"I've finished my sewing, Mamma. May I go now?" Astrid asked, standing in the doorway of her mother's small sitting room.
Lady Sigrid looked up with a smile. "Yes, you may."Astrid took the basket from Brenda and as she stepped out the door, gave a piercing whistle. From a stable behind the cottage, flew a small white dragon.
"Are you ready,
Ronald?" asked Astrid. Ronald gave a snort and flew towards the
surrounding woods with Astrid running lightly behind humming a happy
tune. This was her favorite day of the year. The first snowfall had
come in the night and today, after all her lessons were done, she was
allowed to go into the forest and pick holly and mistletoe to decorate
the cottage for Yuletide. She always took Ronald with her not only for
protection, but also to gather mistletoe from the trees. He was very
good at finding the best branches of it. When they reached the forest,
Astrid gave a happy little squeal and fell to picking holly. Yuletide
always made her feel like a little girl again. Tomorrow, Brenda and
some of the menservants would join her with a wagon to pick more, but
today was her special day. While she picked, with Ronald on the ground
behind, her mind flew ahead to the decorating. The small amount of greens that she picked today would be for her bedroom and
sitting room. Then they would decorate the rest of the cottage and when
Pappa came from the city next week, bring with him the first of their
guests, they would all go to bring in the tree. While it was more fun
to pick the holly and mistletoe by herself, bring in the tree was a lot
more fun with a large party of people. The first snowfall signaled the
beginning of so many happy times. Pappa would finish up his business in
the city. Cook started making delicious things. The stable master and
his grooms began preparing the extra stables. The holiday from all
lessons began and best of all, the decorating.
Her
basket was soon full and she turned around with a little sigh that
quickly changed to a smile at the eager, expectant look on Ronald's
face.
"Ready,
Ronald?" she asked and with a happy snort he flew into the first tree
(he had chosen it while waiting for her). Knowing how much he enjoyed
it, Astrid made a big ceremony of accepting the first piece of
mistletoe. Ronald seemed to sense how much she enjoyed this time in the
forest and enjoy it just as much, he prolonged it, being very picky
about how he pulled the mistletoe from the branches.
Dusk
was falling by the time they were finished and the trip back to the
cottage was quickly made. After giving Ronald a hug, Astrid hurried
inside calling for her mother to look at her harvest. Lady Sigrid was
waiting in the small back parlour as usual and when her mother had
'Ooo-ed' and 'Ahhh-ed' over the greens to her satisfaction, Astrid
hurried off the show the staff and then up to her room to decorate as
much as possible before Dinner.
That
night, before falling asleep, Astrid thought happily of the good
times ahead. This Yuletide would be a special one. She was sixteen
this year, and would be allowed to take her place among the grownups.
Not only would she be allowed to eat all the meals with them (instead of
only Tea), but she was also old enough to attend the balls and stay up
late dancing. She gave a contented sigh and snuggling down into the
cozy bed, drifted off into the wonderful world of dreams.
The links to the pictures that inspired this story.
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