Chapter Thirteen

A Slippery Slope

The next morning, Ozette was up early. She and Gizmo had stopped by the chipmunks’ burrow before bedtime, and the youngsters had insisted on sleeping over in Ozette’s nest so they wouldn’t be “accidentally” left behind. On the way to Ozette’s nest, they saw Baby Fiona sprawled out on a hickory limb and invited her to join them for the sleepover. Ozette and Gizmo spent the rest of the day building snow squirrels and drinking steaming cups of spiced cider.

The winter chill seemed to seep into her bones, and Ozette was glad for the extra warmth the animals provided. But it had been strange to wake up with Harley perched on her head, one foot dangling at eye level, and Gizmo tucked under her arm. Baby Fiona had a snoring Suzuki on her chest, obviously in the middle of a chipmunk dream.

Ozette smiled as she quietly crept out of her nest to watch the sunrise. Streaks of a vibrant persimmon faded to a vivid peach in the sky. Fluffy clouds floated over the horizon, dancing in the morning chill. She breathed in the frosty air, enjoying a little quiet before her day began. She heard stirring, and soon the chipmunks, Baby Fiona, and Gizmo joined her on the branch, huddled together against the cold and watched the sun peek above the horizon.

“I wonder what adventure we’re going on with Oliver today?” asked Suzuki, her breath forming white puffs in the frigid air.

“Hard to tell with that elf,” Ozette answered, as she urged them into her nest for a hearty breakfast of Acorn-Almond Supreme and dried cherries topped off with spicy cider.

Ozette was cleaning the crumbs from their furry faces when they heard a sharp bark and a strange “shushhhhh- shushhhhh” noise under their tree. Ozette peeked out to see Oliver, Ariel, Annika and Sydney sitting on a strange contraption that was being pulled by an exuberant Cassady.

“Come on, everyone!” shouted Oliver. With Ozette lagging behind, the chipmunks, Baby Fiona, and Gizmo scurried down the tree as fast as their little legs could carry them.

“What in the world is that?” Ozette asked, pointing at Oliver and the fairies.

“This, my fairest Queen Ozette,” said Oliver, doffing his blue and red knit cap and almost falling over as he bowed to Ozette, “is your royal chariot. Come now. Your chariot awaits.”

“But...but...what is this thing?”

“It’s called a sled, Ozette, and Cassady is going to pull you, Gizmo, Baby Fiona and the chipmunks to Wonderland Hill, so you can slide down the hill on the sled,” Oliver said proudly.

“Huh?” Ozette asked, looking at Oliver as if the elf had finally lost his mind. “I’ve been to Wonderland Hill, and it’s steep. And there are lots of big trees. You seriously think I’m going to risk my little friends getting hurt while sliding down that steep hill on this?” Ozette asked incredulously. “Besides, it’s cold. Let’s just snuggle down in my nest, drink hot cider and tell stories. Okay, kids?”

The chipmunks, Baby Fiona, and Gizmo stomped their little feet. “We want to go,” Gizmo said, leading the rebellion. “It’ll be lots of fun, Ozette.”

“Yes! It’ll be great fun,” added Baby Fiona, as the chipmunks jumped up and down cheering.

“Now that you mention the cold,” Sydney said, slipping off of the sled. “I knitted you these last night. Do say you’ll come.”

Sydney unfolded three chipmunk-sized knit hats and scarves and three squirrel-sized hats and scarves. Ozette’s was a soft pink. When Sydney flew up and placed it on her head and wrapped the scarf around her neck, Ozette instantly felt warmer. She frowned at Sydney’s choice of colors, remembering a time when her fur had been pink. Sydney saw Ozette’s look and grinned at her. Gizmo was tugging on his blue hat and wrapping the scarf around his neck so many times that he resembled a mummy.

Suzuki looked at her little yellow cap and scarf in wonder and smiled her little chipmunk grin when Annika put them on her. Ariel handed Beemer a dark green hat and scarf, and Harley plopped the little red hat on his head while Ariel wound his scarf tightly around his neck. Baby Fiona donned her lavender scarf and hat and twirled in the snow, delighted with her gift. .

“Come on, Ozette. Please...” begged Gizmo, tugging on her paw, his voice muffled by his scarf.

Silence fell on the forest, and all eyes were on Ozette. She sighed, touched by all the work her friends had put into giving them a fun outing.

“Okay. I’m not saying I’ll go sledding, but we can at least ride the sled to the hill.” She inspected the sled closely and had to admit Oliver had done a wonderful job lashing smooth branches together with vines. He had sharpened bigger branches to make runners.

“You did a beautiful job on the sled, Oliver, and these scarves and hats are not only lovely but very warm. You’re both so kind,” Ozette said, remembering her manners. The chipmunks, Gizmo, and Baby Fiona nodded in agreement as best they could with the scarves wrapped tightly around their little heads.

They piled onto the sled. Oliver and the fairies flew ahead, so the animals would have ample room.

Ozette tucked Gizmo, Baby Fiona and the chipmunks to her chest as Oliver yelled, “Onward, Cassady!” And with a lurch, they slid through the snow with a “shushhhhh- shushhhhh” sound that was somehow calming.

Farlandia truly is a winter wonderland, Ozette thought, as they passed bushes piled high with fluffy snow as if they too were wearing warm, winter hats. A light breeze caressed the bare branches of the trees, and the sun sparkled on the snow, making it appear like it had been sprinkled with diamonds. Ozette heard a honking noise and looked skyward to see a gaggle of geese flying in formation overhead. They flew lower; their beaks were agape at the warmly dressed squirrels and chipmunks on the strange sled. Ludlow, the lead goose, swooped down until he was face-to-face with Ozette.

