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"Shut up!" Rob yelled "Ah' tae le?"

"Hht a snowflake "I said the big wee hag can ho she wants, right?" Billy was staring at the snowflake "Billy?" said Rob "What?" he said, as if waking up "Oh…yes Do ye think she wants tae marry the Wintersmith?"

"The Wintersmith?" said Rob "He canna marry anyone He's like a spirit--there's nothin' tae him!"

"She danced with hi another flake and inspecting it "Just girlish high spirits! Anyhy should the big wee hag think anything o' the Wintersonnagle slowly, as more flakes danced down, "that the Winters…"

CHAPTER FOUR

Snowflakes T hey say that there can never be two snowflakes that are exactly alike, but has anyone checked lately? Snow fell gently in the darkness It piled up on rooftops, it kissed its way between the branches of trees, it settled on the forest floor with a gentle sizzle and smelled sharply of tin Granny Weatherwax always checked the snow She stood at her doorith the candlelight streaht flakes on the back of a shovel The white kitten watched the snowflakes That's all it did It didn't bat them with a paw, it just watched, very intently, each flake spiral down until it landed Then the kitten would watch it some more, until it was sure the entertainment was over, before it looked up and selected another flake It was called You, as in "You! Stop that!" and "You! Get off there!" When it came to names, Granny Weatherwax didn't do fancy Granny looked at the snowflakes and smiled in her not-exactly-nice way "Come back in, You," she said, and shut the door Miss Tick was shivering by the fire It wasn't very big--just big enough However, there was the s from a small pot on the eer one froet chicken, so she lived in hope It had to be said that Granny Weatherwax and Miss Tick did not get on ith each other Senior witches often don't You could tell that they didn't by the way they were extremely polite all the time "The snow is early this year, Mistress Weatherwax," said Miss Tick "Indeed it is, Miss Tick," said Granny Weatherwax "And so…interesting Have you looked at it?"

"I've seen snow before, Mistress Weatherwax," said Miss Tick "It was snowing all the way up here I had to help push the oing to do about Tiffany Aching?"

"Nothing, Miss Tick More tea?"

"She is rather our responsibility"

"No She's hers, first and last She's a witch She danced the Winter Dance I saw her do it"

"I'm sure she didn't mean to," said Miss Tick "How can you dance and notThe excitement probably ran aith her feet She didn't knoas going on"