Long ago, before the time of the great cities and when men still valued wisdom over science, the Gods walked the Earth. In those days, the world basked in eternal summer.

And once a year, the Gods gathered in the Kingdom of Heaven for a Great Feast.

On the night before the Great Feast, the Gods would travel vast distances across the land to the High Mountains, whose peaks rose to the Gates of Heaven.

On one such night, the clever Rat dared to follow the Gods’ footprints and stole his way into the Kingdom. As the Gods gathered to pay homage to the King of Heaven, the Rat entered Heaven’s Kitchen and ate the feast before scurrying away.

This angered the King of Heaven. So on the following year, after the last of the Gods returned, the King of Heaven covered the land with snow, hiding the footprints so the Rat could not find his way to Heaven. And forevermore, the Rat would be banished to steal from the kitchens of men. And ever since, the years have always ended in a season of snow.

But the Rat is crafty, and his appetite not easily satisfied by the scraps of men. So one year, as the last of the leaves fell to the ground, he approached the Fireflies who huddled miserably in the bare branches of the trees.

“The Gods are unjust,” proclaimed the Rat. “Greedily, they guard their pantry while we shiver and starve.”

The Fireflies nodded at each other, mumbling their agreement.  

“Tonight, we shall take what is ours,” said the Rat. “As the Gods make their way to Heaven, you shall alight upon every tree they pass. I shall follow your lighted trail and slip unseen into Heaven. There, I shall steal a vial of Spring Rain, which will give your trees eternal foliage. Thus, you will have shelter through the winter.”

That night, the Fireflies did as the Rat asked – lighting the way through the barren forest and up the hidden mountainous pass.

And the Rat, well fed from Heaven’s Kitchen, kept his promise to the Fireflies. Thus, with the stolen Spring Rain, the majestic pines were born – with boughs evergreen even in the coldest season.

And every year around the winter solstice, the pines have been adorned with lights in homage of the Rat’s deceit of the Gods.