The Ice Castle Read online

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1 Happy Snow Day!

  Chapter 2 Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!

  Chapter 3 CHA-BANG-A!

  Chapter 4 Bed-Sledding

  Chapter 5 Snow-nimals

  Chapter 6 Snow-berang Fight!

  Chapter 7 The Ice Castle

  Chapter 8 Naklin

  Chapter 9 My Room!

  Chapter 10 Posey’s Trick

  ‘The Wishing-Well Spell’ Excerpt

  About the Author and Illustrator

  For the best bestie and mountaineer, Sandeep

  —G. S.

  Happy Snow Day!

  WHOOSH!

  A gust of wind whips the covers off my warm, snuggly bed. Does the wind want to play hide-and-seek? I feel around for sheets and blankets. I am like a grumpy caterpillar that wants to stay inside her cocoon. I tug the covers over my head.

  SWOOSH!

  The wind steals them again!

  “BAAAAH!” I cry as I jerk the covers back over me. Sir Pounce attacks the ripples in my blanket. “STOP!” Then I scrunch up in a ball to keep warm. It’s freezing in here. And, wait, why is there wind in my bedroom?

  I peek out from under my covers and do a double blink. Am I dreaming? I wonder. Or maybe my eyeballs are playing tricks on me! Because . . .

  It’s snowing!

  In. My. Room.

  And there is an igloo!

  On. My. Floor.

  And someone is crawling out of the igloo’s tunnel right now, and I know just who it is! Posey! My imaginary friend!

  “HAPPY SNOW DAY!” he shouts, a proud smile on his face. I rub my eyes and smile back at him. Only Posey could make it snow in my room. Then my imaginary friend hops to the window.

  “It’s snowing outside, too!” he exclaims.

  I want to look out and see the snow, but I’m tangled in my covers. I roll right off my bed and onto the floor. Oof!

  I jump to my feet and brush the snow off my pajamas. Brrr! Then I take two large leaps to the window. Yeow! My feet are like ice cubes! But I look outside anyway. The snow has frosted the lawn, the fence, the bird feeder, and all the limbs on the trees.

  “It’s our first snow day together!” I say, dancing from one foot to the other to avoid the cold.

  Posey has already started to roll a ball for a snowman right on my bedroom floor! I want to help him, but my feet are frozen, and—oh no!—I hear footsteps on the stairs.

  I tap Posey’s shoulder like a woodpecker.

  “Posey! My mom is coming!” I warn him. “Make it stop snowing in here! Get rid of that igloo! HURRY! Or I’ll be sent to the North Pole for real!”

  Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!

  “What’s the big deal?” Posey asks as he stands in the middle of the snow—in my room—doing absolutely nothing. “Doesn’t your mom like snow days?”

  I lock my door to buy time.

  “Of course she likes them!” I explain. “But not inside the house! It doesn’t snow inside in the real world. Only outside!”

  Posey runs to my desk and pulls out a pad of paper. He draws a picture of the sun—like that’s going to help! Then he floats up and grabs hold of my ceiling fan with one hand. “Turn it on and let the sun shine!” he calls.

  I flip the switch, and ZOOMIE! ZOOM! ZOOOOOOM!

  Rays of light burst from Posey’s drawing as he spins in circles. His sun is melting the snow!

  HURRY! HURRY! I think, trying to make the snow melt faster. Because now my mom is knocking on my door!

  “Just a sec!” I call. I wait for the sun to melt everything—the snow, the igloo, and every last drop of leftover water. Then Posey plops to the floor and dives right under my bed. I unlock the door like nothing’s going on. Mom pokes her head in.

  “Whew!” she exclaims, fanning her face. “It feels like an oven in here! I’d better turn down the heat!”

  The piece of paper with Posey’s sun floats gently down behind her. She doesn’t notice.

  “Good news,” Mom says as she continues. “School has been called off. It’s a snow day!”

  I’m still freaked out about what just went on in my room, so I act surprised. “Snow?” I say. “What snow?”

  Mom laughs. “Silly sleepyhead!” she says. “Just look outside! It’s been snowing all night. We both have the day off!”

