Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1886-12-07
THE SNOW IMAGE.
a CHILDISH MIRACLE.

One aitsrnoon OF cold winters day.
when the SUI .hons forth With chilly
brightness. after long storm. i~o ehiI'
dr,n asked leave Of their mother TO run
on, and play 10 the ne~.fsllen 'no-.
The elder child ~.s = little girl called
Violet, ba, her brother W. known by
the .,yl, and title Of PeOny. on account,
Of the ruddine., Of hi, broad aud round
little phir. which made everybody think
Of sunshine and great scsrle, ho"er'
The father Of ,h,-e two children. q Ger.
tain Mr.. Lindsey. wn Al excellent mat
ter Of fact .ori Of msn; the mothers .
character. on the other hand. had .
strain Of poetry in IL.
The good lady bundled up her dn:
ling. in woolen jackets and wadded
sacks. and pa, oomfOrtsr round their
neek.. and pair OF striped CATERS on
each little pair Of legs. and wOn,ed nit
tens on their hands. aud gave them .
ais. apiece by way Of spell 70 keep
away Jack Frost. Forth sailed the i-o
children with hoP-.kiP.snd JnmP, that
carried them si once into the heart OF "a
huge .now.drih. whence viole, emerged
Ike . sno~. bunting. ~hpe TITLE Peony
fl5undsred out with bis rOard face In
full bloom.
lyon look exactly like . snov-imsge.
Peony," said Violet, iii your cheeks were
no, 90 red. And ,hs, puts me in mind
IL, u, make an image out Of sao~-An
image Of little girl-and !, shall be our
sister, and .hsll run abou, ard play -i,h
u. all winter long, won't !, be
nice y
AID forthwith the children began this
great business Of making . sno~.imsse
,ha, should run abou, ; while their mo-
th,r. who va, sitting q, the window and
overheard some Of their talk. could no,
help smiling q, the gravity with which
they se, aboa, IL. They seemed really TO
imsgin thu, there could be no difficulty
whatever 10 creating . live little girl ou,
Of snow. Moreover. IL ". really won.
derful 10 observe how knowingly and
.killfally they managed the matter.
v,ole, assumed the chief direction. and
told Peony what to do. While. with her
own delicate fagers sh. shaped out ell
the nicer parts o! the sno~.hgure. i,
seemed. in fact. no, 90 much TO be made
by the children. q. to grow up under
their hands. while they were playing and
praiiling about IL.
"peoay," cried Violet, "bring me
those lish, wres,hs OF snow that have
rested on the lower branches OF the pear
tree. l must have them to make some
rinsleu for our snow sisters head"
"Hsre they are, Violet" answered
the liule boy. "Tske care and do no,
break them. Well done. How pref
yw -,
"Does she no, look swee,ly" ssid
Violet. in . very sati'fsd tone "snd
now We mus, have some little shining
bits Of ice TO make the brightness OF hs'
eyes. Mamma Look out. and see What
. nice little girl We are making y
The mother pa, down her work fo'
On instant, and looked cut OF the win
dow. But !, 20 happened that the 'uu
for this Was one Of the shortest days
Of The whole yesr-hsd sunksn so nsahy
to the edge Of the world that bis ss,'iug
shine came obliquely into the lady's eye,
| So she Vas dsrzled, you muss understand
and could not very distinctly oessrv'
what Was in the garden. Indistinetly
a. she discernsd the SNOW child. the mo-
,hsr thought TO herself that never before
was there . snow figure 90 cunninsl,
made. nor ever such . dear little gir
and boy to maks II.
AL Of . sudden. Violet cried out
loudly ard joyously; "Look here Peo
ny Come quickly! A light has bee'
shining on hsr cheek cut OF the rose
eolorsd cloud. and the color ooss no, z
away. Il not that beautiful"