Peter and Polly in Winter, Page 4

  "Half of both halves," said grandmother. "Why?"

  "Nothing," said Peter. "I love both her halves. And I love you, too. AndI love the tree, and Christmas, and everybody."

  "And so you should," said father. "Come now, we will take Brownie to herstable. Then you may get the presents off the tree."

  THE SNOW HOUSE

  One day there was a heavy snowstorm. At the same time the wind blew. Itheaped the snow over the road in front of Polly's house.

  The snow was so deep that horses could not walk through. Men had to digthe road out.

  Mr. Howe helped to do this. Peter and Polly watched the work. Theythought it great fun.

  The men threw the snow by the side of the road. Soon the piles were veryhigh. They were twice as high as Polly could reach.

  A few days after this Polly said, "I know what we can do."

  "What?" asked Peter.

  "Let's play Eskimos."

  "How do you play it?" asked Peter.

  "Well," said Polly, "first we must make a snow house. Then we can thinkof other things to do."

  "We can't," said Peter.

  "Can't what?" asked Polly. "Can't think of things to do? I can, if youcan't."

  "No," said Peter, "we can't make a snow house. We tried. It tumbleddown. Don't you remember?"

  "I've thought how to do it, Peter. Come on. I will show you."

  Polly took Peter to the great pile of snow by the side of the road.

  "There is our house," she said. "It is all made for us."

  "That isn't any house, Polly. I think I won't play with you to-day. Youtease me. I am going to see Tim. Good-by."

  "O Peter! Wait, wait! I won't tease. I will tell you about it now. Thatis our house really and truly. But it is just the outside.

  "We must make a hole in the pile for a door. Then we must dig out theinside. Can't we do that, Peter?"

  Peter said, "Oh, yes. We can do that. I see about it now. I will help.We can dig very well.

  "We dug our cyclone hole last summer. Perhaps we shall find another boxwith silver dollars in it."

  "Perhaps we shall not, too," said Polly. "I don't expect to find thingsin the snow. People hide their gold and silver in the ground.

  "The ground does not melt. Snow does. So it would not hide their goldand silver very long."

  "Why doesn't the ground melt, Polly?"

  "Well, I don't know. You ask father. Snow melts because it is made ofwater."

  "Butter melts, sugar melts," said Peter. "They are not made of water. Iwish to know why the ground does not melt, too. I wish to know now."

  "Peter, can't you stop asking questions and go to work? See, first wemust dig a path here. Then we will begin our door."

  It took a long time to dig the path. But at last it was finished. Thenthey made a hole. It went straight into the side of the big snow pile.That was for the door.

  "Now we must hollow out a place," said Polly. "It will be our room. Wemust make it large. We shall sleep there and eat there and live there.That is the way the Eskimos do. I read it in a book at school."

  "I'd rather live in a house," said Peter. "Let's live in the house andplay out here."

  "Then we will," said Polly. "It would be cold here anyway. I shouldthink Eskimos would freeze in snow houses. But they do not."

  The next day the children scraped out more snow, and the next and thenext. At last they had made quite a large room.

  It was nearly round. The floor was packed hard. The white walls weresmooth. Polly could stand up straight in the middle.

  Mother gave them an old rug for the floor.

  She said, "Eskimos have fur rugs. You must play that this is bearskin."

  Father said, "Do you know what Eskimos call a snow house? It is igloo.Perhaps some day I will try to crawl into your igloo. I should like tosee it."

  "Oh, do, father. Then we will have a party. It is quite warm inside. Butwe can make the door bigger for you."

  "Never mind about that," said father. "Perhaps I can get a fairy toshrink me. We shall see."

  THE FALL OF THE IGLOO

  For many days the children played in their igloo. More snow fell. Theydug it out of the path. Then they could get to the door.

  "It only makes our house taller," said Polly. "It does not hurt theinside. I do not care how much snow comes on top of it."

  "You may care some day," said father. "Snow is heavy. After a while itmay break down your roof."

