Hearthwarming Tales

by De Writer

DEER FRIEND, a Hearthwarming Tale

DEER FRIEND
a Hearthwarming Tale

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

I had every candle lantern lit in the whole store. Instead of a sign saying “OPEN” I had one out that said “WELCOME!” In spite of that, there were no customers. Very few are out and about on Hearthwarming.

The door’s spring bells jangled. Along with a few snowflakes and a cold draft, a mare with two foals came in. I shut the door behind them and flipped the sign to closed.

I told them, “Go on into the back, that is where I live. It is warmer there.” As they trooped into the back, I put out all of the candle lanterns and finished closing the SWEET SPOT.

The mare and her foals were stopped at the door to my quarters. She turned to me and said softly, “I am sorry. We did not mean to interrupt your Hearthwarming.”

I had to grin. “This little gray unicorn lives alone. You are my Hearthwarming. Go on in. I have snacks laid out and the clover roast is almost ready to come out of the oven.

“Warm yourselves by the fireplace and have a hot spiced cider to warm the inner pony.”

That, at least, required no further urging. The pale magenta mare admired the painting above the mantle piece. It was a copy of Van Gone’s famous Sunflowers by Moonlight.

I pointed to the tree in the corner. “I am afraid that I have only one foal present there. Who should get it?”

I was pleased when the colt nudged his sister and replied, “Let Sis have it. She hasn’t got much. None of us do, really. Not since Dad died.”

I nodded approvingly and hoofed over the single present. The filly was almost trembling with gratitude. “Thank you, Mister unicorn. We don’t even know your name.”

I put a hoof over my eyes as I replied, “I will never live down my name. I am Roe, just like a Roe Deer. You are welcome to the present.”

I trotted out to the darkened Sweet Spot and filled three Hearthwarming stockings with candies and treats. I brought them in and gave one to the colt. “What is your name?”

“Thank you, Mister Roe. I am Morty.”

The filly took hers and offered, “Thank you, Mister Roe, I am Sis. Sisterca, actually.”

The mare smiled as she took hers. “I am Molly, Mister Roe, and thank you.” She had tears in her eyes. “We had no Hearthwarming at all. We were trying to beg enough coin to buy a few day’s worth of fire wood for our home. We really do have nothing to offer you.”

I smiled back. “Nonsense! Thanks to you, I have guests for Hearthwarming. That is plenty of gift in return.”

I noticed that while I was talking to Molly, Sisterca opened her present. It was a set of building blocks. She quietly cleared a space on the floor and shared the toy set with her brother, Morty. I had to approve of that.

I brought out the big clover roast, dripping with honeyed peaches and cinnamon. Oddly, I did not even need to suggest that they come to the table!

While we were eating, I leaned over to Molly conspiratorially and asked, “Would you mind if I play a small prank on them?”

She gave me a slightly disturbed look and asked, “What sort of prank?”

I aimed my horn at the Van Gone painting copy. “I will make it look like a mirror but it will show me as a deer. I want to see how they react.”

She nodded. “I don’t think that either of them really believes in deer, any more. Go ahead.”

My horn showed a bit of brown magic, that matched my eyes. The Van Gone was gone. A mirror appeared in its place. We did not say anything.

It was Sis who noticed it first. She pointed, with giggles, as she drank from her mug of cider. “Look, Mort! Mister Roe is a deer!”

Mort looked from the mirror to me and back. “No he’s not. He is playing a joke on us. I have heard of unicorns that can do that.”

I smiled happily at their reactions and offered, “What if I really was a deer? What wishes would you make of me?”

Sisterca did not hesitate. “Our winter cloaks are about worn out. I would want us to have better ones.”

Morty, to his credit, thought carefully. “I would want us to have enough of food and wood to warm us so that we will be well taken care of for this whole winter.”

I held out my hooves to them. “Take my hooves. Oh, DEER, you have caught me! I must give you your wishes!”

