Hal and Mab Blake were awake very early the next morning. Mab jumped out of bed first and ran to the window.  
"Is it raining?" asked Hal, from his room. He put one foot out from under the covers to see how cold it was—I mean he wanted to see how cold the air in his room was—not how cold his foot was; for that was warm, from having been asleep in bed with him all night.
 
"No, it isn't raining," said Mab, "but it looks as if it might snow."
 
"I hope it doesn't snow until we have our pic-nic on the ice," exclaimed Hal, as he jumped out of bed, and began to dress.
 
Mamma Blake was very busy cooking breakfast, and so was Aunt Lolly. They had to get the meal and also put up the lunch for the printer pic-nic. A large basket was packed full of good things to eat. I just wish I had some of them now, I'm so hungry!
 
"Well, are you all ready?" asked Mr. Blake of the children, after breakfast.
 
"I am, Daddy," answered Hal, pulling on his red mittens¹, and swinging his skates by a strap² over his shoulder. "I'm all ready."
 
"And so am I," replied Mab, as she tied her cap strings³ under her chin, so it would not blow away—I mean so the cap would not blow away, not Mab's chin; for that was made fast to her face, you see, and couldn't blow off, no matter how much wind whistled down the chimney.
 
"Well, then we'll start," said Daddy Blake. Just then there came a ring at the front door bell, and into the hall tramped Charlie and Mary Johnson, who lived next door to the Blake family. The visitors were warmly dressed, and Charlie had two pairs of skates slung⁴ over his shoulder by the straps⁵.
 
"Oh, we're going on a pic-nic, Mary!" cried Mab, thinking perhaps her little girl friend had come to ask her to go skating.
 
"So are we!" exclaimed Charlie, and he smiled at Daddy Blake, who laughed heartily⁶.
 
"Oh, how funny!" cried Hal. "Are you going to where we are going, I wonder?"
 
The Johnson children looked at Mr. Blake and giggled⁷.
 
"Yes," he answered with a smile, "they are going to the same place we are, Hal and Mab. I invited them to go with us, as I thought you would like company. And I guess mamma put up lunch enough for all of us; didn't you?" he asked, turning toward his wife.
 
"Indeed I did!" cried Mamma Blake. "There's a fine lunch."
 
"Oh, how lovely of you to come with us!" cried Mab, as she put her arms around Mary.
 
"It's just dandy!" shouted Hal, clapping Charlie on the back. Then, as he saw that Charlie was carrying his sister Mary's skates, Hal took Mab's and put them on a strap with his own, saying:
 
"I'll carry them for you, Mab!"
 
"Thank you," she said, most politely. "You are very kind."
 
"Well, do you like my little surprise?" asked Daddy Blake as they started off toward the lake, to hold their winter pic-nic.
 
"Surely we do!" answered Hal. "It's fine that you asked Mary and
Charlie to come with us."
It was quite cold out in the air, and, as Mab had said, it did look like snow. There were dull, gray clouds in the s............