Designed by Maureen Mulligan
Cover art by the Disney Storybook Art Team
Copyright © 2014 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address Disney Press, 1101 Flower Street, Glendale, California 91201.
ISBN 978-1-4847-2519-1
For more Disney Press fun, visit www.disneybooks.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
It was another perfect day in Arendelle. The blue sky was cloudless and a gentle breeze blew through the warm air, carrying the scent of fresh flowers. It was so perfect, in fact, that it was hard to believe Arendelle had recently been covered in ice and snow.
Back when Princess Elsa of Arendelle was to be crowned queen, something unimaginable had happened. She had accidentally created an icy storm and covered the kingdom in snow! What no one—not even her sister, Princess Anna—had known at the time was that Elsa had special powers. Unfortunately, she couldn’t always control those powers. Horrified by what she had done to Arendelle, Elsa ran away and created an ice palace far up on the North Mountain. She vowed she would never return to Arendelle, so that everyone, especially her sister, would be safe from her icy magic.
The only problem was that after Elsa left Arendelle, it continued to snow…and snow…and snow some more. It snowed until the entire town was covered in white and every person and animal was cold through and through. To stop the snow, someone had to find Elsa.
Luckily, Princess Anna was brave and clever. With the help of some new friends, like Kristoff, Sven the reindeer, and a snowman named Olaf, she saved the day. Anna found her sister and showed her that love was stronger than fear. Elsa returned to Arendelle and thawed the kingdom. In no time, the people of Arendelle learned to love their new queen.
Queen Elsa, Anna, and the townspeople of Arendelle were ready to embark on this new era in the kingdom. The royal sisters now kept the castle gates open, and laughter always echoed through the halls.
But on this particular morning, singing, not laughing, could be heard in the palace. The tune was slightly off-key but cheery and contagious. The singer was Olaf—the snowman Elsa had created when she built her ice palace. He looked just like a snowman the sisters had made when they were children—only now he was alive and could talk!
Olaf had been living in the castle for just a short while, but everyone loved the happy-go-lucky snowman.
As Olaf made his way through the halls, he zigzagged a bit. The little snowman wasn’t particularly good at moving in a straight line. “This way, I get to see things that other people miss when they only walk straight,” the always-optimistic Olaf had said when Princess Anna once pointed out his slight wobble. “You should try it, Anna. I bet you’d like it.”
At the moment, he was looking for his friend Princess Anna. They were supposed to go into town and find a special present for the royal cook. The next day was her birthday, and Olaf loved picking out presents. Maybe they would get her a new apron. Or a nice new spatula! Pausing to think, Olaf raised one of his stick hands to his long carrot nose. That gave him an idea. Maybe Cook would like a basket of freshly picked vegetables? Then Olaf shook his head. Cook had plenty of vegetables. She needed something special. She needed a treat on her birthday! “Maybe we can get her an ice cream cake,” Olaf thought aloud. “Yes, an ice cream cake sounds delicious. Nice and cold and full of yummy goodness. Ice cream cake on a warm day…it’ll melt just a little and then be perfect. Cook will love it!”
Hearing voices ahead, Olaf quickened his pace and found himself on one of the castle’s many balconies. Zigzagging closer to the large stone railing, he poked his nose through and peered down into the room below. His eyes lit up. It was Princess Anna and Kristoff! “My favorite friends!” he squealed. Just as he was starting to shout hello, he stopped. Anna had crossed her arms and was frowning.
“I know it isn’t what we talked about,” Olaf heard Kristoff say, “but it’s going to be great. You, me, a picnic basket full of food! Just think…we get to spend the whole day together!”
Olaf saw Anna’s expression soften slightly and a smile spread across her face. He sighed. Phew! He liked it much better when everyone was smiling. Then Olaf let out a tiny gasp. Wait! he thought. Kristoff and Anna are going on a picnic? Today? But Kristoff was supposed to deliver ice today! It was his job as the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer. If Kristoff didn’t make his deliveries, the townspeople wouldn’t have ice—and it was going to be a beautiful but awfully warm day. Olaf’s eyes grew wide. This was worse than he had first thought. Olaf couldn’t possibly keep the cook’s ice cream cake cold without ice.
