THE SNOW QUEEN



THE STORY



CHAPTER 1



It  all  began  with  a looking glass, the invention of the greatest - and the

wickedest - of the goblins. In this magic glass, everything good and beautiful

shrank  down  to nothing, while everything ugly and evil stood out clearly and

looked  ten  times  worse.  Beautiful landscapes looked like a plate of boiled

spinach.  A  single  freckle would grow and spread over the whole of the face.

All  the  goblins laughed with malevolent glee saying that now the world could

be  seen  as it truly was. They even carried the looking glass up to heaven to

look  at  the  angels'  reflections, but as they approached the sun, the glass

shivered and fell, shattering into a million billion fragments.



And  now  the  mischief  really began, for the fragments flew everywhere, some

into  men's  eyes  so  that  they  could  see  nothing  truly, some, even more

unluckily,  into  their hearts, which turned into lumps of ice. Some fragments

were  made  into spectacles and some into windows, and it was a dreadful thing

to look through them.



And the wickedest of the goblins laughed till his sides ached.



CHAPTER 2



In  a  large  town  with very many people and very few gardens lived a boy and

girl  who  shared  a  garden little bigger than a plant pot. They lived in two

houses  so  close together that you could step from the window of one straight

into the other. The garden, which grew roses and sweetpeas and herbs, was just

two  boxes  laid  between the windowsills. In winter, though, the windows were

always shut, and often white with frost, so that a hot penny on the glass made

a little peephole. On these days, either Kay or Gerda would run down the steps

of  one house and up the steps of the other to be together for they loved each

other dearly.



Outside,  the  snowflakes  were falling. " 'Tis the white bees swarming," said

the old grandmother.



"Have they a queen bee?" asked Kay.



"Of  course.  She  is the largest of them all, at the centre of the swarm. She

never  settles  on  the earth, but stays in the black cloud. Often at midnight

she  flies  through  the  town,  covering  the  windows with frosted stars and

flowers."



"We have seen them,"said the children, and so they knew the story was true.



"Could the Snow Queen come in here?" shivered Gerda.



"If  she  did,"  replied  Kay  stoutly, "I would put her on the stove and melt

her!"



The  next  day  it was a clear frost - then it thawed - and at last the spring

came.  The  roses  bloomed beautifully that summer and the children played and

sang  beneath  them  in the sunshine. One day, they were looking at the beasts

and  birds  in their picture book when Kay cried out, "Oh, there is a stabbing

pain in my heart and oh! I have something in my eye!"



Gerda  threw  her arms around him, but he rubbed his eyes and said "I think it

has gone." But it had not gone. It was a sliver of the goblin's wicked looking

glass that had fallen into his eye, and another had lodged in his heart.



"What are you crying for?" he said crossly. "It makes you look  so  ugly.



                                                      story continues overleaf



I  am  all right. Oh, look at that rose, it is all grub-eaten, and that one is

dwarfed  and stunted. After all, the roses are ugly things." And he kicked the

box and began to pull the rose to pieces.



"Oh,  Kay,  what  are  you  doing?"  exclaimed  Gerda,  but he just pulled off

another rose and ran away.



All  that summer he argued and teased and mocked, and nothing could please him

because  his  heart  was  turning  into ice. When the snow came he studied the

flakes  through a magnifying glass, saying how much more interesting they were

than flowers.



One  evening,  when  the boys were sledging in the square, tying their sledges

to  passing  farmers' carts so that they would move more quickly, Kay tied his

small sledge to a grand white sleigh and dashed along behind it. As the sleigh

drove  into  the  next  street,  Kay  made to untie his sledge, but the driver

nodded  at  him  kindly  and  he left it be. This happened again, and soon Kay

found himself outside the town gates.



The  sleigh  sped like the wind through the blinding snow, bounding over hedge

and  ditch.  Kay  cried  out in fear, but no one heard. He would have said the

Lord's Prayer, but he could only remember the multiplication table.



