Вино из одуванчиков

           Shutup!Douglaswantedtoyell.Butno,theyellwouldscaretheechoes,andruntheThingaway! 

           And,wait...themoreTomtalked,thecloserthegreatThingcame,itwasn’tscaredofTom,Tomdrewitwithhisbreath,Tomwaspartofit! 

           "LastFebruary,"saidTom,andchuckled."Heldamatchboxupinasnowstorm,letoneoldsnowflakefallin,shutitup,raninsidethehouse,stasheditintheicebox!" 

           Close,veryclose. DouglasstaredatTom’sflickeringlips. Hewantedtojumparound,forhefeltavasttidalwaveliftupbehindtheforest. Inaninstantitwouldsmashdown,crushthemforever... 

           "Yes,sir,"musedTom,pickinggrapes,"I’mtheonlyguyinallIllinoiswho’sgotasnowflakeinsummer. Preciousasdiamonds,bygosh. TomorrowI’llopenit.Doug,youcanlook,too... 

           AnyotherdayDouglasmighthavesnorted,struckout,denieditall. Butnow,withthegreatThingrushingnear,fallingdownintheclearairabovehim,hecouldonlynod,eyesshut. 

           Tom,puzzled,stoppedpickingberriesandturnedtostareoverathisbrother. 

           Douglas,hunchedover,wasanidealtarget. Tomleaped,yelling,landed. Theyfell,thrashed,androlled. 

           No! Douglassqueezedhismindshut. No!Butsuddenly...Yes,it’sallright! Yes! Thetangle,thecontactofbodies,thefallingtumblehadnotscaredoffthetidalseathatcrashednow,floodingandwashingthemalongtheshoreofgrassdeepthroughtheforest.