I'm Keith Morrison, and this is the final episode of Hans Christian Anderson's,

The Snow Queen.

Young Gerda is racing along in a carriage on a quest to find her best friend.

A foolish quest, many said, a pointless one.

Kay disappeared so long ago. Surely he's dead by now.

But Garedes' heart just can't let him go.

So now here she is sitting in that coach, lurching forward into the unknown.

Soon enough she comes to a forest and the black trees closing around her. That's where her next trouble begins.

Once again, the Snow Queen.

The coach carrying Gertie drove on through a thick forest, where it lighted up the way like a torch and dazzled the eyes of some robbers who could not bear to let it pass them safely.

It's gold, it's gold, they cried, rushing forward, and seizing the horses, they struck the little jockeys and the coachman and the footman

and pulled Gerda out of the carriage. She's young and pretty, and she's been fed with

kernels of nuts, said an old robber woman, who had a long beard and eyebrows that hung over her

eyes. She's as good as a little lamb, how nice she will taste.

And as she said this, she drew forth a shining knife that glittered horribly.

Oh, screamed the old woman at the same moment,

for her own daughter, who held her back, had bitten her in the ear.

She was wild and naughty.

And the mother turned to punish her,

completely forgetting about killing Garda. She shall play with me, said the little robber girl.

She shall give me her muff and her pretty dress and sleep with me in my bed. And then she bit her mother again and made her spring in the air and jump about, and

all the robbers laughed.

...