- Author: Lemony Snicket
- Publisher: Harper Collins
- Copyright date: 2003
- Number of pages: 337
Plot Structure:
The story begins with Violet Baudelaire, a girl very good with mechanics, and a boy named Klaus Baudelaire, who reads every second he can. Violet and Klaus are trapped in a wagon cruising down a mountain. They have only seconds to find a way to make the cart stop. While Klaus and Violet are dealing with their dilemma, their sister Sunny Baudelaire, an infant with sharp teeth, is facing her own dilemma.
Sunny is heading up the Mortmain Mountain in the evil clutches of Count Olaf. Count Olaf is a greedy man who has been trying to steel the Baudelaire fortune for some time now. Count Olaf and his comrades are taking Sunny to Mount Fraught, which is the highest peak in the Mortmain Mountains.
First of all, Klaus and Violet finally find a way to get the cart to slow down and stop. They first tie materials behind the cart to help the cart slow down and they also put sticky material on the wheels to make the cart slow down even further until it stops. After the cart stops, Violet and Klaus turn around and head back up the mountain. To their surprise there are dozens of bugs that started chasing them. After all the bugs disappear Klaus mentions that the bugs are called Snow Gnaughts, which have stings that feel like a bee sting.
Next, Violet and Klaus stumble over a large cave with people surrounding a camp fire. The people call themselves Snow Scouts and their destination is to reach Mount Fraught before False Spring, which is when the weather turns warm during the winter. The Snow Scouts have a real weird pledge that goes through the whole alphabet saying compliments about themselves.
There is one mysterious Snow Scout named Quigley Quagmire who knows why the Baudelaire's came to the Mortmain Mountains. Quigley tells Violet and Klaus about the Vertical Flame Diversion, a chimney which leads to the place that Violet and Klaus are seeking.
Meanwhile, Sunny's conditions are deteriorating as time goes on. When Sunny arrives at Mount Fraught she is expected to set up camp even though she is only an infant. She is expected to sleep in a Tupperware bowl with punched holes. That night Sunny must prepare a fancy dinner for Count Olaf and his comrades or else she will get thrown off the ledge. Count Olaf hated the dinner and makes Sunny remake the dinner.
Finally, when Count Olaf is satisfied with the meal a man and woman arrive and state that they have burned down V.F.D., which is the place that Violet and Klaus seek. The two mysterious people hand one of Count Olaf's workers a green object that looks like a cigarette. Once Count Olaf's worker blows into the green object green smoke appears. Sunny hopes the green smoke will be a signal to her siblings.
Soon after Quigley, Klaus and Violet get up the Vertical Flame Diversion, they find themselves in a pitch black tunnel. At the end of this pitch black tunnel there is a large door with a lock. Quigley says the lock is called the Vernacularly Fastened Door and to get through the door you must type the correct code.
The words Violet, Klaus and Quigley tried to type in were Sirisaachewton, Pantheraleom, and Tragedy. These three words opened the door but when they got in all they saw was burnt scraps of paper and ashes. They were devastated to see everything in ashes. Suddenly, they notice green smoke on top of Mount Fraught and wondered if the smoke was Sunny signaling them for help.
After some time Violet and Klaus figured out the green smoke was Sunny trying to signal them. Violet invents a way to get up the icy slope and rescue Sunny. She ties forks to the bottom of their shoes and also to their hands so they can get up the slippery mountain slope. After many hours Violet, Klaus, and Quigley finally reach the top of Mount Fraught. Count Olaf refuses to give back Sunny and says he needs as many workers as he can get. Then he says that he will also trap the Snow Scouts in a net when they get to the top of Mount Fraught.
The story ends with Count Olaf trapping the poor Snow Scouts in a net after reaching Mount Fraught. Next, Count Olaf sneaks away from Violet, Quigley, Sunny, and Klaus by jumping on to the Snow Scout's net and calling eagles to fly them away. Since that day turns out to be False Spring all the ice and snow suddenly melts leaving the four friends swimming for their lives. Shortly after frantically swimming Violet, Klaus, and Sunny get to shore. However, their friend Quigley is no where to be heard or seen!
Characterization
Klaus Baudelaire is 13 years old and he has read the encyclopedia! Klaus is very smart, brave, and intelligent. Klaus is always coming up with ideas that have saved his siblings many times. Klaus is an excellent note taker throughout the story. Klaus is very resourceful because when he sees a piece of paper from the V.F.D leftovers he records it in his notebook. Klaus thinks quickly and saves the important things from the uncontrollable cart heading down the mountain. Klaus also saves a book full of important information about Count Olaf and V.F.D. Klaus may have been very resourceful, but he was also very brave.
Next, Klaus was very brave throughout the story. For instance when the snow gnaughts were attacking Violet and Klaus, Klaus remained brave as he headed up the mountain. Klaus also stood up to Count Olaf. Klaus remained brave as he and Violet hid under Count Olaf's car while talking to Sunny. If Klaus hadn't been brave, Klaus and Violet would never have found Sunny.
Finally, in the story Klaus shared all of his knowledge with Sunny and Violet. When someone asked what a word meant, Klaus would know right off the bat! For instance, when Violet asked what bugs were chasing them, Klaus replied, “Snow gnaughts, found in cold areas.” Another word Klaus knew was a word that started with x that had to do with personality.
Klaus answered, “How about the word xenial?” I don't know what xenial means! Last, Klaus figured out a very difficult riddle that I believed to be impossible for Klaus to solve. All in all, Klaus proved to be was smart, brave, and intelligent.
