Two Holes in the Snow

The snowy wall was tall and thick, but Knut and Dinkabel did not stop. They took a huge, deep breath together. Dinkabel swung her arms. Knut wiggled his pink toes inside his boots.

"Ready, steady... go!" shouted Dinkabel.

With a brave running start, they charged straight forward. Whoosh! Thump! Flump! Right through the snowy drift they tumbled, with a cheerful shout and a giant cloud of white powder flying everywhere. Behind them, the wall now had two silly holes punched clean through—one perfectly round for Knut's tummy, and one neat square for Dinkabel's shoulders.

They scrambled up and shook the snow off their noses. There, resting quietly in the hollow, was the captive unicorn inside its sparkling ice shell. Knut reached deep into his pocket and lifted out the fuzzy magic blossom. It smelled just like warm cinnamon buns on a Sunday morning. Knut held the blossom close. A cozy breeze wrapped around the frozen shell, and with a soft hiss of sweet mist, the hard ice melted away like butter on toast.

Frr-ruff! The unicorn gave a giant stretch. Its pearl-white mane glowed with a soft, milky light. It blinked its sleepy dark eyes, stepped forward on four silvery hooves, and gave Knut's pink cheek a gentle, tickly nuzzle.

"Thank you, kind travelers," the unicorn whispered softly. "My magic is safe. But my sister is trapped far away on the super warm planet called Sheekium. You must hurry!"

Knut and Dinkabel waved goodbye as the unicorn bounded away toward the silver clouds. But as they climbed back into Moonship, Knut patted his thick, puffy snowsuit. Sheekium was super warm. If they wore heavy winter coats to a hot world, they would turn into two very sweaty aliens! So Knut turned the wheel, set Moonship's bubbling thrusters to full zoom, and steered them straight back to their round dome home.

The dome home felt wonderfully warm and quiet. Knut ran right over to the big silver wardrobe. Squeeeak went the door, swinging wide to show all twenty-nine of Dinkabel's bright space uniforms hanging in a neat row.

"No more heavy boots!" giggled Dinkabel. She pulled out a lovely light tunic and her favorite peppermint-striped sun visor to shield her eyes from the desert glare. Knut rummaged through the drawers and picked out a bright lemon-yellow tunic fitted with tiny, whirring cooling fans that tickled his ribs. Together, they rolled up their thick woolly mittens, smoothed down their puffy winter coats, and tucked them safely away into the bottom drawer with a tidy click.

Now they were ready. They bounded back up the ramp into Moonship, pressed the shiny green start button, and rocketed out into the starry sky.

Soon, the black starry dark melted into a warm amber glow. Moonship dipped down through golden clouds, gliding as smooth as a kite above planet Sheekium. Below them stretched giant rolling dunes of bright orange sand, shimmering and rippling in the gentle heat. With a soft hum and a cozy puff of dust, Moonship landed neatly between two wavy hills.

Knut peeked out through the circular viewport and sniffed. The air vents brought in the smell of the new world—it smelled deliciously of toasted coconut and warm, sunny rocks. Out on the dunes, heat waves danced like squiggly ribbons, and a slow, gentle herd of long-necked sand-tortoises plodded by, blinking their sleepy eyes in the golden glare.

Knut adjusted his yellow tunic and watched the tortoises wander across the bright orange sands, wondering where beneath the sunny sky the hidden unicorn could be.