Olaf walked back and forth and up and down the hallway. He had to think of something. If Kristoff couldn’t deliver ice, who could?
And then Olaf had a fantastic idea. He would go and get the ice and deliver it himself! Yes! It would be perfect. Kristoff and Anna would enjoy their picnic, Cook would get her birthday cake, the people of Arendelle would get their ice, and Olaf would get to be the Official Substitute Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer for the day!
Now that Olaf had an idea, he was ready to go! He knew that Kristoff got ice blocks from a special lake on a mountain that overlooked Arendelle. He also knew that Kristoff usually started his day very early. Olaf looked at the sun, which was quickly rising into the sky. He needed to get going! There was just one teensy, tiny problem. He was a not a very large snowman. How was he going to deliver the ice all by himself?
Then Olaf had his second fantastic idea of the day. He would get his good friend Sven the reindeer to help! Sven would know where the special lake was, how to get the ice blocks, and which townspeople needed ice. Best of all, he was a reindeer, and it was a known fact that reindeer were usually stronger than snowmen. Then Olaf remembered his friend Marshmallow. Maybe he can help, too! Olaf thought.
Letting out an excited yelp, Olaf turned and headed toward the royal stables. Unfortunately, a snowman could only move so fast. Olaf wibbled and wobbled and zigged and zagged, but still, it was rather slow going. And then there was the small issue of Olaf’s attention span. It was very, very short.
Bumping down the stairs, he got distracted by a pretty new painting of Queen Elsa. “She’s just so beautiful,” Olaf said, clapping his hands together. “I wonder what she’s doing today. Maybe she’d want to pick flowers with me. No, no, no. What am I thinking? Think ice, Olaf. Ice, ice, ice,” he muttered to himself.
Finally, Olaf made it to the stables, where he found Sven in his stall, happily munching on hay. Raising his head, Sven saw Olaf. “Harrumph?” Sven the reindeer grunted in greeting.
“Sven! My pal!” Olaf cried. “It’s been forever. You sure are looking handsome today. Did you shine your antlers?”
Sven raised a hairy eyebrow. What was Olaf talking about? He had just seen him the day before. “Heerum?” Sven snorted. That was reindeer for “Why are you here?”
“I was just getting to that,” Olaf answered. “I have the best news ever. I am going to be the Official Substitute Arendelle Ice Master an
d Deliverer for the day. And you are going to help me,” he said proudly. Then he filled Sven in. He told him all about Kristoff’s day off and the brilliant plan he had come up with. “I can’t do it alone, Sven. I need you to show me the ropes. We’ll be the bestest substitutest ice team there ever was!”
Sven wasn’t so sure. He knew Kristoff was very particular about his ice deliveries. Still, Olaf said this would help Kristoff, and Sven always wanted to help Kristoff. He loved him more than anything in the world…more than fresh grass, and even more than carrots! Speaking of which…He eyed Olaf’s nose, and the snowman smiled, clueless that Sven was hoping for a quick snack. Looking at the hopeful expression in Olaf’s eyes, the reindeer let out a sigh. Then he nodded, his antlers nearly knocking over Olaf.
“So you’ll do it?” Olaf cried happily. “I knew you would help me! This is going to be a great day! Let’s get going.” He turned to head out of the stables and once again began to sing: “We’re going on an adventure, we’re going on an adventure. A great, big, grand adventure!” He had almost reached the stable door when he realized he didn’t hear the clip-clop of reindeer hooves behind him. Olaf stopped and turned around.
Sven was still standing in his stall. Dangling from his mouth was a large leather harness. The harness was supposed to attach Sven’s halter to the sleigh. Sven swung his head back and forth as if to say, “You’re forgetting something!” That’s how Kristoff carries so much ice down from the mountain, Olaf thought.