  I pump my fists. “That’s spectacular news!” I say.

  Mom picks up Posey’s sun picture on her way to the door. “If you clean up your room, we can play in the snow,” she says. “How does that sound?”

  That sounds very cool to me.

  CHA-BANG-A!

  Posey scrambles out from under my bed. “Great snowflakes, that was close!”

  I untangle the blankets to make my bed. “Too close,” I say.

  Posey looks out the window. “Look, it’s snowing even harder now!” he says, changing the subject. “I doubt you’ll be able to go out and play anytime soon. Unless . . .”

  I pull up my bedspread. “Unless what?” I ask curiously.

  “Unless you want to see what a snow day is like in the World of Make-Believe?”

  I plump my pillows. “Of course I want to see what it’s like!” Obviously.

  Posey spins in a circle. “Well, what are we waiting for?” he says. “Let’s go!”

  I quickly change into warm clothes. Posey grabs my erasable marker from off my desk. This time he draws a door on my floor Seriously? He pulls on the handle. The door doesn’t open. Then we both tug on it. It still won’t budge.

  “The door must be frozen shut!” Posey exclaims. “Let’s stomp on it!”

  Posey jumps on it first. It doesn’t budge. Then we both jump on the door at the same time.

  CHA-BANG-A! The door swings open like a trap, and we fall right through. My pigtails stick straight up as we rocket down through the sky.

  “Aim for a bed!” Posey shouts.

  The wind whistles in my ears.

  “A bed?”

  Far below I can see all kinds of beds on the ground: a sleigh bed, a canopy bed, a four-poster bed, a pirate ship bed. . . . Then I spy a bed with pink daisies on it.

  Chilly snow cones! I’m coming in fast. I waggle my legs and flap my arms to help steer my body. Then I squeeze my eyes shut just before landing.

  Bed-Sledding

  FLUMP!

  I crash into deep fluff. The bedding is so soft and plush, it doesn’t even kinda-sorta hurt. Ahhhhh, I could lie here all day. But then I realize I’m moving and swirling.

  “WHOA!” I shout as I spin down a ginormous hill.

  I hold on to the sides of the bed for dear life. Then a bright purple bird flies alongside me.

  “I’ve never seen bed-sledding like that before!” says the bird.

  The bedcovers are flapping like crazy.

  “Is that what this is called?” I shout to the bird. “Bed-sledding?”

  The bird flaps closer and answers me. “That’s right! Hold the covers and steer. It’s like riding a bike!”

  Riding a bike? This is nothing like riding a bike! I think.

  “What do you know about riding a bike, Mr. Bird?” I ask.

  “NOTHING!” he tweets as he zooms off. “I’m a bird! Birds don’t ride bikes!”

  Well, that is no help! I guess I’ll just have to figure this out myself.

  I roll over and sit up in the bed-sled. Then I grab the corners of the quilt like handles and steady myself. The bed-sled seems to respond. I pull tighter and stop spinning. It’s better, except there’s a hill in front of me that looks like a giant ski jump.

  Uh-oh!

  I sail high over the jump. And then my giant bed-sled starts to fly! “WOOOOO-HOOOOO!”

  I’m soaring over the WOM! The sun sparkles on th
e snow beneath me. Wow, this must be what it’s like to be inside a diamond ring.

  My pillows and blankets poof up as I drift back to the ground. As I glide down another hill, Posey pulls up beside me. His bed-sled looks like a sports car.

  He pumps his eyebrows at me. “Looks like you picked a real winter of a bed-sled!”

  “Don’t you mean a real winner?” I ask. “That’s how you’re supposed to say it.” Obviously.

  Posey shakes his head firmly. “When you pick a good bed-sled, we call it a real winter,” he explains. “That’s because winter is the best time to bed-sled.”

  We launch off of another hilltop, and I can see some of the places I’ve visited before, like Moonstur Hollow and the Golly Ghost town.

  I’m so busy looking around that I don’t watch where I’m going. My bed-sled slows to a stop and I teeter on the edge of a cliff.

