Anna pushed through the crowd of guests, and one of the dancers tripped into her, knocking her backward. Someone grabbed her by the arms before she hit the floor.

 

"Glad I caught you," Hans said, smiling. "Hans!" she said, surprised.

 

Hans lifted Anna back to her feet, and the two immediately were drawn¹ into the dance. Hans was an excellent dancer, and Anna was happy to let him guide her around the ballroom², twirling her at just the right moments. She was amazed at how natural it felt.

 

After that, she and Hans walked and laughed and danced some more. One hour turned into many hours of them talking and enjoying each other's company.

 

Finally, they took a break and strolled into the rose garden. Hans plucked a rose and placed it in Anna's hair. As he did, he noticed the white streak³ running down the side of her head. "What's this?"

 

Anna put her hand to her hair. "I was born with it," she told him. "Although I dreamt I was kissed by a troll."

 

"I like it," Hans said.

 

On the balcony, they sat on a bench and Anna taught Hans how to eat a krumkake. "Just bite it. The whole thing!" she said. The pair laughed as the treat crumbled⁴ all over Hans's face.

 

Hans told Anna about his family. "I have twelve older brothers," he said. "Three of them pretended I was invisible... for two years."

 

"That's horrible," Anna said.

 

"It's what brothers do," he replied with a shrug⁵. Anna smiled knowingly. "And sisters," she added.

 

"Elsa and I were really close when we were little. But then one day she just shut me out, and I never knew why."

 

"I would never shut you out," Hans said, gazing into Anna's eyes.

 

Anna beamed. "Okay, can I just say something crazy?" she asked.

 

"I love crazy," Hans said with a wide grin.

 

"All my life has been a series of doors in my face," she said. "Then suddenly, I bump into you!" Anna explained that she felt like she'd been waiting her whole life to meet him. And Hans agreed. He felt the same way! Anna couldn't believe her good fortune. At last, here was someone who understood her. Someone who was open to new experiences and people, exactly the way she was. Hans was sweet, kind, and fun. They spent the rest of the party together, dancing, laughing, and discussing their pasts — and their futures⁶, too.

 

"Can I say something crazy?" Hans asked suddenly. "Will you marry me?"

 

Anna gasped⁷. "Can I just — ooh. I mean, yes!" She was amazed that she and Hans had found each other. She just knew that they were meant to be.

 

"Elsa!" Anna called from across the ballroom. She pulled Hans toward her sister. "May I present Prince Hans of the Southern Isles," she said formally.

 

"Your Majesty⁸." Hans greeted the queen with a deep bow.

 

Anna was beaming. "We would like — " " — your blessing⁹ — " Hans continued.

 

"—of our marriage!"Anna finished breathlessly.

 

"Marriage?"Elsa asked."I'm confused."

 

"Well, we haven't worked out all the details," Anna said. "We'll need a few days to plan the ceremony. Of course, we'll have soup, roast, and ice cream..." Anna turned to Hans. "Would we live here?"

 

"Here?" Elsa asked. "Absolutely!" Hans cried. "What? No," Elsa said.

 

"And we'll invite all twelve of your brothers to stay here with us, and — " Anna stopped as Elsa put up her hand.

 

"Wait," she said. "Slow down. Anna, no one's brothers are staying here. No one is getting married."

 

Anna's mouth dropped open. "Wait, what?"

 

"I need to talk to you," Elsa said sternly. "Alone." Anna linked her arm with Hans's. "No," she said.

 

"Whatever you have to say, you can say to both of us." Elsa shook her head. "No... You can't marry a man you just met."

 

Standing¹⁰ straighter, Anna spoke¹¹ up. "You can if it's true love."

 

"What do you know about true love?" Elsa replied, scoffing¹² at her sister's naiveté.

 

"More than you," Anna replied. "All you want is to be alone."

 

Elsa took a deep breath. "You asked for my blessing, but my answer is no. Now, if you'll excuse me," she said, and started to move away.

 

"Your Majesty," Hans said. "If I may — "

 

"No, you may not," Elsa snapped. "And I think you should go." She walked off and signaled to one of the guards. "The party is over. It's time to close the gates."

 

Anna ran after her. "Elsa! No!" She reached for her sister and grabbed her hand. As she tugged¹³ at her to stay, Elsa's glove slipped off.

 

"Give me my glove!" Elsa exclaimed.

 

Anna held the glove up and away from Elsa. "No, listen to me," she said, "I can't live like this anymore!" Elsa fought to gain control. "Then leave," she finally said. She saw the hurt on Anna's face. She turned to flee from the room.

 

"What did I ever do to you?" Anna cried. "Enough, Anna!" Elsa ordered.

 

"Why do you shut me out?" Anna asked. "Why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?" "I said enough!" Elsa shouted, spinning around.

 

As she did, ice shot from her bare hand, coating the floor of the ballroom and frothing up into icy plumes¹⁴.

 

The music stopped abruptly¹⁵ and everyone turned to stare at Elsa in shock. She stared at her subjects, wishing with all her heart that she could take the magic back.

 

But it was too late. Sheets of ice covered the dance floor. The Great Hall fell into a chilly¹⁶ silence.

 

The Duke gasped. "Sorcery! I knew there was something going on here."

 

"Elsa?" Anna called, but Elsa was already pushing through the doors and racing¹⁷ out of the room.

