She ran on as fast as she could.  There then came a whole regiment of snow-flakes, but they did not fall from above, and they were quite bright and shining from the Aurora Borealis.  The flakes ran along the ground, and the nearer they came the larger they grew.  Gerda well remembered how large and strange the snow-flakes appeared when she once saw them through a magnifying-glass; but now they were large and terrific in another manner—­they were all alive.  They were the outposts of the Snow Queen.  They had the most wondrous shapes; some looked like large ugly porcupines; others like snakes knotted together, with their heads sticking out; and others, again, like small fat bears, with the hair standing on end:  all were of dazzling whiteness—­all were living snow-flakes.

Little Gerda repeated the Lord’s Prayer.  The cold was so intense that she could see her own breath, which came like smoke out of her mouth.  It grew thicker and thicker, and took the form of little angels, that grew more and more when they touched the earth.  All had helms on their heads, and lances and shields in their hands; they increased in numbers; and when Gerda had finished the Lord’s Prayer, she was surrounded by a whole legion.  They thrust at the horrid snow-flakes with their spears, so that they flew into a thousand pieces; and little Gerda walked on bravely and in security.  The angels patted her hands and feet; and then she felt the cold less, and went on quickly towards the palace of the Snow Queen.

But now we shall see how Kay fared.  He never thought of Gerda, and least of all that she was standing before the palace.

Seventh story.  What Took Place in the Palace of the Snow Queen, and what Happened Afterward

The walls of the palace were of driving snow, and the windows and doors of cutting winds.  There were more than a hundred halls there, according as the snow was driven by the winds.  The largest was many miles in extent; all were lighted up by the powerful Aurora Borealis, and all were so large, so empty, so icy cold, and so resplendent!  Mirth never reigned there; there was never even a little bear-ball, with the storm for music, while the polar bears went on their hind legs and showed off their steps.  Never a little tea-party of white young lady foxes; vast, cold, and empty were the halls of the Snow Queen.  The northern-lights shone with such precision that one could tell exactly when they were at their highest or lowest degree of brightness.  In the middle of the empty, endless hall of snow, was a frozen lake; it was cracked in a thousand pieces, but each piece was so like the other, that it seemed the work of a cunning artificer.  In the middle of this lake sat the Snow Queen when she was at home; and then she said she was sitting in the Mirror of Understanding, and that this was the only one and the best thing in the world.