THE SNOW OWL'S CHRISTMAS PARTY 125 



as Kabibonokka had promised, and the week be- 

 fore Christmas the snow followed, light and pow- 

 dery at first, then growing heavier and heavier, 

 until as far abroad and upward as Tommy- Anne 

 could see, there was nothing but a maze of flakes, 

 failing, falling, falling, until her eyes blinked and 

 closed in confusion. But where was the Snow 

 Owl? Where was Waw-be-ko-ko, who was to 

 follow Peboan? Surely winter was there, for the 

 little ponds were ice-locked, and frost ferns grew 

 nightly on the window-panes. 



Would the snow be too deep for Obi to go to 

 the mountain for the Christmas tree? So many 

 whys flew through Tommy-Anne's brain, and she 

 kept opening the windows so often to see if she 

 could find the answers to them, that, of course, 

 the damp snow clung to her hair and shoulders, 

 and she had a dreadful chill. 



" How did you manage to catch such a bad 

 cold ? " said Aunt Prue, as she bustled in with 

 some of the well-known bottles of medicine. 



" I ? Indeed, I didn't do any such thing," pro- 

 tested Tommy- Anne ; " I only opened the win- 

 dow, and it reached in and caught me ! " 



Now, to Tommy-Anne a cold usually meant 

 being tucked into bed beside a cosy wood fire, 

 having something particularly soothing to eat, 



