Ski Trip Surprise

“Colorado! Wooo!” cried Lily, poking her head out of the car window as they zipped down the highway.

“Lily it’s cold!” laughed Bear, cuddling their pup Harry who sat next to him in the car. Lily pushed the button and watched the window slowly slide back up.

“How much longer till we get there?” Lily asked her mum.

“Not too long now,” Mummy answered. Daddy took a hand off the steering wheel and pointed out the windscreen.

“Look, there’s the ski lift, you can see it just up ahead.”

“Ski lift!” Bear threw his hands in the air and wiggled in his seat. He loved going for loops on the ski lift while Lily tried to find the biggest and scariest places to ski down. The family was travelling to their little cabin in Colorado, to spend their vacation in the woods.

“Is Michael coming to visit us this time?” Lily asked. Mummy nodded.

“He sure is Lily Love. That ski dancing cousin of yours will come in a few days. I think he is going to help you learn how to do a flip.” Lily clapped her hands, she couldn’t wait. Her cousin Michael lived in Colorado and he was amazing on his skis, he always taught her the best tricks.

When they arrived at the cabin Lily, Bear, and Harry tumbled out of the car and ran around in the freshly fallen snow. They spent the afternoon climbing trees and building snowmen while their parents unpacked their things from the car. When they snuggled down into their cozy bed that night, they heard a big booming noise coming from up the ski mountain.

“Sounds like the mountain giants are still living up there,” Daddy said. “Think we’ll see one this year?”

“Yup!” said Bear.

“Of course,” Lily nodded, “we’ve been looking and looking and even though we haven’t seen one yet I am sure we’ll see one this year.” Daddy just smiled.

“Sleep well, Lily Love. Sleep well Bear,” he kissed his children goodnight and left the room. Lily fell asleep with the sound of the mountain giants in her ears, and she swore that they would find one this year.

For the next two days, Lily and Bear kept a close lookout for any mountain giants. They could hear them, but they just couldn’t see them. That didn’t mean they weren’t enjoying themselves, however. Lily and Bear spent their days skiing and having fun with their family. On the third night, after Mummy had put them to bed, Lily dozed in her bed, just on the verge of sleep, when she heard the big booming noise of the mountain giants again. She rolled out of bed, padded quietly over to the window, and looked up the mountain to see if she could spot one. All she could see was the snow-covered trees shining in the moonlight. Lily climbed back into bed and slowly drifted off to sleep again when she heard another noise. This one didn’t sound like it came from up the mountain. Lily lay listening carefully and realised that the banging noise sounded like it was coming from just outside their cabin. She sat up and glanced over at Bear and saw that he was also awake and looking towards the window. Lily took Bear’s hand and they both crept over to the window.

There, in the snow just below their window, sat a small brown and white coloured creature.

“What is it?” Bear wondered.

“Let’s go and see,” whispered Lily. They both pulled on their coats and snow boots and snuck through the quiet cabin. As they got to the door, Harry padded up behind them, looking confused about why they were out of bed. As soon as Lily opened the door, however, he gave a quiet “woof” and happily bounced outside into the snow. Lily and Bear walked around the cabin and came upon the little brown thing in the snow. It banged softly on the side of the cabin with a stick, and when they approached it looked up at them with huge, blue eyes. It drooled slightly and made the kinds of noises you’d expect to hear from a baby.

“What is it?” Bear repeated. Lily gasped.

“You know what Bear? I think it might be a baby mountain giant! It must have gotten lost.” Bear held out his hand to the baby mountain giant, who grabbed onto one of his fingers and wiggled it to and fro.

“We take it back?” Bear asked. Lily nodded.

“I think we need to. The mountain giants never come down this far, so it’s parents might not ever find it.” Lily and Bear walked closer to the baby, and Lily tried to pick it up.

“Wow, it’s really heavy. I don’t know if I can carry it,” she said. Lily watched Bear play peek-a-boo with the baby and thought. Harry wandered over and licked the baby on top of its head.

“Oh! That’s it! If we can get the baby up onto Harry’s back he could help us carry it back up the mountain.

The two children lifted the baby mountain giant up and onto Harry’s back. The baby wrapped its arms around Harry’s neck and nuzzled into his fur.

“Aw, it likes him,” Bear said. Lily smiled.

“Just like we do,” she said. Then she put a determined look on her face, “Ok, let’s get going!”

Lily walked on one side of Harry, with Bear on the other. They chatted away to the baby, talking to it about how much they loved skiing, telling it all about their cousin Michael, and about their mum and dad. They walked up the mountainside, watching the moon slide through the sky, casting silvery shadows on the snowy ground. They were getting pretty high now, and they started to hear dull thudding sounds coming from just a little further up the mountain. Harry stopped abruptly and stood quietly in the snow. He whined slightly and looked from Bear to Lily.

“What’s up boy?” Lily said quietly, putting her hand on his head. The baby mountain giant gave a strange-sounding giggle and patted Harry’s ear. It then slid off his back and waddled a little further forward through the snow.

“What’s it doing?” Bear whispered. Lily shrugged, still with her hand on Harry’s head.

The thudding sound they heard kept coming, but it started getting louder and louder, until a huge mountain giant came up over the snowdrift, walking straight towards them. Another followed right behind the first, and they walked right up to the baby in front of the children. Lily and Bear stared up at the mountain giants. They had searched for so long to get one small glimpse of them, and now they had more than a glimpse, they were seeing two mountain giants, and a baby!

“This is the best night ever,” Lily whispered. Bear simply nodded his head. One of the mountain giants bent down and scooped the baby up in its huge hand. Then the mountain giants turned and started walking back up the mountain. The baby waved at the two children and the dog, and they waved back until the little family of giants was swallowed by the dark.

“Wow,” said Bear.

“Double wow,” said Lily. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. They made their way back down the frozen mountain to the cabin in the woods. They snuggled down back inside their warm beds, both still in awe of the amazing creatures they had seen that night.

“Just wait until we tell Daddy, and Mummy, and Michael!” Lily whispered. “They’ll never believe us.” Bear nodded, and the two children fell asleep with the sound of the mountain giants booming away in their ears.