Disclaimer: I do not own Disney's Kim Possible and Raymond Briggs's The Snowman, they belong solely to their creators.

(Notes: This is a short story for Whitem's 5th Annual Snow Daze Holiday Story Contest. This little festive tale is inspired by the classic children's book The Snowman by British author and illustrator Raymond Briggs that had been adapted into a 26 minute silent animation which to this day remains a seasonal classic for audiences worldwide. To keep in touch with the book and film adaptation, this story will not have any dialogue.)


THE SNOWMAN...HANK

A SEASONAL FAN-FIC BY

STORMCHASER90

Snowmen. The most fun activity you could ever have when the weather gets colder and starts to snow. Let me ask you something. When you build a snowman, did you ever get the feeling that it had some magic in it, like it was alive? Now I'm not talking about the fiasco when Summer Gale used the weather machine, which used polluted water from Camp Wannaweep. That is far from the magical sense that I'm on about. You see, when a snowman is built it takes in some of the magic from child-like wonder, making it slightly magical. However there are times when a child's wonder is so great, a snowman they built can come to life.

Our story begins on the day of Christmas Eve and all over Middleton the laughter of children playing in the snow rang through the air, wrapped up in the warmest of winter garb as they threw snowballs, made angel imprints, rode down hills on sleds and of course one of the oldest of traditions...snowman building. Next door to the Possible home, where the young twins fled from their sister after one of their snowballs was accidentally thrown into her room, the Stoppables were out in the back yard and playing with their youngest daughter; Hanna.

When Hanna had awoke that morning and saw the ground blanketed by inches of snow after a night of heavy snowfall, she wondered how her day should go. It was the first time she seen snow in Middleton and she heard stories from her brother of all the fun there was to have. Dressing up in her warmest winter clothes, with matching pink woolly gloves, scarf and hat, she ventured into the backyard with her older brother, laughing with joy as she played with Ron and Rufus. Her brother's first suggestion was for them to have Hanna's very first snowball fight, Ron promising that he would go easy on Hanna.

Unfortunately Ron found out the hard way that she was gifted for snowball fights, diving for cover as she cut loose with the most impressive display of pitching fast balls he had ever seen; well that was Yamanouchi training for you! Rufus couldn't stop himself from breaking out into fits of hysterical laughter when a stray snowball hit the branches of the tree Ron was hiding behind, resulting in a mini avalanche that buried him. Quickly surrendering to his sister, Ron suggested to do something else that looked fun. However Hanna knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to build a giant snowman, just like Snowman Hank!

Ron agreed to help Hanna build her first snowman, ready to do the most heavy of lifting. First they begun to construct the main body of the snowman, using a wheel barrow to carry large amounts of snow with ease. Ignoring the chill in the air, Hanna helped her brother packing the snow into a large ball that grew bigger and bigger throughout the day. Once the body was large enough Hanna begun to roll a smaller ball for the head while Ron carefully helped construct the arms for the snowman, placing them firmly at the sides of the round body. Once the head was large enough, Ron helped Hanna place the head carefully on top of the body, the two stepping back to admire their work so far.

It certainly was the same shape and size as Snowman Hank but some very important features were missing. With an idea in mind, Ron went into the garage to find a large black hat with red trim, an old green vest and a pair of old red oven mitts. Carefully dressing the snowman up they placed the vest on first, followed by the oven mitts and then the hat. It already looked a lot like Snowman Hank but something was still missing. The snowman already had the same shape and size as the one on T.V, he even was dressed like it as well. Hanna then noticed that they had forgot to add the face! You cannot have a snowman without a face!

Pondering on how to get the face just right, Ron helped his sister find two small black pebble for the eyes before heading back inside the house to find something for his red nose. Ron found the solution to that problem by searching through the piles of old junk in his room, his hand grasping a small red rubber ball. Placing the eyes and nose in place, they admired their handiwork but noticed that something was still missing. Ron smiled as he bent down and picked up a small handful of snow, bringing it closer to the face of the snowman. With an expression of utmost concentration on his face, Ron carefully constructed a large mustache made entirely of snow. Hanna smiled at the sight of the giant snowman before them, looking just like Snowman Hank.

