The Black and White Crystals of Ishma part 8

Balthazar

          Irashma meadow was very big and wide. Where ever you looked there was grass and wildflowers everywhere. Sophie, Ted, Jack and Sam got down from the cart

          “Thank you for the ride” said Sophie, giving the cart driver a coin.

          “It was my pleasure misses” said the cart driver “do you want me to stay here to take you back to the village?”

          “Don’t bother sir” replied Sophie “we have no idea how long we are going to stay here”. So the cart driver left with his horse and cart.

          Ted took a good look at Irashma meadow. “This meadow is so green, colourful and peaceful” he said “it’s almost as if that war fifty years ago never happened”.

          “I must ask” said Sam “how will we find the white crystal of Ishma here? This meadow is enormous.”

          “Excuse me” said a voice behind them “did you say the white crystal of Ishma?” It was an old man, with long white hair, wearing a white robe and was carrying a long staff.

          “Who are you?” asked Sam, getting ready to fight the old man just in case.

          “I am Balthazar” the old man answered “I was a magician of Ishma, but I live here in Irasha now. Why are you looking for the white crystal of Ishma?”

          “Prince Charles of Ishma is planning to rule over Ishma with the power of the black crystal of Ishma” explained Sophie “that is why we’re here. Prince Edward and Princess Julia sent us here to search for the white crystal of Ishma”.

          “So he is planning to do what his ancestor Prince John did huh?” said Balthazar “Hmm I had a feeling this would happen “you better come with me”.

          “I take it you know about the black and white crystals of Ishma?” asked Ted.

          “Yes” replied Balthazar “the truth is I am a descendant of the magician who gave Prince Arthur and Prince John the gift of magic three hundred years ago. That story had been passed down in my family ever since”.

          “I remember reading that story” said Ted.

          “Is there no story that you haven’t read?” asked Sam; he has heard Ted saying he had read this or that lots of times.

          “Come on Ted and Sam” said Sophie “now is not the time for arguing, Balthazar do you know where the white crystal is?”

          “Yes I do, the truth is fifty years ago the king of Ishma at that time gave me the white crystal” said Balthazar “the white crystal is why Ishma and Irasha were at war with each other. Irasha wanted it, but the king of Ishma wouldn’t let them have it, so it caused that war. After the war was over, the king gave the crystal to me. He feared that someone else might want to have the white crystal for its powers for selfish reasons. So he gave it to me to keep it somewhere safe”.

          “Why here at Irasha and not at Ishma?” asked Jack.

          “The people of Irasha had no idea that it was lost here, so hiding it here was a safer place than Ishma”.

          Balthazar led them straight into the middle of Irashma meadow and brought them to a large white memorial. The memorial was very tall and had names on all its four sides. “This memorial is a remembrance of those from Ishma who died in the war that took place here fifty years ago” explained Balthazar “this is also where I hid the white crystal”.

          “But I don’t see the white crystal here” said Sam, looking at the memorial.

          “All is not what it seems” said Balthazar. He raised his stick and said “Open Sesame!” The memorial moved backwards and there in front of it were stairs. “Go and retrieve the white crystal and hurry”.

          “Okay” said Sophie “boys lets go” and they headed down the stairs.

The Black and White Crystals of Ishma part 7

Arriving at Irasha

 

          After sailing across the ocean nearly all afternoon Sophie and her friends finally reached Irasha. The ship docked into the harbour. The town looked exactly like the town back in Ishma, only bigger. It was starting to get dark and they needed somewhere to stay for tonight.

          “Okay since we are finally here” said Sophie “what we should do is find a place to stay for the night and gather food and water. We will need all the rest we can get for tomorrow. Then as soon as dawn hits we’ll set off for Irashma meadow tomorrow, agreed?” The boys agreed.

          They found an inn, not far from the harbour, and asked the innkeeper to spend the night there. The innkeeper agreed and asked the chef to cook them something to eat. While they were eating Sophie asked the inn keeper if there were any horse and carts that would take her and the boys to Irashma meadow.

