Little Pine decided to take a short cut on his way home from his day of planning with the elves. He was excited to tell his mother all the news, of course. But he had another reason for taking the path that he did.
As they were planning, Little Pine saw that Mother Elf would be doing a lot of extra cooking, baking, and candy-making as they prepared for the Elf King’s visit. And all the elf brothers would be especially busy, too. Preparing for the Festival of Light kept the elf family busy in an ordinary year. But now, with their special guests coming, they wanted to make sure that the woodland was as beautiful as it could be.
Little Pine was glad he could help them. He wanted to do everything he could for his friends. As he set out for home, he remembered that he had seen something special growing on the short cut last week. With any luck, they would be ready now.
He giggled as he skipped along. If anything helped to keep the elves happy, it was eating. And they were especially fond of sweets. “Be ready! Be ready!” he sang as he neared the third bend. He was sure that’s where he had seen them.
He careened around the corner, and then stopped in his tracks, laughing. There they were! Perfectly done and far larger than he had hoped they would be. Chocolate thumb-print elf cookies! What could be finer!
Carefully, he plucked them from their stems and gently placed them in his knapsack. His mom would be happy to wrap them, he knew, and he could deliver them tomorrow right after lunch. Oh, wouldn’t the elves be surprised and glad! He could almost hear them singing now.