Copyright © 2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address Disney Press, 1101 Flower Street, Glendale, California 91201.
ISBN 978-1-4847-3231-1
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
Photos from the Animated Short
Queen Elsa was working quietly at her desk when the bells in Arendelle’s clock tower began to chime. It was noon.
Elsa put down her pen and went to the window.
Her little sister’s birthday was just weeks away, at summer solstice, and Elsa wanted to plan something wonderful, something perfect, to make up for all the years Anna never had a real celebration. But what?
Throughout their childhood, Anna had never really had a birthday party. Elsa remembered that her little sister had once stood on the other side of Elsa’s bedroom door and begged Elsa to come out for a small birthday dinner. But back then, Elsa had been hiding her magical icy powers. She had accidentally hurt Anna with them once and, worried that might happen again, had cut herself off from her sister and the rest of the kingdom until a year ago.
That was when Elsa’s icy powers had been revealed—and Anna had helped Elsa gain control of them.
Now the sisters were happy, and there were no more secrets. The castle and the entire kingdom of Arendelle was a much happier place, and she and Anna were learning so much about each other. Every day with Anna held new surprises.
Suddenly, Elsa had an idea.
“That’s it!” she said to herself. “We’ll give Anna her first surprise birthday party ever!”
Elsa began the preparations right away. There would be gifts, guests, and a cake. For the gifts, she could get Anna a new dress and new shoes. She could get her a new pillowcase, and—
Shoes? Pillowcase? Elsa put down her pen. There had to be something more, something Anna would love, something special.
Elsa decided to ask Gerda and Kai for ideas. The two faithful servants had been with the royal family for years and knew both girls well.
“How about a family portrait?” Gerda suggested. “It could be commissioned especially for Anna’s birthday.”
Elsa clapped her hands happily. It was a great idea…until she realized that their family was only the two of them.
But the idea was still good. Elsa wondered if she could find an old family portrait in the castle attic. Perhaps she could have it cleaned and dusted and touched up by the royal portrait artist.
As Elsa started up the stairs, Anna peeked into the hallway.
“What are you doing? Do you want some help?” Anna asked. It seemed as though Anna had popped up out of nowhere.
“Um, no thanks!” Elsa replied.
But Anna kept insisting.
“I don’t need help,” Elsa said. She just needed time to search the attic—without Anna.
“Okay!” Anna still didn’t leave.
“Tell you what,” Elsa said, “why don’t you go into the attic for me? And I’ll go…finish my royal duties.”
“Okay!” Anna said. “Oh, what am I looking for?”
Elsa paused, trying to think up some reason she might be looking through the attic. “String!” she said finally. “I was hoping to find a ball of string.”
Anna went up to the attic. It was filled with antiques, old trunks, and lots of dust and spiderwebs. But where was a ball of string?
Meanwhile, Elsa headed downstairs. She felt guilty for fibbing to Anna, but maybe it wasn’t really a fib. She probably did need string. For something.
Elsa quickly left the castle and headed into the village. At least she knew what to do about the cake.
At the town bakery, Elsa asked the baker to keep her special order a secret. “It’s for Anna’s surprise birthday in a few days,” she explained. “I want her to have the best birthday cake ever, and I’ve heard your ice cream cake is the best in Arendelle.”
The baker nodded. He was a slight man with a sprout of black hair at the top of his otherwise bald head.
“What flavor do you want?” he asked.
“Chocolate,” Elsa said firmly. She knew for a fact that Anna loved chocolate.
“Ah, a chocolate cake for Princess Anna!” the baker exclaimed. “Would you like dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate? We could do a chocolate fudge sauce or a chocolate mocha icing or perhaps a chocolate cream topping with chocolate sprinkles?”
Elsa paused. She had thought chocolate was chocolate! She had no idea which kind Anna loved best.
Just then, the bell on the baker’s door jangled, and in walked Anna. She was covered in dust and carrying a huge ball of string. She had followed Elsa.
“Elsa? Look what I found! I mean, this is a lot of string,” Anna said. She looked around the shop. “What are you doing here?”
“Um, I was…” Elsa saw a box of cupcakes. “I was tasting a cupcake.”
“What a great idea!” Anna said. “Why didn’t you bring me along?”
“Please, won’t you have a cupcake, too, Princess Anna?” the baker asked. “I know you love chocolate, but which kind of chocolate do you like best?”
The baker looked at Elsa. He was trying to find out Anna’s favorite chocolate. Elsa smiled in gratitude.
Then Anna winked at Elsa.
“We’ll try one of each, and please mix up the icing, too,” Anna said. She wanted Elsa to try everything.
The two sisters laughed as they walked home together. There would be lots of cupcakes at the castle that night, but Elsa still didn’t know which kind of chocolate to choose for Anna’s birthday cake.
Elsa continued working on Anna’s surprise party, but it was hard to keep such a big secret from her little sister. Anna turned up everywhere she went.
One morning, Elsa sneaked out of the castle before Anna awoke. She wore a cloak with a big hood as a disguise, in case Anna went searching for her later. She was hoping to find just a few more birthday gifts for her sister.
