Once upon a time there was a Queen who lived in a palace with 30 rooms.

If she wanted, she could invite dozens of guests to stay overnight, which she often did, because she loved parties. She especially liked to dance and sing and eat fun foods.

The Queen enjoyed being able to do whatever she pleased. If she wanted a cup of tea, all she had to do was say to the first person who walked into the room, “I’d love a cup of tea,” and right away someone went to fetch it.   

One day it started to snow. The lawns turned white, and the Queen’s children, Prince Harry and Princess Anne, decided to go outside and build a snowman.  They rolled up three balls of wet snow.  Lots of other kids helped, and soon they had created a tall lady with a crown, who bore a remarkable resemblance to the Queen.   

You would think the Queen might be offended, but she just laughed. In fact, she summoned her Chief Counselor to her most formal meeting room, which had a huge wooden table with the history of the kingdom carved on top. The Queen said to him, “I love that Snow Queen the children made! I’d like you to bring it inside and stand it up on my bed!”

!” The Counselor began to stutter, “But, but,” but the Queen just rang a little bell and said to the lady who came into the room, “Counselor George was just leaving. He has a very important job to do.”

The Queen’s Chief Counselor was not at all happy. This was the craziest command he had ever heard. The task was impossible! And yet, the Queen was used to getting everything she asked for. If he failed, he could lose his job. He could be banished!

He asked the Assistant Chief Counselor what he should do, and the Assistant Chief Counselor (who of course wanted the Chief Counselor’s job) said, “You better run away!” Everyone else agreed.

The Chief Counselor thought and thought. He thought so hard that he fell asleep sitting in a wooden chair that did not even have a cushion. He snapped awake with the dreadful feeling that there was not much time left before bedtime. What should he do?

?

Suddenly he got an idea. What if he could make a Snow Queen out of something that was not snow—something dry and light and easy to carry.  Stone was too heavy. Wood was too heavy. Bubbles would burst. What could he use??  

?? It came to him in a flash. Popcorn! He could gather all the pans in the palace kitchen, pop up a huge mound of popcorn, roll it into three big balls, stack them up, put on a crown, and, and...