The Snowman: A Danish Folktale by Andersen

Winter brings a world of sparkling frost, frozen ground, and long nights. For a snowman standing in a garden, the season seems full of wonders. The cold makes him feel alive, the moon fascinates him, and the winter landscape fills him with curiosity. Yet he knows little about the world beyond his snowy body.

In Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Man, a newly built snowman begins to explore his surroundings through conversations with an old yard dog. The dog shares memories of his former life beside a warm stove, and the snowman becomes fascinated by the object he describes. As the days pass, his curiosity turns into an intense longing that he cannot understand.

Andersen’s tale combines winter imagery, personification, gentle humor, and an ending that reveals the truth behind the snowman’s strange desire. Beneath its simple surface lies a reflection on longing, limited understanding, and the difference between what we desire and what we are capable of becoming.

The Story of The Snowman

A Snowman Comes to Life

The weather was bitterly cold. Snow covered the ground, and a fresh winter chill filled the air. In a garden stood a snowman that a group of boys had built amid cheerful shouts, the ringing of sleigh bells, and the cracking of whips.

The snowman had two triangular pieces of tile for eyes. An old rake served as his mouth, giving him a row of teeth. His body crackled in the freezing weather, and he felt proud of his ability to withstand the cold.

As the sun began to set, the snowman looked up at the bright object in the sky. He complained about the way it stared at him and declared that he would not allow it to make him blink or lose his shape.

Soon, the sun disappeared, and the full moon rose. Its round, clear face shone beautifully in the blue winter sky.

The snowman mistook the moon for the sun returning from the opposite direction. He wondered why the shining object kept appearing and disappearing, unaware that the sun and moon were two different things.

Although he enjoyed the cold, the snowman also wished he could move. He had watched boys sliding over the ice and wanted to glide across it himself. However, he did not know how to move his body or run.

The Old Yard Dog Speaks

An old yard dog heard the snowman’s complaints and began barking.

“Your friend up there will teach you to run,” the dog explained. He remembered previous snowmen that had stood in the same place during earlier winters. When warmer weather arrived, those snowmen had disappeared.

The snowman could not understand the dog’s meaning. He thought the sun might somehow teach him to move, even though he had no idea how such a thing could happen.

The yard dog corrected him. The bright object that had disappeared was the sun, while the one shining above them now was the moon. The sun would return the following day, the dog explained, and the weather would eventually change.

The dog also mentioned that he could feel a change in the weather through a sharp pain in his left hind leg.

After their conversation, the dog turned around several times and retreated into his kennel to sleep. The snowman remained outside, still puzzled by the world around him.

The Beauty of a Winter Morning

During the night, the weather changed. A thick, damp fog settled over the area, followed by an icy wind that made the cold feel even harsher.

When morning arrived, the sun illuminated a magnificent winter scene. Frost covered the trees and bushes, making them resemble a forest of coral. Every twig carried a delicate coating of white, and the branches sparkled as though someone had scattered diamonds across them.

The snowman found himself surrounded by a world of extraordinary beauty. The trees seemed transformed, and the sunlight made the frozen landscape shine.

A young woman entered the garden with a young man. They stopped to admire the frost-covered trees and remarked on their beauty. The young man also praised the snowman, saying that such a figure could not exist during summer.

The woman laughed, nodded towards the snowman, and continued walking with her companion.

The snowman watched them leave. He asked the yard dog who they were and whether he knew them.

The dog explained that they were lovers. They belonged to the people who owned the house, and the dog knew them because the woman had stroked him and the man had given him a bone.

The snowman wondered whether the couple belonged to the same kind of beings as himself and the dog. The yard dog dismissed the question, reminding him that he had only just come into existence and knew very little about the world.

The Dog Remembers His Former Home

The snowman remained curious about the yard dog. He asked the older animal to tell him more about the things he knew, but he also complained whenever the dog rattled his chain.

The dog began to describe his former life.

When he was young, the people in the house treated him affectionately. They called him a pretty little dog and allowed him to rest on a velvet-covered chair. The mistress of the house carried him on her lap, kissed his nose, and wiped his paws with an embroidered handkerchief.

They called him Ami, a name that expressed their affection for him.

As he grew larger, however, the family gave him to the housekeeper. He moved from the main house to the basement, where he found a smaller but more comfortable place to live. The children no longer pulled him about, and he continued to receive good food.

Most importantly, his new room contained a stove.

The dog remembered the stove with great affection. During cold weather, he would lie beneath it, enjoying its warmth. To him, it had been the finest thing in the world.

His comfortable life ended after he bit the youngest young master on the leg. The boy had kicked away the bone the dog was chewing, and the dog reacted by biting him. The family considered the incident unacceptable. They chained the dog outside, and he gradually lost his ability to bark as he once had.

