Mistletoe Dowries
by Neverend

Once upon a time, in the olden days when roads often faded away without going anywhere in particular, there lived a young man named Jonathan in a cabin five miles from the nearest village. He was a fine young man, tall and strong, honest, hardworking, and as handsome as any a girl ever swooned over. He had thick curls the color of caramel, smoke- grey eyes as deep as clouded lakes, and a low baritone voice that could make the trees tremble.
One day near Christmastime, Jonathan set out from his lonely cabin to find mistletoe to hang from his door. He was dressed warmly against the chill air, with a hat over his caramel-colored curls, and over one shoulder he slung a canvas bag in which to hold the berries. Jonathan entered the deep woods surrounding his cabin, and set out, his boots crunching on the light layer of snow that had sifted through the branches. Every once in a while, he would stop by a tree entangled with mistletoe, and pluck a sprig or two, but he didn't take much from any tree, for he wanted to have room in his bag for the perfect bunch of mistletoe berries.
Jonathan reached the inner part of a forest, where a clump of holly trees sported gleaming leaves and jewel-like berries. He stopped near the cluster of hollies where mistletoe grew on a thin birch tree. As he picked the twigs laden with their moon-colored berries, Jonathan began to sing a Christmas song. He sang it loud and clear, and around him the trees trembled with the strength of his voice.
But his song was interrupted by a great shaking and rustling. Jonathan turned to see that one of the holly trees trembled more than all the others, so intensely that glossy leaves and shining berries fell from the branches like rain. When they stopped falling, a girl stood under the holly tree.
She was brightly, glowingly beautiful, with long hair of flaming red, and eyes of a clear and perfect green. A circlet of holly crowned her, and she carried a holly twig in her hand like a scepter. Her dress was of dark green satin, and flared out around her bare feet. A string of rubies, as perfect and round as berries, circled her neck. Around her waist was a beaded, red sash.
The girl turned her green eyes on Jonathan.
"I am the Holly Maiden," she said in a voice as warm and bright as lantern light. "Marry me, Jonathan, and you shall live in a palace in the woods, and dress in silks of green and red, with a wild buck to carry you about."
"Sorry, miss," Jonathan said as he bowed to the Holly Maiden. "You're fair pretty, and I'm flattered, but my heart belongs to Bess from the village." When he rose from his bow, the red-haired lady was gone.

Jonathan continued through the woods. Soon he came to a place where the trees thinned out until they were no longer a forest but merely clusters of evergreens scattered in the snow. A low mountain rose toward the heavens above Jonathan, and a single tree stood at it's top. As he walked, he kept his eyes on that tree- a tall, scraggly thing with a crook in his trunk. The perfect bit of mistletoe would be at the top of that tree, he was sure of it.
By and by, grey clouds rolled into the sky, obscuring the sun that hung low in the west. When they covered the heavens like a grey wool blanket, the clouds let loose their hidden burden. The snow fell gently at first, powdering the shoulders of Jonathan's brown coat and the top of the hat, but then it thickened to a white curtain. Jonathan could no longer see the lone tree on the mountaintop, but he knew which direction to march through the deepening snow.
The wind rose, cold and strong, and blew across his face, making his smoke-grey eyes water. It carried the snowflakes in long sweeps and curling eddies above Jonathan's head, and blew them into his ears and down the collar of his coat. A white whirlwind rose at his feet, causing him to stop in his tracks. When at last the snow flurry thinned, a girl stood before him.
She was more beautiful by half than the Holly Maiden. Her hair was the gold of snow at dawn and her eyes the blue of snow in shadows. Tiny, clear droplets were caught in her eyelashes and covered the golden knot of her hair, and Jonathan could not tell if they were ice or tiny diamonds. She wore a dress and cloak of white velvet that billowed about her in the wind, and she was draped with a thousand ropes of sparkling diamonds.
"I am the Snow Maiden," she said in a voice as soft as falling snow. "Marry me, Jonathan, and you shall live in a palace in the mountains, and dress in silks of white and silver, with the North Wind to carry you about."
