Pip's First Snowflake
Pip was the smallest reindeer at the North Pole. His antlers were tiny, his legs were wobbly, and he had never, ever flown.
Every night he watched the big reindeer leap into the sky. Every night he jumped as high as he could... and landed in the snow with a soft plop.
"I'll never fly," Pip sighed one evening, lying in a snowdrift.
Just then, a single snowflake drifted down from the sky. It didn't rush. It didn't hurry. It floated slowly, slowly, spinning in the moonlight, until it landed right on Pip's nose.
Mrs. Claus was walking by with a basket of carrots. She knelt beside him.
"Do you know how that snowflake got here, Pip?" she asked.
Pip shook his head.
"It started high, high up in a cloud. It was tiny at first. Then, little by little, it grew. It didn't try to fall all at once. It took its time."
Pip looked at the snowflake on his nose. It sparkled.
"Flying is like that too," said Mrs. Claus softly. "A little bit every day."