Pen Jen's Inkwell: June 2019

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

TINY TINA AND THE MAGNIFICENT ELEPHANT synopsis

LOGLINE

One moonlit night in Cloverfield, Indiana, little “Tiny” Tina tiptoes to the circus train and befriends a magnificent purple elephant, setting off a moonlit parade that teaches her the magic of feeling just the right size.

PITCH

When eight-year-old “Tiny” Tina—three inches shorter than everyone in her class—hears that The Grand Golden Circus is coming to Cloverfield, Indiana, she dreams of meeting a real elephant. But waiting until showtime isn’t enough for a girl with a heart that big. One moonlit night, Tina sneaks out to the circus train and discovers a magnificent purple elephant named Charley who longs to be free. Together, they lead a parade of escaped animals through the sleepy town and straight into Tina’s backyard, where chaos, laughter, and a few broken beds follow. In the end, Tina’s mother sees that her daughter’s courage is every bit as grand as her imagination—and for the first time, Tiny Tina feels just the right size.

SYNOPSIS

Third grader “Tiny” Tina wants to join the circus, or at least watches a few shows. After all, her mother In the small rural town of Cloverfield, Indiana, eight-year-old Tina Johnson—nicknamed “Tiny” because she’s three inches shorter than the other third graders—longs to feel big, brave, and special.

When the eight-year-old girl learns that The Grand Golden Circus is coming to town, she becomes obsessed with seeing the elephants. Her mother buys tickets for Sunday night, but Tina doesn’t want to wait—she dreams of befriending one of the elephants herself. When the circus train arrives at the edge of town, Tina sneaks out of her farmhouse late at night and follows the moonlit path across the cornfields to the train yard. Slipping through a hole in the fence—small enough for only someone her size—she discovers a magnificent purple elephant sleeping in a train car. The elephant wakes when she pats his tail, and to Tina’s amazement, he speaks! He introduces himself in a deep voice and complains about life in the circus. Tina promises him friendship, freedom, and plenty of space to play in her family’s acre of farmland.

The elephant, whom Tina names Charley the Magnificent Elephant, smashes open the train door and lifts her onto his back. Together, they march out of the train yard, and Charley insists on freeing the other animals as well. Soon, the moonlit streets of Cloverfield fill with lions, tigers, kangaroos, giraffes, monkeys, and macaws—all parading behind Tina and Charley in a glorious procession.

When they finally reach Tina’s farmhouse, the animals sneak into the backyard, but Charley squeezes through Tina’s window and crashes onto her bed, breaking it in two. Tina’s mother rushes in, shocked to find an elephant in the bedroom and her vegetable garden full of circus animals. Tina pleads to keep them all, promising to give them a home full of kindness and care. Amused and exasperated, her mother sighs and agrees to let the animals stay for the week—on the condition that they sell tickets to cover the grocery bill.

As the moonlight glimmers over the backyard filled with animals, Tina hugs her purple friend and smiles. For the first time, Tiny Tina feels just the right size.

THE SANDBOX GIANT synopsis

LOGLINE

After a violent storm, a protective sister in small-town Virginia must battle a towering monster made of sand that steals her brother’s form and threatens to “unmake” everything they build.

PITCH

In Willow Hollow, Virginia, siblings Debbie and Billy Fletcher spend their days building castles in the sandbox their father made—until a violent thunderstorm changes everything. The next morning, they discover strange, giant footprints in the grass, and as Debbie watches in horror, the sand begins to swirl and pull Billy under. From the storm of dust rises a monster made of sand and wind with Billy’s face but none of his soul. When the creature declares itself the Sandbox Giant and vows to “unmake what children build,” Debbie fights back with only a garden hose and her courage. As the monster melts away beneath the stream of water, Billy suddenly reappears, quietly building castles as if nothing happened. But that night, as the wind rattles the windows, Debbie lies awake, wondering if the Sandbox Giant will return.

SYNOPSIS

In the quiet town of Willow Hollow, Virginia, siblings Debbie and Billy Fletcher spend their days playing in the sandbox their father built beneath an old apple tree. Debbie is protective of her little brother — she defends him from bullies and treasures the hours they spend together building castles and kingdoms of sand. The sandbox is their safe world, a tiny paradise of imagination and love.

One night, a violent thunderstorm shakes the house and knocks out the power. Lightning flashes, windows rattle, and the children’s fear grows in the dark. Debbie hides in her bed and counts backward from one hundred, trying to fall asleep, while Billy curls up on the couch with his stuffed animals. The storm rages through the night, but when morning comes, the sunlight seems to erase it all.

When the children return to the sandbox, they find strange, enormous footprints pressed deep into the wet grass. Billy dismisses them as traces of the storm and begins to build a new castle. But as Debbie steps forward, a fierce wind sweeps across the yard. The sky turns black, thunder rolls again, and the sand begins to swirl. Before she can react, the ground pulls Billy down into the spinning grains. From the storm of sand rises a giant made of wind and dust, its face shaped like Billy’s—but hollow and wrong.

The creature, calling itself the Sandbox Giant, roars and destroys the apple tree. Debbie pleads for her brother’s return, but the monster growls that “all things return to dust,” and claims it has come to unmake what children build. When the giant reaches for her, Debbie fights back, throwing a pail of water at him. The creature bubbles and reforms, growing larger. Desperate, she grabs the garden hose and sprays him full force. The more water she uses, the more the sand dissolves, until the monster collapses into a muddy heap, screaming as it melts away.

Just as the last of the creature disappears, Debbie’s mother calls from the kitchen, unaware of anything amiss. When Debbie turns back, Billy is sitting in the sandbox again, calmly building a castle as if nothing happened. Trembling, Debbie can’t explain what she’s seen, but she knows it was real. Every stormy night afterward, she lies awake listening for the wind — afraid that the Sandbox Giant might rise again.

THE GREAT MAGICIAN’S FEATHER PEN synopsis

LOGLINE

If the Evil Squid Ink doesn’t steal the Great Magician’s story magic, Ink Fairies just might deliver a book to your beside from the Timeless Library.

PITCH

When the Evil Squid Ink wants to destroy the Great Magician and his storytelling, it takes twelve Ink Fairies with magic ink to combat the nemesis and keep him at the bottom of Lake Doom. Meanwhile, the rest of humankind can read all about his wiles in the latest story published on the Ink Press.

SYNOPSIS

When the Great Magician in the Kingdom of Reynes runs out of ink in his jar, he calls the Ink Fairies for help. Like all magicians, the Great Magician has a special gift that distinguishes him in the kingdoms—his is storytelling. In fact, whether or not people know it, he is responsible for writing all the stories in every kingdom of the world. After he writes the masterpieces, the Ink Fairies take his work and put them in the Timeless Library, where all stories are saved despite space or time. Then, when an author or scribe needs a story, the Ink Fairies deliver the book to his or her beside at night. When they wake in the morning, the story has been inscribed in their memory through the Magician’s spell. Of course, only the Great Magician and the Ink Fairies know this secret. If humans knew of the Magician’s power, they would be jealous and covet his magic, which they already think is their own.

As Pherenice the Fairy drops off the latest batch of fairy ink, the Great Magician checks off the names of the Ink Fairies as they deliver their full ink jars: Blossom, Cherry, Dewdrop, Euclea, Flutter, Glimmer, Moonshadow, Songbird, Twinkle, Veil, and Wonderspell. Upset about a threatening letter from Evil Squid Ink at the bottom of Lake Doom, the fairies tell the Magician that their enemy has been plotting to steal the magic ink and take over the Ink Press and Timeless Library. In preparation for a long battle against the Squid Ink Army, the Ink Fairies secure the Ink Press and call for the neighboring fairies to come to their defense. However, the Magician decides he must write about what’s happening in a story, so it gets published in the human world, then they can know the lies of the Evil Squid Ink. If the story gets published, the Evil Squid will stay at the bottom of the Lake Doom in hiding, fearful that the humans will destroy him. The story must make it to the Timeless Library by midnight of the last day of the month for it to be available to its author in the current season. Otherwise, it has no chance to get published until next year, so the Magician has three days to deliver the story to the Timeless Library and its author. The Evil Squid Ink only wants to use the Ink Press and Timeless Library to promote his own meaningless and dark stories.

As Pherenice and a group of fairies from neighboring kingdoms fly through the window to pick up the masterpiece “The Story of the Evil Squid Ink,” the Evil Squid Ink blows open the front door of the Great Magician’s chambers with an especially potent ink bomb. While the fairies take off to the Timeless Library with the manuscript, the Evil Squid Ink wrestles the Great Magician on the chamber floors. The Evil Squid Ink almost strangles the Magician with its tentacles until the Magician stabs him with his feather pen. The beast crawls away before the Magician can kill him, and it shrinks back into Lake Doom with his army.

THE CAR OF JUGGERNAUT synopsis

LOGLINE

When a gentle nine-year-old girl witnesses her reckless friend crush a colony of ants beneath her red wagon, she sets out to save the tiny creatures—transforming her driveway into a moonlit chocolate sanctuary and discovering that even the smallest lives can inspire great compassion.

PITCH

In a small Iowa town, nine-year-old Jane Johnson loves all the little creatures most people overlook—especially ants. But when her mischievous friend Raymond turns her red wagon into a “Car of Juggernaut” and crushes an ant colony beneath its wheels, Jane vows to make things right. Late one night, guided by moonlight and imagination, she pours a river of melted chocolate across her driveway to protect the ants from harm. By morning, her family’s baffled—and her driveway is transformed. When the rain finally washes the chocolate away, it leaves behind a tiny ant castle glistening in the sun, and even Raymond learns to root for the little guy.

SYNOPSIS

In the quiet town of Maple Grove, Iowa, nine-year-old Jane Johnson loves the small wonders of the natural world—especially ants. One sunny afternoon, she and her twelve-year-old neighbor Raymond Rocky play with her shiny new red wagon, a birthday gift from him. When Raymond recklessly pushes the wagon down the sloped driveway, crushing a trail of ants beneath its wheels, Jane is horrified. To Raymond, they’re “only ants,” but to Jane, they are a family worth protecting. Their playful rivalry suddenly becomes a moral stand: Jane must defend the smallest lives from the “Car of Juggernaut,” as Raymond mockingly calls her wagon.

Shaken by the sight of the destroyed ant colony, Jane retreats to her room, determined to find a way to save the survivors. Her imagination sparks a plan: since ants live in dirt, and chocolate is nearly the same color as dirt, she decides to use chocolate to keep them safe. Inspired by her own logic—and her love for her little dog, Pepper—Jane sneaks into the kitchen at midnight. Under the watchful glow of the moon, she mixes chocolate syrup, cocoa powder, pudding, and candy bars into a shimmering river of melted sweetness. Outside, she pours it across the driveway, whispering comfort to the ants as they crawl through what seems, to her eyes, like a new world made of sugar and moonlight.

By morning, the driveway is covered in chocolate, and Jane’s parents discover the sticky scene with shock and bemusement. Jane explains, earnestly, that she only wanted to make the ants “special” so no one would ever crush them again. Her father, amused, agrees to tolerate her “chocolate ant farm” until the rain comes, while her mother worries about the car tires and the cocoa shortage. When the next rainstorm finally washes the chocolate away, Jane discovers that the ants have built something miraculous—a tiny castle of dirt at the edge of the grass, shining faintly in the sun. Her kindness has helped them create something strong and enduring.

Even Raymond is moved by what he sees. He promises Jane that he’s “trying to do better,” and vows to root for the little guy from now on. The red wagon—once the Car of Juggernaut—now sits quietly in the garage, its power humbled by compassion. Jane smiles, knowing that even the smallest creatures remember the girl who saved them.

THE BLACK AND WHITE STAGE synopsis

LOGLINE

When Zavier the Zebra meets Onyx, a black mare with a gift for classical piano, their unlikely duet challenges the traditions of a world divided by stripes.

PITCH

In the magical Harmonic Plains of South Africa, where rivers sing and pianos grow from the earth, a celebrated zebra pianist named Zavier longs for a duet partner who can match his rhythm. When a black mare named Onyx arrives, her classical brilliance stirs the air itself—but her presence challenges the rules of the legendary Black and White Stage, where only zebras may play. As jealous rivals and old traditions threaten to silence their song, Zavier and Onyx risk everything to perform together. Their duet transforms the night sky, unites the crowd, and even heals the heart of a bitter stallion, proving that true harmony has no color.

SYNOPSIS

Every Thursday night, music shimmers over the Orange River in the Harmonic Plains of South Africa, a land where sound itself is alive. The wind hums in rhythm, rivers sing in harmony, and each animal carries a unique tone that helps keep the world in balance. Among the zebras—creatures born with natural rhythm in their stripes—Zavier the Zebra is the most gifted musician of all. At the legendary Black and White Stage, a riverside club where only zebras perform, he plays two crystal pianos at once, his hooves crossing over in dazzling patterns as the audience cheers beneath lantern light. But behind Zavier’s success lies loneliness. Though his music fills the night with brilliance, his wrists ache, and his heart longs for someone who can share the rhythm. After one performance, he sighs that he cannot keep playing alone forever. Determined to find a duet partner, he holds auditions for days, but every zebra who tries falls short—one off-key, another distracted, and a third who literally falls asleep on the keyboard. Frustrated, Zavier gives up searching and gazes out over the glowing Orange River, murmuring that perhaps the right partner will find him instead.

As if in answer, the river’s ripples glow gold, and through the doorway steps a black mare named Onyx, her mane shimmering like liquid night. She introduces herself as a classical pianist and confidently offers to match Zavier’s jazz any day. Zavier hesitates; no horse has ever played the Black and White Stage. Yet when Onyx sits at the piano, her music transforms the air. The strings hum before her hooves even touch the keys. Her melody swirls like moonlight over water, and the lanterns tremble in time. Zavier feels something he has never known before—the rhythm of his own heart syncing with another’s. He invites her to perform with him that very night. When Onyx takes the stage beside him, the crowd gasps. A gray stallion in the front row, clutching a trumpet, blasts a jagged note filled with jealousy. The lanterns flicker; the river recoils. He mocks Onyx for daring to play where only zebras belong and hurls a tomato that bursts across her mane. Calmly, she wipes the pulp away, her eyes glowing not with anger, but with quiet light. The club owner protests that only zebras may perform, but Zavier refuses to back down. “Then it’s time we changed the tune,” he says. “Music has no race or color.” Granted permission to play, Onyx begins her debut, but midway through the song, a piano string snaps with a sharp twang. The audience holds its breath as Zavier kneels to repair it. Together, they begin again. This time their music rises pure and unbroken, like dawn over the plains. His jazzy chords swirl around her classical melody, and the Orange River glows with ribbons of silver, gold, and indigo. The crowd falls silent in awe; even the gray stallion lowers his head as his dusty coat turns bright again—a living symbol of forgiveness. Under the rising moon, Zavier and Onyx bow side by side, their hearts and harmonies perfectly entwined. From that night on, the Black and White Stage becomes a place where differences turn to music—and music becomes magic.

OLD TIME RADIO HOUR synopsis

LOGLINE

When twelve-year-old Rosalie discovers that her beloved uncle’s magical radio show may not reach beyond their street, she uncovers a deeper truth—that imagination and love can carry farther than any signal through the air.

PITCH

When twelve-year-old Rosalie spends her Sunday nights listening to her uncle’s home radio show, The Old Time Radio Hour, she believes his magical transmitter can carry voices across the country—and her heart nearly bursts when he announces that Judy Garland will be his next guest. But after the broadcast, the famous singer is nowhere to be found, and Rosalie begins to suspect her uncle’s radio magic isn’t what it seems. In discovering the truth behind the show, Rosalie learns that imagination can connect people as powerfully as any signal through the air.

SYNOPSIS – short

Twelve-year-old Rosalie Pinker lives next door to her Uncle Frank, who hosts a Sunday night broadcast called The Old Time Radio Hour from a studio in his garage. Each week, she watches the red “ON AIR” light flick on and listens through the wall, enchanted by the hum of the microphones and her uncle’s warm, confident voice. He tells her the little blue transmitter above the garage sends his voice “across the country and straight into people’s hearts,” and Rosalie believes him completely. Her mother calls it “nothing but show,” but Rosalie prefers her uncle’s version—his world feels magical.

One morning, Uncle Frank appears at breakfast, dusted with powdered sugar from the bakery, and announces that his next guest will be the famous Judy Garland. Rosalie’s heart leaps; Judy Garland is her hero. She begs to attend the broadcast, but her uncle gently says the studio is too small and the transmitter hums when there’s too much excitement. He promises she can listen from home and be the first to hear the performance. Rosalie trusts him.

On Sunday night, Rosalie settles by her bedroom radio with her dog, Scarecrow, on her lap. The red light glows across the driveway as Uncle Frank welcomes Miss Garland to the show. A bright, musical laugh answers him, and Rosalie’s breath catches—Judy is really there. When Uncle Frank asks if she will sing, Judy’s voice fills the room with “Over the Rainbow.” The song sounds so vivid and alive that Rosalie feels it shimmering in the air.

After the show, she runs to her uncle’s garage, hoping to meet Judy, but the studio is empty except for an overturned chair, an untouched teacup, and the faint scent of perfume. Uncle Frank smiles kindly and says Judy had to leave on a tight schedule. Rosalie accepts his words but grows curious when no one in town mentions the visit.

Days later, she sneaks into the garage and discovers a fake radio license drawn in gold crayon, a transmitter wired to nowhere, and shelves of phonograph records labeled Broadway Classics and Hollywood Voices. When Uncle Frank returns, he admits the truth: the show was never broadcast nationally—it began as a way to cheer her up one lonely summer. He never meant to fool her, only to give her joy. Rosalie realizes that his magic was real after all—the kind made of love, imagination, and song. Years later, Rosalie runs her own radio show, carrying his legacy forward and believing that voices truly can travel through dreams.

MR. MIDNIGHT OWL synopsis

LOGLINE

A curious boy determined to uncover the truth behind Yosemite’s legendary talking owl finds himself face-to-face with Mr. Midnight, a wise and mischievous bird whose midnight lessons teach him that wonder and wisdom often come hand in hand.

PITCH

When twelve-year-old Chris Waitwell heads to Yosemite National Park with his family, he’s determined to prove that the campfire legend of a talking owl named Mr. Midnight is real. Rumor has it the mysterious bird flies through the night giving unsolicited advice about patience and wisdom to anyone who will listen. But when Chris finally meets the owl, he discovers that Mr. Midnight’s lessons are far more personal than he expected—and that some things in nature are meant to stay free.

SYNOPSIS

Twelve-year-old Chris Waitwell travels with his family to Yosemite National Park, where they’ve heard rumors about a mysterious talking owl named Mr. Midnight. According to campers, the owl appears after dark, quoting poetry and giving advice to anyone who will listen. While most visitors dismiss the stories as campfire legends, Chris is determined to find out if the tales are true.

As the Waitwells arrive at their campsite, the family settles in among the pines and mountain air. Chris’s father sets up camp, his mother worries about preserving the owl, and his younger sister Margaret focuses on roasting s’mores. Despite the peaceful setting, Chris senses that Yosemite is far from ordinary. That night, when the others go to sleep, he takes his flashlight and ventures into the forest, hoping to spot the legendary bird. High above the campsite, Mr. Midnight Owl awakens on a hidden branch. Before he can begin his nightly rounds, two park rangers, Scott and George, try to capture him. They hope to keep him in a zoo as a park attraction, but the owl refuses, mocking them and flying away into the moonlit sky. After escaping, he resumes his mission—finding campers in need of advice, whether they know it or not.

As Chris searches through the trees, he hears a deep, echoing voice reciting poetry about patience. The sound leads him back toward his family’s campfire, where the Waitwells awaken to find the talking owl perched nearby. Quoting philosophers and poets, Mr. Midnight teaches the family about patience, wisdom, and kindness. The park rangers arrive in their truck, nets ready, but before they can trap him, the owl lands briefly on Chris’s shoulder, sharing one last piece of advice: “Let patience have her perfect work.” Chris writes the quote in his notebook as the owl takes flight, disappearing into the forest. When the rangers question the family, Chris denies seeing anything, knowing that the owl doesn’t belong in a cage. Later that night, he dreams of wings and moonlight. In the morning, he wakes to find a single feather beside his notebook and hears a faint hoot echo through the cliffs. Chris smiles, certain that Mr. Midnight is still out there—and that their paths will cross again.

