Winter – Blackbird and Company

The birds are gathering seeds because the snow will soon fall.
The narrator and his family had been saving objects in a sack for a big snow.
First they made a snow dad and a snow mom.
Next, they made a snow boy, a snow girl, and a snow baby.
Last, they made a snow cat, and a snow dog.
When the sun came out, the snow family melted.
Snow is a frozen solid form of water.
The three forms of water are gas, liquid, and a solid.
When water from rivers, lakes, streams and the sea evaporates it goes into the atmosphere.
When water vapor clings to bits of dust and salt in the air it gradually forms a cloud.
When the temperature in the cloud is cold enough it freezes into ice crystals and snowflakes will fall.
If the air below the cloud is warm, snowflakes melt and fall as rain.

Irene’s mother could not bring the dress to the duchess because she was sick.
Because the palace was far away and it was starting to snow, Irene’s mother did not want her to deliver the package.
Eventually, Irene’s mother let Irene deliver the dress.
Before leaving, Irene tucked her mother snuggly into bed and kissed her forehead six times.
By the time Irene reached the sheep pasture, the snow was up to her ankles and the wind was blowing strong.
Irene kept going, despite the storm, because she was on an important errand.
The wind wanted Irene to go home!
When the wind snatched the box from Irene, she went after it.
Irene cried because her mother had worked hard for so many days on the dress.
Sadly, Irene fell into a hole and fell over with a twisted ankle.
As night fell, Irene realized that she was lost, but she kept on moving.
When Irene remembered her good mother, she set the box on the snow and used it as a sled.
To her surprise, Irene found the dress right in front of the palace, and gave it to the Duchess.

On the coldest day of winter, the little boy gathered firewood.
When the boy’s grandmother told him to gather as much firewood as possible, she was knitting mittens.
The boy dropped his mitten when he picked up the last stick of firewood.
As the boy made his way home, the mitten was left lying on a snowdrift.
The mitten was just the right size for the tiny mouse.
The mouse encouraged the frog to enter the mitten so he hopped in.
The mouse told the owl he could enter the mitten if he would mind his manners.
When the fox trotted up to the mitten, mouse thought she had been too generous.
When the big gray wolf squeezed into the mitten, it was very crowded.
The boar was anxious to get in out of the wind.
The bear rudely pushed his way into the mitten and caused one of the seams to pop.
While trying to squeeze into the mitten, the little black cricket caused the mitten to split, sending all the animals into the snow.
When the little boy noticed what had happened to his lost mitten, he did not mind because his grandmother made him new mittens.

When the war ended the stores remained empty, food and money were scarce, and there was no coat for Anna.
Anna’s mother decided to trade with people to get a new coat for her daughter.
The first thing that Anna’s mother needed for the coat was wool..
On Sunday’s, Anna and her mother visited the sheep.
In the spring, Anna’s mother traded a gold watch for a bag of wool.
An old woman agreed to spin the wool into yarn in exchange for a lamp.
Anna’s mother dyed the yarn a deep red using lingonberries.
Anna’s mother exchanged a garnet necklace with the weaver for weaving the yarn into cloth.
Anna’s mother made an agreement to trade a porcelain teapot with the tailor for Anna’s coat, so the tailor took Anna’s measurements.
The tailor was so proud of Anna’s new coat, that he hung it in the window for everyone to see.
On the way home Anna looked at her reflection in every window.
Anna’s mother baked a special cake and celebrated Christmas with everyone who helped to make the coat for Anna.