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Illustration for The Snow Queen

German · Intermediate

Die Schneekönigin

Adapted from The Snow Queen

By Hans Christian Andersen

Gerda journeys through a series of strange lands to find Kay after he is taken by the Snow Queen.

Read and listen in German, with English alongside.

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Intermediate sample in German

Scene 1

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Illustration for the scene “The wicked magician's mirror”

Scene 1 · Intermediate

Der Spiegel des bösen Zauberers

The wicked magician's mirror

German

Hört zu, unsere Geschichte beginnt! Wenn sie zu Ende ist, werden wir hoffentlich mehr wissen als jetzt.

English translation

Listen, our story is beginning! When it is over, we will hopefully know more than we do now.

German

Es war einmal ein sehr böser Zauberer. Er hatte einen Spiegel hergestellt, auf den er besonders stolz war: Alles Gute und Schöne wurde darin so klein, dass es kaum noch zu erkennen war. Das Hässliche und Unnütze dagegen erschien zehnmal schlimmer als in Wirklichkeit.

English translation

Once upon a time there was a very wicked wizard. He had made a mirror of which he was particularly proud: everything good and beautiful became so small in it that it could hardly be recognized. Ugly, useless things, on the other hand, appeared ten times worse than they really were.

German

Die schönsten Landschaften sahen wie gekochter Spinat aus, und die Gesichter der Menschen wurden so stark verzerrt, dass selbst Freunde sie nicht wiedererkannt hätten. Eine einzige Sommersprosse schien sich über Nase und Mund auszubreiten. Hatte jemand einen guten oder frommen Gedanken, zeigte der Spiegel eine Falte.

English translation

The loveliest landscapes looked like cooked spinach, and people's faces were so badly distorted that even their friends would not have recognized them. A single freckle seemed to spread across the nose and mouth. If anyone had a good or devout thought, the mirror showed a wrinkle.

German

Der Zauberer kicherte über seine Erfindung. Er unterrichtete an einer Zauberschule, und seine Schüler erzählten überall begeistert von dem Spiegel. Sie behaupteten sogar, man könne durch ihn zum ersten Mal sehen, wie die Welt und die Menschen wirklich seien.

English translation

The wizard chuckled over his invention. He taught at a school of magic, and his pupils enthusiastically told everyone about the mirror. They even claimed that through it, people could see for the first time what the world and human beings were really like.

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