 You all know me by now. My name is Tim, and I'm telling you about the adventure I had with Jump Jump up at the North Pole. This palace will rescue Santa's reindeer. There was Jump Jump, the little elf who was no feet three inches tall, Merry Holiday, and the other folks from Holiday House. And myself, Tim, I'm just an ordinary boy, but I sure was excited about all the wonderful things we were seeing, but I never knew what was going to pop up next. Take the Christmas tree forest, for example. I'll tell you about that in just a minute. And the sled that the Eskimos had given us. Jump Jump was whizzing along above us in his toy helicopter. He'd have to be up in the air looking down on us. Sleepy slimmed the lion, trotted along behind the sled, yawning at every step. Watch you proudly, the clown and the poet were walking up ahead to keep a watch out. What a jolly sound, the tickling of the bells and the dog's harnesses. The Huskies trotted along, waving their tails in the air and barking every now and then. It was swell. Merry Holiday called out to me. Oh, is it this fun, Tim? Sure is. I've never had so much fun in all my life. I would have a nap for two hours. Think of that. It's the longest time I've gone without my beauty sleep in years. You look all right to me, sleepy slimmed. Oh, you ought to see me when I'm rested up, Tim. Well, what I want to know is, even if we do get to the Ice Queen's palace, how are we going to get inside of it? I've been wondering about that too, Merry Holiday. Santa said anyone that ever touches the blue fire surrounding the palace has turned into a statue of ice. What do you think, Merry Holiday? I don't think this is the time to worry about how we'll get into the palace, Tim. The Christmas fairies said we'd find a way, and I trust her. So do I. Oh, I'd sure like to see her again. Me too. She was real pretty. Tim, is an Archie Pogli waving to us from the top of that hill over there? Maybe he's seen something. Oh, jump, jump. Why don't you fly ahead and see what Archie Pogli's pointing to? In a few minutes, Merry Holiday, sleepy slim and I had reached the top of the hill too and stopped to look down at the strangest forest I'd ever seen. It must have been a million Christmas trees. Well, it looked like a million to me anyway. Every one of them was decorated all over with Christmas ornaments and tinsel. The air rang with the tinkle of the ornaments on the branches and the tinsel glowed where all the stars and the tips of the trees glistened. If I'd stayed there all the rest of my life, I couldn't have counted the number of colored lights that went from every tree. I knew at once that this must be the Christmas tree forest. Yes, jump, jump. It's very pretty, isn't it? I wish you were right here. Oh, yes, it's too bad we didn't bring your sister doll with us. I'll go back and get her now. Oh, no, no, no. Don't leave us, jump, jump. You stay right here. In fact, I think you'd better land your helicopter and let Tim put it in his pocket for a while. You've done enough flying for today. Say, jump, jump. That was a swell landing you made. Right down onto this sled. That's fine. We followed the silver trail. We were on right down into the Christmas tree forest. Merry holiday. Thought it would be a lovely place to stop and have our lunch. We were resting beneath one of the glittering trees, I said. Just why are all these decorated Christmas trees here, Merry holiday? But Tim, this is a place where all the Christmas trees that have ever lived go. Well said again, Merry holiday. Oh, haven't you ever felt sad when the time comes to take down your Christmas tree after Christmas has passed? I'll say so. I wish I could keep it up all the year. Well, this is the forest of past Christmas trees. See? No, how many fogs there are fogs. You mean that when the trees are burned they come to live here? That's right, Tim. What we're looking at now are the spirits of past Christmas trees. Oh, I get it. They're ghosts. No, sleepy slam. Not any more than a happy memory as a ghost. Then they're the memory of the past Christmas trees. Yes, that's a good way to put it, Tim. Now, if you had time to look around, you could probably find the tree that you had last year at the orphanage where you live. How would Tim know it was the same tree? Well, he'd know it was the same tree