once upon a time there lived a peasant called ivan , and he had a wife whose name was marie . they would have been quite happy except for one thing : they had no children to play with , and as they were now old people they did not find that watching the children of their neighbours at all made up to them for having one of their own . one winter , which nobody living will ever forget , the snow lay so deep that it came up to the knees of even the tallest man . when it had all fallen , and the sun was shining again , the children ran out into the street to play , and the old man and his wife sat at their window and gazed at them . the children first made a sort of little terrace , and stamped it hard and firm , and then they began to make a snow woman . ivan and marie watched them , the while thinking about many things .
they had no children to play with .
why were ivan and marie unhappy ?
why were ivan and marie unhappy ?