牛津英语故事乐园（12）

The Snow Queen

A long, long time ago, there was a magic mirror. It made beautiful, good things look ugly and bad. One day, the magic mirror broke into many, many small, sharp pieces and the wind blew the pieces all over the world.

If a piece touched someone's eye, the person forgot the pain and the person could never be happy again. If a piece of the magic mirror touched a person's heart, the heart became cold and the person could not love anyone.

Kay and his friend, Gerda, lived in two old houses in Sweden. In the summer, they grew roses in their window boxes. In the cold winter, deep snow covered the window boxes.

One day in the winter, Kay and Gerda were looking through a window. The snow was falling. The snowflakes were beautiful.

'The snowflakes are soldiers,' said Gerda's grandmother. 'Do they have a queen?' asked Kay.

'Yes,' said the old woman. 'She's called the Snow Queen. The snowflakes are her soldiers.'

'I'd like to see the Snow Queen,' said Kay quietly.

That night, Kay looked out of the window. He saw a tall, white, beautiful woman! Her eyes were like two cold stars. Kay closed the curtains quickly but he never forgot the beautiful woman.

Soon spring came and the roses grew again. One day, when Kay and Gerda were looking at the roses, Kay suddenly shouted. One piece of the magic mirror was in Kay's eye, and another one was in his heart.

'What's the matter?' asked Gerda. Kay did not answer. He pushed Gerda away angrily.

'Don't touch me!" Kay shouted. 'Your hands are dirty!'

Then he looked at the beautiful roses. They looked ugly. He said, 'They're ugly. I don't like them!'

Gerda started to cry. 'Don't cry! You look ugly when you cry!' shouted Kay. 'Go away!'

Gerda was very sad. Kay was very unhappy. He did not love Gerda now. His heart was as cold as ice.