180 THE EARTH MADE READY FOR MAN 



They make no noise, as does the rain with its pitter- 

 patter. But sometimes, if there are leaves near by, 

 you will hear the least, little dry rustle among the 

 leaves when the snowflakes touch them. Then, 

 even if it is too dark to see, your quick ears tell you 

 that it is snowing. 



The snow, instead of running off as rain does, 

 collects where it falls until the ground is all white. 

 It may become so deep that it is hard for us to walk. 

 Paths and sidewalks are covered up, even the roads 

 are hard to follow. Sometimes the snow is so deep 

 that nothing, not even a train of cars, can make its 

 way through it. Just think of so much snow collect- 

 ing in a few hours as to be able to stop a powerful 

 engine! The snowflakes, then, are just as strong as 

 the many drops of water in the brook, only instead 

 of moving stationary things away they make moving 

 things come to a standstill. And yet one snowflake 

 is so small and so fragile that if you breathe upon it 

 as it rests a second on your coat sleeve, it is gone! 

 Only the tiniest bead of moisture is left where that 

 one snowflake was. 



Did you ever catch the snowflakes on your sleeve 

 and look carefully at them? Sometimes they are 

 soft and thick like downy feathers. Sometimes they 

 are clear and hard like tmy pellets of ice. Some- 

 times they are flat and very thin and of such won- 

 drous shapes that they fill you with amazement. 

 Each one is a six-sided crystal, but in what an in- 

 conceivable number of patterns! Small as they are, 

 no two of them are alike. How can this be possible? 



Do you remember the leaves you examined last 



