Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived with his mother and his father and his baby sister. He played all summer long in his shorts and bare-feet, feeling the hot sun on his face.
Then, one day, the ground started to get cold, and he had to put on shoes. Then the wind started to blow! He was chilly! He had to put on a sweater to keep warm. The leaves started to turn colors and fall off of the trees.
“What’s happening?” he asked his mother.
“Autumn is here,” said his mother, “and soon Winter will be on its way. Do you see how the squirrels are collecting nuts for the winter? And the mice are collecting seeds. And our dog is growing a nice, thick coat to keep himself warm.”
The little boy thought about this for a few days, and he did notice the squirrel collecting nuts. And when he petted his dog, he noticed that his coat was getting thick and bushy. A few more days went by, and the boy said,
“Mother, it seems like the world used to be full of sunshine, but now it is getting dark. Will it keep getting darker and darker?” And he mother replied,
“Yes, it will get darker and darker each evening until the deep winter. The world is getting ready to sleep.”
The boy thought about this for a few more days, and he said,
“Mother, will we be dark and cold, too?”
“No,” said his mother, “We will stay warm, but it won’t be the sun that warms us as much. During these dark, cold months, we will have to find our own lights!”
“How can we do that?” the boy asked.
“We can do that by lighting fires in the fireplace, by lighting candles all around, by wearing warm clothes and even by making lanterns to take our light with us outside in the dark! And we can keep ourselves and others warm by doing acts of kindness, to warm our hearts.”
That little boy and his mother and father made lanterns to bring their lights outside, and when they were done, they took their lanterns out and sang sweet songs, and knocked on their neighbors’ doors to take them some fresh-baked banana bread, to keep them warm as well. And the boy and his family kept their lights lit and their hearts warm all through the Autumn, and through the Winter as well.
Beautiful lantern walk art in the photo done by https://www.etsy.com/shop/FilzArts