A Jelly Tyke Christmas and the Story of the Woodsman

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A Jelly Tyke Christmas and the Story of the Woodsman

Chapter 1

The woodsman stooped as he passed through the bakery door. As big and strong as an oak, the woodsman was accustomed to dropping his head to enter the buildings in the village. He stepped into the shop, smelled the warmth of baking bread, and turned towards the counter.

“Good morning, Maria!” he boomed. “What’s the good bread of the day?”

Maria turned towards him and replied, “Good morning to you, Mr. Woodsman.” She always called him that, even though his name was William. Everyone in the village called him Mr. Woodsman.

The village was small with just a handful of shops and surrounding cottages. It was called Grandwood because it bordered an immense forest.

“We have a fantastic selection today,” she replied. “Great loaves, great buns, great cookies. What can I get for you?”

William stared for a moment at all the wonderful breads on the shelves behind her.

He said, “I’ll have three loaves, six buns and one of those large chocolate cookies. My daughter will love that.”

“I’m sure she will,” replied Maria as she reached toward the shelf, preparing his order. She packed it carefully in paper and set them on the counter.

Maria inquired, “Will you be bringing the wood for us for tomorrow?”

The woodsman reached for his baked goods and said, “You will have more than you need. I’m going into the woods as soon as I get home.”

“There’s a big storm coming,” she warned.

William responded as he turned toward the door, “Don’t worry, I cut a little extra wood yesterday and will not need much time today to finish.”

William turned back once more and said to Maria, “I’ll drop off the wood in the morning. Say hello to your husband for me and let him know I’ll be in for a new pair of boots in the spring.” He stooped through the door again and headed out into the lane. A sprinkling of snow was just starting to fall.

The woodsman walked down the lane, past the butcher and the clothier, moving past the shoemaker’s shop, owned by Maria’s husband. He continued walking for about a kilometer until he reached the fork in the road. He turned left and headed towards his cottage.

William’s cottage was just outside of the village. He built his small cottage just before he married his childhood sweetheart. His sweetheart’s name was Juniper, but he called her ‘Juny.’ William and Juny met when they were twelve. He had been trying to climb a tree to impress the young girl that was watching him from behind some purple and white bushes. However, as he reached out to grasp the second branch, there was a loud crack and the lower branch collapsed. William fell to the ground and landed square on his bum in a pile of leaves.

He heard a giggle from the bushes. Juny then realized he may be hurt and hurried towards his crumpled body. She bent over him to see if he was all right. William dizzily looked up towards Juny and saw a tiny sparkle in her eyes. She saw that he was fine and exclaimed to him, “You will never be very good in the woods if you can’t even climb one branch higher in a tree!”

William stared dreamily back to her, instantly fell in love, and knew what he would do when he started his working life.

They lived together near the woods with their daughter, Jilly. She was six and a half, had auburn hair like her mother and was growing tall like her father. William had marked notches on the bedroom door as Jilly grew. She was now seven marks above the first notch, but still so young. Jilly’s wish was to be able to help her father with the wood gathering from the forest. She always wanted to go with him, but he always quietly said, no, not right now, Jilly. One day we will, but not today.

The cottage was warm and welcoming, and always smelled nice. It had a small covered porch that wrapped around the side. There were two comfortable chairs sitting on the porch that William had constructed a few years before. Juny had painted both vivid red and she loved to sit there, looking outwards from the porch. On warm summer days, Jilly would sit by herself, in her father’s chair, listening to the birds and watch the wind move through the forest. William often thought that he should build a smaller chair for Jilly, but he just loved seeing her sit in his chair and enjoying herself. One day, when she grew a little bigger, he would build a new one for her.

The cottage faced north, toward the trees and had two small windows, bracketing a huge inviting door. There was always a wonderfully bright red and green wreath hanging on it. The wreath was made from fern and spruce and flowers that grew in the garden surrounding the porch. Juny kept it there and always made sure it looked fresh, even in the winter.

As the morning grew late, William saw that it was snowing harder now. He hurried to get back to the cottage. He knew that he only had about six hours of daylight left to gather wood for the village. He spent a little extra time gathering wood the day before but knew he would have to be quick to gather the rest of the wood needed for the village. The village depended on him to make sure they had all the wood for warmth and cooking. More than just his job, it was important to William to make sure the village had enough wood every day to be prepared for the fierce winter.

Everyone did what was expected and needed, and everyone provided for the rest of the village. The woodsman cut the wood. The baker made the bread. The blacksmith made the horseshoes, and so on. No one wanted for anything because the whole village contributed to the welfare of each other. They all helped one another. It had been this way for all time, and no one had ever questioned this way of life.

The woodsman finally reached home and entered through his large welcoming door. He didn’t have to stoop for this one. He walked through, and the glow of the fire filled the room with a comforting, golden warmth. He could smell something wonderful. The aroma was sweet, like warm pudding. He set the bread and cookie down on the table near the hearth. His wonderful wife Juny was standing near the table. She held a large wild bird in one hand and a pot in the other.

