Art Linkletter passes out Christmas presents to several children, including Tina Marie, who receives a storybook entitled The Snow Queen . Tina Marie beseeches Art to read the story aloud, and after he states that the story's author was Danish writer Hans Christian Anderson, he explains that the children can gaze into a "magic mirror" on the wall to see "a beautiful moving picture." The mirror reveals a magical world in which Ol' Dreamy, a tiny elf, travels through a book called The Tales of Hans Christian Anderson . Ol' Dreamy describes how he helped Anderson write his fables by twirling a magic umbrella, called a "slumberella," over his head while he slept. Anderson would then dream of enchanted lands, and have many stories to write when he awoke. Ol' Dreamy recounts one particular dream of Anderson's: In a small village in Denmark, playmates Gerda and Kay vow to love each other forever, and plant white and red roses side by side in a pot to signify their relationship. One winter night, Gerda's Granny recounts a tale of The Snow Queen, a beautiful sorceress made of ice, whose ice mirror shows her the entire kingdom, and who travels in the drifting snow. When Gerda worries that she sees the queen at the window, Kay soothes her fears by playfully vowing to melt the queen if she tries to hurt them. Unfortunately, The Snow Queen hears Kay's boasts and sends enchanted shards of ice that pierce his eyes, so he sees only ugliness, and his heart, freezing it instantly. As soon as the ice sweeps into the window and places its spell over Kay, Gerda notes that the roses have died, but Kay merely laughs and stomps on them. Over the next few days, he treats Gerda cruelly, and when The Snow Queen appears on her chariot, he accompanies her back to her palace in Lapland. There, the queen treats Kay kindly but insists that he forget his past and banish all traces of love or joy. When Gerda's friend still has not returned by spring, she goes out in search of him. Although she asks every creature for clues to Kay's whereabouts, no one knows. Finally, she offers her red shoes to the river, which carries her to the beautiful land of a lonely sorceress. The witch casts a spell to keep Gerda by her side, but the girl eventually awakens and escapes into a cold and snowy forest. She reaches the ocean, where a raven, Mr. Corax, recognizes her description of a blonde boy and takes her to the palace. Mr. Corax's girl friend, Henrietta, sneaks Gerda into the palace at night, but when she wakes the blonde boy, Gerda realizes he is not Kay. The boy, a prince, along with his sister the princess, calls off the guards and embraces Gerda. Meanwhile, Kay plays with diamonds made of ice and struggles, as the queen demands, to forget his recollections of Gerda. The next day, the Prince and Princess furnish Greta with luxurious, warm furs and a pure gold chariot. She travels through the forest, but at night is ambushed by a gang of robbers who covet the gold. They plan to eat Gerda for dinner, but the head robber's daughter, Angel, insists that she be allowed to take the girl home as a pet. At their underground lair, Angel ties up Gerda along with her collection of woodland animals, including Bucky, a majestic stag. After Gerda prevents Angel from torturing the animals, the lonely, feral child orders Gerda to tell her about Kay. At the end of her tale, Angel is moved to tears, and when the captive doves reveal that they know the way to The Snow Queen's palace, Angel unchains Bucky and commands him to take Gerda there. Gerda kisses Angel in gratitude, and although Angel pushes her away roughly, she later releases all of the animals. They run away but, upon hearing her crying, return to comfort her. Bucky carries Gerda into the frozen North, where they are taken in by a woman who saw the queen pass by with Kay. She sends them to her cousin in Finland, who tends to the exhausted pair. As Gerda sleeps, Bucky asks the cousin to use magic to give her strength, but the woman replies that Gerda is strong with love. In the morning, Gerda is so eager to continue on that she forgets her hat and mittens. They struggle against the bitter winds until Bucky is too fatigued to go on, after which Gerda toils on alone. Finally, she collapses, and when she awakens she realizes she is just steps from the palace door. Inside, Gerda finds Kay, whose heart melts immediately at the sight of his friend. As he embraces her, the shard of ice falls from his eyes, freeing him from The Snow Queen's spell. The queen appears and demands that Kay stay with her, but Gerda begs for his release, and the Spring hears her plea. The Spring melts the heart of The Snow Queen and warms the land. Outside, Gerda and Kay find Bucky, unharmed, and he conveys them to the cousin, who sends them to the old woman, who hands them over to Angel, who drives them to the Prince and Princess, who bring the children home. Ol' Dreamy concludes his tale by noting that long after the roses regained their bloom, Gerda and Kay were married.
