
On the bitter eve of Christmas, a snow‑laden forest in Russia becomes the backdrop for a desperate chase. A ragged stranger, lost among the towering firs, hears a high‑pitched cry and discovers a tiny, fur‑wrapped girl determined to find her father, who has been banished to the far north. Their brief meeting hints at a perilous journey across frozen wastes and the stark contrast between harsh survival and a child's fierce devotion.
The child, known as Paulina, claims to have slipped past city sentinels and traveled a quarter of the distance on her own, trusting only the cold wind and her own resolve. The stranger, wary yet intrigued, offers to guide her through the tangled maze of trees, aware that the path may lead to an unforgiving exile camp. As they set off, the narrative balances the quiet menace of the wintry wilderness with the warmth of a shared, unexpected companionship.
Language
en
Duration
~42 minutes (40K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Charlene Taylor, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Release date
Dec 22, 2020
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1809–1898
Best known for creating one of the earliest full concordances to Shakespeare, this lively Victorian writer also turned her love of literature into essays, stories, and character studies. Her work helped open Shakespeare to a wider general audience, especially readers who wanted a practical way into the plays.
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