The Snow Queen's Surprise Read online

  “Hey!” George complained as the marsh-mallow landed in her lap. “I was going to eat that!”

  “Sip it now,” Rebecca said.

  Nancy picked up her cup. She was about to sip when she heard loud snorting noises. Looking up she saw Jason, David, and Mike by the counter. They had sodas in their hands—and straws up their noses!

  “Oh, gross!” Bess cried. “Now they’re pretending to be walruses.”

  “They probably followed us here,” George grumbled, “so they could bother us some more.”

  Bess turned to Rebecca.

  “Can’t you turn the boys into ice, Rebecca?” she asked. “Pretty pleeease?”

  “Bess!” Nancy complained.

  But Nancy’s warning came too late. Rebecca grabbed her snowflake wand. She waved it as she spoke in a low, deep voice . . .

  “From the tops of their heads to the tips of their toes,” Rebecca chanted. “Turn David, Jason, and Mike into snow!”

  Not again, Nancy thought.

  “Rebecca,” Mrs. Ramirez called. “It’s getting late. We’d better fly.”

  “Fly?” Bess squeaked.

  “Coming, Mom,” Rebecca called back. She smiled at Nancy, Bess, and George. “I have to go now. Bye.”

  The girls watched as Rebecca and her mother left the Double Dip.

  “Did you hear that?” Bess whispered. “They’re going to fly! Probably in their flying sleighs.”

  “This I’ve got to see,” George said.

  Nancy, Bess, and George jumped up and scrambled for the door. They pressed their noses against the glass and looked out.

  Nancy could see Rebecca and her mom climbing into a beige minivan.

  “There!” Nancy said as the van drove off. “Rebecca and her mom did not fly.”

  Bess and George looked a bit disappointed.

  The girls walked back to their table. Jason, David, and Mike were two tables away, noisily slurping their sodas.

  “And the boys weren’t turned into snow either,” Nancy pointed out.

  “If only!” Bess groaned.

  George took a sip of her hot chocolate. Her dark eyes popped wide open over the rim of the cup.

  “Is it still too hot?” Nancy asked.

  “No,” George gulped.

  She put down her cup and stared at Nancy and Bess. “It’s too cold. Ice cold!”

  4

  A Bark in the Park

  Cold?” Nancy repeated. How could that be? They had left their cups for just a minute or two.

  Bess quickly took a sip. “My hot chocolate is icy cold, too!” she cried.

  “Try yours, Nancy,” George said.

  Nancy picked up her cup. Then she slowly took a sip.

  “Well?” Bess asked.

  Nancy didn’t want to admit it. But . . .

  “It’s cold,” she said.

  “Maybe Rebecca was telling the truth,” George said, her voice shaking. “Maybe she does have icicle breath!”

  Nancy stared at her cup. The cold hot chocolate was weird. But she refused to believe that Rebecca had cast a spell.

  “It had to be Rebecca,” Bess shivered. “Who else could have done it?”

  Nancy thought of the boys.

  They were good at hurling spitballs and snowballs. And doing gross things in the school lunchroom. But how could they turn hot chocolate cold? How could anyone?

  “I don’t know how it happened,” Nancy admitted. “It’s a mystery.”

  “Then you have to write this clue in your notebook,” Bess instructed her. “On your 'Rebecca is a snow queen' page.”

  Nancy sighed. A clue was a clue, whether she liked the clue or not.

  She pulled out her blue detective notebook. On the line under the snow dog she wrote the words “Cold hot chocolates.”

  Now there were two clues that Rebecca was a snow queen. But Nancy refused to give up.

  “Let’s meet in the park tomorrow morning,” Nancy said. “At ten o’clock.”

  “To go sledding?” Bess asked with a little jump.

  “No,” Nancy said. “To look for Mr. Grubby Paws. The real Mr. Grubby Paws!”

  • • •

  “Daddy, do you believe in magic?” Nancy asked later that evening.

  Nancy and Mr. Drew were eating dinner at the kitchen table. They had just finished bowls of Hannah’s special vegetable barley soup.

  Hannah Gruen had been the Drews’ housekeeper for five years. She had taken care of Nancy since Nancy’s mother had died.

