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A small snippet from «The Iceberg Family» Audbjørg Gjerde Lippert/Tarjei Rypdal Eide (ill.)

… Ice Mother and Ice Father are also worried. First of all they think of their kids, especially of Ice Bjorg, who is so little and wild. “Watch out!” Ice Mother says before Ice Father goes on: “Watch out for the boat! You can never know…”“But is it dangerous then? Think if it just want to see how nice there is in our Ice Fjord”, Ice Finn murmurs.  He is not able to say more before the boat places itself close up to them. In it there are some strange creatures, all in blue clothes, even bluer than Aunt Ice Blue. From a device they have in their hands, and with which they point at them, comes a stream of weak clicking-sounds, – almost like the sound of the bird chicks before they manage to sing properly. The icebergs are watching them wondering and are curious to know what is going on. Ice Bjorg wonders whether she will swim closer to have a better view, or whether she will hide behind Ice Father. Close to him she always feels safe. Then something even stranger happens. They can see that a hatch in the boat opens, and that there is a big hole in it close to the sea level. Inside the hole, the blue creatures are standing very close to one another. At the same time, some orange flakes are set down on the water. The flakes look a bit like the big boat, but are much, much smaller. They float, and with a roar they drive up to the blue creatures who come out of the hole, one by one, and take place in the mini boats. When the small boats are full, they start up and come towards them in an almost endless line. Is this what is called people? Men, women and children? The Ice King wonders. He thinks about stories the whales have told him. There shall be several milliards of people elsewhere in the world, they have said.  This is frightening, because the mini boats lie just until The Iceberg Family, and with their black devices the blue creatures are clicking and clicking. There seems to be no end to it. The creatures move from place to place just like the polar bears and the seals do. “What are they doing, Daddy?” Ice Bjorg looks askingly at her father.

“I wish I knew”, he says quietly without taking his eyes away from what has come into his world. He thinks about what he has heard the whales tell about these boats that cross all the oceans. Is it their turn to be paid a visit now? What will it lead to for him and his family?