"Would my face freeze smooth?" asked Violet, trying to look down at her nose.
"I hope it doesn't freeze at all," her father told her with a laugh. "But if it did your nose would be all wrinkled, as it is now."
"Then I'm going to smooth it," said Violet, and she did.
Russ could put on his own skates, as could Rose, but Laddie had to have help. Then the three children began gliding about the ice, their father watching them.
"Don't go too far over toward the middle," he warned them. "Dick said he thought it was safe there, but it may not be. Stay near shore."
The children promised that they would, and they had great fun gliding about on the steel runners.
Then Daddy Bunker put the skates on Vi and held her up while he taught her how to take the strokes. It was very wabbly skating, you may be sure.
Finally, however, she began to do very well for such a little girl and for such a short time. But after a while she said she was tired.
"Very well, Vi," said Daddy Bunker, "you sit on one sled and take Mun Bun in your lap. Margy can sit on the smaller sled, and I'll fasten the two together with ropes. Then I can pull both."
And Daddy Bunker did this. Over the ice along the shore he pulled the sleds with the three children on them, while Rose, Russ and Laddie skated about not far away. Finally Laddie called: