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.

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.

After breakfast, Little Pine put the big fun bubble that the Spirits of Fun had sent for the elves in a pine cone basket and set off to find them.  That wasn’t always easy, particularly this time of year.  They could be anywhere in the woods decorating the stumps of fallen trees with bits of fungus and moss.  On Festival Day, all the squirrels and chipmunks would come to use the stumps as drums during the Grand March and the elves always made sure that the drums looked as wonderful as they sounded.

Little Pine stuffed his pockets with more of the fun bubbles to pass out to anyone else he met along the way.  He would go to the elves’ house first.  Even if they were out working, he could give a fun bubble to Mother Elf, and she might know where he could look for them.  Besides, she would probably be baking treats for the festival, and she just might offer him a taste or two.

He was just two bends of the trail away from the Elf house when a flicker of color caught his eye.  And what he saw stopped him in his tracks.  “Wow! Hello!” he said to one of the prettiest little creatures he ever saw.  “My name is Little Pine.  Who are you?”

“Hello, Little Pine,” the fragile creature smiled.  “I’m Princess Rose, one of the flower fairies of the roses.  It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Have you come for the Festival?” Little Pine asked.  “I hope you’re not looking for your roses.  I’m afraid they’re all sound asleep this time of year.”

“Yes, Little Pine, I am here for the Festival.  And while it’s true that all the wild roses are deep in their winter dreams, in the nearby land where humans live, some roses grow even this time of year.  The humans keep them warm and fed in their own little indoor gardens. 

“Humans have a special place in their hearts for flowers, and they’re especially fond of roses.  They give them as gifts to each other to celebrate all kinds of lovely things—love, friendship, achievements, the birth of babies.  And they give them as gifts of comfort in times of sorrow.

“They have their own versions of the Festival of Light and they will be sending roses to each other by the thousands.   My job is to encourage the roses to bloom their brightest and to give off their best perfumes. I thank them for the beauty and joy they add to the world.

“But while I was in the area this year, I thought I’d stop in and visit your woods.  Your Festival is quite famous, you know.  I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

“That’s wonderful!” Little Bear said.  “Maybe you would like to be a part of the Grand March.  It happens at the very start of Festival Day, the day the Light returns.  All the creatures of the woods parade through the trees to the waterfall, and from there around the pond to the feet of Grandfather Pine, our eldest tree. When everyone is there, they join in a song about the triumph of the light.  Do you think that you would like to join us?”

“That would be splendid, Little Pine!  Yes, I’ll gladly accept your gracious invitation, thank you.  I’ll see you again before them, I’m sure.  But right now I have to be off.  I’m meeting some of the other flower fairies for tea.”

“They’re welcome to be in the Grand March, too,” said Little Pine.  “Please be sure to extend an invitation to them.  I offer it on behalf of all the creatures of the woods.”

“Why, thank you!  I’ll do that, Little Pine.  Until we meet again, may your eyes see beauty and your heart feel love.”

“Same to you, Princess Rose.  Oh!  And here, take this,” Little Pine said, reaching into his pocket for a fun bubble.

As soon as he handed it to her, it burst into a shower of laughter and sparkling pink, coral, red, white and yellow lights that looked like tiny roses.   “Happy Festival, Princess!” said Little Pine as he skipped off down the trail.

“Happy Festival, Little Pine!” she laughed. Then she fluttered her rosy wings and flew away, a shower of laughing lights trailing behind her.

Mother Pine woke just after sunrise to the sound of uproarious laughter from her son. “Little Pine!” she said, bending down to talk to him, “What’s so funny?”

Little Pine was still brushing sleep and happy tears from his eyes. “Oh, Mom! I had such a dream! At least I think it was a dream,” he chortled, still wiggling with laughter.

“A great big UFO flew down from the sky. It was bright red and had pretty blinking lights all over it, and a giant Tweety Bird was riding on it singing all these funny whistling songs!”

“A Tweety Bird! A UFO! Oh, my!” laughed Mother. “Then what happened?”

“It landed! Right beside me! And Tweety unstrapped his seat belt and flew over to me chirping my name. ‘Little Pine! Wake up!’ he said, ‘I have a message for you!’”

“A message? What did he say?” Mother Pine asked.

“Well, I sat right up and asked him that very thing,” said Little Pine, “and then he made this deep bow and cleared his little birdie throat, and then he whistled a sort of Pay-Attention sound. ‘I bring you greetings, Little Pine, from the Spirits of Fun to let you know they are thinking of you and wish you a Festival Season filled with merriment and good cheer.’ Then he took a big green box from the UFO, tied with a bright red ribbon, and told me it was a gift for me from the Spirits of Fun.”

