Building a snowman is not as easy as it seems. First, you need to calculate everything carefully. Decide how many snowballs the snowman will be made of, where it's best to place it so that everyone in the courtyard, passing by, would say admiringly: "Those guys, Kolya and Vanya, are great! What a good snowman they built, it's a joy to look at!"
We didn't decide on a location quickly. Kolya wanted to put the snowman on the playground, but I know that something as beautiful as our snowman wouldn't last long there. So I tell him:
Kolya, come on, don't even think about it. Where would we put it on the playground? By the sandbox? The kids will come with their shovels and buckets and quickly take it apart for spare parts, they won't even leave the carrot!
You're right, Ivan, you're talking sense. So where do you think we should put our handsome fellow?
It's so simple — by our entrance. We'll even give him a shovel in his hands, he'll be just like our janitor, Uncle Tolya.
Wow! How can we put a snowman by the entrance, he'll be in everyone's way there, nobody will thank us for that!
In general, Kolya and I argued for a long time, but finally came to a compromise: they recently put up a big Christmas tree in our courtyard, you can see it from any window, so we'll put the snowman there. And anyone who decides to admire the tree will notice our creation.
Do you know what's the hardest part about building a snowman? Do you think it's rolling a big snowy ball? Or placing it on top? Not at all. The hardest part is working together. That's how it was with Kolya and me at first — things didn't go smoothly.
I tell him: "Kolya, you roll the first ball, I'll roll the second, and we'll roll the third together, so everything is fair." But he won't hear it, he keeps saying that the first ball is the hardest to roll and that it's the biggest of the three. Somehow we agreed that I would roll the first ball and Kolya would do the rest.
But even that didn't work out. Kolya's second snowball turned out to be bigger than my first one! Well, it's no wonder we've been friends since kindergarten. We got used to working together and started helping each other. We rolled such a big first ball, as wide as the tree, no less!
Then Kolya hoisted me onto his shoulders, and I somehow managed to place the other balls on top. I mean, I'm a bit bigger than Kolya, it's not hard for me to lift these balls, I go to sports on weekends, I train. But Kolya is taller than me by two heads, so we decided that he would hoist me onto his shoulders and I would place the snowballs.
Though there was one moment when our whole construction almost collapsed! I got so scared then, I shouted to Kolya:
It's falling! Watch out! Be careful!
Hold it, hold it, don't let go, we'll think of something, — he shouts back to me.
Here, I won't hide it, we couldn't do without outside help. And who would have thought that Natasha, my neighbor from the first floor, would turn out to be so agile. When she saw the ball falling, she immediately rushed over to us, held it, steadied it. In general, everything worked out! And Natasha is two years younger than me.
There was nothing to do but take her into our construction team. She was walking her dog, a small one, named Ginger. He helped us a lot too, lifted our spirits!
And Natasha, bless her, didn't lose her head, she says:
So! What kind of snowman is this without a bucket on his head?
Where would we get one? My mom won't give me a bucket for anything, — I told the truth. I asked my mom for a bucket when I was leaving the house, but she refused.
I know where to get a bucket! Wait here! — said Kolya and ran off in an unknown direction.
Natasha, Ginger, and I didn't waste time. We put a carrot in place of a nose, I brought it from home. And Natasha pulled out several large buttons from her pocket. Not matching ones, of course, but so what! The eyes turned out great. We quickly rolled a couple more balls for arms and legs. We placed them and realized that without a bucket the snowman really did look unfinished. And Ginger confirmed this by loudly saying: "Woof-woof."
We were lucky that Kolya managed quickly. He found a big red plastic bucket somewhere. We put it on the snowman's head and stood there for a long time admiring our creation.
It's a shame if he melts, — Natasha said sadly.
Winter is warm right now, but the snow lasts a long time. So it shouldn't melt quickly, — Kolya answered her.
I looked at our beautiful snowman for a long time. He looked like he was straight out of a New Year's postcard. While we were working, it got dark outside. In winter it gets dark quickly, and we were so absorbed in our work that we only noticed it when the colorful lights on the tree next to us turned on.
How about we take a photo to remember this? — I suggested to the guys.
I so wanted to capture this happy moment of childhood. This New Year's miracle, created not by Father Frost, but by us, Vanya, Kolya, Natasha, and of course, Ginger. I didn't mind using the last frame on my camera for such a moment.
My dad gave me the camera and said: "Learn to find beauty around you, but don't waste frames, film is expensive." But I knew my dad would like my shot.
The guys supported my idea. Though it was dark, we managed to stand so that we could be seen, and our Snowman was in the center of the frame. Yes, yes, with a capital S. We gave the camera to the janitor, Uncle Tolya, and he happily took our photo.
And then we went home. I looked out the window at the snowman for a long time that evening. And when I woke up in the morning, I saw that during the night he had tilted and the wind had blown the bucket away. But, strangely enough, I wasn't upset at all, it didn't matter anymore. The real New Year's miracle happened yesterday — when we worked together and created something beautiful.
