"Quite right," said Fred. "As it is, the ice protects the water from the cold. Without it the fishes and water plants would all die.""I was very much surprised to learn about the hail and snow," said Willie.
"All right, Will," said Fred. "Then suppose you have a turn, and tell us all you can remember about them.""Well, Norah, I suppose you know what hailstones are like?" said Willie.
"They are like little round balls of ice.""But what do you think they really are?" he asked again. "They are nothing more than frozen rain- drops. You know the rain falls in little round drops.
"Teacher says that sometimes the raindrops, asthey fall, have to pass through very cold air, and they are frozen into round balls of ice before they can reach the earth. The little round balls of solid water we call hail.
"Snow, too, is another form of solid water. You know that evaporation is constantly going on everywhere. The vapor as it forms rises and makes clouds. The clouds we see in the sky are only masses of vapor.