Suddenly  the  driver  stopped  and stood up. Kay saw a white maiden, dazzling

fair  and  sparkling, her pelisse made of snow - the Snow Queen. "We have come

far,"  she  said,  "but how cold you are! Come under my fur." He crept inside,

but  it  was like sinking into a snow drift. The Snow Queen kissed him, a cold

kiss  which  pierced  his  heart  so he thought he would die, but then he felt

better and not at all cold. Another kiss and he forgot Gerda and his home. "No

more kisses" said the Snow Queen. "I should kiss you to death."



The  sleigh  flew on over forest and lake, over land and sea. Wolves howled at

the bright moon, and Kay slept at the Snow Queen's feet.



CHAPTER 3



Kay  had  gone,  no  one knew where. It was feared he had drowned in the river

outside  the town. Gerda wept long and bitterly. The winter days were long and

dark and dreary.



But at last came the spring and the sunshine. "Kay is dead and gone," said Gerda.



"I don't believe it!" said the sunshine.



"We don't believe it!" cried the swallows.



They  gave  Gerda  hope. Early one morning she kissed her sleeping grandmother

and went down to the river.



"Is  it  true that you have taken Kay?" she asked the river. "If I give you my

new red shoes will you let him come back?" She threw her precious shoes to the

nodding  waves,  but  they were washed back to shore. She thought to throw the

shoes  from  further  out  and  entered  a boat she found among the rushes. No

sooner  were  the  shoes in the water than the boat glided away from shore and

was swept downstream by the current.



Gerda  was  frightened  at first but then thought "Perhaps the river is taking

me  to  Kay"  and  watched the green banks with lively interest. Presently she

approached a cherry orchard and a little thatched cottage. Two wooden soldiers

presented arms as she passed. She called out, thinking them alive, and an old,

old  woman came out of the cottage. "Poorchild!"she exclaimed and, hooking the

boat with her stick, lifted Gerda ashore.



The  old  woman  listened  to  Gerda's story, fed her with cherries and combed

Gerda's hair, which fell in glossy ringlets round her rose-like face. The more

she combed, the more Gerda forgot about Kay, for the old woman was using magic

to make Gerda stay and be her own child. She also made the roses sink into the

earth, lest Gerda should see them and remember.



Gerda  loved  tne  garden.  Shee  pilayed  an day among the flowers and cherry

trees  and  at  night slept on silk cushions stuffed with violet leaves. So it

went on for many days. But the old woman had forgotten the rose painted on her

hat. Seeing it one day, Gerda looked for roses in the garden and wept when she

found none. Her hot tears fell on the earth where they had been, and the roses

sprang up again in full bloom, reminding Gerda of her home and Kay.



"Kay  is  not dead" said the roses. "We did not see him under the ground where

the dead are."



"Thank  you!"  said  Gerda, and asked each of the flowers about Kay. Every one

had some strange and wonderful tale to tell.



Gerda  ran  to  the  gate  and  out  into the wide world. In the garden it was

eternally  summer,  but outside it was now autumn. Mist dripped from the long,

yellow,  willow leaves. "How I have hindered myself!" cried Gerda and she went

on through the cold grey world.



CHAPTER 4



When  next Gerda rested, a friendly raven said good day, and asked why she was

travelling  all alone. The word 'alone' so touched Gerda that she told him all

about her journey and asked if he had seen Kay.



"Maybe!  Maybe!" nodded the raven. "But do not be excited! If it is Kay he has

forgotten you and loves the princess."



The  raven  told  her  all  about the princess, who was so outrageously clever

that  she had read all the newspapers in the world - and forgotten them again.

One  day  she decided to get married, but only to a man who would speak up for

himself,  and  not  merely stand upright and look grand, for one gets tired of

that after a while.



"You  can  believe  every  word,"  said the raven. "My sweetheart lives at the

court."



It  was announced that any handsome young man with a voice might come and talk

to  the  princess, and they came in crowds. But however well they spoke on the

street,  one and all lost their voices in the palace, overawed by the splendid

guards in silver and the even more splendid footmen in gold.



"But what about Kay?" interrupted Gerda.



On  the  third day, a young man with no carriage or horse, with shabby clothes

and  a  bundle  on his back, but with a merry smile and sparkling eyes came to

the palace.



"It was Kay!" exclaimed Gerda. "That was just like him."



