Little Pine drifted to consciousness from a dream of stardust swirling through the sky. Before he even opened his eyes, he sensed that some kind of magic had happened.
Then he noticed a bright tingling on his needles, and he was instantly awake. “Snow!” he shouted. “Mother! Look! It snowed!”
Mother Pine laughed and said, “Yes! Isn’t it beautiful?”
Little Pine stared around in wonder. The whole forest was shimmering with light.
“Little Pine,” Mother said, setting a bowl of hot porridge on the table, “Do you know what today is?”
Mother looked so pretty with the layer of sparkling snow on her branches that Little Pine could hardly think. “What day is it, Mother?” he asked.
“It’s the day that the Great Festival begins,” she sang. “Today the Light starts its return!”
“That’s why it snowed, isn’t it!” Little Pine said.
“Yes,” Mother said. “I think it’s a special gift to us from the Snow Queen. If you see her today, be sure to tell her thank you.”
Little Pine loved the special note of happiness that he heard in his mother’s voice. He could tell that she was as excited about the great celebration as he was. Every creature in the woods had been preparing for this day. The fairies would dance and the trees would march and do their ballets, and all day long the air would be filled with singing.
Mother Pine smiled at her little one’s eagerness and gave him a special lunch she had packed for him to take with him today. He thanked her and almost ran toward the door. But at its threshold, he suddenly stopped and turned, and looking into her beaming face, he said, “Mother, I love you so much.”
And Mother, her eyes nearly spilling over with joy, said, “Little Pine, I love you, too.”