d the doors and
windows of piercing winds. There were more than a hundred halls in
it all of frozen snow. The largest was several miles long; the bright
Northern lights lit them up, and very large and empty and cold and
glittering they were! In the middle of the great hall was a frozen lake
which had cracked in a thousand pieces; each piece was exactly like the
other. Here the Snow-queen used to sit when she was at home.

Little Kay was almost blue and black with cold, but he did not feel it,
for she had kissed away his feelings and his heart was a lump of ice.

He was pulling about some sharp, flat pieces of ice, and trying to fit
one into the other. He thought each was most beautiful, but that was
because of the splinter of glass in his eye. He fitted them into a
great many shapes, but he wanted to make them spell the word 'Love.' The
Snow-queen had said, 'If you can spell out that word you shalt be your
own master. I will give you the whole world and a new pair of skates.'

But he could not do it.

'Now I must fly to warmer countries,' said the Snow-queen. 'I must go
and powder my black kettles!' (This was what she called Mount Etna and
Mount Vesuvius.) 'It does the lemons and grapes good.'

And off she flew, and Kay sat alone in the great hall trying to do his
puzzle.

He sat so still that you would have thought he was frozen.

Then it happened that little Gerda stepped into the hall. The biting
cold winds became quiet as if they had fallen asleep when she appeared
in the great, empty, freezing hall.

She caught sight of Kay; she recognised him, and ran and put her arms
round his neck, crying, 'Kay! dear little Kay! I have found you at
last!'

But he sat quite still and cold. Then Gerda wept hot tears which fell
on his neck and thawed his heart and swept away the bit of the
looking-glass. He looked at her and then he burst into tears. He cried
so much that the glass splinter swam out of his eye; then he knew her,
and cried out, 'Gerda! dear little Gerda! Where have you been so long?
and where have I been?'

And he looked round him.

'How cold it is here! How wide and empty!' and he threw himself on
Gerda, and she laughed and wept for joy. It was such a happy time that
the pieces of ice even danced round them for joy, and when they were
tired and lay down again they formed themselves into the letters that
the Snow-queen had said he must spell in order to become his own master
and have the whole world an