men who live in the woods and know much
about nature's secrets that other persons do not know, can foretell the
weather. And the snow has certainly come earlier this year than for a
long time back. I am afraid we shall have a hard winter, though whether
or not we shall be snowed in I cannot say."

"Well, if we're going to be snowed in let's go coasting now, Janet!"
suggested Ted to his sister.

"May we, Mother?" asked the little girl.

"Yes. But don't go on the big hill."

"No. We'll stay on the small one."

Teddy ran out of the room to get the sled.

"Me want to go on sled!" cried Baby William.

"Oh, Trouble! We can't take you!" said Jan.

"I wish you could," said Mrs. Martin. "He hasn't been out much to-day,
and I want to get him used to the cold weather. It will be good for him.
He loves the snow. Just give him a little ride and bring him back."

"All right," agreed Janet. "Come on, Trouble. I'll help you get your cap
and jacket on."

"Is he comin' with us?" demanded Ted, as he got his sled and Janet's
down out of the attic, where they had been stored all summer. "I'm not
goin' coasting with him!"

"Don't forget your 'g's,' Teddy," said his mother gently.

"Well, I don't want to take the baby coasting," and Teddy was careful,
this time, not to drop the last letter as he sometimes did from words
where it belonged. "Can't have any fun with him along!"

"I'll just give him a little ride," whispered Janet. "You boys will have
to make the hill smooth anyhow, and we girls can't have any fun till you
do that. So I'll ride Trouble up and down the street for a while."

"Oh, all right. And I'll take him coasting some other time," promised
Ted, a little bit ashamed of the fuss he had made. "We'll go on and get
the hill worn down nice and smooth."

It was still snowing, but not very hard, and the ground was now two or
three inches deep with the white flakes--enough to make good coasting
when it had been packed down smooth and hard on the hill which was not
far from the home of the Curlytops. There were two hills, the larger,
long one being farther away.

At first the runners of the two sleds were rusty, but Ted scraped them
with a piece of stone and they were soon worn smooth and shiny so they
would glide along easily.

Trouble was delighted at the chance of being taken out on his sister's
sled. Janet gave her little brother a nice ride up and down the
sidewalk, and then she ran and rode him swiftly to the