Anna & Elsa: The Great Ice Engine Read online

  Copyright © 2015 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 978-1-4847-5181-7

  Visit www.disneybooks.com

  Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  For Dana Felkoff Kennedy, may you always face forward.

  —E.D.

  Mornings in Arendelle ran like clockwork. The scent of freshly baked bread drifted from the bakeries. The delicious smell started a chain reaction. It woke the children, who woke their parents, who went to the market to buy the bread to fill their bellies and start the day.

  In the castle, Anna and Elsa also woke to the smell of bread baking. They followed the wonderful scent into the kitchen. There, the castle chef was waiting for them with two small loaves of bread fresh from the oven.

  “Good morning, ladies,” he greeted them.

  “Good morning,” said Elsa and Anna.

  The chef wrapped the warm loaves in handkerchiefs and handed them to Anna and Elsa. Today the sisters were visiting the busy market square—they would take their breakfast with them. Elsa and Anna thanked the chef. They gathered their cloaks and set out for town.

  As they walked through the village, they saw the market come alive. Merchants opened their shops and set out their wares. It was officially time for the day to begin.

  Anna and Elsa passed a line of villagers waiting to buy ice. Ice was important to the kingdom of Arendelle, especially during the warm summer months. The townspeople used it to keep food fresh and themselves cool.

  Even though Elsa could form ice with her special powers, she only used her powers for emergencies. Arendelle’s ice was supplied by the ice harvesters, who worked high in the mountains. Every morning, they delivered ice to the castle and the town.

  As the sisters approached the square, they noticed a crowd of people gathering along the edge of the market.

  “I wonder what’s going on,” said Elsa.

  “Let’s find out,” Anna replied.

  They hurried across the busy square. By the time they reached the other side, the crowd had grown twice as thick.

  “I can’t see a thing!” Anna exclaimed. She hopped up and down and peered between the villagers’ heads.

  “Easy, there, jumping bean,” Elsa said. She gently tapped a tall man standing in front of her. “Excuse me, sir, do you mind if we come through?”

  The man smiled at Elsa and stepped aside. “Make way for Her Majesty!” he called. The villagers parted, clearing a path for Elsa and Anna. The sisters found their way through the group of townspeople.

  When they reached the front of the crowd, Elsa gasped. Sitting on a cart in front of her was the strangest contraption she’d ever seen. It was a huge barrel, open on one side. It was filled with all sorts of odds and ends, including a moldy wedge of cheese. There were pulleys, levers, chutes, and gears. A wooden wheel with an old snowshoe attached sat beneath a bucket full of what looked like marbles, and a puff of steam belched from a rusty food tin.

  “What in the world…?” Elsa said.

  Anna blinked, fascinated. “Is that a goat horn?” she asked, pointing to one of the machine’s many parts.

  “Hoo-hoo!” cried a friendly voice. A tall, barrel-chested man with a reddish-blond beard greeted them. It was Oaken, the owner of Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post & Sauna. He placed a hand proudly on the strange device. “May I introduce…my latest invention!”

  “Wow. That’s amazing, Oaken!” Anna said. She stared at it for another moment. “What is it?”

  “It’s the best thing since Jarlsberg cheese!” Oaken answered.

  “Uh-huh. What is it?” Anna asked again.

  “It will change the face of Arendelle forever!”

  “Right, but what is it? The suspense is killing me!” Anna said excitedly.

  “An ice engine,” Oaken announced, beaming with pride.

  “Oh. I see,” Anna replied. But she didn’t really. She looked to Elsa for an answer. Elsa shrugged. She was just as puzzled as her sister.

  “It cuts the ice, ja?” Oaken explained.

  The crowd of villagers looked equally baffled. They murmured to each other in confusion. Oaken’s ice engine was clearly handmade. Wooden planks had been haphazardly nailed together, and several parts were attached with shoestrings. One gear looked like it was held in place by chewing gum. Overall, the machine looked very unsteady. It didn’t look like it could cut bread, let alone ice.

