Read Online Mary-Mary by Joan G. Robinson - Free Book Online

window. The milk-boy stepped back, puffing and blowing and wiping his face on a big red handkerchief
    â€œThat’s going to be a bit of all right,” he said. “But I must be off.”
    â€œThank you very much,” said Mary-Mary. “You
have
helped me a lot. If I wasn’t so busy I’d help you with the milk-bottles.”
    â€œThat’s all right,” said the milk-boy. “Any old day will do for that.” And he ran off up the road after the milk-cart.
    Mary-Mary looked at the snow giant and decided he was tall enough now. All he needed was his head. She wasn’t big enough to reach up, not even if she stood on the window-sill; so she decided to make it separately and ask someone else to lift it up when it was finished.
    She rolled a very big snowball to the middle of the front gate and patted it smooth. Then she put two pebbles in for eyes, a lump of snow for a nose, and a twig from the hedge to make a mouth. It began to look very jolly. Mary-Mary laughed and put her own woolly cap on top. Then she picked some small green branches from the hedge and stuck them into the snowball all round the edges of the woolly cap. They looked just like hair. Then she made some eyebrows as well, to match.

    A van drew up in front of the house, and the laundry-man got down and came to the front gate with a big box under his arm. He grinned at Mary-Mary sitting in the snow by the great big snowball. Then he rested the box on the wall for a moment, and began adding up sums in a little notebook.
    â€œI’m sorry my snow giant’s head is in the way,” said Mary-Mary.
    â€œThat’s all right,” said the laundry-man. “I expect I can step over it.”
    â€œHe’s got a body over there,” said Mary-Mary, pointing to it.
    â€œThat’s nice,” said the laundry-man, still adding up sums.
    â€œI think he’d really rather his head was on his body,” said Mary-Mary. “It would be much easier for him than having it kicking around by the gate, wouldn’t it?”
    â€œYes, I expect it would,” said the laundry-man, still busy with his notebook.
    â€œIt’s so much nicer to be all in one piece, don’t you think?” said Mary-Mary.
    â€œYes, much nicer,” said the laundry-man.
    â€œSo he’d be awfully glad if you’d do it for him,” said Mary-Mary.
    The laundry-man shut his little book, put his pencil behind his ear, and picked up the laundry box again.
    â€œ
If
you would be so kind,” said Mary-Mary very politely, and, getting up quickly, she stood in front of the snowball so that the laundry-man couldn’t step over it.
    â€œEh?” said the man. “What do you want me to do?”
    â€œPut his head on for him, please,” said Mary-Mary. “He can’t do it himself and I’m not tall enough to reach.”
    â€œOh, I see!” said the laundry-man, laughing. “Yes, I’ll do it for you. Which way round do you want him?”
    â€œLooking in, please,” said Mary-Mary. “I want him to give my big brothers and sisters a very small fright, because they said they didn’t believe in him.”
    The laundry-man looked at the side of the snowball which had the face on it.
    â€œOh, yes, he’s a fine fellow,” he said. “I don’t think he’ll frighten them much. He’s got a nice smile.”
    â€œYes, hasn’t he?” said Mary-Mary. “I made it. It’s a twig really.”
    The laundry-man lifted the snow giant’s head very carefully and put it on top of the snow giant’s body in front of the sitting-room window. One of the pebble eyes fell out, and some of the green hair came out from under the woolly cap; but he lifted Mary-Mary up, and she put them back in the right places.
    Then Mary-Mary said, “Thank you very much. You
have
helped me a lot. Shall I help you do the laundry to make up?”
    But the laundry-man