Once upon a time, two children were friends. They were neighbors. The boy's name was Murad, and the girl's name was Aysel.
It was winter. One day, they were sitting by the window, watching the snowflakes dancing in the air.
— It's very interesting, — Murad asked Aysel. — I wonder if the snow has a queen too?
Their grandmother, sitting nearby, replied:
— Of course, she does. She flies on her throne through the streets at night and looks into windows.
At that moment, ice patterns formed on the windowpanes. The Snow Queen had heard what the boy said.
Frightened by this, Aysel said fearfully:
— Can she freeze us?
Murad stood up and, to overcome Aysel's fear, spoke heroically:
— Let her try! I'll put her in a hot oven, and she'll melt.
The next day, the children were again sitting by the window, watching the street. The window was slightly open. Suddenly, Murad cried out:
— Oh dear, something touched my eye and my heart!
The poor boy didn't know that it was a piece broken from the Snow Queen's ice mirror. This piece of ice was meant to turn his heart to ice.
One day, the children went out to play in the square. As they were playing happily, a large white sleigh suddenly appeared. Before the children had a chance to open their eyes and look at it, Murad tied the rope of his own sleigh to the back of that large sleigh.
Inside the white sleigh sat the Snow Queen. The Snow Queen's sleigh sped away from there. They, along with Murad, entered the great Ice Palace. The enchanted Murad forgot both Aysel and his grandmother. After all, his heart had turned to ice.
But Aysel did not forget Murad. She began to search for Murad. She got into a boat and went to search for him along the banks of the river that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Soon, the boatman stopped near a garden. A witch appeared before the girl. She thought: "What a beautiful girl!"
Aysel asked:
— Have you seen Murad?
— No, I haven't. What do you need Murad for? Stay with me, let's live kindly here!
The witch showed her beautiful garden. There were many beautiful flowers, each like a fairy tale. Everywhere was bathed in sunlight. It was very beautiful here, but Aysel did not stay. She continued to search for Murad.
On the way, she met an old crow. Aysel asked him about Murad's whereabouts too. The crow said:
— It seems I've seen Murad. Now he lives in the Queen's palace.
Aysel tried to go to that palace. Robbers caught her. The robber chief's daughter wanted Aysel to stay with her there. But when she learned what had happened to Aysel, she decided to let her go. She ordered her beloved reindeer to take the girl to where Murad was.
The reindeer carried Aysel on its back and began to run day and night. It was already tired and exhausted. Suddenly, the Snow Queen's palace appeared. The reindeer could no longer go on. The little girl got off and started to move forward on her own.
Aysel reached the palace and slowly entered. The Snow Queen was sitting on her ice throne. At her feet, Murad was playing with pieces of ice. He didn't recognize Aysel, he felt nothing, for his heart had turned to ice.
Aysel hugged him and began to cry. She cried so heartily and spoke so passionately about their friendship memories that the ice in Murad's heart began to melt. Murad seemed to wake from a dream and cried out:
— Aysel!
Aysel, still crying, said:
— Murad, my dear friend! You recognized me. At this moment, the Snow Queen's spell was broken.
They were no longer afraid. Murad and Aysel returned home and began to live happily as friends, just like before.
