The Snow Queen (5)

The Snow Queen (5)

One sunny day Gerda and Kay were looking at a picture-book together when all of a sudden Kay cried out, " Something is hurting in my heart ! And something is in　my eye ! "

Gerda looked into his eye but she could see nothing there.

" I think it is gone, " he said, but it was still there.

It was a piece of the broken mirror, that magic mirror that everything good seem worthless and mean, and everything worthless and mean seem even worse.

Kay had a splinter of the mirror in his heart too, that would turn it to ice.

Even though the pain went away, the mirror worked its magic inside him.

" Why are you crying, Gerda ? " he said.
" You look so ugly when you cry! There is nothing wrong with me. "

He said that the picture-book was only for babies and when his grandmother was telling them stories he stood behind her and made face.

(5/18)