HAPPY SNAIL synopsis

LOGLINE

The happiest snail is sometimes the slowest.

PITCH

When Happy Snail has to move across town, he does it his way. He moves at his own speed, makes new friends, and watches the clouds, even if his family makes fun of him for his slow pace. Who cares how fast you move in life, as long as you’re happy and enjoying every step!

SYNOPSIS

Happy Snail, the slowest of all the snails in his large family, loves to smell the springtime flowers and warm himself in the sunshine, waddling with his big shell. Even when it rains, he enjoys the tender rain drops on his tongue and washes his tiny body. In the winter freeze, he hides in the crevices of the garden, hibernating underneath a layer of slime. Now that it is spring, he is happier than ever, ready for summer and all the joy with it. More than anything, Happy Snail likes to watch the clouds, watching for a cloud that looks just like him. Despite all Happy’s kind rebuttals to his family, Meany threatens him that the Gardener who runs the garden is moving it across town, and Happy will be too slow to ever make it to the new garden. Happy says he will enjoy every minute of making his way to the new garden, and he’ll make new friends. As the days go by, the Gardener plucks Happy Snail’s favorite flowers, and he moves across town. Happy just decides to enjoy the journey, watching his entire family creep past him in the grass.

The Snail family ridicules Happy as he tries to make his way to the garden, saying summer will be over by the time he gets to the new garden, but Happy Snail has never been happier, dilly-dallying across town at his own speed. He bumps into his friend Mr. Sloth, watching the clouds, and asks him if he wants to come with Happy to the new garden. As Happy Snail and Mr. Sloth make their way across town, Giant the Tortoise catches up to them. He wants to come to the new garden, too. He says he hopes he can keep up and not get lost. Then the Tortoise joins the group, pointing out that Happy Snail’s family is not that much quicker than they are, creeping only a few inches in front of them. Let them think what they want if they are happy, Happy Snail says. He knows they never notice the clouds or make new friends. They’re trying to be so much faster than everyone, but they’re missing out on what makes them special. All of a sudden, Koala the Bear decides to the join the pack, because he thinks if you’re slow, you might as well love being slow. Slug the Slowest agrees, acknowledging that speed doesn’t do him any good—even if he’s on time, he’s still late. Of course, American Woodcock, the world’s slowest bird, fit right in with the Happy Snail. He loves being himself, and no one is really like him.

By the time Happy Snail, Mr. Sloth, Giant the Tortoise, Koala the Bear, Slug the Slowest, and American Woodcock made it across town to the new garden, they become the best of friends, finding each other’s faces in the clouds. The Snail family, of course, only arrives to the garden a few moments before Happy Snail and his sidekicks. However, they have no new friends and have missed out on the spectacular cloud show in the mid-day sky. Meanwhile, Happy Snail is happier than ever. If the Gardener hadn’t moved the garden, he would have never grown to love his new group of friends. He asks them to never walk faster than he does, because he needs all of them with him forever.

BOOK NOOK synopsis

LOGLINE

Zig Zag the Worm and Wooly Bear the Caterpillar get better with time like fine literature.

PITCH

When Wooly Bear the Caterpillar has to enter a cocoon to become Monarch the Butterfly in a French castle among many books, his friend Zig Zag the Worm stands by waiting for his transformation only to fly off into the distance together on Monarch’s new wings.

SYNOPSIS

Zig Zag the worm, who lived in the Book Nook hidden in the corner of the library in an abandoned French castle near the Rhine River, likes to worm his way through fine literature. Although there is an entire castle to explore, Zig Zag crawls through volumes of the world’s best stories. He has become an expert in kings and queens, princesses and knights, witches and ghosts, and even fairy elves. Along with fiction, he reads theses in education, health, science, the Arts, world history, and politics. One day, a fuzzy caterpillar named Wooly Bear wiggles its way into the library and opens The Encyclopedia of Butterflies. Wooly Bear asks Zig Zag how it is possible that he will one day be a butterfly. Zig Zag puts on his reading spectacles and scrunches his nose, paging through The Encyclopedia. Zig Zag explains that it seems like he enters a cocoon as a cave or sorts, and then he emerges, coming out with brightly colored wings. All of the fuzziness on the Caterpillar’s skin stood on edge, listening to the Worm, and the Caterpillar could not even feel his body, dreading the process of becoming new.

During the winter chill, Wooly Bear Caterpillar makes its home in The Encyclopedia of Butterflies. Despite all odds, it snuggles up against pictures of what it would one day become—a lovely butterfly. Zig Zag tells Wooly Bear he hopes to see him in the springtime, and Wooly Bear says that when he sees him to call him by his new name: Monarch the Butterfly. Wooly Bear’s cocoon grows sticky and quite uncomfortable for the Caterpillar, even when he’s not sleeping. Great magic goes on inside the cocoon, which the Worm has never read about in the pages of the Book Nook.

The Worm talks to the cocoon, wishing he could become a butterfly, too. He is so sad that he is aging, and his skin is drying up, and he wishes he could also become new. Of course, Monarch did hear Zig Zag and didn’t want him to die. When springtime approaches, one day the owner of the castle returns for its annual spring cleaning. He tromps and stomps all throughout the Book Nook, straightening the novels and making dust clouds. The Worm hides from the dustpan, knowing that Monarch has to make it out of the cocoon before he’s squashed in the cleaning. Zig Zag pushes The Encyclopedia of Butterflies under a large red curtain by the tall window and he tries to unravel the cave-like womb, asking Monarch to come out of the cocoon now. He warns him that the owner of the deserted castle has come back and is in danger of killing the soon-to-be-butterfly. Breaking lose from the cocoon, Monarch spreads his wings in an attempt to save his own life, as well as the Worm. The beautiful orange and black butterfly swoops out of the cocoon and grabs the Worm with its wing. Zig Zag and Monarch fly off into the sunset until they find a new home, a castle with many cocoons.

THE CHRISTMAS TOY SOLDIER synopsis

LOGLINE

Keeping the peace has never been so dangerous than at Christmas!

PITCH

When Miles Osborne, the Friendly Toy Soldier, loses his job as a security guard at the Toymaker’s Shop in New York City, the manager insists that the company doesn’t need his skills anymore. After all, there has been nothing but peace in the store for years. However, as soon as the neighborhood finds out that the Soldier is fired, hoodlums plot to destroy the store on Christmas Eve until the irreplaceable soldier saves the toy store from looting and arson.

SYNOPSIS

The Friendly Toy Soldier, whose real name is Miles Osborne, is trying to keep the peace by standing in the doorway of the Toymaker’s Shop. It’s the most famous toy store in New York City. Dressed in his soldier outfit, he makes sure that the customers in the store behave and do not fight or quarrel with anyone. He does such a good job that nothing dangerous ever happens in the store. However, Mr. Cartwright, the store manager, tells him that the store is letting him go. According to Mr. Cartwright, nothing bad ever happens in a store full of kids, and the salary for the soldier is a waste of money. The soldier’s last night will be Christmas Eve. As the Friendly Toy Soldier fights back tears, he finds the courage to say that he understands. Then, he looks across the store full of ungrateful strangers that he has been protecting.