  “Wait! Daisy, don’t go down that way!” Posey calls after me. “That will lead you to the Ice Castle!” His voice trails off as he bed-sleds into the distance. I’m all alone.

  The snow crunches beneath me. I jump to the back of the bed-sled to keep myself from tipping over. But it’s no use. The snow gives way, and my bed-sled takes off. I’m heading into a bobsled chute! I slide down icy curves and snowy banks. I snuggle up for a wild ride.

  SHOOOOOOOOSH! SHOOOOOOOSH! SHOOOOOOOSH!

  Finally I slow down and come to a stop. My pigtails have come undone, and my hair covers my face. Patooie! I blow it out of my face, and now I can see again. And oh, what a sight!

  I’m sitting right in front of a real live frozen-to-goodness Ice Castle.

  Snow-nimals

  “Wooooow!” I exclaim as I jump off my bed-sled. “A castle made completely of ice!” It has crystal ice towers, ice-brick walls, and an ice drawbridge. It is magical.

  Suddenly the snow around me starts to move. That’s weird. The white ground wiggles and rolls into snowballs. Then they each roll toward me. They look like fluffy white bowling balls. I back away a little, and when I do, the snowballs begin to pop.

  POP! POOF! POP! POOF!

  Each snowball turns into a tiny snow animal! A snow bunny! A snow polar bear! A snow fox! A snow raccoon! And what else can I say? “Hello! You are So. Mega. Cute!”

  “Shhhhhhh!” they say.

  Hmm, that’s rude. I have no idea why these snow creatures are shushing me! I can’t stand being shushed.

  “You must be quiet!” whispers the polar bear.

  I frown because now I’m a little annoyed. “Why? And who are you?”

  The snow penguin shuffles closer. “We’re Snow-nimals,” he says in a soft voice. “Our job is to make sure the only sound near the Ice Castle is the sound of falling snow.”

  That makes me wonder, What does falling snow sound like? So I stand really still and listen. And guess what? Falling snow has no sound at all! It’s like having on earmuffs.

  “It is a beautiful, deep quiet,” I whisper.

  The Snow-nimals all nod at the same time, and they look like snowy bobbleheads. I try not to giggle, but a little snort slips out. “Honka!”

  The Snow-nimals shush me again. Obviously.

  “Does anyone live in there?” I ask.

  But before I get an answer, Posey slides beside me.

  “Um, you were supposed to stay away from the Ice Castle!” he whispers loudly.

  I point to my bed-sled. “Tell that to this thing,” I say. It is definitely the bed-sled’s fault, and it’s also a little Posey’s fault for not giving me a bed-sledding lesson. “And why didn’t you warn me?”

  “Everyone knows about the Ice Castle,” says Posey.

  “Not me!” I say a little too loud. The Snow-nimals all flinch.

  “Oh, never mind,” Posey whispers. “Let’s just move a safe distance away.” He points to a field.

  We leave our bed-sleds behind by the castle and head for the clear, white meadow.

  The Snow-nimals pop back into balls and roll beside us.

  Posey gives me a sly smile on the way. “Do you know how to make a snow-berang?”

  “A what?” I ask as we trudge along.

  “You’ll see,” Posey whispers.

  Then I look back over my shoulder. What I really want to see is the inside of that Ice Castle, I think.

  Snow-berang Fight!

  Posey and I start a surprise race to the meadow. We playfully nudge each other the rest of the way.

  Then WHOMP! Posey pushes me off balance, and I splat face-first in the snow. It’s like landing in soft powdered sugar that’s really, really cold!

  “I never knew you liked snow so much!” he teases.

  I dust myself off and make a face at him. I quickly make a snowball and chuck it at Posey. It explodes softly against his back. That makes me feel somewhat better.

  “So what’s a snow-berang, anyhow?” I ask again.

  Posey scoops a clump of snow and sculpts it into a stretched out V—just like a boomerang. He holds it out in front of me.

  “This is a snow-berang,” he says.

  Then Posey holds it by one end and throws it into the air. Zing! The snow-berang twirls away from us. Then—zap!—it comes right back to him.

