Page 111 - СКАЗКИ СНЕЖНОГО ЭЛЬФА

turned up. The bird’s long beak ran through the Snow-
drift for the girl to put a warm spark in the formed hole.
The girl caressed the Snowdrift and sighed.
‘Keep it until the fine time comes, don’t let anybody
see it, it’s a secret.’
The Snowdrift fell in love with the warm secret and
sheltered it from severe cold and biting winds. The Secret
had been sleeping quietly until one day it alarmed and
was about to rise, very weak though after its sleep. Day
after day the Secret was getting stronger and demanding,

it dreamt hot dreams that pushed the Snowdrift from in-
side, leaving its already weak body still weaker.’
‘I’m dying’ , grieved the Snowdrift. ‘Will the Secret
manage to live without me?’
Finally Nature asserted its rights, and the Last Snow-
drift melted up in the midday sunlight, turning into a tiny
clear lake. Its water mirrored a slice of sky that’d dropped
free, and the former Snowdrift stood still, feeling incred-
ibly deep. It looked around to see a tender purple stalk,

growing up close to him. The stalk was crowned with a
huge pale-pink bud, glowing magic. It was its Secret!
‘Look,’ whispered the spring flowers. ‘It’s a Fairy
Flower!’
The wind busily rattled old leaves, the birch swayed
its bare branches, and the Fairy Flower bent over the
blue eye of the lake, nodding gratefully. It surely was the
fine time. There was a soft sound and the bud opened to
show the world a new fairy. Birth of a new fairy is quite

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