|
The Snow Maiden
a Russian Folktale
Far away lies the land of the Midnight sun.
All through the summer, every hour of the day
is filled with golden sunshine.
But when Old Father Frost passes by,
the sun goes to sleep and the earth lies
cold and dead for the whole winter long.
a little wooden house lived a woodcutter,
Boris, and his wife Bobilika.
Their house was always quiet,
for they had no children.
This was their only sadness,
Each winter when the sun slept,
Boris would become busy cutting trees
for the village folk to burn in their stoves,
and Bobilika stayed inside to
make soup for her husband's return.
One dreadfully cold winter day,
Bobilika was watching the children play outside.
The snow was falling steadily,
and each flake seemed
more beautiful than the one before.
'If I had a daughter, she would be as fair as a snowflake.
" Bobilika thought.
When Boris came home that evening,
he excitedly called to his wife.
The children had built a snowman,
so Bobilika put on her furriest hat and warmest coat.
The snowman had coals for eyes and a beetroot for his nose.
Knowing she would interfere,
he began shaping a figure out of a pile of snow.
"We could make a better one,"
he teased. Bobilika shook her head, and showed
Boris how to make a proper snowman.
Together they rolled a ball of snow
through the clearing under the flickering
Northern Lights in the sky
It grew colder, but Boris and Bobilika
ignored the gathering wind of Old Father Frost
and continued carving, whittling, and smoothing
the figure. When the couple finally
stepped back, they saw they had built
a beautiful snowmaiden, a white frozen child.
They had carved their hearts
desire, a daughter.
The sky turned from a frozen
blue to an empty black, alive with stars.
Father Frost passed among the trees,
whistling ice crystals and snow
flurries as we shuffled past.
When he saw the snowmaiden,
his eyes gleamed and he smiled.
Sadly, the snowmaiden could not
move or speak, but since Father Frost
was the bringer of winter he could
not give life, only take it away.
He called to Mother Spring to
blow a warm breeze of life into
the little figure. She was to be the
child of Winter and Spring,
but for now she would be in
the care of Boris and Bobilika.
Quickly, so as not to be seen,
Spring and Frost hurried away
through the forest.
Bobilika, warm inside with
her bowl of cabbage soup,
looked out at the pretty snowmaiden
and smiled, thinking of her wish.
To her surprise,
the snowmaiden smiled back.
Bobilika jumped out into the
snow and began dancing like a
flame in a stove.
Boris followed her out to see the girl.
Her shining eyes were the blue
of winter ice,
and her hands and feet were
covered in boots and mittens.
She was made of snow and
her heart was frozen,
but she was alive all the same.
The snowmaiden laughed and
told Boris and Bobilika her name.
She repeated it, slowly,
when they stumbled.
"Sne..goo…rotchka! Because
I am made of snow!"
And the little snowmaiden laughed.
Bobilika turned the snowmaiden inside.
Snegoorotchka enchanted the whole
village with stories about the cold north
and her ability to command the
snowflakes to take on any form-
delicate frosted flowers,
silent gardens of ice ferns,
and magnificent and strange
winter animals. When the shepherd
played his flute for her,
she whirled and danced like
a snowflake, making
everyone dancing.
Soon all the children noticed
Snegoorotchka was a little strange.
Though she was beautiful and
clever, she wouldn't sit by
the fire or drink hot soup.
She was melancholic, cold,
and distant, and apart from
the shepherd boy's music,
she stayed indifferent of them all.
Soon spring took over
for winter, and the snow began to melt.
Snegoorotchka stayed inside,
and not even the shepherd
boy could persuade
her to come outside and
play with the other children.
Each day she seemed sadder,
and when she wept for the
melting snow it was snowflakes
that fell from her eyes.
Though spring had come,
the sun refused to come out,
for there was still a spirit of winter
lurking in the village.
On midsummer, Snegoorotchka
was invited to come to the festival,
to take part in the dancing,
bonfires, games, music and songs.
Snegoorotchka knew nothing
of summer games so she hid
in the dark forest. When the shepherd
noticed she was not there,
he went to look for her.
When he found her,
he took her hand and danced
with her and played his flute.
When they finished whirling
around the clearing he leant
forward and kissed her on the lips.
Snegoorotchka looked into
the shepherd boy's warm brown eyes,
and her little heart melted and fell in love.
Together they went to dance
the Hopak at the festival,
for Snegoorotchka was no longer
afraid of the summer.
The festival became so loud and jubilant,
the sun could not resist peeking out.
The sun could not shine while her
heart was frozen, but since love
had melted it, the sunlight
went right through her.
She sighed, and real warm tears
fell from her eyes. As she slipped out
of the shepherd boy's arms, she kissed his hand and disappeared into a summer mist.
The shepherd played his flute,
and the villagers searched
the forests for her, but she could not be found.
The snowmaiden wasn't dead,
for spirits can never die,
but she had gone to live
with Father Frost in the north.
Perhaps next winter,
when Father Frost comes
with his blanket of snow,
maybe Snegoorotchka,
the little snowmaiden,
will come back to them.
| 
工具 
帮助
