A very long time ago, in the forests of Russia,
there lived a peasant named Ivan and his wife,
Maria. Although they had many friends and
loved each other very much, they were unhappy
because they had no children. More than anything else
in the world, they wanted a son or daughter they could
laugh and play with. One winter day, they stood
watching children play in the forest. The children were
having a great time romping in the snow, building a
snowman, and throwing snowballs.

Suddenly Ivan turned to his wife and said,
"The children are having such fun making a snowman,
let's build one too." So these two good people went out
into the forest and started making a person out of snow.

Maria then said to Ivan, "Husband, since we have no
children of our own, let us make a snow girl." Ivan agreed,
and they proceeded to craft a pretty little maiden out of snow.
They rolled the snow into dainty little hands and feet,
then gave the snow maiden braids and little eyes and a
petite nose and mouth. When they were done, they thought
they had never seen such a pretty little girl. Struck with their
own creation, Ivan said, "Little snow maiden, speak to me,"
and Maria exclaimed, "yes, come to life so you can play
and romp like the other children!" Before long, they noticed
that the snow maiden's eyes began to flutter and her cheeks
seemed to flush with a rosy color. At first they thought they
must be imagining things, but soon a real little girl stood before
them, with gleaming blue eyes and golden hair, in exactly
the place where, only moments ago, a snow maiden had stood.
At first they were to shocked to say anything and just stared
at the little girl. Finally Ivan said,
"Where do you come from? Who are you?"

"I have come from the land of winter, from the land of snow
and ice and cold," the child replied. "I am your daughter,
your own little girl." She ran to the couple and hugged them,
and all three of them wept for joy. Soon the tears ended,
and everyone was talking and laughing again, as this was
the happiest moment of Ivan and Maria's life. At last they
had a child of their own. They called to their neighbors in
nearby huts and introduced them to their beautiful little girl,
and everyone stayed up late that night, marveling over what
had happened. There was much singing, dancing, and celebrating.

All the long Russian winter, the snow maiden played with
the other children, and it seemed to the proud couple that
their little girl was the prettiest of all. Everyone loved the
little snow maiden, as she was always sweet and happy
and good. She would run and play and romp with the other
children all day. Ivan and Maria were very happy.

But when the first signs of spring appeared, and the air
grew warmer and the snow started to melt, the little girl
seemed tired. She was no longer as lively; she even
appeared to be unhappy.

One day she came to Ivan and Maria and sang a song,
her eyes filled with tears:

"The time has come for me to go
Away up North to the land of snow."

Her mother and father both begged her to stay, saying
they would not let her leave, and they became so upset
that they too began to cry. Ivan jumped up and shut the
door to the hut so the snow maiden couldn't leave,
and Maria hugged her tight. But as Maria held her little girl,
the child started to melt away. Soon there was nothing left
of the Snow Maiden except her white fur cap and
white fur coat. Where the snow maiden had once stood,
there was now only a puddle of water.
Ivan and Maria wept bitterly.

Later they consoled themselves with the thought that maybe
the snow maiden would return to them someday.
But all summer long they were lonely, and could not bear
to hear the laughter of other children. It reminded them of
the little girl they believed they had lost forever.
Summer turned into fall and fall into winter, and once again
it was cold and icy outside. One night Ivan and Maria heard
a knock on their door. The couple wondered who could be
calling at that hour. Then they heard a familiar voice sing a song:

"Mother! Father! Open the door!
The snow has brought me back once more!"

Ivan threw open the door and the snow maiden ran into the
arms of her father and mother. All that winter she lived with
them and played with the other village children.
But in the spring, she had to go back North to the land of
cold and ice and snow, whence she had come.
This time Ivan and Maria did not weep, knowing she would
return once more when winter appeared on the land.
And so it was that the snow maiden lived with the couple
every winter and left in spring.



Numerous versions of the story of Snegurochka
(The Snow Maiden) are told in Russia.
This one is told by the famous Russian storyteller
Alexander Afanasiev.

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