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formed exactly the letters which the Snow Queen had told him to find out; so
now he was his own master, and he would have the whole world and a pair of new
skates into the bargain.

Gerda kissed his cheeks, and they grew quite blooming; she kissed his eyes,
and they shone like her own; she kissed his hands and feet, and he was again
well and merry. The Snow Queen might come back as soon as she liked; there
stood his discharge written in resplendent masses of ice.

They took each other by the hand, and wandered forth out of the large hall;
they talked of their old grandmother, and of the roses upon the roof; and
wherever they went, the winds ceased raging, and the sun burst forth. And when
they reached the bush with the red berries, they found the Reindeer waiting
for them. He had brought another, a young one, with him, whose udder was
filled with milk, which he gave to the little ones, and kissed their lips.
They then carried Kay and Gerda--first to the Finland woman, where they
warmed themselves in the warm room, and learned what they were to do on their
journey home; and they went to the Lapland woman, who made some new
clothes for them and repaired their sledges.

The Reindeer and the young hind leaped along beside them, and accompanied them
to the boundary of the country. Here the first vegetation peeped forth; here
Kay and Gerda took leave of the Lapland woman. "Farewell! Farewell!" they all
said. And the first green buds appeared, the first little birds began to
chirrup; and out of the wood came, riding on a magnificent horse, which Gerda
knew (it was one of the leaders in the golden carriage), a young damsel with a
bright-red cap on her head, and armed with pistols. It was the little robber
maiden, who, tired of being at home, had determined to make a journey to the
north; and afterwards in another direction, if that did not please her. She
recognised Gerda immediately, and Gerda knew her too. It was a joyful meeting.

"You are a fine fellow for tramping about," said she to little Kay; "I should
like to know, faith, if you deserve that one should run from one end of the
world to the other for your sake?"

But Gerda patted her cheeks, and inquired for the Prince and Princess.

"They are gone abroad," said the other.

"But the Raven?" asked little Gerda.

"Oh! The Raven is dead," she answered. "His tame sweetheart is a widow, and
wears a bit of black worsted round her leg; she laments most piteously, but
it's all mere talk and stuff! Now tell me what you've been doing and how you
managed to catch him."

And Gerda and Kay both told their story.

And "Schnipp-schnapp-schnurre-basselurre," said the robber maiden; and she
took the hands of each, and promised that if she should some day pass through
the town where they lived, she would come and visit them; and then away she
rode. Kay and Gerda took each other's hand: it was lovely spring weather, with
abundance of flowers and of verdure.

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