The Snow Fort with No Door
Chapter 1The Tallest Wall
By ten o'clock, Dovi's snow wall reached his shoulder.
His cousin Nachum stood on the other side, patting the top with the back of a plastic shovel.
"Nobody will beat this."
Across the courtyard, two girls were making a snow bench. Near the fence, three little boys had built something that might be a whale. It had a bucket on its head.
The building contest would end when Zeidy rang the handbell after lunch. There was no prize for speed. Zeidy had said he would choose the building that worked best for its purpose.
Dovi had heard "choose" and "best." He had begun piling snow immediately.
Now the fort had three high walls and a fourth nearly finished.
His little sister Chani arrived with a short plastic scoop.
"Where do I come in?"
Dovi pointed to the open side. "Quickly. We are closing that."
Chapter 2Over the Top
Chani stepped into the fort. She cleared snow from a small square near the back wall and began shaping a seat.
Dovi finished the fourth wall.
The fort looked magnificent from inside. Each corner was thick and rounded. The pale winter sun shone on the top like a row of little lamps.
Nachum came around from outside.
"I am still out here."
Dovi laughed. He had forgotten that his cousin had been smoothing the outside.
"Climb over."
Nachum put one mitten on the wall, pressed down, and lifted a boot.
A large section collapsed into the fort.
Snow landed on Chani's seat.
She stood up, holding her scoop by its very end.
"That is where I was working."
Nachum stepped back onto the courtyard path.
For a moment, none of them spoke. Dovi could see the broken wall, the buried seat, and his cousin's boot print all at once.
Chani stepped out through the broken gap, carrying her scoop.
Chapter 3A Very Narrow Door
Dovi repaired the gap. This time he left a small opening beside the corner.
He could squeeze through sideways if he pulled his arms close.
"There. A door."
Chani tried it. Her coat caught on one edge. She turned her scoop sideways and dropped it inside, then squeezed after it.
"I got through," she said. "But the big shovel will not."
She meant the larger shovel she wanted to borrow from Nachum.
Dovi looked at the opening. Widening it would leave less of his fourth wall. That was the wall facing the judges.
"Use your scoop."
"For all the snow that fell?"
Nachum lifted his wide shovel.
"Mine will not go through either."
Dovi said they could pass it over the top.
Nachum raised the shovel and accidentally brushed another lump off the wall.
It landed exactly where Chani had begun her second seat.
Chapter 4The Visitors
After lunch, Bubby came into the courtyard. Her hair was covered by a dark green scarf, and she wore boots with thick soles.
She stopped beside the fort.
"What is it for?"
"Guarding the courtyard," Dovi said.
"Who are the guards?"
"All of us."
Chani looked at the narrow entrance.
Bubby did too.
"May I visit?"
Dovi stepped inside to show her the way. His elbow scraped snow from the corner.
Bubby did not squeeze after him. She stayed on the cleared path.
"I will wait out here."
From inside, Dovi could see only the top of her scarf. He could not show her Chani's seat or the shelf Nachum had made for imaginary supplies.
At the snow bench, the girls were inviting Zeidy to sit down. Their bench was much lower than Dovi's fort. Zeidy sat, stood again, and smiled.
Dovi looked at his own tall wall.
He had made a fort that kept out nearly everyone he wanted in it.
Chapter 5The Missing Piece
"We need this part gone," he told Nachum.
He pointed to a wide section of the fourth wall.
"Gone?" Nachum asked.
Dovi nodded before he could change his mind.
They used their plastic shovels to take away the loose snow. Dovi wanted a roof over the opening, but Zeidy shook his head when he came to check their work.
"No tunnels or snow roofs. Keep the entrance open."
So the fort had a broad gap instead of an arch.
Chani carried the large shovel through without turning it sideways.
"Now I can move that pile."
She cleared her seat and pushed the extra snow toward Nachum. He used it to make a second seat. Dovi shaped a low shelf between them.
Bubby stepped through the entrance on the cleared ground.
"I believe I have been allowed into the courtyard headquarters."
Chani offered her the first seat.
"Only for a short visit," she said. "We have guards coming."
Chapter 6The Bell
Zeidy rang the handbell.
The little boys announced that their whale was actually a bakery. Nobody explained the bucket.
The girls showed their bench. A cousin demonstrated that two people could sit on it without losing their balance.
When Zeidy reached the fort, Dovi did not mention its height.
He opened his hand toward the entrance.
"Come in."
Zeidy stepped inside. Nachum showed the shelf. Chani showed the seats. The three builders could move around without climbing or squeezing.
Zeidy chose the snow bench as the best finished building.
Dovi's stomach dropped. He looked at the broad gap where his biggest wall had been.
Then Zeidy gave the fort a special mention for its entrance and useful inside space.
Nachum began to cheer, but Chani had already waved two little cousins over.
"We need more guards!"
They came through carrying a bucket of pinecones. It fitted without touching either side.
Dovi made room on the shelf.
"Supplies," he said.
The new guards nodded seriously.