Already the skies begun to darken, the day had gone by quickly with all the fun they had building the snowman. Heading back inside the house, Hanna enjoyed a nice cup of hot cocoa to warm up as night started to fall. Sitting in front of the T.V. with her brother, he put on the Snowman Hank DVD much to her delight. She enjoyed the antics of the magical snowman as he played his guitar, clapping along to the songs. Looking out the window, she saw the Snowman Hank that she and Ron built, wondering if it would be as magical as the on T.V. As the evening went on, Hanna's bedtime approached and the sleepy toddler was carried up to her room to be tucked into bed. Drifting off to dreamland, Hanna was unaware of the magic that was to occur that night as soon as her family went to bed.

It was near midnight when a strange feeling woke Hanna up. Rubbing the tiredness from her eyes, Hanna noticed a mysterious light being cast into her room, as if coming from the back yard. Getting up and peering out her bedroom window, she saw a strange aura surrounding the snowman which puzzled the young girl. Just what was happening to the snowman she and her brother made? Strangely drawn to the bizarre events happening, she climbed out of her cot with ease and put on her pink gown, before venturing out into the backyard to investigate.

The white aura still surrounded the snowman, pulsing gently as if some sort of magic was building up from within. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Hanna slowly reached out to touch the snowman when a bright flash of light made her lose balance, tumbling to the ground. As she sat on the cold ground, she couldn't believe her eyes when the snowman suddenly gave a little shake and then blinked. Her mouth hung open in awe as the snowman looked down at her and removed his hat, bowing before her. Surely she had to be dreaming this for no snowman can suddenly come to life.

She could not sense anything evil about him, he looked as kind hearted and good natured like the Snowman Hank from T.V. Reaching out his arm, Snowman Hank helped Hanna up from the ground, his snowy mustache twitching as if he were smiling. Shifting his enormous bulk, he shuffled along the ground to explore his surroundings, for it had been a while since he had last came to life. Hanna wondered if it was her wish that brought him to life, for if that was the case then she had a new friend to play with. With a smile on her face, the young girl helped lead Hank inside the house to play with her new friend.

Heading into the living room, Hank started to examine the various items such as decorations, framed photographs of family and friends and the furniture, attempting to sit down on the couch to no success. Hanna couldn't help but giggle as Hank got up, examining a small snow globe which had a miniature model of Santa's workshop, shaking it to see the snowflakes swirling around inside. Her amusement was short lived when she saw to her horror that a small puddle of water was forming on the floor, her eyes shifting to the crackling embers in the fireplace. A fireplace and a snowman were not a good combination! Quickly pointing to the danger Hank was in, she helped lead him away from the heat before he melted any further.

Taking him to the kitchen, Hanna opened the door to the fridge to help cool him down, smiling as Hank held his hands out to the chill emanating from inside; mirroring an action any ordinary person would do if they were in front of a fire into order to warm up or in Hank's case, cool down. Closing the fridge door once he had cooled down enough, Hank smiled when he saw a large Christmas cake that Mrs Stoppable baked earlier, decorated with white frosting and had a miniature model of Snowman Hank next to a large Christmas tree. Hank admired the small figurine, amazed at how much it looked like him.

Hanna gasped when she saw that Rufus had quietly snuck downstairs for a late night cheesy snack, the small rodent heading to the fridge and taking out a large Tupperware box with a block of cheese inside. As he broke a small piece off and started to eat, he noticed Hanna with Hank, freezing on the spot with fright. Looking at both Hanna and Hank, then at the cheese, he figured it was perhaps a cheese induced dream he was having and went back to bed, much to Hanna and Hank's relief. Once Rufus was asleep, the two new friends continued to have fun.

