“Oh, do let me see,” said Coppertop. “Pull me up.”
Tibbs lent her his hand from above, and Kiddiwee did his best to push from below. But she found it was not at all easy to climb a snowflake. Each piece that she took hold of melted away under her warm hands.
“How wonderful!” she exclaimed, when she at last reached the top. “And look—LOOK! Whatever is it? It looks like a huge white mountain running towards us.”
They all looked. And, surely enough, a great white mass was charging down upon them.
“It’s a Teddy Bear!” exclaimed Kiddiwee, “only it’s the hugestest that ever was.”
“Kiddi is right!” cried Tibbs. “It is a bear, I can see his mouth and teeth.”
“Oh, dear! Whatever shall we do?” cried Coppertop, beside herself with fear.
“Don’t be ’fraid, Cece,” said Kiddiwee; “I’ll just shoo him away.”
“Stupid! He wouldn’t even see you,” cried Tibbs. “Look out, he’s coming! We must run!” And he seized hold of the other two and pulled them along with him, helter-skelter down the snowflake, away from the bear. They could hear the thud! thud! of his great paws, under which the snow shook.
Faster and faster they ran! But the bear was running faster still. When suddenly the thud of the paws stopped.