The very end of Autumn had swept upon the residents of Carousel Village. The wind was getting colder, and the smell of freshly baked gingerbread men cooling on windowsils wafted through the air. The most excited out of all the residents of Carousel Village were Furaha (although she and her family are not really residents at all) and Socks, who just realised that on the 12th of January, the first snowfall of the year would come. Socks and Furaha were wandering round the village seeing all the other carousel horses putting up decorations and baking fresh biscuits. A big snowflake banner was placed above the street, coloured blue with three white snowflakes. “Nice job with the banner there, Fizzy Dude,” Furaha called to her white-bodied pony friend. “No problem!” called Fizzy Dude, “A little tweaks here and there and-” “No worries, mate, I helped also,” said Fizz Apple, her sister. Fizz Apple had ditched her usual Summer hat for a woolly Winter hat and boots. “You look awesome,” said Socks, “How did you dress like that?” “Knitted them myself,” said Apple Fizz proudly.
While passing Oven Bake’s cafe, Furaha and Socks were enticed by the smell of fresh gingerbread cooling on the windowsill. It was joined by a plateful of strawberry muffins with pink chocolate chips. “Yum, what nice ingredients! Maybe we could try some.” said Furaha. “I’m so hungry, I’m just dying for one,” said Socks. Just then, Oven Bake appeared. “Like them? I’m proud to bake them for such a festive occasion such as Winter, I can’t wait to greet the first snowfall of the year.” “We can’t wait, too!” said Socks, “There’ll be lights and snowy games and those muffins!” “Can we have some?” asked Furaha. “Okay, here you go,” said Oven Bake, handing them a muffin and a gingerbread man each. They tasted exceptionally delicious. “Mmmmmmm! Your baking is such a treat, Oven Bake. It’s a wonder you always wear those bunny oven gloves.” Oven looked on her hoof, and saw she was wearing one of the bunny oven gloves Furaha mentioned. Furaha and Socks were giggling under their breath. “Oh! Silly me, I AM wearing bunny oven gloves!” laughed Oven Bake.
Furaha’s mother and father, Kiburi and Ua, heard all the noise. “What on earth is going on?” asked Kiburi. “Your daughter and I are just excited for the first snowfall tomorrow!” said Socks. “It’ll be great!” cried Furaha. “Apple Fizz, Fizzy Dude and Oven Bake all agree.” “Including me!” called a voice. It was Baby Cloud, scampering up to them like a hurricane. “I can’t wait, I just can’t wait!” His face fell. “But…I’m not very sure I can progress at sledging.” “You’ll be fine! Tell you what: we’ll teach you. How’s that?” “Yes yes yes!” squeaked Baby Cloud, jumping up and down. “You’re very helpful towards all the little carousel horses, Furaha,” said Ua, “In fact, you’re almost like a real grown up childminder towards them.” “Thanks,” said Furaha, “I’m always a great friend.” “A great childminder?” asked Socks. “A great companion!” they both said, and they burst out laughing.
At home, Furaha helped Socks decorate her house with tinsel and baubles and popcorn chains. Everything looked just perfect for Winter. Furaha liked the small lion bauble that hung halfway through the tinsel, because it proudly displayed her African heritage. “How on earth did you get such a lovely bauble?” asked Furaha. “I’ve had that bauble since the day I was born,” said Socks, “I loved it to bits, and I still do anyway. I’ve kept it all the way up until my teenage years, which is now!” “How can you be a teenager if you’ve grown out of being a kid?” asked Furaha. “You’re immortal, you have an immortality spark, and I…well…” And Socks sadly trudged up the stairs with a heavy sigh of mournfulness. Furaha looked worried, and dashed up the stairs after her.
Furaha saw Socks sitting on her bed. Furaha sat next to her, a reassuring friend she was. “Why are you upset, Minty? Surely you haven’t the need to grow up?” “I know, but someday you’ll grow up and leave me forever, and soon I’ll be dead! I can’t believe this is all happening. Why should I be thinking about death during such a happy time? I feel…childish!” “There’s no need to!” said Furaha, “You see, I think people should never grow up. They have a child inside them, and they should let it out whenever they have the chance. What do you think, Socks?” Socks slowly turned her head to Furaha and wiped her tears away. “Sure, if you know what I mean.” “I know what you mean. And being a kid forever…” said Furaha, standing up and bouncing on the bed, “...is fun!” Socks smiled and began bouncing with her. The two girls were squealing with delight as they bounced and bounced, until they finally collapsed onto the bed in a heap, laughing and yawning. Socks and Furaha snuggled into bed, and Furaha ran out to turn off the lights before running back under the covers again. “Goodnight, Socks,” she yawned, “Happy Winter.”
