she
did not know whether she was to live or to die. The robbers sat round
the fire, eating and drinking, and the old woman was turning
somersaults. This sight terrified the poor little girl. Then the wood
pigeons said, 'Coo, coo, we have seen little Kay; his sledge was drawn
by a white chicken, and he was sitting in the Snow Queen's sledge; it
was floating low down over the trees, while we were in our nests. She
blew upon us young ones, and they all died except we two; coo, coo.'

'What are you saying up there?' asked Gerda. 'Where was the Snow Queen
going? Do you know anything about it?'

'She was most likely going to Lapland, because there is always snow and
ice there! Ask the reindeer who is tied up there.'

'There is ice and snow, and it's a splendid place,' said the reindeer.
'You can run and jump about where you like on those big glittering
plains. The Snow Queen has her summer tent there, but her permanent
castle is up at the North Pole, on the island which is called
Spitzbergen!'

'Oh Kay, little Kay!' sighed Gerda.

'Lie still, or I shall stick the knife into you!' said the robber girl.

In the morning Gerda told her all that the wood pigeons had said, and
the little robber girl looked quite solemn, but she nodded her head and
said, 'No matter, no matter! Do you know where Lapland is?' she asked
the reindeer.

'Who should know better than I,' said the animal, its eyes dancing. 'I
was born and brought up there, and I used to leap about on the
snowfields.'

'Listen,' said the robber girl. 'You see that all our men folks are
away, but mother is still here, and she will stay; but later on in the
morning she will take a drink out of the big bottle there, and after
that she will have a nap--then I will do something for you.' Then she
jumped out of bed, ran along to her mother and pulled her beard, and
said, 'Good morning, my own dear nanny-goat!' And her mother filliped
her nose till it was red and blue; but it was all affection.

As soon as her mother had had her draught from the bottle and had
dropped asleep, the little robber girl went along to the reindeer, and
said, 'I should have the greatest pleasure in the world in keeping you
here, to tickle you with my knife, because you are such fun then;
however, it does not matter. I will untie your halter and help you
outside so that you may run away to Lapland, but you must put your best
foot foremost, and take this little girl for me to the Snow Queen's
pa