The Mitten

An old Ukrainian folktale retold by Alvin Tresselt

Copyright 1964

One very cold winter day, a little boy loses his mitten while gathering kindling in the snow.  His misfortune turns to an opportunity for the animals of the forest to gain shelter from the cold.  One by one, starting with a tiny mouse, each animal pops into the warmth of the mitten.  A frog, an owl, a rabbit, a fox, a wolf, a wild boar, and then a bear each squeeze into the little mitten.  Each time, the animals think there will not be room for one more, but each time, they move a little bit closer to let another forest friend in.  All is well until a little black cricket comes along, her legs aching with the cold.  That was all that was needed to finish off the mitten.  POP!  Apart it flew, sending all of the animals sprawling into the snow.  

When the boy discovers he has lost a mitten and retraces his steps to find it, all he sees are little pieces of his ripped apart mitten.  

It is the generosity of the forest animals in this story that impresses me.  Although they worry that their cozy spot will burst apart, no one remains out in the cold.  There is no attitude of “I was here first”, or “This is mine”.  There is instead an attitude of "I'm not sure if we'll manage it, but we sure will try".  They stretch and stretch what they have until there is nothing left to give.  Now that is generosity!