Once upon a time, in a cute little forest, there lived some very nice animals. Actually, it wasn't such a small forest, because there were so many animals in it. There were deer, bunnies, deer, foxes, squirrels, owls and many other animals.
It was February, the last month of winter. These little animals knew that this was the time of year for the carnival celebrations. It was a way to ward off the cold winter and wait for spring to come. They also chose the day on which they would hold the carnival.
It was agreed that everyone would dress up as someone. However, they had trouble deciding which one to dress up as. Mickey the squirrel came up with the idea of writing the names of each animal on a slip of paper, putting them in a hat and then everyone drew one. The one whose name is drawn is the one they dress up as. If someone accidentally draws their own name, they can quickly throw that piece of paper back in the hat and draw another.
They all agreed, so they did. They were very enthusiastic, as everyone, without exception, liked the idea. They threw the little tags into a hat and asked the wise owl to supervise the drawing. They lined up neatly, each drawing a name. It was a very important rule that you were not allowed to tell whose name you drew. And this was ably observed.
There was still a week to go before the carnival, so everyone had time to make their own costumes. Some of the animals certainly had a lot of trouble figuring out how to dress their friend. But in the end, everyone did a very clever job.
The day of Carnival has arrived. The night before, all the animals were so excited that they could hardly sleep. They got up early in the morning to decorate the forest. They made beautiful pendants from leaves and branches. They made little lanterns from the pine cones.
Luckily it was warm that day, so even the fireflies were out. They made sure there was enough light when it started to get dark. Unfortunately, they couldn't stay long, they knew that well, because the night was still cool and they would have to hide again to avoid getting cold. But they could still light up a little in the evening.
It was to this wonderful spectacle that the costumed animals arrived. Everyone was amazed at how beautifully the other was dressed and how much he looked like the animal he had pulled out.
The costumes were so well done that it was not difficult to guess who was dressed as whom. The fox dressed as a bunny, the bunny dressed as an owl, the owl became the deer, the deer pulled out the fawn, the fawn appeared as a woodpecker, the tree doctor dressed as a squirrel and the squirrel dressed as a fox.
They all stood around and sang and danced all night. They also brought goodies, not forgetting that dinner would be needed. They made delicious sandwiches and cakes. They even brought refreshments, as the squirrel had cleverly stored his elderberry syrup for the winter, making a delicious drink.
They had a huge party, dancing and having fun until late into the night. Then, when the weather got really cold and they were tired, everyone went home, went to bed and had a good sleep.
Sleep well yourself! Good night!
