Spell of the Crystal Chair by Gilbert L. Morris

chief carefully cut out a block. He said, “Here is the first block. Daughter, show them how to trim the edges.” Then he cut another and handed it to Jake.
    Jake was highly interested. He watched closely as the princess carried the first block to a circle she had marked out on the ground.
    She set it on the inside of the circle and then took Jake’s block. “You see, with these knives you must carve and angle the snow blocks so that the two meet tightly together. It must be a very good fit.”
    He watched her shave off the sides of both blocks until they fit perfectly.
    “I see what you mean. Each one of them is a little bit thinner at the back.”
    “Exactly. Now, we make one circle all the way around.”
    The Sleepers found the building of an igloo a fascinatingexperience. Soon they had completed one circle of snow blocks.
    “Where’s the door?” Jake wanted to know.
    “It’s easier to cut it later. Now we will do the second layer. This time we not only have to cut the sides but the bottom of each one, too—so that the second row will be tilted in just a little.”
    “I get it,” Jake said. “And we cut each row a little bit more off the bottom so that it tilts in more.”
    “It gets very difficult toward the top. If each block of snow is not frozen to those on each side of it, it will collapse.”
    All of them worked hard on the igloo, and although the Sleepers were awkward at it they soon learned to cut blocks of approximately the same size. Chief Denhelm and Fairmina did most of the shaping.
    They stopped once to eat cold meat, but by afternoon the first igloo was about finished. It was difficult to finish the top, for that had to be done from the inside. But finally the last block was made, shaved on every side. A hole about a foot across was left in the top. Denhelm said, “That gives the smoke a way to get out.”
    “Just like building a fireplace,” Jake said.
    “Now we will make the door.”
    Fairmina cut an opening only two and one-half feet high, and then blocks of ice made a short tunnel to it. “That’s to keep the wind out,” she said. “Now, this is your house, Sarah and Abbey. We will make houses for the men next.”
    “Let’s see what it looks like,” Sarah cried.
    The two girls and Fairmina went inside, and the small hole above admitted light.
    “It’s kind of like living inside half of an egg.”
    “Do we sleep on the ice?” Abbey asked.
    “No,” Fairmina said, “we’ll put straw down and cover it with skins. Also we will build a small fireplace of rocks.”
    “Won’t the fire melt the house?” Sarah asked with alarm.
    Fairmina smiled. “No, it is so cold outside that a little fire on the inside will not melt your house.”
    The next two days were pleasant for the Sleepers and their friends. They built two more snow houses so that the boys could have a place to themselves. Mat and Tam and Volka shared a third. Their door had to be bigger, and even then Volka had to enter by lying flat on his stomach and crawling.
    Finally the houses were finished, the straw and fur floors were put in, the fireplaces were built, and they had a celebration lighting a fire in each one. It was a little smoky, but when the fire was bright enough, the smoke curled upward and found its way outside through the opening.
    “It’s like camping out,” Josh said to Sarah. “You girls are pretty snug, aren’t you?”
    “More than I thought we could be in an ice house! I never thought I’d be doing this, Josh.”
    “Neither did I. We’ve done a lot of things in Nuworld that we never thought we’d do.”
    One night there was a banquet, and all that could be crowded into the Long House were present. Chief Denhelm, his wife, and Fairmina sat at one end of a long line of elders. There were no tables, but the skins they sat on and the padding of straw was not uncomfortable. Women kept bringing in food.
    After a while Fairmina said to Abbey, “How do you like this stew?”
    “It’s very good.