  "What if we are inside when the roof breaks, Peter? The snow will getdown our necks."

  "It will do more," said father. "It will bury you."

  "Will it hurt us, father?"

  "I think not. But you will look like snow men afterward."

  One day Tim was playing with Peter and Polly. They were in the igloo.Collie was outside playing with Wag-wag.

  Wag-wag could go into the igloo. But the children did not like to haveCollie there. He was so large that he took up too much room.

  Polly was the mother Eskimo. Peter was the father Eskimo. Tim was thelittle boy Eskimo.

  _Mother Eskimo._ "I think we need some meat. We need a seal. I can useits skin. I will make boots of it."

  _Father Eskimo._ "I killed a bear yesterday. Use the bearskin forboots."

  _Mother Eskimo._ "Oh, no. That would not make good boots. I needsealskin for them. Besides I wish to use the bearskin to make sometrousers. I must have new ones."

  "O Polly," said Peter, "women do not wear trousers."

  "Eskimo women do, Peter. Now you go and catch me a seal."

  _Father Eskimo._ "But it is cold. I may have to watch many hours for aseal. I must sit very still beside his hole in the ice. If I move, hewill not come up there to breathe. Perhaps I shall freeze, sitting sostill."

  _Mother Eskimo._ "No, you will not. Do I not make you good fur clothes?Do I not sew them with my good bone needle? They will keep you warm."

  _Father Eskimo._ "Yes, but don't I have to get the fur for them? That isharder than making the clothes."

  _Mother Eskimo._ "I am not so sure that it is. Should you like to scrapethe skins to clean them? Should you like to chew them to make themsoft?"

  _Father Eskimo._ "No, I should rather hunt than chew skins. So I will gonow."

  Father Eskimo crawled out of the igloo. He called to the dogs.

  "Come here, dogs. You must drag my sledge. I am going out to catch aseal. You must draw it home on the sledge."

  The dogs were jumping up and down and playing with each other. They didnot know that they were Eskimo dogs.

  Peter could not get them. He grew quite cross. He crawled back into theigloo.

  "I cannot catch the dogs," he said. "I shall not go hunting. I shall notplay Eskimo any more to-day."

  Polly started to speak. But instead she screamed. Something washappening. What were the dogs doing? Were they on the top of the igloo?

  The roof was breaking. She could see the leg of one dog stickingthrough. Then something fell on the children.

  It was the snow roof. It was also two dogs. Collie and Wag-wag hadbroken down the igloo.

  Father was just coming home. How he laughed when he saw the children andthe dogs. He pulled them out from under the snow.

  He said, "Aren't you glad you are not real Eskimos? Aren't you glad youlive in a strong house? Let's all go in and see what mother is cookingfor supper. It will not be seal meat. Tim must come, too."

  PULLING PETER'S TOOTH

  Peter had a loose tooth. It was a lower front tooth. It was his firstloose tooth. He had always wanted one.

  When Polly's teeth became loose, he would feel of his.

  He would say, "I wish I could wiggle mine, too. I wish I could pull mineout."

  Mother said, "You are not yet old enough to lose your teeth. I am gladthat you are not. Why do you wish to have a loose tooth?"

  "Because they are nice to wiggle," said Peter. "Because Polly is fasterthan I am. She has had four. I like the holes in her face, too. She canmake a funny noise through them.
It is a whistle."

  "Your turn will come by and by," said mother. "I suppose you will loseyour upper front teeth first."

  But it happened one day that Peter fell down. He bumped his nose. Healso cut his lip on a tooth.

  He must have bumped that tooth quite hard, for it became loose. Peterwas much pleased.

  "I should let it alone," said mother. "Perhaps it will grow tightagain."

  But Peter could not seem to let it alone. He wiggled it with his tongue.He wiggled it with his fingers. At last he made it very loose.

  Then he said, "Polly, I must pull my tooth."

  "Oh, let it come out," said Polly. "Two of mine did."

  "No," said Peter. "I shall pull it. You pulled one of yours with yourfingers. I shall do that."