  “Magic?” Mr. Drew asked. He had a twinkle in his eyes. “You mean like this?”

  Mr. Drew showed Nancy his empty palm. Then with the same hand, he reached out and pulled a quarter out of Nancy’s ear.

  “Abracadabra!” Mr. Drew said.

  Hannah put her hands on her hips. “How did you do that?” she asked.

  Nancy was surprised, too. Her father was a lawyer, not a magician.

  “It’s magic,” Mr. Drew said. He gave the quarter to Nancy and smiled.

  “Thanks, Daddy!” Nancy said.

  But deep inside Nancy was worried.

  If her father could perform magic, then why not Rebecca Ramirez?

  After dinner Nancy played a video game with her dad. Then before going to sleep, she found a story about a snow queen in her big book of fairy tales.

  Rebecca was right, Nancy thought as she read in bed. Snow queens do ride in flying sleighs—and turn people into ice.

  “But it’s a fairy tale!” Nancy insisted out loud. She shut the book and went to sleep.

  • • •

  The next morning Nancy, Bess, and George met in the park. The snow was just as high as it was the day before.

  “Here, boy!” Nancy called. She cupped her mittens around her mouth. Then she called for the dog again.

  “Here, Grubby!” Bess called.

  “That’s not how you call a dog,” George said. “Watch this!”

  Nancy and Bess covered their ears as George let out a shrieking whistle.

  “George!” Bess complained. “This isn’t a soccer game—”

  “Woof!” a dog barked.

  “Grubby?” Nancy gasped. She spun around excitedly—until she saw a tiny brown poodle running over.

  “False alarm,” George muttered as the dog ran back to its owner.

  “Let’s go to where we saw Grubby yesterday,” Nancy suggested. “Maybe that’s where he likes to play.”

  The girls’ boots made deep footprints in the snow as they walked. When they were halfway through the park, George stopped.

  “Check it out,” George whispered. “The boys’ fort is still there.”

  Nancy frowned when she saw the hill of snow. Sticking up from behind it were three wool hats—red, green, and blue.

  “Oh, great,” Nancy whispered. “They’re getting ready to strike again.”

  “Not unless we beat them to it,” George whispered. “Let’s sneak around the fort with our own snowballs.”

  “A surprise attack!” Bess squealed. “Goody gumdrops!”

  “I thought you didn’t like snowball fights, Bess,” Nancy said.

  “I don’t,” Bess said. “But I don’t like Jason, David, and Mike even more.”

  With handfuls of snowballs, the girls walked quietly around the fort. Nancy wondered why the boys were so quiet.

  But when Nancy looked behind the fort she saw why. Instead of the boys there were three snowmen!

  “I don’t get it,” George said. “They’re wearing the boys’ hats.”

  “And they have straws up their noses,” Nancy said slowly.

  “Hey,” Bess gulped. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “I am,” George said, nodding. “Rebecca did it again. She cast a spell on Jason, David, and Mike—and it worked!”

  5

  Chill Out

  No way!” Nancy said, shaking her head. “The boys were at the Double Dip when Rebecca cast that spell.”

  “Some spells may take l
onger to work,” George said. “The boys could have gotten to the park and—poof!—pests on ice!”

  “It’s all my fault!” Bess cried. “I told Rebecca to freeze Jason, David, and Mike. And she did it.”

  “But anyone could have built these snowmen,” Nancy said. “The boys could have built them themselves.”

  “And leave their hats in the park?” George asked.

  “Maybe,” Nancy said. “Why don’t we go to their houses and look for them?”

  “No!” George said.

  “Why not?” Nancy asked.

  “Because what if it’s a trick?” George asked. She narrowed her eyes. “What if they’re waiting in Jason’s front yard—with snowballs?”

  “Oooh, no!” Bess said.

  “Then we’ll go to my house and call them,” Nancy said.

  George nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  “Wait,” Bess said. “Nancy has to write this clue in her notebook.”

  Nancy’s heart sank. Another clue on the “Rebecca is a snow queen” page!

  But instead of writing, Nancy doodled three tiny snowmen in her notebook. It made them all giggle.

  As they walked out of the park they passed the snow dog. It was still frozen.

