DRAFT

Slush Finds Out

By Vince Hron

 

It was snowing that night much to Slush’s delight; he was made out of snow rolled up and packed tight.  And somewhere down under, was a heart full of wonder. 

 

Then suddenly struck by a thought so profound, Slush wondered if others like him were around, and not far away, that’s just what he found!  

 

He met snow-people playing, and some that were working, and some of them even had snow-angels encircling.  Slush met more and more snow-folk, and none were the same, so he did his best to know each one by name. 

 

The farther he strayed, the more snow-friends he made till he noticed the sun was high in the sky and the temperature had started to rise.  A slumphy old snowman kindly explained, “when I was new, I looked more like you, but when the sun gets us hotter our snow turns to water!”  “Melting?” said Slush, “What a tired cliché, I won’t let my story end up that way!”

 

He studied the problem and reached the conclusion that avoiding heat was the only solution.  Further, he thought the north pole would be pleasing, because there the temperatures stay below freezing.

 

Slush figured the drive would take quite a while, so he planned a stop in the frozen foods isle. “I’ll get bomb pops, drum sticks, and Italian ice, sorbet, sherbet, and ice-cream pies!”

 

But then Slush remembered all the friends he’s been meeting, and just couldn’t bear the notion of leaving.  Turning his thinking back to the present, in the distance he noticed a faint luminescence.  Approaching he found, glowing so dandy, a very round snowman, with a cane made of candy. 

 

Surely, he thought, someone this bright will know just the thing relieve our plight, and so he asked in a tone most polite, “excuse me sir would you happen to know any way to prevent the melting of snow?”

 

But the stranger made no response, not a nod or a shrug, complete nonchalance.  Come to fine out, though he looked so fantastic, this perfect stranger was made out of plastic.  He didn’t have any answers at all, only a bulb plugged into the wall.    

 

Then Slush knew just what to do.  “I can’t run away, so I’m going to stay and work with my friends right to the end.  Maybe, with luck, if we all pull together, we’ll find a way to deal with the weather.”  Being quite certain he wasn’t alone, Slush was contented because he was home.