When Little Pine woke the next morning, he decided he would check in with the elves. He only had two more visits to make and they were more courtesy visits. He knew these last two forest friends had already heard the news.
As he neared the elves’ section of the woods, he heard their rollicking laughter. He giggled at the sound of it. The elves were always so happy.
“Hey! Little Pine!” they called when they saw him. Little Pine’s eyes popped wide open. They were dressed in bright new festival clothes and dancing on some shiny black platform.
“Like it?” they sang.
“You two look absolutely, well, festive!” Little Pine said.
“Thanks! Mom sewed on the last of the buttons just after breakfast and when we tried them on, they made us want to dance,” Teddy Elf said.
“What’s that big black thing that you’re standing on?” Little Pine asked.
“Oh, it popped out of nowhere this morning with a note that it was a landing site for the Spirits of Fun. It’s got fancy hidden magnets of some kind that help them slide from their world into ours. It kind of tickles when you stand on it and makes you want to laugh.”
“When is the Elf King coming?” Little Pine asked. “Do we know yet?”
The elves stopped their dance and sat down on the platform, still giggling. “The Spirits of Fun are coming first,” the elves said. “We’re expecting them in a couple of days. Then Elf King will come the day before the Festival.”
Little Pine said every creature in the woods was excited that such special guests were coming. All of them were determined to shine their brightest and to sing their very best songs.
“The squirrels are gathering the finest nuts and seeds and winterberries they can find for a feast. And I have to tell you,” he said, “that I understand now why the Elf King would want to come here. While I was walking by the creek yesterday, I realized what a beautiful place our woodland truly is, and that everything that lives here springs from waves of love.”
“It kind of makes you want to dance, doesn’t it?” the elves said, leaping to their feet and turning cartwheels. “How lucky we are! How lucky!” they sang.
Little Pine clapped his hands and told them goodbye. He still had two visits to make. And he set off down the trail, the elves’ gleeful songs echoing everywhere.