Tale 84 Snowflakes, the Sixfold Gems of Snowroba
You have heard of the lovely Snowroba, white calm beautiful Snowroba, the daughter of King Jackfrost the Winter King, whose sad history was told in the first Tale. You remember how her robe was trimmed with white lace and crystal gems, each gem with six points and six facets and six angles, for that is one of the strange laws of the white Kingdom, the sixfold rule of gems. I did not give a good portrait of the White Princess, but I can show you how to make the Jewels which sparkled on her robe.
Take a square of thin white paper three or four inches wide (a). Fold it across (b), and again, until it is a square (c), half as wide as “a.” Mark on it the lines as in “d,” and fold it in three equal parts as in “e.” Now with pencil draw the heavy black lines as in “f, g, h.” Cut along these lines with scissors, open out the central piece, and you have your snow-gems as on facing page.
You can see for yourself that these are true to the gem-law of the White Kingdom, if, when next the snow comes down, you look for the biggest flakes as they lie on some dark surface. You will find many patterns all of them beautiful, and all of them fashioned in accordance with the law.