Snow Cow

It was the first snow. Little Danny was very happy about that. He spent outside all day catching small snowflakes in his hands, falling into snowdrifts and standing up to fall there again. When he lay in the snowdrifts he imagined there was another world where everything would consist of snow: snow trees and grass, houses made from snow, even people and animals would consist of snow. "How pleasant it would be to lay on a snow sofa and watch a snow TV-set!", the boy thought. Suddenly he was interrupted by his mother.
– Danny! What the hell are you in? Come home now!
The boy got out of snow and went into the house.
– You're all wet! – Danny's elder sister Rebecca said. – Mom, he is all wet!
– And dirty, – his father added and went to the kitchen. Rebecca disappeared, too. But as soon as Danny thought he left alone the boy's mother entered the room.
– Look at this! – she exclaimed. Both the father and Rebecca came back.
– He's standing right in the center of my beautiful carpet! Oh, my God! The carpet is gone forever! – the mother cried.
– Go to the bathroom! – Danny's father shouted. The boy went there. Rebecca went with him and began to take off wet clothes from Danny.
– Have you been in a swamp, baby brother? – Rebecca asked laughing at him.
– I'm not a baby! – the boy replied. – I will be eight next week.
– Ha-ha! Look at him! He will be eight! – Danny's sister teased him. – And I am 11. I'm older than you which means you should listen to me, baby brother!
– Don't call me like that!
– Shut up.
After the boy had put on dry clothes he went to the kitchen as he felt hungry. There was Danny's father. He said:
–You won't have your dinner because you've damaged a very expensive carpet which your mother had brought from India. You'd better go to bed right now and don't come in sight of your mother.
Danny went out of the kitchen and was on the way to his bedroom when he saw his mother brushing the carpet. The boy felt guilty and wanted to apologize, so he stood near his mother and said:
– I'm so sorry. I didn't want to damage it. I just…
– OK, OK! Go! – the mother replied without raising her head. Danny made one step back and suddenly overturned a flower pot. Both the plant and soil were spilled on the carpet. The mother looked up and cried:
– Oh, God! This child is driving me mad!
The father appeared in the room, pulled Danny's hand and took him to the bedroom. Then he said angrily:
– Haven't I told you to go to bed? Haven't I?!
The father left the room and closed the door. Danny put on his pajama and lay down the bed holding on his right hand as he felt some pain in it because his father pulled too heavily. The boy thought he was so awkward and useless to his family. He began to cry and didn't notice when he fell asleep.
Danny was dreaming, and in this dream he saw nothing but a cow. It was completely white. "As white as snow", the boy thought. Then the cow gave him a wink and disappeared. Danny woke up in the morning. He went to bathroom, then returned to his bedroom and put on clothes. When he came out he saw Rebecca running around and uttering a mixture of singing and shouting:
– Merry Christmas, Mom! Merry Christmas, Dad! Merry Christmas, baby brother!
The girl stood up near Danny and said:
– Today is Christmas Eve. I bet you've forgotten about it. How could you?
– What is so special about Christmas? – the boy asked.
– What's special?! On Christmas we usually get a lot of gifts from Santa Clause! This is the best day of the year! And we will get some gifts on this Christmas, too. Well, you will probably not, – Rebecca said. Danny asked:
– Why?
– Because you don't deserve it! – the boy's sister laughed and went away.
Christmas Eve wasn't so special for Danny. It was just another day on which his parents were even more nervous than usually. The mother always cooked dishes all day, the father and Rebecca cleaned the house and set up a Christmas tree, so when Danny wanted a single person in the house to notice him, all he got was an allegation that he was interrupting. The same thing happened on this Christmas Eve. Danny felt guilty for what had happened yesterday, and after breakfast he tried to offer his help to the mother, but she said:
– I don't want you to stay in the kitchen while I'm cooking here. Go ask your Dad if he needs any help.
The boy went to his father and asked him. The answer was:
– All you can do is damage. Rebecca will help me, and you… you'd better go to the backyard and play. Well, do something for a while, and than I'll call you for lunch.
Danny put on his coat, a hat, a scarf, winter boots and went to the backyard. There he fell in the snowdrifts several times playing a snow angel. But soon this game became boring to the boy, so he made a little chair from snow and sat on it thinking about Christmas. All kids known by Danny were fond of Christmas, but he didn't find it the best day of the year. His friends and classmates always waited for Christmas impatiently because they wanted to get their presents from Santa Clause. Danny truly believed that Santa Clause existed, but the boy thought that Santa never came to the place where he lived. There were some reasons to think like that. When two years ago Danny asked Santa to give him a children railway to play with, he found only a black jacket and a white shirt for school. Last Christmas Danny wanted to get a transformer, but he got only a book about the life of sea animals and some candies. Besides, the boy didn't sleep at night last Christmas, that's why he could hear his parents discussing presents and putting them under the Christmas tree. Danny tried to tell Rebecca about that, but she didn't want to listen to her younger brother.
At that moment Danny's thoughts were interrupted by the voice of his father.
– Danny, come to lunch, it's ready!
The boy stood up and went to the house for lunch. After the whole family ate, Danny asked:
– Can I watch cartoons on DVD?
– No, – the boy's mother said. – Rebecca will decorate the house and I want you to help her.
– I won't do it if he helps me! – Rebecca shouted.
– Ok, dear, – the mother replied to Rebecca and added: – Danny, I think you should go outside, so that you won't interfere your sister.