Heading upstairs to her bedroom, Hanna shown Hank the toys she enjoyed to play with, her favorite was a Cuddle-Buddy called a Guinea-Kat, a mix of Guinea-Pig and Meerkat which Kim got Hanna for a welcoming present when she was adopted. Hank saw other toys that Hanna played with, such as a doll house that Mr. Stoppable spent weeks building and a small plastic pretend tea-set that Hanna used to have tea parties with her dolls, to which they enjoyed a pot of pretend tea together.

As the night went by, Hank looked outside the bedroom window and motioned for Hanna to follow him to the backyard. Once outside, he pointed up at the sky to which Hanna gasped in wonder at perhaps the most peculiar sight she had ever seen. Snowmen of all shapes and sizes were flying up in the sky, all of them travelling in the same direction. Reaching out to take Hanna's hand, Hank smiled as a strange sensation of warmth begun to flow through Hanna; as if she was sitting before an open fire and wearing her gown and slippers. Before she realized what was happening, Hank started to shuffle along the ground fast as Hanna ran along side him.

All of a sudden it had felt as if the ground had disappeared from beneath her feet, when actually she had taken flight. Why, they both had! She couldn't believe it was happening; it was as if she was walking in the air. The two of them continued flying through the skies, following the other flying snowmen. She gasped as they flew over the town of Middleton, the snow covered buildings decorated with bright Christmas decorations were a multi-colored blur from the speed they were travelling. Hanna laughed with joy as the cold winter air rushed through her hair, yet the strange magic that flowed through her kept her warm.

As they journeyed through the skies, Hanna saw towns and cities rush by, the citizens of those towns unaware of the magical journey above them as they slept. Up ahead they saw an ominous looking building, which clearly was an evil lair for one of Kim's many villains. As they flew past, while Drakken's henchmen enjoyed his annual villains Christmas party, Dr. Drakken's jaw dropped at the sight of a small child holding hands with what appeared to be Snowman Hank flying in the sky. Looking suspiciously at the glass of wine in his hand, he figured it was a sign that he had a little too much to drink.

The magical flight took them further away from civilization, the distances they covered would have taken hours by non-magical means; not even Kim's car with its advanced technology could travel that fast. Soon they started to fly over frozen waters, travelling further towards the north pole. Hanna smiled as she and Hank saw a small group of penguins on a small ice-berg, sliding around on their bellies as they played, two of which accidentally collided into each other as they were fixated on the flying duo. As they got further north, Hanna saw a beautiful display of lights in the sky, ones she saw in the story books about the north pole that her parents read to her; the northern lights.

As they got closer Hanna saw to her amazement a small forest of pine trees in the middle of the arctic, descending slowly until they gently landed. After travelling so far from home, Hanna wondered why Snowman Hank brought her there. Hand in hand, Hanna walked with Snowman Hank into the forest, a warm glow shining through the trees. With a free hand Snowman Hank pushed aside low hanging branches to reveal another peculiar sight. In the middle of the forest was a clearing that was packed with a large crowd of snowmen, all dressed in different style of hats and gloves; as if they had flown in from all over the world!

Sensing new arrivals to the party, the snowmen turned around and smiled, moving aside as the two made their way to the front of the crowd, a gasp of joy escaping from Hanna as she saw who the snowmen arrived to meet. With his trademark red suit with white trim, black boots and his long flowing white beard, Hanna recognized the legendary Santa Claus. Following Santa to a row of tables with platters of festive food and drink, Hanna learnt that every year just before Santa travels the world to deliver the presents, he holds a party for all the snowmen in the world.

Joining in the festive celebrations, Hanna had freshly made mince pies baked by Mrs. Claus and warm hot cocoa, eating and partying with the other snowmen. At Santa's request, a small band of snowmen begun to play a festive tune with Snowman Hank joining in by using a spare guitar. Hanna laughed with joy as the snowmen got up and started to dance, joining in the merriment. She enjoyed taking part in different types of dances from around the world, even the Flippies dance.

