The Mushroom Folk of the Forest

Deep in the forest, where the moss is soft, tiny red mushrooms with white spots grow. Under each mushroom lives a little one. They are the mushroom folk. They are no bigger than an oak leaf. When evening comes, they peek out. The forest grows quiet. It is almost time.

The sun sinks behind the firs. The sky turns pink. The sky turns purple. The wind whispers in the leaves, shhh, shhh. A little mushroom-folk girl is called Mira. She looks up at the sky. 'It is time for the lantern parade,' she says softly. It is the same evening every year. Only once.

Mira picks a leaf. A yellow birch leaf, soft and thin. She folds it into a tiny lantern. In the middle she places a glowworm. The glowworm shines warmly, like a little sun. The leaf glows yellow from inside. Mira smiles. The lantern is ready.

Mira goes from mushroom to mushroom. She knocks softly. Knock, knock. 'It is time,' she whispers. One by one the mushroom folk come out. They have leaves too. Red leaves. Yellow leaves. Brown leaves. Each leaf becomes a lantern. Each lantern gets a little glowworm.

Soon they are many. Ten, twenty, maybe more. Each one holds a lantern up high. The lanterns shine, the lanterns shine. They shine yellow. They shine orange. They shine red. It looks like little stars on the ground. The forest is quiet. Only tiny feet on the moss.

Mira goes first. She is the leader tonight. She waves her lantern. 'Come along,' she says. And the mushroom folk follow. A little parade. The lanterns shine, the lanterns shine. They walk between the ferns. They walk over a small stone. They walk softly, softly.

A little bumblebee sits on a leaf. She is sleepy. Her wings are folded. Mira stops. 'Sleep well, little bumblebee,' she whispers. The bumblebee hums softly, brrr, brrr. Then she grows quiet. She sleeps. The parade goes on. The lanterns shine, the lanterns shine.

The parade comes to a brook. The water glitters in the moonlight. Plop, says a tiny drop. Plop, says another. The mushroom folk gather at the edge. They hold their lanterns over the water. The water mirrors the lanterns. Now there are twice as many lights.