Culture
59. Compassion: A Snow Party for All Hairies
In this enchanting episode of Lamp Lighter Kids Stories, join Rebecca and her squirrel friend Momo as they explore the snowy forests and meet the tiny, magical creatures known as herries. Through thei...
59. Compassion: A Snow Party for All Hairies
Culture •
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Interactive Transcript
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Hi and welcome to Lamp Lighter Kids Stories.
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My name is Rebecca and this is my squirrel friend Momo.
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Hello kids!
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We have an exciting story for you today.
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In each of our stories we are going to learn about one virtue.
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A virtue is anything that is good and right and true.
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Virtues are like little lights that shine bright and beautiful in a story.
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Can I tell them about letters from Momo?
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Go ahead.
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If you would like to learn more about my fun forest adventures,
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you can check out my letters from Momo Digital Bundles on our website
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www.LampLighterKids.com
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In each letter from Momo Bundle, you'll find fun stories, short biographies, and great activity pages.
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I may talk a little bit about eight coins in there as well.
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If you would like to order a letters from Momo Digital Bundle,
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just ask your adult to visit www.LampLighterKids.com
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You can also find www.LampLighterKidsMertianDice
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and our first Seas of Character book there called Jerome's Journey.
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So, are you ready?
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Come and listen while we light the way to your imagination.
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This Christmas, I ate some Maycorns, but the very next day you took them away.
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This year, to stay me from tears, please give me some more or eight coins.
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Oh, oh, oh, oh, hello there.
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I'm just practicing my song that I'll be singing in our upcoming Winter Forest Performance.
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They gave me the role of Santa Squirley Claus and said I could sing whatever I wanted.
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So, I'm picking some classics.
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This Christmas, I ate some Maycorns.
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Hi, Momo.
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Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your song.
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I...what are you wearing on your face?
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That's a very large white beard.
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Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you that I got the part of Santa Squirley Claus in the Winter Forest Performance this year.
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They told me to find a song to sing and also to wear a big white beard.
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Do you like it?
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Um, normally fake beards aren't that long.
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Yours reaches all the way to the floor.
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How are you even walk onto the stage like that?
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Oh, easy, like this.
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Ow.
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Are you okay, Momo?
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Yeah, just a...tripped on my beard.
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Maybe you're right.
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Maybe I should give a little trim before the big show.
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I think that'd be a pretty good idea.
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Why don't you go find some scissors and when you come back, I have a great, win-tory story to share with you.
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Perfect for this snowy weather we're having outside.
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Does that sound good?
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Of course.
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Let me just go grab those scissors.
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Oh, should've taken the beard off before I ran.
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Why don't you just start the story while I rest here for a moment?
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If you say so.
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Our story today is about a very small creature that most of us have probably never heard of,
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living far away in the snowy forests of the North.
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I would be willing to bet that almost everyone in the world has heard of fairies.
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Fairies have made their way into many legends and myths over the whole of humankind.
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But I would also be willing to bet that almost everyone in the world has not heard of herries.
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Perhaps this is because herries are almost too small for the human eye to see,
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or perhaps it's because they live so far up in the North where humans almost never visit.
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Whatever the reason, herries have yet to make their way into the legends of humankind.
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What is a herry you say?
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Well, the first thing you'd notice is their size.
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Herries are so small that their favorite sport is riding on snowflakes.
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Once your eyes adjust to their size, you would notice that these white, four-legged creatures look like a cross between a fluffy cat and a polar bear.
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They have the cute short noses of cats, though of course it's hard to see their noses due to the abundance of their fluffy white fur,
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and the tiny wiggly tails of a bear.
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To top it off, herries each have a set of beautiful incandescent wings growing out from their fluffy backs, just like human fairies.
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With these wings and a snowflake underneath, the herries all have so much fun flying through their snowy forests.
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In fact, I think I see one flying right now.
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Slow down, Lingo! Where are you going?
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I can't slow down! This updraft is taking me!
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Lingo, a junior herry with an extra fuzzy set of hair, zoomed quickly between the snow-covered pine branches on his shimmering snowflake.
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This is fun!
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Lingo, lean to the left to turn the snowflake back!
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Melly, Lingo's big sister, stopped her snowflake in mid-air to watch her brother as he rose higher and higher through the branches.
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He's scared, but excited laugh ringing through the forest.
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Great, she muttered.
