The Candle and the Snowman by David Clugston

Mr. Snow the Snowman by doogewalah

Every year around the same time, when a chill was in the air, Snowman would come to visit. He loved playing with the children in the front yard. He often dreamed of making a snow angel but sadly, his arms were too short. His heart was filled with so much joy in the winter that everything he heard and everything he would see was like a miracle to him. Every day was a brand new chance at making new friends and playing a new game.

However, there was something Snowman didn't like—night time. Everything would go quiet. The light in the sky would fade and the air would grow colder.

Now it wasn't the darkness that bothered Snowman, and it most certainly wasn't the cold. It was the loneliness. You see, when the darkness came, all the children had to go inside. But Snowman didn't need to sleep. Instead, every night he would stand in the yard thinking about the day. He would get very excited, but he didn't have anyone to share his thoughts with. That made him very sad.

One day a bad storm hit, which was really cool because all the kids got to stay home from school. They played for hours and it was so much fun! But when night time came there weren't any lights on anywhere. The whole town was dark and eerily quiet. Snowman wasn't sure what happened but something wasn't right. Since there were no lights on in the house, he couldn't watch his family eat dinner and he couldn't see the children running through the house still filled with energy. Snowman was a little worried until he noticed something different. He saw a small flicker almost like a sparkle. Then the flicker turned into a glow. This was strange--he had never seen anything like it. It was a light but it had a relaxing movement to it and such a soft way of filling the room with life.

He noticed the children coming close to it with their noses and how they seemed to enjoy this light more than other lights. He saw them reach out to touch it, but for some reason their mother scolded them and pushed their hands away. This was confusing to Snowman. Why would mom not want the children to touch something so beautiful? Snowman tried to think of a way that he could get closer to the flickering light.

 AP Photographie

He remembered every year about this time his family would go away for a couple days. He wasn't sure why, but they would always pack the car with beautifully wrapped boxes and off they would go. Maybe he could sneak into the house and figure out what the strange light was. Oh! He was so excited! Usually when his family left he would become sad--but this year was going to be different!

Night after night he would work on his plan It was going to be perfect! No one would ever know. All he could think about was the light. When the day finally came, he watched and waited, trying not to move too soon. He was nervous and excited at the same time. “Come on! Hurry up and leave!” Snowman thought to himself. The family packed the car, jumped in, and off they went.

Snowman was ready! As soon as the light in the sky went out he would make his move. It seemed to take forever. Snowman started his trek around to the back of the house. He crept up the steps and slid in the back door. The air was very warm so he knew he had to hurry.

Cleaning up his melting snow as he went, he made his way to the room with the big window. There it was, sitting on the table—a candle! For some reason, it wasn't as beautiful as it seemed from outside. The top was all black and ugly blobs of wax clung to the sides. “Well, maybe if I light the candle, it will be pretty like before.”

Knowing he was starting to melt, Snowman quickly found some matches. He had seen his family use these to light the candle. He watched the flame come to life, but still the beauty was not there. What was missing? Why wasn't he feeling the joy he had felt before when it was burning?

Suddenly, his tummy felt funny. He wasn't excited anymore and the water dripping from him wasn't from the melting snow; it came from his eyes. Snowman knew how it felt to be sad, but he had never cried.

He realized at that moment that the beauty wasn't from the candle itself but was from what the candle allowed him to see—the radiant faces of the children laughing, mom making hot chocolate, and dad reading the kids a bedtime story. The joy he felt inside wasn't from the glow of a candle it was from the love he felt for his family.

Snowman knew it was time for him to get back outside. He blew out the candle, cleaned up his mess, and quietly crept out to the yard filled with excitement that his family would soon be home. “Come on! Hurry up and come home!” he thought.

It seemed to take forever, but finally his family arrived. Snowman's happiness returned. Never had he missed them this much.

The End