The mother, as she listened, thought how fit and delightful an incident it would be, if fairies, or, still better, if angel-children were to come from paradise, and play invisibly with her own darlings, and help them to make their snow-image, giving it the features of celestial babyhood!  Violet and Peony would not be aware of their immortal playmates—­only they could see that the image grew very beautiful while they worked at it, and would think that they themselves had done it all.

“My little girl and boy deserve such playmates, if mortal children ever did!” said the mother to herself; and then she smiled again at her own motherly pride.

Nevertheless, the ideas seized upon her imagination; and ever and anon, she took a glimpse out of the window, half dreaming that she might see the golden-haired children of paradise sporting with her own golden-haired Violet and bright-cheeked Peony.

Now, for a few moments, there was a busy and earnest, but indistinct hum of the two children’s voices, as Violet and Peony wrought together with one happy consent.  Violet still seemed to be the guiding spirit, while Peony acted rather as a labourer, and brought her the snow from far and near.  And yet the little urchin evidently had a proper understanding of the matter, too!

“Peony, Peony!” cried Violet; for the brother was again at the other side of the garden.  “Bring me those light wreaths of snow that have rested on the lower branches of the pear-tree.  You can clamber on the snow-drift, Peony, and reach them easily.  I must have them to make some ringlets for our snow-sister’s head!”

“Here they are, Violet!” answered the little boy.  “Take care you do not break them.  Well done!  Well done!  How pretty!”

“Does she not look sweet?” said Violet, with a very satisfied tone; “and now we must have some little shining bits of ice, to make the brightness of her eyes.  She is not finished yet.  Mamma will see how very beautiful she is; but papa will say, ’Tush! nonsense!—­come in out of the cold!’”

“Let us call mamma to look out,” said Peony; and then he shouted lustily, “Mamma! mamma!! mamma!!!  Look out, and see what a nice ’ittle girl we are making.”

The mother put down her work, for an instant, and looked out of the window.  But it so happened that the sun—­for this was one of the shortest days of the whole year—­had sunken so nearly to the edge of the world, that his setting shine came obliquely into the lady’s eyes.  So she was dazzled, you must understand, and could not very distinctly observe what was in the garden.  Still, however, through all that bright, blinding dazzle of the sun and the new snow, she beheld a small white figure in the garden, that seemed to have a wonderful deal of human likeness about it.  And she saw Violet and Peony—­indeed, she looked more at them than at the image—­she saw the two children still at work; Peony bringing fresh snow, and Violet applying it to the figure as scientifically as a sculptor adds clay to his model.  Indistinctly as she discerned the snow-child, the mother thought to herself that never before was there a snow-figure so cunningly made, nor ever such a dear little girl and boy to make it.