When word gets out that the customers have heard of the soldier’s departure, Bubba Joe and Brother Jim, two of the worst hoodlums in the neighborhood, happen to find out. Without anyone knowing, they plot to ruin Christmas. They plan to loot the store and burn it down. When Christmas Eve arrives, the Friendly Toy Soldier feels sadder than he lets the customers know. He has no idea where to find another job. Even still, the soldier keeps his chin up and tries to be thankful for the opportunities that he has had for years in the heart of New York City.

On Christmas Eve since the soldier is the last one in the store, he decides to spend the night. The Friendly Toy Soldier bides his time and shuffles toys back to their shelves. Then, he locks the front door behind everyone, sits down in Santa Claus’ armchair, and watches the lights on the store Christmas tree flicker in the darkness. As the Friendly Toy Soldier falls asleep on the armchair, someone throws a rock through the front store window. He grabs his real gun from beneath his jacket and sounds the store alarm, which notifies the police of a burglary. Then, Bubba Joe and Big Jim jump through the broken window with giant flaming torches. The Friendly Toy Soldier aims his gun at them as they loot the store of toys. He tries to delay them until the police arrive. Then, he grabs the water hose on the toy store fire engine and douses the torches before Bubba Joe and Big Jim can burn anything. With that, the New York City Police Department arrives and arrests Bubba Joe and Big Jim for a memorable Christmas behind bars. A squad of police cars with loud sirens and K9 police dogs fills the streets. By morning, Miles, the Friendly Toy Soldier, is the Christmas hero of the nation, the defender of Fifth Avenue in New York City. He also keeps his job for years to come, keeping the peace for adults and children everywhere.

HOLIDAY GINGERBREAD HOUSE synopsis

LOGLINE

A gingerbread man named Cinnamon helps a young girl find her way home by Christmas morning.

PITCH

When 12-year-old Nicola Claire feels invisible, she dreams that she shrinks into the gingerbread house that she's making on Christmas Eve. A shrunken Nicola then can’t find her way home from the dream. However, a gingerbread man named Cinnamon suggests that she eat the gingerbread house to return home. With each morsel, she grows in stature and tries to avoid the looming cats. She eventually eats the entire house and Cinnamon himself, only to return to her mother's kitchen table with the angel-like Christkind who gives her a stuffed gingerbread man named Cinnamon, her new best friend.

SYNOPSIS

Twelve-year-old Nicola Claire must make her gingerbread house before she goes to sleep on Christmas Eve. She lives in Nuremberg, Germany, “The Gingerbread Capital of the World.” Although her mom wants her to go to bed, she sneaks back into the kitchen to finish her project. As Nicola places candy pieces artistically on the house as a creative masterpiece, she says how much she’d like to live in the gingerbread house. Nicola never feels like her mother understands her. She always tries to be good enough, but it never seems to be what her mother wants. Her father divorced her mother a few years ago. Sometimes, Nicola feels like she is invisible. She thinks if she lives in the gingerbread house by herself that she would not have the problems that she has with her parents.

When Nicola places her head on the table for a moment’s rest, she closes her eyes for a second, which then becomes minutes until she is asleep. In her dream, her stature shrinks, and she stands as tall as the gingerbread men in the kit, which is much smaller than real life. As the dream goes on, she wanders through the rooms of the gingerbread home and holiday candies enjoying the sweet-smelling house. She makes her way to the kitchen with a peppermint fireplace and meets a gingerbread man named Cinnamon hanging a sugar wreath. Cinnamon tells her that he hopes she will be able to find her way home by Christmas morning. Since Nicola is not even sure how she got where she is in the first place, she doesn’t know how to find her way home. She sits down on the chocolate bar floor and sheds hot tears, which melts part of the ground. Then, Cinnamon tells her a secret: if she eats the gingerbread house, it won’t exist, and she’ll soon be home. Since her stomach shrunk, she has no idea how to eat the entire gingerbread house. Cinnamon says with each piece she eats that she will become bigger, and the house will become smaller. He places a jug of milk on the table. As a warning, Cinnamon reminds Nicola of the looming cats in the neighborhood.

Nicola eats the gingerbread house one piece at a time. As she eats the home, she grows in stature. It becomes smaller, little by little. When the cats circle her, she tries to hide until they leave. She eats every last crumb of gingerbread, icing, and sugar. By the time she grows back into her real-life stature, Cinnamon is very tiny, and she picks him up to look at him. As a friend, she cannot possibly eat him, but he insists that she swallow him, too. He says he is a gingerbread man and made to be eaten by a lovely girl like Nicola. As she eats her gingerbread friend whole, she takes a big drink of milk afterwards. Then, she awakens back at her kitchen table in her family’s home on Christmas Eve. Standing beside her is the angel-like Christkind, admiring the gingerbread house that she half-built before dozing off into a dream. The Christkind hands her a stuffed gingerbread man as a Christmas gift named Cinnamon. Then, she finishes the gingerbread house before Christmas morning as a surprise for her mother, which they eat for breakfast. What a sweet Christmas!

HALLELUJAH CHOIR AND ANGEL ORCHESTRA synopsis

LOGLINE

There’s always time to sing praises full of Comfort and Joy!

PITCH

The Hallelujah Choir and Angel Orchestra get ready for a last-minute performance for the most important night in history: Christmas Eve. When the Melody Makers Choir falls through, the angels Comfort and Joy pull together their ensemble with their supervisor named Gloria. Although it doesn’t go exactly as planned when the shepherds are terrified by the song, Comfort and Joy find Mary and Joseph in the manger with a new baby boy, and the shepherds, three wise men, and animals are there as well. Just like God planned it, the shepherds spread the birth of the Savior all over the world.

SYNOPSIS

The angels Comfort and Joy get orders from the higher-ups that they’re performing a last-minute concert over Bethlehem tomorrow. The occasion is none other than God decided to send his Son to live on Earth, and this is his entrance, or according to Gloria, the Hallelujah Choir and Angel Orchestra’s supervisor, it’s one of the most important evenings in history.

The Hallelujah Angel Orchestra practices into the wee hours of the morning and into the next afternoon. By the midnight hour on Christmas Eve, the angels are in place over Bethlehem. When Comfort and Joy appear in the sky with the glory of God, the shepherds stop in place, shaking in fear. Some of them run for the hills.

At that, the sheep scatter, and the shepherds drop many of their crooks in the chaos of the event. Comfort and Joy finish the prepared speech, and some of the shepherds have stood still long enough to listen to the rehearsed song. Then, the shepherds run off as fast as they can and take a few sheep with them but lose the rest in the terror. Gloria thinks the effort is a complete failure. Comfort and Joy fly across the sky to give Gloria a hug, and the rest of the angels stand in silence with disappointment. Then, Comfort and Joy fly to the manger to see if the shepherds made it, just in case.