But in every shop, Elsa kept finding gifts that seemed good for Anna—she wanted to share them all! She visited a jeweler, a livery stable, and a tailor. She watched a glassblower work, saw a craftsman twist strands of silver jewelry together, and stood by as a weaver’s loom clacked. She even trekked up to Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post & Sauna to see what items Oaken might have for a princess.
By the time she returned to the market, Elsa had to sit down.
“Elsa?” Kristoff said. He had spotted Elsa on a bench, bundled up in her cloak. “Are you okay?” Kristoff had become a good friend to Anna and Elsa, along with Sven the reindeer and Olaf, a happy-go-lucky snowman who loved warm hugs. The group had shared some big adventures over the past year, and they enjoyed spending time together.
“Just tired, that’s all,” Elsa replied. “Finding birthday gifts for Anna is fun, but it takes a while.”
Kristoff nodded, and so did Sven, standing behind him. “I know you want to show Anna how much you care about her,” Kristoff said. “But you don’t have to do it by yourself. Let me and Sven help!”
Elsa smiled. It was really nice to have friends. She handed Kristoff a list and then watched as he and Sven headed to the shops in the marketplace.
The queen walked to the front gate of the school and peered inside to see where the choir was rehearsing. She felt a tug on her sleeve. A little girl was standing next to her, with her mother close behind.
“Say ‘excuse me,’ dear,” the mother prompted.
“Excuse me,” the girl said. “I’m late for choir practice. Are you going inside, too?”
“No, not today,” Elsa replied.
“My name’s Kirsten,” the little girl said. “We’re practicing to sing for Queen Elsa and Princess Anna someday. At least, we hope to. I want to sing for the queen, but I also want to sing for Anna. Do you like Elsa or Anna better?” She waited patiently for a response.
Elsa smothered a smile. Apparently her cloak and hood were a very good disguise! “I like Anna,” she said.
“Okay,” Kirsten said, and she skipped through the gate.
Laughing to herself, Elsa watched the little girl disappear inside.
As her birthday approached, Anna began to feel a little lonely. Elsa was almost always in her office, working. Kristoff was busy, too. Anna had barely seen either of them for at least a week.
On the evening before her birthday, Anna found herself pacing in the throne room and explaining the situation to Olaf.
“I love thrones,” Olaf said. “Do you think I can sit on it?”
“Go ahead,” Anna said. She helped the little snowman up into the seat. Then she continued her story. “I just hope I see my friends tomorrow. I’d hate for the day to go by without my best friends.”
“What’s tomorrow?” Olaf asked innocently. “Is something special going on?”
Anna had to smile. “Well, it’s my…It’s the summer solstice. It’s the longest day of the year.”
“That is special!” Olaf agreed. “What do you do on the summer solstice?”
“Good question,” Anna said. “I guess we could do summer solstice things.”
“And what are summer solstice things?”
Anna thought for a moment. “I think we should do something nice for our friends. To celebrate.”
“Can we start tonight?” asked Olaf.
“That’s a great idea,” Anna said. “You know how Kristoff likes to keep his sled polished and clean?”
“Yeah!” Olaf shouted. “But what does that have to do with us?”
“Well,” Anna said, smiling, “maybe we could wash his sled. It’s been in storage for a while, and it’s probably dusty.”
As Anna and Olaf made their way to the kitchen, the castle seemed remarkably quiet. Anna found a big bucket by the sink and started filling it with water.
Suddenly, Gerda and Kai walked through the kitchen doors carrying several, large, full trays over their heads. But the moment they saw Anna, they began to back out.
“Oh!” Gerda said.
“Hi!” Anna said. “Can you help me—”
“Terribly sorry,” Kai said quickly. “We just, uh—we turned into the wrong room.” He stammered, trying to sound natural. The trays held an assortment of fancy eclairs for Anna’s birthday, and he didn’t want the princess to see. “We just have to…turn around now. Bye!”
Gerda and Kai disappeared down the hallway, their trays still held very high.
“That was odd,” Anna said, watching them leave. She turned back to her bucket and added soap.
“Mmmm,” Olaf said. “That water looks perfect for a warm bath. I’ve always wanted to try a bath.”
“Sorry, Olaf, not this time,” Anna said with a smile. “Now let’s go!” She lugged the big bucket of warm soapy water out the door at the back of the kitchen. Olaf followed happily.
Making their way around the side of the castle, they entered the stable. They found Kristoff’s sled in one of the stalls. It was covered with a big blanket.
Anna grabbed a corner of the blanket and was about to yank it off when she heard a grunt. Then a snort. She pulled back the blanket and saw Kristoff sleeping on the sled’s front bench. Sven was draped over the back. The two had been working so hard on Anna’s birthday preparations that they had fallen asleep right there.
“Whoa!” Anna exclaimed.
“Huh?” Kristoff startled awake. “Who’s there?”
Anna took a step back.
Olaf answered happily, “Me, Olaf! And Anna!”
“Oh, wow! Hey!” Kristoff said. “What are you doing here?”
