Author: Susan Minarik

Little Pine fell asleep that night before his mother’s goodnight kiss had left his forehead. His day had been one of those wonderfully satisfying ones where he had a hundred things to do and got them all done.

He had walked all the way around the large lake spreading the word that the Elf King and the Spirits of Play were coming. The sun had set and the first stars were glimmering in the sky by the time he got home and even then he could hear the excited laughter floating above the lake.

He was remembering the light of the stars as he fell asleep and drifted into the world of dreams.

The next thing he knew, a red bird was calling his name from snowy branches beyond the stars.

“Hello, Little Pine,” it sang. “I bring you greetings!”

“Hello, Red Bird,” Little Pine answered. “Where did you come from?”

“Most recently,” the red bird said, “I’ve been visiting the Home World of the Red Oaks. And some friends of yours asked me to bring you their greetings. So, as you can see, I slipped right into your dreams.”

“Too? Too? You’ve seen my friend, Too?” Little Pine said excitedly.

“Yes, and your dear pal Red Leaf, who thinks of you with warmth and joy.”

“Wow,” breathed Little Pine. “That’s wonderful!”

“They watched you today as you visited all the lakeside dwellers, and they know you have much to do in the days ahead. They said they would send you winds of happiness so that you could float as lightly as a leaf as you helped the elves prepare the woodland for your guests. Their wish for you is that you may work with ease and joy.”

“Oh, thank you, Red Bird!” Little Pine said in his dreams.

“You’re welcome, dear one,” said the red bird, her bright feathers fluttering in a sudden breeze.

Little Pine caught the fragrance of oak on the dream-wind that rose, blowing the snow from the trees and turning it into stars. Then the red bird slowly faded away, sweetly singing, “Sleep well, Little Pine. Sleep well.”

Little Pine and his mother talked long into the night about the news that the Elf King was coming to this year’s Festival of Light. Mother Pine said she had heard the legends about the Elf King’s woodland visits, but never in this woodland’s history was there mention of his coming here.

The trees had always loved the story, of course. It was part of the Festival’s lore. But no one was sure that it was true.

According to the legend, the Elf King and the Spirits of Fun visited every woodland’s Festival every year. But they were invisible and their music and laughter was beyond the range of hearing by even the deer and the rabbits whose hearing was renowned. But, the legend said, each year the Elk King would choose one of Earth’s woodlands and cast a magic spell that let all of its inhabitant see and hear them for the entire Festival season.

Little Pine told her that the jay bird himself had brought the final word that the King and his Spirits were coming. He shared with her all the plans the elves had made to decorate the woodland more beautifully than ever before. They named Little Pine as their special messenger and asked him to spread the word to the woodland’s very edges so everyone could prepare.

As soon as the next morning broke, Little Pine was on his way. The elves had helped him make a plan that would let him spread the news to as much of the woodland as he could each day. Today, he was heading to the lake. And his first visit would be with the cattails.

The cattails were known for their Festival songs. Their music was always enthralling, and sounded as if they were the pipes of great organ playing in a magnificent cathedral somewhere. The hills would ring with their majestic voices.

Little Pine could hardly wait to tell them the news. He knew they would want to compose a special song to welcome the honored guests. It could set the tone for the whole event.

What a commotion broke out when Little Pine explained to them that the Elf King and the Spirits of Fun really were coming for the Festival this year—visible, so everyone could see them! They woke the whole lakeside section of the woods with their gleeful shouts. Yes, yes! They would be thrilled to compose a special song, they said. They would begin working on it right away.

Little Pine left them, laughing at their merriment. He had many visits to make before the day was through.

Little Pine decided to take a short cut on his way home from his day of planning with the elves. He was excited to tell his mother all the news, of course. But he had another reason for taking the path that he did.

As they were planning, Little Pine saw that Mother Elf would be doing a lot of extra cooking, baking, and candy-making as they prepared for the Elf King’s visit. And all the elf brothers would be especially busy, too. Preparing for the Festival of Light kept the elf family busy in an ordinary year. But now, with their special guests coming, they wanted to make sure that the woodland was as beautiful as it could be.

