To a fairy, Christmas is not the best time of the year. Except for the Winter Fairies, of course. They could enjoy snow and cold because then, more than ever, their powers are growing. Their sight is sharper. They are flying faster. They are more nimble, therefore, more vigilant.

But Ferry was not a Winter Fairy. And although he spent his whole life among humans, the winter made him feel grumpy and not in the mood for anything. As for his friends, Matilda and Benjamin, they were anxiously waiting for the winter. And from the very first snow, they were in a frenzy Ferry couldn't understand. What was it to like when touching the cold snow with bare hands, throwing snowballs, rolling over in the snow, or building snowmen? All of those meant sitting in the cold, getting wet and eventually freeze. And although muffled up from head to toe, the cold still reached him to the bone. It would cause him cold shivers the moment he came out the door. And pricked him with needles of ice the whole time he was outside. That's why Ferry waited for spring with the biggest impatience and every single ray of light, no matter how frail, was a victory against the cold.

That day, however, he was forced to go out. Matilda and Ben were waiting for him at the corner of the street. They greeted him with an avalanche of snowballs.

"Remind me why I'm here, on Christmas Eve," he mumbled while removing the snow off his coat.

"Because we have to go to the forest with Matt and find her a Christmas tree," said Ben, whipping out his glasses of snow.

"And because you love spending Christmas Eve with us," said Matilda, smiling.

They headed towards the Shepherd's Forest, at the edge of the town. Matilda and Ben continued to throw snowballs at each other, then both of them at Ferry. When out of town, the late afternoon was getting even gloomier than the usual. Above, the soft, grey clouds were scattered like big petals beyond the horizon.

"Keep it up, Ferry!" Matilda shouted. "It's getting dark!"

"I don't understand, Matt," said Ferry catching up with them, "why hasn't your father bought you a Christmas tree, like everybody else?"

Matilda was hesitating. "He had a lot of work in his workshop... Then he caught a cold and laid in bed for three days..."

"How come? Mr. Riggs has brought the Christmas trees to the store since the beginning of November," Ben added.

Matilda couldn't take it anymore. "He forgot, all right?" she snapped.

The boys were both quiet now.

"He's not the same ever since mom left us..." she almost whispered. "And this time of the year is the hardest..."

For a while, none of the children said a word. Only the snow was creaking under their boots. The last house in town was left behind for quite a while. They had arrived. But for some reason, none of them dared to make one step further.

"All right, let's see if we have everything," Matilda said eventually. "Axe?"

"Checked," said Ben with a faint voice.

"Flashlight?"

"Got it!" said Ferry, frozen to the bone.

"And I've got the poker!" Matilda added, waving it like a sword.

"Why would you need a poker?" Ben wondered.

"I'll use it in case of a wild animal's attack. And because I've heard this forest is inhabited by fairies. And fairies are afraid of iron."

Ferry was quiet. Yes, fairies are afraid of iron. To them, iron is poison; it burns their skin and weakens their powers. He felt the power of iron himself. So he decided he should stay away from Matilda and her poker.

"Shall we?" Matilda finally said.

Ben was hesitating. "Well... that's a deciduous forest. There are, indeed, some fir trees at the edge, but they're on the other side..."

"It's going to take us ages to go around it," Ferry added. "And it's getting late already."

"That's why we'll get there through the woods!" said Matilda with determination.

"Y-y-you want to get IN the w-w-woods?" ask Ben with fear in his voice.

"Come on, it's not that large... Ben, stop being such a coward!" she said and then entered the forest with a firm pace. The boys had nothing else to do but follow.

The forest greeted them with a kiss of ice. The trees were wailing under the wind blow which seemed to have started out of nowhere. They could barely go further with that icy blow in their faces, walking paths where humans never step foot before. They said a lot of strange things about the Shepherd's Forest. Lights were seen in the foliage. Whispers could be heard, coming from unseen mouths. Maybe that was why it was avoided by the local people. But for the children, it was always an attraction; and the most courageous children were always hovering about. Still, rarely anyone dared to explore the depths.

But now, the children didn't seem so enthusiastic. Whether because of the cold, or maybe because it was starting to get darker, the forest looked unfriendly. Hostile even. And for a while, Ferry had the strange feeling they were being watched. And he wasn't the only one.

"F-f-ferry, I think someone is following us," Ben whispered.

"Nonsense," Matilda snapped "it's just the wind."

When they were about to argue, something caught their eye. Somewhere ahead, there was somebody. A man; or, at least, it looked like a man. He was gathering wood. The children hesitated for a second, and then continued their way, their hearts skipping random beats.

"Maybe we should ask him where the fir trees grow," Matilda whispered.

"We shouldn't be talking to strangers," Ben replied.

They came nearer. The man was all muffled up in a worn-out coat which reached all the way to the ground. He was wearing a funny, green skull cap, with a tassel the color of the dust, in the summer. His gray hair was falling on his shoulders with twigs and pine cones tangled in it.

