The Snow Child

The next evening brings the first snow. Mabel impulsively goes out into the whirling flakes. She feels giddy and, when Jack joins her, the two have a snowball fight. They laugh and hold each other. To make the magical moment last, Mabel suggests they build a snowman. But the snow is thin, and they end up with more of a snow child. They decide to fashion a snow girl, complete with a skirt and curly hair. Mabel recalls how 20 years earlier they were certain they would have many children. As the snow falls heavier, the two give the snow child mittens and a scarf and then head inside. They make love.

The following morning, Jack, still half asleep, looks through the frosted windows and sees a small mysterious figure run into the woods. When he goes out to fetch firewood, he notices the snow child is now little more than a mound of snow and that the mittens and scarf are gone. He sees a bloody hare left on their doorstep. Small boot prints run across the yard and into the trees, but none come into the yard. Jack fears a fox, a threat to their chickens, and takes a shotgun into the woods.