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His first snowflake ride ever and he can't even fly it.
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Gima and Gima are not going to be happy with us if we don't get back in time for their annual snow party.
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Hey! So are I'm late! Did I miss anything?
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Garnie, Melly and Lingo's older cousin flew in from behind a bush and stopped near her.
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His long wings buzzing slightly to keep himself and his snowflake in the air.
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Oh, hey, Garnie! Everything's okay if you consider that okay.
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Melly pointed her fluffy paw up towards the tree branches where they could just make out a little dot in the sky above the trees.
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Is that Lingo?
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Garnie said, squinting.
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What's he doing all the way up there?
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It's only his first day of snowflaking. Doesn't he know he should stick close to the ground?
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The winds up there can get really strong.
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Yeah, well, I don't think he's doing it on purpose.
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Now that you're here though, we should probably go and rescue him and then we need to get back to Gima and Gimpas.
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They told us that we could only go snowflaking until the sun hit the mountain tops and it looks like it's about to.
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Melly flapped her wings upward and began rising higher on her snowflake into the air.
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Garnie followed close behind, the two of them using their wings and their snowflakes to catch the gusts of wind that lifted them into the skies and towards Lingo.
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AHHHHH! How do I stop this thing?
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Hi above them, Lingo was spinning in circles on his snowflake.
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He could barely make out the two white shapes of his sister and cousin flying towards him.
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Hi guys, I'm here! I can't seem to make this snowflake stop spitting!
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Lingo, open your wings!
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His big sister yelled, quickly approaching from below.
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Open them to slow down!
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Lingo opened his wings obediently and immediately stopped spinning.
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Oh, that's much better!
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Now twist your left wing to the right to catch the breeze and that'll turn you back around towards us!
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She called again.
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Lingo looked down at their two faces and decided he was going to try to impress them with his flying skills.
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It was his first day after all and he was sure they'd be amazed if he managed a double backflip before soaring back to them.
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He leaned all his fluffy weight to one side of the snowflake and felt it tipping around.
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Lingo, what are you doing? Don't!
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But it was too late.
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Melly watched as her brother fell in slow motion off of his snowflake.
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AHHHHH!
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He yelled, spinning in circles as he fell downward.
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Garnie quickly flew towards his little cousin, his wings buzzing with the speed.
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Lingo, open your wings, you silly fluff!
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You can fly without a snowflake, you know!
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He yelled at the top of his lungs.
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Thankfully, even with the strong wind blowing through his ears, Lingo heard the yell.
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He opened his wings, which stopped his fall abruptly.
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Unfortunately, just as he was getting his balance in the air again, a large gust of wind came blowing up from the tree tops below.
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It was so strong that all the snow on the boughs of the trees lifted into the air,
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swirling around the three herries and pulling them into a dizzying spin.
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The mini-world wind continued to whisk the three herries away until finally, with a soft thud,
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all three found themselves landing in a tall snowbank on the edge of a cluster of trees.
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Wow, is he cosooosy? That was some wind!
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Lingo declared, pulling himself out of the snow and shaking his fur off.
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That is why we don't snowflake above the trees. The wind is too strong up there.
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Melly copied her little brother by pulling herself out and shaking her fur.
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Okay, okay, consider my lesson learned.
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I guess I could have used a few more lessons before I took off from Gimang Gimba's like that.
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I was just so excited to snowflake, and now I lost my flakeboard.
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And looks like you guys lost yours too.
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Mingo looked around and couldn't see any of their flakeboards.
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Well, that's not great. My dad worked for three days to make my flakeboard fly like that.
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I didn't know how much work it took to make a flakeboard so writable, but one thing's for sure.
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We aren't getting back to Gimang Gimba's party on flakeboards anymore.
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Garnie, who'd also pulled himself from the snow and shook off his fur, sat down with a thud.
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Looks like we'll be flying back then, Melly sighed, and we better get going fast,
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because now it's going to take even longer.
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The party was almost finished being set up when we left, and you guys know how much effort they put into their annual snow party.
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Garnie and Lingo nodded their heads.
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Their Gimba and Gimba's snow parties were known throughout the Harry Forest.
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They would string lights from tree to tree as far as the eye could see.
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Between all the lit-up trees, they would display amazing ice sculptures,
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and of course, they always loved making little ice toys for the children to play with.
