English Original
Once upon a time, a peasant woman had a daughter and a step-daughter. The daughter was spoiled, but the step-daughter, though kind and unselfish, was constantly blamed and mistreated by her step-mother.
The wicked step-mother was determined to be rid of the girl. She ordered her husband, "Send her out into the fields, and let the cutting frost do for her." The old father, though weeping, dared not gainsay her. He placed his daughter in a sledge without warm clothes, drove her to an open field, kissed her, and left her to her fate.
Deserted, the girl sat under a fir-tree and wept. Suddenly, she heard a faint sound: King Frost, springing from tree to tree. He landed beside her with a crisp crackle.
"Well, maiden," he snapped, "do you know who I am? I am King Frost."
"All hail to you, great King!" she answered gently. "Have you come to take me?"
"Are you warm, maiden?" he asked.
"Quite warm, King Frost," she replied, though she shivered as she spoke.
King Frost bent over her, and the air grew colder, full of icy darts. He asked again, "Maiden, are you warm?"
Though her breath froze, she whispered, "Quite warm, King Frost."
A third time, with his teeth gnashing, he asked, "Maiden, are you still warm?"
The girl, now stiff and numb, could just gasp, "Still warm, O King!"
Her courteous and uncomplaining answers touched King Frost. He pitied her, wrapped her in furs, and gave her a chest containing a beautiful robe embroidered with gold and silver. Dressed in splendor, she rode away with him in his sledge drawn by six white horses.
Meanwhile, the step-mother, preparing a funeral feast, sent her husband to find the girl's body. As he left, the little dog under the table barked:
"YOUR daughter shall live to be your delight; HER daughter shall die this very night."
"Hold your tongue!" scolded the woman, offering the dog a pancake. "Say: 'HER daughter shall have silver and gold; HIS daughter is frozen stiff and cold.'"
The dog ate the pancake but barked again:
"His daughter shall wear a crown; Her daughter shall die unwooed, unwed."
The woman tried to coax and threaten the dog, but it kept repeating the prophecy. Suddenly, the door flew open. In came the step-daughter, radiant in her glittering dress, followed by a great chest of treasure.
Blinded by greed, the step-mother ordered her husband, "Yoke the horses! Take my daughter to the same spot!"
The old man left his own daughter under the same tree. Soon, King Frost arrived.
"Are you warm, maiden?" he asked.
"What a blind old fool!" she answered angrily. "Can't you see I'm nearly frozen?"
King Frost questioned her again, but received only rude replies. Enraged, he cracked his fingers, gnashed his teeth, and froze her to death.
Back home, her impatient mother told her husband, "Go fetch her, and be careful with the chest!"
The little dog barked:
"Your daughter is frozen stiff and cold, and shall never have a chest full of gold."
"Don't tell such lies!" the woman cried. "Here's a cake. Now say: 'HER daughter shall marry a mighty King.'"
At that moment, the door flew open. She rushed out, embraced her daughter's frozen body, and was herself chilled to death.
中文翻译
从前，一个农妇有一个亲生女儿和一个继女。亲生女儿被宠坏了，而继女虽然善良无私，却总是被继母责骂和虐待。
恶毒的继母铁了心要除掉这个女孩。她命令丈夫：“把她送到田野里去，让刺骨的霜冻收拾她。”老父亲虽然流泪，却不敢违抗。他把女儿放在雪橇上，没给御寒衣物，就把她驱赶到空旷的田野，吻别后留下她独自面对命运。
被遗弃的女孩坐在一棵冷杉树下哭泣。突然，她听到一个微弱的声音：霜王正在树间跳跃。他伴随着清脆的噼啪声落在她身边。
“喂，姑娘，”他厉声说道，“你知道我是谁吗？我是霜王。”
“向您致敬，伟大的国王！”她温柔地回答。“您是来带走我的吗？”
“你暖和吗，姑娘？”他问。
“很暖和，霜王。”她回答，尽管说话时在发抖。
霜王俯身靠近她，空气变得更冷，充满了冰刺。他又问：“姑娘，你暖和吗？”
尽管她的呼吸都快冻结了，她还是轻声低语：“很暖和，霜王。”
第三次，他咬牙切齿地问：“姑娘，你还暖和吗？”
女孩已经冻得僵硬麻木，只能喘息着说：“还暖和，哦，国王！”
她礼貌且毫无怨言的回答打动了霜王。他怜悯她，用毛皮把她裹起来，并给了她一个箱子，里面装着一件用金银线绣制的华丽长袍。她穿上华服，光彩照人，然后坐上霜王那辆由六匹白马拉着的雪橇离开了。
与此同时，继母正在准备丧宴，并派丈夫去找女孩的尸体。他刚离开，桌下的小狗就叫了起来：
“你的女儿将活着成为你的欢乐；她的女儿将在今夜死去。”
“住口！”女人骂道，给了狗一块煎饼。“说：‘她的女儿将拥有金银；他的女儿已冻得僵硬冰冷。’”
狗吃了煎饼，却又叫道：
“他的女儿将头戴王冠；她的女儿将至死未婚。”
女人试图用更多的煎饼哄骗、用殴打威胁狗，但它一直重复着预言。突然，门吱呀一声大开。继女走了进来，身着闪闪发光的衣裙，容光焕发，身后还跟着一个装满财宝的大箱子。
被贪婪蒙蔽了双眼的继母立刻命令丈夫：“快套上马！把我的女儿送到同一个地方去！”
老人把他的亲生女儿留在了同一棵树下。不久，霜王来了。
“你暖和吗，姑娘？”他问。
“你个瞎眼的老傻瓜！”她生气地回答。“你没看见我快冻僵了吗？”
霜王又问了她几次，但只得到粗鲁的回应。他勃然大怒，掰响手指，咬牙切齿，将她冻死了。
家里，不耐烦的母亲对丈夫说：“去把她接回来，小心别弄翻了雪橇丢了箱子！”
小狗又叫了：
“你的女儿已冻得僵硬冰冷，永远也得不到满箱黄金。”
“别撒这种谎！”女人喊道。“给你块蛋糕。现在说：‘她的女儿将嫁给一位强大的国王。’”
就在这时，门猛地开了。她冲出去，抱住女儿冻僵的身体，自己也冻死了。