The Lost Button

A heartwarming tale about the true meaning of friendship

Once upon a time, there was a lucky little snowman named Smiley. He was lucky because the children who built him, Heather and Daniel, gave him legs! They also gave him two bright eyes, a carrot nose, a smiling mouth, two ears, two strong arms made of branches, a colourful toque and scarf and three big yellow buttons.

At night, Smiley walked around exploring but always returned to his spot at the top of the hill in the park by morning. It was the perfect spot overlooking the elementary school and the neighbourhood. Smiley could listen to conversations, people-watch and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the village.

One evening, Smiley’s friend Owl landed on his right arm and remarked, “Oh, you’ve lost your middle button!” Smiley was upset; as he owned so little that button was important to him. Also, there was a big outdoor party planned for that Saturday and he wanted to look his best.

That night, Smiley retraced his steps and looked everywhere but could not find his missing button. He was sad. Owl promised to ask around, then flew over the area asking his bird friends, “Hoo Hoo, has anyone seen a big, shiny yellow button? It belongs to Smiley in Hillside Park.”

Sure enough, Crow, who collected shiny objects had found the button and hidden it in his nest up in a big fir tree, along with his other treasures.

Crow immediately flew to the park, landed on Smiley’s left arm and replaced the button by gently poking it into Smiley’s tummy with his beak. Smiley giggled and asked, “Crow, there is a big outdoor party on Saturday, would you like to come?” Crow accepted and they had a great time!

When Flurry, the snowwoman who hosted the party, heard about what Crow had done, she gave him a big, red, shiny Christmas ornament o‘ her tree to add to his collection. Crow hopped up and down with joy, exclaiming, “I love it, thank you for such a thoughtful gift!” In the end, that’s what friends do: listen, share and help each other out. ■