Little Pine was glad he could help them. He wanted to do everything he could for his friends. As he set out for home, he remembered that he had seen something special growing on the short cut last week. With any luck, they would be ready now.

He giggled as he skipped along. If anything helped to keep the elves happy, it was eating. And they were especially fond of sweets. “Be ready! Be ready!” he sang as he neared the third bend. He was sure that’s where he had seen them.

He careened around the corner, and then stopped in his tracks, laughing. There they were! Perfectly done and far larger than he had hoped they would be. Chocolate thumb-print elf cookies! What could be finer!

Carefully, he plucked them from their stems and gently placed them in his knapsack. His mom would be happy to wrap them, he knew, and he could deliver them tomorrow right after lunch. Oh, wouldn’t the elves be surprised and glad! He could almost hear them singing now.

Even before he reached the elves’ door, Little Pine could hear their laughter and song. Elves are always laughing and singing, of course. But this was a particularly jubilant sound, as if the whole place was bursting with celebration.

Little Pine reached up and rang the flower bell. As Mother Elf opened the door, she was wiping tears from her eyes and trying to control her laughter. “Come in! Come in!” she said, welcoming him.

Behind her all the elves were twirling around with linked arms and clinking their mugs of cider. “Hooray! Hooray!” they shouted.

“What’s going on?” Little Bear asked, as Mother Elf handed him a mug and a winterberry muffin.

“Oh, Little Pine!” Teddy, the oldest brother, said, “Sit down and let me tell you the good news. Jay bird just brought the confirmation. We’ve been chosen!”

“Chosen?” Little Bear said. “For what?”

“Oh! You hadn’t heard!” said Ted. “The birds had brought rumors. But now we know for sure. The Elf King chose our woods for his visit.

“Every year, you see, he takes a select group of the Spirits of Fun to one woodland for the Festival of Light. It’s his way of rewarding the forest-dwellers for all they do to help the woodland thrive. And this year they’re coming here! Here! WhoooooooHooooooooo!”

“You sure are excited!” Little Pine laughed.

“Oh, we are! None of us have ever met the Elf King before, and the Spirits of Fun that come with him are the jolliest in all the realms. They’ll bring a whole new dimension to our Festival, and the Light will beam more brightly than ever.

“But now we have to get ready! There’s so much we want to do!”

“When are they coming? What can I do? How can I help you, Teddy?” Little Pine asked.

Teddy took a deep breath and settled himself down. “Mother, please bring us more biscuits and cider,” he said. “And brothers, come sit down. We only have a few days to get ready. We’re going to need a good set of plans.”

Little Pine felt the electricity of their excitement. And now, sitting around the table with them, he got his first insight into how these wonderful creatures managed to get so much done. They outlined their goals and broke each one down into a hundred small steps. Then they brainstormed about what resources they had and what help they could recruit.

It took all day, and Little Pine marveled at how meticulously they thought things through. He left for home just as the late afternoon sun began to fall beneath the horizon, a neatly written list in his pocket of the part he could play.

He skipped merrily on the path homeward, feeling proud that the elves included him in their plans. What an adventure they were in for! He could hardly wait to tell his mom the news.

Even before he opened his eyes, Little Pine felt something special in the air. Something had changed. When he looked out at the world, at first he thought it had snowed. But no, it wasn’t snow. It was a deep, shimmering frost.

It almost looked too delicate to walk through, he thought. But then he remembered that today was the day that he was going to the elves’ house for breakfast and he shivered with excitement.

He stepped out into the sparkling air. And then he saw that indeed, his friend Too had gone. His empty form lay on ground beside his mother tree. Mother Oak saw Little Pine peering at the empty leaf and said, “Look, Little Pine. He left you a message. Look by his stem.”