“Hi honey!” she exclaimed. “You’re back. Are you going into the woods today? There’s a storm coming, you know.”

He said to her, affectionately, “Yes, dear, but I won’t be out for long.” He sniffed the air. “What have you made?” he asked. “It smells incredible.”

Juny looked at him and said, “It’s our traditional Christmas pudding. Did you forget this is Christmas Eve?”

He looked away sheepishly and mumbled, “I guess I did.”

There was a ruckus from across the cottage as Jilly flew into the room from the small side bedroom. She ran straight to her father, jumped up to hug him, but because he was so tall, she always only made it halfway up. He held her and lifted her up the rest of the way. He squeezed her and gave her a long loving hug. She squeezed him tightly in return and he slowly lowered her to the floor. Jilly was the woodsman’s special pride and joy.

He looked at her as she peered up at him and said to her, “Jilly, I need to go out now, but please help your mother with the Christmas pudding she’s making.”

Jilly brushed her auburn hair back from her face, gazed up into his eyes again and reluctantly responded, “Yes, father.”

He turned towards the door and stepped forward to it, but before leaving he looked back and said, “I love you both and I won’t be long.” The door closed behind him and he walked down his garden path toward the woods.

William ventured out into the yard to reach his old sleigh. He built this sleigh many years ago to load all the wood he would cut for the village each winter. He had also built a wagon for the summer months, but both were big enough to carry the daily wood for the village. William pulled the sleigh by himself. He didn’t need a mule as he was a giant of a man who could pull wagons, sleds, and sleighs just as easily as any animal.

As a matter of fact, he would pull all the village children on his sleigh every year on Christmas Day. He would take them on a tour through the entire village and they loved it. The children would all hang over the edge of the sleigh and giggle with delight as they saw all the villagers waving, the decorations hanging from the trees, and especially the flickering lights of the candles in the village. They loved this ride and he loved it too.

With this thought in mind he realized again that tomorrow was Christmas Day. He would need to finish his work quickly so he could take all the children for their sleigh ride. After he dropped off the wood in the village, he knew he had to quickly clean the sleigh, and lay down some warm blankets in it, to make it ready for the children. That’s ok, he thought, he had done this before and would make sure he had enough time.

He started walking with his sleigh in tow. He reached the clearing where he had been the day before and began to cut the trees. His axe was mighty, and he threw it over his shoulder with great force. He chopped and chopped but never let go. William continued chopping and began to fill the sleigh. It filled quickly but there was still more to load.

A few hours had passed, and the snow was starting to come down more and more. The swirling white was gaining strength and it was getting difficult to see. There was almost a metre of it on the ground. It was deep to travel through, but he thought to himself that he would continue for one more hour and then head back home to the warmth of the cottage. He could deliver the wood in the morning before anyone awakened.

The hour had passed, and he had only ten more pieces to put in the sleigh. Just as he was about to finish loading the last of the wood, he heard a loud whimper. It was coming from somewhere in the forest. The sound was muffled by the wind, but he could tell it had a raspy harshness to it. He stopped to listen, but it was hard to hear over the wind racing through the forest. The storm had intensified to a blizzard. He then heard a deep growl. It was a growl so loud that it froze him in his tracks. If the trees weren’t moving from the wind they certainly would have moved from this growl!

He knew what this was. It was the giant bear that lived in the forest. Everyone from the village had heard of this bear but no one had ever seen it, not even William. The story of the bear had grown so big over the years that no one from the village could even venture into the woods. That was why they were so grateful for William. The woodsman was big, but he knew the bear was bigger and he always made sure to stay clear of the great beast every time he saw the giant tracks in the woods. All he could hear was a raspy whimper followed by the huge big bear growl. What could make that whimper? It was different from the huge growl, he thought. He looked all around him but couldn’t see a thing. The snow had steadily increased and now it was almost blinding. He continued to hear both the whining whimper and the growl but could not see more than two metres in front of him.

William began to walk towards this whimper, thinking it may be someone lost from the village. He certainly didn’t want to head towards the growl. He wasn’t sure he was going in the right direction but continued listening. He only followed the raspy whimper. He called out quietly, “Is anyone here?” but heard no response. He was cautious but needed to know what that sound was. He couldn’t stand the thought that this was a lost child from the village. He needed to be sure.

He trudged through the rising snow. It had become much deeper and made it difficult to move through it. He needed all his might to walk. The storm was now in full force and the snow now came up to his knees. He could not see anything and searched by feeling only, touching the bark of trees or bushes he passed by. He didn’t hear the whimper again and was about to give up when his foot bumped into something on the ground. He thought it was a log or a stone, but then the whimper came again. This time much closer.

He felt something soft as his boot touched it. The lump on the ground let out another soft whimper. William had found the source of this whimper but was worried. He didn’t know what it was. He gently moved his boot again toward this pile on the ground but there was no sound. He took off his glove and reached down. He felt warmth and some fur. He immediately jumped back. The woodsman thought, OH NO! This was the giant forest bear and now he was done for. He stopped in his tracks, holding very still, and not moving. Waiting. But nothing happened. Only another soft whimper came. He wasn’t sure what to do, but he reached down again and felt fur. He was now paralyzed. Waiting; waiting for the worst. But again, he only heard a whimper. William gathered all his courage and slowly knelt, trying not to disturb anything around him.

