Olaf & Sven on Thin Ice (5 page)

O
laf didn't have to wait long! The Official
Full-Time
Ice Master had beaten the
Substitute
Ice Master and his team back to Arendelle. But not before stopping at the last farm on the route.

At the farm, Kristoff had found the farmer cleaning up a pile of very wet hay. The farmer told Kristoff what his substitute had done, and added, “Next time you decide to take a day off, maybe you could send a different ice harvester instead of a snowman?”

Kristoff didn't bother to explain that he hadn't actually taken the day off. He also didn't bother to explain that he hadn't made Olaf his substitute ice harvester. He didn't have time for explanations. He needed to get back to Arendelle and have a nice long talk with Olaf and Sven—and hopefully find Pebble.

After saying a hasty good-bye and apologizing yet again, Kristoff had raced down into Arendelle. He arrived, out of breath, in the stable yard. Sven and Olaf had not gotten back yet. So Kristoff simply waited.

A few minutes later, there was the unmistakable jingle of Sven's harness. As Kristoff watched, the reindeer pulled the sleigh into the stable yard. On his back sat Olaf—and a small runaway troll.

Spotting Kristoff, Olaf let out a happy cry. “Kristoff!” he shouted. “You're here! I can't wait to tell you all about our day. You are going to be so proud of us!”

Kristoff walked right past Olaf and headed toward Sven. He leaned down so he was face-to-face with the reindeer. “You should have known better,” he said. Sven lowered his head and let out a tiny little harrumph. “We will discuss this later. I bet you had a crazy day, pal,” he said, laughing gently. Then Kristoff turned back to Olaf.

The snowman had no clue how many problems he'd caused during the day. Walking about, he excitedly told his version of the adventure. “As soon as I heard you tell Anna about your picnic, I decided to come to the rescue!” Olaf began. “So I went and got Sven, who of course agreed to help.” Hearing this, the reindeer shook his head. Olaf ignored him and went on. “Then, after I got the sleigh hooked up, we were off. Everyone in town came out to wish us well. Kristoff, they all liked the idea of having
me
as the Official Substitute Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer! Maybe we should talk about making the job permanent?”

The snowman's excitement was contagious, and Kristoff had to hold back a smile. Instead, he raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, well, maybe not right now,” said Olaf. “We can talk about it later. Anywhoo, then we went all the way up the North Mountain to your favorite ice-gathering place and collected all the blocks we needed. It was a piece of cake.”

Kristoff's eyebrow rose even higher. He had seen the logs and the mess at the lake's shore. He knew it had been anything but a piece of cake.

Still, Olaf continued. “After that we went to Mr. Oaken's trading post. He was so happy to see us, Kristoff! We had a teensy, tiny problem at first, but all's well that ends well! We put the ice away and then off we went. We were planning to go quickly, but then…” Olaf stopped and clapped his hands together in excitement. “Oh, Kristoff, you are going to be so happy when you hear this part! We found another lake! It is a brand-new place where you could probably get ice or have a nice snack with Sven, and it is
so
much closer and Sven was all worried about Marshmallow but I told him not to be because really the big guy is not that bad and then there was a small problem with a fire but it was a very small problem which you shouldn't even worry about and then…”

As Olaf continued to describe the rest of their journey in one long breath, Kristoff's eyebrow continued to rise. He knew his little friend only had good intentions, but when Olaf informed him that they had also brought a troll home to
visit
, Kristoff had to interrupt.

“Do you have any idea what you have done today?” he asked.

“We helped you, right?” Olaf replied hopefully, looking quickly at Pebble and Sven.

“Not exactly,” Kristoff said. “You froze a sauna. You covered the farmer's ice in hay. You took a troll away from his mother. And then you showed up in town with no ice for the castle.”

“But you and Anna…and your picnic—” Olaf began.

“I wanted to spend the day with Anna
tomorrow
!” Kristoff interrupted. “On my day off. And now I doubt I'll be able to go.” Kristoff turned and began to walk away.

Hmmm, he seems kind of upset,
Olaf thought. That was not the homecoming he had expected. Sure, the day hadn't gone perfectly (Olaf never did make it to the beach), but he was still proud of himself for getting the job done. Yet he still wanted to make sure Kristoff and Anna got their picnic. And he needed to get the cook a birthday treat. His day wasn't done yet! He still had to fix a few more teensy, tiny problems.

O
laf plopped down on the ground. A moment later, Sven and Pebble joined him. The reindeer felt pretty awful about upsetting Kristoff. The young troll, however, didn't realize anyone was in trouble. He had loved his day of adventure!

