Olaf, Phillip, and Mandevu's Frozen Adventure

Chapter 7

The door opened.  Oaken, the owner of Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna, stood tall, filling the doorframe.  He looked down at the little snowman and smiled, immediately recognizing him.  

"Hoo, hoo!" said Oaken in a friendly voice.  

"Helloooo!" said Olaf, mimicking Oaken's singsong tone.  "And what does your family this time of year?"  

"Ooohhh!" said Oaken excitedly, pressing his index fingers together.  He couldn't wait to show Olaf his family's holiday tradition.  

Moments later, Olaf and Oaken joined the entire Oaken family, cousins and all, inside a huge sauna.  They were playing music l, chatting, eating, and drinking—as if they were in someone's living room.  Only instead of wearing fancy holiday dresses and suits or pajamas, they were all wearing bathing suits and towels!  

The sauna was decorated with all the festive touches of a holiday party—there were piles of wrapped gifts under several Christmas trees!  Olaf was thrilled to be there, not only because he was enjoying the celebration, but also because it was his first time in a sauna.  He had always wondered what it was like, and just as he had expected, it was toasty.  

Oaken sat beside Olaf wearing nothing but a tiny towel.  

"Enjoying the Christmas sweats, inquisitive magic snowman?" he asked.  

Olaf, who was wearing his own towel, was happy as can be.  As he began to melt form the intense heat, he replied, "Oh, yeah. Nothing like taking your coals off once in a while, you know what I mean?  My troubles are just melting away."  

Oaken nodded.  He calmly pushed a wooden bucket under Olaf, catching the liquid snowman as he melted right off the bench.  Then Oaken opened the door.  

"In retrospect," he said, "the holiday sweats are for those not made of snow."  He tossed out the melted Olaf, and as the carrot, twigs and water hit the chilly air, they instantly froze together.  Olaf reformed, now a solid piece of misshapen ice.  

Sven rapped the translucent ice with his hoof, shattering it.  Suddenly, Olaf was back to normal!  He shook, and dozens of tiny ice chips flew off his body.  

"Ohhhh, I feel so refreshed!" he exclaimed.  He looked at his reflection in a big, shiny tuba sitting on top of the sleigh.  "Am I glowing?"  

THUMP!  Oaken loaded a small sauna onto the very top of the sleigh.  "Here's a sauna for your friends," he said.  

"Thank you, Mr. Wandering Oaken!" said Olaf gratefully.  "Oh, one last thing.  Would it possible to get one of those awkwardly revealing yet tastefully traditional towels your family is so fond of wearing?"  

"Take mine!  Yah?" said Oaken, whipping off his towel and flinging it at Olaf's head.  

"Ooohh, still warm!" said Olaf, enjoying the feel of the steamy towel on his face. 

Olaf tied the towel around his middle and hopped onto the sleigh.  It looked fantastic, fully loaded with holiday traditions.  He grinned at Sven, knowing they had succeeded in their quest.  They were ready to head back to the castle and share their finds with Anna and Elsa.  He couldn't wait to see which tradition they chose!  

Olaf climbed back into the driver's seat and grabbed the reins.  A squirrel scurried across a snow-covered tree branch and watched Olaf and Sven start down the mountain.  The traditions were piled so high, the sleigh teetered back and forth.  The sauna, perched at the very top, swayed precariously.  Olaf ignored it and began to sing.  

The squirrel's bushy tail twitched as it watched Olaf.  Feeling on top of the world, Olaf playfully ripped the towel from around his waist and swing it around, causing the sauna door to open.  A single hot coal tumbled out.  

When Olaf saw it, he quickly snatched it up and threw it out of the sleigh.  "Crisis averted!" he cheered, pleased with himself.  Then he continued with his happy song and dance.  

The coal soared through the air and knocked the squirrel square in the head, then ricocheted back onto the sleigh!  It rolled into some little straw goat ornaments and instantly sparked a flame.  Olaf didn't notice.  

As the flames spread, the sleigh broke away from the reindeer—except for one strap.  The sleigh gathered speed down the mountain, gradually overtaking Sven. Olaf, sitting atop the traditions that had not yet caught fire, zoomed past the sprinting reindeer.  

"Oh, look!" he exclaimed.  "Another reindeer!"  He waved.  "Hi!"  

The fire crackled and roared, losing chunks of debris to one side, then the other.  Olaf still didn't notice.  "Wow, we're making really good time."  

Sven dug his heels into the mountainside, trying to stop the sleigh.  But the momentum was too much.  At the edge of a cliff, CRACK!  The sleigh snapped apart and launched into the air.  The single strap connecting Sven to the sleigh broke, and the reindeer skidded to a halt.  

The sleigh flew high over the cliff, sending the holiday items tumbling into a gorge.  Olaf was catapulted across the divide, where he landed safely in the snow.  

Olaf looked down over the edge, shocked and confused, watching as the sleigh fell.  

"Hey!  The fire's out!" he called over to Sven.  

Then he and Sven watched, horrified, as the sleigh hit the bottom of the canyon.  There was a moment of silence before they heard a deafening boom as Kristoff's sleigh exploded in a great big raging ball of fire.  

Olaf and Sven stared as the flames died down, revealing the burnt wreckage below.  Black smoke billowed up between the canyon walls.  

"Oh, darn it," said Olaf.  The tradition items were gone.