The angel duo finds Mary and Joseph in the manger with the baby; the shepherds have just arrived. Comfort can hardly believe his eyes. He admires the gifts of three very wealthy wise men that sit next to the shepherds. The shepherds were listening to the angels’ speech and song after all, Joy realizes, laughing out loud. Then, out of nowhere, Gloria lands in the middle of the manger and says that God told her that they are right on track for their next big miracle. Every year from that year on, Gloria takes her annual vacation at Christmas, and Comfort and Joy are put in charge to spread the Christmas spirit. Of course, the shepherds tell about the birth of a savior all over the world, just as God planned it.

CHRISTMAS FROST KING synopsis

LOGLINE

The Christmas Frost King allows the Polar Forest to be tested by the Nasty North Wind until three evergreen trees save the Littlest of Little Birds.

PITCH

When the Nasty North Wind wants to test the Polar Forest’s love and compassion, it threatens the Littlest of Little Birds until three evergreen trees come to its rescue. The Christmas Frost King then banishes the Nasty North Wind to the South Pole, except for the winter months. He can never again pluck needles from the Evergreens, and the Little Bird sings in the court of the Christmas Frost King forever.

SYNOPSIS

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful forest that loved its king until a brutal wind thought he could destroy the trees and animals of the wood with its breath. The Nasty North Wind starts a fierce argument with the Christmas Frost King about the Polar Forest. It wants to test the trees of the Polar Forest to see if they have love for the Christmas Frost King and his animals. The Frost King says the Nasty North Wind may test the trees, but he cannot kill them. The Nasty North Wind is sure the trees will not care about the animals of the forest or their king. In outrage, the Frost King slams his magical ice scepter against the palace wall and sends rays of light into the North Wind, which causes him to shrink. He tells him to be gone and not to return until the test is complete. Furthermore, he is sure that the Polar Forest will pass the test and stand tall against the Wind. If the Polar Forest passes the test, then the Christmas Frost King says that the Nasty North Wind will be banished to the South Pole.

So, the Nasty North Wind sets out through the Polar Forest and sends the worst storms in years with sleet, rain, snow, and ice. However, a creature like the Littlest of Little Birds can’t even fly fast enough to escape the wind to shelter. The Birch Tree, the Oak Tree, and the Willow Tree try to save the Little Bird, but she loses most of her feathers, has a hard time flying, and can no longer sing with her sore throat. Then, the Spruce Tree, Pine Tree, and Little Juniper Tree shield the Littlest of Little Birds. By example, the Three Evergreen Trees cause all the other evergreen trees of the Polar Forest to defend every large and small animal throughout the wintertime storms. Although the Nasty North Wind blasts gales and gusts, the Evergreens stand tall. The harder the Wind blows against the Evergreens, the more resolute the trees become to defeat him. So, the Little Bird lives to see the springtime and sings a new song.

When the Nasty North Wind returns to the Christmas Frost King, the Wind cannot believe that the Polar Forest passed the test. The Christmas Frost King decrees that for the rest of his days he will not touch any spruce, pine, or little juniper trees on Earth. He is banished to the South Pole, except for the three winter months. Each fall when the season turns to winter, he may blow peaceful winds, but that is all. He will never again pluck a needle from the Evergreens of the Earth. He will also never attack the Frost King’s palace again. Then, the Christmas Frost King calls forth the Littlest of Little Birds. For the rest of her days, the Little Bird sings in the court of the Christmas Frost King, winter, spring, summer, and fall.

THE KING HEROD PLAY synopsis

LOGLINE

All the world’s a stage when St. Nicholas is in the audience.

PITCH

When 11-year-old Lena Nowak fears she hasn’t been good enough to receive Christmas presents, she decides to put on a King Herod Play for St. Nicholas. While crafting the stage and puppets for the play, she runs out of glue on Christmas Eve with no way to buy more from a craft shop until after the holidays. She tries to use honey and icing to finish her puppets. As St. Nicholas arrives with his angel helper, the first thing he does is give Lena a jar of glue to finish her work. She is so excited and puts the play on to great success. St. Nicholas promises to return for her annual plays celebrating Christmas.

SYNOPSIS

On Christmas Eve morning, Lena Nowak worries if she has been good enough to receive gifts from St. Nicholas. The 11-year-old girl in Bolków, Poland wonders if she had fibbed too much or not worked hard enough in school. At last minute, she decides to put on a King Herod Play for St. Nicholas and his angel helper. All day, Lena works to make hand puppets for all the characters of the traditional King Herod Play, a Christmas folk play. Although her grandmother is always in charge of the King Herod Play, she tells her mother that she wants to put on the play with her puppets in case St. Nicholas comes in person. She polished her shoes to leave them by the Christmas tree with high hopes for gifts. Then, all day, Lena works on painting and gluing puppets. She starts with the wicked King Herod, who caused the killing of boy infants in Bethlehem when he heard that a child would be born as Messiah. Other characters in the play include Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, an angel, a soldier, a village man and his wife, a cavalryman with his horse, a Field Marshal, the Devil, Death, and gravediggers.

As Lena’s father watches her make a small stage in their house, she jokes with her father that “the Herods are coming tonight.” He sets up chairs for everyone in the family, so they can enjoy her play after Wigilia, the Polish Christmas Eve dinner with twelve dishes to commemorate the Twelve Apostles. As she runs out of glue, there is no way to get more from the store on Christmas Eve. Her mom tells her not to worry, but it’s only glue and that St. Nicholas will love her puppets anyhow. She does the best she can and tries to use honey and icing to finish her puppets. Then, her family, friends, and neighbors gather for the Christmas celebration. By the time Christmas Eve dinner is finished, there is a sudden knock on the door, and the children cheer: “He has come!”

St. Nicholas walks past everyone else in the home straight to Lena with his filled sack. His angel helper with wings and golden robe stands by the door with more gifts. He waits for the perfect moment to give everyone their reward. Then, St. Nicholas hands Lena a new jar of glue, and she is elated. While Nicholas hands out the rest of the gifts, he tells Lena that she can finish her puppets, so that they can enjoy her production. She throws her arms around him with a hug. By the time everyone else has received their gifts, Lena has finished gluing the last touches of her puppets and stage. She invites St. Nicholas to sit in the front with his angel. The tenderness of the Christmas drama from the heart of the child warms everyone in the room, including St. Nick. St. Nicholas promises to return for her upcoming plays. Until next time, Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Merry Christmas!

CHRISTMAS COOKIE synopsis

LOGLINE

Two are better than one during the holidays.

PITCH

When Cookie Roberts and Ernest Plum skate on ice, magic happens. Ernest has been in love with Cookie for years, and she has never agreed to marry him, despite his devotion. After he finally quits being her ice-skating partner, and she can’t find anyone who brings the same magic, he asks her one last time to be his partner, and she says yes.