  But the loose tooth would not come out.

  "It will not pull," said Peter. "I shall put a string on it. I shall tiethe end of the string to the door. Then I shall shut the door hard. Itwill pull my tooth. You did that."

  "Yes," said Polly. "That was fun. But I know a better way now. I willshow it to you."

  She took a flatiron. She tied a string to it. She set it on the kitchentable. Then she tied the other end of the string to Peter's loose tooth.

  She said, "This string is too short to reach the floor. You push theflatiron off the table. It will fall down and jerk out your tooth."

  "Shall I now?" asked Peter.

  "Yes, now."

  So Peter pushed the flatiron. But Polly had not been right. The stringwas too long. It reached to the floor.

  Down went the flatiron, bang! It landed on the edge of Peter's boot. Itlanded on the edge of Peter's toe, too. It hurt him, but not much. Andthe tooth did not come out.

  "Oh! Oh!" cried Peter. "It hurt my foot, it hurt my foot! It didn't pullout my tooth at all." And he started to jump up and down.

  The very first jump surprised him. Something pulled at his mouth andthen seemed to let go.

  It was the string around his tooth. He had jumped up far enough to pullthe tooth out himself.

  How Polly did laugh when she saw this!

  Peter cried, "It's out, it's out! We have found a new way! I found it!"And he got down on the floor to pick up his tooth.

  "I am going to save it to plant in my garden," he said.

  "To plant!" said Polly. "What for?"

  "So I shall have more," said Peter.

  Then Polly laughed again. She ran to tell mother about Peter's garden.

  DRIVING WITH FATHER

  One morning father said, "I am going to Large Village to-day. Youchildren may have a ride. You may go as far as Farmer Brown's. I willleave you there."

  "Oh, goody, goody!" cried Polly.

  "Oh, goody, goody!" cried Peter.

  "You are to stay to dinner. I shall have my dinner at Large Village. Runand get ready."

  "Oh, oh, oh!" cried both children at once.

  Farmer Brown lived two and one half miles away. You must follow the roadpast Mr. Howe's store to find his house.

  Peter and Polly liked to go there. They liked to see his horses, cows,sheep, pigs, and hens.

  "We can see the sheep," said Polly. "They will not be in the pasture.The snow has covered the grass. Their wool will be thicker now than itwas last summer."

  "We can see the pigs," said Peter. "Perhaps they will grunt at us."

  They drove to the farm in a low sled. When they were out of the village,Mr. Howe stopped.

  "Do you wish to ride on the runners?" he asked.

  This was a great treat. Peter and Polly could never "catch rides" onpeople's sleds. Some of the other children were allowed to do this. Butfather showed Peter and Polly how they might get hurt.

  He said, "If you 'catch rides,' I shall worry. I shall worry all thetime. So I ask you not to do it. When you drive with me, you may 'catchrides' all you please."

  So, on the way to Farmer Brown's, he drove slowly. And the childrenjumped on and off the sled at any time they wished. It was fun.

  The road followed the river all the way. But the river could not singnow. It was covered with ice.

  They passed through thick woods. Many of the trees were cedar. They areevergreens. So they had not lost their leaves.

  "Look there," said father, stopping the horse.

  On one tree were many little birds. They looked black and gray. Theywere hopping about from twig to twig. They were calling, "Chick-a-dee,chick-a-dee."

  "I know them," said Polly. "They are saying their own names over andover. They are getting their breakfast. Aren't they cold at night,father? Where do they sleep? I wish they would come to our house."

  "I hope they sleep in some old hole, Polly. Then they can keep oneanother warm. Perhaps they rent part of a woodpecker's hole for thewinter.

  "We must put out some food for the birds to-morrow. Do not let meforget."

  At last Mr. Brown's house was in sight. The farmer and his wife came tothe door to meet them.

  "Well, well," said Mr. Brown, "here are our little friends. Your cheeksare red. You look as if you had been running. Didn't your father giveyou a ride?"

