CHAPTER 1 A Winter Surprise Our snowman’s ready for his head Ricky Hollister proudly told his brother and sisters Can we fi nish him before schooltime asked Holly Sure spoke up Pete He stepped back to admire the huge snowball which formed the snowman’s body Th e fi ve Happy Hollister children had rolled it in their front yard Oh it’s keen said Pam her eyes sparkling with delight Come on Sue baby let’s make the head Another fl uff y snowball was rolled quickly and the two boys lifted it into place But Ricky on his tiptoes started to slip backward To save himself he fl ung his arms about the snowman’s head Look out Pam shrieked She was too late Ricky fell to the ground and the snow head splattered in his face Oh dear Pam said sympathetically Are you hurt When Ricky’s freckled face grinned through the bits of snow all the children burst out laughing Nothing bothered red-haired Ricky who was seven a year old er than pig-tailed Holly Dark-haired Sue was four 7
youngest of the Hollisters and handsome Pete twelve the oldest He had blond hair like Pam who was ten As Ricky stood up and wiped the snow from his rosy face Pam said Don’t worry We can make our snow man another head Just then the front door of the Hollister home opened A slender smiling woman stepped out onto the porch Time for school Mrs Hollister called Th e children raced up onto the porch where their mother kissed each one good-by and handed them their by and handed them their by schoolbooks Hurry she urged It was Friday and the last day before winter vaca tion which added to the children’s joy Now they would have a week to play in the snow provided the February weather remained cold enough Th e four Hollisters arrived in Lincoln School just as the last bell was ringing Rosy-cheeked they kicked off their boots removed their winter garments and took seats in their various classrooms But the thoughts of each child kept wandering back to the half-fi nished snowman When Ricky was asked by his teacher how much six times six was he was dreamily looking out the window Quickly he answered A snowman’s head and every one laughed It seemed to the boy as if the hands of the clock crept very slowly toward dismissal time that afternoon Finally the last bell rang and the children trooped out of school Ricky and Holly were among the fi rst to dash along the school sidewalk 8
Come on let’s take the short cut home and fi nish the snowman Ricky urged Holly nodded and followed her brother By cutting cater-cornered across a fi eld they could save time Both had to step high in the knee-deep snow and Holly had a diffi cult time Once she stopped for a moment to tuck her pigtails into the hood of her snow suit Wait for me she pleaded and her breath came out in little white puff s Ricky took his sister’s hand and together they plod ded across the sparkling white fi eld When they burst into their yard the two stopped short in amazement Yikes Ricky exclaimed Our snowman has a head And arms too Holly said staring unbelievingly Not only did the frosty white fi gure have a head and face but he wore a stocking cap the peak of which drooped down at a rakish angle nearly touching his car rot nose Th e snowman’s eyes made of two pieces of coal sparkled in the afternoon sunshine For a mouth he had a banana that turned up at the corners As Ricky and Holly continued to blink in astonish ment their snowman began to speak in a deep hollow voice Hello there he said I needed a head to think with so I grew one while you were at school He’s he’s talking Holly cried in awe At this moment Pete and Pam raced up skidding to a halt to stare at the snowman Th e deep voice continued Ho ho You act as though you’d never seen a talking snowman before You’re the Happy Hollisters aren’t you 9
