Little Pine could see lights twinkling as he made the last bend in the trail leading to the Elves’ house. How wonderful! They had decorated already! He began skipping merrily up the path.
He was admiring all the sparkling lights and bright ribbons when suddenly a creature unlike any he’d ever seen before emerged from behind one of the trees. He stopped in his tracks, holding perfectly still, and stared at it, wondering if it was a tiny human, wondering if it had seen him skipping. He was quaking in his roots.
“Hi there! You must be Little Pine! Don’t be scared. I’m Jeffrey Gingerman, Mother Elf’s cousin. She told me a little tree like you might come to call.”
Little Pine didn’t dare breathe. This little guy sounded friendly. And if he was a cousin of Mother Elf’s, he couldn’t be a real human, could he? But he sure looked an awful lot like one.
“Oh, it’s okay, Little Pine,” Jeffrey said, as if he was hearing Little Pine’s thoughts. “I’m not a human. I’m made of gingerbread. Look—no nose, no ears. See?”
“Whew!” breathed Little Pine, convinced the little fellow wasn’t a human. “Hello, Jeffrey Gingerman! You had me scared for a minute. But I am glad to meet you!”
“I just came out to gather a couple more eggs,” Jeffrey said. “The cardinals and jays are laying some in this nest here just to help us out. Grab a couple and c’mon in. Mother Elf and I are baking.”
A few minutes later, the two of them brought the fresh eggs into Mother Elf’s kitchen. “Little Pine! How nice to see you!” Mother Elf smiled. “I see you have met Cousin Jeffrey.”
Little Pine laughed shyly and said, “Good Morning, Mother Elf. Yes, Jeffrey gave me quite a scare for a moment. I thought he might be a human who saw me skipping.”
“I’m sorry you were frightened, Little Pine. But I don’t think you have to worry about humans today. Besides, the crows surely would have warned you if a human was nearby. Your scare probably made you a little hungry. Would you like to sample a maple sugar leaf?”
Suddenly Little Pine noticed that the table was heaped with candies and muffins and cakes and pies.
“Wow! You sure are baking up a storm, Mother Elf!”
“Well,” she laughed, “We need extra treats for the Festival this year. We got word that a lot of bears are coming, and that they love their sweets. Actually, that’s why Jeffrey and Josie are here. They’re expert bakers and when I put out the call to the Elf family that I could use some help, they came right away.”
Little Pine took a bite of the maple sugar leaf that Mother Elf had handed to him. “Mmmm!” he smiled. “This is delicious!”
“Jeffrey made them. They’re quite a special treat, aren’t they!”
“They’re wonderful! Jeffrey, thank you! And say, who is Josie? Will I meet her, too?”
“I’m pleased that you like the candies, Little Pine. Josie is my wife. She’s gone out to take a basket of cookies to the elves. They’re hard at work decorating the stumps, you know. I’m sure you’ll meet her later.”
“How did the two of you learn to make such wonderful treats?” Little Pine asked.
“Oh, we were both born in kitchens in a big human bakery. When we popped out of our ovens, a fairy came by, waved her wand over us, and we came to life. It was Festival season then, too. And the fairies were looking for creatures who might want to help prepare. So they brought us to life and put us in the woods.
And every year, we do everything we can to help fill the Festival season with cheer. The return of the Great Light means the Light of Life to us. So it’s a special time, and our great honor is to add to its sweetness for all.”
“That’s a beautiful story, Jeffrey,” Little Pine said. “I can’t wait to tell it to my mom tonight. But first, I want to find the elves. I have a present for them. Oh! And I have presents for you, too!”
And with that, Little Pine reached into his pocket and brought out two of the magical happy bubbles. He gave one to Mother Elf and one to Jeffrey. And when they took them, the bubbles burst and the air filled with music and with the fragrances of vanilla and cinnamon, ginger and oranges, honey and chocolate and everything sweet and good to eat.
Mother Elf and Jeffrey laughed in surprise and did a little happy dance all around the kitchen. Mother Elf told Little Pine where the elves might be found, and he set off down the trail, delicious smells following him all the way.