Looking for a Christmas animal story to read as a family? Every December, the squirrel, the rabbit, the fox, the hedgehog and the little mice celebrate Christmas under the big fir tree in the clearing. This year they argue so much about the decorations that they all go their separate ways, until a family of homeless moles reminds them what really matters.
A Tiny Mango story about friendship and generosity for children aged 3 to 7. It takes about 5 minutes to read.
In a forest covered in snow lived a squirrel, a rabbit, a fox, a hedgehog and a family of little mice. Every year, when December came, they gathered to celebrate Christmas under the big fir tree in the clearing.
It was the most beautiful tree in the forest. Its branches were enormous and, when the snow settled on them, it looked like a giant sugar-frosted cake.
But that year, nobody could agree.
“I want to decorate the tree with acorns!” said the squirrel.
“Well, I want to fill it with carrots!” protested the rabbit.
“Carrots aren’t decorations. We need red and gold ribbons,” replied the fox.
“You always want to do things your way. I’d rather the tree stayed just as it is,” huffed the hedgehog.
They all started talking at once. The squirrel leaped from branch to branch, the rabbit thumped the ground with his feet and the fox swished his tail from side to side. The little mice, who were very small, hid behind a rock.
In the end, each animal went off on their own. The squirrel decorated her burrow with acorns, the rabbit made a mountain of carrots, the fox gathered colorful ribbons and the hedgehog shut himself away in his den. That year, it seemed there would be no celebration.
In a nearby cave lived a small family of moles. Their home had flooded after several days of rain, and they had spent the last few nights looking for a dry place to sleep. When it started to snow, the little ones snuggled up close to their mother.
“Do you think we’ll ever have a lovely Christmas?” asked the smallest mole.
“Of course we will. What matters is that we’re together,” answered his mother, giving him a hug.
The little mole looked out of the mouth of the cave. In the forest, other families had decorated trees, food and warm, cozy places to gather. All he wanted was to celebrate Christmas with his brothers and sisters somewhere that wasn’t cold.
The next day, the squirrel went out to look for pine nuts and heard some tiny sneezes. She went over to the cave and found the moles shivering.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Mother Mole explained what had happened. The squirrel felt a pang in her heart. She had a warm burrow, a pantry full of food and enough decorations to decorate lots of trees. The moles, on the other hand, had almost nothing.
She went home, filled a basket with pine nuts and acorns and went back to the cave.
“Here you are. It isn’t much, but I hope it helps.”
The moles smiled and thanked her. The squirrel left feeling happy, but as she walked through the forest she had an idea: what if the other animals could help too?
First she visited the rabbit.
“The moles need food and a warm place to spend Christmas. Will you help us?”
The rabbit looked at his mountain of carrots and then at the squirrel.
“Of course! I can share some.”
Then they went to find the fox.
“I have some old blankets I don’t use anymore,” said the fox. “I’m sure they’ll come in handy.”
Finally, they knocked on the hedgehog’s door. At first, he folded his arms.
“I already told you I didn’t want to be part of your celebration.”
“We haven’t come to talk about the tree,” explained the squirrel. “We’ve come to help a family in need.”
The hedgehog went quiet. He looked around his little home, where he kept dry leaves, twigs and a big pile of soft moss.
“We can build them a shelter,” he said at last. “If we all work together, we’ll finish before nightfall.”
And that’s just what they did. The rabbit carried branches, the fox laid out the blankets, the squirrel brought food and the hedgehog made beds of leaves. The little mice decorated the entrance with tiny dried flowers they had saved from the summer.
When night fell, the mole family had a new home. It was small, but it was dry and cozy. The moles hugged the animals.
“This is the most beautiful Christmas we’ve ever had!”
The others looked at one another. The rabbit remembered the big fir tree in the clearing.
“What if we all celebrate Christmas together?”
The squirrel gave a little jump.
“Yes! But this time we’ll share our ideas.”
They went back to the tree and began to decorate it. They hung acorns, little carrots, red ribbons, pine cones and leaf ornaments. The hedgehog placed a star made of twigs at the top of the fir tree, and the little mice wove a garland of dry grass that wound around every branch.
When they had finished, the tree looked as if it had come out of a dream. But the most beautiful thing wasn’t the decorations: it was that each of them had brought something different.
That night they shared a meal under the big fir tree. There were pine nuts, carrots, berries, seeds and little pies made by the mole family. They laughed, sang and told stories until the Moon peeked out between the branches.
Before going home, the squirrel looked at her friends.
“At first I thought Christmas was about having the most beautiful tree in the forest.”
“And now?” asked the rabbit.
“Now I think it’s about making sure nobody has to spend it alone,” answered the squirrel.
From then on, every year, the animals decorated the big fir tree together and always left a free spot under its branches, in case someone new arrived who needed company.
They had learned that Christmas doesn’t become more beautiful when you have more things, but when you have someone to share them with.
Story written by Mónica and Ricard
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