Coat put on when it’s cold? (“Mending Wall”)

Mary had always loved doing crossword puzzles. As a little girl, she would sit on her grandfather’s lap while he worked on the newspaper crossword every morning. Now, as an adult, Mary still enjoyed the challenge of solving the puzzles.

One day, as she was working on a particularly difficult crossword from “The New York Times,” Mary came across a clue that stumped her: “Coat put on when it’s cold? (“Mending Wall”)”

Mary thought and thought but couldn’t come up with an answer. She went to bed that night with the clue still stuck in her head.

The next day, Mary was out for a walk in the park when she saw a group of children playing in a frozen pond. The kids were wearing big coats, hats, and gloves to stay warm in the frigid weather.

Suddenly, it hit Mary! The answer to the crossword clue was FROST – as in the coat that people put on when it’s cold outside, much like the coats those children were wearing to keep warm on the icy pond.

Mary smiled to herself, feeling a sense of satisfaction at finally cracking the puzzle. From then on, whenever she encountered a difficult clue, she would remember the children on the frozen pond and be inspired to keep trying until she found the answer.