For the contest of cold, my first thought was of the Christmas story of "The Little Matchstick Girl." A small child forced to sell matchsticks to earn money for her family. She wasn't allowed to return home until all the matchsticks were sold. Christmas eve, in the freezing night, she had a few matchsticks left, but she was so cold, that she lit them one by one until she burned the last one. So cold, she sat in a doorway to find shelter, and there, she froze to death, but her angel was there to take her to heaven.