We like to try something different for the Christmas special. In 2023, we have decided to bring you an original story that is a family-friendly, fantasy adventure based on nature and wildlife, of course. Please let us introduce you to the Snow Bunny and his pal, the Shadow Hawk, who have left the pages of your favourite book to help you to save your family – and the whole world – from the Dark Smoke!
Now, if you are sitting comfortably and have hot chocolate and Christmas treats, let the story begin….
The loud thud on the shutters jolted me up.
I could hear my racing heartbeat as I slowly turned my eyes towards the closed window. The wind was howling outside, and I dared not make a move as I stared at the shutters, which only allowed me faint glimpses of the dancing shadows outside.
Nothing happened.
Slowly, my eyes got used to the dark, and I glanced at the other side of the room, where my big brother was sleeping peacefully in his bed. At least I wasn’t alone.
That always calmed me down, and I began to feel sleepy again. I listened to the wild wind and stared out the window until I could no longer open my eyes.
Another loud thud forced me to wake up again, and this time, I sat on my bed. I clenched my heavy blanket and anxiously stared at the window, but nothing happened again.
After a few deep breaths, I went to the window and saw what was going on through the shutters. But, before anything else, I reached for the lamp on the nightstand beside my bed and turned it on.
My brother, who was still half-asleep, asked me what I was doing. I was so surprised that I jumped and turned around to see him looking at me with an exasperated expression. Before I could answer, he turned his back to me and told me to turn off the light and go back to sleep. He was annoyed that I had woken him up over something so trivial.
Turning off the lamp, I saw the book still on my nightstand. It was The Snow Bunny, a story I loved so much that I had already read it three times. But I knew I should stop reading it at night because it made me so anxious that I couldn’t sleep well. Maybe that’s why I got scared of a tree branch knocking on my window. In the book, a thud on the window is how the character first meets the Snow Bunny and helps him defeat the Dark Smoke. I murmured, “Silly book,” as I tossed it into the bedside drawer and turned off the lamp.
I looked at my brother again, but he was either asleep or didn’t want to deal with me. I thought about returning to bed but decided to go to the kitchen instead. I was wide awake, so a small walk and a glass of water might calm me down. I decided to leave our bedroom door open on my way back so that the night light from the hall would break the darkness in the room.
I stretched on my tip-toes to reach the water glasses on the cupboard’s top shelf. I had asked my parents to leave one of them down by the sink for me many times, but they always needed to remember. They did not want me to climb on the kitchen bench to reach for the glasses because it could cause an accident.
As my fingertips touched the cool glass, I murmured, “How do you expect me not to climb when you put them up there?!” Finally, I got the glass and could have my water. I looked out the kitchen window while turning on the tap. The water felt ice-cold as it filled the glass, and I could see the blizzard in all its glory from here.
The snowflakes rose and fell with the wind, swirling endlessly like a thousand snow fairies in a mad dance, happily celebrating the arrival of the winter. It seemed so majestic and terrifying simultaneously, like a scene taken right out of a fairy tale – the Snow Bunny fairy tale. I could meet him tonight, or the Dark Smoke would chase me around. I giggled at that and brought the glass to my lips.
Through the blizzard, I saw a pair of green eyes glaring at me. They were surrounded by darkness, making them even more terrifying. The image became more precise, and I realised the eyes were behind me, not outside.
The Snow Bunny takes up the story.
The day had been perfect, with clear blue skies and a bright sun shining down on a blanket of snow. The world was covered in a thick layer of white everywhere I looked.
The Kingdom of Light and Darkness had been peaceful for decades, and days like this were worth living for. I got up from the ground where I was lying, leaving a deep snow angel behind. It was a beautiful sight to behold. I looked back at the enormous castle that rose to the sky. It was made entirely out of Tide Stones, which permanently changed colour according to what was happening in the Kingdom.
As the colours of black and white faded into each other, I watched them move restlessly, swaying and spiralling, yet always maintaining almost equal balance. It was a peaceful and harmonious sight, and I considered returning to the castle. However, the evergreen forest on the other side was calling me, inviting me to play, dig, stretch, and laze around until I was satisfied.
“I don’t need a castle,” I thought. “I love my freedom!” So, I hopped excitedly towards the forest, bouncing and jumping up in the air until I fell flat, feeling the soft, cold snow beneath me. It felt so good that I plopped myself on the ground, even before I reached the woodland and turned my face to the bright sun. It was such a beautiful day, and I was grateful for it.
However, my peaceful moment was interrupted when something zoomed past me so violently that it almost knocked me over. I jumped up, my nose twitching uncontrollably, feeling a shrill chill down my spine. However, I couldn’t see whoever; the feeling of terror was alarmingly familiar. I turned to look at the castle and saw that its Tide Stones were now almost entirely black.
“No, this can’t be happening!” I panicked and turned to go to the castle, but I noticed something up in the sky heading my way. As the Shadow Hawk dived from the sky, I stayed put, and it gracefully landed beside me. He held a clear crystal ball in his claws with a big crack covering more than half of it. “How did this happen?” I asked before he had a chance to utter a word.
