Jack Frost

In early December Fred was driving home from work. He wore a heavy brown jacket a wool hat and brown work boots. He drove an old sedan and had the heat cranked up. He sped down a lone country road, the road was clear but snow piled up in the open field next to the road.

The dusty smell of an old car’s heating system and the sound of Christmas music filled the car. Fred hummed along to one of the many tunes that he knew by heart, but kept forgetting the name. As he was driving he spotted a young boy walking alone through the snow in the snowy field. Fred carefully slowed down and then stopped his car. He opened his door and stepped out. He took a few steps away from his car and called out to the boy. The child didn’t respond. Fred heard crows and looked up, spotting a murder of crows flying overhead. Fred walked into the snow, it wasn’t too deep and only went up to his ankles. It wasn’t that easy to walk in though. Fred called out again as he walked closer to the boy.

After a few minutes Fred was only ten feet or so from the boy and yelled again, this time getting a little angry. The boy looked up. He had crystal blue eyes that were alert and showed a sense of intelligence and cunning, but his face was that of a young boy. His hair was white and his skin pale as snow. The boy smiled and a chill went down Fred’s spine. Fred blinked and the next moment the boy was gone. The crows no longer seemed interested in this spot and flew off in different directions. Confused and a little scared, Fred walked back to his car. When he got to his car he silently drove home and never told anyone about what he had seen.

Fred was just one of many to have seen this boy. The boy was actually not even a boy, but the spirit of winter, Jack Frost. He had pale blue skin, crystal blue eyes and hair made of ice and snow. He was small like a child but was devious and intelligent as a creature centuries old. He could look like a human, or close enough to fool people, and loved to play tricks. Depending on his mood he might do something as innocent as lead some poor chump out into a snowy field and then disappear or maybe something more sinister like using wind and snow to hide and knock down markers on a hiking trail and laughing as winter hikers got lost and muddled around in the snow.

Some have called Jack Frost an icy devil or snow demon and compared to the saintly Santa Clause, he might be. Jack Frost isn’t really evil though. He doesn’t care about corrupting men’s souls or trying to end anyone’s life, he only cares about having fun, even if it is at the expense of others.

Unfortunately, some people have died from Jack’s cruel tricks. He never had intended to kill anyone, he just doesn’t seem to realize or care how dangerous winter can be for humans and how fatal his tricks can become. Since Jack Frost's tricks can be so deadly, crows follow him around as they look for their next meal.

So if you ever find a boy alone in the snow and surrounded by crows, it is best to ignore him and save yourself the grief Jack Frost will most likely bring.