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Little Bear woke and the world was white. "Where have all the colors gone?" he cried, for he had never seen such a white and wintery world before. But the wind only answered with silence.
Then out of the snow came Lynx. He held orange leaves in his mouth, "for the Snow Tree," he explained. "So we will remember the warn glow of fall and the burning sunset of an evening sky."
Next came Squirrel. She carried scarlet berries and laid them softly at Little bear's feet. They glistened like drops of blood against the snow. "To remind us of flowers and fruits from the forest and fields," she said.
Bluejay flew down with feathers held firmly in his beak.
"Its all I have to give," he said. "But these feathers are as blue as the summer sky and the rolling waters of the river."
From deep inside the frozen forest Mink appeared.
"Nature's finest," she declared, adding velvet fur to Bear's collection. "Brown like the rich earth beneath the snow."
Little Bear looked up as Raccoon came padding softly through the snow and spread fresh green shoots before him. "My offering is to remind us of the green of spring of new life after the sleep of winter."
Reindeer moved slowly forward throught the snow with purple rock piled high upon his back. "Here is color that will endure forever," he said. "As purple as the mountains and the rolling clouds of thunder."
Bunting alighted on a nearby branch laden down with yellow cones. "I carried all I could," she said. "So we won't forget the yellow corn that grows all summer long in the fields beyond the forest."
Artic Fox brought iciles that sparkled silver in the frosty light, like raindrops in the sunlight. "It is time to decorate the Snow Tree." she said. "And you, Little Bear, will guard this tree all winter long. Your black fur will remind us of nights velvet darkness."
Last of all came Moose. A bright golden star hung gleaming at his neck. "Set this star high upon the tree," he proclaimed. "Let its light shine out to all the creatures of the forest, that they may gather to celebrate the glory of nature, and the beauty of peace and friendship at this Christmas time."
Little Bear smiled as he stood gazing at the glorious tree.
The colors were back.
The Snow Tree
Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it.
~Henry David Thoreau
The lifespan of a squirrel is about nine years.
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