Up in the mountains of North Carolina near Blowing Rock, there was this really nice house. It had a big ol’ lawn that went all the way down toward the road. Now in this particular year that I want to tell you this story about, it snowed nearly every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was gonna be a sure ‘nough white Christmas, and Billy and Sally, the little boy and little girl who lived in the house, were really excited about that.
One day when it was nice outside, they went out and got a little ball of snow, which they started rolling around on the lawn. It got bigger and bigger and rounder and rounder ’til they finally had the nicest, biggest ball of snow you’ve ever seen. Then they got another little ball of snow and rolled it around ’til they got another perfectly rounded ball, which they put up on the base. Then they got a third ball and rolled it around ’til it was about the size of a big pumpkin. They had to get Dad to come out and help them put it on the top. Then they stood back and looked. And there in the front yard stood the most beautiful Snowman they’d ever seen!
But they knew they weren’t finished yet, so they went back in the house and got some other things. They came back out and put a fancy top hat right up on the Snowman’s head. Then they dressed him in a black, silk, swallow-tailed coat, and wrapped a brand new wool scarf around his neck. They used some shiny pieces of coal for his eyes and mouth, and in the middle of his face, they stuck in a large carrot for his nose. Then Dad donated one of his pipes, which they stuck in the Snowman’s teeth. They stood back and looked at their Snowman. They all agreed that he was the most glorious Snowman in all the world.
Now, around the back of the house, back in the kitchen garden, there was a Scarecrow. He’d been standing there for months doing his job, which was chasing the crows away, but the family had just about forgotten about him. He’d started out in the spring as a really fine looking Scarecrow, but having stood outside from spring all the way up ’til Christmas, he was starting to get worn out. Most of the straw had leaked out of his pant legs, which were just flappin’ in the breeze. His coat wasn’t much more than rags, and the scarf around his neck was worn and almost nonexistent. He had a fine straw hat at one time, but now it had a big hole right in the back.
Now, like I said, it’d been snowing and had gotten real cold as it got closer to Christmas. One day, a shivering little bird came flying out of the woods and landed in front of the Snowman.
“Oh, Mr. Snowman,” he said, “could I maybe get up in your hat and just get a little bit warm? The wind is blowing so hard, and I’m such a cold little bird and…”
The Snowman looked down at the bird in disgust. He wasn’t about to let some dirty old bird nest in his fine clothes. “What are you talking about?” he gruffly replied. “I am the Snowman. Look at me! I’m the finest Snowman you could ever hope to meet. You can’t get in my hat – why, it just wouldn’t be proper! Now go away! Just go!”
So the little bird went around the back of the house, and there he saw the Scarecrow. He went up to him and asked him the same thing. The Scarecrow looked down and grinned.
“Why, little buddy, I’ll tell you what – why don’t you just fly on up into the hole in my hat and nestle yourself up in there? It’ll be fine! I’d love to have company for Christmas!”
So that’s what the little bird did.
A little while later, a tiny mouse scampered out of the woods and came up to the great Snowman. “Oh, Mr. Snowman, ” he said, “I’m so cold. My feet are cold, my ears are cold – even the tip of my little tail is cold! Is there any way I can climb up into your pocket just for a minute so I can get warm?”
“A mouse?” the Snowman grumbled. “In my pocket? Surely you must be joking me! I could never have a dirty old mouse in my beautiful suit pocket! Never! Now get away!”
So the little mouse ran around to the back of the house, and saw the Scarecrow. He asked him the same thing. The Scarecrow looked at him and chuckled.
“Buddy, I’ll tell you what. I already got a bird in my hat, so it ain’t gonna make no never mind. In fact – the more the merrier! We can all just have Christmas together! Climb on up here!”
Later on, a little rabbit came hopping out of the woods, stopped in front of the Snowman, and said, “Oh, Mr. Snowman, my babies are in the woods, and they’re so cold. I was wondering if I could just have just a tiny square off your nice scarf. Just so I could put in the nest so they can be warm. Please?”
“What?” roared the Snowman, now truly annoyed. “My scarf? You must have mistaken me for someone who cares! I would never give you a piece of my beautiful new scarf! Now go away!”
So the little rabbit hopped around the back of the house, found the Scarecrow, and asked him the same thing.
“This ol’ rag around my neck?” the Scarecrow asked. “Why, there ain’t enough of it there to know that it even is a scarf. Why don’t you just take the whole thing back there to your babies? Give ’em the warmest nest they can have!”
The rabbit did so. And there they spent Christmas – the great Snowman, glistening and shining, the awe of everyone who saw him. And in the back was the ragged ol’ Scarecrow, with a bird in his hat, a mouse in his pocket, and the knowledge that in the woods there was a warm nest of baby bunnies, snuggled in his scarf.
Well, a little while after Christmas, a warm spell set in. And the sun came up bright and shining over the hills one morning, and it hit the Snowman first. He sighed with pleasure. “Of course, I should be the first one warm,” he thought, “For I am the Snowman. And the sun feels so good shining on me. It’s so…”
Suddenly, he felt something drip into his eyes. “Wait a minute,” he thought. “What’s going on here? It doesn’t appear to be raining. Why is there water in my eyes?”
Just as he said that, more water poured into his eyes. A stream of water gushed down his belly. Before he could react – SHOOM! – everything went dark. The Snowman first thought that the sun had suddenly gone down. Then he realized that it was his fancy hat – it had fallen over his eyes!
“Why has my hat gotten bigger?” he thought, now beginning to panic. “It fit me a few days ago. I can’t see a thing! And all this water, it’s…”
Then he suddenly figured it out. “It’s me!” he said. All this water is coming from me! I’m melting!”
And before long, the Snowman was nothing but a puddle in the front yard, with a pile of coal, his fancy clothes, the pipe and the carrot being all that remained of him.
Since it was a nice warm day, Sally and Billy’s mama ran them out of the house. They’d been cooped up inside since Christmas, and she wanted them to go out and play with their new toys.
While they were outside playing, they noticed that their Snowman was gone. They were sad, but they knew there’d be more snow coming soon enough, and they could always build another one.
As they carried all the items they’d put on the Snowman toward the house, they suddenly noticed, for the first time in months, the trustworthy Scarecrow standing in the back garden. They saw that he no longer had a scarf, that his coat was in tatters, and his hat was worn out and had a big ol’ hole in the back – with a bird’s nest in it!
Sally and Billy both came up with the same idea. They headed toward the Scarecrow, took off his old hat and replaced it with the Snowman’s fine top hat. They took off his worn coat and dressed him in the black swallow-tailed coat. Then they wrapped the fine woolen scarf around his neck.
They stepped back, smiled and admired their handiwork. Both agreed that he was just about the finest looking Scarecrow they’d ever seen.
Just goes to show you that you ought to do good every chance you get. ‘Cause when you’re just a puddle, it’s not the stuff you had that folks remember, but the good things you’ve done.
And that’s the story of the Snowman and the Scarecrow.
– THE END –
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