  “Brrr. I don’t know if I’m shivering from the cold,” Bess said, “or because I’m so scared.”

  “I know,” Nancy said. “Let’s tell some jokes. Then we won’t be so scared.”

  “I know a good one,” George said with a grin. “What did the policeman shout as he chased the Popsicle bandit?”

  “What?” Nancy asked.

  “Freeze!” George said.

  “Freeze?” Bess wailed. “George Fayne—that’s not funny!”

  “Sorry.” George sighed.

  When the girls reached Nancy’s house, Hannah greeted them at the door.

  “Don’t take off your boots yet, girls,” Hannah said. “One of your friends is waiting for you in the backyard.”

  “Who?” Nancy said. “Katie Zaleski? Molly Angelo?”

  “It’s Rebecca Ramirez,” Hannah said. “Last I looked she was playing with Chip.”

  Nancy gulped. “Rebecca . . . is with Chip?” she asked.

  “Uh-oh,” Bess groaned.

  The girls raced around the house to the backyard. Rebecca was standing under a tree. She was wearing her snow queen coat and carrying her snowflake wand.

  “Hi!” Rebecca called as Chip retrieved a twig. “Nancy, your dog is so cool!”

  “Cool?” Nancy cried. “As in cold?”

  Nancy ran to Chip. She pulled off her gloves and began feeling her fur.

  “As in neat,” Rebecca said, wrinkling her nose. “Is something wrong?”

  Nancy shook her head. She straightened up and forced a smile. “Did you come over to play?” she asked Rebecca.

  “No,” Rebecca said. She twirled her snowflake wand between her fingers. “I’m here to do you all a big, big favor.”

  “A favor?” Nancy, Bess, and George repeated at the same time.

  “I’ve decided to make every day a snow day,” Rebecca said. “That means no school and lots of snow to play in for a whole year.”

  “But I like summer!” Bess pouted.

  “You’ll get over it,” Rebecca said. She raised her wand in the air. “Now, get ready, because I’m about to perform the dance of the never-ending snowflakes.”

  The girls stepped back as Rebecca began to twirl around and around. When she stopped she tapped each elbow with her wand. Then she tapped each foot.

  Chip barked as Rebecca used her wand to form a big circle in the air.

  “North winds gust, north winds blow,” Rebecca called. “I command to make it snow! And snow! And snow! And snow!”

  Rebecca fell dramatically on the clean snow. She closed her eyes and didn’t move.

  “It’s not snowing,” Bess whispered.

  Chip began to lick Rebecca’s face.

  “Yuck!” Rebecca cried. She jumped up and dusted herself off. “I’d better go.”

  “Why?” Nancy asked. She wanted to watch Rebecca as much as she could.

  “I have to read my snow queen script,” Rebecca said. “Tomorrow is the first day of rehearsals.”

  Rebecca gave a little wave. Then she walked around the house.

  “Nancy?” Bess said. “You got scared when Rebecca was with Chip, didn’t you?”

  “Sort of,” Nancy admitted.

  When it came to Chip, she wanted to protect her from everything: cars, candy, even possible snow queens!

  “Does that mean you’re starting to believe Rebecca, too?” George asked.

  “I’m not sure what I believe anymore.” Nancy sighed. “All I know is this . . .”

  “What?” Bess asked.

  “It’s still not snowing,” Nancy said.

  The girls looked up at the sky. It was gray but no flakes were in sight.

  “Girls!” Hannah called out the window. “Come in for some tomato soup!”

  “Yummy!” Bess cried.

  The girls entered the Drews’ house through the back door. They took off their boots and hung up their jackets. Then they all washed their hands and sat down in the warm kitchen.

  “There’s nothing like hot soup on a cold day like this,” Hannah said as she poured thick red soup into three bowls.

  “Thanks, Hannah!” Nancy said.

  She opened the box of salty crackers on the table and handed some to Bess and George. The girls crushed crackers over their soup.

  “By the way, Nancy,” Hannah said as she washed dishes in the sink. “What was Rebecca doing out there?”

  “Some dance,” Nancy said, giggling. “To make it snow.”

  “Well, it seems to have worked,” Hannah said. “Look outside.”

