“Whatisstrange，dearmother？”askedViolet。“Dearfather，do
notyouseehowitis？Thisisoursnow-image，whichPeonyandI
havemade，becausewewantedanotherplaymate。Didnotwe，Peony？”
“Yes，papa。”saidcrimsonPeony。“Thisbeour’ittlesnow-sister。
Isshenotbeau-ti-ful？Butshegavemesuchacoldkiss！”
“Poh，nonsense，children！”criedtheirgood，honestfather，who，as
wehavealreadyintimated，hadanexceedinglycommon-sensiblewayof
lookingatmatters。“Donottellmeofmakinglivefiguresoutof
snow。Come，wife；thislittlestrangermustnotstayoutinthe
bleakairamomentlonger。Wewillbringherintotheparlor；and
youshallgiveherasupperofwarmbreadandmilk，andmakeheras
comfortableasyoucan。Meanwhile，Iwillinquireamongtheneighbors；
or，ifnecessary，sendthecity-crieraboutthestreets，togive
noticeofalostchild。”
Sosaying，thishonestandverykind-heartedmanwasgoing
towardthelittlewhitedamsel，withthebestintentionsintheworld。
ButVioletandPeony，eachseizingtheirfatherbythehand，earnestly
besoughthimnottomakehercomein。
“Dearfather。”criedViolet，puttingherselfbeforehim，“itis
truewhatIhavebeentellingyou！Thisisourlittlesnow-girl，and
shecannotliveanylongerthanwhileshebreathesthecoldwestwind。
Donotmakehercomeintothehotroom！”
“Yes，father，shoutedPeony，stampinghislittlefoot，so
mightilywasheinearnest，“thisbenothingbutour’ittle
snow-child！Shewillnotlovethehotfire！”
“Nonsense，children，nonsense，nonsense！”criedthefather，half
vexed，halflaughingatwhatheconsideredtheirfoolishobstinacy。
“Runintothehouse，thismoment！Itistoolatetoplayanylonger，
now。Imusttakecareofthislittlegirlimmediately，orshewill
catchherdeath-a-cold！”
“Husband！dearhusband！”saidhiswife，inalowvoice-forshehad
beenlookingnarrowlyatthesnow-child，andwasmoreperplexedthan
ever-“thereissomethingverysingularinallthis。Youwillthinkme
foolish-but-but-mayitnotbethatsomeinvisibleangelhasbeen
attractedbythesimplicityandgoodfaithwithwhichourchildrenset
abouttheirundertaking？Mayhenothavespentanhourofhis
immortalityinplayingwiththosedearlittlesouls？andsotheresult
iswhatwecallamiracle。No，no！Donotlaughatme；Iseewhata
foolishthoughtitis！”
“Mydearwife。”repliedthehusband，laughingheartily，“youareas
muchachildasVioletandPeony。”
Andinonesensesoshewas，forallthroughlifeshehadkept
herheartfullofchildlikesimplicityandfaith，whichwasaspure
andclearascrystal；and，lookingatallmattersthroughthis
transparentmedium，shesometimessawtruthssoprofound，thatother
peoplelaughedatthemasnonsenseandabsurdity。
ButnowkindMr。Lindseyhadenteredthegarden，breakingawayfrom
histwochildren，whostillsenttheirshrillvoicesafterhim，
beseechinghimtoletthesnow-childstayandenjoyherselfinthe
coldwestwind。Asheapproached，thesnow-birdstooktoflight。The
littlewhitedamsel，also，fledbackward，shakingherhead，asifto
say，“Pray，donottouchme！”androguishly，asitappeared，leading
himthroughthedeepestofthesnow。Once，thegoodmanstumbled，
andfloundereddownuponhisface，sothat，gatheringhimselfup
again，withthesnowstickingtohisroughpilot-clothsack，helooked
aswhiteandwintryasasnow-imageofthelargestsize。Someofthe
neighbors，meanwhile，seeinghimfromtheirwindows，wonderedwhat
couldpossesspoorMr。Lindseytoberunningabouthisgardenin
pursuitofasnow-drift，whichthewestwindwasdrivinghitherand
thither！Atlength，afteravastdealoftrouble，hechasedthelittle
strangerintoacorner，whereshecouldnotpossiblyescapehim。His
wifehadbeenlookingon，and，itbeingnearlytwilight，was
wonder-strucktoobservehowthesnow-childgleamedandsparkled，
andhowsheseemedtoshedaglowallroundabouther；andwhendriven
intothecorner，shepositivelyglistenedlikeastar！Itwasafrosty
