The Mitten (Campfire Story)

One cold winter day, a boy went out into the forest to gather firewood for his grandmother. The SNOW lay deep and soft, and the trees creaked in the cold. And as he trudged home with his arms full of sticks, one of his warm woolen mittens slipped off and fell into the SNOW. He never even noticed.

The mitten lay there in the SNOW, all alone. Then along came a little mouse, shivering. 'What a cozy-looking house!' said the mouse. And she wiggled right inside. SQUEEZE!

Soon along hopped a frog, cold and sleepy. 'Who lives in this mitten?'

'I do, the mouse. Who are you?'

'I'm the frog. Let me in!' So the frog crawled in beside the mouse. SQUEEZE! And the mitten went STRETCH.

Then along came an owl, with snowflakes on her feathers. 'Who lives in this mitten?'

'We do, the mouse and the frog. Who are you?'

'I'm the owl. Let me in!' So the owl ducked her head and pushed inside. SQUEEZE! And the mitten went STRETCH.

Then along came a rabbit, hopping through the drifts. 'Who lives in this mitten?'

'We do, the mouse, the frog and the owl. Who are you?'

'I'm the rabbit. Let me in!' So the rabbit folded down his long ears and wriggled in. SQUEEZE! And the mitten went STRETCH.

speed up from here, and let the list of animals grow

Then along came a badger. 'Let me in!' SQUEEZE! STRETCH!

Then along came a big gray wolf. The others weren't so sure about that. But it was cold, and he promised to behave. 'Let me in!' SQUEEZE! STRETCH!

The mitten was as round as a pumpkin now, and its woolly sides were bulging. Then the SNOW began to shake, and the trees began to tremble, and along came the biggest animal in the whole forest. A great, shaggy brown bear.

'Who lives in this mitten?'

'We do!' said the mouse, the frog, the owl, the rabbit, the fox, the badger and the wolf. 'And there's no more room!'

'Oh, I'll fit,' said the bear. And he lay down on his tummy and pushed his big head into the mitten. Then his shoulders. Then his big round belly. SQUEEZE! SQUEEZE! SQUEEZE! And the mitten went STRETCH, and STRETCH, and STRETCH, until its stitches creaked.

Everyone was packed in so tight that nobody could move a whisker. And then the little mouse, squished right up against the bear's big furry nose, began to tickle him.

The bear's nose twitched. It wiggled. It wrinkled. And the bear said...

point to the whole crowd and let them sneeze as big as they can

The mitten burst open, and animals flew in every direction. The mouse flew one way and the frog another. The owl flapped up into a tree, the rabbit landed in a snowbank, and the fox, the badger, the wolf and the bear all tumbled head over heels into the SNOW. And they all ran home as fast as they could go.

A little later, the boy came back down the path, looking for his lost mitten. There it was, lying in the SNOW. He picked it up and pulled it on. It was a little warm inside, and smelled a bit like bear, and it was about three sizes too big. And the boy never could figure out why.

Storyteller tips: if you have a real mitten, hold it up and stretch it a little more with each new animal. Let the crowd shout the names in "We do!" as the list grows. Build up the bear's sneeze as slowly as you can stand it before the whole crowd sneezes together.

A Ukrainian folk tale, retold in many versions. It's perfect for a winter campout. Afterward, talk about how animals really survive the cold: burrows, hollow logs, and snuggling up together.