They went out on to the landing-stage
and sniffed towards the sea, The evening sky was green all over, and
all the world seemed to be made of thin glass. All was silent,
nothing stirred, and slender stars were shining everywhere and
twinkling in the ice. It was terribly cold.
Yes, she's on her way, said Too-ticky.
“We'd better get inside.”...
Far out on the ice came the Lady of the
Cold, She was pure white, like the candles, but if one looked at her
through the right pane she became red, and seen through the left one
she was pale green.
Suddenly Moomintroll felt the pane
become so cold that it hurt, and he drew back his snout in rather a
fright.
They sat down by the stove and waited.
“Don't look,” said Too-ticky...
The Lady of the Cold was walking past
the bathing-house. Perhaps she did cast an eye through the window,
because an icy draught suddenly swept through the room and darkened
the red-hot stove for a moment. Then it was over...
The Lady of the Cold was standing by
the reeds. Her back was turned, and she was bending down over the
snow.
“It's the squirrel.” said
Too-ticky. “He's forgotten to keep at home.”
The Lady of the Cold turned her
beautiful face towards the squirrel and distractedly scratched him
behind one ear. Bewitched, he stared back at her, straight into her
cold blue eyes. The Lady of the Cold smiled and continued on her way.
But she left the foolish little
squirrel lying stiff and numb with all his paws in the air...
“He's quite dead,” said Little My
matter-of-factly...
“At least he saw something beautiful
before he died,” said Moomintroll in a trembling voice...
“This squirrel will become earth all
in his time” [said Too-ticky kindly]. “And still later on
there'll grow trees from him, with new squirrels skipping about in
them...”
-- from Moominland Midwinter by Tove
Jansson (1957)