kindofbrightness，too，likethatofanicicleinthemoonlight。
ThewifethoughtitstrangethatgoodMr。Lindseyshouldseenothing
remarkableinthesnow-child’sappearance。
“Come，youoddlittlething！”criedthehonestman，seizingher
bythehand，Ihavecaughtyouatlast，andwillmakeyou
comfortableinspiteofyourself。Wewillputanicewarmpairof
worstedstockingsonyourfrozenlittlefeet，andyoushallhavea
goodthickshawltowrapyourselfin。Yourpoorwhitenose，Iam
afraid，isactuallyfrost-bitten。Butwewillmakeitallright。
Comealongin。”
Andso，withamostbenevolentsmileonhissagaciousvisage，all
purpleasitwaswiththecold，thisverywell-meaninggentleman
tookthesnow-childbythehandandledhertowardsthehouse。She
followedhim，droopinglyandreluctant；foralltheglowandsparkle
wasgoneoutofherfigure；andwhereasjustbeforeshehad
resembledabright，frosty，star-gemmedevening，withacrimson
gleamonthecoldhorizon，shenowlookedasdullandlanguidasa
thaw。AskindMr。Lindseyledherupthestepsofthedoor，Violetand
Peonylookedintohisface-theireyesfulloftears，whichfroze
beforetheycouldrundowntheircheeks-andagainentreatedhimnot
tobringtheirsnow-imageintothehouse。
“Notbringherin！”exclaimedthekind-heartedman。“Why，youare
crazy，mylittleViolet！-quitecrazy，mysmallPeony！Sheissocold，
already，thatherhandhasalmostfrozenmine，inspiteofmythick
gloves。Wouldyouhaveherfreezetodeath？”
Hiswife，ashecameupthesteps，hadbeentakinganotherlong，
earnest，almostawe-strickengazeatthelittlewhitestranger。She
hardlyknewwhetheritwasadreamorno；butshecouldnothelp
fancyingthatshesawthedelicateprintofViolet’sfingersonthe
child’sneck。Itlookedjustasif，whileVioletwasshapingoutthe
image，shehadgivenitagentlepatwithherhand，andhad
neglectedtosmooththeimpressionquiteaway。
“Afterall，husband。”saidthemother，recurringtoherideathat
theangelswouldbeasmuchdelightedtoplaywithVioletandPeonyas
sheherselfwas，“afterall，shedoeslookstrangelylikea
snow-image！Idobelievesheismadeofsnow！”
Apuffofthewestwindblewagainstthesnow-child，andagain
shesparkledlikeastar。
“Snow！”repeatedgoodMr。Lindsey，drawingthereluctantguestover
hishospitablethreshold。“Nowondershelookslikesnow。Sheis
halffrozen，poorlittlething！Butagoodfirewillputeverythingto
rights。”
Withoutfurthertalk，andalwayswiththesamebestintentions，
thishighlybenevolentandcommon-sensibleindividualledthelittle
whitedamsel-drooping，drooping，drooping，moreandmore-outof
thefrostyair，andintohiscomfortableparlor。AHeidenbergstove，
filledtothebrimwithintenselyburninganthracite，wassendinga
brightgleamthroughtheisinglassofitsirondoor，andcausingthe
vaseofwateronitstoptofumeandbubblewithexcitement。Awarm，
sultrysmellwasdiffusedthroughouttheroom。Athermometeronthe
wallfurthestfromthestovestoodateightydegrees。Theparlorwas
hungwithredcurtains，andcoveredwitharedcarpet，andlookedjust
aswarmasitfelt。Thedifferencebetwixttheatmospherehereandthe
cold，wintrytwilightoutofdoors，waslikesteppingatoncefrom
NovaZemblatothehottestpartofIndia，orfromtheNorthPole
intoanoven。O，thiswasafineplaceforthelittlewhitestranger！
Thecommon-sensiblemanplacedthesnow-childonthehearth-rug，
rightinfrontofthehissingandfumingstove。
“Nowshewillbecomfortable！”criedMr。Lindsey，rubbinghishands
andlookingabouthim，withthepleasantestsmileyoueversaw。
“Makeyourselfathome，mychild。”
Sad，sadanddrooping，lookedthelittlewhitemaiden，asshestood
onthehearth-rug，withthehotblastofthestovestrikingthrough
herlikeapestilence。Once，shethrewaglancewistfullytowardthe
windows，andcaughtaglimpse，throughitsredcurtains，ofthe
snow-coveredroofs，andthestarsglimmeringfrostily，andallthe
deliciousintensityofthecoldnight。Thebleakwindrattledthe
