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The Bulgarian tale of the “Little Girl and the Whirlwinds” or “The Little Girl and the Forever Winter” is hard to pinpoint. Our research led us to various retellings and other Bulgarian folktales, but no clear link to where this tale came from. Other versions are closely tied to the Russian story of the “Snow Maiden” but given Bulgaria’s deep and rich story-telling heritage, it is possible that this tale has many different origins.

To see more Bulgarian folktales, I recommend “Bulgarian Folktales” translated by Assen Nicoloff. Some fantastic resources for teachers and those introducing this folktale to their children are Storyworks (February 2024 Issue) and Storytime Magazine (Issue 63).

There is also a lovely webtoon, “The Winter Whirlwinds” by pineconelover_art that takes a different approach to the story and is a definite must read.

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The Winter Witch‘s Plan

 It would be the only season and she would keep the sun hidden away so that the Earth was hers forever. After all, who would stop her? Her children, the whirlwinds and the blizzards ran rampant through the wild and left the world a much darker place than it was before.

Not long after, the villagers of a tiny mountain village woke up, not to birdsong and blossoms as they had hoped, but to their doors and windows darkened with piles and piles of snow. They spent hours digging each other out before holding an urgent council meeting. The villagers agreed that something was wrong and winter had gone on for too long. Someone would need to go to the highest peak where the good wizard, Father Frost, lived and figure out what to do. They knew that if they waited, they would eventually be frozen solid in their houses.

Despite the unanimous agreement that something needed to be done, no one wanted to volunteer to go on the perilous journey. Finally, an old man spoke up in disgust, “I would go at once, but I am too old and slow. If I was 20 years younger, I would have already been off.”

The old man’s granddaughter, a poor orphan girl who had come to live with him after her parent’s death, took her grandfather’s hand and volunteered as the messenger. 

In response, her neighbors’ voices rose in a cry of refusal. How could she go? She was too young, too small. She didn’t even have a hat or coat. She would freeze and leave her poor grandparents alone once again!

The girl responded bravely and said that she was not afraid. She was as fast as a mountain goat and her little heart full of love would keep her warm. 

Her friends agreed that she had a good heart, but they still fretted over her and each ran home to get something for her to wear. One grabbed a hat, another a scarf, and so on until she was snug in her borrowed warmth. 

The Whirlwinds

The little girl set off and true to her word, she was as nimble and quick as a mountain goat. She went further and further until she reached the summit and spotted the top of the highest peak. As she picked her way across the top of the world, her movement woke the slumbering whirlwinds. They rose bitterly from their splendid slumber and spotted the little girl.

“Let us blow her right off this mountain!” One roared, and they all joined in, pelting her with a vicious wind. The little girl huddled down with her red face tucked into her scarf and resiliently kept going. 

The winds blew and blew, but they could not shake the little girl off the mountain. Exhausted, they fell to a heap. They were dismayed until one had an idea to call their sisters, the Blizzards, for help. 

The Blizzards

The Blizzards were angry on their brother’s behalf and stormed down onto the little girl. She could barely see ahead of her, but still, she kept going onward thanks to her warm heart. 

The blizzards fell angrily to the ground with their brothers. They began calling for their mother, the Frosty Winter Witch. The Witch was annoyed at her children and appeared before them with a snarl. 

“Fools. If you cannot beat someone down, then you don’t try the same thing again and again. Instead, you must hide your evil intentions and make them trust you,” she chided them and then came up with a plot to fool the annoying little girl. 

The Witch took on the appearance of the little girl’s mother and donned a beautiful icy dress dripping with crystals. She flew to an area ahead of the little girl’s path and sat down to sing an intoxicating, beautiful lullaby. 

The little girl heard the witch before she saw her and was delighted with the soft music. She didn’t know if it was an illusion or real, but she swore she saw her mother’s face. The little girl suddenly felt so tired and so she settled down into the snow to listen, promising herself she would only nap for an hour or so. The witch sang and sang until she was sure the little girl was in a deep slumber, then she laughed wickedly and set off to scold her useless children some more. 

Frozen to Death

Image by Carol Rempto for Storytime Magazine’s Issue 64.

The sleeping girl dreamt of her mother’s face and warm, sunny days. She slept until her pink cheeks turned red and her toes started turning blue. Her sugarplum dreams were warm as she slowly froze to death. 

All of a sudden, a little white mouse popped its head out of the snow. It took one look at the frozen bundle and squeaked in alarm. The mouse called to its friends and they all began hurriedly massaging the little girl’s hands and feet. Their little cries were lost to the little girl, but their friends the snow rabbits heard them. 

The rabbits’ cries woke the squirrels from their trees and all the animals swarmed the little girl, snuggling up against her and making such a racket that she woke up. She did not know how to thank the creatures but they did not need any. The animals had woken up in preparation for spring not so long ago, but the winter never ended. They had no food and were worried about what would come next. So, they all decided to join the little girl on her way to the Frost Wizard. 

The happy adventuring party made their way to the highest peak and into the magnificent ice palace. There, they wandered into the throne room where the Frost Wizard was sleeping. The squirrels rushed forward and tickled his nose with their tails until he let out a great big sneeze and woke himself up. 

The Frost Wizard Wakes Up

He blinked in confusion at the assembled group in front of him, but quickly his confusion grew to anger when the little girl told him what had happened. He blew his silver whistle and his icy subjects appeared, setting off to find the Frosty Witch and lock her up until next winter. Then, he freed the sun from under the dark clouds and began reversing the Frosty Witch’s spell. 

The Little Girl was overjoyed to feel the sunlight warm her little face as she set back off with her new friends to her village. When they arrived, the villagers met them with songs and dances. Her friends had gathered the newly formed snowdrops and adorned her in them as they all settled in to enjoy the shift from winter to spring. 

Arthur Rackham’s Jack Frost.