"Excuse me," Ferry summoned up courage, "do you know where we can find fir trees in this forest?"

The old man turned. Although his crooked body was showing his old age, his rosy cheeks were the ones of a child. His blue eyes studied Ferry with a strange stare.

"Of course," the old man answered in an unbelievable serene and calm voice. "I'm coming from there. Follow me!"

The children followed him in silence. It was already dark and their path was lightened by the old man's lantern. For some reason, Ferry's flashlight was not working anymore. The old man was dragging a pile of branches, tied up with a rope.

"What brings you here this late hour?" he asked. "Children shouldn't wander so far away from home."

Nobody dared to say a word. All of the sudden, the old man stopped. They were in front of an old oak tree with the thickest trunk they've ever seen.

"We're here!" the old man said. Then slowly went round the tree, disappearing behind it. The children followed. But in the back of the tree, the old man was nowhere to be found. His footprints in the snow could still be visible, a few steps away from the oak tree. Then stopped, as if the earth has swallowed him.

Beyond the tree, the forest looked somehow different. Brighter and more alive. Their path was now lighted by the moon which rose above the trees like a big wheel of light.

"Where did he go?" Ben mumbled.

"He must have climbed the tree," Matilda answered, this time in a trembling voice while grabbing her poker with both hands.

"We'd better come back..." Ben wailed.

But before Matilda could start arguing again, some snickers could be heard here and there, carried away by the wind. They were coming from the bright meadow in front of them. And to their surprise, they saw five children playing with snow, laughing and shouting.

"We have guests!" one of them said. And in a blink of an eye, they surrounded the three friends.

Now they could clearly see them. They weren't children at all. Their bodies were frail and small, but their faces were all wrinkled.

"What brings you here?" one of them asked in a high-pitched voice. He had emerald, flickering eyes.

"We're looking for a Christmas tree," Matilda dared to speak.

"Why don't you say so?" another said, rubbing his small palms; his nails were long and black. Then they all started to push the three friends from behind until they reached the middle of the meadow. There, a small, bowery, and jolly fir tree was waiting; just perfect for a Christmas tree.

"All right, let's hurry!" said Matilda. "Ben, chop the tree!"

"Wait!!! What?!! You chop it!" he said, throwing the axe in the snow.

Matilda picked up the ax, nagging and when she was about to hit the tree, one of the midgets came in her way. He had dark skin and red, malign eyes.

"Not like that! First you have to read some riddles," he said in a throaty, shuddery voice. "If you do so, the tree is yours. But if one of you fails, you will stay here and play with us forever."

The other midgets started frisking. "We love riddles!"

"So be it!" said Ferry, to other's astonishment.

"Ladies first," said the black midget, looking at Matilda. "Tell us, who can eat iron?"

Matilda gave it a thought for a moment. She never met anyone to eat iron. She saw a fakir in the circus once, swallowing a sword. But it wasn't made of iron. She then looked at the poker in her hand and shouted:

"It's rust! Rust can eat iron!"

The midget sniffed. "Oh, you guessed! Now it's your turn, bespectacled!" he said, turning to Ben. "Do tell us, what blows away and never cares to stay?"

Ben was wringing his hands. He was the smartest in class and now he couldn't even read a riddle. When he was about to give up, a blast waved his muffler.

"It's the wind!" he yelled.

All midgets sniffed in anger.

"Now it's your turn," the black midget said, staring at Ferry. "What are you?" he asked.

"That's not a riddle!" Ferry objected. He didn't want his friends to find out he was a fairy. Not that way. He couldn't lie, either. Fairies cannot lie.

"Answer the riddle!" the midgets started to shout, in all voices.

A spark made Ferry throb. Near the oak tree, he saw the old man with the lantern. He was nodding, smiling.

"I'm a fairy!" he gathered his courage to say it, loud and clear.

"What?!!!" the midgets screamed in panic.

"I'M A FAIRY!!!!" Ferry shouted and his voice broke in thousands of echoes.

That very moment, a bright, almost blinding light surrounded them. Then there was darkness. They woke up at the edge of the forest, weak and frozen. It was still daylight.

"'I'll never step foot in that forest ever again!" Ben said rising and heading towards the town; he seemed really determined.

Ferry and Matilda followed him. They were almost running. And didn't stop until they've arrived in front of Matilda's house.

"You had the simplest riddle, anyway," said Matilda to Ferry, catching her breath. "You only had to say your name."

But Ben was suspicious. "I'm pretty sure Ferry meant to say something else..."

"Oh, Ben, you see mysteries everywhere!" Matilda cut him short. "Let's just go inside and have some hot chocolate!"

They followed her in silence. But something made them stop on their way. Right in the middle of Matilda's front garden, there was a Christmas tree. The very Christmas tree in the forest! And on one of the branches, the old man's lantern was lightening through the first shadows of the night.

I hope this story will remind you of fairy tales, winter, and childhood!