“Don’t you hear him?” asked Flossie, who was so excited she did not know what to do.  “Don’t you hear him, Dinah?”

“Yes, I heahs him all right,” replied the colored cook, “but I can’t see him, honey lamb.”

“He’s under the snow!  In the snow house!” Flossie went on.  “The roof fell on him because Snap jumped on it when I came in here to get the cookies.  Oh, Dinah, will you help get him out?”

“Git Freddie lamb out?  Course I will!  In de snow house wid de roof fell in on him!  Oh mah land ob massy!” cried Dinah.  “It’s jest laik it done happened once befo’ when Bert made a bigger house.”

She caught up a big spoon, which she used to stir the pancakes, and rushed out to the yard, Flossie running after her.  Up to the big pile of snow, which did not look much like a house now, ran the cook.  Then, just as she might have stirred a cake with the big spoon, she began digging in the snow.  It was almost as good as a shovel.

In a little while Freddie’s head was uncovered, and then it was easy to get him out.  He wasn’t hurt a bit, only a little scared, and he laughed when Dinah and Flossie brushed the snow off him.

“But you can’t brush out what’s down my neck, inside my coat,” he said, squirming about.  “It’s cold, and it tickles.”

“Snow down inside your clo’hes!” exclaimed Dinah.  “Den yo’ got t’ come right in de house an’ hab it tucken out.  You’ll ketch cold ef yo’ don’t.”

“Maybe you could get it out if you stood me on my head and wiggled me,” Freddie said, after thinking about it.  “Could you try that, Dinah?”

“Try what, honey lamb?”

“Take hold of my feet, you and Flossie, and stand me on my head.  Then the snow will run down from under my coat and I won’t have to go in and undress.  I don’t want to do that.  I want to build the snow house up again.”

Dinah laughed.

“Ho! ho!” she said.  “I’m not gwine t’ do such t’ing as dat!  No, sah!  Yo’ come, in de house an’ git dry t’ings on,” and with that she caught Freddie up under one arm and marched him into the house, where he soon changed into dry clothes.

“Now you can go out to play again,” his mother said, “but don’t go in any snow houses unless you are sure the roof is thick enough to keep from falling in on you.  The sun is so warm now, I don’t believe it will be safe to make snow houses.  Play at something else.”

“All right, Mother, we will,” promised Flossie and Freddie.

They took the cookies which Flossie had forgotten about in the excitement and, after eating them, the two children made another snow man; for the first one, and his “little boy” as they called him, had melted into mere lumps.

For about a week the weather was warm, and most of the first snow melted.  Then came another storm, which covered the ground deep with white flakes, and once more the coasting hill was lively with the shouting, laughing and merry boys and girls.