The Christmas Lights Mix-Up

On the morning before Christmas, Pip and Nella Mouse woke to the smell of warm cinnamon bread. Their family lived in a snug home behind the wall of Pinecone Bakery. Outside, soft snow covered Mousewood Village.

That evening, everyone would gather for the Christmas Light Walk. The library, bakery, little houses, and tall pine tree in the square would all shine with tiny lights. Pip and Nella had an important job. They had to carry four boxes of lights from the bakery attic to the village square.

“Read each label,” Mama Mouse reminded them. “Every string belongs in a special place.”

The first box said LIBRARY ARCH. The second said BAKERY WINDOW. The third said VILLAGE TREE. The last said FRONT DOORS.

Pip stacked the boxes on a small wooden cart. Nella pulled while Pip pushed. They had almost reached the door when the cart bumped over a lump in the floor.

Bump! The boxes slid off the cart. Their paper labels flew into a bowl of flour.

Pip sneezed. “Achoo! Now the labels are all mixed up.”

For a moment, both young mice stared at the four tangled strings. Then Nella took a slow breath. “We can still solve this. Let’s look for clues.”

They stretched the first string across the floor. It was very long, with blue and white lights that switched back and forth.

“The library arch is wide,” said Pip. “This must go there.”

The second string had small yellow lights. A tiny card tied to the plug showed a loaf of bread.

“Yellow lights will glow warmly in the bakery window,” said Nella. “And the bread picture is a strong clue.”

The third string had red, green, red, green lights. At one end was a bright gold star.

Pip grinned. “A star belongs at the top of the village tree!”

Only one string remained. It was made of six short pieces, each with a different color.

“There are six front doors around the square,” Nella said. “One short piece for each family.”

The mice placed new labels on every box. Then they hurried outside. Pip climbed a ladder to help with the library arch. Nella arranged the warm yellow lights in the bakery window. Together, they wound the red and green lights around the pine tree.

As the sky grew dark, the village mice gathered in the square. Mama Mouse began the countdown.

“Three, two, one!”

The lights blinked on. Blue and white sparkled over the library. Yellow lights made the bakery look cozy. Six doorways glowed in six cheerful colors. In the center of the square, the gold star shone above the Christmas tree.

Pip looked at Nella. “I thought our mistake would ruin everything.”

Nella smiled. “A mistake is only the start of a problem. Clues and teamwork can help us find the answer.”

The two young mice shared a cinnamon crumb as music filled the square. Their Christmas lights were not mixed up anymore. They were exactly where they belonged.