Winter of the Ice Wizard

sleigh to the left. For a while, they bounced up and down over the snow. Then the ride grew smoother.
    â€œWe are on sea ice now!” said Kathleen. “Seals are beneath! I see their breathing holes! Perhaps we should stop.”
    â€œIndeed!” said Teddy as they whizzed along. “But how?”
    â€œTry
tying
a knot!” said Annie.
    â€œExcellent idea!” said Teddy. “Jack?”
    Jack yanked off his gloves. With cold, shaky fingers, he tied a knot in the string. The wind lessened a bit. The sleigh began to slow down.He tied another. The sail started to droop.
    â€œHooray!” said Annie.
    Jack tied a third knot and the wind completely died away. The sleigh glided to a stop.
    â€œWell done!” said Teddy.
    â€œThanks,” said Jack. He tucked the string back in his pocket and looked around. “I wonder if this is where the Norns live.”
    â€œI will ask,” said Kathleen.
    Ask who ?
thought Jack.
    Kathleen climbed out of the sleigh. She walked over the sea ice, studying it closely. Then she stopped above a small hole.
    Kathleen knelt down and spoke softly in selkie language. Then she put her ear close to the hole in the ice and listened.
    A moment later, she stood up. “The seal told me the curve of the bay lies just beyond those sea rocks,” she said, pointing. “That is where we will find the Norns.”
    â€œGreat,” said Annie.
    Jack, Annie, Teddy, and Kathleen crunched over the frozen sea under the bright moon. They walked through a narrow passage between the sea rocks. When they stepped out from the passage, they stopped.
    â€œThere ’tis,” said Teddy.
    About fifty yards away was a large, snowy white mound. Smoke was coming from a chimney on top of the mound. Lantern light flickered from a small, round window.
    â€œI know you must bargain for the Ice Wizard’s eye alone,” said Teddy. “But I would at least like to take a peek at the Norns.”
    He moved quietly to the window and peered into the house. The others joined him. They saw a large fire burning on a hearth. In its rosy glow, three strange creatures were weaving at a big loom. Jack caught his breath. Their appearance was shocking.

    The three Sisters of Fate were as skinny as skeletons. They all had straggly hair, long noses, and huge, bulging eyes. Their crooked, bony fingers fluttered over a large tapestry.Around the room other tapestries were stacked to the ceiling.
    â€œThey look like witches in a fairy tale,” whispered Annie.
    â€œAye, but they are not witches,” said Teddy. “Every cloth they weave is the history of a life.”
    â€œWow,” said Annie.
    â€œWell, good luck,” said Teddy. “Kathleen and I will wait out here while you go inside and ask for the wizard’s eye.”
    Suddenly a terrible howl pierced the silence.
    â€œYikes!” said Annie.
    â€œThe wolves!” said Kathleen.
    Teddy hurried to the door and threw it open. “Everyone inside!” he said.
    And all four of them scrambled into the House of the Norns.

T eddy slammed the door against the wolves. Jack caught his breath.
    â€œWelcome!” the three Norns said in unison. They all looked exactly alike, except they wore gowns of different colors—blue, brown, and gray.
    â€œHow are you, Jack, Annie, Teddy, and Kathleen?” said the blue Norn.
    â€œWe’re good
now
,” said Annie.
    Jack was amazed that the Norns knew all their names. Despite their strange appearance, their friendly smiles and twinkling eyes put himat ease. In their cozy house, he began to feel warm for the first time since they had left home.
    â€œWas your journey pleasant?” asked the brown Norn.
    â€œYes. We came in the Ice Wizard’s sleigh,” said Annie.
    â€œWith the help of a wind-string,” said Teddy. Jack held up the string to show them.
    The gray Norn cackled. “Yes, we know! I like a string with knots,” she said.
    â€œA string without knots would be a boring string indeed!” said the blue Norn.
    â€œA
life
without knots would be a boring life indeed!” chimed in the brown Norn.
    As they spoke, the Norns kept weaving. Their bulging eyes never blinked. Jack sensed that they never closed their eyes—or stopped their work.
    â€œSorry to bother you,” said Annie. “But Jack and I need the eye of the Ice Wizard of Winter so we can save our friends Merlin and Morgan.”
    â€œWe