A story for children aged 10-12 years

The boy who makes the first snow fall

Once upon a time there lived a strange boy named James. He lived not far from our village, just up the mountain, but people seldom saw him. The rumor said that there was something very wrong with him and that his parents left him in the forest because they were ashamed of their little boy, but no one knew why.

One early morning a little girl named Alice was out walking in the forest when she suddenly heard a terrible whining, just a few yards in front of her. She froze with fear. But all of a sudden she heard a twinge of sadness in the whining. She started looking around and over in the bushes there sat a small, skinny boy with his hands wrapped tightly around his stomach.

“Hello” Alice said carefully. “Why are you so sad?”

“I, I’m just so hungry” the boy answered with a low and fragile voice.

“Why don’t you go home and eat? Are you lost?” Alice asked.

“No, I’m not lost. I live in the mountain, all by myself. And it’s so cold so I can’t find any food.” James answered sadly.

“Why do you live alone?” Alice asked.

“My parents don’t like me because I don’t grow. And I don’t have any friends” James said, with a tear falling down his pale cheek.

“Oh, I can be your friend!” Alice replied happily. “My name is Alice. I live in the village not far from here. What’s your name?”

“James” the boy answered in a low voice but with a smile on his face.

“I can teach you how to bake, so that you don’t need to be hungry anymore” Alice sad with a happy voice, glad that someone finally wanted to listen to her. “Wait here”

And so Alice ran off to get her thick book with recipes, some flour, sugar and butter. Then she met up with James and followed him to his cave, which was homey and beautifully decorated. Alice taught James how to bake the most amazing bred and pasties. And so Alice and James baked together every year when the cold had come, until Alice grew old and couldn’t climb the mountain to visit him anymore.     

It is said that the boy still lives by himself in the mountain. And every winter when you can see the first snow fall over the mountain and our village, it’s just James who is baking cookies and pastries so that flour and sugar fills the air and then fills the land like a light snowfall. But if you try to catch one of the first snowflakes in your mouth, you will find out that it is not cold at all and that it has the most wonderful taste of pastries.