The Little Reindeer Who Needed a Break

Moss loved the Reindeer Ranch.

He loved the crunchy snow beneath his hooves. He loved the soft brushes hanging beside the stalls. Most of all, he loved watching the older reindeer sweep across the sky.

Today was his first group training session.

Moss had polished his practice bell with his nose, which had left it slightly damp.

“You’re eager,” said Rowan, his Ranch keeper.

Moss bounced once.

Then twice.

Then he accidentally stepped in his water bucket.

“Very eager,” Rowan said, handing him a towel.

Outside, the training field was busy.

Elves carried flags. Reindeer trotted between cones. Bells jingled from every direction.

Moss joined a small group practicing turns.

At first, it was wonderful.

He followed a blue flag around the first cone.

Then a red flag waved nearby.

Someone called, “This way!”

A bell rang behind him.

Another reindeer brushed his shoulder.

Moss stopped.

The field seemed to have grown louder. His practice strap felt scratchy. His legs wanted to run, but he couldn’t decide which way.

“Moss?” Rowan said.

Moss stared at the blue flag.

He knew he was supposed to move.

He couldn’t.

Rowan stepped into view without touching him.

“Would you like more space?”

Moss nodded.

They moved to the edge of the field.

“Do you want to keep watching, or go somewhere quieter?”

Moss looked toward the little shelter behind the barn.

Rowan walked beside him.

Inside, there were no practice bells. A soft blanket lay near the wall. Moss drank some water, then folded his legs beneath him.

For a while, Rowan sat nearby and said nothing.

Moss listened to the wind moving over the roof.

After a few minutes, he whispered, “I think I’m not ready to be a real teammate.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Everyone else kept going.”

Rowan looked out toward the field.

“Some kept going. Fern is resting by the fence. Clover changed to a smaller group. You couldn’t see them from where you were.”

Moss lifted his head.

“But I stopped.”

“Yes,” Rowan said. “Your body was telling you it needed something different.”

Moss worried at a loose bit of straw.

“What if I need a break again?”

“Then you can ask again.”

“What if it takes a long time?”

“We’ll make room for that too.”

A large nose appeared in the doorway.

It belonged to Dancer.

“May I come in?”

Moss nodded.

Dancer settled just outside, where there was space for his antlers.

“When I was learning,” he said, “I kept trying to practice with a twisted harness strap. I thought good reindeer never complained.”

“What happened?”

“I got sore. And nobody could help with a strap they didn’t know was bothering me.”

Moss glanced at his practice strap.

“This one feels scratchy.”

“Thank you for telling me,” Rowan said.

She removed it and found a softer one for him to try later.

Nobody hurried Moss back onto the field.

When he felt ready, he stood and stretched.

“I want to try the blue cones,” he said. “Without all the bells.”

Rowan arranged a quieter practice time with one other young reindeer. Moss chose to leave his bell off. They agreed that if he lifted a front hoof and waited, Rowan would help him pause.

They tried one turn.

Then another.

At the third cone, Moss felt the strap rubbing again.

He lifted his hoof.

Rowan stopped beside him.

They adjusted the strap. Moss took a drink.

Then he decided he had practiced enough for today.

Back at the barn, Clover asked, “Where did you go?”

“The quiet shelter,” Moss said. “I needed a break.”

“Can you show me? Sometimes I want somewhere quiet after training.”

Moss led the way.

That evening, he watched Dancer glide above the Ranch, then return to the ground and walk toward the water trough.

Moss’s own practice bell hung beside his stall.

Tomorrow he might wear it.

Or he might leave it there.

For now, his legs were resting on fresh straw, his water was close by, and Clover was dozing in the next stall.

Moss let out a long, comfortable breath.

There would be more blue cones tomorrow.