Christmas in the panel had been the same for years. According to the schematic scenario, they took the folded silver fake pine tree from the linen rack, stuck on the coloured glass balls, the golden bows, the yearly hard snipe cake - saying that what is meant to be eaten is bought fresh anyway and will be gone in days - and finally they clipped the light bulbs on the fake Christmas tree.
And the Christmas dinner - the inevitable duck roast with red cabbage - was accompanied by the Spar beigli.
It wasn't just the kids who were bored, mum was really fed up. The holiday was too monotonous, with no joy or surprises for any of them.
Well, they all wanted to change that, so they jumped at Mom's suggestion: go down to Zala, to their maternal grandparents' house, since they hadn't spent Christmas together for so long.
There may not be a bathroom bath in the farmhouse, but there's no need to fret about the gas convector, and the modern electric oven will be on outage, but at least it will be different from Christmases past. The change is a delight," adds Marci, a little boy, who has heard that somewhere before.
As they drove through the hills of Zala, the landscape became whiter and whiter. At first it was just drizzling, but later the snow came down in big flakes, and although you had to be careful when driving, the sight of the landscape parading in sparkling snow-white fur was enough compensation even for the driving dad.
The grandparents, upon arrival, immediately took the two children.
- "Panka, you come to the kitchen and see how the copper loaf is made," Grandma instructed. I know it's a favourite of both you and your mother. This time it'll be beigli instead of beigli.
Grandfather conducted the boys.
- Marci, you and your father are coming with me. The town hall announced they're setting up an adventure park in the woods. To achieve this, they're going to clear a small area of trees. Local residents can cut down their Christmas trees for free. Let's try to make sure we get something else.
In a hundred words, they are on their way. Indeed, the area of the future adventure park was already clearly visible, which was no wonder, as many trees had been felled, since the next day was Christmas Eve. They were lucky, though, as Grandpa found a very nice, shapely pine tree. Much taller and with more foliage than the idealised silver fake Christmas tree at home.
The wood was hauled home by horse-drawn sleigh, and at home they could indulge in the heavenly sweet smell of the baking gingerbread.
Grandfather expertly carved the stump of the pine, then set it up in the clean room with the holder.
- "It lasts a long time here and the needles don't fall off," he said, "because we rarely use this room and only heat it up a little when we have guests in the house. - Let's put the usual village decorations on it," Grandpa continued.
And he brought out a press of Italian walnuts. Why it was Italian, he explained, was because of its variety, and it's true that Italy is bigger than Hungary, but these nuts were also twice the size of the nuts that are usually found. Grandpa had cleverly tied string to them, but first he struck a matchstick into the top of each nut. That's where the noose went.
The two children just stared in amazement, it was very different here in Zala than back home. At home they decorated the artificial pine with expensive glass ornaments, but here they used plain, unpainted walnut instead. Grandmother had already made the wreaths of popcorn, which made the tree quite beautiful. And that smell! It was as if the forest itself had moved into the clean room! Fresh, tart green, a real resin smell!
- "The surprise, literally, the 'top decoration' is still to come," Grandpa promised, "You'll see it after dinner, when the candles are lit and the presents are opened.
Finally, it has happened. After dinner, a delicious soup made of goose feet, goose legs cooked red with goose meat sauce, and a nice slice of bread, they waited with eager curiosity for the promised surprise in the tree.
When the candles were blazing brightly and the sparklers were flickering, Marci was the first to run around the big tree, looking for the surprise. And he found it.
- Grandpa, that's wonderful! This is a great ornament! And what a lifelike little squirrel! The way he's clinging to that big nut!
Now it was Grandpa's turn to be surprised.
- Squirrel?! What are you talking about?! I was going to surprise you with a hand-woven lace ornament on the top of the pine tree!
Then he went round the tree, and to his surprise, a little way down from the top, he saw a real, live squirrel sitting on a thicker branch, eagerly clutching a large Italian walnut in his tiny paws, so that it would not be taken away. It was beautiful, really, as if it had been made of the finest plush by the most competent toy maker.
- "Well, that's a surprise even to me," said Grandpa. - "A gift from the forest," he added. - It was part of the tree he didn't want to part with, and because the branches were so thick, we didn't even notice that we had brought the tree's inhabitant home with us. Let's not scare him. If he can live on nuts, at least he won't starve. At this time of year, the forest offers little food anyway. We'll leave the window wide open at night, so he can go home if he wants to.
Everyone admired the squirrel, then tiptoed out of the clean room to avoid scaring it away.
In the morning the squirrel was gone, but there were three empty thread loops left behind, on which Italian walnuts had been hanging. It may have turned around several times and taken it as a winter food reserve.
But they didn't mind. Panka and Marci were happy that they had the most beautiful Christmas tree that winter, with a real "top decoration".
