English Original
They stopped at a mean-looking little hut with a roof sloping nearly to the ground and a door so low one had to creep through. Inside, an old Lapland woman cooked fish by a train-oil lamp. The reindeer told her Gerda's story after his own, while Gerda, pinched with cold, could not speak.
"Oh, you poor things," said the woman, "you have far to go. Travel over a hundred miles to Finland, where the Snow Queen lives and burns Bengal lights each evening. I'll write a few words on this dried stock-fish, for I have no paper. Take it to the Finland woman there; she can advise you better."
Once warmed and fed, Gerda received the inscribed fish. Tied again to the reindeer, they sped off under the flashing blue northern lights all night, until they reached Finland and knocked at the chimney of the Finland woman's hut, which had no door above ground.
Inside was terribly hot; the small, dirty-looking woman wore scarcely any clothes. She loosened Gerda's dress and removed her boots and mittens to prevent overheating, then placed ice on the reindeer's head and read the message on the fish three times until she knew it by heart. She then popped the fish into a soup saucepan, never wasting anything.
The reindeer recounted his and Gerda's tales. The Finland woman twinkled her clever eyes but said nothing. "You are so clever," said the reindeer. "I know you can tie all the world's winds with a piece of twine. If a sailor unties one knot, he gets a fair wind; a second, a hard wind; a third and fourth, a storm that uproots forests. Can you not give this maiden the strength of twelve men to overcome the Snow Queen?"
"The strength of twelve men!" said the Finland woman. "That would be of little use." She went to a shelf, unrolled a large skin inscribed with wonderful characters, and read until perspiration ran down her forehead. Yet, moved by the reindeer's pleas and Gerda's beseeching, tearful eyes, she drew the reindeer aside, laid fresh ice on his head, and whispered:
"Little Kay is with the Snow Queen. He finds everything to his liking and believes it the finest place, but only because he has a shard of broken glass in his heart and a tiny piece in his eye. These must be removed, or he will never be human again, and the Snow Queen will keep her power over him."
"But can you not give Gerda something to conquer this power?"
"I can give her no greater power than she already has," said the woman. "Do you not see its strength? How men and animals serve her, and how far she has come barefoot. Her power lies in her own pure and innocent heart. If she cannot reach the Snow Queen herself and remove the glass from Kay, we cannot help. Two miles hence begins the Snow Queen's garden. Carry the girl there and set her by the large bush covered with red berries in the snow. Do not linger; return swiftly."
The Finland woman lifted Gerda onto the reindeer, and he ran off. "Oh, I forgot my boots and mittens!" cried Gerda, feeling the cutting cold, but the reindeer dared not stop. He ran to the berry bush, set Gerda down, kissed her, his bright tears trickling down his cheeks, then left her and ran back.
There stood poor Gerda, shoeless and gloveless in the cold, dreary, ice-bound Finland. She ran forward, but a regiment of snowflakes surrounded her. They did not fall from the clear, northern-lit sky but ran along the ground, growing larger as they neared. Gerda recalled how large and beautiful snowflakes looked through a burning-glass, but these were larger, terrible, and alive—the Snow Queen's guards in strange shapes: some like great porcupines, others like twisted serpents with heads stretched out, a few like little fat bears with bristled hair. All were dazzling white, living snowflakes.
Little Gerda repeated the Lord's Prayer. The cold was so great her breath steamed out. As she prayed, the steam increased and took the shape of little angels that grew larger upon touching the earth. They wore helmets and carried spears and shields. Their numbers swelled until a whole legion stood around her. They thrust spears into the terrible snowflakes, shattering them, and Gerda went forward with courage and safety. The angels stroked her hands and feet, lessening the cold, and she hastened to the Snow Queen's castle.
But now we must see what Kay is doing. In truth, he thought not of little Gerda and never supposed she could be standing before the palace.