He picked up the ball and pushed it towards me. “One of our young ones picked it up,” he said, staring at the ball as if he could not believe it. “You are not supposed to touch it.” “Well… he didn’t know that… apparently…”
He looked puzzled as I quietly looked at the empty, broken crystal ball. I seethed inside, thinking of all the trouble, all the pain and misery we had been through to put the Dark Smoke away. And now it was accessible again because of such a silly reason?
The Shadow Hawk abruptly turned towards the woodland. “We have to hurry; it’s almost at the Transcendence Tree,” he said and turned to me. “I will guide you.” I looked at his face. One of his eyes was half-closed with a deep scar running right through it courtesy of our battle to stop this thing.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “It takes much more than this to slow me down.” he spread his wings and took off to the sky. “Try to keep up, he shouted as he took altitude.
The Transcendence Tree. It leads to infinite worlds, and once the door closes, the possibility of reopening up to the same world is practically zero. What a nuisance
Shadow Hawk guided me to the Transcendence Tree, which I couldn’t see, but he could. He kept the door open, and I jumped into the middle of the tree…
Now we are back in my kitchen.
I suddenly realised that I had dropped the glass. It shattered on the kitchen floor as I ran out of the kitchen and into the living room. However, the thing appeared before me, blocking my way. I screamed for my family as I tried to escape, but it kept growing and filling the stairs. I rushed to the back door, tears in my eyes, trying to get out.
I was trapped in a room with a mysterious, dark presence slowly closing in on me. Despite my efforts to open the door, the lower latch was stuck. Finally, I forced it open and stumbled outside into the cold, snowy night. As I tried to stand up, I noticed the dark thing still pursuing me. It emerged from the back door and grew, eventually engulfing my house in an unbreakable darkness.
Suddenly, it lunged at me, but then the dark presence retreated, and I saw a Snow Bunny before me.
I was confused because the Snow Bunny and the Dark Smoke were fictional characters from a fairy tale, but there it was, in front of me.
A tentacle of smoke attacked the Snow Bunny, but she could dodge it and kick some fresh snow. The bunny then turned to me, and I realised it was my only hope of survival.
You are the Snow Bunny!” I exclaimed, staring in disbelief at the creature in front of me. “You can’t be real!” I said and pinched myself so hard that a sharp, intense pain spread through my entire hand.
“I am as real as your death will be if that smoke gets you.” The snow seemed to glow under it for a second, and when he lifted his foot, there was a pale blue crystal in the shape of his foot. “The Rabbit’s Medallion!”
I whispered in awe as I stared at the crystal that glowed silently. “It will protect you, but I need your help.” the snow bunny said as I carefully picked up the medallion. It felt smooth and cold in my hand, but at the same time, all my fear and anxiety vanished. I felt as safe as if I was in my mother’s arms.
Then I remembered. My mother, my father, my brother. They were all in the house. It was trapped inside the darkness that had swallowed everything and continued to grow.
“My family is in there!” I cried. Keep it together.” he said. Despite appearances, he was not cute at all. “Hurry up and follow me. Your family will be fine.”
He hopped towards the other side of our garden, where an old oak tree stood, its branches long and barren, snapping around in the cold wind. I looked up to see my bedroom window but only saw darkness in its shadow.
The Dark Smoke had taken over my entire house and continued growing and stretching. But, it never came close to the oak tree for some reason.
“Bunny!” I heard a rough voice over me, and I looked up. No way; why was the Shadow Hawk here, too? “We have to hurry it up,” he said as the Snow Bunny hopped towards him.
“I need your help to trap the Dark Smoke again,” the snow bunny said. “If we manage to contain it, your family will be fine.
I looked up at where my bedroom was supposed to be, where my brother was supposed to sleep. I nodded quietly. Of all the places the Dark Smoke could have escaped, it had to pick my house!
Suddenly, the snow bunny asked, “What about the door?” Confused, I stared at an image that made no sense. “What do you mean?” I asked.
They are holding it open on the other side said the snow bunny
It was then I saw the Shadow Hawk arrive – I shouted to the snow bunny to watch out as the shadow hawk was a bad guy
The hawk looked at me confused, and said, “I’m the bad guy?”
You’re not the bad guy,” the snow bunny snapped, looking at me. “What do you mean the bad guy?”
“He is from the Kingdom of Darkness and is fighting you because he wants to take over the Kingdom of Light,” I said in desperation.
“Wow,” the hawk exclaimed. “Evil overlord! I can live with that.”
“Alright, said the Snow Bunny – first of all, there is no Kingdom of Darkness fighting the Kingdom of Light. ” “It is the Kingdom of Light and Darkness; it is one Kingdom. Second, I need clarification on what you are saying. And third, none of this is essential.”
I felt embarrassed for my lack of knowledge and understanding of their world, especially as I had read the book three times! But I knew that I had to help.
I had to be brave for my family and the Kingdom of Light and Darkness.
The Snow Bunny takes up the story:
Fortunately, he wasn’t startled when I spoke. The boy also knows about Hawk and me, though he seems confused about most of it.
He knows about the Four Directions prison spell and offered to help us with it to contain the Dark Smoke. This spell is our best chance of winning.
