Curly Prints in the Snow

Moonship came down out of the pale sky with a soft, gentle thud. The little spaceship bounced once, twice, and settled right into a great big fluffy drift of white powder. At the back of the ship, the bubbling thrusters gave a cheerful glug-glug-shhh and went quiet. Outside the circular round viewport, the whole world looked like vanilla ice cream sprinkled with sugar crystals.

"We made it," Knut said. His heart-shaped pink head gave off a soft, rosy glow that kept the cockpit feeling like a sunny morning. He reached into the deep pocket of his spacesuit—which looked very much like a pair of stretchy, comfortable underpants—and tapped the magic flower resting inside. It felt warm and fuzzy, like a freshly baked muffin wrapped in a napkin. "The warming blossom is safe and sound. It will wake up the second unicorn in no time."

Dinkabel tied her bright blue knitted scarf around her neck with a neat little double knot. Her square-shaped face beamed with excitement, and her rainbow-colored skin shone brightly against the pale cockpit walls. From her closet of twenty-nine different space uniforms, she had chosen her thickest blue tunic to keep out the mountain freeze. "Don't forget your mittens, Knut," she said, handing over two fluffy red mitts. "Planet Tiumberly is the coldest place on our star map!"

With a hiss and a puff of steam, Moonship’s round hatch swung open. The crisp, frosty air met them at the door, making their noses tingle. Knut and Dinkabel stepped down the metal ladder and hopped into the snow. Crunch, crunch, crunch went their heavy boots. Every step made a happy, squeaky sound in the fresh white blanket.

All around them, enormous jagged mountains climbed high into the sky. They looked like giant, sleeping white bears tucked under thick winter quilts. The air was very still, and each breath they puffed out made a tiny white cloud that floated away like a friendly ghost. Knut pulled his woolly scarf up to his pink chin and looked across the dazzling drifts. The second captive unicorn was somewhere nearby, sleeping beneath the mountain peaks, waiting for help.

A light breeze whisked across the snow, tossing a shower of sparkly frost onto Knut’s suit. Knut giggled and brushed the frosty crumbs off his underpant-shorts, but as he looked down at his shiny boots, he gasped. "Dinkabel! Stop your boots! Look right here!"

Dinkabel stopped with one foot lifted in the air. She set it down very gently and leaned forward, her round eyes wide with curiosity. In the untouched powder lay three tiny, curly footprints. They were not round boot marks, and they were not sharp, clompy hoof prints either. They looked like little loops of ribbon pressed neatly into the snow, swerving and swirling in a tidy row.

"Those are the most unusual tracks I have ever seen," Dinkabel whispered. She crouched low, tucking her blue braids over her shoulder so they wouldn't drag in the drift. "They lead right up the hill."

Together, the two travelers followed the twisty trail through the snowbank, crunching quietly so they wouldn't disturb the mountain quiet. The curly footprints led toward a cluster of towering ice pillars that stood like giant sticks of clear rock candy. The pillars were smooth and see-through, catching the pale mountain light and throwing blue and silver shadows across the snow.