He  was  not at all overwhelmed by the splendid servants and spoke jokingly to

them. His boots creaked dreadfully, but even that did not make him shy.



"Kay had new boots! I heard them creaking!"



To  the  princess, who sat on a pearl as large as a spinning wheel, he said he

had  not  come  to woo, but to hear her wisdom. But he was so bright and witty

and well-mannered that she married him after all.



"Kay is clever," sighed Gerda. "He can do sums up to fractions."



"I  can  take  you to the palace," said the raven. "Not that they will let you

in, with no shoes or stockings! But my sweetheart will help you."



So  that  night  when the palace lights had gone out one by one, Gerda and the

raven  went  up  a  private  staircase in the palace. His sweetheart bade them

follow  her through the beautiful empty rooms to the sleeping chamber. Gerda's

heart beat with suspense and longing; surely Kay would be glad to see her! She

saw  shadows  on  the  walls  - horses with flying manes, huntsmen and ladies.

"They are only dreams," said the tame raven. "Everyone is sound asleep."



In  the  sleeping  chamber  stood a gold pillar with crystal leaves from which

hung  two  beds, one snow-white where the princess slept, the other red, where

Gerda looked for Kay. She saw a brown neck - surely it was Kay! She called him

by  name  and  lifted  the  lamp. He sat up - and it was not Kay! The princess

awoke  and  they  were both very kind as Gerda sobbed out her story. They even

praised the ravens and promised to reward them, and the prince gave up his bed

to Gerda.



They  wanted  Gerda  to  stay with them at the palace, but she begged for some

boots and a pony-carriage, so she could go on searching for Kay. They gave her

beautiful  clothes  and  a  golden  carriage  stuffed  with  candied fruit and

gingerbread,  and  all  the  coachmen  and  footmen  and outriders wore golden

crowns.  Everyone wept when they said goodbye. The raven followed the carriage

for  three  miles and then perched and flapped his wings in the sunshine until

it was out of sight. That was the hardest parting of all.



CHAPTER 5



The  carriage  glittered  brightly  in  the  dark forest and tempted a band of

robbers.  "Gold!  Gold!"  they  cried,  and after killing all the men, dragged

Gerda from her seat.



"How  succulent!"  said the robber queen. "What a juicy lamb!" Her sharp knife

gleamed  horribly, but that minute her wild daughter leapt on her back and bit

her  ear.  "She shall play with me and sleep in my bed," said the robber girl.

"Now  we shall both ride in the carriage." She had her way, as she always did.

She  was  Gerda's  height, but broader and darker; her eyes were almost black.

She said to Gerda, "They shail not kill you. But if 1 am angry with you I will

kill you myself!"



The  robbers'  hall  was little more than a ruin, with birds flying in and out

through the roof. "I will show you my pets," said the robber girl, seizing one

of the many pigeons and shaking it until its wings flapped. "Kiss it! And this

is  my  sweetheart  Baa!"  She  pointed to a reindeer tied by a cord. "See how

afraid  it  is  of  my  knife."  She  playfully slid the sharp blade along the

terrified  creature's  neck.  Then she bundled Gerda into her bed and made her

tell about Kay.



"Coo  curoo!"  said  a  wood-pigeon.  "We  have  seen  Kay. He was in the Snow

Queen's sleigh the day she froze our young ones with her breath. She was going

to Lapland, where all is snow and ice."



"Oh Kay! My poor Kay!" cried Gerda.



"Lie  still,"  said  the  robber  girl,  "or  I will plunge my knife into your

heart."



"Do you keep your knife with you in bed?" asked Gerda timidly.



"Always!  One  never knows what may happen." She then started to snore loudly,

and Gerda never slept a wink.



Next  morning  when  the men were away robbing and the robber queen slept, the

robber girl tied Gerda onto the back of the reindeer.



"You  will  need  your boots," she said, "and here are some loaves and ham, so

you  will  not  starve to death. I will keep your pretty muff but you can have

these ugly gloves of my mother's."



Gerda wept from pure joy.



"Stop whimpering," snapped the robber girl. "Look merry, this minute!"



