And the forest dwellers had also gathered in the clearing – foxes and hares, wolves, wolverines and deer, even a couple of adult elks with their female elks. Not to mention all sorts of forest spirits. Neither Leshy nor Kikimora would miss such entertainment! Of course, Father Frost was also there. What kind of competition would it be without the main forest sorcerer? He stood tall, in blue and silver clothes and with a staff, and smiled heartily at both teams. And next to him, Lelya’s heart started pounding, stood her own father! He had finally come to the competition, which he did not do every time! So, her wish had come true and now she simply had to defeat Mavka and her team Navi! “Well,” the host of the holiday said loudly and distinctly, “well, it’s time to get started!” The magic lantern had already been hung on the top branch of the Ancient Pine, the teams had been assembled and were ready for the competition. Magpies and crows are sitting on the tree branches – this year they will tell us how our friends are progressing along the route! The Yavi squad is heading to the Ancient Pine through the Belochkin Ravine, the Owl Grove and the Fish Lake, and then along forest paths through the Dark Thicket to the Pine itself. The Navi squad is moving through the Crane Marshes, along the Forest River, through the Oleniy Raspadok to the same Dark Thicket. The start time of the journey is in an hour. The end time of our wait is a minute after midday. Let's start! Lelya still managed to quickly glance back at the crowd of spectators (or rather, listeners), wave her hand to Nanny Vetlyanka, and quickly smile at her father and grandfather, then, with the speed of a winter breeze, she rushed at the head of her small squad to the Belochkin Ravine, located from the festive clearing at exactly the same distance as the Crane Marshes. Working hard on her skis, she managed to think that no one was seeing off poor Mavka. Even her companions were encouraged by the friendly howls and hoots of their relatives who had come to the celebration, and Mavka herself was of no use to anyone. Maybe she was entrusted with the leadership of the detachment so that the poor thing would finally have friends? Otherwise, sit in your lake – a fool is a fool. And even the frogs don’t want to chat with you. It’s a sour business – to be a drowned woman! But a minute later, these thoughts flew out of her head, remaining somewhere far behind. Belochkin Ravine – steep, with precipitous slopes fortunately (and unfortunately) overgrown with alder and pine trees turned out to be a difficult test. The snow burned in the sun, blinding the eyes. The trees were trying to slip if not a root under their feet, then a trunk on their foreheads, so that Lelya and her sisters had to constantly wag their skis at almost maximum speed. And they also had to bend over every now and then so as not to get hit in the eye with a branch! It was easier for the hares, tits and fox: the animals have paws with claws, after all, and it is not at all difficult for the birds to flutter from branch to branch. For some reason, the squirrels did not show up at all. And why no one knew. In general, they descended to the bottom of the ravine quickly, but not without adventures: Osinka managed to fall over, and if she were a human, she would have broken her legs, sliding down to the very tiny river. At least the kikimoras are stronger than People, more flexible and resilient. The little sister got up, shook herself off and, quietly cursing, ran on. There, at the bottom of the ravine, their first Sign was waiting for them - Lelya herself was lucky enough to see a thin arrow in the snow, and they ran in its direction. And in the Owl Grove, across the river from the ravine, the first surprise from the rivals was waiting for the Yav team: a hole of considerable depth, reliably camouflaged by branches and snow. Lelya herself and two of the three hares fell into this hole with all their might. Oh, what a shame! You can get out of any hole, but time is running out! The hares eventually pulled out the fox, who, in turn, was firmly held by the hind legs by the kikimora sisters. He first grabbed Belobryukh by the scruff of the neck with his teeth, then Ostorukh, and placed him next to him on the snow. Snegurochka got out herself by the long roots of the spruce, clinging to it with her hands. But there was no time to fix the broken skis. She had to run on foot. - And how did they even know where we would run? - she breathed out to her sisters. - Maybe one of the Old-Timers let it slip? - Nettle suggested on the go. - Well, no time to figure it out! So, ten minutes, no less lost! The next trap in the same grove was discovered and disarmed by the titmice: flying over the team, they were the first to see a net of marsh grass fibers attached to the branches of a birch. If one had fallen on their heads, how long would