  “I come from a long line of inventors,” Oaken said. “Maybe you’ve heard of my great-uncle Jarl?”

  “I don’t think so,” Elsa said.

  “He’s famous for inventing the Heifersling,” Oaken told them.

  Elsa and Anna looked at Oaken blankly.

  “It is only the greatest cow-carrying device known to man!” boasted Oaken.

  “Right,” Anna said. “Um, why do we need to carry cows?”

  “To move them from place to place,” Oaken replied.

  “Couldn’t you just herd them?” Anna asked.

  “Why herd them when you can carry them? Much nicer for the cows, ja?”

  Curious, Elsa walked around the cart. She studied the ice engine from every angle. “How did you come up with this, Oaken?” she asked.

  “Funny story,” Oaken said. “I was sitting in my shop after my big blowout sale. I had so many items left over—snowshoes, ropes, food tins. I thought, ‘Oaken, you should make something with these items, ja?’” Oaken smiled. He gazed off into the distance as if reliving a beloved childhood memory.

  “So I gathered everything together and began to build,” he continued. “I had no idea what I was making. But after an hour or two, I had made an ice cutter!” Oaken clapped his hands delightedly. “I thought, ‘Oaken, Great-Uncle Jarl is so proud of you.’”

  “That’s a wonderful story, Oaken,” Elsa said. “But the ice harvesters have been cutting ice by hand for years.”

  “I know this,” Oaken said. “They are always buying boots and saws and ropes and pickaxes from my store. They are my best customers. I thought, ‘Hoo-hoo, Oaken, you can help the harvesters.’”

  Anna squinted at the ice engine. She had no idea how it worked. “Maybe you could give us a demonstration,” she said.

  “Yes, that was my plan,” Oaken told them. “I was going to the frozen lake in the mountains to try it out. But this crowd of curious onlookers stopped me. I thought, ‘Oaken, you must tell these people about your invention.’”

  “Well, you’ve told us,” Anna said.

  “Just so,” Oaken replied. “And now, if you will follow me, I will show you.”

  Oaken led his horse-drawn cart high into the mountains. Elsa, Anna, and the crowd of curious onlookers followed. When they reached the frozen lake, they saw Kristoff and the ice harvesters hard at work. The men and women sang happily as they cut the ice into perfect blocks.

  “Hoo-hoo, harvesters!” Oaken called in greeting. The ice harvesters put down their long saws and waved hello. They welcomed everyone to the lake.

  “That’s quite the machine there, Oaken. What does it do?” asked Stellan, one of
the harvesters.

  “Allow me to give you a demonstration,” Oaken answered. He carefully pushed his cart out onto the ice. The ice harvesters and the villagers drew closer to get a better look.

  Oaken checked the machine’s parts. He tested the pulleys and sniffed the moldy cheese.

  As Oaken prepared his invention, Kristoff walked over to Anna and Elsa.

  “Is that a goat horn?” he whispered.

  “That’s what I said!” Anna told him.

  Kristoff looked the ice engine up and down. “Hmm. Doesn’t look like much,” he said.

  “It does seem a little strange at first glance,” Elsa admitted. “But you can’t judge anything just by looks.”

  “I guess so,” Kristoff replied. “It’s just that I’ve never seen anything quite so odd.”

  “This coming from the guy who was raised by trolls,” Anna said, chuckling.

  “My upbringing was perfectly normal,” Kristoff replied.

  Anna knew that Kristoff had a point. What was normal for him might seem odd to someone else. The same was true for Oaken and his machine—to Oaken, it probably seemed perfectly normal.

  “Anna, do you remember the Cat-a-Cleaner?” Elsa asked.

  “Of course!” Anna said. It was one of the happy times she could remember from when they were little, before Elsa accidentally hurt Anna with her magic. They’d invented the Cat-a-Cleaner to quickly clean Anna’s room.…

  Five-year-old Anna knew she had to pick up her toys, but there were so many other things she’d rather do! Adventure awaited her—if she could only clean her room.

