On the fields the snow was light and feathery like powdered sugar, but on the hill it had been packed down hard by the coasters. There were so many of them, boys and girls from the neighborhood all around! Some were at the top, and some at the bottom, and some in the middle, sliding merrily down.
When the Three Happy Children reached the top of the hill the Toyman cried:
"I'll sit in front to steer and hold little Hepzebiah. You boys sit in back, Jehosophat at the end, and hold on to the grips."
Yes there were grips, too, for the Toyman hadn't forgotten anything that goes with a perfect sled.
"All aboard! Toot, toot!" he shouted, and Jehosophat yelled,--
"Clear the way!"
And down the hill they shot. It wasn't like any other kind of travel in the world. Perhaps it was more like flying than anything else, but that was funny, too, when you come to think of it, for when you fly you usually go up, and they were going down.
They reached the bottom all too soon, but the trip was worth the trouble of trudging back, especially as all the hard work was done by the Toyman.
When they reached the top again, once more he shouted, "All aboard, toot, toot!"
Some folks thought he was silly, and Mrs. Hamm, riding by in a buggy, on the road below, said to Mr. Hamm,--