Despite his disappointment, the dog continued to remember the warmth of the stove.

The Snowman Becomes Fascinated with the Stove

As the yard dog described his former home, the snowman became increasingly interested in the stove.

He asked what it looked like and whether it resembled him.

The dog explained that the stove looked quite different. It was black, with a long neck and a brass drum. It burned firewood, sending flames from its opening, and anyone who stayed nearby could enjoy its warmth.

The snowman looked through the window and saw the polished stove inside the housekeeper’s room. Its fire glowed brightly, and its warmth seemed to reach towards him.

Something stirred within the snowman. He could not explain the feeling, but he found himself drawn to the stove. He began to think of it as a beautiful female being and wondered why the dog had ever left such a wonderful place.

The dog explained that he had not chosen to leave. The family had sent him away and chained him outside.

The snowman, however, could think of little beyond the stove. He wanted to approach it, enter the room, and lean against it. The closer he looked, the stronger his longing became.

The dog warned him that he could never reach the stove. If he went too near, he would melt away.

The snowman did not seem to understand the danger. He felt a strange crackling inside himself and believed that something was happening to him.

A Longing That Cannot Be Fulfilled

For the rest of the day, the snowman stood outside the window, staring at the stove.

As evening approached, the room grew darker, but the stove continued to glow. Its flames became more visible whenever someone opened the door, and the light fell across the snowman’s white body.

He watched the flames with growing fascination. Their movement seemed beautiful to him, and he longed to draw closer.

The night passed slowly. The snowman remained outside, lost in his thoughts and surrounded by the freezing air.

By morning, ice covered the windowpanes. Beautiful patterns of frost formed on the glass, hiding the stove from his view. The snowman could no longer see the object that had occupied his thoughts throughout the night.

The cold weather should have pleased him, but his longing prevented him from enjoying it. The yard dog recognised the problem and compared it to an illness he himself had once experienced. He called it being “stove-sick.”

The snowman continued to stare at the window, waiting for the frost to clear.

Eventually, the weather changed again. The temperature rose, and the snow began to melt.

The Snowman Disappears

As the warmth increased, the snowman’s body grew smaller. He made no complaint, and the yard dog watched as the snowman’s shape gradually disappeared.

One morning, the snowman collapsed completely.

Only a pole remained where he had stood, protruding from the ground. The yard dog examined it and finally understood the reason for the snowman’s strange longing.

A stove rake, used for tending or cleaning the stove, had been fastened to the pole inside the snowman’s body. Its presence had helped create the movement and crackling that the snowman felt within himself.

The dog realised that the snowman had not truly fallen in love with the stove. The object that fascinated him had awakened a desire he could never satisfy, while the hidden stove rake explained the unusual sensation inside his body.

The snowman had melted away, and the winter was drawing to an end.

The yard dog barked as he usually did, while the girls in the house sang about the coming spring. The world was preparing for warmer days, and nobody thought about the snowman any longer.

Thus ends Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Man, a winter tale about a snowman’s fascination with a stove, his longing to reach it, and the simple explanation that emerges after he melts.

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Moral Lesson

The story reminds readers that desire does not always come with understanding. The snowman longs for something he cannot approach without destroying himself, and he never discovers the reason behind his strange attraction. Andersen also encourages readers to consider how limited experience shapes our understanding of the world. What seems wonderful from a distance may not be right for us, and wisdom sometimes requires recognizing our own limitations.

Knowledge Check

1. Who wrote The Snow Man?

Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish writer known for his literary fairy tales, wrote The Snow Man.

2. How did the snowman come into existence?

A group of boys built him in a garden during winter, using snow to form his body and pieces of tile and an old rake for his features.

3. What did the yard dog tell the snowman about his former life?

The dog explained that he once lived comfortably indoors, where he enjoyed the warmth of a stove before the family sent him outside.

4. Why did the snowman become fascinated with the stove?

He saw the glowing stove through a window and developed an intense longing for it, although he did not understand what it was or why he felt drawn to it.

5. What caused the snowman to melt?

Warmer weather caused his snowy body to melt. The yard dog later discovered a stove rake attached to the pole inside the snowman, explaining the unusual sensation that had stirred within him.

6. What lesson can readers learn from Andersen’s The Snow Man?

The tale encourages readers to reflect on desire, limited understanding, and the importance of recognizing that some wishes cannot be fulfilled without consequences.

Source

Hans Christian Andersen, What the Moon Saw: and Other Tales, translated by H. W. Dulcken, George Rout ledge and Sons, London, 1866. Story title: “The Snow Man.”

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