| After supper we were all in the living room. Dad was in
his favorite chair by the big lamp reading the newspaper. Mom was curled up in the
soft easy chair reading a book. I was on the floor trying to do my homework.
I wasn’t really working very hard when a question came to my head that I could not
answer. "Mom, where does the white go when the snow melts?", I asked. I
know I had watched the snow come down so white and cover everything with such
beauty. And then as the sun came out the snow would melt into water, but the water
was clear and without any of the white. As more snow melted the water turned into a
stream, but again, just a tint of blue, but no white. I knew that the river turned
brown and the lake was blue, but no white. Golly, where DOES the white go? There is
nothing left after the snow has melted away.
Mom looked over at Dad with a puzzled look, but Dad looked back with that knowing smile
and said, "That one is all yours, Dear." Well, Mom just settled back in
her easy chair and began to tell me all about color.
"Color begins in the morning as the sun gets up. The sun paints the sky
blue, the trees green, the earth brown, and all the things we see with such wonderful
colors. Some are bright and happy, others are more serious, but each gives us a
sensation and feeling of order. For who ever heard of a purple tree, a yellow whale,
or a red banana? The sun makes sure that everything has the right color. The
clouds in the sky make rain that falls down through the rainbow to pick up more of the
sun’s color and carry it to each and every thing."
"But, Mom," I interrupted, "Where does the white go when the snow
melts?" Without skipping a beat Mom continued. "Sometimes color
just happens for the fun of it. The snow comes down and covers the ground, the
trees, and the houses with a blanket of white. We see the white because the sun
could not decide on just one color, so the sun put all the colors together to make
white. As the sun goes down at the end of the day the clouds turn pink, red, and
deep shades of purple. Then the sun says "good night" and pulls a blanket
of night over the world. Colors go to sleep at night just like you and I. In
the morning the sun will come up again and roll away the night blanket. All the
colors will wake up just as they were before to begin a new day."
"Well, it is getting late and time for you to get ready for bed," said Mom
with a nod of her head. Dad was sitting there peering over his newspaper and
listening to every word. He said "good night" quietly as I yawned and went
up the stairs to brush my teeth. But as I got to the top step I realized that I
still don’t know -- where does the white go when the snow melts.
Discussion
Introduction to Story
Time |