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And don't take her
to some relative's house. Take her into the biting cold of the
forest and leave her there."
The old man
grieved and wept but he knew that he could do nothing else; his
wife always had her way. So he took the girl into the forest and
left her there. He turned back quickly so that he wouldn't have
to see his girl freeze.
Oh, the poor
thing, sitting there in the snow, with her body shivering and
her teeth chattering! Then Morozko (the Father Frost), leaping
from tree to tree, came upon her. "Are you warm, my lass?" he
asked.
"Welcome, my
dear Morozko. Yes, I am quite warm," she said, even though she
was cold through and through.
At first,
Morozko had wanted to freeze the life out of her with his icy
grip. But he admired the young girl's stoicism and showed mercy.
He gave her a warm fur coat and downy quilts before he left. In
a short while, Morozko returned to check on the girl.
"Are you warm,
my lass?" he asked.
"Welcome again,
my dear Morozko. Yes, I am very warm," she said.
And indeed she
was warmer. So this time Morozko brought a large box for her to
sit on. A little later, Morozko returned once more to ask how
she was doing. She was doing quite well now, and this time
Morozko gave her silver and gold jewelry to wear, with enough
extra jewels to fill the box on which she was sitting!
Meanwhile, back
at her father's hut, the old woman told her husband to go back
into the forest to bring back the body of his daughter. He did
as he was ordered. He arrived at the spot where had left her,
and was overjoyed when he saw his daughter alive, wrapped in a
sable coat and adorned with silver and gold. When he arrived
home with his daughter and the box of jewels, his wife looked on
in amazement.
"Harness the
horse, you old goat, and take my own daughter to that same spot
in the forest and leave her there," she said.
The old man did
as he was told. Like the other girl at first, the old woman's
daughter began to shake and shiver. In a short while, Morozko
came by and asked her how she was doing.
"Are you
blind?" she replied. "Can't you see that my hands and feet are
quite numb? Curse you, you miserable old man!" Dawn had hardly
broken the next day when, back at the old man's hut, the old
woman woke her husband and told him to bring back her daughter,
adding:
"Be careful
with the box of jewels." The old man obeyed and went to fetch
the girl. A short while later, the gate to the yard creaked. The
old woman went outside and saw her husband standing next to the
sleigh. She rushed forward and pulled aside the sleigh's cover.
To her horror, she saw the body of her daughter, frozen by an
angry Morozko. She began to scream and berate her husband, but
it was all in vein. Later, the old man's daughter married a
neighbor, had children, and lived happily. Her father would
visit his grandchildren every now and then, and remind them
always to respect Old Man Winter. |
