The next morning they all had a good laugh over the drum and the alarm clock, and Laddie and Russ had fun making it go off again. The clock was one that had never kept good time, and so had been tossed away in the attic, which held so many things with which the children could have fun.

"Want to help us, Rose?" asked Russ after breakfast, when the children had on their rubber boots, ready to go out and play in the snow.

"What you going to do?" she asked.

"Make a snow man," Russ answered. "We're going to make another big one--bigger than the one the rain spoiled."

"It'll be lots of fun," added Laddie.

"I'll help," offered Rose.

"Comin', Vi?" asked Laddie.

But Violet, Mun Bun and Margy were going to coast on a little hill which d.i.c.k had made for them, so the three Bunkers began to make the snow man.

As Russ had said, they were going to make a large one. So big b.a.l.l.s were rolled and moulded together, and after a while the pile of white flakes began to look like a man, with arms sticking out, and big, fat legs on which to stand.

"Grandpa said we could have one of his old tall silk hats to put on Mr.

White," said Russ. "That will make him look fine."

"Who is Mr. White?" asked d.i.c.k, who was pa.s.sing at that moment.

"The snow man," answered Laddie. "That's what we're going to call him.

'Pleased to meet you, Mr. White!'" he exclaimed with a laugh, as he made a bow.

Soon Mr. White was finished, with the tall hat and all. There were pieces of black coal for b.u.t.tons, while some red flannel made him look as if he had very red lips. A nose was made of snow, and bits of coal were his eyes.

"Let's make a Mrs. White!" exclaimed Rose. "And then some little White children, and we can have a whole family," she added.

"Oh, yes, let's do it!" cried Laddie.

"All right," agreed Russ.

But just as they were going to start to make Mrs. White they heard a cry from the spot where the other children were coasting.

"Oh, Mun Bun's hurt!" shouted Rose, and, dropping her shovel, she ran toward the hill.

CHAPTER XXII

AN UPSET

Russ followed his sister over the snow to the place where d.i.c.k had made the little hill. If there was trouble Russ wanted to help, for, though Rose was the "little mother," Russ felt he must do his share to help her.

They found that Mun Bun had rolled off the sled in going down a little hill and had toppled into a snow bank.

"But that didn't hurt you!" said Rose, laughing as she picked him up.

"There, sister will kiss the place and make it better. You only got a little snow up your sleeve, and it makes your arm cold."

"But I b.u.mped my head, too!" sobbed Mun Bun.

"Well, I'll rub that and make it well," said Rose, and she did.

"But I'm hungry, too," added Mun Bun.

"Oh, I can't rub your hungry away," and Rose laughed so merrily that Mun Bun stopped his crying and laughed too. So did Margy.

"What makes us get hungry?" asked Violet, as Mun Bun let Rose brush the snow from him. "What makes us?"

"It's when something tickles us in our stomachs," answered Laddie. "I know, 'cause I feel that way right now. I wish I had something to eat."

"So do I," said Margy. "My stomach doesn't zactly tickle, but it's hungry."

"Well, I'll go and ask Grandma for some cookies," offered Russ. "She always has a lot in a jar, and they taste awful good. I'll be back in a minute."

Away he ran to the house which was surrounded by the great, high hedge, and soon he came back with both hands and his pockets filled with sugar and mola.s.ses cookies.

"I brought two kinds," he said, "'cause I thought some of you would want one kind, and I might want both kinds."

The making of the snow man and the coasting down the little hill stopped while the children ate their cookies, and then, after a while, Russ said:

"Well, we must finish the White family."

"What's that?" asked Violet, brushing some cookie crumbs off her jacket.

"Oh, it's a snow family we're making," explained Rose. "There's Mr.

White and Mrs. White and we're going to make some little White snow children."

"Like us six little Bunkers?" asked Mun Bun.

"No, I guess not so many as that," replied Laddie. "That would take us all day. We'll just make two children, a girl and a boy."

"Oh, I'm going to help make the White children!" cried Vi.

"Let's go an' watch 'em!" called Margy to Mun Bun. "We've had enough coasting, haven't we?"

"Yes," said Mun Bun. "We'll make some snow mans ourselves."

With the smaller children dragging their sleds and following them, Russ and Rose and Laddie and Vi went back to where they had left Mr. White standing. There he was, very fine and brave-looking with his tall silk hat on his head, his coal-black eyes glistening in the sun, and his row of black b.u.t.tons also shining.

All at once, as Russ, who was in the lead of the procession of children, looked at the snow man, he cried:

"Oh!"

"What's the matter?" asked Rose.