Nello’s Ornament Trail — Under the warm cedar roots, Nello tapped a pinecone and whispered, “Shine, shine, show the line.” He had invented a game: follow the brightest sparkle and bring it home for his nest. Read the full story →
Under the warm cedar roots, Nello tapped a pinecone and whispered, “Shine, shine, show the line.” He had invented a game: follow the brightest sparkle and bring it home for his nest. The first glimmer blinked beyond the branches, where snow made soft hush-hush sounds. Nello stepped out, scarf dragging, and followed it past prickly holly, twanging light cords, and a little bird whose paper hat smelled like peppermint glue.
The sparkle was a huge round ornament caught on a low branch. Nello reached up, but his favorite pinecone rolled away into a snowy dip. He sighed warm fog, then traded the pinecone’s spot for the ornament’s ribbon. A squirrel chirped, the bird peeped, and together they followed Nello back, leaving tiny tracks beside his big ones. His cedar hollow no longer had just one bright thing; it had a whole curious parade. Can you find the ornament that started Nello’s “shine, shine” line?