We all giggled. The mirror turned back to the Van Gone that it really was all along.

I turned to Molly and said, “You have raised wonderful foals. As It happens, if you do not mind doing some work for it, I can grant those wishes.”

Molly shook her head. “How could we thank you?”

“Don’t think it is some deer granting wishes with a poof!

“First, get dressed in your cloaks, all of you, and follow me!”

We all trooped out my back door and around to the street. We went up and over several times, reaching the “snob hill” area where Filthy Rich and his family lived.

Morty said, “What are we doing here? They never give anything to beggars!”

I snickered. “True! However, when Filthy was in my shop, buying treats for Hearthwarming, he let something slip! They are giving Diamond Tiara and her cousin Greedie, PRACTICAL GIFTS, this year!

“Just wait!”

In only a few moments we heard the outraged voices of a filly and a colt! You could not really make out what they were yelling, but the tantrum was loud! Suddenly, the door of the Rich mansion opened and bundles were cast out into the snow! The door slammed behind them!

“Now! Morty and Sis, it is our turn!”

They rushed forward and took the thrown away things. We ran back to the Sweet Spot’s back door and went in, stamping snow from our hooves and shaking it from our cloaks.

We warmed ourselves at the fire and had more hot cider. Sis was shaking out the bundles and staring in disbelief. There were two fine fluffy lined winter cloaks and a big warm blanket.

I commented, “Simply amazing what shopkeepers overhear, if they keep their ears open! Molly, that blanket will make your cloak, with only a little sewing.

“WISH ONE, granted by little old Roe!”

They all chuckled, though Molly was looking at me a bit askance.

I pulled out a sewing kit. “Being alone, I do a lot for myself. Here you go, Molly!” She sat and my living quarters filled with the cheerful sounds of foals playing blocks together and the snippy-snip of scissors as Molly changed that warm blanket into a warm winter cloak.

Getting up from his play with his sister, Morty helped himself from the table snacks and another slice of clover roast. He asked me, mouth somewhat full, “Not to cast doubt on you, Mister Roe, but how are you going to grant us wish number two?”

I answered with false primness, “A MAGICAL DEER never gives away his secrets! So, I will show you all in the morning. Tonight, we will go to the town hall Hearthwarming pageant in your new finery and you will spend the night here where it is warm.

“Tomorrow, I will show you the answer to your question.”

The pageant was both fun, traditional, and in a warm place. We all had a great time.

I had a family quietly snoring in my home for the first time in my life.

In the morning, I led them out the back way, again. “First, load up that sledge with good firewood off my stack. Take along those saws. Yes, that Big one, on the wall, too. You will need that hatchet to make good kindling.”

We dragged the loaded sledge to Molly’s house and stacked the wood for them. “Now, put the tools on the sledge and we can go to fulfill the rest of your wish, Morty.”

As we hauled the sledge, I pointed out, “Remember that shopkeepers overhear a lot?”

Little Sis, in her warm cloak grinned as she replied, “I sure do! What else did you overhear, Mister Roe?”

I lifted some small branches out of the way while I replied, “Some woodcutters are a superstitious lot. If a tree that they fall hurts or kills a pony when it goes down, they abandon it because they think that bad luck will come of the wood.”

We came to a clearing in the woods. The tree that was down was simply huge. There were old tracks largely covered by new snow all about it. My tracks from cutting my winter’s wood.

I explained, “My winter’s wood barely used a few branches of this one. There is plenty here for keeping you warm all winter. Selling wood from it will keep you cared for and fed for the whole winter and longer besides.

“I do expect that when you can, you will return my tools and sledge.”

I left them cheerfully sawing away at the monster tree’s branches. There were two reasons, why I left.

One, of course, is that I have a shop to run.

The other was equally simple. The forest asserts itself on those who come from it. My disguise spell was slipping a bit. Not my face or body, just my tracks. Small oval split hoofed tracks. The tracks of a roe deer.