“Silly me!” said Olaf. “We can’t carry ice without a sleigh! Thanks, Sven. See? We are already working like a team.”
He walked back to Sven and stood in front of him. The reindeer dropped the harness on the ground in front of Olaf. Then he lowered his head and waited for Olaf to put it on.
Olaf looked down at the harness. Then he raised his short stick arms. They barely reached Sven’s knees. Then he looked up at the reindeer’s back. He looked way, way, way up. “Have you grown?” Olaf asked. “I don’t remember you being this tall.”
The reindeer shook his head.
“Don’t worry, pal! It doesn’t matter, because tall is good! Really good, in fact,” Olaf said. He began walking from one side of Sven to the other, considering how to place the harness on Sven’s back. “Maybe…Or maybe…Hmmm…So many possibilities, Sven! I just need to figure out which one is best!”
Sven watched for a while and then shook his head. He already had a plan that would work! Lowering his head, Sven once again grabbed the harness in his teeth. Then he swung his head up and down. The harness began to sway back and forth. Sven kept nodding, and the harness swung faster and higher. With one last nod, it swung back and then up, up, up until it flipped over Sven’s head and landed on his back. He let out a loud “HARRUMPH!”
Olaf looked up. “Yippee!” he cheered, clapping his stick arms together. “You are the smartest, most brilliantest reindeer there ever was.” Then Olaf hooked the straps hanging below Sven’s belly together. “Is that it? Are we ready to go now?” he asked.
Sven shook his head. There was one more step. He nodded his antlers toward the wooden sleigh to remind Olaf. Luckily, hooking the harness to the sleigh was fairly straightforward, and soon the job was complete.
Kneeling down, Sven let Olaf climb onto his back. They would be able to get the ice and make all the deliveries much more quickly with Olaf riding Sven. After all, reindeers were usually faster than snowmen.
“Off we go!” Olaf cried.
With a grunt, Sven made his way out of the stable, and together, they headed toward Arendelle’s main gate. Their adventure had officially begun.
“This is going to be the absolute best day ever!” Olaf said as Sven walked along. “Wait. Going to the beach would be the best day ever. But if I went to the beach, I wouldn’t be able to help Kristoff and Anna, my best friends in the whole wide world.”
Sven stopped in his tracks, nearly tossing the snowman to the ground. Then he looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. “Hmmmump?”
“Oh, Sven! I’m sorry! Of course you are one of my best friends, too.”
Sven let out a pleased snort and resumed walking. Olaf resumed talking.
“Anywhoo, I just love today. First we’ll head up to the mountain. Then we’ll start…”
Olaf’s voice faded as he saw one of the boys who worked in the stables coming toward them. The boy was kicking rocks as he walked, so he didn’t realize Olaf and Sven were there until he was practically right on top of them.
“Oh!” he gasped.
“Hi!” Olaf cried.
“Harrumph!” Sven harrumphed.
“I didn’t see you,” the stable boy apologized. Then he noticed that there was a snowman on top of a reindeer, and a cloud on top of a snowman, and the reindeer was dragging a sleigh used for collecting ice blocks. It was an unusual combination. “Um, what are you doing?” the boy finally asked.
Olaf puffed up his chest. He tried to make his expression as serious as possible. “I am the Official Substitute Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer, and I happen to be saving the day.”
“Harrumph?” Sven grunted, turning to give Olaf a look.
“I’m sorry, Sven. I meant we happen to be saving the day,” Olaf said. Then he turned back to the boy. “We are going to pick up ice blocks from the lake and make all of Kristoff’s deliveries for him.”
The stable boy looked at Olaf’s stick arms. “How are you going to do that? You’re just a snowman.”
Olaf’s eyes widened. “Just a snowman?” he repeated. “What do you think snowmen are made of?” The boy shrugged. “Snow, of course! Snowmen know all about ice and snow.”
The stable boy had to give Olaf credit: he was determined. Maybe it will work out, he thought. It’s a big maybe, though. So with a “good luck” and a wave, the young boy sent them on their way.