He thought... maybe this is the bear, or it may still be a child from the village. He had to find out for sure and found the courage to check again. He couldn’t see anything because of the blistery snow. As he knelt, he suddenly felt something pull at his coat. He jumped back, but the grasp was firm and wouldn’t let go. He struggled with all his might, but he couldn’t break free. He thought this couldn’t be a child or even a villager as the grasp was too strong. Whatever had hold of him was powerful, and he tried and tried to escape but was still in its clutches. He wasn’t sure what was happening. He reached for his axe, thinking that this was the giant bear from the forest that had grabbed him, but couldn’t find the axe.

He had left it in the snow when he knelt to investigate this lump. If he could only reach it, he could defend himself with it. He reached everywhere, behind him, beside him, searching for his axe but as he did, he was pushed back, and the furry lump landed on top of him. William was now fully aware that this was the bear. The fur of the bear brushed against his face and it had a strong musty, but slightly sweet smell. He grasped blindly in the white clouds of snow but could not find the axe. William was scared and he wanted to be able to defend himself. But he thought, I can’t harm this bear. It has every right to live here just as we do. He stopped looking for his axe, said a prayer and waited for what was to come next. He hoped it was not the end.

Chapter 2

Far away from the woodsman and the growl in the woods, the Jelly Tykes and their parents would all gather on Christmas Eve, as was tradition. They lived in a small community just outside the town of Newford. There were five Jelly Tykes and they were the children of two families. Both families always celebrated the holidays together. The Tykes as they were known were Isabella, Gavin, Eliana, Veronica and Amelia ranging from the eldest to the youngest. All of them were very excited that this was Christmas Eve. They could hardly wait for Christmas Day so they could open their presents. The presents had been sparkling in their wrapping paper and colorful bows for a few days now and had caused quite a commotion amongst the Tykes. Three of the Tykes, Isabella, Eliana and Amelia had been looking at them under the tree and shaking them for days while waiting for their cousins to arrive. The Tykes knew that their Mamas and Papas had placed these gifts here but also knew that Santa would be coming during the night and bring even more.

The doorbell rang, and Isabella, Eliana and Amelia all jumped in the air with excitement. Their cousins, Gavin and Veronica had finally arrived. As Gavin and Veronica entered the hallway, the other three Tykes grabbed them and dragged them towards the tree. All the Tykes were running excitedly in the glowing family room, shouting and jumping with joy that this was Christmas Eve and they couldn’t wait for morning to come. They couldn’t wait to see what they would get. A new toy? A doll? Some ice skates, perhaps. Maybe a plastic model of a kingdom, thought Gavin.

Isabella, the oldest, announced, “Let’s go behind the sofa and make a plan. We need to get these presents tonight!”

All the Jelly Tykes slowly moved toward the back of the sofa and secretly hid behind it to conduct their meeting. They decided the best course of action would be that they would ask for their presents tonight. That way their parents could sleep in the morning and wouldn’t have to worry about getting up too early. But the truth was that they didn’t want to wait until tomorrow. Eliana suggested that they take two presents each and if they were caught then they could bargain to open one of them. Isabella listened intently but then Veronica shouted out that she wanted to tackle the stockings first.

Amelia cut off Veronica and said to the rest of the Tykes, “Why don’t we just wait for morning to open everything.”

Isabella looked to Amelia with disappointment but was distracted by Gavin as he loudly belted out, “The honest thing to do, would be to wait for Christmas morning.”

He was agreeing with the youngest Tyke, Amelia, and Isabella realized too that this was the right thing to do. However, she did still offer that the Tykes try to get permission to open one gift from under the shimmering tree.

One by one they came out from behind the sofa and all lined up in a row near the fireplace shouting in unison, “We want our presents now!” Their parents, papas Anthony and David, mamas Ashley and Tonia, looked astonished. They couldn’t believe their ears or their eyes.

Papa Anthony stood up and said loudly, “NO.” He looked at all of them and said, “You little ones have no idea what Christmas is. It’s not about the presents, or the toys. It’s about all of us. It’s about the gift we give each other by being together. While staring down at his oldest child Isabella he crouched beside her and said, “Remember that presents are no replacement for your cousins or sisters. Presents are fun, but they don’t last. Family lasts forever.”

The Tykes couldn’t believe what they were hearing but understood in their own way what Papa Anthony was saying and felt a little bit ashamed for demanding to open presents.

“Toys don’t matter,” continued Papa Anthony. “Family matters, sisters’ matter, cousins’ matter. That’s what this wonderful time is about.” Anthony reached for his number one, Isabella, and gave her a big hug. “It’s about all of us,” he whispered in her ear and gave her a soft kiss on the side of her brow.

Papa Anthony announced, “Now everyone, it’s time for bed. Go on upstairs and settle down. Christmas will come soon enough, and you can open all of your presents then.”

