Page 11 - СКАЗКИ СНЕЖНОГО ЭЛЬФА

Snow Elf called Snezhik

It was a cold wet morning. It could be called a winter
one if it were not for the lack of snow. But without snow it
made an unfriendly dull day of who-knows-what season. I
walked, wondering what the landscape would be like when
Her Majesty Winter showed Her mercy and brought snow
in this country. It was what I was thinking about when I
spotted some snow crowning an old tree stump. I came up,
carefully took up the tiny snowdrift, gave it a tender look
and touched the cold snow with my lips. Then I squeezed
it between my palms and was about to make a snowball
when I felt a tickling resistance.
‘Oh, what is this?’ I screamed, frightened, staring at a
small angry white man sitting in my palm.
‘Not what is this, but who is this’, corrected the man,
grumbling.
He looked crumpled – his nose on one side, his eyes
crossed.
‘You rumpled me over, made passes at me with kiss-
es’, I heard. ‘ Did I call you? Just lay peacefully, waiting for
the winter to come, and here you are: no chance to relax.’
At this the man shook himself, dispersed, then reshaped
– now he was a fluffy creature, something in between a
kitten and a snowman. His small round body was covered
with fur-like hoarfrost, on top of his head sat pointed small
ears. Big eyes looked piercing blue, the mouth showed a
set of tiny icicle transparent sharp teeth and the pug nose

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