The Autumn Elf

Karen was bored. She moped around the house and finally settled down to watch TV. Her mother said," Find something to do." Karen stared at the television and asked, "What?" "Go rake the leaves in the front yard," her mother told her. "Put them in a pile. Dad will burn them later." "Why can't Jason do it?" Karen complained. Jason was her fifteen year old brother. "He has soccer practice and besides, raking leaves is fun," her mother explained. "When I was your age, I enjoyed raking leaves. Now, get on it before it gets dark." Karen sighed, but went outside. She looked dejectedly at the leaves scattered over the front lawn and grabbed the rake leaning on the side of the house. She began to rake the leaves into a pile. She hated autumn. She lived far away from town, and had no friends at school because she was new. Suddenly she heard," Ouch! Hey, get off of me!" Karen threw down her rake and uncovered a big lump in the leaves. A little elf was curled up there. Karen gasped and stepped backwards. The elf was a female, because it wore a dress and had a high voice. She had a brown dress with golden accents on it and a red hat that looked like a leaf perched on top of her head. Even her skin was golden, like the color of leaves. She had dark brown hair and green eyes. "Who are you?" Karen asked. The elf jumped up and said," I"m Acorn, an autumn elf, " the elf answered. "Who are you?" "I'm Karen," said Karen. "And I don't like autumn." Acorn sat down again and said in amazement," You don't? But it's the best season ever!" Karen shrugged. "Not for me it isn't," she replied. "I have no friends at school because I just moved here and I live so far away from town." Acorn scratched her head and said," But autumn is a wonderful season! It's when the trees spill their leaves into the ground and the leaves rot and provide fertilizer for the next batch of trees. So, in a way, autumn is the beginning of plant life. Autumn is also cooler than summer and hotter than winter. It's the perfect weather! And for me, autumn is when I can come out. You see, I can't survive in winter, spring, or summer. It's too cold, then it gets too hot. I stay underground. When autumn comes, I come out and play in the leaves." Karen bit her lip and said," So when the leaves decay, they help plants grow? My dad burns them up and throws the remains away." Acorn looked shocked. "That's awful!" she exclaimed. "Horrible! He should scatter the leaves in the forest." Karen thought about this. There was a forest nearby. Then her mom called," Karen! It's time to pick Jason up from soccer practice!" "I have to go," Karen told Acorn. "I'll remember what you said about the leaves. Maybe I'll see you next year." Acorn nodded and said," You probably will, Friend Karen." Then the autumn elf disappeared into the leaves. The next day, Karen took bags of leaves to the forest and scattered them around. She felt good inside. She was helping the trees and plants grow, and she had a new friend.