  "Oh, yes," said Polly. "But we have been running behind. We have beencatching rides on his sled. He lets us.

  "He lets us ride on the runners, too. He does not wish us to do itexcept on his sled."

  "I hope that you mind him," said Mr. Brown.

  "We do," said Polly.

  "Shall we go out to the barn?" asked the farmer. "Where is Wag-wag?Didn't you bring him? He might have come."

  "I didn't know he was invited," said Polly. "Yes, let's go to the barn.Let's see everything you have there. Have you any little lambs?"

  "It is not quite time for little lambs yet. But you can see all thesheep. They look fatter than they did last summer. That is because theirwool has grown longer. When we get back, it will be dinner time."

  THE STAG

  "There is one hen that goes up into the hay," said Farmer Brown. "Ithink she lays her eggs there. But I cannot find them."

  "Let us go up into the hay to look for them," said Polly.

  So the children hunted. The barn was not very cold. Still it was not sonice as in the summer time.

  At last Polly nearly tumbled over something. It was the brown hen. Sheflew away with a loud cackle. Then Polly saw four eggs lying in the hay.

  "I've found them, I've found them!" she shouted. She gave Peter two andtook two herself. Then they went down to show Mr. Brown.

  "You have sharp eyes," he said.

  "I used to think I could see better if I had spectacles," said Polly. "Iused to think that I should have four eyes then."

  "I am going to feed the horses now," said Mr. Brown. "You may come."

  While Mr. Brown did this, Peter and Polly looked carefully at eachhorse. They were hunting for one that they knew.

  It was the old brown mare. They had ridden horseback on her last summer.That was when they went with John to hunt for the turtle's eggs.

  "There she is, I think," said Polly.

  "Are you looking for John's mare? Yes, that is the one," said FarmerBrown. "You will not need her to ride any more. I hear you have a ponyof your own."

  Then the children told him about their pony. They told him about theChristmas tree.

  "Ho, ho!" laughed Farmer Brown. "Who ever heard of a pony on a Christmastree?"

  "But think of a pony in a letter box," said Polly. And Farmer Brownlaughed still more.

  How warm the cow stable was! Polly said, "How can it be so warm? Thereis no stove."

  "The cows themselves make it warm," said Mr. Brown. "See, here is onejust the color of a deer. Isn't she pretty?"

  "I guess the deer would be glad, if they had such a nice, warm house,"said Polly.

  "Yes, the winter is hard for them. It is cold, and food is not easy tofind. There are two that sometimes come to our barnyard. I give themgrain and hay and salt."

  "I wish I could see a deer to-day," said Polly. "Let us go to thebarnyard and look."

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p; "We will feed the sheep now, Polly. You can watch for one while I amdoing that."

  When the sheep were fed, it was dinner time. After dinner Mrs. Brown letthe children play on the piazza.

  All at once Peter said, "See the pretty cow coming down from the woods.Whose is she? Perhaps she is lost."

  "Where, Peter?" asked Polly.

  "Coming across the field. Now it is right there near the fence."

  "Oh, oh!" cried Polly. "That isn't a cow. I think it is a deer. See itshorns."

  She called to Mr. Brown. Just as he came out of the house, the deerreached the fence. He walked quite close to it. Then he jumped over it.

  "A pretty jump," said Mr. Brown. "The fence is more than four feet high.That is a fine stag. A stag is a father deer, you know."

  The stag walked across the road. He jumped another high fence. Then hewent off up the railroad track.

  "Oh," said Polly, "I wish I could jump like that. He didn't run at all."

  "It was a pretty sight," said Mr. Brown. "I am sorry the old fellow didnot stop for dinner. I am afraid he will have nothing better than barkand twigs, now."

  "It wasn't a cow, was it?" asked Peter.

  "Cows can't jump like that, Peter. Though perhaps one did. I have heardof a cow that jumped over the moon. Have you?"

  "Yes, I have. But I know she didn't really. Oh, here is father. We willtell him about my pretty cow."