Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson

sea was becoming restless below.
    Beyond the horizon great gales were wandering to and fro.
    Moomintroll lay awake late at nights, listening to the creakings and crackings in the walls of the sleeping house.
    The ancestor was very quiet. He had closed the shutters behind him and perhaps retired again a thousand years back. The damper cord had disappeared into the cranny between the stove and the wall, tassels, embroidery and all.
    'He liked it,' Moomintroll thought. He had moved from the basket of wool and was sleeping in his own bed

    again. In the mornings the sun shone farther and farther into the drawing-room, looking embarrassedly at cobwebs and dust pellets. The bigger dust wads, those that had grown round and full of personality, Moomintroll used to carry out on the veranda, but the small ones he allowed to roll about as they liked.
    The earth under the south window was becoming quite warm in the afternoon. It looked slightly bulging

    from brown, bursting bulbs and from the many small root threads that were eagerly sucking at the melting snow.
    And then one windy day, a little before dusk, a strong and majestic report was heard far out to sea.
    'Well,' said Too-ticky and put her teacup down. 'The spring cannonade's starting.'
    The ice heaved, and more reports thundered.
    Moomintroll ran out from the bathing-house to listen in the warm wind.
    'Look, the sea's coming in,' said Too-ticky behind him.
    Far out a white border of waves was hissing, angry and hungry waves biting off piece after piece of the winter ice.
    A black crack came shooting in along the ice, it wove to and fro, and then it tired and disappeared. The sea heaved again and new cracks formed. They broadened.
    'I know someone who'd better hurry up and come home,' said Too-ticky.
    Little My of course had noticed that something was about to happen. But she simply couldn't leave off. She had to take a look, out where the sea had broken free. So

    she had skated up to the outermost edge and cut a proud figure of eight in the face of the sea.
    Then she turned about and went back at top speed over the cracking ice. At first the cracks were quite thine 'Danger', they were writing all over the ice, as far as she could see.
    The ice sagged, heaved and sank again, and every now and then thundered the cannon salute of festivity and destruction that sent delightful cold thrills up her back.

    'I hope the silly asses won't be hopping out here to save me,' she thought. 'That'd spoil everything.' She went full speed ahead, nearly doubled up on her kitchen knives. The shore didn't seem to come any nearer.
    Now some of the cracks were widening and becoming streams. An angry little wave lashed out.
    And then suddenly the sea was filled with rocking ice islands that knocked against each other in confusion. On one of them stood Little My, looking at the stretches of water all around her, and she thought without any special alarm: 'Well, this is a pretty go.'
    Moomintroll was already on his way out to her rescue. Too-ticky stood looking on for a while, and then she went, inside the bathing-house and put a kettle of water on the stove. 'Quite, quite,' she thought with a little sigh. 'It's always like this in their adventures. To save and be saved. I wish somebody would write a story sometime about the people who warm up the heroes afterwards.'
    As Moomintroll ran he watched a small crack running alongside him. It was keeping abreast of him.
    The ice heaved in the swell, and suddenly it broke in pieces and started rocking violently under his feet.
    Little My was standing quite still on her ice-floe, watching the jumping Moomintroll. He looked exactly like a bouncing rubber ball, and his eyes were round from excitement and strain. When he landed at her side Little My held up her arms and said: 'Put me on your head, will you, so I can get off if I must?'
    Then she grabbed a sure hold of his ears and cried: '"A" company, towards the shore, turn!'
    Moomintroll threw a quick glance at