it have taken to get out! Gadget, Warbler and Dove had to tear the net from the tree with three beaks and six paws and carry it away from the route of their squad. And then they had to find the squad that had gone ahead again. What can you do! The same thing was repeated at the competitions from year to year - the Yavi team trained, not sparing their legs, the Navi team also tried, but also prepared traps. We had to cross Rybye Ozero right on the ice. It’s a good thing – the ice in the middle of winter is strong and reliable – you won’t fall into the water. But it’s smooth! Snegurochka fell three times while the whole team slid along a greenish glass mirror. Fortunately, it didn’t occur to any of the Navi to cut a hole in the ice here. If they had fallen into the water – there would have been oh, it's not funny at all! There, right by the shore, Darktail found the second sign - an arrow made of rowan berries to the Dark Thicket. - Well, Snow Maiden exhaled, - it's not far! Tits, what are the magpies yelling about our rivals? Gadget, sitting down on a birch branch for a minute, listened, bowing her small head in an azure cap. - They yell that they are not far from the thicket either! They are making their way through Oleniy Raspadok. Only one wolf got carried away by the deer's trail and had to be called to order. - Well, that's good! By the time they call, we'll get there! However, everything turned out to be not so simple. That is, they got to the Thicket without any adventures, but in the Thicket itself... - Yes, - Lelya said in confusion, - the Thicket turned out to be simply enormous, and in all directions the deep bluish-white snow was furrowed with tracks of all sorts of animals and little creatures. How can we even find the Ancient Pine here? Both it and the kikimoras had been here before, but the treacherous Tree somehow managed to either move to a completely different place each time, or confuse the paths, and they had to look for it as if it were the first time. For several minutes the squad rummaged around in the deep snow, getting stuck up to their waists and even up to their chests, until Lelya finally found the third, final Sign - a very small arrow drawn with grass juice on the trunk of a stunted birch tree. And so, about ten minutes before noon, it finally stands before them - majestic, huge - the Ancient Pine, three girths wide. And the Navi squad is nowhere to be seen! Victory! - Well, tits, go ahead! And don't break the flashlight! The trio of tits briskly fluttered up and flew up to the very crown of the Pine. The others waited below, holding their breath. A minute, two... Now the snow was crunching under Mavka's steps and falling heavily under the wolf's paws. But there were still no tits! Where did they disappear to? The Navi squad, out of breath, flew out under the canopy of the Pine, and froze in disappointment when they saw their rivals. One of the wolves even howled. - They're too late! Oooo... - And who's to blame for this? - Mavka, not frozen but rather disheveled, angrily attacked the wolf, - The deer, you see, was giving him no peace! He could have provided his entire pack with venison until spring if he wanted, but now there is no deer or flashlight! The wolf sullenly buried his nose in the snow. Lelya stood next to Mavka, and remembering her thoughts, sympathetically patted her icy hand. The mermaid twitched with displeasure, but for some reason did not move away. Everyone stood together and waited for the titmice to lower the flashlight, but they still did not come. In the end, even Mavka began to get nervous. - What are they doing there? Is it really that hard to find him? Or was the owl waiting for them there? - It can't be! - the Snow Maiden shook her head decisively, - Today is a holiday. All the forest animals know that they must not harm each other, and the owl too! Mavka silently shrugged her shoulders. The titmice came down in another half hour and there was no flashlight in their beaks. But they looked depressed and embarrassed. - Sorry, guys, but there's nothing there! We searched the entire tree, not to mention its top, but apart from the cones, it's empty, like a nest abandoned a year ago! Both teams looked at each other in confusion. - Your tricks? - the Snow Maiden asked indignantly. Mavka shook her head in bewilderment. - I didn't do anything like that... - What about the hole and the net in the Owl Grove? She shrugged her narrow shoulders. - That's ours. And we didn't take the flashlight. - How did you find out about the route? It takes more than five minutes to dig a hole! Another light snort. - It's not that difficult. You blockheads have only been training for a week. And we were looking around. The Scops Owl saw your mother drawing arrows, and went after her. That's all! - But then, - Osinka intervened, - you should have known where the flashlight was hanging! If you were