She  cut Baa's cord and away went the reindeer over marsh and fen, through the

dark forest, as fast as the wind, until they arrived in Lapland.



CHAPTER 6



The  reindeer  stopped  by  a cottage so low that one had to crawl in on one's

hands  and  knees. Inside was an old Lapland woman boiling fish in a pot. "The

Snow  Queen  has  gone  further north," she said after hearing their story. "I

will  write  a  letter  -  on  a dried stockfish, for I have no paper - to the

Finland woman, who can advise you better than I."



Away  they  went  once more and at last they came to Finland. Gerda knocked on

the wise woman's chimney, for she had no door.



"I  know  you are very wise," said the reindeer. "You can tie up all the winds

of  heaven  in  a  coil  of rope. Could you not make a potion giving Gerda the

strength of twelve men?"



"The  strength  of  twelve  men!" grumbled the wise woman, dropping the letter

into  a  fish  kettle (for she never wasted anything). "Much use that would be

against the Snow Queen! Can you not see that Gerda has all the power she needs

-  the  power of innocent love? Consider how everyone has helped her! Take her

to the bush that bears red berries amid the snow. And return quickly, mind!"



This  the  reindeer did, and Gerda was left alone amidst the swirling snow. As

she approached the Snow Queen's palace, great snow flakes ran towards her, all

strange  spiky  shapes,  threatening  and  terrible, dazzling white and alive.

Gerda  began to say the Lord's Prayer, and her white breath turned into a host

of  angels,  a  whole  legion,  who  scattered the snowflake demons with their

spears. Thus Gerda reached the palace in safety.



And  what  of  Kay  all  this  time?  He  certainly had no idea that Gerda was

standing outside the palace gate.



CHAPTER 7



The  Snow  Queen's  palace  had more than a hundred chambers, every one empty,

cold  and  dreary.  Cold  cutting  winds blew through the drifted snow. At the

centre  of palace was a vast lake of ice, cracked in a thousand places, called

by  the  Snow  Queen the Mirror of Reason. Here she had her throne; for her it

was the finest place on earth.



At  the  foot  of  the  throne  sat  Kay,  now almost black with cold, playing

incessantly  with  blocks  of  ice, making Chinese puzzles, strange shapes and

words.  One  word he could never make : the word ETERNITY. Should he ever make

that  word,  the Snow Queen promised, he would be his own master and she would

give him the whole world and a new pair of skates.



There  Gerda  found  him  all  alone.  She held him close to her heart, crying

"Kay,  dear Kay, have I found you at last?" but he was too stiff and frozen to

reply.  Gerda wept, and her hot tears melted his icy heart and washed away the

glass  fragment.  He looked at Gerda and burst into tears, and so the fragment

in  his  eye was also washed away. "Dear, sweet Gerda, where have you been all

this time? What is this place?" He shivered. "How cold it is!"



He  embraced  Gerda  and she laughed and cried with joy. The ice blocks danced

and of their own accord formed the word ETERNITY. Kay was free at last!



Hand-in-hand  the  children  wandered  out of the palace. At the bush with red

berries was waiting Baa with another reindeer, to take them home. So they rode

through the early springtime. The snow melted, leaves sprouted and birds sang.

At  last  they  reached  their  home town where they found the old grandmother

reading her Bible, and all was as it had been before.



And it was summer. Golden, glorious summer!





INTRODUCTION



In  this  computer  game  version  of The Snow Queen your job is to help Gerda

during  her long journey and many adventures in search of her lost friend Kay,

and to rescue him from the palace of the Snow Queen.



You  will  find  an  abridged version of Hans Andersen's story below. The game

follows  the  story  very  closely  but  you  will also find many problems and

adventures  not  in the story - things which happened to Gerda that were never

written  down. And, of course, the advice you give Gerda may change the course

of events.



While  the  program is loading (see instructions below under the heading Using

the  Program)  read  the  story, or at least to the end of Chapter 2. When the

program has loaded you will find yourself right in the story at this point and

Gerda will already be in need of your advice. When Gerda asks 'What shall I do

now' or something similar, you type your reply and then press ENTER or RETURN.