The Tykes reluctantly went upstairs and settled down in their beds. But as with all children on Christmas Eve, they were certainly not going to sleep well this night.

A few hours had passed since the Tykes had settled down and all had fallen into deep slumber except Gavin. He was having a restless sleep and suddenly stirred awake. He was seven years old; two years younger than Isabella. Although younger he was still bigger than his cousin Isabella but always listened to her advice. She was wise beyond her years.

Gavin jumped out of bed, pulled up his dinosaur pajamas, and hurried into Isabella’s room to tell her his disturbing dream. “Isabella, Isabella,” he shouted. “I had a wicked dream! Someone is in trouble with a bear! He’s a big man, and he’s in a forest. There’s a giant bear near him and the man looks scared. We have to help him.”

Gavin then continued, agitated, “Get your special bagpipes and squeeze them like before. If they work their magic, we can go help this man.”

Isabella wiped her eyes clear, but still knew what Gavin was talking about. She had found some magic bagpipes in a pawn shop just a few months before. The magic bagpipes were able to take all the Jelly Tykes to a faraway land where they helped save a King and his Kingdom. Isabella was sure the magic bagpipes would be able to help this man in the forest.

Isabella listened carefully as Gavin described his dream. He told her of the blinding winter snow and the giant bear near the man. Isabella figured that the best thing to do was wake the other Jelly Tykes and go help this man. Isabella took Gavin’s hand and quietly snuck down the hall to the other bedroom to wake up the rest of the Tykes. After some grumblings, all the sleepy Tykes crept back into Isabella’s room and listened intently as Gavin told them of his dream. Amelia asked how big the bear was. Eliana shouted back, “Its Big, Big, BIG!” Isabella put her hands over Eliana’s mouth so as not to alert their parents. Veronica listened, acting as if she just wanted to go back to bed and wait for Christmas morning but Isabella still caught the excited twinkle in her eye. Isabella glanced back at Gavin and saw how persistent he was. She knew she had to do something and reached out to the shelf above the bed and carefully took down her magic bagpipes.

She squeezed and squeezed and squeezed until the bagpipes came to life and the magic pipes said, “What is it that you need?”

Isabella announced, “We need to save the woodsman from the bear. Gavin dreamed this. The woodsman is in great despair.”

After listening to both Gavin and Isabella tell the story, the bagpipes gathered them all, and turned around and ’round and ’round. The children all flew upwards in the giant blue cloud like before. They twirled and tumbled and swirled in the magic blue. It seemed endless but only lasted for a few minutes.

Finally, they landed on the ground all in a jumble, making small impressions where they fell on the pristine white blanket of snow beneath them. Isabella and Gavin jumped up from the snow and pulled the others to their feet. It was cold and the Jelly Tykes could hardly see anything in front of them. They were blinded by the fierce snow, swirling and whirling around them. Gavin managed to make out the shape of a small cottage in the near distance. He knew the magic had worked, and they had arrived in the land of the man and the bear. He also knew he had to get the rest of the Jelly Tykes into that cottage. The snow was sweeping across them and he needed to move them quickly.

Gavin led the way, pulling all the Tykes behind him. He ran up to the front door of the cottage, banged on it with a great force and yelled, “We are the Jelly Tykes. Please let us in.”

Juniper, the woodsman’s wife, was a bit surprised by the knock, but opened the door. She thought it may have been another one of the villagers providing news about her husband. It wasn’t, instead, she was shocked to see five small, shivering children, all wearing their pajamas, standing on her porch. She was clutching Jilly at her waist. Jilly also looked very shocked to see these five young ones. Without much hesitation, the Tykes ran past them into the inviting warmth. The storm continued to rage through the opening as Jilly jumped down from her mother and shut the big door. Juniper was surprised and asked, “Who are you? Why are you out in the cold?”

Gavin stepped forward and stated proudly, “We are the Jelly Tykes and we’ve come to help find the man in the forest.”

Juniper, with a tear in her eye, knowing that her husband should have been home hours ago, was quite surprised to see five children offering to help.

She told them the man in the forest was her husband, the woodsman. When he hadn’t come back to the cottage several hours ago, she knew something was wrong. There were many people in the cottage. They were some of the villagers. They had come to the woodsman’s cottage but were too late. They worried about him being out in the huge storm and some thought they heard growls coming from the forest. One of the villagers, Maria the baker still in her apron, looked at the Jelly Tykes, and told them of her conversation with the woodsman that morning. She explained that she didn’t think anything was unusual until some of the villagers heard the great growl and came out into the main street of the village. They looked worried and decided to come to the woodsman’s cottage to see if everything was all right. They all knew he was in the forest gathering wood for them. The villagers saw that he wasn’t home, and that Juniper and Jilly were so worried and upset. The villagers then immediately decided to form a search party and head out into the forest.

Maria continued to explain, “Soon after we headed into the forest, we heard the giant roar of the bear again and became afraid. We all ran back to the cottage. We were scared. We waited with Juny and Jilly but didn’t know what to do.”

