So they set to work, rolling their balls, sometimes running across each
other's track, when Master Charlie must always leave his work to throw a
ball at Jack. Jack, however, was too busy to return them.

"Don't, Charlie, keep stopping so," said Nannie; "we shall not get it
done."

"I want to snowball Jack," said Charlie.

"But we want to finish the snow-man first."

Then Charlie would stick to his work a few minutes; but whenever Jack
came in sight, rolling his now huge ball, Charlie couldn't resist the
temptation, and would fill his hands full of snow, and let fly at Jack.
He yielded to the temptation the more easily, as he found Jack was too
busy to pay him back.

Belle and Jack now could move their ball no longer, and so they proceeded
to make a smaller one for the head, and to shape out the arms. Jack
made the hat to crown him, while Belle shaped his coat and marked out
the buttons. Soon Charlie, who was more interested in theirs than his
own, cried out, "Oh, he's putting his hat on!"

Belle and Jack gave three cheers, and introduced Nannie and Charlie to
Mr. James Snow.

Mr. James Snow was a very remarkable-looking old man, with a long white
beard, who looked as if he had much better been leaning on a staff, than
raising the gun with which Jack had armed him.

"You had better come with us," said Belle; "you can't make one by
yourselves."

"Yes, we can," said Nannie. "Can't we, Charlie?"

"Yes, we can," said Charlie. "Nicer than that one too."

"And we'll call ours Jack Frost," said Nannie, as they hurried off to
their work.

But Charlie was more trouble than help, and Nannie began to grow tired.
Belle and Jack stood by, looking on and teasing her. Charlie stopped
working, and began to defend their workmanship with snowballs, which Jack
and Belle were not slow to return. At last, just as Nannie had fashioned
a most uncomfortable-looking nose, and had succeeded with great difficulty
in inducing it to stay in its right place, Jack's mischievous nature
overcame him, and seizing a lump of snow, he threw it straight at the
unfortunate nose. This was more than Nannie could bear.

"You naughty, ill-natured boy," she said; "I'll never speak to you
again."

"O Nannie, I'm really sorry. I was only in fun;" for Jack, like most
boys, thought "only in fun" excuse enough for anything. "Come back, and
I'll help you to make it."

Nannie paid no attention to him, but walked off in a very dignified
manner. Jack wh