Mouse and Mole A Winter Wonderland Wong Herbert Yee MOUSE AND MOLE A Winter Wonderland WONG HERBERT YEE HOUGHTON MIFFLIN BOOKS FOR CHILDREN HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT BOSTON NEW YORK 2010 To Margaret Raymo, an editor for all seasons Copyright © 2010 by Wong Herbert Yee All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children is an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. www.hmhbooks.com The text of this book is set in Adobe Caslon. The illustrations are litho pencil and gouache. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file. ISBN 978-0-547-34152-1 Manufactured in China LEO 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 4500229134 Contents Snug as a Bug Sno-Mole The New Friend Sno-Mouse Snug as a Bug Mouse gazed out the window. A snowflake drifted past. Then another ... and another. Soon, it was snowing like mad! "Yippee!" yelped Mouse. She rummaged through her closet. Mouse pulled on snow pants. Mouse tugged on new boots: thup, thup! She yanked a hat over her ears. She tied a scarf around her neck. Mouse buttoned her warm winter coat. "Whew!" she exclaimed. "I am as snug as a bug in a rug!" Mouse grabbed mittens and rushed out the door. Mole snuggled under the blankets. "Bed is the place to be on a day like this," he sighed. "I am as snug as a bug in a rug!" TAP-TAP-TAP. Mole heard someone knocking. He tugged the pillow over his ears. TAP-TAP-TAP. Mole still heard knocking. "Open up, Mole. It's me, Mouse!" called Mouse. "Rats!" muttered Mole. He rolled out of bed like a cocoon, still wrapped in his blankets. Thump, thump, thump! hopped Mole across the floor. He opened the door a crack— whoosh! A gust of frosty air nipped his snout. "Morning, Mole!" said Mouse. "Morning, Mouse," grumped Mole. "Whatever are you doing out on a day like this?" "There is fresh-fallen snow!" exclaimed Mouse. "The trees are trimmed with icicles. The bushes are frosted like cupcakes. It is a winter wonderland!" she sighed. "Your being out on a day like this makes me wonder about you," Mole scolded. "If you are not careful, Mouse, you will turn into a Mouse-cicle!" "Do not be silly, Mole. I am wearing snow pants and a scarf. I have on my hat and mittens too!" "Your mittens do not match," said Mole. Mouse stuffed her paws in her pockets. "These are new boots," Mouse continued. "This is my warmest winter coat." Whoosh! Another gust of wind sent a chill through Mole. "It is still f-f-freezing," he chattered. "Bed is the place to be— bed is the place for you and me!" "But what about sledding?" squeaked Mouse. "What about snowmen and skating on the pond?" "What about getting back to bed?" grumbled Mole. And that is exactly what he did! Sno-Mole ZOOM! Mouse shot down the hill on her sled. The sled hit a bump. It flew up in the air. "Yippee!" yelped Mouse. "Bumping-jumping on a sled, better here than stuck in bed!" Mouse sighed. "Sledding is fun," she said, "but it would be more fun if Mole were here." She headed for the pond. Mouse laced up her skates. Left, right, left, right! Mouse skated across the ice. Mouse whirled! Mouse twirled! She made perfect figure eights, forward and backwards. "Across the ice I zip and glide, better here than stuck inside!" Mouse sighed. "Skating is fun," she said, "but it would be more fun if Mole were here." Mouse took off her skates. Mouse dragged the sled back to the oak. She stared at the tracks in the snow. They were all from her boots. "I am alone; alone is me." Mouse made a snowball: pat-pat-pat! She threw it against the trunk— SPLAT! "Hmm, not too wet and not too dry." ZIP! Mouse tapped her boot. Mouse twirled her tail. She came up with a plan! It began with another ball of snow. Mouse rolled it around the oak. The snowball got bigger... and BIGGER. Mouse pushed it on the sled. Then she went to work on the middle. Push and roll, roll and push! Mouse set the middle part on top of the bottom part. "Whew!" she huffed. "Now for the head." Plink! Mouse knocked an icicle off the branch with a twig. "Just the thing for a nose," she proclaimed. Crack! Mouse snapped the twig in two. "Now I have arms as well!" Mouse used acorns for eyes and pebbles to make a mouth. She took a step backwards. The snowman looked familiar. The snowman reminded Mouse of someone she knew. "I shall call you Sno-Mole," she snickered, "because you look just like my friend!" Mouse tapped her boot. Mouse twirled her tail. Something was still missing. She headed back to the oak tree. Mouse crept down the stairs ... and snuck into Mole's hole. She rummaged through Mole's closet. "Mole does not need a hat," whispered Mouse to herself. "He does not need his scarf or mittens either." She tiptoed back outside. Mouse put the hat on the snowman's head. Mouse wrapped the scarf around the snowman's neck. She stuck mittens on the twigs. Mouse looked at Sno-Mole. Sno-Mole looked at Mouse. "What about sledding?" she squeaked, "or skating on the pond?" Mouse ducked behind the snowman. "Bumping-jumping on a sled? What if I should lose my head? Skating is something I would not miss. Skating would be perfect on a day like this!" sang Sno-Mole. And that is exactly what they did! The New Friend Mole huddled under the covers. He was as snug as a bug in a rug. Mole rolled to his