  “Do I have to, Elsa?” Anna asked dramatically. Her arms were full of stuffed animals. She tottered unsteadily toward the open toy chest.

  “Yes, Anna,” eight-year-old Elsa replied. She was helping her little sister clean. Toys were scattered all over the place. By the end of the day, Anna’s room always looked like it had been struck by a tornado.

  “But can’t I do it later?” Anna asked hopefully. It was snowing outside her window. She was eager to go out and play.

  Elsa looked at the fluffy polar bears stacked in Anna’s arms. “If you put your toys away now, you won’t have to do it later,” she said brightly. “Besides, Mama said once you’re finished, we can go play in the snow.”

  “Okay,” Anna replied. Cleaning wasn’t her favorite thing, but if it meant she could go outside, she’d gladly do it. Anna dropped the stuffed animals into the toy chest. She bent down to pick up more toys. “I just wish there was a faster way to do this.”

  Elsa picked up a pair of ice skates and put them in the wardrobe. “Maybe there is,” she said. “I think I have an idea.”

  Anna perked up. Elsa always had the best ideas. “What is it?” she asked eagerly.

  “What if we make something that’ll clean your room?” said Elsa.

  “Like a snowman?” Anna asked, excited.

  “I don’t think snowmen are the best room cleaners,” Elsa replied. “I was thinking more like some kind of invention.”

  Anna nodded enthusiastically. “So how do we do it?”

  Elsa scratched her chin in thought. She looked around the room and noticed an old jump rope abandoned in a corner. She picked it up and handed it to Anna. “Here, hold this. I’ll be right back.”

  Elsa disappeared into the hallway. A few minutes later she returned, dragging a small teeter-totter and a bucket of stones from the courtyard.

  “Elsa, we’re supposed to put the toys away, not bring more in!” Anna said playfully.

  “These aren’t toys, Anna. They’re part of our invention,” Elsa replied. She moved the teeter-totter into place across from the toy chest. Then she attached the bucket of stones to one end. The teeter-totter dipped under the weight of the bucket. One end sank lower while the other sprang up.

  “That end’s too heavy, Elsa,” Anna said, pointing to the bucket.

  “I know,” Elsa replied. “But watch this.” She pushed her end of the seesaw down, raising the heavy bucket into the air. “Hand me that rope,” she said to Anna.

  Anna gave her sister the jump rope. Elsa looped it around her end of the teeter-totter to fasten it in place.

  “Do I get to seesaw?” Anna asked.

  “Not you—them,” Elsa answered, pointing to the toys on the floor. She picked up a doll and placed it on her end of the seesaw. “When I say go, you pull the rope. Okay, Anna?”

  Anna nodded.

  “One…two…three…go!” Elsa said.

  Anna yanked the rope and it fell from the seesaw. The bucket of rocks was much heavier than the doll. It plunged toward the ground, flinging the doll into air. The doll sailed across the room and landed in the toy chest. Thunk!

  “Whoa!” Anna exclaimed. “She flew!”

  Elsa nodded.

  “It’s like a…like a…cata…what’s that thing called?” asked Anna.

  “A catapult?” said Elsa.

  “Yeah, it’s like a catapult—only, it cleans my room!” Anna said. Elsa reset the seesaw and helped her sister launch another toy.

  Anna giggled delightedly. “It’s a Cat-a-Cleaner!” she said. Suddenly, cleaning up didn’t seem so bad.

  Back in the present, Elsa and Anna shared a laugh.

  “The Cat-a-Cleaner, eh? You wouldn’t happen to still have it, would you?” Kristoff asked.

  Elsa shook her head. “Why?”

  “Well, someone I know is a messy eater.” Kristoff nodded toward his reindeer, Sven. Sven was munching on a carrot just a few feet away. The reindeer left carrot bits everywhere! “Maybe I could use the Cat-a-Cleaner to launch crumbs into a trash can,” Kristoff said.

