The Snow Queen, part 3 · page 21 2101They now entered the first saloon, which was of rose-colored satin, with artificial flowers on the wall.102Here the dreams were rushing past, but they hastened by so quickly that Gerda could not see the high personages.103One hall was more magnificent than the other; one might indeed well be abashed; and at last they came into the bedchamber.104The ceiling of the room resembled a large palm-tree with leaves of glass, of costly glass; and in the middle, from a thick golden stem, hung two beds, each of which resembled a lily.105One was white, and in this lay the Princess; the other was red, and it was here that Gerda was to look for little Kay.106She bent back one of the red leaves, and saw a brown neck.107Oh! that was Kay!108She called him quite loud by name, held the lamp towards him--the dreams rushed back again into the chamber--he awoke, turned his head, and--it was not little Kay!109The Prince was only like him about the neck; but he was young and handsome.110And out of the white lily leaves the Princess peeped, too, and asked what was the matter.111Then little Gerda cried, and told her her whole history, and all that the Ravens had done for her.112“Poor little thing!” said the Prince and the Princess.113They praised the Ravens very much, and told them they were not at all angry with them, but they were not to do so again.114However, they should have a reward.115“Will you fly about here at liberty,” asked the Princess; “or would you like to have a fixed appointment as court ravens, with all the broken bits from the kitchen?”116And both the Ravens nodded, and begged for a fixed appointment; for they thought of their old age, and said, “It is a good thing to have a provision for our old days.”117And the Prince got up and let Gerda sleep in his bed, and more than this he could not do.118She folded her little hands and thought, “How good men and animals are!” and she then fell asleep and slept soundly.119All the dreams flew in again, and they now looked like the angels; they drew a little sledge, in which little Kay sat and nodded his head; but the whole was only a dream, and therefore it all vanished as soon as she awoke.120The next day she was dressed from head to foot in silk and velvet.121They offered to let her stay at the palace, and lead a happy life; but she begged to have a little carriage with a horse in front, and for a small pair of shoes; then, she said, she would again go forth in the wide world and look for Kay.122Shoes and a muff were given her; she was, too, dressed very nicely; and when she was about to set off, a new carriage stopped before the door.123It was of pure gold, and the arms of the Prince and Princess shone like a star upon it; the coachman, the footmen, and the outriders, for outriders were there, too, all wore golden crowns.124The Prince and the Princess assisted her into the carriage themselves, and wished her all success.125The Raven of the woods, who was now married, accompanied her for the first three miles.126He sat beside Gerda, for he could not bear riding backwards; the other Raven stood in the doorway, and flapped her wings; she could not accompany Gerda, because she suffered from headache since she had had a fixed appointment and ate so much.127The carriage was lined inside with sugar-plums, and in the seats were fruits and gingerbread.128“Farewell!129Farewell!” cried Prince and Princess; and Gerda wept, and the Raven wept.130Thus passed the first miles; and then the Raven bade her farewell, and this was the most painful separation of all.131He flew into a tree, and beat his black wings as long as he could see the carriage, that shone from afar like a sunbeam.132FIFTH STORY.133The Little Robber Maiden134They drove through the dark wood; but the carriage shone like a torch, and it dazzled the eyes of the robbers, so that they could not bear to look at it.135“'Tis gold! '136Tis gold!” they cried; and they rushed forward, seized the horses, knocked down the little postilion, the coachman, and the servants, and pulled little Gerda out of the carriage.1 2← previousThe Snow Queen, part 2next →The Snow Queen, part 4↑ back to Andersen's Fairy TalesThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/13/page/2/