“Oh my!” said Mother Pine. “Did you open it?”

“Oh, yes,” said Little Pine. “Tweety insisted. So I took the lid off the box, and it was filled with all these sparkling bubbles.”

“Bubbles?” asked Mother Pine.

“Yes! They were all different colors and sizes and kind of squishy. I had no idea what they were, but they were awfully pretty. Tweety laughed at the expression on my face and told me they were magic bubbles, each one holding a hug or a tickle, a wink, or a laugh or a smile. I could fold them all in my pockets and pass them out to everyone I met, all Festival long.”

“What a wonderful gift!” Mother Pine said, smiling.

“And at the very bottom of the box, two especially large bubbles were jiggling, one was purple and gold, and Tweety said it was meant for the Elf Family. He said to stand back when I gave it to them because it was ready to burst with glee. Isn’t that funny? Imagine the elves enveloped in bursting glee!” Little Pine erupted in laughter just thinking of it, and Mother laughed, too.

When Little Pine caught his breath, he reached into his pocket and, almost as if he didn’t believe it would truly be there, he pulled out a large bubble, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow. His mother’s eyes opened wide in surprise. Up until this moment, she was sure that his dream had been only a dream.

“And this one,” Little Pine said, “this one, Mom, is for you.”

He lifted the bubble up to her boughs, and when she accepted it, the bubble burst and a beautiful melody filled the air with a sound like a thousand birds singing. “He said it would fill you with love and laughter all season long,” Little Pine said, looking at his mother’s surprised and glowing face.

“Why, I think it will do just that, Little Pine. Thank you! And thank you, Tweety and Spirits of Fun. What a fine, fine way to start this beautiful day.”

Then she and Little Pine settled down for a breakfast of winterberry muffins. And all the while, little bursts of color and laughter popped all around them.

For weeks now, the days had been growing shorter and shorter. Little Pine used to play for hours after dinner, but now the sun set as he was eating. He didn’t mind. His leaf-friends had already gone for the year and most of the forest critters were hibernating or spending their time in their burrows or nests. Besides, he seemed to enjoy sleeping more now that the nights were long.

During the day, he explored the woods on his own or stopped by the elves’ home to ask them to play. Now that the days were growing cold, he seldom saw humans. He kept an eye out for them anyway, of course. He knew the rule: Always stand perfectly still whenever a human might see you.

Sometimes he would see a chipmunk or rabbit or squirrel on his travels, and if he was lucky, he might even see one of the deer. They were all his friends, and he liked telling his mother about his chats with them over dinner. He liked to visit the waterfall to listen to it sing, too, and his mother always laughed when he sang her the songs he learned there.

Mother Pine loved dinner time. She looked forward to hearing about the adventures Little Pine had enjoyed during the day. Today, she had just finished setting out maple seed stew when she heard Little Pine racing toward home shouting, “Mother! Mother! Wait ‘til I tell you who I met today!”

She made him rinse his boughs in the rain log and sit down. Then she smiled and said excitedly, “Well? Who did you meet, Little Pine?”

“A bear!” Little Pine said. “A beautiful bear standing in front of one of our cousins, and the cousin was all decorated with ribbons and lights! The bear said she was Grandmother Bear, and that she was here to begin preparing for the Festival of Light.” The words tumbled from Little Pine so fast that Mother Pine could only laugh at his excitement. “I didn’t know Festival time was coming already! I hadn’t even thought of it yet. No wonder the elves have been so hard to find. They must already be busy.

“I never saw a bear in the forest before, Mom. But Grandmother Bear said they lived nearby and many of them were coming for the Festival this year. Some were even traveling a great distance. Isn’t that wonderful? Bears! Imagine!”

Mother Pine was delighted with the news. She hadn’t seen a bear since she was a little pine herself. She knew, of course, that the Festival was approaching. She had intended to mention it to her son this very night. It was a happy time for them both, marking the return of the sun and the beginning of the season of snow and their long winter sleep.

They talked about past Festivals as they cleared away the dinner. Then Mother Pine tucked her son in for the night and wished him sweet dreams. He gave her a big hug and said he could hardly wait to see what surprises his dreams that night would bring. And with a smile on his face, he fell asleep, whispering, “Grandmother Bear! Imagine that! A real, beautiful bear!”

Welcome, Friends, to the Adventures of Little Pine and the Festival of Light: A Beary Merry Festival Indeed.

This favorite holiday tale, first told in 2015, follows Little Pine as he and his forest friends enter the magical time of preparing for the Festival of Light, which celebrates the winter solstice when the sun once again turns northward, bringing back lengthening days of light.

You can click here to go to Chapter One.