Cirrus@Austlit

Of the two puppies, Prince was more troublesome than Spot. Prince would play with Valda's ball or Jean's doll and tear them to pieces. He tried to help Mother in the garden by digging new garden beds. He chased the cat and stole its food. But Prince proves his love and loyalty when he rescues Valda from an accident in the snowfields. His practice at digging in the garden has prepared him for keeping the snow off Valda while Jean makes the hours long trek home to get help.

When Sally and Mary Lou Woopsie are staying with their Aunt Bella, they meet Tommy and Sandy Tootle. The children take a picnic and head up the mountains for 'some fun in the snow'. Tommy shows the others how to make a 'snow log, a long roll of ice, which the children push into the river. When the snow log reaches a downstream village, it is mistaken for a 'dreadful white monster', a snow serpent! The villagers and their General take guns to hunt the Great White Serpent and make heroes of themselves. All the while, the children spend their time meandering home and sharing cups of hot chocolate with a neighbour.

Schoolgirls Valda and Beth Johnston live in the 'hill country' where they ride for twenty miles to school and home each day. They love riding, and so do their horses. Their mother always has 'fresh tea and hot buttered scones' or something similar waiting for the girls on their return. Then the girls head out to check for stray sheep and cattle. One day, however, they spy a campfire that has been left burning and has ignited bushland up the side of the mountain. The girls assist heroically with the protection of their farm and stock and earn the title of 'the bush heroines'.

Beryl and her fox-terrier, Tibby, live next door to Jack and his dog, Rowdy. Tibby is mischievous, and although Beryl at times feels like smacking her, she realises that her pup is merely being playful. Jack spends a lot of time training Rowdy, who carries a basketful of groceries home from the shops and collects the daily paper from the newsagent's. When Tibby is involved in an accident, Rowdy stays by her side until help arrives.

Pip-squeak, a naughty little doll who is not chosen to be a part of the new fire brigade, rings the fire bell for fun. When the bell frightens him, he misses the action, so he sets fire to a small doll's house to see the firemen at work. He has such fun that he decides to ring the bell again, but is caught by four young soldier-dolls who throw him up in a blanket to teach him a lesson.

Toby Brown and Jackie Norton are good friends, though the former is a good and helpful boy, and the latter is the naughty boy of the village. When the Carnival circus comes to town, Jackie gets into lots of trouble. However, when Toby is carried off by a big bunch of balloons, it is Jackie who comes to his rescue.

Joan and Jean, two senior school-girls, build snow sculptures, 'perfect in every detail and built exactly to scale' (p. 73). On one particular camping trip, they build a 'Monster Zoo', with lions, tigers, bears, kangaroos, monkeys, a buffalo and an elephant. When two small boys come across the zoo, they are so afraid that they call for one of the adults, who brings a gun for protection. While the elephant is somewhat injured by gunshot, the boys realise their mistake, and Joan and Jean's zoo becomes a new tourist attraction.

The King, Queen, Princesses and their servants go to the Highlands for a holiday. When the train is delayed on its journey by heavy snowfalls, the princesses meet young Jeannie McGregor, who takes them to her home to visit and have tea. The princesses discover that Jeannie's only doll is a old rag one, so they promise to send her a new one 'with real curls and eyes that open and shut and that can say "Ma-ma" if you press it' (p. 89). Some weeks later, Jeannie makes a torrid trip in the snow to get her doll from the post office, but she becomes lost.

The Woopsi Woopsi children have lots of fun in the snow. However, when they roll Sandy in snow to make a great snow log, the 'log' rolls down the hill and into the river. The children race to the village to get help and the snow log is retrieved from the river. Fortunately, Sandy had been thrown clear of the enormous snow log before it entered the river.

John and Beverley make a fantastic sand castle with a big wall around it. They do not notice that the tide is coming in and they look up to discover that the sea is all around them. They are rescued by life-savers, but on returning home have to explain to their mother how their clothes got so wet when they had promised they would not go swimming.

Before school breaks up, the children at the Alpine village school take a six day holiday in the little Fairy Train and travel to the Fairy city, which had been abandoned, but preserved, when the Queen of the Fairies moved her palace. The children have a delightful time in the Fairy City, drinking from tiny cups and playing in the snow.