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Illustration of page 1 of story The Ice Palace Before Spring

At the edge of the snowy pines, Bao saw an ice palace shining as if the moon had built a

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The Ice Palace Before Spring

5-9 years old • 7 minute • Protecting a shared environment

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Bao and Sao step into a shimmering ice palace just as spring’s warmth begins to change it. Through wonder, mistakes, and teamwork, children see how small choices can protect a shared place without losing the joy of adventure.

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Full text

Read in full The Ice Palace Before Spring

20 pages, approx 7 minutes while listening. Enter the child’s name in the reader above so the narrator can call the child’s name correctly.

  1. 1

    At the edge of the snowy pines, Bao saw an ice palace shining as if the moon had built a home. Above it, the aurora waved green, pink, and gold like silk in a slow wind. Sao’s star pendant flashed. “It’s awake,” Bao whispered.

  2. 2

    The palace doors were clear blue ice, covered in tiny frost flowers. When Bao lifted one mittenless hand near them, the flowers curled open without being touched. Sao bounced on his dark paws, then stopped, listening. From inside came a drip, drip, drip.

  3. 3

    Inside, the floor sparkled with frozen stars, and every step made a soft chiming sound. Bao laughed and skipped once, but the bright spot beneath his sneaker grew slushy. He froze. Sao peered down too, his tail tip tucked close.

  4. 4

    A thin trail of water slipped away from Bao’s footprint and joined other tiny streams crossing the hall. They all hurried toward a crack under a silver arch. “Did I do that?” Bao asked, smaller than before. Sao nudged his knee, gentle and warm.

  5. 5

    Bao crouched and placed his backpack beside the stream, careful not to block it yet. “We should find out where the water belongs,” he said. Sao touched the star pendant with his nose, and the palace answered with a low, bell-like hum.

  6. 6

    Bao and Sao padded into a hall where frozen fountains curled like glass flowers. Under the changing aurora, each petal held a bright drop, trembling but not falling. “It’s waking up,” Bao whispered, and Sao’s star pendant flashed gold against the blue ice.

  7. 7

    At the center stood a lantern of sun-colored crystal, humming softly. Bao thought the dim hallway ahead looked lonely, so he turned the crystal brighter. The fountains glittered at once, and Sao bounced on his paws. “Now we can see everything!”

  8. 8

    The brighter lantern made the palace sing—but not in the way Bao expected. Plink, plink, plink went the ceiling of the music room, and silver drops spotted the floor. Sao’s ears flattened. A tiny ice-bell loosened from its arch and landed with a soft, sad ting.

  9. 9

    Bao’s cheeks warmed. “I only wanted to help,” he said, turning the lantern down until its glow became soft as honey. Sao nudged the fallen bell toward a cold patch of floor. Together they watched the dripping slow, one careful heartbeat at a time.

  10. 10

    When the last plink faded, a blue-white shimmer ran through the floor like a grateful sigh. The bell lifted by itself and rang one clear note. Bao smiled at Sao. “Maybe the palace tells us when we use too much.”

  • 11

    The crystal hall began to tick like a hundred tiny clocks. Drops ran down the walls, joining into quick silver threads that slipped under doors and around sleeping snow-moss. Bao hugged his backpack straps and whispered, “We made it brighter… but maybe too bright.”

  • 12

    Sao padded to a row of moon-lamps still blazing above an empty banquet table. Their heat made the carved ice plates sag at the edges. Bao’s cheeks warmed with a prickly feeling. “I wanted to see everything,” he said, “but I forgot the palace has to rest, too.”

  • 13

    Bao climbed onto a frosty stool and turned the nearest lamp’s crystal knob until its glow softened to a sleepy pearl. Sao nudged the loose curtain of snow-vines across the window, shading the hall. The dripping slowed—not stopped, but slowed—and Bao let out the breath he had been holding.

  • 14

    From the shadowed arches came the palace keepers: little snow-mice carrying shell cups, blue beetles rolling beads of ice, and a shy hare with a moss blanket. Bao knelt so he was small beside them. “Can we help put the cool back where it belongs?”

  • 15

    Together they guided the meltwater into old channels carved like winding vines. Bao used his lunch tin as a scoop, and Sao flicked his tail to show the beetles where the stream was too fast. When the water reached the snow-moss, it drank deeply and glowed a calm spring green.