Recognizing Ozette, he quacked, “Queen Ozette. What are you doing?”

“We’re going sledding,” shouted Gizmo, sticking his little black nose out from under his scarf.

The goose flew alongside the sled, peering at its occupants intently. “This we’ve got to see,” he said, winging upward to join his friends.

Ozette was enjoying the ride, especially since the squirrels and chipmunks were blessedly quiet as they sped through the silent woods. Cassady barked occasionally, her pink tongue lolling out of her mouth as they reached the sledding area. Cassady stopped in her tracks, almost catapulting Ozette and her charges off of the sled.

Ozette’s jaw dropped. It looked like a large portion of Farlandia had come to sled. In a flat area, a huge bonfire was raging. Rowdy, Daphne, Mateo and Barnaby tended the blaze. Oliver lifted the lid on a large pot that was suspended over the fire and expertly sprinkled a little super basil salt into the soup. Ozette sniffed the air. Smelled delicious. This might be fun after all.

The squirrels and chipmunks tumbled off of the sled and scurried to the bonfire. While a groundhog held a steaming cup of hot chocolate in his paws, two young raccoons were roasting marshmallows on sticks.

“Ozette?” Mateo, one of her elf friends, asked, coming closer and peering at her intently.

“Yes, it’s me. I know. I know. I look silly in this,” she said, fingering the fringes of her pink scarf.

“Actually, I think you all look great, and you’ll be glad for the warmth once you start sledding,” Mateo said, pointing a finger at the steepest slope where a pair of young badgers were sliding down the hill. Rikki raccoon and her twins were close behind the badgers and waved their paws as they slid by on their homemade sleds. They careened down the hill rapidly picking up speed and barely missing a large pine tree. Ozette grimaced.

“Ummm. Let’s see, what there’s to eat,” she said, pushing Gizmo toward the bonfire.

“Please, we want to go sledding first!” Gizmo said, looking up at Ozette with pleading dark eyes.

“Sledding. Sledding. Sledding.” the chipmunks chanted. Baby Fiona soon joined the chant, making Ozette wish she’d left them all at home.

Oliver sauntered over, pulling on fleecy red mittens and adjusting his hat snugly over his elfin ears.

“Come on, Ozette. It’ll be great fun. I’ll go with you this first time to show you how to steer,” he said, smiling his warmest smile.

Ozette bit her lip and debated. The baby squirrels were still staring at her expectantly.

“Okay. We’ll try it, but don’t take us on the steepest hill, Oliver,” Ozette said.

The chipmunks and baby squirrels jumped up and down and clapped their paws. They got back on the sled, and Cassady, having gotten her second wind, hauled them up a moderately steep hill.

“Okay, everyone. Watch how I steer this thing,” Oliver said. “Oh, and we just have to be careful not to get too close to Endless Cliff. That wouldn’t be a good thing,” he added, pointing west.

Ozette opened her mouth to ask him what he meant when all of a sudden Cassady gave the sled a little nudge with her right paw and off they went. Trees whizzed by as they gathered speed.

“Lean left, everyone!” Oliver called, as they approached another sled piloted by a meerkat wearing goggles and a plaid cap.

They leaned so far left that Ozette had to grab Suzuki lest she fall off of the sled. As they easily passed a sled full of elves, even Ozette had to admit this was fun. Down. Down. Down they went, whizzing by trees. The sounds of squirrel and chipmunk laughter were echoing in the nippy air. All too soon, Oliver came to an expertly executed stop at the bottom of the hill.

“Let’s do it again!” Gizmo called, after catching his breath from laughing so hard.

Oliver looked at Ozette, shrugging his elfin shoulders.

“Good idea. You’re all naturals at sledding. Here’s Cassady. She can haul us back up the hill,” Oliver said.

Cassady had been enjoying the food around the bonfire and was licking crumbs from her mouth. Now that she’d eaten her snack, she was ready to pull them up the hill.

After the steep climb, with Gizmo and the chipmunks shouting encouragement, they were ready to go again. Ozette was able to totally relax this time and laughed with the rest of them as clouds raced by above them. Ozette watched intently as Oliver made a couple of good turns to avoid other sleds.

“It’s all in steering in the right direction,” Oliver shouted. “Next trip, you can go by yourselves.”

As they landed at the bottom of the hill, Beemer rolled off of the sled, laughing. His scarf had come unwound and dangled around his feet, which had little snowballs clumped on them. They laughed so hard that they were out of breath by the time they reached the bonfire.

Ariel flitted over to Ozette with a mug of hot chocolate in her hands.

“Yum,” Ozette said, licking the white froth from the top of the mug. “I didn’t realize I was so hungry. Sledding really builds up your appetite. What’s this creamy stuff?”

“Whipped unicorn milk and chocolate sweetened with honey,” Annika said, sipping daintily from her cup.

Oliver brought his friends bowls of his hearty Vegetableini Souper. It had been cooking all day, and Ozette almost swooned as the hot soup slid down her throat.

Oliver roasted marshmallow nutlettos over the fire for his friends. Ozette bit hungrily into a roasted marshmallow seedette that Ariel had toasted for her, almost burning her mouth on the tasty treat. She watched a sled with Rowdy at the helm and Dooley sitting behind him as it careened down the hill.

As she watched the sledders, the geese Ozette had seen on the way to Wonderland Hill came to a sliding stop in the snow. They shook their wings and looked at the group with their sharp, beady eyes.

“We saw you coming this way and had to watch this,” said Delilah, waddling on her webbed feet to where Ozette was standing. “You have magnificent teamwork. Almost as good as we do.”