"Sorry miss," said Jonathan with a bow so deep his forehead touched the snow-covered ground. "You're fair pretty and all, and I'm flattered, but my heart belongs to Bess from the village." When he rose from his bow, the fair-haired lady was gone.
A moment later, the snow stopped and the grey clouds floated away to reveal a darkening sky. When Jonathan reached the foot of the low mountain, the sun was gone completely, and a few faint stars winked to life in the heavens. Jonathan, however, needed nothing stronger than starlight to make his way up the mountain. His gloved hands grasped the icy rock and his booted feet were steady on the mountainside. On his back, the canvas sack swayed, bulging with mistletoe.
At long last Jonathan reached the top. After resting and regaining his breath, he left his sack at the foot of the tree and began to climb it. He climbed with the speed and skill of a boy who grew to manhood among trees, and clambered to the very top without his foot slipping once on the slick branches. Just as he had known it would, the perfect sprig of mistletoe grew at the top.
Jonathan reached up and snapped the twig away . He brought it close to his face and admired the pale green leaves and the cluster of berries like pearls, kissed it, then tucked it into his belt so that it would stay safe as he climbed down.
Before returning to the ground, however, Jonathan looked up. The stars were now out in full glory, with no moon to diminish their brilliance. They reminded him of the diamonds that the Snow Maiden wore. As he tried to pick out a picture among the points of light, one of the stars grew brighter. It shone so bright that it's light filled his vision, and blinded him so that he had to look away. When he could look up again, Jonathan saw a girl floating in the air by the tree.
She was more beautiful than either of the others that Jonathan had met that day, so beautiful that beneath him the twigs and boughs of the trees shifted as if straining to touch her. Her hair was as black as the sky above, and fell in shining, dark folds over her shoulders. Her eyes were violet, more clear than Jonathan had ever seen before. A point of light, like a star, hung over her pale forehead from a silver chain. Folds of iridescent gauze fluttered over a dark gown, embroidered with what seemed to be strands of light.
"I am the Star Maiden," she said in a voice as grand and smooth as a church bell. "Marry me, Jonathan, and you shall live in a palace in the sky, and wear silks of purple and black, with a moonbeam to carry you about."
Jonathan could not bow without falling out of the tree, but he lowered his head respectfully. "I am truly sorry miss. You're fair pretty, and I'm flattered, but my heart will always belong to Bess from the village."
When he looked up, the raven-haired lady was gone, and all the stars shone with their usual brightness. Jonathan lowered himself, branch by branch, then dropped to the foot of the tree. He bent and opened his canvas sack. There was just enough room on the top for the perfect sprig of mistletoe to fit snugly in.
Now, his quest completed, Jonathan realized how tired he was. He had walked through all the day and climbed for a good bit of the night, and all of his strong muscles were limp. So he leaned against the tree trunk with the sack of mistletoe for a pillow, and slept.
In the morning he woke and, sack slung over his shoulder, Jonathan climbed down the mountains, crossed the snowfield, entered the woods, passed his cabin, and walked five miles more to the village.
He had just started down the narrow lane between cottages when, from one of them, dashed a girl. Her brown muslin skirts twirled around her legs as she ran and leapt into his arms. Jonathan dropped his sack to spin her around, then set her down and planted a kiss on one curved eyebrow. He stepped back a bit to look at her.
She was neither beautiful nor plain, with brown hair, and brown eyes, and a sweet smile. She wore a white apron over her brown muslin dress, and she shivered, for she had forgotten both coat and gloves in her hurry to see him.
"Will you marry me, Bess?" Jonathan asked. "You'll live in a nice house in town, and wear the finest cotton and wool I can afford, with a grey mare to carry you about."
"Of course Jonathan!" said Bess in a voice like honey.
They were married on Christmas day. The bride wore a crown of holly, and snow fell across the aisle like white rose petals. They say that, that night, the stars were brighter than they had ever been before.