Winter passed and the spring sun began to warm the ground. The Snow Maiden grew sad. “What is the matter with you, Daughter?” the old people asked her. “Why are you so sad? Are you not well?”

“No, Father, no, Mother, I feel all right.”

The last snow melted, the flowers blossomed in the fields, and the birds came home.

But the Snow Maiden grow sadder and sadder day by day, and more and more silent. She tried to find the cool shade or a cool place. After the spring came the summer, and the girls went for a walk in the woods. They asked the Snow Maiden to go with them: ”Come with us, Snow Maiden, come and walk in the woods and sing and dance”.

The Snow Maiden did not want to go, but her mother said, “Go, Daughter, and enjoy yourself with your friends”.

The girls went to the woods with the Snow Maiden and picked flowers, made them into garlands, sang and danced in a ring. But the Snow Maiden was not gay. The girls collected wood and made a bonfire and took turns to run and jump over the fire. The Snow Maiden was last. When her turn came, she ran and as she jumped over the fire, she melted into a little white cloud. The cloud flew up and vanished in the sky.

All her friends looked around but there was no Snow Maiden. They called and called the girl, but all they heard was an echo.

THE LITTLE FIR-TREE

(A Fairy-Tale)

Several trees were growing together in a little garden: a big oak-tree, a tall pine, a birch, an apple-tree a little fir-tree.

One summer day the trees began to talk about themselves.

“I am very strong,” said the oak. “And I am very useful. People use me to make tables and chairs.”

“I am the tallest of you”, said the pine-tree.

“And people use me to make masts for ships.”

“But I am prettier than you,” said the birch.

“I am the prettiest of all the trees. My dress is white, and I have a green hat. I am very useful, too. People use me for fire-wood.”

“You are very pretty, but you have no apples,” said the apple-tree. “In spring I am covered with beautiful white and pink blossoms, and in autumn I give people sweet red apples. I am the most beautiful and the most useful.”

The little fir-tree did not say a word. It was not strong like the oak. It was not tall like the pine. It was not pretty like the birch, and it had no sweet apples like the apple-tree.

Summer, the hottest season, was over. After summer came autumn. All the trees turned yellow, red and brown.

Only the pine-tree and the fir-tree were still green. Then a strong wind began to blow, and the leaves began to fall. When winter came, the trees had no leaves, but the fir-tree was still green.

One cold a lot of people came to the garden. “What a pretty fir-tree,” they said. “Let us take it for the school party.”

They look the fir-tree to the school. Then the school children came and decorated it. They put a red star on the top and hung flags, toys and apples on the branches. “How beautiful our fir-tree is!” they said. And the fir-tree was happy.

THE LONELY SNOW-MAN

Snow-man, snow-man, so white,

What do you do alone at night?

Don’t you wish you could run and play

Just as I do during the day?

All day you stand so still

There in the field beside the hill.

With cinder eyes and smiling face,

Aren’t you tired of the same place?

SNOWFLAKES

Merry little snowflakes

Dancing through the street,

Flying in our face,

Falling at our feet.

Joyous little snowflakes,

Winter’s wild, white bees

Covering all the flowers,

Dusting all the trees.

NEW YEAR

Come, children, gather round my knee,

Something is about to be.

Tonight’s December thirty-first,

Something is about to burst.

Hark, it’s midnight, children dear

Duck. Here comes another year!

NEW YEAR

New things to learn,

A new friend to meet,

A new song to sing,

New joys to greet.

New things to see,

New things to hear

New things to do

It this glad New Year.