A Christmas Story - part 2

​Rescued

Nick had recognized the Princess right away...

...and he was determined to take really good care of her.

The snow was deep....as they made their way through the woods.

But the woodcutter's precious load seemed light as a feather.

And soon they were back on the road.....

""It's not much further now. We are almost there..."

the Woodcutter's Cottage

At the cabin, the woodcutter's granddaughter Nora was busy decorating their Christmas tree...

...when the door opened...

...and her grandfather came in, with two children covered in snow....

"Max found this little girl lost and injured in the woods...."

'..and this brave little boy was trying to help her..."

Nick carefully put Elora down... 

"She's the Princess Elora, and she's injured her foot.  Maybe you can take a look at it?"

Elora's Injury

So Nick helped Elora off with her coat, and Nora knelt down to take a look....

"How bad is it?"

"Well, I don't feel any broken bones..."

"I think it's just a sprain..."

"So it's going to get better, and I will be able to walk on it again?"

"Yes, you just need to take it easy and give your foot a rest,
​and it should be fine in about a week or so...."

Meanwhile Hans was getting acquainted with Max....

"We were really scared of him at first because we thought he was a wolf.  
​But he's the one who really rescued us, isn't he??"

Worried...

Meanwhile back at the castle, the Queen was getting rather concerned about her daughter....

She had just assumed that Elora was going out to make a snowman or some snow angels, but she had been gone a long time...

...and she wasn't in the courtyard...

She went to look, then asked the servants if anyone had seen Elora, but no one had. She was getting really worried.
​So she went to see her husband, who was trying to get a head start on some year-end paperwork...

"I can't find Elora!"

"What do you mean 'you can't find her'?"

"She said she wanted to go outside for a bit, and get some fresh air."

"I thought she was just going out to play in the snow in the courtyard, but she's not there...."

"That was a couple of hours ago, and no one has seen her..."

"I'm so worried.  Where could she have gone?"

"I'll take some men and go out to look for her..."

"Try not to think the worst. She has to be somewhere..."

'We'll find her ..."

"...and bring her home..."

So the King and his men rode off to search for the Princess...

the Cabin in the Woods

Meanwhile, Elora was wrapped in a blanket, and had her leg elevated. They were all warming up nicely with a cup of hot chocolate.

"So, I'm wondering what you were doing all alone in the woods?"

"It's Christmas Eve, and I was going to the village to see the baby in the manger in the stable at the Inn.  But I saw some bunnies .......and followed them into the woods...... and got lost......and tripped and hurt myself.... "

Hans chuckled,   "I live across the street from the Inn, and there isn't any baby there."

"I thought Christmas was about the birth of the new King, so I was going to the castle to see Him there..."

"Well, I live at the castle, and there's no new baby there. At least there wasn't when I left..."

Nick had to smile inside, at the thought of these two innocent little children, both out in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve,
​looking for the Christ child.

"Yes Christmas is a celebration of the newborn King who was laid in a manger,
but that happened a very long time ago, in a country far, far away.
​I'm sorry, but you aren't going to find Him in a stable or castle here or now."

Both Hans and Elora looked rather disappointed.  
So Nora offered them another cookie....

*Continued in part 3

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