Read Little Johnny and the Snowman... a short story for children

         Little Johnny and the Snowman; a short story for children, 12/2017…

“Susie, make sure you have your scarf, okay?”

“I will mom…”

Laura, Susie’s mom, was just a little concerned about the weather forecast for the day: cloudy, with a chance of a few snow flurries, a bit breezy too, but not all that cold, somewhere around 30 degrees.  Still, that scarf gave Laura the security that her nine-year-old would be toasty warm while playing with her neighborhood friends.

Susie was going to meet her best friend, Janie, along with Sarah, and Frankie and Tony.  The close-knit group of youngsters grew up together and attend the same middle school, just a hop, skip, and a jump from their favorite park and skating rink.

The kids wanted to start their planned, special project: to build a huge snowman while the temperatures stayed around the 32-degree freezing point.  After all, that very same weather forecast suggested that the next couple of days would see the thermometer rise close to 40 degrees; that, they figured correctly, would start the melting of Frosty. 

So, they plowed ahead to an area just inside the park, built in honor of a local, fallen soldier from the Vietnam War, fought so many years ago.   

Being Saturday, most parents joined in with their children, filling the park with boys and girls, moms and dads, enjoying at least one-half of the weekend, knowing that Sunday is a day of rest and church, honoring the good Lord that made them who they are.

But there was something – or someone – missing from the festivities, especially from Susie and her playmate buddies: little Johnny.

It’s not that Johnny was away, or didn’t want to participate in building a Frosty snowman with his friends, it’s just that he was confined to a wheelchair after suffering a severe accident six whole months ago. 

Johnny’s right leg was paralyzed with some nerve damage that the doctors said might be made right by a special – and expensive – operation.  His parent’s medical insurance would cover part of the cost, but there would still be many thousands of dollars that would have to be raised either by taking out a loan, or some sort of fundraising effort to help cover the remaining expense. 

All Johnny could do, was to watch his close friends strolling down the street, waving as they passed by his living room window, though he desperately wanted to join in creating the tummy, head, arms and fingers of a big ‘ol Frosty. 

Susie and the “gang” would always stop by Johnny’s house to play with him and keep him company after school for as long as they could before they had to return home for dinner and do homework.  But it really hurt that Johnny couldn’t help build the special snowman just in time for the Christmas vacation. 

Johnny’s dad, Mitchell, even though he had to work part of Saturday, promised that when he returned home, he would take Johnny down to the park, so he could at least watch his friends put the new Frosty together.  This would give Johnny some measure of joy; being with his schoolmates and buddies.

And so, he did…

Soon after a chorus of: “Hi Johnny!” rang out from his dear friends, they began to plot out where the new snowman was going to be built.  They decided it would be just beyond the skating rink where Johnny and the crew loved to show off their “skills,” especially to those just a little too timid to try their luck on skates.

         But it would be a long time before Johnny could try on his skates once again, if ever.  Even though his friends and, most of all, his own family, continued to give him encouragement that one day he would be absolutely normal again. 

         Were they just trying to make Johnny feel better, or was there really a good chance that he would be able to walk, run, play and skate soon?

         Family, especially Johnny’s older brother, Andrew, and sister, Sally, friends and neighbors told Johnny, on a daily basis, that many prayers were sent his way for a complete recovery, lifting his spirits and giving him much hope for the future.

         Still, at times, Johnny would be sad, unable to accept any reason why he suffered from his leg being paralyzed, and unable to participate in his usual activities with his playmate-friends.

                                           *******

         The first sign that a real Frosty was being put together came when Frankie and Toni began to roll a small ball of snow that would become the snowman’s tummy.

As the little snowball continued to grow, Susie and Janie started rolling their own snowball that would become Frosty’s head, while Sarah worked on his arms and fingers…

Of course, they needed a big carrot for his nose; two little stones for his eyes, and some twigs for his fingers, and a fancy, black top-hat to cover his head.