When  advising  Gerda,  remember  that  she  is  a  young Danish girl and only

understands  simple  English sentences (such as Go east, Take the pencil, Look

under the chair, etc). If she says that she does not understand something, try

different words. Some of the English words Gerda understands are listed below.



Reading  the  story printed here will certainly provide many clues to help you

help  Gerda,  but  if  you  find  you need more help, you can acquire a 'hints

sheet'  from the programmers by sending a stamped, addressed envelope to: Snow

Queen Dept, St Bride's School, Burtonport, County Donegal, Ireland.



USING THE PROGRAM



The  game  is  in  two  parts. When you have successfully completed Part I you

will be given a password to enable you to play Part II.



Loading the game



To  load  Part  I  and start the game, insert the cassette in the recorder and

ensure  that  it is fully rewound. Follow the instructions below for your type

of  computer.  The  words  that  you type are those in bold print (remember to

press RETURN or ENTER after each command you type).



Commodore 64/128



Press  SHIFT  and  RUN/STOP  together,  then  press  the  PLAY  button  on the

recorder. (If you have a CBM 128, remember to first type GO 64 or switch on in

CBM 64 mode.)



Spectrum 48K/128K



Type LOAD"", then press the PLAY button on the recorder.



When  the  game  starts,  stop  the  tape  as  the  program for Part II of the

adventure  game  follows  Part I fairly closely and you don't want the tape to

play  on  past it. When you have completed Part I, switch off the computer and

then  switch  it on again to clear Part I from memory. Load Part II as you did

Part I.



Loading advice



The  cassettes  are  tested  thoroughly  and you shouldn't have any problem in

loading this game. If you do have difficulties, the following may help:



 Try the other side of the cassette



 Load another game from cassette to check everything is connected properly



 If you can, try another recorder.



Saving the game position



While  playing  the  game  you can save your current position (so that you can

turn  the computer off, yet return later to the same stage in the game). To do

this, insert a spare, blank cassette in the recorder. Press the RECORD buttons

on  the recorder. Type SAVE and press ENTER or RETURN. (If you are asked for a

"filename" type any short word and press ENTER or RETURN). If the tape doesn't

move,  press  ENTER  or  RETURN  again.  When  the game position has saved the

command prompt will reappear. Stop the recorder.



Loading the saved game position



To  load  a  saved game position correctly you must be playing the part of the

game  (ie.  Part  I or Part II) that you were playing when you saved the game.

Insert  the  saved  game cassette in the recorder and rewind it. Type LOAD and

press  ENTER  or  RETURN.  (If  you are asked for a " filename " type whatever

short word you used to save the position and press ENTER or RETURN.) Press the

PLAY  button  on the recorder. When it has loaded the saved game position will

reappear on the screen.



Some Useful Words....



Inventory         gives  you  a  list  of everything Gerda is carrying



Redescribe (R)    redescribes the scene



Goodbye           ends the game



Examine           to look more closely at an object or place



Score             tells you how you are doing



. . and some that Gerda understands



Ask  Bathe  Blow  Board Book Buy Call Clean Climb Cork Crawl Cry Cut Down Draw

Drop  East  Eat  Enter Examine File Get Give Hook Kiss Knock Light Listen Look

Mount Move North Open Pick Pull Push Put Read Remove Rest Ride Roll Show Sleep

South Speak Spin Stop Swim Unlock Unlie Up Wait Wash Weat West





The  Snow  Queen  - The Computer Game first published in Great Britain 1986 by

Mosaic Publishing Ltd, 187 Upper Street, London N1 1RQ



Adventure game program Copyright (c) 1986 St Bride's



Mosaic signature tune Copyright (c) 1984 David Stoll



No  part of this software may be reproduced in any form or by any means by any

persons   or   institutions  without  the  prior  written  permission  of  the

publishers.  Mosaic  Publishing  Limited  This software is sold subject to the

condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be re-sold, lent or

hired  out  without  Mosaic Publishing Limited's prior written consent and, in

the  case  of  re-sale,  without  a  similar  condition  being  imposed on the

subsequent purchaser.



Production services by Cosprint Ltd

Printed in Great Britain





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