Children's literature -- Periodicals; Christian literature for children -- Periodicals
In the same street lived Joey Rodman, who was about Bobby's age. The
afternoon that Bobby made the snow man Joey kept throwing stones. Bobby
tried not to mind. There was lots of snow in the yard, and he made the
snow man unusually large. The other children helped him, but Joey kept
calling out and throwing things, and at last he knocked off the head of
the snow man just as Bobby had put in two bits of coal for the eyes.
Bobby could not stand that. He ran after Joey, and Joey dodged and
began to call him names. Joey's sister, Sadie, who cared for the six
children, heard the noise in the yard below.
"Do you think it's your yard?" she called out to Bobby. "It is just as
much Joey's yard as it is yours!"
Then Bobby's mother opened her window. "Come in, Bobby!" she said; and
when Bobby left the snow man and climbed upstairs, she said, "Son, we
mustn't quarrel with our neighbors, you know."
"But Joey threw stones--"
"Never mind," said mother. "We won't talk about that. Perhaps we'll get
to be friends with Joey after a while. And you remember about coals of
fire."
That was mother's rule. Bobby knew that text about coals of fire so
well!
"But I don't see how you could ever make coals of fire out of a snow
man, mother!" he said. And then mother laughed, and he laughed, too.
After a while, Joey and the other children ran out into the street to
play. Bobby went down and finished the snow man with no one to trouble
him. He put on the head again, and placed an old broom under its arm. He
put it in very tight, so that no one could take it out easily.
Joey's sister, Sadie, was bringing things out to the roof of the
two-story extension. It was a tin roof, and sloped a bit. Suddenly her
foot slipped, and she lost her balance. She clutched at a clothesline,
but it snapped. Down she came, and Bobby stood speechless with fright.
But the snow man--the heroic snow man--was there to save her. Standing
firm and erect, he received the shock of Sadie's fall. It was too much
for his head. He lost that first, and then, as he went all to pieces, he
made a pillow for Sadie. Bobby ran forward.
"Oh, oh, I never will say a word against that boy!" she said, sitting up
in the snow. "His snow man has saved me!" Bobby's mother came running
downstairs and out into the yard.
"You poor child!" she said. "But I don't believe there's a bone broken.
Come right in and I'll give you a cup of hot tea."
Sadie came, and Bobby followed. Behind him came Joey, and the two boys
lingered round while the tea was made. Sadie drank it, and smiled at
Bobby's mother.
"We're neighbors. I always like my neighbors, and I want to help them if
I can," said Bobby's mother.
"Well, you can count me as a neighbor who likes you," said Sadie. "Come
along, Joey--and mind you behave to Bobby like a good neighbor, too."
Bobby climbed into his mother's lap after they had gone upstairs. "Coals
of snow are all right," he whispered in her ear.
--_Selected._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account