queen's garden begins two miles from
here. You can carry the little maiden so far; put her down by the large
bush with red berries growing in the snow. Then you must come back here
as fast as you can.'

Then the Finland woman lifted little Gerda on the reindeer and away he
sped.

'Oh, I have left my gloves and boots behind!' cried Gerda. She missed
them in the piercing cold, but the reindeer did not dare to stop. On he
ran till he came to the bush with red berries. Then he set Gerda down
and kissed her mouth, and great big tears ran down his cheeks, and then
he ran back. There stood poor Gerda, without shoes or gloves in the
middle of the bitter cold of Finland.

She ran on as fast as she could. A regiment of gigantic snowflakes came
against her, but they melted when they touched her, and she went on with
fresh courage.

And now we must see what Kay was doing. He was not thinking of Gerda,
and never dreamt that she was standing outside the palace.

The walls of the palace were built of driven snow, an