“Hey!” Pebble said. “Can you show me the castle? I've always wanted to see the castle! Oh! Can we also say hi to Princess Anna? She is soooo pretty. And so nice.”

Anna
was
nice. So was Kristoff. They deserved to have a pretty picnic together, and Olaf would make that picnic happen. A picnic on a hot day…who wouldn't want that?

“Why don't you just help him out tomorrow?” Pebble suggested, putting his chubby little hands on his chubby little sides. “I'll hang out with you, and Anna, and Kristoff tonight and you can show me around Arendelle. Tomorrow can be Kristoff's picnic day!”

“Wait!” Olaf cried. “That's it! Pebble, you're a genius!”

The troll smiled proudly. “Really? My mom tells me I have too many ideas.”

Olaf hopped up. “I have to find Kristoff!”

As Olaf began to walk away (as fast as a snowman could walk), Sven and Pebble traded looks. Then they both shrugged and followed him.

After talking to Olaf, Kristoff had gone back to the castle. He wanted to see Anna. She always knew what to say, and right then, he needed advice. Meeting her in the courtyard, he told her about Olaf's adventures and how he'd reacted. Anna got a funny look on her face.

“He was just trying to help you, Kristoff,” she said. “If I recall correctly, you tried to help me out once, too, remember? When I had to get Elsa back to Arendelle?”

Kristoff nodded.

“That turned out a little better,” Anna went on, “but the point is, when someone tries to help, you shouldn't complain if it doesn't go perfectly.”

Kristoff sighed. “I hope I wasn't too hard on him. Maybe I need to go talk to him again.”

Luckily, Olaf was already walking into the courtyard with Sven and Pebble. “Kristoff!” he called. “There you are! I just had the greatest idea in the history of greatest ideas. I'll just help you
tomorrow
!” He looked over his shoulder. “Well,
we'll
help you. Right, guys?” Sven and Pebble nodded. “If we all work together, we can get everything done three times faster. You'll be able to deliver your ice
and
go on your picnic with Anna.”

Standing next to Kristoff, Anna whispered, “Remember, if someone wants to help, that is a
good
thing.”

Kristoff nodded. Turning back to Olaf, he said, “You know what? That sounds like a fantastic idea. I'm sorry I got upset earlier. You were only trying to help.”

“True,” Olaf said. “I probably should have checked with you first, but I love surprises!”

Kristoff started to smile, so Olaf continued. “I knew what I was doing most of the time, though. Sven and I make a great team, you know?”

Kristoff laughed. “Wanna know a secret, Olaf?”

Olaf nodded. “Yes, I love secrets!”

“When I was younger, I fell
into
the lake trying to get ice! I even ruined a brand-new pair of boots. For a long time, the other ice harvesters called me icicle, because that day I looked just like one! I didn't always know what to do, either.”

Olaf laughed. At least
he
hadn't fallen into the lake. Yes, he had fallen down a hill, but that was completely different.

“So for tomorrow,” Kristoff went on, “I think you should watch me and learn the right way to deliver ice. Who knows, maybe in time
you
could become the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer!”

Olaf began to bounce around happily. “That would be the greatest day ever! Well, that day and the day I finally get to go to the beach. That day would be pretty great, too. But wait! Kristoff, can you help me with something else?”

Kristoff nodded.

“Can you help me get an ice cream cake for the cook?”

“Of course,” Kristoff said. “It would be my pleasure.”

So the very next morning, bright and early, Olaf and Pebble met Kristoff and Sven in the stables. This time, they had no trouble getting the harness on together. They had no trouble getting the ice out of the lake and loading it. Kristoff even taught Olaf how to cut the ice, which Olaf thought was totally fun. When they made their deliveries to Oaken, they put the ice in the right shed this time and both apologized once more. Together, they brought Pebble back to his family, and Olaf even managed to win over the grouchy farmer, who, it turned out, couldn't resist the happy-go-lucky snowman. Finally, they made their way back to Arendelle just in time to pick up the cake for Cook and put it in the now very full and very cold—thanks to the new ice delivery—freezer.

With everything done, it was time for Kristoff and Anna to go on their picnic.

“So, want to do this again tomorrow?” Olaf asked as Kristoff turned to go.

Kristoff smiled. “I don't know about tomorrow, but how about we do this once every month? And on that day every month, you won't be the Official
Substitute
Ice Master and Deliverer, you'll be the Official
Apprentice
Ice Master and Deliverer!”

Olaf let out a little squeal of joy. “That would be perfection!” he said. True, he
might
have been on thin ice for a moment, but he had never been
too
worried. After all, Olaf knew everything would work out. Now things were better than ever. And that seemed like a pretty good way for things to be.