The Gifts Beneath the Boughs

In a clearing where the trees lean inward like a listening audience, a broad stump glistens with dew despite the dry air. Three hollows carved as a fox, an owl, and a stag sit beneath a strip of pale bark covered in neat lettering. A tiny wooden bell, a green leaf, and a red berry rest in a groove at the stump's edge. Fireflies hover over the carvings, and faint green light pulses beneath the wood whenever a token is lifted, as if the stump is waiting for a thoughtful gift.