A Synopsis of "The Little Daughter of the Snow"

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The Russian folktale, "The Little Daughter of the Snow" is a fantasy story about a magical child made of snow who comes to life for a lonely, childless couple. While watching children playing happily in the snow, this unhappy man and his wife go out to make their own little snow girl. They speak lovingly to her, and one starlit night her eyes brighten, her lips smile, and as her beautiful black hair stirs in the wind, she begins dancing and whirling joyously in the snow. The man and his wife love her as their own and all winter long they enjoy watching her laugh and play in the snow. The village children love her, too, because she is so much fun.

One day her friends follow her into the forest. As it starts to get dark, the children worry about getting lost, so they run home, leaving the snow girl behind because she has run deep into the forest far ahead of them. When she realizes she is alone, she climbs a tall tree and calls out to them, but she cannot see them anywhere. At first a bear and then a wolf hear her cries and offer to take her home, but she fears they will eat her. Finally, a red fox hears her and he takes her safely home.

As she arrives at the old couple's home, they are crying inside because they are sad and lonely without her. They are overjoyed to see her, and she asks them to shut up the dogs so they won't harm the fox. The man puts the dogs away and says how grateful he is to the fox. So the fox says he is very hungry. The old woman offers him a piece of bread, but the fox says he wants a plump hen. "After all, your little snow girl is worth a plump hen," says the fox. But the old woman decides to trick the fox since she has her little snow girl again and doesn't want to waste a hen on a fox. The man agrees, so they bring out two sacks, one with a plump hen and the other with a fierce dog. As they open one sack, the hen flutters out, and immediately the ferocious dog leaps out of the other sack to attack the fox. The frightened fox races back to the forest without eating the plump hen. The old couple are proud of themselves for getting their little snow girl back without having to give up their plump hen. But their enjoyment doesn't last. They hear the snow girl laughing and singing inside:

"Old ones, old ones, now I know
Less you love me than a hen,
I shall melt and go away again.
Away I go,
Little daughter of the Snow."

The old couple rush into the house to beg her to stay, but all that is left is a pool of water, her shiny red boots, her little fur coat and hat, and the sound of her laughter ringing in their ears.

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