Little Pine bent over and saw the marking in the snow. As he fell, Too had managed a final dance and etched a heart on the frosty ground. Little Pine felt his own heart glow with love. It was just like Too to leave a mark of friendship behind. “He said to tell you to always remember your dreams, Little Pine,” Too’s mother said. “I think that’s wise advice.”

Little Pine thanked her and set out through the glistening frost toward the elves’ house. Every twig and weed and blade of grass was sparkling. “What a magical world!” he thought.

The day was already warming, and by the time he got to the elves’ house, the frost would be gone. He was curious to see what they had to say about the Festival and why it was going to be so special this year.

He whistled as he walked, glad that the world was so beautiful and that he was lucky to have such good friends, even when some of them lived in an invisible part of the world.

“Little Pine!  There you are!” the doe said as she stepped from behind a tree.  “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“Hi, Dora,” Little Pine answered.  He called her Dora because he thought she was so adorable.  “Too and I are just coming back from a visit with his mother’s cousin.  Why were you looking for me?”

“I have an invitation for you from the elves,” she said.  “ I don’t know if you have heard the news yet, but this year’s Festival of Light is going to be a very special one.  The elves want to know if you would help them get ready.”

Little Pine heard Too chuckle and saw that he was wearing a big grin.

“Sure!” said Little Pine.  “I would love to help!  What do they want me to do?”

“Meet them at their house for breakfast tomorrow morning.  They’ll tell you all their plans.” Dora said.

“Please tell them that I will be there, bright and early,” Little Pine said.  And Dora bounded off to deliver the news.

“It’s just like your dream, Too,” Little Pine said.  “You said the Festival was going to be special, too.”

“Yes, Little Pine,” Too laughed.  “You’re going to have quite an adventure.”

As they walked home, Little Pine struggled with his feelings.  Part of him was excited about getting to work with the elves.  But the other part was sad that tonight Too would be leaving.

Too understood what was going on with his friend.  When it came for their final parting, he hugged Little Pine and then smiled at him.  “It was wonderful being here with you, Little Pine.  Every time I think of you, my heart will be filled with laughter and joy. 

“Thank you for teaching me so much about friendship.  And remember, not even time and space can really separate us.   Once hearts are joined by love, they stay connected forever.”

Little Pine was still a bit gloomy the next morning as his mother served breakfast.   Only one of the red oak leaves remained from the small tree that grew beside him, and Little Pine could see that it might not last another day. 

The remaining leaf was the one that Little Pine had called “Red Leaf Too,” because his jolly disposition reminded him of Red Leaf, Little Pine’s best friend from last year.   He called him “Too” for short.  

When Little Pine finished breakfast, he was surprised to find Too waiting for him.

“Hi, Little Pine!” Too said brightly.  “I think this is my last day here, and I wanted to invite you to go for a walk with me to meet my mother’s cousin,” Too told Little Pine.  Just as trees can move about the forest, leaves can detach from their trees when no humans are watching and romp about the woods. “She lives on the south side of the lake.”   So off they went. 

“What do you think it will be like to go Home, Too?” Little Pine asked his friend as they walked together. 

“Oh!  I remember Home very well, Little Pine.   It’s filled with dancing light and music and more colors than the rainbow.  When we return, all of the returning leaf-spirits attend the Great Gathering to sing and tell stories about their time on Earth.  The little Leaves-in-Training  can hardly believe how amazing it must be to come here, and they study and practice even harder when they return to their schools after the Great Gathering. 

“I’m excited because, after this season’s Gathering, I’ll get to teach the new Leaves-in-Training some of the things they need to know before they can take on an Earth-form.”

He explained that all leaves, even the needles of the evergreens, trained for ages before they were ready for the Earth adventure.   First they learned the things that all leaves have in common.  Then they decided what species they wanted to be first and went through specialized training.

Little Pine wrinkled his brow.  “I don’t remember Home at all.  But it sure sounds interesting, and wonderful.”

“Oh, it is!” Too said, “You don’t remember it because pines get to stay on Earth a long time.  And time covers up our memories.  It’s meant to be that way so you can experience things here without distraction.  I remember because I’ve been many different kinds of leaves and I’ve been here many, many times.”

