Learning English

Jonny
Hello, I'm Jonny and today's story is a chilly one. It involves an ice-cold Queen and the struggle between good and evil. It's a famous fairy tale that you might find familiar.

The story begins a long time ago. There's a wicked goblin who has a magic mirror – but not one you would want for everything that is good and beautiful reflects back as bad and ugly. Then one day the mirror breaks and the shattered pieces of glass fall onto a small village where two friends Kay and Gerda live.

They are young and happy and always stick up for each other even when one of them is in trouble. They love playing outside but unfortunately this means Kay gets hit by some of the falling pieces of mirror – one bit sticks in his eye and another bit sticks in his heart – and from then on Kay becomes horrible and nasty and no longer thinks of Gerda as his friend. But she can't understand his strange behaviour.

Then one day, Kay is offered a ride on a huge sledge. He is a bit nervous, but the driver says stick with me and you'll be fine. Foolishly he agrees to ride on the sledge across the snowy landscape. The driver of the sledge transforms himself into a woman wearing a white flowing gown and a crown made of ice – she is the Snow Queen – and she takes him off to a distant land.

Gerda is back in the village waiting for Kay, despite his bad behaviour she still wants to stick by him. When he doesn't return, she decides to look for him and takes a boat down a long river – hoping it will lead to Kay. Unfortunately, it doesn't. She gets caught by a robber girl with a reindeer. Gerda pours out her heart with her sad story and the robber girl takes pity on her and admits that she has seen the Snow Queen heading off to Lapland with a boy.

Could this boy be Kay? - and if so, how will Gerda find him? Stick with me and find out in the next part of my story soon. Bye for now.