As Maria shared the recent events, Juny and Jilly began to weep. Gavin, sensing the angst from Jilly, moved towards her, took hold of her hands and said, “We will find your Daddy. Don’t worry.”

Jilly reached out to Gavin, pulled him towards her in a hug and squeezed him with all her might. Gavin blushed!

Jilly said to Gavin, “This is Christmas. The only thing I want is my Daddy back. I don’t need anything else. Mommy and Daddy are all I will ever need. Please bring him back.”

This made Gavin think of his and the other Tykes’ actions earlier in the night. They were only interested in opening some presents. He felt a little embarrassed.

He looked back at Jilly and said, “Of course we’ll bring your Daddy back. We’ll do everything we can. Don’t worry.”

Gavin turned to the other Tykes and proclaimed, “We are going into the forest in this storm and we will find Jilly’s Daddy.

Chapter 3

The storm had been raging for hours. William had passed out, smothered by this giant ball of fur. When he awakened, he wasn’t sure what had happened, but he realized that something very furry and a little smelly was lying on top of him. It wasn’t moving. His mind was a bit groggy and he couldn’t really remember what had happened. He only knew that something very furry and very heavy was lying on top of him. He carefully reached upward toward this furball. He rubbed it gently, up and down its furry body. The fur ball whined softly in his hands. William was able to carefully move out from under this fur ball bear and then suddenly realized this wasn’t the giant bear at all! It was a bear cub! He didn’t know what he was going to do, because he was still worried about the giant bear mother, he had heard growling before, but he wanted to make sure that the cub was not hurt.

As he moved his hand up and down the cub’s body, he felt it was cold and still, but he felt a faint heartbeat. Slowly, he moved to the side of the cub and gathered it into his arms. William bundled the bear cub close, briskly rubbing its little back to generate some warmth. Eventually, he gathered his strength and stood with the bear cub in hand. He started walking. It was terribly windy and cold, and he could not see more than two metres in front of him. He slowly trudged forward. William wasn’t sure which way he was going but thought somehow, he would see a familiar landmark and could reach his cottage and save this cub. He remembered the deep growls he had heard earlier, and knew that the mother bear, the giant bear of the forest, may find him and that would not be good for him. He carried on anyway. This cub needed to be saved.

William didn’t know how far he had made it before he felt warm air on his cheek. The storm was still a raging force and it was almost impossible to see. Warm air on his cheek in this weather? This was very odd, he thought, because the snow was slamming into his face. He felt it again, a warm, slightly foul-smelling wind. He stopped walking and stood very still while still grasping the cub. He did not know what this warm gush of air was but was sure it wasn’t a mysterious warm wind. A thousand thoughts went through his head and he became very worried because he knew this cub had a giant bear mother. He stood motionless in the snow and wind. He then realized; it was BEAR BREATH! He thought the bear was only a metre from his face and he continued to feel its breath. He froze where he stood, not moving a muscle. He couldn’t see it but knew this was the giant bear of the forest. He didn’t want to consider the worst but worried the giant bear would see him with her cub and become very angry. He did not want to anger the giant bear and slowly proceeded to lower the bear cub to the forest floor.

However, he was shivering from the cold and probably from some fear as well. He slowly lowered the cub and took one step backwards. It was then that the giant bear let out a huge roar and reared up high above the woodsman. The bear came down directly on top of him. He was smothered in fur and snow and couldn’t move a muscle. He thought only of his sweet wife and wonderful daughter. William’s only wish was to desperately see them again. He wasn’t sure he ever would.

Chapter 4

With help from some of the villagers, the Jelly Tykes were bundled up in warm coats and boots. The villagers had stayed at the cottage to be with Juny and Jilly and they could easily see that the pajamas the Tykes showed up in, were not going to be good enough for this raging storm. Gavin, who had taken the lead on this adventure, assured the villagers, and especially Jilly, that they knew what they were doing. He explained that all the Tykes had recently saved a Kingdom and were very capable of finding Jilly’s Papa. He knew he needed to sound confident and strong for the sake of Jilly and Juniper, but in all truth, he was a little worried about the huge storm, and the story of the bear.

He turned to the other Tykes and showed them the rope he had picked up from near the door. He said, “All of us need to hold onto the rope. That way no one will get lost. I’ll lead.” He headed out the door with all the Tykes in tow and all in a row.

They walked towards the forest, calling out for the woodsman all the time. They paused regularly, and then stopped to listen for a reply, any reply. They continued calling but did not hear anything. They were now deep in the forest and didn’t know which way to turn.

Excitedly, Eliana shouted, “I see something!” Her new glasses helped her see great distances, further than any of the other Tykes. “I can see a sleigh over there.” She pointed towards an opening in the forest.

Gavin congratulated Eliana while leading the Tykes toward the sleigh. He stomped through the snow and the other Tykes had trouble holding onto the rope. He yelled, “Keep up! We need to find the woodsman!” Gavin reached the sleigh and skidded to a sliding stop in the snow. He ran all around it looking frantically but saw no one. Gavin quickly did attendance. He counted them. Isabella one, Eliana two, Veronica three, Amelia four… four? But there was no four.