just because it would have a name and date on it. This tree has a name on it around. Does it? Yes, there is a name on the trunk, Merry holiday, right down here. What does it say, Tim? It says Betty and John, 1942. This one reads, Holiday House, 1946. Holiday House? Then it was our tree once. I thought that tree looked familiar to me. Oh, hell, tree. It's nice to see you again. Jump, now you come down out of that tree. You don't have to climb all over it, you know. Oh, I wonder why Jump-Jump's burrowing into the branches like that. Jump-Jump? I think he's looking for something. Yes, I think you're right, Tim. Take care. As I see his head poking out from behind the ornaments. What are you looking for, Jump-Jump? He's disappeared again. Jump-Jump! Oh, come down. Do you think you are a Jump-Jump with crappies, artists, too? What's that on his head? I can't tell, Merry holiday. It's a... Whoa, she's frightened! Her head, Jump-Jump, may I see, please? It's silver thimble, but I lost it years ago. Yeah. But how did it get here, in the tree? I found it for you. Once I was sowing with my silver thimble on New Year's Eve. And I've been looking for it ever since. How did you know it was here, Jump-Jump? How did Jump-Jump know it was in here, huh? Well, well... Yes, Jump-Jump, tell us how you knew to look here for my silver thimble. I put it there, Merry holiday. You put it in the branches of the tree? Yes, in the branches of the tree. But how did it get up here in the forest? Well, you see... Jump-Jump was playing football while I sown. She was sowing with a wall on that? No, I was playing football with a wall. And you took my thimble to use for a football helmet, Jump-Jump? Yes, I did, Merry holiday. And when you finished, you put my thimble on the tree? Yes. And then we went to visit Slippy Slam and the zoo. And we missed it. I see that only had came up there for this mystery. That's right. When we came home, Archie Pockley had burned our Christmas tree. I forgot I had hidden your thimble, Merry holiday. Your memory isn't much bigger than you are, Jump-Jump. Here is your thimble. Will you forgive me? Well... Oh, do forgive him. He looks so cute. I'm very sorry. Will you forgive him, Merry holiday? Forgive him? No, very well. As long as it's been found. But you must never hide anything in the Christmas tree again. Slippy Slam, what are you poking your hand into the branches for? I'm looking to see if there's any sign of all the sleep that I've lost. Oh, sleepy Slippy Slam. I wonder where Archie Pockley and the poet have wandered to. I can't see them anywhere. They can't be far. It's so hard to see with all the Christmas trees. Do you want me to go and find them for you, Merry holiday? Yes, would you please, Tim? We've got to be moving along. But just as I started to look for the others, we heard that fairy music again, and we knew the spirit of Christmas must be near. My ears are ringing, Merry holiday. Maybe they're frozen. Okay, be kind. Be quiet. That's the Christmas fairy you hear. Listen. She was hovering above us like a lovely dim angel in the sky. Her silver wings reflected all the colored lights from the trees. And she was smiling down upon us as she had before. I wish I could understand what she was saying to Merry holiday. Her voice sounded like little dainy bells to me. Even Joke-Chump couldn't understand her. I guess the reason most of the Christmas fairy is the spirit of Christmas itself. And that is something only grown-ups can really understand. At last, she faded away. Did she say Merry holiday? Yes. Well, the news is rather serious, Joke-Chump and Tim. The Christmas fairy came to warn us to be very careful from now on. Why, Merry holiday? Because, Tim, because the Ice Queen knows that we're coming to rescue Santa's reindeer, and the Ice Queen has threatened to stop us. The shiver has opened down my back because if you'd ever seen the Ice Queen, you'd have done the same thing. She gave me the shivers. We packed up in a hurry and found Archie Pogli in the poet and started off down the silver trail toward the frozen country. As we went over the hill, I had to stop and look back at the Christmas tree forest just once more. It was so beautiful. I'll always remember it. Aren't you happy to know where your old Christmas trees go? Be sure and meet me here tomorrow. Goodbye!