          “Are you going there to pay respects to your ancestors who fought in the war there?” asked the innkeeper “most people do nowadays”.

          “Yes sir we are” Sophie answered. She didn’t dare tell him that they were going to look for the white crystal of Ishma there, just in case it would cause trouble.

          “There is a horse and cart not far from here that will take you there” the inn keeper said “the driver will take you there any time you want”. Sophie and the three boys finished their dinner, said thank you to the inn keeper and went to bed. Sophie had a room to herself, while Ted, Jack and Sam shared a room together.

          Sophie had trouble falling asleep that night. She was worried about what was happening back at Ishma. ‘I pray that Prince Charles hasn’t done the worst yet’ she thought to herself ‘I also hope that Edward and Julia are alright’. But now was not the right time for her to worry about that. Her only concern now was finding the white crystal of Ishma, so she decided to sleep instead.

          Once dawn set the next morning Sophie, Ted, Jack and Sam left the inn and got everything ready for the journey to Irashma meadow. First up they bought some supplies like bread, cheese and water they would need for the journey. Next they went to look for a cart driver to take them there. Luckily they found a cart driver in the village square by a fountain.

          “Excuse me sir” said Sophie “but my friends and I would like to go to Irashma meadows please”.

          “Of course madame” said the cart driver “it will be my pleasure to take you there. Since Irashma meadow is a popular place I get lots of passengers”.

          “Thank you sir” said Sophie “but I must ask how long will it take to get there?” She hoped it wouldn’t take too long.

          “By horse and cart, it is much quicker to get there than on foot” the cart driver replied. Sophie felt relieved; they had no time to lose.

          Sophie, Ted, Jack and Sam boarded the cart, with their bag of food and water. Then the cart driver got his horse moving. The horse was a strong and quick horse; it gave them a splendid ride. They rode through the town and then they came to grassy areas.

          “I read on a map that before getting to Irashma meadow, you will have to pass through a forest” said Ted “will we be able to get through there with the horse and cart?”

          “No need to worry” said the cart driver “there is a path that goes through the forest to the meadow”.

          He was right; when they arrived at the forest there was nothing, not even a tree log, blocking their way. Thanks to the horse and cart they got through the forest easily and then at last they arrived at Irashma meadow.

The Black and White Crystals of Ishma part 6

The Recovery of the

Black Crystal of Ishma

 

         

          At the castle of Ishma Prince Charles and Willy were on the search for the black crystal. It was not an easy search because the only clue they had was the black crystal was hidden in the castle walls. There was no information which castle wall it was hidden in.

          “Why Willy?” said Prince Charles, who was getting angry, “Why is it difficult to find just one crystal?”

          “It’s because your highness there are hundreds of walls and only one black crystal in the castle” Willy said.

          “That was a rhetorical question idiot!” shouted Prince Charles, he was getting very impatient.

          “Pardon me your highness,” said Willy “but how would we know which wall the crystal is hidden in?”

          “Look for a loose brick,” Prince Charles said “the black crystal would be hidden behind a loose brick. Willy you search for loose bricks, I’m going to visit my brother and sister in law in the dungeon”.

          So Willy began searching for loose bricks. He searched the rooms upstairs, then the rooms downstairs, but none of them held loose bricks. Finally he searched in the castle cellar. The castle cellar wasn’t exactly a big room; it hadn’t been used for anything much except for keeping unused items. Mostly empty boxes and empty glass jars and bottles. Willy began to search for loose bricks, suddenly a brick moved, in the middle of the back wall. Willy touched the brick again and suddenly it slid to one side like magic. Willy was amazed! Behind the wall was a hidden flight of stairs leading to a door. Willy ran to the dungeons to tell Prince Charles what he had found.

          In the dungeons Prince Charles was talking to Prince Edward and Princess Julia.

          “Why are you doing this Charles?” Prince Edward asked “you are turning your back on your own family. And you will be making your own home a misery.”

          “I’m just taking what I want and that’s the throne of Ishma” said Prince Charles “I have always lived in your shadow as the youngest twin. But when I become king you will be in the shadows”.

