By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour / Translated by Katya Teague
Once upon a time, in the town of Mount Christmas, the annual snowman contest was underway. This friendly competition in the park was a highly anticipated event that the town’s residents had enjoyed for generations.
That day in December, the Morrow family was hard at work on their creation as snowflakes fell softly around them. Jeremy, a loving single father, and his kids, a teenager named Samuel and a young girl named Alice, wanted their snowman to be unique.
As the family put the finishing touches on their snow king, Alice noticed that the large carrot they wanted to use for its nose was missing. Looking around, she spotted a squirrel running away with the vegetable in its mouth.
“Come back here, you silly squirrel,” the little girl shouted. “That’s OUR carrot!”
Of course, the squirrel didn’t listen and continued to flee with its prize. Without a second thought, Alice took off after the creature. She wasn’t going to let a thief ruin her chance to win the contest.
“Alice,” cried Jeremy. “It’s too late, just let it go.”
Focused on her mission, the girl ignored her father and kept running. Jeremy quickly set off in pursuit, leaving Samuel in charge of watching their things.
Alice was surprisingly fast for a seven-year-old. She sprinted across the soccer field, clambered up the sledding hill and raced past the playground. Finally, she caught up to the squirrel who’d scurried into the hole of a tree trunk.
Alice knelt by the tree and looked in the hole. Inside, she could see the frightened animal clutching the carrot. Behind the creature were two baby squirrels looking very scared. At that moment, Alice heard a familiar whistling sound beside her. It was Octave, the wise and magical cardinal who watched over Mount Christmas.
“Octave, this squirrel stole our carrot,” Alice complained. “We need it to win the snowman contest.”
“I see,” Octave said. “I’m sure the squirrel didn’t mean to upset you. He only wanted to feed his family.”
“Just like when Dad goes to the grocery store,” Alice realized. “Except squirrels don’t have any money to buy food.”
“Look in your heart,” Octave said, as he flew away. “You’ll figure out what to do.”
Alice glanced back at the squirrel who looked apologetic as he handed her the carrot. The girl accepted the vegetable, but she promptly broke it in half. Alice handed one of the pieces to the squirrel family and smiled as the creatures cheerfully squeaked.
By then, Jeremy arrived out of breath and Alice ran to him. She was so happy about her good deed that she jumped into his arms and they both went tumbling into a snowbank.
“Come on, Dad! Let’s go find Samuel and finish our masterpiece,” she exclaimed.
In the end, the Morrow family’s snowman won first prize for creativity. To celebrate their success, the trio headed to the Joyous Delights restaurant where they ordered three big slices of carrot cake.
