"We"ll ask daddy to get us one," said her brother.
When they reached the pond the only skaters on it were Tom and Lola Taylor. Tom laughed as he saw Nicknack.
"Ho!" he cried, "your goat will fall down on the ice again."
"Maybe he won"t," answered Teddy. "Just you watch!"
He drove Nicknack toward the frozen pond, but the goat stood still at the very edge.
"He"s afraid to go on--he knows he"ll slip," said Tom.
"I guess that"s it," agreed Teddy. "Go on, Nicknack!" he called.
"Giddap! You won"t fall "cause you"ve your rubbers on."
"Oh! has he, really?" asked Lola.
""Deed he has. We made him some out of an old rubber boot," replied Teddy. "Look!" and he pointed to the black squares tied on Nicknack"s hoofs.
"How funny!" gasped Lola.
"Maybe he won"t slip with them on," remarked Tom, "but I guess he isn"t sure of it. He won"t go on the ice."
And indeed Nicknack did not seem to want to do this. He turned first to one side and then the other as Ted tried to drive him on to the frozen pond. Nicknack did not mind pulling the Curlytops over the snow, where he knew he would not slip, but he was afraid of the ice.
"I know how to get him on," said Teddy.
"How?" asked Tom.
"Here, you hold this cookie in front of him," went on Teddy. "I put it in my pocket to eat myself, but I"ll give it to Nicknack. Hold it in front of his nose, Tom, and when he goes to bite it you just walk away with it. Then he"ll follow after you, and when you walk on the ice he"ll do the same."
"Say, that is a good way!" cried Tom. "I"ll do it!"
"Once he"s on the ice, if the rubbers keep him from slipping, he"ll be all right," went on Ted.
He tossed Tom the cookie and Tom held it in front of the goat"s nose.
Surely enough Nicknack reached out for it, but as soon as he did this Tom stepped back a little way, the goat following.
This was done two or three times, Nicknack getting nearer the icy pond each time, until at last he had all four rubber-covered feet on it.
"Shall I give him the cookie now?" asked Tom.
"No, make him come a little farther for it," answered Ted, who was sitting on the sled in front, holding Nicknack"s reins, while Janet sat behind her brother.
So Tom backed a little farther away from the goat, that still walked on to get the cookie which he could smell, and which he wanted very much.
And before Nicknack knew it he was walking over the ice and he did not slip at all, for the pieces of rubber on his hoofs held him up, just as they would have held up Teddy or Janet.
"Now he"s all right!" called Teddy. "He can walk on the ice now, and run, too, I guess. Give him the cookie, Tom."
So Nicknack had the cookie, and then Teddy drove him over and around the pond. Nicknack seemed to like it, now that he did not slip.
When Teddy and Janet had had a good ride they let Tom and Lola take a turn, Tom driving, and the goat went as well for him as it had gone for Teddy.
"I didn"t know a goat was as much fun in winter as it is in summer,"
said Tom. "I wish I had one."
"We"ll give you more rides when we get a big sled," promised Ted.
"Are you going to get one?" Lola asked.
"We"re going to ask our father for one," replied Ted. "And I guess he"ll let us have it so we can take Trouble out for rides. Giddap, Nicknack!"
and once more he started the goat across the ice.
The Curlytops and their friends had great sport with the goat and sled that day, and Nicknack hardly slipped at all. He was getting used to the ice, Tom said.
After two days during which the Curlytops had fun with their sleds and skates, it began to snow again, covering the ground yet deeper with the white flakes, while the frozen pond and lake were buried out of sight.
"No more skating for a while," said Tom Taylor, as he walked to school with Teddy and Jan one morning.
"No. But we can sleigh-ride and build a snow fort," answered Ted.
"And a snow man, too," added Janet.
"Why not make a snow house?" asked Lola. "The snow is soft and it will pack well. Let"s make a snow house!"
"We will!" cried Ted. "We"ll start one after school in our back yard.
We"ll make one big enough for us all four to live in."
"And we can stay there even if the snow covers the top," added Janet.
"Wouldn"t we freeze?" asked Lola.
"No. Mother read us a story about a man who was caught out in a big snowstorm, and he dug down under the snow and let it cover him all up, except a place to breathe, and he was warm."
"Well, we"ll build a snow house, but I guess there won"t be enough snow to cover it," cried Tom.
"I like lots of snow," put in Teddy.
All that day it snowed, even when the Curlytops and the other children ran laughing and shouting out of school. Tom and Lola went with Jan and Ted to the Martins" back yard and there they began to build a snow house.
CHAPTER V
NICKNACK SEES HIMSELF
The snow was just right for making snow houses, or for rolling big b.a.l.l.s that grow in size the more you push them along. For the snow was wet--that is, the flakes stuck together. Sometimes, when the weather is cold, the snow is dry and almost like sand. Then is not a good time to try to make snow houses, snow men or big s...o...b..a.l.l.s.