          Just then Willy rushed in and told Prince Charles about the secret passage he found.

          “I think that might be where the black crystal is” Willy said.

          “Good work Willy” said Prince Charles “now my brother I have got a black crystal to find”. And he left.

          “He really is crazy enough to process the black crystal” said Princess Julia.

          “Yes he is,” said Prince Edward “he is crazy for power just like my ancestor Prince John was”.

          “I just hope that Sophie will succeed of finding the white crystal soon”.

          “Of course she will,” said Prince Edward “Sophie is a smart girl and I know she will not let us down. I trust her.”

          All Prince Edward and Princess Julia could do now was wait for Sophie to return with the white crystal of Ishma.

          Meanwhile Willy showed Prince Charles the flight of stairs behind the back wall in the cellar. Prince Charles and Willy went down the stairs and opened the door at the bottom of the stairs. The door wasn’t locked. Behind the door was a room filled with old magic spell books and magic items. There was even a portrait of Prince John.

          “I reckon this hidden room was where my ancestor Prince John studied his dark magic” said Prince Charles.

          “Your highness look over there!” said Willy, pointing to a glass container. In the glass container was the black crystal of Ishma.

          “So my ancestor Prince Arthur hid the crystal in this secret room all the time” said Prince Charles.

          He lifted the lid of the glass container and took out the crystal. As soon as the black crystal was in his hands, dark magic from the crystal flowed through his body.

          “With these dark magic powers I will rule Ishma in darkness like my ancestor Prince John did” said Prince Charles “and no one will stop me”.  He laughed a very evil laugh and Willy joined in with him, Willy liked being surrounded by evil and darkness. Willy was just as evil as Prince Charles.

The Black and White Crystals of Ishma part 5

The Departure for Irasha

 

          Back at the village Sophie, Ted, Jack and Sam were discussing plans about what to do about searching for the white crystal of Ishma in the village school. Ted had lots of books and maps about Irasha. He was now reading a history book about the battle between Ishma and Irasha that happened fifty years ago.

          “Now according to this history book, the war that took place in Irasha fifty years ago happened in a meadow of Irasha which they now call the Irashma meadow,” he said “so there’s a good chance that the white crystal is hidden in that meadow”.

          “According to the map of Irasha that Princess Julia gave me,” said Sophie, who was studying the map, “the Irashma meadow is in the middle of Irasha. Before that there’s this small wood that we have to go through first.”

          “Before we talk through anything else,” interrupted Jack “How exactly do we get to Irasha?”

          Jack had a point; this was actually the first time that Sophie, Ted, Jack and Sam were going to another island. They had never left Ishma before.

          “I know how!” burst out Sam “there’s a ship at the harbour that’s sailing to Irasha this afternoon. I heard about it this morning. We can get to Irasha from that”.

          “But how do we get to the Irashma meadow from the harbour in Irasha?” Jack asked.

          Sophie continued looking at the map of Irasha. “I know how” she said. “This map shows that there is a town near the harbour in Irasha. Coming out of the town, there is a path which will lead us to the forest and the forest will lead us to the Irashma meadow”.

          “Then this is what we’ll do” said Ted “first, after we get to the harbour of Irasha we’ll rest in town. Second we leave the town to get to the wood. We should be able to rent a horse and cart there. Then we’ll go through the forest and reach the Irashma meadow and then start looking for the white crystal, agreed?”

           Sophie and the three boys agreed to that idea and decided to set off immediately. There was no time to lose or Ishma would end up in darkness under Prince Charles’s control. Before setting off, Ted, Jack and Sam told their fathers where they would be going and about the mission of finding the white crystal of Ishma. The fathers didn’t really want them to leave Ishma, but understood that saving Ishma from Prince Charles was important and promised not to tell anyone about it. Telling anyone would have passed the word to Prince Charles and that would have gotten in the way of the quest. After saying goodbye to their fathers Ted, Jack and Sam set off towards the harbour with Sophie.