But where would they be able to find a “top-hat”?  Well, isn’t that what parents are for?   They’ll find one, they figured!

Now that they had all the ingredients for Frosty, minus that very important top-hat, all they had to do was to put all the pieces together – like a puzzle – then enjoy their creation, that is, so long as Mother Nature cooperated and kept the temperatures down near the freezing point to keep Frosty from melting away.

Watching from his wheelchair, after only an hour-and-a-half, Johnny saw little snowballs “miraculously” transform into all the children’s beloved Frosty the Snowman. 

How fitting for the upcoming Christmas season!

It didn’t take long for a mini celebration to take place after their new creation was complete, that is, except for that top-hat that would have to be added later on that day, or maybe Monday.

The gang – and that still included Johnny – couldn’t wait to brag to their other schoolmates and relatives about the best Frosty the Snowman ever built now residing in their favorite park!

After a long and event-filled Saturday, it was time for all to return to their homes for some warm drinks of hot chocolate or tea or milk, and enjoy a wonderful and delicious meal with the family.  The same held true for Johnny and his household…

After some family activities, it was time for Johnny to get ready for bed and be ready for Sunday’s services…

                                  *******

After Johnny’s parents tucked him into bed, and dimmed the lights in his room, there was only one wish and thought dashing through his head, keeping him awake just a little longer than usual: please, will I be able to walk again??  Please, let me walk again!! 

This was his simple Christmas wish; that’s all he wanted for this Christmas; no toys; no new skates, just to be cured and walk again.

His thoughts slowly became blurred, and his eyelids heavy with encroaching sleep, and finally, he drifted off to a restful and peaceful slumber…

And though the events of the day were over, his slumber was temporarily interrupted by his over active imagination in the form of a strange, yet welcome dream…

Johnny didn’t’ know how much time had gone by since he fell asleep; was it a minute, five minutes, an hour; he couldn’t tell… Then, he thought he heard the door to his room slowly open; he wasn’t scared, just curious, knowing that his loving parents, and even his older brother and sister were always attentive and cared for his well-being…

As Johnny’s eyes focused on the young gentleman that entered his room, he could see that his visitor was slightly rotund (a little on the heavy side!); all dressed in white; had sort of a funny nose, pleasant, welcoming eyes, and a soft, comforting voice…

His new visitor had one question, or, shall we say, a wish for Johnny to make for the upcoming Christmas season.

“Johnny, what would you like for Christmas?”  He asked…

  Immediately, Johnny sat up in his bed, and thought of one thing: being able to get out of his wheelchair and again have strong and sturdy legs so he could run and play with his friends as he could before his accident. 

After all, who wouldn’t want to wish for that?

But Johnny’s big, and kind heart reminded him that there were others in the world, in fact, right in his own little community that were more in need than he…

For instance, there was one of his schoolmates that lived just a couple of blocks away from his home that always made trips to the local community kitchen, so they could have sufficient food to eat.  And to the local thrift shop so the kids could have half-way decent clothes and shoes to wear to school, all because his dad was having a difficult time finding a good-paying job.

He remembered his teacher telling his class about some children in Africa not being able to go to school, and, in some cases, not being able to live in peace, due to political and social unrest, usually caused by uncaring men only looking out for themselves, rather than for their citizens.

All these, and many other thoughts raced through Johnny’s mind -- in seconds… 

So, what did Johnny wish for?

What do you think Johnny wished for??

                                  *******

Johnny wished that his schoolmate’s dad could find a good job; he wished that the children in Africa could go to school and live in peace.  But he also wished that someday, he might be able to walk again.   That’s not being selfish, just being a child that wanted to walk again…

After his strange, but kindly visitor quickly disappeared from his room, Johnny felt that he had to tell his parents about what just happened!   So, he got up from his bed and walked into his parent’s room to tell them about his dream…

THE END…

E. DeLalla