  • 16

    At the great crystal fountain, the palace keepers hurried to stack more ice over the glowing crack. Bao shook his head, remembering how the sealed snow-lamps had made the hall drip faster. “What if we let the warm water travel where it belongs?” he said, and Sao’s pendant flashed like a tiny yes.

  • 17

    Together they carved shallow channels with fallen icicle chips, not too deep and not too fast. The meltwater slipped away from the throne room and into moon-blue garden beds where sleepy seeds waited. Sao padded beside the stream, nudging loose frost back from its path while Bao called, “Gentle is working!”

  • 18

    When the channel reached the garden, the keepers understood and began passing empty snow-shell bowls to catch each bright drop. Bao gave his last crumb of travel cake to a shivering bird, and Sao warmed the smallest seedling with his tail. No one had enough alone, but together they had plenty.

  • 19

    The palace gave a deep, chiming sigh. Frost flowers opened along the walls, not frozen shut but sparkling around new green stems. Bao felt the floor steady beneath his sneakers, and Sao bounced once in a puddle so small it only kissed his paws.

  • 20

    By the doorway, the ice palace shimmered thinner and kinder, ready for spring instead of afraid of it. Bao tucked a clear pebble of palace ice into his backpack, and Sao leaned against his leg, tired and proud. Behind them, every saved drop fed a small green glow.

    • For parents

    Go further with your child after the story

    The Ice Palace Before Spring is a 20-page English adventure for 5-9 years old. Through a vivid problem and a safe, earned resolution, children see why notice how small actions affect a place, save resources, and work with others to care for it matters; parents get a natural opening for a short conversation and a five-minute practice at home.

    Story guide

    The Ice Palace Before Spring for whom?

    Children 5-9 years old who are beginning to practise protecting a shared environment in real moments, not just in pretend play.

    Story problem solved

    The adventure gives a child a safe rehearsal space for notice how small actions affect a place, save resources, and work with others to care for it. Parents can notice the character’s choice, then connect it to one small moment at home without turning the story into a lecture.

    The synopsis does not reveal the ending

    Bao and Sao step into a shimmering ice palace just as spring’s warmth begins to change it. Through wonder, mistakes, and teamwork, children see how small choices can protect a shared place without losing the joy of adventure.

    Learning goals

    What will your child learn?

    • Notice the moment when notice how small actions affect a place becomes useful.
    • Try the next part of the process: save resources, and work with others to care for it.
    • Name one choice the child could practise during the next ordinary day.
    Talk together

    Stories with the same topic group

    Stories teach children to recognize and name emotionsThe story teaches children to be independent and serve themselvesStories teach children safety skillsThe story teaches children to be polite and how to speak to othersThe story teaches children to preserve the environment around themStories for 5 year oldsStories for 6 year olds

    Questions after listening

    1. Which detail first told Bao and Sao that the adventure was changing, and how did they respond?
    2. What did the friends learn about protecting a shared environment after their first idea did not work?
    3. Where could your family try one tiny version of “notice how small actions affect a place” this week?
    Activity with your child · 5–10 minutes

    Make a tiny protecting a shared environment plan

    1. Ask your child to point to one moment in The Ice Palace Before Spring when notice how small actions affect a place mattered.
    2. Together, name one ordinary family situation where the same choice might help; let your child suggest the first move.
    3. Act it out for five minutes, then ask what felt easier and what kind of help would be useful next time.

    Short answer, easy to look up

    Frequently asked questions

    What can children learn from The Ice Palace Before Spring?

    The story makes protecting a shared environment concrete: children watch Bao and Sao notice a problem, make a choice, and adjust it when the world answers back. The learning stays connected to the characters rather than sounding like a rule sheet.

    How should a parent talk about protecting a shared environment after the story?

    Start with the story detail your child remembers. Ask what the characters noticed, what they needed, and what a small version of that choice might look like at home; there is no need to test for a single correct answer.

    Is this story suitable for shared reading?

    Yes. The page-by-page illustrations and short English scenes suit a calm read-aloud for 5-9 years old; pause when your child wants to predict, and return to the same story later if a particular choice feels important.

    Content information

    TalePillow Studio · Updated Aug 17, 2026

    Editorial methodResponsible unit