          At the harbour the ship that was departing for Irasha was nearly ready to leave. Sophie, Ted, Jack and Sam had made it to the harbour just in time. They headed towards the ship. Sophie felt happy going onto the ship. She had always wanted to have an adventure and this was her dream come true. Ted felt rather nervous about leaving his home, but didn’t turn back on his friends. Jack felt amazed about being on a ship. He had always helped his father and other carpenters build ships, but never actually sailed on them. Sam was filled with happiness and excitement. Going to faraway lands on ships was something he always wished to do.

          Soon the ship set sailed and was sailing across the ocean towards Irasha. While the ship was sailing, Sophie looked back at Ishma, she was worried about Princess Julia and Prince Edward. She was also worried about if Prince Charles’s evil plan had succeeded yet.

          “Princess Julia, Prince Edward,” she whispered “my friends and I will find the white crystal where ever it is. We will not let you down”.

The Christmas Fairy and Angel

          In the streets of a city, a little girl named Emily was selling matches. It wasn’t easy for her to sell matches because there were people who wanted them and some who didn’t. But she did manage to earn some pennies from the matches.

          Emily was a poor girl and was wearing rags and clogs that were much too big for her feet. Right now she was watching children, her own age, walking down the streets happily with their parents. That was torture for Emily; her mother had died when she was a little girl and her father was a different story. Emily’s father was a mean, selfish man. He was also a drinker. Whenever Emily came home from selling matches, he would take all her earnings and spend nearly all of it on drinks. The most horrible thing was that he would always beat Emily if she didn’t sell any matches. So he never showered Emily with love and kindness. Apart from her mother, Emily also only received love and kindness from her grandmother, who was Emily’s mother’s mother. Emily missed them very much and always wished that they were still alive.

          Emily’s only comfort now was a Christmas fairy that she had found last Christmas. It had been abandoned in the street, so Emily kept it for herself.

          One Christmas Eve, Emily was in the street selling matches. Her father had told her to not come home, until all the matches had been sold. Emily didn’t like selling matches in winter, but she never dared to disobey her father. It was snowing and very cold. Emily had her Christmas fairy with her for company. Emily did the best she could, but no one wanted to buy her matches. Soon it was dark and everyone had gone home, except Emily. “Oh Christmas fairy,” she whimpered “I don’t know what to do. I’m not allowed to go home and I haven’t sold a single match stick”.

          All Emily could do now was try to find some shelter for the night. Luckily there was shelter for her that night. In the city there was a church. Normally the church doors was closed and locked up at night. But tonight they were left open. Emily ran into the church at once. “I do hope the priest won’t mind me taking shelter here” she said. She lay down on the floor in front of where a picture of an angel was hung. “I pray the angels will protect me tonight” Emily whispered and fell asleep, clutching to her Christmas fairy.

          When midnight struck a big surprise awaited Emily. Her Christmas fairy sprung to life and woke her up. Emily couldn’t believe her eyes that her Christmas fairy was alive. Then she remembered a story her grandmother once told her. The story was that it is said that Christmas fairies come to life during the night between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the morning. “Grandma’s story was true” smiled Emily.

          Suddenly a bright light shone through the church windows and then more Christmas fairies appeared. All the Christmas fairies picked up Emily and brought her into the light. When the light faded Emily saw herself in some sort of castle. “Where am I?” she said. “You are in the castle of Christmas” said a voice. A woman in a white dress, with wings and long golden hair, appeared. “Welcome child,” she said “I am the angel of Christmas. And you are in my castle”. The angel explained that during the night between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the morning she would bring the Christmas fairies to life. And if a little boy and girl had been good, kind and caring during the year, they would be invited to spend the night at the castle of Christmas. “And you Emily have been invited here too”. Emily was surprised, but very happy.

          The Christmas angel led Emily into a big room. And in the room were a hundred boys and girls. Emily ran over to join and play with them. Then suddenly a big long table magically appeared and on there was lots of food. There was lots of turkey, potatoes, soup, meat pies, bread with butter and cheese, Christmas puddings and cakes, nuts, fruit, candies, cookies and glasses full of milk to drink. Emily couldn’t stop eating; she had never eaten good food, ever since her grandmother died. Mostly she had only eaten bread and cold soup, since her father kept on spending money on cheap wine.