Once the dance was over Hanna saw Santa was standing next to a snow covered stable, waving Hanna and Hank over to join him. Walking over to him, Santa smiled as he opened the stable doors to show Hanna the inside of the stables. All of Santa's reindeer were inside their stalls, eating away at hay bales while elves were busy making final preparations to the sleigh. It was every kids dream to see Santa's reindeer, even Hanna always wondered what it would be like to meet them. Reaching out to pet one of them the reindeer gave a contented snort as she patted its nose.

Reaching into the giant magical sack in the bag of his sleigh, Santa pulled out a small package beautifully wrapped in blue decorative paper held together with a silver ribbon tied in a bow; the name tag for the present read 'For Hanna.' Opening the present she saw that inside was light purple scarf with pink naked mole rats that looked just like Rufus, wrapping it around her neck. Hanna thanked Santa with a hug, the jolly man patting her back gently. Feeling a gloved hand on her shoulder, Hanna saw Snowman Hank gesturing to a carved cuckoo clock on the wall. It was time for them to go.

Waving goodbye to Santa, the reindeer and the elves, Hanna and Snowman Hank left the stables so they could let Santa get ready to deliver the presents. Stepping outside to say their farewells to the rest of the snowmen, who were also saying their farewells to each other, Hanna took Hank's outstretched hand and with the same magical sensation flowing through her, they took the skies once again for the long journey home.

Following the same route in reverse, they traveled across the world to Middleton, arriving outside the Stoppable's home just an hour before sunrise. Landing quietly in the back yard, Hanna yawned as a wave of tiredness washed over her. Hank noticed the tired expression on Hanna's face and gestured to the house, pointing to the window of Hanna's bedroom. It was time for Hanna to go to sleep and that went for Snowman Hank as well, for the magic that brought him to life would fade at sunrise and would not return until next Christmas.

Returning to his original position in the back yard, Hank watched Hanna slowly walk to the back door of the house, smiling with fondness for the fun evening he had. To his surprise the little girl stopped in her tracks and ran back to him, wrapping her arms around him for one last hug, her way of thanking him for the most magical night of her life. Breaking the hug gently, Hanna returned to her room as quietly as a mouse, taking the scarf Santa gave her and putting it in her night gown's pocket. Looking out the window, she saw Snowman Hank standing still as a statue and watching over the garden before climbing back into her cot, falling fast asleep and dreaming pleasant dreams.

When Hanna awoke that Christmas morning, the smell of Ron's Christmas morning breakfast which he usually cooked for his family every year filling her nostrils, she smiled as her mother gently picked her up out of her crib. As her mother carried her downstairs, Hanna thought back to that magical night. Did what occurred that night was real or was it just another dream brought about by too much Christmas specials on T.V? As they reached the dining room Hanna gasped as she caught a glimpse of the back yard through the window, escaping from her mother's grip and rushing outside, ignoring the winter's chill in the air.

Before her very eyes, she saw all that remained of Snowman Hank; the magical snowman who spent the night playing games, taking her to a party of snowmen and visiting Father Christmas. Where he once stood, was a large pile of snow with the damp clothing that Snowman Hank wore. She and her brother had spent most of the day building him and it broke her heart to see him gone, placing her hands in her gown pockets as she sulked, gasping with surprise when she felt something in one of her pockets. Slowly, Hanna pulled out a light purple scarf, with pink naked mole rats just like Rufus.

So last night was not a dream at all, she really did have fun with a magical snowman. As she stood there, she begun to wonder. If her snowman came to life for one magical Christmas Eve, then what if the same thing happened next year? Maybe, just maybe, she would get to see her friend again another time.

The End


Well, I hope you all enjoyed this little festive tale as much as I enjoyed writing it. The best of luck to other writer's who entered Whitem's contest, I'll look forward to reading those entries. Here's to another year of new fanfics and new writers joining this small corner of the net.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

SC90