“See, Sven?” Olaf said happily. “People love me!”
The reindeer let out a snort.
As they continued toward Arendelle’s main gate, they passed various shops. Several of the shopkeepers came out to see what was going on when they saw Sven without Kristoff. “What are you doing here, Olaf?” the baker asked. “Where’s Kristoff? Isn’t he supposed to be delivering ice today?”
“Not today! Today I will be your Official Substitute Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer!” Olaf announced proudly.
“Official Substitute Ice Master?” the baker repeated. “What does that mean? How can a little snowman get all the ice the townspeople need?”
Olaf smiled. “I may be little, but I have a big heart,” he replied. “And Sven is a very big reindeer. Together, the two of us will be as strong as one Kristoff. Maybe even stronger! Don’t fear, Mr. Baker Man! You will have your ice.…I promise!”
With a wave of Olaf’s stick arm, Olaf and Sven continued along. It didn’t take long for news of Olaf’s delivering ice to spread through the town. Soon everyone was asking questions like “What are you doing, Olaf?” or “Why are you riding Sven?” or “Where’s Kristoff today?”
And every time, Olaf would smile and say, “Don’t fret, dear Arendellians! I am your Official Substitute Ice Master and Deliverer! Your ice is in good hands!” No matter how many people asked and no matter how many times people expressed their doubts about him, Olaf stayed positive. He wouldn’t let Arendelle down. He took his job very seriously, after all. He was the Official Substitute Ice Master and Deliverer, and that meant something.
As they finally began their trek up to the mountain, Olaf turned and shouted back into town, “I’ll see you soon! The Official Substitute Ice Master and Deliverer and the best reindeer around are on the job!”
Behind them, the townspeople were all atwitter. Except for the time Queen Elsa’s magical secret was revealed, day-to-day life in Arendelle was mostly routine and didn’t hold too many surprises. The baker baked. The dressmaker sew
ed. The woodchopper chopped, and Kristoff—not Olaf—delivered the ice.
“I hope the snowman doesn’t get lost,” an elderly woman said. “He’s such a cute little guy.”
“Or what if something happens to the sleigh?” a man asked. “We could go days without ice!”
As the town continued to discuss this new development, Kristoff made his way to the stables. He was unaware that Olaf had overheard him talking to Anna and that Olaf had wrongly presumed Kristoff was taking the day off. So he was rather surprised when he walked into the stables and Sven was nowhere to be found.
“Sven?” he called out. No harrumph came in response. Kristoff frowned. “We don’t have time to play hide-and-seek today, buddy. We’re running late as it is.”
Still no noise from Sven.
Growing worried, Kristoff peered into every stall. Then he looked in the pasture. He even looked in the tack room. No Sven! Then he caught sight of a stable boy.
“Hey!” Kristoff shouted, startling the boy. “Do you know where Sven is?”
The boy looked at him blankly. He was new to the stable, so he didn’t know everyone yet.
“My reindeer?” Kristoff added.
The boy’s eyes lit up. “The reindeer with the snowman! Yeah, I know where they are. Well, I know where they were.”
“And that would be…”
“They were going for ice. The snowman said he was the Official Substitute Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer. Although I don’t know how he’ll deliver ice with those little arms and…”
Kristoff didn’t wait to hear what else the stable boy had to say. He turned and ran toward town. As he sped along, he muttered to himself: “Why would Olaf decide to deliver ice? And why would Sven go along with it? What if they get hurt? Or lost?” He ran quickly, hoping he could catch up to them soon!
Reaching the center of town, he was bombarded by people telling him about Olaf’s adventure. He pushed his way through the crowd and raced to the gate. On the ground he could just make out familiar hoofprints. Kristoff saw that Olaf and Sven were headed toward the North Mountain. It looked like he was going to have to play catch-up. He could only hope that he would find Olaf and Sven before they turned a tiny inconvenience into a big slushy one.
Olaf & Sven on Thin Ice Page 1