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Food was served in abundance and eaten around the little fires along the pathways below.
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It would take their Gimang Gimba a whole month just to set it all up.
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And did you guys see the ice playground they made this year?
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Lingo asked.
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The ice slide was almost as tall as the tree next to it.
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I can't wait to ride it.
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They really do go all out.
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Melly smiled, then lifted off the ground, her wings flitting quickly.
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No time to waste then! Come on you two!
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But just as the other two lifted into the air, they all stopped.
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A loud crash rang from behind them.
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With surprised eyes, they all turned around to find that a large, evergreen tree had just fallen right behind them.
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Snow still swirling around where it had crashed.
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Whoa, that's crazy!
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Garnie said watching as the snow slowly settle down.
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Oh no!
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Did you guys hear something?
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Melly asked, purking up her round ears to hear better.
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Oh my, oh my, what are we going to do?
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This is going to take a whole week to sort out.
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Mama, what about my birthday?
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I think the tasty tweets are all perwi'd now.
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Garnie took one look at his cousins, his eyebrows wrinkled, then began to quietly fly closer to see where the voices were coming from.
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Melly and Lingo followed.
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Melly and Lingo were in love.
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As the three flew over the tree, they looked down and were surprised to see a family of herries standing in the snow.
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It looked like a mother, a father, and a baby Harry, all staring at the place where the tree had fallen.
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Well, my little darling, I'm not sure we can dig everything out in time for your birthday.
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Oh!
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The father Harry stopped talking when he noticed the three young herries looking down at them from above.
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Oh well, forgive me. You did give me a fright.
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Are you guys alright?
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You didn't get caught up with any of this falling tree business, did you?
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Oh no, sir!
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Said Melly, we're alright, but we heard you guys, and are you alright?
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My birthday is today.
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The baby Harry spoke up.
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And now our home is belly'd under the snow.
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All my tweets are in there.
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Garnie, Melly, and Lingo flew down and landed next to the family as they spoke.
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We're new to this part of the forest, and we had just dug our home here.
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The mother Harry spoke.
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It looks like the tree didn't fall directly on our home, thankfully, but it did push a bunch of snow on top of it.
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It could take a couple days to dig it out, and it's already getting dark.
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Whatever shall we do, Papa?
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The father Harry sighed, but didn't seem to have an answer.
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The baby Harry seemed to be holding back tears.
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Garnie, Melly, and Lingo all looked at each other and smiled.
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They had all had the same exact thought at the same exact time.
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Lingo stepped forward.
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Since you're all new here, you probably have never heard of our Gimang Gimpa's famous snow parties,
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but it just so happens that it's starting tonight.
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Actually any minute now, the party is opened everyone and there's food and songs and lots of fun.
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If you want, you can all come join us.
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I'm sure we can even find an extra treat for you.
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He looked at the baby Harry and seen you happy birthday too.
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And added Garnie, there's going to be a lot of Harry's there celebrating.
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I'm sure we can find a few who would love to come and help dig your home out.
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It wouldn't take very long with more pause for help.
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What do you guys say about that?
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The mother and father Harry looked at each other, wander in their eyes.
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The baby Harry, her eyes slowly growing wider with excitement, began to jump up and down.
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Yes, yes, yes, oh, can we, mama, papa?
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I could still have my birthday party.
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The decision was an easy one and soon the group of Harry's were on their way back through the forest
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and towards the celebration, which, from the sound of it, had already begun.
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After arriving and explaining to their Gimengiampa why they were late, the Harry's began the celebration.
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First up was the ice slide, which Lingo, Melly and Garnie enjoyed over and over again with all of their friends.
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As they slid, they could see the baby Harry enjoying a game of roll the ice with a group of the younger Harry's.
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After they had tired themselves out on the slide, they all ate around the nearest fire.
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Gobs of sticky maple syrup soup, cranberry ciders and pine nut pies made their rounds around the fireplace.
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When the food had run out and bellies were filled to the brim, everyone cheered when they saw Gimengi fly in with a huge decorated birthday cake for the baby Harry.
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It's safe to say that the baby Harry nearly jumped out of her fur when she realized that the cake was for her.
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After a round of singing happy birthday, everyone dug into the delicious cake.
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As their mouths stuffed with cake, the mother Harry flew up to the nearby branch and began to sing a song to the enraptured crowd below.
