Little Pine was up late into the night working out his plans for the Grand March. The instructions and tips that previous Marshals had passed down were a big help, and he was pleased with his final plan. He would spend the next day visiting all the parade participants to tell them where they would fall in the line. And he would tell the performers the order in which they would present their pieces.
He checked his supply of fun bubbles and saw that he had plenty of them to use for the Festival. He smiled, sure that he had done everything that he needed to do.
He was just deciding to go to bed when he heard the music of the bear choir drifting across the pond. It had many more voices than before. He thought of Sugar Bear and how adorable she looked conducting the bears in their singing and decided he’d hike over to the encampment and watch again through the branches. It would be a reward, he told himself, for all his hard work.
He hadn’t gone far when a few snowflakes fell around him. He smiled, thinking it would please the bears. He took a few more steps and the snow grew heavier. Then he took a few more steps and it grew heavier still. Pretty soon, it fell as if someone had dumped a huge bucket of it from the sky. And then, suddenly, it stopped.
Little Pine had never seen anything like it. He stopped to stare at the sight. He was right at the edge of the bears’ encampment now where the elves had decorated all the trees, and the snow coating all their branches was sparkling in the night. “What a beautiful moment!” he thought as he looked at the shimmering snow and listened to the singing of the bear choir.
Then, from somewhere near his feet, he heard a sound like the panting of a large animal. He looked down and saw a deer-like critter with great big horns. “Oh!” he gasped. “Hello! Are you all right?”
“I think so,” the animal puffed. “At least I will be after I rest for a few minutes.”
“I’m Little Pine. Welcome to our Festival. Is there anything I can do to help you?”
The animal’s breath was already starting to settle. “Thanks, Little Pine. I’m fine. It’s just that bringing all that snow here was a really big job.”
“YOU brought the snow?” Little Pine said. “That’s amazing! It’s really quite beautiful. Thank you.”
“Well, you’re welcome, Little Pine. Oh, by the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Marty Moose. But bringing the snow wasn’t my idea. Santa asked me to do it. He said he had received so many wishes for it from the bears here at the Festival that he hardly had time to finish sorting all the gifts he has to deliver. He explained that the North Wind wanted to wait to bring snow until all the bears were home from the Festival. And the South Wind was keeping it warm here, so snow would quickly melt even if it fell. But Santa said the bears were among the sweetest, most loving creatures on the planet, and he wanted to give them a little treat, if only for a few hours.
“So he gave me this huge sled heaped high with it and asked me to bring it for the bears. He even gave me the power to fly so I could sprinkle it from the sky.
“It was heavier than I thought it would be. By the time I got here, I was so weary that I’m afraid I dropped most of it in one big heap.” Marty sighed a sad little sigh. “I hope I haven’t let Santa down.”
“Well, Marty, if you had to dump it, you picked the perfect spot,” said Little Pine cheerily. “We’re right at the edge of the bears’ camp. Hear that singing? That’s them. They’re right over there.” Little Pine pointed to the gleam of light shining beyond the decorated trees. “I was just on my way there to peek through the branches to watch them. Want to come with me?”
“Sure!” said Marty, bounding to his feet. “Their music is wonderful! Say, do they have anything to eat there? I’m famished!”
Little Pine laughed. “Oh, there’s plenty to eat. Grandmother Bear will fix you right up. She always has food on hand because the bears are very big eaters. I hope you like nuts and berries and honey.”
“Thanks, Little Pine. That would be fine. You don’t suppose she has some hay, too, do you? I kept dreaming of hay all the way here.”
“I’m not sure. But she’s a magical bear. Anything is possible.”
By now, the two of them were at the edge of the clearing where the bears were gathered. Marty was amazed at the number of bears there. And Little Pine told him that was only one group of them; there were many, many more.
“No wonder Santa was overwhelmed with their wishes!” Marty laughed. “Now I’m glad I could help him out.”
Just then, Little Pine saw Grandmother Bear looking out through the doorway of the main cave. He led Marty over to her and introduced them to each other. Little Pine told her about Marty bringing the snow, and she laughed when she heard how he had dumped it all right at her doorstop. “It’s beautiful, Marty. I think I had better find something special for you eat. Come right in!”
“Before you do,” Little Pine said to Marty, ”Here’s a welcome gift for you.” Grandmother had heard about the fun bubbles, so she stopped to see what would happen when Marty reached for the one that Little Pine offered. As soon as he touched it, a little clump of hay fell from the sky. Then another and another. And then a huge pile of it fell right at Marty’s hooves.
“Hey! It’s hay!” Marty shouted with delight. And Grandmother Bear and Little Pine laughed.
“I think the fun bubble took care of his dinner!” Little Pine said. And he told them goodbye and went home to sleep, the sound of the choir drifting all around him.