The Frost Maiden

Magda’s Life

A long time ago, far away in Russia, there lived a beautiful girl named Magda. She lived with her father, her stepmother, and her two stepsisters in a small cottage in the countryside.

Her stepsisters, Tania and Marfa, were the laziest girls one could imagine, and they were also the most quarrelsome. They constantly argued about who was the most beautiful and which of them would marry the richest husband.

Poor Magda never had time to engage in their bickering, as her stepmother kept her busy with housework from morning till night.

Desperate Measures

That winter was particularly harsh, with food being scarce and expensive. One day, the stepmother said to her husband, “It is time we got Magda married. We are poor, and it would mean one less mouth to feed.”

Her husband agreed, and that night, the stepmother commanded, “Get up early tomorrow, harness the horse to the sledge, and take Magda into the forest. Leave her there for her husband to fetch.”

The poor man was puzzled but could get no more information from his wife, so he followed her orders. When Magda learned she was to be left in the forest, she cried bitterly, realizing how cold it was and that she wore only a thin dress. However, her father did not dare to disobey his wife. He sadly kissed Magda goodbye and returned home.

Upon his return, he asked his wife who Magda’s husband was to be. “Jack Frost,” she replied, laughing cruelly. “Don’t fret. It’s one less mouth for us to feed.”

The Encounter with Jack Frost

Alone in the forest, Magda sat shivering with cold. She heard the snapping of twigs and the crackling of ferns. Looking up, she saw the fir trees glittering with thousands of tiny frost jewels.

Suddenly, in front of her stood Jack Frost, his white cloak adorned with sparkling jewels like those he had sprinkled on the trees.

<p“What are you doing all by yourself in the forest?” he asked. <p“Waiting for the husband who will come to claim me,” replied Magda. <p“Are you alright?” asked Jack Frost. <p“As well as can be expected in this cold, hard winter,” replied Magda. <p“Are you cold?” he asked. <p“A little,” she said, “for I have no coat.” <p“Does my frost make you cold?” he inquired. <p“It is very beautiful, and perhaps if I had a thick coat I would not feel it at all,” replied Magda, unable to stop her teeth from chattering. Jack Frost took pity on her. <p“The frost shall not harm you,” he said, and he gifted her a cloak made of the richest furs, along with a hood, boots, and a muff. Around her neck, he hung a necklace adorned with his most magnificent diamonds.

The Sisters’ Fate

The next day, Magda’s father, who had been unable to sleep with worry, drove out to find her. When he saw her alive and well, adorned with all her splendid gifts, he was overjoyed and took her home immediately.

When her stepmother saw the wonderful gifts from Jack Frost, she insisted her husband take her own two daughters into the forest to see what Jack Frost would give them.

Sitting beneath the trees in the forest, Tania and Marfa began to shiver, despite being well-wrapped in warm coats and hoods. “I hope our mother was right about these husbands who are going to come and fetch us,” said Tania. “I hope they come soon; I am quite frozen.”

<p“It is unbearably cold,” agreed Marfa. “What if only one husband comes? Naturally, he will choose me.” Then they began to quarrel over who was the most beautiful.

Jack Frost overheard them from a distance. As he approached, the twigs crackled and the ground sparkled with his frost jewels. “Why are you sitting here in the cold?” he asked the two girls.

<p“We are waiting for our husbands,” they grumbled. <p“Are you alright?” asked Jack Frost. <p“No, we are nearly frozen with cold,” replied Tania. “It is all this horrible frost. I can’t bear it.” <p“Are you very cold in those warm coats?” he asked. “You must be blind if you cannot see us shivering,” retorted Marfa. “Do go away, you silly old man.”

Jack Frost was so angry with the ill-tempered girls that he snapped his fingers, and immediately they transformed into blocks of ice, just as their father found them when he came looking the next day.

Ending of the Tale

When he told their mother what had happened, she shrieked loudly and rushed to the forest to see if she could melt the ice surrounding her beloved daughters. She has not been seen since that day, nor have her daughters. As for Magda, she married a handsome lad from the village, and they lived happily ever after.