 

安娜穿过拥挤的人群，一位跳舞的宾客不小心撞到了她，正当她向后倒去，差点要撞到地上时，有人一把拉住了她的手臂。

 

“很高兴我拉住了你。”汉斯笑眯眯地说道。“汉斯!”她惊喜地叫道。

 

汉斯扶稳了安娜，两人立刻开始翩翩起舞。汉斯是个很棒的舞者，安娜很高兴在他的引导下跳舞，他能在合适的时候带她旋转。安娜感觉很放松、很舒服。

 

就这样，她和汉斯在一起继续愉快地跳了几支舞。两人一起聊天，享受着彼此的陪伴，度过了一个又一个小时。

 

最后，在休息的时候，他们闲逛到了玫瑰花园。汉斯摘了一朵玫瑰花，别在安娜的发间。这时他注意到了安娜头发间的一绺白发。“这是什么?”

 

安娜连忙用手挡住头发说：“天生就这样，不过我梦到被一个地精亲过。”

 

“我喜欢。”汉斯说。

 

在阳台上，他们坐在长椅上，安娜教汉斯吃卷饼。“咬一口，都吃掉!”她说。汉斯满脸都是饼屑，两个人都笑了。

 

汉斯告诉安娜关于自己家庭的事。“我有十二个哥哥，”他说，“其中三个人在过去两年里一直都当我不存在。”

 

“太可怕了。”安娜说。

 

“兄弟间就是这样。”他耸耸肩回答说。安娜会心地笑了，补充道：“姐妹间也是。”

 

“我和艾莎小时候形影不离。但是后来有一天她突然就把我拒之门外了，我一直都不明白为什么。”

 

“我永远都不会把你拒之门外的。”汉斯注视着安娜的眼睛说道。

 

安娜眉开眼笑地问道：“好吧，那我能说点疯话吗?”

 

“我爱听疯话。”汉斯开怀一笑。

 

“我一生总有很多很多门挡着我，”她说，“然后突然间我遇见了你!”安娜解释说感觉好像这辈子就是在等待他的出现。汉斯点点头。他也有同样的感受!安娜不敢相信自己的好运气。她终于遇到了懂她的人，也同样喜欢尝试新事物，接触不同的人。而且汉斯很体贴、善良、风趣。直到舞会结束，俩人都在一起跳舞、欢笑，还一起聊了过去——当然，还有未来。

 

“我可以说点疯狂的话吗?”汉斯突然问道，“你愿意嫁给我吗?”

 

安娜深吸了一口气：“我可以——哦，我是说当然愿意!”她很激动，因为她和汉斯都终于找到了彼此。她知道他们俩注定在一起。

 

“艾莎!”安娜边喊边跑过舞会大厅。她把汉斯拉到了她的姐姐面前。“请允许我向您介绍来自南埃尔斯的汉斯王子，”她正式地介绍道。

 

“女王陛下。”汉斯向女王深深地鞠了一躬。

 

安娜满脸笑容说：“我们想……”“……请您祝福……”汉斯接道。

 

“……我们的婚姻!”安娜抢着说完。“婚姻?”艾莎问，“我没听懂。”

 

“是的，细节方面我们还没敲定，”安娜说，“我们需要一些时间来筹备婚礼。当然，婚礼上一定要有汤、烤肉和冰激凌……”安娜转向汉斯问：“我们住在这儿吗?”

 

“这儿?”艾莎问。“当然!”汉斯大声说。“什么?不行。”艾莎说。

 

“我们还要邀请你的十二个哥哥和我们住在一起，还有……”艾莎扬起手打断了安娜的话。

 

“等等，”她说，“听我说，安娜。没有人的哥哥要住在这儿，也没有人要结婚。”

 

安娜惊得目瞪口呆，问道：“等等，什么?”

 

“我想和你谈谈，”艾莎严厉地说，“单独谈谈。”安娜一把挽住汉斯的胳膊。“不。”她说。

 

“不管你想说什么，直接对我们俩说就行。”艾莎摇头说道：“不，你不能和一个刚认识的人结婚。”

 

安娜显得更加坚定，大声说：“如果是真爱的话就可以。”

 

“你懂什么是真爱吗?”艾莎回答说，嘲笑着妹妹的天真。

 

“至少比你懂，”安娜回答说，“你只知道一个人孤零零地待着。”

 

艾莎长叹了一口气。“你想要得到我的祝福，但是我的答案是不。抱歉失陪了。”她说完打算离开。

 

“女王陛下，”汉斯说，“如果我能……”

 

“不，你不能，”艾莎打断了他的话，“另外我觉得你该走了。”她起身走开并向一名卫士示意：“派对结束了，关上大门。”

 

安娜追着她。“艾莎!不!”她抓住姐姐的手，苦苦求她留下，这时艾莎的手套滑落了。

 

“把手套给我!”艾莎大声说道。

 

安娜从艾莎手上拿过了手套。“不，听我说，”她说，“我没法再这样活下去了!”艾莎竭力控制住。“那就离开。”她最后说道。她看到了安娜脸上的悲伤，转身准备离开舞厅。

 

“我到底哪里得罪你了?”安娜大叫道。“够了，安娜!”艾莎大声喝道。

 

“你为什么要把我拒之门外?”安娜问道，“为什么你要把整个世界都拒之门外?你在害怕什么?”“我说够了!”艾莎大声说道，转过身去。

 

就在这时，冰雪从她手中射了出来，舞厅的地面都盖上了一层冰雪，像是铺满了冰冷的羽毛。

 

音乐戛然而止，所有人都注视着艾莎，惊呆了。她注视着她的臣民，多么希望可以将魔法收回。

 

但是为时已晚。一层冰雪已经覆盖了舞池。整个大厅鸦雀无声。

 

公爵喘着粗气说道：“巫术!我就知道这里发生的事情很可疑。”

 

“艾莎?”安娜叫道，这时艾莎已经推开门，冲向了大厅外面。

点击收听单词发音