Mouse and Mole, A Winter Wonderland (4 page)

Mole's face turned crimson like
winter berries. He gave Sno-Mole
a high-five. The twig arm flew off.
It skittered across the ice.
"Whoops!" said Mole.
He stuck the twig back in place.

SLAP

"
Br-r!
" The frosty air
made Mole shiver.
"May I have my hat back?"
said Mole to Sno-Mole.

Mouse ducked behind the snowman.
"
I do not need a hat,
" squeaked Sno-Mole.
Mole stuffed his paws in his pockets.
"What about the scarf and
m-m-mittens?" he chattered.
"
I do not need a scarf.
I do not need mittens either,
"
giggled Sno-Mole.
"
They make me feel as snug
...
as a bug in a rug!
"

Mole yanked the hat
on his head.

Mole tied the scarf
around his neck.

He tugged on mittens and grabbed
Mouse's paw. "What about skating?"
chuckled Mole.

Mouse picked up the rope to the sled.
Together, they circled the pond.
Mouse, Mole, and Sno-Mole
made perfect figure eights,
forward and backwards.
"Yippee!" yelped Mouse.
"Yahoo!" yelled Mole.
Sno-Mole just smiled.

Dig! Dig! Dig!
Mole shoveled snow
from the door.
Scrape! Scrape! Scrape!
He cleared the snow off the steps.
Mole spotted Sno-Mole in the yard.
Mouse's snowman seemed lonely.
Mole tapped his boot.
Mole rubbed his snout.
He came up with a plan!
It began with a ball of snow...

Mouse gazed out the window.
She saw Mole beside her snowman.
Someone else was down there too!
Mouse wondered who it could be.

Quickly, she pulled on
her snow pants and
tugged on her boots:
thup, thup!

Mouse yanked a hat over her ears
and wrapped a scarf around her neck.
She buttoned her coat,
found mittens that matched,
and rushed out the door.

"Surprise!" shouted Mole.
Mouse clapped her mittens in delight.
Mole had built a snowman of his own!
Mouse took a step backwards.
The snowman looked familiar.
The snowman reminded her
of someone she knew...
"Mouse, meet
Sno-Mouse,
"
said Mole, "Sno-Mole's neighbor
and best friend!"

Mouse could not help giggling.
She gave Sno-Mouse a high-five.
The twig arm fell off.
"Whoops!" said Mouse.
She stuck the twig
back in place.
"I'll be right back," said Mole.

He returned dragging something
through the snow.
"What about sledding?" Mole chuckled.

Mouse ducked behind Sno-Mouse.
Mole hid beside Sno-Mole.
"
Bumping-jumping on a hill?
What if we should take a spill?
You go ahead, enjoy the ride.
We'll be waiting, side by side!
"
sang Sno-Mole and Sno-Mouse.
And that is exactly what they did!

ZOOM!
Mole and Mouse sped
down the hill. Mole and Mouse
hit a bump. The sled soared
through the air.
"Yahoo!" yelled Mole.
"Yippee!" yelped Mouse.
Ker-THUNK!
The sled crashed and flipped over.
Mouse and Mole tumbled
down the slope.