Snowflake Lullaby

(hushed, music-box lullaby)

Hush little molecule, drifting down slow Up in the sky where the cold breezes blow You were a droplet, all soft and round — Now you are sleepy, and homeward-bound

Cold slips in, and you slow your dance Cold slips in, and you take a chance Reach out a hand, find a tiny friend Click... click... this is where we mend

Six little arms, at the gentlest bend — That's the angle that water molecules send Never a four, never a five, never a three — Always the six, that's how water will be

Snowflake, snowflake, click into place Snowflake, snowflake, lacey bit of grace Every one different, every one true — But always six arms, and each arm askew

Hush little molecule, find your pair Match up your shoulders, match up your hair Line up together in a quiet little row — Crystals are just molecules that know where to go

Salt does the same, in a cube-shaped dream Sugar does the same, in a sparkling gleam Diamonds are carbons all locked up tight — Gemstones are crystals that catch the light

Snowflake, snowflake, click into place Snowflake, snowflake, lacey bit of grace Every one different, every one true — But always six arms, and each arm askew

(softer still)

Molecules fast, molecules slow Fast ones fly, and slow ones glow When they're slow enough to stop and look They settle down like the rhyme of a book

Not a jumble, not a pile — A pattern that repeats a while Up and down, and side to side A quiet little grid, so wide, so wide

That's a crystal, little one Made of patience, not of sun LiQuo molecules, drifting deep Click together in their sleep

Snowflake, snowflake, click into place Snowflake, snowflake, lacey bit of grace Every one different, every one true — But always six arms, and each arm askew

Tiny Solidic, born from the slow Sparkling on the windowsill aglow Catch one gentle on your mitten sleeve — Look very close... and you'll believe...

(whisper) Every snowflake is a tiny song A pattern molecules agreed all along Six little arms, at the gentlest bend — Goodnight, little crystal... dream without end.

Key Concepts: Crystallization = molecules slowing down and locking into a repeating pattern | Snowflakes show six-fold symmetry because water molecules bond at a consistent angle | Salt (cubes), sugar, diamonds, gemstones are all crystals — same trick, different molecule | Crystals = ordered solids, not just any solid

Character: LiQuo droplets settle into Solidic snowflakes in slow motion | First lullaby-scale reveal of why snowflakes have six arms | "Click... click... this is where we mend."