          After the meal was finished, Christmas presents magically appeared for the children. The presents turned out to be toys, books and new clothes. Emily got a new dress with shoes and even a coat with gloves, scarf and a warm hat and she changed into them at once. She also got some books and two dolls and two teddy bears. Emily couldn’t stop smiling; this night was the best Christmas night she ever had in life.

          After all the presents were opened, the Christmas fairies started to play music and the Christmas angel started to sing Christmas carols. The children, including Emily, joined in too. Next there were candles to light. The candles were for the children to make a Christmas wish. The Christmas fairies presented a basket of matches to the Christmas angel. The basket of matches was really Emily’s. Emily became worried; if her matches were used and she got no money for it, her father would beat her. The Christmas angel smiled at Emily to let her know everything would be all right. The Christmas fairies lit the candles with the matches, and then the children closed their eyes and made their Christmas wishes. Emily’s wish was that she would be able to live in happiness for the rest of her life.

          Soon it was time for the children to go home. The Christmas fairies took the children back to where they came from. Before Emily went back to the church, the Christmas angel gave her one more Christmas gift. She handed Emily the basket she was carrying. Of course all the matches were gone. But inside the basket was a small pile of shillings. “This is for in exchange for your matches”. Emily was grateful and thanked the Christmas angel with all her heart. Then her Christmas fairy picked her up and took her back to the church through the light.

          It was Christmas Day by the time the Christmas fairy brought Emily back to the church. When Emily saw that she was back at the church, she feared it had all been a dream. But she saw that she was still wearing the clothes that she got for a present. And her new books, dolls and teddy bears were also with her. She also saw the small pile of shillings in her basket. “It wasn’t a dream” she said happily. Emily placed her gifts and Christmas fairy into her basket and decided to set off for home. “I hope father will be happy with all these shillings”. No one was in the church yet, so no one had realized that she had taken shelter there.

          Emily and her father lived in a small disrepair house. The windows were broken and there were empty bottles everywhere on the floor. Her father had never bothered to clean up or fix the house. Emily was almost at the house, when she saw some people outside her house. “What’s going on?” she asked “this is my house”. When the small group of people saw her, a man walked up to her. “Do you know the man, who lives here?” he asked. “Yes sir,” said Emily “he’s my father”. The man sighed and told her what was happening. Apparently Emily’s father had died in his sleep. His drinking problem had made him very sick and the bitter cold of winter had made it worse. Emily told the man everything about her father; his drinking problem, making her sell matches in all sorts of weather, him spending all the money she ever earned on drinks, how he beat her and never giving her any love. “And last night, he told me to not come home until all the matches were sold, so I took shelter last night in the church”. The small group of people was outraged. “How could he do that to his own daughter?” a woman said. “He won’t be in heaven that’s for sure” said a man. “His death is his own fault” said another woman. “At least the little girl is free from him now” said another man.

          Of course Emily was saddened of being an orphan. But not long after her father’s death, she was adopted. The family, who adopted her, was a rich couple and they raised Emily with love and kindness. Emily became happier than she ever thought she would be in life. ‘My Christmas wish came true’ she thought. Apart from always keeping the dolls, books and teddy bears she received from the Christmas angel, she always kept her Christmas fairy as well. That way she would always remember that magical Christmas night with the Christmas angel and fairies.   

The Black and White Crystals of Ishma Part 4

How the Black and White

Crystals were created

 

         

          Meanwhile, back in the castle of Ishma, Prince Charles was holding Prince Edward and Princess Julia hostage in the dungeons. Sometime after Princess Julia arrived back from the countryside the guards had grabbed her and tossed her into the dungeon. Prince Edward was tossed sometime after her. Luckily no one had realised that she had left the castle, so Prince Charles didn’t know what his sister in law had done.