  “Boomer-awesome! My turn! My turn!” I cheer.

  Posey hands me the snow-berang. Now, throwing a boomerang is hard. But throwing a snow-berang is harder, apparently. As soon as I fling it into the air, it crumbles apart. I have to try again and again until I finally get a snow-berang to come back to me.

  “Now that you’ve got the hang of it, let’s have a snow-berang fight!” Posey says.

  We divide into two teams. Posey is a captain of one team, and I am the captain of the other. The Snow-nimals are super excited to play too! They are great at making a stockpile of snow-berangs. And they can make them fast!

  “Ready? Set! GO!” Posey yells.

  Snow-berangs fly through the air. Every time someone gets hit, they have to go out. It’s just like a snowball fight in the Real World, except the snow-berangs can go in two directions!

  I dive behind a mound of snow and poke my head out when I’m ready to throw.

  ZING! SPLAT! POOF!

  ZING! SPLAT! POOF!

  Soon everyone is out except Posey and me. We are both hiding.

  “No fair!” the Snow-nimals cry. “You can’t hide!”

  They’re right. So Posey and I jump out of our safe spots and hurl our snow-berangs. I duck Posey’s throw and stay down because I know that thing is coming back the other way. My throw goes farther than I meant. Posey floats in the air and laughs. “Looks like you missed, Daisy!”

  Another second goes by, then . . . SMACK! My snow-berang hits Posey right in the back of the head!

  “WRONG AGAIN! I WIN!” I yell at the top of my lungs, and my voice echoes all over.

  The Snow-nimals turn back into snowballs and roll away. Posey covers his ears. Oopsy-daisy! I didn’t mean to be so loud.

  I’m about to say I’m sorry when—KABOOM!—we hear something much, much, much louder than little old me.

  “What was that?” I whisper.

  Posey shakes his head and looks in the direction of the Ice Castle. “I think you brought down the drawbridge.”

  The Ice Castle

  “I couldn’t possibly make enough noise to open an ice drawbridge!” I say. “Could I?”

  Posey’s eyes grow very large. He doesn’t agree. Obviously.

  I fold my arms. “Oh, come on,” I say. “Who lives in there, anyway?”

  A Snow-nimal owl pops out of his snowball.

  “Who, who, who indeed?” says the owl. “We have no idea. The Ice Castle was built by a king and queen long ago, but it was too cold for them, so they moved. Then we began to hear creepy sounds coming from inside. That castle is who, who, who, haunted.”

  I frown. “Doesn’t everybody know there are no such things as ghosts?” I say firmly.

  “Except for the Golly Ghosts,” Posey reminds me.

  “Oh
yeah. Maybe there is a ghost in there,” I say.

  The owl flutters its wispy white wings. “The castle moans and wails,” the owl says, “and nobody ever goes in or comes out.”

  “That does sounds pretty ghostly.” I punch my fist against the palm of my other hand. “Well, I’m going in! Who’s coming with me?”

  Then I make fresh tracks toward the palace. Posey groans, but I can hear him follow me. He knows I won’t take no for an answer. Clomp! Clomp! Clomp! I march across the drawbridge and into the great hall.

  Oh. My. Snowflakes.

  “Posey, look! Everything is made of ice!”

  A giant staircase rose up to a glittery platform with two ice thrones. Those must be where the king and queen used to sit. There are also pillars carved to look like trees, and there are ice sculptures of woodland creatures everywhere. Even the furniture is made of ice—sofas, tables, chairs, and a grand piano!

  The Snow-nimals peek from the doorway. I wave them over, and they carefully come inside. Posey is not so careful. He runs up the staircase and slides down the banister.

  “HELLO-O-O-O?” I shout into the big space. “Is anybody home?” I peer down a long ice hallway. Oh, if only I had skates, I think. Then I’d skate all the way to that door at the end! I take two big steps and slide. Posey slides beside me.

  “I think this hallway leads to the tower,” he says.

  I take two more steps and slide.

  “I do love towers!” I say. “I wonder if it has a giant spiral ice staircase.” Then I slide right up to the door.