Gini sat at her desk feeling thoroughly miserable. That morning she had had a big argument with her friend Anna - over absolutely nothing important. Now she felt annoyed, sad and confused all at once. What a stupid day...
Things weren't much better for Karl. His teacher had yelled at half the class again. And everyone who knew this teacher knew she wasn't exactly famous for her kindness. Why couldn't they have a teacher who didn't shout every five minutes?
The whole classroom felt like a storm cloud ready to burst.
Finally the bell rang for lunch. On the corridor Gini and Karl met up with Clive and Felicitas, hoping food would improve their day just a little. But the next frustration was already waiting for them: the microwave in the dining room had broken. Their meals were still half-frozen.
"What a terrible day..." Karl groaned.
"Yes. Today feels exactly like Arnold from the Magic School Bus," Gini sighed. "I knew I should have stayed home today!"
But then -
as Gini glanced out the window -
She gasped.
"Look!"
Thick, fluffy snowflakes were floating gently from the sky, drifting down like tiny white feathers. The ground was slowly turning into a soft, shimmering blanket.
Instantly, all four children jumped up and raced outside, cheering as the first snowflakes landed in their hair and on their noses and beaks.
All afternoon it continued to snow. In their classrooms, Gini and Karl kept sneaking glances at the windows, unable to resist watching the magical white world unfold. How peaceful everything looked swaddled in snow!
When school finally ended, they sprinted home. Along the way they scooped up snow and immediately started a huge snowball fight, laughing and shouting with delight. Gini wished this day would last forever. If only it could snow like this every day!
That evening, while they were eating dinner and talking about their eventful school day, Papa Antoin pulled a big book from the shelf. It was filled with photographs of landscapes and seasons from all over the world.
There were pictures of wild oceans crashing against cliffs and calm lakes mirroring the sky. Pictures of thick green forests, deep valleys, high mountains, deserts glowing under the sun, and mysterious marshes. And page after page showing how everything changes through the seasons: the soft green of spring, the lush fullness of summer, the fiery colours of autumn.
And then - winter.
Snow-covered mountains, quiet woods, white meadows sparkling like sugar. Even the night looked magical, with bright stars shining above the snowy earth.
Gini and Karl were enchanted.
What an incredibly beautiful planet Earth could be.
Before going to bed, they looked once more out the window at the fresh, glowing carpet of snow. It shimmered under the streetlights, still falling silently from the sky.
The first snow of the year always has something special about it.
Definitely.
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