Once upon a time, there lived a little boy named Kay and a little girl named Gerda. The children were neighbors, and although they weren’t related by blood, they loved each other as if they were brother and sister.
They lived in a great big city that was so crowded, there wasn’t room for a garden or yard, so when the children wanted to play, they had to travel into the nearby forest. Kay’s and Gerda’s homes were especially close together. In fact, they were so close that they could reach through their windows and shake the other’s hand.
They were only one short hop away from being rooftop to rooftop, so when the weather was warm, Kay and Gerda spent most of the day up there looking out across their busy city. They kept a little rooftop garden, where a small rose plant grew.
At night, Kay’s grandmother would tell him stories while she tucked him into bed. Kay would leave his window open, and Gerda would do the same, so they could listen to the stories together.
“There once was a nasty little demon who enjoyed bringing misery into the world,” Kay’s grandmother said. “He created a magic mirror that gave everything a foul reflection. Beautiful women would look into the mirror and see ugly old hags. Handsome men would stare into the mirror and see disgusting old geezers. Even the most pleasant landscape you could think of would look like a filthy wasteland inside the mirror.
“The demon became very popular at his demon school for making such a repulsive creation. His demon peers helped him take the mirror all around the world in hopes of ruining the spirit of mankind.
“One day, the demons decided to take the mirror up to heaven to get a rise out of God and the angels. As the demons flew toward heaven with it, the evil living inside the mirror began laughing with excitement. It laughed so hard, it burst into thousands and thousands of pieces before they were even close to heaven’s gates.
“The shards of glass fell back toward the earth like rain. Most of them were smaller than a grain of sand, so the falling shards were hardly visible. The glass landed in people’s eyes and hearts, cursing them to see and feel only the worst of the world.”
“Grandmother, why would you tell us a story like that?” Kay asked.
“So the next time you’re feeling sad or can only focus on the bad in the world, you remember to check for a shard of the demon’s magic mirror that may be lingering in your eyes or heart,” his grandmother said.
With the story complete, she kissed her grandson on the forehead and blew a kiss to Gerda. When she went to shut the window, she noticed that a layer of frost had appeared on the glass.
“Looks like winter is coming,” the grandmother said. “That, or the Snow Queen has been visiting you.”
“Who’s the Snow Queen?” Gerda asked from her house.
“Who’s the Snow Queen?” the grandmother asked playfully. “You mean to tell me you don’t know who the Snow Queen is? What are they teaching you in those schools these days?”
Both the children shrugged, but the grandmother had caught their attention.
“Haven’t you ever wondered why they tell children to stay out of the cold or not to play in the snow for too long?” she asked.
“Why?” Kay and Gerda asked together.
“It’s because the Snow Queen will get you!” she said and made gestures like a terrifying monster. “She’s a weather witch and drives a massive sled through the clouds that’s pulled by polar bears! She sends blizzards of vicious snow bees to attack her victims! And when little children disobey their parents and stay out in the cold by themselves, she flies by and snatches them up!”
Hearing about the Snow Queen made Kay and Gerda hold their covers close to their eyes.
“That’s so scary!” Kay said.
“It’s supposed to be scary,” his grandmother said. “If it were a happy story, you wouldn’t learn anything. Now, that’s enough storytelling for one night. You both get some rest, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
The grandmother reached out to shut Gerda’s window and then shut Kay’s. The children went to sleep, but both had nightmares that the Snow Queen was watching them.
Since winter was on its way, Kay and Gerda spent less and less time on their rooftops. As soon as the first snow fell, the roof would become too slippery to stand on and their parents would make them stay inside or play in the woods. They always missed the view of the city during this time, but rather than pouting about it, the children spoke of all the winter activities they were looking forward to.