Can you name these snowy stories?
Some of the most popular children's books of all time take place in snow and ice. What are these wintry tales?
1. Meanwhile Grandfather had dragged a big sledge out of the shed. To please H - - - - he went round with her to look at the snow-clad trees. Then he sat down on the sledge with her on his knees, well wrapped up in the sack to keep her warm.... They went down the mountain so fast that H - - - - felt as though she was flying....
2. Frog came into the house. "I have brought you some things to wear," he said. Frog pushed a coat down over the top of Toad. Frog pulled snowpants over the bottom of Toad. He put a hat and scarf on Toad's head. "Help!" cried Toad. "My best friend is trying to kill me!" "I am only getting you ready for winter," said Frog.
3. All that deep, deep snow, all that snow had to go. When our mother went down to the town for the day, she said, "Somebody has to clean all this away. Somebody, SOMEBODY has to, you see." Then she picked two Somebodies. Sally and me.
4. We walked on. I could feel the cold, as if someone's icy hand was palm-down on my back. And my nose and the tops of my cheeks felt cold and hot at the same time. But I never said a word. If you go owling you have to be quiet and make your own heat.
5. The mountains turned into hills, the hills to snow-covered plains. We crossed a barren desert of ice - the Great Polar Ice Cap. Lights appeared in the distance. They looked like the lights of a strange ocean liner sailing on a frozen sea. "There," said the conductor, "is the North Pole."
6. Next morning, in the darkness of the cabin, Matt made his way to the door. He could scarcely push it open. The bank of snow reached almost to the latch.... With all his preparations, he had never thought of a shovel. His axe would be about as much use as a teaspoon. He set himself to hewing a slab of firewood to make some sort of blade.... He stepped into a dazzling white world.
7. Like a bird, she has flown over the ice; like a bird, she looks about her in a timid way. She longs to dart to the sheltered nook where her father and mother stand. But Hans is beside her: the girls are crowding round. Goose-girl or not, Gretel stands acknowledged Queen of the Skaters.
8. The groundhog was right. It was a long cold winter for the birds and animals on the hill, but the little old man and the little old woman put out food for them until the warm spring came. And that was the end of THE BIG SNOW.
ANSWERS
(1) 'Heidi,' by Johanna Spyri, 1880; (2) 'Frog and Toad All Year,' by Arnold Lobel, 1976; (3) 'The Cat in the Hat Comes Back,' by Dr. Seuss, 1958; (4) 'Owl Moon,' by Jane Yolen, 1987; (5) 'The Polar Express,' by Chris Van Allsburg, 1985; (6) 'The Sign of the Beaver,' by Elizabeth George Speare, 1983; (7) 'Hans Brinker, or, The Silver Skates,' by Mary Mapes Dodge, 1915; (8) 'The Big Snow,' by Berta and Elmer Hader, 1948.