But all through the night, the snow didn’t come, and by the next morning, Socks was already shaking Furaha awake. “Wha…what?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. “Look - no snow!” said Socks. Furaha looked. Socks was right, there was no pure, fluffy white snow in sight. A large crowd was gathered outside, talking in a puzzled manner. Furaha and Socks rushed outside to see everyone confused. The wind was cold, but why was there no snow? “We can’t have Winter without snow!” cried Apple Fizz. “Me neither, dude,” said Fizzy Dude, “I think I’m never going to ride my toboggan ever again!” “Who will give me sledging lessons?” whimpered Baby Cloud. “And who’s going to taste my famous hot chocolate and gingerbread men?” asked Oven Bake. “I can find out the solution.” said Furaha. The crowd gasped. “You?” asked Apple Fizz, “But you’re too small!” “I know, but I’ve dealt with problems before. There were many forces of evil, but don’t worry, I’m on the way to help. I’ll bring Socks with me if that’s fine with you.” “I hope the journey isn’t dangerous,” said Ua. “She’ll be fine, dear,” said Kiburi, “You’ll see.” He turned to Furaha. “Furaha, I’m wishing you luck on this journey. When you come back, there’ll be plenty of snow for everyone.” The crowd cheered and stamped their hooves as Furaha and Minty set off for the loving cloud world of Angel Love.
The two friends took the cloudy stairs up to Angel Love, where lots of caring teddy bears roamed the streets, enjoying themselves and looking very colourful indeed. Kukembeleza, the orange-furred teddy bear, and his best friend Jua, the yellow teddy bear, were standing on the edge of one of the clouds looking through their Careoscope at the Arctic. “Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear,” said Kukembeleza. “Don’t just begin every sentence with oh dear,” said Jua, “There must be a reason why the Arctic’s under a lot of environmental warming these days.” “It’s not that,” said Kukembeleza, “Something’s happened to Jack Frost, the bringer of the snow!”
In ran Furaha and Socks. “Hi, Kukembeleza!” said Furaha, for Kukembeleza was Furaha’s favourite of all the teddies in Angel Love. “We have a problem. There’s no snow in Carousel Village.” “No snow, you say?” asked Kukembeleza, “We seem to have a problem too. There’s no snow in Angel Love either. We even looked through the Careoscope and saw that there’s no snow around the world either. And I think we know the reason behind all this.” “What’s the reason?” asked Furaha and Minty. “The reason? Well, here’s the reason: Jack Frost, the bringer of Winter, has been put under an eternal sleeping spell by his evil brother Jim Fire. Without him, Winter will be history!” “Jim Fire?” asked Socks, totally misunderstanding. “No, Jack Frost!” said Jua, “Someone’s got to wake him up, or else!” “I will.” said Furaha, stepping forward. “Me too,” said Socks. “But one of you has no powers! How will you cope?” “We can outwit the cold, can’t we, Socks?” asked Furaha. “We can!” said a determined Socks. “Then you shall head straight to the Love You Transporter immediately.” said Kukembeleza.
Ah, the Love You Transporter. It has the power to transport anyone to wherever they want. Of course, Furaha has powers but this was for a mega emergency. Furaha and Socks stepped into the transporter and Jua set the dial to ‘Arctic’. He pressed the heart-shaped button and Furaha and Socks were off! “Good luck!” called Kukembeleza. “We’ll have all the luck we can!” called Furaha as they disappeared. The next moment, Furaha and Socks were sent falling out of a foggy sky towards a patch of whiteness down below. Furaha held Socks’ hoof, and they closed their eyes as they plummeted into the deep snow and tumbled downhill into a snowy patch below. When they opened their eyes, they were covered from head to toe in snow. “Socks, look!” said Furaha. Socks looked around her. There was the Arctic, all gleaming in snow and ice. “Wow. I’ve never been to a place like this before.” gasped Socks.
Full of original ideas.
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