“You look very happy this morning,” Little Pine’s mother said to him as she dished up a bowl of beechnut porridge for breakfast. “Your long night’s sleep must have helped your brain sort everything out.”
“It did, Mom! And I dreamed of a beautiful angel who told me to be at peace and be happy.”
“How lovely,” said Mother Pine. “I’m glad you’re in good spirits. Mother Elf sent word that she needs to see you when you can stop by. She needs to talk with you about the final arrangements for the Grand March on Festival morning.”
“Okay, I’ll call on her right after breakfast,” Little Pine said.
He skipped happily down the trail to the Elf house, glad for another day of surprising warmth and sunshine. Last year at Festival time, the woods had been blanketed with a deep snow. But this year, it was unusually warm. He’d even seen some dandelions blooming.
Mother Elf opened the door with a tray of freshly-baked maple candies in her hand. “Oh, good! I’m happy to see you, Little Pine. I have a surprise for you.” She invited him to sit down at the kitchen table and offered him a mug of birch tea as they chatted about the weather.
Then she sat down across from him and smiled. “I met with the Grand March committee last night, Little Pine, and we all agreed that this year we want you to be the parade’s Marshal. It’s quite an honor, as you know. But it’s also quite a responsibility. It would be up to you to plan the parade’s route and to lead it. Then, when everyone has arrived at Grandfather Pine’s home, you would be the Master of Ceremonies, announcing each act for the Festival Performance.”
Little Pine was more than surprised. This was an honor he had never dreamed would be his.
“Will you accept this position, Little Pine? And will you promise to carry it out faithfully to the best of your abilities?” Mother Elf asked. She was smiling and her eyes were twinkling with affection. But her voice was serious and Little Pine understood that she wanted him to consider seriously whether he felt that he was wholly willing and able to do it.
A wave of happy warmth washed up from his heart, and he knew the answer at once. “Yes, Mother Elf! Yes, I accept with honor, and I promise I’ll do my very best.”
“I am delighted to hear that, Little Pine. We all believed you were exactly the one for the job.” She handed him a little scroll tied with a red ribbon. “These are the instructions,” she said, “passed down from Marshal to Marshal since the Festival began, way back in time, since before even Grandfather Pine was born. They will clearly spell out your duties and give you helpful hints added by many past Marshals. You may add your notes to it when the Festival is over. Then return the scroll to me.
“Now you must go home and study. The Festival is quickly drawing near and you have a lot of planning to do.” She gave him a basket of treats to take home to nibble on as he worked on his plans. Then she gave him a big elf hug and sent him on his way.
Little Pine was about half way home when he spotted a white bear in one of the decorated trees. It was hanging a pretty snowflake ornament on one of the branches. When he first saw the white fur, he thought for a moment that it might be Sugar Bear. But this bear, it turned out, wasn’t fluffy and round like she was. It was quite sleek and handsome.
“Hello, white bear!” Little Pine said. He introduced himself and welcomed the bear to the Festival.
“Thank you, Little Pine. I’m Peter Polar Bear, and I’m delighted to be here. Where I live, near Santa’s home, it is very cold and this warm weather of yours is quite a treat for me. I was just getting ready to leave for your Festival when one of Santa’s elves stopped by to tell me that some of the bears here were wishing for snow. It is that time of year, you know.
I brought this snowflake ornament as my Festival gift hoping that the sight of it would make them feel happy.”
“Mother Elf and I were just talking about the weather, Peter. She asked the North Wind about it, and he said they were holding the cold and snow back for another week or so, until all the bears returned to their homes from the Festival. While it’s warm and there’s plenty of food, they’ll stay awake and fill their tummies. When the snow and cold come, they’ll want to hibernate for the winter. So the North Wind said it would be better to wait to bring snow until they were near their dens.”
“That old North Wind is very wise,” said Peter. “He’s a great friend of my kind.”
“And it’s very thoughtful of you to bring a snowflake as your gift, Peter,” Little Pine said. “It will give everyone a happy reminder of the beauty that’s soon to come.”
Little Pine told Peter where to find the bears’ encampment and said that he would see him in a couple of days for the Grand March. The other bears would explain everything to him when he met them. “And they’ll be sure you get your share of treats, too!” he said. Then he gave Peter a fun bubble. “Here’s a welcome for you,” he said, tossing it to the bear.
It burst into a song sung by barking seals and ribbons of silver fish splashed into the air. Peter Bear laughed as only a polar bear can, and Little Pine laughed, too, as he set off toward home to begin his work as the Grand March Marshal.