“We lost a Tyke!” he exclaimed frantically.

Veronica shouted, “We lost Amelia. I was holding the rope and she was behind me. I didn’t know she let go.” Every one of them started shouting for Amelia.

“Amelia, Amelia,” they called out worriedly. They heard nothing.

Gavin standing as tall as he could said, “Let’s follow our steps back, and we will find her. She can’t be too far behind. Don’t worry, we’ll find her.” They turned around and headed away from the sleigh, following the footsteps they had made in the snow. It was hard to see but they moved slowly together, following the footprints. Everyone held on tightly to the rope.

They continued to call out for Amelia as they trudged back through the snow. Amelia was the smallest Tyke and could easily be lost in all of the snow. The storm continued to bluster. The wind whistled as it tossed the snow about and pulled at the trees. It was hard to hear anything, and it was even harder to see, even for Eliana. They kept going. Gavin, in the lead, stopped suddenly.

He could see a set of footprints heading away from the stamped path they made when they came into the forest. He stared at them for a moment. “I think these are Amelia’s footsteps. She went that way,” he said, pointing away from their footsteps. “We need to go that way to find her. She can’t be far. Let’s go.”

The other Tykes didn’t hesitate. Veronica offered a bit of caution. “Okay, okay, we’ll go that way, but you can’t forget there is a giant bear out here.”

Gavin shouted, “I know, I know, and that’s why we need to find Amelia now! We need to be careful.” With that, they all headed in the direction they thought Amelia had gone.

They followed the path deeper into the forest, until they didn’t see any more tracks. Gavin was worried but he didn’t say anything to the others. He sensed the fear of the other Jelly Tykes and wanted to be the strong one for them. But he was scared too. Gavin knew in his heart that he was a strong young boy and wanted to show his sister and cousins that he could handle this situation.

He saw a large disturbance in the snow. There shouldn’t have been anything but a clean blanket of white or the tracks left by Amelia. Gavin continued to focus on this messy snow. What was big enough to mess up all this fresh snow, he thought?

Gavin became worried, because there was only one answer. This disturbance was caused by the giant bear. He stopped and the other Tykes gathered around him.

He cried, “Amelia, Amelia!” at the top of his lungs. “Where are you?” He was scared but tried not show it. Where was she? he thought. Her footprints had stopped at this point. He sensed that the giant bear had been here, had taken Amelia, and now he didn’t know which way to go. He moved forward slightly and then…

A GIANT GROWL!

It was so loud that the four of them all jumped in the air and fell to the ground. They were scared stiff. The growl thundered and made the ground shake around them. This could only be the bear. It felt like the giant bear was on top of them. They were terrified.

Gavin shouted out to the other Tykes, “Stand behind me! The bear is right here but I can’t see it. Get behind me now.”

The Jelly Tykes all huddled around Gavin. Everyone was shaking. Veronica held on tight to her brother, quaking in fear. Isabella and Eliana clutched each other and waited for what was going to happen next. Was the bear near them? Is it going to eat us? Gavin thought nervously. He now wished he had never told Isabella of his dream. Terror and loneliness swamped the Tykes. They missed Amelia. They missed their parents.

With another giant growl as near to them as ever, they felt a wetness brush against their faces. It was gooey and smelled a little bit like fish. Then there was a great big wet lick. More goo, and more fish smell. None of them could figure out what was going on. Eliana and Veronica shouted at the same time, “It’s the bear! It’s the bear! Is it going to eat us?”

More goo and more licks came, but no bites. Veronica called out, “It doesn’t want to eat us. It is licking us! I think it likes us!” Gavin could now see a little bit through the howling snow, and saw this giant white bear standing right beside them. Its tongue was hanging out of its mouth and it looked like it was smiling. But that couldn’t be. This was the giant bear of the forest. This was the giant bear that all the villagers were afraid of.

Gavin looked again and realized that they couldn’t see the bear very well because it was white. It was not a brown bear as everyone from the village thought. It was a giant white grizzly bear!

Now he knew why it was so hard to see it. The bear was the biggest animal that he had ever seen. Its brushed white fur glistened and sparkled in the snowfall. He looked into the bears eyes and saw that it wasn’t going to eat them. There was a calmness coming from its expression. He realized that this bear was not the big scary bear from the villagers’ stories. It was just a member of the forest, a member of the village. The bear nodded ahead of it.

Isabella looked at the bear and demanded, “Where’s Amelia?” Once again, the bear looked back at her and motioned for them to follow. This giant white bear started walking, checking turning around to see if they would follow. The Tykes still held onto the rope. Gavin was the first to pull on the rope so the Tykes would all follow and trail the bear.

Chapter 5

The giant bear led the Tykes deeper into the Forest. Every fifty steps or so the bear would pull them in towards its giant belly to warm them up. When they stopped shivering, the bear would move on and they would follow.

