One Saturday afternoon about a week after the country visitors had gone home, when Dinah had finished baking bread, cake and pies, Mrs. Bobbsey said: 

“I wish Mrs. Todd had some of these good things.  But I haven’t time to go down there to-day, and Bert and Nan are away.”

“Let us go, Mother,” begged Flossie.  “Freddie and I can carry the basket easily.”

“Well, I suppose you could,” said Mrs. Bobbsey slowly.  “It isn’t very cold out to-day, though it looks as if it would snow.  But perhaps it won’t until you get back.  You know the way to Mrs. Todd’s now, and it isn’t too far for you.  But hurry back.”

The little twins promised, and were soon on their way.  They had often gone on long walks by themselves, for they knew their way fairly well about the city, and down toward Tommy’s house there were few wagons or automobiles, so it was safe for them.

Carrying the basket of good things Flossie and Freddie were soon at the place where Mrs. Todd lived.

“You are good little ones to come so far to bring an old woman something to eat,” said Mrs. Todd, with a smile, when she opened the door.  “Come in and sit by the fire to get warm.”

“We can’t stay very long,” said Flossie.

But she and Freddie stayed longer than they meant to, for Mrs. Todd knew many stories and she told the little twins two or three as they sat by the fire.

“Oh, it’s snowing—­snowing hard!” said Freddie suddenly, as he looked out of the window when Mrs. Todd had finished a story about a little red hen.

“Then we must hurry home,” said Flossie.

They put on their wraps and overshoes and, bidding Mrs. Todd good-bye, off they went.  But they had no sooner got outdoors than they found themselves in a bad storm.  The wind was blowing hard, and the white flakes were swirling all around them.

“Why—­why, I can hardly see!” cried Flossie.  “It’s just like a fog.”

“And—­and it’s hard to breathe,” said Freddie.  “The wind blows right down my mouth.”

“We could walk backwards and then it wouldn’t,” said Flossie, and they tried that for a while.

The children had been out in storms before, but they could not remember ever having been in one where the snow was so thick.  As Flossie had said, she could hardly see because there were so many flakes coming down.

“Take hold of my hand, Freddie, and don’t let go,” said Flossie to her brother.  “We don’t want to get lost.”

Along the street they walked as best they could, sometimes going backward so the wind would not blow in their faces so hard, and when they walked with their faces to the wind they held down their heads.

“Are we ’most home?” asked Flossie after a while.

“Well, I don’t see our house,” replied Freddie.  “We’ve come far enough to be there, too.”

They walked on a little farther and then Freddie stopped.