It was William’s sixth birthday and he was tired. It had been a busy day; a wonderful day, but a busy day. He had awoken this morning and rushed downstairs to see his presents. To his surprise, William’s parents had gotten him a fish. A real, live beta fish in a tank and everything! It was just what he wanted.
Will only had a few minutes to look at it though, as he had to get ready for school. In his backpack were Valentine treats for his classmates. His mom also baked him cupcakes for his party at school. It was the most fun day ever at school. They had a party for him, and all the kids sang “Happy Birthday.”
Now that he was home from school, Will was tired. However, it had snowed almost 3 feet of snow the weekend before, and he could not wait to go out and play in it. Will and his brothers had built a giant fort, and they had the fastest sledding hill in the neighborhood. It was cold, but the sun was out and warmed his face as he lay down and made a snow angel.
“Hey Will!” he heard his brother Jack shout. “We’re going inside for hot chocolate!”
“OK! I’m going to go for one last sledding run and then I’ll be in!” Will said as he saw his brothers, Jack and Ben head inside. Will got up and admired his perfect snow angel. Then he trudged through the snow and jumped on his sled.
Will was just about to push off and start down the hill, when something glinted off the sunlight. It was coming from deep into the woods. Will stood up and cupped his eyes, but the light was too bright to see what it was. Will then thought he heard someone whispering but he looked around and no one was out with him.
As he settled back down into the sled, the wind suddenly picked up. It blew the snow all around him, and shook the trees. Will did not even need to push off as the wind gusted and started blowing him down the hill. The sledding hill was only about 30 feet long and stopped at the edge of the hill. However, as the wind was blowing him, Will’s sled began racing faster and faster. The snow was blowing around him and he had to squint his eyes to see. The sled seemed to be flying it was going so fast. Will looked to his left and to his right. He could see trees and bushes flying past.
“I’m sledding through the woods!” he thought in a panic. The sled seemed to be steering itself as he weaved in and out of trees. Will held on for dear life as he saw a giant snow bank right in front of him. The sled crashed into the snow bank and everything went white as Will disappeared into the heavy snow.
Will began to dig furiously as tried to free himself. All of a sudden, what felt like a giant hand, grabbed him and pulled him out of the snow bank. Once he was free, Will looked around in the bright sunlight. It was a giant hand that had freed him. It was a glowing white hand that he could see right through. The magical hand set him down on his feet and he brushed himself off.
As Will took off his snow covered hat, he noticed an old man standing before him. The man had a tall pointed hat, and an even longer, white shaggy beard. The man wore white robes and was carrying a long wooden staff. On the end of the staff was the biggest diamond Will had ever seen.
“Well young man, I hope you had a good ride and that I didn’t scare you too much.” He said in a kindly voice.
Will remembered what his parents had taught him and said “I don’t talk to strangers!”
“Quite right. Quite right! Your parents taught you well. I will be going in a minute; however I do need to explain some things to you.” The man winked at Will and pulled out an old rolled up scroll from somewhere deep in his robes. “It seems that you are a very special boy indeed” He said as he unrolled and started reading the scroll.
“What do you mean?” Will asked hesitantly as he started to back away. He was just about to make a run for it when the old man looked up.
“Well it seems that you have been chosen to become my replacement as the Great Wizard of the Northeast.” He said as he kept reading.
“Wizard of the Northeast?” Will said. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, I guess I should start with introductions so that we are no longer strangers. I am cubic zirconius. However as I am better known as the wizard of ice and snow, you can just call me Frosty.” Frosty stuck out his hand and Will shook it. The hand was as cold and hard as ice. “Now that we have been introduced, I will explain that you have been chosen as replacement.”
Will was shocked and skeptical. “Replacement? I am not a wizard.”
“Not yet, but you will be.” Frosty said and winked. “All you have to do is agree, and I will transfer all my knowledge and power to you. I am getting much too old to be running around on adventures.”
Will thought about this for a moment before he agreed.
“Excellent” Frosty said with a smile. He then handed Will his staff with the diamond on it. “Take my staff and say the magic words….With snow and ice I call upon all that is nice, to give me magic to fight all that is tragic! Let Evil tremble and mourn as enter the Wizard Colebourn!”
Suddenly the snow began to swirl around Will at great speed until he was caught up in the middle of a small tornado of snow, ice and wind. A white light blinded him and lightning crashed down from the sky into the Diamond staff, making it glow. When the wind and lightning stopped, Will felt a powerful energy inside of him.
He also had new memories inside his brain. He found that he knew countless spells as if he had been studying magic for years. Will tapped the staff on the ground, and instantly a pile of snow, on a branch, turned into a white dove. The snow dove flew into the air and circled above William until he tapped the staff again. The dove instantly turned back into snow and it sprinkled downward.
Frosty looked at Will and smiled. “Now you have all my magic powers, and you are a very formidable wizard indeed!” Frosty sat down on an old log. “Now, I must warn you that you must never reveal your powers to the non-magic world. Two exceptions are that you can tell your brothers. They can help you in your adventures. Also, you are now the Wizard of the Northeast. You are in charge to protect this area from evil.”