The snow had started to subside, and it was a little easier for all the Tykes to see. They could see a clearing up ahead and a small hill in the distance. The hill was bigger than their houses! The bear led them up the hill, making sure no Tyke slid down. As they got closer, they could see a dark spot near the bottom of the hill. Eliana, with her great eyesight, called out, “It looks like an entrance.”

It was. This was the bear’s den. The bear reached the entrance and brushed some of the snow aside for all of them to enter. The Tykes were amazed once they stepped inside. Standing in front of them were three figures. One was Amelia, one was a bear cub, and one was a giant man: The woodsman. And all were smiling.

Isabella ran straight to her sister, picking her up in a big bear hug. Which she thought was very fitting for this occasion. Isabella frantically asked Amelia what had happened.

“Why did you let go of the rope? What were you thinking? You can’t be out in the woods by yourself!”

Amelia peered back at Isabella and said faintly, “I have small legs and couldn’t keep up. Gavin was rushing and you were all pulling on the rope. It was hard to hold on. It was snowing and I got lost. I’m sorry.”

Isabella looked into Amelia’s sparkling eyes and decided that a kiss on the cheek would be best for her. She could see Amelia was upset for getting lost. Amelia responded with a big hug for Isabella. Isabella collected her thoughts and realized that Amelia was honest and of course she didn’t want to get lost.

Gavin, stared at the giant of a man standing before him, and asked, “Are you the woodsman? Are you Jilly’s Daddy?”

William looked down at Gavin, gathering him up into his arms. He boomed, “Yes, I’m Jilly’s Daddy and I’m so glad to see all of you.”

William had a hundred questions but only asked, “How is the snowstorm now? We need to get back to the cottage.”

Isabella let go of Amelia and replied, “It’s starting to slow down. I think we can go out now.”

The woodsman agreed. “Yes, we should, and this giant bear will help us.” He reached way up and rubbed the bear’s head.

The woodsman and the reunited Tykes moved toward the den opening and ventured back into the forest.

Chapter 6

The giant white bear left the den first and waited outside for all five of the Jelly Tykes, the bear cub, and the woodsman. The bear knelt low to the ground and motioned for the Tykes to get on her back. They all jumped on willingly and so did the bear cub. Everyone including the cub huddled together to keep warm. William walked alongside. The storm had slowed down to a light dusting and they made it back to where the sleigh was. The woodsman grabbed the sleigh’s harness, put it over his shoulder, and started pulling it back towards his cottage. During the walk back, he described his encounter with the bear cub and then with the bear. He explained that the bear cub probably woke up from its hibernation, for some unknown reason, and left the den wandering into the forest. William assumed that the mother bear also awoke to find her cub gone and went searching.

William explained that when the giant mother bear found the cub; she saw that the woodsman had been trying to keep the cub warm. He assumed the giant bear of the forest saw that he was a good man and meant no harm. William continued walking, telling the story of how the bear had found him, and even though he was terrified at first, he quickly realized the bear also meant no harm. The mother bear was only glad that her cub was safe. He explained that when the giant mother bear found him and her cub, she picked them both up and took them back to the den. She laid both down on some warm straw and they quickly fell asleep.

He continued with his retelling of events and stated he didn’t know how much time had passed. When he awoke, he saw the mother bear coming back into the den. He didn’t know she had left. He then noticed a small bundle of clothing hanging from the bear’s mouth and was surprised, as he could see this was a small child. However, he soon realized that the giant white bear was saving this child from the cold just as he did with the cub. He continued his story and told how he then watched the bear carefully lay this bundle down on the straw next to him and the cub. The bear motioned for both him and the cub to cuddle her to keep her warm. He was amazed at the gentleness of this giant bear of the forest.

As he continued his story, he told them that it was shortly after this that all the Tykes came into the den. He said he was thankful and relieved that they had found him and that he and they were all safe. Thanks to the giant white grizzly bear.

They all moved through the forest slowly. William saw the huge moss-covered pine tree that was near his cottage. They were almost home. As they all rounded past the tree, the Jelly Tykes could hear shouts and screams coming from the direction of the cottage. The villagers, about thirty of them, were gathered outside the cottage and could now see this giant white bear coming towards them. They all screamed in fear. They could see the bear but also saw some bundles on top of it. They weren’t sure what the bundles were but stopped screaming when they saw with surprise that the Jelly Tykes, who they had just met only hours before, were riding high on the giant bear. The woodsman called out towards the villagers, “Fear not, the bear is our friend. She saved me and all the Jelly Tykes. Don’t worry; this bear will not harm us.”

The villagers, standing in front of the woodsman’s cottage, began to settle down. It was then that Gavin saw Jilly and he started to run towards her.

He shouted, “We found your Daddy. I knew we would.”

Jilly looked at Gavin and started running, but she went straight past him and leaped up to her Daddy. This time she reached as high as she had ever jumped and reached right up to his chest and his arms. He hugged her and she hugged him back. “I love you Daddy, I love you Daddy,” she shouted.

Gavin was a little embarrassed for thinking Jilly would want to see him first, before her Daddy, but knew that he had only met Jilly a few hours ago and honestly knew that her Daddy came first.

