Mr. Snaps scuttled away with his new Santa hat on. It fit perfectly over his little body, just as Coco thought it would. “He looks so cute!” cried Penny.
She really wanted to pet him again, but knew what would happen if she tried. “How come he only lets you touch him?” asked Penny.
Coco shrugged her shoulders. She honestly had no idea. She offers him treats from time to time, but so does Penny. He never accepts Penny’s treats. Coco has even been able to pet him, while Penny only gets snapped at.
Guess they’ll never know.
Penny turned back to finish their sand snowman. She didn’t realize it until this morning, but today is officially half way to Christmas. She wanted to do something a little special to celebrate. And what better way to celebrate than by making a snowman out of sand. They were really good at making sand castles, so how hard could it be?
Coco thought it was a fun idea and wanted to join in. She brought a hat and scarf from her house and helped form the head. Penny thought it would be extra fun to decorate its body with star fish lying around the beach. She grabbed different colors and put them on around its body. “Today must be a magical day, being halfway to Christmas,” thought Penny aloud, “Maybe Santa will visit us tonight and give us a toy!”
“I don’t think so, Penny,” replied Coco, “He’s never left us a present in the summer before.”
“But we’ve never built a sandy snowman on the beach before either,” Penny replied. “Oh, I know! Maybe this sandy snowman will come to life!”
That sounded even sillier than Santa bringing presents to Coco. She didn’t know what to say as Penny told her all about the fun things they’d do with him and how she couldn’t wait to show it the rest of Little Island. Now Coco was worried that Penny would be so sad when the sandy snowman didn’t come to life.
Finally they were done. Their sandy snowman looked extra festive with its blue scarf on. “What should we name him?” asked Coco, hoping Penny would stop talking about the snowman sculpture coming to life.
“Hmmm…Jeff?” replied Penny.
“No,” said Coco, “that doesn’t sound right. What about Sandson?”
Penny giggled. “Oh, I got it! What about Sunny the Sandman?”
Coco thought the name was perfect too. After admiring their work, Coco wanted to step away and go look for Mr. Snaps to see if he still had his hat on. Just as Coco was stepping away, Penny said, “Coco, why hasn’t Sunny the Sandman come to life yet?”
“Maybe the hat and scarf he’s wearing are not magic ones,” Coco replied.
“Maybe the sand doesn’t turn into magic on the halfway day to Christmas either,” replied Penny sadly, “I was really hoping to see him come to life.”
“I’m sorry, Penny,” Coco responded.
Then they left. Soon they found Mr. Snaps. He was still wearing his Santa hat, which made Penny feel better and almost forget about the sandman they built. Then a strange voice spoke from behind them, “Oh, a crabby crab wearing a Santa hat. It looks so cute!”
Penny and Coco slowly turned around. To their surprise their sandy snowman stood right in front of them, very much alive. “I can’t believe you’re alive, Sunny!” Penny cried, “How did this happen?”
“Today is a special day,” Sunny replied, “We’re halfway through the year to Christmas!”
Penny was so excited to see her sandman alive, just as she wished for, that she started cheering and dancing. Sunny was so happy to be alive that he started dancing with her. Coco stood motionless, she couldn’t believe her eyes. There was a living snowman sand sculpture dancing with her best friend. Was this real?
It was. Suddenly, she became so happy for Penny that her wish came true, that she decided to dance with Penny and Sunny as well.
The rest of the day was magical, they found more beautiful seashells for Sunny to wear. Sunny found out the hard way that water and sand don’t mix, which was too bad, because he really wanted to go swimming. Coco brought out dinner and they had a picnic on the beach.
The day faded away. The sun was resting on the ocean and the sky turned rosy. Penny and Coco could tell Sunny was getting tired. “Where are you going to sleep tonight, Sunny?” asked Coco.
“I’ll sleep right here,” Sunny replied.
He plopped himself right on the sandy beach, sitting straight up. His feet disappeared and he had tucked his arms in. “Will we see you tomorrow?” asked Penny, “There’s so much more to show you.”
Sunny didn’t reply. The glimmer in his eye was gone. He sat perfectly still. Penny and Coco were confused at first, calling his name and nudging him to reply. Still nothing.
“I guess it’s because the day is over,” Coco responded sadly, “Sunny can only be alive for one day.”
The sky darkened and the rosy hues turned grey. The first stars appeared in the sky. “I’m going to miss you, Sunny,” replied Penny, “I’ll make sure to build you next year so we can have more fun together.”
Coco nodded. After saying goodbye to Sunny the Sandman, they walked home. They were sad they didn’t get to properly say goodbye to Sunny the Sandman. Soon, they started planning all the adventures they’ll have with him next year.
