A light snow began to fall as Little Pine skipped down Holly Trail in the direction Mother Elf suggested. When he heard laughter and whistling, he knew he was on the right path. Those elves couldn’t do a thing without whistling happy tunes. Besides, this was where they built their workshop to keep their tools, a likely place to find them.
He was just nearing it when Josie Gingerman appeared. He knew who she was right away, of course, because she looked so much like her husband, Jeffrey.
“Hi, Josie Gingerman!” he waved, “Welcome to the Festival! I’m Little Pine.”
“Happy Festival to you, too, Little Pine! It’s nice to meet you. I just gave your elf friends some lunch. They were hoping to see you. They’re taking a break in that tree over there, just outside the workshop door.”
“Oh, good! I met your husband at the elves’ house a few minutes ago. He and Mother Elf are up to their elbows in treats. It was so nice of you to come and help.”
Josie laughed. “Well, we hear you’re expecting a hungry crowd,” she said. “And we were born to help others. It’s our biggest joy. Life just seems more wonderful when you can put a smile on somebody’s face. And we discovered that our baking talents give us a great way to make smiles. ‘Happy tummies make happy faces,’ Jeffrey always says.
“I’m not sure what my talent is yet,” Little Pine said. “But I know that making people smile makes me smile, too.”
“Usually we find that our best talents are tied to the things that we like to do best. What do you do enjoy doing most, Little Pine?” Josie asked.
“Hmmmm,” Little Pine said thoughtfully. “I like learning the songs that the waterfall sings. When I sing them to my mother at night, she laughs. And I like telling her stories about my adventures. I like to dance in the wind, too. I can do that even when humans are near and I see them smile when they watch me dance. But I think that most of all I like visiting my friends. I know almost everybody in the whole woods.”
“Ah,” said Josie, “visiting is a wonderful talent. It heals loneliness and lets others know that someone cares about them. One of the happiest sounds I know is a friendly tapping at my door.”
“I never thought of it as a talent before, Josie,” Little Pine said. “It just seems as if my day isn’t complete if I haven’t visited with a friend or two.”
“That’s beautiful, Little Pine. I’d say Friendship is your special gift.”
Little Pine got a big grin on his face. “I’ll bet it’s one of your gifts, too,” he told Josie.
The snowflakes were getting bigger now, falling in pretty lacy flakes. “Can you find your way back to the elves’ house okay? Would you like me to go with you?”
“Oh, I’m sure I can find it,” Josie said. “Besides, your elf friends are waiting for you.”
“Well, have a happy day, Josie. It was a special treat just to meet you. Oh, and before you leave, here’s a little Welcome present,” said Little Pine, reaching into his pocket for a happy bubble. He handed it to her, wondering what this one held.
Josie took the bubble and, like all the others, it burst into song and a thousand glittering smiles of every shape and size floated among the snowflakes in the air.
Josie laughed and hugged Little Pine goodbye. “Stop by on your way home for some treats for your mother,” she said.
“Thank you! I’ll do that, Little Pine said. Then he watched her head down the trail with twinkling smiles falling all around her.