Christmas Atmosphere

It's the quiet hour after the shops have shut, and the whole valley has settled under snow. A horse and carriage clip-clops over the little stone bridge, its lamps glowing against the dusk, while a young deer pauses at the water's edge to see what all the fuss is about.

Up in the square the church tower stands watch over gabled rooftops and a tree strung with lights, the mountain rising huge and silver behind it under a full moon. Down by the pond a lone snowman keeps his own kind of company, in no hurry to go anywhere on a night like this.