WHAT THE SNOW-MAN DID

Ir was twelve years ago, and midwinter. There had
been good skating at Rockville for nearly a week; but, on
a certain cold Friday, it suddenly began to snow. The
great white flakes came down, slowly at first, then more
rapidly, until the air seemed a tumultuous mass of eider-
down. Then the eround, the fences, the trees, began to
take their share, and the whole country-side grew white.
In the city, not far off, people bemoaned the “ bad walking”
that already threatened them ; but country folk as promptly
looked forward to sleigh-rides and frolic.

The boys and girls of Rockville reveled in the discus-
sion of various plays for Saturday if it should keep on
snowing. Thoughts of snowballing, fort-building, coast-
ing, and all kinds of snow sport scurried through their busy
young noddles ; and, as soon as they came out of school, the
boys and girls divided off into merry groups, some eagerly
chatting, some frolicking in the soft snow; while a party
of five boys dashed off toward the large, frozen pond half
a mile away. These were the shinny-boys. They had
agreed to play a game of shinny on the ice after school

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