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Look around at all the faces here, the little laughter and good jolly cheer.
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We feel so thankful that we met you all and that you had compassion on us.
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Ooh, compassion so sweet.
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Ooh, just like all these treats.
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Ooh, now we're not alone.
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We found our home.
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After the audience was finished applauding her song, they began dancing.
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Between dances, there was more eating, more sliding and much more fun.
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The new Harry family was welcomed into the community with open arms and plans were quickly made to help them dig out their home early the next morning.
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Since the family would need a place to stay until then, several Harrys offered to have them spend the night in their own homes, which they graciously accepted.
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As everyone began to finally grow sleepy and the party noises died down, Gima and Gima called Lingo Mellie and Garnie over to them.
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They all settled down next to the dying embers of one of the fires, cuddling close together for warmth.
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Oh yes, little ones, your Gima and I were just talking about how proud we are of you three.
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You saw Harry family in need and invited them into our community.
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That's exactly what we would have wanted you to do.
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Lingo, his eyes heavy with sleep, looked over at the other two.
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They looked back and smiled.
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Well, I guess we can say it's a good thing that Lingo is so bad at snowflaking right now. Mellie teased.
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Without his little inconvenient flight above the trees, we never would have met the new family.
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Lingo rolled his eyes and shook his head smiling. Gima laughed.
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Yes, sometimes what we think are inconveniences are actually just adventures waiting to happen.
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And I have a feeling that all these things happen for a reason, as you saw today.
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Well, now you three look like you're about to fall asleep right here and now.
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Why don't we all fly back to our house?
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Or worry about cleaning up tomorrow.
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The three little Harrys and Gima and Giepa flew off heavily towards home, passing over the scenes of a snow party well enjoyed below.
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Perhaps Harrys will never make it into the folklore of humankind.
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Perhaps they may never be as famous as other mythical creatures.
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And perhaps they even like it that way.
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But one thing is for sure, whether you're human or myth or animal or creature,
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anyone's story of helping others is always a story worth sharing.
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Well, what do you think?
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Does my beard look more like Santa's curly claws now?
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Um, oh, what did you do to the beard?
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It's barely there anymore, just a few wisps of white.
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I don't think anyone's even going to notice that you have a beard now.
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What? Oh, man, I must have trimmed it a little too much.
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I guess I was just so focused on your story.
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I kept cutting and cutting and cutting and now I'll never get to be Santa's curly claws.
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Then no one can hear my beautiful son!
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Well, now I wouldn't say that.
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I'm sure we can figure out a way to get a perfect size squirrel beard for you.
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Helping those in need is my speciality.
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Speaking of helping those in need, that was what our Harry story was about today.
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In our story, we heard about the virtue of...
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Compassion
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Compassion is a feeling of concern for those who are in hard situations.
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When we feel compassion for someone, it usually makes us want to help them,
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just like Melly, Lingo and Gurney in our story today.
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And like you with my beard!
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That's right.
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Speaking of, I think I know a good place we can go look for some appropriate size beards for you.
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But before we head out, let's do our...
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Question time!
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Question one!
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Has anyone ever shown you compassion?
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How did it make you feel?
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Question two!
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Why do you think it's important for people to have compassion in our world?
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Alright Momo, are you ready to go?
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I was born ready!
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Do you think that I could practice my song along the way?
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It still needs a little more work.
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Of course!
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I actually didn't really get to hear it since I was too distracted by your long beard when I walked in.
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Why don't you show me?
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Oh great!
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This Christmas I ate some acorns but the very next day you took them away.
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Oh Momo, did they say you could change the lyrics to the...
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This year!
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To save me!
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I guess it doesn't matter at this point.
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Okay Momo, follow me while you practice your song.
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I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
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Thank you for listening to Lamplighter Kids Stories today!
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If you liked our story, please feel free to share it with your loved ones and leave a review!
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It really is a great day!
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She helps other listeners find these stories.
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If you're interested in purchasing our letters from Momo Digital Bundles or Momo Seeds of Character Book,
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just visit our website at LamplighterKids.com
Topics Covered
Lamp Lighter Kids Stories
Momo the squirrel
children's story podcast
learning about virtues
fun forest adventures
letters from Momo
herries
snowy forest creatures
Christmas performance
Santa Squirley Claus
snowflake riding
Gimang Gimba's snow party
ice playground
family of herries
winter storytelling