  The giggling stopped. Nancy, Bess, and George stared at one another. Then they jumped up and ran to the window.

  “No way!” Nancy gasped as big white flakes fell from the sky.

  “It’s snowing!” George cried.

  “Rebecca did it again!” Bess wailed.

  Nancy stared at the snow coming down. How would she ever explain this?

  6

  Bells and Spells

  Hutchings,’” Nancy read aloud. She held the telephone book in her lap as she pushed the numbers. “Four-five-six . . .”

  It was late afternoon. Nancy was in the den, calling the boys. She had to prove that they were home and that they weren’t snowmen.

  Because it was snowing, Bess and George had left right after finishing their soup. But the friends had all planned to meet at the pizza parlor on Main Street at noon the next day.

  “Please be home, Jason,” Nancy whispered. She waited for the Hutchingses’ phone to ring, but it never did. Instead there was total silence.

  “That’s weird,” Nancy told herself. She hung up and found the Minellis’ number in the phone book. But when she tried it, the same thing happened. Silence.

  “Too weird,” Nancy said.

  She tried the Bergers’ phone. It didn’t ring either!

  Oh, no, Nancy thought. What if Rebecca really did turn the boys into—

  Nancy shut the phone book and shook her head. “What was I thinking?” she asked herself. “Rebecca is not a snow queen!”

  But when Nancy opened her detective notebook she frowned. If Rebecca wasn’t a snow queen, why weren’t there any clues on her “Rebecca is not a snow queen” page?

  “Working on a new mystery, Nancy?” Mr. Drew asked as he came into the den.

  Nancy took a deep breath. Then she told her father all about Rebecca.

  “Rebecca even made it snow, Daddy,” Nancy said. “Is that weird or what?”

  “Let me show you something,” Mr. Drew said. He picked up a newspaper. “Check out the headline on this morning’s paper.”

  Nancy read the front page out loud: “‘More snow today.’”

  “The snow was coming long before Rebecca cast that spell,” Mr. Drew said.

&n
bsp; “Maybe Rebecca saw the headline, too,” Nancy said. “And decided to trick us.”

  Mr. Drew smiled. “Speaking of tricks,” he said. “Let me show you how I pulled that quarter out of your ear.”

  Nancy watched her father tuck a quarter up his sleeve. When he reached out the quarter slipped down into his hand.

  “So that’s how you did it.” Nancy sighed. “You had me worried, Daddy.”

  Nancy felt better. Not only was she twenty-five cents richer, she had her first clue that Rebecca wasn’t a snow queen.

  “Fake snow dance,” Nancy said aloud as she wrote the words in her notebook.

  Mr. Drew looked over Nancy’s shoulder. He pointed to Nancy’s drawing of the leaf. “What’s this?” he asked.

  “I found a leaf design carved on the snow dog’s paw,” Nancy said. “But I have no idea what it means.”

  “Hmm,” Mr. Drew said. “This leaf could be your most important clue, Nancy.”

  Nancy got excited. But then she remembered that the next day was Wednesday. Her heart sank. Wednesday meant her time for solving the case would be up!

  That night Nancy fell asleep trying to think of more clues. But when she woke up Wednesday morning she had to face the truth—she had not solved the case.

  Maybe I’m not such a good detective after all, Nancy thought sadly.

  She spent the morning cleaning her room and playing with Chip. When it was close to noon she got permission to meet Bess and George on Main Street.

  “You mean you couldn’t reach any of the boys last night?” George asked in the pizza parlor. “Their phones didn’t ring?”

  “No,” Nancy said. She nibbled her pizza, but she wasn’t very hungry.

  “Maybe Rebecca turned their whole families into snow,” Bess said, tugging a string of cheese from her slice.

  “Well, it’s Wednesday,” George pointed out. “That means it’s time to write to Stella Logan.”

  The girls finished their pizza slices. George pulled some stationery from her jacket pocket. She borrowed Nancy’s pen and began to write.

  “‘Dear Ms. Logan,’” George read out loud. “‘There’s something about Rebecca Ramirez we think you should know.’”

  Nancy didn’t want to write the letter. She wanted to write more clues in her notebook and solve the case. But it was too late.