          While Princess Julia and Prince Edward were in the dungeons, Prince Charles was searching for the black crystal of Ishma. It had been hidden somewhere in the castle, so no one would get to it. The late king never told his sons where it was hidden because he didn’t know where it was either, because no one had told him. But Prince Charles was desperate to find it no matter what. He was about to turn red in anger when Willy came in. Willy was holding an old black and white book.

          “Excuse me your highness,” he said “but you may want to look through this book that I found in the castle library”.

          “What’s so important about an old book?” asked Prince Charles. Even though Prince Charles could read, he hated reading books. He thought that reading books was silly.

          “It has info about both the black and white crystal of Ishma” Willy answered.

          “Really?” said Prince Charles “Give it to me!” He snatched from Willy and began to read.

          This is what the book said:

          ‘Three hundred years ago there were twin princes named Prince Arthur and Prince John. Both of them processed powerful magic. Magical powers were gifts to them by a powerful wizard named Malthizor. Malthizor gave the twin princes the gift of magic because they once saved his life from being eaten up by wolves. Prince John the eldest twin became the next king of Ishma after their father died, while Prince Arthur the youngest twin supported him.

          Everything thought that Prince John would rule wisely like his father before him. But they all thought wrong. After becoming king, Prince John’s true nature was revealed. His heart was cold and used his magic powers for evil instead of good. He planned to bring Ishma under the cover of darkness. To bring Ishma under darkness he conjured up all of his dark magic and transferred it into a crystal he created. The crystal turned black once all of Prince John’s dark magic was transferred into it. So Prince John called it ‘the black crystal of Ishma’. And with the black crystal of Ishma at his side Ishma became dark and gloomy.

          Prince Arthur didn’t intend to let his twin brother get away with what he did. First he created his own crystal and transferred his good magic into it. His good magic turned the crystal white, which is why he called it ‘the white crystal of Ishma’. With the white crystal’s power Prince Arthur challenged his brother to a fight, a fight to defeat him and bring peace back to Ishma.

          The fight was ferocious. It was a battle between light and dark magic. The black crystal of Ishma turned out to be very powerful with its dark magic. But the white crystal of Ishma was even more powerful with its light magic. In no time at all the white crystal overpowered the black crystal and Prince John was defeated.

          Prince John was sentenced to death for his crimes and Prince Arthur became king of Ishma. Ishma was no longer in a dark and gloomy form and all was peaceful again. As for the black crystal: it couldn’t be destroyed because its magic protected it no matter what they did to it. Even the white crystals power couldn’t destroy it. So Prince Arthur buried it inside the castle walls. He never wanted history to repeat itself, so he never told anyone where exactly he buried the black crystal in the castle walls. As for the white crystal of Ishma: he kept it at his side until the day he died. And it was decided that the white crystal of Ishma was to be passed down to every new king of Ishma.’

          “So that’s where my ancestor hid the black crystal,” Prince Charles said when he finished reading the book “it’s hidden inside the walls. Come Willy we have some searching to do”.

          “Yes your highness” said Willy and they began to search for the black crystal of Ishma.

The Bride of a Demon

           A long time ago, high up in the mountains, there was a village. This village did look peaceful, but the villagers had a problem. In the snowy mountains there lived a demon, which had the power over snow and ice; the snow demon is what they called him. The villagers had a tradition; once a year, in the middle of winter, the snow demon demands a girl of sixteen years old to be presented to him in the snowy mountains. The villagers didn’t dare to disobey the snow demons wishes, because the snow demon had said that he would make the villagers live eternally in winter if he didn’t get what he wanted. The villagers couldn’t bear to have winter upon them all year long, so they obeyed his every command.

          All the girls, that were about to turn sixteen, in the village were sad and frightened because of the tradition, except one. This girl’s name was Snowdrop; she was called that because a lot of snowdrop flowers bloomed on the day she was born. Ever since Snowdrop was a little girl, she knew that one day she might be sacrificed to the mountain demon. But she didn’t feel frightened, she actually felt grateful to the snow demon. She was grateful because she knew that the snow demon was the one who ruled over the land the village was built on. Every winter, whenever snowdrop flowers grew, she would place snowdrop flowers just outside the mountain, as a thank you gift to him.

