rose bush had sunk, and when her warm tears watered the earth,
the bush came up in full bloom just as it had been before. Gerda
kissed the roses and thought of the lovely roses at home, and
with them came the thought of little Kay.

'Oh, what have I been doing!' said the little girl. 'I wanted to
look for Kay.'

She ran to the end of the garden. The gate was shut, but she
pushed against the rusty lock so that it came open.

She ran out with her little bare feet. No one came after her.
At last she could not run any longer, and she sat down on a large
stone. When she looked round she saw that the summer was over;
it was late autumn. It had not changed in the beautiful garden,
where were sunshine and flowers all the year round.

'Oh, dear, how late I have made myself!' said Gerda. 'It's
autumn already! I cannot rest!' And she sprang up to run on.

Oh, how tired and sore her little feet grew, and it became colder
and colder.

She had to rest again, and there on the snow in front of her was
a large crow.

It had been looking at her for some time, and it nodded its head
and said, 'Caw! caw! good day.' Then it asked the little girl
why she was alone in the world. She told the crow her story, and
asked if he had seen Kay.