Anna tried to explain. “Well, I was going to—um, well, I was going to wash your sled. As a surprise, for the summer solstice—”
“Summer solstice?” Kristoff stepped down from the wagon seat. “That’s a very important day.” He put the bucket of sudsy water to one side, then took Anna by the arm. “Come on. Let’s go outside.”
They walked out into the dark and sat on the side of a wall. Olaf followed, also looking up into the night sky. It was beautiful and full of stars.
Kristoff looked at Anna. “I know it’s the summer solstice tomorrow, and it’s a very important day. Because it’s your birthday.”
“Anna’s birthday?” Olaf cried. “That’s so exciting!”
“Well,” Anna said, “it’s not that big a deal. Just another year, right? I mean, it was a big year, but still.” Anna smiled and shrugged.
“On your birthday,” Kristoff said, “you’re supposed to do something special.”
“Exactly,” Anna said. “That’s why I was trying to wash your sled.”
“No,” Kristoff replied. “You’re supposed to do something special for you.”
“But I don’t need to do anything special,” Anna said.
Kristoff shook his head. “Just because you’ve never had a real birthday—”
“Yes, I have! I’ve had lots of birthdays,” Anna interrupted. “I always eat in the formal dining room, and—well, that’s it.”
“Do you even know what a real birthday is?” Kristoff said.
“Ooh! Ooh! I know!” Olaf said. He raised his little twig arm in excitement. “Real birthdays are so much fun—at least, that’s what the little trolls told me. Family and friends get together, and there are candles and everyone sings and there are presents, and—”
“Yes, presents are good,” Kristoff said. “I remember one year, Bulda gave me a stalagmite.”
“I may have had that kind of birthday once, a long time ago,” said Anna. “I don’t really remember.”
Sven snorted and nudged Kristoff.
“Point is,” Kristoff said, “songs and presents are nice, but they’re not what make a real birthday.” He cleared his throat. “A birthday is—”
“What?” Anna asked.
“Well, a birthday is a day when everyone gets to say that they really, really—uh—love—uh. Oh, boy. They get to say how much they—” Kristoff was blushing.
“—love cake?” Anna finished. “That really is a great day!”
“Yeah,” Kristoff said, relieved. “You’re right.”
From her window in the castle, Elsa looked down and saw Kristoff talking with Anna.
“Thank you, Kristoff,” she whispered. He was keeping Anna busy.
Elsa turned to her dresser and pulled out the ball of string Anna had retrieved from the attic. It was significantly smaller now, but there was still quite a bit of string left. Elsa picked it up and got back to work. There were only a few hours left till Anna’s birthday, and for the first time in weeks, Elsa felt that she truly had everything in place.
It was very early and still dark when Elsa awoke the next morning. She shook off her tiredness and smiled when she realized this was the day: Anna’s birthday!
She quickly dressed and hurried down to the castle’s kitchen. A lot of preparation had already gone into making the day a spectacular surprise, and Elsa wanted to make sure everything was perfect. For the first time, her sister would get a wonderf
ul birthday celebration. Elsa couldn’t wait!
Olina, the chef, was awake and cooking breakfast for everyone in the castle. “Good morning, Your Majesty! Would you like something hot to drink?”
“Not for me, thank you,” Elsa said, “but I bet Kristoff would like some breakfast. Have you seen him? He said he’d help set up in the courtyard.”
“He stopped by just a few minutes ago. He wanted carrots for Sven.”
“Excellent,” Elsa said. Happy that Kristoff was already awake, she grabbed a big mug of tea and a bowl of oatmeal to take to him.
Outside, the stars were just starting to fade as Elsa headed toward the stables, where Kristoff usually fed Sven in the morning. The big reindeer seemed at home there. Elsa’s feet crunched on the fresh hay, and the scent tickled her nose. When she got to Sven’s stable, she knocked on the door.
“Kristoff? I have breakfast. Are you there?”
She heard some rustling inside.
“Elsa? Hold on just a second!”
“Kristoff, is everything all right?”
Suddenly, the door swung open and Sven charged out, his eyes rolling wildly. He was dripping wet, with soap bubbles clinging to his fur. Then he shook himself.
“Sven, stop!” Kristoff cried. But it was too late. Water splattered everywhere. “So sorry,” he told Elsa with a sigh.
Elsa looked at Kristoff. She couldn’t believe her eyes. He was wearing a clean shirt and pants. His hair was slightly wet. Had he actually taken—
“Yup, I took a bath,” he said. “And so did Sven. As you can see.” Kristoff eyed her quizzically. “Why are you looking at me like that? We thought, you know, for Anna’s birthday—”
“Shhh!” Elsa said, smiling. “Remember, it’s a surprise! You do clean up really well, though.”
Elsa headed outside. There wasn’t much time left. She still had to make sure everything was ready for the surprise party.
Stepping into the large courtyard just outside the castle, Elsa was pleased to see that the preparations were moving along. She made a mental note to freeze the fountains as an extra decoration before she woke Anna. The courtyard looked very nice: colored balloons, tables with flowers, and streamers. Gerda and Kai were putting bright flowers into vases on every table. Everything was in place and looking festive.
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