Jilly jumped down from her Daddy and ran back towards Gavin. She excitedly exclaimed, “Gavin, you said you would find my Daddy, and you did. I love you too. You’re my hero!”

Gavin, his face pink with embarrassment, said nonchalantly, “We’re the Jelly Tykes. That’s just what we do.” But secretly he was so proud, and he squeezed Jilly with extra might. Gavin wasn’t one to show his emotions too much, but he enjoyed the warmth Jilly’s hug sparked in him.

Everyone headed towards the cottage and one by one they went inside. Except for William, the giant bear, and the cub. He turned to the bear, reached up as best he could to hug it and said, “Thank you, giant bear. Not for saving my life, but because my daughter Jilly, and my wonderful wife Juny, don’t have to worry about me.” He wasn’t entirely sure that the bear understood but could see a slight acknowledgment in the bear’s eyes. The bear lifted its huge paw and brushed it, in a loving and gentle way, against the woodsman’s face. William was now sure the bear understood.

The giant bear of the forest turned away and headed back towards the trees.

Chapter 7

William watched and waited for the bear to disappear in the forest before turning towards his front door. He walked into his cottage and saw all the Jelly Tykes warming up by the fire. He saw his family and the concerned villagers. Everyone had a look of warmth and love in their eyes. He told all of them, the story of saving the cub, being jumped on by the giant bear and the eventual outcome. They all sighed with relief and joy. After sharing this wonderful tale, he stated that it was late and that he would need some sleep before delivering the wood in the morning and then taking all the children for a sleigh ride. The villagers said their farewells and headed back to the village. All was well.

After the villagers had left, the woodsman looked lovingly at the Jelly Tykes and told them how proud he was, that they came from so far away to help him. He told them that he was so thankful that they came to save him. After all, he was the biggest man in the village, and they were the smallest of rescuers.

Finally, he asked, “Don’t you have somewhere to be? It’s Christmas. Can I walk you home?”

Amelia tipped her head all the way back and responded, “We came here with our magic bagpipes. We travel through time and to different lands to help those in need. Isabella has the pipes and she will take us home.”

Isabella went over to the bench near the door and picked up the magic bagpipes. Gavin gave one final farewell hug to Jilly and then joined Isabella and the rest of the Jelly Tykes.

Isabella squeezed the pipes and they came to life. The pipes knew that their deed had been accomplished, and exclaimed to all the Jelly Tykes,

I’m very proud of what you all have done here in the woods. I think you have learned a valuable lesson.”

The pipes rose and created its blue swirling cloud. It whizzed and turned and went ’round and ’round. The swirling blue cloud picked up all the Tykes. The cloud took them up, up and up some more, until they were gone.

Swirling and turning and bumping into one another during the blue flight home, they finally landed back in the bedroom they had all left from. Veronica hit the bed, as did Eliana. The rest landed on the floor with a great thud. Gavin’s Papa, David, shouted from downstairs, “Hey! Settle down, Christmas is almost here. Go to sleep.”

The Jelly Tykes all jumped into their beds, giggling because of the adventure they had just been on. Isabella and Gavin tucked everyone in and they all had no trouble falling sleep. After all, it had been a busy night.

Chapter 8

The morning came quickly, and the Jelly Tykes were all up. It was six a.m. They ran into their respective parents’ rooms and shouted, “Get up, wake up!”

Ashley and David said, “Give us five more minutes,” and burrowed deeper into the blankets.

Tonia and Anthony had sleepily murmured the same thing to Eliana, Amelia and Isabella. But the Tykes would have none of that. They shouted and jumped up and down until finally their four parents were up. Papa Anthony and Papa David said wearily together, “Let’s go open your presents.”

Together, they and the Tykes headed downstairs towards the Christmas tree.

Isabella’s mom, reached under the tree and said, “Who wants to go first?”

Gavin jumped in and turned to his mom, Ashley, and said, “I do, I do, Mommy. We had a great adventure last night and helped save a woodsman in a snowstorm. There was a bear, and Amelia got lost, and we were so cold, and the villagers tried to help, and…”

Ashley cut Gavin off. “That sounds like an amazing dream, but don’t you want to open your presents?” she asked. Gavin looked at her and then he turned to the rest of the Tykes. They all knew what he was thinking.

All the Jelly Tykes ran towards their parents and jumped into their arms. “It’s not about the presents,” they exclaimed. “Christmas is about us!”

Gavin turned to his parents and said passionately, “Uncle Anthony told us last night about not needing presents. He was right. This time of year is about all of us, all our family, of being together, but we didn’t believe him. Now we know it’s true. Jilly taught us that. Christmas is about family and that is all we will ever want.” Gavin truly knew that Jilly had shown him this.

The other Tykes nodded in agreement. Veronica jumped up and said to her Mama and Papa, “We love you more than presents. We only want you for Christmas. We all know this now.”

Isabella, Amelia and Eliana ran to hug their parents, echoing Veronica.

And although there were presents at all future Christmases, this was still the best Christmas ever. The one that had the most significance.

The Jelly Tykes never forgot the true meaning of Christmas.

The End

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