The Snowman Who Wanted Inside

Nobody built a snowman quite like Leo. He rolled three perfect balls of snow—a big one for the bottom, a medium one for the middle, and a smaller one for the head.

He gave the snowman two coal eyes, a carrot nose, and five rocks for a smiling mouth. He added two stick arms and wrapped his own green scarf around the snowman’s neck.

"Hello, Mr. Puddles!" Leo said.

That night, Mr. Puddles stood alone in the yard. The snow was falling softly. Shhh, shhh. It was very cold, but snowmen love the cold.

Mr. Puddles looked through the living room window.

Inside, it was yellow and warm. A fire crackled in the fireplace. A big green tree sparkled with coloured lights that blinked on and off.

"Oh my," said Mr. Puddles. "It looks so lovely in there. Out here it is just… white."

He wanted to see the tree up close. He wanted to feel the warmth.

He tried to take a step. Crunch.

It worked! He waddled toward the house. Crunch, crunch, crunch.

He pressed his carrot nose against the glass.

Just then, the family cat, Mittens, jumped onto the windowsill inside. Mittens had green eyes and orange fur.

"Hello," said Mr. Puddles through the glass. "Can I come in to see the tree?"

Mittens meowed. "It’s very hot in here. You are made of snow. Snow melts when it gets hot. You would become a puddle."

"Is that why Leo named me Mr. Puddles?" asked the snowman worriedly.

"Probably," said Mittens. "Stay there. I will bring the Christmas to you."

Mittens jumped down. A minute later, she returned with a string of popcorn in her mouth. She nudged the window open just a crack and pushed the end of the popcorn string outside.

Mr. Puddles caught it with his stick hand. Mittens pushed out a shiny red ornament. Then she pushed out a little toy soldier.

Mr. Puddles draped the popcorn around his snowy neck like a necklace. He hung the red ornament on one stick arm and held the toy soldier in the other.

He looked at his reflection in the window.

He looked festive.

"Thank you, Mittens," whispered Mr. Puddles.

The next morning, Leo looked out the window.

"Mum! Dad! Look at Mr. Puddles! The wind must have blown decorations right onto him!"

Mr. Puddles smiled his rock smile. He didn’t need to go inside anymore.

He had his very own Christmas, right out in the snow.