SYNOPSIS

Each Christmas Eve, the Rockefeller Center Skaters put on a spectacular ice show at the Rink at Rockefeller Center. Only steps from Times Square and the Broadway Theater District, visitors gather all month long for skating lessons until the 24^th of December. Then, tourists and locals in New York City gather on the plaza beside the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to enjoy the annual Christmas Eve skating event. This year, Cookie Roberts and Ernest Plum are the featured skaters in the festivities. However, the duo doesn’t always get along as one might expect, mostly due to Ernest’s unrequited love for Cookie. When Cookie sprains her foot, Ernest carries her to the emergency room. He is afraid she might have broken it. So glad that she did not break it, Ernest suggests taking Cookie out for dancing on New Year’s Eve. Cookie asks him to give up his romantic gestures and says they have a business relationship as ice-skating partners—that’s it. So, he quits.

The next morning, Cookie returns to the Rink at Rockefeller Center. She explains to her coach that she injured her foot, but it will be better for the Christmas Eve performance. She also explains that Ernest quit being her partner. The coach says she’ll have to skate with Roy.

By Christmas Eve, Cookie and Roy dazzle New York City in their white jump suits with silver sparkles. However, the performance has less heart and soul than when Cookie skates with Ernest. More than once, she almost falls. When she looks up, she sees Ernest watching her from the plaza. Before leaving the ice rink, Roy shakes Cookie’s hand and runs to meet his wife and son. After spending Christmas Day with her parents in Upper Manhattan, she spends the rest of the holiday watching Christmas movies and baking cookies. This year, unlike the past several years, she receives no gifts from Ernest. Sad about facing the New Year alone, she sulks in the bathtub. Then, on New Year’s Eve, she hears Ernest calling her with a knock at the door. Cookie opens the door, and Ernest apologizes and asks her again to be his partner. Ernest kisses her, and she promises to give him a chance. The duo goes on to spend many years together on and off the ice as a great team.

THE CHRISTMAS GOOSE synopsis

LOGLINE

When Christmas is coming, an old British man who collects pennies in his hat—with the help of an angelic woman with long, golden hair and a trail of diamonds—brings surprises to a sickly neighbor boy and his father.

PITCH

All because an old man with a hat asks for pennies on the street corner by London's Tower Bridge during Christmas, a small goose saves the life of a sickly little boy, and an angel with diamonds helps them do so. Secretly, the goose even lays golden eggs, a miracle that no one understands, but receives gratefully.

SYNOPSIS

An old man from a street corner near London’s Tower Bridge belts out Christmas carols and collects coins in his hat as charity for his neighbors. Several passersby drop coins into his hat. Then, a beautiful woman with a glowing face and long, golden hair empties coins in his hat. A trail of gem-like snow that looks like diamonds seems to follow her as she walks, and the gems blows in the wind. Although the old man has no family, he is more concerned for his neighbors than he is about himself. The father of the family next door has been out of work for more than six months, as he watches over his sickly son. The mother had passed away from tuberculosis a few years ago during a very hard winter, and the boy has lost hope. So, the old man has decided that a toy soldier and trumpet are not enough to give the child this year—there must also be a Christmas goose.

Then, the old man grabs his coat and top hat and goes to Christmas Eve service at All Souls Church in Langham Place. The church towers next to the British Broadcasting Corporation, which had played Christmas carols on the radio all day. After the service, the old man spots his neighbors a few pews in front of him, and they look less than festive. Placing his hat on the young boy’s head, he tells him that early Christmas morning he will visit them with surprises. The old man sits in the pew for a bit and admires the sanctuary decorated with holly, candles, and garland. As he sits in the pew, the church empties—all except for the beautiful woman with long, golden hair and diamond jewels. Then she sits down next to him in the pew. She tells him that his generosity will save the boy’s life, and he will not leave his father alone at Christmas for the years to come. She says that the old man’s hat will protect him from the blistering winter wind, and the gift of the Christmas goose will be his new best friend. Even in the church, gem-like diamonds follow her.

The next morning, the old man wakes up with the sunrise and prepares a large goose for Christmas dinner. Then, he shoves him in the oven and seasons him. However, he wraps a bright red bow on the other golden goose as a pet for the neighbor boy and grabs the other gifts for him. The neighbor boy opens the door wearing the old man’s hat. As the goose waddles into the neighbor’s house, the deathly ill little boy throws his arms around him. Then, the old man looks out the window and spies the beautiful woman from the church as she walks down the street in a trail of sparkling snow that resembles perfect diamonds. The wind blows the diamonds toward the old man. He catches them in his hand. At first, he thought they were icicles but puts them in his jacket pocket with a prayer of thanksgiving. In the weeks ahead that pass, the Christmas Goose and the little boy become such good friends that the little boy never feels sick again. The Goose lays dozens of goose eggs. And as legend has it, when no one is looking, the goose even lays golden eggs. As for the diamonds, they turn out to be real, and only an angel would know how that happened.

SWEDISH CHRISTMAS DANCE synopsis

LOGLINE

Prancer the Reindeer loses his way on Christmas Eve only to be found by the light.

PITCH

When Prancer the Reindeer gets lost, a 12-year-old girl named Lucia Johansson takes him in on Christmas Eve. While waiting for Father Christmas to find Prancer, the Johansson family dance and sing in celebration until they doubt that their Christmas gifts will ever arrive. In the wee hours of the morning when Father Christmas finds Prancer, he rewards Lucia for taking in a stranger to make sure Christmas is never late again.

SYNOPSIS

Prancer the reindeer hits a star, falls to the ground, and ends up in Sweden on Christmas Eve in the snow. Confused, he stands up, almost losing his balance, and kicks the snow. He wanders into the nearest village and feels like a failure. He hopes Father Christmas comes back for him. He can’t be sure at all which way Father Christmas went or where the sleigh is now. As Prancer walks through the village, he admires Christmas trees decorated with white candles and silver ornaments that catch the starlight. Then, Lucia Johansson, a 12-year-old girl, notices the reindeer while looking for Father Christmas in the sky. Her family is holding a Christmas Eve party, but she runs out in the snow in a white dress with a red sash around her waist to greet the deer. A crown of candles sits on her head in a wreath of Lingonberry branches. She thinks that Father Christmas sent the reindeer. Then, she gently touches his nose and examines his antlers, which seem large enough to enable him to fly. Prancer explains that he got separated from Father Christmas and his sleigh. Although she is startled that he can speak, Lucia invites him to spend the holiday with her family.

Lucia’s father wonders what a reindeer is doing in their home but allows him to join the party since it’s Christmas. Her mother thinks that the neighbors must have sent him for holiday fun. All of a sudden, Lucia’s extended family join hands while thumping their feet and start a ring dance, holding a lighted candle. The dancers sing. Prancer and Lucia go ‘round and ‘round the table and down the halls of the house. Prancer and Lucia trot through each room and up and down each staircase. Lucia kisses Prancer on the cheek and wishes he would never leave her. Although Prancer thinks he messed everything up for Father Christmas, Lucia suggests watching out the window for him on his sleigh.