window-panes，asifitweresummoninghertocomeforth。Butthere
stoodthesnow-child，drooping，beforethehotstove！
Butthecommon-sensiblemansawnothingamiss。
“Come，wife。”saidhe，“letherhaveapairofthickstockings
andawoollenshawlorblanketdirectly；andtellDoratogiveher
somewarmsupperassoonasthemilkboils。You，VioletandPeony，
amuseyourlittlefriend。Sheisoutofspirits，yousee，atfinding
herselfinastrangeplace。Formypart，Iwillgoaroundamongthe
neighbors，andfindoutwhereshebelongs。”
Themother，meanwhile，hadgoneinsearchoftheshawland
stockings；forherownviewofthematter，howeversubtleand
delicate，hadgivenway，asitalwaysdid，tothestubbornmaterialism
ofherhusband。Withoutheedingtheremonstrancesofhistwochildren，
whostillkeptmurmuringthattheirlittlesnow-sisterdidnotlove
thewarmth，goodMr。Lindseytookhisdeparture，shuttingtheparlor
doorcarefullybehindhim。Turningupthecollarofhissackover
hisears，heemergedfromthehouse，andhadbarelyreachedthe
street-gate，whenhewasrecalledbythescreamsofVioletand
Peony，andtherappingofathimbledfingeragainsttheparlorwindow。
“Husband！husband！”criedhiswife，showingherhorror-stricken
facethroughthewindow-panes。“Thereisnoneedofgoingforthe
child’sparents！”
“Wetoldyouso，father！”screamedVioletandPeony，ashe
reenteredtheparlor。“Youwouldbringherin；andnowourpoor-dear-
beau-ti-fullittlesnow-sisteristhawed！”
Andtheirownsweetlittlefaceswerealreadydissolvedintears；
sothattheirfather，seeingwhatstrangethingsoccasionallyhappen
inthisevery-dayworld，feltnotalittleanxiouslesthischildren
mightbegoingtothawtoo！Intheutmostperplexity，hedemandedan
explanationofhiswife。Shecouldonlyreply，that，beingsummonedto
theparlorbythecriesofVioletandPeony，shefoundnotraceofthe
littlewhitemaiden，unlessitweretheremainsofaheapofsnow，
which，whileshewasgazingatit，meltedquiteawayuponthe
hearth-rug。
“Andthereyouseeallthatisleftofit！”addedshe，pointing
toapoolofwater，infrontofthestove。
“Yes，father，saidViolet，lookingreproachfullyathim，through
hertears，“thereisallthatisleftofourdearlittlesnow-sister！”
“Naughtyfather！”criedPeony，stampinghisfoot，and-Ishudderto
say-shakinghislittlefistatthecommon-sensibleman。“Wetold
youhowitwouldbe！Whatfordidyoubringherin？”
AndtheHeidenbergstove，throughtheisinglassofitsdoor，seemed
toglareatgoodMr。Lindsey，likeared-eyeddemon，triumphinginthe
mischiefwhichithaddone！
This，youwillobserve，wasoneofthoserarecases，whichyetwill
occasionallyhappen，wherecommon-sensefindsitselfatfault。The
remarkablestoryofthesnow-image，thoughtothatsagaciousclass
ofpeopletowhomgoodMr。Lindseybelongsitmayseembuta
childishaffair，is，nevertheless，capableofbeingmoralizedin
variousmethods，greatlyfortheiredification。Oneofitslessons，
forinstance，mightbe，thatitbehoovesmen，andespeciallymenof
benevolence，toconsiderwellwhattheyareabout，and，before
actingontheirphilanthropicpurposes，tobequitesurethatthey
comprehendthenatureandalltherelationsofthebusinessinhand。
Whathasbeenestablishedasanelementofgoodtoonebeingmayprove
absolutemischieftoanother；evenasthewarmthoftheparlorwas
properenoughforchildrenoffleshandblood，likeVioletand
Peony-thoughbynomeansverywholesome，evenforthem-but
involvednothingshortofannihilationtotheunfortunatesnow-image。
But，afterall，thereisnoteachinganythingtowisemenofgood
Mr。Lindsey’sstamp。Theyknoweverything-oh，tobesure！-everything
thathasbeen，andeverythingthatis，andeverythingthat，byany
futurepossibility，canbe。And，shouldsomephenomenonofnatureor
providencetranscendtheirsystem，theywillnotrecognizeit，evenif
itcometopassundertheirverynoses。