The long-awaited winter vacations were finally here! For Lenno, the little raccoon, there was nothing better than enjoying the cold days outside in the white splendor with his best friends. But this year the snow just wouldn't come. Not a single snowflake fell from the sky, and although cinnamon stars and hot cocoa provided some coziness at Lenno's sleepover party, the real winter mood just wouldn't come.

“It's not the same without snow,” grumbled Fjella, the bunny girl, as she buried herself in a huge pile of pillows. Only her long, brown bunny ears were still peeking out. Vanja, the little Arctic fox, and Bente the seal were also curled up a little sadly under the thick comforter next to Lenno.

“Maybe we should just sleep,” murmured Vanja quietly and snuggled deeper into the blanket. “If we're lucky, we'll dream of snowflakes.”

Disappointed and slightly frustrated, they all closed their eyes. But just as they were drifting off to sleep, there was suddenly a frantic knocking on the window. Lenno opened it, still completely sleepy, and could hardly believe his eyes: a huge snowflake was sitting on the windowsill, completely out of breath.

“Please... please follow me,” gasped the snowflake. “The star of winter, who is responsible for the snow, urgently needs your help! He has a terrible cold!”

The friends looked at each other wide-eyed before jumping up hastily. Less than five minutes later, they were all sitting in a sparkling magic sleigh, which took them on a magical journey to the realm of the stars. On the way, they warmed themselves with hot cocoa and nibbled on the last of the cinnamon stars as they gazed out into the night.

The starry realm was overwhelmingly beautiful: the sky was covered with millions of sparkling stars that glittered like diamonds. In the midst of this radiant world, they found the star of winter lying in a fluffy bed of clouds. His nose was bright red and he was sniffling pathetically.

“Oh dear, you poor thing!” cried Fjella and immediately pressed a cinnamon star into his hand. “Eat this, it'll do you good!”

The star took the cookie with wide, grateful eyes and chewed with relish. His cheeks quickly filled up and he smacked his lips softly as he enjoyed the sweet delicacy.

“You're shivering!” Vanja suddenly noticed and moved closer to hug the star with its warm, white fur. “I'll keep you warm!”

Then it happened: the star suddenly sneezed. A huge sneeze, so powerful that Vanja was covered in glittering stardust from top to bottom! The friends burst out laughing and even the star of winter gurgled happily.

“I'm feeling much better now,” he said with a broad smile. “Thanks to you, I'll soon be back on duty and taking care of the snow.” “That's great! We've missed the snow so much,” Bente exclaimed and suggested leaving him the rest of the cookies. Together, Bente and Fjella carefully covered the star and wished him a speedy recovery.

After a final, speedy flight through the sparkling night, the magic sledge landed safely in front of Lenno's little hut. Tired but happy, the friends crept back under the covers and fell fast asleep.

When the first rays of sunshine fell through the windows in the morning, they all woke up and wondered for a moment whether the adventure had just been a beautiful dream. But when they opened the door, no one could believe their eyes: outside, the landscape was covered in a thick, glistening blanket of snow, and the forest and meadows shone in a fairytale winter coat.

Laughing, the friends threw themselves into the snow, built snowmen and shouted loudly into the sky: “Thank you, dear star of winter!”

And when they took a closer look, they noticed that the star of winter was winking down at them from the sky - and trickling down an extra large load of fluffy snowflakes. But among the white flakes, the four friends discovered something very special: little cookie crumbs that bore witness to their night-time adventure.

To bring the story to life, you can download some free coloring pages here <3