The boy understood he got no chance to watch cartoons today. Danny put on his warm clothes and returned to the backyard. He sat on the snow chair thinking what would be better to d o now. Last winter te boy made a lot of different figures from snow. They were just like real sculptures, and Danny wanted to show someone what he had made, but his sister Rebecca ruined all of them before anyone could see it. After that incident Danny didn't make sculptures from snow, but today it was the only possible occupation for him. The snow was good enough for sculpting, and, by the way, it started snowing again. But what was better to make? A person? A house? An animal? Suddenly Danny remembered the white cow he had seen in his dream at this night and decided to make a cow from snow. During a few hours the boy didn't notice anything but a sculpture of a cow in front of him. When he finally finished his work he made several steps back and realized that it was exactly like the cow he had seen in a dream.
At that time Danny's mother came to the backyard and looked at his sculptures.
– It looks like a real cow, – she said. – Have you finished it?
– Yeah, – the boy replied.
– Alright then, let's go inside if you don't want to miss family dinner on Christmas Eve.
Danny and his mother went into the house. The family had dinner, after which Danny and Rebecca watched cartoons for a while. Then the boy went to bed and fell asleep. When he woke up it was still dark but Danny noticed the light at the window. It came from the backyard. The boy stood up, found his coat and boots, put it on trying to be very silent and went outside. As he thought, the light was at the backyard at the place where he made a cow today. But there was no cow in the backyard.
– Hello, Danny! – the boy heard the voice behind him. He turned and saw the cow he had made earlier.
– You can speak?! – Danny asked in surprise.
– As you see, I can. I am Snow Cow, and I woke you up 'cause I want to show you something.
– What is it? – the boy asked. Snow Cow didn't answer but gave him a wink instead. Danny looked around and realized that the house became completely white like it was made of snow.
– What happened to the house? – Danny asked.
– Danny, did you ever dream about the world where everything consists of snow?
– Mmm… yes.
– This is such a world! Enjoy it! Have fun!
– I can do all I want?
– Yes, exactly!
The boy felt so happy that ran into the house like mad. At first he went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Danny couldn't believe his eyes: the fridge was fool of chocolate bars, sweets, biscuits, candies, cakes and ice-creams. The boy ate as much as he could, but there still remained amounts of snacks. After that he turned on TV and switched channel by channel. All of them broadcasted cartoons. Danny watched TV until he was tired. Then he returned to the kitchen and ate sweets and cakes again.
– Are you satisfied? – Snow Cow asked after she unexpectedly appeared in the room. – Maybe, you want anything else?
– No, I only want to sleep now.
– But you should understand you will wake up in your real house where your family lives and you will never come back to this world.
– Wait a minute! – the boy said. He ate five ice-creams and confirmed:
– Now I'm ready.
– Ok, I'll show you your bedroom.
Snow Cow took Danny to the bedroom. As everything in this house, it was made from snow. The boy lay down the bed under the snow blanket. Snow Cow sat on the floor near the bed.
– Are you going to tell me a fairytale? – the boy asked.
– Kinda, – the cow answered. – You know, Danny, I saw those snow sculptures you made last winter. They were amazing. I think you've got a talent. You should practice more, and your success will come faster than you can imagine. Believe in yourself, believe in your powers, and your life will become a real fairytale. I know, sometimes the situation can be very difficult and people around may not understand you, but it's not a reason to wait for a miracle without doing anything. A fairytale doesn't come by itself. It was you who made me, and, trust me, the life will be much better if you always remember that magic is in your hands…
In the morning Danny woke up in his real bed. He could barely remember the details of the night journey to the snow world, but the words of Snow Cow stocked up strongly in his mind: "Magic is in your hands".
Under the Christmas tree Danny found plasticine. He was very happy about that gift despite he wanted to get Play station. The boy opened the box with plasticine immediately and began to sculpt. He made a little figure of Santa Clause and presented it to his mother.
– Oh, it's beautiful! – the mother said. – I had no idea you can make things like that. Danny, what will you say if I buy some clay for you to practice on?
– It would be great, Mom.
… More than ten years passed since that moment. Danny wasn't "little Danny" anymore. He was Daniel Norton, a student of the College of Art. There had left only a week before Christmas when the college administration announced a special exhibition. They said it would be a good chance for young sculptors to express their thoughts, feelings and memories about Christmas. They also said the exhibition would be interesting for everyone because it wouldn't be a usual one but an exclusive exhibition as all displayed sculptures would be made from snow. Danny took part in this event and made a snow cow. The exhibition was very popular. A lot of people came to see the works of the college's students and take pictures of them. On some days there were even journalists from local newspapers and the radio station. After the closure of the exhibition the administration said to the students they could do all they wanted with their own sculptures. Danny went to the college yard where the exhibition had taken place and stood near his cow looking at it. In a few minutes he noticed a young girl he had never seen before. She came closer and stood near him.
– The exhibition is already closed. If you wanted to see all the sculptures you should've come at least yesterday, – Danny said to the girl. She didn't reply to his words but asked him instead:
– Did she tell you that magic is in your hands?
The girl looked at the sculpture of a cow and then looked at Danny. He was shocked by her question.
– How do you know? – Danny asked.
– She told me the same, – the girl said. – Snow Cow told me I can do it.
– Do what?
– Write. I write poems, and I like it very much.
– You must like literature.
– I'm keen on literature!
– What about Shakespeare? Would you like to go to the theater to see one of his plays?
– Mmm… probably, yes.
– Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Daniel; I learn sculpture at this college.
The girl took a sheet of paper from her bag, wrote something and gave it to Danny.
– Here's my number, Daniel. Call me when you want to watch any of Shakespeare's plays. Or just call me any time you want.
– Ok. What is your name?
– Darina.
– I'll call you, Darina.
– I know, – the girl smiled and went away. Danny looked at his sculpture.
– You were definitely right. Magic is in my hands, – he said and gave a wink to the cow. Snow Cow gave him a wink back.

July 2012