The first snow came. How beautiful it was, falling so silently all day long, all night long, on the mountains, on the meadows, on the roofs of the living, on the graves of the dead! All white save the river, that marked its course by a winding black line across the landscape; and the leafless trees, that against the leaden sky now revealed more fully the wonderful beauty and intricacies of their branches. What silence, too, came with the snow, and what seclusion! Every sound was muffled, every noise changed to something soft and musical. No more tramping hoofs, no more rattling wheels! Only the chiming of the sleigh-bells, beating as swift and merrily as the hearts of children.

第一場雪來了。它是多么美麗啊，靜靜的日夜下著，在山間，在草地，在屋頂上的生活，在死者的墳墓上!所有白色的雪拯救了河流，一道曲曲彎彎的黑線在那整個畫面上劃出了記號，葉兒落光的樹木的枝杈映襯著鉛灰色天空顯得更加的美麗和錯綜復雜。多么的安靜啊，伴隨著雪，還是多么的隱秘啊!一切聲響都趨于沉寂，一切噪音都變得柔和悅耳了。沒有步行聲，沒有響的咔噠咔噠的輪子聲!只有雪橇鈴鐺的響聲,敲打著猶如孩子們歡快的心。