The great big snowball made the body of the snow man and a smaller ball was his head.  They made him arms, too, and stuck a broomstick through one so that he looked, a little way off, as though he were carrying a gun.

“He ought to have some face,” said Sunny Boy, when they had this much done.

“Get some coal,” suggested Oliver.  “You can make eyes and a nose and a mouth with pieces of coal.”

Sunny Boy went into the house and asked Harriet if he could, have some coal to make a face for his snow man.

“Take some coal for his eyes,” said Harriet.  “And here is a strip of apple skin which will make him a handsome mouth.  And perhaps the boys would like an apple to eat.  I’ll put half a dozen in a basket for you.”

Sunny Boy took several pieces of coal from the scuttle standing near the kitchen range and a piece of apple skin Harriet gave him and the basket of apples.  The boys ate the apples right away and let the snow man wait for his eyes and mouth.

“You put in his eyes, Sunny Boy,” said Oliver, when his apple was eaten and even the core had disappeared.  “You put in his eyes and I’ll fix his mouth.”

“Let me put on his hat,” begged Harry Winn, when eyes and mouth were in place.  “Get out the way, fellows, and let me put on his hat.”

They all wanted to put the snow man’s hat on for him, all except Sunny Boy.  He had several broken bits of coal left over and he wanted to put those down the front of the snow man so that they would look like buttons on his coat.

“I’m going to put the hat on,” said Harry.

“I’ll fix the buttons now,” Sunny Boy said happily.

Harry snatched the old felt hat Harriet had given to the snow man from Oliver, who held it.  Oliver made a dash for Harry and the other boys tried to trip him.  Around and around the yard they went, laughing and shouting, while Sunny Boy calmly stuck pieces of coal down the white front of the snow man and pretended they were buttons on his coat.

[Illustration:  Sunny Boy calmly stuck pieces of coal down the white front of the snow man.]

“I said I’d do it!” shouted Harry, jumping for the snow man and landing half way up his back.

He meant to clap the hat on the snow man’s head and jump back.  But, before he could do this, the other four boys tumbled on top of him and the snow man.  Over went the whole statue, and the two huge balls of snow fell squarely on Sunny Boy, just as Daddy and Grandpa Horton, who had come home from the office early, stepped out on the back porch.

Sunny Boy was too surprised to be frightened, and before he had time to wonder what had struck him, Daddy had him out and was brushing the snow out of his ears and eyes.

“Are you hurt, Sunny Boy?” asked Harry.  “I didn’t mean to knock the snow man over, honestly I didn’t.”

“There’s snow down my neck,” said Sunny Boy, wriggling.  “But nothing hurt me.  Only the snow man is all gone.”