Rainbow Houses

Long, long ago, the Snow Queen of the North Pole had a Magic Mirror. Everything beautiful appeared utterly ugly in that mirror.

One day, she accidentally shattered the Magic Mirror. The falling shards flew into people's eyes and burrowed into their hearts, turning their hearts to ice and making them cold and cruel.

The girl Gerda and the boy Kai had lived together since childhood. One day, a shard flew into Kai's eye and burrowed into his heart. Kai immediately changed. Everything he saw became ugly. He thought the roses were ugly and tore them off in one sweep. He ignored Gerda too, leaving her behind and walking away alone.

Gerda did not know what had changed Kai and wanted to talk to him. But when she went outside, she discovered that Kai had been carried out of the city by a great sleigh. The Snow Queen was on it, cold and aloof, flying toward the distant North Pole with Kai amid biting wind and swirling snowflakes.

Kai was gone, and Gerda was heartbroken. She resolved to bring him back. She boarded a little boat and drifted downstream. Flowers bloomed along both banks, and orchards were everywhere.

Beside a cherry orchard, she met an old grandmother and asked her about Kai. The old grandmother wanted Gerda to stay, so she gave her cherries to eat and combed her hair. Little by little, Gerda began to forget Kai.

Time passed quickly. One day, she saw a rosebush in the garden and suddenly remembered Kai. She asked the roses where he was. The roses said, "Kai isn't dead. Go find him quickly!" While the old grandmother was not paying attention, Gerda escaped from the garden. Summer had already passed. She had stayed here far too long and had to hurry.

Gerda rushed