watching your mother! - Nothing of the sort! Well, the Scops Owl saw how they hung this flashlight on the pine tree, but it moves! Here now, there in five minutes. How were we supposed to know where it would end up today? The question was reasonable, but it didn't bring us any closer to the answer, where the flashlight had gone. After standing there for a little while longer in confusion, Lelya inhaled the frosty air and resolutely took overall command upon herself. She simply couldn't lose! - Tits and you, Scops Owl, look around the branches of the Pine again. Of course, the flashlight isn't there, but maybe there are some traces left! Someone must have taken it! The birds obediently flew up. It was quiet for a long time, then an owl came down from one of the upper branches and silently handed Lelya several red hairs. - Found them there! Maybe these are the tracks? The four spirits stared at the hairs. - A squirrel! - Mavka was the first to identify it, - But they are one of yours! So it was you who stole the flashlight! - Nothing of the sort, - Nettle shook her head decisively, - for some reason the squirrels didn't come today, didn't you see at the Festive Glade that they weren't there? So if they stole it, it was theirs, not ours! - Well, - the wolf Lunnik drawled thoughtfully, - then all that's left is to find the squirrels, that's all. There were no dissenters. In general, everyone knew where the family of the squirrel Kedrovka lived. And the whole friendly company, Yav and Nav, set off to a pine forest, where, as is well known, there were squirrel hollows. It was already midday, but the forest was strangely quiet. Even the restless magpies were silent. It took them about an hour to get to the forest. There the titmice pointed to the largest hollow, and Lelya, sighing, was she a captain after all, or not? She climbed the tree, and having reached the hollow, looked in, carefully opening the door made of pine bark. And the first thing she saw was this miracle! The Magic Lantern, an icy cone hanging right above the pine crib, where the youngest of the squirrel children, little Nut, lay curled up. Next to him, the squirrel Kedrovka herself sat, anxiously sniffing his forehead. Seeing Lelya, Kedrovka clicked her tongue in fear, but there was nowhere to run, so she had to get out of the hollow and stand before two indignant teams, giving an explanation. - Yes, - the squirrel sighed sadly, - I took it. - But why?! - Nut is sick. He's been lying there for three days now... I wanted to make him happy. The two teams stood there, not knowing what to say. On the one hand, no one had committed a more unsportsmanlike act in the Forest for a long time. On the other hand, you can't take a flashlight from a sick baby?! - What do you say? - the Snow Maiden asked the mermaid cautiously. Mavka shrugged her narrow shoulders sullenly. - A draw. Not for us, not for you. Let's go - let them. Maybe at least her squirrel will get better. - It turns out that you are so good, Mavka! - Osinka suddenly sobbed. - I thought - if someone from People, then worse than a rotten pine cone! And you felt sorry for the squirrel! Lelya nodded in agreement and hugged Mavka. It is really a pity about the nut. Grandfather will understand somehow. Anyway, both teams came back to the Holiday Glade together by a shorter route, and honestly told what and how. Grandfather Frost was silent for a while, smiling slyly into his beard, and then said, opening his arms in the snowy streams of white sleeves. - I declare both teams winners! This year, my dears, even without a magic flashlight, each of your wishes will come true. And now let's all go celebrate and open presents. A joyful, many-voiced cry was his answer. Snow Maiden, beaming, turned to her father, who chuckled contentedly. "Right now, right now, I'll finally become beautiful!" - Dad, give me a mirror, please! But the same sickening pale face looked at Lelya from the silver mirror Father Frost held out. Snow Maiden almost burst into tears again right in the middle of the New Year's feast. - But why? Grandfather, why didn't my wish come true?! I just wanted to become beautiful, but I remained just as ugly. Grandfather Frost glanced reproachfully at his son, then answered Snow Maiden with a sigh. - Because you are already a beauty, my granddaughter. Magic can't change what already is. - But... but I don't look like my mother and sisters at all... - But I look like People. And among them you would look very beautiful, granddaughter. And don't think about anything else. Wish for something else that you don't have yet - and it will all come true! Well, then... Then, let the squirrel Kedrovka's baby get better soon! It's dangerous to get sick in winter! And then a real miracle happened to the Snow Maiden: Father Frost, who had never hugged anyone, hugged her. - How kind you are, my daughter! проноумировать предложения