“Evil?” Will said. “You mean like robbers and stuff?”
“No, robbers are for the police. You have to protect this area from evil wizards and magic creatures.”
“What kind of magic creatures?” Will asked.
“Oh sort of like that one up there.” Frosty said and pointed upwards.
Will looked up just in time to see a large red dragon diving down towards him. The dragon opened his mouth and a fountain of flames shot out towards him. Will instinctively held up the staff and a giant mass of snow sprung up into a wall in front of him. The flames hit the wall and instantly turned the wall into a cloud of steam. Will dove out of the way as the dragon crashed down to the ground. Trees and bushes were smashed apart as the dragon beat its powerful wings. Will rolled to his feet and waved the staff at the dragon. I huge pile of snow formed into a giant fist and punched the dragon right in the snout. The dragon roared in anger and opened his mouth to breathe another blast of fire.
Will twirled his staff in a circle in front of him and a barrage of snowballs started flying out at the dragon. The snowballs started hitting the dragon all over and one hit the dragon right in the mouth. The dragon backed up, and held his wing up to protect himself. The faster Will twirled the staff, the faster the snowballs shot out at the dragon. Finally the dragon roared and then flew off in retreat.
As will stopped to rest, he heard Frosty clapping his hands. “Excellent! Excellent!
You will make a fine wizard.”
“That dragon almost roasted me!” Will said as he panted to catch his breath.
“Almost!” Frosty said “But you showed true wizard power and courage! Now you are ready to take over on your own. When the diamond on your staff glows, you will know that danger is about. Also if you ever need me, you just have to tap the staff three times and say my name.” Frosty turned to go, but Will called after him.
“Are you sure about this?”
“I am sure” Frosty said. “Believe me, you are one powerful wizard.” Frosty winked and then in a puff of white frost….He disappeared.
Will walked back to his house in a daze. As he trudged through the deep snow, he suddenly stopped. “What am I doing?” he said. “I am a wizard”. Will tapped his staff on the ground and then teleported himself instantly into the garage. He took off his coat and boots. Then he tapped the staff again and it shrunk down to an inch in size. Will put the staff into his pocket and went upstairs for some hot chocolate.
Later that night, after his dad put him to bed, Will told Jack and Ben what had happened. At first they didn’t believe him, but Will showed them the staff. Ben tried to take it but Will sent a shock of electricity to zap him in the bum. After that, neither Jack nor Ben tried to take the staff again.
The next day, Will and his brothers were playing outside on their fort. Suddenly Will felt a buzzing coming from the staff. He took it out and noticed the diamond was glowing. “Frosty said this means that trouble is brewing somewhere. Are you guys ready?”
“We are ready” Jack and Ben said together.
Will tapped the staff and it grew back to full size. Then he tapped it on the ground and teleported the three of them to a large farm. They were somewhere up in the mountains of New Hampshire. There was a red farmhouse with a barn and hundreds upon hundreds of cows.
“This must be a dairy farm.” Ben said. “I don’t see any sign of trouble here”
Will shrugged and was about to teleport them home when Jack saw something coming out of the woods. “Look its ogres!” He yelled.
Sure enough, a pack of about thirty ogres were coming out of the woods and heading towards the cows. Some of the ogres had big wooden clubs. “I think they are going to try and eat the cows!” Ben yelled.
Will stepped forward and pointed his staff at Jack and Ben. “Are you ready?”
They both nodded. A white light shot out from the staff and transformed Jack and Ben. When the light stopped, they both wore shining white armor made out of ice. They had swords, shields, and long lances all made out of ice. They also were riding white horses. “Let’s get them!” Jack yelled as both he and Ben charged their horses towards the ogres.
The ogres stopped when they saw the two knights riding towards them but they were not fast enough to get away. Jack and Ben chased them down and scattered the ogres as they swung their swords and lances at the creatures.
However some of the ogres kept running towards the frightened cows. Will stood in front of the cows and slammed his staff down on the ground. In a loud booming voice he yelled. “You shall not hurt these cows!” As his staff hit the ground, lightning crashed out of the sky and zapped a group of 15 ogres. All that remained of the creatures was some smoking black ash.
The rest of the ogres were either cut down by Jack and Ben or fled back into the woods. Jack and Ben cheered and raised their swords in the air as their horses reared. Will smiled and turned as the farmer and his wife came out of the farmhouse. Before they were seen, Will teleported them back home in a blink of an eye.
“That was awesome!” Ben yelled in excitement.
“I can’t wait until the next time!” Jack said.
“Me neither” Will said. “But you know what the best thing about being the wizard of Ice and Snow is?” He said. “I can make all the ice cream I want!”
Will pulled out three giant ice cream cones and they all had ice cream.
The End
Craig lives in Massachusetts and has been writing for many years. He is married and has three boys. At the urging of family, he began putting the bedtime stories down on paper that he had been telling them for years.