THE SNOW QUEEN

From ‘Riverside Literature Series’:  1891, by Houghton, Mifflin & Co.

FOURTH STORY—­THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS

Gerda was obliged to rest herself again, when just over against where she sat, a large Crow hopped over the white snow.  He had sat there a long while, looking at her and shaking his head; and now he said, “Caw! caw!  Good day! good day!” He could not say it better; but he meant well by the little girl, and asked her where she was going all alone out in the wide world.  The word “alone” Gerda understood quite well, and felt how much lay in it; so she told the Crow her whole history, and asked if he had not seen Kay.

The Crow nodded very gravely, and said, “It may be—­it may be!”

“What—­do you really think so?” cried the little girl; and she nearly squeezed the Crow to death, so much did she kiss him.

“Gently, gently,” said the Crow.  “I think I know; I think that it may be little Kay.  But now he has quite forgotten you for the Princess.”

“Does he live with a princess?” asked Gerda.

“Yes,—­listen,” said the Crow; “but it is hard for me to speak your language.  If you understand the Crow language, I can tell you better.”

“No, I have not learnt it,” said Gerda; “but my grandmother understands it.  I wish I had learnt it.”

“No matter,” said the Crow:  “I will tell you as well as I can; but it will be bad enough.”  And then he told all he knew.

“In the kingdom where we now are, there lives a princess, who is vastly clever; for she has read all the newspapers in the whole world, and has forgotten them again,—­so clever is she.  Some time ago, they say, she was sitting on her throne,—­which is no great fun, after all,—­when she began humming an old tune, and it was just ’Oh, why should I not be married?’ ‘Come, now, there is something in that,’ said she, and so then she was bound to marry; but she would have a husband who knew how to give an answer when he was spoken to,—­not one who was good for nothing but to stand and be looked at, for that is very tiresome.  She then had all the ladies of the court drummed together; and when they heard what she meant to do, all were well pleased, and said, ’We are quite glad to hear it:  it is the very thing we were thinking of.’  You may believe every word I say,” said the Crow, “for I have a tame sweetheart that hops about in the palace quite freely, and she told me all.

“The newspapers at once came out with a border of hearts and the initials of the Princess; and you could read in them that every good-looking young man was free to come to the palace and speak to the Princess; and he who spoke in such wise as showed he felt himself at home there, and talked best, that one the Princess would choose for her husband.