          One winter day it was now time for the snow demon to be presented with a sixteen year old girl. A small temple lay in the middle of the village and that was where the villagers would gather round to choose what girl would be sacrificed to the snow demon. This year Snowdrop was chosen. The vote was decided by her father. Snowdrop’s father was a terrible man; he never wanted a daughter. Snowdrop’s mother died after giving birth to her and he was not happy that he didn’t end up with a son. He thought that giving her to the snow demon would be a way to get rid of her.

          Snowdrop was dressed in white robes and she walked straight to the cave in the snowy mountains where the snow demon lived. It was dark inside the cave and Snowdrop couldn’t see anything at all. “Is anyone here?” she whispered. “Step forward my pretty maiden” said a voice. Snowdrop bravely stepped forward and then the snow demon appeared. He didn’t look like a monster; in fact he nearly looked human. But he had horns on his head and his feat had big toenails. Snowdrop bowed politely to the snow demon. The snow demon raised her head with his fingers. “So beautiful and exquisite” he said, with a smile, “come with me my dear”.

          The snow demon brought snowdrop to a room of the cave, where a big bed, with fury sheets and pillows, lay. He placed snowdrop on the bed and raped her all night long. This is what the snow demon always did; he would rape the village girls that are sent to him. Snowdrop did feel pain from being raped, but did nothing to stop him just in case it would make him angry enough to kill her.

          The next morning, the snow demon sent Snowdrop home. “You pleased me” he said, with a smile. Snowdrop curtsied to him and went back to the village. The villagers were relieved that Snowdrop was okay. “Now our village will be saved” they said.

          For a while everything seemed normal and during spring everything went well for the crops. But then Snowdrop began to feel sick. When she visited the village doctor, she realized that she was with child and Snowdrop knew that it was the snow demons child. She didn’t want to tell anything, especially her father, just in case they would want to kill it. One night, Snowdrop went up to the mountains, where she would place snowdrops, and said; “Snow demon I wanted to let you know that I am carrying your child”. What Snowdrop didn’t know was that she had been followed. The village doctor, who told Snowdrop that she was with child, feared that it was the snow demon’s child, since she was raped by him. So he followed Snowdrop and heard her say that she was carrying the snow demon’s child.

          The next day, Snowdrop was taken to the temple. The doctor had told everyone that Snowdrop was carrying the snow demon’s child. The villagers feared that Snowdrop’s child would mean trouble for the village, so they wanted to kill it by making Snowdrop abort it. Snowdrop didn’t want to abort it and kept on telling the villagers that she wanted to keep her child. But the villagers ignored her pleas. “This is for the sake of the village” they said. Snowdrop’s father was just about to beat her, so Snowdrop would miscarriage, when suddenly he was turned into a block of ice. “Don’t you dare harm my child!” a voice shouted.

          It was the snow demon. He heard what Snowdrop had said that night, and came to the village to retrieve her. “Come to me my dear,” he said to Snowdrop, offering a hand to her “we will take our leave”. Snowdrop gave her hand to him, then the snow demon put her to sleep and then he held her in his arms. He turned to the frightened villagers. “I am taking my bride back with me to the mountains,” he said “I do not want any more girls given to me at winter time. What I do want is a big bundle of wheat every month. My wife here will need it when the child is born. And further more I do not want anyone trespassing on the mountains, and to give you a warning”. He clicked his fingers and then Snowdrop’s father, still in a block of ice, broke into a million pieces. “The same thing will happen to you if anyone disturbs me and my family, and also if you refuse to give me wheat”. And then the snow demon vanished with Snowdrop, still sleeping in his arms.

          The villagers never saw Snowdrop again, but they say that they hear her laughter in the mountains. They also hear a sound that sounds like children laughing; which meant that Snowdrop had given the snow demon a lot of children. And they say that she lived a happy life with her snow demon husband and her snow demon children until she died.