As Christmas Eve goes on, the guests from her parents’ party leave. Then, Lucia’s family exchanges gifts and eats Christmas cookies and rice dessert. Although the family waits, Father Christmas never arrives with gifts. Lucia’s mother, father, and three sisters sit with Prancer at the tree. After Lucia’s parents and sisters go to sleep in their bedrooms, Lucia snuggles up with Prancer. Then, early in the morning, when it seems that Father Christmas will never complete his rounds on Christmas Eve, there is a thud in front of Lucia’s house, and several whinnies and a large, red glowing reindeer light. Father Christmas knocks on the front door with a sack of gifts. Although Father Christmas has seven other reindeer, he says that he had to go after the lost Prancer until he found him. He flew all night and didn’t forget Prancer. As the story goes, Prancer makes sure to be especially alert when flying on Christmas Eve and never gets lost again.

YULETIDE THE CHRISTMAS GOAT synopsis

LOGLINE

When witches harass Father Christmas by threatening to steal children and their gifts on Christmas Eve, a goat braves a mountain to find a magic yule log.

PITCH

Yuletide the Christmas Goat travels to the peak of Vestfjellet Mountain to search for the Magic Yule Log that can defeat the witches attacking twelve-year-old Ingrid Danielsen and her Norwegian village. As Ingrid and her parents fight back the witches, they wait for the Christmas Goat to return with the Yule Log that must burn in their fireplace by midnight on Christmas Eve, so the evil witches lose their power and Father Christmas can visit the village with presents for the children.

SYNOPSIS

Twelve-year-old Ingrid Danielsen is worried about Griselda, Queen of the Sky Brooms, and her witches in the Norwegian village of Vestfold. Her friend Yuletide the Christmas Goat knows the witches like to harass Father Christmas at Christmas and threaten to steal the children and their presents. Although the witches have bullied the children before, they have never succeeded in actually kidnapping anyone until now. Ingrid watches a witch fly down, grab three of her cousins who are caroling, and fling them on her broom.

Finally safe, inside her family’s cottage, Ingrid suggests to Yuletide that they could clog the chimney so the witches can’t fly down into her home. The witches are more determined than ever to undermine Julenissen and his Nisse, also known as Santa Claus and his gnomes. Then, Yuletide meanders to a large book on the side shelf and flips it open with his nose and points to a map. It reads: “There’s a Magic Yule Log, hidden on the peak of Vestfjellet Mountain, which is strong enough to destroy the power of the witches.” Ingrid insists that they find the Yule Log and burn it in her parents’ fireplace, but it must be burned on Christmas Eve, not one second past midnight. So, Ingrid and Yuletide have twelve hours to succeed.

Despite her enthusiasm, Yuletide insists that Ingrid isn’t going in search of the Yule Log—he is. In the meantime, Ingrid huddles by the fireplace and builds a large fire with the regular logs, twigs, and even kitchen chairs. While Ingrid and her parents fight back Queen Griselda and her spells for hours, Ingrid hopes for Yuletide’s quick return. The clock on the wall tick-tocks closer and closer to midnight when the Magic Yule Log will no longer be effective. Just when Ingrid wants to give up fighting Griselda, Yuletide stumbles in the front door with the glowing Magic Yule Log. The goat’s knees are scratched and bloody, and he hobbles through the front door as though he might collapse at any moment.

Ingrid runs to him in tears, grabs the Magic Yule Log, and throws it into the fireplace. It causes a huge explosion to shoot from the chimney that stretches over the village and scatters Griselda and her witches. The kidnapped children riding with the witches fall from the brooms and magically land feet-first in the snow. At that, Ingrid’s family falls asleep by the fireplace with Yuletide, and Father Christmas makes his visit in the snow with presents, because a goat decided that he would go on a journey to save his best friend.

WINTER MASQUERADING synopsis

LOGLINE

No one wears a mask at Christmas, especially when waltzing.

PITCH

When Margaret Bayard’s father wants her to marry someone other than her longtime love, James Miller, he sends her to the Christmas Masquerade Ball at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. After James proposes to Margaret, she hides it from her father until the Ball is over, where her father suggests that she marry the mysterious cadet that dances with her. Later in the evening, the cadet reveals that he was James all along—only behind a mask.

SYNOPSIS

Margaret Bayard’s father wants to know if she has her dress for the Christmas Masquerade Ball. Mr. Bayard, a former United States Senator, has put marrying his daughter to an upstanding man on the top of his Christmas wish list. Margaret, 21, makes it very clear that she’s already in love with her childhood friend James Miller. She doesn’t want to be presented to high society at Christmas by her father. If she has to attend, then at the very least she can wear a mask. James, a law student, was also in the marines, and Margaret is sure he could be a Senator one day. She picks up the golden invitation to the Christmas Masquerade Ball and puts it in her purse. Not only will the event be held in the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria on Fifth Avenue, but there will also be a week of parties leading to the Christmas Eve Ball. She will be escorted by one military cadet and one civilian, but neither of her choice. Despite all, Margaret tells her father that she will go to the Ball—only to prove him wrong—because she thinks that she and James are meant to be together. Her father hopes that by the end of the evening that she is engaged to someone else.

When Margaret arrives in Central Park to meet James, she finds him as it starts to snow. He kisses her, and the couple climbs in a carriage for a ride. Jingle bells jostle as the stately brown horse pulls the carriage through the winding trails of Central Park. Then, James pulls a small red box from his pocket and asks her to marry him. The heart-shaped diamond glistens in the winter sunshine. After saying “yes,” Margaret slips the ring on her left hand and puts the ring box in her purse. She asks James to not tell her father until after Christmas. When a large gust of wind blows, the invitation to the Christmas Masquerade Ball blows from her purse onto the sidewalk. James picks it up and shoves it in his pocket. She is so enamored with her ring that she can hardly speak, but she hides it from her father. She tells James that she is going to the Christmas Masquerade Ball only to please her father, but that she is only interested in him and no one else.

As Margaret arrives in a limo at the Waldorf Astoria, the men turn their heads at her astonishing beauty. When she enters the Grand Ballroom, she is escorted by two masked gentlemen: one military cadet and one civilian. During the dance with the cadet, Margaret wishes she was dancing with James. Near the end of the Ball, the cadet bows to Margaret, but never reveals his true identity. Margaret takes off her mask and gives it to him. He leaves without giving her his mask. Margaret’s father steps from the shadows and suggests that she marry the cadet, not James, as the cadet runs off with her mask. Returning home, she finds James, sitting in a cadet white formal uniform on the bench at the front door. He holds her mask from the Ball. He also holds the mask of the cadet that she had danced with during the evening. James explains that the cadet was him all along. Her father finds them in the hallway kissing, gives up, and blesses her in marriage to James. By Christmas next year, Margaret and James are married, and they dance the Waltz in every spare moment.