“I’m ready,” said the young boy, holding the medallion I had given him. “North, South, West, and East, right? I’ll mark them all,” he added and set off.
“Wait!” Hawk and I exclaimed simultaneously, and the boy turned around
“The medallion alone won’t be enough,” I said, but he couldn’t hear us. Hawk snapped a small twig and held it tightly, and it glowed with a bright red light. The twig had transformed into a black feather pen with red accents. He threw the pen at the boy, who caught it and gasped in amazement.
“The Hawk’s Feather Pen!” he exclaimed, “Kingdom of Light and Darkness, right? We need them both for the spell to work.”
He nodded with determination and looked at us. “North, South, West, and East,” he said meaningfully. “I’m off.” He turned and ran towards the north, and Hawk and I immediately attacked the Dark Smoke to keep it busy and away from the boy. Our plan required us to divert its attention from him.
I saw Hawk soar into the sky and dive down at the Dark Smoke, a red flash of thunder cutting through the darkness as he passed through it. Meanwhile, I headed towards the garden gate, where one of its tentacles had stretched beyond the house’s boundaries. I charged through it, creating a small whirlwind of snowflakes that dispersed it.
I stood at the entrance and let the snow and wind envelop me. Though it was only a light blizzard, I felt the force of the frozen wind and saw the snowflakes dancing around me. In this world, winter was alive, and I connected with its energy.
I focused on the garden, where I concentrated most of the blizzard’s force. The snow and wind were willing to cooperate, and the Dark Smoke was trapped within the garden’s limits. I could now concentrate on weakening it to make its imprisonment easier.
I saw a boy running towards the south as I launched an attack. It was good because one mark was already in place. With the wind and blizzard gathered around the yard, he moved much faster.
Hawk was flying around and cutting through the Dark Smoke while I jumped high and landed in the darkest part I could see.
I felt the soft snow underneath my feet and kicked my back feet up, sending a cloud of snowflakes up in the air. I heard a deep, almost silent growl as the darkness around me cleared away. I kept attacking the Dark Smoke this way, forcing it to pull back, shrink, and gather to a more compact size.
Meanwhile, Hawk was doing the same from the air, and the blizzard still circling the garden provided an impeccable barrier. There was no way out of it, and the Dark Smoke was already cut down to the size of the house.
I could see part of the house’s stone chimney protruding, which meant we were doing a good job.
The boy was at the East now. It was almost time. “Hawk!” I said and saw my friend stop, dive, and turn to me. “Start circling him.” He immediately rose and started circling at the top of the Dark Smoke so fast that he was causing a whirlwind to form.
I hopped on the ground, looking for that thing’s eyes. I needed to know where they were to form the spell accurately. Only then did I notice those bright green circles, blazing with hatred in the deep darkness, were not turned towards me or Hawk. They were turned towards the boy, crouched on one knee on the snow, completely absorbed in drawing that last mark correctly.
I don’t know if the Dark Smoke knew he was the key to its imprisonment or if it felt this was over and wanted to take one last revenge. It launched at him at full speed, and I rushed to stop it. I jumped and managed to land on his shoulder, knocking him over at the last minute.
Then I turned and jumped right at those eyes, making my spell. I didn’t know if he had managed to get the last mark done, but the way things stood, I could only hope.
I now take up my story again:
This was the last one. I had to draw the previous mark, and it would be over. Thankfully, the blizzard had quieted down, and I could now move without feeling like my skin would freeze and fall over with every move. I rubbed my hands, heated them with my breath and then began.
First, I gently pressed the medallion into the snow, making an imprint. Then, I used a pen to trace the imprint and drew four dots like a cross in the centre. It was difficult, as I was trembling from the cold, and my hands were frozen. The fate of the world depended on whether I did this right. Slowly and carefully, I traced the imprint and completed it with a sigh of relief.
However, I was so focused on completing the task that I didn’t notice what was happening around me. Suddenly, someone violently pushed me, causing me to fall on my side.
I saw the Snow Bunny and the Dark Smoke right before me. The Snow Bunny turned and hopped into the Dark Smoke’s eyes, causing it to jolt back. There was a loud bang and growl, and then the Dark Smoke exploded, sending a wave of air towards me. I fell back, and everything went dark.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in my room. The shutters were open, and I could see a clear blue sky outside. I looked around, and everything seemed normal except that I couldn’t find The Snow Bunny book I had left on my nightstand before falling asleep. My brother entered the room and greeted me, and that’s when I realised it might have all been just a dream.”
As he left, he stood at the door and turned to me. “Come and join the snow war before I bring the war to you!” he said with a fake threatening voice and a mischievous grin.
Playing in the snow made me happy, so I jumped off the bed.
I noticed my slippers were wet, but I ignored it. I was more focused on playing in the snow. As I took a step, I felt something on the floor. I saw a Rabbit’s diamond blue Medallion and a Hawk’s Feather Pen before my other unicorn slipper.
And that is a perfect place to end our story.
Further Reading
Nature StoryTeller More stories from the author
Wild of the Words Pridie Tiernan
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