The Snow Child

Garrett, nearly 20, has become an accomplished trapper. He enjoys being alone in the mountains and dreams of getting away from his father’s farm. In a gesture of gratitude, Jack offers Garrett a chance to become his legal partner in his farm. Jack confides that Garrett is the closest he has to a son. It is a generous offer, but Garrett wants to think it over.

Going into November, Garrett understands the need to hunt before winter closes in. As he treks about the woods, he sees a great swan beating its wings in obvious panic. As he gets closer, he sees the bird is caught in a snare. Much to his surprise, he sees a beautiful young woman in a blue coat approach the stricken bird. He knows this must be the girl that only Jack and Mabel have seen. As he watches, she expertly kills the bird with a knife and then guts it, never seeing Garrett, who is both mesmerized and terrified.

When the Bensons come to Mabel and Jack’s cabin for Christmas dinner, they finally meet Faina. Mabel fears the girl might bolt out the door, but she stays. Garrett is enthralled. Esther says in disbelief, “Your girl is flesh and blood” (284). But as the fireplace heats up the small room, Faina grows uncomfortable. When the Bensons leave, Faina heads out to the woods.

Garrett returns to the woods to trap a wolverine, among the most elusive animals to snare. But he cannot forget the girl. He sees her tracks everywhere. He feels her near. Suddenly she is there. She asks him bluntly whether he was the one who killed her fox. He admits it. Without a word, she pulls from behind her back a carcass of a wolverine and tosses it disdainfully at him. Take it, she says, and never return to her woods. Garrett is furious, of course, but also impressed by the girl’s prowess. As he heads back, a storm stirs, and soon he is lost. Through the snow he sees the girl—she beckons him to follow, and she guides him back to Jack and Mabel’s cabin. When he turns to thank her, she is gone.

When Faina brings fresh fish to Jack, she asks Jack why Garrett comes to the woods. To set traps, she is told.

Garrett cannot forget the girl. He returns to the woods. He meets Faina and watches as she calmly dispatches two gamebirds with an expert throw of two rocks. She shows him a cave where a huge mother bear hibernates with her cubs by her side. No animal, he acknowledges, is more dangerous.

To Mabel’s surprise, Garrett shows up with a puppy, a gift to keep Faina company and to make up, in part, for trapping her fox. When Faina meets the puppy, her eyes are “alight with joy” (308). Garrett, Faina, and the puppy take off for an afternoon in the woods.

In the woods, Faina suddenly pulls up close to Garrett. He cannot resist kissing her. He feels the entire length of her body, and Faina confidently pulls him to her. The two make love.