中文翻译
他们在一间简陋的小屋前停下，屋顶几乎斜到地面，门非常低矮，进出都得爬行。屋里，一位拉普兰老妇人正借着鱼油灯的光煮鱼。驯鹿先讲了自己的故事，然后讲了格尔达的故事，而格尔达冻得说不出话。
“哦，你们这些可怜的家伙，”妇人说，“你们还有很长的路要走。必须再走一百多英里到芬兰去，冰雪皇后住在那儿，每晚都燃放孟加拉焰火。我要在这条干鳕鱼上写几个字，因为我没有纸。把它带给住在那儿的芬兰女人；她能给你们更好的建议。”
格尔达暖和过来并吃了些东西后，妇人把字写在干鱼上。她再次把格尔达绑在驯鹿背上，驯鹿便全速出发了。整夜，美丽的蓝色北极光在空中闪烁。他们终于到达芬兰，敲了敲芬兰女人小屋的烟囱，因为地面以上没有门。
他们爬了进去，但里面热得可怕；那个女人几乎没穿什么衣服；她个子矮小，看起来很脏。她松开小格尔达的衣服，脱掉她的毛皮靴子和连指手套，否则格尔达会受不了这热度；然后她在驯鹿头上放了一块冰，读了写在干鱼上的字。她读了三次，就背下来了，于是她把鱼扔进了汤锅，因为她知道鱼可以吃，而且她从不浪费任何东西。驯鹿先讲了自己的故事，然后是小格尔达的故事，芬兰女人眨着她聪明的眼睛，但什么也没说。“你真聪明，”驯鹿说；“我知道你能用一根细绳绑住世界上所有的风。如果水手解开一个结，他就会得到顺风；解开第二个，风就刮得厉害；但如果解开第三和第四个，就会来一场风暴，能把整片森林连根拔起。你能不能给这个小姑娘一点东西，让她拥有十二个人的力量，去战胜冰雪皇后？”
“十二个人的力量！”芬兰女人说；“那没什么用。”但她走到一个架子前，取下一大张卷着的皮子，上面刻着奇妙的字符，她一直读到汗水从额头流下。但驯鹿为小格尔达苦苦哀求，格尔达也用恳求的、泪汪汪的眼睛看着芬兰女人，以至于芬兰女人的眼睛又开始闪烁了；于是她把驯鹿拉到角落，一边在它头上放了一块新冰，一边低声对它说：“小凯确实和冰雪皇后在一起，但他觉得那里的一切都非常合他的口味和心意，以至于他认为那是世界上最好的地方；但这只是因为他心里有一片碎玻璃，眼睛里也有一小片玻璃。必须把这些取出来，否则他将再也变不回人，冰雪皇后将继续控制他。”
“但你能不能给格尔达一点东西，帮助她战胜这种力量？”
“我给不了她比她已经拥有的更强大的力量了，”女人说；“你没看到那力量有多强大吗？人类和动物如何不得不为她服务，她赤着脚又是如何走遍了世界。她从我这里得不到比她现有更强大的力量了，这力量就在于她内心的纯洁和天真。如果她自己无法接近冰雪皇后，并从小凯身上取出玻璃碎片，我们也无能为力。从这里两英里外就是冰雪皇后的花园开始的地方；你可以把小女孩带到那么远，把她放在雪地里那棵长满红浆果的大灌木旁。别闲聊，尽快回到这里来。”然后芬兰女人把小格尔达抱到驯鹿背上，驯鹿带着她尽可能快地跑开了。
“哦，我忘了我的靴子和连指手套！”小格尔达一感觉到刺骨的寒冷就哭喊道，但驯鹿不敢停下，它一直跑到那棵红浆果灌木旁；在这里它放下格尔达，亲吻了她，大颗明亮的泪珠从动物的脸颊滑落；然后它离开她，以最快的速度跑了回去。
可怜的小格尔达站在那里，没有鞋子，没有手套，身处寒冷、阴郁、冰封的芬兰之中。她尽可能快地向前跑，这时一整队雪花围住了她；然而，它们并非从清澈、闪烁着北极光的天空落下。雪花沿着地面奔跑，离她越近，就显得越大。格尔达记得透过取火镜看雪花是多么大而美丽。但这些真的更大，也更可怕，因为它们是活的，是冰雪皇后的守卫，有着最奇怪的形状。有些像巨大的豪猪，有些像扭曲的蛇，头伸出来，还有一些像毛发竖立的小胖熊；但所有都是耀眼的白色，都是活的雪花。于是小格尔达念起了主祷文，寒冷如此刺骨，她能看到自己念出祷文时呼出的气息像蒸汽一样。随着她继续祈祷，蒸汽似乎越来越多，直到变成了小天使的形状，它们一触地就变大。它们都头戴头盔，手持长矛和盾牌。它们的数量不断增加；等到格尔达念完祷文，一整支军团已站在她周围。它们将长矛刺入可怕的雪花，雪花便碎裂成上百片，小格尔达得以勇敢而安全地前进。天使们抚摸她的手和脚，让她感觉不那么冷了，她急忙赶往冰雪皇后的城堡。
但现在我们必须看看凯在做什么。事实上，他没有想到小格尔达，也从未料到她可能正站在宫殿前。