Winter had arrived, and this year the snow fell earlier than usual. The children were overjoyed—what could be more fun than rolling about in the snow and throwing snowballs at each other, or building snow forts for an epic snowball battle?
In every garden stood a snowman or snow woman. Children fetched their sledges, toboggans and ran in crowds up the hill. Winter is a wonderful time of year. The winter holidays were in full swing. That morning, the children Misha, Vera, Katie and Sasha, who lived on the same street—a street with the grand name of Frosty Lane—had arranged to go to the sledge run at the edge of the village.
That morning everyone had breakfast, dressed warmly, armed themselves with sledges, toboggans and a snow scooter, and set off on their "grand expedition". At the edge of the village was a deep ravine, and the hill there was quite high; usually children from all over the settlement came here to have a good time. But the morning was still early, and the children found themselves alone.
This is brilliant
Sasha cried out enthusiastically
Good thing we came early!
Yes, we'll have a proper go at it!
Vera agreed
And nobody will be pushing us about!
I'm going down first
Cried Misha, and was already settling onto his sledge.
We're right behind you
The children cried out happily and each sat on their own transport.
After sliding down merrily, the children decided not to go back up just yet. They were always curious about what lay around the bend of the ravine and where the little path led.
Come on, while there's no one about
Said Sasha
Let's play spies!
Oh, I'm a bit scared!
Katie objected.
You're such a scaredy-cat!
Misha said reproachfully
You wait here then, we'll have a look and come back for sledging.
No, that'll be even scarier.
Katie whispered barely audibly.
Abandoning all their equipment, the children set off along the mysterious path. Turning round the jutting hill of the ravine, the children found themselves in a fairy tale.
How beautiful it was here! The willows looked as though frozen, all covered with a thin layer of ice. Even the tall sedge poking out from under the snow was covered in ice. And on the flat surface sparkled an ice rink. Not far away stood a small hut, and you could see a faint glow of light inside. Our little spies crept quietly up to the cottage and peeped through the window.
Inside, at a small table, sat an old man and an old woman, and you could hear what they were saying.
Sister, Black Ice!
Said the old man.
I'm tired of being indoors and in the yard all the time. Shall we venture into the village and have some fun?
I agree with you, brother Hoar Frost!
It's been a while since we caused any mischief
We should give the local residents an icy test! Tomorrow, there's supposed to be a slight thaw, so we'll get to work!
The ice crackled outside the window, and the old man hurried to look out and see what was happening. The children managed to hide, and when all was quiet again, they ran back to their sledge run.
Did you understand anything from their conversation?
Katie asked anxiously.
I heard something about black ice.
Replied Misha.
Mum, when she's getting ready for work, Dad tells her to be careful because there might be black ice on the streets.
Is hoar frost the same thing?
Asked Sasha
Let's run home quickly. Fyodor Petrovich should still be in the yard.
The children quickly gathered their things and ran back to their street. There were already more people in front of the house. Their yard was a friendly one, so all the elderly neighbours would come out for a walk and a chat as soon as it got light.
Out of breath, the children burst into the yard and rushed over to the caretaker, surrounding him from all sides.
Hello, Fyodor Petrovich, we've found out that tomorrow there will be hoar frost and black ice on the streets!
The weather forecast on television didn't mention anything about that!
The caretaker replied in an authoritative tone.
Believe us!
Said Katie.
We're telling the truth!
Fyodor Petrovich, is there really a difference between hoar frost and black ice?
Asked Misha.
I always thought they were the same thing!
Well, let me tell you.
The caretaker began his tale.
Before I retired, I worked as an electrician at an office, and that hoar frost caused a lot of trouble. I remember one night it rained, and the rain froze immediately, settling on the trees, the walls of houses, and worst of all, on the power lines. The weight of the hoar frost broke many power lines across the village, and it took a long time to restore the electricity supply to the houses. That's when I got to know Hoar Frost better. And how heavy it is on the tree branches, they all bend down under the weight.
And black ice?
Interjected Misha's grandmother, Claudia Nikitichna, who was sitting nearby on a bench.
Well, we old folk dislike that most of all. You can't get to the shop or the post office—it's far too slippery. So during black ice, we have to stay indoors all day until it thaws a bit or our caretaker Fyodor Petrovich spreads sand on the paths in our yard.
What should you spread on black ice to stop it being slippery?
Vera asked with interest.
What else—salt, of course!
Exclaimed Sasha.
I've seen the shop assistants at the neighbouring shop do it—they spread salt on the steps of the entrance.
Salt does indeed work well against ice.
Replied the caretaker.
But it does a lot of damage—it ruins shoes and car tyres. And it's not good for plants either.
I know that in big cities they pour some special chemicals on the ice and it starts to melt.
Said Katie.
Maybe we could do that in our yard tomorrow?
No chemicals!
Claudia Nikitichna objected firmly.
Let them damage the environment in their cities if they want, but we won't allow it here! We'd rather stay at home and not damage nature!
And besides, all these de-icing agents are expensive.
Added Fyodor Petrovich.
What about small stones?
Suggested Misha.
They'd stop shoes from slipping too, wouldn't they?
Fine gravel and stone chippings are indeed a practical solution, but they're terribly expensive. Although this method causes the least damage to the environment. And you can reuse it.
Fyodor Petrovich, why invent something new? You've always spread a thin layer of sand on our yard during black ice, and it worked perfectly!
Claudia Nikitichna said to the caretaker.
I completely agree with you!
He replied to Misha's grandmother
I also think that this is the most accessible and effective way to protect the residents of our yard and the whole village from slipping on ice. It makes the ice rough, thus reducing slipping. And it doesn't damage plants as much.
Do you have sand ready for tomorrow morning?
Asked Vera.
We know for certain that there will be heavy black ice in the morning, and even hoar frost!
Since you children are so worried about it, I'm pleased to reassure you that I have two full bins of sand at the corner, so black ice won't be a problem for us.
After the interesting conversation, everyone went home to drink hot tea and rest after their amazing game of spies.
The next morning they looked out of the window, and everything was covered in ice. So Hoar Frost and Black Ice had indeed played about during the night. But the caretaker Fyodor Petrovich wasn't frightened of them, and early that morning he spread sand on all the paths in the yard so that the residents could go to work safely and the elderly ladies could go for their walk.