  Sven overheard and snorted in disapproval. “Speak for yourself,” Kristoff responded in his Sven voice.

  “Hoo-hoo! Is everyone ready?” Oaken called.

  Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff moved closer to Oaken and the machine. The crowd murmured eagerly. The demonstration was about to begin.

  Oaken made a couple of last-minute adjustments to his invention. First, he opened a small door in the compartment beneath the giant, rusty food tin. The compartment was like a furnace. Oaken stuck his hand inside to test for heat. Satisfied, he shut the door. Next, he pulled a small mouse from the pocket of his sweater. He petted the mouse gently. Then he placed it inside a small metal wheel.

  “I present to you my ice engine!” Oaken announced.

  Oaken gave the ship’s wheel a mighty spin. That started a chain reaction. The snowshoe attached to the wheel kicked the bucket of marbles. The bucket tipped, and the marbles spilled into a trough. The marbles zigzagged along the trough into another bucket waiting below.

  The second bucket was attached by rope to a pulley. On the other end of the rope was the wedge of moldy cheese. As the second bucket filled with marbles, it sank to the ground. The bucket’s weight pulled the cheese into the air!

  The cheese dangled above the metal wheel with the mouse inside. When the mouse smelled the cheese, it began to run. The wheel spun madly.

  Elsa’s eyes darted here and there, following the action. There was so much going on, it was hard to keep track!

  The mouse’s wheel was connected to a set of gears. The wheel turned the gears, and the gears tripped a lever. The lever opened and closed a hatch in the coal barrel. Each time the hatch opened, a piece of coal fell into a chute. The chute led to the warm furnace beneath the giant, rusty food tin.

  “I think I’m getting dizzy!” Anna said.

  The mouse chased the cheese. The gears spun. The hatch opened and closed. Coal fell into the chute, but nothing else seemed to happen.

  “Is this thing gonna cut ice?” Kristoff asked, amused.

  A few nervous giggles escaped from the crowd of ice harvesters and villagers. They felt embarrassed for Oaken. What if his machine didn’t work?

  One of the villagers looked almost frightened. He covered his eyes with his hands and peeked worriedly through his fingers. It was Norvald the milliner. He was known for making
fancy hats for everyone in town. But he was also known for worrying. The villagers had given him the nickname Nervous Norvald.

  “What if the machine explodes?” Norvald whispered to the woman standing next to him.

  “Don’t worry,” she said soothingly.

  Norvald looked like his stomach was tied in knots, but Oaken didn’t seem worried at all. He waited patiently, confident that all would be well.

  After a few minutes, Anna heard a strange bubbling sound.

  “What is that?” she asked.

  “It sounds like water boiling,” answered Elsa.

  Sure enough, water was boiling in the giant food tin. A stream of steam escaped through the goat horn attached to the top. It blew a long, loud note, like an angry trumpet.

  On the side of the rusty tin, an iron rod pumped in and out. The rod was connected to a metal arm. The arm worked a flywheel, and the wheel turned a pole. At the end of the pole was a sharp saw blade. The blade sank into the ice.

  “Oooooh,” the crowd gasped.

  The pole moved up and down, rotating to cut in a perfect circle. When the circle was complete, a block of ice bobbed on the water beneath.

  Kristoff stared in disbelief.

  Oaken led the horse-drawn cart forward to a new patch of ice. In less than a minute, his invention had cut five whole blocks!

  A few minutes later, Oaken removed the mouse from the wheel. He rewarded it with a piece of cheese. The engine’s gears stopped spinning. Eventually, the blade ground to a stop.

  The crowd applauded. The ice harvesters were impressed. They looked at the ice carved by Oaken’s invention.

  Kristoff led the inspection. “The shape is different,” he said, pointing. “They look like ice…circles.”

  “Cylinders, ja?” Oaken said. Because the engine’s blade moved in a circle, the ice blocks it made were round.

  “I’ve never thought of round ice blocks,” Stellan the ice harvester said. “I wonder how we could use those.”