Winter had arrived, and this year the snow fell earlier than usual. The children were overjoyed—what could be more fun than rolling in the snow and throwing snowballs at each other, or building snow fortresses for an epic snowball battle?
In every yard stood a snowman or snow woman. Children pulled out their sleds and toboggans and rushed in crowds to the hill. Winter is a wonderful time of year. The winter holidays were in full swing. One morning, four children—Mika, Vera, Katya, and Sasha—who lived on the same street called Froststreet, agreed to go sledding on a hill at the edge of the village.
In the morning they all had breakfast, dressed warmly, armed with sleds, toboggans, and a snow scooter, and set off on their "great expedition." At the edge of the village was a deep ravine, and the hill there was high—usually people came from all over the settlement to have a good time. But the morning was still early, and the children found themselves alone.
This is fantastic!
Sasha cried out enthusiastically.
Good thing we came early!
Yes, we'll have plenty of sledding!
Vera agreed.
And nobody will push us around!
I'm going first!
Mika cried out and was already settling onto his sled.
We're right behind you!
The children cried out happily and each sat on their own transport.
After sledding down merrily, the children decided not to climb back up yet. They were always curious about what lay around the bend of the ravine and where the small path led.
Come on, while there's nobody around,
said Sasha.
Let's play spies!
Oh, I'm a bit scared!
Katya objected.
You're such a scaredy-cat!
Mika said reproachfully.
You wait here then, we'll look around and come back to sled.
No, that will make me even more scared.
Katya whispered barely audibly.
Throwing all their equipment aside, the children walked along the mysterious path. Turning around the protruding hill of the ravine, the children found themselves in a fairy tale.
How beautiful it was here! The willows looked as if frozen, all covered with a thin layer of ice. Even the tall sedge sticking out from under the snow was covered in ice. On the flat surface sparkled an icy skating rink. Not far away stood a small hut, and inside a faint light could be seen glimmering. Quietly, our spies crawled up to the house and peeked through the window.
Inside, at a small table sat an old man and an old woman, and the children could hear what they were saying.
Sister, Black Ice!
said the old man.
I'm tired of staying home and in the yard. Maybe we should go to the village and have some fun?
I agree with you, brother Frost!
It's been a while since we caused mischief.
We should give the local residents an icy test! Tomorrow there's supposed to be a slight thaw, so let's get to work!
The ice crackled outside the window, and the old man hurried to look out. The children managed to hide, and when everything was quiet, they ran back to their hill.
Did you understand anything from their conversation?
Katya asked anxiously.
I heard something about black ice.
Mika answered.
My mom, when she goes to work, my dad tells her to be careful because there might be black ice on the street.
Is frost the same thing?
Sasha asked.
Let's run home quickly. Fyodor Petrovich should still be in the yard.
The children quickly gathered their things and ran to their street. There were already more people in front of the house. Their yard was friendly, so all the elderly neighbors came out for a walk and chat as soon as it got light outside.
Out of breath, the children burst into the yard and rushed to the janitor, surrounding him from all sides.
Hello, Fyodor Petrovich! We found out that tomorrow there will be frost and black ice on the streets!
The weather forecast on TV didn't say anything about that!
the janitor answered in an authoritative voice.
Believe us!
said Katya.
We're telling the truth!
Fyodor Petrovich, is there really a difference between frost and black ice?
Mika asked.
I always thought they were the same thing!
Well, let me tell you.
the janitor began his story.
Before I retired, I worked as an electrician at an office, and that frost caused a lot of trouble. I remember one night it rained, and the water froze immediately, settling on trees, house walls, and worst of all, on power lines. The weight of the frost broke many power lines around the village, and it took a long time to restore electricity to the houses. That's when I got to know Frost better. And how hard it is for tree branches under its weight—they all bend toward the ground from the burden.
And black ice?
Mika's grandmother Klavdiya Nikitichna, who was sitting nearby on a bench, joined the conversation.
We old ladies hate that the most. We can't get to the store or the post office—it's too slippery. So during black ice, we have to stay home all day until it melts or our janitor Fyodor Petrovich spreads sand on the paths in our yard.
What should you spread on black ice to keep it from being slippery?
Vera asked curiously.
What else—salt, of course!
Sasha exclaimed.
I saw the salespeople at the neighboring store do it—they spread salt on the steps of the porch.
Salt does indeed work well against ice.
the janitor replied.
But it causes a lot of damage—it ruins shoes and car wheels. And plants suffer from it too.
I know that in big cities they pour special chemicals on the ice and it starts to melt.
said Katya.
Maybe we could do that in our yard tomorrow?
No chemicals!
Klavdiya Nikitichna objected firmly.
Let them damage the environment in their cities, but we won't allow it here! We'd rather stay home and not harm nature!
And all these chemicals are expensive anyway.
added Fyodor Petrovich.
What about small pebbles then?
suggested Mika.
They would also prevent shoes from slipping?
Fine gravel and stone chips are indeed a practical solution, but they're quite expensive. Although this method causes the least harm to the environment. And it can be reused.
Fyodor Petrovich, why invent something new? You've always spread a thin layer of sand in our yard during black ice, and it worked perfectly!
Klavdiya Nikitichna said to the janitor.
I completely agree with you!
he replied to Mika's grandmother.
I also think this is the most accessible and effective way to protect the residents of our yard and the whole village from falling on ice. It makes the ice rough, thus reducing slipping. And it doesn't harm plants as much.
Do you have sand prepared for tomorrow morning?
Vera asked.
We know for sure that there will be heavy black ice and even frost in the morning!
Since you children are so worried about it, I'm happy to reassure you that I have two barrels full 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 spy game.
And in the morning they looked out the window and everything was covered in ice. So Frost and Black Ice really did play around during the night. But janitor Fyodor Petrovich wasn't afraid of them. Early in the morning he spread sand on all the paths in the yard so that residents could safely go to work and the elderly ladies could go for their walks.
