Long ago there the Witch of Winter decided to stop Spring from coming on Earth. The Witch hid the sun behind clouds and made sure that Earth was always covered with snow.
On Earth a small group of people living on an ice mountain were perpetually cold. They did not understand why Spring would not come. The snow was always found around them or buried their homes. They decided to solve this problem. They decided to go to the Great Wizard Father Frost who lived on the highest mountain peak so that they could tell him about what was happening on Earth.
But the trip was very dangerous. The people of the village wondered who could make it. Each one of them was afraid that they could not do it because not only was the trip very cold it was also filled with plenty of dangers.
Finally an old man in the village was willing to go. But he was old and his granddaughter realized that he could not make a successful trip to the mountain peak and back.
The little girl was an orphan and she was brought up by her grandfather after the death of her parents. She loved her grandfather very much.
So the little girl told her grandfather that she would go instead of him.
The grandfather was worried about the decision of his granddaughter. "You are too little, you do not have any scarves and mittens to keep you safe from the cold. Please do not go."
Looking at how young the girl was, even the neighbours asked her not to go.
But the little girl was adamant. "I am not afraid and I have a warm heart. My heart will keep me safe. I will find Father Frost and put an end to this Winter."
The people in the village were overwhelmed with the bravery of the little girl. Each one of them gave their hat, socks, mittens and scarves for the girl to make the trip to the mountain peak.
Finally the girl left for the mountain peak.
The girl was determined and she did not rest.
She had almost crossed half the mountain and she could see the peak of the mountain and that was when the whirlwinds of winter realized that the girl had crossed the mountain and come this far without turning back.
The Whirlwinds were very angry that the girl had successfully fought the cold and come this far.
They blew even stronger to push the girl back. But the girl's warm heart kept her safe and she was determined and she went ahead.
The Whirlwinds were tired. But the girl was not.
The tired Whirlwinds then went to their sisters, the Blizzards.
The Blizzards blew heavily.
But the little girl did not give up.
Sometime later the Blizzards also gave up completely exhausted.
Then the Blizzards and the Whirlwinds together went to their mother, the witch of Winter.
The Witch of Winter was smart.
Instead of using more cold to fight the little girl, the witch of Winter turned into a young woman about the same age as the mother of the little girl and walked towards her and spoke with her pleasantly and politely.
The little girl felt that this was her own mother who had come to her.
So when the young woman sang a lullaby, the little girl decided to take some rest before continuing further.
The lullaby of the Winter Witch further dragged her into a sleep.
The little girl was fast asleep before she could reach the mountain peak.
The little girl's cheeks first became blue, then yellow and she was slowly freezing in the cold as she fell asleep.
The little animals of the forest borrowed in the snow and found the little girl fast asleep. The white mice and the white rabbits together tried to wake up the girl. And slowly with a lot of effort they easily woke the girl up.
When she was awake the animals nodded at her. "We also want this cold to end. We heard that you were going to find Father Frost and put an end to this Winter." The little animals smiled at the girl. "That is why we have all come here to wake you up."
The girl and the little animals all went to Father Frost's castle on the mountain peak.
There they told Father Frost all that had happened on Earth.
Father Frost was angry with the Winter Witch. He decided to imprison her in the cellar for a year and let her out only when it was time for Winter.
The sun came out of the clouds and started melting the snow.
The little girl and her friends went back to the mountain town and they all celebrated the coming of Spring.
Adapted from Folk Tales from Bulgaria
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