“I’m going to miss you, Too,” Little Pine said.

“Oh, Little Pine, you know that my spirit will always be with you.  Just like your first leaf-friend, Red Leaf, I will hear all the songs and laughter of your heart.  And sometimes you’ll hear mine as well.

“Listen, I had a dream last night.  I saw the preparations for the Festival of Light, and I can tell you that it’s going to be very special this year.  You’re in for a wonderful adventure.  And I expect to hear much laughter and song from you as I settle in at Home.”

Little Pine didn’t know whether to believe him or not.  But it seemed like a fine story, and he decided that at least he could pretend that it was true.  “Watch for signs,” Too tells him.  “Listen for the music.  And always pay attention to your dreams.”

Just then they reached the edge of the lake, and Too pointed to a scene through the pine branches.  “Look!” he said.  “There’s my mother’s cousin.  See how tall and beautiful she is, with all her remaining red leaves?  And look, there’s a great spruce beside her.   They have been growing here together for many, many years.  And the spruce has had red leaf friends ever since she was very small, like you. 

“You will have red leaf friends all your days, too, Little Pine,” Too said, smiling.  “Always remember that you are a child of the Great Yes, and a part of its song.   And like all of its children, you are cherished and dearly, dearly loved, and all that you every truly need will be provided.”

Once again, as December unfolds, I’m pleased to bring you the story of Little Pine and the Festival of Light. Join the beloved little tree as he and his forest friends prepare for their festival in celebration of the beginning of the sun’s return after it’s long journey to the south. This year’s festival is a special one. The King of Elves will be coming, and the forest world is abuzz with excited preparation.

Beneath the excitement, Little Pine and his friends discover the meaning behind the celebration and share their joy in a way that’s sure to touch your heart.

The story begins here. Let Little Pine introduce it, then scroll up for each day’s new tale. Or scroll down for today’s chapter.

It was one of those crisp, cold days that happen in early December when fog fills the morning air and the grasses and leaf-tips are covered in frost.  Little Pine woke early, ate breakfast with his mother, and then set off to play with his oak-leaf friends.

“Remember the Rule, Little Pine,” his mother said as he got ready to go.  “Festival time is beginning and Grandfather Pine sent out the word that humans have been seen at the edge of the woods.”

Rule One, Little Pine knew, was “Never let a human see you move.”  Humans believed that trees always stayed in the same place.  If they saw the little ones running around the woods, it would frighten them, and that wouldn’t be kind.  And all trees everywhere value kindness above everything else. 

“Thank you, Mother.  I’ll be sure to watch for them, and I’ll remind my friends, too.”  He gave his mother a hug and dashed out to play.

His oak-leaf friends were pretty with the frost sparkling on their leaves.  But the sun was already rising in the sky and soon both the frost and the fog would be gone.

“Good Morning!” Little Pine called to his friends.  “Want to play hide and seek?”  And so their day of games began.

By the time Little Pine and his friends returned to their homes after the day’s adventures, the oak leaves were tired.  Little Pine could tell by their colors that their spirits were almost ready to slip from their leaf-forms and return Home.

While they rested against his lower boughs, Little Pine thought about the first friend that the neighboring oak had brought him.   “Dear little Red Leaf,” he mused, smiling to himself.  “What great fun we had!” 

He remembered how a white dove had come to him in his sleep last year to tell him that he and Red Leaf would always be brothers in spirit, and that Red Leaf could hear Little Pine’s songs and laughter across the worlds.

He knew now that was true of all friendships.   Connected hearts stay connected forever. 

Still, it seemed early for these cousins of Red Leaf to go, and Little Pine was a tiny bit sad that he wouldn’t have his dear companions at his side to watch the preparations for this year’s Festival.  “But just think!” he said to himself, “What sights they must see when they’re Home!” 

And he smiled at his resting friends, his heart filled with affection, knowing that they, like little Red Leaf, would be his friends beyond the end of time.