The cold breeze whistled about Simon, stinging his face like a small swarm of bees. The grey world of the frozen forest slowly faded into darkness the further he journeyed into the cave. All about him long icicles hung all about, catching the light in bizarre ways.

Simon began to think of the frozen cave as a monster, a large frozen ice monster that was swallowing him like Jonah and the whale. The dark cave became its open mouth, flung wide with hunger. The icicles, the monster’s long razor sharp teeth, anxious to pierce and chew. The damp stale air took on the quality of the monster’s breath.

“Hello!” Simon called into the monster, and heard his greeting echo back at him. The hungry monster was at least politely conversational with its potential dinner.

Simon imagined his echoes came from the belly of the beast around him. They were the cries of unfortunate campers who’d been sleeping near by one night when the monster came up from beneath the ground and swallowed them whole. Simon heard them calling from within the monster. A chilly sinister breeze blew about the cave as though the monster were laughing at the thought of Simon saving the trapped campers.

How to do it? Perhaps he could tickle the monster’s uvula and make it puke his victim up? Or he could tie a rope between himself and one of the larger teeth to climb down and rescue the campers? Or maybe he’d just be able to throw down a ladder for them to climb out, if the stomach wasn’t too far down?

The imaginary campers weren’t to be rescued that day, sadly, as riding on the breeze to Simon was the voice of his nanny calling out “Simon! Simon! It’s time to go!”

Slowly, and with resolve, Simon backed himself out of the monster’s mouth, not wanting to turn his back on the beast. Once clear of the cave’s maw he dashed back through the forest to his nanny. The monster would sleep well fed that night, and the imaginary campers would sleep another night in the stomach of the fantastical frigid imaginary beast.