Katie and the Snow Babies Read Free Page B

quickly. “Finn,” she said, turning to the father polar bear, “didn’t you say that Max and Caspar were friends? Couldn’t they have gone off together?” Then she turned to Ulrick. “You wouldn’t allow them to play together, so they had to sneak off without telling their families. Your argument has put them in danger.”

    Ulrick hung his head in shame.
    â€œYou said that I was wise, Sisters of the Sea, but I see now that I have been so foolish,” he said humbly. “Oh, Finn, my old friend, how could I let our stupid fight stand in the way of our babies’ friendship?”
    â€œIt was a dark day when our own friendship was broken,” answered Finn quietly. “But maybe it is not too late to fix it.”
    Ulrick looked up with hope in his eyes. “I wanted to make up with you long ago,” he said, “but I was too proud. And now our precious babies are lost in the wild snow—all because of my false pride.”
    â€œThen let us forgive and forget,” said Finn gruffly. “In the name of friendship, let us work together to get them back!”
    The lordly walrus and the kingly polar bear solemnly embraced each other, good friends once more.
    â€œAnd now,” said the Chief Walrus, “we must put aside all that has happened in the past. Mermaids, I was wrong about Finn. Perhaps I was wrong about Mantora, too. But I cannot put my mind to those weighty matters until our young ones are found.”
    â€œWill you help us to search for them, Sisters of the Sea?” asked Inga with pleading eyes. Katie, Amber, Jess, Megan, Becky, and Poppy nodded in agreement.

    â€œWe’ll help you,” they vowed. “We’ll do everything we can to rescue your lost babies.”
    â€œBut we need to have a plan,” added Amber urgently. All the mermaids knew that it would be difficult for the young creatures to survive alone in the icy wilderness, away from their families.
    â€œLet’s split up,” suggested Katie, looking around at the creatures sitting expectantly on the ice. “That way we won’t all be searching in the same place at once.”
    â€œGood idea, Katie,” said Jess. “Finn could search over the ice. Max and Caspar might be wandering far on the frozen plains.”

    The shaggy polar bear rose quickly onto his strong paws.
    â€œI will call my brothers to help me hunt for them,” said Finn, raising his head and uttering a deep roar. After a few moments, two other large polar bears bounded into view across the sparkling ice. They hesitated when they saw the Chief Walrus and looked uncertainly at their brother, Finn. But Ulrick spoke up.
    â€œYou are welcome,” he said. “There is nolonger any disagreement between the walrus folk and the bears. Speed on your way across the ice and good luck in your hunt!”
    Finn and his brother bears set off swiftly across the wide, level ice, their white coats soon blending in with the horizon of snow.
    â€œCould your folk swim up and down by the ice shore, looking for the little ones?” Megan asked Ulrick. He waved his flipper at several large walruses as a signal. They instantly dived into the sea to search by the frozen coast.
    â€œAnd the seabirds could help us, too, if Katie calls them with her harp,” suggested Becky.
    Katie quickly lifted her delicate mermaid harp from the cord over hershoulders. She began to play a lively tune on its golden strings. The sweet, wild notes rose into the cloudless air. Before long, there was a flutter of wings and a group of gray and white gulls landed on the ice. Katie explained hurriedly what she needed them to do.
    â€œWill you seek far and wide over the cold sea and fly swiftly to tell us any news?” she asked.
    â€œWe will!” the birds cried huskily as they flapped their strong wings and glided away.
    â€œAnd now we must go, too,” Katie explained to Ulrick and Inga. “We